#in my defense at least i started on a lot of these
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DON'T STICK YOUR HAND UP THE VENDING MACHINE .ᐟ
starring. toji fushiguro x fem! reader
heads up. cursing
note. I DON'T KNOW WHY THIS CAME UP TO ME SO SUDDENLY? BUT IT DID AND IT WOULD BE SO SAD IF I DIDN'T WRITE IT SKJDKJSK
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who received a call from the mall he works in because apparently someone's arm got stuck inside a vending machine right in the basement parking before he was going to go home from a long day.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who saw you sitting down on the floor in front of the vending machine, your head leaning on it — he could hear a string of curses escaping from your mouth as you moved your arm a bit. frankly, he finds it pretty funny that you were owning up to the consequences of your own actions.
"has nobody told you that y'r not supposed to put your hand up the vending machine?" toji mutters, almost satisfied.
you rolled your eyes, "just get me out of this."
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who had to endure at least the next fifteen minutes of you complaining about the same vending machine that you got stuck in, from the start of the alphabet till' the end.
"this thing ate my money, there's no way 'm leaving without my drink. stupid vending machine," you muttered out — toji trying his best to get your arm out without trying to possibly hurt you. honestly, he could care less about you getting hurt; he just didn't want his paycheck to be cut for your medication bills.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who finally got your arm out after half an hour, and got your drink out for you to shut you up from more complaints. it was a can of cold black coffee, which was what you needed after a twelve hours shift.
"thanks," you tell him — shoving the can of coffee inside your bag, "uh . . . do i need to pay for getting my arm out or should i just like . . . leave?"
he scoffs, "leave."
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who only got back to his apartment two hours later than usual because you decided it was the best time to get your arm stuck in the vending machine over ¥120 (approximately $0.77).
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who got a glass of boba from your workplace the next day because you felt bad he had to waste his time helping you after you got stuck. in your defense, you didn't want to waste your money.
"uh, i don't know if you like boba — i made it less sugar since you don't seem like the type to eat a lot of sugar, you know?" you pointed at his build, "but thanks for helping me last night."
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who begrudgingly accepted your drink and scoffed when he tasted it, 'less sugar' he thought taking another sip, biting onto the chewy boba coated with brown sugar liquid.
you were right about one thing, how he doesn't really like consuming too much sugar. despite the drink being 'less sugar' he still thought there was too much sugar — and despite that, he still managed to finish a whole glass of it, even chewing the last bit of ice.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who actually saw you in your workplace when he was called to fix a vending machine inside the mall. taking in a customer's order, looking really stressed when more customers decided to pop in. huffing, he decided to stop by just to mess with you.
"so . . . what's the best thing y'got in here?" he mutters.
you look at him, eyes narrowed. but this was him, the vending machine maintenance as your customer, "brown sugar boba, fresh milk red bean matcha boba, red bean mochi fresh milk," you explained, pointing to every picture on the menu you just mentioned.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who decided it was best to mess with you even more, bringing back his complaint about the drink you made him this morning.
"red bean mochi fresh milk, less sugar." toji underlines, taking out his wallet — even if he didn't want to buy a glass of sugar after drinking one earlier this morning.
"that will be ¥320 (approximately $2.07), please."
he huffs, "people pay that much for a glass of sugar?" and then he slid a couple of bills towards you.
"you're paying that much for sugar, you're one to say," you retort back, opening the cash register to return back his change and a small paper of his bill.
"one star for bad service," he muttered, grabbing back his change.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who for some reason, gets the most random call from inside the mall asking for the vending machine to be fixed. maybe because he doesn't fix them whole-heartedly just so he could mess with you by ordering the most outrageous drinks — at first it started out as little mocking smiles, and gestures.
but he felt as if that wasn't enough, so he decided to take a step further by messing with you on your job, urging you to make the smallest mistakes.
"brown sugar boba, with ten percent of brown sugar liquid. and five percent of sugar. if it's too sweet, i want my money back," he grunted. he meant to tease you — but the way he said it made him sound so serious that you were nervous about messing up his order.
even if he did say that he would return it every single time, he never really does.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who saw a customer complaint over something you didn't make — and he couldn't really do anything except watch. it wasn't like he was about to risk his own job by creating a scene in a boba shop. he sipped away on his order, which in his opinion was still too sweet, but he said nothing.
"i asked for no sugar, why is this still so sweet?" a man complains, raising up his royal milk tea with boba; which toji could see is half-empty. hell, the man's still chewing on his boba as he speaks.
"i apologize sir, but even our base milk tea powders are still a bit sweet, that's where the sweetness is coming from," you explained, looking at him apologetically, "would you like me to do anything for you, sir?"
the man grunted, "no, it's just disappointing," he muttered out, shooting you a dirty look before turning to leave the shop — toji eyed the male but said nothing. he was glad his work didn't require him to communicate with people besides getting a call to fix a machine.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who actually stopped messing with you and just drops by to order his drinks because he noticed how stressed you look at that man's complaint. he just didn't want to be the reason why you get fired.
"brown sugar boba, make it less sweet," he muttered — shoving his hand down into his pocket to grab the exact change he needed to pay.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who actually took a two weeks break from buying your boba because he was actually afraid he'd get diabetes from the huge amount of sugar he was consuming in such a short amount of time.
and you seek for his appearance — which never happened, until he decided to come back while you were sitting down on the floor, shoving your face into the instant ramen you bought from the convenience store this morning before your shift.
"oh! it's you, you came back!" you put the cup on top of the counter and wiped your hands, walking towards the cashier.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who spent most of his time in the boba shop until he's called somewhere else. he'd usually spend his hours inside the maintenance staff room on the secluded part of the mall, but now? he wastes his time inside a small boba shop in the middle of the mall; even if he said nothing or you were too busy to talk to him.
he still stayed because he likes it there, even without you both talking. he didn't feel as lonely as the hours spent inside the staff room alone.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who actually enjoyed it when you strike conversations with him during the peaceful flow of the boba shop, asking the most random questions from his zodiac sign to his favorite soda flavor, or his favorite way to eat eggs.
"i like sunny side ups, they're good," you tell him, wiping the sweat that was forming on your forehead — the both of you ended up talking about your schedules and shifts of work, which you both find out how the both of you mostly have 12 hours shifts.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who actually found you stranded after a shift because you missed the last bus, and he ended up giving you a ride on his old motorcycle. he's never really had a human backpack behind him on his motorcycle, so he didn't really care about speeding — at least until you told him to slow down a bit because it was a bit scary.
"thanks for the ride, toji. i owe you another one, how about a drink tomorrow? just make sure to drop by, 'ts on the house!" you gave him a thumbs up, giving back the only helmet that he made you use.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who actually came back to your shop the very next day to get that free drink of his from you — and this time, you managed to make it just right. not too sweet, he could get used to that.
"i like this one, 'ts not too sweet," he comments, raising up the glass of boba drink, "why couldn't ya' make me one like this since the beginning when i asked for less sugar?" he asked you.
"because that's my own recipe. 'ts not on the menu, but i'm still paying for it, y'know?" you raised your brows, eyeing him from inside the bar, "i wanna open my own boba shop in the future, it's fun."
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who actually became your personal driver because he was the one who asked you to. even if you declined at first since you didn't want to burden him — but he actually insisted, surprising.
"don't care, we're goin' the same direction anyways," he handed you a helmet (that he actually rummaged through the garage through for, washed it, and dried it just for you), "the bus' full of weirdos at night."
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who managed to get close to you in the next few months; he never did expect it, him getting close to a girl, but he was actually kind of glad he did get close to you.
"hey toji, eat lunch with me. i'm on break right now!" you peeked inside the maintenance staff room where he sat, a water bottle in his grasp. he'd usually decline, hell, he even declined his co-workers— but you? he could only sigh and gave out a curt nod, "look what i got."
toji hated everyone. but when you came into his world, he could make exceptions.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who hated it when he feels his heart flutter, he doesn't like the way his stomach churns every time he sees you do anything or see you in general. the way he craves for more of your smile, your laugh, everything about you. it made him feel uneasy— especially when he's never felt all that before.
it was a strange feeling to him, and he didn't like it. toji's never one for relationships, love, and all that. he doesn't know how to do it, he was afraid he'd end up hurting you instead. maybe, maybe that's why he decided to put some distance between the both of you.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who always fixes vending machines inside the mall the right way, making sure he doesn't have to go back in and see your face. as much as he wanted to, he didn't want to see you and feel the fluttering all over again when he's tried so hard to stop it (which wasn't working, by the way).
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who tries not to spend time inside the maintenance staff room because he knew you'd always try to come see him there during times when he wasn't idling by your work place. he felt bad every time his co-worker told him that you came by looking for him.
"hey fushiguro, i forgot to tell you, the boba girl was looking for you again this afternoon," his co-worker informed, putting on his jacket, ready to leave.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who kept this on for at least the next three months. everywhere you were, he turns away and walk the other way making sure the both of you won't bump into each other. don't think you didn't notice his act though, noticing how he stopped replying to your messages, how he doesn't come up to meet you in your work place anymore, or how he walks by your shop like he doesn't know you every time he was asked to fix a machine inside the shop.
you wondered if you did something that might made him mad at you — but no matter what, you just couldn't figure out what. and if he wasn't willing to talk to you, hell, even spare a glance at you, how were you going to find out.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who grumbled under his breath when he got a call right as he was about to clock out of work. begrudgingly walking down towards the basement where the vending machine was; god, people just had to ruin his day.
opening the basement door, there he saw you— sitting on the ground with an arm stuck inside the vending machine. a case of deja vu, this was exactly like how you both met.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who was silent while he was working out on your arm, wondering why in the hell would you try to reach up for a drink even after the first time you got yourself stuck. but he said nothing anyways. you did.
