#this story is really packed with a lot of amusing lines
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𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬
nonidol!kang yeosang x f!reader
yeosang doesn't remember your name, but he remembers what kissing you tastes like and how you like your eggs in the morning. just your regular prince charming trying to find his cinderella, or in this case, his passenger princess..?
9.5k (lord.....), nc-17, s2l, frateez au, college au, mentions of alcohol, swearing, kissing, humor, fluff, minimal angst, another cinderella story au/trope(?), drama (i bring i bring all the drama-ma-ma-ma), a girl who is not a girl's girl :l, the barest of proofreading
a/n: this is for the @atzhouse you can't outrage us event! guys if the flirting is lackluster, it's cuz im running out of rizz
“I don't believe you.”—
The last place you expected to end up was in the front seat of some guy's white Lexus while the party raged on inside the ATZ fraternity house just down the street. According to him, he had to run out just before the crowd rolled in, and when he got back, somebody had snatched his parking spot.
—“Okay, but why don't you believe me?”—
The car smelled not like fresh leather, but an enchanting mixture of something like pine and smoked wood. Bitter, yet somehow, refreshing. You bet, even as the alcohol was hitting you, that it was what he smelled like.
His name was Yeosang—the guy sitting next to you in the driver's seat, the owner of this car, and the ATZ fraternity brother you bumped into at his house's own party. That had been just about twenty minutes ago when you'd ended up isolated from your pack of friends, and Yeosang had needed a desperate breather. It seemed he'd been running from someone (question mark), so you asked if he knew where the kitchen was. Eager to get away from whoever it was, he guided you straight to the kitchen and where the secret stash of flavored sojus were.
An offhand comment about wishing you didn't have to miss this one drama episode dropping tonight led to a longer conversation about the dramas you both enjoyed, which somehow landed you in his passenger seat.
The rest was history. Or—you supposed the rest was now.
“Because,” Yeosang said in a tone that sounded a lot like he was saying 'duh’, “you don't look like a biology major.”
He was gorgeous, even if the lighting in the party and out here was jack shit. The way the shadows cut across his face made him look like a faerie torn straight out of one of your old sketchbooks. You were half certain he had pointed ears beneath the cat-eared beanie he wore, but maybe that was just the alcohol doing its thing.
You sputtered out a laugh as he knocked back another gulp of his melon soju. He was more drunk than you were, maybe not by too much because that wouldn't have been fair, but it did take him seven tries to unlock his car seven minutes ago. “What's a bio major s'posed to look like?”
“Mmm…” he hummed, lips pressed together in a line that dug into his cheeks. “Not you.”
It only made you laugh harder. It wasn't even that funny. “That doesn't even make sense!”
“Does it have to make sense?” He squawked. His face shuddered for a moment as if he just experienced a glitch. “I forgot what I was gonna say, but it's the vibe.”
“The vibe,” you parroted in mild amusement. After you swallowed down your next gulp of soju, you gestured to him with the bottle, “Okay, now what about you? Your major, go.”
“I read shit.”
“Who doesn't?”
“Jared, 19,” he replied, dead serious.
Equally serious, you asked with wide eyes, “Really?”
He gave you an emphatic nod back. Really. Now, if you were a little less tipsy, you wouldn't have taken what he said at face value, but tonight was already miles away from your regularly scheduled program.
You pondered on that—the “I read shit,” not the misfortunes of one nineteen year old named Jared. “So if you read a lot of shit, does that make you a literature major? No, wait! I got it; you look like Comparative Lit.”
“Bingo,” he cheered, raising his bottle up into the air. “Wait. What do you mean I look like a comparative lit major? What does a comp lit major even look like?”
“I dunno, but it’s you.”
He pursed his lips into a deadpan at your callback to what he'd said before, and you merely stuck your tongue out at him like the mature adult you were. “Touché, my friend. Touché…”
Silence passed between you two for the first time since you met each other. In the distance, you could hear the muffled sounds of the party raging on. It wasn't that you didn't go to parties often; it was more so that you usually went to house parties hosted by friends or friends-of-a-friend. Making it all the way to Greek Row was not something you did every weekend, but a mutual friend—Chungha—knew the ATZ president and got you and your friends in.
Nearly finished with his third bottle (or was it his fourth?...), Yeosang knocked the remainder down his throat with a grimace. With the empty bottle, he set it at his feet on the car floor to join another—the cup holders were already occupied with yours and his second rounds. The first was abandoned on the frat house lawn somewhere.
“I think—” he slurred, blinking slowly at you like a cat, “—that you look like an artist.”
“An artist?” You parroted dumbly and felt warmth rise to your cheeks. “And why would you say that? Vibes?”
“Well, yes!”
You sputtered out a laugh at the way he said that. “Then yes, I am an artist,” you said, emphasizing the latter half of the word so it sounded like “teest” and not “tist.”
Yeosang gave a hoot. “I'm so good at this. Does that—does that mean you can paint me like one of your French girls?” He pulled his lips into an adorable, little smile, the back of his hand poised beneath his chin as he fluttered his lashes.
“I don't think I could do you justice,” you admitted. There was a rather annoying buzz at the back of your brain that was distracting you. With a shake of your head, you refocused your gaze on him. “You're too pretty.”
He preened at the compliment, unconsciously reaching up to adjust his beanie. “Like calls to like then.”
“What does that mean?” Your buzzed-out brain couldn't compute—
“It means that prettiness is attracted to prettiness, and I'm attracted to you.”
You whined, burying your face in your hands. Yeosang giggled to himself, incredibly proud at making you flustered, his knees curling upward to kick his feet in the cramped space. “I don't like you.”
“You don't?”
“No,” you raised your head up with a displeased frown, only to see that his eyes seemed to be twinkling with unrestrained happiness and something else. You weren't in the right state to hyper-analyze the way he looked at you, but it made your heart skip more than just a beat. “It's not fair that you're a literature major.”
“But I'm drunk,” he said innocently.
“That's even worse!”
He grinned boyishly at you, bashfully stretching his limbs and then cupping the back of his neck with a hand. “What if I told you I'm minoring in math?”
You deadpanned. “I don't think that makes me feel any better. You rule both the realms of words and numbers.”
“It doesn't mean I'm good at math,” he guffawed, leaning back in his seat. “It's only there 'cause my mom's a math teacher, and having a math minor makes my parents feel better.”
That sounded familiar… awfully familiar. The thought made you sober a bit, and it seemed your counterpart wasn't so wasted that he didn't notice the shift either.
“Uh oh,” he chuckled nervously, “what'd I say?”
You waved your hand around dismissively. “Oh, it's nothing. I'm kind of the opposite—my bio major is sort of to appease my parents and the fine art minor is for my sanity.”
He pressed his lips into a line, nodding in understanding. “Ah, I see,” he drawled. “So you don't… you're not happy? With what you're doing, I mean.”
Maybe it was the way he asked it, but it made the cogs in your head turn. You bit your lip. “I'm happy-ish. It's kind of a lot, but I'll survive.”
“'m sorry I upset you,” he pouted. “But,” he stammered, swallowing, “but I get it. My parents never wanna talk about my major anymore. Pretty sure they're just bitter and disappointed. I always feel like I’m walking on eggshells around them.”
You could tell that it affected him more than he wanted to admit. You wordlessly passed him your half-drunk bottle, and he gladly took a generous sip. When it was back in your hands, you guzzled down the remainder.
The buzz was getting better.
“Well, if they're not proud of you, I am,” you declared, setting the empty bottle at your feet. Your eyes blinked slowly for a moment as you got your bearings again. Maybe… maybe you should stop drinking! Yes, that would be the smart thing to do.
Yeosang hummed. “Thanks,” he said with a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He gazed over at you from his side of the car. “I'm proud of you, too. You'll be happy one day; it'll always turn out okay, Yn-ie.”
Something warm and fuzzy settled in your chest, like a cat had just curled up there, purring and content.
A thought suddenly popped into your head. “Yeosang, how do you like your eggs?”
He snorted and burst into laughter, coaxing a similar expression out of you. A moment later, you were trying your best to pout at him, “Hey! Don't laugh! I hear it's all the rage on the pick-up line scene.”
“You're trying to pick me up?” He giggled. All memories of the previous topic flew out the car window.
“Well, is it working?”
He licked his lips around a smile, leaning over the center console to rest his cheek against his fist. “Ask me again.”
You took another sip of your soju before returning it to its cupholder. “Okay. Yeosang, how do you like your eggs in the morning?”
“However you'd like them.”
You deadpanned, and that only made him laugh louder. His head tilted back so you caught a glimpse of his canines, before he brought himself back down to Earth. His cheeks looked as flushed as you felt—even in the dim streetlight you could make out the blooms of peony pink across his cheekbones. “Yeo.”
He reached over to pat your head a couple times, though the sloppiness of his movements made it feel closer to two affectionate smacks. “Okay okay. Sorry. How about we say it at the same time?”
“Okay.” That wasn't a bad compromise.
“Okay, one, two, three—”
“Sunny-side up,” you both said at once.
Your eyes and his eyes widened at once, gasps of delight sounding into the quiet car. Could this guy be any more perfect?
“You're not bluffing?” You asked with narrowed eyes.
Yeosang shook his head vigorously. “Mm-mm. I wouldn't lie to you, Yn-ie. Scout's honor,” he slurred, holding his hand up as if he was a boy scout.
You giggled at the gesture, and he broke form to melt into an ooey gooey puddle of liquefied butterflies. For a moment, he just stared at you with a strange look on his face, one that you couldn't quite place when you were in this inebriated state.
You chuckled, shifting your position when one leg started falling asleep. “What’s wr—?”
He leaned forward and—oh. Oh. Those were—his lips were on yours. He had leaned over the console and kissed you. He was kissing you.
And when you didn't kiss him back, he drew backwards, an embarrassed expression painted over the adorable flush on his cheeks. “That—I shouldn't have done that, should I? I'm sorry; I dunno what I was—”
You crushed your mouth against his this time, effectively stealing the apology right off his tongue. He tasted like melon soju, and his touch was gentle as he brought his hand up to cup the side of your face, cradle your jaw. He was tracing the outline of your features in the dark like he could sketch them in the lines in his mind.
He tasted like the color of amber, warm and bright, but not blindingly so. He was mellow and sweet, with the undertones of the burnt wood in his cologne.
You melded your lips against his mouth like you could engrave him into you, and you were practically half over the middle console already. Yeosang's free hand fumbled backward to find the button on the side of his chair—there. The chair began moving backward with a monotonous brrr sound, and as it moved you couldn't quite keep your lips physically attached to his.
You disconnected from him for what felt like an eternity in order to climb over—shoes knocking against empty soju bottles, ass nearly bumping the horn—and with some clumsy, awkward maneuvering, you were on him again, this time quite literally. You tumbled into his lap, his hands landing on either side of your waist and your hands bracing against the back of his chair.
He loosened a soft groan with the return of your lips to his, and he hauled you down closer to him, until your chests were pressed flush against one another and you couldn't tell which heartbeat was who's. His beanie fell off at some point, but your fingers buried themselves within the dark, silken mass of his hair, a hat in their own right.
When you both pulled away for breath, your chests heaved in tandem to catch it. You settled your cheek against his shoulder while you inhaled the smell of his cologne, much stronger now that you sat against his chest with your nose by his throat. His hand warmed the small of your back with the other cupping the back of your head in an affectionate cradle.
“I don't think I've ever kissed someone like that,” you admitted into the quiet. You suddenly couldn't hear the muffled music blasting from the party in the background anymore.
“Me neither,” he replied, voice hoarse from the kiss. “I've never met someone like you before.”
“Never in your life?”
“Never in my life.”
“So let me get this straight,” drawled Wooyoung with both hands poised at his temples, eyes screwed shut against the bright morning light coming in through the window. There were currently eight people crowded onto President Hongjoong's bed at a time that was far too early to be alive for a group of people who partied until four in the morning. “You're saying that you know this girl's family life, how she likes her eggs in the morning, and how she kisses—but you don't even know her name?”
Yeosang was propped up against the headboard, squeezed between a very unfairly serene-looking Seonghwa and a mildly hungover Hongjoong. Yeosang's bangs were flat against his forehead and he squinted his tired eyes through the strands. “No, that's not what I said. I said that I know her name… it's just not coming to me right now.”
He knew your name. Right? You told him your name, right? He addressed you by your name at least once last night, right?
(If he was being honest, as soon as Yeosang woke up this morning, he started whimsically recalling the events of last night in his head. But once he realized he neither had your number nor remembered your name, he jostled his friends up to invade the president's room for an emergency round table discussion. Who would have guessed their alarm clock would be a very panicked Maltese screaming, “I DON'T REMEMBER HER NAME!”)
“Which pretty much means you don't know her name,” Jongho piped up where he was laying against Yunho's back on the corner of the bed, his eyes closed while he attempted to squeeze in five more milliseconds of sleep.
“Well, do you know who she came with?” San asked. “She probably has at least one mutual friend or else she wouldn't have gotten in.”
Mingi furrowed his brows together. “Not necessarily. The pledges might not have been thorough when checking.”
Hongjoong's eyes narrowed. “You were supposed to be there with them at the door, Mingi.”
“Oh, was I?”
Yunho cut in before Hongjoong could tackle Mingi off the bed. He grinned to himself, “Okay, but San has a point. Usually people are only able to sneak in if they're with a group.”
“Awh,” Wooyoung cooed, reaching over to pinch at Yeosang's cheek, “Yeosangie fell in love with a stowaway—ow! Hey! He just bit me!”
“Deserved,” Seonghwa said plainly. He turned his head so as to not have to face Wooyoung's wounded puppy eyes. It was too early for this. “Do you know if she came with anyone, Yeosang-ah?”
Yeosang scrunched his nose up, disgruntled. “No. I'm pretty sure she was looking for her friends when we met… something like that. I remember some things, but not everything.” He pinched the place between his brows in an attempt to piece together his memory of last night. He could remember the way you made him feel—it was the jittery warmth that came with falling, and his heart had never grown wings before like it had around you.
After the kiss, the two of you had sunk into a comfortable, quiet conversation about anything and everything beneath the sun. For the first time in a long time, he felt comfortable and heard by someone other than his fraternity brothers. You were perfect, for lack of a better word. And he knew a lot of words.
But how could he fucking forget your name?
He was never drinking that much melon soju ever again.
“She's a biology major,” he offered with a defeated sigh, letting his hand fall into his lap.
“What does she look like?” Hongjoong asked.
Yeosang's gaze went up to the ceiling as he recalled what you looked like to his friends. It was pretty dark the entire time he was with you, but there were a few moments when the streetlights hit your face and his conscience was constantly trying to keep his drunk ass from kissing you within the first ten minutes of meeting you. He'd managed to hold it together for a little bit longer before throwing all caution to the wind.
When he was done, San said in light amusement, “I'm just surprised you kissed her first. She must be something then, huh?”
Yeosang couldn't conceal the smile that slowly crept onto his face. “Yeah, she's…” He cleared his throat. “I just don't want last night to be the first and last time I see her.” It couldn't be—just when he thought he clicked with someone, the universe couldn't possibly be so cruel as to rip you away from him, could it?
“Don't you worry!” Mingi chirped, “We'll help you find your passenger princess.”
Seonghwa snorted. “Passenger princess? What is this, Cinderella?”
“It might as well be,” San chuckled, lifting his shoulder in a half-hearted shrug. “Operation: Passenger Princess is a go!”
Yeosang wasn't sure if recruiting his friends’ help was a good or awful decision. But because his past, drunk self hadn't done many favors for his future, sober self, he would take all the help he could get.
You knew the moment you stumbled out of your bedroom and saw your roommate that you were in trouble. It wasn't trouble in the conventional sense; considering her eyes were laughing as she watched your pitiful walk of shame from your room to the shared bathroom, you knew you were not going to hear the end of everything that happened last night ever.
“Not a word,” you said to her as you winced at the blinding bathroom lights.
Her toothbrush hung out of her mouth as she slipped in behind you to spit her toothpaste into the sink. When her mouth was rinsed and clear, she made eye contact with you in the mirror, eyebrows wagging up and down. “So you and Yeosang, huh?”
You glared at her from around your own toothbrush. You would have taken the damn thing out to defend yourself, but you were already late.
Reina took full advantage of your occupied vocal chords. “I never knew pretty frat boys were your type, Yn,” she teased, practically floating out of the bathroom to go check on the state of her espresso in the kitchen.
“Aye hae yuu,” you grumbled around your toothbrush.
“What's that?” She cackled, bringing a hand up to the shell of her ear. “I love you? I love you, too, Yn. But you know who else loves you?—”
“Dompt shae it.”
“Yeosaaaang!”
You loathed the fact that her saying such things made butterflies flap their wings and dance around in your belly. It was simply delusional to think of love when all you and Yeosang did last night was make out in his car and accompany each other in deep, provoking conversation… conversation that definitely didn't make you feel incredibly seen or anything… definitely not.
Finally, you were able to spit your toothpaste out to make your argument. “Okay, first of all, I don't even have his number. And—how could he love me?” As if possession of a phone number could even correlate to love either.
Reina paused, her expression arranging into loud incredulity. “You what? After all I went through to separate the two of you to go home, you didn't exchange numbers?”
Okay, so maybe you shouldn't have disclosed that information—now you just looked stupid.
You lathered up facial cleanser in your hands and on your face. “Look. Exchanging numbers was just the last thing on our minds—” Oh, Yn. Have you ever said something smart?
Reina snorted. “Oh, I know.”
“We didn't just make out,” you grumbled, your cheeks warming beneath your hands. You furiously splashed cool water over your skin before patting your face dry. There likely wasn't much time left before you and Reina had to run to meet your other friends at your weekly volunteering session. “We talked.”
“Uh-huh, and you know that denial is a river in Egypt, right?”
Suffice to say that Reina most definitely did not let your shenanigans from last night go. The two of you managed to reach the food bank sometime before fifteen minutes past your original start time. Everyone else was already stationed and on time, and because you and Reina were the last to arrive, you were sent straight to dishwashing.
As you and Reina pulled on your twin pairs of pink rubber gloves, your friend Mark Lee (and brother with the NCT fraternity) barrelled into the backroom with a dirty ladle in his hands. His head perked up at the sight of you both, a smile blooming on his face. “Well, good morning, Party Animals. How was the ATZ party last night?”
He deposited the ladle into the sink for you to wash while he went to go find a clean one.
“It was cool, but I think Yn would love to tell you all about her experience,” Reina teased, bumping her elbow against your side.
Mark sidled up beside the two of you and leaned in close in proper tea-spilling fashion. “Oh my gosh, did something happen?”
You scowled at Reina, then said to Mark, “Nothing catastrophic—”
“She hooked up with Yeosang!”
You cut her a hard glance. “Reina, I don't think Neptune heard you.”
Mark's eyes went comically wide, jaw slackening. “Yn and Yeosang? That's so wild. Like—like Kang Yeosang?”
“I think? We didn't exactly exchange last names, but why would it be wild? We just kissed and talked.”
“Who kissed who now?” The new voice had you all glancing back over to the kitchen door where another member of the group, Yura, walked in. Yura was Reina's cousin, and the two grew up quite close, so it was natural that they ended up in similar social circles. You and all your other friends got along pleasantly with her. She flashed you all a small smile. “From the sounds of it, I'm guessing you guys had a fun time at the party last night?”
“We did!” Reina chirped.
“Shame you couldn't come with us this time,” you said offhandedly. It wasn't like Yura to miss a party.
Reina cocked her head to the side. “I could've sworn I saw you there though—”
“Ah,” Yura waved her hand to dismiss her cousin's thought. She chuckled, “You're probably mistaking someone else as me; I had that paper I needed to work on last night, remember? But Yn, you and Yeosang?”
You groaned. “I thought we were over this.”
“Dude, we can't not get over this,” Mark quipped back. “Yeosang just doesn't do stuff like that—hook up with people, I mean.”
“Yeah,” Yura chimed in, “I've seen him at a couple other Greek parties with some of my sorority friends and he looks pretty standoffish most of the time. He's usually always with one of his brothers. He's kind of cold, really.”
Mark furrowed his brows. “I wouldn't call him cold; he's just a little shy, is all.”
“My friends told me that a lot of sorority girls chase after him,” Yura said with wide eyes. “They get, like, aggressive about him or something.”
You and Reina exchanged a look. Was that who he was running from last night? “That must be kinda stressful,” you said softly with a small frown.
“Apparently, that's why his social medias don't take DMs unless approved,” she shrugged.
Well, there went your backup plan of finding him on social media. Then again, if he recognized you or your name, would that help if you requested him? That was if you deigned to change your profile picture to yourself and not one of your silly doodles.
You couldn't help the weight that your heart seemed to gain as it sank to the pit of your stomach.
“Well, that's mildly disappointing,” Reina muttered, turning to quickly wash the ladle Mark had just dropped off.
“I just wouldn't want you to get targeted by any of those crazy sorority girls, y'know?” Yura gave a laugh that sounded almost nervous. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before snapping on a fresh pair of gloves.
You nodded, gnawing on your bottom lip. “Yeah, no, I—I get it. Thanks, Yura.”
She gave you a sympathetic look. “Of course,” she said. With a wave, she made her way back toward the kitchen door. “Mark, we better get back to work. See you guys at lunch break!”
When she was gone, Mark clapped a reassuring hand on your shoulder. “Hey, listen. I don't really know the guy personally, but me and Wooyoung are pretty tight. I can get in touch with them if you want—”
Baekhyun, the section leader for your session, charged into the kitchen with his arm piled high with dirty dishes. If you didn’t fear for the safety of the porcelain bowl at the top of the stack, you might have chuckled at the scene before you. “Mark! We don't pay you to stand around.”
“Hyung,” Mark huffed exasperatedly as he rushed over to help Baekhyun before the section leader could get knocked over the head by a rogue dish assisted by gravity. “You don't pay us. We're here out of the goodness of our hearts.”
“Well, I don't get paid enough for this,” Baekhyun said once all the dishes were transferred to the sink, and you and Reina were put to work. “Now come on; lots to do!”
Just as Mark was about to follow after Baekhyun, he caught your eyes. “I'm serious about the offer, Yn.”
You smiled. “Thanks, man, but let me think about it and I'll get back to you.”
“Yeah, just lemme know!” And he was gone.
Word broke out that someone in the ATZ household was searching for a girl. Word of mouth was a method of dissemination that could spread like wildfire, leaping from one tongue to one ear to another, leaving only ash and debris behind. And around Greek Row, it became a massive game of Telephone.
But while nearly everyone in the university's fraternities and sororities knew about his strife, Yeosang’s efforts seemed to be for naught. The only thing that emerged from this were more people harping after him, claiming to be 'the one he was looking for.’ None of them were you.
Your name had manifested itself in his head about halfway into the week. He'd been toiling over the theory readings his professor assigned for Thursday's lecture when he'd underlined a word, and it came crashing down upon him with ice cold clarity.
His eyes went wide as he shot up out of his chair, nearly sending Jongho careening off his bed on the other side of the room. “What the—”
“Yn,” Yeosang said. Then he declared a little louder, a giddy smile on his face, triumphant and bright, “Her name is Yn.”
Jongho resettled himself on top of his bed. “Well that narrows things down for us,” he drawled, taking his phone out and typing something out. “I don't suppose you have her last name.”
Yeosang fwumped onto the edge of his bed with his lips pressed into a line. “Dude. I literally just thought of her first name. Do you really think I can come up with—”
“Okay, okay,” Jongho laughed, flicking his wrist at him for a moment before resuming his typing.
“Who're you texting?” Yeosang asked as curiosity drew him across the room to Jongho's side.
His friend sat up so he could peer over his shoulder at the phone screen. “I'm doing the heavy lifting,” he teased. Based on the social media handle at the top of the direct messages channel, Jongho was texting Chungha, a friend of the frat's but a closer friend of President Hongjoong's, and the recently graduated head of the Phi Omega Phi sorority. “Hongjoong hyung mentioned offhandedly that Chungha wanted to get some friends into the party on Friday, so I'm seeing if she recognizes this Yn person you're looking for.”
Yeosang’s eyebrows flicked upward as he settled into a more comfortable position on Jongho’s bed while they awaited Chungha’s response. In the meantime, he pulled out his own phone in an attempt to search for your name amongst his mutuals. He frowned at the lack of a successful search—did you use a different name or did you not have a social media account? Was that why you hadn’t attempted to contact him in the past few days?
For a moment, a shard of self-consciousness pierced through his chest at the prospect that you didn’t want to contact him. Did sobriety make you embarrassed at what happened that night? Had he made you uncomfortable with the amount of vulnerability that was in the car—no, the vulnerability was mutual… but maybe—
“Gotcha.”
Yeosang’s head whipped back over to Jongho’s screen. Having your name and major seemed to ring a bell for Chungha, and she forwarded a social media handle, along with a “tell Yeosang good luck ;)”.
“Thank you, Jongho. And bless up, Chungha,” Yeosang muttered as he swiftly input the social media handle into his search bar. There it was—a private art account with your first name in the biography line. There were only one or two people who you both shared mutuals with, which made sense.
His thumb hovered over the request button, and he bit his lip. With little else left to do and his heart banging around in his ribs from the anticipation alone, he clicked the button.
It didn’t take you incredibly long to accept his follow request and to follow him back. (Though, half an hour felt like an eternity when he was so anxious.) He made it painfully obvious that you acted in response, because Yeosang fumbled his phone between his palms like it was a hot potato, before he dropped it and stubbed his toe with it.
Jongho sent him a strange look as he handed the device back to a red-faced Yeosang, who furrowed his brows together to think of an opening direct message to you.
“It doesn't have to be perfect,” Jongho said as he peered over Yeosang's shoulder this time. He had even paused the game he was playing on his phone to stay tuned into the live entertainment.
Yeosang made a face. “Yes, it does.” It had to be the perfect mix of witty and funny and subtle and—
He figured it out.
@/yskang99: how do u like ur eggs?
Jongho released a sound of utter flabbergast, and Yeosang shushed him, both pairs of eyes pinned to the three dots that appeared on the bottom left-hand side of the screen.
@/studioyn: sunny side up
Yeosang broke into a smile, and Jongho's face contorted into pure incredulity. “What kind of security question is that?”
“Inside joke,” Yeosang replied giddily, rising from Jongho's bed to cross over to his side of the room. He collapsed into his desk chair and propped his feet up along the end of his bed.
Jongho scoffed, shifting his lounging position. He threw his friend another incredulous glance before giving up and returning to his game. He'd done his job.
@/yskang99: congrats u passed the test!
@/studioyn: ahh so that was a test? i imagined us doing a virtual handshake tbh
@/yskang99: i like that better actually
@/studioyn: also how did u find me lmao
Yeosang bit his lip through a grin. I have my ways, he typed out cryptically, cheekily.
@/studioyn: wtvr u say ig… 🤨🤨🤨
For a brief moment, Yeosang wondered if he should bring up the concern lingering in his mind—why you hadn't reached out to him. He didn't want to simply assume that he was “popular” enough that just anybody knew who he was, but he was also aware that most people were able to track him down on social media. But would that kill the vibe? He liked the energy.
@/studioyn: i can't get a read on whether or not ur any different than how u were drunk
@/yskang99: would that matter?
@/studioyn: not particularly, no, but i've met people who r
@/yskang99: no i get that, i've met my fair share too :/
He began typing out slowly: I missed you… Then he swiftly amended it to: I missed talking to you.
@/studioyn: awhh wait ik we've only technically spoken the one time, but i missed talking to u too yeo :’)
A smile split his face from ear to ear. Would you wanna hang out again? Only if you're comfortable, of course.
He watched the three dots appear, then disappear. You were thinking and his heart was sinking.
Finally, your response came in. I'd love to, but I don't wanna disappoint you with my god awful schedule this next week.
@/yskang99: what abt the weekend? something low stakes maybe?
@/yskang99: my brothers and i r going to the nct house on sat
@/studioyn: oh!! im actually close friends w mark lee :] i'll see if i can drag my friends along, and we can link up there?
The thought of seeing you again, even if it was at another dumb Greek party, made electricity zip through his veins. His stomach filled to the brim with butterflies, and he had to shift his position because of how much it tickled.
@/yskang99: yeah sounds great :D i'll look forward to seeing u
@/studioyn: same here yeo :’))
@/studioyn: how's ur week been so far?
Yeosang leaned back in his chair again, propping his elbows on the armrests to sink into a comfortable position. He had a feeling he might be here awhile, but he would sit here all night if it meant talking to you.
“Yn! We're gonna be late!”
You nearly jolted at the sound of Reina's voice carrying through the other side of your bedroom door. You dropped your phone onto your bed, racing to finish up the rest of your makeup. “You can never be late to a Greek party!” You countered, swiping your thumb over the pigment you just put on your lips.
Your bedroom door opened just as you were slipping a chain necklace around your collar. Reina poked her head in, her eyes looking you up and down. “Ooh-la-la,” she gushed with a teasing smile. “Someone's gotten all dolled up. I wonder who for…”
You rolled your eyes and ignored the obvious warmth rising to your face. “I just felt like it,” you defended weakly while spritzing a light mist of perfume over your neck and wrists. You stood up from your desk to collect your wallet, keys, and lip gloss to dump into a purse, then went over to retrieve your phone.
The screen displayed another message from Yeosang, no doubt continuing the conversation you had to abruptly pause because you would be late for the NCT party. This was going to be the second Greek party in two weeks—a record for your books. But you had a feeling it was going to be a good time like last week, you were sure of it.
As you skimmed the message Yeosang sent, you slipped out of the room to join Reina in the main living space. She casted you a pointed look with arms crossed over her chest and lips pressed together.
“What?” You blinked over at her innocently.
“You're never gonna see your boy at this rate,” she said as the two of you picked out your shoes for the night.
You sent a text answering Yeosang and letting him know you would be at the party soon. “He's not 'my boy,’” you said.
“Right. He's your man.”
You hated how hard it was to keep the giggle in your throat down. It was embarrassing how you smiled just then, too, turning your head away from a smug Reina.
God, he was just a guy; how did you get so head-over-heels after just one night? It had to be the fact that you'd been texting him nonstop over the past few days. Though you were busy and exhausted, you continued to check your phone all throughout the days and stayed up long into the nights just to talk to him. He had you hook, line, and sinker.
At some point, you'd forgotten what Yura warned you about on Saturday.
Your friends picked you and Reina up in one of their family minivans. A round of greetings went up as you clambered in behind Reina, and your friend asked where her cousin was tonight if she wasn't carpooling with the rest of you.
“She said she was at her sorority friend's house,” Sieun said offhandedly from the driver's seat. The minivan door closed on its own with a mechanical whirring sound. “She's probably at the party already.”
Some nights, parties called for a pregame session, while others (not unlike this one) was attacked raw. Sieun parked the minivan about a block outside of Greek row where there were spaces between cars along the curbs and where there was less of a chance of her accidentally running over a drunk partygoer stumbling into the street. The party was already in full swing with neon green strobe lights blazing aggressively through the front windows, and Gasolina blasting at nothing less than one hundred percent speaker volume.
You felt your phone vibrate in your hand as Reina grabbed your hand to avoid instantly losing you in the crowd.
@/yskang99: im on the second floor where there's less people 😋😋 they've got a nice balcony we can hide on!!
“Mark said they've got spiked Capri Sun somewhere in here!” Reina shouted into your ear.
You nodded your head vigorously. “Let's find it then!”
@/studioyn: gonna grab hard caprisun and then head up!! do u want some??
@/yskang99: surprise me w a flavor, pretty pls x
You grinned to yourself and slid your phone into your purse to focus on the task at hand.
The NCT fraternity house wasn't a completely unknown landscape to you and Reina. Being friends with one of its brothers and friends-by-association with all the rest, you'd popped by more than a few times. You could likely navigate this house with your eyes closed; that was what it was like weaving through the dark rooms and throngs of people squeezed together like sardines in a can, anyway.
Along yours and Reina's trek to the kitchen, you gained a couple people in your conga line of linked hands, NCT's own Xiaojun and Jungwoo. NCT frat brothers always pregamed, so the two brothers were already tipsy and giggled about your kindergarten field trip line (with Reina being dubbed the poor kindergarten teacher tasked with keeping you together).
When you arrived at your destination, it didn't take long for you to lose both Xiaojun and Jungwoo to the game of Texas Hold 'Em being played at the breakfast table. The singular lightbulb overheard made it feel like a smoke-filled backdoor gambling den.
“Aha!” You cheered after playing a game of mystery cooler roulette, and opened the cooler lid that held the spiked Capri Sun juice pouches on ice.
“Mine!” Reina snatched up the last cherry flavored one, the shiny aluminum slippery and ice-cold as she impaled the opening with the thin, yellow straw.
