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#uh. yeah. here y'all go I guess!
jennyfromthebes · 2 months
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shinyspooks · 1 year
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oh btw I have a Ko-fi now!!!!
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Day 294, and we're done! Marie has a face and facial expressions! Woop woop!
I managed to do some tweaking to Curious where I'm much more satisfied with it. Still not totally 100% satisfied, but the things I'm dissatisfied with are all fiddly and I don't feel like being all fiddly. I'll get better the more I draw her, so I don't have to get everything absolutely pixel-perfect for this thing.
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Pt III good omens but i STILL SOMEHOW haven't watched it (and i'm increasingly passive aggressive)
i'm now basically held hostage adopted as mascot by this fandom. it's fine i'm fine *SIGNALS FOR HELP DESPERATELY*
Alright fuckers I swear this time I'm going to get some shit right. Without further ado, here's my third attempt at a good omens summary:
Everything everywhere is queer all at once
Angel Aziraphale and demon Crowley on earth likey each other
The car is a bentley and it is BLACK not silver and everyone is very upset about this. my bad yall it was reflecting light therefore i guessed more silver than black but I'm not Anish Kapoor take your black.
Then it is yellow, and aziraphale likes it. crowley preferred the black because he's a flamboyant emo.
God is a deadbeat absentee parent and you are all children of divorce.
There's a naked archangel and they cause problems for the husbands somehow. By being naked? By being an archangel? By being at their doorstep? Who knows not me
They were actually married for 6000 years, they just are the last to know about it.
Crowley is on fire. Like, he's slaying for sure, but also he is literally on fire, like Aziraphale's bookstore.
The actors like I said before are Michael Sheen and David Tennant but this is the place where I finally admit that I don't actually know who is whom. I'm going to assume Michael is Aziraphale because Michael sounds angel-y and David is Crowley because uh Michaelangelo made David and was gay for him.
Terry Pratchett is not fictional.
He co-wrote the book with @neil-gaiman, who IS fictional, because he does not have social media. Several of you have assured me that he is in fact a fandom inside joke. I like to think he would be proud of me.
They adopt a preteen and Crowley gives him bad advice.
At some point a baby was delivered to someone and was exchanged for the son of Satan. Idk if the baby is the preteen, or the son of satan is the preteen, or neither. This could be a fanfic, I have no way of differentiating the fanfic from canon on tumblr, except that the canon is weirder.
Crowley does not go down a chute. He goes down a telephone cord after making himself microscopic to pole dance on a pin with shroom-induced backgrounds.
During this his stage name is Disco Tony. Get it king go slay you're making better life choices than I am tbh.
Aziraphale is a biblically accurate angel, and you have all gone to extensive lengths to prove this to me. I understood nothing, but there you go.
It's all very queer, just like the fandom.
Crowley is a retired demon but he still sins by breaking the speed limit.
They eat at fancy restaurants and bicker but like in a sexual undercurrent way.
Crowley gives Aziraphale a private dance that is not a lap dance, it is an apology dance, but not in a kinky way, until it is.
Their haircuts keep changing and range from 'this is acceptable and gay' to 'i let a drunk chimpanzee take gardening shears and a blowtorch to my hair'
It's all ineffably queer my good fellows
Everyone keeps trying to convince me Neil Gaiman is the villain yeah no guys I know it's really you. Y'all be like 'SEASON TWO BROKE ME' and then you're making headcanons to make it sadder yeah I see you mmhm.
There is a final fifteen. It is sad. What is it? No one told me.
The demon turns goats into crows and the angel turns them back and then children are turned into newts (does the angel turn them back? who cares not yall) and the demon was the snake in the Eden garden and everyone's furry game seems to be on point.
There are a rather lot of children. I have not seen them. But I am assured they are there. They are, guys. I assume they were turned into the alcohol Aziraphale and Crowley drink or something.
There was an apocalypse plotline. It was averted. It is not important. You don't talk about plotlines in this fandom, no sir.
Crowley doesn't want to go to heaven. Aziraphale is sad.
The kiss is not nice, just like this fandom. It is queer, just like this fandom. It is sad and desperate and masochistic, just like this fandom.
Aziraphale doesn't want to stay back with Crowley. Crowley is sad.
Season 2 ends. Fandom is sad.
Everyone's sanity is hinging on the promise of a happy ending in season 3. Good luck guys.
Y'all better appreciate this. I can't even boast to my mother about this legacy of mine, hey mum your son has been held hostage kidnapped inducted into a cult adopted by a fandom he's not part of look he's winning at life.
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orionremastered · 3 months
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could you do a batfam x oblivious reader who’s so close to finding out they’re a vigilante, but she doesn’t even know if that makes sense? like nightwing crawling in through the window when he thought she was asleep, only for her to be awake and go “wrong house?” not realizing it’s her boyfriend.. who thought she was asleep
this made me laugh. very good thinking brains y'all have
Masterlist
Oblivious
Dick Grayson
The sound of your window sliding open prompts you to look up from where you lie your head on the pillow. You can't seem to get to sleep and maybe it's a good thing— you grab for the lamp on the bedside table and raise it high over your head.
Climbing through the window, however, is not a common thief. It's Nightwing.
"What are you doing here?"
The vigilante freezes, slowly looking up to meet your eyes. "I was told there was domestic abuse occurring in this apartment," he says smoothly. "You have a boyfriend?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Where is he?"
You look over to Dick's spot on the bed and only just now do you realise it's empty. There's a note written on paper that reads, OUT TO GET FOOD.
"He's grocery shopping."
"Ah, wrong apartment, then. Sorry to bother you." The vigilante then ducks outside.
Jason Todd
A loud crash prompts you to wake up— far earlier than you're used to. The sun isn't even up yet. Glancing to the side of your bed, you forget Jason's out on a business trip, what ever his business is.
You carefully climb out of bed, creeping to the bedroom door and slowly pushing it open. In your living stands Red Hood himself, dismantling an assault rifle.
"What are you doing in my house?"
The vigilante whips his head around, frozen like a deer in headlights. There's a long few minutes of silence where the two of you stare at each other.
"Gun's not working. I'll be out in a minute, just need to fix it. My apologies."
"Oh," you say, shrugging your shoulders. "Stay safe, then."
Red Hood nods, watching you return to your bed with a quiet sigh.
Tim Drake
Waking up at your usual time and kissing Tim gently on the forehead, almost as a reward for sleeping.
After eating breakfast as quickly as you could, you were surprised to see Tim still asleep and give him another gentle kiss, this time on the nose.
You've only got half an hour until you have to go to work, so you rush to the bathroom to get ready.
The Red Robin suit is draped over the shower wall, unmistakeable.
In your bathroom.
"Tim?" You shout, forgetting your boyfriend's need to sleep. "Tim!"
"What?" he replies groggily, slowly getting out of bed.
"The Red Robin suit is in my bathroom."
"Oh, uh, he asked me to clean it for him. We're sort of like, friends. I guess. It's weird."
"You never told me that," you say.
"It's a recent thing. Sorry."
You shrug and get ready for work, ignoring the suit at is it hangs in your bathroom.
Damian Wayne
"Emergency at work," your boyfriend had said. He gets a lot of those, you think. "Be back in the morning. Maybe later."
Now, going to sleep late— towards midnight, where Damian would have already dragged you into bed— you realised you didn't have on of his shirts to sleep in.
When he wasn't with you to sleep, you always sleep in one of his shirts.
You begin scrummaging through his wardrobe— which you never do— only for a shirt. You find one, your favourite black one, and pull it out.
Underneath the shirt, revealed as you yank it from the drawer, is a katanna.
"Oh. Oh."
It's late. You're tired. You've got the shirt.
It's probably just an antique piece anyway. Rich people have all sorts of things.
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etherealstar-writes · 3 months
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I WANNA BE YOURS | LIONESSES X READER | PT 6
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pairings: lionesses x reader
summary: in which you're accidentally added to a random group chat, not knowing they're all actually famous footballers, and obliviously end up having many of them competing for your love and attention.
part: six
part one here
✦ ——— ✦ ——— ✦
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yourusername: a little photo dump
yourbestiesusername: i'm really proud of that first pic i took of you, i'm coming for your career
↳ yourusername: oi photography's my thing, go find another career
lucybronze: this is cute. you are really beautiful! ❤️
↳ yourusername: OMG NO WAY TYSM!! you're amazing ilysm!!
↳ lucybronze: thank you! @ yourusername
usera omg. the REAL lucy bronze commented on your post!!
↳ yourusername i am not okay rn
✦ ——— ✦ ——— ✦
THE NATIONAL DIVING TEAM
the imposter
YOU GUYS
GUESS WHAT OMG
the REAL karate kid
what happened?
lotte
is everything alright?
the imposter
NO EVERYTHING IS NOT OKAY
neev
you're kinda scaring me now
the imposter
i know i'm not a woso fan yet
bcuz i'm still incredibly uncultured
and literally don't know anyone yet
elton
yeah we know
the imposter
BUT LUCY BRONZE COMMENTED ON MY POST
I AM SCREAMING
the REAL karate kid
WHAT
neev
WOAH WOAH
hold on
stairway
that old grandma can actually use insta??
rusty metal
OI
that is so rude and offensive!
to that old grandma ....
the REAL karate kid
SHUT UP
rusty metal
the disrespect children have nowadays
unbelievable
well i'm glad she made your day y/n <3
the imposter
thank you!!!
i'm gonna go thrive in my happiness for the
rest of my life for a celebrity noticing me
peace out
lotte
well i'm glad she's happy
willybum
i need to up my game now
the REAL karate kid
me too
stairway
y'all are such simps
neev
says one of the simps herself
stairway
shut up niamh
✦ ——— ✦ ——— ✦
THE NATIONAL DIVING TEAM
brightness
you know
i just remembered that y/n is still in here
and we don't know like anything about her
at all
door knob
oh yeah
we only know her name
the imposter
i literally only kinda know your names
and that is it
neev
she got a point there
the imposter
honestly i don't get why i'm even still in this chat
not that i'm complaining
stairway
you've been fun to talk to these past few weeks
unlike most of the people on this group chat
who simply decide to ignore their notifications
elton
yeah fr
i didn't feel the need to make a new chat tbh
the imposter
i'm honoured?
elton
you should be
the imposter
uh okay ...
well
i'm 22
i'm a pro photographer and media editor/manager
and uhh i live in london?
idk what else to say tbh
stairway
photography's so cool!
the imposter
thank you!
earpsy
is toone being 10x more annoying
because i'm sick or?
the REAL karate kid
nah she's just that annoying
elton
now that is just rude
willybum
she has an encylcopedia on
how to be annoying
elton
STOP SAYING THAT WORD
wait
guys
neev
oh no
willybum
today on stupid stuff toone is going to say!
elton
oi! i'm not stupid!
the REAL karate kid
you literally thought germany started with j
elton
I WAS UNDER PRESSURE OKAY
anyway as i was about to say
isn't it crazy to think that the money you have
has probably been or could be in like
a stripper's bra or underwear at some point
the REAL karate kid
why does your brain function this way 😭
stairway
wait a sec-
....
she has a point
neev
STOP 😭
that is ALL what i'm gonna think about now
the imposter
never touching cash again that's for sure 😭
willybum
donating all my cash to the trash now
lotte
oh my days
why
just why
meado
WHAT DID I JUST READ 😭😭
part seven here
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entitled-fangirl · 2 months
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Two idiots in love. (P5)
Joel Miller x anemic!reader
Summary: Henry and Sam interrupt the trio's plan. And Joel says something that will either make or break what he has with the reader.