"are you gonna talk to me now?" you ask him while he was trying to free your arm, "i wasted my money to get my arm stuck and you're still not willing to talk to me?"
he almost scoffed, you did this on purpose, "so you did this on purpose?"
"no, i had a purpose. why're you ignoring me like we don't know each other? tell me what i did wrong so i can fix it," you mutter out angrily, crossing an arm across your chest, "you just ghosted me, why?"
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who didn't think it mattered a lot to you — but seeing to this extent you'd go, he could only shut his mouth. letting his hand do the freeing.
"so, you're just gonna act like we're strangers? 'kay, fine by me then," you reply, deciding to shut up for the rest of the procedure, waiting for him to free your arm.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who decided it was the best timing to confess to you, who had one arm up stuck inside a vending machine. all because he just wanted to get rid of the burden on his mind about you.
"listen, i get this feelin' every time i'm near you. and i don't fuckin' like it, makes me feel all warm and soft. i fuckin' hate it. i don't hate you, jus' don't get the wrong idea or shit." he muttered, pulling your arm out from the machine — packing his stuff up to leave.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who got stopped by you when he was about to leave for the night.
"'s that a confession or what? if you're going to confess, the least you could do is do it right. that was lame," you tell him, holding onto the hem of his shirt, "do it all over, with nicer words, and a nicer tone."
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who shook his head, not wanting to repeat his moment of vulnerability to the first person he was most vulnerable most. toji hated being so weak in front of people, especially you.
"no, who said 't was a confession anyways?" he questions, obviously a lie, looking at you with a raised brow.
you let go of his shirt and waved your hand, "fine then, let's not speak anymore since you want it to be that way," he stares at your back in confusion as you try to walk away out of the basement, "goodbye," you mutter out, a bit of hope that he'd stop you.
which he did, and you breathe out in relief, "'ts late, the last bus left already. i'll drop you at home," he murmurs out, scratching his nape.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who handed you the same helmet you usually wore, never getting rid of it in the first place. bringing you home for the first time after three months — nobody spoke a word to each other, and it was definitely awkward. hopping off his bike, you returned back the helmet to him and began walking back towards your house.
"hey," he calls out to you.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who sucked up his ego and confessed to you in a "nicer" way and tone like you told him to. and he of course, managed to butcher it up again.
"i don't fuckin' hate you. i just tolerate you more than i tolerate other people," he retorts. seeing the unimpressed look on your face made him think twice, "okay. i like you, just— bye," and then he left just like that without trying to hear your reply.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who didn't expect a glass of boba on his staff room with a small note, and he knew it was from you.
'i like you too, why did you leave last night?'
because he was scared you'd reject him, that's why. but now that you made it clear that you weren't going to reject him, he was more relaxed. but the thought of meeting you face to face after last night made him nervous all over.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who was actually surprised when you weren't as awkward as he is upon meeting him after last night. peeking your head inside the staff room like the usual — he turned to look and there you were already jumping onto him.
"hey! why did you leave so fast last night? i didn't even get to answer you yet," he grumbled under his breath when you brought it up yet again.
"because i was afraid y're gonna reject me, happy?" he asks, "but you didn't so 'm not afraid anymore, i guess."
"what does this make us?" you replied back playfully, nudging his bicep with your elbow, "hm? hm?"
"friends," he teased, his face flat.
"hey!"
© shoyudon 2024 . no copying or reposting allowed !
#jjk#jujutsu kaisen#fluff#jjk fluff#jujutsu kaisen fluff#toji#toji fushiguro#toji fushiguro x reader#toji fushiguro fluff#toji fluff#toji x reader#jujutsu kaisen toji#jjk toji#toji x female reader#toji fushiguro x female reader
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Hii!! I Hope this isn’t asking too much but do you know if you could write about the reader giving rz Michael a bubble bath in like those claw foot baths where his knees would be sticking out, and he would have a pile of soap suds on top of his head and he would be entertained by a little rubber ducky as we wash him with those big yellow sponges? If you can’t that’s completely ok and don’t worry about it!! It would just be a cute fluffy moment between the 2!
Bath time
RZ!Michael Myers x reader
Word count: 1.4k
Tags list: @dootys @callmemeelah @mehidktbh @beanbagbitch @mrs-heelshire @vincent-sinclair-deserved-better @oneofvincentscandles @sleepypersonblog @alexxavicry @vexeliers-breakroom @l0sercat @naxxsstuff @beel-mcburger @charliedawn @emychan @slasherscrybaby
You slowly blinked while staring ahead at the alarm clock. It was close to midnight and your killer boyfriend haven’t came back yet and it’s nearly been three hours. It wasn’t like you could do anything, you wouldn’t know where to look if you wanted to do a search to find him. The more time he was gone, the more your mind started to wander and think the worst case scenarios. You shook your head to make them stop but they kept coming, making you sit up straight to walk around.
What if he finally got caught…or worse…did someone finally manage to kill him? Is he gone for good..?
“Don’t be ridiculous.” you said to yourself while trying to get something to drink. “This is Michael we’re talking about, he’s strong enough to handle himself.”
Yet the thought still lingered, he’d always come home badly injured and each time it made you worry that one day he won’t come back for good. People can put up a good fight when it comes to him and it shows from him having scratch marks to literally stab wounds and glass shards in his skin. You poured water in your cup, the thoughts still consuming your brain. A low creak of the wooden floor made you flinch, realizing you overfilled your cup of water and it spilled on the counter. Cursing to yourself as you quickly tried to clean it up and looked where the creak came from.
Michael stood by the couch and you had a hand over your pounding heart at the sight of him, turning on the kitchen light to get a better look at him. Luckily there wasn’t any blood..at least that was his…
His outfit was mainly covered in dirt, you sighed in relief which made him tilt his head at you. “You gave me quite the scare Mike.. but you gotta get out of those close if you want me to wash them. I don’t know about you but I don’t want to sleep with a mud stain on my bed. I can start a bath while you change.” You didn’t care about the glass of water and ran upstairs to get the bath ready, making sure it was warm but was still a little hot, making sure it had lots of soap for him to try and relax in. When you turned around Michael stood at the bathroom doorway. You really didn’t want to tell him to take off his mask but you had to in order for you to wash his hair as well.
“Okay another thing… you’re gonna have to take off your mask,” you saw him let out a deep breath. “Wait wait, you can still wear your paper mache one, I just want to wash your hair as well.” You held your hands up in defense, slowly sliding beside him before leaving the bathroom to go and get one of the old one he made that nearly resembled a pumpkin face with black scribbles. Giving it to him and giving him the privacy he needed. “If you need anything, or need help just knock okay?” Michael nodded, you went back downstairs to try and drink the glass of water now knowing that he’s okay.
I wonder if he got hurt, there wasn’t any blood seeping through his clothes it was only the blood of his victims, even if that was the case it’s not like he’s gonna go out of his way to show me I’d have to catch him or pay close attention, he didn’t look injured though.
You heard three knocks, chugging the rest of your water before sprinting upstairs, skipping every two steps to reach to the top faster, hoping he had on the paper mache mask, opening the cracked door to see Michael in the tub. He had his hands on his knees while his knees stuck out of the tub, a yellow rubber ducky floated through the water each time he moved. You forgot that was there.
“Is everything alright?” You asked pointing at him.
He nodded. Pointing at his body and hair.
“You..want me to wash you up?”
He nodded again.
With a tap of your fingers against the wall it took you a moment to remover where you put those large sponges, rushing back downstairs for the third time and grabbing a random cup and large sponge. Coming back up with a small huff from the constant back and forth, still standing and let the sponge absorb some water before pressing down on the bottle of foam soap. Washing up his upper body gently to make sure the soap spread everywhere. Sometimes he’d poke the duck or would squeeze it to make the water come out. You smiled at him being entertained by it. “Alright you gotta wash your lower body, let me know when you’re done I’m gonna put your clothes in the washer.”
He took the sponge silently, you gathered the muddy and dirty clothes and put them in the washer, nearly slamming the washer shut. You then went to your small closet and grabbed a large towel to put in the dryer so it can be warm for him when he comes out. You rubbed your tired yes before going to your room closer,looking for a certain pair of pajamas you bought for him to sleep in, it was hard to find the right size since you couldn’t take him shopping, your best guess was to estimate by the way his clothes looked on him, hoping they weren’t that big on him once he tried them on.
You grabbed the light blue two piece pajamas for him and stood by the bathroom until he knocked again. The three knocks came back and you came in. Wondering how you were going to wash his hair with the paper mache mask in his face. You put down the pajamas.
“Okay.. I’m gonna need you to tilt your head back so the mask won’t get wet.” His hair got dirtier every time you saw it, he desperately needed it washed. You were surprised it was still growing since he didn’t take care of it. Pouring a cup of water over his hair until it was wet and squeezed some shampoo in your hands, massaging his scalp and made sure every last strand of his hair was lathered in shampoo.
You payed attention to his body language since talking was something he never did, his tense form relaxed the more you massaged his scalp with gentle scratches of your fingers the hold on his leg loosened and you cosine sworn you heard him let out a deep sigh. After a few pours, he didn’t have anymore shampoo in his hair. You patted his shoulder to signal you were done, gently gathering his hair to ring out the access water in his hair. “Alright.. I did my part, you can rinse off or stay for as long as you’d like as long as you don’t get my floors wet. Your clothes are on the slink along with a towel. You rushed to get his towel out the dryer, placing it next to his clothing before finally laying down in your bed.
Plopping down on your back, your eyes began to droop needlessly, all that running back and forth made you exhausted along with you staying up waiting for Michael to come home. You didn’t regret it, but now that he was safe in your home, you can relax in peace. You didn’t know how long you managed to sleep before feeling a dip on the other side of the bed.