You grabbed a Pacific Cooler flavored pouch for yourself, and a second for Yeosang.
“Ah, is that for the man of your dreams?” Reina said between sips, her pouch already half empty.
You sent her a look. “He has good taste, which means he'll probably appreciate Pacific Cooler as much as I do.”
“As long as it's not lemonade,” came a voice to your left. There stood a rather tall and lean man, his warm smile enunciated by the dim kitchen lighting as the green strobe lights from the living room painted across his face. “I can't deal with sour shit,” he explained, making a face.
You laughed. “That's valid. Fruit Punch is a classic though.”
“Can't argue with that,” he replied, leaning down to pick his poison for the night. He stabbed a straw into his pouch of strawberry kiwi juice, then arched an eyebrow at you. “I feel like I know you. Do I know you?”
“Hey,” Reina chimed in as she leaned over your shoulder, “you're with the ATZ frat, aren't you? I recognize you from Twister last week.”
He smiled sheepishly from around his straw. “Ah… haha, not my best moment, but yes. I'm Yunho.”
“Reina,” your friend replied.
“Yn,” you added on.
Yunho's expression jerked as if he'd just been delivered an electric shock. He waved his pointer finger at you. “Oh my god, you're Yeosang's girl!”
Your eyes shuddered in surprise. Yeosang's girl. “Sorry?” You stammered. There was an insane amount of possessive pronouns being used tonight, buy you definitely weren't complaining about it, and could he perhaps say that again—
“Yeah, he won't shut up about you.” Yunho slurped up the rest of his juice pouch, draining and flattening the life out of it in record time. “He loves Pacific Cooler, by the way.”
He took his leave then, saying nothing else to you and Reina except for shooting you a pair of finger guns like saying 'go get em, tiger!’
Reina wheezed, draping herself over you for a moment. “Oh—my god! Good thing Yeosang's just as down in the trenches as you are.”
“Don't do this to me, Reina,” you whined and dragged her along out of the kitchen toward the second floor staircase. “I don't need encouragement; the crush is enough!”
“It's never enough,” she declared with her pointer finger up in the sky. “You are gone, my friend! Gone, I say.”
You patted her head as you both began your ascent up the stairs. “Alrighty; then gone, I am. Do you remember where the balcony is on this floor?”
She hummed. “Ooh! Somewhere by Johnjae's room, abouts. I just remember because Mark told us how—”
“Right—the sophomore year Romeo and Juliet reenactment,” you snorted. You couldn't wrap your head around the batshit crazy things that occurred around these parts. “Who convinced Doyoung to play Paris anyway?”
She made a noncommittal noise. “Must've been bribed—oh, there it is, but I think there's a couple out there already…”
There was most definitely a couple on the balcony. Their outlines were silhouettes against the residual strobe lights shining up from downstairs, so it was a little too dark to make out who they were. They seemed close—the girl was all over the boy, the latter trying to hold her up by her waist. Maybe she'd had too much to drink, and for a moment, you were glad someone was taking care of her.
But when she leaned in for a kiss, green light glanced across their faces to reveal their features to you. It was only a split second, but it was all you needed.
“Reina,” you exhaled in shock, turning away from the balcony with enough speed to nearly give you whiplash.
She didn't question you, as you both careened back down the hall from where you came from, heading for one of the open bedrooms on this floor to collect yourselves. When the two of you were out of earshot of the balcony, she hissed under her breath in utter disbelief, “Yura?”
You'd seen it nearly clear as day, too. That was Yura kissing Yeosang.
Your head spun as you shouldered your way into Mark's and Haechan's room, their names plastered on the door in foam letter stickers from the craft store. As Reina closed the door and turned on the lights, you sat down in Mark's desk chair attempting to make sense of what you and Reina just witnessed.
Yeosang and Yura? But wasn't Yura the one who warned you that chasing after Yeosang was a risk because of how many others were, as well? Why would…
Oh.
Well, now you just felt stupid.
Reina dragged over Haechan's desk chair to settle in front of you, her expression less enraged than before, and more concerned over what she was reading off of your face. “Hey, don't do that. Don't think like that.”
“You don't know what I'm thinking,” you murmured, setting the untouched juice pouches on the desk.
“You're thinking that you're stupid.”
“Okay, maybe you do know what I'm thinking.” You inhaled, then exhaled slowly, leaning forward onto your knees. “I don't really know what to think or assume.”
Reina nodded, chewing on her bottom lip. “That's okay. I don't think I really understand what I saw either.”
“But that was Yura, right?”
She bobbed her head again. “That was my cousin, yeah.”
“Would it be fair to even think that she told me all that shit last week to discourage me from seeing him?” You didn't enjoy thinking that another person would have such malicious intentions without understanding their point of view, especially someone you considered yourself friends with.
“Well,” Reina drawled, “I think we both saw what we saw, and Yura was acting strangely about it on Saturday. It would be fair if you were hurt by it; I think your feelings have been clear.”
You gave a small nod. “Do you think he…?”
“I'm not sure, hon.”
You resolved to talk to him about it. If anything, you had these juice pouches left to console yourself, but you wanted to make sure you knew where his feelings laid. You would be lying if you said your heart didn't harbor even a glimmer of hope that this was all a misunderstanding, and that the kiss was an accident and didn't matter.
You and Reina left the relative safety of Mark and Haechan's bedroom to go find Yeosang. There weren't any new messages between either of you since the Capri Sun exchange, and you thought about texting him on his whereabouts.
The balcony by Johnny and Jaehyun's room was empty now, barren of any evidence somebody was there in the first place.
You and Reina wandered back down to the main floor. The party was nowhere near over; the night was still young. Hope was sinking fast in your stomach as the two of you traveled from room to room in search of him, but with no luck. Even asking around was useless.
“Text him,” Reina encouraged, as the two of you sipped on the juice pouches that were supposed to be for you and him.
She held your spiked juice while you texted him.
As time passed, and a response had yet to come through, you tossed yours and Reina's flattened Capri Sun pouches into the nearest garbage can.
If he wasn't going to answer, then maybe you would just go home for the night. You had a lot to think about.
Defeated, you let Reina sweep you under her arm and guide you to the front door. “Let's go home, hm?” She said, rubbing your shoulder.
On your way to the front door, you paused. You thought you heard someone calling your name—
You turned around to find Mark barreling toward you through the crowd with another guy at his side. “Mark?” You shouted over the music.
“Hey, we've been looking all over for you,” he said. Nodding to his friend, he told you, “This is Wooyoung, by the way, the ATZ brother I'm friends with.”
“Yeosang's been looking for you,” Wooyoung said in earnest, eyes as wide as Mark's. Had they been looking for you as much as you were looking for Yeosang?
Something like hope sparked in your chest again—you were at odds. The fight had nearly dissipated from your blood and you were ready to go home. But if he was trying to find you… it must be worth it then, right?
“Where is he?” You asked.
It was nearing midnight by the time you settled yourself on the concrete curb outside the ATZ frat house just down the block from the target being thrown at the NCT house. With everyone over there, no wonder it was quiet enough to finally hear yourself think. With the coming of deep autumn, a slight breeze wafted by that drifted over your skin and raised goosebumps on your arms.
You heard gravel crunching from behind you, coming down the ATZ driveway, and before you could turn your head to look, a warm jacket was placed over your shoulders. You held your breath, fingers finding the lapel to keep it from slipping as you glanced over at your counterpart.
Yeosang lowered himself onto the curb next to you, mimicking your position with his knees bent and arms resting upon them. “I—my phone died,” he said lowly.
“Oh.” That took care of at least two of your questions.
“Is there—” He stopped himself, amending his statement, “There's something on your mind.”
Understatement of the century. You pulled his jacket around you, the intertwining scents of alcohol and his cologne lingering on the collar. “I was going to meet you at the balcony, and I was there, but… but I saw you and Yura, and…”
It was his turn to say “oh.” He angled his body toward you now until his knees bumped against yours and he was muttering out an apology he didn't need to say. He laid his upper body over his arms that were folded onto his knees and peered up at you through lengthy lashes.
He was waiting for you to finish.
You swallowed, following his lead and turning your body toward him. “I saw her kiss you,” you said, the sound barely audible to anybody but you and him. “Reina and I went somewhere to kind of just soak in what we saw, and then we went back out to find you so I could talk to you about it, but we couldn't find you.”
“I'm sorry you had to see that,” he murmured, eyebrows furrowed together. “It—it didn't mean anything. She did try to kiss me, but I pushed her away before she could.”
You believed him. You loosened a small chuckle from your lips. “Y'know, it sounds silly to me now, but last week she told me that there were a number of girls who were pursing you and were very aggressive about it.”
He snorted. “If there were any, I only know of one.”
“She…?”
“Yeah,” he nodded, lips pursing. “I know she's liked me for a while, but I've made it clear I don't see her the same way. At last Friday's party, I was actually trying to lose her in the crowd when I found you.”
Your eyes widened. “So she was there?” Then Reina had actually seen her cousin at the party; Yura had lied about where she was.
“She told me tonight that she was scared about me liking you more than her,” Yeosang said as he lifted his body back up to rest his cheek against his fist. “She was really drunk—which was why you probably saw me trying to hold her up—and then she… tried to kiss me. I pushed her away, and one of her friends found us, so I handed her over and went to get some air.”
And that was why you couldn't find him. You released a breath you didn't realize you were holding in. “Are you—are you okay? I'm so sorry she did that to you.”
The corners of his lips tugged upward in a reassuring smile. “I'm alright, thank you. And it's not your fault.”
“I know, but still,” you insisted. “Your boundaries were violated, and it makes me feel so icky that I've called her a friend of mine, and—what?”
Your words came to a screeching halt when you realized that Yeosang was just smiling at you. Or rather, gazing at you, admiring you. It was whatever he did whenever his eyes possessed a set of twin jewels in his irises that needed no light to glitter like gold; and when his grin softened at the corners by a tenderness that knocked the wind out of you, all words and systems failed you.
You recognized this look, except this time, you weren't drunk.
“I'm really happy I met you,” he said in your silence. “And I'm happy I got to see you again.”
You nearly melted. You smiled back at him, replying quietly, “Couldn’t have said it any better. Thank you for being honest with me.”
“And thank you for believing me.” He reached for your hand, his movements slow as if giving you an opening to pull back if you wanted to. But you didn't, and you closed the remaining space to link your fingers and press your palms together.
You and Yeosang shared mutual smiles in the dim lighting outside his fraternity house. Your heart beat had quickened a considerable amount now that he was so close to you again.
You cleared your throat. "Just to be clear though—when you said she was scared about you liking me more than her—?"
His smile reached his eyes and turned them into upturned crescent moons. "I'm not scared," he said, "that I like you more than I have ever liked her." By a landslide.
Your heart gave a lurch in your chest. "Good," you smiled. "That's good, because I like you a whole lot, too."
“Do you wanna get out of here?” Yeosang inclined his chin toward where his car was parked a couple vehicles down. “Properly this time, now that we're not completely wasted?”
You laughed. “I would love nothing more.”
Pleased, he helped you to your feet. You must have stood up far too quickly though, because the blood rushed up to your head in a riptide current. You swore as the vertigo hit you, and your footing stumbled.
“Woah, careful there, pretty,” he murmured, his low voice by your ear as he steadied you with one hand pressed between your shoulder blades and the other around your waist.
Oh, there went your heart… it flew up to halo around Yeosang's head, and it wasn't yours anymore—
“You okay?” He mused.
You cleared your throat, straightening. “Yeah, I'm great,” you said sheepishly, ducking your head toward your chest.
A warm, fond chuckle left his mouth. “Cute,” he murmured. He lifted your chin up so you would look at him, his eyes darting down toward your mouth, and yours mirroring his movements. “I was wondering…”
“You can kiss me,” you blurted out, ignoring the utter leap in your pulse and the heat crawling up the back of your neck.
You tasted his smile as he leaned over to seal his mouth over your own, a long awaited return to the place that felt just right. You breathed him in, inhaled him, devoured him whole—you wrapped your arms around his shoulders to pull him closer just as his hands pressed you flush against him.
In the distance against the heavy house music in the background, a cheer went up into the night sky.
You and Yeosang parted only to crane your heads in the direction of the noise, only to find what looked like a gathering of your friends and his friends hooting and applauding like it was New Years.
“OPERATION: PASSENGER PRINCESS WINS!” The guy from earlier, Wooyoung, practically howled up at the sky.
You pressed your face against Yeosang's shoulder as he groaned. “I am so sorry about them,” he chuckled through a grimace, lips grazing over your crown.
You laughed along with him. “My friends are also among the guilty party, Yeo.”
He kept his arm around your waist and you kept your head against his shoulder as the two of you walked away from your friends and toward his car. Contentment curled itself up over your chest again, and it nestled in deep, as if it planned to stay awhile.
“By the way,” you piped up as he unlocked his car.
“Mhm?”
You opened the passenger side door and leaned over the top of it to ask, “What the hell is Operation: Passenger Princess?”
Yeosang sputtered out a laugh and his cheekbones burned red. “How about we save that for our third date?”
You blinked, lips parting.
Yeosang grinned impishly. “Close that mouth, pretty, or I'll close it for you.”
Your jaw snapped closed, and his laugh echoed against the houses along this street. You climbed into the car after him, flustered beyond words. “I don't like you,” was all you could come up with.
“I'm sure you don't.”
a/n: pls remember to reblog + comment if you enjoyed! also, the plan is to try and write another wooyo frat au as well, so pray for me...
atz m.list
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Expert | Easy to Expert (3 v7)
Lee Yongbok (Felix) & Bang Chan - Stray Kids
Rating: M (18+) MDNI
Word Count: ~4.6k
Felix/AFAB!Reader/Bang Chan
Genre: Reader-Insert, Smut, Fluff, Fluffy Smut
!!This is smut…if that much isn't clear you should probably leave now!! MDNI!
Warnings: She/Her Pronouns used, Swearing, Kissing, Lingerie, Pet Names (Love, Pumpkin, Baby Girl, etc.), Multiple Partners, Oral (M! & F! Receiving), Sixty-Nine, Threesome, Double Penetration, Anal Play, Sex Toys - Butt Plugs, Anal Sex, Bang Chan has a Monster Cock (of course), Cockbulge (hmm), Unprotected Sex (Bad Idea, Don't Do It), Daddy Kink gets awakened, this is actually really soft and fluffy believe it or not, Bromance
Disclaimer: I do have the whole cock-bulge thing in this. I understand this could be a bit offensive to some who are on the heavier side (I am in that group as well). Sorry if this doesn't align with your body type, this is just a work of fiction.
Author's Note: This is the last one I am writing in this series, so let's see what absolute nonsense shows up here. I'm going to TRY and tone it down…
PS. I wrote the first not before I wrote the story, and this is after. This went a COMPLETELY different direction than I thought it would. Get ready for tooth rotting fluff AND smut.
PPS. Bang Chan is my bias and Felix my bias wrecker so that is why this one ended up like this…
-> Part 1 <-
-> Part 2 <-
-> Ver. I.N. <-
-> Ver. Seungmin <-
-> Ver. Hyunjin <-
-> Ver. Han <-
-> Ver. Lee Know <-
-> Ver. Changbin <-
I am cross-posting this on Archive. Please reblog! If you know anyone that would like this or future fics but they aren't on here my name and icon are exactly the same on the other site. Happy reading!
"What?" Chan stopped dead in his tracks, Felix continuing past him. He thought for a second that he was hearing things, or someone else's conversation. The younger man stopped as well, turning back to his best friend.
"(Y/N) wants a threesome, you in?"
"Why are you asking me?" Chan sputtered and Felix shrugged casually.
"She asked for you specifically so…"
"She asked for ME?"
"Yes?" Chan's head was swimming. He had to admit, ever since he found out a few months ago you couldn't cum, he was looping in his head. It wasn't romantic intentions behind him trying to figure out what he could do for you…Not at all. He had been trying to convince himself he no longer had romantic feelings for you, especially since you started dating Felix. It was obvious to the others, even Felix, but he appreciated that his hyung denied it even to himself.
"Are you sure?" The eldest of the group asked your boyfriend.
"I wouldn't be asking you if I wasn’t. She picked you like a month and half ago, I've had time to think about it." Felix huffed, amused. Chan was getting flustered, and the younger man knew why.
"Are you thinking tonight?" They were already on their way to your apartment for movie night.
"Well…yeah. We can move it though."
"You really think I can just sit and watch a movie with you two now?" Chan shook his head, but continued walking. Felix fell into stride next to him and they continued to your place.
Felix messaged you when they were about fifteen minutes out, and you scrambled off the couch to get ready. To say you were excited was an understatement. But you were also lowkey terrified. It was not a hidden fact among the friend group what Chan was packing. You had even heard from other girls on campus. Not a traditional player by any means, he had been around the block. He was an incredibly sweet gentleman, but a lot of girls just wanted to fuck him to say they conquered the beast. That was literally what they said. The thought made you shiver as you prepared. Stepping out of the bathroom, you looked yourself over in the mirror. Felix had gotten you a set of wolf cosplay lingerie, fitting for Chan. It was more or less a bikini lined with gray fur. The silicone plug he got you a month ago now had a grey furry tail attached; the texture tickled the backs of your thighs. A matching headband with grey ears sat on your head, it was a little too big though, so you hoped it stayed on. Furry cuffs surrounded your ankles and wrists as well. The bottoms of the set were more like shorts than panties, but there was a hole cut out of the crotch which gave access to your cunt as well as let the tail plug sitting in your ass. You shook your arms to get rid of some of the nerves. Though, they just came back two-fold when you heard your boyfriend and his friend arrive. Your shaking increased as you padded to stand at the foot of your bed, waiting for them to remove their coats and shoes and meet you in the bedroom.
"Go on, bro." Felix told Chan, his accented English hitting your ears. Were they going to speak like that the whole night? Fuck yeah.
"Oh, baby girl!" Chan was floored as he entered your room. You looked so fucking cute, his heart thumped hard, and he felt his pulse in his cock too. The pet-name did stuff to your insides, and you nervously wiggled, the tail wagging a bit from the momentum. To be honest, before you and Felix hooked up, you were tempted to go to Chan. With his reputation, you were sure he could have managed, but you in no way regretted that it was Felix. Your boyfriend followed him in and came to admire you as well. You turned toward him as he settled only a foot away from you.
"Good job, love." He praised and you both turned back to Chan. He was still gaping, and you were still too nervous to look him over completely. He just had grey sweatpants on and a black sweatshirt. You desperately wanted him to take it off so you could get a better look at him. You had seen his perfect body many times, but you wanted to touch it. Your fingers fidgeted with themselves, the black painting nails at the ends catching Chan's eye.
"Rules?" You prompted Felix and he looked at you, back to his friend then shook his head.
"Just tell him no if you want." he told you and you blinked, then again. Seriously? He would let his friend kiss you? Fuck your holes and fill you with his cum? That was four of the rules out the window. Plus, if he wasn't going to lead Chan through this, then the final one was trashed as well. The thought made your core clench as you finally looked back to the other Australian.
"Go on." Felix assured you and you took a hesitant step forward, then trotted over to Chan who was still looking at you in awe. His hair was brushed up and back some, framing his forehead. You would have been fine just looking over every detail of his handsome face, but you needed even more. Your small hands went to the zipper of his hoodie, and he let you pull it down. He huffed at your pout when you saw he had a t-shirt underneath.
"It's below freezing out there, baby girl." He told you, amused by your reaction. You mumbled something incoherent, and he laughed. The sound pierced you, made you let out a small whimper, pushing his sweatshirt off. He continued to watch, amused, casting a glance at Felix who looked just as entertained by you. You took a deep breath, sneaking your hands under his shirt and mewling as your warm fingertips brushed over the ridges of his abs. With his assistance, you removed the shirt completely and Felix saw your thighs clench. While he wasn't thrilled by how turned on you were already, he wasn't too surprised either. You were honest with him and admitted you almost went to the eldest for assistance before you and Felix got together. He appreciated your honesty, and therefore trusted you. Didn't mean his pride wasn't a little hurt.
"Oh, my god." You gasped out, your touch tickling Chan some. He laughed, his gorgeous smile distracting you for a second.
"Can I kiss her, 'Lix?" Chan asked politely and you leaned in some more.
"Yeah, I guess." Your boyfriend allowed and you let him kiss you. He was rough, more so than you expected. Chan knew better, he was there to fuck you, not make love to you. He would leave the sensual kisses to Felix. He tilted his head, his hand going to the back of yours and his slid his tongue in your mouth. You keened at the feeling. He was good. Too good. You pulled back a trail of saliva connecting your mouths.
"D-don't do that again." You muttered, your face red. He nodded, humming in agreement. Felix snorted playfully. His trust was well placed. Not wanting to step over the line, Chan stayed mostly still as you sank to your knees before him. Seeing him shirtless in the grey sweatpants was already sinfully attractive, you wondered what he would be like fully naked. An adonis carved out of marble for sure. There was already a bulge from his hardening cock, but it was mostly hidden by the thick material. He laughed at your eagerness as you hastily pulled the waist band away. Your eyes widened as he stepped out of his pants. He was nowhere near being fully hard, but his black briefs were already straining.
"Fuck." You wheezed. You were salivating like the wolf you were dressed as. You fiddled with the tag on the black choker you had on, Felix's name engraved into it. As long as you only fell for Chan's cock, it was fine. You turned to look back at your boyfriend anyway and he gave you a reassuring smile. He had looped over every possible scenario in his head over the last month, knowing to almost a T at that point what would make you react in what way. So far, no surprises. Even though to some you hadn't been dating long, you spent as much time together as possible, so he knew you well. You had been friends for years before then too.
"C-Can you…" You drifted off, wanting to get a good view of Chan's briefs coming off. He smiled and did as you wordlessly requested. He felt a little sheepish under your gaze, honestly, as you ogled him. Adonis indeed. You literally watched his cock harden further under your appreciating gaze. You licked your lips, desperate to wrap them around him. Felix ended up not speaking the rule you had first decided on, but you were a bit worried about what it would do to you to let Chan cum down your throat.
"Can we do something?" Chan suggested, snapping you out of your daze. He also looked at Felix.
"Sixty-nine?" He finished the request and Felix stiffened a bit. Knowing Chan, he might be able to make you cum from that and your boyfriend wasn't sure if he was okay with that. The eldest was definitely the expert of the group and mastered the art of sex like the instruments he could play. But, when he looked into your big, pleading eyes, he couldn't say no. With a slow nod you hopped to your feet giddily and Chan chuckled, following you to the bed. He nodded for you to climb over him once he was on his back. Straddling his face, he wrapped the tail around his hand just to hold it out of the way. The panties gave him perfect access, the fur ticking his cheeks a bit though.
"Sit on me, baby girl." He urged and you lowered your hips. You weren't expecting the immediate pleasure you got from his tongue. He immediately swirling it around your clit, sucking hard. You gasped, falling forward, finding the head of his now fully hard cock in front of you. Once again, your eyes met Felix's and he nodded. Eagerly, you wrapped your hand around Chan's cock, your fingers not even able to touch. You wrapped your eager lips around the head, your jaw protesting some at the stretch. Chan rumbled under you; his strong arms surrounded your thighs to hold you where he wanted you. Your moan vibrated through his dick as you got as much as him as you could in your mouth. It would be too dangerous for you to let him into your throat, you had to center yourself by finding Felix again. He loved that you kept thinking of him throughout. It was also more arousing than he thought it would be, seeing your mouth full of his best friend's fat cock. Chan ate you like a man starved and your boyfriend could see the characteristic twitch in your hips that meant you were close. You were more shocked than Felix that the other man was getting you to the edge so fast. His hand twisted in the tail again, tugging it slightly, and took your clit between his teeth, rolling it and you fell forward as you came, swallowing his cock deeper. Chan grinned as your cunt dripped on his tongue and he let the tail go, letting your orgasm ride out. When you came down, you pulled him out of your mouth, panting for breath.
"Okay, baby girl." Chan eased you to roll off of him, you landed on your back, still breathing harshly. Tears pricked your eyes and Felix instantly came to your side, petting your head softly, shushing you. You looked at him, so pitifully, ready to cry.
"Hey, shh, love." His heart broke seeing you like that and Chan got up on his knees next to you. He could tell you were crying from emotions, not physical feelings, but he still felt bad. At the same time, he was extremely proud of himself for making you cum like that. He had satisfied the goal he set in the past, not ever thinking to dust it off and complete it. Chan's heart thudded again, this time in sorrow. You were too precious.
"I'm sorry, Felix." Your breath hitched and he leaned down to kiss your forehead, petting your hair. Instantly he felt bad for feeling jealous.
"Love, (Y/N), its fine. I'm not mad." He chuckled a bit to reassure you.
"Really?"
"Yes, sweet. I just want you to feel good, okay?" He hummed and you nodded, sniffling. Chan finally saw the relationship dynamic you two really had. It was a dominance and submissive one, but Felix played the role so softly. And you were so cute with it, not a hint of being a brat.
"You want to keep going, baby girl?" Chan made sure and you nodded shyly. He smiled warmly and helped you sit up, removing the loose headband so you could stop fiddling with it.
"Can I take all this off her?" Chan asked and Felix nodded. You sat there like a good girl as Chan gently undid and removed everything from you but the black choker. He even took the tail off the plug, leaving the silicone toy inside you. The other man also took the tie from your hair, letting it fall over your shoulders. The way he looked at you actually warmed Felix's heart. He also knew if you asked him, he would be open to letting Chan in on your relationship. If it was him…he could share you. That was something to bring up later though. You shivered a bit, now a tad chilly and Felix smiled, climbing on the bed to hug you from behind.
"Good girl." He soothed and helped Chan maneuver you to sit on his lap, back to him. Felix placed a soft kiss to your lips, and you whined at the feeling of Chan's cock wedged in the cleft of your ass. Felix had decided not to turn the vibrations on, planning it as a surprise. The encounter turned out to be softer than he originally thought it would be.
"What're you thinking, 'Lix?" Chan knew him too well, could see the gears turning. His eyes met the eldest's and you looked up at him too. His eyes cast to yours. It wasn't a secret that you had a huge crush on Chan about a year ago, but you never pursued it. Little did you know, Chan had liked you too, for a while. He didn't even piece together, that's what it was at first, but Felix knew. Even when Chan would deny it to himself, Felix knew. Felix could still sense your love for himself, but he also saw how you looked at his best friend.
"You want him too?" Felix asked and you didn't understand the question at first. Wasn't that why he was there? The other man figured it out immediately though.
"Felix-"
"I'm not stupid, hyung." He huffed playfully and his true meaning registered.
"Felix?" you asked him, implying your question in your tone. Are you sure?
"We can discuss it after, but don't feel guilty." Your boyfriend kissed you softly on your cheek under your eye.
"Want him here?" Felix continued, helping you settle on Chan's lap, stroking his fingers through your soaked folds. You nodded softly, letting the man behind you hold you in his arms. You felt so secure, even more so with Felix there too.
"Think you can make her cum again?" Felix challenged and the other man smirked.
"Let's see." He nuzzled behind your ear, one of his hands sliding down your stomach till his fingers hit your clit. You whimpered as he swirled over it, then slid both fingers home. You sighed as his fingers filled you. They were thicker and longer than Felix's, but just as talented it seemed. His palm rubbed hard over your clit as he scissored the digits in you, the pad of one finding the rough spot on your back wall. You twitched when he rubbed over it and Felix watched the gears turn in Chan's head. His fingers left your core, rubbing back up to your clit, and he exposed the little nub further. He was an expert, Felix decided. He learned your reactions instantly, knowing just what to do next. Chan then fucked three fingers into you, harshly pressed against your further exposed clit with his palm. His fingers crooked hard and up, his palm swirling your clit and you shivered hard, head tossed back to land on his shoulder. You were close. Once again removing his fingers, he took your button between two fingers, pinched hard and pulled your nub, and Felix watched your cunt spasm as you came. The slight bit of jealousy he still felt dissipated when he saw the way Chan looked at you. He nuzzled your temple with his nose as you trembled, kissing the crest of your ear. As you shuddered, coming down again, your head rolled so you could look at him.
"Fill her up, hyung." Felix allowed, smiling as your eyes widened.
"'Lix~" You reached out for him, Chan still loosely hugging you to him. The eldest smiled fondly as Felix came to you, the smile on the other’s face was so warm. Chan could tell how much you two loved each other, and he was honored you both were willing to let him wiggle his way in. When he was within reach, your hands stroked over your boyfriend's pretty freckle covered cheekbones.
"Let’s have Channie fuck you, hm?" He cooed, the words racier than his tone implied. You whined with a nod and Chan chuckled softly at your cuteness. You both were so cute.
"Okay, baby girl. Tell me if it’s too much." The man behind your spoke into your ear, his arms holding you closer, his right hand coming to cup your left breast. You never got much sensation there, but you did flinch a bit when he pinched your nipple. Chan loosened his hold, moving his hands to rest at your hips, and Felix's moved to your waist. You let them move you around like you were a ragdoll till you were kneeling, cunt hovering over Chan's cock.
"Good girl." Felix praised, kissing the corner of your mouth as they both led you to sink on the eldest's dick. The feeling knocked the air out of you, he was so fucking big. You couldn't help but ponder how much bigger he could be if he was taller. He whispered soothing words in your ear, Felix kissing over your collarbone. You breathed, using the same technique as when your boyfriend fucked into your ass. Chan groaned, your cunt was so hot and tight, and he could feel your slick gummy walls perfectly. It made you all the more addicting. He could also feel the bump of the plug in your ass through the walls of your cunt. When Chan felt your cervix kiss the head of his cock, he halted your descent, a good inch or two left.
"M-more." You pressed and Chan rubbed circles over your lower stomach. He smirked, he could feel the bulge of his cock already, and you mewled when he pressed down.
"You sure, baby girl?" Chan's voice had gotten huskier somehow, deeper, rumbling through you. Felix smirked and lowered his voice himself, bringing his mouth to your other ear. What your boyfriend planned on saying next would probably earn him a playful smack later, but he was so eager to see your unfiltered reaction. Your eyes were already blank, nothing but cock on the brain.
"Tell daddy how you want his cock." Felix ordered you and Chan gasped as your cunt squeezed him hard. He huffed, thinking he misheard what Felix whispered to you at first.
"Want daddy deeper~" You whimpered and the men both groaned at your plea.
"Yeah?" Felix teased you further.
"Yes, sir~" You pled to him instead and he smiled. You were too fucking cute. There was a very specific reason Felix preferred you called him sir during sex, and that reason was splitting you open on his cock. At first, he didn't want to use 'daddy' because he was jealous, thinking it might make you think of Chan. Especially since you jokingly called the eldest that all the time. But now…everything worked out perfectly.
"Okay, pumpkin." Your boyfriend's pet name for you changed and the new word made your core pulse around the other's dick. Chan knew that you both went full into roleplay mode at that.
"Daddy~" You whined, and he laughed, acquiescing. You yelped when his hips shifted under him better, letting him thrust up hard, burying his cock all the way in you. Words escaped you, only a string of babbles left you. Felix smiled and shuffled down the bed more. Chan watched, curious, and almost protested as the other man moved. He just let Felix do whatever though. Your legs were spread to sling over Chan's, holding them open. Felix's hands came to your inner thighs, spreading you further and he marveled at your folds straining to take Chan's massive cock. Your entire body jerked when he flicked his tongue at your swollen clit, his tongue lightly brushing over the other's dick. The man's arms tightened a bit around you as you slumped into him further, and with one more flick of Felix's tongue, you fell apart again. At this point, your cunt was burning from the overstimulation, but your boyfriend knew if you got over the crest of pain, you could just keep on going. After your spasms went away, he sat back to just watch again, nodding to Chan.
"Ready, baby girl? Want daddy to fuck ya good?" His hand came to rest under your jaw, putting just enough pressure for you to feel it but not restricting your airway.
"Please!" You mewled, head lolling back and forth. His other hand was still on your stomach, and Felix put his hands on your hips to help, lifting you slightly and pressing you back down as Chan fucked up. You gasped, your cunt stung from the friction, but the pain was so good as the man behind you railed you. It was a good thing Felix was okay with Chan joining, you thought on later, because you didn't think you could live never taking him again. You were definitely a size queen and Felix marveled at you taking his friend like a champ.
"Ah, fuck, (Y/N)~" Chan was getting close, and he looked to your boyfriend, asking permission. Felix looked at your fucked out expression.
"Cum in her." he told Chan, and he got as deep as he could and let go. Your stinging core piqued, the pain burning into pleasure, and you weren't sure if Chan filling you with his sticky cum was what put you over or Felix's voice.
