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alphaketoglutaricacid · 1 month

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shuro notes

upon rereading some of dungeon meshi, I got a better grasp on his role in the story and why hes in the main supporting cast along w kabru (main protag of the suporting cast), namari, and mithrun (main antag of the supp cast) . Contrary to most of the characters disliking eating monsters, he seems to dislike eating, period. In his first appearance he refuses to eat maizurus cooking (with maybe some mermaid eggs sprinkled in..?). His refusal to eat ties into his extreme passivity. He seems to dislike how his father does what he pleases with no regard to how it affects others, and his fear of doing the same seems to play a huge role in how he lets other ppl walk all over him. He ignores his own desires, including his own hunger, because consuming means taking another life. To live means something else has to die, so to desire is to want to take from others. To try to live up to the image of an impassive leader he tries to not participate in this process at all! But bc hes a human being he has to eat, so instead of never taking from others, he starves.

With Falin, I think he realizes there is a way forward where he could be himself and face the ugly realities of what it means to want. To be unabashedly yourself while not hurting everyone in your life. His love comes from a deep place of admiration! I think part of the reason why he's so dead set on saving her is bc he wants to be her equal—she saved him from his nightmares without a second thought, and part of it is to repay her kindness and to be able to reciprocate it. I think he foils nicely w marcille bc he proposes to her (asks her to choose her future) while marcille doesnt want her to move on from the time they were both children. I think this plays a huge part in why marcille hates him, bc its a reminder of how the time will pass and also he aims to take falin away from her. Interestingly, she also became fairly distant and withdrawn after falin left and they both formed their relationship w her bc dirt and bugs r cool. They both are the party members in Laios squad that fly off the handle the most. Socioeconomically, they both seem to be in the least dire straits and kinda prissy abt things as a result. On re-read something else clicked into place.

After his fight w laios that starts w legit grievances and devolves into him hitting all of laios’ insecurities like a game of whack-a-mole, shuro says he’s returning to his home country and after that he would never see any of these ppl again. Even before falin got eaten, he knew he was going to have to leave the party but couldnt bring himself to tell them. The way the convo goes, it seems part of the reason why he proposed to her so suddenly is bc he wants to take a part of his time on the island back home with him—i.e. that hes not ready to say goodbye. That the prospect was taken from him so suddenly is why this is the first thing hes asked for or wanted for himself. Interesting parallels to how marcille is not ready to live the rest of her 1000 year life without her friends now, and how falins death is a catalyst that brings her fear to the surface—that for both of them, theyll live the rest of their lives never seeing the ppl they love from this island again. I think part of the reason he is so nasty to laios in particular is bc his entire worldview falls apart at laios' actions

Both desire wise and literally, Shuro is starving. And like a starving person getting his first meal in a long time, I think he gets a little greedy—when he gives Laios the bell, he says if the party somehow makes it past thistle, to ring it so they can all escape to the East--where he's headed. Likewise marcilles solution is to bring everyone with her to the 1000 year lifespan. Thats surprisingly childish of both of them! Also not a solution to the problem that suits anyone but themselves. Theres so many solutions to this. He could write. He could call. He could communicate view morse code using that bell instead of attempting to blink in morse code to communicate to laios how he doesnt want to be here. Falin voice: I’ll go visit you, okay? He could set foot on the island again. Honestly. This is so embarrassing for him.

But I think it gets at a core theme of the work. Marcille, Laios, and Shuro all say their greatest desire is to save Falin, but once u get down to it, theyre pretty basic-to not be left alone, to be w monsters who u feel a kinship with, to not have to leave. Namari says she left bc of money but later on goes u must never let go of your fear. Kabru says he wants to get to know laios to prevent utaya from happening again but its much simpler-he wants to be his friend. Our base desires are petty, but they are what keep us going day to day, just like how every living being has to hunger and eat to achieve the goals they set out for.

Lets talk abt his relationship w his retainers.

Hein- theyre childhood friends that have drifted apart in adulthood. By the familiar way she talks about him when hes not around, I think she wants to be close to him again. I think the distance between them is probably intentionally imposed by Shuro bc hes afraid theyll turn out like maizuru and his father. She thinks hes unreliable in a way i think u can only rlly get when u know someone for that long. I wonder if some of that I thought wed always end up together and I want him to like me even tho I dont like him back is wanting that closeness in friendship again

Maizuru- Good god whats happening here. she loves him but also treats him like a child even tho hes a 26 year old man. I think its got fun connections to how kabrus adoptive mom treats him like a child, how marcilles not ready to see falin n herself as adults, thistles relationship w degal. Now these are all relationships where differences in lifespan come into play, but w maizuru n shuro i think u see something real banal in why these elves cant let the ppl in their lives go. She coddles him bc she loves him and tells him at the end he doesn't have to eat the dragon if he doesn't want to, but he rebukes her and says he has to eat it to accept his own failures. So like he doesn't need to be coddled he needs ppl in his life to challenge him so he can grow. And at the end he realizes it tastes good--that even tho his journey had so much conflict and in the end he failed to save falin he made friends! He grew as a person! He starts reaching out to his retainers again! He got to harrass the elf cops and give them migraines! Ties a lot into laios speech to marcille that if falin didnt die they wouldn't have met all these ppl and gotten to eat all this food.

Its wild she put that hag curse on him. Poor kid cant even take a shit in peace. Actually the fact that he couldnt even have that time for himself n grew up constantly feeling watched explains a lot. I think the fact his father nonchalently burnt it and then roasted mochi over it without giving him any explaination made him think oh this is just what everyone goes through and im the weird one for being frightened. And it takes him 20 years to find out that no, its not normal to be haunted by a ghost that chases you with a knife. Pretty apt metaphor for how rules have defined his life without him fully understanding why they're in place. I'll give it a crack tho--it seems like the time period his homelands based on the sengoku period bc its a period of heavy civil war where ppl below upsurped the ppl above them. The strict hierarchy is probably an attempt to exercise social control in an extremely precarious situation.

Also side note: kinda impressive he can do magic when he was six. Probs a combination of maizuru being a talented teacher and his own skill. The fire cast… close but no cigar. Also interesting is how the magic he casts seems more elf-y in nature vs maizurus gnomic spirit magic. I wonder if hes his partys black mage- the occupation his party is pointedly missing vs the toudens missing their white mage and kabrus party being well rounded at all points. If so thats hilarious that when the toudens lost their previous mage and everyone was panicking he was like well… im just not gonna say anything #OnBrand. I do wonder if the bell he gives laios is his own magic tho.

Also shuros mother is mad at maizuru for being shuros dads mistress but gives her her children to raise…. Lets unpack this contradiction. Incidentally my tin foil hat theory is Shuros a bastard child. maizuru n his dad have been fucking since 4ever -> one of these children is not legitiment -> probs the one w a strange distance from the rest -> whys shuro succeeding his dad so up in the air when his competitions a 14 and an 8 year old. It's not important tho.

izutsumi + inutade: the fact that he doesnt speak up is his defining moment of moral cowardice. Its tied to his passivity! Hes scared of saying or doing the wrong thing bc hes afraid of hurting others, and he does basically attempt to torch his relationship w laios like it was contaminated w anthrax. Like the first time he tries to be active it went horribly, but his involvement moves the plot forward enormously—with him kabru would not have run into Laios, izutsumi would probably not have been able to run away, he raises the stakes of the journey by indicating they probs cant return to the surface so they have to keep going. And even tho its messy, ugly, and embarassing, he can still pick up the pieces afterwards. Nothing he does is as harmful as his passivity on inutade and izutsumis situations which unequivically, he knows is wrong.

Also w all the references to buying people, I looked it up bc i was like.... like slavery...? it seems to be a reference to retainership as a social caste where people buy your services and as a result you owe the estate your service. You get paid and you have rights, but it seems like you are bound to your station, but depending on the time period japan is supposed to reference, some ppl took on these positions for the sake of social advancement. Regardless, it seems the caste system is also less rigid than stated and ppl can move amongst the positions. There doesn't seem to be an exact cultural equivelent to this, but I think the closest concept is like, being a vassal. I was like if this is slavery this narrative portrays izutsumis time w the nakamotos too ambivenlently and hien going don't you feel any gratefulness for them taking you in makes no sense. But I still think theres something pretty rotten going on here.

Allegedly, as a ninja, you ascend the ranks based on your skill. And yet izutsumi and inutade are at the bottom, and hien, the person that was born into this role, is at the top! Izutsumi and Inutade aren't even considered human in the island of wa--this distinction is given to tall-men only. Theyre both from positions where I feel like the other characters are like they should be grateful they got from one horrible situation to this one thats a system based on merit and skill, but like out of everyone, theyre in the least position of power to say no, to even appreciate what other options there are for them in the world. Like its deeply coercive and wrong. Whats up w shuros father collecting ppl like theyre trophies man. So we can see a system allegedy based on merit is not one at all. Also I feel theres undertones of japanese imperialism with izutsumi being from the equivelent of central asia and having a soul of a child stuffed into her like some kinda of science experiment. Maizurus constantly trying to "civilize" her by teaching her ettiquite such as using your chopsticks. Like the rhetoric of the elves ape pretty directly to imperialistic sentiments, it would not surprise me if theres intentional commentary about japanese imperialism in how izutsumis treated bc japans kinda known in the east for their imperialism... theyve just done it so many times like my parents were like we left our families, our culture, everything we knew behind to go to america.... but we kept our death grudge against japan tho!! #lmfao. Honestly fair. anyways i think theres intentional parallels between how izutsumi is treated as both as a child and a feral animal by maizuru and how the elves treate other races as children that need toys taken away from them. But also how fundementaly, maizurus unsuited to take care of izutsumi bc the tools she has are not suited to izutsumis needs! She has no understanding of izutsumis life. Her hag curse turns from a highly questionable child rearing tactic on shuro to outright a slave collar on izutsumi. Teaching shuro ettiquate and being able to fight gives him the tools to survive in the postion he was born in but is erasing the culture izutsumi grew up in and has been taken away from before she even knew what it meant. Bc she was treated like a circus freak she never got to choose for herself! Tho providing the basic comforts to shuro is a privilage, it's not to izutsumi bc shes never been able to choose what she wants in life. It's why shes set up as shuros narrative foil like so:

This is his pensive look btw its a consistant tic that he lookes like hes glaring when hes deep in thought. Maizurus is both these people's strange mother figure who feeds them in liu of their actual mother. She smothers shuro in love and doesn't let him face actual challenges in life while she intensely disciplines izutsumi. Shuro reacts to this by aquiessing and never making demands of his own while izutsumi constantly refuses to conform. This is probably why he doens't get her.

In the early points of the story, shuro either says leave izutsumi for dead or leave her so she can pursue her freedom. The ambiguity is intentional, because i think in this part of the story we are not supposed to have a good read on him. But it's also because because of his passivity he doesn't do shit for her! So he loses out on having any type of relationship w her even tho they were tormented by the same curse. But crucially he may have learned from this w inutade, who he explicitly aknowledges how her situation is fucked up and her worship of his father is due to an insane power imbalance even tho he has no clue how to talk to her about this. And at the very end of the manga, he gets into an eating contest with her at her prodding as equals. So maybe there's hope he can do better. But I think its important that his relationship w izutsumi is non-existent as a consequence of his passivity despite the things they have in common bc theres no excuse for it. Thier relationship probs deserves its own post.

benichidori - very funny amongst all these complicated relationships these two just straight up dont know each other n r too shy to do so. Is what I was going to say but then I realized benichidori has taken shuros place as hiens closet friend and I wonder if theres any jealousy abt that. But also she shares a lot of traits w shuro and isnt that just interesting:

but even more interesting is her comic:

this is beat for beat shuros conflict w laios.

We only care about one thing: the crushing opinion of everyone in the universe.

I didnt get this on my first read even tho laios was like hes smart but he is incredibly sharp. Hes good at making useful deductions when things dont add up. It rlly reminds u hes trained in espionage.

He keeps kabru on his toes! interesting for such a smooth talker.

He gets kabru to open up about his motivations here and how it affected him and kabru actually shares some of his own feelings on the manner when usually hes holding ppl at arms length. I think him getting a chance to recite this helps prep him to talk to the caneries where notably, hes a lot more clinical about it.

Its nice all three of these ppl can challenge each other and support each other. I think it would be funny if kabru hits em up in the future like do u wanna start some shit for old times sake

able to tell chilchuck was not a child

is afraid of marcille which tbh fantastic call

Everyone else horrified marcille just killed a man but he's like yeah #tracks.

Other things that reminded me hes basically a fixer:

Spends his screentime evading the elf cops.

Refuses to talk to the canaries even under threat of being interegated for 50 years despite threatening laios party multiple times that hes gonna tell on them. instead spends his time going tbh i've never known anything in my life. I'm stupid like that :pensive emoji:

Incredible bit of manipulation on his part-he pretends to be thinking out loud to cast doubt on the canaries judgement to appeal to the ppl in the dungeon that are not motivated by the goodness of their hearts. Reminds me of namaris relatively selfish reasons for leaving the party--needing to get paid, which is a need she was ignoring for far too long and also laios was also not paying proper attn too when namaris in dire straits, and how she says she left the party after the dragon bc she remembered to never forget your fear. That selfishness must also drive you forward. Then he uses that doubt to twist the situation to say all their information could be false so maaaybe the situation is not as dire as they claim and they have other motives (social control). And he pretends hes talking to the caneries but this is directed to everyone else. He and namari pretend to pick a fight so the leader's distracted and everyone else uses this opening to scatter, which causes enough chaos that it breaks the control the elves have. Which is wild bc shuro knows the dungeon is dangerous bc kabru told him about utaya. He also knows laios party can be dangerous w the amount of collateral they cause w the dragon. He puts a lot of ppl in danger that do not need to be even though multiple times he worries about people getting hurt. At his core, tho, I think he wants to see laios and his party again and that selfish desire trumps everything else in this moment. Namari and shuro are so ride or die TBH.

He never shares any of this when not prompted. Except notably at the end he interrupts when ppl think laios might be dead. Which as an aside I think its interesting his biggest contribution to saving falin is not thru his fighting prowess, but through the simple fact he reached out to laios. His compassions his greatest strength. Laios frestrautes him and kabru, and they both punch him and complain that theyll never understand him, but I think they dont have to. Love requires compromise—it requires eating things you really dont want to, you clash and you hurt each other, but what matters most is that you keep reaching out to one another, that you keep on trying to understand each other. Living requires you to hurt and be hurt, to give and take.

Once again stuck in the middle of an insane and ancient beef

low key funny that he remembered the last time he was here and he was like u know what.... ill just sit this one out....

If my son told me he spent the last week pissing off the elf cops, Id be like yeah thats what the nakamotos are all about TBH

Theres pretty juicy stuff abt how laios is interested in shuro because hes exotic like a monster and his own relationship with being othered by ppl and the fact that shuro is constantly referred to as a foreighner even to ppl hes known and has risked his life for for two years + how to laios monsterhood is a type of freedom while being othered is a type of dehumanization for shuro + how hes trying to show some kind of solidarity to shuro but hes microagressing him thru his attemps + how laios just is being explicitly saying the racist beliefs everyone else implicitly holds just like how mithrun says other races are inferior races which horrifies the rest of the elves but its honestly what they believe but I'm tired and need to think abt it a bit more.

Why do shuro and his party from an island primarily composed of humans and other ppl sometimes not classified as humans but have similair lifespan bc of sociopolitical reasons imitate so many interracial dynamics despite being of the same race? It's to show how marcilles wrong about how the inequality between races exists bc of lifespan differences. Her own fears due to fantastical reasons of being a half-elf and unable to relate any of her insecurities to other ppl are not exclusive to her! Tall-men - Tall-men relationships run along the same lines and have the same conflicts. All the things she fears are things that make her human, that other people have also felt.

in conclusion:

think abt the messiest person u know. Its a man

jk its marcille #feminism

#Dungeon meshi spoilers #shuro #toshiro nakamoto

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astonmartinii · 1 year

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Would love a Danny Ric with Bollywood star and their wedding face claim Alia Bhatt

wedding bells | daniel ricciardo social media au

pairing: daniel ricciardo x bollywood!reader

looks like daniel used his time off for more than a little down time with the australian wilderness

danielricciardo

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danielricciardo: enjoying the aussie wilderness and the people i love in my time off 😎

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user47 he's looking so so much better i'm happy for him but gawd i miss him so much

user90 y/n MOTHER? what are you doing here ???

maxverstappen1 don't miss me too much 😘

danielricciardo our love will never die maxy - text me xoxo

user98 this bromance will never die

user32 not to sound like a delusional person but "people i love" hmmmmmm surely if he just meant family he'd say family - right?

user21 this is a stretch it could mean friends

yourusername added to their story

[caption: had a lovely little visitor on set today]

danielricciardo

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danielricciardo: heart to heart

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user13 WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

maxverstappen1 u guys are so cute it's gross

danielricciardo you love us really maxy

maxverstappen1 ... yes but if you kiss in front of me again you'll be on thin ice

user31 KISS?? AGAIN?? HE'S REALLY CUFFED?

user87 bestie i hate to tell you this but that's defo y/n y/ln (she's a really famous bollywood actress) and there's been a lot of rumours she's engaged

user31 DON'T KICK ME WHILE I'M DOWN (i just googled her and i'm so jealous of both of them)

landonorris you're cheating on me?

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yourusername: exploring 🐨

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user56 please show me your left hand right now

user78 y/n look at me this isn't you DON'T LEAVE ME AND THE KIDS

user45 glad to see we're all having the same break down after that article

user20 daniel and max liked this guys it's defo them

user91 i will not lose my wife to a man who drives for a living I CAN START WORKING AT UBER Y/N JUST SAY THE WORD

danielricciardo

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danielricciardo: tied the knot with the love of my life, what did you do this weekend?

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user38 WHAT.THE.FUCK

maxverstappen1 watched my best friend marry the love of his life

landonorris watched my old teammate cry his eyes out at his own wedding

charles_leclerc watched danny ric give a 15 minute long speech about how much he loves y/n

user89 these comments omg how did we not know

user13 daniel with an indian girl someone pinch me

yourusername

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yourusername: we've been through the hardest times together but it all just made this weekend so much better. sharing my culture with our friends and family made this ceremony so special to me. i can't wait for the rest of our lives together

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user56 do not talk to me for three business days

maxverstappen1 thank you for letting me be part of your big day love you guys

yourusername thank you for being there maxy

user33 oh my god the wedding looks mother is slaying so much

user21 wait so we might see y/n in the f1 paddock my worlds are colliding

user76 my two faves are married life has peaked here

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redbullracing: they grow up so fast 😢 our resident honey badger married his long-time girlfriend y/n this weekend! congratulations to the happy couple, we hope to see you guys in the garage soon!

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user35 she's the best wag now hands down

danielricciardo awwww thanks you guys we'll be there

yourusername thank you !! can't wait to finally come to the paddock

maxverstappen1 yess parents coming to watch me xxx

user47 i never thought i'd see y/n and f1 crossover but i'm living for it

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yourusername: loving my life with you

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user76 we're being so fed with content i love this relationship so much

danielricciardo i can assure you i love it more

yourusername not possible

user56 y/n simping on main MOTHER PLS

maxverstappen1 come visit please i miss you guys

danielricciardo

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danielricciardo: showing the wife my day job

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yourusername insanely proud of you in everything you do x

danielricciardo god i love you so much

user66 mother in the paddock 🚨 mother in the paddock 🚨

redbullracing good to see you both

christianhorner great to meet you y/n!

maxverstappen1 you guys must be my lucky charm

note: thank you for your request i hope i did it some justice!

