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#staffi writes
seidenbros · 2 years
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The Stars Remind Me of You
Requests are open | prompt lists for inspiration | Stranger Things Masterlist
Pairing: Eddie Munson x (fem) Hopper!Reader Word count: 8767 Summary: El asks her older sister Y/N to help Hopper come around to Mike and her dating. Y/N’s solution to this? Get Eddie to pretend to be her boyfriend and act way worse than Mike. What starts as a joke, ends up being something very real. Warning/Tags: fluff, sooo much fluff, fake-dating, falling in love, first kiss (let me know if I missed anything) Author’s note: Congratulations to the wonderful @loveronlineee on 10k followers! What a milestone and so well deserved. So, this was a prompt from their 10k Celebration and I immediately fell in love with the Hopper!Reader prompt, so I had to write it down. And in all honestly: it's long but I could have written even more, because I love that dynamic. So I hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing it 💚
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“Y/N, you need to help me!” El proclaimed as she walked into your room, leaving the door wide open because your Dad wasn’t home, he was at work. Immediately, you lowered the volume of the music and put your book aside, laying it face down on your bed.
“What’s wrong, pumpkin?” You couldn’t even remember when you’d started calling her that, but it had stuck, because she’d liked it. It always reminded her of fall, of Halloween, when the two of you carved pumpkins with Hopper - a tradition El had quickly learned to love.
“It’s Dad.” She heaved a sigh and sat down next to you on the bed. It had been just you and Hopper until El had appeared, but you’d quickly opened your heart to her, made her part of your family. She was your sister, and you introduced her like that to everyone.
“What did he do this time?” Oh, Hopper was protective, always had been, and you still remembered how he scared your first boyfriend away with all his questions. In the end that had been better for you, because that lying, cheating bastard hadn’t deserved your time of day. Still, in that moment, you’d been so angry with your father that you hadn’t talked to him for nearly a week. He always wanted what was best for you and El, but sometimes, he had questionable methods.
“That stupid three inch rule he has for one.” El leaned back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. “And he always interrupts and calls Mike’s Mum to tell her he’ll pick me up. I’m not a child anymore!”
That much was true, but you still had to chuckle. He’d had that three inch rule since you could remember, even though you hadn’t really brought that many guys home, at least not boyfriends, but he’d made sure that the door stayed open even when you’d only had a friend over to study for a test together.
“You’re lucky he actually likes Mike. You don’t want to know what he’s like when he doesn’t like the guy you’re going out with.”
“Why?”
“Because he goes full on cop-mode on that poor guy. I mean, in the end it was good, because Trevor had been lying to me the whole time.” You shrugged your shoulders, because it had been quite some time ago, and every guy after that hadn’t really seen your home. You’d done your best to keep your dates away from your home, but Hopper had found out nonetheless. Oh, all the talks you’d had with him, but they’d at least paved the way for El a little bit. You hoped.
“Mike is not lying to me.”
“I wasn’t implying that. I know that Mike is a good guy.” You really did. You’d known him for years now, and the way he looked at El was the way you wanted someone to look at you one day. Not that you were actively looking, because you were completely content without a boyfriend by your side - especially because most guys were rather superficial and just wanted to get you in the sheets.
“We can’t even go and watch a movie without him waiting for me as soon as the movie is over.” El pushed herself up on her elbows, her eyes on you. “Can you help me? Get him off my back?”
“I might have an idea.” Slowly, a grin started forming on your lips. You loved your sister enough to help her, and in addition you could play a little prank on your Dad. But therefore, you needed someone else, and that would probably take a little bit of convincing.
“Really?”
“Yeah… but we need Mike for this and we have to talk to his friend Eddie Munson.” You knew Eddie, but not that well, but you knew the rumours - and you also knew how much of that was true - and Hopper knew about them as well. So coming home with Eddie Munson by your side would definitely take your father’s focus off your sister.
“What do you want to talk to Eddie about?” El scrunched up her nose, her eyes fixed on you. The way you grinned at her, though, made her slowly realise what was going on. “Oh… Oh!”
And that was what brought you here, to Eddie’s trailer, Mike in tow. It was still warm enough to sit outside, at least as long as the sun was out. Once the sun was gone, you’d need a sweater, but you always had one in your car just in case.
“You’re kidding, right?” Eddie asked with a laugh, shaking his head, after you’d told him your idea.
“No, we’re completely serious!” Mike looked at Eddie, El’s hand clutched in his. These two were desperate, you could tell, and it wasn’t because they wanted to sneak away to do whatever… it was all so innocent.
“Would it be so bad to pretend to go out with me?” You chuckled to cover up insecurities that were bubbling up. At least your words managed to shut him up. Eddie looked you over, before he started to smile again.
“That’s definitely not it. I mean, it’s more that nobody would believe that someone like you is actually going out with the likes of me.” Eddie winked at you, covering up his own insecurities with that. He knew what people saw when they looked at him, and it was okay. He’d grown accustomed to that, because he had a couple of people in his life who knew him, who liked him for who he was.
“Well, but what if that’s exactly the kind of guy I like?” you challenged, crossing your arms beneath your breasts. “I haven’t dated anyone in a while because I don’t want one of these stuck up idiots that are overwhelmed when you ask them what the last book they read was. And then they answer with something like does this or that sports magazine count?” You rolled your eyes, because you’d really had these conversations.
Eddie looked at you for a moment, his lips slowly curving up into a smile. He liked your answer, liked the way you’d just described the majority of the guys here.
“Fair enough,” he said, trying to hide the smile behind his hair. “On one condition… Mike, you’ll take care of cleaning the room when we’re done with Hellfire for let’s say… two months.”
“Deal!” Mike pretty much jumped at this, grinning like a lovesick teenager - which he was - because this hopefully meant that he’d be able to spend some time alone with El, without Hopper waiting around every corner.
“So… what do you need from me, sweetheart?” Eddie focused his whole attention on you now, taking a step closer. After all, if you were going to pretend to be dating, you’d need to get accustomed to each other, get used to being close to each other. 
“I need you to face my Dad,” you said with a laugh, because you knew just how many guys were afraid of him.
“So, you need me to piss him off?”
“More or less. Though I think just the fact that we’re dating will be enough to get his attention of these two.” You cast a quick look at El and Mike who were already deep in conversation again, before you turned back to Eddie. “He knows all the rumours about you, so that will be enough. Not that I believe all that’s being said about you, couldn’t care less about some stupid rumours people put out there because they’re not happy with their own lives and need to put others down to not deal with their own problems… But he knows about them and he’ll keep a close watch on you when we’re together.”
“Mhm,” Eddie hummed, his grin growing bigger the more you talked.
“I’m rambling, aren’t I?” You asked, shaking your head, because you knew that you could talk a mile a minute when you got agitated, and the people of Hawkins with all their prejudices really managed to bring that to light.
“Don’t worry, it’s cute!” Eddie cocked his head to the side, reaching for your hand. He was impressed with what you’d just said, because you’d said just what he was thinking about Hawkins, about the people here. “So, when do we start this?”
Eddie pulled you a little closer by the hand and you smiled. It was unusual, but it felt good, even though this wasn’t real. It was just pretend, like everything else that would happen between you from now on. You had no idea how far you’d take this, how much you needed to do to convince Hopper, though you were pretty sure that it was enough to show up with Eddie at your cabin.
“Tonight? We could go watch a movie, my treat. You pick me up and take me back home? Hopper should finish work in a bit, so he’ll be home when you pick me up. Only if you’re free of course.”
Eddie chuckled, before he raised his head to look at the sky. “Let me check…” Then he looked back at you. “I can make that happen. Pick you up at seven. And wear something nice!” He said it with a wink that made you smile. Of course you’d planned on dressing up for the occasion, because you Dad needed to get the right picture.
While El was preparing dinner with Hopper, you got ready to go out. You’d chosen a dress that didn’t reveal too much, just the right amount, showing off a bit of cleavage, and you’d opted for some red lipstick that went with the colour of the dress.
“Oh you look so pretty!” El immediately said with a smile when you entered the kitchen. It brought a smile to your lips, and you remembered that you wanted to show El a thing or two about makeup the next time you did this. You usually didn’t wear a lot of makeup, but it was good for the effect you wanted to achieve.
“Thanks, pumpkin!”
“Where’re you going dressed like… that?” Hopper scanned your outfit before his eyes bored into yours.
“I’m going on a date.” Your outfit was not the least bit inappropriate, you weren’t a kid anymore, so he couldn’t tell you what to wear. If he could, he’d probably shove a big ugly sweater at you that hid your whole body.
“What date?” That got his attention, drew it away from the outfit you were wearing. A good sign.
“I’m going to watch a movie with Eddie.”
“Eddie who?”
“Does it really matter? Dad, I’m nineteen!”
“Of course it matters!” He got up from the chair where he’d been cutting up vegetables to walk over to you. “So…?”
“Eddie Munson.” You crossed your arms and didn’t look away.
“Oh hell nah! You’re not going out with that guy.” Hopper shook his head violently, and you had to do your best not to laugh, because this was just the reaction you’d predicted. El was watching in amusement, only because Hopper couldn’t see her.
“Yes I am.” You could hear the car pull up in front of the cabin. “And I am leaving now!”
“Y/N! He’s trouble!”
“Well, maybe I like a little trouble.” You had the audacity to smirk at him, before you grabbed your keys and pretty much bolted out of the door and ran towards Eddie’s van.
“Hello sweetheart,” he greeted you, because he’d just gotten out of the car to pick you up at the door, but that was apparently not what you wanted.
“Get in and let’s go!” You commanded him and quickly got in the car, because you heard the front door open behind you again.
“Y/N!” Hopper yelled after you, stepping out onto the porch.
“Oh shit,” Eddie mumbled and followed your orders. Before Hopper could get to the car, the two of you were on your way to the cinema.
“What did you tell him?” Eddie asked on the way.
“Just that I’m going out with Eddie Munson.” You turned in your seat to look at him. “And then I kinda went gotta go and bolted for the door.” A chuckle followed your words.
“He really thinks that highly of me, yeah?”
You could see the corners of his lips twitch up only for a moment, but then his lips set in a firm line. He was used to people assuming the worst about him, but sometimes, it still hurt.
“It’s not exactly that.” You reached out your hand to lay it on his forearm, give him some reassurance. “He’s just extremely protective of us. He’s usually not someone who believes in a lot of rumours, but when it comes to his daughters, he’ll listen to everything people say just to figure out if it’s true or not to protect us. He scared my ex boyfriend off with his behaviour. I mean, I’m glad he did, because I didn’t need that rat bastard in my life cheating on me, but I guess that’s one reason why I didn’t date that much after that.”
“Makes sense… I mean that he wants to protect you.” Eddie could get behind that, figuring that Hopper was someone who did everything for the ones he loved, and that included checking out the guys you went out with. “What’s another reason?”
“Well… I already told you that I think most of these guys are extremely superficial.” And that annoyed the hell out of you, because they judged others by what they wore, by their outer appearance, and didn’t care one bit about the person. “And when I tell them that I want to go on adventures one day just like Bilbo did seemingly out of the blue, you can see their eyes popping out of their heads because they have no idea what I’m talking about.”
“Or it’s because they think you want to go on an adventure with a couple of bearded men and a wizard.” Eddie chuckled, but his answer made you look over at him again, surprise written all over your face.
“You’ve read the Hobbit!” Excitement was audible in your voice, because you hadn’t found anyone to talk to about this so far.
“Sure have. And The Lord of the Rings… not just once.”
“Finally someone who knows just how good these books are. I mean, I still need to read the last one, but I love them already.” And you’d read The Hobbit three times now, because it alway catapulted you into a completely different world. Because it was written as a children’s book, it was easier to read than the other ones, but you loved them all equally.
“I can say the same. I haven’t met anyone who’s read them all. Gareth started but alway complained because they were too descriptive, so he stopped halfway into the first one.” Which was a shame, but Eddie couldn’t force him to read a good book.
You kept on talking about the books until you were at the cinema. You really enjoyed the movie, and so did Eddie, because you kept talking about it animatedly on your way back. Once he parked the car, though, you felt your pulse pick up, because the lights were still on - just like you’d expected.
“Come on, I’ll walk you to the door,” Eddie offered, opening his door.
“Are you sure? You don’t have to.” Because you didn’t know how Hopper would react, what he would do. It would be a shame if he just chopped off Eddie’s head now that you were getting to know him, and realised that you had a lot more in common than you’d expected.
“Of course. This is a date after all, right?” Eddie winked at you through the open door, before he walked around the car to take your hand and lead you to the door.
“I had a really great evening. I mean it!” You still held his hand, smiled up at him, because this had been the best date you’d ever had, even though it wasn’t a real date. But you could say that it was going out with a friend maybe.
“So did I.” And Eddie wasn’t even surprised, because you were an interesting person, easy to talk to, and didn’t give a shit about everything people said about him. Eddie leaned forward, raised his hands to brush your hair away from your ear. “And you look really nice in that dress…” His breath tickled your ear, making you shiver involuntarily. “Hot even…” He grazed his lips over your cheek, but then the door flew open.
You jumped, because you hadn’t expected it to happen right that moment, but your Dad always had impeccable timing.
“It’s late,” he simply said, arms crossed over his chest, eyes staring daggers into Eddie, and he didn’t even glance at you.
“We came here right when the movie was over. I could have stayed away all night if I wanted to.” You rolled your eyes, but weren’t sure whether Hopper was even listening to you.
“Evening Mr Hopper,” Eddie said, grin still in place. He was intimidated by Hopper, but he would do his best not to let the man see it.
“Get inside!” Now, Hopper looked at you, pointed with his thumb behind himself.
“Alright…” You went to take Eddie’s leather jacket off that he’d given you after the cinema because it had gotten a little cold.
“No, no, keep it till our next date.”
You could swear that you heard a growl from Hopper, but he didn’t move.
“Thank you.” You put your hand on Eddie’s shoulder for leverage, then leaned in to kiss his cheek. “You better go before we get inside, otherwise he’ll give you a talk.” You whispered the words into his ear, making him chuckle. But he followed your advice and got going, waving to you from the van before he drove home.
“What is this, y/n?”
“It was a date, and a great one at that, thank you very much.” You walked past Hopper, who followed you, closing the door behind you.
“You realise that I’m just worried about your well-being, right? Because I love you!”
“Dad…” Your sigh was followed by a smile and you stepped up to him. “I know… But Eddie is the first guy that doesn’t look at me like I’m crazy because I read fantasy books. We actually have a lot to talk about, a lot in common. He’s not as bad as people say he is.” Honest words, because you’d really enjoyed your time together. Not just because everything you’d talked about, but also because Eddie had been the perfect gentleman for the whole evening.
“Right…” Hopper ran a hand over his face before he sighed. “I’ll still keep an eye on him!”
“I know you will.” You leaned up to kiss his cheek before you walked to your room. “Night Dad! Love you!”
“Love you too, kiddo.” He did, he really did, but right now, he didn’t know whether to shake you or lock you up to keep you from making stupid decisions like dating Eddie Munson.
Your next date happened a couple of days later. Of course, your Dad had tried to talk to you about Eddie, had asked you whether you really thought that it was a good idea to go out with him, but you’d told him that you really liked Eddie, and enjoyed spending time with him, that he was the most interesting guy that you’d met in this god-forsaken town - and that was true, because while you weren’t really dating, you still spend time together even when Hopper couldn’t see it. Because Eddie and you had a lot in common, conversation flowed easily between the two of you, and he made you smile and laugh so much that you found yourself looking forward to seeing him more and more each day.
Today, Eddie would spend some time at your cabin so that he’d be there once Hopper got home. At least your plan worked, because El was able to spend time with Mike without Hopper being on their backs the whole time, and even when Mike was here, he didn’t check up on them every five minutes. Sure, the three-inches-rule was still active, but they had a lot more time to themselves than before.
“I actually have an idea what we can do,” Eddie said once the door was closed behind him, a mischievous grin playing on his lips.
“Judging by the look on your face…”
“Nah, it’s completely innocent, I promise!” Eddie pulled a book from his backpack and held it up for you to read the title. “Since you said you hadn’t started the third book I thought we could read it together.”
“Oh!” That was a surprise, but it definitely made you smile. “I’d love that! It’s been a while since someone read to me.”
“Thought so… And I got you something else.” He reached into the backpack again and presented a Hellfire Shirt to you. “I made you your own shirt… I mean, if you’re my girlfriend, you should have one, right?”
“Are you serious?” Your eyes lit up when you took the shirt from him. You pressed it to your chest, before you leaned over to him and kissed his cheek. “This is great!” Such a wonderful idea, but that also made your heart beat a little faster. Not that this meant anything of course.
You walked with him to your room, pulled your own shirt over your head on the way, giving Eddie a glimpse of your bra. You didn’t think anything of it, but you just wanted to swap your own shirt for the one he’d given you, so you pulled that over your head right away.
Eddie’s eyes were fixed on your back in the moment, on the skin that looked you soft and begged to be touched, but he quickly shook his head. This was just pretend, right? Didn’t mean that he couldn’t enjoy it, enjoy your presence, talking to you and whatever would happen. But it meant that this was just for some time and not forever, so he had to remind himself of that every now and again, before he really fell in love with you.
“How do I look?” you asked as you twirled around to him, a big smile on your face.
“Ravishing!” Eddie dropped his backpack, eyes fixed on you. Heat rose to your cheeks, because you hadn’t expected that kind of answer from him. “You really look like my girl now.”
My girl… It sounded so good, but you couldn’t allow yourself to get used to it. This wasn’t real after all, but you already knew that you didn’t want to let him out of your life again, keep him as a friend of course.
“It’s really cosy here… I like the decor.” Eddie looked around, a grin on his face. You’d really made it your room, had put up quite a lot of photos on your walls, from your family, friends, parties you’d attended. Eddie stopped in front of some pictures from your last Christmas, El, Hopper and you smiling like idiots with a big cake in front of you, Santa and his reindeer on top of that.
“El wanted a real christmassy cake, and she loves reindeer, so I made that for her.” A fond smile was playing on your lips, because you loved your sister so much, both of them. It had been a lot of work, but it had been worth it.
“You made that?” The astonished look on Eddie’s face made you giggle. “That’s impressive!”
“Thank you. It’s a lot of fun actually… Exhausting, but baking is soothing for the soul. At least for me.”
“So, if I ask reeeeeaaaal nice, will you make me a cake for my birthday?”
“Mhhh I could maybe arrange something. I already have an idea.”
“You gonna tell me?”
“Nope. You’ll just have to wait.” You winked at him before you got on your bed, patting the spot beside you so that he would join you. “But you’re a clever boy, I think you’ll figure out what kind of theme I have in mind.” Especially considering what you’d talked about most, and what you were about to read.
“Maybe,” Eddie said with a grin before he joined you. He took off his shoes so that he wouldn’t get your sheets dirty, then he scooted up so that he could rest his back against the pillows and get comfortable.
As soon as he’d opened the book, though, you changed your position and lay down, resting your head in his lap. When your Dad came back, that would look more convincing than both of you just sitting next to each other, bodies barely touching. Of course, you’d left the door open a bit, because you didn’t want to break your Dad’s rules, even though he wasn’t even home yet.
“Is that okay?” you asked when you felt Eddie stiffen slightly. Maybe you should have asked beforehand.
“Perfect. Was just a little surprised.” Eddie’s smile reassured you, but it also did things to you that you didn’t want to think about too much.
“Okay… but you need to tell me if something’s not okay with you, right?” You had to make sure that he knew that, because you didn’t want him to feel uncomfortable in any way.
“I don’t think you could do anything to make me feel uncomfortable, sweetheart, but the same goes for you. ‘Kay?”