Warning: blood, guns, Infected, fighting, cursing
Masterlist
Part 1 and 6
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Joel was on his knees behind Y/N, digging through her hair, checking the injury on the back of her head. "Well, good news. Just a little scrape. Head bleeds more than the rest of the body, so it only looks like it's bad."
She hummed before looking over her shoulder at him. When she felt him staring at her, she completely swiveled on the ground to face him. His eyes were studying her closely.
She sighed, "…why do you do that?"
His eyebrows furrowed, "Do what?"
She wasn't sure how to even explain her thoughts, so she dropped it, "Just… nothing."
Joel didn't want to push her anymore than she already had been today, so he dropped it, too. "Go lay down, Darlin."
She smiled, standing up, "…There's that accent again."
He scoffed under his breath, standing too. 
This seemed to be the longest Ellie had been quiet. So, she took it upon herself to break the moment, "How long are we gonna be here?"
Joel sighed, "We'll survey the roof in the morning."
Then he started scattering glass around the door, leading all the way to their makeshift beds, which consisted of old couch cushions. 
The sound of glass falling was killing their ears, and finally, Ellie yelled out, "Joel!"
He stopped, "What?"
"What are you doing?"
"I don't want someone sneaking' up on us while we're sleepin'."
"Oh! I get it. Crunch, crunch, crunch." She got a smirk, "Are you sure you're gonna hear it?"
"Of course, I'll hear it. That's the damn point."
Joel woke up to the sound of Y/N's panicked voice. "Joel…?"
"JOEL!"
His eyes opened.
Ellie was held at gunpoint by a man in his twenties.
Y/N was still seated on the ground with her hands up in surrender.
Joel turned.
A young boy held a gun to Joel's head.
The man spoke up quickly, "Eyes on me."
Joel simply stared at him, determining his next move.
The man continued, "You don't have to worry about what to say. We don't wanna hurt you. We wanna help you."
Joel's voice was strained, "Okay…"
"Okay… um… I don't know what the next step is with something like this, but… if I lower my gun… We didn't hurt you, so you don't hurt us, right?"
Joel's eyes never left the man. "That's right."
The man tilted his head in panic, "That's a weird fucking tone, man."
Ellie spoke up, "That's just the way he sounds. He has an asshole voice. Joel, tell him he's okay."
"Everything is great."
Y/N looked over her shoulder. "Joel…"
The man was confused, "Fuck. Okay. I'm gonna trust you."
He began to sign to the boy. They communicated back and forth a few times before he spoke up again, "Okay. But if you guys try anything… yeah?"
Silence ensued before the man motioned for the boy to step back. 
Joel's jaw clenched when they didn't pull their guns away, "Can I sit up?"
"…Yeah. Slow. Get up slow."
Joel did so, keeping his hands raised, "Who are you?"
"My name's Henry. That's my brother, Sam."
The five sat in the building around a lantern, eating rations.
"Where did you get these?" Henry asked.
"From Bill," Ellie answered. "He's dead."
Joel reached out, giving the rest of his portion to Sam, who took it happily. He motioned to Henry.
Henry spoke up again, "He says thank you. I'm guessing you don't have much, so, this means a lot."
Ellie smiled, "How old is he?"
"He's eight."
"Cool. I'm Ellie."
Henry's eyes moved to Y/N, waiting for an introduction. 
She felt his gaze, "Oh. Uh. Y/N."
When Joel didn't answer, Ellie slapped his leg.
He grunted. "I'm Joel. Look, you ate, we didn't kill each other, let's call this a win-win and move on."
Henry nodded, "Well, I'm betting that y'all came up here to get a view of the city and plan a way out. And when the sun's up… I'll show you one."
"Highways. Downtown. Us." Henry pointed out on his makeshift map. "This whole are belongs to Kathleen."
Y/N spoke up, "She's in charge?"
Joel wrapped his arm around her waist slowly and unknowingly, as if instinct. She in turn, leaned against his side.
Henry nodded, "Leader of the resistance. So. How do we get across?" He signed to Sam.
Sam wrote on his paper tablet the word tunnels.
Joel scowled, "Kansas City has a subway?"
"No, maintenance tunnels."
"Alright. Great plan. So what do you need me for?"
Henry sighed, "You noticed anything strange about this city?"
Ellie hummed, "No infected?"
"Oh, there's infected."
Y/N connected the dots, "But not on the surface…"
Henry nodded, "Exactly."
Joel was growing angry, "So you want US going in a tunnel?"
"Everyone thinks that it's full of Infected, but I know it's not. They cleared it out like… three years ago."
Joel scoffed.
"Okay, so maybe there's one or two. That's why you're here."
"And what if there's more?"
"Like those ones that see like a bat?" Ellie asked.
Henry stepped back, "Wait. You ran into a clicker?"
Ellie smiled, "Two of 'em."
"And you're still alive. See? If it gets bad, we turn around."
Joel's scowl never left, "So THAT'S your plan?"
Y/N grabbed Joel's hand. "Joel…? Can we..?"
He leaned down, "Yeah, uh. Give us a minute"
The two walked out of the room into the hallway.
Joel sighed, "I don't know about this, sweetheart."
"Me neither."
He stared at her, "Tell me what's going on in that little head of yours."
"It's dicey but… it's all we have, isn't it? And that would make four people dependent on you."
He nodded, "How do you know we can trust this guy?"
She smiled, "Look at him, Joel. He wouldn't hurt a fucking fly. The guy is harmless."
"What if he harms you?"
She stopped. "Is that what you're worried about?"
Joel sighed, "I'm always worried. About you," he stops, trying to cover the meaning of his words, "…and Ellie. You and Ellie."
"Well," she continued, "Trust me about this one thing. When have I steered you wrong?"
Joel stepped back in thought, "That one time when-"
"-Yeah. Okay. I heard enough." She walked past him into the room. "Henry, we'll do it."
Joel was so blindly in love with her. 
Here they sat in a safe room in the tunnel, waiting for daylight to end.
Y/N still hadn't recovered from yesterday's events, so Joel was insistent that she rest.
But when she tired to lay on the ground, he held her up, dragging her over to the table as he sat in a chair.
He pulled her into his lap, "Floor's too cold. You'll get sick."
That's how she ended up asleep in his lap, her head tucked in the crook of his neck as she slumbered.
"You know," Henry said, "I didn't take you as the… caring type."
Joel scoffed, "What?"
"With your… your wife," he pointed to Y/N in his lap, "and your daughter," pointing to Ellie.
Joel's voice hardened, "This isn't my family."
Henry stepped back from the chair, "Sorry, man. I… I just thought-"
"-well, you thought wrong."
He thought Y/N was asleep, but she wasn't. 
And she heard every word.
The group exited the tunnels, beyond happy that their plan was working.
Ellie smiled, "So, cross the river, and then what? Where are you guys gonna go?"
"Don't know yet," Henry thought, "Probably gonna head toward-"
Gunshot.
They all ducked.
Joel grabbed at each person, "Move. Move! GO!"
They hid behind a car.
Henry was panicked, "Where is that coming from?"
Joel turned, "Shut up."
He turned to Ellie and Y/N, "You don't move, and he's not gonna hit you. I'm gonna go around, try to get in the house through the back."
"But if you go out there, he's gonna kill you." Ellie protested.
"It's dark and he has shit aim. No one is gonna kill me." He leaned towards her, "Do you trust me?"
She nodded.
He turned to Y/N, "You'll be alright."
She leaned in towards him, "Just… be careful."
He reached forward, taking a strand of her hair in between his fingers and studying it, as if it will be his last chance to. "I will be."
Joel's voice was heard from their hiding place, "RUN!"
Y/N's head perked up, "Ellie. We gotta go."
Headlights.
And soon, a snow plough began clearing out the cars leading up to the four.
They ran as fast as they could, hearing Joel firing at the car from his place in the house.
He managed to hit the driver, making the vehicle crash into the house.
It caused an explosion.
Joel watched carefully trying to locate Y/N and Ellie through the smoke.
Kathleen exited her vehicle, soldiers following suit.
And the four were hiding behind a car.
Henry spoke up, "I'll come out! Just… let the others go."
Kathleen smiled, "No. Sorry. The girls are with the man who killed Bryan. And Sam… well… Sam is with you."
"You don't understand!"
The snow plough suddenly fell through the building and into the tunnel, causing a massive hole to show.
And the sound of Infected.
The four began to run as Infected ran out from the tunnels.
In the chaos, Y/N had lost Ellie. 
She made it to the tree line, looking back for her.
When Ellie was nowhere, she grumbled, taking out her gun from her pack, and going back out.
She dodged Infecting, shooting at some as she went.
When one grabbed at her arm, a bullet moved straight through its head.
Joel.
She looked up to the house in gratitude before continuing.
She finally found Ellie stabbing at Infected that were trying to attack Henry and Sam. She ran as fast as she could to them, helping Ellie finish the job. "C'mon."
Y/N led them all back to the tree line. They were only feet away when Kathleen stopped them, her gun aimed carefully. "Stop."
They watched an Infected jump at her and begin to rip at her face. 
They were all frozen.
Joel grabbed at Y/N from behind. "This way. Now. Move!"
She jumped, turning around as they others began to run, "Thank you."
He nodded "Let's go."
"Think they'll be okay?" Henry asked.