#f1 instagram au #f1 x you #f1 x reader #f1 imagine #daniel ricciardo instagram au #daniel ricciardo x reader #daniel ricciardo imagine #daniel ricciardo

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cevansbrat0007 · 10 months

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Case of the Ex: Part I

Summary: Just as you decide to explore your feelings for Ari, an unexpected blast from your past sends you reeling...

Warnings: Mature Themes, Ari Being A Menace, Ex-boyfriends, Discussions of Weight, Discussions of Body Image, Mentions of Disordered Eating, Brief Discussions of Race, Pet Names, Cursing, Minors DNI

A/N: Special thanks to @curls-and-eyeliner for helping me brainstorm. This story is part of my Sweet Renegades Series. Not beta'd. All mistakes are my own. Likes, comments, and reblogs are appreciated. Thanks for reading!

“So do you trust me now, Mr. Carmichael?” You tease as you carefully place several books into your customer’s reusable shopping bag while you wait on the receipt to print. “Because the way I see it, I haven’t steered you wrong yet.”

“Here we go.” The older man grumbles, playfulling rolling his eyes as you punch in the last few numbers to complete the transaction.

“My recommendation track record speaks for itself.” You can’t help but laugh at the look he gives you. As if you two didn’t have the same conversation at least once a month. “I just want you to give me my props.”

“Arrogance isn’t a good look on you, young lady.”

“Who said anything about arrogance?” Your eyes go comically wide as you lean into the theatrics by pretending to look around your shop. “Certainly not me. I’m just a small business owner, standing in front of the best retired florist in all of Bell’s Creek, humbly requesting that he finally give me my flippin’ flowers.”

Mr. Carmichael heaves a weary sigh. “Fine, fine. You were right.” He steps back from the counter to give a dramatic bow. “Jean Hanff Korelitz’s Jacob Bonner was strong enough to rival Stephen King’s own Mort Rainey and Thad Beaumont. Your literary tastes reign superior once again.”

“And there it is.” You rip the receipt from the printer and drop it into the bag before handing it over so that you can rest your elbows on the counter. “Now was that really that bad? It’s not like I asked for one of your Sapphire Sweetheart bouquets, after all.”

“That entire moment was so positively excruciating I almost didn’t live through it.” He keeps his tone light as he slings the bag over his shoulder. “Anyway, same time next month?”

“Can’t wait.” You respond with a wink and a wave. “Wouldn’t miss it. And please give Millie my love.”

“Will do!” He calls behind him as he heads out the door.

Once he’s gone you decide to stand up and stretch, raising your arms over your head. You’re not satisfied until you hear the sound of your spine popping. And then you up the ante, twisting your body from side to side before bending down and touching your toes.

You hold the position for a moment, content to let yourself dangle until you hear the chime of the front door, signaling the arrival of another customer. Which was great news for you, especially since business had been kind of slow this morning.

“Welcome to Baubles & Quills!” You chirp as you quickly right yourself. “How can I he–” The words die on your lips when you get a good look at the person standing just inside the doorway.

“Hiya, Cupcake.”

It’s a nickname you haven’t heard in years. And it had only ever been used by one man. The same one who had broken your heart and left a wound so deep you’d been almost convinced that it would never heal.

And yet there he was. Standing right there in your shop. Somehow even more handsome than you remembered.

Mason J. Prescott.

The seconds tick by, turning into minutes as a loaded silence washes over you both. Whatever you’d been expecting, it hadn’t been this. A visit from your ex-boyfriend had not been on today’s bingo card.

Grinning, Mason closes the gap between you. His long, denim clad legs covering the distance in a few easy strides. Once he’s in front of you he removes his Stetson pinchfront and sits it on the counter before taking the opportunity to run his fingers through his thick black locks.

“Damn if you ain’t a sight for sore eyes.” Still grinning, his gray eyes give you a thorough onceover. It’s a blatant, slow moving perusal that lets you know he likes what he sees. “I swear they don’t make girls as pretty as you out in Brickfield. Must be something in the water.”

“Uh…hi.” You stammer as shock continues to course its way through you.

“You lookin’ to catch some flies there, Cupcake?”

Shit. That meant you were staring. Probably with your mouth open. It was an old bad habit that, up until today, you could’ve sworn you had licked.

“Sorry.” You cough, forcing your brain to reboot.

“No need to be sorry.” While Mason’s easygoing charm used to calm your nerves, today it seemed to be doing the opposite.

“What brings you..?” You trail off to take a steadying breath. “I didn’t realize you were back in town.”

What the hell was he doing here?

“I just flew in last night. Caught a red-eye home from Buffalo, New York..” He decides to explain further after you flash him a quizzical glance. “Dad had me working on a business deal up there. It was a quick trip with an even quicker turnaround.”

Oh. “Got it.”

“Yeah.” He chuckles, scrubbing a hand over his five-o’clock shadow. “My, uh, plan had been to fly back out to Brickfield first and then make the drive. But after speaking with my Mama no less than six nerve-racking times in the span of an hour, I figured I’d be better off coming straight here. And I’ll be damned if it doesn’t feel good to be back.” He raps his knuckles on the wood.

“I’m sure they’re all very happy you’re home.” You weren’t really sure what else to say to that, so you kept it simple. Although it still didn’t explain his reason for showing up at what was arguably the equivalent of your doorstep.

“Maybe. Some more than others, I suppose.” His voice drops an octave as he pins you with a knowing look. “Any chance you might be one of those people?”

Your teeth begin to gnaw at your bottom lip as your palms go damp with sweat. Why on earth would he care or not about whether you were happy to see him or not? Especially since you hadn’t spoken in–

“I’ve thought of you damn near every day over the last five years.”

“Mace…” His former nickname comes on the heels of a weary sigh.

“I’m serious, sweets.”

“Didn’t say you weren’t.”

You did not want to do this today. It wasn’t fair or right of him to think he could just pick up and waltz back into your life as if he expected your feelings for him to be the same.

Things had changed since then. You had changed. Everything was different now, starting and ending with you.

“I’ve been thinking…” Now it’s his turn to sigh as he squares his shoulders. “Maybe we made a mistake.”

“Ha!” You let out an unladylike snort, your hand flying to your mouth in an attempt to catch it. “I don’t believe for a second that I’m the reason your Mama pressed you to hussle your ass back to our quaint little town.”

“I came back because I needed to deal with a family matter. But I was thinking about staying because the one that got away also happens to own a shop that’s just down the road from my parent’s ranch.” His sobering admission is enough to send you reeling all over again.

Mason then places his hand atop yours, allowing the slightly roughened pad of his thumb to stroke along the ridge of your knuckles.

“I’m afraid I don’t take your meaning.” You give him your best haughty southern belle impression. “But if you’d like, I can point you in the direction of our Self-Help books. I’m sure you’ll find plenty of helpful literature on learning from your past mistakes. Might I recommend John Purkiss’ bestseller, The Power of Letting Go? I hear it’s a real page turner.”

Your newfound snippiness has your ex-boyfriend rocking back on his heels. He even appears a little stunned. Good.

You weren’t the same meek young woman he’d left behind all those years ago. Something that Mason James Prescott would do well to remember.

“Sheesh, Cupcake.” Your former flame presses a hand over his heart, feigning as if you’d wounded him. “You might’ve shed a few extra pounds when I wasn’t looking, but I see you've also gained a little sass too.”

You fold your arms over your chest as you take a moment to process what feels very much like a backhanded compliment. God’s gift to Bell’s Creek didn’t know it yet, but you were getting dangerously close to kicking his pert ass out of your shop.

As if sensing that he’s made an error, he quickly clears his throat. “All I’m saying is that I recognize that I’m dealing with a new and improved you.” He moves to reach for you again before apparently thinking better of it.

“But forgive me if I have a hard time thinking of you as anything but the doe-eyed freshman who wrote poetry behind the bleachers. That is, when she wasn’t busy taking home top prize at the state fair’s pie baking contest year after year.” Mason offers you his own award winning smile for good measure, highlighting the dimple on his left cheek.

Suddenly, the room feels a little too hot for your comfort. You didn’t like feeling this unsettled. These days the only man who was allowed to get under your skin was your handsome, overbearing bounty hunter.

It was a right that he’d earned, whether you liked it or not. And there were honestly times when you damn well didn’t. But you’d also be lying if you said that you weren’t learning to live with it.

“I could sure go for a slice of your famous brambleberry pie right about now.” Mason keeps his deep voice low and even as he takes a tentative step around the side of your cash register, which is the only thing currently separating the two of you. “But I’d be willing to settle for some cherry pie and a scoop of homemade vanilla bean ice cream over at Holtman’s Diner on West 5th if you’d be open to join me.”

“So I can watch you stuff your face with pie while I nibble on a depressing fruit salad from a can like a sad little rabbit?” You scoff. “Pass.”

Mason huffs out an annoyed breath, his brows drawing together. “You were the one who always complained about shit going to your hips. Meanwhile, I was just doing my part to be supportive. Isn’t that what any good man is supposed to do for his woman?”

Apparently you weren’t the only one experiencing a few ruffled feathers here. Fantastic.

“I’m not sure it’s allowed to fall under the category of being supportive –” you respond, complete with appropriate air quotes “– if you’re also the one constantly pointing it out.”

“We were kids, baby!” His hands fly to his waist so that he’s now standing akimbo. “Just a couple of stupid kids worried about stupid shit like football practice and prom pictures. I felt like I was walking around with the world on my shoulders back then. It wasn’t as easy for me as everybody liked to think.” He shifts his weight, resting his hip against the cashwrap. “Nobody understood the pressures of growing up as a Prescott. Nobody even tried…”

‘Oh yeah?’ Your internal voice all but screams. ‘Try being one of only five black kids in your entire goddamned graduating class. But do you see me crying? Nope.’

At any rate, you didn’t sign up for this month’s Prescott Pity Party. So you were about to politely request that he miss you with that bullshit.

“I’m sorry you felt like you had to carry so much alone, Mace. I really am.” You look down at your feet as you try to drum up a way to usher him out the door without touching him. But the next thing you know, he’s suddenly standing directly in front of you.

“Except for you.” He reaches out to clutch at your biceps, his big hands smoothing up and down your bare arms. “You saw past the spoiled little rich kid act when no one else did. And I didn’t appreciate you like I should have.”

Your heart speeds up as you take notice of the way his eyes darken. He’s so close that you can see the light smattering of freckles dotting the bridge of his slightly crooked nose. If memory served, he’d broken it during a heated football game.

One where he claimed an opposing player made several crude comments about your body and choice of skirt. At the time you’d considered him a hero. But now…

Now you saw him for what he was. Another run-of-the-mill Prescott pretty boy. All style and no substance. That was the crux of it.

Right?

“Why are you doing this?” Your question comes out weaker than you’d like, but at least it doesn’t waver.

“Because I want you to have dinner with me tonight. For old times’ sake.” His determined gaze bores into your own as all of the oxygen slowly dissipates from the room. “Please, Cupcake?”

Just then, you hear the chiming of the door, signaling the arrival of yet another customer. Spell broken, you take a fortifying step back – needing to put some distance between you and the town’s golden boy.

“Am I interrupting something?” The sound of a familiar voice has your already volatile emotions spiraling in the complete opposite direction as a sense of relief blooms in your chest.

Saved by the damn bell. Thank the Lord.

“Yeah.” Mason snaps at the same time you throw out a swift “nope”.

“Bird?”

Of course your gruff bounty hunter would defer to you on this one – for which you were grateful. You turn your attention to him, not missing the tick in his chiseled jaw.

Now that you saw them together, Ari appeared to have a good inch in height on your former lover. Aside from that, their builds were pretty similar. Instead it was the glaring difference in their personalities that managed to separate one from the other.

“It’s fine, Ari.”

“Bird?” Mason’s lip curls in an almost sneer as his hands drop to his sides. “Is that what you go by now? It’s…cute.” He tacks on the last part when you respond with a simple shrug.

If you were being honest, you didn’t much care how he felt or not. You just wanted him gone so that you could actually breathe again.

“Ari, huh?” He turns to give your man his full attention as realization finally dawns. “You must be that rent-a-cop my father was telling me about. Said you blew into town looking for Martin Westbrook’s sorry ass.”

“Not quite, pal. But you’re almost there.” Ari spares a bored glance in the direction of his would-be rival. But he doesn’t say anything. You knew without him telling you that he was busy assessing the situation. It was something he had a habit of doing anywhere he went.

Especially when found himself face-to-face with a dick like Mason Prescott.

“Well, you won’t find him here, buddy.” Your ex gives him a dismissive nod. “So why don’t you see yourself out? The lady and I were just in the middle of catching up before you took it upon yourself to interrupt.”

An uncomfortable silence ensues as both men stare each other down, each refusing to blink. The tension grows thicker with each passing moment. And it remains that way until you move to step between them.

“Mace is an old friend who stopped by for a chat.” You tell Ari, jamming your nervous hands in your pockets. “But we were just wrapping up so I could get back to doing inventory.”

It was a lie. And you recognized that Ari was someone who deserved a better, more in-depth explanation than the basic one that you just gave him. But for now it would simply have to do. At least until you got your bearings.

“But what about that pie?” Mason pouts, obviously upset by the prospect of you kicking him out. “Don’t leave me to eat alone, Cupcake.”

“Cupcake? Wow.” Ari scoffs under his breath, not bothering to his disapproval.

“Old friend, old nickname.” You hiss, somehow feeling even more self-conscious than you already did. “Now that we’ve established all that, I think it’s best if you two peaches get a move-on. I’ve got a busy day ahead of me.”

Needing some space, you attempt to shoo them out the door. But unfortunately, you might as well have better luck trying to herd a couple of cats. Lucky you.

“What about lunch?” Your man growls. Apparently he didn’t take too kindly to being thrown out either.

“Too busy. Gotta cancel. Sorry you came out all this way, but these books aren’t gonna stock themselves so…” You throw your arms in the air. “It is what it is.”

Instead of accepting his dismissal, Ari takes a step towards you. He doesn’t stop until he’s in front of you, his body eclipsing your smaller frame and effectively blocking you from Mason’s view.

“Did you eat today, baby?” He asks as one big hand comes up to cup the back of your neck, giving you an affectionate squeeze. Some of the stiffness in his shoulders eases when you give him a little nod. “Good. What’d you have?”

“A piece of toast and a hard boiled egg.”

“Alright.” Warmth pools in your belly when your sweet bounty hunter hands over a plastic bag filled with what feels suspiciously like a sandwich and chips. “It’s a grilled chicken caesar wrap. Best they had since you said you don’t like that chipotle spread. Also got you some sea salt and vinegar chips, some cuke and onion salad, and a cookie.”

Christ. This man was simply too good for you. Moments like these only served to remind you that you truly didn’t deserve him.

“Thank you.” You murmur once you finally manage to swallow the lump forming in your throat.

“I’m gonna need you to eat every last bite for me.” He tells you, his intoxicating blue eyes dropping to your lips. “So that I can fully enjoy taking a bite out of you later.” Thankfully, he's thoughtful enough to whisper the last bit. Making it clear that it was for your ears only.

“Okay, Ari.”

Nodding, he shifts his attention back to an increasingly annoyed Mason. But while there’s no way he could’ve missed the moment you shared with Ari just now, he chooses to stew in silence. Which is absolutely fine by you.

“Call me when you lock up.” You know that Ari’s words are meant for you even though his focus remains entirely on the other man taking up space in your tiny lobby.

“I’ll see you around, Cupcake.” Mason smiles, but this time you notice that it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “I can’t wait to find out if you’re still as sweet as I remember.” He finishes with a knowing wink.

With that, he turns and strides out of the shop, not even bothering to hold the door for Ari. But your man doesn’t seem to mind. Instead he makes a show of shouldering through it with minimal effort.

As soon as it swings shut you hit the lock and flip the sign. And then you duck in the corner, watching as the two men exchange what you can only assume to be a few choice words right there in your parking lot.

And while you can’t make out what they’re saying, you’re convinced that it’s anything but friendly – what with them being practically nose to nose.

You stay in your spot until Ari and Mason finish their conversation. And it’s only once they’ve climbed in their respective cars and driven away that you finally slink off to the back room to lick your wounds and figure out your next move.

Fuck! You had the sinking feeling that things were about to get complicated fast. Opening the fridge, you toss your lunch inside before slamming it shut so that you can snag a homemade strawberry and cream popsicle from the freezer.

As you sit down, you feel your phone buzz in your back pocket. You fish it out, surprised to see that you’ve got a text from Ari that reads:

“Mace seems like a real stand-up guy.”

“No shit, Beast.” Rolling your eyes, you place the device facedown on a nearby table before nibbling on your sweet and creamy treat. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

END

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sugar-plum-writer · 4 months

Text

The Serene Peony Of Winter

Paring: Sukuna!King of Curses x Fem!Geisha Reader

Tags: Slight! mention of violence; Fem!reader; Sukuna!imagines; will be 18+ as more chapters come; slow!burn, [I want to have a good build up!], an ancient Japan romance through time with darling reader~

[If you all like it, please heart and reblog the post! to know you want to read more~ and follow for chapter updates! or leave a comment to tag you when I put out new chapters~ I will do my best to roll out UPDATES ASAP!]

New Chapter update!

@naoyagasm @janeaugustine

@teonawrites @periwinkless-universe

CHAPTER- 3

1000 days, 1000 nights- but only 3 days of peace on a chilling winter night. Frozen houses, and frozen trees all soaked up the chilling breath of winter, letting it drown them in a sheet of white― pure and pristine, so pure and pristine that even the dead get company.

You had been able to bathe with hot water continually for 3 days, which is quite a luxury in the freezing winter. Rather than eating once in 3 days, you were able to eat every 2 days― gazing at the hot meal on your table as steam rose from a gift of satisfaction, into the surroundings.

"Ahahah! Y/n! You crazy girl!", Oka-San's laughter resounded in your room, as she sat wearing her new kimono, puffing her pipe

"To think you got him interested, did not die, is a miracle~ how many women can boast about it!", fanning her ōgi in front of her, sipping tea

"Do you know how much he gave?", A cheeky grin played in the reflection of her eyes― leaning in and took out a fat couple stack of Mon in front of you, "More is there but I have hidden it~ the sound of money is music to my ears!", she laughed tossing the coins in the air

"Muah! You are such a darling~"

"This meal, the hot water, this is the power of money Y/n this winter- won't be so cold", she hummed putting the stack of Mon back into her sleeves

"If we have leftover money, I will commission a new Hikizuri for you to wear this summer", finishing what she had to say she walked out after being called by one of the Maiko, silence filled the room

"But why?", gazing at your hands― and gently touching the small mark on your cheek which somehow was gone

"It's too noisy", picking up your chopsticks, and clasping your hands you prayed― grateful for the food and the hot bath due to your new patron, The King Of Curses, your new Danna. Sure a Geisha could have only one Danna at a time, but rules never applied to him anyways.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Holding your Wagasa to shield you from the cold, you walk with one of your patrons a sorcerer, wearing a light blue Hikizuri, and light-colored flower headpieces adorn your hair. With a light laugh, you walked down the courtyard.