“Yeah, but you’re making me feel really safe with you, so I think I’ll be alright.” You’d thought that from the first moment on, and you had to let him know.
“Good.” Eddie cleared his throat before he opened the book to the first page. Your confession had flustered him a little, but he tried to get some distraction from the book now. “Pippin looked out from the shelter of Gandalf’s cloak. He wondered if he was awake or still sleeping, still in the swift-moving dream in which he had been wrapped so long since the great ride began.”
As soon as he started reading, you closed your eyes. Eddie’s voice was soothing and enthralling at the same time, especially when he made different voices for different characters. He held the book in one of his hands, while the other started playing with your hair, gently massaging your scalp now and then. It had surprised you at first, because it was such an intimate gesture, but you found yourself really enjoying this. It felt good, familiar even though it was the first time the two of you were this close.
The front door opened and then closed with a loud noise. Yep, Hopper had seen Eddie’s van outside of the cabin and he all but stormed towards your room, ready to tell you again about his rules, but he couldn’t say anything, because the door wasn’t fully closed. Still, he shoved it open and stared at the two of you.
“What are you doing?” His eyes scanned your room, your body, and he was relieved to find you still dressed. He trusted you, he just didn’t trust the guys around you, especially not Eddie Munson.
Slowly, you opened your eyes and sat upright. Eddie had nearly gotten you into some trance like state listening to his voice, but that was over now.
“Reading? What does it look like?” You leaned up against Eddie, put your hand on his thigh.
“Reading… That’s what you call it now?” Hopper filled the whole door frame when he crossed his arms, trying his best to calm his own breathing.
“Yes. Reading.” Eddie held up the book he was holding, putting his free hand on top of yours to keep it in place. “Y/N said she hasn’t read The Return of the King yet, so I thought we could read it together.”
“Right…” Hopper sighed, but he narrowed his eyes at Eddie. “And I won’t find any drugs if I search your stuff?”
“Dad!” you gasped, making a move to get off the bed, but Eddie held you back.
“No, you won’t.” Eddie stayed completely calm, and his presence calmed you as well. “No drugs anywhere here. Just my cigarettes.” And that was something Hopper couldn’t say anything against.
“Alright.” Hopper cast a glance at Eddie’s backpack, but thought better of it. After all, he trusted you and he didn’t want to overstep this line. “But the door stays open.”
Eddie stayed for another hour, but then he said that he had band practice, and you didn’t want him to miss that.
“Next time, you read to me, alright?” Eddie said at the door, leaning towards you to kiss your cheek. A real kiss would have made your father believe this even more, but it didn’t feel right.
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Goodbye Mr. Hopper!” Eddie called out to your Dad, but only got a grunt in response, because Hopper was glad when Eddie was gone now. He’d been staring at your door pretty much the whole time, and with Eddie’s departure, he’d be able to relax a little bit.
The next weekend, Eddie spent time at your cabin again. This time, you wanted to cook dinner together, surprise your Dad with that, and have dinner together. El would come home with him as well, so you were cooking for four people. Eddie had made you a mix-tape that was playing in the background. It was a mixture of his music and yours.
“What do you need me to do?” Eddie asked, pushing up the sleeves of his shirt. “I need instructions, ‘cause I don’t really cook.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll teach you.” You laid out the vegetables, a cutting board and a knife. Eddie Could take care of chopping everything up for the salad while you took care of the chicken. “You have to cut them into small squares.”
“Do they have to be the same size? All of them?” Eddie took the knife in his hand, hoping for a moment that he could stare the vegetables down so that they’d just fall into pieces by themselves, but that wouldn’t work.
“Of course not,” you said with a laugh. “Just bite-sized I would say.”
“Alright. I can probably do that. I’ll try.” And he did. He started with the first bell pepper, his tongue sticking out between his lips in concentration. He took his time, because he wanted to do it correctly and not cut his own finger off. Meanwhile you were ready with preparing the chicken breasts and put them in the oven.
“That looks good!” You leaned over to look at his work, making Eddie chuckle.
“You think so?”
“For someone who doesn’t usually cook, it really does!” You stole a piece of the pepper and popped it into your mouth. “You just need to hold the knife a little differently, that makes it easier. Here, let me.”
You ducked beneath his arm to stand in front of him, your back against his chest. You could feel the heat radiating off him, seeping into your own skin. Your heart reacted immediately, picking up its pace. On the one hand, you didn’t want this, because this was just make believe, but on the other hand, you wanted to know if you were really developing feelings for him. Your own reaction right now, the urge to lean into him more and relish the feeling of being this close to him, spoke volumes.
“Here.” You put your hand on top of Eddie’s, adjusted his grip and then moved his hand to cut the cucumber. “Can you feel how easy this is in comparison to before?”
“Mhm,” Eddie hummed, his head now right next to yours, his chin resting on your shoulder. The hand that wasn’t occupied with cutting up vegetables came around your body, holding you to his chest, his fingers splayed out over your stomach. “You’re a good teacher.” He turned his head towards you, his nose brushing your cheek, before you could feel his lips against it.
“You’re a quick learner,” you contered, a smile spreading on your lips, while your hand stopped moving with his. Eddie put the knife down, before he put his hand on your waist to slowly turn you around to him. Your hands ended up on his shoulders, your heart in your throat by now, and you didn’t trust yourself to say a word.
“Y/N…” his eyes dropped to your lips, but before he could do or say anything else, the door opened.
“Y/N! We’re back!” El exclaimed, the biggest grin on her face that grew even wider when she saw Eddie and you together like this. You quickly scrambled out of his embrace, but Hopper had already seen the two of you together. Which was perfect! At least it should be, because it was proof just how much you liked Eddie, how serious this was, right? Right. And that was the problem for you. This was supposed to be a pretend relationship, not a real one, but your heart had already gone down that road, otherwise it wouldn’t be hammering in your chest. And your skin wouldn’t be tingling everywhere. But what did Eddie think? All of a sudden, this was becoming a bit too real.
“What’s going on here?” Hopper took off his hat, eyes fixed on your flushed face.
“We’re making dinner,” Eddie chipped in, leaning his hip against the counter. “Thought we’d surprise you.”
“Hm.” Hopper nodded, looking from Eddie back to you. “Smells good already.” He didn’t address the situation, just went on to get changed.
“How are things with Mike?” You asked El before she could ask you about what she’d just walked into. You knew that she was capable of something like that, and you didn’t really have an answer. Not one that you wanted to say out loud anyway.
“Good.” El put down her bag and went to set the table. Eddie was busy chopping the rest of the vegetables, grin still in place. “He’s really happy, and I think Dad is getting more… okay with the situation.” Hopper would always have an eye on the guys in his daughters’ lives, but he knew he had to let go eventually.
“I’m happy for you, pumpkin!” You pulled your sister into a hug, glad that your plan had worked.
“Thank you!”
“Set the table, wash your hands, and then we’ll be able to eat, I think.” Eddie was done with the veggies, so you just had to get the dressing ready and the chicken out of the oven, and you were good to go.
Conversation flowed easily over dinner, though Hopper didn’t talk much. He listened in while enjoying the meal you’d cooked. Eddie and El were talking most of the time, and it was heartwarming to see them get along so well. Not that it should matter in the end, but you really enjoyed watching them together. Eddie told her about the next campaign he was planning for Hellfire, but made her promise not to tell Mike anything, a little secret between the two of them.
All in all, it was a wonderful evening, and even your Dad managed a smile of two. But after dinner, it was time for Eddie to leave, because he didn’t want to impose on you, give you some family time. He was always very considerate, which was something your Dad definitely hadn’t expected, and when he offered to walk Eddie out, you wanted to protest, but Eddie said that it was okay. He leaned over to you to kiss your cheek before he waved at your sister.
“I’ll see you tomorrow!” Eddie gave you a wink before he put his shoes back on and walked outside, jangling the car keys in his hands. Hopper made sure to close the door behind them, because he didn’t want either of you to listen in on his conversation with Eddie.
“So, you’re giving me the talk now?” Eddie asked, turning to face Hopper. He’d never been any parent’s favourite, he knew that, because of his looks, because of the rumours, so he was prepared to be told to stay away from you. In the beginning, he wouldn’t have minded hearing that, in fact, it would have spurred him on to spend even more time with you in order to make Hopper believe that the two of you were head over heels in love with each other. By now… he cared about what your father thought of him. Because he liked you. More than that actually. He’d felt it before today, but after getting so close with you in the kitchen, when he’d wanted to kiss you so badly before you’d been interrupted, he knew that it wasn’t just a pretend situation anymore. At least not for him, and so Hopper’s opinion mattered.
“Look…” Hopper started, rubbed a hand over the stubble on his chin before he sighed. “I don’t give a fuck about the rumours. Hell, they say all kinds of stuff about me, too.” But he knew about the drugs, at least that was what he believed to be true, so they wouldn’t talk about this. “All I care about are my daughters. And if you ever… ever hurt y/n, I will make your life miserable.”
Eddie had to admire that kind of attitude, because his parents had been the complete opposite, and hadn't cared about him at all. Wayne on the other hand was more like Hopper, even though he’d never threatened to hurt someone on Eddie’s behalf.
“I’m not planning on doing that.” Eddie sighed. “I know I’m not exactly the person anyone envisions for their daughter… but I like y/n. I really do. It frightens me just how much I like her, because I haven’t felt like this before.” Eddie was pouring his heart out, was being utterly honest, because he knew that if he wanted to have a chance - a real chance - with you, he needed Hopper’s approval. You were doing all this for your sister, because you loved her, but you loved your Dad as well, and you needed his approval, whether you were aware of it or not.
“Alright.” Hop said after a moment, nodding his head. “That’s all I wanted to hear.” Now, that really took a big load off Eddie’s mind. “But the three-inch rule still applies!”
Eddie had to stifle a laugh.
“That’s alright with me, Mr. Hopper.”
“Just… Hopper or Hop. No Mr this or that.”
“Alright.” Eddie couldn’t hide the smile that was breaking out on his lips. Maybe, he really did have a chance.
“You like him, don’t you?” El hugged you from the side while the two men were outside, which took your mind off things at least, because you were a little bit worried about your Dad talking to Eddie all alone.
“Hm?” You looked at her, smoothing a hand over her hair. “He’s nice. He’s a friend, I guess.”
“You look at all your friends like this? I don’t think so.” El chuckled, leaning her head against your shoulder. “And he looks at you the same way.”
“You sure?” Hope bubbled up inside you, but you tried to push it away. It wouldn’t be good to get your hopes up right now. “I don’t know.”
“He looks at you like Jonathan looks at Nancy.”
“Now, that’s a comparison.” You had to laugh, but it was actually a little reassuring, because you’d seen the way Jonathan looked at his girlfriend, like he was constantly in awe of her and wanted to lay the world at her feet. “But we’re just pretending, and I don’t think that he wants more than that. I mean, I really enjoy our time together.” Which was an understatement, and El knew that, because you’d told her all about your dates.
“Maybe, it’s not just pretend anymore?” El’s words left you speechless. It wasn’t just pretending on your part anymore, that was for sure, but you didn’t know what Eddie thought. There was only one way to find out, but you weren’t sure whether you were ready for that.
“That’s your ride,” Hopper said a couple of days later when you heard Eddie’s van pull up in front of the cabin. You had no idea what he was doing here. When you’d talked earlier that day, he hadn’t mentioned that he’d come visit you, especially not when it was already that late. The last time he’d been here, he’d forgotten his sweater, and you hadn’t told him or given it back, because you liked wearing it around the house, kind of parading it in front of your Dad, but you also liked to be enveloped by the faint smell of him. If you’d known that he’d come by, you would have taken off his sweater. You would have put on at least a bit of makeup after the shower or styled your hair, but you were in comfortable, cosy clothes that kept you warm.
“What do you mean?” You cast a glance at Hopper and El, who were grinning at each other.
“Eddie’s picking you up!” El provided, but that didn’t tell you much.
“A date?” Hopper’s words made your eyes widen, and he chuckled. “Don’t worry. Your outfit is perfect for what he’s planned.”
“What?” You were trying to wrap your head around what the hell was going on, but couldn’t really figure it out. “Did you… Wait, did you plan that together with him?”
“Maybe?” Your Dad got up from the sofa and walked over to you. This couldn’t be happening, could it?
“What happened to he’s trouble?” You could still hear him say that, could see the look on his face when you’d told him that you were going out with Eddie.
“I changed my mind.”
“Why?”
Hopper stopped in front of you and put his hands on your shoulders, a gentle smile playing on his lips - one that you saw way too little of, but that you adored nonetheless.
“Because you like him, y/n.” He leaned down to you to place a kiss on your forehead. “And he really cares about you. I’ll still keep an eye on him, just so you know, but I have to give you a little more freedom.”
“I feel like I’m in the Twilight Zone.” You couldn’t help but laugh, when you hugged your father. “I can’t believe you planned this behind my back!” You turned your head around to look at your sister, who knew just how much you liked Eddie. “And you!”
“We just want to see you happy!” El got up to snuggle up to the two of you and press a kiss to your cheek. “Sometimes you need a little nudge.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Hopper looked down at El, because she was referring to taking a step from the fake-dating to real dating, but your Dad didn’t know about all of it being make believe.
“I’ll tell you later. Y/N has got to go now, or Eddie will leave without her.”
“Right. Have fun and make sure he brings you home safely in the morning.”
“In the morning?” That made your heart beat faster, but Hopper just nodded, and if he was okay with that, it was definitely something completely innocent. He wouldn’t have agreed otherwise.
“Yes, now get going!”
And you did, you put on your shoes and your jacket, before you left the Cabin. Eddie was standing by his car waiting for you.
“I was afraid you wouldn’t come out.”
“I would have come out sooner, if I’d known about this.” “What, do you not like surprises?”
“I do!” You stopped in front of him, a smile on your face that reached your eyes and lit up your whole face. “But if I’d known, I could have changed into something else.”
Eddie held you at arm’s length, lips slowly curving up into a smile.
“I think you look cute. My sweater looks so much better on you!”
“Yeah, I… wanted to give it back, but kinda forgot about it.” A blatant lie, but you didn’t want to tell him why you’d kept it. Not now anyway.
“Don’t worry, I quite enjoy seeing you in my clothes.” Eddie winked at you, before he got in the car with you and started the engine.
“Where are we going anyway?”
“Patience, darling. It’s a surprise after all, right?”
“I know, but Dad said you’d bring me home in the morning, and that made me really curious.” And a little nervous, so you couldn’t keep your legs still, bouncing them up and down. Eddie noticed that straight away, so he put his hand on your thigh. That managed to stop your movements, but it also made your skin tingle beneath his touch, spreading out through your whole body.
“If you don’t want that, just say the words and I’ll take you back home.” Eddie looked at you for a moment, gave you a reassuring smile before he turned his attention back on the road. “D’you trust me?”
“Yes.” No hesitation, because it was what you felt. In his presence, you’d always felt safe, and right now was no exception.
“Good, then… just a little patience. It won’t take long to get there.”
You placed your hand on top of his on your thigh and ran your thumb over his skin again and again, because you needed something to do. Eddie drove out of Hawkins, but you kept quiet, knowing that he wouldn’t answer your questions. Another ten minutes and he stopped the car on top of a hill overlooking the city, but when you turned to the other side, mostly darkness welcomed you, but that assured that you had a great view of the sky, of all the stars that were shining. A breathtaking view already!
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Eddie asked, opening the back doors of the van to get some stuff out.
“It really is.” You turned towards him, eyebrows drawn together in confusion. “You need help?”
“No, no, I got it.” He carried everything over, laid out a big blanket, put down some containers, bottles and whatnot. “Come on, sit down.”
“You know, we could have had a picnic during the day as well.” “Sure, but that wouldn’t have been anywhere near as romantic as this is, right?” The hopeful look in his eyes made you smile. He seemed almost nervous, and apparently he was, judging by the way he twisted one of his rings around his finger.
“That’s true.” Slowly, you sat down next to him. “So, you wanted to stargaze with me?”
“Yes.” Eddie reached for another blanket and put it over your lap. “Ever heard of the Orionids?”
“I think I heard that before. Why?”
“They’re an annual meteor shower, so we can watch some shooting stars tonight.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, I hope so. But that’s why I brought you here, to watch the Orionids with you.”
“I never pictured you as someone who liked to stargaze, Eddie Munson.” “Oh, I’m full of surprises, darling.” Eddie chuckled, before he wrapped one arm around your shoulder, pulling you close.
You talked for a bit about the stars, about books, all the topics you’d talked about before, and it was so easy with him, so… natural that you lost track of time completely. At one point, you’d both laid down on your backs, staring up at the sky, Eddie’s arm wrapped around you to keep you close, your head leaning against his shoulder. The blanket was wrapped around both of you, but being this close to Eddie provided enough warmth already, so you were all cosy.
“There!” Eddie pointed in one direction, your eyes immediately following, and you saw the first shooting star.
“Quick! Make a wish!” you said, getting all giddy with excitement.
“Why don’t you make one?”
“You saw it, so you get to make a wish. I don’t make the rules.”
“I actually only have one wish right now. And that’s not something any shooting star can make come true.”
“Why?” You turned your head towards him to look at him. Your faces were mere inches apart, noses almost touching.
“Because that’s not in the stars… it’s in your hands.” Eddie tightened his hold around you, fingers fanning out over your back. His other hand came up to cup your cheek. You felt your breath hitch when he bumped his nose against yours. “Because I’d really, really like to kiss you now.”
You wanted that as well, but were incapable of forming words right now. The butterflies in your stomach were ready to burst at any minute, but he was still waiting for your okay. A smile spread on your lips when you put your hand on his chest and leaned in, hoping he’d get the hint. And he did.
Eddie’s lips met yours in a soft, languid kiss. You ran your fingers up his chest, to his shoulder, but Eddie quickly grabbed your waist and pulled you on top of him, making you giggle and break the kiss.
“I’ve been dreaming of this ever since we started dating.” He ran a hand through your hair, putting his hand at the nape of your neck, his thumb brushing over the skin just beneath your ear. A sigh escaped your lips when he did that.
“Really?” You couldn’t believe his words, but knew that he wouldn’t lie to you about something like this. You wiggled around a bit to get more comfortable until you found the perfect position, his thigh between your legs,and in turn your leg between his.
“I was always intrigued by you, but never really got the chance to talk to you. And you blew me away on that first date.” Eddie chuckled, running his hand up and down your back, but when he reached the hem of the sweater, he slipped his hand beneath the fabric, warm hands meeting your bare skin, resulting in another happy sigh.
“I actually felt the same way,” you admitted, “And… I actually didn’t give your sweater back because I liked wearing it. Made me feel like you were around.”
“That’s really cute, sweetheart!” Eddie pecked your lips again, before he had to chuckle. “And your Dad actually approves of this.”
“Yeah, how did you manage that? I mean, he even helped you with this?”
“He did.” And Eddie was still a little surprised, but also rather proud that Hopper had offered him his help, after El had talked to both of them about your feelings. Eddie didn’t know whether she’d told him about the whole fake-dating thing, but in the end, it didn’t matter. “When he walked me out of the cabin… I was just completely honest with him.” Eddie stopped his hand at the small of your back, fanned out his fingers to cover as much skin as possible. He used his other hand to cup your cheek once again. 
“I told him that I like you… and that I’ve never felt like this for anyone else.” Your heart skipped a beat when you heard that, and now you were the one to initiate the kiss. It started out just like the first one, but got more heated rather quickly. You opened your lips to him, explored his mouth with your own tongue while you felt his hand tangle in your hair. You felt warm all over, and your lips were a little swollen from the kiss when you eventually broke apart.