You sleepily turned your head to Michael who was staring at you through the mask. Having in the pajamas you provided for him. His hair was damp, seeing that he dried it with the towel instead of leaving it a dripping mess to make your sheets wet. You held your hand out with another tired yawn. Eyes not being able to stay open and sleep wanted to overtake you, but you’d like to see him before you go back to sleep. You turned your body so your face him as well. Michaels large hand took yours in a tight squeeze, you didn’t have the energy to tell him to be more gentle, instead, the tight hold made you feel at ease knowing he was there with you . Closing your eyes with a soft, “Good night, Michael.”
A rough grunt was your response, it was the last thing you heard before falling back asleep.
#rz michael myers x you#rz michael myers#rz michael myers fluff#rz michael myers fanfic#rz michael myers imagine#rz michael x reader#Halloween#slashers#slasher fanfiction#slasher fluff#slasher imagines#slasher x you#slasher x reader
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This Must Be The Place: Chapter 11 - Cover up the blank spots
Biker!Bucky x Femme Reader
Back at your beloved late grandmother's home to pack up her house, you have a run-in with the town's biker gang 'The Howling Commandos' and find yourself entangled with the metal armed President.
Series Masterlist
Warnings: Angst, nobody really having a great time.
Me again! Thanks for the wonderful response to last chapter. Bucky is still an idiot I’m sorry to say…but he’s getting there.
As always thank-you for the lovely reblogs and comments, it makes my day reading them!
As the door slammed loudly behind you, the group stood in silence looking at Bucky as he just stared back at the exit where you’d just been. The many sets of eyes on him seemed to snap him out of it, he snarled and turned to them.
“Well? We’re closed. Why are you all still here?”
The group blanched but glanced at each other. They seemed to be battling with obeying an order from their President but also wanting to speak up. Amber and the girls took that as their cue, grabbing their things and scattering out of the bar. Amber scowled at Bucky as she left, which he pointedly ignored.
Bucky continued to glare questioningly at the group before Steve finally cleared his throat and spoke, “I don’t think she did it, Buck”.
Steve crouched down and began to pick up the discarded notes you had flung at Bucky. He gathered them all into a pile and shuffled them against the bar to straighten them into a neat bundle.
“I don’t think she did either,” Nat spat as she pointed an accusatory, manicured finger at Bucky. “And that was really fucked up, reading her the riot act in front of everybody like that. At least confront her privately”.
There was a quiet murmur from the others, seemingly in agreement.
Bucky glowered at Nat, “Watch your tone, Romanoff” he warned. He didn’t like to pull rank but he didn’t like his authority being disrespected by members, either.
She held up her hands defensively, but her voice softened, “Okay – I’m sorry. I’m not trying to disrespect you here, but you always say we can speak freely, and that this isn’t a dictatorship. Right?”
He frowned but nodded reluctantly.
“Well…I don’t think she did it,” Nat continued. “I don’t think she’s so hard up for money that she needs to steal 170 bucks or whatever. I’ve seen her make that in tips on a big night! And even if she was stealing, she’s not dumb enough to take it all outta the register at once. And then leave it in her purse! She’s worked in bars for years, she knows receipts are checked against takings. She knows you count the cash every night and it would’ve immediately shown up”.
Bucky put one hand on his hip and ran the other through his hair. His tone was still firm, but he looked visibly stressed, “So, what, she just happens to be carrying around a wad of bills that are about the same amount that we’re missing?”
Steve sighed. “I agree with Nat, she looked genuinely shocked to be accused. And she’s not stupid. If she was gonna steal I think she’d skim small amounts off the top so we don’t notice. And this,” he held up the cash, “I think she was telling the truth about it being her grandma’s money, its kinda musty and old, like it’s been stored somewhere a while, it doesn’t feel or smell like the rest of the bills in the register. It tracks that she found it in her stashed in her nanna’s house or whatever”.
“Old lady money,” Peter nodded sagely.
The others all looked at him for a second.
Bucky rolled his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Alright…everybody out, now, except Steve and Sam”.
They followed his lead and dispersed as they mumbled their goodbyes, the thundering roar of motorcycles ringing out as they peeled out of the parking lot just moments later. Bucky could feel their disapproving gazes on him as they left, the guilt swimming in his stomach as he started to think about what he’d done.
“Fuck…” muttered Bucky. He frowned and rubbed his temples with his thumb and little finger.
“Why’d you check her bag in the first place, man?” Sam asked, “clearly you had suspicions about her if you went through her stuff”.
Bucky frowned, “I don’t know,” he admitted, “I wasn’t even thinking that the money was stolen…or that she would’ve stolen it…I just saw her purse in the office and…just sort of found myself picking it up without even really knowing why. And just as I was feeling like a total asshole and about to put it back, I saw the cash. And I saw red…I was so angry, so…hurt…that she could do something like that to me…to all of us when we’ve accepted her into the group…I didn’t really think I just-”
He winced, his head falling into his hands.
“Fuck”, was all he said.
“That was messed up,” Sam told him firmly.
“I know…fuck…I fucked up, bad”.
Steve clamped a hand onto his old friend’s back, giving him a reassuring pat. “Do you think part of the reason you had such a strong reaction is because you’re sleeping together, and when you thought she’d done that, it felt more personal?”
Bucky blanched, “wait, we’re not…”
“C’mon man, we’re not blind,” Sam chuckled.
Bucky looked guiltily between his two friends, immediately dropping the charade, “is it that obvious?”
Sam just grinned, “It wasn’t. But I saw you grab her ass earlier”.
Bucky groaned.
“You’re not that obvious. Mostly,” Steve explained matter-of-factly, “but I’ve seen the secret looks. The way you’re always touching her. The weird vibe the two of you have, with your little fights and what-not. There’s clear chemistry there. I don’t think the others have caught up yet, though”.
Bucky grimaced then rolled his eyes.
“You’re too damn good at your job…” he growled, but then softened as he considered Steve’s words.
“And yeah…I guess I felt…betrayed…when I thought she’d stolen. It was like she’d stolen from me. I just got so mad thinking about how she could be so sweet to my face but do that to me…but I shouldn’t have gone through her bag…I shouldn’t have yelled at her like that…in front of everyone…shouldn’t have been an asshole”.
Sam and Steve nodded in agreement.
He groaned, “fuck. What a fucking mess. What’s going on? I’m falling apart here…this isn’t like me at all”.
Steve and Sam shared a heavy look.
“You need to fix it,” Steve told him.
“I don’t know if I can…I really hurt her”.
“You need to try, at least. And you owe her a grovelling apology”, said Sam.
“Yeah. She’s a nice gal. And she’s also the best bartender we got,” Steve advised pragmatically as he pulled out his phone and began tapping away at it.
“And we need to figure out what happened to that money,” Sam added.
“Maybe we did fuck up the numbers somehow and we weren’t light? But I checked…so did Steve-,” Bucky pondered.
Steve suddenly started to wave his phone in the air.
“Mm. Well, just call me Poirot I guess…” he said without looking up from his screen.
Bucky and Sam exchanged a puzzled look before leaning over to see what Steve was looking at.
He was logged into the bar’s Instagram page, flicking through the stories that customers had tagged the bar in that night. Between the drunken selfies and silly filters, Steve stopped on a video of the bachelor party from earlier – the men singing tunelessly and belly laughing as they swayed in front of the bar, their knees buckling as they leaned against it.
“Drunk guys. So what? What am I looking at here?” Bucky muttered.
Steve held his finger on the screen as Sam and Bucky leaned closer. Behind the partygoers, clear as day, the cameraperson had inadvertently caught Tom the bartender quite literally with his hand in the register – quickly shovelling a wad of bills into his pocket before turning to pick up some discarded glasses. It was fast, but unmistakeable.
Bucky’s fists clenched at his sides.
“That sonofa…”
*
You had managed to drive home without crashing the car, which was no mean feat considering what a mess your head was currently in. But you were also weirdly numb, driving almost on autopilot as muscle memory got you back home.
You were humiliated. Embarrassed. Angry. Devastated. You felt too many things to count, your emotions so overwhelming that you’d short circuited. You couldn’t believe Bucky would do that to you, in front of everyone, that he thought so little of you that he assumed you were a thief – even digging through your private things without a moment’s hesitation.
At least, thank God, you hadn’t already shared your true feelings for him. How stupid you were! You were gearing yourself for your big movie moment while he’d written you off as a lying crook! You felt ashamed you’d allowed yourself to be so caught up in him, to let your body be enjoyed by a man who clearly had so little respect for you. You must’ve been an easy mark for him, the stupid temp bartender who was so easily bedded with a few nice words.
You trudged inside, methodically changing into your pyjamas and getting ready for bed. You kept replaying the MC’s pitying eyes in your head over and over, screwing up your face as you re-lived in the embarrassment in real time. You could see the rage on Bucky’s face, the face of the intimidating MC President, not the tender man who kissed your forehead when he thought you’d fallen asleep on the couch.
Tomorrow, you would allow yourself exactly one day to wallow: a day of take-out, crying and bad movies. And then that would be it. After tomorrow you’d get going again. You’d drop off Granny’s donation to the shelter (well…your donation now). You’d finish the DIY. Fix the damn fence. You’d call the realtor and get the house valued, get it on the market and start taking viewings. You’d start making plans for your next move, call up some old job leads, start looking at apartment listings in new cities. Or maybe you’d take a chunk of the money from the house sale and go on a fancy ass vacation like Granny would’ve wanted.
As you get into bed, you close your eyes and visualise a brief fantasy…
…boarding everything up and leaving early in the morning, zipping away in Sally to your next adventure as you look back wistfully at the house. Mere seconds later, Bucky turns up to your door, flowers in hand, when he’s learned the truth about the money. He falls to his knees as he realises you’re gone forever, he’s too late! Sobbing and wailing, crying out your name as it begins to pour with rain and-
Okay. Maybe a little dramatic. But it was your fantasy.