"Oh, good girl~ Fuck!" The man moaned himself as he felt his cum overflow from your cunt and drip down past his balls and onto the bedding. Felix was still rock hard, not having came or been touched at all that night, but he was fine dealing with himself in the shower if you were too tired.
"Felix!" You reached for him again and he came back to you.
"What do you need, pumpkin?"
"You…" You pouted and he smiled bright.
"I don’t think your cute little cunt can handle more." He cooed and Chan huffed playfully. He was still hard and really didn't want to pull out anyway.
"Let’s turn her around." He suggested to the younger man. You keened a bit when they moved you around. When your chest met Chan's, he sunk back into you, the new position and angle let him sink deeper. You shivered, falling into him and he laughed.
"You're so cute." He praised. He was content to let you warm his cock, watching Felix scooch forward. His fingers wrapped around the plug, and you breathed as if through muscle memory as he pulled it out. It clattered onto the floor from his tossing it. Could your body handle him filling your ass with Chan in your pussy? Guess you all would find out soon enough. Your breathing shifted when you felt Felix's cock at your pucker, he barely pressed the tip in as he took the lube Chan had reached for on the nightstand. Drizzling more onto himself, he started to ease inside you. You shivered, your back hole welcoming the familiar intrusion.
"So good, pumpkin." Your boyfriend praised. To get in you best, he had to swing his leg over Chan’s, but he didn't mind. Chan helped him adjust you some and they both let you adjust to being completely full. Each breath you pressed out carried a slight moan and your little noises brought grins to both of the men's faces. After witnessing everything, as well as your even-tighter-than-usual canal clenching his cock, Felix knew he wouldn't last long. Might be for the best anyway considering your physical and mental state. Your nails weekly dug into the skin of Chan's chest where you laid as Felix pumped his hips. His thrusts were short and deep, and your body rocking slightly brushed your sensitive clit against the skin of Chan's pelvis. A defined vein that led down to his cock gave just enough of a differing pressure as you rocked.
"Okay, love, I'll fill you good than you can take a bath. Daddy and I will take care of you tonight and tomorrow." Felix picked the pace of his thrusts up and Chan hissed some as your cunt clenched hard and your nails carved crescents into his skin.
"(Y/N), be a good girl for daddy and cum." Chan's words were all you needed, and you came one more time, Felix spraying your insides white. From the tight clench and the wait, Chan was sensitive himself and you cumming made him fall apart with you two. Even more jizz spurted out from where your body met Chan's and more of the sticky goo leaked from where Felix was inside you. You were a complete mess and Felix wouldn't have it any other way. Your consciousnesses faded, your eyes slipping closed, and the two men praised you for doing such a good job for them. Deciding to just clean you up with a towel for now, Felix helped you rest on your side as you slept, leaving the blanket off you, your skin still hot. Your boyfriend petted your hair as Chan took a quick shower and then they switched places.
"Are you sure?" the eldest asked, stroking your hair softly when Felix sat on the bed behind you.
"You love her, right?"
"I-I…" Chan swallowed hard.
"Hyung?"
"…yes."
"I didn't want to admit it before, but she likes you a lot. I know though that she loves me too…I think she deserves the world, but why not throw the moon in along with it?" Felix meant every word. He loved you so much that he wanted you to be loved twice as much, if not more.
"Well, guess I should change my name to Moon, huh?" Chan huffed and Felix rolled his eyes at the horrible pun.
"Just promise me when you two get married that I can be the best man." The eldest continued and your boyfriend smiled down at you.
"Of course. Wouldn't have anyone else."
-> Ver. I.N. <-
-> Ver. Seungmin <-
-> Ver. Hyunjin <-
-> Ver. Han <-
-> Ver. Lee Know <-
-> Ver. Changbin <-
-> Part 1 <-
-> Part 2 <-
Master-Master List
Stray Kids Master List
#ihavethedreamies#kpop#kpop fluff#kpop smut#kpop x reader#kpop fanfic#x reader#stray kids x reader#stray kids fanfic#stray kids#stray kids fluff#stray kids smut#stray kids felix#stray kids bang chan#skz x reader#skz fanfic#skz#skz fluff#skz smut#skz felix#skz bang chan#felix x reader#bang chan x reader#felix smut#bang chan smut#felix fluff#bang chan fluff#lee yongbok#lee felix#felix lee
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Finding purpose | Male OC (or male reader) Chap 4
Summary: In a world that is dying and there is no way of saving it, the humanity takes mater into their own hands. They flee from their home planet with hope of conquering another in order to survive. Among them, a couple of brothers with no idea what they're doing.
Pairings: Jake sully × Oc (friendship), Tsu'tey × Oc (friendship), Neytiri × Oc (friendship). [No current love interest]
Warnings: Mention of violence, mention of death, manipulative behavior, use of drugs, bad ways of coping mechanisms and obscene language.
Note: - This is not a request and it's the translation of the original story in wattpad. - My native language it's not English - The Oc's name is Eli Thompson. - Edited
Prev part - Masterlist - Next part
With the second day at Pandora over, the soldiers documented their experiences of what they saw and felt while driving an avatar for the first time. It wasn't anything as detailed as a scientist would describe with the technical names of the neural connection between bodies or something. It was simple. They described it as an experience that couldn't be expressed with enough words or an experience that would blow anyone's mind. They called it a day and proceeded to fall into the arms of Morpheus.
The next day, the routine began like the previous one, they got up, took a bath and went to the cafeteria to eat.
But they never expected that after eating they would be directly called by a pilot to follow them to an area that they are already more familiar with from their years in the army, proclaiming that the colonel wanted to see them.
The woman introduced herself to them as Trudy, detailing that by orders of who they were going to see, she would be the designated pilot for the expeditions that involved them.
"You guys are packing some heavy gear." Jake commented as he saw the ammunition that was being loaded into the Samsun that she indicated as hers.
On the other hand, Eli was looking around, almost feeling nostalgic. Comfortable in his environment, but that did not bring him the best feelings. The last time he was in a place like this was when he presented his resignation letter caused by the disaster on his last mission. The same mission that almost took his life.
He felt a shiver run down his spine as he remembered it.
"Yeah. That's 'cause we're not the only thing around out there. Or the biggest." Trudy replied, with a small tone of amusement at the end. "I need you as gunners. Protocol generally asks me to take 2 soldiers for 1 scientist, but we are short staffed. You would be a lot of help tomorrow."
Eli turned to look at the woman with surprise, but a hint of relief. He wasn't cut out for science and he had to confess that he missed the adrenaline. So much time without being a Marine is already starting to take its toll on him. "Do they really have weapons but enough for avatars?" Eli asked.
Trudy gave him a toothy smile. She almost felt like she was seeing a child after being told that there are going to be gifts for Christmas. "You'd be surprised what toys the RDA can make. Fill out an application saying it's to improve mission performance and they'll give you whatever you want."
Jake nodded in satisfaction. Even if his avatar body was not his own, the idea of entering a hostile forest unarmed only to experience his death firsthand was not the best of ideas. "Well then, you can count on us." Jake said, responding to the request made a few seconds ago. Eli nodded.
"Perfect. I'll see you tomorrow then." She ended the conversation by stopping in front of a slightly more private section among all the mess caused by the army. She pointed to a man exercising in the corner. "There's your man. See you on the flight line." As a last act, she bumped fists with them to say goodbye.
Both soldiers approached the boss, stopping at the metal frame of the security-like cage created for those who wish to exercise and remain out of danger from the rest of the machinery in the place. "You wanted to see us, Colonel?"
"This low gravity'll make you soft…" the colonel began to speak while still doing the bench presses. His voice came out slightly with difficulty due to the effort of speaking and lifting weight. "You get soften…" to give more drama to the moment, Quaritch roughly put the weights in its place, sat up and looked them in the eyes very seriously. "Pandora will shit you out dead with zero warning."
Eli mentally snorted. He had already heard a lot about how dangerous the planet is, but no one had told him how good it could be and he is beginning to believe that someone ordered them to specifically tell them that just to scare them. To mess with the rookies or something like that.
The Colonel stood up and walked until he was in front of them. "You have a lot of courage showing up in this neighborhood." Both soldiers remained silent. The man's tone showed that he was not finished. "You are the best proof that a soldier cannot be defeated… Both wounded in combat and look where you are." Quaritch walked past them and held out his hands for emphasis to show where they were. On the most hostile planet known to man.
"It's just another hell, sir." Jake answered as he turned the chair around.
Quaritch smiled at the attitude. That fearless look is just what he needed to see to continue with his plan. With a nod he indicated for them to follow him. "I was first recom myself. A few years ahead of you. Well, maybe more than a few. Three tours Nigeria, not a scratch. I come out here?…" he turned around walking backwards to point at his scar on the side of his head. "Day one. Think i felt like a shavetail louie? Yeah."
Eli nodded his head, turning to see some soldiers pulling a weapon big enough for the robot suits like the one they were walking to at that moment. A weapon the same size as his body and he bets 3 times heavier.
"Oh, the could fix me up, if I rotated back. And make me pretty again." He paused to climb onto one of the robot's legs and gave it a few strong tugs to test its resistance. Satisfied with the result, he turned back to the couple of friends. "But you know what? I kind of like it. Reminds me every day what's waiting out there."
Before he began climbing the robotic suit, he signaled for the soldiers to ride the elevator next to the suit and stay out of the way.
"The avatar program is a bad joke. Bunch of limp-dick science majors. However..." his voice came out with difficulty as he climbed up the suit until finally falling inside. "It does present an opportunity both timely and unique."
Eli crossed his arms and leaned on one leg to pay attention. The platform he had stood on with Jake finally stopped at the Colonel's level.
"CLEAR." The man shouted as he grabbed the controls of the machine. Someone behind the ex-Marines yelled for them to clear the area. The Colonel pressed the buttons on the panel, satisfied when the engine came to life. "Recon gyrenes in avatar bodies. That's a potent mix. Give me the goose bumps." He said with the slightest laugh in his words. He seemed to find the situation amusing. "Men like that would give me the intel I need, right on the ground. Right on the hostiles' camp" After calibrating the controls to his liking, he turned to the soldiers in a slightly more serious tone. "Listen. I want you to learn these savages from the inside. I want you to gain their trust. I need to know how to force their cooperation or hammer them hard if they won't."
The Colonel's tone did not give room to refute anything, it was directly an order without mentioning that it is an order. Something that neither of them liked. But they are soldiers, they are used to it.
Jake followed up with an important question. "Are we still with Augustin?"
"On paper. Yeah, you walk like one of her science pukes, you quack like one, but you report to me. Can you do that for me lads?"
The newcomers turned to look at each other. One look was enough to know that they both agreed.
"Yes, sir," they both answered instinctively. This loyalty brought a satisfied smile to the superior's face.
"Well, all right, then." With a wave of his glove, the Colonel turned on the robot. He brought his hands to his chest and threw some well-calculated punches, making the suit perfectly imitate his movements.
Jake and Eli backed up a little in the elevator to avoid being hit by accident.
Pleased with the adjustments to his suit, he turned it around to face the former Marines, placing his hands on his waist. Not even his suit seemed to prevent the Colonel from moving with confidence.
"I take care of my own. You get me what I need and you will get what your nation denied you."
The words the Colonel had used had been intentional. He read both of their files in order to not only understand who they are, but to understand how they think. He wants them to know that they are no longer on earth and that under his control he promised to give them more importance.
And they both completely believed it.
"To you Jake." The Colonel began. "I can give you your legs. Your real legs." Mentioning the limbs, the man aimed at Jake's human legs, using the robot. He then turned to Eli. "And to you, corporal. I will make sure that your nation gives you the recognition and apology you deserve. What do you think?"
Both soldiers nodded at the same time and responded. "Yes sir."
"Good." Ending the conversation, he closed the lid of the cabin with his metallic hand, turned around and turned to continue on his way, leaving the two with a lot to think about but only one conclusion.
They have a new mission.
#avatar x male reader#avatar#x male oc#x male!reader#jake sully x reader#avatar x oc#avatar fanfiction#dom male reader#neytiri x male reader#jake sully x male reader#x top male reader#male#tsu’tey x male reader#neytiri x reader
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Amusement Parks Have Rouxls Too
Rouxls Kaard x Reader
(Fluff, Gender-Neutral Reader, Not Canon AU idk, Y/n used)
Your sibling Kris forces you to join them with their friends and Rouxls to go to the Amusement Park. Chaos, failed flirting attempts, jealousy, and disaster oh my!
You awake early on this Saturday morning to grey clouds covering the city, and cold air nipping at the people outside. A morning like this called for a warm beverage and a pile of blankets. Settling for hot cocoa, you feel excited thinking about everything you won’t have to do today. You stir the packet of Cocoa mix into a warm glass of water. No college, no chores, no work, and no terrible coworkers. It’s only 10am, so you still have a lot of time to waste indulging in doing nothing. It’s perfect for the first day of Winter Break. Of course, until Kris had decided to text you.
“Y/n. come to the amusement park with us.’ So unspecific, per usual of your texts with Kris. They seemed to have a knack for never telling you the full details while at the same time also leaving you on read. Sipping on the steaming cocoa, you write back a response; ‘1. Lol. why? 2. Who is going? 3. Why??’ Kris is always a handful for you, but you love them to death. When you had decided to move out, you chose to not move far so that you could still see them easily. You're glad that you had chosen to do that considering after you moved out, Asriel soon did as well. Asriel is sadly much farther away than you, so Kris began taking the bus to see you. You appreciate it a lot more than you’d ever admit. You both weren’t really close when you were younger, so it’s nice that you’re closer nowadays.
‘Ralsei, Susie, Noelle, Berdly, Lancer, me. The usual. Rouxls is gonna be there too. Meet us at 11.’ You sigh, Kris didn’t even give you an option to not go. And now if you don’t show up you’ll look like an asshole. Damn it, they’ve got you cornered.
On the flip side, Rouxls will be there. Your feelings for him are… complicated. He’s annoying, obnoxious, and quite frankly outright irritating. But these traits are why you’re madly in love with him. If you look past the three previously named traits, he’s genuinely sweet and caring. Especially towards his adopted son Lancer, aka his lesser son. You don’t really know the story between them because you've never asked; it seemed too personal when you first met him and now it seems like it’s too late in the friendship to ask. Rouxls certainly is an interesting character, you can’t tell if he likes you or not. He always calls you a puny small worme or a peon, or other names along those lines.
You drink the last of your cocoa, wash the mug, and think of the pros and cons of going. Cons; Being in a crowded Amusement park, scary rollercoaster rides, tons of people, and annoying kids. Pros; The Fun Gang, hanging around Kris, an opportunity to romance Rouxls…….
‘I’ll get ready, see ya soon.’
Your face feels hot, this could actually work out if you play your kaards right. The amusement park is the perfect place for you two to get closer. It almost makes you giddy thinking about it. Correction, it actually does make you giddy. You smile as you go to shower and tidy yourself up.
Showering is easy but picking out an outfit is hard. You want to impress Rouxls by looking your best, but not too overdressed. You want to be comfy, but not under dressed... It’s an overly complicated process, but eventually you pick something to your liking. You pack a bag with a thin blanket, so you all can sit in the grass at lunch of course, and your wallet. Soon enough, you drive over to the amusement park, planning your ‘devious’ plan.
The local amusement park isn’t far from the city you live in, but it’s a little farther to get to from where Kris. Your parents, Toriel and Asgore of course, used to take the family during the Winter and Spring a lot. Asriel always wanted to play the games to earn prizes but Kris wanted to ride all the rides. So you guys always did both. Kris won all the prizes, but got forced to share against their will. Asriel would get sick from Roller Coasters, but still went on them so as to not ruin the fun. You never weren’t much into games at the time and were too scared to go on the rides. What you enjoyed the most was the atmosphere; sitting in the grass, enjoying your family's presence, and watching the sunset at night. But besides that, you liked cheering both of your siblings on! The good old days of youth. One thing that’s definitely changed is that you would totally play the games now.
Soon enough you arrive at the amusement park and you already feel your anxiety kick in. There’s a lot of people, scary rides, and Rouxls Kaard here. That’s a lot of things that are scary. ‘Where r u? I'm here’ You send Kris the text, and try to gain the balls to go out. You take a deep breath and get out with your bag and head toward the entrance. You feel a buzz in your pocket and pull out your phone to read what Kris said while you stand in line. ‘Already got entrance tickets, trying to buy tickets for rides and games atm.’ You smile, it’s been a bit since you’ve seen Kris. They honestly brighten your day when you see them.
Going up to the entrance to buy tickets, you see a skeleton snoring at the ticket booth. “Uhm… excuse me..” You say, hoping to get their attention. The skeleton stirs and looks up to you, but keeps their head in their arms. “Oh, hey-o. Wanna ticket or somethin’?” His voice was monotone yet he kept a tight grin on his face, a bit friendly but a bit unnerving at the same. You hope he’s actually an employee, but his attire wasn't exactly a uniform.
Blindly trusting the suspicious guy, you nod your head. You were similar to Kris, not one for conversation but more in a socially awkward way. You pull out your money and put it on the counter. You focus your gaze into the park while the worker, if he even is a worker at all, gets your ticket. There's a chance you just gave your money to a scammer. You look past the gates and there in the distance you can see the Fun Squad!
… Oh no.
The scene before you plays out like this; Kris and Susie are shaking the ticket machine, Ralsei is frantically trying to stop them, Berdly is standing a couple feet away trying to act like he doesn’t know them, Noelle is at a different ticket machine, Lancer is hanging onto the machine gleefully, and Rouxls defeatedly sitting on the ground with his head in his hands. Oh boy, today is gonna be a long day. “Know 'em?” The worker at the ticket booth asks you. You make a face, knowing the fate in store for you when you walk in, "Yeah." He hands you your ticket and you thank him before going in.
“Guys don’t go breaking the ticket machine please... We just got here, we can't get kicked out yet!” You say, walking up to the group. “Ah! Finally, the assistance has arivedetheth.” Rouxls stands up and exclaims exasperatedly; it seems like he already tried to stop Kris and Susie. Kris and Susie stop shaking the machine and Kris runs up to you, giving you the biggest hug. Smiling, you hug back and ask, “So, what’s the issue with the ticket machine?”
Susie rolls her eyes and walks over to you. “We thought if we shook it hard enough the tickets would come flying out and we would save our money.” You can’t help but laugh a little because that makes sense now. "Don't worry, I got enough tickets for everyone while you guys were... doing what you did." Susie says, tickets in hand. Seems like she was the only one with a brain. She hands out tickets to everyone, what a saint she is. As the Fun Gang begins to move towards the rides they desire, you fall a little back to walk with Rouxls. For no particular reason of course. “So, what made you want to tag along Rouxls?” You imagine the reason was probably that he wanted to watch Lancer, but you still ask regardless just so you have something to talk about. “Well, I wasn’t planning on attending, but I heardeth thou were going to be here and decidetheth to join along to so thou shall not be watching these little worms alone.” You don’t know whether to feel flattered that he cares for your well-being or offended for calling them worms. It makes you wonder whether Kris asked Rouxls to come by pretending you were already going, and vice-versa for yourself. What a trickster they are, if it was purposeful. “Aw, that’s sweet of you to tag along for me. Thank you, I appreciate it. The kids aren’t worms though.” You giggle, looking at your feet instead of him. He chuckles in response and you both walk in silence.
Soon enough the kids found the first roller coaster they wanted to ride on. The start of your master plan began to set in motion, or so you were hoping. You wanted to pull a few super smooth moves on Rouxls, but you were, conveniently, inconvenienced every time you tried. The first inconvenience was when you tried to ask Rouxls to get on the rollercoaster in the same cart as you. But he declined, saying something along the lines of rollercoasters was for worms and that he would never. The look on his face gave it away though, he was scared of them. So you were you so it was kind of a good thing. Instead you decided to join him watching the kids ride their rollercoaster. You were excited to get alone time with Rouxls until your second inconvenience happened. Ralsei wasn't able to handle the roller coaster and the poor little guy got sick, so he sat with you both for the rest of the rides. It reminded you of when Asriel got sick from roller coasters all the time when you were kids. You did feel bad for Ralsei, but you were also secretly cursing him for accidentally ruining your alone time.
After the last ride ends and everyone gets off the ride, you ask, “Okay everyone, are we getting hungry?” You get a collection of answers such as, “Hell yeah!” and, “Yes please.” Pretty obvious who those two answers came from. Kris takes the lead and shows everyone the way to the food and snack portion of the park. The stands around you smell delicious and the food looks great, but you can only think of one thing. Cotton candy. It’s been years since you’ve had authentic amusement park cotton candy, and it was the only food on your mind.
Seeing the stand in the distance, you start to veer away from the group with it being the only thing on your mind. “Huh? Y/n, where are you going?” Noelle's voice calls out from behind you, and you point at the booth. Heading over to it, you notice the man running the stand is the previous man from the entrance ticket booth.
“I thought you worked at the ticket booth?” You ask him when you get to the front of the line. The guy looks up and his grin seemingly gets wider. “Ha, I s’pose I multitask. It’s a skele-ton of work though.” He winks, and you can’t help but laugh a little at the pun but also cringe at it. “Oh I bet, sounds like you get worked down to the bone.” He snorts at equally cringey pun while you hand him the money, and he starts making your cotton candy. “Didn't read you as the type to like puns.” You look at him a bit confused. “Are you a professional at knowing whether someone likes puns or not?” He chuckles, "Perhaps." You roll your eyes and laugh. He hands you your cotton candy and you turn to walk back to the group.
After you turn around, you notice all the kids are playing tag on an empty grass hill nearby. Rouxls is standing nearby but instead of watching them, he's watching you. When your gaze meets his, he turns and watches the kids. You could imagine it but it seemed weird that he was watching you, his face looks a bit angry too. Was he mad that... you got cotton candy? Maybe he wanted some too. Putting that aside, you walk back to the group. The kids are all playing a seemingly intense game of tag, but it looks like they got themselves some snacks and put it in a pile nearby. You walk toward Rouxls and say, “Sorry about that, it took a little bit. I’ve got a blanket for us all to sit on.” He doesn't say anything, but you set your bag down and grab the blanket you packed and lay it on the ground. Rouxls sits on one end while you sit on the other, eating a bit of your cotton candy. Awkward silence ensues.
…
“So, did thou know the man at that stand? Thee both seemedeth.. uhm.. quiteth friendly.” The question broke the silence but didn't make any sense. “Oh, no not really. He was also the guy running the ticket stand. Kinda weird to be running both areas right? He was also making some cheesy puns.” Rouxls makes a hm sound in reply, leaving you with more questions than answers. Rouxls' weird attitude made it seemed like he could be jealous of the way you acted with the ticker stand slash food stand worker. But that's too cliche to be true, right?
You want to break the tension but you’re not sure how to with the way he's shut your previous conversation down. Staring at the yummy sugary treat you hold in your hand, an idea sparks to life in that brain of yours. Slowly, and hopefully not noticeably, you scoot your way closer to Rouxls. In a matter of seconds you’re so close that the both of you are almost touching arms. He doesn’t seem to notice thankfully, he’s staring at the kids but it seems like he’s actually spacing out. “Have you ever had cotton candy before, Rouxls?” You ask, finally breaking the silence. He jumps at your voice and turns to you in a surprised manner. He was definitely spacing out based on the slightly shocked expression he holds. “A-Ah, I didn’t realize you- thou got so.. close. No, I hath never had whatever thou speak of. He almost broke his façade but he picked it back up quickly... you always knew he probably exaggerated or faked his way of speaking. You smile and push the cotton candy close to his face and say, “It’s called ‘cotton candy’, and you should try some! I’m sure you’ll enjoy it, basically it’s sugar that gets heated up into liquid and then spun into this like uh, soft cloud threads? I’m not sure how to describe it but you should try it.”
His cheeks flush a dark blue in a way that makes it seem like he could be blushing, but you’re not sure. “Are you sure? Isn’t it yours?” You nod your head, and he hesitates for a second but then he takes a surprisingly good sized bite out of the cotton candy and his eyes light up in delight. “Mm, tch-at is pretty, mm, good.” He mumbles, mouth full of cotton candy. You can’t help but giggle at his cute behavior. He glares at you, but it seems playful enough that you don’t mind. You pull the cotton candy back to you and take a bite, then bring it back to him to eat. From an outside perspective it probably seems like you two are a couple. You don’t mind at all, you hope he doesn’t mind either.
The kids finally tire out and join you both on the blanket to eat their lunch. You all share some laughs, and before long lunch passes by and the real fun begins. Susie suggests you go to the arcade, and of course you all agree. When you get there, Berdly loudly exclaims, "We should do a competition to see who is the best overall gamer! I know you all know I am undoubtedly the best, but I'm sure you're all eager to try to beat me." Ignoring his gloating for a second, that actually sounds pretty fun. "Sure, can I go against you first?" You ask him, you can't wait to kick this kid's ass. Berdly smirks and picks out some random shooter game. The others begin to pick out their competition and go to other games. While you get ready to start your epic match against Berdly, Rouxls walks over to you. "I am admittedethly not good with video games, so I wisheth thee luck on winning. I have no doubth that thou shall win." Even though you were sure he was just being nice, your heart can't help but flutter that he went out of his way to wish you luck. You played against Berdly a few times, and let's just say you won by a long shot. Even though Rouxls said he wasn't good at video games, you managed to get him to play a couple of games with you. He did pretty well for his first time, only struggling every once in a while. Then Kris joined in and basically annihilated everyone. They always did have a knack for games, always winning while barely putting in effort to it. These events have led up to now, where you’re all surrounding Kris and Susie, the last competitor against Kris. They’re playing Dance Dance Revolution and both of them are trying their hardest to win. Who knew Susie was this good at dancing, she was really holding out against Kris. Everyone was cheering for who they thought was going to win. You could hear Noelle cheering for Susie the loudest though, how cute.
The song was just about to end with Susie winning when suddenly she missed a note. The game flashed with a finish sign and showed their scores. Kris won by barely a smidge of points. “GODDAMN IT KRIS, I WAS ABOUT TO WIN!” Susie exclaims and in a fit of rage punched the screen, smashing it. Everyone stands in shock and you hear someone shout, “Hey! What do you think you're doing!” Looking to where you heard the shout, you see a guy who looks to be the manager and a couple security guards running towards you all quickly. In a rush of panic you yell, “RUN AND HIDE!!”
You all run out of the arcade, scrambling in different directions to hide on various attractions. You pause in the middle of a crowd outside the arcade unsure where to go, when a hand grabs yours and drags you along with them. Startled, you look and see Rouxls is the one who grabbed you. You both run towards the nearest ride to hide, the Ferris wheel. The worker, obviously clueless to the previous arcade incident, lets you into the box and starts the ride up. You take a seat to catch your breath.
Rouxls sits next to you, in the same state as you. “That was quiteth… hah.. an exciting and scary predicamenteth.” You nod your head feverishly in agreement. Pulling out your phone, you send a quick text to Kris informing them that Rouxls and you escaped to the Ferris wheel and that everyone should meet up in 10-15 minutes at the front. You know it's a bit annoying that you all have to hide out for that long, but it's better safe than sorry in case the guards go to the gate now. They don't text back yet, and you hope they're okay along with everyone else.
Suddenly, realization hits you in the face. Rouxls and you are alone. In a Ferris wheel. By yourselves. Alone. Did you mention alone? Your face warms up and your body starts to feel uncomfortably sweaty. Even though you were trying to woo him from the start and this is the perfect place. But now that it's happening with no interruptions this time, it's making your body feel like it wants to collapse and yet always throw yourself out of the window. You feel too scared to make a move so instead you decide to look out the window. You didn’t realize how long you all were playing arcade games until you looked, the sun is already setting behind the clouds. It was beautiful, it had already passed the orangey stage and was now in the darker stages. Dark purples, pinks, and light blues painted the sky. Some stars even started showing up.
“Rouxls! Look at the sunset, it’s beautiful right now.” You lean back into your seat to allow Rouxls to see the sunset from your window. Instead of looking from where he was sitting next to you, he scoots closer and leans over you to see the sunset. He stretches out his arm putting his hand on your thigh and his other hand on your shoulder to steady himself. His face lights up looking at the sky, and he smiles peacefully. You blush and oh my god do you want to kiss him right there and then, but you don’t want to interrupt the moment. He looks absolutely stunning in the lighting, the sun dimly reflecting against him, enhancing his features perfectly and making his hair look angelic. You try not to stare but you can’t help it.
Rouxls turns his head away from the sunset and instead looks at you. Your eyes meet and slowly Rouxls leans closer to you. He’s so close you can feel his shaky breaths against your face. To say you were freaking out in your head was an understatement, your thoughts were running a million miles a minute. You’ve been wanting to kiss him for months now, and it felt like it was about to happen. You want to make the move, but you feel frozen staring into his eyes. Rouxls makes the first move, and finally seals the gap and kisses you. It takes a moment, but you reciprocate the kiss and put your arms around his neck while he moves his hand from your shoulder up to hold your face. His lips feel soft and taste sweet, the flavor of cotton candy still lingering on his lips even after all this time. You both pull apart and you feel a little winded. “I apl- aplogizeth for not asking to kiss thou.. I couldn’th help myself.” Rouxls trips up a little on his words, but you understood what he said. “It’s okay, I’ve been wanting to kiss you for months- I mean it’s okay yeah don’t worry. Don't think about what I just said.” You accidentally overshare that little tidbit of info and try to laugh it off nervously. Rouxls smiles and kisses your cheek, which reassures you that he didn’t mind.
A minute or two passes, and Ferris wheel finally brings you both to the bottom to get off. Rouxls stands up and holds out his hand gentlemanly for you. You take his hand and hold it tightly, and he leads you off the Ferris wheel. With your free hand, you take out your phone and see Kris has texted a few times updating the situation.
‘Okay, I got stuck in a ball pit. A security guard is near me.’ (8:21pm) ‘The security guard just walked past me.’ (8:28pm) ‘THE SECURITY GUARD ALMOST SAW ME’ (8:34pm) ‘IM RUNING RNW OMG HE IS RUNIGB AFTER ME I WILL HAVE TO’ (8:35pm) ‘Sorry for the typos and not finishing my sentence. I’m safe now, we’re all here at the entrance except Rouxls and you.’ (8:39pm) ‘We’re leaving without you two with mom. If I see that you're both in the news for getting arrested, we aren’t gonna bail you out lol. And I'll print out your mugshot and hang it up in the house.’ (8:45pm).
You can’t help but laugh at the series of texts Kris sent. You update them that you’re okay and that Rouxls and you got stuck on the Ferris wheel. You shiver, now that the adrenaline is gone you realize how cold the night has gotten. Rouxls looks at you at you concerned and you say, "Sorry, don't worry. I'm just a little cold." He smiles and replies, "Ah, I see. It does seemeth to have gotten quite cold from when we hadth first arrivedeth. If you are cold dear, then taketh my coat." Rouxls lets go of your hand and takes off his coat, handing it to you. Although flustered, you take it gratefully and put it on. The coat is warm since he had been just wearing it, and is stops you're shivers in a matter of seconds, the jacket was a bit big on you but you didn’t care. You grab his hand again, already missing the feeling of it. “Thank you for the jacket, you’re never getting it back ever again. The kids left with my mom, so it’s just you and me. We better get to the parking lot quickly before security recognizes us.” You tell him and the both of you speed walk and get to the parking lot quickly. As you approach your car Rouxls suddenly stops. “Are you okay? What’s up?” You ask concerned, still holding his hand. “Uhm.. I just realizedth that thy mother took me here with Lancer, it was convenienth at the time to not take two cars...”
…
“Oh.”
“Luckily Lancer is with them. I think they’re all going to have a sleepover, I heard them mention it earlier at lunch.” You say and Rouxls sighs in relief that Lancer will be okay. While wondering how Rouxls will get home, a thought crosses your mind. You tug on his hand to get his attention, “Hey, wanna have a sleepover of our own? You can stay at my apartment for the night and then in the morning I can take you to pick up Lancer and take you both home.” Your face heats up, while your offer is meant to be innocent, your thoughts can’t help but imagine some not so innocent scenarios.
Rouxls looks surprised by your offer and you hope you didn’t over step. “I mean of- of course you don't have to, I can just take you home instead and then you can do your own things. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable-“ Rouxls cuts off your rambling by squeezing your hand reassuringly. You stop and look at him, and he leans down to kiss your cheek. “Don’t fret dear, I would love to stayeth over at thy home.” You smile, happy that he wasn’t offended and happy that he actually accepted your offer. You turn toward your car and you pull him close, walking hand in hand together.
“Alright then, let’s go!”