“I like you, too, Eddie Munson… a lot actually.”
“Well, that sounds promising. So we’re taking our fake-dating up a level to real proper dating?”
“I think we’re already kinda past that dating-stage, don’t you think?” After all, you’d been on a couple of dates, had gotten to know each other quite well, and Eddie had prepared the most romantic date you’d ever been on.
“So, you’re gonna call me your boyfriend in front of your Dad now?”
“If that’s okay with you?”
“Okay?” Eddie said, leaning in for another quick kiss. “Sweetheart, I’ve been waiting to hear you call me that. ‘Cause now I can tell everyone what a wonderful, gorgeous, smart girlfriend I have, so that they can all get jealous.”
Before you could react in any way, Eddie kissed you again, and you forgot everything that had been on your mind, everything you’d wanted to say. You were happy, and that was all that mattered.
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dancingwiththefae · 1 year
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the kindest thing
A fic for @seidenbros follower celebration <3
Jaskier wakes Yennefer from a nightmare. Of all the people to accept comfort from, she didn't expect to actually want it from him.
1.4K, no warnings, all the comfort and softness for them
AO3
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She saw Ciri staring back at her. Cold eyes that were not her own. She offered everything to her. But it wasn't enough. It wasn't working. They called to her but she just couldn't hear. They tried everything to reach her but it was no use. She was gone. Lost to them. Everyone around them were falling. They were losing and still she could not hear. She screamed yelled loud as she could, desperate to do something, anything. She had to save her. She just had to.
A sudden hand to her shoulder made her jolt. Her eyes flew open. A blurry visage blocked her vision. She blinked a few times and the image of Jaskier came into view, face set into a frown. The crumpled sheets and Kaer Morhen's cold stone walls told her she was in her bedroom. She must have been dreaming.
“Jaskier? What the fuck are you doing in my room?”
“I heard shouting and-and-”
She pushed him a little too harsh out of the way as she sat up and rubbed a hand across her face. She sighed, collecting herself. And pointedly ignoring the ever irritating bard hovering by her bed.
“You're welcome, by the way.” He gestured vaguely towards her. “Come to check on you out of the goodness of my heart and not even a thank you.”
“Ever the gentleman,” she commented.
Try as she might, she couldn't get the images out of her mind. She knew if she tried to sleep again more nightmares would plague her. Of her failure. Of everything that could have gone wrong and everything that did go wrong wound up in one. She pulled the sheets off her, slipped off the bed and went for the pitcher of water on her bedside table. It took her a moment to realise the bard was still there. She gave him a sideways glance as she sipped from her glass. He was dressed in his bed clothes with a book under his arm.
“What are you doing up anyway?” she asked, “bit of nighttime reading?”
He looked down as if he only just noticed the book was there.
“Couldn't sleep. And their bestiaries are so boring, I thought it might do the trick,” he winked. It wasn't a convincing one, but she appreciated the facade all the same.
“Couldn't sleep?” she queried.
“Well,” he floundered a little, “my room gets a little cold and... y'know.”
She did not know. There was still a fire burning low to keep her room warm. But she sensed that he was lying anyway. Her lack of response left him at a loss. The air grew awkward between them as the silence stretched on. She would make a sarcastic comment but, as it was, her mind was a little preoccupied. The idea of going back to bed filled her with dread. Closing her eyes and opening her mind to more terrifying visions. Or lying awake, staring up at the ceiling, alone with nothing but her own spiralling thoughts. She wasn't sure which one was worse.
“I can-uh. I can just go if you'd prefer,” the bard said awkwardly, backing off towards the door, “let you get some more sleep...”
“Wait.”
She had no idea what had possessed her to do this. If she had thought for a second she probably wouldn't have said anything at all.
“Yes?”
He looked at her with such softness, such concern. It made her want to slap the look right off of him just so she didn't have to see it any more. She didn't, but she wanted to.
“I hate to ask this of you – especially you of all people – but would you stay? Just until I fall asleep?” As soon as the words were out she held up her hand. “Say anything and I will turn you to dust before you even know what's happening.”
The concern was replaced by utter bewilderment. His mouth opened and closed as he tried to form a response. She was probably going to regret it in the morning, but who else could she turn to? And Jaskier, well, Jaskier was here. Of all the people on this godsforsaken continent that she had had the displeasure to know, Jaskier had somehow become her only lifeline.
“Yeah. Okay. If that's what you want.” His words came out stuttered and awkward like he was prepared to retract them at any minute. She gave a short nod. It was good enough. Without another word she got back into bed. Jaskier followed obediently.
“Do you want me-?” He waved towards the empty side of the bed. “Or I could fetch a chair? Or...”
“Gods, you are hopeless at everything,” Yennefer sighed as her head hit the pillow, “how you are still alive is beyond me.”
“I ask myself the same question,” he laughed as he propped up the pillows beside her and lay back. As soon as he was settled, she rolled away from him and closed her eyes. Silently she lay still, waiting for sleep to come. She waited. And waited. Nothing happened. She kept her breathing calm and even. Sleep still did not come. She did her best to ignore the occasional soft sound of turning pages until she couldn't any more. She rolled to her other side and cracked an eye open to peek up. Jaskier was sitting up with the book close to him, squinting at the pages.
“You need your glasses, old man,” she teased.
“It's the light,” he retorted, “or lack of. Anyway, I know for a fact that you have decades on me, witch.”
“And eternally youthful. Perks of being a sorceress.”
He mouthed her words back in a childish manner and, oh, she wasn't going to stand for that. Abruptly, she sat up. He jolted as she suddenly came in close.
“Is that a grey hair?” she gasped, combing her fingers through his hair. He ducked to get away from her clutches.
“Alright, alright, we can't all be beautiful, youthful mages, can we?”
She pulled back, feeling very satisfied with her teasing.
“You're the one who said beautiful,” she said with an arch of her brow.
“Yes, well,” he huffed, closing his book with a snap, “I appreciate all beauty. Even terrible, mean witches who, by the way, are supposed to be asleep.”
She sat back with a huff.
“Sleep is eluding me at the moment. Show me what you're reading.” She indicated to the book in his lap. He opened it for her. Something on the anatomy of griffins. Quietly, they read together. She did not comment on the fact that she could read the writing clearly. He did not comment on her tucking herself into his side. With the silence of the keep and the low light of the fire, she could almost allow herself to believe that they were the only two people in existence. Something about the night made it feel like it would stretch on forever. She rested her head on the bard's shoulder. He was right, this was a dull book. A yawn broke from her unwillingly. Her eyes grew heavy. His method worked, it seemed, because it wasn't long before she was gently being shook awake. He coaxed her to lie down, whispered goodnight, and made to leave. She pulled on his sleeve to stop him.
“Your room is cold,” she mumbled, using the last of her energy to pull back the bedsheets for him.
“Oh, yes. I did say that, didn't I.”
He climbed into bed and settled on his back. Yennefer wasted no time in resting her head against his shoulder again. Her half-asleep logic told her it was a perfectly comfortable place to rest just a moment ago. He didn't fight against it. With a hesitant hand, he quietly reached down to entangle their fingers together. Not that Yennefer noticed. She was already asleep.
She awoke to the early dawn with a headache that reminded her she had had far too little sleep. On trying to move, she realised that she was trapped in an entanglement of limbs. Jaskier was sleeping peacefully, his boyish face decidedly too cherub-like. At some point in the night he had wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him. No doubt he'd be surprised by his own actions when he woke up. She should move and save him the embarrassment. But, well, it didn't sound like anyone was up yet, and she did need more sleep. She cursed how peaceful he looked and closed her eyes again. She could always pretend to be shocked at their position later. What he didn't know wouldn't hurt him.
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elaine4queen · 2 years
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A waitress came out to wipe tables and she made a fuss of the dog. I told her that my current theory was that her paternity was half short haired Retriever and half Boxer and she said that’s what she had at home. I asked if she had photos and she said it wasn’t her dog, so she didn’t but she’d made a TikTok of the dog, so she showed me that, and it does fit. Quickly now I google it and can see a dog which has Lola’s face. The coat from a tiger Staffie completes the mix.
The day was a mixture of things that happened and things that didn’t happen. Frankie was coming over for a Jewish New Year which she’s done with me before. I slipped my old dog, Poppet a slice of apple with honey on it under the table and wished her a good and sweet year, and despite the odds, she did manage another year and a bit more. Normally she wouldn’t thank you for raw fruit or veg and dogs don’t like honey, but she was probably swayed by the fact that we were eating it.
This time though Frankie wasn’t really up to it so instead I made her tea. I used a teapot and mixed chamomile and mint and added some Manuka honey for the occasion. The tray was a lacquered one I’d taken from Dad’s. Most of his stuff was broken but it was intact. I thought it might have been a present from his sister who’d lived in China, but wherever it was from it was old, maybe nearly half a century, so I was a bit sad to see I’d scalded the surface with the teapot. Still, objectively it’s really fine. I just have to get used to it and try not to cling.
I dreamed last night I planted two fields of carrots, and woke up with such a sore back. The drama of the foot is playing out with referred pain. Louis did some good work with me yesterday, and I’ll have a bath this morning and do some yoga tomorrow.
I tried to organise going to Manchester to see Louise, and had done all the dog arrangements, but then got a message from her saying she had the dentist, so I had to unarrange everything. Matt can do Monday so we’ll aim for that. I hate arranging and then unarranging, but it’ll give my back  a chance to recover.
The dog is out with Rooddogs so I have a bit of peace to write. I’ve run my bath and am just having a cup of tea in the bed before getting in.
A few days ago I thought I’d lost the scissors I use in the kitchen. They didn’t show up when I tidied in there and I thought they might have ended up in the bin or something. I was sad about it because although they are replaceable I really love them. Justin’s mum gave me them years ago, and someone told me they were nurses scissors for cutting clothes off. I don’t know if they are, but they cut almost anything and I was relieved this morning to find them in the living room. 
It’s a wild ride when you’re trying to visit a dying friend and you’re grieving for trays and scissors that haven’t even gone and are inanimate and don’t live or die and aren’t ultimately yours but will go to the great landfill in the sky on or before my own death.
Of course, it’s all love and loss, and as Hazel always says 
All griefs are one
It might seem like an exaggeration, but certainly practicing letting go is not a waste of time, because if you live long enough that’s what life becomes. Also, when one person, relationship, home, city, or small useful object that you’ve handled for years and which was given to you with love is gone the other griefs are waiting there to be remembered. Frankie and I talked about Poppet as we often do. This was prompted by me saying something to her dog Kip which I used to say to P but which I might not say to Lola because P was very conversational and so is Kip, while Lola isn’t, and the moment brings up the glossary - like when I was in the car and suddenly thought in Australian. I sometimes think half the grief in a breakup is the loss of whatever private language you’ve built up with that person and which can’t be used with anyone else.
I remember an affirmation from when I was interested in such things
I lovingly release you from my life
Which is blameless and kind in intention. I used to do affirmations when I went swimming. This was before I learned meditation. It was good, it saved me from thinking for the 40 minutes I’d swim for. This was in sharp contrast to when I started swimming and I’d come out of the pool 40 minutes into ruminations, feeling unclean even though I was coming out of water. 
I used to do breast stroke one way and back stroke the other. I can’t remember my backstroke affirmation but my breast stroke was conducted to 
I relax and trust life
Money comes easily to me
Which strikes me as embarrassingly gauche now, but worked for my purposes at the time.
I asked Hazel some time after I started this whether she thought that money came easily to me and she said she thought it did, even though we were both always broke and living hand to mouth. Maybe other people always seem to have money easier because you don’t see the worry that goes into it. I have been thinking recently that the money I recently got from selling Dad’s house might just be a buffer rather than the possibility of home ownership for me. Still, I know what it’s like not to have one and if all it pays for is me not having to worry the way most people are worried right now, then it’s still got value. I met a man in Palmeria who told me he used to own the Old Market but he sold it because it was going to cost him too much to do something or other with it, and then he told me that he owns a flat on the square, but that he was worried about money because of a development he was doing. This kind of money worry is not in my ball park, but I get that it affects him in a way which is not comparable to someone who is sitting in the cold too afraid to put the heating on, but is still head-room nevertheless.
At least we won’t need wheelbarrows to buy bread. Not because we aren’t looking down the barrel of hyperinflation, but because we have contactless cards now, and since Covid cash money is used far less. You can buy a cup of coffee with a card now.
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repairise · 2 years
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southernwood :   how seriously does your muse take themself ?do they prefer a solemn   &   intellectual atmosphere or do they delight in jokes   &   banter ?
botanical hc's
i think it honestly depends who she’s with. people like linoan and tina, who she’s resigned herself with the duty of protecting, are likely to encounter a more serious safy. she’s also more likely to hold herself seriously in front of nobles/ people of a higher tier in the hierarchy (this includes knights, professors, even the house leaders.)
but i think with friends she’s much more light-hearted. think the youths of leif’s army like tanya, osian, ronan; these people, i feel, she’d be much less uptight with. hell, throw lifis into the mix, too. people who are in a more or less equal footing with her will enjoy a casual safy.
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simmerandwrite · 1 year
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Sink Into Me - 01 - mob!Steve Rogers x plus size! reader
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Pairing: mob boss!Steve Rogers x plus size female reader
Summary: You were simply doing a good deed, pulling the handsome stranger out of the way when a car jumped the curb. Little did you know that the life you saved belonged to Steve Rogers, the Army veteran turned art dealer with connections to the Brooklyn crime syndicate.
Steve Rogers, who won’t stop calling you his guardian angel.
Steve Rogers, whose new goal in life just might be repaying his debt to you.
Steve Rogers, who isn’t shy until it comes to his feelings and will stop at nothing to keep you safe.
Chapters: 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08
Wordcount: 4.2k
Warnings: canon level violence (series), body image issues (series)
Notes: So, this just happened, okay? On the one hand, it helped me unslump when it came to writing. On the other, it's been a very serious distraction from other important writing, currently. I promise you a fun ride with this one, though. if you see me in the wild, i’m @simmerandcry
---
You were goddamn grateful it was Friday. The entire week had felt like walking through wet, heavy sand - each day had been harder and harder to survive and you were so happy to be finally on the other side of the busy season at work. And you had rewarded yourself with your favourite overpriced smoothie from Juice Press - the Pineapple Mango Tornado.
It was the easiest way to reward yourself not only after the long work week, but for agreeing to go to a ‘Happy Hour’ spin class with your old roommate Maria. Despite your insistence that the average spin bike would not support your hips and ass, she had peer pressured you into the entire thing. Mostly based on the premise that she required your opinion on the spin instructor and whether or not she was out of Maria’s league.
By the time the class was over, you decided that A. yes, the instructor was super hot, and yes, Maria should pursue, and that B. spin was not being added into your new fitness routine. You weren’t sure you’d even be able to walk soon enough because your quads were still on fire.
You hoped that your dog Hercules, a rescued pitbull staffy mix, would be happy with a very short walk that evening.
The next street you cut down was relatively quiet and you were grateful for that, too. You weren’t afraid to admit how much of a creature of habit you were, regularly choosing the same path to and from the subway in the most efficient manner. Of course, you tended to notice when things changed though - like how the scaffolding was finally removed outside of the building that was being renovated just up from the corner.
When you realized a new restaurant was opening up, you were both excited and disappointed. You loved having new places to check out but trendy restaurants always brought extra foot traffic and real traffic to the neighbourhood.
(Maria, on the other hand, insisted there was no chance the restaurant was going to be real and open to the public anyway. Apparently she’d heard a rumour the owner was connected to the mob. The mob. You couldn’t get over how dramatic she could be.)
This new place (that was definitely not run by the mob) had a patio going in too and well, that made up for the potential disappointment of overcrowding at least. Just as you were approaching and gawking at the patio furniture, you caught the eye of a man exiting the brown paper covered door pulling a phone up to his ear. And holy shit, what a man.
Dressed in a blue linen suit, whomever this person was exuded a kind of confidence you couldn’t even bear thinking about for too long. When your moment of eye contact continued for one too many seconds, you panicked and reached for your phone because apparently anything was enough of a distraction to keep from hyperventilating over this man’s stare.
By the grace of God, he flipped his sunglasses down from his head and ran a hand through his perfectly messy coiffed hairstyle as he made his phone call. 
Keep it together. All you needed to do was keep staring straight ahead and get on your way home. Your phone buzzed in your back pocket, with a message from Maria who was stuck on her subway line as she headed home. She had sent a sweaty faced selfie along with the text.
You took a selfie to reply with, too, featuring your own post-workout face and your smoothie. 
Then you heard it.
You turned at a sudden noise behind you, the screeching of tires and a roaring engine pulled you away from your phone. You pivoted on your heel quickly, only to see the sleek black SUV speeding up even more. And not only was it coming closer at a dramatic pace, it seemed to be veering off towards the sidewalk too.
The sidewalk you were standing on. Just a few feet ahead of you, Blue Suit remained oblivious with his back turned and phone to his ear. 
For some reason, you sprang into action.
“Hey!” You sprinted ahead of the vehicle as quickly as your heavy legs could carry you, reaching your hand out to the suited man and grasping onto his bicep. With all the force you could muster, you pulled him towards you and you both tumbled to the ground, with your head ricocheting against the stacked tables as you fell towards the concrete sidewalk. 
The man landed directly on top of you, unscathed from the car that had crashed into the glass storefront of the future restaurant. His body acted as a shield from the spray of glass and before you could even understand what had happened, the engine revved again. Despite the damage to its front, the SUV backed up and adjusted its path, coming towards where you and this man were laid out.
He grabbed onto your shoulders with a tight grip, rolling you both through the shards of glass and closer towards the tables and the building. Just quickly enough too, as the SUV narrowly missed you both before it sped away from the scene.
What the fuck just happened?
You heard shouting as your ears rang, the raspy sound of Blue Suit’s voice from above you as he removed himself from practically covering your entire body as you remained laid out on the ground. You tried to pull yourself up too but you were thwarted by the spinning feeling in your head.
“Steve - what the fuck happened?” 
Hah, you and whoever had just run out from the restaurant were clearly sharing the same sentiments. 
“I don’t fucking know - but I can only guess it was..” Blue Suit trailed off, shaking his head of whatever that thought was as he kneeled before you. You blinked a few times, realizing he was speaking to you. “Hey, hey. Look at me. You okay? What’s your name? Did you hit your head? Are you in any pain? Can you sit up?”
Slowly, you blinked and tried to focus on him. Narrowed blue eyes laced with concerns stared down at you. You took in a slow breath. “That’s a lot of questions..” You clenched your hand then released it, running your fingers over the ground for your phone.
“Why the fuck did you do that?”
His question caught you off guard. “What? Are you seriously mad that I..” You tried to sit up and immediately recognized the bad idea. How hard did you hit your head? “Oh my god, I’m going to..”
“Woah, woah. Okay, just stay here on the ground, angel.” Above you, he adjusted and shed his jacket, folding it quickly in his hands and cradling the back of your head to place it under as a neck support. “No passing out. Oh, shit. Are you bleeding?”
“Angel?” You closed your eyes and tried to resist arguing. Stay on the ground. The ground was safe. The ground was stable and not spinning. Spinning equals bad. “Wait. What?” Using your hand, you searched your head and - fuck, yep. That was blood, just near your hairline. You could hear a crunch of glass underneath your back too.
The man twisted his head, looking back towards the shattered window and door of the restaurant behind him. The familiar sound of police sirens called out in the distance. “Sam, we’ve gotta get her checked out-”
You hissed out in pain when you tried to sit up again. Stay on the ground. “No, please. I’m fine. Just give me a minute..” 