A loud knock at the door tears you from your thoughts. You frown, having a good idea who it might be…
“Sugar…open up, it’s me,” Bucky calls through your door, his tone sheepish and contrite. “Please…”
Part of you is tempted to stay in bed and let him stew, but you’re unable to contain how angry you feel, so you stomp down the stairs and swing open the front door.
He looks surprised, then relieved, that you actually answered. Standing on the doorstep in his kutte, he somehow appears drastically more tired and weary than he did just an hour ago, there’s an expression anguish on his face you’ve never seen before – and the beginnings of bags tease under his wide eyes.
No flowers though.
“Sugar…thank god…look, I’m so sorry, I fucked up, I really fucked up…”, he babbles as he reaches for you, “I know it wasn’t you. It was Tom. We’re dealing with him now. Oh Jesus, Sug, I messed up, I don’t know what I was thinking…I shouldn’t have touched your bag. I shouldn’t have yelled. I shouldn’t have accused you…”
Part of your resolve wobbles at his direct display of vulnerability. This is what you wanted, an apology, vindication, and humility.
But it’s all too fresh. And your pain is so raw.
You step away from him, and he visibly wilts. You are unmoved.
“Save it,” you spit.
He pales but stays quiet.
“I don’t want to hear it. I don’t want to hear any of it. Just like you didn’t want to hear it at the bar. You said everything you needed to back there. And of course it was Tom, only an idiot couldn’t see that,” you sneer angrily. “Now, get the fuck away from my property, or I’ll call the police”.
You go to slam the door, pausing at the last second as you meet his gaze.
“I just…I can’t believe you’d think that of me,” you tell him, your voice cracking slightly, “that you would think…that I’d do that to you”.
He tries to speak but the door slams in his face, and you’re grateful your tears wait until you get upstairs before they shed. You hear a small thud and his motorcycle roaring to life just a few moments later.
You sigh, picking up your phone. You scroll through to messages and bring up the one from Peter you received earlier.
As you compose a response, an envelope has been slid under your front door. It lays on the doormat at an angle. $175 sits inside, along with your final paycheck and tips. Scribbled on the front reads a single phrase.
I’m sorry.
*
#bucky barnes x reader#bucky barnes#bucky barnes x you#james bucky barnes#this must be the place fic#biker!bucky#motorcycle club au bucky
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Do you have any suggestions for how to clean a mattress that is too floppy and heavy to move from its base? It's a queen-sized latex mattress with no boxspring, just a very heavy-duty base. A couple years ago I tried to clean it with an electric hand shampooing tool and the whole process had me in a multi-day meltdown because moving it around was just so difficult and I felt so helpless. It has made me feel like I made a mistake buying such a heavy mattress and should start over with with a spring mattress, except I'm a really heavy person so I feel like springs aren't right for me. But at least I'd be able to physically pick it up.
Hopefully my advice isn’t gonna make matters worse but: you shouldn’t ever get to a stage of needing to clean a mattress. Invest in protectors because dear god we expect a lot from beds. Most mattresses are very heavy though I agree latex is like the heaviest dear god.
I’ve heard people say mattresses without protectors can double in weight over a ten to fifteen year lifespan. Dead skin cells, dust mites, dust mite corpses, and all the other things then can accumulate in beds. I think double is an exaggeration but it’s still a very real thing. So protectors! Waterproof! They’re your first line of defense! With good ones you can avoid ever needing to clean your mattress.
That said, shit happens. Leeloo had an accident one time on the very edge of my bed and it went over the protector boundary. Shoulda had my five sided protector on but it was getting washed. I opted to get a professional cleaner in to do the steam cleaning. Foams and latex are really touchy materials that can retain moisture for a long time and it’s really best left to professionals if they need to be deep cleaned.
If you’re at a stage where for whatever reason a new mattress is nigh, I love an all foam bed for heavier folks. Really dense foams like Tempur and Serta hold up extremely well to long term weight, whereas springs start to cave sooner.
You’re not silly for getting a heavy mattress, most beds are awful and flopsy to move around and the best we can do is our best to mitigate dealing with that.
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Hi, I love your writing! I'm not sure if you are doing the erotic horror prompts anymore but if you are, then may I request a Prompt 9 OR 34 with John Wick?
Hi, thank you so much, Anonymous. It means the fucking world to me!!! Allow me to express my gratitude with some predator/prey:
(I know these are supposed to be horror, but I keep turning them into fluff. Please forgive me🥺❤️)
“So, the first rule of self defense is run,” John says, giving her a heavy, doubtful side eye that speaks volumes about his faith in her to do so.
“Second?” She asks, arms crossed, foot tapping, watching him stalk circles around her like he’s going to drop her at any moment - her heart patters wildly every time she sees his step slow or his eyes move to a vulnerable part of her body, even though she knows that whatever “tells” he exhibits are actually fakeouts and dead ends. Just a way to get her nerves worked up so that she’s taking him seriously.
He stops in front of her, places a finger in the center of her chest, and she knows he could give a little push and she’d be flat on her ass.
But he doesn’t. He smiles. “Hide.”
She rolls her eyes. “The third?”
“Fight. And -“ he moves his finger against her bare skin, drawing her eyes and attention, then flicks her lightly on the forehead as punishment for falling for it. “Don’t roll your eyes at your superior.”
She rubs the pink mark. “Ow,” she tells him, even though the trick only stung a tiny bit.
“Now say, “yes, master.”” His eyes light with mischief.
Every piece of her fucked, masochist body wants to fight him on that if only to earn more brutality for it. But this is supposed to be critical training, even though her trainer isn’t taking it as such.
She figures that she’ll be the determined one, for once, so she tips her head, straightens her shoulders, and says, “yes, master.”
His eyebrow raises behind untamed bangs. “Good.”
“Did you take that from a job orientation class?” She asks him.
“What?”
“At jobs, they use the ‘run, hide, fight’ for active shooters.”
He shakes his head no, but it’s so hard to tell when and if he’s fucking with her…
“Have you ever had a normal job?” She wonders aloud.
He shrugs. “Then you already have the basics down. Excellent.” He continues circling. “Start small,” he says. “Then, work your way up.”
She nods, although annoyed with being ignored, continue.
“So, we start with running.”
She cringes. The mere thought of him watching her run laps is painfully embarrassing.
Wanting to impress and not kill this before it even gets started, she keeps her mouth shut.
“I’ll give you a minute head start.”
Wait, what did he say?
She almost laughs. “We’re racing?”
His grin is worrying. “No, I’m chasing you.”
In that case, she wants to ask for at least a five minute head start; eyes his thick, long legs. The taut muscle is visible shifting and tensing, even under his baggy sweatpants.
“You’re going to catch me,” she tells him, wanting to argue about this being unfair.
“Then you’d better start running,” he replies, flipping his wrist over to check the ticking time.
“What - where am I allowed to go?” Cool sweat collects at the nape of her neck.
“Anywhere.” He’s still looking at his watch, waiting patiently.
“When are we starting?”
His eyes flit up, glint at her, then focus back on the dwindling time. “Five seconds ago.”
Prickling anticipation drives her to argue. “How is that going to help me? Just running all day so you can keep catching me? Pretty soon I’ll get tired and will just give up and let you catch me.”
“Oh, that’s what I forgot to mention,” John murmurs.
Anger anxiety cocktail spikes. Forgot to mention? There’s a lot of shit that he’s conveniently forgetting to mention.
“If I catch you, I tickle you.” His grin grows into a sharp-bladed tip.
“John,” she says, voice worried, which delights him. “That is not fair. You’re going to catch me and you can’t just tickle me all day when you do.”
He’s a reasonable man. He’ll see her issue. She’s valid in her concerns, and they both know it.
“Yes I can.”
“Are you serious?!”
“Uh huh.” He taps his watch face. “Thirty seconds.”
Her shoes slip on the cushiony matts, landing her on her knees before she can start bolting.
He resists the urge to go to her. Thankfully, she’s not down for long, or else his concern would get the better of him.
She stands and runs. Up the stairs, already panting and sweating, adrenaline an ache that builds higher the farther away she gets from him.
Out the door of the gym, down the hallway, trying not to fall again and losing precious time because of it.
She’s in the cold before she knows what she’s doing. Her t-shirt does nothing to cover her from the frost, but fear and physical exertion help her stay warm.
Down the left block, then ducking through an alleyway, wondering if he’s on her tail by now.
Blessedly, there’s no snow on the ground, so she’s not leaving any footprints. Also, that means she can go faster and not have to worry about falling.
She rushes a corner and almost takes out an older man walking his dog, so, of course, she has to stop and profusely apologize.
“It’s fine, dear,” he chuckles.
She pats his friendly Labrador on the head. “Are you sure?” She looks him over, and he seems okay. Her memory says she ran smack dab into his frail frame, but maybe it’s just her psychosis acting up again.
“I’m alright, dear, where is your coat? Your skin is ice cold.”
“Oh, I left it at home, just going for a jog,” she replies, trying to be casual.
His fluffy dog pushes a wet nose into her hand and nuzzles her out of more attention.
“This is Sam,” the older man introduces. “He is very friendly.”
“He’s amazing,” she says, using both hands to stroke blonde, cold fur.
“Are you training for a marathon?” The man asks. “I hear there’s a big one by Macy’s next week.”
“No. Just exercising.” She smiles up at him, wondering how to politely break this conversation off and save her own ass.
Behind him, about half a block down, is her pursuer and teacher.
It would be better if he looked disappointed. So, so much better.
Her hand stills on Sam’s head.