"Oh my! it sounds delightful", batting your eyes as you smiled, "It is, if possible I would like- you to accompany me to my estate tonight", he gazed at your face

"I have people coming from the east prefecture, your dances are top-notch"

Politely without any reaction, "I must refuse, Danna-sama, forgive me― for my body is weak hence I need rest", bowed your head slightly and looked at him

"I see, maybe some other day then", he nodded, "But― be careful, word has been around", leaning in he whispered, "A strong curse has been around this area― some suspect him, to be the King of Curses", in a serious tone― eyebrows frowned

"If you get any information, regarding this, do tell me", he took out a pouch of Mon from his sleeve, which he kept in your hand

"Farewell, then Y/n, I will bring you your favorite Monaka, I know you have a sweet tooth. For now, I hope you like this gift", handing you a bira-bira featuring bells, long chains of additional silk flowers known as shidare, and a crest of the sorcerer stamped on the flattened end.

You smiled, "Then I will await your return Danna-sama, just like the cherry blossoms, waiting for spring"

"Can you wear it for me? After all I don't know if I will be dead or alive", he laughed

You looked at him, elegantly removing some hair accessories, pinning the bira-bira in your hair, and smiled. His breath hitched, and his body froze

"Beautiful, how can you be so beautiful... thank you Y/n", he smiled and bowed his head as he walked away waving

"I hope to see you alive…", you whispered, only the wind hearing your words, as it blew past

"He will die"

You froze, feeling a chilling presence behind you, you hesitantly turned around, feeling your throat dry up, and raised your head

"Quite a Lovey-dovey moment you had, how boring- don't think about him after all-", He laughed

"Sorcerers die, left and right, for a weakling like him to even reach so far- heh", the red eyes contrast with the white snow, that smirk plastered on his face, you knew it far too well

"Sukuna-sama", you bowed your head, and before you knew it, the bira-bira was removed from your hair, between his fingers- he gazed at it

"Do not wear it, especially, in front of me, toss it away, gold looks better on you anyways, accompany me Y/n", tossing the bira-bira back to you, he leaned in

"Your Oka-San sure is quite a woman, quite a gamble she has made", he chuckled, "Isn't she far too greedy?"

"She is, I won't lie, but this greediness has brought her so far", you gave a light chuckle as you looked at him

"Then if I am greedy for you- Will I be able to go as far as I want Y/n?"

Footnote: Check out masterlist for all chapters!

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in1-nutshell · 2 months

Text

Bot Buddy the single parent with a sparkling and being friends with Swerve

SFW, Platonic, Familial, Cybertronain reader

MTMTE

Swerve has a lot of respect for Buddy.

Who else goes on a ship looking for a new life for them and their sparkling?

Not a lot of bots sadly.

Buddy and Swerve first met in one of Blurr’s races.

Swerve had just left with his supposed hero’s number in servo when he noticed a bot holding a sparkling trying to open a door with their pede.

Swerve opens the door for the bot.

The bot looks in surprise at the open door and looks down at Swerve.

“Please, after you.”--Swerve

The bot goes through and turns to smile at him.

“Thank you so much! I’ve been trying forever to try and get that door open, but you can only do so much when your servos are tied.”--Buddy

Swerve just smiles before looking at the sparkling who was staring at him curiously.

“No Problem! Happy to help!”--Swerve

The bot looks at a nearby confection stand.

“Hey, let me buy you something as a way to say thanks.”--Buddy

“Oh, there’s no need—”--Swerve

“BAH!”--Sparkling

The bot smiles a bit.

“I think they’re insisting too…”--Buddy

“Oh! The names Swerve!”--Swerve

“That’s a nice name, I’m Buddy.”--Buddy

After a bit of talking the two had exchanged numbers and the rest was history.

Buddy doesn’t go on the ship immediately; they ended up on the ship as Megatron’s official guard.

It took a lot of convincing to get they’re only sparkling to come aboard the ship.

When Swerve heard about his friend joining the ship, he made sure to be one of the first to meet them.

Buddy was so relief to see a familiar face when they entered the ship’s entrance.

The sparkling was just cooing and giggling hearing the familiar voice.

Swerve loves the little sparkling.

The sparkling gets very attached to him and their parent when more and more unfamiliar faces start to appear.

“Hey Swerve, have you seen—”--Buddy

The sparkling is crawling on the floor with Swerve crawling behind them.

��Imma getcha! Imma get—"--Swerve

Swerve pauses and looks at Buddy who’s leaning on the door frame with a tired smile.

“I take it you got them?”--Buddy

The sparkling perks up and happily crawls to their parent.

Buddy picks up their sparkling as Swerve stands up brushing the imaginary dust from his armor.

“We just finished one of those Earth dino films and they wanted to play dinos so…”--Swerve

Buddy chuckles a bit and pats Swerve on the helm.

“Thanks Swerve.”--Buddy

Swerve looks a bit more at Buddy’s tired face.

“You know I don’t mind watching them for a while longer. Really! Anyways I think a few hours of recharge would do you good. You look like Whirl after that 36-hour cocktail binge last month.”--Swerve

“I’m fine Swerve—”--Buddy

Swerve gives them a look.

Buddy sighs before giving him their sparkling.

“Only for an hour.”--Buddy

“I’ll wake you up Buddy.”--Swerve

Buddy smiles at Swerve and their sparkling and walks back to their habsuite for some extra sleep.

Swerve knows that Buddy’s job isn’t easy and long night are a common thing, but it turned into a real nightmare when the sparkling was awake or had a nightmare.

He did his best to help Buddy with their sparkling so they could at least get an hour or two of sleep or work done.

One of the best ways he has figured out to get both Buddy and the sparkling to relax a bit was through movie nights.

He has all sort of kid’s movies or softer toned ones to entertain them both or just the sparkling and let buddy sleep through it.

It’s mainly a minibot club that joins in for the movie nights, but on the occasion, they’ll get other bots to join in.

While watching Beauty and the Beast.

“When is Belle going to use that knife and kill the Beast?”--Whirl

“Whirl this is a kids movie!”--Swerve

“And? The last ‘kids’ movie you put on had that earth cats creator die from that free fall.”--Whirl

“Wait he died!?”--Tailgate

“Yes?! Weren’t you—oh yeah, you left in the middle for a snack break.”--Whirl

“Shhh! Buddy’s sleeping. Keep it down a bit.”--Rewind

Whirl sassily waves his claw dramatically draping part of his frame on Cyclonus who was holding Tailgate in his lap. Tailgate was holding the sparkling on his lap, both extremely invested in the movie.

The sparkling is very shy meeting the new bots but does warm up to them with some time and with enough talking.

They prefer the minibots a lot more than the rest of the crew.

It may or may not be because they associate smaller bots to Swerve.

Tailgate loves playing around with the sparkling.

But he can only play certain things with them.

One time Tailgate thought it was a smart idea to bring the sparkling on his hoverboard to take a quick ride around the ship.

Buddy, Swerve, Cyclonus and Whirl walking down the hall.

“Do you think they’re okay? It’s been a couple of hours…”--Buddy

“You worry too much Buddy; Tailgate isn’t going to let anything happen to them. Tell them Cyclonus.”--Swerve

“Tailgate would never put your sparkling in harm’s way.”--Cyclonus

“Hmm…”--Buddy

“Please! What is the worst thing Panic buttons gonna do? Take them on a high speed chase—”--Whirl

Tailgate zooms past them with the sparkling strapped on their sling.

“HI! BYE!”--Tailgate

Rodimus is chasing after him with Drift following closely behind.

“…I stand corrected.”--Whirl

THUD!

Buddy falls backwards fainting.

Swerve is by their side slightly panicking that his friend just passed out.

Rewind shows pretty colors and shapes to the sparkling.

He teams up with Chromedome in trying to get them to say their first words.

Both secretly think this is their idea of practice in case either wants a kid in the future.

“C’mon say ‘Rewind’.”--Rewind

“Or Chromedome.”--Chromedome

“That’s too long.”--Rewind

“And Rewind is too complicated.”--Chromedome

Brainstorm comes into the room.

“Brainstorm?”--Chromedome

“I brought the new binary gun designs—”--Brainstorm

“Bwainstorm.”--Sparkling

“…”--Everyone

“EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!”--Brainstorm

Brainstorm picks up the sparkling who just looks confused while Rewind face palms and Chromedome just chuckles a bit.

“Buddy is not going to like this.”--Rewind

Swerve is the sparklings favorite.

They have him wrapped around their digit and everyone knows that.

He gives the best bedtime stories, and they love hearing his voice.

The sparkling will get excited whenever they hear their parent of Swerve talk.

Swerve is Buddy’s go to babysitter but knows that they can’t rely on just him and the mini’s. They do take more of an effort to formally introduce their sparkling to the rest of the crew.

A safety precaution if you will.

Buddy pointing at a picture of Swerve.

“Safe?”--Buddy

The sparkling nods.

Buddy shows them a picture of Lockdown.

“Safe?”--Buddy

The sparkling shakes their helm.

Buddy shows a picture or Whirl.

“Safe?”--Buddy

The sparkling nods their helm.

“HA! Take that Magnus!”--Whirl

Whenever Buddy has a mission out of the ship and Swerve is babysitting them at the bar, he puts up a sign announcing when the baby is present.

This is a universal sign of being on your best behavior or he will sic Magnus or Ten on you.

#transformers x reader #maccadam #bot buddy #idw mtmte #mtmte x platonic reader #mtmte x reader #mtmte swerve #mtmte swerve x platonic reader

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jasontoddsmommyissues · 1 year

Text

Let’s Give ‘Em Something to Talk About

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Femme!Henderson!Reader

Summary: Y/N Henderson’s relationship with Eddie puts her at odds with Jason Carver and co.

Warnings: Reader uses she/her pronouns, bullying/harassment, slut shaming, allusions to sexual content (nothing sexual actually happens), Jason being a prick, swearing, Reader is Dustin’s sister but no physical descriptions are used and you can read it as an adopted sibling if you want, I think that’s it but let me know if I missed something

A/N: Alright, this is the first Fic I’ve ever posted on here. I’m honestly a little nervous, but hopefully you enjoy. I’ll probably end up posting this on my Ao3 too so I’ll link that at some point.

My Master List | Ao3

—

“I’m gonna miss you”, Eddie whines as he leans against the locker next to yours.

“It’s one class”, you reply as you swap out your English textbook for history, “that’s, what, an hour?”

“Actually I have Davis’s class next so it feels more like three hours”, Eddie says.

You snort. Mr. Davis has probably been around since the dinosaur era, and if there were to be a competition for most boring teacher at Hawkins High, he would win it hands down.

“It’s not funny”, Eddie teasingly pouts, “I might actually die of boredom.”

“As much as I would hate for that to happen, I’ve got my own class to get to, so unfortunately you’re on your own for now,” you reply.

“Alright well, please tell the rest of Hellfire I’m going to miss them”, he tells you, “and feel free to wear that black skirt of yours to the funeral. The tight one. It’s what I would’ve wanted.”

You roll your eyes affectionately before pressing a quick kiss to his lips.

“You’re so dramatic”, you say, “I’ll see you later.”

“If I survive that long”, he calls. You shake your head before turning the corner and heading into your history classroom.

“Okay, class”, your teacher, Mr. Price announces once the bell rings, “I’ve written some questions on the board. You’ll find the answers in Chapter 5 of your textbook. Write them down and turn them in by the end of class. You may work with a partner if you’d like.”

You pull your textbook out of your bag and flip to a clean sheet in your notebook. You don’t have any friends in this class, so you figure you may as well just do it yourself and get it over with. That is, until a voice startles you as you’re about to start reading the first page of the chapter.

“Hey, Y/N. Do you wanna work together?”

You blink up at the source of the voice and are pretty sure you must be hallucinating. That’s the only explanation you can think of as to why Jason Carver would be asking you to be his partner.

The two of you have been in the same grade since Kindergarten and you can't think of a single time in all those years that he’s directly acknowledged your existence. The closest thing you have to a connection with him is that your little brother is friends with one of his new Basketball recruits, but you kind of doubt he even knows or cares about that. There’s a few members of his little posse he could be asking to work with him, so you have no clue why he’d be asking you of all people. But, you don’t have anyone else, so you shrug.

“Sure, I guess”, you say.

“Great”, he smiles, moving to sit down next to you.

“I’ll get started on number 1”, you suggest, “maybe you can do number 2 and we’ll compare?”

“Sure”, he says sweetly. You’re honestly getting a little freaked out by how friendly he’s being.

You both do your agreed upon work, and then switch off to show each other your answers.

“So?” you ask when he’s finished reading yours, “does that seem right?”

“Yeah”, he replies, “you’re good at this. You ever thought about being a tutor?”

“Oh, no, not really”, you say.

“See, I just ask because our youth group has this program where some of us older members help the younger kids out after school and stuff.”

“Oh, that’s cool”, you tell him, not really engaged the conversation. It all sounds well and good, but you really aren’t interested in being a tutor at the moment.

“You know, the church has a lot of great programs”, Jason continues, and you’re not sure what any of this has to do with the Byzantine empire, which is what you’re supposed to be discussing.

“Okay”, you say.

“They do a lot of outreach, a lot of stuff to help people who have lost their way.”

“Lost their way?” you inquire, a small part of you beginning to understand what’s actually going on.

“Yeah. You know. Made bad choices, got mixed up with the wrong people.”

“Um, I think we should just get back to the assignment”, you suggest, uncomfortable with the discussion and not wanting it to go any further.

“Look”, Jason sighs, “what I’m trying to say is, I don’t know you very well, but you seem like a nice girl. I’d hate to see you go down a bad path.”

Okay. You get it now, and it’s starting to piss you off.

“Thank you, but I’m doing just fine”, you insist.

“You’ve been hanging around with Eddie Munson”, Jason says, as if it’s some scandalous secret and not just you spending time with your boyfriend, “you really shouldn’t do that, you know…”

You stare at him, a little dumbfounded he would just up and say such a thing to you.

“You can’t be serious…”, you say.

Jason leans in to you, a deadly serious expression on his face.

“I’ve heard about guys like him before”, he tells you, “I know the stuff they’re into.”

Yeah, so do you. It’s tabletop role playing games, which is about the least nefarious activity you could possibly think of. Jason clearly doesn’t see it that way, though, because he’s still going on.

“And I know they like to lure innocent people like you into their little organizations. I’m telling you, Munson is bad news. You should stay away before you get hurt.”

You seriously have to hold yourself back from laughing right in Jason’s face. You’re not sure what reality he’s living in, but it clearly isn’t the same one you are. Last weekend, you and Eddie had watched Terms of Endearment and he’d started to cry (well started tearing up at least, even sniffled a little, though he vehemently denied it). There’s not a single situation in which you can ever imagine him causing you intentional harm.

“Okay, you know what”, you say, “I think I’m gonna finish the rest of the assignment alone, thanks.”

Jason grabs your arm gently but firmly. “I’m serious, Y/N. He’s dangerous. Stay away from him before you end up hurt or killed.”

You’re really not sure what the most offensive part of all this is. It’s either that Jason thinks that somehow Eddie Munson, your lovable dork of a boyfriend,is secretly an evil Satanist cult leader, or that you’re apparently too stupid or naive to make that kind of judgment for yourself. Maybe it’s that he volunteered to work with you on an assignment and acted all friendly with you just so he could get this opportunity to preach to you about your supposedly “dangerous” lifestyle. He’s never given you the time of day before, after all.

“I don’t know what it is you think you see in him, but I promise you it’s not going to end well.”

You snort. Is he, what, jealous or something? He’s got a girlfriend, after all, and plenty of other girls who’d be willing to take her place if she were to leave him. It’s kind of sad that he’s apparently so insecure that the mere thought of Eddie Munson getting female attention is enough to have him losing his shit like this.

“Whatever”, you spit, “just leave me alone.”

He glares at you, but ultimately turns his attention to his textbook and doesn’t speak to you for the rest of the class.

You happily shove the encounter out of your mind once the bell rings. You’re perfectly content with the social circle you keep, and you’re not going to let some jock with an inflated sense of self importance change that.

Jason apparently doesn’t do the same because he spends lunch glaring at you from his table. Granted, him shooting disgusted looks in the general direction of the Hellfire Club is a regular occurance, but today he’s making it obvious his ire is directed specifically at you.

“What the fuck is his problem?” Eddie asks.

“I dunno”, you shrug, “he’s just an asshole.”

Eddie peers at him for a moment and you can see a familiar glint of mischief twinkle in his eye. Before you can comment, he’s dramatically pushing himself to his feet and sauntering over to Jason and company.

“What do you want?” Jason demands.

“Couldn’t help but notice you staring”, Eddie says, “just wanted to let you know that I’m flattered, but unfortunately you aren’t really my type. Sorry.”

“Fuck off”, Jason barks, “disgusting freak.”

“Don’t take it too hard”, Eddie says, giving him a joking pat on the shoulder before making his way back over to you. You stifle a laugh at the indignant look plastered on Jason’s face. Eddie shoots you a proud grin and you shake your head affectionately. Jason clearly doesn’t know shit about “guys like Eddie.”

The next few days pass by uneventfully. Jason doesn’t try talking to you again, which you’re thankful for. Wednesday starts out normally, you go to history, and Jason roundly ignores your presence. Then you have to go to your next class, which is gym.

Definitely not a favorite of yours, and you don’t even have Eddie in your class to ease the pain. You make it through your warm ups, and then the coach has you split up to practice your volleyball serves. Everything’s going well until Andy, one of Jason’s buddies, approaches you out of nowhere.

“Hey, Henderson”, he says, a smirk on his face, “you think you could score me some weed?”

You look at him, confused. You don’t get involved in Eddie’s side hustle, so you’re not sure why he’d ask you.

“What?”

“Oh, I just figured you probably get a good discount”, he goes on, “I mean, that’s why you let Munson fuck you, right?”

You freeze in shock, your cheeks starting to grow hot. You can’t say you’re used to people making comments about your sex life, especially not to your face.

“I mean, I gotta say”, Andy continues, a cruel glint in his eye, “I didn’t take you for a slut. But come on. Spreading your legs for that freak? Jesus, that’s sad. You know, I’d be happy to show you a good time, since you’re so desperate for it.”

You can only stand there, mouth agape. Sure, you’ve gotten a gross comment or two from a male classmate before, but nothing like this. You certainly have never been called a slut before. You try to formulate a response, but you can’t come up with one. It doesn’t matter anyway, because the coach’s whistle rings out, signaling for you all to hit the changing rooms. You dash out of the gym, more than pleased to be away from Andy.

You hop in the shower in the locker room, take a few moments to shake off the discomfort of the interaction. You’re not entirely successful in that endeavor, because it keeps playing in your mind even after you’re dressed and making your way back into the hallways.

You have no idea where the hell Andy came up with all of that. At this point, it’s common knowledge that you and Eddie are dating, but you don’t know where this idea that you’re sleeping with him for drugs came from. It couldn’t be further from the truth.

“Hey, Beautiful”, you’re distracted from your thoughts by Eddie, who comes happily bounding over to you. His face falls when he sees the look on your face though.