The other man shouted back. “Listen, I’ll deal with the blue. Hopefully Ward isn’t on duty today. Call Katy, she should be nearby.”
“Hey! Hey. Wait. Please.” You grasped Blue Suit’s hand as he turned back to you. “The co-pay on my insurance is terrible, I- I can’t afford a hospital bill and-”
“You don’t have to worry about a hospital bill, I promise.” 
You turned your head when you caught the crack in his voice, the sincerity in his tone. A multitude of questions and arguments raced through your mind but when you met his eyes and absorbed his soft gaze, you faltered. 
“It’s the least I can do, angel. You saved my life.”
---
You had to chalk it up to the rush of adrenaline - how it just made sense to go with this man and get into a car and trust he was really going to get you medical attention. It wasn’t until you were actually arriving at a little clinic further into Brooklyn that you were hit with the gravity of the whole situation. 
That and the pain that was radiating through your skull hit you in full force.
Speaking of full force, why did you throw yourself into this situation? RIght, because that car was going to barrel into the man. And if you could help prevent that… Though it was just occurring to you that you could have been hit by that car too. You both could be dead and -
“Hey, come on. Let’s get you inside.” 
Blue Suit had managed to vacate the front seat and open your door in the back in seconds. You quietly said your goodbyes to the sassy dark haired woman who had driven you both and reluctantly grabbed his hand as you stepped out of the car. Slowly he helped guide you into the quiet little building, home to the Roosevelt Clinic.
Under normal circumstances, you might be annoyed by how Blue Suit was resting his hand against your back, carefully walking you past the front desk, giving a quick nod to the woman who sat there. She had motioned him down the hall towards a certain room and when you got to the door, he paused.
“Listen, Sarah is the best nurse here and she’ll take a look at that cut and make sure you’re okay.” He peered down at you with the most sincere look, finally moving his hand from where it was splayed against your spine and dragging his fingers across his beard. He seemed more shaken now, a bit less secure in his words. “I don’t know how to say thank you for..” 
You offered him a tight smile as he trailed off. “Don’t worry about it, that’s not..” You were lost for words too, nodding and stepping into the small medical room. Not before watching him speak quietly to himself as he walked away, tugging his phone from his pocket. 
Inside the room you sat on one of the chairs, reaching up again to analyze the cut on your forehead. The bleeding had stopped, at least. You barely had any extra time to think about it before someone else came into the room.
You could only assume this was the nurse, Sarah. You weren’t sure what to expect, but the woman standing in front of you put you at ease. Her graying sandy blonde hair was pulled back into a low bun and she offered you a small smile, grabbing a pen from the pocket of her scrub pants as she took a few steps in towards you.
“I’m Sarah, I’m a nurse practitioner at this clinic,” she said as she dropped into the rolling stool beside you, showing you her identifying badge before tilting her head as she studied your face. Her eyes landed on the cut. “Can you tell me your name, honey?”
You nodded and gave her all your information as required and moved your hand as she inspected your cut.
“Oh,” Sarah let out a small whistle. “How did this happen?”
“I, uh,” you took a deep breath and released it. “That guy who brought me in here. I don’t even know his name.” You laughed, though it was short lived as Sarah started to brush a small wipe across your forehead to clean it up. You hissed in pain.
“Steve?” She asked. “In the suit?”
“Blue Suit, yeah. Steve.” You bit your lip as she moved along. “I kind of tackled him to the ground because a car was veering off the street in his direction. Hit my head on the way down.”
Sarah paused her hands and pulled back, moving her stool slightly to the side to get a better look at you. “You tackled him?”
“I mean,” you laughed again. “I’m not strong but clearly if I have enough momentum and, you know, mass - it can cause some movement. It was sort of like a full force hug, I guess. But it meant he didn’t get squashed in front of that car…”
Sarah laughed stiffly too, shaking her head. She stood and crossed the room, opening up a cabinet. “Are you okay if I use some temporary sutures on that?”
You nodded again. “Sure.”
“Steve,” Sarah pursed her lips as she said his name. “He brings a lot of his friends here. I’m happy to patch anyone up for him, really. But this is a first. Usually he doesn’t bring me any strangers.”
You frowned. “Oh. I’m sorry if we got in the way of any real patients or..”
Sarah stopped you with a hand, grabbing her supplies and returning to the stool. “No, no. You didn’t get in the way, honey. This is good. I’m glad he brought you in.” Her smile was unusually joyous, grateful even, and you couldn’t figure out why. “And thank you for doing that, saving him.”
“No one needs to thank me,” you replied, “Seriously. I just… well, what else was I supposed to do but try to help?”
Once Sarah had taken care of the cut and gone through any possible concussion symptoms with you, she offered you some mild pain medication then stood again. 
“Did you go to Briar College?” You asked when she stepped away. “I just noticed that lanyard you’re using..”
Sarah reached into her pocket and pulled out the badge again, running her fingers over the bright blue lanyard. “I did. I’m a proud alumni of that little place.”
“I didn’t mean to be invasive,” you apologized. “My mom went there too. She did her nursing degree part time when I was in high school.”
Sarah quirked an eyebrow. “What year did she graduate? I did the same thing when my son was a bit older, actually.” 
You shared a few more details and, well, wasn’t the world small. It turned out Sarah was in the same class as your mom, although they hadn’t really stayed in touch beyond their classes. They had shared some experiences in a few group projects though, bonding over being the older women in the classroom.
 You and Sarah were really chatting like old friends when there was a knock on the door frame.
“How’s it going in here?” Steve reappeared in the doorway, dragging a hand across the bottom of his jaw as he watched you and Sarah. He looked much more collected than he had before, perhaps having taken the time to sit with whatever he couldn’t say earlier. And god, even under the fluorescent lights above him, he looked good. 
There hadn’t been time before to really take the man in, but as he took up most of the doorway, you couldn’t help but scan him. From his well kept beard, down his wide chest hidden behind the vest of his suit - what kind of man wore a three piece linen suit? And was that a gold chain and tattoos hiding on his chest, too?
You sucked in a breath but let Sarah answer for you.
“I think we’re all done.” Sarah stood up, turning away from you a playful smile on her face before moving towards Steve. When she pulled him into a hug, your mouth twisted into a confused frown. Then you thought about their matching blue eyes and…
“I’m okay, ma,” Steve muttered out, placing a kiss on the top of his mother’s head before he pulled away. “She saved my life.” His eyes flicked to you and suddenly you felt guilty about watching the personal moment that had been playing out. 
You weren’t sure how to react to that. “Seriously, it’s not…” Maybe you were better off not arguing about it now, as you realized what a worst case scenario might have been. If this Steve guy needed to have a soft moment with his mother, that was fine.
I’m okay, ma..
It was a bit odd, in a way, that Steve’s busy, working mother dropped whatever she was doing to help whomever he brought in. And for you to be the first stranger he had guided through the doors, you couldn’t help but wonder just what kind of friends this guy kept if they ended up needing medical care so frequently that there was a room always ready for them at the clinic.
Clearly you had been consumed by your string of thoughts enough to not even realize Sarah left the room because when you blinked again, Steve had taken a few steps in. 
“Are you feeling okay?” Steve started, thankfully. You had no clue what to say or do now, given that you were somewhere in the heart of Brooklyn with a minor head injury. Life saved, head stitched, exchanging awkward platitudes might have been next…
You nodded. “Yeah, pretty good, considering.” You pointed to your forehead and laughed. “Sarah was very helpful.”
Steve let out a quiet laugh. “You know, I’ve almost died before. A couple times. I was sick all the time when I was a kid, bad lungs..” He tapped against his chest with his hand. “I got a really bad infection and it was touch and go for a few weeks when I was in fifth grade. I also survived a lot of bad fist fights, a bullet to my hip and-”
Your eyes grew wide. “A bullet?” 
“I served overseas after college,” he brushed it off. “I’m here on the other side of it. But for the last hour, all I can think about is that my time might have come to a quick end today if it hadn’t been for you, angel.”
“Please don’t call me that,” you shook your head. You insisted he call you by your first name instead. And after you gave it to him, he repeated it to himself, as if he was committing it to memory.
“Steve, I was just right where I needed to be, I guess. It doesn’t have to be that…complicated.” You were really trying to relieve this man of his guilt. “Anyone else in the same position would have done the same thing, I’m sure.” You could tell he wanted to say more but after letting out a long breath, he must have changed his mind. “Plus, you saved us both, really. When that car zoomed past us again and-”
“And I rolled you through the debris and glass. Sure. But I just feel like I owe you,” Steve sighed, raising his hand to drag across his neck. “I’m in debt to you forever.”
“Could you just cover my taxi fare for a ride home?” You reached for your phone to check the time. Shit. “Hercules is gonna be so pissed.”
Steve’s eyes narrowed for a brief moment. “Your boyfriend’s name is Hercules?”
“What?” You blinked a few times, shaking your head as you finally stood up. “No, Hercules is my dog. What kind of person would be named Hercules in this day and age?”
“Listen, my best friend goes by Bucky. Anything is possible.”
“I usually take Hercules for a walk right after I’m done with work, he’s been cooped up all day.” You couldn’t hide your frown as you thought about the journey home. “Maybe the subway would be quicker-”
“Let me give you a ride, please.” Your name left his lips as he pleaded. “It’s the least I can do.”
You supposed it would be the quickest way back to your neighbourhood. And given you had already gotten a ride with the man and had just met his mother and you knew where she worked so… 
As you headed back out to the front of the clinic, you were surprised to see a police officer standing there. Steve took a few extra strides to get ahead of you, greeting the officer first.
“Hammond, it’s been a while,” he started, extending his hand out to shake that of the policeman. 
“Has it?” The officer shot back, a small grin appearing on his hard lined face. “What have I told you about leaving the scene of a crime, Rogers?”
Steve scoffed, pulling his hand back and crossing his arms over his chest. “We have different answers for what makes a crime scene.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“She was bleeding, I couldn’t wait around.” Steve gestured to you now.
You gave a small wave to the officer, feeling a bit unsettled about what the heck was unfolding ahead of you. “Uh, hello.”
After he introduced himself to you as Officer Hammond, he took out a small notepad and gave you that same small smile. You assumed it was supposed to be comforting but it came off a bit stiff. “I just need a statement. You saw what happened? Did you see the driver’s face?” 
In the middle of giving your recount to the officer, alongside all your contact information, you froze. “Oh my god. Would it help.. Would it help if I had a picture of the SUV?” You shook your head and reached for your phone, quickly scrolling through your recent pictures. Then you hesitated, given how unflattering your face looked when you had taken that earlier selfie to send to Maria. But, you could see the car as it approached behind you in the photo and maybe they could do something with that. Police departments must have fancy technology that could decipher a bit of information from it.
You turned your phone to show the officer. “It is a selfie, unfortunately, but..”
Hammond just nodded. “Yeah, that could help. Can you email it to me?”
Steve had a really nice car. A car nicer than anything you had ever sat in before. And despite the overwhelming day-to-day insecurity you held about your body, it didn’t feel like you were squeezing yourself into the vehicle. Inside, the leather seats looked immaculate. Steve weaved through traffic with ease, exchanging very boring normal small talk as neither of you seemed to be able to connect your true thoughts after everything that had happened. But dammit, if he didn’t look attractive with one hand on the wheel, as his other worked the gear shift. Had that sort of thing always been sexy or was it a Steve thing?
Because until an hour ago, you didn’t think anyone could pull off a blue linen suit and now…
Maybe you had hit your head harder than you thought.
By some miracle, the parking spot in front of the townhouse, home to your basement apartment, was free so Steve effortlessly parallel parked his car into place. Was that sexy too?  You made a mental note to check with Maria if you were insane. Maybe you had brain damage after all.
“Well, there we go. One ride home. We’re even, Steven.” You laughed at your own joke, feeling a tiny bit proud when you saw a smirk rise on his face. 
He said your name as he shifted in his seat. “Listen, I’m not going to say thank you again. Or call you Angel.”
You smiled. “Appreciate it.”
“But I believe in the universe putting people in the right place at the right time and..” He closed his eyes and took in a breath. “I’m truly in your debt forever.” He reached into one of the front consoles of the vehicle and grabbed a small card. After retrieving a pen from the inside pocket of his jacket, he scrawled onto the back of it.
“I owe you a thousand favours, alright?” He handed you the card. You stared at his handwritten phone number. “Call me to cash them in, anytime.”
You reluctantly took the card, knowing there was no point in arguing. Besides, this was a gesture. If he needed to hand you off with this promise, you’d play along and accept it. “Sure.” 
“That photo you shared with Hammond - do you think you could send it to me, too?”
You frowned, struck between confusion and, well, embarrassment. You hadn’t taken that selfie with the intention of anyone other than Maria seeing it. Sharing it with the police officer made sense but sending it to this Very Handsome Man felt really awkward. Wasn’t it police evidence now?
“Uh, yeah. I could do that.” You sighed, glancing at his email address on the card then twisting in the seat slightly to look at him. “Just don’t laugh, okay? It was not meant to be shared with the world.”
“I’m sure it’s not that bad, An-” He stopped himself, letting out a short breath before saying your name. “Thanks. Stay safe, okay? And like I said, a thousand favours. If you need anything, anytime - you reach out.”
--
Chapter 02
What's next? well, you can look forward to flirting, romance, danger, protective Steve Rogers, some smut, some drama and moreeeeeee.
687 notes · View notes
justapurrcat · 2 years
Text
Take My Hand, Wreck My Plans | t.s.h.
Pairing: Tom Holland x fem!hiking guide!reader
Synopsys: Finally free after a particularly demanding project, Tom is looking forward to enjoying a well deserved holiday of sweet idleness… until a local hiking guide catches his attention, throwing all his purposes out of the window.
Word Count: 10.277k
Warnings: English not being my first language, disgusting fluff, a pinch of angst because it’s me, shameless love at first sight, an easter egg maybe, Tom being stupid~
Group Masterlist
Tom Holland Masterlist
General Masterlist
A/n: I’m super late with this one, but here it is, my work for @tshwritersnet’s summer writing challenge! While I’m not the biggest fan of how the result turned out, I had a lot of fun writing this (what can I say? I thoroughly enjoy having my leading men, especially Tom, do foolish things in the name of love...) and I really hope you will like it! 💜 please, consider letting me know what you think, feedback is always greatly appreciated! 💜
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After leaving for college, coming back here for your summer holidays had become a religion for you, and even after so many years, the Bed and Breakfast owned by your uncles still remained one of your favourite places, with a special mention to its garden: you practically considered it the ‘symbol’ of your childhood, given all the time you had spent playing in there, waiting for your parents to come home in the evening.
It wasn’t a grand or highly renowned one, but it was beautiful and the same could be said about the building itself. It was a quite ancient edifice, no one would’ve given it the light of the day on a first look, but everyone fell in love with it the second they walked through the door.
The familiar rich scent of roses and jasmine, the very same ones your aunt had planted with your help, blended perfectly with the citrus aroma of the trees thriving in the backyard. It was so intense and captivating you could smell it from the outside, your heart growing at least two sizes because of that.
You were home.
And you were in a good mood, your heart still on cloud nine after having convinced itself you had met the love of your life on that very same day. Granted, not knowing his name nor how to find him again might’ve been quite a substantial hurdle – in hindsight, getting hit by Cupid’s arrow had made you kinda stupid –, but you didn’t want to think of bad things now: this was a small place, you could get lucky again…
But you were digressing.
“Hey, old man!”, you greeted cheerfully, bursting into the hall with a toothy smile and open arms, ready to crack your poor victim uncle’s bones with one of your devastating bear hugs, just like you had done with your aunt. It was the bare minimum after not seeing them for so long.
But your excitement died as soon as you took in the scene in front of you: no less than six strangers and a blue Staffy, most certainly a family, standing right by the reception desk, each one of them interrupting their current actions to turn their heads in your direction all at once, a surprised – which was an euphemism – look on their faces.
“Oh…”, was all you could let out, your palms beginning to sweat like crazy.
They had to be a last minute arrival, and you were pretty sure they hadn’t even booked their stay, since your aunt had reassured you that you were not going to bother, since there were no planned check-ins for the rest of the day. Which was the reason behind your rather informal – now turned ridiculous – entrance…
And then, of course, there was your uncle, the only one who didn’t bat an eyelash, too happy to see the niece he loved like a daughter to care. “Kiddo!”, he exclaimed, waving his hand with enthusiasm, and you thanked your good star that he didn’t call you ‘frog’ the way he did when you were a prepubescent girl who read too many W.I.T.C.H. comics.
“Come over”, he gestured for you to get closer, then returned his attention to his guests, quickly apologising for the abrupt interruption.
They all graciously reassured him, the older man – the father, you assumed – even making a joke on how hard to deal with young adults could be. Not exactly your kind of humour, to be honest, but so be it: you weren’t in the right state of mind to pay the due amount of attention to it.
Also because, in addition to all that was going on in your mind, you had also recognized a certain face among that group.
It was the cute guy you had met at the beach only a few hours earlier, those big soft brown eyes and the cute unruly curl falling back onto his forehead forever engraved in the back of your mind making it impossible to forget about him.
To be fair, you also remembered the impressively sharp jawline and his insanely gorgeous hands, with long fingers you would’ve loved to fit a glove, but those were way less romantic details to mention when ranting to your best friend about an idiotic circumstance of love at first sight, in which chatting with him for only a few minutes had felt like knowing him all your life.
Oh shit, from frying pan into the fire…
“I’m sorry…”, you gulped, quickly looking for an excuse to vanish as soon as humanly possible. You had been wishing to meet him again and that was what Fate had planned for you? You refused to believe it.
“I-I didn’t mean to interrupt, I can come back later–”
“It’s alright, dear”, the red-haired woman kindly smiled at you, and despite your previous gaffe, it was a nice gesture that didn’t appear as if she was doing it out of pity. It was a simple thing, but at least it reduced your discomfort a little.
You returned her smile, trying to figure out why she looked kinda familiar as well, even though you were pretty sure you had only met her son… in fact, all of the family (dog included, of course) was giving you that unusual vibe. The cute guy himself had given you that unusual vibe on that very same morning…
“y/n is my niece”, your uncle announced proudly, throwing an arm around your shoulders when you finally reached the desk.
You opted for a simple bow of the head as a silent way to say hello, not really wanting to worsen the situation. You had been lucky, better not to push it.
“Enjoying your holidays, young lady?”, the older man asked you and the faint hope you had of ceasing to be the object of the conversation turned to dust in front of your eyes. Because if you knew your uncle well enough…
“Not really”, he chipped in, jumping at the occasion to promote you. You loved him, you really did, and you understood he was doing it for your own good, but sometimes he really couldn’t read the room…
“Apparently, keeping her nose stuck in books for almost an entire year isn’t enough”, he continued. “She has to spend her summer getting lost in the woods.”
“I’m a hiking guide”, you rushed to explain, understanding your uncle’s intentions: he had purposely formulated a weird sentence just so that he could get you to talk and clear things up. Typical of that side of the family. “It’s my summer job.”
You were trying your best not to look directly at him, but your willpower seemed to keep failing you every once in a while: as a consequence, you didn’t miss the way his eyes went wide and his head snapped up, the curls bouncing adorably, when you mentioned your seasonal activity.
“We tried to convince her to work here with us: she’s great with clients, but it would’ve been a waste”, your uncle added, the slight regret in his tone mixing with pride. “These places need a good guide and she knows them like the back of her hand”, he announced, patting right between your shoulder blades and almost taking your breath away. For a not-so-young-anymore man, he was still quite strong.
“Authentic autochthonous blood here.”