That expression would be a glare if his mouth wasn’t pulled up at the seams. His eyes of brilliant brown are blown black. Like a shark. No, too intentional to be a shark - it isn’t pure hunger that drives him.
Gotcha.
Fear is the only thing she’s capable of feeling for a couple of seconds as she forgets what, exactly, is going on while an instinctual and ancient part of her remembers what it’s like to be hunted.
She’s going to feel really bad, later, about turning away from a nice man and his dog without so much as a goodbye and sprinting the opposite direction.
That trepidation just coils tighter the more she runs. She wasn’t built for this. Her legs are too short, her body too pillowy to gain any sort of momentum, her lungs too small for the air required in running.
It’s nothing but luck and adrenaline carrying her down crossroads and alleys.
She spares a glance behind her, and almost feels like she’s winning when she doesn’t see John.
It’s because he’s in front of her.
At the end of the gravelly side street, lounging lazily on the wall.
Michael fucking Meyers, that’s what this reminds her of. You never see him moving, but somehow he’s always catching up to you.
She almost falls again when turning around to dash the other way, but manages to keep a shaky, vertical grip on earth.
John surpasses her, the easy stride of his legs infuriating, and plants himself in her path so that she runs smack into his chest.
There’s no time to get away. He already has her biceps gripped tight.
She winces, writhes, glower resembling more of a pout.
“When you run,” he says, kissing her head with a soft mouth that contradicts his hard grip. “You zigzag. Go every direction. Never in a straight line. Never predictably. You have to not think about where you’re going, but focus wholly on your destination.”
“Helpful tips that I should have known earlier?” She tries, grinning dryly.
He chuckles. “If I just tell you, you won’t learn. Which reminds me: Let’s take you home and get you warm. I owe you some merciless tickling, don’t I?”
“I was hoping you’d forget,” she groans. “Second chance?”
“You’ll get plenty of chances,” he assures, leading her back to where she came with a big arm wrapped around her shoulders to keep her warm.
#john wick x reader#john wick fanfiction#john wick x plus size reader#keanuverse fic#keanuverse#Idk wtf this is#My touch starved brain said fluff#And I obeyed#IV Drabbles
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Keeping On
–> It's been a long road back from injury for Manuel Neuer, but at 38 he is once again integral to Bayern München's success. After breaking the Champions League clean sheet record against Arsenal in the quarter-finals, he reflects on a career that still has plenty of road ahead.
Manuel Neuer is in a reflective mood. Now 38, the Bayern München goalkeeper became a father for the first time in March - something which can add a fresh layer of perspective to anybody's outlook. Yet right now, as he sits speaking to Champions Journal, his focus is on another event which prompted much introspection on his part - the career-threatening lower-leg break he suffered in a skiing accident in December 2022.
"If we were to ask the medical staff and the rehab team, they would scarcely believe that we are where we are today because I think out of every ten people only one or two manage to come back from that," he says. "Particularly after the injuries and with the games I played, it couldn't have gone any better than it did, for me to be standing in goal and performing well again. It was a big strain for me, which is normal for a serious injury. I think everything takes time and ultimately nature decided if it would work out or if I would never be able to play again.”
That he was back playing for Bayern ten months after the fracture to the tibia and fibula in his right leg was down to "thinking positively and the desire to play football and play professional sport again". That determination should surprise none of us given the admirable longevity of a player who, among the goalkeeping fraternity, is second only to lker Casillas for most appearances in the Champions League, with 138 (prior to this month's semi-finals) to the Spaniard’s 177.
Moreover, with his clean sheet in the quarter-final home victory over Arsenal, he did not just help his team into another semi-final but surpassed Casillas's record of 57 shutouts in the competition. "It's not the most important thing there is but it's nice for my team-mates - and all the colleagues I've played with in the past - if we think about our defensive work. I started with Schalke and then continued at Bayern, right up to the present day, and it's great that it's not over yet."
Those clean sheets are part of a bigger picture in which he has made over 500 appearances for Bayern and worn the captain's armband since 2017 - earning a special place in the club's pantheon as one of only three goalkeepers to have held aloft the European Cup along with Sepp Maier and Oliver Kahn.
As an interviewee, Neuer speaks with the clarity and maturity of a man on the verge of 500 Bundesliga games and - ahead of this summer's EURO - 117 senior caps for Germany. He is polite to the point of shaking the hand of every member of the film crew present as he introduces himself.
Since his early days at Schalke, his first club, he has been considered a pioneer of the sweeper-keeper role though in his eyes, defensive security still represents the most important thing a goalkeeper can give his colleagues. "I think being able to give the rest of the team the feeling that they've got someone at the back that they can rely on to provide assurance, that's the decisive factor.”
That assurance was there again in Bayern's semi-final first leg against Real Madrid as he flung himself to his left to keep out a deflected shot from Toni Kroos, then stood tall to foil Vinícius Júnior in a one-v-one. Arguably, it has always been there - at least to some degree. His first clean sheet in the Champions League was on 3 October 2007 in a 2-0 Schalke win at Rosenborg. Then he was a fresh-faced 21-year-old playing for his home-town team. Looking back on his younger self, and how he has changed, he says: "I would just be more relaxed [nowadays] and also not try and decide everything on the pitch - that is kind of the difference from Manuel at the beginning, at Schalke, who wanted to take a lot into his own hands, to do a lot himself. I also know that I cannot influence everything. I'd say I was a bit wilder - I didn't have this sense of calm and maybe the charisma as well. I was, of course, always an attacking goalkeeper who tried to join in the build-up play.”
"It's obviously been a long time since then when you look back on it. It's also very normal, given that I'm now 38, that I've developed a fair bit since then. But it's nice to cast your mind back to those days, and how things were at that time."
Now we are back in those days, let's stay there a little longer. With Schalke, he reached the Champions League quarterfinals in his debut season of 2007/08. In 2011 he helped the Gelsenkirchen club into the semi-finals where they lost to Manchester United. That summer he headed south to Bayern. Remembering the move, he says: "It certainly wasn't easy. There was a lot of media scrutiny about my character in making the switch from Schalke to Bayern. There were lots of fans who weren't thrilled about it.
"I think that the support of the club, of the team, was very important. I already knew lots of the German players from the national team - they were definitely very excited that I was coming to Bayern. That was something that I realised from the first day when we started training at Säbener Strässe [Bayern's training ground in the south of the city] and then at the training camp. And so, I felt very comfortable from the beginning."
His first campaign in Munich ended with a Champions League final defeat at Bayern's home stadium against Chelsea. He had shone in the preceding semi-final victory over Real Madrid, saving from Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaká in the concluding shoot-out. These were not his first spot-kick heroics, mind: two saves against Porto had taken Schalke to the last eight in that debut season.
"You have to radiate confidence and try to show your opponent that you are stronger than they are," he says of the mano a mano challenge that penalties bring. Yet he tasted the downside of those duels in the final against Chelsea, with Bayern beaten despite his stop from Juan Mata. "Fundamentally, we were satisfied with how we performed on the pitch, but in the end we didn't get over the line," he recalls of a year in which they also finished runners-up in the Bundesliga and German Cup. "It meant that we were extra motivated when we went into the next season and that made a difference. I think that the coaching staff around Jupp Heynckes were also very motivated. From the first day, it was clear that we all wanted to achieve something that season, and you could see that from then on."
Cue a treble-winning campaign, with successes in the German league and cup allied to a 2-1 Champions League final success over Borussia Dortmund at Wembley. Back-to-back clean sheets against Barcelona in the semi-final had underlined, in Neuer's own words, that he was "someone that can be relied upon". It meant he ended his first two campaigns in the competition with Bayern with a total of ten clean sheets. And his development continued the following year with Germany’s World Cup triumph in Brazil, where he racked up four more shutouts.
He relates: “I gained a lot of experience from 2012 to 2013, from the success, and also the next stages because we had coaches who taught us a lot. I think the team developed too, which we also benefited from, and then the German national players became world champions. We had a lot of self-confidence. I was able to learn a lot from the good coaches and from my good team-mates and no one can take that experience away from you. That is why I can always play to the best of my ability, even in big games."
If that was one golden chapter, another came in 2020 when he lifted the Champions League trophy again, with the Bayern team who defeated Paris Saint-Germain in the final in Lisbon. That was the competition that concluded in empty stadiums in Portugal owing to the pandemic. "It meant a lot to me; he remembers. "I think it was the best team performance that we put together for the club. It was a bit harder given the conditions that we had to play under during the coronavirus period. How we prepared, and the spirit and fitness we went into these games with... put simply, we earned that success. It wasn't always clear that we would beat Paris in the end. We worked really hard to stay in the game and then Kingsley [Coman) made it 1-0.
"That was a team success and, unfortunately, you could not celebrate with the fans. That was the downside, that we won the Champions League in Lisbon, which of course meant just as much to us, but it would have been even better if the spectators had been there."
Neuer, for the record, registered clean sheets in both the one-off semi-final against Lyon and then that final versus Paris. His enduring excellence has been on display this season too, since his return from injury - with four shutouts in seven outings up to the semi-final stage.
It would be no surprise if the first of those, clean sheet no55 of his Champions League career at home to Copenhagen on 29 November, had felt especially sweet, coming 421 days after the previous one against Viktoria Plzen on 4 October the previous year. If this takes us back to the difficulties - physical and mental - of his injury, he cites a silver lining.
"I think every break and every injury also has some good in it. Nothing comes at the right time. The injury was supposed to be simple but you have to look deep into your eyes and say, 'Hey, I will take this challenge on and will try to come out of it stronger.’ That took a little while of course but I couldn't expect anything else."