They all sat in an abandoned house, the kids in the bedroom reading a comic book, the adults in the living room.
"Yeah. It's easier when you're a kid anyway."
Y/N stood on shaky legs, "I need fresh air."
Joel's eyes watched her carefully, "Hey. Don't wander, alright?"
She turns back with a defiant look, "Not like you'd care."
And she shut the door behind her.
Joel stepped outside a little while later. 
Y/N was sitting on the porch steps, staring out at the stars.
He stood behind her, "You alright?"
She turned as far as she could towards him, "I'm fine."
Joel didn't like that answer.
He sighed, moving to sit next to her. When she didn't look at him, he grabbed her jaw gently, pulling it towards him. His voice was soft, as it always was with her, "Hey. You're obviously not fine. And what the hell was that back there? Tell me what's going on."
She stared into his eyes, trying to decide what to say to him.
He tried to make her sit in the silence, but even he couldn't handle it. "How am I supposed to fix what's wrong if I don't know what it is, sweet girl?"
She scoffed, "I just wish you'd stop doing that."
"Doing what?"
She turned her head away from his hand, "Quit looking at me… like… like that."
Joel looked confused, "I don't get it."
She sighed deeply, "You look at me and you talk to me like… like I mean something to you, Joel. It's frustrating."
He leaned back in shock. "You… you think I… I don't care about you?"
She laughed slightly, standing up and walking out into the yard slightly, "You've made that much clear, Joel. You said it yourself."
How could she think that? Joel began to ponder anything and everything he's ever said to her. It was angering him, "I've never said those words to you. I care about you."
"Only because I'm Tess's sister."
"Watch. Your. Mouth."
She paused, watching Joel stand on the stairs. Her tone dropped to a quiet mumble, "I think I've been on this journey long enough. I should just go."
Joel stepped down one of the stairs, "I've already said it before. You're not going anywhere. I want you here."
"Don't fucking lie to me, Joel!" She yelled, "You don't even consider me family!"
Oh. 
She heard that.
He sighed, trying to control his tone, "No one wants you to leave. I need you on this trip… and Ellie. She needs you."
"I just want you to be honest."
"What do you want from me, baby?"
They just stared at each other.
"I want you to tell me what you want from me, Joel."
He stood in thought, before descending the stairs. "There are no wants in this world now, sweet girl. You and I both know that."
"You don't need me to be around. I'm extra weight."
"LISTEN TO ME WHEN I TELL YOU YOU'RE FUCKING NOT!"
Her eyes hardened at his loud tone. "Don't try to spare my feelings. You don't want me around and I see it. Just…" her eyes saddened at his look, "…stop looking at me like that. Please."
She moved past him, going back up the porch stairs.
"Darlin', wait."
She sighed, turning around.
But she was thrown off by the sudden feeling of his lips on hers. 
One hand wrapped around her waist, the other across her back, pulling her closer.
He pulled away.
"There are no wants in this world, but I do. I want you."
Her eyes scanned his face inquisitively, checking for the truth.
"You can look all day, sweet girl. I'll always tell you the truth. Please, stay."
She nodded, pulling away from his arms. "Okay. I'll… I'll stay."
His shoulders slumped slightly. "Uh...good."
He moved past her to go inside, but she gently tugged at his sleeve.
He turned to her.
And she kissed him back.
He hummed into the kiss, pulling her to him once again.
He had always wondered how soft her lips were. 
And now he knew. 
She pulled away this time, "Let's go inside. I'm fucking cold."
Joel chuckled. He shrugged off his jacket, placing around her shoulders. "I think I like it out here more." He gently kissed her lips again. "I'll keep you warm."
She smiled, "I love when you look at me like that."
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Part 6
Tag list: @lover-of-books-and-tea, @pedropascalfan221, @lottieellz101, @bambisweethearts, @hiroikegawa
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kathwritesworld · 3 months
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LOVERS UNITE ☀️🌊
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summary: reader opens a surf shop and needs some help, so she hires jj maybank. so what happens when they fall in love?
warnings: none really, fem!reader.
wc: 723.
part two
you had just moved to the outer banks two days ago and already had your surf shop up and running. you were exhausted from the sleepless night you had, figuring everything out, but damn was it worth it.
it was 05.30 when you finally finished up and decided to get ready for your day. you put on your favorite bikini paired with some jean shorts and an old oversized tee. then you packed up your backpack with an extra bikini- just in case, a towel, your laptop, your surf wax, tanning oil, and lip balm. in your side pockets you put a tumbler cup of coffee on one side and your water bottle on the other.
you slipped your sandals on and went out the door, getting in your car to drive to the beach.
when you arrived it was around 06.00 and the sun was rising. you got out and got your surf board off of the top of the car, walking to the sand to put your bag down. you get your surf wax out and put a little on the back part of your board for traction then take your shorts and shirt off- putting them in your bag. then going into the water.
you checked your watch and see its 07.30, realizing you lost track of time while surfing and quickly got out. you dry off and get dressed again before packing up and going to your shop. when you get there its about 07.50, and making note of this you hastily unlock your store and walk inside, turning the lights on, right as you do that you hear a male voice “hey! are you y/n?” you turned around to see a blonde boy in cargo shorts and a tank top “yeah… are you jj?” you say, walking towards him, “yes ma’am” jj says with a slight smirk “oh, well its great to meet you! thank you so much for helping me out.” you say with a smile, happy that you’ll have some help around the shop “yeah, of course- hey why’s your hair wet?” he asks when he sees the water still dripping from your hair “oh- i just came from surfing” you explained “oh wow, this early?” he says, a little shocked “yeah you gotta try it! it’s great- really uh.. calming, y’know?” you say with a small smile. “yeah? i’ll have to try it sometime then” he says smiling back at you.
it had been a long day. surprisingly your shop was actually pretty busy, even though you just opened it. a couple came in and wanted surfing lessons, so you were pretty happy you packed that extra bikini. closing your laptop, you start shutting the shop down. you were so tired, but you wanted to go out to the ocean and chill for a bit before you go home.
the waves were pretty calm today, barely any real waves, just some ankle breakers. you decided to go out on your board and just sit there. the board between your legs, the sun on your skin, the breeze through your hair. it was great. you were looking out into the distance, watching the sun start to set, when you heard jj “you good?” he says, brows knit together. “yeah… just thinkin” you say, smiling at him. even though you two just met, you had a lot of similarities, so you got along pretty well. “its, uh, nice out here.. calm” jj says and you nod your head in agreement. a moment of comfortable silence washes over the both of you before jj pipes up again “hey… uh… would you- um like to hang out with me and my friends?” jj asks, nervous. you raise one brow at him before he continues, “they’re really chill guys- well ones a girl- i just mean-… i think y'all would get along well… john b would actually love to work for you! and you remind me of kiara a lot- and you’re smart like pope- i guess… i just think you’d fit in.” he says, stumbling over his words. “i would love to meet your friends, jj” you say so sweetly it makes his heart skip a beat. “yeah, yeah great! uh… would tomorrow work?” he asks, not normally this shy. “tomorrow’s great.” you say with a soft smile, trying to hide your blush.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
⋰˚☆ author’s notes ࿐ ࿔*:・゚
AHHHH FIRST PART DONE OMGG. uh i have like no idea where im taking this so… if u have an idea tell me rn pls🙏🙏
@rafeandonlyrafe
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bug-is-snug · 4 months
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starved
inspired by @groguspicklejar (you are so good at atmosphere omgggg???)
Part two
plot: you're a zombie babe <3 put y'all seatbelts on CW: depictions of violence, depictions of obsession, gore, eventual self-cannibalism (stay safe besties), blood, gore, eventual smut banner by: @frostthecupcake (deactivated) and found by using "Find A Banner" A/N: This is my first time posting a fanfic of mine! Please be gentle with me ;-;
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'I am starving...' The words were so familiar to you that you barely registered that they echoed the moment you saw your Captain's exposed wrist. Captain John Price, a stern and loyal man. He always made you feel safe...he always made you... Hungry. You inhaled sharply as you looked up at your Captain, finally registering that he had been calling your name. "Are you alright, love?" His usual tone had taken one of concern as his eyes stared into your own. "Ah-" You smiled nervously as you nodded, "Yes, sir, I'm fine. Just...deep in thought, I guess! What were you asking me?" "I was asking if you had gotten your paperwork done yet. You look exhausted." He stood up straight, crossing his arms over his chest as his raised a brow. Perhaps your narrator should explain; it started around... Three months ago...
It was supposed to be a good Ol' typical hostage situation. Get the hostage, get a Medevac if needed, another easy adventure for our favorite Task Force! Right? Oh, how terribly wrong you were. Nothing could have prepared you for the moment you were slammed against a wall by the hostage no less! You had been sent in to grab the scientist! A scientist! Some little nerd working on bioweapons! Surely, they wouldn't be aggressive, right? The wind was knocked from your lungs as you tried your best to fend off your attacker. His snapping teeth dangerously close to your neck as you forced his head back with one hand, your arm shoving him away by his shoulder. Why did you have to be so stubborn? Why didn't you just let Soap help you? Why did you INSIST on going in alone?! Why couldn't you just accept help?! You couldn't contain your scream as the doctor sunk his teeth into your exposed wrist, the smell of rot and blood immediately clouding your brain and making you dizzy. The rest of that mission was fuzzy, really... You don't remember Soap immediately coming to your aid the moment he heard your scream from down the hall. You don't remember fainting. You don't remember a lot of that day after the attack... Back to the current day, "Y-yeah, yeah- no- uh.." You stumbled over your words as you rubbed your face, "I've just not been sleepin' too well. Sorry, Cap." A half-lie...you could tell Price didn't buy it either, but what else could you say? What were you supposed to do? Tell him how you've dreamt of sinking your teeth into his neck the night after catching him walking back from a workout? Tell him how your heart ached when imagining yourself sinking your teeth into your Lieutenant's arm every time he offered your paperwork to you? How it takes everything in your body to stop yourself from licking the blood from Gaz's wounds when he gets a bump or scrape when in the field? Or how the smell of Johnny's sweat makes your head swim with thoughts of ripping his ribs apart with your bare hands? Obviously, you can't just say that! Wh- who even-? No! Just, no! So, you lie. You lie and lie and lie until you can't keep track of your lies anymore. "I think I just need to go to bed...Would that be okay?" You gave your Captain a forced smile that almost felt like a grimace. He stared with eyes that seemed to look right through you, "...Well, I suppose it couldn't hurt. Go rest up, love. I'm sure I can handle the rest from here." You sighed in relief, standing up and organizing your papers for a moment before giving your Captain an appreciative nod before you left the room. You could feel his eyes boring into the back of your skull as you walked away, but you didn't falter. Don't worry, darling, your team has noticed the lies. They've noticed your change in behavior. And it's only a matter of time until you slip up...