You elbowed him in the ribs as an affectionate little revenge, your interactions with him and the surprisingly interested looks of the numerous family easing your pressure: maybe they weren’t thinking of your stupid entrance anymore.
“What can I say? I learned from the best”, you replied, not wanting to take all the credit for it, since he had literally taught you everything you knew.
“That’s music for my ears!”
Your head turned, following the direction of that voice, the movement way faster than you would’ve wanted it to be.
The guy you had met at the beach stared back at you, carelessly pushing one of his brothers aside to take a few steps forward. “I’ve literally been pestering my entire family to come here for that”, he said, the statement earning him a few perplexed blinks and tilts of the head from the rest of his family.
Not that you noticed, of course, far too gone in the hypnotizing fantasy his soothing voice elicited in your mind. Fuck, were you really that gullible?
Tom, on the other hand, noticed each single one of them.
“What?”, Harry questioned, arching an eyebrow. “Hiking?”
“Didn’t you say th–”
But Sam’s sentence was brutally cut off by an overly enthusiastic Tom. “That I’m dying to hit those paths”, the eldest declared firmly, his chirpy tone releasing a secret threatening aura in its echo. To anyone but you, of course. “I can’t wait. I love hiking!”
That wasn’t a lie: Tom loved being active and spending time outdoors, even better if immersed in nature.
However, he had just finished working on a pretty intense project that had taken a huge physical toll on him: the role had required him to lose quite a lot of weight and to look lean, almost fragile he would have dared to say, so he had been following a strict diet and significantly reduced his gym time.
And ever since he had set foot back home, he had been pestering his entire family – that part was painfully true. Only not about hiking. Hell, he didn’t even know the place they were going to was famous for its hiking paths up until now.
The only request he had made while they were still choosing where to go, was ‘a quiet, silent, private place, so preferably a small one, thank you very much’. He had barely paid any attention to Harry’s announcement regarding having found ‘the perfect place’.
“It has mountains, and the sea, and it’s quiet and then there are hiking paths and there’s a small Bed & Breakfast that might be just right for us, though I suggest not booking in advance, so our presence there doesn’t get leaked even before we get there or some shit like that…”
Tom had mindlessly hummed his approval, then stopped listening to him after ‘quiet’, the only word he really wanted to hear, completely missing the part that would’ve caused his healthier and much more energetic self to freak out from excitement.
For the last couple of days, his favourite topic had actually been how he would’ve spent this whole vacation doing absolutely nothing, sleeping in his bed, sleeping on the sand, sleeping on pool rafts, even sleeping on the flight to get there, which of course he had done.
That was what he had been pestering his family about, because Tom craved sleep. The dark bags under his eyes, his sagging shoulders and the lack of strength in his movements could testify it.
He hadn’t even resumed working out, a well deserved period of immaculate rest being all he could think of, so it was needless to say that he wasn’t prepared to walk in the slightest, let alone to hike.
But this was Fate reaching out, serving him the perfect occasion on a silver plate and how could Tom refuse it?
The smile you gave him felt like a thousand fireflies – not butterflies, fireflies – got released in Tom’s chest, filling it with such warmth and light it almost brought tears to his eyes. He was so whipped he couldn’t even tell himself to get his shit together.
While he was struggling not to pat his own shoulder for the brilliant idea his brain had just come up with, you were undergoing a similar type of struggle, the only difference consisting in the reason moving it: you needed to be serious, to look professional and reliable, while all you wanted to do was jump up and down for the entire hall giggling like a little kid and revelling in your unexpected luck.
After that, you were no longer going to complain about Fate’s plans regarding your sentimental life.
You cleared your throat and raised your chin, taking a step towards him. “Well you’ve found the right person, Sir”, you said, holding out your hand to him, the confidence in the gesture masking the fact that you were hoping it wouldn’t get sweaty.
The cute boy from the beach – he was so pretty you might’ve believed he was a merman, your mind briefly fleeting back to that local tale about a girl finding her soulmate to be no less than the King of the Ocean – smiled back at you, reaching out and squeezing your hand with no hesitation.
“Tom”, he introduced himself. “Please, call me Tom, y/n.”
Your name on his lips, his fingers touching yours, the hint of wink he sent your way… it was too much to handle.
As soon as your hands parted, your left one came up to your lobe, pretending to fix something about your earring, while in reality, you were just playing with it. It was an old habit of yours you had never found the way to get rid off.
From the outside, it looked like nothing but a casual mannerism, but you knew it was your heart’s personal method of letting your brain know that you were fucked.
Tom, you repeated it in your mind, looking forward to whispering it in the dim-light of your bedroom, later that evening, lying on that tiny mattress with your hand right above your heart.
Tom…
You could already picture that, practically witnessing yourself connecting those letters to every fibre of the muscle, tailoring its beat to that single syllable, while surrounded by flowers scent and inebriated on the enchanting afterglow his presence had gently laid upon you like it was a golden veil.
… and okay, to be completely honest, there might have been some room left to slip three fingers into your panties.
And honestly, no one could’ve blamed you for it. Not when he was standing there, with that charming smile, those dimples and that accent and–
Wait a second.
… and that was when it clicked.
Holy fucking shit, you were talking to Tom Holland.
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“This is by far the most idiotic thing you’ve ever done.”
Tom rolled his eyes at Harry’s sentence, deeply offended at his brother’s lack of faith in his brilliant strategy. “Wow, thanks for the support.”
“I beg to differ”, Sam spoke up as he lazily pushed the shopping cart to keep up with the others. Tom was the one who had dragged them there, but of course, he had to be the one doing all the work. Of course. Because his movie star brother needed to buy things, but was ‘too tired’. Of course.
“See?”, Tom gloated, satisfied that he could rub it in Harry’s face. “That’s how a supportive brother’s supposed to act!”
Too bad this time he hadn’t taken into consideration that Sam might have been his brother, but he remained Harry’s twin, after all…
“He hasn’t done it yet”, Sam pointed out. “So, I would say this is the most idiotic decision he’s ever made.”
Tom’s smirk fell from his face all at once, like the corners of his mouth had been hanging by thin threads that his brother’s betrayal had brutally cut off. The other spawn of the Devil’s silent, yet eloquent bragging gaze added insult to injury.
Yeah, those two were definitely made of the exact same wicked, dreamless, heartless substance. So much for sibling’s love and brotherhood.
“Okay, fuck off. The both of you”, he spat, turning his back to them.
“It’s not our fault you’re a div”, Harry said simply.
“That’s it”, Tom raised his voice, as if that could silence him, at least in his mind. “I’m done listening to you.”
All he got in response was a scoff and a dry: “As if you ever bothered to…”
“And look how good that turned out to be for me”, Tom quipped back. “I’m famous, rich, and hot.”
Harry rolled his eyes at him. “Don’t forget modest.”
“Keep that attitude and I’m firing you.”
“Fine”, Harry agreed smugly. “Good luck figuring out which foot goes first when walking.”
“The one that will be shoved up your ass if you don’t quit it.”
Before Harry could reply and somehow make it even worse, Sam decided that it was time to stop making fun of the idiot his brother and actually try to knock some sense into that thick head of his. “Tom”, he intervened, trying to make clear that he was abandoning every hostility. “Come on, mate, you’ve met this girl once–”
“Twice”, Tom corrected him as if he had just heard an unspeakable profanity and Sam had to fight many urges all at once: resorting to annihilating sarcasm was on top of the list, but slapping his brother senseless was a close second.
“Okay, twice, if we count this morning”, he conceded, struggling to sound and appear calm: dealing with a stupid love-sick – had he mentioned insanely stupid? – full-grown adult while coming from a family which wasn’t exactly known for being slow to anger was exhausting. And he wasn’t even the eldest.
I’m too young for this shit.
“But still”, he tried to reason with him. “Don’t you think this is a little too much?”
Tom stopped abruptly and turned around, a terrifying determination burning in his eyes. “Nothing is too much when it’s about true love.”
Like he hadn’t even heard that, Harry ignored him completely: he had already made the wise choice of no longer being involved in this. He was on vacation, too, for fuck’s sake!
Sam wasn’t of the same opinion, his jaw dropping to the floor, his heart skipping a beat and not in the good way. “Oh my–”, he wheezed, running a nervous hand through his locks and tugging at them, and regretting not joining – more like running away with – Paddy as soon as he had announced he would go to the beach. “Tom, you don’t even know her!”
That didn’t impact Tom’s judgement in the slightest, a dreamy smile making its way to his lips, something that would’ve made his entire fandom go over-the-moon crazy, but that only scared the shit out of Sam.
“I have the rest of my life to find out.”
“And what if she doesn’t like you?”, Sam argued. “You know relationship aren’t made by just one person, right? It could happen.”
A few creases formed on Tom’s forehead, his smile giving way to a focused expression, indicating that, as much as he liked basking in the fantasy of you keeping him forever, he was actually taking that hypothesis into consideration.
“Then I know I’m never gonna love again”, he concluded after a while.
No, Sam wasn’t just scared, he was horrified. He stood there, watching Tom walk away, unable to take another step, as if his soles of the shoes had been glued to the floor. Until Harry passed by him with the cart.
“That was from Big Fish”, was all his twin muttered with a shrug of his shoulders, when he looked at him in a silent cry for help. “The ‘rest of his life’ bit, I mean”, he explained. “He wants to act like this crazy-for-love hero and he’s not even original…”
Sam looked at Tom, then again back at Harry, a disheartened expression on his face. “Have you ever seen him like this?”
“Frankly, I hoped I’d never have to.”
“I’m serious”, Sam insisted. “I’m worried.”
“And I’m disgusted”, Harry said in a plain tone, picking up an item and examining it, seeming totally detached from what was going on in a way that made Sam feel torn between shock and envy.
“Right”, Tom spoke up, catching his brothers’ attention. “Here we are.”
Sam gulped, afraid to ask what ‘here’ implied, but in the end he found the courage to do it. What could be wrong in a glimpse of hope? “What are we looking for?”
“Hiking equipment.”
“I give up.”
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Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckingshit.
If someone had seen him – and thank God they didn’t, because it was so early that basically no one seemed to be around yet –, they would’ve thought Tom was running for his life. Which, at least in his perspective, was nothing less than the absolute truth.
He was almost going to be late. This was supposed to be the most perfect day, the date of a lifetime, the start of a completely new era and he was almost fucking going to be fucking late. Fuck.
And on top of that, Tom felt like he had never committed so many stupid mistakes one after the other. That was a new kind of sad record.
Only the night before, he was convinced he had prepared every single detail to perfection: brand new hiking shoes, comfortable clothes, sunglasses, his beloved Knockemstiff cap – for good luck –, sunscreen… still, he had somehow found the way to mess up.
The sleeping time had been so little he wondered if he had slept at all, and he was pretty sure the answer was no, since he couldn’t remember doing anything else that wasn’t daydreaming of the upcoming encounter. And of you, of course. Which, while in the moment sounded indeed very tempting, had turned out to be an unfortunate choice.
Said unfortunate choice had sent him into a spiral of desperation the second he had discovered those dark bags under his eyes: it had taken him an urgent FaceTime call with Rachael – with a lot of patience on her part, despite the ungodly hour –, almost thirty minutes and a good amount of concealer to finally stop looking like a bunch of bullies had ganged up upon him.
But as soon as he had fixed that problem, another one had come up: the time to get ready was significantly less than he had originally planned, and everything had been rushed, if not straight up forgotten.
So now he was going to face a hiking trip in the sun without a hat, sunscreen, nor glasses, having skipped breakfast, and with shoes that would’ve been the ideal, but were still in their stupid full break-in period.
The only positive thing was that his backpack was very light… the sole reason behind it being that half of the stuff that should’ve been there wasn’t.
His muscles were begging for mercy, his lungs quite not so figuratively on fire, like every breath was filling them with unbearably scorching air. But still, he didn’t slow down, pushing his body to its limit.
No. No, he couldn’t fuck this up.
Then he saw it: a cute lilac bucket hat was the first detail that brought your figure into view and his heart swelled inside his chest. You had your back turned to him, but Tom knew it was you even before he got to see your face, and not just because you had previously made plans to meet up at that time and place.
He didn’t know how to explain it, but he just knew from that small detail. Something foreign, yet inexplicably familiar – was he getting a Peter tingle in real life? Was this the sign that he had been playing Spider-Man for too long he was letting it consume his existence? –, was somehow making him aware of your presence in a way that he had never experienced before, as if you had been an extension of his soul, or more appropriately, he had been one of yours.
… or maybe he was just projecting because he was so worn out he was getting delirious. That could’ve been a valid explanation.
His crazy run gradually died out, morphing into a more relaxed walk: he had made it, he had got there on time, now he just needed to act like he had everything under control. Like he hadn’t been on the verge of a panic attack up until a few seconds earlier.
Tom quickly fished his water bottle and some tissues out of his backpack, using them to freshen up a bit before approaching you. It was hot, and he was going to get sweaty anyways, but first impressions did matter.
He ran his hand through his hair a couple of times as a final touch, then, after deciding that it could do, he inhaled deeply – he definitely needed it – and cleared his throat.
“Hey!”
You promptly turned around and if the word ‘radiant’ had been a person, your photo would’ve been slapped under the term definition on the encyclopaedia.
“Hey there!”, you waved at him, your heart bouncing happily like a kid having the time of their life on a trampoline. “You okay?”, you asked as he got closer, the slight red flush on his cheeks not going completely unnoticed by your eyes, despite the bubble pink filter clouding them.
“I’m great!”, Tom nodded as convincingly as he could – acting classes, baby – then rapidly looked for something else, a different topic to occupy your attention with. “Sorry if I kept you waiting.”
“Oh no, it’s fine”, you reassured him with a light shake of your head. “I just got here.” That one was a blatant lie, since you had arrived there almost half an hour in advance.
You wouldn’t have considered punctuality to be one of your strong suits, but anxiety usually compensated it quite well and that was exactly what had happened, with you waking up on your own thirty minutes before the alarm.
There was no need for Tom to know that, though.
“So… ready?”
“I was born ready, darling”, he confirmed, subtly waggling his unruly eyebrow at you and your stomach joined your heart on that carousel.
“Good, loving the spirit.” And loving that cute brow. “Wait…”, you paused, detecting the absence of something from his attire. “Where’s your hat?”
“My hat?”, Tom echoed you, transforming the initial gesture of touching his head into a less suspicious scratch of the back of his neck. “Oh… I didn’t bring one.”
“You wanna go back and get it? Or we can stop and buy one?”, you offered. “They sell them right–”
“No”, Tom cut you off, maybe a little more harshly than he wanted to. “Nonono, I’m good.”
“Are you sure?”, you made another attempt, not wanting to put him at risk. A hat was one of the first things you always suggested to bring and you distinctly remembered doing the same while giving him instructions. It worried you a bit that he hadn’t followed your advice. “The sun is quite strong today.”
“It’s okay, darling, really”, Tom insisted, trying to convince both you and his mind. He couldn’t have you think of him as an idiot who kept forgetting stuff right and left. Which he was, by the way, but he absolutely couldn’t let that happen. That was when he decided to go all the way with it.
“Hats have been kinda bothering me, lately.” His heart broke a little, his beloved collection of hats of any sort wincing in pain because of that betrayal. But they would have to endure it, he decided: in case the room in his heart hadn’t been enough for you, he would’ve made more in his closet.
“So, don’t worry about it, I’ll be fine.”
“Oh… okay.” You weren’t exactly persuaded, but that was your word against his, and you didn’t wanna come off as overbearing. “Well, as long as you wore sunscreen, you won’t have any problems”, you informed him, positive to have ended that exchange on a good note. “Shall we go?”
Tom remained frozen for a few seconds, his lips getting thinner and turning upwards as his mind travelled back to the brand new bottle of sunscreen sitting still unopened on his nightstand.
Then he finally snapped out of it. “Lead the way, darling.”
Surely, it couldn’t be that bad, right?
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It was the absolute fucking worst and he wanted to die.
His brother’s voice kept replaying in his mind, a bunch of ‘This is suicide, and not even that figuratively’ and ‘I told you so, idiot’ fighting for dominance carrying the banner of regret and shame.
If his morning tour-the-force had been a challenge for his body – Harry had teased him about contacting Vogue and proposing a the idea of a ‘GRWM while I’m in a Rush’ video –, this hike was straight up annihilating it, to the point he started to think he would disintegrate by the end of it, turning to dust and leaving no trace behind.
Okay, maybe that was a bit too much, but he was pretty sure his feet would start bleeding anytime soon.
The only easy part about that pretence had been interacting with you: with every passing minute he felt himself falling harder and harder. From the outside, no one would’ve been able to tell that the two of you weren’t close friends, but instead two strangers spending time together (alone) only for the second time.
Chatting with you felt as natural as breathing and that did nothing but improve his first impressions, confirming you were it for him. You had to be.
And he would’ve loved to talk with you even more – he didn’t really know if that could be physically possible, but whatever –, hadn’t it been for his current shortness of breath.
Thankfully, once you reached a lovely little meadow – ‘careful, there are fairies here’ –, you proposed a water break and he gladly accepted. Playing it off as if he considered it a reasonable idea and not a desperately needed lifesaving miracle, ça va sans dire.
So you used the remaining of a fallen tree as a bench, sitting a tad closer than necessary and facing each other, Tom with his feet on each side of the trunk and you with your legs crossed.
You looked nothing short of adorable, slightly tired, but in a satisfied way and completely at ease, your inner dryad spirit thriving now that you were in your element.
“Everything good?”, you checked in on him.
Absolutely not, but you’re worth it.
“Fantastic, darling.”
And just right after he said it, his water ran out after two sips. And he cursed himself for the umpteenth time because he didn’t have a another one.
“Uhm…” You bit the inside of your cheek, internally debating whether you should say what you wanted to say or drop it, afraid he might be weirded out by it. “Y-you want some of mine?”
Tom blinked at you in total disbelief, his gaze traveling from your eyes, to the opened bottle you were shyly handing him, to your lips and starting all over again. Eyes, bottle, lips, eyes, bottle, lips, eyes, bottle, lips…
Were you aware this was an indirect kiss?
His stomach did an Olympic somersault, pushing him down a spiral he was convinced he had finally abandoned: he felt like a bloody inexperienced teenager all over again. If sharing a bottle with you had such effect on him, how could he even fathom the idea of locking lips with you?
He was full of hope and courage up until a few seconds before, but where were they now that he needed them the most? Were they going to forsake him again at the crucial moment?
Unbeknownst to him, you were freaking out just the same, if not even more, your – conveniently back to a fifteen-year-old status – mind having the time of its life on the sappiest rom-com ride you could think of.
It’s an indirect kiss, it’s an indirect kiss, holy shit it’s an indirect kiss.
A seducing little voice came up from the depths of your brain, suggesting you to just go with it, skip the indirect stage and be as direct as you could. You silenced it, heart shrinking in the process.
“I can’t”, he refused, despite every fibre in his body yearning for it. “How are you going to–”
“I’m doing fine, and we can fill them up again later”, you countered, dissipating his doubts. “There’s also a natural spring where we are going.”
Tom gulped. “A-are you sure?”
“I wouldn’t have said a thing if I wasn’t.” That sweet, kind determination and the encouraging smile you shot him destroyed all his defences, effectively making him cave. The detail that he was dying of thirst was yet another factor that played in your favour.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t even mention it.”
He brought the bottle to his lips with such reverence he could’ve been mistaken for a pilgrim drinking holy water from a sacred relic. It was strange, but also cute, the instinct of pinching his cheeks and kissing him all over his face getting harder to be fought.
To distract yourself, you took a look around like you knew precisely what to search for. In fact, you did: whenever you escorted people on that path, the meadow never failed to be one of your stops, the view from there being one of your absolute favourites.