(Orginally posted on AO3 9-12-22, 4551 words)
(Based off of a dream I had January 2022. In the dream I had, instead of sharing cotton candy it was a bowl of white rice and I was feeding it to Rouxls. Just plain white rice. Not on a grassy hill, no no no we were just below the Ferris wheel on the concrete for no reason. Then Kris, Susie, and Ralsei come over and get all mad that we were sitting and eating because we were supposed to be in the arcade playing games. So yeah that dream inspired this lol)
#deltarune#rouxls kaard x reader#rouxls kaard#gender neutral reader#x reader#deltarune au#au#alternate universe#rouxls my beloved#rouxls deltarune#they/them kris#nonbinary kris#rouxls speech is overexaggerated#theyre so silly#i love them all#fun gang#berdly#kris dreemurr#susie deltarune#ralsei#fluff#y/n usage#noelle holiday#lancer#ILYRouxls#Rouxls x reader
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03 - in which the cool kidz are solving a case.
rest of the story under the cut!
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"i'll see you at home," says heeseung, patting your head as you exit the car. he waves goodbye for like three seconds before driving away. in your pocket, your phone buzzes. you know already that it is a text from your brother, telling you to send him a selfie as soon as you arrive in your lecture hall.
putting your headphones on, you blast music into your ears, picking a random daylist generated by spotify. you shove your hands into your pockets, trying to generate warmth. spring is here, but the coldness of winter is still lingering.
the events of yesterday, too, linger in your head like the scent of winter. it had been a rollercoaster --- a random guy, the same year as you are, had messaged two of your friends, asking about you. you surely do not know how to react, as this is the first time any guy had paid attention to you... in this kind of way. and no, you haven't told heeseung about it. being the typical overprotective brother he is, you know so well what his reaction would be.
that kai guy probably isn't even serious about me.
you laugh to yourself. heeseung, too, is probably the reason why you've been single since birth --- other than the fact that your standards are a bit too much for most guys. heeseung was stricter and even more protective than your own father.
well, your late... father.
"y/n!" even though you couldn't hear him, you could basically read his lips that is calling your name. you take your headphones off and hang them on your neck, jogging towards jake, your college-mate.
he elbows you in a greeting using his right arm; his other hand holding a cup of half-finished salted caramel latte. "ready for class?"
you roll your eyes, sighing after. "as always. i can't believe how hard study in sino is," you say, unconsciously grabbing jake's latte and taking a big sip out of it.
jake watches you with plain amusement. he grabs the cup from you before you could finish taking your share; just to annoy you --- and probably make you choke the latte through your nose. he laughs as you glare at him.
"thanks a lot, jake," you mutter. "anyway, do you have class today?" you ask, after your annoyance went away, and as jake is walking with you to your lecture hall. he's been doing so since the first time you met him, which you first thought as a kind gesture. but it was actually just because heeseung told him to.
screw your brother and the fact that he knows everyone.
jake nods to your question. "yes, i do, but it's during your second class. so if you finish sino late, you'd have to walk to your next class by yourself."
you nod; and then wave jake goodbye as he leaves you at the door of your lecture hall to walk to the library. you turn and enter, silently praying for a good day.
"Y/N!!" youngeun shouts through the phone. she sounds excited, and you could probably guess why. it's always food. no wonder you and youngeun were besties since the first time you guys met during orientation two years ago --- the two of you were foodies. "guess what?"
"what?" you reply, your shoulder holding your phone to your ear while you hurriedly pack your stuff.
"riki just texted me, and he's buying us sushi!!!" your best friend shrieks happily. your ears slightly hurt, and you flinch, but you were too happy to care. who doesn't love free food? youngeun was right to be super excited and ecstatic about it.
connecting your headphones to your phone, you could now call youngeun without causing yourself neck and shoulder pain. "wait, how did you convince him?"
"i don't know," youngeun says with a giggle. "but i think he's hit his head or something. he's being nice for once."
you laugh along. "yeah, i agree."
you walk out of your lecture hall, looking around for any signs of jake, or anyone you knew. "where are you? are you done with german diction?"
youngeun sighs through the line. "yeah, i am. it's really tough, you know, that subject? oh yeah, by the way, i'm under the tree in front of the music college building. at the bench."
you nod happily. you can already taste the sushi you're about to devour with youngeun. "i'm coming!"
"riki?" jongseong calls the younger guy, curious as to why he's standing in line at the music department's cafeteria; at the sushi section. he walks over, asking, "what are you doing here?"
riki turns around, pushing hair out of his face. "oh, hyung, hi. i'm buying the girls some sushi."
"the girls? y/n and her friends?"
riki nods, distress displayed over his face. jongseong chuckles slightly. he could already guess that y/n and her friends made riki buy them sushi in exchange for how he made them upset with his running mouth.
"isn't this your first time here?" jongseong asks, making small talk. it's been a few years since he's properly met riki face-to-face; since he's the last out of his friend group to graduate from high school. it's fascinating to jongseong, how they all managed to stay friends (and enter the same school too) after high school; keeping their promises to each other. "you're a business administration major right?"
riki nods. "yeah. this is my first year, so i'm not really familiar. but eun told me that the sushi here is the best for quite a good price."
jongseong is quite surprised. "oh? yeah, your friend's right. the sushi of the music building is as good as the music we make."
"her name is seo youngeun, if you're interested," riki says suddenly after ignoring jongseong's joke, smirking. "she's quite y/n-tempered, but a bit more cuter. she's older than me though, the same age as y/n."
y/n?
"hmm," jongseong nods. "it's fine, i'm not interested in relationships for now."
riki shrugs and turns to face the counter as his turn was quickly approaching. jongseong taps his shoulder and says goodbye, leaving the building, his assignments in mind.
"ahhh, i'm so full!" you exclaim, slouching against the bench. you and youngeun had swallowed a huge platter of sushi, each a large cup of boba tea, as well as bunggeoppang that jake gave. the australian man had saw you two giggling together in front of the music building when he happened to walk by; and decided to give you the bunggeoppang that a random group of sophomore girls gave him because they thought he was good-looking.
to hell with your "i'm not handsome at all..." shit, i know you think you're the most handsome man to exist on earth, sim jaeyun, you thought to yourself.
"i love riki," youngeun sighs, rubbing her belly. you shoot up from your seat, looking at youngeun with widened eyes.
"did you just-"
"platonically," hisses youngeun. she swats her hand. "he can wish all he wants that i actually love him or something."
you shake your head at her. totally unbelievable. there must be something between those two, definitely...
"excuse me, y/n?"
a new male voice startled both you and youngeun, making you two straighten up and turn towards the source of the voice. your eyes widen; it was kai --- huening kai, the guy that messaged chaeyoung to ask about you.
the rather creepy guy that had a picture of you snoozing your head off in the library trying to study for classical korean poetry.
though, that was the impression you had of kai when chaeyoung first informed you of him. now, you're seeing huening kai for yourself; sunoo and jungwon's advice flashing through your eyes.
give that kai guy a chance, y/n.
kai had his hair dyed blonde, but it really matches his face. he looks rather innocent and loveable, while having that mature look to himself. he scratches the back of his neck shyly, revealing what he had been holding in his hands from behind his back.
you widen your eyes slightly at the two packs of chocolate-covered strawberries in his hands. he hands them to you, and urges you to take them. how did he know that you like strawberries?
"oh, thanks," you manage after gulping nervously a few times. you take the snacks from his hands, holding them close to you.
why am i the one nervous here????
"you're kai... right?"
he nods enthusiasticly, seeming very surprised yet joyful that you knew his name. "yes, yes! that's me. i'm kai," he replies.
"aren't you the creepy guy who had y/n's picture? of her sleeping?" questions youngeun sharply, her eyes glaring daggers. "that is really weird, you know? are you a pervert or something?"
"eun!" you whisper acutely. youngeun rolls her eyes.
kai gulps. "well, my friend taehyun took that picture. he... happened to be in the same library as you, y/n, and he knew i like you so-"
his cheeks turn extremely red as he realises what he had just said. your face warms too, at the sudden confession.
"i'm sorry! really am. i'm sorry, oh god, i didn't mean to make you uncomfortable- i'm really bad at this --- with girls, i mean, i never really have done this before-"
you pat his shoulder, giving him a smile despite you being a flustered mess yourself. "it's okay. i'll ask sunoo or chae- i mean, isa, to give you my number. we'll start from there."
you left him there, standing at his spot and unable to believe that his crush had just given him the green light to get to know her.
you walk away with youngeun, who is bewildered and demanding of answers. you decide to remain quiet, telling her that you'll tell her everything later.
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the group chat goes crazy over chaeyoung's revelation. you're weirded out by the unknown guy at first, but changes your mind once you actually meet him for the first time.
and is there really nothing between youngeun and riki?
... a rather long post!! hehe. i should be studying but im doing this instead... oh god. also, bear with me bc i altered their ages a bit to make the story lowkey make sense?? yeah heh
ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁 PARK JONGSEONG, or jay for short, was your brother's best friend. he was the best at everything you could think of— and he beat you at every single one of them. though, he seems to have something against you that you can't understand... he won't let you date anyone but him.
pairing: jay x female!reader
genre: university/college au, childhood friends to lovers, fluff, (attempted) crack, and (attempted) angst.
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤʚ(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )ɞ
ㅤTAGLIST IS OPEN!
taglist (if you're not underlined, i can't add u!) :
@kim2005bomi, @stilesks, @eclipse-777, @seongiewon, @sumzysworld
#JAY: YCM<3#enhypen scenarios#enhypen#enhypen sunoo#enhypen jongseong#enhypen jay#jay enhypen#enhypen imagines#enhypen jungwon#enhypen heeseung#enhypen jake#enhypen jaeyun#enhypen smau#enhypen fluff
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Pheobe was focused on her writing, a single earbud in and playing music to drown out some of the sounds of the cafe. Her tea had long since gone cold and her posture resembled a question mark more than a person. She was on a roll and didn’t look up until someone gently tapped the table across from her.
“Excuse me, do you mind if I sit here? The other tables are full.” The man had long dark hair and enchanting emerald eyes. He had a divine aura, but seemed to be trying half heartedly to hide it.
Between being pulled from her hyper focused state and the anxiety of suddenly being addressed, she froze up. After far too long a moment of his watching her expectantly, she nodded and blushed.
He sat across from her with his cup of coffee and his eyes rolled over her form. “Thank you. You can call me Loke.”
“Phoebe. It’s nice to meet you.” She managed to get out. She straightened up to offer him a hand to shake and her entire spine sounded like rice crispies.
“Are you quite alright?” Concern lit his eyes. There was something odd about how he was sitting in the chair.
“Mmhm. Just haven’t moved in a while. Would you mind watching my things for a moment?”
When he nodded, she stood and went to the restroom before getting in line for a fresh cup of tea. Sadly, she hadn’t inherited her mother’s fire powers, so she needed a fresh cup instead of reheating it. When she sat back down and met his gaze, she blushed brightly. “I got too into writing and when you distracted me it was like I got all the status effects ever. Had to pee, needed a drink, need to eat, etc.” she rambled before blushing more. “Sorry, you didn’t need all that information.”
The god’s face broke into a smile and he shook his head. “You mortals never cease to amuse. What are you writing?”
“Oh, just a silly little story. Nothing all that interesting or exciting. Just a way to relax after work and away from my real life, you know?” She observed him as he listened to her and then it hit her. He was trying to mimic the humans in the cafe. His upper body was in a similar posture to all the business folk who would work all day here, but his lower body’s posture was far more casual. She had to hide the chuckle. He was trying to mesh with the humans, with no idea of how to actually do so.
“Sounds interesting. Care to tell me more?” He sipped at his coffee too casually, like he was savoring a rare treat.
“It’s the story of a human princess who finds herself in an arranged marriage with a demon spider prince. Shes terrified of him at first, but then finds that a lot of the way she thought about his people was all misconception and misinformation. Eventually they fall in love and confound everyone who thought it would be an uncomfortable political marriage.” She summarized, shrugging a little. “It’s all kinds of silly tropes and chaos and not the most logical, but I enjoy it.”
“A princess and a demon spider. Thats not a story you hear about every day. Midgardians are so creative with their stories.”
“Oh, we really are.” She couldn’t help but agree. “Do you enjoy stories?”
“Very much. Where I come from, most of them are tales of wars and battles, so the changes here are a delight. I can find stories in all kinds of topics here.”
“Isn’t it wonderful?”
They continued to talk through several more cups of tea and coffee, several pastries, and her laptop dying. Eventually, the cafe was closing.
“Would you like to meet again sometime?” Loke asked hopefully.
“Oh absolutely. Let me write down my number for you.” Phoebe quickly scribbled it on a bit of paper from her pocket notebook. She handed it over as she packed up. “Next time you’ll have to tell me what you’re the god of.” She winked at him as she stood and walked out of the cafe before he could reply.
#fire’s writings and drabbles#mcu loki#fanfic#oc#pheobe is an oc#demigoddess too#her father is Phobos#god of phobias and war-fears#and her mother is an old oc#who’s the adopted daughter of Hades who earned immortality#one shot
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♡ Event Masterlist ♡
Prompts -
fluff
“Looks like you’ve had a few drinks!” - “You haven’t had enough if you’re noticing. Come on, bar’s over there.”
“Hey, if we don’t find someone by midnight…you and me…maybe?” - “Ask me properly and I might consider it.”
Words - 1.5k
Warnings - Tooth-rotting fluff ♡
11:37 p.m.
You had pressed yourself against a wall twenty minutes ago, because well… there were a lot of people packed into this house, and oh… oh god he was across the room from you, and he was making his way over.
It wasn’t that you were avoiding him necessarily. You were simply trying to avoid making a fool of yourself in a room full of people. You kicked off the wall, ducking below the arms of two guys having a very enthusiastic conversation, and making your way to the front door.
In retrospect, it probably would have been helpful to yourself to actually pay attention to who you were walking past, because three steps from your sweet escape, a hand wrapped around your forearm, drawing your attention back into the room. Your eyes locked on Josh as he furrowed his brows at you. “And where do you think you’re going?”
You knew he wasn’t going to be pleased, no matter what your reply, because he saw how you were b-lining for the front door. Across the room, Sam and Danny watched in amusement as Jake wandered around the party looking for you. The two of them approached him as he sipped on whatever concoction was in his red cup, sliding in on either side of him. “You know, if not for Josh coaxing her back into the house, Y/n probably would have left by now, you really need to get a move on, Jacob.”
Jake turned to Sam with a sour look, earning a smug grin in return. Danny clapped his hand against Jake’s shoulder. “I hate to say it, but Sam is right, you have to make your move.”
They were right, Jake knew that. He didn’t want to go into the new year pining after you the way he had been for longer than he cared to admit. He straightened up, clearing his throat and nodding at Sam and Danny before stepping forward, locking his gaze on Josh as he led you further into the house.
He was almost there, so close to being toe to toe with you, all he had to do was walk past one more group of people, but as he sped up to close the distance, someone within the group called his name, pulling him into their conversation. He pulled out his phone, checking the time as he muttered a response to something one of the people in the group had said.
11:49 p.m.
He glanced in the direction you and Josh had been walking, his eyes locking onto you as you once again leaned against a wall, staring at the floor as Josh animatedly told you a story. Jake excused himself from the group, locking eyes with Josh as he walked over.
You looked up as Josh abruptly stopped talking, raising an eyebrow at him as he cleared his throat. “I uh- I’ve gotta pee.” He scurried into the crowd, leaving you leaning against the wall, incredibly confused.
You heard a small grunt from behind you, and turned to see Jake readjusting himself against the wall. He wore a lopsided grin as he looked up from his feet, locking eyes with you and clearing his throat. “Funny seeing you here.”
You furrowed your brows at him, watching as he repeatedly readjusted his hand on the wall. “Looks like you’ve had a few drinks!”
He had, though he was sure the mannerisms you were noticing were caused more by the rapid beating of his heart, and the sweat building up on his palms because of what he was attempting to do. He straightened himself up, wiping his palms onto his pants and swallowing the lump in his throat. “You haven’t had enough if you’re noticing.” He hoped you wouldn’t feel how clammy he was as he reached for your hand. “Come on, bar’s over there.”
You took his hand, feeling a tingle shoot up your arm at the contact as he pulled you through the crowd towards the bar. You were stuck staring at the way his hand was wound so tightly with your own, so when he came to a sudden stop at the bar, you bumped into his side. He turned to you, letting his hand loosen around yours. “What do you want to drink?”
You blinked at him a few times before looking at the large selection of various alcohols and mixers. “Uh… surprise me.”
He grinned, turning and grabbing two cups, his hand hovering over a few bottles before landing on a bottle of rum. He poured a more than generous amount into both before closing the bottle of rum and reaching for the unopened bottle of coke. “So… hey, uh- if we don’t find someone by midnight… you and me… maybe?”
He was murmuring, clearly struggling to formulate the question as he turned to hand you the drink he had made you. You looked from the cup to him, a nervous smile growing on your lips as you lifted the cup to your mouth. “Ask me properly and I might consider it.”
The statement was more bold than you thought you were capable of, and clearly it took both of you by surprise, as Jake let out a nervous giggle. He turned to reach for his own drink, hoping that you wouldn’t notice the crimson blush that was spreading from his chest to his cheeks. He clearly wasn’t paying very much attention to his surroundings, as he elbowed someone trying to make a drink, dumping the contents of their cup all over them.
Jake's attention turned to the person the second he heard them gasp, immediately muttering an apology and reaching for the napkins to help them clean themself. You were stuck mulling over the proposition he had made, and just the thought of kissing him at midnight had your heart racing. You panicked, turning and b-lining for the door to the backyard, stopping only when Sam stepped out in front of you. “You alright Y/n? You’re red as a tomato.”
You tried to give him your most convincing smile. “Yeah, I’m uh- I’m totally fine. It’s just a bit crowded in here, need some fresh air.”
Sam gave you a knowing smile, but nodded and shuffled out of the way, letting you walk past him and out onto the patio.
When Jake turned back from helping the person he had dumped alcohol on, he was disappointed to find that you had once again disappeared. He immediately began to search for you, ignoring people as they called his name, and weaving through group upon group in an attempt to find you.
A hand on his shoulder brought him to an unexpected stop, and he turned to see Josh eyeing him suspiciously. “Lose her again?”
Jake gestured to the lack of a person with him as he stared back at his twin. “Clearly.”
Josh chuckled at the lack of patience from his brother, and pulled his phone from his pocket, checking the time and turning the screen to show Jake. “Better get on with finding her, you’re running out of time.” Jake’s eyes locked onto the phone screen, and he immediately turned to walk away from his brother.
11:58 p.m.
He found Sam near the back of the house, pulling him from the conversation he was in. “Have you seen Y/n?”
Sam smirked, nodding at him and pointing at the sliding glass doors that lead into the backyard. “She told me she needed some fresh air.”
Jake turned, hearing his little brother call after him as he walked away. “Be fast, brother, you’re running out of time!”
You were shivering, the late winter air seeping into your bones as you tried to compose yourself enough to go back inside. The party inside was somewhat muted by the closed sliding glass doors, but as they slid open, you could hear the crowd inside begin the countdown. You felt a soft tap on your shoulder, and turned to see Jake standing behind you, nervous as ever as he stared at you.
He opened his mouth a couple times, clearly trying to formulate the right thing to say, and when he did his words came out barely above a whisper. “Can I be your kiss at midnight?”
You heard him, but some part of you couldn’t help but tease him, taking a step closer. “Sorry, what was that?”
His lips turned up into a smile as he shuffled closer to you, looking deeply into your eyes. “Can I kiss you?”
You tilted your head up, brushing your nose against his, realizing just how close his lips were to your own. “Of course you can, Jake.”
The two of you were so lost in your own little world that you hadn’t even realized that midnight had come and gone, the crowd inside turning their attention from the celebration of the new year, to what was going on just outside. Jake had left the back door open, and from against the frame of the door, Sam piped up. “Just kiss her already, you fool!”
Jake smiled, flipping off his little brother as he closed the distance between you, pressing his lips to yours. Everyone erupted into cheers as the two of you melted into each other. You felt the hand that had been flipping off Sam brush along your jaw, pulling you in even closer.
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Letters from Watson The Missing Three Quarter it is today. After this story I'm completely caught up again with these letters. Very happy about that :)
Even the most insignificant problem would be welcome in these stagnant days.” Be careful what you wish for, Holmes
For years I had gradually weaned him from that drug mania which had threatened once to check his remarkable career. Now I knew that under ordinary conditions he no longer craved for this artificial stimulus, but I was well aware that the fiend was not dead, but sleeping; and I have known that the sleep was a light one and the waking near when in periods of idleness I have seen the drawn look upon Holmes's ascetic face, and the brooding of his deep-set and inscrutable eyes. Ok nevermind, give this man all the cases he wants and needs. These stories really get very real about mental health struggles and the ever-slumbering fight that is addiction. It's really quite beautifully and sympathetically written and cuts right to the heart
that dangerous calm which brought more peril to my friend than all the storms of his tempestuous life. I feel like this is a good reminder that needs are so different person by person. A lot of mental health advice and resources are about helping one calm down, relax, while for some that's really the opposite of what they need. It's the same for me. My natural state is to be calm, tending to tired and sluggish and almost empty. And I can function in that state but barely. I need regular external stimulation to pull me out of that, need to do something with my hands, something that stimulates my brain and gives me energy to actually live my life
sixteen stone of solid bone and muscle *calculates how heavy that is* Just a little over 100kg. Not at all what I would consider enormous, but then everage height was lower back then so I guess he'd be stockier
“It's awful, Mr. Holmes, simply awful! I wonder my hair isn't grey. They really were fond of overnight grey hair transformations back then, weren't they?
Godfrey Staunton—you've heard of him, of course? He's simply the hinge that the whole team turns on. I'd rather spare two from the pack and have Godfrey for my three-quarter line. Took me a while to remember this was about rugby. So, a missing rugby player then. Could be interesing! Everything from kidnapping to murder to runaway to disorientation is on the table
Good Lord! Mr. Holmes, where have you lived?”
Holmes laughed at the young giant's naive astonishment.
“You live in a different world to me, Mr. Overton, a sweeter and healthier one. My ramifications stretch out into many sections of society, but never, I am happy to say, into amateur sport, which is the best and soundest thing in England. However, your unexpected visit this morning shows me that even in that world of fresh air and fair play there may be work for me to do This is so funny, and also kind of wholesome? Holmes is very amused that Overton assumes he knows anything about sports, but also doesn't tear Overton's passion for sports down, just points out that it's not his area yet still wants to help him
Half an hour later the porter tells me that a rough-looking man with a beard called with a note for Godfrey. He had not gone to bed and the note was taken to his room. Godfrey read it and fell back in a chair as if he had been pole-axed. The porter was so scared that he was going to fetch me, but Godfrey stopped him, had a drink of water, and pulled himself together. Then he went downstairs, said a few words to the man who was waiting in the hall, and the two of them went off together. This sends off all kind of alarm bells
So Godfrey was already anxious, received a note that made it worse, and then went off with someone without telling or taking anything. This gives major blackmail vibes
The visitor of the night before was not a gentleman, neither was he a working man. He was simply what the porter described as a “medium-looking chap”; a man of fifty, beard grizzled, pale face, quietly dressed. He seemed himself to be agitated. The porter had observed his hand trembling when he had held out the note. This rough-looking man might be innocent, then
“We have only to find to whom that telegram is addressed,” I suggested.
“Exactly, my dear Watson. "My dear Watson" will always make me smile :)
here is so much red tape in these matters! However, I have no doubt that with a little delicacy and finesse the end may be attained. I'm excited for some clever tricks and manipulation!
“One moment! one moment!” cried a querulous voice, and we looked up to find a queer little old man, jerking and twitching in the doorway. Do we have Overton's uncle here?
As to those papers with which you are making so free, I may tell you that in case there should be anything of any value among them you will be held strictly to account for what you do with them.”
“Very good, sir,” said Sherlock Holmes. “May I ask in the meanwhile whether you have yourself any theory to account for this young man's disappearance?” Holmes is very much not impressed by this man's antics. I love how he just blandly agrees with him, which is the first rule of deescalation. Great way to keep him cooperative
“I quite understand your position,” said Holmes, with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. “Perhaps you don't quite understand mine. Oh! Trouble for this sir!
Godfrey Staunton appears to have been a poor man. If he has been kidnapped it could not have been for anything which he himself possesses. The fame of your wealth has gone abroad, Lord Mount-James, and it is entirely possible that a gang of thieves have secured your nephew in order to gain from him some information as to your house, your habits, and your treasure.” Some clever manipulation going on here. Holmes already has deduced that this lord doesn't care at all about his nephew's well-being, so an appeal to help out of concern about his nephew's safety would accomplice nothing. If Holmes twists it into a threat to his riches, however...
Nothing would induce him to give his old uncle away. Awfully confident considering he never did anything for Staunton. Of course Holmes doesn't really think that the possible kidnappers are after information about the lord, but if they are, I guess they don't need torture
In the meantime spare no pains, Mr. Detective! I beg you to leave no stone unturned to bring him safely back. As to money, well, so far as a fiver, or even a tenner, goes, you can always look to me.” Goal accomplished!
I am sorry to trouble you,” said he, in his blandest manner, to the young woman behind the grating; “there is some small mistake about a telegram I sent yesterday. I have had no answer, and I very much fear that I must have omitted to put my name at the end. Could you tell me if this was so?” Yes! I guess that will work
that exceedingly unpleasant old person I just love Holmes' insults. They sound so polite and therefore somehow hit harder
“I have heard your name, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, and I am aware of your profession, one of which I by no means approve.”
“In that, doctor, you will find yourself in agreement with every criminal in the country,” said my friend, quietly. Solid burn from Holmes
Where your calling is more open to criticism is when you pry into the secrets of private individuals, when you rake up family matters which are better hidden, and when you incidentally waste the time of men who are more busy than yourself. Someone feels threatened!
Incidentally I may tell you that we are doing the reverse of what you very justly blame, and that we are endeavouring to prevent anything like public exposure of private matters which must necessarily follow when once the case is fairly in the hands of the official police. You may look upon me simply as an irregular pioneer who goes in front of the regular forces of the country. Is Holmes trying to protect Staunton here? If this case becomes public, I guess that would set off a lot of speculation about the player's fate, which - however unfairly - would harm his reputation
“I have no sympathy with these childish games. The young man's fate interests me deeply, since I know him and like him. The football match does not come within my horizon at all.” You cannot care deeply about Staunton and at the same time completely disregard his greatest passion, doctor. I don't like this man
Holmes replaced the bill in his note-book. “If you prefer a public explanation it must come sooner or later,” said he. “I have already told you that I can hush up that which others will be bound to publish, and you would really be wiser to take me into your complete confidence.” Really unwise to try to lie to Holmes
Dear me, dear me; the post-office again!” Holmes sighed, wearily. “A most urgent telegram was dispatched to you from London by Godfrey Staunton at six-fifteen yesterday evening—a telegram which is undoubtedly associated with his disappearance—and yet you have not had it. It is most culpable. I shall certainly go down to the office here and register a complaint.” Such a dramatic delivery. A+
Dr. Leslie Armstrong sprang up from behind his desk, and his dark face was crimson with fury.
“I'll trouble you to walk out of my house, sir,” said he. Totally the villain of this story. My for-now theory is that this doctor is blackmailing Staunton, threatening to reveal medical information if Staunton doesn't pay him more. Not sure how the other 'victim' fit into this
“I have not seen a man who, if he turned his talents that way, was more calculated to fill the gap left by the illustrious Moriarty. Holmes is getting major villain vibes as well, then. Wonder how this will end
And now, my poor Watson, here we are, stranded and friendless in this inhospitable town, which we cannot leave without abandoning our case. This little inn just opposite Armstrong's house is singularly adapted to our needs. If you would engage a front room and purchase the necessaries for the night, I may have time to make a few inquiries.” Oh, the intimacy of it all
These few inquiries proved, however, to be a more lengthy proceeding than Holmes had imagined, for he did not return to the inn until nearly nine o'clock. He was pale and dejected, stained with dust, and exhausted with hunger and fatigue. A cold supper was ready upon the table, and when his needs were satisfied and his pipe alight he was ready to take that half comic and wholly philosophic view which was natural to him when his affairs were going awry. Good on Holmes for eating!
The sound of carriage wheels caused him to rise and glance out of the window. A brougham and pair of greys under the glare of a gas-lamp stood before the doctor's door.
“It's been out three hours,” said Holmes; “started at half-past six, and here it is back again. That gives a radius of ten or twelve miles, and he does it once, or sometimes twice, a day.” The doctor himself is the one that is holding Staunton captive? I had not expected that
I do not know whether it came from his own innate depravity or from the promptings of his master, but he was rude enough to set a dog at me. Neither dog nor man liked the look of my stick, however, and the matter fell through. Relations were strained after that I bet they were. The image of Holmes wielding a stick as a weapon is very amusing to me
“Could you not follow it?”
“Excellent, Watson! You are scintillating this evening. I have trouble reading Holmes' tone here. Not sure if this is sarcastic or not? I suspect it is - damn, Holmes, Watson is only trying to engage in your narrative. Have some patience
We had got well out on the country road when a somewhat mortifying incident occurred. The carriage stopped, the doctor alighted, walked swiftly back to where I had also halted, and told me in an excellent sardonic fashion that he feared the road was narrow, and that he hoped his carriage did not impede the passage of my bicycle. Now that is scary
Meanwhile, I can inform you that no spying upon me can in any way help Mr. Godfrey Staunton, and I am convinced that the best service you can do to that gentleman is to return at once to London and to report to your employer that you are unable to trace him. You underestimate Holmes' stubbornness, doctor. Curious to know how they will go on from here
I think that possibly I can attain our end by some independent explorations of my own. I am afraid that I must leave you to your own devices, as the appearance of two inquiring strangers upon a sleepy countryside might excite more gossip than I care for. Holmes, will you please be careful when you go out trampling off on your own?! This doctor will not hestitate to make you dissapear, too
“No, no, my dear fellow, there is no cause for alarm. It is not upon this occasion the instrument of evil, but it will rather prove to be the key which will unlock our mystery. On this syringe I base all my hopes. Oh well, now I am puzzled. It is a sedative? Then this might get dark
When you have finished come downstairs with me, and I will introduce you to a detective who is a very eminent specialist in the work that lies before us.” A dog that can sniff out the trail? Just a wild guess
When we descended I followed Holmes into the stable yard, where he opened the door of a loose-box and led out a squat, lop-eared, white-and-tan dog, something between a beagle and a foxhound. A dog it is!
Well, Pompey, you may not be fast, but I expect you will be too fast for a couple of middle-aged London gentlemen, so I will take the liberty of fastening this leather leash to your collar. Now, boy, come along, and show what you can do Very cute :)
“A threadbare and venerable device, but useful upon occasion. I walked into the doctor's yard this morning and shot my syringe full of aniseed over the hind wheel. Ah! Not what I thought at all, lol
And, by Jove! here is the brougham coming round the corner. Quick, Watson, quick, or we are done!” Love the amount of action happening in this story
My friend knocked at the little rustic door, and knocked again without response. And yet the cottage was not deserted, for a low sound came to our ears—a kind of drone of misery and despair, which was indescribably melancholy. Very scared now for Staunton
At the foot of the bed, half sitting, half kneeling, his face buried in the clothes, was a young man, whose frame was racked by his sobs. So absorbed was he by his bitter grief that he never looked up until Holmes's hand was on his shoulder.
“Are you Mr. Godfrey Staunton?”
“Yes, yes; I am—but you are too late. She is dead.” Those medical bills were for this woman, then, who I assume was Staunton's sweetheart? I wonder what the doctor's role in this was. Certainly nothing good
If, as I imagine, there is no breach of the law in this matter, you can absolutely depend upon my discretion and my co-operation in keeping the facts out of the papers.”
Dr. Armstrong took a quick step forward and wrung Holmes by the hand.
“You are a good fellow,” said he. “I had misjudged you. And so did I misjudge the doctor. What a twist. Doyle had me entirely on the wrong foot
She was as good as she was beautiful, and as intelligent as she was good. No man need be ashamed of such a wife. But Godfrey was the heir to this crabbed old nobleman, and it was quite certain that the news of his marriage would have been the end of his inheritance. All this secrecy and tragedy for the sake of inherentence? That is just sad. Was the problem then that this girl was low class? And marriage with her would be enough to exclude Staunton from the will? I will never understand financial law
I did not tell him how urgent the danger was, for I knew that he could do no good here, but I sent the truth to the girl's father, and he very injudiciously communicated it to Godfrey. So the other man Staunton went with was the girl's father? Last mystery explained!