“You okay?” he asks.

“I’m fine”, you say. Something about the idea of telling Eddie about what happened leaves a bad taste in your mouth. It’s embarrassing, and you definitely don’t want him to feel like it’s somehow his fault that Jason and Andy are giving you a hard time.

Besides, it doesn’t matter. Once again, nothing they say about you or Eddie is true. You can’t let some stupid jocks get to you.

Honestly, you probably could’ve been okay, if that was the end of it. Unfortunately, things only get worse the next day.

As you make your way to your seat in history, you catch sight of Amber and Samantha, two cheerleaders who like to hang around Jason and the others, whispering as you walk by.

You ignore them, figuring you’re being paranoid and they probably aren’t even talking about you, but when you sit down, Amber turns and looks you right in the eye.

She raises her voice then, clearly intending for you to hear what she’s saying.

“I hope she’s gotten tested”, she tells Samantha, “I can’t imagine what nasty shit the Freak is passing on to her.”

You take a deep breath, turning away from her.

It doesn’t matter, you tell yourself, it’s not true.

“I hope the drugs are worth it,” Samantha says.

You clench your jaw as you slip into your seat. It shouldn’t bother you so much. It's not true, and even if it were, who cares what Amber and Samantha have to say about it?

You’re dating Eddie because you like him. You like the way he’s always joking around and making you laugh, you like that he makes a point of looking out for Dustin and his friends, you like the way he looks at you with those big puppy dog eyes and flashes that mischievous grin. Cheap access to his drugs has never even crossed your mind.

You shouldn’t concern yourself with what they say, you know that, but hearing your name in connection with “slut” grinds at you.

During gym class, you do your best to avoid Andy, because everytime he notices you looking at him, he’s making some suggestive gesture at you. You don’t bother telling anyone about it, since Andy’s on the basketball team and the coach would probably take his side.

In the hallway, you accidentally bump into Patrick from the basketball team. You mutter an apology, which he accepts, but his girlfriend gives you the dirtiest look you’ve ever seen.

“Don’t talk to her”, you hear her tell him as you walk away, “she’s a slut.”

All of the gossip has put you in a foul mood by the time you get to your second to last period of the day, which happens to be study hall.

Like always, it’s in the cafeteria, with you and a bunch of other students of varying grade levels all sitting around doing your homework. Technically, you’re not supposed to talk, but the teacher in charge is way too underpaid to worry about enforcing that, so you can usually get away with conversation as long as things don’t get too rowdy.

You’re not taking advantage of that today, rather trying your best to distract yourself by actually doing your homework. You’re halfway through summarizing Act 3 of Hamlet when you hear someone say your name.

“Hey, Y/N…”

You’re confused when you look up to find Lucas standing there. Technically, you’ve known him for years, but it’s not like you’ve ever associated with him outside the time he spends with Dustin.

“What?” you ask, a little meaner than you mean to.

“I just thought you should know that…well, I think Jason has been going around saying things about you.”

Of course. You should’ve known Jason was behind this. Jason fucking Carver. Captain of the Basketball Team. Active member of the local church. Son of one of the most respected families in Hawkins. He’s clearly used to people listening to whatever he has to say. Apparently, his ego couldn’t handle you dismissing his comments about your relationship with Eddie.

Jesus, you’d always known he was a bit of an asshole, but this is a level of pettiness you’d never expected, even from him.

“Don’t tell him I told you”, Lucas adds, “but I just thought you should know.”

“Thank you”, you say. You’re definitely glad to have that piece of information.

The next day, you storm into Mr. Price’s classroom with righteous fury coursing through your veins. You bypass your desk and instead march straight up to Jason.

He pauses his conversation with Andy and Samantha when he sees you approach.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” You demand.

“Excuse me?” Jason asks.

“I know you’ve been starting rumors about me”, you tell him, “what exactly is your problem, Jason?”

“Me? I don’t have a problem”, Jason insists, “I just think it’s fair the men of Hawkins High get a warning about your ‘extracurricular’ activities.”

You can feel heat flood your cheeks.

“You’re a dick, Jason!” you hiss.

“You know, Y/N”, Jason retorts, “I actually feel bad for you. I mean, no decent man is ever going to want you when they find out you’ve been giving it up to some trailer trash freak.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about”, you snap.

“Believe me, I know exactly what happens to girls who hang around with filthy, Satan-worshiping scumbags”, he says, “and you know what? I’m not going to feel sorry for you when they’re finding your body dumped in the woods.”

“Get over yourself!”

“Whatever”, Jason shakes his head, “I’m not gonna take the attitude from some little slut.”

You’re not fully in control of yourself during what happens next. One second you’re standing there listening to Jason degrade you, the next your fist is connecting with his face.

He stands there, stunned for a moment, before opening his mouth to say something. He doesn’t get the chance though, because Mr. Price gets to it first.

“Ms. Henderson”, he gasps, “Mr. Carver, what on earth is going on here?”

“She punched me in the face”, Jason spits accusingly.

“I-I…I’m sorry I…”

“Enough”, Mr. Price sighs, “I want both of you going to the principal’s office right now!”

You’re in deep shit. That much is immediately clear. You punched Jason Carver in the face. It’s not like you even claim it was self defense, since he didn’t do anything physical to you.

“So”, Principal Higgins sighs, “tell me what happened again?”

“She punched me in the face”, Jason hisses.

“Is that true?”

“Yes”, you sigh, “but he called me a slut.”

Principal Higgins rubs his temple, processing the information. Meanwhile, Jason’s gaze is fixed firmly on you, his eyes full of hatred.

“Mr. Carver”, Higgins says finally, “that is not appropriate language to use in regards to another student. You may go back to class, but I better not hear about something like this again.”

Jason stands and marches out of the office, as if he has a right to be pissed about Higgins’ scolding. You suppress the urge to roll your eyes. Of course he gets a slap on the wrist. Nobody wants to punish the star basketball player. You’re certain that if it were anyone else, Eddie or Dustin or one of the other Hellfire Club members, they definitely wouldn’t be getting off so easily.

“Now, as for you Ms. Henderson”, Higgins says, “we do not allow for any sort of violence in this school. However, in all your years at this school, you have never had to receive any form of discipline. So I’m willing to be flexible here. Normally, something like this could be grounds for suspension, but since this is your first time, I say it’s two weeks detention after school starting next Monday. Does that sound fair to you?”

Not really, no, but you can’t say that.

“Yes”, you reply instead.

“Alright. Good. Now go back to class. And Ms. Henderson, I sincerely hope I won’t have to see you in my office again.”

You’re in a bad mood when Mr. Price’s class finally ends. You’ve gone your entire high school career without getting a detention and now you’ve ruined that over some pompous dick bag. Speaking of, Jason has been staring daggers at you since you returned to class, and is continuing to do so even now as you’re leaving.

There’s a tense, awkward moment where you both stand there in the hallway, glaring at each other, but it’s broken when the force of a body colliding with your back almost takes you off your feet. Jason is forgotten when a pair of arms wrap around your waist from behind.

“Eddie”, you huff playfully.

“How’d you know it was me?” he asks as you turn around to face him.

“Cause you can’t keep your hands to yourself, Munson”, you reply.

“Don’t blame me”, he replies, “you know I’m powerless to resist your charms.”

Before you can reply he’s pulling you close and beginning to press kisses to your cheek. You know the two of you are making a scene, and on any other day you might be a little self conscious about it, but today you’re just glad to have him around.

His kisses stop suddenly and you realize he’s stopped because he’s finally noticed Jason’s hateful glaring. Unfazed as always, he just flashes a cocky smile and gives Jason a mocking impression of a friendly wave. Jason makes a face like he’s wishing for both you and Eddie’s violent deaths.

“Geez”, Eddie comments, “he looks pissed.”

“Um, yeah, probably because I punched him in the face”, you mutter.

Eddie’s eyes widen in obvious surprise.

“He had it coming”, you add, “he was being a Dick.”

You know you don’t have to defend yourself to Eddie. He knows better than anyone how nasty Jason can be.

“My, my, Fair Lady Henderson”, he smiles, “I dare say that was very Metal of you.”

“Yeah, well, Higgins didn’t think so”, you reply, “I got two weeks detention for it.”

“Ol’ Higgins never did have a sense of humor”, Eddie says, “but from where I’m standing, you’re basically a hero.”

“Really?”

“Hell yeah”, Eddie tells you, “Jason and his goons have been making our lives miserable for years.”

You can’t help but smile at that. You’re definitely not happy with the day’s events, but knowing Eddie’s on your side makes it a little more bearable.

On Monday you begrudgingly make your way to Mrs. Cline’s room for your first day of detention.

“Ms. Henderson?” she asks when you walk in.

“Yeah”, you say, a little embarrassed.

“Wonderful”, she says, checking your name off of a list in front of her, “please take a seat.”

There’s only two other people in there with you, so you just pick a seat as far from them as possible and sit down.

“Alright”, Mrs. Cline says, “looks like everyone’s here except…”

“I’m here.”

You look up in surprise to see Eddie come walking into the room.

“Ah, yes, Mr. Munson”, Mrs. Cline says dryly, “what a surprise. Please take a seat.”

You know that Eddie isn’t a stranger to detention, but it’s weird that he didn’t mention anything to you when you’d told him about it. He walks over to the desk next to yours, looking way too pleased for someone who’s about to serve a stint in detention.

“What are you doing here?” you ask.

“Oh, you know, got caught vandalizing the boy’s locker room during free period”, he tells you.

“What? When?”

“Friday”, he says with a satisfied smirk.

You frown. This must’ve happened after the whole Jason thing on Friday which means…

Which means Eddie did it knowing that you were also going to be in detention.

“Eddie”, you say, “did you get detention just because I did?”

“I couldn’t let you have all the fun, could I?” he grins.

You can’t help but smile along with him.

“Mr. Munson, Ms. Henderson”, Mrs. Cline calls from her desk, “no talking during detention.”

Eddie mimes zipping his lips and waits until Mrs. Cline looks away before giving you a playful wink. You stifle a giggle.

You don’t know Jason all that well, but you’re pretty sure he would never dream of landing himself in detention just to keep his girlfriend company. You’ve never seen him make a scene in the middle of the hallways to get her to smile. That’s the thing about this that really gets under your skin. Jason and the others don’t know shit. They think that just because Eddie doesn’t fall into their narrow definition of “acceptable”, he must be scary and dangerous. They think that just because you’re not afraid of him, you must be dirty and corrupted. They’re too close-minded to look closer and see that Eddie is the sweetest boyfriend you could ever imagine, that you spend time with him because he makes you happy. They’d rather write him off as a freak and you off as a slut than accept that maybe their perception is wrong.

You’re far from being a violent person, but you can’t say you regret what you did. Jason deserved to be put in his place, and it’s not like you did any serious damage to him anyway. You’re glad you stood up for yourself, for Eddie. You’ve probably tacked “psycho bitch” onto your already unflattering “whore” reputation, but at this point, you’re not sure you care. If being a freak means you get to spend your days with the love of your life, you will gladly accept that label.

After the designated two hours are up, Mrs. Cline dismisses you all.

“Well, that wasn’t so bad”, you say as you and Eddie start making your way through the hall.

“Nah”, he replies, “I mean it’s boring but it’s not bad.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m definitely not planning on having to do this again”, you continue, “but it’s bearable.”

Eddie nods.

“I’m sorry, by the way”, he adds.

“For what?”

“Jason and the others. They’ve been giving you a hard time, right?”

“Yeah”, you shrug, “it is what it is. Not your fault.”

“I mean it kind of is”, Eddie replies, “they’re only doing it because you’re dating me.”

“Eddie”, you say, “Jason’s an asshole, okay? That’s not on you. If he can’t handle our relationship, then fuck him.”

That gets a grin out of Eddie.

“You know, you’re getting to be quite a rabble rouser, Henderson”, he jokes.

“I’m learning from the best”, you tease back.

Eddie’s smile widens. He follows you out to your car and then presses a soft kiss to your lips.

“See you tomorrow, Sweetheart”, he says and then heads off to his van. You watch him go, butterflies still lingering in your tummy from the contact.

If you’d actually had any doubts about Eddie, they would’ve disappeared in that moment. That feeling, it’s a one of a kind thing. No one’s ever managed to give it to you before, and you’re not sure anyone else ever will. You love Eddie. He loves you. He’s sweet, and silly and he treats you right. If your peers want to believe a bunch of bullshit about you two, then let them. You know what you have, and you’re not going to let them ruin it for you.

Grinning to yourself, you hop in your car, put the Black Sabbath tape you borrowed from Eddie into the player and head home.

851 notes · View notes

jisungchan · 2 months

Text

notice me | lee jeno

or: where your friends set you up (accidentally) so you end up alone with your hot college professor, lee jeno

⚔︎ warnings: professor!jeno x student!reader (therefore powerplay), unprotected penetrative piv sex (pls wrap it we cannot have anymore children in this economy and society), oral + fingering (f receiving) softdom!jeno x sub!reader (ish? not really strong dynamics tbh), bigdick!jeno agenda, light degradation/praise (idk he just yappin fr), oh yea... YAPPER JENO idc🗣, sexy consent, he finished inside so BEWARE (once again PLEASE do not bring anymore poor children in this world), light nipple play, marking ?? (hickeys galore), afab!reader with she/her pronouns, NO race specific descriptors (skin colour, hair texture, etc.), NO body type specific descriptors (size of reader body parts, height, weight, etc.). also this is basically porn w/o plot ngl but it's whatever ig

^^ let me know if i forgot anything hehe

2k word count

a/n: i completely gutted this blog and deleted all my old posts because that was a completely different audience/fandom and i have now ventured here... i haven't wrote something like this in a while so it's quite bad

“yeah i mean, he is hot, but he’s our teacher.” you exclaimed to your friends, gossiping about your teacher, professor lee jeno.

the way he would loosen his tie in class sometimes and peer at students through his glasses was just too much to handle. the dark haired older man was definitely easy on the eyes.

“okay… so? i would let him hit any day.” your friend said, and you all laughed, yet were all in agreement.

next thing you knew. it was time for class with the devil himself.

you sat in your usual seat next to your friends. while they all usually messed around during class, you always paid attention. your education was very important to you, and you weren’t going to let anyone get in the way of that. so you sat there, studiously taking notes and listening intently to everything said, taking it all in.

as you were taking notes, a note got passed to you. “listening extra hard to your boyfriend today huh?” you rolled your eyes at the familiar handwriting and shot your friends an irritated look.

professor lee got a glimpse of this, he peered through his glasses, and shot you a dangerous glare.

“y/n, see me after class please.” he said, before swiftly turning around to finish his lecture.

you couldn’t focus the rest of the class, so you settled for writing your thoughts in your notebook. how were you supposed to see him one on one? you could barely handle him in class. you made note to go off on your friends after you were done seeing mr. lee.

then, the bell rang. students fled the room, nobody quicker than your friend group, feeling a little guilty for getting you in trouble.

“so, y/n, passing notes in my class, are we?” he said, his back turned to you, erasing the board filled with an hour’s worth of notes.

“i’m sorry, it’s just a stupid note my friends passed to me.” you mumbled back. He motioned you to come to his desk as he sat down in his chair. of course you obliged, immediately going to the opposite side of his desk.

“let me see it.” he said emotionlessly, his hand out expecting it to fall in his palm.

“no sir, please, it’s just a stupid joke.” you pleaded, but his hand still was expectantly extended.

eventually, you dropped it in the palm of his large hands. he opened and read the note aloud, finishing with a hint of a little smirk.

you shuffled in place, cheeks burning and blushing from him reading it out loud, it was so embarrassing and you wanted to die on the spot.

“i see someone has a little crush. you’re a good student, you know that y/n?” he said to your surprise.

“thank you sir, i try my best.”

“and i think good girls deserve a little reward, wouldn’t you agree?”

you looked up to him loosening his tie and taking his jacket off.

“come, sit.” he said as he patted the desk right in front of him.

blindly, you obeyed. mind blurry from the very sudden and odd words coming from your teacher. you sat atop the desk, right in front of his sitting figure, and more importantly, his face. you kept your legs clamped shut, and you regretted wearing such a short skirt today.

“don’t be shy now love, like i said, good girls deserve rewards, now let me reward you, yeah?

you nodded, and with that, he separated your legs, staring hungrily at the wetness leaking through your underwear.

he laughed.

“already? i see that ‘stupid little joke’ must be getting to you, hmm?"

this was all too embarrassing, you tried to close your legs back, but jeno was too strong. he tsked and widened your legs even more. then, he scooped your underwear with one finger, tugging it down your legs.

“was so excited when i saw you with that note, finally had an excuse to get you alone.” he said, his hands lightly grazing your inner thighs.

he stood, hovering over you, and kissed you.

it wasn’t desparate and harsh, but slow and sensual. he licked your lower lip, then took it between his teeth. he placed his hands on your hips as he continued. he moved down to your neck, embedding hickeys into your skin.

“how true is that note? is that why you’re such a good student in my class?” he questioned you once again.

“yes, no? i do genuinely enjoy your class, sir” you breathlessly replied.

he sat back down, you could feel his breath on your wet, eager cunt, just waiting for him to do something about it.

and as soon as you uttered a

please

jeno wasted no time to please you.

his wet, experienced tongue masterfully landed on your clit, giving you little kitten licks. then, he pressed his lips on you, making out with your sloppy mess of a cunt. his tongue circling around your entrance, teasing it until finally replacing it with a finger. his tongue went back to stimulating your clit as his finger repeatedly abused your hole over and over again. he added another, and you’ve never felt so full. as if his long, veiny fingers weren’t enough, he curled them, hitting your sweet spot causing broken whimpers to fall from your quivering lips. moans escaped your mouth as he kept going.

as he heard your gasps of exasperation, he looked up, boring his brown eyes into yours.

“such a sweet pussy for a sweet girl.”

he continued his actions, until eventually you started getting restless, pulling on his hair tightly and squirming around.

“go ahead, cum on my fingers darling” he commanded softly.

and with that, you were sent over the edge, making a mess of his fingers and all over his mouth. you thought your ‘reward’ was finished, but jeno had other plans.

“you thought that was all? y/n, you are my top student, i have to treat you accordingly.”

then, he flipped you over on your chest, ass out in the air.

“no spanking this time, but if you act up again, i will have to punish you, okay?”

“yes sir!” you replied eagerly.

with that, he placed his throbbing cock at your entrance, teasing you and himself with just the tip. you hadn’t even seen his dick, but from the tip, you could tell it was big.

he leans over, chest to your back, speaking lowly in your ear,

“i’ll show you how a real man fucks,”

he pushes himself in a bit

“how you should be fucked”

he pushes himself halfway into you, you’re already whining at the stretch

“you’re gonna walk out of here and never want anyone else’s dick ever again.”

and with that, jeno forces the rest of his length inside you, licking the shell of your ear as he stands back up.

your pussy squeezes in shock from him throbbing inside of you. he hasn’t even moved yet, but you can already feel yourself becoming undone.

“you still with me baby? hmm? can’t have you fucked out when i haven’t even fucked you yet, can we?” he asks mockingly, squishing your cheeks with his hand to turn your face toward him.

jeno just thinks you look so beautiful, face flushed with lust and eyes glossy with desire as you shake your head no.