Once again, Neuer has experienced enough of football's ups and downs to see the bigger picture. And right now, it holds more than one reason for optimism, including the prospect of playing in Germany's home EURO this summer - home town Gelsenkirchen and adopted home town Munich are among the ten venues. He has not forgotten the feeling of the last major tournament his nation staged, the 2006 FIFA World Cup. "In 2006, I was watching in public viewing areas and soaking up the atmosphere - it was just sensational how Germany hosted the world," he says.
Back then he was 18 and had just completed his first full season with Schalke's second team. We go back to the question of his evolution as a player over the years. "I would say that maybe I am a bit calmer, and also more disciplined in my actions, though it always depends on the team-mates we have, who is playing, how do I have to adjust as the goalkeeper, what game plan we have, what does the coach want, how high is the line, how are we defending, how do we want to play out from the back? There are always little things that change and that is the case whether I play for the national team or for Bayern, and it is the same from coach to coach in the seasons when we have competed in the Champions League - there are always nuances that are different, but fundamentally I have always stayed true to the way I play." And while that involves Neuer's work with the ball at his feet, he has not lost sight of the one thing that matters above all for a goalkeeper: "The clean sheets." 
~ Written by Simon Hart for Issue 19 of the Champions Journal
#it’s such a simple gesture#but I love that he took the time to shake hands with everyone on the film crew#manuel neuer#fc bayern#fc bayern munich#fc bayern münchen#footballer quotes#interviews#ucl#ucl 23/24
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sometimes I think about my 7th grade math teacher and how she started banging her head against the wall because she got so tired of dealing with us
#in my defense I was a good student in that class#everyone else was just annoying </3 </3#the south has so much whimsy and silliness#said no one ever#my 7th grade ela teacher got fired for saying the n word 3 times and writing it on the board in front of everyone#guys I'm being so fr rn I would have BEEN THERE but I was on a trip for lgpe and ended up missing class#my 8th grade teacher I think accidentally landed a hit on her like 5yo son because she talked about him so often#that everyone started hating him#I remember sitting in one of my classes and overhearing someone talking how if they ever met her son they would beat him up#she was kinda mid anyways but I was one of her favorites so I had to at least pretend to like her#the south is so interesting actually just not a lot of whimsy#someone's car exploded last month
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Reading a court of thorns and roses bc it's been rec'd to me many times (by the same two friends mostly) and also I've never really read a smut novel before and Jesus christ this protagonist is insufferable
#first of all its like the author tried to recreate katniss everdeen without any fundamental understanding of her character#like the reason the whole 'i hunt and provide for my family because no one else will' thing works for katniss is that her mother is ill#and her sister is like 8 years old#so like yeah obviously she'd be the one to provide#but feyre is like 'i have to do everything around here because my two OLDER sisters simply dont feel like doing chores'#like what????#i get that her dying mother for some reason put the responsibilities on her but it makes 0 sense#like whoever wrote this was clearly a youngest sibling with a martyr complex because its just. so heavy handed#also her insistence that nesta is simply too shallow and vapid to do what she does makes me roll my eyes every other page#honestly justice for nesta#1) if my sister started doing all of the hunting and providing without ever communicating why i would probably assume she wanted to do it#2) if after our mothers death she started completely resenting everything i do and glaring at me constantly id think she blames me for it#3) being around that kind of smug negative energy would absolutely make me start to be a little mean too even just as a defense mechanism#4) shes constantly assuming the worst in nesta and is proven at least twice to be an unreliable narrator in regards to nestas priorities#also that comment feyre made about how smug she felt after leaving knowing that her family would 'starve without her' god what an asshole#like you cant present yourself as so much morally better than your sisters and then turn around and say shit like that#anyway im hoping she becomes less insufferable as the story goes on#im told the first book is the worst in the series so i just gotta power through for the sake of world building#j reads acotar series#<<<feel free to blacklist if u dont want spoilers and/or critiques of this series bc i plan to vent on here a lot abt it
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One thing I find eternally amusing is that if I say the statement "Discounting the toxic crybabys, most people who were mad about what Luke became in the sequels are the older generations who grew up with the OG trilogy and spent 30 years headcanoning him as their perfect special uwu boy"... I can group people in the area into age brackets based on how annoyed they get at the statement... Bonus points if the phrase "but the EU/books!" is spoken.
#'the books ain't canon babyyyyy and they never have been'#but also the younger folks even if they don't agree will kinda... consider it at least#the older folks IMMEDIATELY bristle and get defensive#not even toxic just like... i'm challenging their beliefs and they feel that...#i'm friends with some of the guys... they're good guys...#just... funny how consistent it is...#and i know it's not an argument i'll ever convince them of...#but as someone who has been in multiple fandoms with 1 million year hiatuses...#it's so easy for fanon to start getting mainstreamed as canon...#which that coupled with the EU is exactly what happened with Luke#dude ain't perfect and the fight against the dark side is a constant struggle#a lot of the people who get defensive just think it's a fight Luke has permanently won#and the sequels said otherwise#sequels ain't perfect but i'm not mad about what they did to Luke#if yoda can go chill on dagobah for 20 years... luke can go chill on ahch-to#anyways#star wars#my rambles
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Alrighty got my concepts for my new dnd character now just to actually figure out how the fuck hexblade warlocks work </3
#rat rambles#oc posting#one of my partymembers played a hexblade warlock for the last lil bit of out last campain so ig I can cross reference him a lil bit#obviously not a lot since he was a Much higher levek than my boy will be fjfndjdh#Im gonna wait to rly get to sheet creation until out session zero tho since our dm wants to wait til then to rly go over stuff#like stat rolling and such#I hope we roll for stats I dont like standard array or point buy dnfnfjfnd#itd be fine if we did one of those two but Id rather not#I think we rolled for our last characters so I dont see why theyd change that for this so ya#and I think we started with a feat last time too so I should probably brainstorm ideas for if we get one again#I know I should probably do one of the combat related ones but also thats boringgggggg#I do know I might go for a kinda more defensive build since my party is likely gonna be. not very bulky lol#which is funny since Im playing a 16 yr old kitty cat gndkrndjd#hes gonna have tboy swag (cringe) and also mommy issues <3#sometimes you end up helping a morally questionable magic bread knife under the promise of free testosterone#Im not entirely sure what voice Im gonna do for him since Im not sure if I wanna lean more into tired subway worker or service voice#I also need to draw him at some point but at least I have a pretty clear image in my head for him#hes gonna be an orange boy :3#and yes his name is gonna be jonny I think Im set on that
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me: oh, yeah, this madoka daemon au will be short! just a quick, 10k thing, im not rewriting every second of the show, just the important scenes!
the madoka magica daemon au: (is 7k words and im only on episode 2)
#chatter#i should just Stop estimating how long things are going to be#i did it with the bad end au i did it with this and i am NEVER right#god. i should start writing shorter things again#remember when i would just write short deltarune things?? wheres that gone??#like in my defense there is a LOT to madoka and a lot of ideas im exploring here#so i sort of do need the space but STILL#IM NOT EVEN AT THE PARTS IM MOST EXCITED FOR YET#i am going. i am going to be writing this For A While i think#at least when i finish i wont be sick of toh daemon au anymore <3
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SUDDENLY STARTED RAINING SO HARD WE ARE SO FUCKING BACK
#i was like huh whats that noise. bc i can normally NEVER hear anything over my headphones but it was the rain fucking shattering it down#my bed is WET the window was only open a few inches 😭#anyway had no signal at work again today smfh. but at least they let me on the bus free on the way there this morning#still a bit wobbly im in the baby deer phase of post major depressive episode#roommate asked how i was doing when she got home and i very very nearly started crying but i didnt i was so brave#my insane insecurity and anger swings post rsd episode have mostly faded too thank fuck. only took 4 days which is pretty good for me#but im still so so tired it takes everything out of me...#when im recovered + can talk abt it without making myself upset again im promising myself i will talk to her abt the rsd if nothing else#but i really really dont want to make her feel bad abt it at all its genuinely not anyones fault. but its important to me that i say smth#just so we can avoid it happening again where possible bc it does really suck so bad. for everyone im sure but mostly me here#and i would like to be able to care abt ppl and have close friends without risking my entire mental (+ physical..) wellbeing 😭#i think if im still struggling w mood once my meds stabilise i might ask if there are options to help w that too#like i think ive gone as far as i can w therapeutic techniques rn. its just too overwhelmingly intense and reflexive for me to apply that#and i dont feel like i live my life around it or in fear of it anymore like generally i have been a lot better#but when im vulnerable and it DOES strike i have no defense against it whatsoever and it can tank everything for weeks#its just high stakes. and it'll help to make sure ppl know abt it and might be able to support etc but it would be nice to never worry abt#so worth trying meds for it maybe. i just dont rly wanna have the conversations w medical ppl in order to get it in the first place#like i wouldnt feel safe telling a doctor abt it bc the idea of someone with that authority having power over me is terrifying#ah well this isnt a problem for right now. plus stimulants might help me w it anyway once im finished titrating so we'll see#got so distracted typing this i forgot what i was gonna do.... i need to check my planner#and then ill probably read and go to sleep early i think zzzzz#ahhh.. and the birds are singing outside now the rain has stopped :-)#.diaries
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played some more mother 1 i died to the magicant dragon like seven times in a row . awesome
#last attempt ana died turn one i just gave up after that#i dont want her to lose out on the exp… plus shes rhe only one w superhealing in case someone else goes down#ive heard it can get oneshot if u just use a superbomb but part of me wants to actually beat it#idk#seems pretty impossible at the level im at rn tbh i might just give up and do that#i got lifeup beta on ninten before one of the attempts on rhe way to the dungeon thingy but i reset the game after i died cuz i didnt#wanna lose the money i had on me and i still havent been able to learn it again -_- really annoying but also it hasnt been too necessary#since i gave evrryone h2o pendants and started setting up psi shields turn one#honestly the biggest issue is the physical damage (its pretty much guaranteed to oneshot ana even with boosted defense)#only way to combat that is just grinding i think which i dont really wanna do since the best place#just based on the general feel of enemies so far for me to do that would be the desert#i dont think you can teleport there and im kinda sick of walking all the way there#right after i got the cactus melody i wanted to use the ocarina to play what i had so far but i accidentally used the onyx hook#and i still had to do the whole monkey cave thing so i had to walk all the way back 😭#oh my god im realizing how whiny this sounds its like. im not as frustrated as ive seen some ppl get w this game but understand this is lik#the most time-wasting game in the world. walking anywhere takes forever cuz of the horrible encounter rate and shitty map design#genuinely i dont mind as much of this games jank as i probably should but the backtracking is insane#especially when you actually take advantage of the onyx hook. at least i have teleportation now stuff will#probably be a lot more streamlined from now on#inqusitivewaltz.txt
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well since requests are open i wanted to request a zuko fic?
zuko x waterbender reader in which someone from team avatar walks in on them kissing?
i feel like it’d be funny idk lol 😂
a/n: i love this trope it’s so funny. also it’s like subtly mentioned reader is a water bender since i didn’t wanna just shove it in there awkwardly. anyway hope you enjoy!
summary: a private moment between you and your boyfriend is interrupted by your unsuspecting friends
“Are you sure no one saw you come in here?”