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suzukiblu · 4 months
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Ko-fi thank-you sentences for Lux; Billy adopts Conner and it actually goes pretty good! I, uh, was only supposed to write nine sentences for this, buuuuut I didn't only write nine sentences for this. 😅 LOOK, I HIT A GROOVE, I'M NOT SORRY. Enjoy your read-more, y'all.
“Do you want some ideas for names?” Billy offers. Most kids don’t get to “legally” name themselves quite this way, so he feels like helping Superboy pick a good name is important. He wants him to have one he really likes. “I know a lot of them. Or we could look some up online? Batman got us a desktop and got you a laptop and a tablet, in case you need one for anything. Oh, and there’s phones, so we can keep in contact! I should grab you yours, actually, it’s . . . somewhere in the kitchen, I think.” 
“‘Ideas’?” Superboy repeats, looking a little uncomfortable. “Like . . . what?” 
“I just mean suggestions,” Billy promises, immediately distracted from the phone by Superboy’s apparent discomfort. The phone can wait. “You can pick any name you want, it’s up to you. I’m not gonna, like, veto you or anything.” 
“. . . sure,” Superboy says. He still looks uncomfortable and Billy still can’t be sure he really means it, but . . . well, he just has to do his best, he guesses.
“You don’t have to decide right away, you can think it over for a bit,” he says. “But we at least need something to put on the paperwork. You can always change it later if you decide you don’t like it.” 
“Whatever,” Superboy says, his mouth thinning. Billy thinks Cadmus was sort of terrible for not giving him a name. Actually, no, Cadmus was really terrible for that.
“How about I just list some, and if you like any of them, you can just say?” he suggests. 
“Whatever,” Superboy repeats, looking away. Well . . . it’s not a “no”, at least, so Billy figures they can try, and if Superboy gets annoyed, they’ll just stop and try again later. 
“Okay,” he says. “Um . . . let’s see, what are some good ones . . . David, Asher, Zachary, Parker, Otto, Levi . . . um . . .” 
Superboy’s jaw tightens. Billy stops listing names and bites his tongue. Okay. The name thing is a sore spot, maybe. Or maybe Superboy just doesn’t like any of his suggestions and thinks he’s lame, he guesses. That might also be, like . . . a thing. 
“I’ll try to think of some more later,” Billy says, repressing a guilty wince and grasping desperately for a new topic. “Do you, uh . . . have any questions? Or anything like that?” 
Probably he should’ve asked that sooner, come to think. 
"How often are you gonna be here?" Superboy asks, still looking away. Billy can’t really read what he can see of his face very well, but hopefully once they know each other better he'll get better at that kind of thing. Like, he’ll have to, right? 
"Oh, like–pretty much whenever I'm not doing hero stuff or on any League missions," he says. "I'll make sure and tell you if I'm ever gonna be gone overnight or anything like that, okay?" 
Superboy . . . blinks. Looks back at him. 
"You're going to live here?" he asks in confusion. Billy blinks too, tilting his head.
"Yeah," he says. "I mean, it wouldn't be very nice of me to just ditch you here all by yourself, would it?" 
"I can take care of myself," Superboy says, his expression shuttering. Billy frowns. 
"Well, sure, but that doesn't mean anybody's gonna make you," he says. Just because Superboy’s physically old enough to take care of himself doesn’t mean he’s not technically still a baby. He deserves to get taken care of and have somebody help him figure out, like . . . everything, pretty much. Civilian life and superhero stuff both. 
That’s why Billy’s doing this, so . . . yeah. 
“Why?” Superboy says. 
“Because that’d be really mean,” Billy says. “And we’re the good guys, so we have to be the good guys.” 
Superboy’s jaw tightens again, and then he folds his arms and looks away again too. He looks upset. Billy wishes he knew how to fix it. Like–even just a little bit. He knows sometimes that stuff just doesn’t “fix”, but . . . still. He’s trying to be a good dad here, so he feels like he should fix things like Superboy being upset. 
Well–he guesses just letting him work through being upset is okay too, if it comes to it. For when things aren’t that easy to get distracted from. Billy would also have a lot to be upset about if he’d been made in a lab and told he was supposed to be somebody he’s not and gotten mind-controlled the first time he’d ever woken up for real. Like, that’s a really shit first day. 
Superboy must feel really weird, too. Cadmus probably didn’t really teach him how to be a kid or a teenager, since they were trying to make an adult Superman, so it’s no wonder he thinks they’re gonna make him take care of himself. Billy’s gonna have to help him learn how being a kid works, he’s pretty sure. 
Well, he can do that. And, well, Superboy’s friends can cover the “teenager” stuff, he guesses. Like, probably. 
. . . maybe he could find a couple parenting books or something. A parenting book might be a good idea. 
"I just don't get it," Superboy says after a long moment staring at the wall, tensing his folded arms. "What about when you have to get back to your real life? Like your . . . your job and your house and your . . . family. This is keeping you away from all that." 
"Oh," Billy realizes, blinking at him in surprise. He guesses Superboy probably would expect him to have that kinda stuff, huh. "No, I don't really . . . have any of those, technically? I mean, I am human, I wasn't lying or anything, I just don't have a job or another house or anything like that. Actually the Justice League is paying for all of this, 'cause we were all talking about the best place for you to live and Superman asked if maybe I could take care of you, and I had to tell him I couldn't 'cause I didn't actually have anything to take care of you with, but Batman said the League could set up a stipend to pay for stuff and help me get a place and all that if I wanted to do it, sooooo . . ." 
". . . Superman asked you to take care of me?" Superboy asks hesitantly, shifting in his bean bag and finally glancing back to him again. 
"Yeah," Billy confirms with a nod, a little relieved that Superboy’s looking at him again. Well–close to him, anyway. He’s not quite making eye contact, but that’s fine. "Well, him and Batman. Because my powers are kinda close to yours so I can help you train and stuff, but also Kryptonians are vulnerable to magic so if you've got any mind control triggers in your head that we missed I should be able to stop you without having to hurt you. Like I could restrain you until we could help you or until you could snap out of it on your own, I mean." 
"Oh," Superboy says, blinking slowly. "I just figured somebody had some kryptonite somewhere in case something like that happened." 
"No," Billy says, frowning at the thought. Geez, what kind of an awful dad would he be if he did that? He's seen what kryptonite does to Superman and it totally sucks. "Kryptonite hurts. I'm not gonna let anybody use kryptonite on you. Er–well, probably eventually a bad guy will when you're on a mission, that's kind of how those go, but we're definitely not gonna keep any here.” 
"Why not?" Superboy asks, frowning back at him. "It's more efficient than actually fighting me. And I might injure you if I'm like that." 
"Yeah," Billy says. "But also somebody bad could use it against you if they ever broke in and found it. And this is, um–well. This is your home now, so I don't think there should be things that could hurt you in it anyway." 
Superboy stares blankly at him again. Billy tries not to fidget. 
"There were lots of things that could hurt me in Cadmus," Superboy says, his face staying very, very blank in a way that Billy immediately hates. 
"Well, this isn't Cadmus," Billy says firmly, trying to look as sincere and trustworthy and dad-ly as he knows how to. He had a really, really great dad. He can pay that forward. Superboy deserves a great dad too. "I'm taking care of you now, and I don't want kryptonite or anything like it around you. Ever." 
Superboy stares at him. His expression is really complicated-looking and Billy doesn't understand it, so he just keeps trying to look as dad-ly as possible. Hopefully that'll help, or at least won't hurt. 
". . . what about your family, though?" Superboy asks after a long moment, flicking his eyes away uncomfortably. Billy really hopes he's doing this right. "Or do you, uh, not have one of those either?" 
"Um," Billy says. "Well, I have the worst uncle in the world who I really hope is rotting in prison somewhere by now, but otherwise it's just you."
"What?" Superboy frowns again, looking confused. "What's just me?" 
"Uh . . . my family?" Billy replies, a little embarrassed. He hasn't actually had any family that he could still want to be around in . . . well, a really long time now, so it feels sort of weird to say it, but it is true. Dubiously-legally true, given all the fake paperwork Batman’s been putting together, but still true. 
Superboy gives him the blank stare yet again. Billy feels like a moron, but–well, he's not gonna take it back. Even if Superboy thinks he's presuming too much too quick or something, which admittedly he kinda is, Billy also can't imagine how awful it'd be hearing someone call you their family and then say they weren't really or hadn't actually meant it or just . . . whatever. 
Superboy might not even care if he did, but . . . 
Well. Billy would care. So he's not gonna.
Ever.
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cuddl3s4shur1 · 10 months
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•𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐋•
𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: Earth 1610 Miles X Y/n
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𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐎:You and miles have been crushing on each other for the longest but now , he finally admits it .
𝐀/𝐍: This is so freaking cute
𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆: Fluff
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Miles and You have a very confusing relationship. You guys both like eachother but the thing is , you guys are both scared to confuse.
Y'all both cant read the room at all. You guys both give hints on liking each other . But yall are blind to see them.
You guys have 2 classes together and in those 2 classes with the help of your friends , he knows some stuff you like.
For example he knows you like marvel but specifically spider man , he definitely was going to be good with that one
He knew you like movies , music and art ( all things he also enjoyed)
He knew you liked food ( who wouldn't )
That all created a plan for miles (that he haven't thought of just yet )
He decied to ask his dad for the best advice.
“So uh dad its this girl at my school and I want to try to ask her out tommorow , any tips“ he asks
“Are you talking about that Y/n girl “Miles dad asks him
“Yeah” miles smiles
“I like her , you can buy her a bouquet of flowers and her favorite items” he tells miles .
“Thanks dad” he smiles and would walk off .
Miles would follow the advice from his father and would place a custom order of a spider man bouquet .
He would wait for the next day to shine , so he could ask you out.
As he went to school he would swing by and grab the flowers, a card , and if you said yes movie tickets.All those items would be stored in his locker.
Time would tick and tick by as he waited for which hour he wanted to ask you . He didn’t want to by Infront of people or in any classes Yall share .