“use your words baby, need to hear how much you want your professor’s cock.” he starts shallowly thrusting, just enough to make you let out a quiet moan.

“please, fuck, please fuck me. needed you for so long.” you whine, attempting to grind back on him in effort to get some friction for your poor needy cunt. he picks up the speed, starting to drag his dick in and out at a more rapid speed. you can feel each vein massaging your gummy walls.

“fuck, me too baby. every time i saw you walk into class, just wanted to bend you over the desk and fuck you just like this. let everyone see how much of a slut you are for me.”

your head hangs down, forehead against the desk as he presses his hand in your back, causing you to arch even more. high on euphoria and need, you start bouncing your ass back on him, meeting him halfway. you hear a small laugh that turns into a low grunt at your actions, when he suddenly pulls out.

sad at the feeling of emptiness, you didn’t even have a chance to protest before he flips you around, ass on the desk and your arms keeping you sitting up.

“wanna see those pretty tits bounce when i fuck you.” is all he says, before he ruthlessly enters you again, going even faster than before.

you moan and clench around the feeling, never having felt so full before. you’re gushing around him still, causing his length to be covered with your slick, it even dripped all over his desk and over both your thighs; though, you’re too turned on and needy to even be embarrassed. all you need right now is to cum around him.

you lift your shirt up, granting his wish of seeing your chest bounce and jiggle as he fucks up into you. he groans and takes one in his hand, kneading it and rolling your nipple before pinching it, making you yelp. he then brings his head down to paint more hickeys all over your now exposed chest, leaving so many littered across your skin.

“is my pretty girl enjoying herself on my cock?” he hums as he kisses back up to your neck.

you moaned in response, not able to formulate words. his gentle question was contrasted by how hard he was ramming into you. with every thrust you heard your skin clapping together; you swore you both were going to break his desk.

“you’re gonna let me cum in you, right? be my perfect little student and let me cum in you, yeah?”

“yes please, god, i need you to cum in me. wanna be so full of you, please.” you choked out, furiously nodding your head.

he kept going at a steady pace, fucking himself into you over and over again, chasing after his release. he placed his thumb on your clit rubbing circles, with the other gripping your waist.

“cum with me, yea? make a mess on my pretty cock, okay?” he cooed in your ear once again. that was all you needed to finish, and you came all over him as he came inside of you.

after a moment of each of you catching your breath, he pulled out. you whined at the feeling, especially as you felt his cum start to leak out of you. he took his finger, gathering it, and pressed it back into you. you hissed at the feeling of his finger in your sensitive cunt again, but he kept fingering you through your overstimulation. the moment he placed his thumb on your cunt, you came for a third time, crying out his name.

he cleaned you up with his handkerchief, slipped your underwear back on for you, and even helped you fix your clothes and hair. he looked at you fondly as you soothed face, still showing evidence of your semi-fucked out state.

“you were so good for me, how about a free private tutor session at my place? i could go into so much more depth than what we discussed here.”

i do not give permission for my work to be translated or reposted.

#nephele after dark #nct #nct dream #lee jeno #jeno smut #jeno x reader #nct jeno #jeno #jeno imagines #nct drabbles #nct dream imagines #nct dream smut #nct imagines #nct hard hours

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bats-and-birds-24 · 11 days

Text

Tim acquires siblings:

Tim watched the January snow drift lazily down, a façade of calm punctuating a truly horrendous 24 hours.

He glanced down at the cast on the arm, and then at the towel that wiped off joker makeup and blood.

Tim relished the brief moment of peace in between being mother henned by Dick and Alfred. Bruce was down in the cave writing up the report.

He closed his eyes, how he managed to survive 10 hours of torture was beyond him.

He knew that he should be furious, terrified, or a crying mess, all normal responses to being tortured, but he couldn't find it in himself to care. All he felt was exhaustion and relief that the ordeal was over.

That's fine, he didn't need to address this trauma today, right now, all he had to do was rest. Tim drifted off to sleep.

Underneath the manor, Bruce finished typing up the incident report.

He nearly lost another Robin, and to the same villain no less. Had Joker been able to complete his plan, Bruce wouldn't have known what to do with himself.

First Jason, then Barbara, and now Tim.

Bruce called Barbara, just a check in with Oracle and his job would be done for the day. He could then go to sleep on the armchair next to Tim's bed.

He brushed the hair out of his face, "Oracle report."

Barbara's face popped up on screen, in a flat tone, she blandly stated, "There's nothing to report."

Bruce groaned inwardly, he knew what that tone meant.

He pleads, "Barbara please."

Barbara groans, "How could you let him get away again?"

Bruce starts, "Barbara we can't kill-" only to be cut off by Oracle. "I didn't say that you had to kill, I'm not even going to question why you resuscitated the Joker, but why on earth did you send him back to Arkham?"

Bruce rubs his eyes, " There wasn't any other option."

She scoffs, " Bullshit, you could have sent him to Blackgate or even to Belle Reve if you had pulled a couple strings. But no, you had to put him back in Arkham, where he lays low for a few months, only to break out and cause mass casualties all over again."

Bruce averted his eyes.

With a sigh she says, "Goodnight Bruce." and the feed cuts off.

Bruce stares at his reflection on the black screen. He swallows his pride and prepares for his vigil next to Tim's bed.

In the living room, Dick sat on the couch, cereal bowl in hand, watching some sort of game show.

The scene was in such stark contrast with how his day had gone so far, that he had to choke down a hysterical laugh.

Finding it impossible for him to focus on the show, he turned off the TV.

It was fine, they got Tim back safely and the Joker is still alive, and locked up in Arkham. He'd probably break out in a few months but they can deal with that then.

Dick didn't kill anyone, Bruce made sure of that.

No matter how hard he tried, his mind still lingered on the thought, "I could have killed him". But he didn't, and if there was ever anyone in the world who deserved to die, it would be the Joker.

If anything, he should be relieved if Joker died, after all that he'd done to Jason, to Barbara, and now to Tim.

Dick shuddered, a flash of shame jolting through his body, what would Jason think of him, putting his own sense of self righteousness over doing what needs to be done?

Dick got up and went to the kitchen to wash up. Those thoughts are best left for later. Right now, he has a baby brother to care for.

He saw Alfred ever dutifully cleaning up. The only sign that the usually stoic butler was drained were his bloodshot eyes.

Alfred reached out for Dick's bowl, only to be greeted with an apology.

"I'm sorry Alfred." They both knew that he wasn't referring to the bowl.

Alfred just sighs, "Not everyone is made to kill lad. I'm proud that you didn't break your oath." He paused, then said, "Although if the Joker and I ever crossed paths, it would end with a bullet between his eyes."

Dick nodded. Alfred looks up at him, "Get some rest lad."

Dick moved up to Tim's room and Alfred went back to the dishes.

It was going to be a long night.

#marked au #dick grayson #nightwing #batfamily #batsiblings #batfam #tim drake #red robin #robin dc #jason todd #red hood #batgirl #barbara gordon #oracle #alfred pennyworth #batman #bruce wayne #dc robin

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reiderwriter · 8 months

Text

Unlovable

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Reider Warnings: angst, canon death, cheating, implied infidelity, whump, angst, spoilers for Season 8 of Criminal Minds, mentions of shooting/ murder/ suicide/ general case facts. Summary: A stalking case brings back some bad memories for the BAU, but as the newbie, you're not sure why until you start recalling past case files you've read through. A/N: I wrote this as part of @tobias-hankel 's Pre-Whumptober Challenge, so it's short and sweet because I'm not great at angst, but it was a great challenge! I think this will probably be my last fic that mentions Maeve for at least a while because I'm getting a bit bored of writing around her lol, but let me know what you think with a like, comment, reblog, or message in my inbox!

It had been a few months since you’d joined the team, and you’d really thought you’d settled in well. After all, you’d worked on enough of their paperwork in your prior desk job to think you had a good grasp of everyone on the team’s working styles.

Until this case. They’d all been tense since the stalking case was called in, and you couldn’t figure out why. A girl had been taken captive by her stalker, whose identity had been so far unknown to the police department. As you sat talking through the possible suspects, you’d realized suddenly that you were the newcomer, an outsider in the team.

“Why is everyone so tense, we’ve worked cases like this one before, we can do this and save her.” You were hopeful of course, looking around the room to see if anyone else would agree.

“Each case is different, Y/N, you know that.” Morgan was the only one to reply, the others shooting careful glances around the room.

“But everyone is so tense for this one specifically, and I just don’t get it.”

“You read our case files, right?” Reid spoke up from the other side of the room. He’d been particularly tense on this one, and it was really his attitude that was worrying you the most. You’d become fast friends with him when you joined the team, and he was always happy and engaging with you. But there was something about this case that made him cold and distant and it was really rubbing you the wrong way.

“Yeah, I read all of them, but I don’t have an eidetic memory, so please, catch me up.”

“Maeve Donovan, does that ring a bell?” He almost spat the words out, but you were so thankful that he was even talking to you that you responded enthusiastically.

“Oh, of course, I read that case file. She was killed by her stalker, right? But we can’t base every case off our bad experiences, especially since that case had unforeseen circumstances.”

“Y/N,” Morgan gently warned you, but you were deaf to him as your eyes locked on Reid.

“Unforeseen circumstances?”

“She engaged in a relationship with an FBI Agent to help prioritize her case despite the fiance she had, which made her hard to track down to help. And her stalker was experiencing some serious delusions so you couldn’t stop her from killing both of them, but that’s a single case, and you’ve all worked at least ten other stalking cases in the past.

The air was sucked out of the room as Spencer stormed out, not bothering to tell you where you’d gone wrong. JJ trailed behind after him, going to pick up the pieces as the rest of them stared at you pityingly.

“Did I- Did I say something wrong?” You asked, but most of them just shook their heads and walked out.

“The agent she was dating was Reid. He offered to die instead of her, but that set her stalker off and that’s why she killed the both of them.” With each of Morgan’s words, you felt your heart drop.

“I didn’t-” You started but he cut you off with a pat on your shoulder.

“None of us were the greatest fans of Maeve after our investigation, but you weren’t here after she died. The kid was in pieces, and he still can’t really talk about it without some of those emotions creeping back in. Just… be a bit more understanding.”

You spend the rest of the case trying to apologize to Reid, but he avoids you like the plague, frustrating you to no end. You corner him one night on the way to his room, but he snaps at you with such violence you have to turn and run away before you let yourself cry in front of him.

Your resentment for Maeve grows as you watch him work though, seeing him become an empty shell of a man as he gets lost in his memory trying to save the new victim. You’re angry that she died, angry that she put him in that position, angry that no one forced him off the case, that no one foresaw the negative effect that this would have on him when it ended badly. You’re angry that she loved him first because your heart aches without his company.

Thankfully, the case ends well, and you manage to save the girl who has been abducted. You don’t even want to think about what that would mean for Reid, having to see the dead body of another girl knowing he couldn’t save them either. He practically runs off the jet when you land back at Quantico as you try, once again, to apologize.

Penelope comforts you at your desk as you cry, desperate to make things right. She’s the one who slips you his address, and not even an hour later, you feel like a shell of a person driving directly there, not stopping to worry about whether he’ll even see you.

When he opens the door, he doesn’t look surprised to see you. He doesn’t look anything at all, emotionally drained from the last week. You thought you would apologize right then and there, and leave, but he turns back into his apartment and you have to follow him in, saying nothing as he sets himself beside a chessboard again.

“Spencer…” you start, but you have to stop to swallow the lump forming in your throat. “I didn’t know you were the agent. I wouldn’t have said what I did had I known.”

“Would you still think it?” He asked sharply, and you can feel the anger in his voice. He’s trying to control it, but he’s never been the best at masking his emotions with his team members.

“Spencer, please, I’m trying to apologize.”

“Would you have looked at me with pitying eyes? The FBI Agent who couldn’t even save his girlfriend from a stalker. The girlfriend who probably didn’t even love him either because what is there to love about-”

“Spencer! Stop putting words in my mouth.” Your tone is harsh but it gets him to finally look up at you. His tone was angry, but his eyes were all despair, shining with tears as he tried, so hard, to pull himself together. He’s failing.

“Why am I so unlovable? What about me is so difficult to love?” Your heart breaks at his words. The way he says it sounds like he is genuinely searching for an answer, his eyes darting between your own as his body sinks in on itself, and you sink with him, wrapping your arms around him and pulling him into you.

“Nothing. Nothing, Spencer, you are so loved. You need to know that I love you, that we all love you, Spencer.” Your voice breaks a little at your confession, as you suddenly realize how true those words are.

“But she still died. I had to have done something wrong, but I play it back again in my head, every conversation and-” he breaks down in sobs then, his entire body shaking with the weight of his grief. The wound isn’t new but it runs deep, and you quietly sob beside him, knowing no matter how much you love him it won’t be enough to replace the love he lost with her.

#spencer reid #criminal minds #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid fanfic #criminal minds fanfiction #criminal minds fandom #spencer reid x self insert #spencer reid x y/n #maeve donovan #spencer reid x you #spencer reid angst #criminal minds angst #whump prompt #spencer reid whump #criminal minds whump

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zxvak47 · 8 months

Text

MINE ALL MINE, simon “ghost” riley

word count : 775

summary: simon and you were one confusing blend and as time went on the both of you parted ways. little did you know this wasn't the end

warnings: arguing? angst, fluff

song : My Love Mine All Mine, Mitski

So, when I die, which I must do

could it shine down here with you?

1 month earlier

"Simon..." you paused. For the last few weeks nothing was the same with you and Simon. It wasn't that he was gone all the time but just his demeanour wasn't the same. Most days you would come home to Simon in his Ghost balaclava and everyone knew what that meant. He was cold, or hostile then would come back hours later to apologize as Simon. You couldn't keep playing this game and once you offered a hand for help he refused. You were determined to make it work, but he wasn't.

"I'm not going to keep arguing..." you said clearly tired with all the bickering.

"It only took so long for you to give up on me" He argued, intentionally looking to egg you on.

"I'm not giving up Simon I'm just-"

"Your just what?!" You two were so happy before these last two weeks and it only made you wonder what went so wrong. What did you do? What didn't you do? But not once did you say to yourself that it was just 'Simon being Simon'.

"I am done! I can't stand to not do something about how you've been acting! Just... please go." You said, tears welling into your waterline as he stared coldly into your eyes, his own trying to find some sense into the mistake he was making by leaving you in that living room alone a crying mess.

There was no doubt Simon missed you. He wanted to call you back, answer all those voicemails of your soft and trembling voice.

"I know, and I'm sorry for the messages. I'm trying because I miss you... if I didn't try to get ahold of you I think I'd feel pretty bad about myself. Simon... just know that I'm here when you need me. You can come back to me when you need me, whenever you're ready...Goodbye."

You had sent that message three days ago and he would listen to it when he got the chance to be alone which was more often then usual now that you were gone. It was the same for you. You left voicemails after each call he didn't answer and each time you hoped just a al little bit that he would pick up the phone. He never did but you still hoped and had faith. He loved that about you. How you kept him happy and positive and how you two were one in the same. You can’t give that up, and he realized that now.

The ring if the door bell was heard in the other side of the door as Simons hand fell back to his side. He knew she cared, but what if it was too late for him to come back? How can he just let something, someone like her just leave?

The door opened and he looked up to the girl, removing his balaclava as you gave him a half smile, his eyes looking into yours waiting for you to give in and to which you did. You attached yourself to his torso hugging him in hopes he was really here to stay. He hugged back, resting his head on-top of yours as he gently caressed your back.

You gently let go of him as you held his hand pulling him inside.

You two wound up upstairs, your mouths like magnets. All he wanted was to be with you and vise-versa. He stopped though, letting you take a second to sit back. His hand held yours before he explained his reasoning.

“I don’t want you to think I only came back for the sex…let’s not tonight okay?” He said, his thumb gently gracing over the back of your hand. You smiled at him and kissed him once more.

“Okay” Not even devastated in the slightest, you fell back into his arms as he held you close to his own body. Neither of you needed to converse about what your place was with one another because you both knew it. Simon wanted to keep you safe at all costs, you were his main priority not even himself. You just wanted to make him feel like himself, let him enjoy his life without thinking of his past.

“I’m glad you came home” he looked down at you, swiping his fingers through your hair before pressing a kiss on your head

“Me too.”

#cod fanfiction #cod x reader #cod x you #call of duty x reader #cod #call of duty mw2 #cod mwii #cod ghost #simon ghost riley #ghost x reader #simon riley x you #simon ghost x you #ghost cod #call of duty modern warfare ii #call of duty #simon riley #simon riley x reader

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utilitycaster · 8 months

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Bells Hells Level 11!

As always: are there errors or major omissions? Let me know! Your preferred feat or spell isn't listed? That's because it's not my preferred feat or spell, and you should make your own post for your own preferences! Additionally, because level-ups are no longer done at the end of sessions but are rather their own separate videos, I now include speculation for the next level(s) since there's often very little time to speculate on the current level.

Chetney: Level 10 in Blood Hunter means Dark Augmentation and a 3rd blood curse. Dark Augmentation increases his speed by 5 feet/round and grants him a +3 (his Int modifier) to all physical saves. As for blood curses...they're fighting mages, so Muddled Mind is looking pretty nice, but Eyeless is also useful and Binding is very versatile. Looking forward: if he continues to level in Blood Hunter, his hemocraft die goes up to a d8, his strikes in his wolf form go up to a d8 and get +2 instead of +1 and he can use his wolf form twice between rests and he regenerates a small amount when he's below half-health. 11 Blood Hunter: It's a big level up, folks.

Laudna: She leveled up in sorcerer and took her ASI to max out charisma, which I support as someone who always respects a main stat boost. She gets a new spell and I would advise leaning into utility and taking Dimension Door, personally. Looking forward: I think I've made my feelings on the concept/multiclass clear in the past, but practically speaking, if you're progressing in sorcerer, it's probably wiser mechanically to keep doing so. Level 9 grants 5th level spells.

FCG: Begone Thot Destroy Undead improvement, and 6th level spells! I mentioned before that I'm really looking forward to Heroes' Feast. He also gets some big utility spells, notably Heal, True Seeing, and Word of Recall. Looking forward: 12 is an ASI and oh buddy please up your WIS score. A feat that does +1 to WIS is a valid choice, just...bring it to +4, please? For me? Observant would be fun if not super necessary since Orym's got that covered; skill expert could also be fun. But as stated with Laudna, straight ASI in your main stat is always a solid choice.

Fearne: Fearne took a second level in rogue, which grants her cunning action (dash, hide, or disengage as a bonus action) which is quite useful if she ends up in combat, especially since, despite a good HP roll this level, she's a touch squishier following her time with Novos. I actually support this, both because Ashley has a strong vision for Fearne and also because I think keeping the party dependent on the Staff of Dark Odyssey is good for the story - let's wait a bit longer until we get Transport via Plants! Let's take the scenic route! Looking forward: L10 druid is a good level - the Cauterizing Flames feature, which is a bit niche but extremely cool, is one I'm looking forward to. I'm not opposed to her moving forward with rogue, per se; I think if she does, Thief is the obvious (and correct) choice. However, Cauterizing Flames is really very good and I would like to see it.