Oof. That was quite a read, a lot of plot and excitement in such a short story. I guess it was Holmes' words about kidnapping, and Anderson's very suspicious and threatening behaviour that sets the reader entirely on the wrong foot. But not liking someone is of course not the same as actual wrongdoing. Quite a masterpiece from Doyle
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Dinner Date Chapter 26
Masterlist
Previous Chapter
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Overall Story Facts:
Fandom: MCU Captain America/Avengers
Story Summary: Steve Rogers has a girlfriend. A prickly, generally asocial girlfriend, but they make it work. They have more in common than some people might think.
Quick Facts: Romance – Steve Rogers/Reader – Female Reader
Story Warnings: Reader-insert that verges on OFC, written in 1st person past tense
Chapter 26: Trip Trip
Chapter Summary: A trip to DC is made, and something new is realized.
Chapter Word Count: 6011
A/N: This chapter took some doing. But after a lot of cutting and reworking, I think it came out all right =) Apologies to anyone in/familiar with DC because I did barely any research and a lot of the movie was filmed in Cleveland so I did what the pros do and just Made Some Shit Up about Sam’s neighborhood. Sorry <3 Hope you enjoy it nonetheless. I have…a vague idea of what I’m doing after this, but we shall see how things actually play out >=3
~
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, just…nervous.”
“Uh huh. I didn’t notice.”
I looked at him and followed his gaze down to the armrest. The whole thing was shaking from how much my hand was moving. (Not that my hand was shaking; I was just...fidgeting.) Still, Steve looked so damn amused I put my hand in my lap and looked away. Jerk.
“Hey,” Steve said and when I refused to look again, he stole my hand for a quick kiss. I glanced around on instinct, and he just grinned at me.
“You’re terrible,” I said softly, but I smiled despite myself.
“It’s a quick plane ride,” he said.
“And you’re pretty meaty if we don’t make it all the way,” I said.
He gave me his best smart-ass look. “You mean if we go down in Philly?”
“Exactly.”
He rolled his eyes and I felt a little better for having annoyed him less than a day into my vacation. Packing and planning had taken up a lot of focus, and I was really behind on my daily quota.
Though it was then I noticed he was sitting pretty stiffly. But then he relaxed so fast I wondered if I was just imagining it. But no, he kept shifting like he was almost as antsy as I was. I almost called him out on it but something in his expression made me stop. Well, we couldn’t both be nervous wrecks for the plane ride. What to do…
I pulled out a piece of paper, made a few lines, and set it on the armrest between us. “Here,” I said and held out the pen to him. “I’ll let you have first go.”
He looked and did a double-take. “Did you seriously make a tic-tac-toe board on a sheet of paper?”
“What, is it too high-tech for you?” I said and hit him with the pen. “This is a travel classic. Now make a move, loser.”
He rolled his eyes, but he snatched the pen and did make his move. It took him all of thirteen seconds to annihilate me, so I scratched out the board and made a new one.
“Hey!” he said with some actual offense.
“That was a fluke. I need a do-over,” I said and though I tried to keep hold of the pen, Steve managed to wrest it back and write his name over the scribbled board.
“For the record,” he said.
I actually laughed. “Yes, let the record show you beat me at a game of tic-tac-toe. Truly your most impressive accolade.”
He gave me a sneaky grin, but he let me move first on this game. This time it took him almost twenty seconds to beat me– mostly because I spent some time at least trying to pick a good spot. Again, I scribbled out the board, claiming shenanigans, and again he wrote his name, claiming his all-important record. By the time the plane was actually ready to take off (fucking finally) the paper was covered in tic-tac-toe games which were in turn covered by Steve’s name. There was one with mine, but that was because I took the paper away, made the board, then quickly drew my three-in-a-row.
“That doesn’t count,” he said as we put the pen and paper aside in favor of belting up for takeoff.
“It counts because I say it counts,” I said. “You won seventy-bajillion games; give the drummer some.”
He looked thoughtful, glanced around, then snaked a kiss to my neck so fast I only knew it happened because I felt it. And as soon as I tried to tell him off for it, there was the flight attendant in all her professional glory, walking the aisle to make sure we did as we were told.
“Dick,” I said quietly after she passed. “You know you’re the only one observant enough to get away with that.”
The smirk he gave me let me know I was going to be in for one frustrating flight.
~
We made it without somehow going down in the Andes, and considering we were just in town for a long weekend, getting our bags wasn’t any more complicated than Steve dragging them down out of the overhead and leading the way off the plane. I was happy to be out in a semi-open area again, and even happier to be making our way out of the airport entirely.
“See? No cannibalization necessary,” Steve said and slipped my bag away as I tried to take it from him.
“Hopefully we’re as lucky on the way home,” I said and tried to get it again, only for him to slip it back and hit me in the ass with it. “Steve!”
“I’ve got it,” he said, but he grinned, and I just barely dodged the battering ram again.
“I hope you got two beds because at this rate you’re gonna be on the floor tonight,” I said and barely missed getting run over by someone rushing past on their phone.
“I thought you said you wouldn’t kick me out of bed?” Steve said and moved closer to me, but didn’t try whapping me with the bags again.
“In your apartment,” I said and stuck close to him as we moved through a sudden burst of people. “In my bed or shared travel beds, all bets are off.”
“Even if I’m paying for the travel bed?” he asked, still smiling like a little shit.
“You got me out of the house,” I said. “I wouldn’t leave it without something comfy to lay and or sit on. That is the price you pay for my otherwise priceless company.”
“Well, that’s worth it then.” He leaned into me a little. “Lucky me the room has a couch.”
“We’ll see how lucky you feel after twenty minutes on it.” A hotel room couch with a throw blanket? I was honestly being generous even with his stubbornness.
~
Technically we both took the couch. At first. Play-wrestling just inside the door of our (very nice) room turned into hands ‘accidentally’ sliding around spots they weren’t ‘supposed’ to, which turned into predictable grabbing, gripping, holding, and a pretty nice make-out that killed enough time that I was ready for dinner when we came up for air.
“Huh.” I gave the cushion a little bounce. “Yup. Hotel room couch sucks.”
Steve laughed. “Are you preparing yourself for grading Sam’s couch?”
“I think you’re gonna be trying to apologize like hell and crawl into the nice bed within five minutes,” I said and stretched. “Are you hungry? I’m fucking starving.”
“I could eat,” he said. “Do we want to go out, or do we want to try room service?”
I gave it some thought. “How’s your social meter after the plane?” I asked.
“I didn’t really interact with many people,” he said.
“Uh huh.” That was indicative of an answer, but I wasn’t letting him off that easy. He never would for me, and if you couldn’t torment your loved ones in the name of their health, what were relationships even for? “How’s your social meter after the plane?”
He let out a little huff, but after a requisite moment of stubbornness he then gave me a tired, crooked smile and admitted, “Not great.”
I pulled the room service menu off the table nearby and smacked it against his chest. He huffed and opened it, but I had a thought as I leaned over his shoulder. “Should we split it?” I asked and winced at some of the prices. They weren’t as egregious as I feared they might be, but they were still pretty up there as far as my limits went.
“Don’t worry; I’ve got it,” he said and bumped me.
“You paid for the whole trip,” I said.
“So let me pay for it. I invited you, and I’m good for it.” He gave me a smile. “Besides, with all the time I spend at your place I probably owe you a couple months’ worth of rent at this point.”
“You don’t owe me anything,” I said and poked his side hard enough to make him jump. “I like having you there.”
“And I like having you here,” he said and reached around to jab my side.
“Well fine then,” I said and hung off him (and tried to only read titles and descriptions; not egregious or otherwise, the cost was still more than I felt deserved for food that was probably going to come lukewarm). He seemed a little too serious then, too into reading a menu, so I kissed his cheek. “I’m glad I’m here too. Thanks for inviting me.”
“I’m happy you came. Even if you did have to leave your apartment for a few days,” he said with a small smile, and then we were distracted by food.
Distracted by food, and then just…distracted, to the point where Steve looked away from his meal and stared at the curtained window for several long seconds.
I reached out to touch him and he jumped a little, even. He coughed as if to cover it up and stood. “You know, actually, I’m feeling a little wired still; maybe I should go for a run…”
He looked like he might trip and fall on his face if he tried. “Steve, if you need some time alone you can stay and I’ll go take a walk or something,” I said. “Really, you…kind of look like you might cross the street without remembering to look and get hit by a car or something.”
“I’m not that tired,” he said defensively.
“You’re thinking real hard about something,” I said. He didn’t have a response for that, and still looked a little lost. I stood. “You know, the tub looks really nice; I think I might take a bath.” I hesitated, but… “And if you do decide to take a run, leave me a note at least, yeah?”
“Okay,” he said and I grabbed a few things before escaping to the bathroom for some enforced private time. If I gave him a half hour I figured that would be good enough either for him to get his head on, or to decide he really did need some air and run out for a bit. It wasn’t a hardship though– the tub was very nice, maybe big enough to fit the both of us, and I soaked until the water was no longer nice and steamy, and then I took extra time drying off, getting dressed, putting away the extra toiletries in case they’d give us more…
When I came out Steve was still there, to my great relief, slumped in the armchair and staring through a crack in the curtain. I went and leaned over him from behind to kiss his head, but before I connected, he leaned his head back and moved to meet me in a real kiss.
A little distracted still, but more settled. I’d take it. “The bath is really nice,” I said. “I left you hot water.”
He grinned crookedly. “I don’t think they’re gonna run out here.”
“Well I still made sure I did. On purpose and everything,” I said and bonked my head against his.
“Thanks.” He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and with nary a quip about me not being a jerk after all, took a change of clothes and went right into the bathroom.
I sighed. Oh but he was in a weird mood. And considering we were on a tight timeline for the weekend to squeeze in Peggy and Sam around Sam having a job (and a life, I could hardly believe I knew someone with one of those), I picked up my phone.
Me: So I don’t know if I should say this but fair warning I think Steve is feeling weird about me meeting Peggy so hanging out with us tomorrow might be awkward if you wanna bail?
Sam: Ah
Sam: It’ll be fine
Sam: When it comes to Peggy he stews a bit but he gets on
Sam: He’s been doing a lot better with that lately jsyk ;p
Sam: It’ll be okay. I’m looking forward to seeing you
Despite the weird air, I breathed a sigh of relief.
Me: Okay cool
Me: Cause same
Sam: Are you okay?
Oh. Feelings.
Me: I’ll be fine
Me: It’ll be weird but maybe it’s supposed to be
Me: Not a lot of etiquette on this TBH
Sam: So don’t sweat it. Just take it easy
I plugged my phone in and flopped onto the bed. Take it easy. Right. I was only going to meet my boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend, who had fought in a war and forced her way into history and politics and had a list of accolades that had to be scrolled down. More personally, she was someone my boyfriend was still a little bit in love with. And from how he had already warned me she could ‘seem kind of stern’ and ‘was a little bit overprotective sometimes,’ I could read between the lines that said love was very likely mutual.
Right. Don’t sweat it. Easy.
Fuck.
~
The ride to the home where Peggy lived was quiet. And quick. It felt like I was barely getting a decent greeting ready in my head when we parked and I…froze, unable to move at all out of fear of fucking this all up. ‘What if I say something stupid’ had been my recurring fear, but right then I felt like I couldn’t speak at all and what if I couldn’t say anything, what if she greeted me like a normal and reasonable person and I just fucking whiffed it.
Steve said my name and I hurried to get out of the car. But Steve got out, walked around, stood right in front of me, and I just looked down.
“We don’t have to do this,” he said firmly. I looked at him and he was as resolute as I had ever seen him. “I’m not…trying to put you through anything, and you have nothing to prove.”
I was nervous and about to go into a social situation that was going to be inherently awkward from the start. But. “I want to meet her,” I said, even though the hotel room was sounding really, really, really nice about then. “I do. I’m just…nervous.”
“You’ll be fine.” He brought my hand up to press a kiss to the back of it. “I’m here with you. If I didn’t think you’d get along, I wouldn’t put either of you through this.”
Well, there was a point, and Steve was the resident expert. “Okay,” I said, faced the building, and took a deep breath. I squeezed his hand. “Okay.”
~
We went in without incident, or any more of me chickening out, which might have counted for an incident maybe but it didn’t matter because it didn’t happen, and I was perfectly polite when Steve made his introductions.
Which was, honestly, more than she could say.
She smiled. “So, you’re Steve’s little coffee date.”
I…wasn’t sure how to respond to that. On the surface it seemed fine, in any other tone it might have been teasing, but the way it came out made me feel…small. And a quick glance at Steve showed that I was not wrong to feel that way, which was both reassuring and…not.
“Peg,” Steve said, a little sharp, and as nice as it was to feel his hand slide behind me protectively, I did not want to cause a fight between the two of them. Though I did allow myself to relax a little bit, because if she was going to be rude, maybe I could be a little rude too. Before I could say anything, though…
“Oh, I didn’t mean it like that,” she said in a rueful sigh. “I’m sorry. It truly is nice to meet you. I apologize for putting my foot in it.” And then she smiled warmly. Like she meant it.
That caught me out in a different way. I was suddenly struck with remembering she had helped found SHIELD. Like, an organization that Natasha and Clint and Steve worked for, and Fury and Coulson and a lot of other really, really smart people who were also really, really good at making people feel how they wanted them to feel. And yeah, the rug got pulled out from under them nearly entirely and it was by the skin of some really clenched teeth it still (barely) existed at all, but…but it was enough to make me paranoid. Spy was a skill people like her could turn on and off at will. Could she tell how nervous I was? Should I have tried to cover my–?
Actually; no. I wasn’t stupid but this was not my skill set, so I let it go as much as I could and, mostly, gave up trying to catastrophize and make new conspiracies to be paranoid about. Weren’t first impressions all about manipulating someone’s perception of you anyways? It wasn’t like I was trying to do much different than she was. “I dunno about sticking your foot anywhere; it depends on who you ask,” I said and sat down in the chair next to Steve. “Coffee’s a major food group as far as I’m concerned, so it’s basically like a dinner date for normal people.”
She smiled a little wider. “Normal. But not you.”
“I assume ‘normal’ is a threshold that exists, but I have no idea what qualifies,” I admitted.
“And I don’t think she can manage even if she tried,” Steve said, glancing between the two of us, and relaxing minutely.
Margaret– Peggy?– Miss Carter?– looked at me like she expected me to have at him for it. I lifted my head like I was preening. “He sure knows how to sweet talk, doesn’t he?” I said and only after I said it realized hey, maybe talking about your current boyfriend like that with his ex-girlfriend was maybe out of bounds.
She laughed. Fully. I felt relief bubble up in my chest and Steve rolled his eyes and I thought maybe, just maybe this was going to be okay.
~
“How has he been?”
I thought about that for a moment. Steve had stepped out and I wondered if it was all right to talk about him like this…but if anybody else got it, Peggy (“Do not call me Miss Carter my God do you want me to kill you,” “Peggy!”) would.
“Better, I think,” I said. “He’s…more open, I think. More willing to admit he’s not all right.”
She smiled wryly. “When I heard he was taking time off…well, I feared the worst.” She reached out, wrapped her long, cool fingers around my hand, and gripped. “Thank you.”
“I didn’t really–” But she gave me such a look I straightened my back. “You’re welcome ma’am yes ma’am?”
She rolled her eyes. “Smart mouth,” she said, gave my hand an honest-to-god rap, and leaned back with a real smile as I let out a laugh. Her expression let up a little bit, became a little…sad. “You have to watch out for him,” she said. “He has a hard time asking for help.”
“Boy oh boy do I know that,” I huffed, and she actually laughed. I shrugged and relaxed my posture again. “But most of the time he can be browbeaten into it, at least.”
“Truly?” she asked, not like she didn’t believe it, but she didn’t know I could do it.
“Yeah. I’m getting the hang of it, I think,” I said. “He’s…” I swallowed. “He has it tough, sometimes, but he is doing better. Really.”
Her smile was a mess of something fond and sad and…something else entirely. “You don’t know how glad I am to hear that,” she said softly, her age infusing her words. “Please take care of him.”
“I will,” I said on instinct. “I am,” I amended and sat back. “I mean, I’m kind of a mess, so he’s not getting off easy, but…”
“Good,” she said decisively. “Make him work for it. He never has taken the easy route. Stubborn man.”
“He’s kind of a jerk like that,” I said. “Stubborn and proud and moody and…a lot of things people wouldn’t think, as well as all the good things they do.” I cleared my throat. “But I’ll take care of him, because he takes care of me, and because I lo–”
I…stopped. And swallowed the word. And sat on it. Peggy smiled a little more, but said nothing, and let me have my moment in peace. Somehow, almost telling Steve’s former partner that I loved him was less shocking to me than the full, real, aching feeling that I did. That I didn’t just trust, or care, but with my whole fucking chest…I loved him.
I swallowed again, breathed deep, and moved on. “Hey,” I said, a little shaky, and quickly evened out my voice as much as I could. “Since he’s out, wanna hear the story about how he tripped over his own feet trying to get some food once and nearly caused a domino effect in a busy pizza place?”
Her grin was sharp and sharklike, and for a moment I saw exactly what Steve had fallen in love with. “I want to hear every last detail.”
~
Steve came back, and nearly walked right back out when he heard the tail end of the story I was telling, but he was close enough that I could tug his hand and he fell into his seat with a long-suffering groan, but slid his fingers to lace with mine as I finished the story and Peggy laughed. She then shared a story with me about how he had done the same with half a mess hall and how Bucky had walked in, seen the commotion, shook his head, grabbed Steve by the back of his shirt, and dragged him out before he could get piled on.
“Strong guy,” I said, sticking with a soft nothing comment just in case, but Steve and Peggy looked happy at the memory.
“It was sort of comforting to see; he hadn’t been feeling so well up to that point.” Steve smiled fondly. “It figured he would get his strength back pulling me out of trouble.”
We stayed for a little while longer, but when Peggy started to get tired, and a nurse came in, we begged off to allow her to get some rest. She gave us each a “proper goodbye” (which was definitely an ego boost, when Steve looked surprised that I too got a cheek kiss) and we left before the day wore on her too hard.
We were both quiet on the ride out. But this time I felt…okay. Mostly okay, at least; Steve was stewing in his own head about something, but I felt resolute that I was going to get to the bottom of whatever this mood of his was. I had my own thoughts to wrestle with, but they honestly didn’t need much work. For as much ‘feelings’ as I hated, this was easy. I’d already gone through the trust and caring issues and this felt so natural that I didn’t mind it. I loved Steve, and that was that. And it felt good.
We parked in a driveway of a fairly nondescript house in a pretty normal neighborhood, and sat there for a moment. I pulled up Steve’s hand and gave it a kiss. He jolted, but forced a little smile for me. “Play along,” I said and got out of the car before he could ask why.
Sam greeted us both before we even got to knock on the door. Sam’s hugs were truly some of the best, and I was happy to receive mine, but he lingered a bit with Steve and shot me a look over his shoulder. I gave Sam a little nod to acknowledge the long day, and he gave the briefest roll of his eyes before his smile returned and he stood back to look at Steve, a firm grip on his shoulder. “How are you?” Sam asked.
“Fine,” Steve answered reflexively but corrected before Sam could even call him out. “Just…you know.”
“Yeah. I know.” Sam clapped his shoulder and stood back to let us in the entry so we could toe off our shoes. “Come on in; let me give you the tour.”
“I only care about one thing in particular,” I said as I looked around. It was a really nice house, clean, well-appointed…and the living room was very, very close.
“The bathroom?” Sam guessed and made as if to gesture. “It’s right–”
I walked right past him, circled to the front of the couch, and plopped back on it. I thought for a moment– Sam’s neighborhood didn’t have much, but there had been a small strip mall on the drive in, not too far away. Walkable. I thought about that, and Steve’s quiet mood, and figured it would have to do.
I jumped off the couch and kept a straight face to Sam’s near-grin and Steve’s incredulous ‘you wouldn’t’ expression. “What’s this all about?” Sam asked, his smile cracking open a little more.
“You once said your couch is better than mine,” I said. “I had to test.”
He actually did snort, and Steve held his face, hiding the tiniest smile. A shame– were he in a better mood, he’d have been turning a little red holding himself back from laughing. Maybe Sam would be able to help. I hoped so. “Well then,” Sam said, openly grinning now. “How does it rate?”
“Hmm…” I walked back to the door. “Solid B.” I slipped my shoes back on. “Not too firm or soft, but I wouldn’t sleep on it overnight.” I opened the door, said, “Okay, I did what I came to DC for. Later!” and slipped out, shutting it behind me.
Steve groaned loud enough for me to hear, but Sam’s laughter covered that up quick. I smiled to myself and walked down the steps until I could see Sam in the window. I held up my hands with all fingers splayed to signify ten minutes and mouthed, ‘I’ll be back.’
He was still smiling widely, but he nodded, and I set off on a walk.
~
It ended up being more like thirty minutes. And it was boring; nothing but houses on a quiet street until I reached the tiny shopping center, and half of the storefronts were useless and boring, aside from the biggest place– a drugstore. I stopped in, grabbed a drink to fortify myself for the walk back, and some candy as a reward, and then made the return journey.
The door was unlocked, thankfully, and Sam and Steve were sitting and chatting pleasantly in a little dining nook when I stepped in and took off my shoes for hopefully the last time for a while. The darker shade of Steve’s mood seemed erased as he lifted his head and gave me a smile. I huffed out a breath. Worth it then. Unfortunately.
“Where did you go– oh hell yeah,” Sam said when he caught the king-size candy bar I bought for him.
“The drugstore was farther than I thought it was.” I chucked the other chocolate bar at Steve’s head and then went and fell over onto the couch. “Your couch grade has been amended; it’s great, A plus, and also I live here now.”
“The drugstore wasn’t even a mile,” Steve said so that I could hear his smirk.
I lifted my head to try and glare at him, but he was standing behind the couch and I didn’t want to wrench my neck, so I flopped back onto the cushion. “I don’t even have to go half a mile from my place to get doughnuts.”
“I guess I have to come to your place sometime.” Sam leaned over the couch and grinned at me as he unwrapped his hard-won gift. “Buy you a doughnut. Get powdered sugar all over your couch.”
I turned onto my back so I could scowl at him, but then I considered and had to amend, “Well I am sweating all over yours, so I guess that’s fair…”
Sam lifted an eyebrow as he chewed a bite of chocolate. “You call that sweating?” he said in a resolutely unimpressed inflection. “You would not last five minutes in bootcamp.”
“I think you’re being wildly flattering to imply I would last one minute in bootcamp considering even lacing boots properly is too much fucking work,” I said.
“I’d put money on you getting the figurative and maybe literal boot from the very first second you meet your drill instructor,” Steve said, taking a bite of his candy bar. He definitely looked a lot better. I could have felt bad about that, but honestly a best friend was probably exactly what Steve needed after all that. I couldn’t be everything he needed, and I was…surprisingly okay with that.
I gave Steve a hard look. “You made it through boot camp and you are way mouthier than me.”
“Special circumstances,” he said.
“It’d have to be,” Sam said dryly.
“My girl and my best friend,” Steve sighed theatrically. “Is anyone on my side?”
Sam and I shared commiserating looks. Peggy was right– he was so dramatic.
And I loved him anyways.
~
It was a heady thing. Stupid, maybe, to feel like this when I was just opening my eyes to what was already there, but the thing was– the thing was that Steve loved me too. He hadn’t said it, had never gotten close to the word, but the more I thought about it the more I knew it. And it felt good. It felt so good.
“Do I even want to know what you and Peggy talked about while I was out?” Steve asked, smiling slightly at me. He looked wan and worn in the dim light of our hotel room, but he was still trying to be ‘on’ for me.
“Well we had fun, so probably not.” I slid my arms around him, and he pulled my legs over his lap with one hand while his other set behind my back and pulled the rest of my body closer. I snuggled in, and rested my head partly off his shoulder, just above his chest. “Thanks for bringing me. I’m glad I came.”
He exhaled deeply, and gave me a little squeeze. “I’m really, really glad you did too,” he said. “Thank you.”
I smiled. This might not go over well but…I couldn’t put it off forever. I didn’t want to. “Hey Steve?” I said as a deep, frightening, wonderful thrill raced through me and peace settled in its place, down through skin and muscle and nerves to rest in my very bones. “I love you.”
He froze. But as he swallowed harshly I just smiled more, and when he tried to speak and failed, I said, “Shh,” and snuggled closer and squeezed him tighter, and lifted my head to kiss his face. “It��s okay. I know.” Because I did. It showed in what he did, what he said; in everything he was when he was with me.
“I don’t…no; no it’s not that I don’t– but I don’t kn– it’s just…” He moved his head down and pressed his face to my shoulder, nearly hard enough to cause an ache. “N-not yet, I can’t– I’m so sorr–”
“Shh.” I stroked his hair and pressed a few kisses to what of his head I could reach with him trying to burrow a hole in me. “It’s okay. I can wait.”
He relaxed a little then. I kept holding him, running my nails up and down the back of his neck and head, and I was content to wait for him to settle down and come back to neutral and then get on with the rest of our night like nothing had happened. Because Steve was an expert in many things, and many of those involved shoving down feelings until they came to bite him in the ass. It was just one of those things we had in common, and I really was perfectly content to wait.
Apparently, though, I didn’t have to.
“Oh my God,” Steve blurted out, dismay in every syllable. “I do love you.”
I…
I burst out laughing.
Cuddling was over and I fell back against the side while Steve held his face and groaned. I only bothered to try and get a handle on myself so I could breathe. “Wow,” I wheezed and hit my chest. “The– the disappointment; are y–!”
I let out a yelp as Steve suddenly pressed into me with his whole body. Gently, but I squirmed and laughed as he wrestled me down flat into the cushions and growled, “Not disappointment.”
“Uh huh. Sure.” We settled with him hovering right above me, his hands on mine, palm to palm and fingers laced through. His expression was devious but soft, and I felt myself soften in response. …Mostly. “You're such an asshole.”
“Uh huh.” He leaned down to kiss me. “We’re well-matched then.”
I let a smile crack through. Just a little. I hated to encourage him like this, but he was too fucking cute sometimes. “I guess we are.”
“Good.” But he snorted and smiled wryly. “You tell me you love me and I have an existential crisis. I tell you I love you and you break into hysterical laughter.” He sighed. “That…sums us up more than I’d like.”
“Well, I gotta keep my crown. World’s Biggest Jerk isn’t a title you can slack on,” I said and arced up to give him a kiss that ended up being slower and softer than I intended, but it felt good. It felt right. I fell back down and stared up at him. “That was kind of fast for a crisis though. I meant it– I’ll wait.”
“You’ll wait because you already knew.” He gave me a crooked smile and nuzzled my face before placing a kiss at my jaw.
“Not just because.” I turned my head to put my forehead to his. “But yeah, I just…realized,” I said. “How you show me. How you have showed me.”
He kissed me again, and then actually came down and let his body settle on mine– not wholly, but still a comforting weight. Like a living blanket, and one that would move in an instant if I needed it.
I didn’t intend to test that, but at my deep breath and contented sigh he suddenly jerked up– not away, but definitely off. “I’m sorry,” he said.
“For wha– oh.” I shook my head. “No. I actually kinda like it sometimes when you squish me.”
“You…do?”
I barely had a second to see his devilish smile before he suddenly came down and wrapped himself around me like a fucking boa constrictor. “Steve!” I laughed and squirmed and tried to wriggle out, but he held fast for a few seconds before he let up.
“But I thought you like me squishing you?” he chuckled and lifted himself back up. His hair was mussed and flopped awkwardly, and I reached up to put it back in some sort of order. His smile was gentle and still tired, and I thought of all the ways we could have missed each other, all the many ways we could have never even met, let alone come to this, and yet…here we were.
“Hey Steve?” I said softly. He cocked his head, and I swallowed and shifted my shoulders. “I’m really glad you’re here.” I slid my hands over his cheeks to hold his face. “And I’m really sorry you’re here. Because I love you and want you to be happy.”
He smiled and touched his forehead to mine. “There’s a lot of different ways to be happy,” he said. “And I found one of mine.”
I crinkled my nose. “Sap.”
He grinned. “You love it.”
“Yeah,” I said, smiling again. “I really do.”
~
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#steve rogers x reader#captain america fanfic#avengers fanfic#captain america reader insert#avengers reader insert#dinner date
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All in two days - Part 2
Read Part 1 here, full masterlist on pinned post
Newt x gender neutral!reader
Direct continuation of Part 1
Initially set in the Scorch Trials, but deviates from canon in this chapter. The end result is basically the same, but I've just taken pieces of canon and used them to fit my story
Warnings: canon-typical violence, language (normal swearing and Glader slang)
The communicator starts ringing as your finger hits the call button, and someone picks up on the fourth ring.
You lift the device to your ear. "Hello?" you say shakily.
"This is Marie, speaking from WCKD Base 7. How can I help?"
"I have-" you clear your throat. "I have information to share: the location of escaped Immunes."
There's a pause as you hear shuffling in the background, following by typing noises on a keyboard. "What are the names of the Immunes?"
"Wait," you say. "I'd like something in return."
"Of course." Marie's voice is flat. "And what would that be?" she asks.
"My sister is sick, but I don't know what the illness is. It's not the Flare though," you tell her. You think for a second, then add "I also want supplies; food and water."
"WCKD will have the resources to cure your sister's illness. And, if the information you share is valuable, we may be able to provide you with additional supplies too. WCKD is good like that."
"Right," you say, swallowing.
"The names?" she prompts.
"Oh, yes," you hesitate for a second, then list them out, your voice clear. "Winston, Frypan, Aris, Minho, Teresa, Thomas... and Newt."
Silence on the other end. Then: "Please hold on, I'm transferring you to another line."
You wait, chewing your lip nervously.
"Hello? Is it true you have the whereabouts of subjects Thomas, Teresa, and the rest of the group?" It's a male voice.
"I- yes," you confirm.
"What's your name?" asks the man.
"Y/n L/n," you tell him.
"Lovely to meet you, Y/n. I am Assistant Director Janson. The people you've named are extremely important to us. If you help us find them, you will be highly rewarded."
Shit. You remember your friends, if you can still call them that, telling you stories about this Janson guy.
"I can find them for you. The stayed at my place for a while, and left just this morning."
"Excellent," says Janson. "If you can put me on speakerphone now, I'll direct you on how to send us your location."
"Okay," you say numbly.
You follow his directions and send your location to WCKD, before ending the call.
You bow your head, unable to believe yourself for what you've done. WCKD is really coming, and they're gonna take your friends away.
You give yourself a mental shake. You only knew them two days, no matter how close you felt to them over those days. Your sister is your first priority.
Nothing else happens in that day, but the next morning, you wake to the deafening sound of rumbling engines.
You rise up off the storage room floor, where you'd fallen asleep. You swing the door open, running out to see a helicopter-y kind of thing landing, it's massive size casting a shadow over you.
A man walks off the helicopter-vehicle, followed by a small group of guards. You recognise him immediately, recalling Minho's description.
"Janson! The Ratman! He's literally a shucking rat. Little bitch," says Minho, arms waving animatedly as he speaks.
Teresa's laugh echoes through your mind, and you can perfectly picture Newt's amused grin.
You shove thoughts of them from your mind and step up to meet Janson.
"Y/n," he says, extending a hand. "Good to meet you in person."
"Janson," you shake his hand and force a smile.
"Listen, the people you've seen are very valuable to me. We're willing to treat you very generously if you deliver on our agreement."
"Thank you very much. We'd appreciate that a lot."
"Well then, let's begin." He claps his hands together.
"As a show of our faith in you, our own Berg here has a medical wing and experienced doctors to look at your sister now. Pack your belongings and prepare to leave. Do you need someone to help you get your sister out?"
"Uhh, yeah, that'd be good."
He nods. "I'll arrange that now, go pack your stuff."
You pack quickly, but as you move to leave you spy Newt's leather wristband on the table. You'd taken it off last night, weighed down by guilt as you waited for WCKD to find you.
You pick it up and look at it, thinking for a bit. You decide to fasten it to your upper arm, just above your elbow, and pull your jacket on, covering the band.
As you shift your bag onto your shoulder, a group of doctors walk in rolling a stretcher behind them, carefully moving your sister.
Then, you follow them out, turning to take one last glance at your home, and step onto the Berg.
You trail behind them as they roll your sister to the medical wing, moving her to a bed.
"Y/n," a voice greets you. You turn to see a doctor smiling kindly at you. She's tiny, about a head shorter than you, and has black hair cut into a sleek bob framing her pale face.
"Hi," you say, offering her a small smile.
"I'm Dr Liu," she says. "My team and I will be treating your sister. Don't worry, she's in good hands."
You nod, genuinely grateful.
"You've got a meeting with Director Janson right now, but I promise we'll give you an update on your sister soon," she tells you, gesturing to Janson as he appears in the doorway.
"Y/n, this way please."
You follow him to the control centre at the front of the Berg, where you can see out the windows.