Which left a couple of options but the one he decided was his 6th class . He had waited a good 15 minutes before asking if he could go to the bathroom. He wasn’t really going to go to the bathroom but his locker than the stair way .
He would send a message to your phone hoping you either had your phone on you or your smart watch.
“Meet me at the stairway “ he had sent .
You would get confused , why did he need to meet you , what was going on .
“Excuse me can I go to the bathroom “ you would ask your teacher. “Make it quick y/n” she demanded from you . You would get you and go to the “bathroom” .
You walked to the stairway and that’s when you saw him . Miles standing their with flowers,plushie and a card. “Is this for me” you ask him . “Yes” he says as gives it you. “For as long as I have been at this school you have always made me happy and smile and I’m asking if you would like to go out with me this Saturday “ he says and smiles .
“I can never turn down a invite “ you say . “Plus I also like you to “ you tell him.”oh did you “ he asks . “Yes , I’m guessing I meet you at your parents house before the movie “ you ask him. “You know it” he says awkwardly. “Text me the details you said as you gave him your number . “Let’s go before the principal sees us out here “ he jokes to you .
“Oh your so right “ you say as you go to your locker to put the items away. “You go after miles before he fully goes in class . “Thanks for everything “ you smile and give him a hug . At first he is confused but than he gives you a hug back .
Let’s just say that day miles was so happy people would have suspected he won the lottery.
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stevie-petey · 5 months
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episode five: the flea and the acrobat
“Steve, what-” He pushes past you in a frenzied hurry to get to his car, but you grab his jacket and force him to stop. “Answer me! Is Nancy okay? Was Jonathan with her?” Steve whips around and sneers at you. “Why do you even care about them? About him?” “Because we’re friends,” you say, and for the first time you really mean it. Nancy has become someone you’d call a friend.  Another cruel laugh escapes Steve’s lips. “Friends, huh? Yeah, those two looked real fucking cozy in her bed.”
summary: you and dustin have a long overdue Sibling Moment, at will's funeral you and jonathan exchange information and surprise ! it's all horrible news ! nancy has awful timing and when you leave her alone with jonathan one damn time you and steve end up trauma bonded on her front porch #bffs.
rating: general, though there's the use of guns in here for plot point sake, as well as cursing
warnings: use of guns, cursing, fem!reader, and use of y/n.
words: 14.4k (whew)
before you swing in: i'm back gang ! fall semester is almost done and i am in the trenches, so i leave y'all with this monster of a chapter before hell week (i have three finals in one day next week, no i don't want to talk about it). please enjoy this beauty, i had so much fun messing with character relationships in this and it was very ;)
-
With how many times you’ve knocked on the Wheeler’s door this week, you’d think that Mrs. Wheeler would stop looking so surprised when she answers. 
“Y/N?”
You give the woman a small smile. “Hi, Mrs. Wheeler. Is, uh, Mike home?”
“Yes… he stayed home today because of Will. Is there something you need?” The usually friendly woman seems beaten down from this week’s events as well, which you’re understanding of. 
“I was wondering if I could come in and see how he’s doing? Dustin is really shaken up about it, so I figured…” You shrug, trying to come across as a concerned older sister figure rather than a worried and horrible babysitter who should really retire. 
Mrs. Wheeler places a hand over her heart. “Oh, Y/N. You’ve always been so good with the boys, of course you can check on him. It means a lot that you care.”
Oh, no problem, but if we’re being honest I’m here because I’m scared I accidentally let your son get involved with the supernatural and dangerous monster men thingies that I honestly can’t wrap my head around!
Of course you can’t tell the woman this, so instead you thank her and let yourself in. Immediately you head towards the basement and fling the door open. You like Mrs. Wheeler, but the amount of times her son has snuck out of the house without her noticing honestly concerns you, so you’re a bit unsure if Mike even is home.
You get deja-vu from a few days ago as you head down the basement steps, once again hearing the three boys panicking as they try to hide El. Unlike last time, which had only annoyed you, seeing them scramble to hide the girl makes you relieved. 
They’re here, alive and well. You’d let Steve distract you from your worrying on the drive over, so the relief hits you like a damn truck. 
“Oh god not again!” Dustin groans when he sees you, worried that he’s once again going to get yelled at for being at the Wheeler’s with El. 
You ignore his theatrics and walk over to the girl, who is laying face down on the couch. You notice that she’s dressed in one of Nancy’s old costumes and a blonde wig that suits her well. What the hell did the kids get up to today? 
“Do I want to know why El is dressed like a doll and almost passed out on the couch?” 
“That depends on if you’re going to yell at us again,” Mike says. 
You shoot him a glare, but you guess he has a point. The last few times you’ve been with the kids you’ve ended up yelling at them one way or another. You feel bad about that, but then again: they won’t stop getting into trouble. 
El manages to raise her head from the couch, “Hi, Y/N.”
“Hi, sweetie,” you approach the couch and gently nudge her to the side so that you can sit down and place her head on your lap. She nuzzles into your warmth and lets out a sleepy sigh. “And to answer your question, Mike: I’m not here to yell at you guys. I just… Please tell me what’s been going on. I know I haven’t been here for you guys like I should’ve, but-”
“Your boyfriend needed you more,” Mike quips, though there’s some resentment in his voice that causes you to feel even worse.
Dustin hits his shoulder against the boy. “He isn’t her boyfriend, but she couldn’t just abandon him; he needed her. Besides, we have been sneaking off without telling her anything.” 
You cast an appreciative smile at your brother, thankful that even though he’s a pain in your ass, he always has your back like you do his. It’s something he’s always done with you and Mike; being so similar, you and him are constantly butting heads, yet Dustin has always been the first to defend you against his friend (even if you’ve never needed it in the first place). 
“I’m sorry, okay? I messed up, but I’m here now and I really, really need to know if I’m being paranoid. What mess did you dweebs manage to get into?”
The three boys suddenly can’t look at you. Their heads turn in different directions, Lucas scratches the back of his neck, Mike kicks at a board piece on the ground, and Dustin whistles a tune. 
Your shoulders slump. “Is it that bad?”
“It started this morning,” 
“Lucas!”
“Mike, she could help us! The weirdo clearly likes her,” he gestures over to El practically asleep in your lap, “plus, she’s the only sane one left in this group. I need backup.” 
“Backup?” You ask. 
Mike throws his head back in annoyance and lets out a groan as if he’s dying. Truly, this kid is the most dramatic person you’ve ever met. “Fine, we’ll tell you everything if you agree to stop hounding us for sneaking around. Will is missing, he’s our friend, and no one in the party gets left behind.”
You think this over for a moment, weighing the pros and cons in your head. “I will agree to those terms if you guys agree to keep me updated on everything at all times.” 
The boys try to argue, but you don’t let them. 
“I mean it, another person is missing. Nancy’s friend, Barb, was in the same woods that Will was, the same woods that you guys keep insisting on trekking through without supervision. This is serious, guys. Whatever, or whoever, is out there… it’s dangerous, and I-” You swallow down some tears that claw against your throat. “I can’t lose anyone else, okay?” 
The mood in the room is solemn, the three boys silent as your words hang in the air. Naturally, you try to lighten things up. “I’ll deny this if anyone asks, but unfortunately I love you boys.” 
As expected, they immediately begin to gag and pretend that they’ve been impaled with something as they all scream “ew” and “yuck” at your words. You laugh, which causes El to laugh as well, and for a moment it feels like nothing has changed. 
“So?” You ask after the boys have finished their gross theatrics. 
Dustin is the one who makes the decision for them. “We promise to keep you updated, for real this time.” 
“Good, now again I ask: why is El dressed like a doll and half asleep on my lap as we speak?” 
Lucas, Dustin, and Mike begin to talk all at once. 
“Mike radioed for me to head over, claiming he heard Will on the walkie.”
“Yeah, and then they radioed me to join. Sorry, by the way. I would’ve woken you up, but you and Jonathan looked so cozy in your bed so-”
“I thought you said they weren’t dating?”
“Not now, Mike.”
It continues like this for a while as they explain everything they did today. Sneaking El into the school, having to to talk to Mr. Clark, attending the assembly for Will, Mike fighting some idiotic kids for making fun of him before El made the head bully pee himself. 
You look down at the girl in your lap. “You can really make people pee themselves?”
“Sometimes,” she shrugs. 
“Lovely.” 
“That’s what you focus on, Y/N?” Mike asks you, and you simply shrug your shoulders in response. Sue you for still having doubts about Will being alive, you’ve gotten your hopes up one too many times. 
“Are you suggesting I believe that you heard Will through your cheap little walkies?” 
Dustin puts his head in his hands in defeat while Lucas gestures over to you. “See, she’s the sane backup I need.” 
Mike groans at you once more. “No, that’s why we snuck El into the radio room and used the heathkit that Mr. Clark got us. Keep up!”
“What, did you tell the guy that El was a new student?” 
“Don’t be stupid, we told Mr. Clark that she’s my cousin.” 
“Uhh, Y/N,” Dustin laughs nervously, motioning for you to stop talking. “You promised you’d be cool about everything if we told you.”
Knowing that your brother is right, you deflate a bit against the couch and start playing with El’s hair. “I am being cool, I just have so many questions.”
“Oh, just wait.” Lucas snorts. 
Mike now crosses the room to stand in front of you, as if he’s gearing up to tell you some major news. “We heard Will on the heathkit. El, she managed to use her powers to communicate with him.”
Like always, the seriousness in his voice concerns yet intrigues you. “Lucas, do you really believe that it was Will?”
The boy nods at you, his face grim. You don’t like how scared he looks, because out of the entire group he’s the one who is always the most reasonable. If he’s willingly telling you that he thinks it was Will, then you have to start taking the situation at hand seriously. 
“Okay, tell me exactly what you guys heard.”
And they do. One by one they tell you about Will’s pleading for his mom, telling her that it’s like home but cold and dark, the banging that followed after his words, how El had used so much of her energy trying to maintain the communication before the radio caught fire and she was too exhausted to do much else. 
“So, you believe us now?” Mike asks after you’re silent for a moment. 
You look down at the girl in your lap, in awe that someone so small and shy could hold so much power. This time you believe what the boys tell you without much conviction. Now that you know that Barb is missing as well, lost in the same woods as Will, the same woods where you found El, the photos from Nancy and the figure she claims she saw… It’s all starting to come together. 
You’re not sure exactly what you’re caught up in, but you know it’s too late to back out. Whatever is going on, whatever thing took Will and transported him to some unknown place with possibly the same powers that El has, you know it’s your responsibility to handle it. 