“Yes, I’m sure,” Zuko says with a huff after closing the flaps of your tent. “You know, I’m starting to think you’re embarrassed to be seen with me.”
“You know that’s not true,” you argue with a frown. “I just enjoy having some privacy. I know those guys are going to make a big deal about us being together, and I just want to enjoy our relationship without having to deal with any prying eyes.”
“I know,” he admits with a sigh. “I’m just tired of sneaking around. Do you know how difficult it is not to kiss you or check on you after a fight with my sister? It’s torture.”
“It’s just until the war is over. There’s a lot at stake right now, and it would be a weird time to come clean. It’ll be over before you know it.”
“I hope you’re right,” Zuko murmurs with a frown, one that immediately melts away at the feel of your arms wrapping around his midsection. It’s hard to be upset when you’re smiling up at him with the purest look of adoration in your eyes. Despite everything, all of his flaws and mistakes and cruelty, you love him, and it fuels the warmth inside of his heart knowing he has someone like you. Maybe he would have joined the Avatar and his friends sooner if he knew it would lead him to you.
“At least we’re finally alone,” he notes with a faint smile before leaning down to press his lips against your own in a long awaited kiss. He hasn’t been able to give or receive affection all day, and it isn’t until now with your chest pressed against his own that he’s finally able to truly feel relaxed.
Unfortunately, you’re both too engrossed in each other to notice the rustling of your tent flaps as Sokka and Toph let themselves in without a second thought.
“Hey, y/n, Toph and I are gonna head into town, do you want to- oh, gross!” He cries after catching Zuko and yourself mid lip lock.
You both jump at the intrusion, knocking your head together on accident and groaning in unison at the impact.
“Sokka!” You cry out in embarrassment. “Monkey feathers, don’t you knock?!”
“It’s a tent! There is no knocking!” He yells back defensively, equally as upset as you are. “I can’t believe you guys were kissing!”
“We weren’t kissing,” Zuko argues, his face red with embarrassment. “We were… hugging… with our… mouths?”
“Oh, spirits,” you groan, your palm hitting your forehead in embarrassment at Zuko’s horrible attempt at lying. For a Prince, he has a terrible way with words. You’d think all that time spent with his Uncle would make his vocabulary more eloquent.
“If Toph could see she’d be very upset right now!” Sokka scolds, but the girl beside him simply shrugs.
“Actually, this works out great for me. Katara owes me five gold pieces now,” she says with a grin.
“You guys knew they were dating and didn’t tell me?!” The water tribe boy says in offense.
“I had a hunch, but Katara disagreed, so we made a bet.”
“Enough already! This is mortifying enough as it is,” you groan impatiently. “Sokka, we’ll talk about this later. For now, I need both of you out!”
After getting the two to leave the tent, you shut it closed with an irritated sigh. You’re absolutely humiliated, and you don’t think you can show your face to your friends ever again.
“So much for keeping it a secret,” the fire bender mutters.
“You,” you say with an accusatory finger pointed at the Prince, “need to learn how to lie better.”
“I know,” he admits meekly, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. Sighing, you open your water pouch and tend to the growing bump on his head from your previous collision. You can’t stay mad at him when he looks so flustered and sweet, so instead you merely throw your arms around his neck and pull him back in for another kiss.
You can focus on coming clean later. For now, you just want to enjoy your moment of peace with the boy you love.
| zuko tags: @thebluelcdy @royahllty @the-firebender-girl @ilovespideyyy @yiyibetch @eridanuswave @lammello @a-monsters-love @knaite-solo @taeeemin @lora21
#zuko#zuko x reader#zuko imagine#prince zuko#prince zuko x reader#prince zuko imagine#atla#atla x reader#atla imagine#avatar the last airbender#request
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✩ ‧₊˚ ✩ SORCERY SCHEMES — GETO SUGURU.
contents. non sorcery au!, husband! suguru, gn! reader, nanako and mimiko are still your kids, silly lil shenanigans of cult leader! suguru being in your dreams
suguru has been the source of your anger for lots of things over the years. some fair, others not so much.
that one important date he accidentally missed because he got caught up at work. that time you vented and he tried to tell you to toughen up instead of picking your side. that time he accidentally shrunk your favorite sweater in the laundry. that time he fell asleep while you were talking late at night (he had insisted he was tired, in his defense—you were just too stubborn to let him sleep.)
marriage has its ups and downs, but suguru likes to think you’re a strong couple—but this? this is the most outrageously ridiculous reason to be mad at him—he’s simply at a loss.
“so let me get this straight,” he starts slowly, as if trying to comprehend something far too complex for his simple mind, “you’re mad at me because i had some superpowers in your dream—”
“it was sorcery,” you hiss, “were you even listening?”
“right. sorry. i was…a sorcerer,” he apologizes. he looks at you like you’re insane—your eye twitches just a little. “and then suddenly i went crazy in the head and killed a village and adopted nanako and mimiko and…left. to basically cleanse an entire demographic. is that right?”
“you had a cult too.”
“and the cult,” he nods slowly, “can’t forget the cult.”
“yeah,” you glower—if looks could kill, suguru thinks he might have never been born at all. this is a new one, he has to admit. “and it was really fucking rude. you left. and you took the kids before i could even meet them.”
“okay,” he says tiredly, rubbing his forehead, “baby, i don’t know if you realize this, but i don’t…i can’t perform sorcery. and i don’t have a cult i can lead either. i’m just a literature teacher—”
“i know what you are,” you snap, shoving away the hand he tries to reach at you with, “you’re a selfish psychopath who committed heinous crimes and left me single and alone as you led a group of people to follow your crazy ideas. don’t even think about touching me—”
“so do you want me to apologize?” he sighs, “because i’m sorry—”
“what if i left you? huh? and just started killing everyone who has blue eyes? what then? i’ll take the kids this time and leave you alone, see how you like it.”
“well, at least that gets rid of satoru,” he mutters quietly. and then he grins—chuckles a soft little laugh that makes the edges of your lips curl just a bit. “you’re crazy,” he snorts, shaking his head. and then— “but i love you. c’mere.”
you don’t fight the hand the reaches towards you this time, letting his arm curl around your waist and pull you into his side. that’s a good sign, he thinks, so he tests the waters and plants a kiss to your head. you melt just a little.
“i’m still mad at you,” you mumble.
“yeah, i figured,” he grins, “anything i can do to erase my sins as a mass murderer?”
“you can make breakfast,” you hum, leaning closer as you rub circles into his chest, “and wash the dishes.”
“easy enough,” he nods, pulling a scowl from you.
“you’re not off the hook yet,” you click your teeth.
“of course,” he nods in agreement, “i still have to atone for my radical actions. i’ll start by resurrecting all the people i killed. that should do it, right?”
“suguru, be serious,” you huff, “i was very sad, okay?”
“did you miss me?” he wriggles his brows—you look at him incredulously before slapping his chest. he chuckles a little too long for your liking.
“what a stupid question,” you pinch your nose, “so if i became delusional and ran off to erase a population, you wouldn’t be upset with me?”
“actually, i’d follow you because i love you,” he shrugs, pinching your nose lightly, “i’d be your cult’s second-in-command. obviously you just didn’t love me enough in your dream to do the same for me.”
“you didn’t invite me,” you pout through a glare, “what was i supposed to do? show up unwelcome?”
“well, nothing was stopping you. was i at least a strong sorcerer?” he asks in wonder.
you think for a moment before nodding. “yeah,” you say thoughtfully, “one of the strongest.”
“nice,” he grins—he seems a bit too pleased for something that happened in your dreams.
you decide to deal the harsh blow. “but not nearly as strong as satoru. you know he was the literally the strongest?”
“okay,” he scowls, “if you do kill blue-eyed people, start with him.”
you giggle, leaning up to kiss his jaw as he lets a soft grin pull over his features. he laughs with you—and suddenly, you’re both chuckling together uncontrollably.
it’s a bit of a silly circumstance, but he kisses your forehead and means it when he says, “sorry i left you to kill people and led a cult and committed a bunch of crimes while i wiped out a whole group of people. i didn’t mean it.”
“you took the kids too,” you remind him.
“i don’t know what i was thinking,” he shakes his head, “those two are a handful. how was i managing being a single father with all that on my plate?”
“that’s why you shouldn’t have left me,” you point out.
“you’re right,” he agrees, “i’ll invite you if i ever snap and lose my sanity.”