"Which way are we heading?" asks Janson. "And how far do you think they'll be?"
"They left before midday yesterday, and they're travelling on foot with an injured person, so they wouldn't be that far," you explain.
"They said they were going towards the mountains, and they started in that direction when they left.” You point out a window.
"I see," says Janson. "You got that?" he speaks to the Berg pilot.
"Towards the mountains," acknowledges the pilot, and the Berg begins to lift off the ground.
You assume you're dismissed, and walk back to the medical wing to check on your sister.
When you get there, you see her hooked up to a bunch of monitors, heartrate beeping steadily and an intravenous drip in her arm administering fluids.
"How is she?" you ask worriedly.
"She'll be just fine," responds Dr Liu, pressing buttons on some machine. "The disease is actually pretty common, and would have been easily cured with medicine if you had access. Modern medicine wouldn't have let it get this bad." She gives you a sympathetic look.
"So it's not long-term or anything? You can cure it?" A spark of hope appears.
"Yes," she replies, smiling. "In fact, she should be awake in just a few days."
You release a sigh, the weight of years of worry lifting away.
You're directed to a small bedroom, complete with a simple bunk and closet of plain clothes.
You collapse into the bed and sleep the afternoon away.
When you wake, someone is knocking on your door, telling you to meet in the control centre. There's a clock in your room that tells you the time is 7:15pm.
You get up and rifle through the closet, picking out black pants and a white tee, which you pull your jacket over, giving it a tug as it snags on the leather band.
"We've located them," announces Janson as you enter. "They've sighted the Berg and are hiding now, but we're preparing a team to go down and bring them in."
You step closer to the window, looking down over what looks like an abandoned city. They're right down there, Newt and Thomas and everyone.
You whirl around to Janson. "Is there a way- Do you think I could... not be seen by them?"
Janson raises an eyebrow, but you hold his gaze. "We can arrange that," he concedes. "But listen, whatever they told you when they were staying with you, it's wrong. They paint us as the villains in their story, but all we're trying to do is save humanity from a disease."
"Right, yeah, but I just..." you trail off.
"I see. Thomas and his little group can be quite the charmers." He scoffs a little. "We can make sure they're nowhere near your room, if that's what you want. But just know that by helping us, you're on the right side of this fight, Y/n."
"Yeah, thanks," you say flatly, and you turn and leave.
You end up in the medical ward, sitting by your sister's bed. Her face is soft in her sleep, and you watch as her chest rises and falls.
"Y/n," Dr Liu steps in and you give a small wave in greeting.
She hands you a device. "Janson wanted me to give you this. They've got long range cameras on the Berg, so you can see what's happening down below."
She looks a little conflicted. "Do you want to watch?" she asks hesitantly.
You definitely do not want to watch... but the screen is right in front of you. You can't not watch. You nod and take the screen from her, already regretting doing so as it turns on.
On the device, you can see WCKD's team, holding guns. The view is zoomed out; long range cameras can probably only see to a certain distance, but you can still see the small images of your friends.
You subconsciously twist your hands in your sister's blankets as they start running. You identify Teresa by her long hair, running alongside Thomas and the rest of the group as they disappear under a building, out of the camera's view. Your heart clenches when you realise Winston isn't with them.
When they emerge back into sight, they split up, scattering in different directions. Your heart pounds as the WCKD officers give chase, hot on the heels of Minho and Frypan.
They take down Fry first with an taser shot that leaves him writhing on the ground, and you watch Minho turn to try and save him before being shot himself.
The camera moves to focus on another group as someone knocks Thomas out and corners Aris in a dead end.
You turn the screen off as the camera shifts to show Teresa trying to help Newt along, his limp worse than ever.
You set screen down and try to take deep breaths, blinking fast as your eyes start to sting.
Dr Liu sits down beside you. "I'm sorry," she says.
You don't respond for a bit, and you reach out to cover your sister's hand with your own, rubbing your thumb over her knuckles.
"I cared about them," you say. "They were my first friends in... as long as I can remember. It's just- I knew Elle wouldn't make it if I didn't get help. I had to do this for her."
"I understand," she says. "WCKD is very... There's a lot of give and take. Everyone here had to sacrifice something to receive the privileges they give us. To be a part of the team that's gonna save the world, you're gonna have to lose some things."
She leans forward, looking you in the eyes. "You're not a bad person, Y/n," she insists.
"Thanks," you say quietly. You're grateful for her words, but you still can't believe them when you just watched your friends getting hurt and captured.
"Y/n." It's Janson. You turn to look at him, and notice that he's sporting a decent bruise on his left cheekbone.
"What happened to...?" you gesture at your own face.
He rolls his eyes. "Let's just say that Thomas was definitely not happy to see me."
"Ah, I see." You contain a smirk despite the current circumstances.
"I'm going down to see them now. You wanna tag along?"
" 'course not," you say. "I thought we agreed we wouldn't let them see me."
"Yeah, but you could just sit out of sight and listen in," he offers.
You know full well that he's just messing with your head by letting you listen; just like he did when he told Dr Liu to give you the device with the cameras on the screen.
It's clear he wants you to stop believing in your friends.
Despite knowing all that, you sigh and follow him anyway.
"Stay here," he instructs when you arrive.
You stand with your back to the solid wall of the cell. Newt and the others are right behind you on the other side of it. If you walked just three steps over to where Janson is standing now, you'd be looking them straight in the face.
"Hello everyone," says Janson with a gloating grin. He really does look like a Ratman.
None of them respond, except for Minho muttering "Shuckin' slinthead."
"What was that?"
"How'd you find us, anyway?" Thomas spits out, stopping Minho from throwing out any more insults.
"Oh, we had you the whole time," says Janson. Liar. "Plus, it helped that we met someone along the way. Someone who knew you."
Shit, he's gonna bring you up.
"Y/n," Teresa breathes, realising quickly.
"That's right. After we got the information out of them, it was all too easy to find you."
"You better not have touched them," snarls Newt.
You jolt as you hear a loud noise; Newt must have slammed his arm into the bars of the cell.
Turning your head, you watch Janson lean closer to the cell, and you can picture him face to face with Newt.
You strain to hear what Janson says, but you can't make out his whispered words.
All you see is his satisfied smirk as he steps away from the cell.
You don't move as Janson strides out, instead closing your eyes as you lean your head back against the wall.
"I told you we shouldn't have left them," you can barely hear Newt's broken voice.
"They wouldn't've been any better here with us," says Thomas.
You can't stay here, listening to the way they care for you.
You move abruptly and run to a bathroom nearby. You brace your hands on the sink, staring into the mirror. That face looking back at you has betrayed your friends. They're all in there, worrying about you, when they're the ones being flown to their deaths, and you're the one that sold them to WCKD.
You focus your thoughts on Elle, alive and healing. You think about the sweet, bubbly smile that you haven't seen in years. You're doing this for that smile.
⭒----⭒
The Berg lands in a place known as the Last City, and you're moved to a tall building which is apparently WCKD's main compound.
By now, two weeks after arriving, your sister has gotten a lot better, and you've spoken to her in her bed every day since she woke up. You haven't seen Newt and the others since that day on the Berg.
Elle actually started standing and running yesterday, for the first time in years. You'd given Dr Liu an incredulous look, and watched Elle dance around the medical ward for hours.
Today, after eating lunch with Elle, you move to the labs, where scientists are working on the cure for the Flare.
You've become an apprentice of sorts, training under Dr Liu and her colleagues. You only do simple jobs like cleaning used micropipettes and beakers, but you've also been learning things from the scientists around you.
The science wing of the compound is massive, which makes sense, but it also means you get lost a lot. Today, you've probably taken about five wrong turns, and you're trying to retrace your steps when you see someone hooked up to a sinister-looking machine.
Everything goes cold as you realise. Holy shit, it's Newt. You push the door open and enter the room, and the scientists ignore you - probably because you're wearing a lab coat just like theirs.
One of them presses some sort of 'start' button, and you stand, frozen, as the heartrate monitor starts beeping faster and faster, and you watch in horror as Newt starts writhing and screaming. He's not in pain though, he's scared. You can see his face twisting in terror.
You rush out, the door swinging shut behind you, and you bend over as bile rises in your throat. Tears sting your eyes as you grab another scientist, intercepting him as he moves to enter the room.
"What's happening in there? What are they doing to him?" you demand.
The scientist's eyes flick to your badge. "This isn't your area," he says.
"What. Are. They. Doing."
"He's in a fear simulation. Fear stimulates the production of the enzyme we're trying to extract to make the cure," he tells you. "Even though this subject isn't immune, our tests have shown that he still produces the enzyme we need."
You stumble back, unable to hear any more, and leave the science wing, running out towards your room.
⭒----⭒
You gulp in deep breaths of air as you stand by your window, and you rest your forehead on the cool glass.
That's what they're doing to them. Forcing them into their worst fears and using them like they're nothing but tools.
You look out at the city below. Billboards flash with huge letters, large enough for you to read them from your room on a high floor. NOTIFY WCKD OF ANY OCCURRENCES OF THE FLARE. HIDING CRANKS WILL NOT BE TOLERATED.
One particular sign catches your attention. REWARDS WILL BE GIVEN FOR INTEL ON REBEL MOVEMENTS.
A crazy thought starts to form. You clench your hands, resolve hardening as you make your decision.
You may have failed your friends, and they'd be right to hate you if they found out what you did, but maybe you can get them out. Maybe you can still save them.
⭒----⭒
That afternoon, you attend your training in the labs as usual, then dinner with Elle and bed. The next morning, you're ready to go.
"I'd like to request a meeting with Assistant Director Janson," you tell the receptionist on your floor.
Within an hour, you're knocking on the door to his office and walking in, shoes clicking on marble floors. "Ah, Y/n. It's been a while."
"It has," you agree. "I've come today to ask to be allowed out in the City."
"Really," he raises his eyebrows. "And why's that?"
"At the start of all this, you said you could reward my sister and I with a lot if I told you how to find Thomas and everyone."
"You don't think you've been given a lot already?"
"I have, and I'm very grateful," you say. "But I'd like to move my sister out of here when she's given clearance by the doctors. And, I want to go out early to scope out the City, you know, get a better feel for it before we move out."
"Will you still be working with us? Wendy says you have a lot of potential," he responds, referring to Dr Liu.
"I will, and I've seen the trains from my window. I'll make the commute in to work here from wherever my sister and I decide to live."
He hums for a bit, eyeing you from the other side of the desk.
"I'm happy to go out with guards for the first few days, if you don't trust me," you say with a casual shrug.
“That’s fine. I’ll have guards escort you just on your first trip, only so you don’t get lost.”
“Sounds good,” you say, holding in your sigh of relief.
“Before you go, there was something else I wanted to ask you about. I’m going to be visiting your friends soon. I’m sure you’ve heard by now about how they’re helping further our cause. Would you like to join me to meet them?”
His baiting style is old now. You shake your head. “No, thanks. I’m trying to move on with my life now,” you tell him.
“Right, a good choice.” He believes you. “Well then, I’ll call some guards now for today’s trip.”
⭒----⭒
Over the next few days, you wander the streets of the City alone, without the masked guards watching your every move after the first trip.
You’re trying to figure out how to communicate with the rebels.
While exploring one afternoon, you see strange marks near a sewer entrance. They look like boot marks. You grab a torch from your backpack and drop down into the sewer.
You quickly click your torch off when you see someone else’s light up ahead, but you’re too late. “Who’s there?” a male voice calls out.
Screw subterfuge and subtleness, you decide.
You click your torch back on. “My name is Y/n and I’m here to find you. I want to help you get into the City. In return, I need your help to save my friends. They’re trapped inside WCKD headquarters.”
One of the rebels scoffs at you, but the other one speaks up. “Interesting… Alright then, follow us.”
You end up being driven to the rebel base. When you arrive, the people that brought you in lead you to some sort of main office. They knock on the door, and then leave you there alone.
“Come in,” a voice sounds from inside.
You cautiously open the door and step in. The room is shrouded in darkness, but you see the silhouette of a man, with a masked guard on either side of him.
“So you think you can get us in,” says the man.
“That’s right,” you say, and you quickly outline your plan for him. “Do you think that could work?”
“Interesting,” he muses. “And all you need in return is…”
“My friends. Newt, Thomas, Minho- WCKD has six of my friends in their compound. I need at least one person to help me get them out.”
“Wait,” one of the guards interrupts, stepping forward. The man, Lawrence, gives a warning growl. Like, he actually growls.
The guard speaks anyway. “What are the names of your friends? All of them?”
You list out all your friends’ names.
“Impossible,” whispers the guard.
“What?” you ask.
“I was in the Maze with them, I’m Gally.” He lifts the mask off his face.
“You knew them? Holy fuck.”
Gally turns to Lawrence. “I’ll go with Y/n on their mission. You and the rest of the group can enact the second stage of their plan.”
“Well,” Lawrence drags out the word. “Alright then. Get things ready on your end,” he says to you. “We’ll prepare for your plan. Gally, get them a communicator. Y/n, call us when you’re ready.”
You nod, and take the communicator from Gally, who leads you out of the room.
“You really know Thomas and Minho and everyone?” he asks, expression unreadable.
“I do,” you say. “How come you weren’t with them?”
He sighs. “Here, I’ll drive you back, and I’ll tell you everything.”
Over the drive, Gally summarises everything, including how he was possessed or stung or something, killed a boy, almost got killed by Minho, and then found by the rebels.
“Jeez,” you say when he’s finished. “That all sounds insane.”
“Yeah,” he agrees. “So what’s your story?”
You hesitate for a bit. “It’s actually my fault that they’re with WCKD,” you admit, and then you explain all of it.
Gally is surprisingly understanding, given that you gave up his friends to WCKD.
“I’m not gonna tell you you did a good thing,” he says bluntly. “But I can see why you did it. Your sister and everything, it makes sense. There wasn’t another way.”
“Thank you,” you say as he drops you off at the sewers. “I’ll call you guys to get the plan moving.”
You wave as he departs, and you start the walk back to the compound.
⭒----⭒
You take an elevator up to the science wing, wanting to get some study in before going to bed.
You’re making your way to your usual room when you hear a commotion down a hallway. You walk faster as you follow the noise.
“Stop! Just leave him alone!” You freeze as you turn and hear Thomas’ voice. “Haven’t you put us through enough?”
You step closer. If you turned the corner, you’d be in the same corridor as them.
“Fine, take them back.” You hear Janson’s commanding tone. “But you’re next tomorrow, Thomas.”
Footsteps start moving towards you. Shit, shit, fuck. Where can you go? You’re turning to the elevators when Janson rounds the corner... And Aris and Thomas are right behind him.
"...Y/n?" Fuck.
Hi everyone, thanks for reading!
I had a little trouble with this chapter cause it got way too long, and I kept trying to pace it faster so I could finish up the story in 2 chapters, so it's a little messy.
But, I've ended up splitting this chapter into 2 separate parts, and so this story's probably gonna end up with 3-4 chapters total.
Unfortunately this chapter was a lot of filler and background/set up - sorry about that, but I promise the payoff will be worth it in the end
Part 3 will be up soon since it's basically already been written, I just decided to cut it out of this chapter
@regulus-black-223048 ❤
If anyone wants to be tagged for next chapter just lmk
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Then Out of the Aether - (Ch. 5)
Summary: You’ve had a long week, but a Friday night at Eddie’s helps brighten your mood.
Warnings: None. Zip. Zero. Just some friendly fluff.
A/N: Multi-chapter slow burn. Henderson! Reader.
< Click here to find previous chapters >
_______________________________________
“...what’s your damage, Henderson?” Eddie spares a glance while packing up the miniatures he’d used for tonight’s session.
Dustin shuffles back from the hallway exchanging significant glances with Wheeler. They’d been muttering at the other end of the table for a while, too. Clearly Eddie had missed something.
“My sister…”
Eddie glances toward the door but doesn’t see you. He can’t think of a reason you wouldn’t come on in.
All’s good these days.
He’s back to pestering you after school now and then, and you come in and chat when picking up Dustin like the tension never happened. You’ve even upped the ante by chatting with him before Government class…on the occasions that he actually happens to stroll in early.
“Whattcha makin’ her wait out there for?” Eddie frowns.
He likes seeing you.
You often exchange a little banter, and you’ll habitually ask about the campaign’s progress. Eddie knows you get a full breakdown from Dustin, but he gives you the highlights from his perspective as DM. You don’t pretend to fully understand how the game works, but you seem interested in the overall story anyway
It’s nice, is all.
“I’m not! She’s not here...”
He seems genuinely distressed about this fact. If Eddie hadn’t already figured that Little Henderson’s habit of hassling you was his way of showing brotherly affection, then his tone now would’ve given it away.
“Yeah?” Eddie flips his wrist up to check his watch.
Huh.
Shit.
You are late.
“It’s cool – I’m sure she’s on the way”
The two younger boys toss more looks and nods back and forth.
“What?” Eddie interrupts.
“She’s never late,” Mike supplies while Dustin huffs.
Wow.
“...everybody’s late sometimes,” Eddie corrects this catastrophizing. “Wheeler, help me put this shit away. We’ll head out and wait...”
Mike responds dutifully and takes the box of landscape pieces while Eddie grabs the models, and they head back to the small props rooms to tuck them away.
“She really is never late to pick him up,” he mutters once they’re out of the main room.
“Dude. Chill. She’s eighteen – she’s going to be late sometimes. That’s the way it is…”
Little brothers aren’t always going to be priorities. Eddie isn’t sure how best to say that given Wheeler, too, is a little bother.
“She’s nineteen,” Mike corrects him, as if this makes all the difference in the world. “She had to repeat a year in grade school...”
Aw, looky there! Something the two of you have in common: being held-back.
“Jesus, Wheeler – my point still stands”
Maybe that one year sounds like a lot when you’re an itty-bitty Freshman, but Eddie knows it’s only a number and they’re all just figuring shit out. Everyone is their own little mess sometimes.
Dustin is still sour and antsy back at the table. This attitude soon as him stomping down the hall with agitated purpose, which really straddles the line between amusing and annoying.
That seems to be Dustin’s usual brand.
“She’ll get here, she’ll apologize, and everyone will live,” Eddie mutters on the way down the hall. “On the off chance she doesn’t, I’ll take you home…”
“She’ll be here,” the younger boy snaps.
Uh. Yeah. Isn’t that exactly what Eddie had just said? Jesus.
He opts to keep that thought to himself, lest he get one of the little lectures Dustin is prone to when he gets on a roll. Sometimes Eddie wonders if he’s rubbing off on the kid, but you’ve assured him that Dustin has always had a small flare for the theatrics and that he’s been a smartass for ages.
And really? Those are all reasons Eddie’s fond of him...
“What the…” Dustin scrambles off at a run when they round the corner and see you sitting out front on a bench.
He bursts out the front doors, and Eddie and Mike watch him gesticulate wildly at you. You appear pretty calm about it.
This must happen a lot.
When they step outside, Eddie can hear you reassuring him.
“...I’ve been right here the whole time. I figured you’d come out eventually…”
“Well how was I supposed to know that!?” Dustin’s arms are crossed in a defensive way, and Eddie can’t decide if he’s feeling silly for having worried or if he is still legitimately upset with you.
“...by coming out here, I guess?”
“...what’s the matter with you today?”
Dustin reaches out to poke the top of your head, but you swat him away before he can.
“Rude”
“I’m a little brother, that’s my job,” he dismisses you and then moves straight on. “Keys?”
You fork them over with very little griping and let Dustin hop-skip across the parking lot with Mike at his heels.
“Some. One. Was. Laa-aaate,” Eddie sings, scuffing his heels as he strolls over.
You still haven’t gotten up off the bench and are draped back against the brick wall of the building.
“I was early, actually…”
“But you only made it this far?”
You shrug.
“Probably one of the last descent nights we’ll have…weather-wise, I mean…”
That is probably true enough.
Buuuuut.
Hmmm...
Eddie thinks Dustin was onto something. He doubts very much that Dustin realizes he’d been onto said something…but you do seem off tonight.
Slouched.
Muted.
Not showing overt investment in either Dustin’s happiness or his worry – not on brand at all.
That’s a thing about hanging with these younger dudes. It doesn’t always make Eddie the smartest in the room – which he is totally fine with – but he is more… aware, he supposes. He can contextualize and move in better.
“...hey, you okay?” he kicks at the underside of your bench.
“Yeah,” is your perfunctory answer.
Eddie leans to the side, head tilting and wide-eyed to convey his skepticism. This draws the tiniest grin from you. An almost-grin, really.
“I’m good”
Eddie sniffs.
Then takes a longer, deeper inhale.
Then another short, quick sniffle.
“...I peddle bullshit all the time. You think I don’t know the smell of it?”
You roll your eyes, chuckling.
“I’ll be fine. How about that?”
“...little bit better,” he grades you. “What’s up?”
You roll your neck back and forth a little.
“Just a long week”
“Alright…” he believes you – ya know, like just a little bit. He thinks for a moment and then drops down to sit next to you. “So what does a chauffeur do after she ferries her brother home?”
“Tonight?” you consider. “I don’t know. Nothing, really.”
“M’kay. Wanna come over?”
Eddie expects to feel a pang of regret, of wanting to take that back. But he doesn’t, not even a little.
“... the guys all coming over again?”
Right. Fuck. They’d invited you along with them once and you’d declined. Although, unless Eddie’s memory is faulty, you hadn’t sounded entirely against the idea. you’d just seemed a little flustered. Surprised, maybe. In fact, you had said maybe you’d be interested next time.
Welp.
Looks like it’s next time.
“Nah. They took off…”
He wonders if that makes his offer more or less inviting. He tells himself it doesn’t matter. You’ll come or you won’t, and that’s that.
You weigh your options. Chewing on your bottom lip and looking him over while you perform some kind of arithmetic evaluation or…whatever you do.
Or you’re trying to decide how to turn him down tactfully. That’s always a possibility.
“...okay.”
Eddie blinks.
“Really?”
“...unless you had other plans.”
“Nope…I mean, I might want to smoke or something,” Eddie looks you over. “But you look like you could use some, too.”
“Gee. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” he laughs. “...you know where Forest Hills Trailer Park is?”
“Mmhmm”
You don’t show any other reaction upon hearing this. Eddie watches for it because, based on his experience, some people have thoughts on trailer parks. A lot of thoughts.
“Alright,” he fishes a pen from a side pouch of his Jansport and picks up your hand so he can jot their number along the inside of your wrist. “My van will be out front.”
“...okay,” you stare at his scratchy handwriting for a few moments and look up with a ghost of a smile.
Dustin pulls up – faster these days — and Eddie stands.
You follow.
“We’ll smoke or drink or throw in a movie or – whatever,” he figures he doesn’t have to prescribe the night. “Actually, bring some music…”
He sees you eyeing your car.
“...gonna be able to shake little brother?” he asks quietly.
You nod.
“Mike is spending the night. They’ll be in their own little world…”
Eddie finds he is glad to hear for a fact they’re hanging out. He knows full well he shouldn’t be spending all his free time with minors – as if people don’t talk enough! – but he also wouldn’t want them to feel purposefully excluded. That shit happens enough. But it’s good they have their own shit.
“No Sinclair?”
That part doesn’t sound right.
You sigh.
“He has some basketball clinic in the morning”
“Oh, shit. Flirting with the dark side….” Eddie shakes his head.
A damn shame.
“Do not encourage them,” you elbow him, and he doesn’t much mind.
“What? I’m being serious. Jocks?” Eddie shakes his head. “Not my jam.”
Surely they aren’t yours, either.
Parish the fucking idea!
“They’ve been complaining about Lucas being busier with basketball stuff, now …I keep trying to tell Dustin that Lucas can be more than one thing.”
Okay.
“Well. Yeah.”
Theoretically speaking, anyway, but the brainwash is real around here.
“It doesn’t matter what he’s into. If he starts blowing them off, that’s one thing. But they should support him if he’s just having some fun…”
Ugh.
Fine.
If you’re going to go and be reasonable about it.
“Alright, alright…”
He is picking up what you’re putting down. Don’t give Sinclair shit. Or…at least not too much shit. Eddie will always dole out something.
“See you in a bit, then,” he bids a quiet farewell.
“Mmhmm”
Eddie continues to his van and clambers in trying to think if he has any cleaning he ought to do. They do alright and all, but…well, he and his Uncle aren’t professional cleaners or some shit. It’s probably fine, though.
…maybe he’ll hurry home anyway?
Not that he needs to impress you, he thinks. It’s just the courteous thing.
There’s nothing happening, but he does like you. Mostly. He thinks. You know, as a person. Just in general…or whatever.
He’s not trying to chase you off, is the thing.
So.
Yeah.
Maybe he’ll just take a critical eye to the living room when he gets home.
.
As predicted, it’s simple to leave the house once you drop the boys off. You have a track record for behaving, so your mom doesn’t ask many questions. (Plus she’s hosting the Bridge game tonight, so she’s maybe a little distracted).
You stop at Bradley’s for a couple snacks to contribute for the evening because it seems… polite? You’re not sure what niceties Eddie expects, but he’d invited you over and that was kind enough.
You’re appreciative.
You’ve just …it really has been a long couple weeks.
Lindsey has missed more school lately. Her house is in some upheaval with the contentious divorce, so you don’t blame her or anything. You imagine you’d be stressed, too, and would hole up at home if you could.
On the other hand (the more selfish one, you know), Lindsey is your best friend. You don’t talk to a lot of other people – not really – and while you’re okay with that…it can get exhausting being lonely.
So tonight will be nice.
You hope.
You’ll make sure of it.
You feel slightly less confident when you pull up to Eddie’s trailer.
It’s the right number, his van is parked outside, and the light over the door has been left on. All signs point to this being the right place.
But as you cut the engine it hits you that you’ve never just hung out with Eddie. You’ve never been in a situation that had no clear end– certainly not at one of your homes.
Before you can think too hard on these facts, you grab your grocery bag and throw open the car door.
“Come on in!” you hear shouted to you after you knock.
You feel a little funny stepping inside, but Eddie is hurrying down a hallway to your left to greet you
“Hey…”
His wide, easy smile releases some of the tension in your shoulders, and you smile back. He doesn’t look at all shocked or disappointed that you’d followed through on his invite.
“Hi…” you close the door behind you and start toeing off your shoes.
“Oh, you don’t gotta do that…”
“S’fine”
“Here,” Eddie leans in and liberates your Bradley’s bag.
First you think it’s because of manners, but given how quickly he starts rifling through it…you think maybe he’s just hungry. You’re glad to know you’d made the right call on snacks.
Oddly, he then starts looking you over like he expects another bag.
“...what?”
It isn’t like you’d taken requests and forgotten to get him something.
“...thought I said to bring music,” he waves at you even as he moves to the kitchen to set the food down.
“Yeah…” you realize, following after him. “You did. I just figured any of my tapes you would like are ones you already have, so…”
Eddie rolls his eyes like this isn’t completely reasonable of you.
“I mean, yeah, I have preferences,” he concedes in what you think is a vast understatement, “but I’m not completely one-note. Ain’t like I wouldn’t let something else play in my presence,” he puts on that hoity-toity voice he sometimes says mocking things in. “I’d listen to whatever you got …you know, as long as you’d listen to my shit, too.”
“Oh…”
You hadn’t realized. You feel like you kind of ruined some whole plan of his.
“Oh,” Eddie echoes in a little chuckle. “Besides, aren’t you a mood listener? We couldda listened to whatever you’re in the mood for.”
He’d…he’d remembered that? That’s. It’s. Hmm. For such a throwaway conversation you’d been having at the time, you’re touched he’d remembered what you said about yourself.
“Sorry. I guess I didn’t realize what you wanted t–”
“S’okay,” he waves you off and pops open the can of Cheez Balls. “Next time, yeah? Oh…is this alright?” he stops after ripping the seal and points to the now-opened food.
“Yeah, yeah, go on,” you urge him. “I didn’t bring it all for myself…”
He grabs a handful and then holds the can out to wiggle it at you. You pluck a few out, a little more focused on the fact he’d already said “next time” than you are on the snack food.
It’s a pleasure hearing he’s comfortable having you there. That he doesn’t regret this already.
Damn, is that pathetic?
It’s just…you can’t help it.
The last time you had gone to a new person’s house had been Chrissy Cunningham’s to work on a class project last Spring. It had been awkward to say the fucking least.
“Can I be honest?” you distract yourself from the bad taste that evening had left in your mouth – this is not that.
“Yes. Always,” Eddie answers around a fresh pair of Cheez Balls in his cheeks.
You smirk at his brief likeness to a chipmunk.
“...I half expected there to be some party going on when I got here…”
He nods slowly. Adds another ball before chewing and swallowing it all down.
“...that kindda what you were hoping for?” he asks, fingers drumming on the edge of the canister.
You consider how you’d been nervous to come in. Would it have been easier if there were more people?
“No,” you decide. “I’m not a huge party person…”
“Yeah, I’m not surprised by that…” Eddie decides of you as he nods. “Guess I was really asking if you got halfway here and realized you’d agreed to come hang out with the Hawkins Freak,” he makes a little face.
You tutt and pluck a Cheez Ball from the can just so you can fling it at him. Eddie catches it after it hits his shoulder, and he tosses it in his mouth to chomp on gladly.
“I thought we covered that I don’t buy all of that…”
“Sure,” he pops one of his shoulders in a shrug. “Doesn’t mean you don’t walk in here with some …preconceived notions or whatever.”
Fair enough.
You’ve both been victims of those.
“I just meant that I picture you as someone who has things to do on a Friday night…”
Not the parties out in Loch Nora, certainly – those weren’t the kids who would want to call up Eddie Munson. But. Just. Something.
“... dark and depraved kinds of things?” he wiggles his fingers at you.
You go for the snack can again but Eddie yanks it out of reach from the other side of the counter.
“These should be treasured!” he declares. “Not thrown around carelessly as ammunition against innocent young men!”
You laugh and lean forward to prop your forearms onto the counter.
“Not dark and depraved stuff, just…I guess you struck me as someone who doesn’t want to stick at home…”
Is that rude?
Shit, you’re the one ruining it! You’re not just supposed to tell people what you think of them. Or insinuate that you took time to wonder what he does in his free time!
Then again, he’d told you to be honest…
Still.
But Eddie doesn’t look weirded out. He looks thoughtful. Tilting his head back and forth for a moment while he continues tapping on the can in his hand.
“...nah, I don’t need company or activity,” he shrugs. “What I need is noise, but music or a movie can take care of that. I mean, don’t get me wrong – I like to get up to shit,” he smirks.
“Dark and depraved shit?” you toss back, grinning.
“Don’t be nosey,” he sets the canister back down as he lightly chides you, apparently trusting you in the vicinity of food again for the moment.
“...what’re you usually up to on a Friday night, then?” you find yourself incredibly curious. “I mean, when I don’t come crash the plan.”
“First of all, you’re not crashing – I invited you,” Eddie brushes cheese dust from his fingers before dumping the rest of the Bradley’s bag out. “And…I dunno. Usually I just come home and work on the next part of the campaign. Or might fuck around on my guitar…”
You don’t love that he had caught your self deprecating tack-on, but you hum to let him know you’d heard. Then you snatch up the licorice with greedy hands. Dustin always tries to hoard the licorice that comes into the house, but it’s a little exciting to know you’re not going to share with him. It’s your favorite, too.
“Come on – how ‘bout you? What’s your Friday night…if I don’t shanghai you?”
“Yup, really dragged me here against my will…”
“Dark and depraved, what’d I tell ya?” Eddie smirks.
You roll your eyes, then get back to the question.
“...I dunno. Read? Hang with Lindsey and her cousin sometimes. Usually working on a project,” you recite and wonder how boring you sound – but it’s the truth. “Maybe a movie night with Dustin. He’s getting into slasher flicks, though,” you narrow your eyes at Eddie.
He lifts his chin.
“I don’t know what that look is for…” he gazes imperiously at the ceiling.
“Uh-huh …you’ve never made a recommendation? Or two?”
Accusation is clear in your tone, and Eddie studies your face. Maybe wondering how much Dustin has actually said verses how much you’ve assumed. You let him make those calculations unfettered and dig out a couple strings of licorice.
“...okay, yeah. Sure,” he finally gives it up. “Shit won’t hurt him.”
“Mmhmm, I knew it… …just like the Megadeath I heard coming from his room last week…”
“That was me,” Eddie has no hesitation over that one. “How’s it he needs my metal recommendations, though? You’ve obviously got some. Aren’t you guys close?”
He palms the candy bag from you to yank a few out.
“Mmhmm, but you have to understand…I’m his sister. That means I’m only interesting at random times,” you laugh as you spell it out. “Otherwise my opinions are suspect. You on the other hand…”
You leave this open-ended.