“Yes,” you respond, and the boys all sigh with relief. “Just one question though,”
Dustin sighs. “Yes, Y/N?”
“How did it take you guys so long to set fire to the school? Honestly, Jonathan and I thought it’d happen sooner.” 
“You’re hilarious.” Mike deadpans, which only causes you and El to giggle together again. 
“I hate to ruin the good mood, but we seriously need to figure out what Will meant when he said that wherever he is ‘is like home’.” Your brother interrupts. 
Mike spins to face him. “He said, ‘like home, but dark’, right?”
“And ‘empty’.” Lucas adds. 
“‘Empty’ and ‘cold’. Wait, did he say cold?” Dustin asks the group.
You nod your head. “You mentioned cold earlier.”
Lucas throws his hands up in the air in frustration. “The stupid radio kept going in and out!” 
“It’s like riddles in the dark…” Your brother sighs, which you hum in agreement to. 
Will’s words were pretty vague, but you wish you had been there at the middle school as well. Maybe if you had heard the tone of Will’s voice, you’d be of more help.
Mike continues to mumble about “like home” and “dark” for a few more seconds, now pacing around the room. You watch from the couch, El still resting with her head in your lap, and as you’re playing with her hair she finally speaks up after having been silent for a while. 
“Upside down.”
“What’d she say?” Lucas asks.
“Upside down? I guess?” Is all you can tell him. 
“What?” 
While you, Dustin, and Lucas are confused by El’s words, Mike rushes over to the forgotten board from a few days ago and sits down. He frantically flips it over and motions for you to come and join him. You hesitate for a second, but he only doubles down on his waving you over, so you gently lift El’s head up and walk over. 
“God, took you long enough.”
“I was literally three feet away from you on the couch, why did I have to move?”
Mike ignores your question and begins to explain the thirty million thoughts flying through his head at the moment, “When El showed us where Will was, she flipped the board over, remember?” 
You nod, slowly understanding where he’s going with this. “She flipped it upside down.”
“Exactly! Dark. Empty.” 
Lucas looks over at you and Dustin, unamused. “Do you understand what he’s talking about?”
“No,” your brother says at the same time as you saying “the upside down part? Yes. The dark and empty part? No.”
Mike tries to explain further. “Guys, come on, think about it. When El took us to find Will, she took us to his house, right?” 
“You mean last night when they found Will’s body in the water?” You ask, not really understanding where Mike is going with all this. 
“Like Y/N said, he wasn’t there.” Lucas reminds everyone, but Mike still tries to get his point across.
“But what if he was there? What if we just couldn’t see him, what if he was on the other side?”
You think about Jonathan’s words from earlier today in the car while on the way to the funeral home, trying to calm down from his fight with his mom. He had told you about how Joyce was convinced that Will was in the walls within their home, that the body they saw in the morgue hadn’t been his. 
“Hold on,” you interrupt Mike, “you guys said that there was some, like, banging where Will was, right? And that he had been begging his mom to come get him?” 
“Yeah, it was like some sick sci-fi movie!” 
You glare at your brother. “Ignoring you. Anyways, did you guys hear Mrs. Byers on the radio as well?” 
Mike shakes his head. “No, all we could hear was the banging and something... Growling, I guess.”
Knowing Joyce, you’d bet money that the banging had been her. You know that the next time you go over to their house, the walls might actually be destroyed, but she’d been right all along. Will is alive, he has to be. The pieces that you’ve slowly been collecting this past week fall together one by one. 
“That explains the walls and the weird monster thing in Jonathan’s picture,” you mumble to yourself, but Lucas hears you. 
“Do I wanna know?”
You purse your lips. “Let’s focus on figuring out where Will is, then I’ll tell you guys what I’ve been up to this week.” 
“Okay, so,” Mike begins again, now grabbing the board game and flipping it onto its normal, light side. “What if this is Hawkins,” he flips it upside down onto its dark side, “and this is where Will is?” 
“The Upside Down.” You finish for him. 
“The Upside Down.” Mike confirms. 
Slowly Dustin follows along. “Like the Vale of Shadows.”
Somehow you always end up the one confused when it comes to these damn kids. “The Vale of Shadows? What the hell is that?”
Dustin runs over to the bookshelf and pulls out a thick binder full of paper, but as he flips through it you realize it’s a rulebook for Dungeons and Dragons. He lands on the page he’s looking for, and you feel your shoulders drop. Great. More confusing terminology ahead. 
“‘The Vale of Shadows’,” he begins to read, “‘is a dimension that is a dark reflection or echo of our world. It is a place of decay and death. A plane out of phase. A place of monsters’.”
“Wait, didn’t you say something about a monster, Y/N?” Lucas asks, but you shush him so you don't miss whatever else Dustin will say next. 
“‘It is right next to you, and you don’t even see it’.” He finishes. 
His words hang in the air for a moment, but Mike, always somehow three steps ahead, pieces it together. “An alternate dimension.” 
Lucas finally accepts what’s happening. “But how do we get there?” 
“I’m sorry, we?” You look between all three boys, their faces still young and holding the childish innocence that you once had yourself. “No, there’s no ‘we’ in this. I may not know much about alternate dimensions, but there’s no way I’m letting you guys try to find and go to one.”
Mike rolls his eyes at you. “Well what choice do we have? Do you want to tell that mean police chief about this?”
“I…well… I mean-no.” You sink down in the seat, annoyed that Mike is right. No way Hopper believes any of this, you hardly believe any of it. 
“Can we cast shadow walk?” Dustin focuses back on the conversation at hand.
You don’t bother to ask what that means. 
“In real life, dummy.” Lucas reminds him. 
“We can’t shadow walk, but…” Your brother’s eyes land on El, who is still laying on the couch, silent and unmoving. “Maybe she can.”
The four of you turn towards the girl, and Mike voices his own question. “Do you know how we get there? To the Upside Down?”
El meets your eyes, and you can see that she’s hesitant about something. She’s been quieter than usual, almost suspiciously so, and you know that the more Mike figures things out, the more hesitant she becomes. She shakes her head at you, and you give her a sad smile. 
Lucas flings his head back and groans. “Oh my god!”
Mike and Dustin seem to be thinking the same thing, disappointed by El’s lack of help. You don’t blame them, also frustrated by the fact that it feels like you guys are so close to discovering something big. You can feel hope reignite in your chest; you haven’t been this close to an explanation about Will all week. This has to be it. It’s the only way you can explain everything that’s been happening lately. 
Speaking of which:
“Remember how I mentioned Barb and a possible monster?” 
You tell them everything, about Jonathan’s worry for his mom, how their phone got charred by lightning, Hopper’s theory that Will had been running from something, Nancy and Barb attending Steve’s party and how Barb had been on her own near the woods. You tell them about how Barb has been missing ever since and the photos Jonathan took (leaving out the horrible ones of Nancy) that Nancy brought to your attention at the funeral home. The figure in the background, looming over Barb, how it didn’t seem to have a face.
Then you tell them about Joyce and her spiral, though now you know she actually wasn’t crazy. You tell them about the Christmas lights and Will communicating with her through them. How she claimed that she could hear him through the wall and that the body in the quarry hadn’t been him. 
When you’re finally done catching them up, they stare at you with their jaws open. 
“Dustin,” Mike says, “remind me to never leave your sister out ever again.”
“Noted.” 
– 
The events from the day had left El exhausted and she refuses to say anything else after you explain everything to the boys. Her eyes droop while Mike interrogates you for answers you can’t give him, so finally you take pity on the poor girl and tell him that you’ll talk more in the morning. 
Mike isn’t too happy about being shut down, but when you point towards a half asleep El he reluctantly gives in. “Fine, but as soon as the funeral is over we’re discussing this further.”
Right. Will’s funeral is tomorrow. 
“Yeah, sure,” you tuck your hair behind your ears and motion over to Dustin. “We need to go, it’s late and mom will be wondering where we are.” 
He tries to argue with you but you just gather your things and head for the stairs. There’s still a lot you need to think about and a million things you need to sort before the funeral tomorrow. Did Jonathan even buy the coffin? Who had made the arrangements after you and him left the funeral home with Nancy?
There’s a lot you need to talk about when you call him tonight. 
The bike ride home with Lucas and Dustin is a quiet one, both boys understanding that you need some time to think about everything you learned tonight. 
You make a list in your head of what you do know, but it’s a frustratingly short list. 
1) El, one way or another, has powers that enable her to communicate with Will in some weird upside down universe that you can’t actually get to (can you even count this as something you know?)
2) Hopper was right: Will went missing because he was running from something (probably the same faceless thing that’s in Jonathan’s photo). 
3) Whatever took Will also took Barb, bringing Nancy into this wonderfully confusing mess (you still don’t know if her involvement is a good or bad thing). 
Everything else? You have no fucking clue what’s going on. 
When you get home with Dustin, it’s late; the two of you have to sneak past your mom, who fell asleep with Mews on her lap in the living room. Dustin heads straight for his room but you stop him, motioning for him to come into yours for a second. 
“What-”
“Shh!” You quickly shut your door to ensure that your mom won’t hear anything. 
Dustin groans. “I thought you said you weren’t gonna yell at me?”
You roll your eyes at him. “I yell at you guys twice after years of patience, now suddenly I’m a screaming monster,” he doesn’t say anything and flings himself onto the bean bag by your bed. “Anyways, we’re long overdue for a code blue.” 
Your brother shoots up from the bean bag, eyes wide. “No.”
“Yes,” you join him on the bean bag. “Code blue time, we’re going to talk about our feelings after the hellish week we’ve had. C’mon, you know the drill.” 
Code blue was something the two of you came up with when your dad left. You had been twelve when it happened, Dustin had been nine. It’d been a really rough few months for you guys, dealing with the betrayal of your dad while also moving away from your hometown in Virginia all within a year. Neither of you had adjusted well to the sudden changes, and though you were angry and bitter about what had happened, the moment you saw that it was affecting your brother you decided to implement code blue. 
It’s simple, really. Whoever calls for a code blue gets to talk about or ask whatever they want while the other is required to answer. Originally it was so that you could force Dustin into telling you his feelings, but over the years it’s become a way to bond with each other and know that no matter what you’ll be there for one another. No half truths or a vague “I’m fine”; it’s a time for you guys to be vulnerable with one another without using it as leverage against the other. 
Dustin plops his head back down. “Fine, but I’m tired so can this be quick?”