“See that spot over there?”, you extended your arm and Tom’s eyes followed the direction of your finger pointing at the top of a hill, where the ivy-covered rests of an ancient, majestic building towered over the valley.
“Yeah.”
“It’s an old manor”, you told him, turning back towards him and dropping your hand. “Well… what remains of it. But it’s really beautiful, one of the gems of this place. There’s even an old legend about it.”
Tom tilted his head to the side, curiosity causing his eyebrows to arch and his eyes to go round.
Just like a little puppy.
“What’s it about?”, he asked, genuinely interested. During the brief time the two of you had spent together, he had discovered that he liked listening to you. More specifically, he deeply enjoyed how invested you could get when talking about something you loved.
He could only wish one day you would talk about him in the same way…
“A doomed love”, you murmured with a wistfully fond tone, as if a wave of inexplicable nostalgia was washing over you.
“Many centuries ago, that castle was built to celebrate the union of two old families through marriage”, you began your tale just the way your aunt always did. “It was a lucky match, and, most importantly, it wasn’t forced upon them, which was the exception in times like those. The families thought of it only after they noticed how fond the kids were of each other. And took the decision when they witnessed that fondness grow into love.”
Tom just nodded along, getting lost in the new memories evoked by the sound of your voice. Maybe it was the heat, maybe it was the suggestion, maybe you were just particularly good at enrapturing people with your stories, but your words came to life in his mind.
You were laughing, dragging him by the hand, purple silk floating around you like you were a flower as you ran down a hall that seemed never-ending.
He begged you to slow down, and in all response you just teased him, accusing him of getting old.
Next thing he knew, he had you backed up against a wall, your hands in his hair as his lips devoured yours, only stopping to implore you to accept him as your husband.
“Promise me”, he heard himself say. “Promise me you’ll marry me.”
“I already have, My Lord”, you reminded him, bumping his nose with yours.
“Promise me again.”
“Only if you promise me first.”
“They should’ve lived there after getting married… but, right on the day of the wedding, he got called to war. Some say it was because the king wanted him dead, so that he could have his young bride all to himself. He was a disgusting little man, and it seems he did shit like that quite often.”
Your narrowed eyes and the hard line of your mouth conveyed clearly how you felt regarding that particular character – or person – and Tom couldn’t help but to agree with that sentiment, anger bubbling up in his stomach for that injustice like he had been the one wronged by that king.
He could see them clear as day: the tears staining your immaculate white dress while his own were burning in his throat…
The castle was already surrounded by soldiers who, officially, were there to escort him, but in fact, had to make sure he wouldn’t escape. And he had to leave at first light.
There was nothing the two of you could do.
“Would you run away with me?”, you sobbed.
“After the ceremony, the couple disappeared from everyone’s sight. Later that night, a maid found them, naked and cuddled up under the willow they had planted together when they were kids. They had taken those few hours for themselves, making love and exchanging wows…”
You murmured that last part like it was something dear and intimate to you and it sounded so similar to the plea you whispered in his ears.
“Please, come back to me…”
It was the first time he had touched you, and he knew all too well it was also going to be the last. Deep down, you knew, too.
“I will”, he mumbled on your lips. “I will.”
Only not in that life. It was painfully clear that he was going to meet his demise on the battlefield, and not at the hands of a feared enemy.
“It’s time to go, my love…”
“And then, he had to leave at dawn. Not even a week later, he died, after getting injured during battle.” Just like it had sent him in the past, now your voice brought Tom back to the present, pulling him away from the flash of a stabbing pain erupting in his chest, like someone had just…
“The girl refused all of the king's gifts and resisted all his lures, and eventually retired to a nunnery, where he couldn’t touch her. He broke his neck trying to climb up to her window.” You couldn’t hold back a little devilish smirk while saying that.
Tom unconsciously mirrored you: the old fucker had gotten what he deserved.
“But, even if they were miles away, they both expressed the same last wish: to be buried there under their tree, so that they could reunite in the afterlife”, you concluded.
“That’s…” Tom wanted to say something deep and meaningful, but nothing came to his mind other than a single adjective. “… sad.” He had no other way to say it, and frankly, he saw no point in forcing himself to come up with something different. Yes, it was a simple word, and it was enough.
“It is…”, you confirmed with a sigh. “There’s a silver lining to it, though.”
Tom hardly imagined how such a miserable story could have a silver lining, but that didn’t reduce his interest. And mentioning it had brought hope back into your eyes, so it had to be true.
“Legend has it that if a proposal takes place right under the willow, the wedding is gonna be an extremely happy one. Because the ghosts of the two lovers are gonna do everything in their power to protect the union they didn’t get to experience.”
That’s it, we’re definitely going there next.
“It sounds nice.” His own brain slapped the front of his head at how lame his response was. ‘Nice’. He had tried to control himself and his reactions so much it turned back against him.
Great job, Tom. Fucking great job.
“Yeah, that’s why my mom proposed to my dad there”, you confirmed, finally getting up and stretching your legs, preparing to walk again, fully reinvigorated by the hopeful ending that connected your family to that old tale.
Tom slowly felt all the blood abandoning his face: the pause had lasted so little and, by the looks of it, you seemed a bit too interested in that castle up on the hill. “And that’s where we’re going?”, he asked, trying to buy some extra time.
Had you changed your mind last minute? As much as he loved the idea of you guiding him to a super romantic place, he wasn’t entirely sure he could handle it right now.
He stood up as well, anxiously waiting for the verdict.
“Oh no”, you shook your head, the wonderful movement of your head giving Tom some life years back.
Thank God.
“We’re doing something easier today.”
Easier?, Tom thought, gaze falling to the ground as he scratched his nape. He really needed to get back on track with his training. Before his last project, he would’ve faced that path with his eyes closed.
“We’ll be back in the late afternoon, that would take the whole day and a night of camping.” As soon as the words left your mouth, you both nearly sighed in delight, the invitingly romantic scenario of sleeping next to each other under a sky full of stars slipping past your logic walls.
“But it can be our next adventure if you feel like it.”
“Are you implying you want me to propose to you, darling?”
His dashing, pearly-white smile caught you more off guard than needed: one second you were looking – more like gawking in pure adoration without an ounce of shame nor self-respect – at him, and the next one you were tripping over your own feet the way kittens did because their little legs were still too short.
Absolutely pathetic.
But Tom had no time for your self-deprecating thoughts and stupid metaphors, because the instant he saw you losing your balance, he bolted towards you – the sudden rush of adrenaline shooting through him enough to make him forget about his current suffering, at least for a few moments –, a hand encircling your arm and the other one gripping your waist, effectively stabilizing you.
You let out a gasp – whether it was for the scare, his prompt reaction, or the feeling of his big, strong hands on your skin, you thought it was less humiliating not to find out – then forced yourself to laugh to shake all of that off.
“Not my most professional moment, huh?” You spoke before he could, quickly jumping at the occasion to change the subject dominating your mind.
The ghost of his question to check if you were alright was still laying on his slightly parted lips, but you blatantly ignored it. “Guess I’m a little out of shape”, you cackled, while the embarrassment was eating you alive.
Then you realized he hadn’t let go of you yet, so you rapidly freed yourself from his hold, clearing your throat and mumbling an awkward ‘thank you’.
“Every time I return here, it takes me a couple of days to fully get back on track”, you explained, taking a couple steps back. But then you saw how that innocent joke could’ve been perceived as the truth.
“Just kidding, I promise”, you clarified. “You’re safe with me.”
You were expecting a dry remark, a polite tight-lipped smile that had the word ‘incompetent’ written all over it, or maybe even the request of going back and getting a refund… but none of that happened.
Tom lightly tilted his head to the side, his eyes watering a bit, just enough for the sunlight to make it look like they were precious obscure gems, the tenderness you met in them making you weak in the knees.
“I have no doubt I am.”
“Here we are”, you announced, turning with a joyous smile and widening your arms, proud of that place like you had been the one helping Mother Nature design it. “Amazing, isn’t it?”
You resumed your hike, both still a bit shaken by the unexpected feelings that break had carried along, but refusing to bring them up, the unspoken agreement making your shoulders lighter and your hearts heavier, granting you a short-term relief that was, by no doubt, destined to fester and degenerate into pure torment in the long run.
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“Yeah…”
Amazing, indeed.
“This is where the legend wants the lovers to have shared their first kiss.”
This time, instead of Sam’s voice, Tom had Harry’s ringing in his ears: he had exposed his Big Fish quote and now – the irony – he was in a scenario that might’ve looked like it had just popped out of that film and incorporated into that wonderful panoramic spot, the daffodils spreading until the edge of the cliff, their bright colour a vivid contrast to the azure blue of the ocean.
The pics he had found online while organizing the perfect plan didn’t make it an ounce of justice. However, he had to give credit to his past self: it truly was the ideal place for a first kiss.
“Stunning.”
You giggled at his comment, and even found the courage to take his hand, guiding him towards the centre of the field.
Tom just followed your lead, adoration shining in his eyes, your fingers intertwined with his giving him a sense of completeness he hadn’t felt in a while. Maybe for literal centuries.
It might’ve sounded cheesy, but you looked like a fucking celestial vision. Tom had never been a religious zealot, and yet he could’ve sworn he had never been closer to an episode of mystical ecstasy.
“Stunning…”, he murmured breathlessly, and he wasn’t just saying it to compliment you, he truly meant it.
You stood there among golden flowers that swayed in the gentle breeze reminding him of little ladies in waiting attending to their queen. And then there was the ocean, glistening behind your lovely figure, its colour a perfect mirror of the clear sky above.
Tom could’ve sworn he had never seen anything or anyone that mesmerizing, that wild untouched scenery representing the perfect frame for the masterpiece that you were, the lilac hat making you stand out even more.
“You okay?”
It was weird: you were so close, and yet your voice sounded like it was coming from so far. But bloody hell, you were so pretty even with a concerned look on your face…
What on Earth could you be concerned about?
“Stunning…”, he repeated a third time in a faint voice, a dopey smile altering his features.
“Tom…” You let go of his hand, cupping his cheeks instead and he instantly melted into your touch.
Your heart sank to your stomach when you felt his skin burning against your palms. “I-I think you should sit down”, you stuttered, trying to think straight.
Fuck, he was not okay, how could you not have seen it?!
You grabbed him by the shoulders, needing to get a reaction out of him. “Do you want some water? I can go and get it…”, your voice broke, tears gathering in your eyes and getting caught in your lashes like pearls of dew. You were doing nothing to hold them back.
But he kept silent, his dark chocolate eyes staring at you, but slowly starting not to see you anymore.
“Tom?”
I’m back, my love…
The last thing he could register was your terrified scream of his name right before his body hit the ground like a bag of rocks.
“Tom!”
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“Tom…”
“Tom? Oi, are you awake?”
Someone was shaking his shoulder, someone else was holding his hand, and he was lying on something soft that had every bone and muscle in his body sing joyous hymns.
Tom slowly blinked his eyes open, adjusting them to the light and taking in the surroundings of his room back at the B&B.
“He’s awake”, Paddy stated.
“Tom, darling”, his mother gasped, reaching out to stroke his hair. “Thank God…”
“Mom?”, he croaked out in a raspy voice. “W-where…” He knew where he was, so he probably needed to ask something different. “What…?”
“You… you fainted while you were hiking”, she informed him.
“What?”, he repeated, propping himself up on his elbows, two concerned Sam and Harry entering his field of view.
Nikki and Paddy wasted no time in helping him seat up, making sure he wouldn’t lose his balance and fixing his pillows, so that he could rest against them. His mother offered him a glass of water that he gratefully chugged down in less than five seconds. It didn’t help him much, but it was something.
Still processing what was going on – and it wasn’t easy with that pounding headache – Tom took a glance at the mirror hanging on the wall… and wished he hadn’t as soon as he did. The person staring back at him was his spitting image and at the same time, somehow appeared completely different.
The skin of his face and neck was an unhealthy shade of red, and no matter how much cream they had applied, it looked – and felt – like sandpaper, so dry that it was starting to peel on his nose. Not to mention the disastrous situation his hair was in, making him resemble an unkempt cat more than an actual human being.
Tom turned towards his family again – he could’ve sworn Paddy was there with them, but now he was nowhere to be seen… weird –, his brows furrowing interrogatively.
“H-how…?”
“Exhaustion because you were in no shape to do it?”, Sam spoke up before the others, his tone halfway between worried and mocking. “A fucked up sleep schedule you still have to fix? Sunstroke because you forgot to put a hat on and wear sunscreen, despite being pale as a ghost? I’d say you are spoiled for choice.”
Ghost…
“Where’s y/n?!”, he urged, feeling his whole body starting to tremble.
“In the hall, you moron.”, Sam scoffed. “You have her to thank for being here.”
You had saved him… at least that told him you were okay. That whatever he was going through had spared you.
“That poor girl…”, Nikki recalled, her voice laced with compassion and gratitude. “She called us and then carried you back so that your father and Harry could meet you halfway… she looked so scared.”
She carried me back?
Sam glared at Tom. “You probably gave her a belated heart attack.”
Harry couldn’t hold back a snort, managing to find humour even under such circumstances. “When they say aim for the heart…”
“You’re lucky you didn’t hit your head.”
“Is he, now? That probably could’ve made him smarter.”
“Boys, please–”
“I have to go to her!”, Tom yelled all of a sudden, breaking the calm reigning in the room.
“Fuck no, you’re not.”
“Sam!”, Nikki hissed, fearing that an aggressive approach might make her eldest son even more uncooperative. “Tom, I don’t think that’s a good idea”, she tried to be the voice of reason. “You should rest–”
“No, I have to go and see y/n–”, Tom trailed off, and with a newly found vigour that surprised him first and then all the others, he discarded the covers and jumped off the bed, not even noticing that he was barefoot.
Dodging Harry, he stumbled upon the door, grabbing – or rather throwing all of his weight – onto the handle. He was ready to bolt down the corridor on his still wobbly legs, but the sudden appearance of you, standing right there in front of him, stopped him dead in his tracks.
“H-hey…”
You looked so small, so fragile and broken he felt his soul screaming at him to wrap his arms around you, hold you tight and never let you go.
“y/n…”
“Paddy must’ve told her.”
“I was wondering where he was…”
Not again. Don’t lose her again.
Two pairs of hands grabbed him just as his legs gave way, your terrified face slipping away from his vision while he almost sank into the floor.
“Holy shit!”, you jumped, immediately moving forward to do something. “Do you guys need help?”
“We can take it”, Sam grunted, struggling to handle his deadweight of a brother as him and Harry carried him back to the bed. “No worries.”
“Yeah, it’s fine”, Harry echoed.
You fumbled restlessly with the lilac hat in your hands, finding it hard to believe them without a doubt, Tom’s limp body digging a hole in your heart.
And it was all your fault…
Nikki stood up from her chair and came to your side, touching your shoulder. “It’s alright, my child, you’ve done enough”, she tried to calm you with a motherly tone. “Did you get some rest?”, she checked, gently guiding you inside the room.
You nodded absently, your eyes fixed on Tom who was recovering from his temporary faint, focusing om what was around him for the second time in less than five minutes.
He held his breath when he saw you and realised you were there, and that you were as real as he was.
This time, you didn’t greet him, remaining still as a statue.
“Uhm…” Hadn’t he already been the same colour of a lobster, Tom was sure he would’ve blushed violently, but now he couldn’t even tell the difference depending on how hot his skin felt, since it was constantly burning the way it usually did whenever he would get a fever. For that, he wasn’t going to complain: yes, he looked hideous, but at least his embarrassment wasn’t written all over his face, for once.
Unbeknownst to the both of you, Nikki’s attentive gaze bounced back and forth between you and her son, eyes narrowing and lips pressing together to hide the hint of a smile.
Tom coyly turned to his family. “Could you guys give us a moment?”
Sam was about to question if that was appropriate, considering his state, but the silent look Nikki sent his way spoke volumes: ‘Don’t’.
So, they all nodded and quietly left the room without a protest. Only Harry felt the need to… well, be Harry.
“Don’t be fooled”, he warned you, fake-whispering. “He’s never this nice.”
Tom rolled his eyes so hard his head hurt, but chose not to comment on that, not letting his brother get to him.
“Please, have a seat”, he told you, gesturing weakly.
Much to his surprise – and he meant it in the best way possible – you made the bold decision to ignore the chair and instead sat on the bed, right next to him, your knuckles brushing against his, the soft noise amplified by the deafening silence.
You chewed down on your lip, then took a deep breath. “I know it might sound like a stupid question, but… how are you?”
“I’m good”, Tom nodded slowly, preferring to avoid any sharp movements. The effect of your presence was still stronger than his discomfort, though, a cheeky grin climbing its way up to his lips on its own account. “Not my best angle, I’m afraid, and I don’t have a lighting technician to make my face appear unbearably handsome, but I’m good.”
You didn’t laugh, your shoulders sagging and your head dropping between them.
“I don’t know how it…”, you babbled, your fingers torturing the hat. “How I couldn’t… fuck, I feel like an idiot.”
“What?” It was the third time he was asking the same question in less than five minutes: he really didn’t like that feeling. Just like he was appalled of hearing you say such things about yourself.
Why were you feeling like an idiot when he was the one who had originated that whole mess?
“I should’ve paid more attention, I should’ve noticed that something was off and that you weren’t okay.”
“I’m an actor, darling”, he sighed. “Deceiving people is in my nature.”
Oh…
So he didn’t like you.
“Yeah, and keeping them safe should be in mine”, you argued, voice breaking on the last syllable. “Fuck… I’m sorry.” A sob shook your chest and you let go of the hat to bury your face in your palms, feeling the waterworks were about to start. “I’m so fucking sorry, this was all my fault…”
“No, y/n, no!”, Tom exclaimed, reaching out and grabbing your shoulders, preventing you from standing up like he knew you were about to do. In fact, in the heat of the moment he drew you even closer. “Please, don’t say that. Don’t even think about it”, he pleaded as your front brushed against his, your breaths mixing together. “I’m the one who made a mess and pretended everything was fine, you couldn’t have known! You saved me.”
“Still…”, you stubbornly objected, your hand resting onto his chest a not so convinced attempt to tone down his sudden burst of emotion. “I should’ve–”
“No, y/n, please, listen to me.” He cupped your wet cheeks, handling your face with the same sweet care you had used towards him right before the accident.
“I wasn’t in the physical condition to go for a hike. Before I met you, my plan was to sleep throughout the entire vacation. To give you the idea, those shoes I wore were brand new… I got them right for the occasion. And this morning I skipped breakfast, I forgot to put sunscreen on and left my hat and sunglasses at the hotel and I overslept and I was running late. And I refused to buy a new hat because I didn’t want you to think I’m an idiot who keeps forgetting his own stuff… not to mention that the reason I barely slept last night is because I kept daydreaming about today and how I had to do my best to impress you… this was all my fault, not yours.”
By the time he was done with his monologue, he was out of breath and, despite not having uttered a sound, the same could be said about you.
Your parted lips slightly distracted him for a second – maybe more than a second –, but then Tom came back to his senses and did the right thing, letting go of you. He didn’t really want to, but he had to.
“You…” After his revelation, your thoughts were running wild, so fast you couldn’t keep track of them all. “… you wanted to impress me?”
“Uhm… yeah.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, then pushed his hair out of his forehead, the rebel curl falling back into place just to spite him. “I wanted to get you to say ‘Oh, I can see myself going out with him’ or some shit like that.”
“… why?”
“Because I like you”, he answered candidly, leaving your lungs yearning for air.
“What?”