Eddie is way cool n Dustin’s eyes. Always. Whereas you are only cool when no one else is looking or when he is under duress.
“Little weirdo,” but Eddie’s grin is definitely affectionate.
“For sure,” your tone is laced with something similar.
“...he digs me and Harrington, huh?” he adds. “What’s the deal with that?”
Ah.
“That’s a very long story…”
“I’m cool with story corner,” Eddie mirrors you, leaning his elbows onto the counter so he can swing one of his licorice ropes around like a helicopter and try to snag a bite as it twirls by his face.
You watch his attempts for a moment.
“...it’s complicated,” you sigh. “I guess the short version is that Steve helped Dustin out with some…bullies. Looked after him.”
“Harrington?” Eddie scoffs. “We are talking about Steve Harrington?”
“Mmhmm – he’s a pretty good guy…”
Eddie’s little candy helicopter flops to a standstill.
“You’re shitting with me”
“Nope”
“... …you got a crush?” Eddie tilts his head and points one ringed finger at you. “That’s why you’re backing Dustin up?”
“No!” you laugh. “No, they just really get along. He’s… nice.”
“Uh-uh,” Eddie shakes his head and straightens up. “I do not want to believe that…rich, popular, girls like him, and he’s a good dude?”
“Mmhmm”
“Nah…there are rules of the universe, and that just flies in the face of all of them,” Eddie chops both hands back and forth through the air.
“I don’t know what to tell you…”
“This would throw off my entire Douche Chart,” he continues to shake his head like he’s just not going to let this information settle into his mind.
Uh. What’s that, now?
“...Douche Chart?”
“Mmhmm. I have one,” he taps at his head. “Unofficial but very reliable. You know…until the Henderson Siblings came along and decided they wanted to try to ruin it…”
You laugh at his melodrama.
“Explain…”
“M’kay. Sure,” he agrees. “I need to smoke, though. You want?” he holds two fingertips together and wiggles them around.
“Yeah, sure”
He nods and rubs his hands together.
“Couch out front – I’ll go grab something”
He moves off into the depths of the trailer again, and you suppose his room is back there somewhere. You grab the licorice to take outside with you. Then, in a fit of generosity, you grab the Cheez balls, too.
Soon, you and Eddie are leisurely passing a blunt back and forth while he explains the running depth chart he has of your classmates based on their general shittiness.
You chuckle along as he uses examples to demonstrate the range of said chart. To no one’s surprise, Jason Carver is one of the folks deep in Fuck No territory.
“Agreed,” you tilt your head back along the top of the cushions after handing Eddie the smoke.
“He’s not an undercover friend of your brother, too?” he chuckles.
“Hell no…”
“And not a secret crush either?”
He’s still teasing. You can tell in his tone and by his smirk when you roll your head to the side to watch him.
“...awfully interested in who I have crushes on, Munson,” you tease back.
Which…after you say it you realize it sounds presumptuous. Very. You don’t have a lot of gumption to care at the moment, but you sigh at yourself internally.
“Just working on figuring you out,” he doesn’t seem bothered, draped at the end of the couch as he is.
Hmmm.
“Well, no, I’ve known Jason a long time…and he is absolutely a turd..”
Eddie chuckles at this PG slur against the jock. You join in once you realize what you’d said.
You dig a hand into the party mix that’s now also sitting on the couch between you, and accept the return of the joint with the other hand.
“...how about Marleen Kennedy?” you check and down a handful of the Chex Mix.
“...whatta ‘bout her?”
“On yer chart,” you answer around your food and promptly start choking because apparently pot has made you a real cretin tonight.
“Shit…” Eddie helpfully shuffles closer and slaps you on the back a couple times.
“Sorry, sorry…” you cough a few more times, then gasp a deep breath. “I’m good…”
“Oh yeah?” Eddie swipes the smoke back as if you can’t be trusted.
“Rude,” you grumble but grab another handful of the mix and a thing of licorice anyway. “I meant where is Marleen on your chart,” you re-ask more clearly.
“Hmm…kindda neutral,” Eddie reports. “But leans towards No-Go considering the company she keeps…”
“M’kay…” you finish chewing before speaking further. “How do I lobby to bump her up on the meter? Can I submit a dissertation to you?”
“For you?” Eddie shrugs. “Nah. Where do you want her?”
“Way out of neutral,” you flutter around your hand. “She used to give me all kinds of shit…”
Was it a long time ago and you should just be over it? Probably so. But that doesn’t seem to matter in Eddie’s herky-jerky methodology of ranking. He’s been calling it a scientific system but only, as far as you can tell, because he says so.
“Yeah?” he catches your wrist and slips the joint back between your fingers.
It’s low by now, so you handle with care.
“Mhm,” you nod. “She was hell in junior high, and freshman year, she…” you shake your head. “Maybe she’s changed…”
“No, fuck her!” Eddie smacks the back of the couch while you inhale again. “She’s with Carver.”
You laugh and hand off.
“Who else? … …who would I be surprised is on your good side?”
This whole list is probably petty, but you’re into it. And why wouldn’t you be? People like you or Eddie hadn’t gotten to help write the social hierarchy that everyone at school seems to operate in, so why not have your own version of it in private?
Eddie’s a genius, maybe.
You’ll tell him so later.
Right now he’s busy rattling off the usual suspects.
“...I said who would be a surprise,” you remind him.
He grumbles and thinks.
“...Nancy Wheeler,” he decides.
“Yeah?”
“Mm…we aren’t friends or anything, but she’s on the yearbook committee,” he rolls his eyes there. “And she had to photograph and get some information on Hellfire. She was actually super nice.”
“...she is,” you agreed.
“Mmm. You and her aren’t pals because of your brothers?”
“...we aren’t not friends, but,” you waffle a hand back and forth. “We just didn’t have a lot in common as we’ve gotten older. We get along and everything but…”
Eddie nods and offers you the smoke back.
“I’m good…”
“‘Kay…also Miss Keith,” he announces and takes a few last puffs off the end of the joint.
“Miss Keith!” you sigh, nodding as a smile wraps itself up onto your face. “I liked her…”
“Right?!” Eddie bounces a little on his seat thinking of it. “She’s like…the one cool teacher. I’ll fucking die on that hill, I swear. She recommended some fantasy books to me once she saw what I was into…”
You think of your art teacher and how she offers extra support to your interests.
“That’s sweet of her,” you simply state.
You and Eddie share a fond, understanding smile, and go quiet for a little while.
“...how about me?” you finally ask. “Where am I on the chart? I can take the truth, I promise…”
Eddie snorts.
“You’re not on it…”
Your eyebrows raise and you lift your head off the back cushions.
“...told you,” he shrugs. “I’m still figuring you out.”
“Hmm…”
That doesn’t sound horrible, you suppose.
“You’re doing alright, though, don’t worry – I invited you over to the castle, didn’t I?” he gestures about generously and knocks a knuckle on the outside of the trailer.
You chortle.
“El Castillo de Munson, hey?”
“More like The Tower of Saint Edward,” he adopts a deep baritone for said announcement.
“...Edward?”
He thrusts a hand out and places a warm finger over your lips.
“Shh…you heard nothing…”
You laugh and, shortly, he joins.
Since you had failed to bring music – “A fucking travesty, She-Henderson!” Eddie reminded you – you wind up on the inside couch with a movie. Snacks are lined up between you, of course.
Bickering had ensued over what to watch. You’d been the one to mention slashers earlier, so Eddie blamed you for putting it in his head that he wanted something a little gory and a lot murdery. You reminded him that you were the guest, and shouldn’t that count for something? You enjoy Sci-Fi, after all, and made sure to tell him so. He agreed that’s up his alley, but —
“Uh – Tower of Saint Edward, remember?” he’d waved his arms all around. “Does that mean nothing to you?!”
“...okay. Sure. Edward can make the decision…”
Your plan had backfired because, in light of your concession, Eddie decided it was fine to be Edward for the moment.
Your own fault, really – the plan had been high-risk-high-reward.
So you’re watching ‘My Bloody Valentine’ with Eddie’s assurances that he’ll “protect you if you’re scared” (insert waggling eyebrows here).
“Whatever, Munson. Next time, I pick…”
He’d agreed, and while he’d got the VHS set up you had privately marveled over the idea that you’d now both insinuated there should be a next time. You’re both enjoying. This is fine.
This is fun.
Easy, even.
Imagine that.
It doesn’t even bother you when he comes back to the couch, shoves the snacks around a little, and sits a little closer than he’d been while you were debating the merits of one movie versus another.
“Just in case,” he throws his arm up over the back of the couch and nods to the open space under it.
You both laugh.
And he doesn’t actually seem to care either way, which is reassuring. He picks at the snacks along with you the same as he had when you were out front, and that’s that.
Turns out Eddie is someone who is willing to humor talking during movies, which is helpful. You both offer commentary, so it’s easier to ignore some of the splashier moments on screen.
About halfway through the film you’ve got your knees pulled up onto the couch as if they’re going to shield you from all of the "ugh" onscreen. You aren’t going to lose sleep over this movie or anything, but murder towns? No. Not your favorite.
“Spooked, Henderson?” Eddie smirks, eyeing your position.
You shake your head, but his grin feels knowing.
He pats your ankle, which is a little patronizing but you both laugh anyway.
When Eddie gets up a couple minutes later, muttering about using the bathroom, you feel sure he’s going to find a way to scare you when he returns. You’re not sure how since you can see the hallway to the bathroom, but it’s dark and seems like something Eddie would enjoy.
No dice.
He comes back to the living room, dives into the couch to rearrange himself, and hauls your feet up onto his leg by the cuff of your jeans. He pats them again, grinning.
‘I’ll protect you if you’re scared…’ he had teased earlier.
Your inclination is to laugh and pull your feet away. Maybe claim you’re ticklish. Or just say nothing at all about it. That’s your prerogative.
Only…it's warm.
And it feels oddly nice besides.
You leave them even though you feel heat flushing your neck. You ignore the bloom and focus on the stupid movie.
A corner of your mind (the one where you have a tendency to be a little mean to yourself) is telling you that this is just what kids your age do. That it’s nothing at all. That hanging out with new (or new-ish) people is normal. Doing new things, finding boundaries…flirting with those boundaries, maybe. It shouldn’t be strange or exciting.
…you’ve avoided these things a bit, though. So maybe you’re behind, maybe you’re the strange one here.
Or…
You chance a glance over at Eddie, who is chewing on a Cheez Ball and has the next one poised in his hand ready to go. Maybe you’re fine. Maybe you can just let this be what it is. That’s what Eddie seems to be doing. Rolling with it. Enjoying it. He doesn’t seem to think you’re strange …or if he does it’s not in a lame way...
“Alright?” He flicks the bottom of your foot lightly, and you realize he’s watching you back.
“Yeah,” you laugh at yourself.
He accepts that.
You like that about him.
“The weed might just be wearing off I guess…”
“Need more?“
“No,” you decline and nod at the TV. “I’ll probably have to head home after this…”
“Got you…”
“What’d you think?” He checks after the killer is revealed and the ominous ending is wrapping up.
“…will I offend you if I answer honestly?”
He snorts.
“No…but I’ll judge your taste…”
“That’s fair — I’ve already judged yours…”
“Ooooof,” Eddie makes a show of flopping himself against the cushions. “Guess that tells me all I need to know,” he gives one of your feet a squeeze.
“Guess so…”
“Thanks for at least braving through...”
“Hey, I’m not scared,” you defend yourself. “It’s just …gross.”
“Okay, so you’re not going to creeped out driving home tonight?” Eddie challenges you.
“No”
Truth.
“…not going to have a tight grip on the wheel, waiting for something to just appear in the middle of your lane?” He leans in, speaking low and grandious like you’ve heard him during a D&D session.
“Nope”
“…and you won’t be watching the tree line to see if something leaps out ?”
Well…now that he mentions it…
“No,” you deny and kick his knee lightly before you pull your feet around and get up to start clearing your snack bags from the old coffee table.
“Then you’re definitely not worried about a murderer in your back seat…”
Okay, okay, that is spooky!
Asshole.
“Shut up,” you hide your shudder in a laugh and an attempt to smack his shoulder.
He dodges the hit by flattening himself on the couch. Laughing, he springs back up, takes the food from your hands, and whisks off toward the kitchen.
“You want to take these?“ he rattles one of the bags around.
“No, help yourself,” there’s not much left anyways.
“You sure?“ he points to the grocery bag still on the counter.
You wave off these manners. He’s hosted, so he’s welcome to whatever is left.
“Not even to give to your brother?”
“Nope … …don’t tell Dustin though…”
“Hah!’ Eddie tosses his head back, hair flying a little. “Cross my heart, or what the fuck ever,” he doddles his finger over his chest in estimation of such a promise.
You start stepping into your shoes, and he shuffles over to join, hands slid into his back pockets.
“For what it’s worth, I’m sure there’s not a murderer in your back seat…”
“Oh thanks,” you laugh. “But, uh, seriously…thanks for having me over. I had fun — movie choice aside.”
“Cmon cmon, I said I’d let you pick the next one,” he defends himself.
“So you say…”
“I, Eddie Munson,” he raised a hand in an all new pledge. “Hereby swear—“
“Oh my gosh…”
“To sit through any movie you choose with a smile on my face…or suffer the consequences…” he doesn’t break character even in the face of your shushing.
“Any movie?”
“This I do solemnly vow,” he nods. “… …but please have mercy upon my soul,” he then crosses himself entirely incorrectly.
“Dramatic, Munson. But you’re on.”
He shrugs and pushes through the door to walk you out.
“Thanks for coming — I had fun too. Movie tastes aside…”
Eddie offers to check your backseat for pickaxe-wielding psychos, but after you shove his shoulder he stays on the little wooden deck. Just bobs on the balls of his feet and tells you to fend for yourself.
And…despite yourself, you glance into the backseat when you unlock the car. You know there’s not going to be anything there…but also, uh, you don’t know that.
You close your car door to the sound of Eddie’s laughter.
Which isn’t so bad, really.
You keep thinking about it on the way home – his laughter. His smile. He’s full of that kind of lightness, and you would be a liar if you said it isn’t a little surprising.
Of course you’d known he wasn’t what people said – freak, cult leader, dangerous.
But knowing what he wasn’t is not the same as learning what he is. From actual experience. Up close and personal.
You’re not comfortable around a lot of people…or maybe people aren’t comfortable around you? But Eddie isn’t trying to pull you in any direction; rather, it’s like he’s finding ways to meet you where you’re at. Like when he says he wants to figure you out, he means it.
Suffice to say, you hope there really is a “next time.”
...
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#Eddie Munson#eddie munson x reader#henderson!reader#eddie munson fanfic#stranger things fanfic#eddie munson x fem reader#Eddie Munson slow burn#slow burn#moving in the right direction though
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🤡 What's a line, scene, or exchange you've written that made you laugh?
Oh goodness, so my whole Sterek fic Wicked Ink has been so enjoyable to write. I make myself laugh constantly writing and rereading it. Stiles is just hilarious in this one, and that's kind of weird to say since I'm the writer, but I swear it's like I don't even know what's going to come out of Stiles' mouth myself sometimes. I don't even know if I can pick a moment but...
“If you don’t mind me asking. How did you two meet? I mean no offense, but I have to admit I’m insanely curious. You’re not Derek’s usual type. You seem far too interesting for my nephew. He usually goes for more… boring personalities.” A woman who looked a lot like Derek’s dad asked from across the table.
Stiles could tell by the amusement dancing in her eyes as she looked at Derek that Laura and Cora definitely got their humor from their dad’s side of the family. Stiles also didn’t miss how the Jennifer woman shot a sharp glare across the table, and he filed that away for later. There was some history there then - not that Stiles hadn’t already suspected it with the way she looked at Derek.
It also hadn’t escaped Stiles’ notice that Derek didn’t look at her. In fact, he seemed to actively be avoiding any kind of interaction with her, even just a glance, which meant there was some potentially serious and uncomfortable history there they would have to unpack at some point. That was okay exes didn’t scare Stiles. He had an uncomfortable one of his own, after all.
Jennifer was pretty enough, but she did look boring as fuck and stuck up. That could also be the reason Derek’s mother seemed so frosty toward him. Jennifer was her emissary, which meant they were close - which meant whatever this was, it was probably a messy family drama situation, and Stiles was now part of it. Lucky for Derek, he was hot as the sun, totally worth it, and Stiles wasn’t scared of getting a little messy for the right reasons.
“Oh, it’s a heartwarming story, really,” Stiles started, smiling as he saw Derek’s hand move to cover his eyes as if it could hide himself from the trainwreck that was about to happen. “So his pack came into my shop.”
“Your shop?”
“My tattoo parlor.”
“You own a tattoo parlor?”
“Yes, in Beacon Hills. It’s my hometown.”
“So you’re a tattoo artist and a musician?”
“Yes, I offered to do a tattoo for Baby Boy.”
“Baby Boy?”
“Isaac… you know, tall, curly hair, completely adorable but could commit murder - Baby Boy… anyway, they dragged this guy along the next time they came in,” Stiles patted Derek on his perfectly broad chest. “And let me tell you, when I laid eyes on him - the guy should really come with a warning, honestly. I mean, the genetics in your family are crazy impressive, and this guy is just a masterpiece. Generations in the making. He was like - like the most gorgeous thing I have ever seen. My brain couldn’t even process the level of perfect alpha specimen standing there. It was pretty much love at first sight, and I said to him - I said -”
A large, firm hand grabbed the back of his neck and snatched him up like a disobedient pup, and Stiles was honestly surprised it had taken Derek so long.
“Stiles, you are not about to repeat what you said in front of my grandmother, parents, and the pups,” Derek warned, voice low and commanding in a way that did things to Stiles he was sure the other adult wolves around the table could sense.
Stiles bared his neck a little in supplication for Derek in front of them, knowing what it looked like and the effect it had on the alpha. He sent Derek’s aunt a wink. “Yes, sir.”
Derek growled softly against his ear, and his hand tightened a little, causing an excited shiver to race down Stiles’ spine. He and Derek needed to have a talk. The alpha was doing crazy things to Stiles and his magic. Things that Stiles had never felt before with anyone. Stiles knew he was provoking Derek, but he couldn’t help it. His magic craved the alpha and his dominance as much as Stiles’ body did. It was only their first date, but they would need to sit down and have a talk about what this meant.
Derek’s aunt looked positively delighted as she glanced between them. “Oh, you’re a handful, aren’t you.”
Stiles grinned. “I try to be.”
Derek huffed beside him, letting his hand fall from Stiles’ neck to wrap his arm back around Stiles’ waist. Stiles loved the weight of Derek’s arm around him. “Please don’t encourage him.”
“Oh, come on, Derek, we’re just trying to get to know your new beau. Can you blame us for being curious? You’ve never been so quick to claim anyone, not to mention someone so fun,” a well-dressed man sitting beside Derek’s aunt with his arm over the back of her chair spoke up. His eyes lingered on Stiles’ collar, which was more open now, revealing the bite mark beneath. Stiles didn’t do anything to try and cover it back up.
“They think I’m fun,” Stiles stage whispered, turning in the arm Derek had wrapped around his waist and leaning close until his whole front was molded to Derek’s side. “I’m totally in, dude.”
Derek gave his waist a little squeeze, bringing their bodies even tighter together. “Don’t call me dude.”
“I could call you daddy instead,” Stiles murmured, lips tilted up in a smirk against Derek’s ear.
A man further down the table choked on his food, someone else knocked over a glass of wine, Derek’s aunt gave a startled laugh, while his ex Jennifer looked like she’d sucked on a lemon. Stiles glanced at Talia, who looked speechless, which was probably a rare thing for her, but Derek’s father had a large hand covering his face as his shoulders shook, and he tried to control his laughter.
Derek’s eyes were hot and sharp with a nonverbal warning when they cut to him, and Stiles felt himself shiver in a way he knew Derek could feel as well, considering Stiles was pressed right up against him. The muscle in Derek’s jaw flexed as he put his free hand over Stiles' mouth.
It was probably for the best.
For the writer ask: https://at.tumblr.com/nrnyx/700645268338753536/b0dlneqsgo5i
#sterek fic#sterek au#sterek fanfic#sterek fanfiction#sterek#eternal sterek#stiles stilinski#stiles x derek#derek hale#ask game#ask me things#anon ask#writer asks
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Wednesday Season 1 Review
Song of the day: “808s and Goth Bitches” by KIRAW. Wednesday isn’t a goth bitch. I am, though.
It took me a while to finish all eight episodes. And even longer to get around to posting a review. Let’s start off by saying Wednesday surpassed expectations! Not that I thought it would suck.
People are okay with the original Addams Family comics being adult-oriented. (Not as in X-rated. Being published in The New Yorker.) They’re okay with the kid-friendly adaptations. But a spinoff primarily for teenage girls? Stop the presses!
I was first acquainted with the Addamses through The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries. Might post a Scooby-Review someday.
The PG-13 film duology was watched in preparation, so I was expecting some exemplar dark comedy. And Wednesday was full of it! Wednesday made me want to give The Addams Family 2019 another chance, too.
I took notes while watching, then went back and added some thoughts afterwards.
Wednesday’s Child Is Full of Woe
Another show where adults play teenagers. Tyler Galpin’s actor Hunter Doohan is like twenty-nine now.
Already it has some great lines (e.g., “Like electroshock therapy without the satisfying burn”). It’s more inspired by the aforementioned live-action films than the comic or other adaptations. Or so I assume, based on my limited knowledge of them.
I know fans say the Addamses aren’t technically supernatural, “goths are just like that,” but it actually explains a lot. Cousin Itt, Thing, possibly Calpurnia… their extended family in general.
The duology with Christina Ricci didn’t have Wednesday’s narration. It’s nice to see her uniquely creepy and kooky perspective. Her exile to Nevermore Academy reminds me of how Gomez and Fester went to that camp for juvenile offenders.
Wednesday is sassy to her parents, which some reviewers complained about, but it makes sense. She’s a teenager. Although there still is some Dawson casting. Ricci!Wednesday is a preteen.
Adaptations, spinoffs, etc. don’t have to be for every fan of a franchise’s previous works. Again, the comics were published in The New Yorker. Which, while “sophisticated,” isn’t family-oriented.
Unlike other goths, I don’t want to be Wednesday, whose rudeness is amusing. (I really wouldn’t want to hang out with her or her relatives irl, either.) Despite that, they’re all still highly likable as characters. It’s still super easy to empathize with Wednesday at times. Totally understandable why she’d be pissed off with Enid admitting to kinda cyberstalking her.
I respect Wednesday’s devotion to gothiness. She’s not a tryhard. She succeeds. Both her and Enid could easily have come off as annoying, but are highly likable. Enid would fit in with Teen Wolf’s main pack, probably. No transformation? No problem. She doesn’t just have retractable claws, she has manicured, multi-colored ones.
It initially felt like an odd decision to make Nevermore’s cliques vampires, werewolves, telepaths, and sirens. Kind of like a live-action Monster High, only watchable. The only main question this episode left me was, “Why were the Pilgrim World employees rude to the sheriff’s son?”
Woe Is the Loneliest Number
The carousel’s brakes broke at Wednesday’s eighth birthday party? I want to see one of hers or Pugsley’s birthdays so bad. D: This episode features another gothic event, Nevermore Academy’s annual Poe Cup. Seemingly inspired by Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry’s four houses, their inter-house Quidditch matches, and the Triwizard (plus Harry) Tournament.
Thankfully I read His Hideous Heart: 13 of Edgar Allan Poe’s Most Unsettling Tales Reimagined last year. It’s twenty-six Poean texts in all, including the source material. Didn’t have “The Black Cat” or “The Gold-Bug,” though.
“The Black Cat”: Like standard black cat costumes you’d see on Halloween, only a bit cooler.
“The Cask of Amontillado”: Edgy harlequins, like from a joker card.
“The Gold-Bug”: I only read this story once years ago and it was in a more child-friendly anthology, so probably condensed. The original had a really stereotypical black character, though. So I can understand why people would be upset Bianca was team captain. It might also be a reclamation thing on her part. I didn’t mention her earlier, because I thought she’d turn out to be a typical bully, but Bianca’s actually cool. Not sure why some of the fandom labeled her a villain.
“The Pit and the Pendulum”: Are the Hufflepuffs, obvi.
There’s something about boarding school stories, supernatural or no, that are so fun. Anyway, this episode introduces the tomb of Joseph Crackstone. What a name. This is so Potter-esque. There’s also a cool botany class. Compare to Herbology with Prof. Sprout.
Uhh… what else? Headmistress, if you want the children to be “well-rounded,” you’re in the wrong Burton work. Wednesday! Don’t go near the apiary in dark clothes! She’s great. We have no way to know if she’s just messing with people or not sometimes.
Takeaway from this episode: Nevermore is a good successor to Hogwarts.
Friend or Woe
“Nightshades” is a cool name for a secret club, but there are other poisonous plants besides belladonna. As its members should know from aforementioned Botany. (While watching this, my dad sent me an article about herbal/mushroom teas, dangers of. First time I’ve heard of chaga, though.)
“Do you want a matching black eye?” -Wednesday to merguy. In hindsight, he might have been the first Addams Family character to be naked, besides Cousin Itt. Who hasn’t made an appearance so far. The act of giving double barrel black eyes is known as “raccooning,” btw. According to that one guy on Justified.
It’s nice to see that even though Jericho is “normie,” its thrift store Uriah’s Heap has taxidermy roadkill. Which could be considered more ethical than hunting for the sole purpose of stuffing.
I hope Netflix knows Puritans and Pilgrims weren’t the same. 🤨 Taking Addams Family Values into account, it’s unsurprising Wednesday’s unhappy about Pilgrim cosplay. Even if it’s in black and white.
Another callback to the ‘90s movies is her beef with GSUSA. “I eat Girl Scouts for breakfast.” What’s it with her and Scouts? I always felt bad for them because they’re expected to work outside in cold weather.
Wednesday realizing the girl in the Meeting House painting is Goody Addams is the most excited we’ve seen her so far, I believe.
“Whitewashing of American history,” “mansplaining…” (“Sexsplaining” flows better, imo.) I like how her social justice leanings are divorced from her general assholery. Like, she could be performative about it, but no, she’s genuinely pissed at injustice. And does something about it.
Woe What a Night
Wednesday was probably so, so happy to be in a morgue. More so than most macabre goths. Also, using a mortician’s recorder then actually getting to play deadly hide-and-seek in a mortuary cabinet!
Interesting ep for ships. Personally, I’m not picky about who Wednesday ends up with, or even if she ends up with any of the introduced characters so far. I thought she was going to volunteer Enid as a date to Xavier. Whose Rave’N fit made him look kind of like a hatless Doug Dimmadome.
“Give me a call if I ever move up your to-do list.” -Tyler Galpin. Cold. (Note, after finishing this season, I still prefer her with Tyler. :P) It was nice of her to include Eugene in her hunt for the monster, even if it was mostly because she utilized the apiary to store crime scene photos.
So Morticia’s maiden name is Frump? I kind of wondered if she and Gomez had a cousband thing going on. (Not my thing, just noting it.) *googles* Okay, I should’ve watched the TV series. The live-action one. I am woefully behind on Addams lore.
You Reap What You Woe
Ah, Gomez, smiling during his own arrest. Perhaps reminded of his juvenile offender days. Maybe.
Oh good, Eugene’s not dead. Yet. Janet referred to her son’s bees as his “fuzzy wuzzy babies.” 🥺 I hope this show sparked an interest in beekeeping for at least some viewers.
I don’t usually look great in yellow, but I want Bianca mom’s scaly coat. Glamorous family. Glamily. Again, she’s the protagonist’s rival, but not villainous. At all. She’s not worse than Wednesday, really.
Like her daughter, it makes sense that Morticia would have more than one admirer. Even back then, some people just really wanted a goth GF. I wondered if she thought his name was “Garrote” Gates. “His mistook her kindness for interest.” A tale as old as time. No Garrett, you stupid prep, get off the goth campus. >:(
Besides the identity of the monster, the biggest question so far is, “How many times has Gomez played Russian roulette with Wednesday if they’ve been playing since she was twelve??” Eating rattlesnake isn’t even that weird compared to what the Addamses usually do.
I’ve seen people complain that Wednesday had the family be Mexican when Luis Guzman and Jenna Ortega are Puerto Rican, but the keyword is “ancestor,” I guess. The whole werewolf conversion camp thing with Enid was even clunkier.
This is going to make me sound stupider than usual, but at first I thought “FIRE WILL RAIN” was a command. Like, fire someone named “Will Rain.” “FIRE WILL RAIN” is still an improvement over “ENEMIES OF THE HEIR… BEWARE.”
Quid Pro Woe
Enid’s outfits look so comfy. Between the fuzzy pink coat and her Rave’N outfit. Theme: Yeti? Without an actual yeti present? Disappointment.
Aw, she planned a surprise party and even Thing was wearing a tiny party hat.
@judge-m0rt1s and I really wanna see Enid go pastel goth and try to get Wednesday to embrace it. Their characterizations could’ve easily been annoying, but their dynamic’s cute. I felt a little bad for poor infatuated Tyler. With their matching snoods, I’m sure he suspected Enid and Wednesday were dating.
I still can’t get over how much of a name “Crackstone” is.
If You Don’t Woe by Now
Fester finally shows up! Aw, Wednesday’s smiling at her uncle. (If I ever rewatch this season, I’m going to keep a smile tally.) I’m used to Christopher Lloyd’s gruff voice.
“Group electroshock therapy.” Between her mention of ECT in the first ep, the taser, and Ricci!Wednesday’s use of an electric chair on Pugsley… Maybe Wednesday should become an electrician. Eh? Eh?
Penny’s Pooch Patrol is everything.
For someone who’s into Gothic lit, I haven’t seen much Jekyll & Hyde media. Hopefully this show also gets people into aspects of goth culture besides fashion. Besides Harry Potter and Teen Wolf, this show also reminds me a bit of NBC’s Grimm.
Aw, Tyler’s determined to get Wednesday to go out with him. I love how persistent he is, despite her warnings. At first I was really impressed by the crypt picnic date, projector and all, but I can’t get into Legally Blonde. But, oh, so Tyler’s actually a deranged monster? Nice.
(It’s still funny how the actor’s almost thirty.)
A Murder of Woes
Not only is Tyler a Hyde, he’s aware he’s a Hyde. And HE GOT CORRUPT. :D
I wish Bianca had used her siren powers to get Tyler to tell the truth while Wednesday had him chained up. Wednesday’s methods are crude. But she definitely has a strong sense of justice. She had a point, Weems!
I get not wanting the school to go, uh, but uh… Weems isn’t the greatest headmistress. (Cool character, though.) “I didn’t ask what she identified as.” You don’t identify as a Hyde! Francois just was one.
Marilyn (Laurel) had a weird MD/LB thing going on with Tyler. (I say “weird,” because she’s evil.) Morticia and Gomez are supposed to be the kinkiest.
When Wednesday’s the one bound to a chair.... “Kind of a déjà vu thing we got going on, huh?” “Except I won’t cry and whine like a child.” YOU TELL HIM, WEDNESDAY. She’s masochistic, and probably right.
Goody Addams… Goody’s supposed to be her given name, but Goody is an abbreviation of Goodwoman. Basically a Puritan honorific equivalent of Mrs.
Outcasts “stole” Crackstone’s land? Wednesday already got postcolonial. Don’t make her do it again. >:(
Hell yeah, Bianca, stab that undead mofo! Also, Eugene returns. With his bees! It was kind of funny seeing Laurel shoot at a swarm with a handgun.
In conclusion, Tim Burton redeemed himself with Wednesday, after a string of movies I didn’t particularly care for. I love how the show took common tropes but made them entertaining as heck. Like the whole bloodline/sacrifice/night of the (whatever) thing. Goody’s ghost healing her was a bit of a deus ex machina, though.
#Tawney talks#Wednesday#Addams Family#KIRAW#Wednesday series#minors do not interact#shipcest#MD/LB#Wednesday Netflix#Addams Family 1991#Addams Family Values#Jessicka Addams#Scott Addams#Scooby Doo#Addams Family 2019#Hunter Doohan#Christina Ricci#Monster High#Edgar Allan Poe#Harry Potter#His Hideous Heart#Tim Burton#Justified#Fairly OddParents#Luis Guzman#Jenna Ortega#Christopher Lloyd#Grimm#Jekyll and Hyde#Legally Blonde
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The Real Deal
Part 4 - A New Friend
Description: Bill and Cassandra have been friends a long time and with time realize Cassandra he is her dream but not just him but also his lifestyle.
Characters: AU Single Bill Skarsgård. A version of Bill where he becomes single 2017 and with a different timeline. AU Skarsgårds and others. The rest is my own original characters.