“Hey, no complaining during code blue. That’s like, rule number one.” 
“Y/N.” His tone is one of annoyance and you know that if you don’t start talking soon then you’ll lose his interest.
“Right, sorry. Okay,” you clear your throat and face your brother. “Today’s code blue topic is this: I’m worried about you getting your hopes up about Will. We don’t know that he’s alive just yet.” 
As expected, Dustin is unhappy with what you’ve said. “We do know that he’s alive, I heard him on the heathkit. He’s alive, Y/N.” He sees the uncertainty on your face and doubles down on what he’s saying. “He is.”
You bite your lip, scared that you’ll say the wrong thing. “Dustin, nothing is certain. Even though we’re definitely onto something, and while I believe that you heard Will on the radio, that doesn’t change the fact that there’s something else out there that wants to hurt him. I mean, he’s trapped in some weird alternate dimension that we have no idea how to even get into. I just… I don’t want to see you get hurt again.”
You think about the way your brother’s face fell when they pulled Will’s body out of the water. How the hope that had been in his eyes immediately died alongside his childhood naivety. He had built all of his hope upon a shaky foundation; the moment it collapsed he fell apart. 
“Look I know you’re trying to look out for me, but Will is a part of the party. He’s our friend, we can’t just lose hope and leave him behind. He needs us.” Dustin speaks with so much certainty and an aura of maturity that almost makes you forget that he’s twelve. 
“I’m not saying it’s dangerous to have hope, but I need you to promise me that you’ll protect yourself from whatever happens next. How’s that sound?”
Dustin thinks for a moment, tapping a finger against his chin. “Hmm, I think I can make that deal if you promise the same thing. I mean, c’mon, it’s obvious that you’re the sensitive one out of the two of us. You and hope? Doomed.” 
You laugh, knowing he’s right. You’ve always been branded by hope; hopeful for love, for dreams, and for those who may not always deserve it. You and hope haven’t always gotten along, but she’s become a familiar friend. 
“I think you’ve got yourself a deal. Now, it’s late and I have to call Jonathan and catch him up on everything, so let’s conclude code blue with its mandatory hug.” 
“Woah woah woah, I don’t think we gotta-”
Dustin’s words become muffled as you throw yourself on top of him and squish him into a hug. He squirms against you for a second, claiming he can’t breathe, but you shush him and force him to accept the hug. Though you won’t ever tell him this, losing Will has only made you more appreciative of having a wonderfully annoying little brother. 
After code blue, Dustin goes to his room claiming that “alternate dimensions are super draining”, and before he leaves you tell him to be ready tomorrow by nine for the funeral and that your mom will take him. You’ll be at the Byers’ helping Jonathan. 
Once he’s gone you give yourself a few moments to sit in silence, letting the events from today settle over you. It seems like all you’ve felt this week is exhaustion and hurt and at the rate everything is going, there’s no telling how long you’ll feel this way. 
The moment you’re done wallowing you roll off the bean bag and walk over to your desk to call Jonathan. You’re honestly not sure what you’ll even tell him tonight, there’s no way you’ll be able to cover everything before the night ends. The two of you have a long day tomorrow, so you figure you’ll have to make do with the limited time you have and summarize. 
Jonathan answers after a few rings. “How’d your little secret mission go?”
You make a face. “Is it even a secret mission if I told you I was going on it?”
“It is if you refuse to tell me what you did during it.” 
“Touche, bee.” 
He laughs, which sends a cascading warmth throughout your body. You can envision him perfectly on the other end of the line, leaning against his kitchen wall with the phone wire wrapped around his finger as he absent mindedly fiddles with it while he talks to you. 
You clear your throat and shake the thought from your mind, you called him for a reason. “Anyways… we need to talk.”
Jonathan is silent for a moment and you can feel the playfulness fade away. “Yeah, you first though. You already know what Nance and I were up to.” 
Nance?
Awesome. Cool. Totally not going to be consumed by that later. 
“Right. Uh, well. I went looking for Dustin because the other night when I was with the boys we stumbled upon this, well, this little girl.” 
“A girl?”
“Yeah, she’s bald.”
“Okay… is that important or…?”
“Unsure, but it felt important to tell you. Sorry,” you take a deep breath, “I’m not sure why I’m so nervous right now.”
“It’s okay, bug. It’s me, you can tell me anything.” 
No I can’t.
“Sure, yeah, totally. Um, so anyways we found her, her name is El, and she’s our only connection to Will right now.”
A beat of silence. “What do you mean?”
“Well, she kinda has… powers?”
“Powers,”
“Powers.”
You hear Jonathan sigh on the other end of the call. “Bug, you’re not seriously telling me that the boys have somehow dragged you into one of their little schemes, right?”
Yeah, he’s reacting exactly how you figured he would. 
“I know what it sounds like, but Jonathan… How else would you explain everything going on? Will disappeared, Barb did too, your mom and her lights. Now that thing Nancy saw in the woods, which I know you definitely have an update that will only further prove how weird this all is.”
Again Jonathan is quiet, and this time you envision him pacing little circles in the kitchen as he carefully thinks through your words, trying to piece it all together. “We developed the photo again and you’re right, there’s something behind Barb in it.” 
You close your eyes and exhale. “So, you believe me now?”
“Guess I don’t really have a choice.”
“You don’t.” 
“Then we’ll talk about it after the funeral tomorrow.” He concedes. 
“Yeah,” you let out a shaky breath, “the funeral. I’ll make my way over the second I wake up tomorrow to help with everything.” 
“You don’t have to-”
“I know.” 
More silence settles over the two of you. It’s still hard to wrap your head around the fact that it was only a week ago where everything was normal. No disappearances, no weird feelings, no heartbreak and confusion. 
“Bug?” Jonathan is practically whispering. 
“Yeah?”
“Lonnie is here.”
The words hit you hard. Why the fuck is Lonnie back in Hawkins? “Do you need to spend the night? I can finally bake those cookies for your mom and we can watch whatever you want.” 
“No,” he sounds exhausted. “He hasn’t been a problem yet, and I can’t…” 
“Leave your mom with him?” You finish. 
“He thinks she’s crazy and her axing down one of our walls doesn’t help-”
So you were right, Joyce did indeed break down her wall to try and get to Will.
“Jonathan, it’s okay. I understand, stay with her and get some rest. Sleep, that’s an order.”
He lets out a weak laugh. “I love you, bug.” 
Like how I love you?
“I love you too, bee.” The words burn your tongue. 
“Goodnight,”
“Sleep well.”
– 
You’re up before the sun this morning.
You spent hours tossing and turning last night, hardly getting any sleep. No matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t seem to turn your mind off. All you could think about was Jonathan, his smile and his voice and the way he kisses your forehead whenever you’ve done something especially endearing to him. You were surrounded by him last night. 
Now you stand outside his front door holding a tin of cookies, dressed in a simple knitted black dress and tights with mary janes that used to belong to your mom for Will’s funeral. The shoes are your favorite, but now you’re afraid they’re tainted by the occasion you’re wearing them for. 
It’s Lonnie who opens the door. “Well if it isn’t little miss Henderson. I missed ya, sweetheart.” 
You haven’t seen the man in two years, having been fourteen when he left Joyce and the kids. Since then he’s only aged horribly, his eyes slightly yellowed and his beer gut now more prominent. Clearly he still prefers alcohol over human company. Figures. 
“Can’t say the same about you.” Your shoulder hits his as you walk in and he lets out an annoyed huff. 
The man follows you but you pay him no attention. Instead you head straight towards Joyce and the second she sees you she runs into your arms; you only have a few seconds to place down the cookies before she’s in your arms. 
“Y/N! You’re here!” She squeezes you tight and you melt into her embrace. She’s always given the best hugs whenever you’ve needed the comfort, but now it’s your turn to be the one offering the support. 
“Of course, Mrs. Byers. Who else will make sure Jonathan is ready on time?” You mean for it to be a joke, but the way that Joyce’s eyes harden tells you that the funeral is a sore topic for her. She still doesn’t believe that Will is dead and it breaks your fucking heart that you can’t tell her she’s right. 
Joyce wipes away a tear before pulling away. She goes to say something before seeing the tin of cookies on the counter; she immediately pulls you into another hug. “Oatmeal raisin,” 
“They’re your favorite.”
“And Will’s.”
“And Will’s favorite. You know I gotta take care of my Byers.” You whisper into her ear, feeling Lonnie’s eyes on you during the exchange. You have to bite back your tongue, though his presence always makes you feel a type of anger that’s normally foreign to you. 
Joyce pulls away and you know it’s taking everything in her to give you a smile. “You’re too good, sweetie,” she tucks a loose strand of hair that came out of its braid. “Jonathan’s in his room.” 
You grab her hand and give it a squeeze, trying to convey just how much you love and admire her into a simple gesture, before letting go and walking over to Jonathan’s door. 
He’s struggling with his tie when you let yourself in. He’s dressed in the only nice white button down he owns, something he bought for his aunt’s funeral a few years ago that now hardly fits. You can tell that he’s getting frustrated with the tie, so you walk over and help. 
“Here, let me,” you wrap your fingers around the piece of cloth and quickly fashion it into a tie. The two of you don’t talk while you fix the clothing and you know that today will be a wordless day with Jonathan. 
When you’ve finished, you begin to pull away before he places his hands around yours. He cups your hands at the base of his neck as they rest against his collarbones; your fingers are still wrapped around his tie. He squeezes your hands and brings them to his lips and kisses your knuckles so softly that you feel all the love within you simmer.
You know he’s only trying to express his gratitude for you but the butterflies in your stomach make you feel faint. 
You’d do anything for him. 
– 
The funeral has a surprising turnout, not because you ever doubted Will’s incredible ability to be loved by anyone he meets, but because you see faces in the crowd who you’ve never seen before. 
You stand behind Jonathan during the funeral with your hand on his shoulder as he sits with his family in a weak attempt to provide comfort during the service. It’s really fucking bleak. Your other hand is on Dustin’s shoulder as he stands next to you while Mike and Lucas are to the right of him.
Your mother is in the back of the crowd having known she’d cry the entire service, and faintly you can hear her blow her nose into a tissue and sniffle. 
The pastor drones on for a while about how a tragedy like this won’t separate everyone from God’s love, but if attending the funeral for a twelve year old boy is how God shows his love then you want no part in it. Joyce sits stoic alongside Lonnie, Jonathan hasn’t moved at all since the service began; they’re a family brought together by grief. This isn’t love. 