Imogen: I mentioned Chain Lightning and True Seeing as some fun options for her. She also gets access to Disintegrate, which would be very fun to cast on, say, Otohan. Or Ludinus. Or her mom. Fuck them Vanguard. Looking forward: sorry got distracted by the idea of disintegrating the Vanguard members...12 is an ASI and honestly I'd just take the +1 to INT and WIS. Imogen's got so many feats, and I really think having better mental stats would be a great sign of growth, she's done the character work to deserve it, and it never hurts to roll a little better on a wisdom save (I say as a known dumper of WIS).

Orym: He can attack 3 times per round. This is why fighters are great. If you do not think fighters are great you can catch three attacks in six seconds from these hands. Looking forward: yes! it's yet another ASI/Feat. And once again, I think a stats boost is best. Tank better with a +3 to con, and then he can either get smarter, or get more charismatic if he's considering paladin (note: I like the idea of Orym remaining a pure fighter more, but I do not control the Liam, and he's a reliably thoughtful player mechanically so I'm interested in what he does. As always this is me saying opinions and not being prescriptive). He gets another ASI at 14 (fighters! best pure battle class!) while everyone else is getting class features so that's when I'd take a feat.

Ashton: Relentless rage - keep raging while unconscious! Very punk rock. Looking forward: Level 12 is an ASI and yes not to sound like a broken record, but max out that strength. It's up to you and Chetney, and who knows how much longer he'll be around.

#critical role #bells hells

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thedepthsoffandomminds · 4 months

Text

Episode eight - untapped potential

Masterlist

Jack Dawkins x fem reader

He would never be able to pinpoint the moment his eyes became so heavy that he fell asleep. Yet, it did take over him and soon it was morning you wake, bathed in the sunlight coming through the window and feel weight on your wrist. Jack seemed so carefree as he slept, curled on his side on your bed. What a sight you had woken to. You shift down to his level. Jack's eyes flicker open to meet yours.

"Belle says it's an aortic aneurysm, isn't it?" You whisper.

He clutches onto your hand. Jack can't speak, he wants to comfort you but hasn't got the words.

"Yes." He swallows the lump forming in his throat.

" And when it bursts, this is all over?"

"I don't wanna leave this world without knowing love fully." You say.

"You are loved. Fully." He assures you and you bring your lips to his. Your fingers start work on his shirt buttons. A look in his eyes asks you if you're sure and you nod. He spins you carefully on to your back resting above you and unties your nightgown.

*_*_*_*_*

"Some consider me innately cruel, but I simply see this as a necessary part of justice. For without the rope, society crumbles. The rope is the brute girdle that binds us up and keeps us safe. Yet the rope offers not just punishment, but salvation. Would you like to be saved, Mr. Fagin?" Gaines spoke.

" Very much, yes. What do you want?" Fagin asked with the noise around his neck

" Jack Dawkins."

*_*_*_*

"You can fix it. You and Belle. Astley Cooper performed the surgery 40 years ago. I read the case report." You say, cuddled into Jack's bare chest.

"He killed the patient." He reminded you.

"I know. I know, but medicine's changed. You changed it."

"y/n, there is a reason why the best surgeon in the century failed. You would die on the table." He held your face in his hand.

" I believe you can." You press him further.

"Please do not ask this of me." He begs you.

" So, what, you'll just hold my hand and see me into the next life? That's not good enough, Jack. Not if you really love me."

Your bedroom Door opens allowing your mother in, holding a tray.

"Here, darling, I've brought you some... " she gasps and rushes from the room. You look back at Jack before jumping out of bed. You both dress as fast as you can. A maid knocks on the door and enters.

"Lady Jane would like to see Doctor Dawkins in the study." She says, bowing her head to you.

"I love you." He replies before leaving the room. You drop down at your desk pulling a sheet of paper to you and start writing. When you're done you grab the closed suitcase and dart down to Belle's room.

"I love you." You say holding him to you. Jack kisses your lips.

"I need you to make me a promise." You say not giving her a chance to disagree.

"What's going on?" She asks.

You put the suitcase on her bed.

"You have to keep this safe. If I die give that and this letter to Jack. Read the letter to him." You correct yourself.

"If you die? Y/n no we won't let you! Jack won't let you" Belle was almost begging you. You shake your head and tears spill from you once again.

"I've ruined it all." You say.

*_*_*_*

"You're not to see my daughter again You pack your things, hand over your current patients to Dr. Sneed, and leave town by the end of the week." Lady Jane instructs Jack. He sits in the chair in front of the desk. He feels and looks small in the study.

"y/n is dying." He says catching himself on the words.

"So, you tell her she's dying to trick her into becoming your whore?" She spits the words at him.

"What?" The question had cut into him.

"Dr. Sneed examined her last night and found nothing wrong. Nervous strain. Eleven London doctors examined her supposed illness and found nothing." She explained to him.

"They are fools." He tries to fight back.

"But fools who can read." Lady Jane reminds him of his lacking knowledge.

"She wants me to operate. But that will kill her. I don't know what to do." He is begging your mother to understand, to listen to him. Every word he says breaking his heart apart.

"You stay silent. And you can thank God and my principles that the Governor will hear nothing of this. Otherwise, he'd certainly call for your head. Get out." She turns away from him and keeps it turned until she is sure he has left for town. Lady Jane wipes a tear from her eyes.

"We'll need to watch your waist. If it thickens, I'll find an excuse for you to visit your uncle in India for nine months. As long as nobody knows, we might be able to salvage your reputation." She says walking into your bedroom.

" You don't understand." You say turning to her.

" You're not dying. But you are being ruined and taken for a fool."

"Mother," Belle stepped between you. "Her aorta is swelling. Unless she has this surgery, it will rupture and she will bleed to death."

"Stop it! Just stop it! You are filling her head with nonsense. You are not a doctor Belle. I won't let you hurt yourself with that man." Lady Jane hissed and turned for the door.

" Then you'll get me killed." You call after her. Belle takes your hand.

"what do I do?" She asks.

"Make sure you know everything about this operation, he is going to need your help." You say.

*_*_*_*

"That's the rough end of the feather, that is." Fagin says to Jack, "No doubt about it."

"It's impossible. I can't see how to save her." Jack feels utterly alone in his despair, as if you had already left him.

"You see, I have an inkling of how that feels. Well, look at this pie. It's tasty, salty, bit of gristle, but otherwise, full of gravy. I'll enjoy it, it'll fill me heart, but then, it'll be gone. And I will take comfort knowing that just around the corner will be another pie." His aged companion said.

"You're seriously comparing the woman I love to one of Rotty's pies?" Jack huffed, ready to leave the table.

"Look. There are times in this life when we have to face the loss of something so precious, it makes the heart clench just to think of it. Love's frail, Dodge, it don't last. Especially not in our world. That's what gives it its pain. And it's also what gives it its shine because in the flickering of a glim, it's gone. I'm sorry, Dodge. Truly."

*_*_*_*

"Our daughter has lost her senses. Dawkins has convinced her that she has some appalling illness." Your mother tells the Governor.

"Now, now, calm down, Jane. I told her it's ridiculous."

The prof and Sneed are once again examining you. Sneed using his watch to count your pulse.

"This is a waste of my very limited time." You groan.

"Your mother asked for a full examination. So, here we are. Good news. You have a very treatable ulcer." Sneed announces to you.

" Nonsense. I have an expansive mass and a bruit. My aorta is whooshing. Listen. Please." Using the stethoscope he listens to the way your heart throbbed.

"Inconclusive." He says.

"You're an intelligent man. Why are you being a coward?" Belle repremanded him.

"I am a qualified doctor with years of experience and a degree from Oxford. It's an ulcer." He says through gritted teeth.

" To be a man, to not have to beg a lesser mind, to, "Please, sir, can you save my life?" You cry.

"Try and get some rest," he turns to Belle, "And I'll consider this outburst an emotional response to a trying day from.both of you."

" So, are you feeling better?" Your father shuffles across the room and sits beside you, taking up your hand, " 'Cause I wouldn't want anything to happen. Because I couldn't live with that. I just couldn't." He weeps.

"She needs bed rest for the ulcer to heal." Sneed tells Lady Jane.

"Yes, it would be, if it was, but in my clinical opinion... your daughter has a curable ulcer, and Dawkins has a great flair for the dramatic." He sighs at his own cowardous.

" And this aneurysm, is there anything in it?" She asks him. "Dawkins seems to think it might be rather bad."

Sneed looks over to you and Belle. A moment of consciousness titters through him. Could he be the one who shatters the Governor? Not even the Prof had dared.

She smiles at him, and glances back at her daughters. "My concern is that Belle may take matters into her own hands."

*_*_*_*

You had been locked in your bedroom for some time as had Belle. You hear gentle steps coming up the corridor.

"y/n? Y/n, are you all right?" She knocks on the door,

"Splendid!" You sigh.

"Would it cheer you to hear of my love for Mr. Oliver Twist? " Fanny tries to help.

"Go away!" You try not cry.

"y/n, just let me in."

"If it were that simple, I'd be letting myself out." You scoff.

" No, I mean, emotionally."

"You think I'm a madwoman, too?" You ask.

"No. You're the most brilliant person I know. Belle is beyond my capabilities as well, though she is a bit rude. But if you think you have this, and she does, then I believe you. And I'm scared because I do love you so. Even if you find me a bit annoying." She slips her fingers below the door and you touch yours to them.

"Fanny? I need your help." An idea had popped into your mind as a way to get Belle to the hospital.

Yours and Belle's rooms had an adjoining balcony with a spiral staircase leading down to the gardens. Fanny walked quietly towards the redcoat. She pretends to feel faint and begins to fall over. The guard runs to her and she keeps the act up until you and Belle run down the steps and away from the house.

You have to stop part way as your chest tightens once more. Belle holds onto you.

Finally at the hospital you dart down to the morgue where you find Jack already practicing.

"Jack?" Your voice is quiet. He looks up at you, staring as if he is seeing an angel.

"If you think it can be done," he nods to Belle, "and it is what you want y/n, then I will try. For you." He says, you rush forward, throwing your arms around him. Jack holds you close to him, his arms wrapping tightly around you. This felt like he could finally breath once more and he buries his face into your neck for a moment pressing soft kisses to your skin.

"You can read Prof's notes." He gestures his arm to the note book. His other arm still wrapped around you. Belle grabs up the book and starts reading. "Yes. Yes. Disagree with that. That's just plainly wrong. I don't need these." She drops the book on the table, "Found it from First Principles. What's important is to get the hand positions. Cut into the linea alba." She says. Jack helps you to a stool then darts to the cadava on the table.

"All right. I've got that far."

" Good. Now, make a small aperture into the peritoneum, insert your finger into the abdomen. Pass your finger between the intestines to the spine. And now, push the needle with the ligature behind it." Belle instructs him.

"So, just shove a needle through y/n's entire body without piercing anything." Jack looks at you.

"Take care not to nick the aorta." You say to him.

"I can't." Jack grunts.

"or break the spinal cord." Belle says.

" I can't do this blindly. I will paralyse you or I will kill you." Jack says to you removing the instruments from the body.

"No, it's doable." You say.

"Watch." Belle takes over, "There. Ligation's tied. No damage to the aorta or the spinal cord." She grins.

"Assuming that we can do this, how do I tie it tight enough to fix it, but not so tightly, it cuts the circulation off completely?"

" We'll fill the aorta with water and try." Belle suggests. you watch as they remove the heart and begin running water through the tubes. Your strong stomach will need a prize after watching this.

" Come on, we are so close." Belle says.

"Move"

"Clamped." Jack pulls away angrily as Belle continues.

"Jack!"

"Belle it doesn't work." He huffs.

"No." You came over and start moving things grabbing the equipment. Sure you knew what to do after watching them.

Jack takes your shoulders.

"Please, y/n stop." Belle calls to you.

" No!"

"Stop. It doesn't work." Jack pulls you backwards and you collapse against him. The two of you collapse to the ground.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Jack repeated, holding you to him as you both cry. Belle stands beside you both.

*_*_*_*

Returning home the two of step into the entrance hall and the chaos of your sister Fanny preparing her move to England. Trunks and bags were littered throughout the hall. Fanny looks up and sees you both, clocking the blood on Belle's hands.

"Oh, my God. What happened?"

" It's all right. It's someone else's." Belle replies.

" Did you do a murder? Is that why I broke you out?"

Belle doesn't reply. You see your mother by the stairs and walk up to her. Without a word you pull her into a hug, resting your head on her shoulder. Taking your hand she leads you back to your room.

"This will seem like cruelty, my darling, but I promise you, it's care." She tried to reassure you.

"Don't bother locking it. I'm not going anywhere." You sighs falling on to your bed. There seems to be nothing that can help you and you lay waiting for your fate.

Fanny comes into you and perches on your bed.

"I will miss coming to you, but I am so happy." She says. Turning you sit up and take her hands in yours.

"Fanny, you have the most beautiful soul, made only better by your face. I am going to miss seeing you every day. Try not to think of me too often." You tell her. Your sister understands your meaning.

"y/n, how could I not think of you every day? My first daughter will have your name so I might have just a little of you beside me." She grins and wipes away the tears. You hug her to you and you tell her you love her before she leaves for her new life.

You were sure she would flourish as a wife and Oliver did seem to be an agreeable man. Jack had known him from a long time ago. You decided that should you have the time you would have him tell you all about his life before he joined the navy. Pushing yourself from the bed you change from your dress into a simple chemise and your blue dressing gown. You wanted to be comfortable as you wrote out a letter to each member of your family.

With three done you ignore the spinning of your eyes and try to focus on your work. Your hand slips and knocks the ink pot over.

"damn." You say ripping the paper away to keep it from getting stained. Looking around you see another inkpot on your desk. Standing up you feel a tingle in your toes.

"no." You say to yourself and try to walk. Your foot is too heavy and you can't lift it. The blurring in your eyes becomes too much and you stumble against the table, knocking more things to the floor. You can no longer keep yourself up.

"No, Jack." You fall to the ground. With no strength to pull yourself up you lie awake on the green carpet. A cold is creeping into your skin. The tingle in your feet, becomes numbness until you can no longer feel them at all. Sure this was the moment you would die you began to pray, not for yourself or your soul, but for your family and Jack.

"y/n" his voice cut through the fog in your mind and he turned your limp body. "No, y/n" he grabs you up into his arms, a pistol in one hand.

"come on, stay with me." He begs you as he runs down the steps of your large house. Belle hears his steps and comes running out.

"What's happening?" She asks following Jack out to the delivery cart outside. He lays you into it and Belle gets beside the driver

"Drive, fast " she commands him. Jack has you in his lap, your head cradles against his body.

"stay with me y/n, please don't go yet." He repeats his plea to you all the way to the hospital.

Rushing inside, everyone who knows you turns to watch.

"Hetty! Prepare the surgery!" Belle shouts to the nurse as Jack carries you into the theatre

He lays you on the table, his hands cupping your face. Around him Belle and Hetty were rushing to gather everything he would need.

Sneed runs in.

"What on earth-"

Belle grabs him, "Rainsford, stop. Let us do this and I'll marry you as soon as you want." She says to him. He nods and backs up.

Jack presses a kiss to your forehead and you whimper, breath struggling to reach your lungs.

"I'm going to save, you okay. " He whispers to you. You nod as much as you could. " I love you. " Jack says again before placing the ether mask to your face. Everything for you goes black.

*_*_*_*

You began to dream, strange moments of fantasy and reality mixing together in swirls of bliss. At first your eyes are heavy and refuse to open so you stay and listen to your mother saying a prayer.

"Father, this is not okay. You must release Jack from prison." Belle implores her father.

"Governor, with all respect he saved your daughter's life. I was too afraid to tell you the truth before but, your daughter would have been dead if this operation had not happened." Sneed finally stands up for his beliefs.

"And no one else could have done it?" The governor asks.

"No, none of us are even an inch close to his skill. Your wife has sent the greatest surgeon of this century to his death." He repeats his previous words.

You can't tell why, but as you listen to them the feel of the room changes and you know you need to open your eyes. Your eyelids flick a few times before you focus on the ceiling above you. Instinctively you turn your head and see Jack outside the window.

"Jack." You say catching your family's attention.

"Let me see him?" You ask your father.

"No!" Lady Jane protests.

"let him in, let's give them some time." Your father says directing his family out of the door. Jack rushes in and drops down beside the bed taking your hands.

"What happened?" You ask seeing the blood and chains on his hands.

"your mother." He says. "I needed to know you were alive."

"You saved me." You say smiling at him, "I thought I was going to die without seeing you." Tears prick at your eyes.

"I would never let that happen." He kisses you. "I love you." He says.

"I love you too."

Jack tells you how the operation went and how Sneed had actually assisted him alongside Belle. You smiled as he talked, finally feeling like the two of you might have some peace.

The door opened, your father stepping in.

"I'm sorry my little dove, I have to break this up " he speaks solomnly.

"Why?" You ask.

"It is time for Jack to go. The guards are here for him." He explains. You shake your head.

"No, he did nothing wrong, father!" You begin to protest.

"y/n, it's okay. I'll go." Jack squeezes your hand. He presses one more kiss to your lips before pulling away. As he passed your father the governor stopped him.

"I'm sure this will all sort itself out soon enough, lad. Thank you for saving my daughter."

Jack gives him a quick nod, glances once more back to you before leaving.

Your father comes over to you and takes Jack's earlier place.

"Shall we settle all this silliness now?" He asks.

"Daddy, I love you but you need to use your backbone. Mother did not put you in your position, do not let her rule you. If Jack does not get out of prison I will return to England. If he stays I'll stay and with the money you gave me I will marry him. You cannot stop me. If he does I will never speak to you again." You say in the strongest voice you can muster. Your father sighs and pats your leg.

"There is no one I would rather lose you to." He grins and you know everything will be okay in the end. Little did you know what was happening at the harbour, or in the prison.

End of series one

Episode nine

@fandomfan-102

#jack dawkins x y/n #the artful dodger x reader #the artful dodger #jack dawkins

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inconmess · 1 month

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I've been building up this post for quite a while so I think everything in this post is kinda out of order and looks like a bit of a big word vomit... So sorry in advance. Also since it is kinda longer than I realise, I am putting it under the cut. And I am open to any discussion.

(Personally think I may have gotten a few things wrong and if so, please correct me?)

I think the thing about Orym and grief is... A part of him has never let himself grieve his loss properly. He has accepted that they are dead and will never come back, yes. He makes it a point to live up to them everyday, yes. But acceptance is not the same as grief, it is a part of it but not the same.

And this was an interesting discussion I was having with my friends and I feel that it strikes so true here, is the fact that you remember the worst moments of your life more vividly than the happiest moments because in your happy moments, you don't question what happened to you as much as you question your worst moments in life.

And Orym has lived with that question for six years. Now, the same could be said to Ashton and Imogen and Fearne and the rest of the Bells Hells really but as pointed out in this post by @caeslxys. (a really good pot btw) Even though the others have had their questions as to why a particular bad incident happened, Orym has had the shortest time to actually cope with it while for the others, it has been years at this point and maybe they have sort of come to peace with most of their shit before it came back to hit them in their face. And for some, it just hit them recently.