“Yeah, I’ve had the biggest crush on you since we first met…”, Tom confessed, cringing immensely at having to call it a crush, but he didn’t have much choice, did he? It wasn’t like he could just go: ‘Oh yeah, our first date wasn’t even over and in my head we were already choosing the flowers for your wedding bouquet while I was getting lost in the daydream of a past life with you that would make us soulmates’… no, that wasn’t even an option.
“Not at the hotel, but–”
“At the beach”, you completed the sentence for him with a soft smile.
“You–?”
“I remember.”
He had told you he’d just got there with his family, but that he needed a moment to himself. You had offered to leave, yet he had asked you to stay.
“A-and I wanted to get to know you, but like an idiot I didn’t even ask for your name or tell you mine…”, Tom recalled, not at all proud of himself. “But then we met again and… call me stupid, but it felt like destiny. And when you mentioned you were a hiking guide, that felt even more like a sign.”
“A sign?”
“Yeah…” Tom felt like he was a kid who had just made a mess and was now accounting for it to his parents. “Think of it: you and I, on our own, walking side by side in such beautiful scenery. Spending time together, getting to know each other…” He remembered how he had described everything to his brothers within those same walls that were now witnessing his humbling defeat. “And then reaching a panoramic spot…”
… that would’ve been perfect for our first kiss.
“So, let me get this right…”, you tried to put order in your thoughts. “You did something you don’t like–”
“No wait, I do like hiking”, he rectified. “I just… wasn’t in the right shape to do it, I guess…”
“So you forced yourself to go through all that… only to spend time with me?”
“And now everything is ruined”, Tom whined pitifully. “I look hideous and in these conditions, hiking will be off-limits for me…”
He would have to give up on the haunted ruins, there was no way in the World his family was gonna let him go there or even step in that direction. It was all over.
“You know you could’ve simply asked me out, right?”
“Yeah, but now I won’t be able to join you and spend… wait, what?” He stopped, registering what you had just told him. “Wait, what?”, he repeated, incredulous. “You mean you would’ve said yes?”
“I means I would still say yes…”, you corrected his sentence, wiggling your eyebrows at him. “But for now, I think you should rest. I could show you the roses and jasmines I planted with my aunt, though, I’m very proud of them.”
He was too stunned to speak, not believing his unapologetic luck, and his jaw literally dropped.
“And you could use this.”
With his mind unable to summon a single coherent word, Tom just followed the course of your actions as you picked up your hat from your lap, smoothed its wrinkles and then placed it onto his head, leaning forward and bumping the tip of your nose with his and then even going as far as kissing it, while doing so.
“You look pretty in lilac.”
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A/n: Yeah, that was sappy af and I’m not even sorry about it hehehe~ thank you for reading, love you! 💜
Taglist: @thollandsdarling @hunnybunimdun @namoreno @nocturnalms @vendettaparker @wildxwidow @mn-jun @thisisparadisemylove @belovedholland @blankspaceblankday @inthegetawaycarwithtaylah @mrparkerwillseeyounow @indouloureux @hemlockhearts @obsessed-with-a-fictional-man @melodicheauxxo @seolaseoul @peteprker @peetahpahkah @marajillana @yeetzel @brooklynscherry-z @liltimmyst @jahayla-parker @moniffazictress11 @spideysbae @vibesdontlie @raajali3
(Let me know if you wanna be added or removed, add yourself to my taglist or follow me on my writing side-blog @lia-s-liabrary and turn the notifications on)
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nurbsfirby · 11 months
Text
15 questions for 15 mutuals
Thank you for tagging me, @devotedsims @eljeebee @akitasimblr @druidberries @falsetochild @emzchaos @loveryss @crazydictator @aleksa-sims @cinnamonferns @damseljamsel
Are you named after anyone?
Nope! Just the very unique name of Sarah.~
When was the last time you cried?
May have shed a smol tear watching Queen Charlotte last night!
Do you have kids?
Nope!
Do you use sarcasm a lot?
Constantly, possible too often.
What sports do you play/have you played?
I'm so far from a sporty person it's unreal sooo none.
What’s the first thing you notice about other people?
vibes maaan, it's all about the vibes.
Eye colour?
Brown in the middle and green on the outside, is that hazel? IDK
Scary movies or happy endings?
I love both, but would prefer to watch a horror most days.
Any special talents?
Nope, none that I can think of. Though I did used to be able to turn my eyelids inside out, which creeps me out thinking about now, haha.
Where were you born?
Liverpool, England - UK
What are your hobbies?
Gaming (duh), writing, drawing, collecting silly pop funko figures & pin badges.
Do you have any pets?
I have one dog, she's a staffy & a total princess.
How tall are you?
5'3 (ish)
Fave subject in school?
Geography, sometimes it was the only lesson I would actually attend in a day.
Dream job?
Dream job, is to not have to have a job!! (Maybe the owner of a staffy rescue).
I'm so behind that most people have probably done this already!! If you see this then I'm tagging you!!!
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planefood · 10 months
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How do pets work with robots? Do robots even prefer having them at all? Are there cool robotic pets like sentient IDogs they can get? How do they deal with stuff like massive amounts of shedding and stuff like that if they like pets?
- 🔌
- (P.S I'll just file the ceiling damage as an accident to my insurance company)
Okay again it depends on the robot but robots having pets is surprisingly common! Max and Tandy both have quite a few pets between them
Tandys pets: Georgie (outdoor barn cat, not super keen on interaction)
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a blue and white staffy called Maggie, she has a white patch on her nose but i couldnt find any clear images,
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ive doodled her before tho:
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and he also had a huntaway at some point, tho he doesn't have a name and was just a working dog so he wasn't super involved in the dogs life compared to Maggie who Tandy adores,
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you won't see these pets a lot in the story or writing because none of them came up to Auckland with Tandy Max has two pets A ginger cat called Mutt
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and a (very old) Mastiff mix called Badjelly the Witch (Or just Bad Jelly or Jelly for short)
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these two DO appear in the story because they live with Max and Phillip for a time. I've grown up around big dogs and cats and love to include them in my stories when I can. Robots and animals tend to get along just fine for the most part, cats and dogs at least don't view them as any different than a human owner. Though I imagine robots must smell and sound weird to them and pets that robots aren't already familiar with would be scared by them. Things like fur and mess that animals create could be slightly damaging to a robot but there's nothing a quick vacuum can't fix As I've stated before Sierra hates dogs and I imagine that strains Max and Sierras relationship even more
I was thinking of giving Lithium and Sonnet a robot dog! They have robot animals in their universe that I believe would be sentient too? So they'd behave just like a dog/cat/whatever would
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can we bring these back btw there's a market for them (me)
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So the sweetest and most amazing @seidenbros gifted me with an Ozzy Christmas jumper which I almost tear up over having to take off every morning to get dressed and go to work (I say almost, I mean I do...😂) and I wanted to show everyone! We all know that Ozzy was and is my first love, but Eddie shall be my last!🥺❤️
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But some unexpected extras had been thrown in and as a gesture of appreciation for this very generous gift (I'm not saying I screamed when I opened the box but the noise which came out of me when I saw the jumper was barely human 🥺😂), I decided to do a little promotion of those extras for @/seidenbros (with full permission received prior to making this post🥰💖).
I'm not sure if you've seen, but there's a giveaway for anyone who reblogs this post for Staffi's 1.5k follower celebration. The giveaway involves...
A handmade tote bag featuring the Hellfire Club design on one side and our sweet angel baby on the other;
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And some super cute stickers of Eddie, Steve and Robin:
(Apologies for slight blurring around the lettering; the stickers are crystal sharp but I couldn’t get my camera lens to focus properly even after eight pictures taken at different angles and distances from my desk.)
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Staffi makes these herself and doesn't sell them online yet, but she was giving them away at cons and indeed within the above linked post. She will be giving away three bags to people who write fics for her follower celebration and stickers to people who reblog the post. More details are in said post about the giveaway so please give that a read if you haven’t already!🙏
Anyway, Staffi, you are amazing and I cannot cannot cannot thank you enough not only for the jumper but also for the tote bag, the stickers and the chocolates you sent! I am so incredibly grateful to you and I'm so excited to be returning the sweet and generous gesture just as soon as I get things in order!!! You are an incredible creator, a wonderful friend, and a beautiful human!💖💖💖
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thefreakandthehair · 1 year
Note
When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass it on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love!
staffi!! thank you! <333
okay, in no particular order:
and if I get burned, at least we were electrified (9.2k, E)
i made this mess with love. (3.9k, E)
the cosmos are within us. (1.7k, T)
counting stars (when I look in your eyes) (6.3k, T)
this one is an untitled blurb but I project my hair complex onto eddie and I really loved writing it! (T)
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seidenbros · 1 year
Note
Hi there :) If you’re still taking requests, could I request a one-sided “rivals” to lovers type of fic with Eddie where he becomes jealous of the reader who started a club with Dustin, Mike, and Lucas back when she used to babysit them? She’s back from college for the summer and Eddie gets all dramatic about the kids “cheating” on him and gushing about how fun their club is so he spends his time whining about it to Steve at Family Video and convinces him that they have to crash a meeting to regain custody but once he sees the reader he falls head over heels immediately. I hope you have a good rest of your day!
I'm so sorry this took so long, but I haven't written that much due to work and stuff, and I started this... weeks ago, but I am finally finished. Because I just love this idea so much, so I hope I hit the right mark with this and you enjoy what I came up with 💖💖
Requests are open | prompt lists for inspiration | Stranger Things Masterlist
Pairing: Eddie Munson x Female!Reader Word count: 4140 Warning/Tags: one sided enemies to lovers (kinda), fluff, falling for each other, D&D references from someone who's never played, did I mention fluff?, oh and jealous Eddie who whines a bit
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Let Your Passion Set the World on Fire
“Congratulations, you’ve really managed it this time!” Eddie said with a grin, leaning back in his throne, looking over the table in front of him while the others celebrated their victory. This campaign had been so much fun, and the club had enjoyed it as well, especially because they had defeated him. School was over (for Eddie completely), the summer lay ahead, and they had had their last session before they would resume in the new school year, because even though Eddie wasn’t a student anymore, Hellfire would still be there, and he’d make time for it. Sure, he’d said that he would get out of Hawkins, but there were now a couple of reasons for him to stay. At least until he figured out what he wanted to do.
The summer was for earning money in Eddie’s case, playing a couple of shows with Corroded Coffin and relaxing a little bit. And the boys should go out and have fun as well, and not spend their whole time inside, right? Yeah, not really, as Eddie was about to find out.
“That was really good training for the summer,” Mike said, grinning at Dustin. Will nodded along straight away.
“I can’t wait to see what she comes up with. It’s been quite a while,” Lucas agreed, leaning back in his chair, a smile spreading on his lips.
“What are you talking about?” Eddie looked at all of them, one after another, because that had certainly caught his interest. Who were they talking about and what. He had an inkling that he knew what it was about, but he had to be sure.
“Ohh, you remember y/n?” Dustin immediately said, looking up at Eddie, a brilliant smile on his lips. “The one we used to play D&D with? My old babysitter?”
“Our old babysitter,” Will made it clear, and it was obvious that all of them still adored you.
“Yeah, you mentioned her once or twice.” Or pretty much every other week, which had annoyed Eddie at first, but once they’d started with their campaigns, it had died down a bit. But of course, the boys had told him how much they’d enjoyed your campaigns, that you’d really gotten them into it in the first place. That they were glad that they had Hellfire now with Eddie and the others, because it was even more fun like this. But still, he’d been curious about you, and yes, even a little jealous when he heard them gush about you and your campaigns. Oh, he knew that his campaigns were awesome, hard to beat, but still… there was this little nagging feeling whenever they mentioned your name.
“She’s coming home for the summer,” Mike spoke up again, gathering his dice from the table so they could start putting everything away.
“And she already said that she’s got a pretty epic campaign for us!” Lucas' eyes lit up when he said that.
“And when she says epic, she means epic!” Dustin winked at Eddie, followed his words up with a chuckle.
“So… you’re abandoning Hellfire for a girl. Nice one!” Eddie rolled his eyes and got up from his throne. Clearly, he didn’t have his emotions under control right now, and he was completely overreacting, but he was already a bit… touchy because of not going to school anymore and spending most of the time with the boys - if he attended his lessons that was. Life was about to change, and he didn’t know whether he was ready for it or not.
“What are you talking about? I thought Hellfire was on break for the summer?” Mike scowled at Eddie, watching him pack up his stuff in record time. Usually, Eddie took his time, made jokes with the others, but right now, it felt like he wanted to get out as quickly as possible.
“Yeah, didn’t we want to resume when school started again?” Will watched Eddie, picking up on the slump in his shoulders, the way his lips were pressed together.
“Yeah we did,” Eddie eventually said, taking his bag, before he looked back at them. “You’re right. Hellfire will be back when school starts again.” Even if he wanted to, he didn’t have a full-fledged campaign anyway, so they needed that break. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, gentlemen, I have places to be, businesses to attend.” And with businesses, he meant turning up the newest Metallica album as loud as possible while he lay on his bed and stuck his nose in a book.
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It was nice to come back home after your first year of University. You’d been home before, sure, but the summer break gave you an opportunity to really relax and catch up with old friends - and that included the kids you babysat back in the day. You’d been in contact especially with Dustin all the time, and when you’d told him that you’d come home for the summer, he’d been more than excited about this, immediately asking you about your plans. With a grin, you’d told him over the phone that you’d prepared a campaign for them, if they were interested.
“Are you kidding? We’re so in!”
You’d always loved his enthusiasm, and that had shown again once you stood in front of him and he hugged you. He’d grown quite a bit since you’d last seen him, but to you, he’d always be the little curly haired boy that you’d read good night stories to. Dustin had been the first one you’d babysat, and then it had kind of become a group thing when you’d started playing D&D with them, when you’d made campaigns for them. Finally, someone who’d enjoyed it just as much as you.
It hadn’t been the same at University, mainly because you really hadn’t had the time for it, to find a new group, when you should actually do stuff for your courses, start painting again and get your assignments ready. But in the background, you’d worked on this campaign to surprise the boys with it.
Of course, they’d told you about Hellfire, had gushed about Eddie and his campaigns, and you’d listened with excitement. Because you had been happy for them. Having Will move halfway across the country hadn’t been easy on them, so Eddie had been able to distract them a little. Luckily, Will was back home, among his friends, where he belonged, so you had the whole gang for the summer. You couldn’t be happier.
You remembered Eddie vaguely, had heard his name, but you’d never really crossed paths, but from everything Dustin had told you, he seemed like a pretty cool guy.
“You know he can join, right? If he wants to,” you told Dustin once more when you set up the table in his basement, taking everything you’d need out of your bag. God, you’d spent so many hours down here, it almost felt like a second home to you.
“Yeah, but he’s always our DM.” Dustin watched you intently, trying to get a hint at what you were coming up with. Maybe, he could get a glimpse at your notes somehow, but you kept them close to you. No peeking!
“Even a DM just wants to be a player sometimes,” you reminded him. While you enjoyed leading campaigns, you didn’t back away from participating in one every now and then. You still remembered Mike’s first campaign, where you’d felt like a proud Momma bear.
“Yeah, but he reacted rather… pissed when we talked about this here.”
“What do you mean?” Your head whipped up, your eyes focused on Dustin, your own dice abandoned on the table for a moment.
“Well…” Dustin started, scratching the back of his head. “He thought we were not gonna play during the summer and then we brought this up. You. He thought we were abandoning Hellfire.”
“You’re not, it’s just a meeting between old friends.”
Still, you had to smile to yourself, because you knew just what it was: jealousy. You’d felt the same way when the boys had told you about Hellfire and this supercool dude the first time, because you’d missed them, had missed playing with them. But it had died down, when you’d realised just how good it was for them, and that you weren’t able to give them that kind of club with being miles apart from them.
It was kind of satisfying that you weren’t the only one with that knee-jerk reaction, but that only made you more curious about Eddie.
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“I’m telling you, she’s stealing the kids from me - us!” Eddie moaned as he collapsed onto a chair behind the counter of Family Video. Steve was alone today, so it was just the two of them. Business was usually slow in the summer months, but someone had to be here.
“Talk about being dramatic,” Steve mumbled, rolling his eyes. Eddie hadn’t stopped talking about this, but Steve could understand why it irked his friend. You’d been here for nearly two weeks and every time either one of them had asked the boys if they wanted to hang out, they’d declined, because they wanted to get along with the campaign. It was strange not really seeing them altogether in so long after pretty much spending all their time together when they could. Granted, everyone deserved a little time to come down from everything that had happened.
“Harrington!” Eddie suddenly sat up, spilling some of the beer he’d brought with him onto the floor, making Steve wince, because he’d have to clean it up later on.
“What?”Steve rubbed a hand over his face before he looked at Eddie, taken aback by the mischievous grin on his face. That was never a good sign.
“You still have the key to Henderson's place, don’t you?”
“Yes. Why?” Steve eyed him a moment longer, before it clicked. “You don’t really want to go over there, do you?”
“Why not? Crash their little party, and drag their asses out of Dustin’s basement so they get some fresh air. It’s not good for them to be inside all the time!”
“Look, who’s talking!” Steve couldn’t hold back a chuckle, because Eddie wasn’t exactly the guy to spend a lot of time outside bathing in the sun, but he still had a point.
“Yeah yeah, shut it.” Eddie rolled his eyes at Steve, but got up nonetheless, stepping up to Steve. “Look, these little assholes are not only cheating on me…”
“Really, Munson?” But Steve couldn’t deny the fact, that Eddie’s words were beginning to sink in, and make him realise that he missed those buttheads more than he’d like to admit.
“Well, they are!” Eddie shrugged his shoulders, rocking back on the heels of his feet, pushing his hands into the pockets of his jeans, leather jacket abandoned due to the weather, but he was still repping his Hellfire shirt.
“Alright, alright,” Steve eventually gave in, taking a look at the clock on the wall. One more hour and he could lock up. “Let me just get changed at home and then we can head over there.”
“I knew I could count on you!”
Oh Eddie was already looking forward to their stunned faces, and especially to see a look of annoyance on your face when he crashed your campaign, because he knew that he’d be fucking pissed if anyone dared to do that to him.
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It was the fifth session you had, but you’d seen the boys apart from that as well, had spent some time with them at Lover’s Lake and had made a movie night with them, including Max and Elle of course, who were just wonderful to be around. They’d won your heart over in no time. But for your campaign, it was just you and the boys - and Erica, who brought so much joy into this round, so much fierceness, that you couldn’t help but smile whenever you looked at her. She was so witty, had so many great ideas, that she reminded you of yourself at that age. Sometimes speaking before you thought about the consequences and being called a big mouth by your elders, just because you knew more than they did sometimes.
“Now, Lady Applejack, you had to leave your companions behind, some of them hurt, the others taking care of the rest, but they put their trust in you.” You fix your eyes on Erica, leaning forward slightly, elbows on the table, the tips of your fingers touching. “The dragon has not yet taken notice of you, is still fast asleep, but what you need to save the others, lies directly beneath its right claw. You can see the wooden chest with the big metal lock from your hiding spot. Now, the dragon is a very light sleeper and someone who doesn’t like getting his things stolen. What he is up for is a trade, but I don’t know if you have anything to trade that is worth enough for the dragon. Or… you could just call the dragon by its name and throw him off guard. What do you want to do?” You smirked at her, leaning back in your chair, crossing your arms over your chest.
“I don’t think you made it as easy as calling the dragon Rumpelstiltskin.” Erica levelled a look at you that told you that she’d caught up on where you’d gotten your inspiration from.
“Good idea, but nope.” You shook your head, when you suddenly heard trampling noises from upstairs and the door to the basement flung open. Instinctively, you knew that it couldn’t be Elle and Max, because they didn’t behave like that, but there was nobody else upstairs.