Setting: The story will jump from 2001 until present day. In this chapter we will jump between 2014 and 2019.
Warnings: 18+, sex work, toxic relationships, talk about sex, mentions about drugs, drunkeness, jealousy. I'm playing around a lot with Bill's storyline, nothing should be seen as truth.
A girl idol? Was it that he was? It felt like overnight his life had changed. Sure, he had fans in Sweden too but Swedes didn't scream out loud by seeing him, it was nervous looking twelve year olds that asked for an autograph. It wasn't like this. He watched all the girls that stood outside of the building waiting to meet him and his co-star Landon. It was mostly just girls. He had shown himself in the windows to test what would happen and they screamed like hyenas tearing a prey to pieces. He felt a mix of adrenaline and fear but he also knew they expected Roman Godfrey, a role he had played for many many hours and could step out and in from just as easily as walking through a door. But it wasn't him. He didn't see himself as sexy or mysterious. He would probably explain himself more as goofy and with his head up in the clouds but social media had instead decided he was sexy. He didn't like to read it because he couldn't recognize himself in the words.
"Are we ready for this?" Landon asked with a nervous laugh.
"Nah, let's run to the fucking woods. I don't think we will survive otherwise," Bill joked. "But I need a smoke before this. I invited Cassie to this, she will be so pissed I exposed her to this." He continued.
Landon laughed and started to walk to the back door where they could smoke in private.
"So she's out there with the fans or is she with the media?"
"She's out there with all the girls. I didn't succeed in getting her a press pass."
Bill followed Landon and took out a cigarette at the same time from the pack lying in the inner pocket of his leather jacket.
"She’s going to kill you. She couldn't be prepared for this shit."
Bill sighed and put the cigarette between his pouty lips and lit it.
Outside stood Cassie with her friend Lin. They had become friends at the fashion marketing program they studied at in New York. When Bill said he had a press thing there she didn’t hesitate saying yes to his invite. She expected press people and maybe some fans standing in a line to get an autograph on a picture of him as that vampire. Instead there were hundreds of girls pumped with nerves and adrenaline. Half of them seemed to believe they had a chance with one of the leads. Sure, Bill was single now and had even become a bit slutty but he was way too professional to sleep with an eighteen year old fan.
"He's sooo hot and I love his little Swedish accent!" A girl said in front of them. Lin looked at Cassie and made a face.
"Are they talking about your friend?"
"I think so… He looks good I guess…" Cassie didn't want to confess to Lin how hot he actually was. It was too big of a risk she would sound like she was interested in him in another way then just friendly.
Lin looked at something by the door.
"Is that him?" Lin pointed to a white poster with two pictures of Bill manipulated together. He made a serious expression in one and on the other one he was screaming.
"Yeah, the vampire," said Cassie and tried to sound natural even if she could see how hot he was in the serious picture.
"He looks like one," said Lin but then continued to listen to the fans amused.
Cassie could see it too, that he looked like a vampire. The kind that teenage girls wanted to give blood to and then have passionate needy sex with. Cassie couldn't really recognize her Bill in the picture. Her pictures of Bill were just weird, with silly faces or some sort of pose or he looked tired at the camera, tired of her taking pictures. This guy was another Bill, maybe the vampire or that face he would now show to the fans.
While Cassie stood in her own thoughts, playing with the MK charm on her Michael Kors bag they opened the doors and the girls started pushing in so hard Cassie was close to stumbling on her heels. Why hadn't Bill told her it would be like a sale at Zara? Would she soon be like a blouse on the floor stomped on and forgotten in a corner? She thought she would have time with Bill, introduce him to Lin and meet the guy he had replaced her with. His new best friend, Landon, who was his co-star but also the person he now did everything with, that he talked to when life was tough. She hated the guy lowkey but would never tell Bill that, it would be so childish and she also had new friends, like Lin.
She was mad that he had told her to come to this shit show but she was mostly angry because it felt like Bill wasn't hers anymore.
×
She asked him if he wanted to stay with her again. She prepared by cleaning, changing the sheets and hiding a deodorant for men and a green tooth brush. She looked through her wardrobe, trying to find something sexy but casual to wear when he would come.
Bill would come back to New York to do press for IT Chapter Two and the indie movie Villains. Even if he had just been away for little more than a month Cassie missed him like crazy.
But Bill sighed on the line. Cassie got a bad feeling at once and sat down on her bed.
"Eeeh… You know Larissa? Well, we, we still have contact and… We want to see each other so it's probably easier if I check in at a hotel…" Bill stuttered.
Cassie didn't even know he still had contact with Larissa. She had really thought he would get tired of her but maybe she had the same qualities as his exes so he more or less became a little boy in her hands. Bill could be way too submissive.
"Yeah okay, how long will you be here?" She asked and tried to sound indifferent.
"Not long, we’re doing press in London too. Little more than a week."
Bill was in L.A., sitting at the hotel balcony by himself. With time he had learned to appreciate time alone. It was really nice to come home to an empty hotel room after having been around people all day. And he could always just call someone if he needed company.
He hadn't told Cassie about his continued contact with Larissa. He didn't really know why, it was just weird talking about the phone calls he had had with the model. It wasn't anything serious and he didn't even know what she wanted. Maybe it was just a fun thing for her? He didn't know what he wanted either, he had been single a long time now and he might just want a girlfriend. He missed a body next to him in bed, someone that dragged her nails over his back and kissed his temples when the migraine started to come.
"Okay, but do you have time for dinner?" Cassie asked and dragged her toe in the rug to create patterns.
"Sure. Can't we do it at your place? Then we can chill, drink too much and I can sleep on the couch." Bill said with a big smile on his face.
Cassie laughed.
"Like you will take the couch! You always lay like a little seastar in my bed at the end of the night!"
"A little seastar?"
Cassie felt a tingle in her nether region by hearing Bill's teasing voice so close.
"You're always little with me. Always a little, little baby seastar."
Bill glided down in his chair and spread his legs. He unconsciously dragged a hand over his crotch. He wore a pair of black joggers that sat tight over his thighs and groin.
"You can take care of me like the little baby I am," Bill smirked.
Cassie dragged a hand over her chest and bit her lip.
"Can't wait, baby."
×
Cassie did a lot for Bill. She would do the most to just be near him, to feel that magical aura he had and experience that glorious warmth when he smiled at her but to be at this event was too much. Inside the girls pushed even more and screamed his name so much it sounded like just a weird sound to her. Lin had an almost panicked look and when Cassie finally said they should go she more or less ran for her life. Bill was her best friend but he wasn't worth fighting hundreds of girls who wanted him to drink their period blood. No, no, no.
Bill looked for Cassie in the auditorium when he sat on the stage for the interview. He couldn't even see one face because of the bright lights but he knew, he knew she wasn't there. It was just a feeling, creeping up his back bone inside of his thin white t-shirt. He got disappointed but then heard the girls screaming again and realized it was probably wise she wasn't there. She would have strangled one of the girls before this was over.
Cassie had become much more tough after she moved to New York and now dared to be honest and harsh. Bill liked that, he even liked that she dared to call him names. It was quite funny to be called all sorts of names by her.
He hoped she wasn't too pissed that she wouldn't want to meet him afterwards. They had planned for him to see her dorm room and then eat at her favorite sushi place. He didn't want her to cancel that just because his invite went wrong.
Landon gave him a look. He could see on Bill's face he was worrying about something. He recognized the way Bill chewed on the inside of his lips and dusted away at his pants for dust that wasn't even there.
"You okay?" Landon asked lowly so no one else heard.
"She’s left, I just know it. I hope she isn't mad for real."
Landon gave him a small smile.
"She will not be mad because of such a little thing for very long. You know she has missed you. Relax."
Bill looked at his friend and smiled. He really appreciated Landon's kindness. He knew that he and Cassie were close but never joked about it, never pried but was always there to support Bill's friendship with her.
"Yeah, yeah. Back to work." Said Bill and gave Landon's knee a squeeze.
Landon had got used to how physical Bill was now. He didn't see himself as someone that had a problem with guys being physical but he was a bit shocked when his friendship with Bill became closer. He showed his appreciation and love to friends by touching them, hugs and even a kiss on the cheek but he never gave that vibe of being gay, he was just friendly and when Landon met his family he realized where he had gotten it from. The whole family was just like Bill. He had probably never got so many hugs that he got those two weeks with The Skarsgård family.
Bill had focused so much on the press work he was forced to do that he forgot about his nerves over Cassie but when they were off for the day he read her text and remembered his worry but got calm at the same time. She had written her address and the code to the door so he and Landon could come when they were finished. Bill took Landon with him to Cassie’s and felt the tingle in his face he always had when he would meet Cassie. All around him stuff was happening, crazy cabs, crying kids and stressed people but Bill didn't gave them any attention he just thought about Cassie.
Cassie sat on her bed, dressed down in pink pajama pants and a white tank top and looked through the sushi menu. She wondered if they should order a big mix and share? But if Bill had Landon with him it would be way too little. She heard a knock on the door suddenly and perked up. How did she even look? Her make up wasn't at all as perfect as it had been earlier but now she didn't have the time or energy to fix it.
"Cassie, honey, ray of light! Are you theeere?" A singsong Bill said through the door. Cassie laughed and opened the door and met two handsome faces. Bill lifted her up in his arms like she didn't weigh a thing and pressed his nose against her neck to breathe in her vanilla scent.
"Fuck I missed you," he said then he let her down.
"I miss you too Billy. You must be Landon," she said and turned to him as he stood a bit behind Bill.
"Yeah, yeah. Cassie right?"
Cassie just smiled.
"You're probably tired but do you feel like going around the corner for sushi?" She asked them both.
"Mm, can't we bring it to the hotel? You can sleep in my room." Bill said and started to look around in her dorm room. It wasn't anything special but he smiled at the picture of them as sixteen year olds on her wall.
"Okay, let me just change. It's okay if you come in and sit on the bed to wait or something," she said kindly to Landon, who looked a bit uncomfortable. He smiled and walked in with Bill while Cassie grabbed a pair of black skinny jeans and a gray knitted sweater. While Cassie changed and fixed her make up in the bathroom Bill and Landon waited on her in her bedroom. Landon sat on the bed playing with his phone while Bill walked around. When he opened a drawer in the dresser to look inside it Landon smirked because of his likeness to his character Roman. But when Bill saw the lacy panties he closed quickly with blushing cheeks. That wasn't for his eyes. Just then Cassie came out from the bathroom and Bill turned around fast like she had seen what he was doing. Cassie just smiled and packed her things in her Michael Kors bag, she even opened the same drawer Bill had opened and grabbed a pair of red lacy panties. She did it like it wasn't weird at all but both of the boys looked quite uncomfortable at the sight of the underwear.
"Should we go then?" Cassie asked and put the bag in the fold of her arm. The boys said "Yeah" at the same time and Landon stood up while Bill pushed down his hands in the front pockets of his jeans.
×
Bill stood by Cassie's stove making a Swedish fish gratin. It was one of Cassie's Swedish favorites and Bill's mother's was the best. Bill couldn’t make it as good but it was close enough and it was a pleasure to see him cook in her little kitchen. His gray sweatpants hung low on his hips and his black t-shirt was formless and too short by being washed too many times.
Cassie thought about how many girls would kill to have Bill in their kitchen, relaxed and comfortable but then she thought they probably would rather be Larissa. The girl that had the privilege to lay under his rolling hips. He had been in New York four days now and Cassie hadn't dared to ask him how many nights he had spent with Larissa. She knew she didn't have the right to ask. She took a big gulp of her Cabernet Sauvignon and watched Bill's profile while he mixed the potato mash. She was glad he used one day to be with her.
Bill also stood in his own thoughts. He had finally picked the playlist they listened to for once and Nick Cave made him always think too much. Right now he thought about the lingering scent of male cologne he had smelled on Cassie's bed. It wasn't his, this was a more heavy scent. He couldn't explain why but it felt more like a scent a man older than him would have. Had Cassie had a man there? Hadn't she changed the sheets? Just by reflex he looked out from the kitchen into her bed while putting the mash potatoes in a dish. The sheets were dark gray so he would be able to see white stains clearly on them. He looked at Cassie who now sat with her phone.
"Have you met a guy?" Bill gained the courage to ask. Cassie looked up from her phone and gave him just a frowning stare.
"It smelled like… a man in your bedroom."
Cassie swallowed dryly. She thought she had hidden everything from Bill but she had forgotten the scent.
"Yeah… It's nothing serious."
She wondered if that was true or not. She and Georg had made a new deal. She was more or less his girlfriend. A girlfriend he paid. He came to her whenever he wanted, he invited her to fancy events, he called her his girlfriend and he was now her only daddy. One dick, more money.
"Is he older?" Bill asked before taking a sip from his own wine glass. Cassie laughed.
"How did you know that?"
"I have a good nose. It smells like a gentleman. Maybe fifty?"
Cassie didn't answer that and just smiled a bit. She didn't think so often about Georg's age, she mostly just thought about what he could give her.
"Is he rich?"
Cassie wagged her head from side to side and played with her wine glass.
"I guess so."
Bill leaned against the kitchen counter and threw the kitchen towel over his shoulder.
"Is that the reason you are with him? Like with that dude, Chris?"
Chris was the stockbroker she had been together with a few years ago. She had never confessed for herself that she was with him because of the money and hearing Bill say it offended her. Of course he didn't understand, he had always had money. Cassie made an annoyed sound.
"I don't want to talk about this with you, Bill."
"Because I'm right?"
"Oh fuck you, go and fuck your lingerie model if you're going to judge me!"
Bill sighed and turned to the gratin, continuing his work. They had been friends so long her anger didn't scare him away but he understood he should shut up.
Cassie looked at Bill's back and took a deep breath. She looked at the smooth skin between his t-shirt and the band of his armani underwear. Just as smooth like he had been when he was ten years younger.
"I'm sorry. It's just that you don't know how it is to not have any money. I like a guy that can give me that safety, just like you want a woman that spoils you like you are a prince."
Bill laughed so his dimple showed and the fine lines around his eyes.
"That's because I am a prince."
"Or a little boy."
"Maybe so. But you also treat me like a prince. Always giving me a scalp massage and helping me pluck my eyebrows."
Cassie stood up and walked towards Bill. She hugged his waist and looked up at him.
"That's because you're hopeless. You would look like a troll if I didn't help you." She said with a baby voice.
×
It went fast for Cassie to become comfortable with Landon. They sat on Bill's bed in his hotelroom all three of them and talked about the silliest things. But even if Cassie was more comfortable with Landon it became quiet when Bill began to text on his phone. Maybe it was because of the uncomfortable silence Landon started to talk.
"It's a girl," he whispered to Cassie but loud enough that Bill could hear. Bill looked up at Landon like he wanted him to shut up.
"Oh, a girl? Who?" Said Cassie teasingly and looked between Landon and Bill. She couldn't pinpoint why but it was really hard for her to hear that. It was almost like she didn't want to know.
"Mhm, a gorgeous, crazy actress," Landon said with his loud whisper.
"Shut up, dude," said Bill half as a joke.
"Crazy?" Asked Cassie.
"Crazy. The only thing those two seem to do is to party and fuck. Should I tell her about last week?"
"Just shut up, no one wants to hear," Bill said and laid his phone on the bed beside him.
"I want to know," Cassie continued to look between the two guys with a curious face.
"Well… We were out then they suddenly disappeared so I looked for them and… I found them around the corner of the club… Up against the wall." Landon said and looked amused at Bill. Cassie felt something in her throat but tried to swallow it.
"Excuse me?" She said and looked at Bill who sat with his hands over his face.
"And they have done this several times. They should be glad they haven't been arrested."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah…" said Bill. Cassie laughed to hide the other emotions she felt and tried to stop seeing it in her head. It didn't sound like Bill at all. Okay, he did silly, stupid things but never anything like this, it sounded so trashy.
"But she is a nice girl?" Cassie asked and looked at Bill.
"Yeah, totally. She just likes to take risks," Bill said while Landon was quiet and just gave her a look. Cassie just felt more and more strange about it all.
"Like what kind of risks?"
The both of them were quiet and it really worried her. Was it drugs? Was it criminal stuff?
"I hope you take care of yourself, Billy."
Bill just sighed and continued to eat.
Cassie didn't like that he pushed her out. He used to share everything and now he didn't even answer questions. Three months after that it would be even worse. She couldn't get a hold of him.
x
#bill skarsg��rd#bill skarsgard#fan fiction#writing#story#fiction#bill skarsgård writing#bill skarsgård fanfiction
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How Barry Probably Proposes (aka anyone wanna continue this for me just for pure amusement?)
The notion hadn’t really struck him till some well to do old biddy stepped into his shop, sneering and turning up her pointed shrew’s nose at every little speck of dust she found along the knick knacks that lined all the shelves.
It was a fucking pawn shop, not some brand name bitch garden in Beverly Fucking Hills. What did the old hag expect from him?
“Can I help you?” He hummed, looking as disinterested in the woman’s judgmental glance over as he possibly could. He wanted to smile at the huff of disapproval she let out when a fly invaded her personal space but held it in for the time being. He was a business man after all. So long as they were carrying cash in their wallets anyone was welcome in here.
“Well, I just don’t know!” Her voice was as shrill as Barry remembered his bitch of a fifth grade teacher’s being, but still, he kept his cool while the biddy babbled on. Something about her husband and his damn drunkard of a little brother, a good bit of property stolen and probably gone for good, and an unoriginal sob story about having to pawn off her pearls and shit to pay for new furniture for the upstairs den.
He didn’t really start listening until a pile of sparkling necklaces and gems were dropped onto the counter in front of him and one pretty gold band in particular caught his eye over all the rest.
“Yeah, I’ll take it off your hands.” He found himself agreeing to buying the jewelry before he’d even checked to make sure the gold in all of it wasn’t utter bullshit.
Well, the tests were performed of course, as per usual, but still, he’d never been so eager to take home a sparkly little find like that pretty little ring. Sure, it might’ve been plain, but it was the fact that it looked to be just the right size to slip onto his baby boy’s finger that really had Barry determined to make the trinket his own.
He priced the rest of the old woman’s things, collected his cash, then told his dear assistant that he was taking off early for the evening.
“I liked you a lot better before you went fallin’ for primping, pretty little kooks, boy.”
The poor old gal. Barry had been taking off from the shop early a lot more often, now that he had a sweet piece of ass to go home to every night.
A sweet piece of ass that he aimed to make his officially once he got back home with a freshly polished gold ring in his pocket, and a bouquet of stolen flowers, which he’d plucked from the little walkway leading up from the parking lot he shared with a rundown little pharmacy, in hand.
“Country Club!” He called for Rafe once he finally made it through the front door of their trailer. “Pack up your bags! We goin’ to Vegas for the weekend!”
He grabbed for the ring in his pocket as he heard soft footsteps coming from the kitchen…
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The Boys Who Wouldn’t Grow Up - Chapter 5
Summary: A curious, little bookshop has caught Marko's attention, but perhaps the shop workers he meets are the true curiosity
In this AU, they run a spooky book shop instead of a comic book store!
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The brief glimpse that Marko had gotten of the store from the outside was only a fraction of the wonders that greeted him when he stepped inside. Rows of bookshelves stretched all the way to the back of the store, and the deeper he ventured in, the more curiosities he found. The collection of oddities that lined the shelves and tables were truly whimsical, adding a lot of character to the dark interior.
David hadn’t been kidding when he described his younger brother as being like a bird when it came to pretty, shiny things. Marko loved collecting little treasures as a kid and seeing all the curiosities in the store really brought out that love for collecting again. If he came across the owner, he’d have to ask where they found all this cool stuff.
What interested Marko more than the décor were the books that were jam-packed on the shelves. The library back in his hometown had been evenly divided into different genres and topics, but it seemed like this store only sold books about the creepy, spooky, and macabre.
Titles from Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and H.P. Lovecraft were presented on the shelves near the front of the store, no doubt to get the attention of shoppers since those names were more commonly known to readers. As Marko slipped further into the shop, the titles and authors became less mainstream. Still, even if he didn’t recognize some names, the dark bindings with creepy titles that greeted him were still intriguing enough to capture his attention.
Marko eyed a shelf that was lined entirely with stories about mythical creatures, trying to pick out which one he’d like to give a try. As he carefully examined the options, he couldn’t help but feel like he was being watched. Back in school, he was used to getting stared at by other kids since he liked to read one of the several books he owned during lunch or slower moments in class. Some jerks couldn’t help butting into his space and asking what he was reading. However, this kind of staring felt different. It was more…vigilant.
He glanced to the left out of the corner of his eye and confirmed his suspicions when a fellow blondie met his gaze. The guy was tall and lanky, his wild hair styled high up. His clothes were dark and decorated with various pins and pieces of mesh fabric. His long, slender fingers were littered with crazy-looking silver rings, and said fingers were wrapped around a cardboard box full of plastic-wrapped books to be added to the shelves.
Marko quickly deduced that it was one of the shop workers keeping an eye out for a potential thief. He didn’t blame the guy. If he had this cool-looking place as his business, he’d be guarding it fiercely too.
He did his best to ignore the guy, putting his focus on one of the books he plucked off a nearby shelf. He started flipping through the crisp pages of “The Hound of the Baskervilles”, remembering the story from the time he did a book report for school. Everyone else had been bored to tears from the Sherlock Holmes tale, but Marko had eagerly read the entire story front to back long before the assignment was due. Skimming across the story made him chuckle as he recalled the students sitting next to him attempting to copy off of him during chapter quizzes. It definitely worked in his favor to be a bookworm.
His amusement was cut short when he got that feeling yet again. The feeling of being stared at. This time, he glanced back in the opposite direction from before, confirming his suspicions when he spotted another worker staring.
This guy had a tan complexion and a long ponytail of dark, shiny hair. Like several others roaming the store, he had dark makeup smudged around his deep, brown eyes. He had a worn, leather jacket with a massive leopard patch and some beaded charms hanging from the pockets. Underneath was a black t-shirt that looked a size too small over his strong arms and chest. Not that Marko had been looking there on purpose, of course…
Not only could he sense the two shop workers watching him closely, but he could also hear them stepping away from their spots to make their way over to where he was by the shelves. Without thinking, Marko lifted one of his thumbs to his mouth and started chewing on his nail, trying to calm the nerves that were building up inside. He had a lot of restless energy that he didn’t always know how to handle.
One coping mechanism Marko had picked up over the years was biting his nails, particularly his thumb. His father complained of the habit and suggested clipping them down so he wouldn’t be tempted to chew, but Marko outright ignored that suggestion. It was oddly comforting having this to help with his high nerves.
By the time the two strangely dressed guys had gotten to his spot, Marko had nearly bitten down the nail to the top of the nail bed. He had to be careful not to do it too much and risk hurting himself.
“Cool jacket, dude,” the blond one said, getting Marko’s attention. “Didn’t expect a tourist to put that amount of effort into blending in”. Even though Marko knew this guy was attempting to pick a joke, he could still sense a genuine compliment on the outfit he wore. Judging by the way these guys looked and where they work, they enjoyed anything wild and odd.
“Thanks. I sewed all the patches on myself” Marko said, placing the book back on the shelf. The least he could do to make a good first impression with these two would be taking care of the merchandise. Didn’t want to put things back in the wrong places or dog-ear the pages. Truly the worst crimes a reader could commit.
“Did a good job, too. I remember it was a bitch getting this one patch on. Had band-aids on my fingers for days” the brunet chimed in. His voice was a lot lower than Marko had expected. It definitely contrasted with the laidback, Californian accent the other one clearly had. Feeling a little more comfortable with the two of them, Marko ceased his nail-biting and continued to skim the line of spooky book titles to choose from.
“You wanna copy of ‘Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark’? That one’s real popular with the kids at the playground” the blond teased, snickering at his own joke. The brunet smirked, crossing his arms and leaning against the bookshelf Marko had been browsing. They were closing in on his space more, but he wouldn’t let them get under his skin (or diss a good book that actually got him into reading more horror stories).
“Actually I wouldn’t mind getting ‘The Haunting of Hill House’. You definitely can’t have a store like this and not have it in stock” Marko said nonchalantly. He had to stop the smug look from spreading on his face when he watched the two punk-styled workers perk up, clearly impressed by his taste.
“You sure you can handle that? It’s not for the faint of heart, especially for a first-time reader” the brunet asked, still trying to seem cool and mysterious.
“Oh, I’ve read it tons of times. I just need a new copy since my old one got too worn out” Marko explained. “’ Fear is the relinquishment of logic, the willing relinquishing of reasonable patterns. We yield to it or we fight it, but we cannot meet it halfway. That’s probably my favorite line in the book”
Marko must have said the right thing because the two workers were now a lot less cautious and teasing than they were before. They had goofy smiles on their faces and were both casually leaning against either side of the bookcase. Marko felt himself relax as well, finally rid of the urge to chew on his nails more.
“Got good taste in books, Bud” the blond complimented Marko. He stuck one of his thumbs out and pointed it up at himself. “I’m Paul. That’s my brother, Dwayne. This was our parents' store but we gave it a much-needed makeover” he introduced, directing his thumb in his brother’s direction when he said his name.
“I’m Marko. It’s a cool place. Definitely better than any bookstore I’ve been to” Marko smiled, letting his eyes wander upward to look up at the dark, purple lights. They really had done a good job with decorating. It was a good way to show that reading didn’t have to be boring or scholarly all the time. Plus everything was super cool to look at.
“You’re definitely not from around here, huh?” Dwayne said, giving it as more of a statement than a question. He leaned in closer to Marko, his deep, dark eyes scanning the shorter boy carefully. It was a little hard to think with both of the brothers standing so close to him. Did the store suddenly get a bit warmer, or was it just him?
“N-No, I’m not..” Marko admitted. He fiddled with his thumbs a bit, trying his best to fight off the urge to nip at the nails some more. “My dad dragged me and my brother here for the summer…”
Marko went silent when he saw Dwayne and Paul give each other a knowing look. How could two guys around his age be so intimidating, especially when they were quiet? Better yet, why did he feel so intimidated by them to begin with?
“Well then Marko, why don’t you take this~ ” Paul purred. He reached across the pathway to grab a book off one of the top shelves. He used his jacket sleeve to buff the front cover, removing any dust or marks from the material. Satisfied with how it looked, he held out the thick, red, leather-bound book for Marko to take. Looking at the title, he recognized the work right away.
Dracula by Bram Stoker.
“Thanks, but I’ve already read this one” he politely declined. He was already pretty familiar with the classic staples of horror literature. For the Halloween season last year he read Dracula, Frankenstein, Jekyll & Hyde, and The Werewolf Of Paris back to back while gorging on candy. He had a wicked stomach ache the following day, but it had definitely been worth it.
Surprisingly, Dwayne pushed the book further into his hands, not listening to his decline of the offer.
“You’re going to want to give it another read. A thorough one” Dwayne said, giving the book cover a tap. “If you’re gonna live with the…weirdos around here, then consider that your ticket to survival”.
Before Marko could ask what the hell he was talking about, a loud crash came from the front of the store by the entrance. Shattered ceramic and candles from the candelabra were scattered all over the floor, purposely knocked over by some members of the local surf gang. Now distracted and furious, Dwayne and Paul left Marko by himself in the store, sprinting after the obnoxious jerks who broke their stuff.
“GET BACK HERE AND FIGHT ME, YOU FUCKIN’ DICKHEAD” Paul shouted, grabbing a witch’s broom from the corner to use as a weapon. Dwayne closely followed his brother, either to provide backup for a fight or to keep Paul out of one. Marko wasn’t quite sure, but either way, things didn’t seem like they would end pretty.
As the two odd brothers ran off, he gave the book a closer look. Flipping through the pages he could see the paper was worn out, a sign of many re-reads. There were notes scrawled along some of the pages in various ink colors. Were they notes that Paul and Dwayne wrote?
While he was a bit curious, Marko ultimately decided he wasn’t interested enough to give it a second read. He instead slipped the book back on the shelf and made his way out of the store to find David on the boardwalk. Maybe tomorrow he’d come back and thank them before buying something new instead.
David was getting tired from all this searching. Every time he found someone who looked slightly like his mystery girl, his hopes got up only to be swiftly crushed when he realized it wasn’t her. He hadn’t been looking at his watch so he had no idea how long he had been walking along the boardwalk or how long Marko had been waiting for him.
His feet were aching in his boots and his energy was draining more and more by the second. He had already been worn out from the concert, but he was ready to get back home and get to bed. Why did he already have to feel so tired when he was supposed to be a kid full of energy?
“Look out! On your right!” A voice called out behind him. David snapped his head around before jumping out of the way of three kids speeding down the boardwalk on slick, shiny bicycles. Curious, he watched them sway through the crowds, their laughter louder than any of the noise he heard from the people, the rides or the music playing from the nearby shops.
He couldn’t help but feel an ache in his heart as he watched the boys play without a care in the world. It seemed like not so long ago that was what he and Marko experienced.
Playing in the local neighborhood and going on adventures. All those summer nights of bike rides, trips to the playground, and enjoying some ice cream when the day came to an end. It was bittersweet, thinking about how it felt like it was all a long-forgotten dream, but a current reality for these kids.
What he wouldn’t give to go back and enjoy being a real kid again.
The three boys rode up to an older guy leaning against a slick-looking dirt bike off by the side of the boardwalk. As much as David admired the leather jacket and earring he wore, he found himself more impressed with how the guy interacted with the kids. He laughed and ruffled their hair, no doubt enjoying their company after a fun day out. The smile on his face was warm, contrasting with the cool color of the blue in his eyes. Even from across the walkway David was amazed by the color.
David could already think of a hundred different similes to describe the blue of his eyes. He was sure that the stranger had his eye color compared to everything from the sky to the water to wildflowers. However, those things were too calm, too gentle. Even with the friendly, happy look on his face, his eyes stood out as something…cold. They definitely weren’t the same icy blue that David’s eyes had, but they felt cold. He could feel himself shiver just staring at them.
While it was for the best that he stopped gawking at the guy, when a fifth person joined the group, he only stared harder.
It was her! The girl he danced with!
She had emerged from the inside of one of the shops, a shopping bag tucked under her arm. David’s heart was pounding faster than ever, filling with joy at the sight of the mystery girl. Without thinking, he moved through the crowd of people, hoping to catch her before she left his sight again. But before he could get close enough, the guy by the bike took her hand in his, guiding her to sit on the back of his ride. Her arms wrapped around him and she gave him a soft smile.
Oh.
Now it all made a lot more sense. The mystery girl and the ice-eyed boy were a thing. She left because she was already taken. He must be her boyfriend and they were out babysitting the group of kids for the night.
David had been disappointed before when he was struggling to find her, but now he was devastated. His heart was sinking and his stomach was churning, feeling sick from the embarrassment he felt from searching all night for an unavailable girl. Never before had he felt more like an idiot.
It didn’t help that the couple had looked towards him, catching his gaze with their own. David was frozen in place, unable to walk off in the other direction or make his way closer. He just gulped hard to fight the lump building in his throat. Two smiles greeted him, one a tender and gentle smile from the girl he had danced with and one a smug, mischievous smirk from her apparent boyfriend.
Those smiles made the skin of his cheeks burn, catching him off guard by how sudden they were. Had they been talking about him before? What had they said? Why did he care so much about what they both thought?
David would have been trapped in their spell for a lot longer if he hadn’t felt a hand clasp his shoulder, breaking his concentration. To his surprise, Marko had left the bookstore and managed to catch up to find him on the boardwalk. He was finally seeing who this special someone really was, but he could tell it wasn’t a happy moment for the older brother.
It didn’t take a genius to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Marko could read the looks the three were sharing, and immediately see that David had been pining after a taken woman. Once again feeling anxious from the tension, Marko chewed on his nail while holding his brother’s shoulder with his free hand.
The leader of the boys gave a nod in the Johnson brothers’ direction before revving up his bike and taking off down the last stretch of the boardwalk. The mystery girl held on tight to him as they escaped into the night, her eyes catching David’s one last time before she disappeared. If he didn’t know any better, David would have guessed that look was one of guilt.
It didn’t matter though. They were both gone and the kids were back on their bikes and cheering loudly as they followed their leader. One by one they vanished out of sight, their voices fading away with the growing distance.
Marko wished he had the right words to say, but all he could think was how bad he would mess up and hurt his brother’s feelings even more. Rather than give David a pep talk or tell him to find a new girl, he gave a simple suggestion.
“Let’s go home. That’s enough excitement for one night”
David couldn’t have agreed more. He was so tired…
#the lost boys#my fic#ao3 fic#swap au#au fic#tlb#tlb 1987#marko the lost boys#paul the lost boys#dwayne the lost boys#david the lost boys
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