And for Orym the question of "Why?" resurfaces again and again the more he seeks out answers and when he does get the answer... I don't think anyone would really love to learn that the two most important people in their lives were dead because "it was just collateral damage. They didn't really have to die but they did." Not when you were having a happy, peaceful life. They signed up for this, yes. But it is also not fair to have your whole life cut short just because a big shot wants to test a theory.

And I am not trying to say that Orym bringing up his losses every time they have a discussion about the Vanguard is right or wrong because he has every right to and may be wrong at the same time because he is biased. Because at this point, he is very biased.

Apart from what I mentioned above, Orym watched Otohan kill his husband and father. He fought Otohan again and this time lost his life, Fearne and Laudna. He fights Otohan again and nearly loses Keyleth. Fights Otohan again a fourth time and knows that there would've been more losses if FCG hadn't sacrificed themselves. Not to forget Otohan killing Eshteross, something I think Orym internally blames himself for because she read his mind for the information. And even if Otohan is now dead, the loss stays.

I also think that seeing Will when he died had more of a personal impact than he realised because I know while seeing the dead person can sometimes bring some comfort, at the same time, when you are trying to live up to them, trying to answer questions that are just beyond you when you really haven't had the chance to completely grieve and accept, the grief possibly just hits you more.

SO while the Hells have had their personal losses with the Vanguard and Otohan, I think Orym has had the longest beef with the group among them all. He didn't know about the Vanguard 6 years ago, yes. He discovered their name along with the rest of the Hells. But loss wise, Orym was the first of the lot to suffer due to the Vanguard.

This is not me trying to put an exact scale or measurement of the loss cuz it is intangible and stuff. But he's been dealing with it for 6 years. Maybe not for harbouring revenge, but the resentment hasn't completely gone but rather festered the more he seeked answers. So he is going to be extra jaded.

But not to forget the fact that up until Bordor, he did try to see the Vanguard's point too, still kinda does (the locket he took from a Vanguard member as a reminder) but I think by the time of Bordor's betrayal, he's had too many losses with the Vanguard to actually care of their point of view because all he's seen of their group is innocent people getting killed or almost killed for no reason at all.

Bordor's beef as a person from the Vanguard had been against Laudna, Orym and Ashton but he still nearly killed Prism and would've probably marked it off as collateral if she'd died. Dropping off the locket with Bordor doesn't mean that he left all his empathy but at the same time, like he mentions, they are at war. And war doesn't really discriminate amongst people. It just takes.

Like he said to Imogen, I think he still tries to believe the Vanguard can have some people who are good and not all of them are evil but all he's know from the Vanguard at this point is loss and Liliana's blind faith towards Ludinus or Predathos doesn't help.

So back to the recent episode.

Do I think that it is wrong for Orym to bring up to Liliana about his dead family as an answer to her response. No. Do I think it was a wrong time to bring it up? Maybe. Because Liliana was not being confrontational but Orym was turning confrontational the more the discussion happened.

But the thing about Orym saying it to her face is that... It is one thing to know that there have been deaths and even if Liliana didn't directly cause it, she was a part of the group that did and brush it off as collateral damage. And no one does a census or survey post the "collateral damage" on how it affects the other person because now, they have what they want to there is no use to go back there.

And Orym is kinda like that mirror which is like... "SO you had a loss because of the gods and now are going around leaving collateral damage you want to fix stuff? Guess what? Your collateral damage was my life that you just uprooted just like the gods/god people did yours, so are you really any different from the people you hate and the change you want to bring about?" (which is kinda the parallel between Orym and Bordor I find really interesting because this is a cycle that is never ending at the end of the day)

And did Orym need that outlet? Hells yeah. GIVE THAT MAN A HUG!

#long post #critical role #critical role spoilers #orym of the air ashari #the downsides of being a psych student #you analyse the shit out of stuff #at least I do #messy thots #cr speculation #orym needs a hug #Also have 3 continuous exams so if I am going to edit (and later on hate on how I have worded this post...) it will be after 3 days.#character analysis

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farfromharry · 2 years

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Long live the hero | Eddie Munson fic

Eddie Munson x Nurse!Reader

Summary: After Eddie almost dies in the upside down, Steve and Dustin need to take him somewhere that he can get help, only a wanted criminal can’t go to a hospital; so they take him to you. They’re not completely unaware about your history together, but they, nor you, suspected that history would start to repeat itself and you would find yourself falling for Eddie Munson all over again.

Word count - 8167

Warnings - language? injury, mentions of blood

━━━━━━━━━♡♥♡━━━━━━━━━

Loud, frantic knocking on the front door of your home startled you. Never did you usually get visitors so late, at least not ones that were unannounced. You pushed yourself up from the couch, pulling your wooly cardigan tighter around your body as you headed for the front door. If it wasn’t for the force being used to pound on the door, you thought you maybe would have second guessed opening the door to a possible stranger right now. After everything you had witnessed on the news tonight, and all that had been happening over the past few days with the murders of Hawkins students, you didn’t think it was a brilliant idea to open the door. But it really seemed like the person on the other side needed your help in some kind of way.

When you finally unlocked it and tugged it open, you were met with the sight of a curly-haired kid you hadn’t seen in a while. “Dustin? What’re you doing here?” you asked. It was much too late for him to be out on his own in this kind of catastrophe, a lot had happened to Hawkins over the night and to say you were scared out of your mind would only be fair. You thought if you were scared then surely he was terrified. He was only young, something like this had to be mind-blowing for kids his age. It was certainly shocking to grown adults.

He seemed out of breath, at a loss for words as he tried to tell you. “I, uh, I need–” he trailed off, and that was when you really surveyed him. He was covered in dirt, and it seemed some blood too, which was enough to have alarm bells ringing in your head. You didn’t know if it was his, you couldn’t see any visible cuts or large wounds, but as your eyes fell you noticed he was unable to put weight on one of his legs. It seemed like he was purposely avoiding resting on it, which led you to believe he had done some damage to it.

“Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?” He didn’t answer, instead his head turned to the side, looking down into the hall. Your eyes followed his, and the sound of hasty footsteps had you taking a step forward, letting you see into the hallway of your apartment building where a familiar man was practically dragging another, very, familiar man. Your voice wasn’t even above a whisper when you whispered the name of the metalhead. It wasn’t loud enough that it caught anyone’s attention, which gave you enough time to compose your thoughts and instead turn to the other individual. “Steve?” you asked, catching his eyes. He didn’t even attempt to force a smile, only exhaled heavily– like he was thankful that you were there.

And thankfully for you, he seemed to be the intelligible one of the three. “We need your help. I-It’s Eddie, please.” He sounded desperate, painfully so, and just from looking at the older boy he was basically carrying, you didn’t think you could say no. He looked on the verge of death, and there wasn’t a chance in hell you were going to let him die on you. Not today.

“Yeah, uh, come in. Put him on the couch,” you instructed. Your hands were already beginning to break in a sweat, needing to wipe them on your jeans a few times if you wanted to successfully help Eddie.

The first aid kit from your bathroom was grabbed quickly by the kid, used to being stitched up in your apartment. Ever since that first day you met, when you helped tend to Will’s injuries and promised those boys if they ever needed help then you would be willing, he had shown up at your home more than a handful of times with scrapes and such that needed your attention. You might have only been a nurse for a short amount of time, but you were getting pretty good with all the practice you were getting.

Never had you had to work on someone you had such affection for though. Your past with Eddie was long and complicated, but there was such a love for him held in your chest that had never gone away. It was exactly what was forcing all your nerves– the way your hands shook and your heart beat a little faster. “Okay, um–” You started barking out orders, as best as you could. They helped reveal the wounds to you, which finally let you assess the real damage. It was bad, so very bad that your nerves almost trebled. “God, how did this happen?”

The pair shared a look before their eyes landed on you again. They tried to each choke out a lie, but you figured that was only wasting more time– time that you weren’t sure you had. Eventually you just shook your head. “You know what, it doesn’t matter.” He was the priority, the injuries on him that weren’t going to help themselves, not the cause of said problems.

“I can do this,” you whispered, reaching into your kit for a needle and a thread to stitch him up. The only issue was, the tremble in your hands was preventing you from threading the needle, and that only meant that Eddie’s condition was getting worse. Dustin and Steve were holding parts of his shirt up against the worst wounds, hoping to put pressure on them to halt the bleeding. It wouldn’t be a permanent solution though, you still needed to be quick. Or at least quicker.

“Y/N, what are you doing? He’s bleeding out, we need you to hurry!” the kid insisted. It was obvious how stressed he was. You didn’t know he and Eddie even knew each other– though it made sense with both of them being huge nerds– but he made it clear he cared for the man.

“Dustin, I’m trying.”

Steve’s eyes flickered between the two of you, noticing the tension. It was mainly the younger of the two of you’s fault, because he wasn’t sure how to regulate his feelings right now. “Dude, you need to calm down. She’s working on it.”

He scoffed. “Not fast enough! Look at him, Steve. He’s going to die!”

You didn’t have time to clean him or the wounds on his chest– all over his upper body in fact– that would have to come after. “I’m getting to it. I can’t do this if you’re yelling at me.” Your voice was shaky, understandably so, and it seemed like that was the one thing that had Dustin taking a step back to re-evaluate how he spoke to you.

As the room delved into silence, you finally managed to thread the needle. With that you could let out a breath, getting to work how you did every single day during your shifts. You just had to picture Eddie was just another patient and everything should go smoothly. It took a while, you wanted to make sure you were really thorough, but eventually you thought he’d wind up stable from your help.

“I think I got all of them. He should be stable,” you told the pair. They had been watching you like hawks the whole time, making you more nervous than you probably should have been. Such a spontaneous ‘surgery’, paired with the fact it was Eddie and the fact you had a very suffocating audience– anyone would be stressed. The only relief you got was when you left the room to wash your hands, ridding them of his blood. When you came back though you were being hounded with questions once again, all while you tried to tidy up the mess you had created.

You answered their queries as best you could, most of them half-hearted considering all the current distractions swimming in your head. You weren’t really paying all that much attention, not until a hand settled on your shoulder. As you turned your head you noticed it was a guilty looking Dustin, the boy flashing you a strained grin.

“I’m sorry for yelling. I just– I was so worried,” he told you. You forced a smile, continuing to clean up the wrappers and other stuff you’d used lying around. He stopped you mid action, pulling you into a hug that you hadn’t been expecting. It took you a few seconds for it to register in your mind, but then you were happy to embrace him. It seemed as though he needed the affection, on the verge of tears the second his head was comfortably hidden in your neck.

“He’ll be okay, kid. I’m a pretty good nurse after taking care of you kids all this time if I do say so myself.”

He chuckled, pulling away and wiping at his tears. This time around you offered him a warm smile, a real one that made him feel comforted. You really had that bedside manner of being a nurse down he had to say. “He should be fine, but it’s gonna take time for him to heal. He had a lot of deep wounds,” you told the two. “Can you seriously not tell me how this happened?”

“Well, it’s a long story,” Steve said. “A crazy story that– It’s better that you don’t know.”

You sighed, nodding your head. There was still the possibility that if he woke up soon maybe Eddie could tell you himself. Apparently while lost in that thought your eyes had trailed over to the unconscious man on your couch, and it must have been a pretty longing look on his face for Steve to speak up.

“We, uh– Do you think he could maybe stay here for a little? The cops are still on his back and…” he trailed off, realizing what sort of thing he was asking you right now. Steve was aware of part of the history you and Eddie had, you were together when he was still in highschool. The metalhead had always been a known personality at Hawkins high, right since Steve’s freshman year, so it wasn’t like your relationship was secret. But he figured the two of you drifted apart after you graduated and Eddie didn’t. If there was any bad blood this was probably a large ask from him, but at the same time he felt you were the only person they could trust with this.

Dustin wasn’t quite as clued in as his older friend, so he felt the need to defend the reputation of his other friend. “He didn’t kill those people. He didn’t,” he insisted.

You shook your head. “No, I know.” He might look and try and act scary, but you knew better than anyone else that Eddie Munson was the biggest softie in the world. He couldn’t hurt nor scare a fly when you got to know him. Despite the tough exterior and the rough breakup you went through, you could still admit he was possibly the kindest man you had ever met. A little rough around the edges, or careless at times, but he had a heart of gold and you knew it.

The mood felt like it had shifted, leaving a feeling Dustin didn’t understand settling over the three of you. For a few quiet minutes, all that filled the silence of the room was Eddie’s shaking breathing, the only thing that kept the three of you hopeful that he was going to be okay. “Um. Do either of you need me to check you out, or are you good?” You mainly asked because your concern for Dustin’s leg was still high, but he assured you he was fine.

“No. We’re good,” the younger teen assured. “We should probably go update the others on how he’s doing.”

That was understandable. Though you were unsure if you were ready to be left alone with Eddie– unsure if that was even the right thing to do considering the bullseye on his back right now– you would still do anything for him. It didn’t matter how much time went by, it seemed like he would hold a special place in your heart for eternity, and in turn you would do the craziest of things for him. Plus, you didn’t exactly know how you would have denied Steve and Dustin’s polite ask anyway.

“Yeah, no, of course.” You followed the pair to the door, sparing a single glance at the man on your couch, checking he was still sleeping. “Be careful?” you proposed.

“We will,” Steve assured. He let the kid leave first, then turned to you one final time before he followed him out. “Thank you, seriously. We couldn’t have taken him to the hospital, if we didn’t have you, I have no idea what we would have done.”

You had never really had any sort of close relationship with Steve, not in school or outside of it. You knew of him, of course, King Steve had quite the reputation even to those older than him, he didn’t tend to stay quiet around town, much like your own boyfriend at the time. But over the last few years, due to the bonding with the group of kids, in turn you became friendly with the older teen. It was nothing special, you wouldn’t call him more than an acquaintance, but he was still comforting. “No, it’s okay. I’m happy you came to me. I, um, I’m glad I could be the one to make sure he was okay.”

There was nothing else for either of you to really say. He had just wanted to express his gratitude but you sort of guessed already. “I’ll take care of him, Steve. I promise.”

He nodded, pursing his lips before he took off with a final goodbye. As you closed the door behind him, you exhaled heavily, finally left alone with your thoughts while Eddie slept. There were too many thoughts to just focus on the one, so you settled instead with busying yourself with other things. You had already cleaned up the mess you made while stitching Eddie up, so that didn’t need to be done. It seemed like the one time you needed something to do to clear your mind, there was nothing for you to do.

“Guess I’m having dinner early,” you muttered to no one but yourself.

Every now and then, even while in the kitchen, you found your eyes landing on Eddie. It was mainly his chest, your nerves telling you to check that he was still breathing out of fear that you could potentially lose him any second. In reality you knew better, but it didn’t mean there wasn’t still a lingering fear in your gut.

He was out cold for a while. You hadn’t even realized he woke until you heard him.

“Am I dead?” the voice rang out. The sound of it, maybe even just the knowledge of knowing he was awake and okay, made you smile to yourself. Your hands halted mid action, long forgetting about the food you were making. You hated how easy it was for him to make your heart flutter even now. His awkward flirting was something that just worked for you, though most people might find it uncomfortable.

“Hey. How you feeling?” you asked. It hit you after the words tumbled out of your mouth that that was possibly the dumbest question you could have possibly asked him. Of course he wasn’t going to feel good, or even okay. You expected he probably felt terrible, and you didn’t need him to tell you that for you to know. “Sorry, that was a silly question. It’s been a stressful night.”

He chuckled, quickly followed by a wince as he realized laughing was a very bad idea right now. “My bad,” he joked.

The two of you fell into a silence, where both of you were sort of unsure what to say. You supposed that was what happened with exes who hadn’t had to speak in years. The last time you saw Eddie had to have been at least three years ago, so you hadn’t had to force any uncomfortable conversations since then. You had to admit you did miss talking with him, the random, nonsensical talks you’d have at all hours. When he was high, when you both were high– sometimes you were sober and just wanted to talk but had nothing of substance to say. Not only had he been your boyfriend, but your best friend, and when you lost him your life altered massively. Nothing had been the same since.

“So, do you always stitch up ex-boyfriends on your old couch, or just me?”

You chuckled. “While you were taking senior year for the first through third time, I became a nurse,” you clarified. “But yes, I seemed to have made it a habit.”

He grinned, shaking his head. “Low blow,” he muttered. You watched as he attempted to readjust the position he was laid in, though painful, he was uncomfortable. You could have offered your help, probably should have, but it didn’t seem like he wanted it. “When I’m sick and dying too?”

You rolled your eyes. “You’re not dying, Munson. Not anymore.”

His eyes looked like they lit up at that last piece of information you added. You didn't know what was going on in that crazy head of his, but you assumed he was going to say something dumb like he usually did. “So I can tell people I was almost killed by killer bats? Metal.”

His words made you do a double take. “I-I’m sorry. Killer bats?” The complete shock in your tone told him that you hadn’t been informed on anything at all and that had probably been a horrible thing to say. He didn’t feel like explaining all the logistics of everything to you, not now at least while he felt like he was still on his deathbed. There was just too much he would have to say, if he went right back to the beginning with Chrissy and all that. He barely had his own head wrapped around it all.

“Bats? Someone mentioned bats?”

With a sigh, you headed back to the kitchen to finish cooking your meal, leaving him to rest there. “You’re unbearable. Y’know that?” you asked, pretty much rhetorically.

His laughter could be heard filtering through the various rooms in your home. It was a genuine one that you hadn’t heard in what felt like forever, you missed the sound of it if you were being honest. Not that you would ever let him know that. “You love it,” he teased, sounding much too smug for his own good.

You huffed. “No, actually. I think you just love riling me up.”

You expected his answer to come back as quick and snappy as it usually would, he was always usually quick on his feet with his comebacks. But you waited, and waited, and nothing came. “Eddie?” you called. As the minutes passed by with nothing but silence, your heart began to sink more and more. This had been your fear earlier on after the two boys left, that something was going to happen to him while you were preoccupied. Once again your food was abandoned, you thought maybe for good this time, and your eyes darted to his figure on the couch, noticing his hands clutching a wound near his neck— one that was bleeding profusely again. “Oh my god, Eddie!”

The next few minutes were a flash of blood, gauze and quick stitches that were not helped by the racing of your heart. Things probably would have gone better if you were calmer, but this was Eddie, how were you supposed to be calm when your first love was bleeding all over your hands.

It seemed like you’d never get him to be okay, but as quickly as things went wrong, they started to go right again. The panic stopped, the blood stopped, and everything began to slow again, moving at a normal pace again.

“Don’t ever do that again,” you demanded, chest heaving as you tried to calm down from the sudden panic he had just caused you. Unlike the first time he woke up, this time around he seemed equally as stressed as you did. It was clear this has been a scare for him, maybe one that shocked him into realizing just how serious his condition was right now. If he hadn't been so injured you might have swatted him, thinking he deserved it after the feelings he just made you experience.

He didn’t say anything this time, just nodded. The look on his face told you he was a little spooked. Before he might have thought this was all just a cool story to tell, but now it was hitting him that this was very real. Oftentimes he tried to pass things off as lighthearted and a joke, but deep down it was because he was absolutely terrified of the situation at hand. It was his way of coping with whatever tragedy had happened to him now. It started all the way back as a kid.

This time around you didn’t think you could go back to doing simple tasks, your heart beat was too unstable for that, instead you planned to just sit by his side for a little while. You wanted to reach out for him, to hold his hand, but you thought it might be overstepping a boundary. You hadn’t held Eddie Munson’s hand in so many years, you had almost forgotten what it felt like, the comfort of that weight in your palm. You wanted to curse yourself for even thinking that way.