When two figures bolted down the stairs and stopped next to the table, you knew immediately who they were, because they boys hadn’t shut up about Steve and Eddie. Of course, you’d known King Steve, but you hadn’t been in the same group of friends. It had surprised you to hear from Dustin and Mike just how much he’d changed, but they loved the guy. And they loved Eddie. When your eyes met, you couldn’t deny the fact that your heart skipped a beat. After hearing so much about him, you were of course curious to meet him, but the effect those deep brown eyes had on you when they were levelled on you, was something nobody could have prepared you for.
“What the hell? Eddie? Steve?” Dustin spoke up, looking from one to the other, but Eddie didn’t even react, his eyes were still firmly on you.
You were not what he’d expected. Not at all. Though to be fair, he wasn’t sure what he’d expected look-wise, but he’d expected someone with their nose stuck up in the air, who would be mean and just wanted to keep the boys to herself. You looked nothing like a mean old witch wanting to destroy his life. Okay, that was a little over-dramatic, but still. In fact… you looked stunning, though a bit shocked judging by your big eyes that stared back at him.
“Surprise!” Steve said, poking his elbow into Eddie’s side, pulling him back from his thoughts.
“Yeah… s- surprise!” He managed, all but blushing when he looked at you once more. He was usually so witty with his words, never one to lose his ability to speak, but right now`? Right now, you rendered him speechless and that even without having said a word, but when you finally opened your mouth, he hung on your every word.
“Gentlemen, we’re kind of in the middle of something? We were just about to find out whether Lady Applejack would tame our dragon or not.” You rose to your feet, leaning over the table, putting your weight on your hands, while you looked at both men.
“A dragon”?” Eddie’s ears perked up, his eyes scanning the table, and he had to admit that he was impressed with your whole setup.
“Yeah the dragon can wait!” Steve spoke up again, rolling his eyes at Eddie, because this had been his idea after all, and now, he was all heart-eyes for you. Oh Steve knew that look, but he was hoping nobody else was picking up on that right now, and would just attribute it to the game or whatever. He honestly didn’t care, he just wanted to set this plan in motion.
“But we are hurt and Erica has to save us!” Will spoke up, the desperation clear in his voice, because he was always playing with his whole heart.
“Erica can still do that tomorrow!” Eventually, Eddie had found his voice again, and spoke up, not looking at you anymore, because he knew that he’d fumble with his words otherwise.
“Just take a break. We already ordered pizza to my place. Parents have gone on vacation at the start of the week, so we can hang there.” Steve shrugged his shoulders, a smile taking over his face, because he knew that he could get the kids with pizza and the pool at his house, especially when it had gotten so damn hot again.
“Wait, why didn’t I know that?” Dustin got up from his chair, reaching for his bag already.
“Because you were busy, butthead,” Eddie ruffled Dustin’s hair, a smile on his lips, that caught you off guard. He looked even better when he smiled with that kind of adoration in his eyes that was reserved for the kids. You knew it all too well, because they brought that out in you as well.
“Can we?” Mike looked at you expectantly, and you felt transported back in time to when they were all still little, when you’d been their babysitter and they’d asked you for permission.
“If you want, of course! We can resume some other time,” you said with a smile, watching them all get up excitedly grabbing their bags and bounding up the stairs. You turned away from them with a smile on your lips, as you gathered your most important stuff. Everything else could just stay here, but you needed your notes before anyone else would be able to read them.
“You coming?” Eddie called over to you standing at the bottom step of the stairs. “Don’t wanna miss out on pizza and cooling down in the pool do you?”
“Oh, I didn’t know the invitation was for me as well.”
“Of course! Now that we finally met, I need to know more about you!” Eddie winked at you, suddenly getting a burst of confidence back, and it made you smile - and your stomach tingle, which you tried to ignore as best as you could.
Everyone was talking a mile a minute while they were sitting around the pool, enjoying their pizza. The boys talking about your campaign as well, discussing their next moves with Erica.
“You gonna give us a hint at the name of the dragon?” Lucas called over to you, tilting his head to the side. He’d already finished his pizza and was getting ready to get into the water.
“Nope. Not a single word will leave my lips,” you said with a smile, making a motion with your hand that you were locking your lips and throwing away the key.
“That’s gonna be on their minds until you continue,” Eddie said, sitting down next to you at the edge of the pool. Your legs were dangling in the water and he’d pushed up the legs of his jeans as far as possible so that he could dip his feet and legs into the water as well.
“Let them burn a little bit. I love getting them so curious that they practically start begging me for information, because they can’t wait to continue.” Your lips curled up into a smile, your head turning slowly to look at Eddie. “But I guess you know that.”
“Oh yeah… all the time. But I didn’t tell them, instead I just revelled in their misery.” Eddie nudged your shoulder with his own, nibbling on his bottom lip before he looked back at you. “Sorry for crashing the campaign like that. I would have freaked out if someone had done that to me.”
His honest words made you smile, and you nudged him back, aware of a couple pairs of eyes on the two of you, but you just tried to ignore them.
“Don’t worry about it, I get it. Besides, I’m happy to finally meet you, even if it happened like that.”
“Well, we could have had that sooner, but you guys were all so busy. The kids didn’t even want to hang out with Steve and me at all.”
“But you could have just joined us, I made the offer.” You shrugged your shoulders, leaning a bit forward to trace your fingertips across the water. 
“What do you mean?” Eddie turned his upper body towards you, focusing solely on you. His eyes scanned your face, the curve of your cheeks, your plush lips that gave him all kinds of ideas, back up to your kind eyes that looked back at him with such warmth that it made his breath hitch in his throat.
“Well, I told Dustin that even a DM likes to participate in a campaign now and then. Hand off the reins and just play. He said that wasn’t your cup of tea.” You wet your lips with your tongue, eyes darting from his lips up to his eyes.
“That little shithead,” Eddie mumbled under his breath, but you still picked up on it, chuckling at his words. “I said some… not so nice things before, so maybe that’s why he didn’t say anything to me.” “I get it… you were jealous!” You smirked at him, and before he could protest you kept on talking. “I was too. When they told me about you? About this supercool guy who made these awesome campaigns and had his own club for D&D? I really was jealous of you, because you got to spend time with them. But them I realised that I was happy for them, that they got to do what they loved because of you. So thank you for making them part of Hellfire.” You put your hand on his thigh, feeling him tense up beneath your touch. “That was definitely not what I expected.” Eddie managed a chuckle, leaning back on his hands while still watching you. “You’re really something, you know that?”
“Can you stop flirting in front of the kids?” Steve called over to both of you, making Eddie blush, while you also felt the heat creep up your neck, but when you heard Eddie chuckle, you relaxed.
“You’re just jealous, Harrington,” Eddie called out to his friend.
“Maybe so!”
You both started chuckling, but it died down when Eddie looked back at you again.
“Now, as someone not part of the campaign… would you confide in me and tell me the name of the dragon?” Eddie’s eyes lit up with mischief, because he would love to know that, tease the kids with it, because he knew something they might need for their campaign.
“If you promise to keep it a secret?” You raised your eyebrow at him, biting your lip again.
“By my honour! I will not breathe a word until the campaign is over! But I will tease the shit out of them.” You both started to chuckle.
“Okay… from one DM to another,” you lowered your voice, leaning over to him, one hand on your shoulder and your lips brushing the shell of his ear when you whispered the dragon’s name into Eddie’s ear. You could feel his hand land on your thigh, squeezing it slightly as his lips curled up into a smile.
“They weren’t lying when they said your campaigns are epic.”
“They say the same about yours…”
“Imagine what we could come up with together then,” Eddie said, rubbing his thumb over your thigh before giving it a gentle squeeze. Usually, you wouldn’t let someone you barely knew get so close to you, but with Eddie, you felt like you both already knew each other.
“It’s a date then,” you said, beaming up at him. “Now we have to make one together.”
“A date it is.”
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Tag-list: @violetpenguinkris @tellhound @ghosttownwherenoonegoes @spideyanakin-interacts @bellamy-barnes @beepisbeep @snapefiction @hardysbitch @give-em-hellfire @sadbitchfangirl @kimmi-kat @lacrymosa-24 @ruinedbythehobbit @samlealea @hacker-ghost @kirsteng42 @princesseddie @anaisweird @harringtonfan4 @ethereal27cereal @theywitchsblog @goldenkinglouis 
Let me know (send me a message) if you want to be on one of my tag-lists (or want to be removed). I have one for the Promises Series, Eddie x Reader, Steddie and Steve x Reader 💚
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spell-cleaver · 9 months
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15 Questions, 15 Mutuals
Thanks for tagging me @stealingpotatoes!!!
Were you named after anyone?
For my first name, no, but I have two middle names - one after my dad’s aunt and one after my mum’s aunt.
When was the last time you cried?
Monday (two days ago). The ending of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny got to me okay. 
Do you have kids?
Your Honour, I’m just a baby. 
Do you use sarcasm a lot?
Not when talking, but I remember one time a friend in my fiction critique group said, “I love how everything you write has that tinge of humour!” and I had no idea what she was talking about until I started reading my writing out loud, e.g., while proofreading Protégé, and went oh... oh... this is super duper sarcastic. You don’t get it in the text itself but for some reason when I read it out loud I’m super deadpan.
What’s the first think you notice about people?
I’m terrible at faces, so it’s their hair colour and the way they walk. That’s the only way I’ll recognise them later.
What’s your eye colour?
Blue. If I’m being pretentious, blue with a green ring in the middle and a grey ring on the outside.
Scary movies or happy endings?
Both! Both! Is the ending good? Is it thematically appropriate? Does it induce catharsis? Then I like it.
...but when I’m in The Stress Zone I do have to limit my consumption of things with tragic endings.
Any special talents?
Honestly, probably my discipline. I’m very good at trapping myself in something until It Gets Done. It’s how I got good at writing.
Where were you born?
I’m gonna blatantly steal Potes’s answer for this bc it applies perfectly to me too:
due to unfortunate reasons (being half english), england
What are your hobbies?
Writing, reading, drawing, walking, tennis, and terrorising people with puns.
Have any pets?
My dog Tia is a Staffie cross, she is nearly 11 years old, arthritic, and a Very Good Girl.
What sports do you play/have you played?
Tennis, for ten years. Swimming, for eight. Rounders, whenever we went camping and needed to corral a bunch of kids.
How tall are you?
5′6. It’s really funny because some people call me vertically challenged and other people think I’m a giant. But all the women in my mum’s family are under 5′3 so thanks Dad for the tall genes.
Favourite subject at school?
All of them. (Except IT. It shows today.)
Dream job?
Author. What else?
@maskedhatter, @silvereddaye, @prayforpiett, @ladyvader23, @chromanebula, @tantive404, @planningconquest, @pebblish, @stitchingatthecircuitboard, @lady-anguish, @25centsoda, @mokulule, @spashahoney, @kyber-erso, @scuddington
Is that 15 people? I hope so.
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Get to know me
Tagged by: Haelleno (thanks!)
Share your wallpaper:
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The last song you listened to: God's Gonna Cut You Down - Johnny Cash. Been trying to write a blurb for Kiyo's AU where she goes down the path of Reaper and this song gives me the vibe for it
Currently Reading: I don't even remember the last time I legit sat down and actually read something. These days it's just fanfics jkdllshg
Last Movie: Once again, I don't remember the last time I actually sat and watched a movie, so hell if I remember what the last one was
What are you wearing right now: Tanktop and lounge pants. This is typically what I wear for sleeping in and when I'm just lazing around the house
How tall are you: ...5'4". And that's 162.56 cm for you metric folks
Piercings: Just the typical ear ones
Tattoos: None, but I hope to get over my fear and get a few someday...
Glasses? Contacts? I wear glasses. The thought of putting ANYTHING in my eyes makes me want to shrivel up and die
Last drink: The new "Transformation" flavored Coke because it's not bad. It's coconut and strawberry I think???
Last show: I just finished Trigun Stampede and I highly recommend it! And this is coming from a big fan of the '98 series
Last thing you ate: Spicy tuna fish sandwich... last night. It's like noon here now, I need food mvdjls
Favourite colour: I like a lot of colors, but I always find myself gravitating towards varying shades of purple. And black of course. But I can also appreciate pastels too
Current obsession: Well if this blog is anything to go by... you know what it is lmao That and the new Trigun series reawakened the dormant fan in me once again
Unrelated Obsession: I'm a huge, HUGE Transformers fan, so don't ask me anything about the franchise unless you want me to turn into an unskippable cutscene. Also my OC's, but that's always gonna be a thing with me. Oh and Elder Scrolls as well
Any pets: Yep, got two very loveable and sweet rescue dogs. My big boy Rhett is a Staffy (American Staffordshire Terrier) and my little girl Izzy is a Pit and Lab mix. Fun fact - they both came from the same rescue, but Izzy was a special case. The lady that ran the place asked mom and I if we wanted to help her get these puppies these people were trying to get rid of, and that's how we ended up fostering (and failing since we adopted) Izzy. Her and her siblings were only 5 weeks old, so we've had her since she was literally a baby
Do you have a crush on anyone: Yeah my girlfriend and the many, many fictional characters I love
Favourite fictional character: God there's so many to just pick a favorite, and that's not even getting into the franchises I love. If we're talking specifically FFXIV? Aymeric and Haurchefant for sure, plus all the Scions. Sadu, Cirina, Lucia, Maxima, even Magnai... I could go on
Though looking through my folder of art and pictures I like to save... it seems to be Vash and Wolfwood from Trigun lmao
Tagging: I'm bad at this. If you see this, do it!
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sylvanianfamiliez · 8 months
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having a reactive dog is genuinely so hard like i have to ask questions most dog owners don’t. like most dog owners aren’t perfect ykno they’re just normal and regular but am i doing enough? i am so stressed all the time. is it my fault? did i raise him badly? i did my best with what i had. and he is so so loved. and other dog owners whose dogs just came out of the box right pretty much will think you’re just a bad owner when you’re doing everything you can for him. but maybe if i had pushed for even more medical examinations earlier than i had despite being at the vets constantly we could have trained him more earlier. but i trusted the vets and they said he just needed more training. which was never going to help when he was in pain!!!!!! but all people are ever gonna see is reactive staffie just another terrible staffie owner!!!!!!!!!!!!! but maybe it is my fault because !! well i don’t even know. i do my best. i love him. he gets everything he needs and more. i try to calm him in stressful situations and he trusts me. while writing this the doorbell has gone off 4 times (why?!?!?!?!) and i asked him to stay and sit with me in the garden and he has. he’s a good and smart boy. i love myboy
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academicdisasterfic · 2 years
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thank you to my darling @softlystarstruck for the tag!!! this is so cute.
Relationship Status: almost officially (amicably) divorced 🥳 I've started going on dates again and casually seeing people, it's lovely.
Favorite color: forest green 🌲
Favorite food: i eat pretty much anything but get particularly excited about dumplings, chocolate, and pasta.
Song stuck in my head: 'part of the band' by the 1975 (i have listened to this non-stop since it was released)
Last thing I googled: veruca salt - band (may or may not be fic-related)
Time: 1:28pm
Dream Trip: i am so glad you asked. me & my future rescue staffy get on a train. where's it going? to london. do we stay in london? no. we board a train to berlin. do we stay in berlin? no. we change in hamburg and board a train to hirtshals in denmark. do we stay in hirtshals? no. we get on a ferry. the ferry is going to seydisfjordur in iceland (in this dream trip, they have scrapped the 14 day quarantine requirement for pets and also the ban on staffies). there, we pick up our rental car. we spend six weeks on a road trip around iceland. it's september and autumn suits my aesthetic. my dog and i watch the northern lights sitting in the boot of our car, and a magical transformation takes place. i can talk to my dog. i become a world-renowned dog whisperer. my rescue staffy and i are famous. we fight against bully breed bias. alex lahey sees our story. she falls in love. she writes a whole indie rock album dedicated to us. we start a ldr but it's poly bc i am also in love with the stoic lumberjack who lives down the street and has supported us this whole time. my staffy and i move to the highlands to escape the bustle of city life. we have a cottage and a hobby farm. i write books. my staffy lives for a bizarrely long time. we later find out this was another side effect of the northern lights. we die at the exact same time many years later on the winter solstice. we leave our entire estate to eco charities. we are basically folklore.
lets pretend i am not absolutely unhinged rn and tag @lqtraintracks @nv-md @lou-isfake @cavendishbutterfly @ihopeyoubothstaysafefromharm @pennygalleon @callmegri @sitp-recs @tackytigerfic @rockingrobin69 @wheezykat @slytherco @moonstruckwytch <333
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fairrryprose · 1 year
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[BOOK TOUR] THE SWORD OF WRATH AND MERCY // NC KOUSSIS
VENGEANCE CUTS A BLOODY PATH.
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Hi!! Today I'm pleased to be hosting a stop on the tour for THE SWORD OF WRATH AND MERCY, a (grim)dark adult fantasy novel by NC KOUSSIS, with ESCAPIST BOOK TOURS. I'll be sharing my thoughts on the book so far and some gorgeous artwork.
I'm about a third of the way through the book so far, and its gripping lore/worldbuilding, intriguing and badass characters -- such as Selene, our one-armed warrior whom we go through a every emotional high and low with, whom we are taken on a training journey with, root for, feel for, be awed by -- and the relationships between the characters (as well as the character arcs I can see them having) have me flipping the pages. And of course, being grimdark, there is no shortage of gore, violence, everything that comes with it (see list of CW/TWs below). As we flip between Selene's and Tristain's (the biological child of Selene's warden) POVs and their individual journeys to kill or be killed and the struggles and betrayals they have to contend with, the vengeance they seek, we are sure to have nonstop action and breathless excitement.
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About the Book:
The Sword of Mercy and Wrath by NC Koussis Series: The Swords of Dominion Series Genre: Dark Fantasy/Grimdark Intended Age Group: Adult Pages: 400 Published: March 20, 2023 Publisher: Self Published
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Interested? Here's where you can find the book ->
Book Links:
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTPQF7ZY 
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BTPQF7ZY 
Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0BTPQF7ZY 
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/80272063-the-sword-of-mercy-and-wrath
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Content/Trigger Warnings:
Shown on Page (things clearly told to the reader): 
Alcoholism
Amputation
Animal death (off-screen)
Blood (gore)
Bodies/corpses
Body horror
Bones (human)
Classism
Death/dying
Decapitation
Domestic abuse (physical, verbal)
Drinking (heavy and recreational)
Forced captivity
Graphic sex
Hospitalization
Hostages
Kidnapping
Medical procedures
Murder (committed and attempted)
Needles
Poisoning
Pregnancy
PTSD
Serious injury
Skeletons
Skulls
Slurs
Torture
Violence
Vomit
Warfare
Weapons
Alluded to (things only mentioned in passing or hinted at):
Slavery
Genocide
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About the Author:
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NC Koussis was born in Perth in 1993 to Greek and Gamilaroi ancestry. He has moved all around Australia, settling in Newcastle for the moment, where he lives with his wife, son, and staffy dog, Nala. He’s been writing fantasy books since he was a little boy, after falling in love with Lord of the Rings, Realm of the Elderlings, and Deltora Quest. He decided to publish a book in 2019, and it only took him three years. The Pyres of Vengeance is his upcoming novel. He considers himself an enthusiastic amateur of medieval history, historical battles and tactics, and food. When he’s not writing, he’s making sourdough bread and working on a PhD in neuroscience.
Webite: https://nikitaskoussis.com 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NCKoussis 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nckoussis/ 
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nckoussis  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NCKoussis
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Check out other stops on the tour!
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