“good. you’re forgiven. now, i want chocolate chip pancakes—and make coffee while you’re at it.”
“yeah, whatever,” he rolls his eyes. he kisses you though, a soft little peck over your lips as you hum into the kiss and cup his cheek, “you got it. whatever you want.”
“i want you,” you murmur, “unhinged sorcerer and all.”
he laughs at the craziness of it all—but he loves it anyway, loves you despite it all.
“and i want you too,” he grins, hopelessly in love, “if you’ll do me the honors and join my crazy sorcery schemes.”
hi i’m tee and i had a dream that my rude ass sister stole my car and totaled it and now im very mad at her and i am not speaking to her until she apologizes. she refuses so im now double mad
#teepods.writings#drabbles.#geto x reader#geto x you#geto fluff#jjk x reader#jjk x you#jjk fluff#geto suguru x reader#geto suguru x you#geto suguru fluff#jujutsu kaisen x reader#jujutsu kaisen x you#jujutsu kaisen fluff
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ao3
What if Steve’s the one painfully pining thinking Eddie is straight.
Eddie unaware but happy he and Steve became friends after everything.
Eddie oblivious to how Steve’s cheeks turn pink when he gives Steve the blinding dimple laden smile.
Eddie blissfully living his life, eating Steve’s snacks at movie nights, and riding along in the car when the kids get dropped off at the arcade.
And months go by. Long torturous months where Steve (or really Robin) is sure he’s developing an ulcer because he always has a stomach ache.
Until Steve finally decides he can’t do this to himself any longer. He thought at least having Eddie in his life was better than not. But his heart hurts constantly and if he doesn’t cut Eddie out of his life, he knows it’ll never heal.
So he stops accepting the invitations to hang out. Comes up with excuse after excuse until Eddie stops asking.
He stops engaging in the conversations when Dustin or Lucas talk about that week’s campaign or this amazing thing Eddie did.
And he’s… fine.
Sure maybe when he’s trying to fall asleep some (most) nights he wonders if Eddie ever went to that new music store. Or if he ever found out if his weird neighbor was poisoning the stray cats or not.
He acts like the fact Eddie seems to be unfazed about the whole thing, isn’t the most painful thing ever. That Steve vanishing from Eddie’s inner circle didn’t even generate an annoying little blip for him to question it.
It’s fine.
He’s fine.
Until one seemingly innocuous afternoon, when Steve is at the Hallmark store picking up a birthday gift for his mom. He’s holding something with a generic motivational quote in his hands when a bang hits the store window to Steve’s left.
He jumps at the sound and turns immediately, his body poised in a defensive stance, when his eyes register what he’s seeing.
Eddie Munson with both palms smashed against the window gawking at Steve. The man’s eyes are wide and his mouth is open and he looks like he’s seen a ghost.
Steve catches his breath when he realizes he’s not in any danger, and he gives Eddie one of those mouth pressed smiles and a small nod. It’s been so long since they’ve seen each other Steve has to pretend it’s not causing him physical pain.
Then Eddie starts side stepping toward the entrance. He’s keeping his body facing Steve through the glass like he’s afraid if he looks away Steve will evaporate.
Steve knew he wouldn’t get away with never seeing Eddie again, but he had been hoping. He’s trying to ignore the desire to turn heel and find a back exit, and thinks maybe Eddie will just wanna say hi. Maybe Steve will only have to endure five minutes of interaction and they’ll go their own merry way.
“Steve!” Eddie says a little too loudly.
“Hey, man.” Steve smiles and hopes it looks friendly.
“Where have you been?” Eddie moves to stand directly in front of Steve, basically blocking him against the display table he’d been in front of.
“What do you mean?” Steve swallows a lump as he watches Eddie’s face twist into an expression of bewilderment.
“You kinda fell off the face of the earth, man. I was next door at Radio Shack and was headed to my van and thought I saw a figment of my imagination through the glass.” Eddie’s eyes suddenly dart around as of their surroundings just dawned on him. “Um…I kinda need…I’ve been thinking…can we, uh, talk? Somewhere more private?”
Steve’s mind starts flipping through possibilities of why Eddie can’t just say what he wants to say. It sounds ominous and he guesses they should get this over with. Maybe after this he’ll never have to worry about seeing Eddie ever again.
“We could go to my van? If-if you were ok with that?” Eddie quickly tacks on the last sentence.
“Sure?” Steve shrugs, sets the unimportant birthday gift on the table, and follows a step or two behind Eddie.
Eddie keeps glancing over his shoulder like he assumes Steve will dart out from behind him and book it across the parking lot. It’s making Steve nervous.
Eddie moves to the back of his van and unlocks the door, pulling it open and motioning to Steve to sit down. Steve cautiously slides his butt back onto the van, letting his legs dangle over the bumper, in case he needs to make a quick exit.
When Eddie sits down there’s an awkward amount of space between them. Steve ignores how the distance physically shows how much has changed between them.
“I…uh,” Eddie sighs then lolls his head back staring upward.
Steve can tell he’s trying to collect himself before continuing.
“Sorry, man.” Eddie chuckles nervously giving Steve a weak smile. “I wasn’t planning on doing this today so just trying to organize my thoughts.”
Steve is about three seconds away from vomiting all over the nearby asphalt. This is awful.
“I just…” Eddie turns his head to look at Steve. He looks pained, like whatever he’s about to say may crush Steve.
It probably will.
“I wanted to apologize, for…whatever it is I did. I know I’m obnoxious sometimes.” He rolls his eyes “Jeff tells me to chill out constantly.”
Steve pinches his eyebrows in confusion.
“I miss hanging out and seeing you, but I get it. You don’t give a shit about D&D or any of the other stupid things I talk about. I probably forced it and you are just too good of a dude to say anything. But that’s ok… I’ve done a lot of thinking…lately. You helped, sorta, expose something…about myself that I didn’t know.” He sighs before continuing. “I mean, I guess in theory I knew, but I just thought everyone felt like that.”
Steve feels like he’s traversing a perilous hike without a map right now, totally and completely lost.
Eddie clears his throat and fiddles with his skull ring. “I miss you. I mean, hanging out with you.”
Steve stares, unsure what to say. He probably looks like he’s short circuiting right now, because he doesn’t understand.
It’s been weeks, months even, and he never reached out. He never called or stopped by Steve’s place but he’s talking like it’s been killing him this whole time.
“I-I don’t understand.”
“What do you mean?” Eddie cocks his head.
“You missed me?”
“Yeah, of course.” He says it like it’s the most obvious thing in the entire world. “Why wouldn’t I? We used to hang out all the time, Steve. I saw you more than I saw Wayne, most days.”
“Why didn’t you ever call me then?”
“Did you want me to?” Eddie laughs awkwardly. “You stopped wanting to do anything. I figured you didn’t want to see me, it was pretty obvious. I was trying to respect your wishes, dude.”
Steve doesn’t know what to say.
Eddie kicks his feet a little while he keeps his eyes pointed down at the parking lot.
“Oh,” Steve’s heart breaks for a different reason this time. “You didn’t do anything, by the way. It’s not your fault. I just needed to focus and get my shit together. My dad bitching about college again and I needed a new job. I was just sort of…distracted.”
By you
“Oh, you coulda said something. This whole time I thought you hated me. That’s a fucking relief.” Steve can sense Eddie’s entire body relax next to him.
“Opposite really,” he mutters under his breath.
“What’d you say?” Eddie leans in, his face shifting to seriousness.
“Oh nothing,” he brushes off. “Ignore me.”
“Opposite?” Eddie’s voice is pitched.
Steve’s stomach drops.
“No-no, um…”
Steve puts his palms on the floor of the van and pushes himself out of the van. He wipes his palms on his jeans. He needs to get out of here.
“I gotta go, uh, it was good seeing you, man. Um,” he wants to suggest hanging out but he can’t say the words. “Bye.”
Steve gives a finger wave and wants to smack himself in the face for how stupid it looks. He power walks away from Eddie’s van toward his car. He can get out of here unscathed.
“NO! Steve! Wait, wait,” Eddie’s chasing close behind Steve.
Steve fumbles with his keys as he tries to unlock his car door.
“Me too!”
Steve stops, his hands hovers over the door handle. Did he hear Eddie correctly?
Eddie approaches cautiously. “Me too,” he repeats quietly. “Opposite. You-that was the thing. The thing I figured out. This was it.”
Steve turns slowly.
“I missed you, Steve.” Eddie’s eyes are big and bright as if someone handed him a Christmas present. “I missed you, more than I should’ve probably. Definitely more than…a friend would.” He shrugs and pulls his bottom lip into his mouth.
Steve’s ears are ringing. The planet has shifted, he’s sure of it. Is Eddie saying what he’s been craving from the man for almost two years?
“Opposite,” Eddie whispers.
“Opposite,” Steve echoes.
“I really wanna kiss you right now,” Eddie says gently.
Steve’s eyebrows shoot up and he stumbles back thunking his elbow against the car window. “Ow, shit.”
“Are you ok?” Eddie steps forward, reaching a hand out but avoiding touching Steve.
“Yeah,” he rubs his hand over it. “Do you-do you wanna come over? My parents aren’t home. Won’t be until Thursday.”
“That’s four days away, Steve. Are you suggesting I’ll be at your house for four days?” He twists his mouth in a sly smirk.
“Maybe, if we needed it.” Steve’s heart is pounding in his chest pleasantly now.
Eddie blushes and ducks his head. Steve can tell the man’s holding himself back.
“You coming?” Steve tilts his head.
“Fuck, I hope so,” Eddie growls.
coffee? ☕️🍩💕
#he definitely does#steddie#steddie fanfic#steve x eddie#steddie ficlet#steve harrington#eddie munson#steddiecameraroll posts#q#my writing
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