“I’m sorry,” he began, drawing your unfocused eyes to him. You didn’t know exactly what he was talking about, and it seemed he could tell. He was happy to clarify. “For them dragging you into this whole mess.”

You shook your head. “Don’t worry about it. Not like I had anything else to do. Hawkins pretty much went to shit tonight.” He didn’t like the sight of you walking away. Not when he didn’t know if you were going to come back. He couldn’t do anything though, just had to lay there and accept it– whether you came back to sit with him or not. He tried telling himself that he didn’t want you to go because he didn’t want to be lonely, but some part of his brain knew that he didn’t want you to go because he had been without you for so long.

Luckily for him, you weren’t gone long. He didn’t know what you were doing when you came back though. “For the pain,” you said, settling the glass of water beside the pills. He thanked you quietly, taking your help to sit up a little more so he could drink. It wasn’t easy, and it hurt him like hell, but you managed eventually. You didn’t want to just blatantly stare at him, but there wasn’t much else for you to do right now. If it made him uncomfortable– you watching him take the pills– he didn’t say anything about it. He didn’t say anything at all until you took the empty glass of water from him to set down.

“How bad is it?” he asked. He was scared to look. If it hurt as bad as it did, then he could only imagine what it must look like under all the bandages. If it was enough to almost kill him, he had to admit he was terrified about what might come out of your mouth.

You flashed him a strained smile, one that didn’t quite meet your eyes– he’d know a smile that met your eyes from miles away. “You’ll be okay. It’s gonna leave some nasty scars though,” you told him. You missed this way his eyes lit up at those words. It probably should have been obvious how much Eddie would love the knowledge of such a thing, he found the weirdest things metal. It was no shock he would find this the same way.

“I’m gonna have scars?”

You also missed the excitement in his tone. “Nasty ones I think. They would have been less noticeable if I could’ve gotten you to a hospital. But Dustin said—“

That one word immediately ruined any joy he had. “No, no hospitals,” he insisted. You didn’t have to look at him to notice his panic, but you did anyway. He looked entirely disturbed, face paling at the idea of being taken to a hospital while in the middle of the mess he was in.

“I know. Wanted man and everything.” You brushed it off with ease. He liked to think you wouldn’t think he’d do such a thing. You of all people should know him better than that. But there was a part of him that was scared you might think he was this awful person now. He didn’t know how to deal with the knowledge you might think he did all these terrible things. He could withstand a lot of shit, but not if it was coming from you.

“I-I didn’t do it, you know,” he said.

You didn’t need him to tell you, there was no way you ever would believe he would do such a thing, even if the entire world was telling you so. “I know. I know you, Eddie Munson,” you told him. A smile curled on your lips, your finger ever so lightly jabbing at his chest. “You have a heart of gold.”

He chuckled. “Don’t let anyone hear you say that, you’ll ruin my reputation.”

You huffed a laugh. “Okay, freak.” It was ironic considering there was possibly not a single way his reputation around Hawkins could get any worse. Freak turned cult leader, turned peer murderer didn’t have the best ring to it.

He laughed again, though quickly realized it was a mistake when it made every inch of his chest hurt. You grinned, rolling your eyes at his stupidity before pushing yourself to your feet. “Get some sleep, Ed.” You missed the flash of affection behind his eyes when you used the nickname. It was something you hadn’t called him in years, and it made his heart flutter so hear you say it again. He thought maybe with this re-found gentleness you had with him, you might have even stroked his hair a little. But that was just wishful thinking. “I’ll see you when you wake up.”

And you did. You were actually the reason he did wake up. You accidentally jostled him a little, though you hadn’t meant to. You were trying to be as careful as possible, but there were just some things that required a little more force than you would like. In result, his eyes fluttered open, a small groan leaving his throat as he came to for the first time in a few hours.

“I just need to check on a couple of cuts. See if I need to change any bandages,” you informed him, taking a seat beside him. He hummed quietly, letting you do what you needed.

As you tended to him, he was watching you, you could feel his eyes on you. As much as you could, you tried to ignore the urge to look up and lock eyes, but eventually it became too much. “Stop staring,” you hissed.

“You’re so pretty,” he muttered, dreamily. If you didn’t know any better you would have gathered he was high on pain meds or something. But luckily for you— obvious sarcasm— this was just his natural personality. “Is this heaven?”

“Shut up, Munson.”

He surprisingly did as you said. For the rest of the time you were checking him over, he didn’t say a thing. It made it much easier to work, but you also couldn’t quite admit that you missed the sound of his voice again. Now that Eddie had wormed his way back into your life, you didn’t think you wanted him to sneak back out.

»»——⍟——««

Over the next few weeks, while Eddie was recovering in your home, the two of you fell into a routine. It began to be something you craved, the only consistent part of your life that you had come to love. Sure, you and him might not have worked out the first time around, but a little distance and a lot of time seemed to be all you needed to remember just how much love you had for him. But you weren’t quite prepared to admit that to him. While he was under your roof, you didn’t need him being even more unbearable with his ego than he already was.

You were still going out to work as normal, working painfully long shifts, only to come home and then take care of Eddie too. You were impressed with how he was healing, and though he wouldn’t need medical care for much longer, he did still need a place to hide out. For now, you were happy to provide him with that.

“Honey, I’m home,” you called, hearing his chuckle from somewhere in the apartment as you pushed open the door. That awkward tension that came from your past breakup was gone now, the two of you had gotten a new sense of comfort for one another.

“Kitchen!” he called back. That one word filled you with fright. Eddie had never been a good cook, not at any stage of his whole life. You had no faith that he wasn’t seconds away from burning down your kitchen at any moment. You felt yourself rushing to where he said he was, finding him rummaging through your refrigerator. Thankfully, he hadn’t yet gotten the chance to even begin cooking something. “I was gonna make dinner. Thought you’d be tired after your shift, but there’s not much in here to make anything.”

You had to admit you were relieved at that. But also, you didn’t even think he should be on his feet yet slaving away like this. “That’s okay. I’ll order in. Pizza okay?”

He nodded. Maybe he had gotten a little too comfortable living at your place, but he had to admit he really was loving it. Things were so easy and light with you around, he didn’t think he wanted to ever leave you. He wanted to say that it was just past feelings talking, but he thought those past feelings might be making an appearance in the present. You weren’t much better.

The two of you did your own things while you waited for the food, worried that spending so much time with each other would push you together in ways you weren’t sure you wanted. When the doorbell rang, he hid, as he’d had to do anytime someone came to the door recently. He couldn’t even be believed to be here if you wanted to protect him. You were as quick as possible when grabbing the food, hating to let him feel like some kind of convict. Within the walls of your apartment, he was just the same Eddie that you had always known, you didn’t think he needed reminding what the outside world felt about him right now.

“Okay. You grab the drinks, I’ve got this.”

He nodded, joining you within a short while. You had already set him a pizza slice on a plate, and had made the pillows on the couch more fluffed up to be more comfortable. “Steve dropped off a movie today. Thought we could watch it, maybe.” He motioned to the VHS sitting on the coffee table that you had somehow missed. Ferris Bueller’s day off.

That was something Steve had been doing for the last couple weeks. He thought Eddie’s days would be long and boring, so he thought movies might help pass the time until he was a free man again. It was beginning to take longer than he originally planned. “Yeah, sure. I’ve been dying to watch this.”

It was a better bonding experience than you could have ever imagined it would be. For some added entertainment after the two of you grew a little bored– considering he’d been watching movies all day every day for weeks now– he decided to imitate what you were seeing acted out on screen. Which led to a very poor rendition of twist and shout from your couch.

Your head was thrown back in laughter, eyes lingering on Eddie’s face as he tried to keep from giggling like you were. You weren’t sure when the atmosphere changed, but you’d guess it was when your laughter died down, leaving the two of you gazing at each other, knees knocking together on the couch.

If anyone were to ask, you would insist that it was his eyes that put you into a trance. You couldn’t look away from the soft brown shade. At first you didn’t even notice the way you were edging closer to him, not until the tips of your noses brushed together. You could feel one another's breath, and it wasn’t until you saw his head tilt slightly to the right that you realized what was happening.

You quickly pulled back, blinking your eyes rapidly. “I, uh–”

He shook his head. “We don’t have to do this,” he told you.

You didn’t say anything, but you did put some space between you. It was only then that you had realized just how close you had ended up shuffling together on the couch. “I’m sorry. It’s just, it’s late, a-and we’ve been drinking. I don’t think we’re thinking straight.”

It was understandable, and Eddie would never expect you to roll out excuses. You could have just told him you didn’t want to and he would have happily taken that as an answer. “Hey, don’t worry,” he reassured you, stroking his thumb across your cheekbone sweetly. The smile on his face was real, genuine as he tucked some hair behind your ear. “We can just go to sleep. Move on. We don’t even have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

You would definitely want to revisit it once you got the courage, but for right now, you were so grateful that he’d said that. “Thank you.”

There were a few moments of awkward silence, where the two of you tried to go back to relaxing on the couch so you could continue your movie, but it wasn’t the same. It grew so uncomfortable that you decided to just head to bed, hoping everything was back to normal by the time you woke up tomorrow. “I think I’m gonna call it a night,” you told him, pursing your lips in an uncomfortable smile.

He understood. “Goodnight Y/N.”

You pushed yourself to your feet quickly, to avoid the urge burning inside you to just kiss him. “Goodnight, Eddie,” you mumbled. You still couldn’t look at him, the nerves swirling in your stomach had yet to die down. You hadn’t felt like such a lovesick teen around him since you were actually a lovesick teen, flirting with him between classes, having him tug on your hair to get your attention. This was all before you started dating. It really made you think about where you and he were heading the longer he stayed in your home.

He smiled at you softly. “Goodnight.”

You left him there on the couch to sleep, heading to your own room so he could have some peace. As soon as you were alone, you could finally gather your thoughts. You just almost kissed Eddie Munson. Eddie, your highschool boyfriend who you naively thought you would be with forever. You couldn’t help but wonder if it would be the worst thing in the world if the two of you rekindled things. He absolutely was a great boyfriend, and he knew that. You also didn’t think you could lie and say that you hadn’t missed him. Ending things on good or bad terms, you still missed being with him.

When the thoughts got too much to handle, you decided to try and push them to one side and sleep. It was a struggle at first, your brain refusing to shut off for a while, but eventually you managed.

You must have been out for a couple hours at most when you were roughly awoken. Eddie had had a few nightmares since he started staying with you, but none were as bad as tonight. He had woken you up with loud yelling from the living room, where he was still sleeping on the couch. You had rushed to him instantly, worried that some of the angry mob from around town had found him or something, or maybe some of his stitches had pulled again and he was yelling for your help. But when you saw him, he was thrashing around, still seemingly asleep.

“Eddie,” you called, panicking, shaking him slightly in hopes of waking him up. “You’re okay, Eddie. Come on, wake up!”

When his eyes finally snapped open, a gasp rippling through his chest, you let out a breath of relief.

You were shocked you couldn’t hear his heart pounding, but you could definitely hear how he panted loudly. There was a thin sheen of sweat on his face that you could see when he moved into the light just right. Your heart ached for him, itching to guide him into your arms, but you didn’t know if that was what he wanted. His eyes were unfocused, looking up at the ceiling like there was something on there that was going to make all the bad stuff go away.

He didn’t even look at you as he spoke. “C-Can you hold my hand?” he asked. The tone of his voice was so small, and quiet, that you almost didn’t hear it. He sounded like a scared child, and it made your heart clench.

You didn’t verbally respond, just took his slightly clammy hand in yours. It didn’t bother you as much as it should have. Your priority at the moment was making sure he could relax, and maybe talk through what was bothering him. You could take a wild guess, that you assumed would be pretty accurate, but having him actually talk about it must be better than it staying holed up in his brain where he could worry.

Neither of you spoke for a while. Instead you just sat there curled up beside him, your hand stroking through his damp hair. When he finally did open his mouth, it wasn’t what you expected to hear. “When I first woke up, I think you were the last face I expected to see.”

Hearing that made your chest sting. You still greatly cared for him, and you didn’t like that he thought you felt so negatively towards him. “But I’m glad you were the first face I saw. You saved my life, Y/N.” He was speaking so highly of you that usually you would flush with heat. But this moment felt too tender for that, he was just thinking out loud and you happened to be there to hear it.

“I did what anyone would have.”

“No,” he said. “Don’t sell yourself short, Y/N. Not a lot of people would have done that for me, right now. And you did an impressive thing– Like, it was incredible,” he gushed. The heat that rushed to your cheeks was scalding, and you wished you could have hid in that moment. He wouldn’t have let you do so, he loved seeing the way you grew all bashful at such a compliment. “I always knew you’d do something great.”

You sent a smile his way, your eyes lingering on his features much like they had earlier on. “When you finally graduate, maybe you will too,” you teased.

He huffed a laugh, then rolled his eyes. “I think graduating is officially off the table now.” It had been on his mind a lot lately, how close he was to finally getting out of high school, then this all happened. It was like the universe's way of telling him he was gonna be stuck in that place forever.

Your smile turned into a frown. “Eddie,” you muttered, your tone completely sympathetic. He hated that you were pitying him, he was not someone who enjoyed receiving pity from others if he could help it. “They’ll fix this. Dustin, a-and Steve, they’ll clear this whole thing up. I promise.”

“You can’t promise that,” he said. It was true, there was no realistic way that you could, you were just being optimistic, but one of you had to be.

You knew you weren’t going to get anywhere from here. You couldn’t get through to him and provide him with good thoughts if he didn’t want you to, it would be impossible. So, although you wished you didn’t have to, you gave up on trying to convince him– at least for tonight. It was always plausible for you to try again tomorrow. “I should get back to bed, I have work in the morning.”

He wanted to nod, give you the okay and let you go, but there was still a pit of fear in the bottom of his stomach. He didn’t know if he could stand letting you leave him right now. “I’m scared to go back to sleep,” he whispered. You could see the fear in his face, and it made your heart ache. Not only was the poor guy terrorized throughout the day, when he’s awake, but also when he’s asleep. He hadn’t been able to sleep for weeks without reminders of what put him in this situation in the first place. Almost daily he saw Chrissy or those bats in his dreams.

There was only one solution you could think of. For as long as you’d known him, he had only ever had a couple nightmares, about superficial shit, but you would spend the rest of the night in his arms, giving him something he loved to hold onto to remind him that he was okay. “You want me to stay?” you asked, checking that that was what he was implying. For all you knew, clouded by your thoughts about him, he could have just been making a general statement that you were reading too much into, you wanted his confirmation.

“I want you to stay.”

He shifted back on the couch as far as he could go, making some room for you so you could get comfortable. His arms opened, and his blanket was lifted up for you to climb under. There was only very brief hesitation before you made a move.

It was familiar, being pressed against him like you were, head on his chest and arms around his torso. You had almost forgotten how it felt to be held so tightly by him, but you definitely hadn’t forgotten how much you loved it. You felt like you could melt completely into him. It was something you had missed without even realizing it, and now that you got to experience it again, you didn’t want it to ever stop.

Neither of you said anything for a while, and you both thought the other might have fallen asleep. It was you that took the leap of faith to say something. “Do you worry that they’ll never prove you didn’t do it?” It was a risky question to ask, possibly overstepping, but it was something that was on your mind that you wanted an answer to.

“It’s all I think about. It’s not like the people in this town have ever really liked me all that much, but I- The thought of not being able to just live my life, of ruining Wayne’s life o-or my friends because of some accusations that aren’t even true? It kills me.”

It had always bothered you how people treated Eddie, and his uncle who was an absolute sweetheart, but there was never anything you were able to do to help. All you could really do was treat them how you thought they should be treated. They deserved just as much, if not more love than others. That was one thing both Munsons always loved about you, how you never judged them how the majority of this town had. To you, they were better than all those snobs.

“‘M so sorry, Ed. You deserve so much better than that.”

He shrugged. “Not your fault. S’okay.”

You tilted your head where it was resting so you could look at him. He felt the movement and in turn looked down at you as well. This had become an incredibly familiar position the past day. This time around though, you didn’t want to look away, you wanted to get closer. “Y/N?” he asked. His voice was so quiet that you almost didn’t hear him.

“Yeah?”

He swallowed, loudly in the quiet room, then blinked a couple times. There was some hesitation for him to say whatever it was he planned to, but eventually he couldn’t keep it in. He needed to ask. “Can I kiss you?”

If it shocked you, you didn’t let him see, keeping it to yourself. His breathing was heavy as he waited, the anticipation slowly killing him. He needed you to say yes, it had been years since the last time he kissed you, and he hadn’t kissed anyone since. In a way it was like he was waiting for you to come back to him. And although he hadn’t had a lot of faith that you would, the impossible happened, and you did.

You didn’t verbally respond, just took the initiative to lurch forward and take his lips with yours. He made a quiet humming noise in the back of his throat, one that told you he was completely content. The kiss was slow, filled with all the unsaid things you had been creeping around for the past few weeks. In reality it was all the things that hadn’t been said in the years you had been broken up. This kiss was much like the ones you shared towards the end of your relationship, where the two of you sort of knew it was all coming to an end.

Eddie found that he really didn’t want to pull away, so you did first. He tried to steal a few more kisses, in which he was successful, but eventually your grins forced you to stop. “I’ve missed you so much,” you said. You brushed your thumb over his cheekbone. “Breaking up with you is something I’ve regretted every single day since it happened. I love you, Eddie.”

It was as though you had put in the final piece of the puzzle in his heart. He hadn’t felt so complete in his whole life. “I’ve been wanting to hear you say that for years,” he admitted, breathing out a laugh of relief.

“So say it back,” you prodded. There was a glint in your eyes, one he hadn’t seen these last few weeks. It was back.

“I love you.”

»»——⍟——««

When Eddie’s eyes fluttered open the next morning, after one of the best sleeps he’d had in weeks (despite the nightmare at the start of the night), you were still curled up against his chest. The couch was much too crowded like this, barely any room for him to move or stretch, and his back definitely wouldn’t forgive him for this– but he couldn’t find it in himself to care.

There was still time before your shift started, so he didn’t bother waking you just yet. Instead he let you sleep, and admired you as he did so. Some might have thought it was creepy, watching someone so intensely as they slept, but he just couldn’t get over the fact that you were back here in his arms again after all that time.

With you there, comfortable and content on his chest, he thought that maybe everything would be okay after all. Even if the outside world never forgave him for the things he was wrongly accused of, he knew that you didn’t see him that way. “Thank you for believing in me,” he whispered, kissing the top of your head gently. He didn’t want to wake you, so he was trying to be as quiet as possible. He just didn’t think he currently had the guts to tell you these things while you were awake. “Never letting you go again.”

For a second he thought he might have woken you, when you shifted against him, but you just as quickly settled back down how you were afterwards. Or at least he thought so. “Love you,” you mumbled, pressing a faint kiss to the middle of his chest over his shirt. He beamed, brushing his nose against the top of your head, whispering the words back to you.

Even if he was still a wanted criminal, and the whole town you lived in was after him, this was his heaven.

━━━━━━━━━♡♥♡━━━━━━━━━

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