“Just wait until we tell Will that Jennifer Hayes was crying at his funeral,” Dustin snickers, effectively breaking you from your thoughts. You hit his shoulder and shush him as Mrs. Wheeler reminds the boys to be quiet. You flash her an apologetic smile for your brother’s actions. 
You know how firmly the boys believe Will is alive and you honestly can’t say you don’t think so as well, but nothing is certain. Even if he’s alive there’s no way you guys can get to wherever he is; you wish the boys would use some caution with how quickly they’re building their hopes up. 
After the service you walk up to Will’s grave and bend down. You bring one of the yellow roses from the funeral director up to your lips and whisper, “If you’re out there little bee, please, come home.”
Before dropping the rose in you give it a gentle kiss, inhaling its sweet scent and watching as it falls down onto his coffin. Jonathan finds you there crouched down and sees the rose right as it lands. He doesn’t say anything, he just grabs your hand and helps you stand up to bring you over to where Nancy is waiting a couple yards away. 
“Hey, Y/N.” 
You don’t have it in you to do anything other than wave at the girl, but she seems to understand and gives you a sympathetic smile. 
Soon the three of you are settled on the ground with your backs against an old rickety fence behind some tombstones. Jonathan is in the middle of you and Nancy and you rest your head against his shoulder, already exhausted from the day. It’s not the coziest spot to be sitting, but at least you’re away from prying eyes. 
Once you’re seated, Jonathan finally talks for the first time today. “Alright, I already told you this over the phone last night bug, but Nancy was right. After we redeveloped the photo there’s definitely some kind of figure behind Barb, and we thought maybe if my mom has been right all along about some monster-”
“Then she’s right about Will being alive.” You finish for him, having already come to the same conclusion yourself.
“And Barb has to be alive if Will is.” Nancy says, and there’s a spark of hope in her voice that surprises you. You’re ashamed to admit that you didn’t think her and Barb were that close, but seeing how worried she’s been for the girl makes you realize that you’d been a fool not to have seen it sooner. Barb was Nancy’s closest friend. You don’t know what you’d do if Jonathan ever disappeared like Barb did. 
Jonathan pushes your head with his shoulder. “Anything you want to share with the class?”
You look between him and Nancy and try to decide how much you should tell them. While you’ve already told Jonathan a little bit about El, you’re not sure if you can trust the information with Nancy. However, seeing her urgency to find her friend leaves you feeling a bit safer disclosing the information to her. 
“It started the night after Will disappeared…”
It takes a while to tell them everything, and while Jonathan butts in a few times to ask questions, Nancy remains silent and eagerly listens. She nods when she’s supposed to, engages with the story as if her life depends on it. You’re incredibly impressed by her intelligence and openness to the situation at hand. Had it been anyone else they would’ve scoffed at you and called you insane. But Nancy? She holds onto every word and trusts that what you’re saying is true. 
You’re starting to admire her, as painful as it is to admit. But Nancy Wheeler is fucking brilliant, there’s no denying that. 
When you’re finally done explaining El and the Upside Down, Nancy finally speaks. “Let me make sure I’m understanding correctly, you’ve been helping my brother harbor a girl with superpowers in my basement?”
Huh. 
You hadn’t thought of it that way. 
“Ya know, you make a good point.”
Thankfully she laughs and doesn’t seem too upset, which relieves you. You reassure her that they’re fine and that El is someone you trust, and Nancy seems to take comfort in your words. It’s not that you purposely hid the situation from her, but looking back you definitely could’ve used her help now that you know how cool she is. 
As the two of you are laughing, Jonathan pulls out a piece of paper. 
“What’s that?” You ask. 
He shows you. “I printed out a map of Hawkins and drew x’s on every place we know for sure the monster has been.” 
“Two questions: one, so we’re officially calling it the monster now? And two, why don’t you ever put in this much effort for school projects we do together?” 
Jonathan flicks the paper in your face. “Funny. And yes, we’re calling it the monster now. Can you pay attention please?”
“Sorry,”
Nancy shuffles in closer and her head is practically on Jonathan’s shoulder as well (you’re choosing to ignore that) and she studies the paper and points to one of the x’s. “So that’s-”
“Steve’s house,” Jonathan points to another x, “and that’s the woods where they found Will’s bike and where Y/N last saw him,” the familiar feeling of guilt washes over you, “and that’s my house.” 
Nancy reaches over Jonathan and grabs your hand, surprising you both. “You saw Will last?”
“Yeah,” you swallow, your mouth now suddenly dry. 
“I’m sorry,” her tone is sincere.
“We should get back to the map…” You dodge, highly uncomfortable with Nancy’s comfort. You appreciate it, but you’ve never been good at accepting help from others. 
“Right, sorry,” Nancy clears her throat. “The x’s, they’re all so close.”
Jonathan observes the interaction with slight confusion but decides not to say anything besides, “Yeah, exactly. I mean, it’s all within a mile or something. Whatever this thing is, it’s not traveling far.”
There’s a look in his eyes as he speaks, one of determination and disdain for whatever that thing is, and before you can tell him no, it’s Nancy who voices your concern first. “You want to go out there.”
Jonathan nods and you feel uneasy. “I trust you won’t try going alone again, right?” It’s a question, but he hears the underlying try and I’ll kill you hidden beneath your words.
“No, not this time… but we might not find anything.” 
“I found something,” Nancy reminds him, which you nod at. She’s the only one out of the three of you who has seen the monster in person, and if you had to place any bets, she’s the one who will be able to figure out what the fuck to do with it. 
Actually, what are you guys going to do?
“Do we, like, have a plan for after we’re done monster sightseeing? Or are we just going to take a look at it and call it a night?” You ask the two of them. 
Nancy bites her lip and looks down, also unsure what exactly the three of you are supposed to do. It’s Jonathan who remains stone faced, and there’s a newfound sense of confidence within him that you’ve never seen when he boldly states, “We kill it.”
“Alright there tough guy,” you hit his chest with your hand and snort. “Sure, we kill it. Obviously.”
“Well, do you have any other ideas? For all we know, Mike and the others will be out there in those woods later looking for Will.”
“We don’t know that-”
“Bug, humor me, how did they find El again?”
You’re silent. He’s right, if you guys don’t go and find this monster before tonight then there’s a high chance the boys and El will find it themselves. Fuck. 
“Nancy,” you say to the girl, “it seems like we’re now officially monster hunters.”
– 
Of course Lonnie has a goddamn handgun just casually stored in his glove box.
You’re not entirely on board with this whole gun situation and apparently Nancy isn’t either, immediately questioning Jonathan when he picks the lock to get the gun.
“What, you want to find this thing and take another photo? Yell at it? Better yet, why doesn’t Y/N just round up the boys and El and have them take it down.”  
“Okay, hey,” you point at Jonathan. “Out of line.” 
He mumbles an apology under his breath while Nancy claims that this is all a terrible idea. You’re not sure where you fall in regards to what’s happening, but you’d say at the moment you’re a solid mix between Jonathan’s no time for nonsense mood and Nancy’s hey let’s slow down hesitation. 
You kick a rock and watch as it dings against Lonnie’s car, which pleases you. “Oh it’s definitely a terrible idea, Nancy. Unfortunately it’s all we have going for us at the moment.” 
Jonathan nods at your words. “She’s right, no one’s going to believe us if we tell them. You know that.” 
“Your mom would.” Nancy responds, jutting her jaw out in defiance. 
You cringe, unsure how Jonathan will respond to what she’s said. Joyce is a sore topic for him, he’s always been so protective of her.
“She’s been through enough,” he sighs, and you hum in agreement. 
Nancy grows more frustrated. “She deserves to know!”
You step in between them. “Look, you’re right. Mrs. Byers deserves to know, but right now she isn’t well enough to handle the idea of her only remaining son actively seeking out a monster that may have taken her other son who could possibly be alive. If we’re wrong or Jonathan gets hurt, it might actually kill her.”
“Yeah, we’ll tell her when this thing is dead.” You note Jonathan’s word choice, saying “when” instead of “if”. In the four years you’ve been his friend, you’ve never seen him so self-assured before. You’d be proud of him if the circumstances weren’t so damn grim. 
“What about the kids?” Nancy finally says after a few seconds of silence. 
“They can’t get involved, I won’t let them.” You tell her and she nods as if expecting you’d say that. 
She gestures over to the funeral home where the crowd of attendees are now gathered for the post burial service. “I know my brother, so you better go and tell him that they need to stay at our house while we deal with the monster. They like you better than they like me, they’ll listen to you if you explain what we’re doing.” 
You’re flattered by her words, honestly. Mike, Dustin, and Lucas listening to you about staying put while you guys go monster hunting? They’d be out the door before you’d be even able to finish saying the phrase “monster hunting”. No way they’ll listen, and you’re about to say exactly that before catching the look Jonathan is giving you. 
You groan at him. “You don’t actually believe they’ll listen to me, right? C’mon, you know those boys as well as I do. This is just a giant DnD game for them at this point.” 
He shrugs, “It doesn’t hurt to try?”
Nancy gives you a hopeful look and bats her eyelashes at you, which, okay, shouldn’t work on you but does. Jonathan does the same, except instead of batting his eyelashes he winks at you and suddenly you’re very confused by the onslaught of emotions that wash over you.
“Ugh, fine. But when they show up in the woods later you guys are on your own!” 
– 
When you step inside the service hall, everyone is gathered into small groups talking amongst themselves. You scan the room for the kids and spot them across the room sitting at a table with Mr. Clark. He’s talking to them about something while holding a paper plate up. You’re not sure what exactly he’s saying to the boys, but they’re leaning in close to him and are listening intently. 
This worries you. 
You try to make your way over as quickly as you can, but being Jonathan’s best friend has some challenges. Every few steps you take you’re stopped by an extended family member of the Byers to ask how you are or a stranger stops to offer you their condolences because you’re close with the family. You do your best to make small talk and thank the people, but you don’t have time to say much else besides, “thank you” or “you were Will’s favorite great aunt”.
By the time you finally get to the table with Mr. Clark and the boys, the man has folded up the paper plate and stabs it with a pen. You really, really don’t want to know whatever the hell this man is explaining to the kids. 
“You create a doorway,” he explains, holding up the plate and smiling at the boys. 
Dustin looks enthralled. “Like a gate?”
“Sure, like a gate. But again, this is all-”
“Theoretical.” Lucas says, nodding his head.
A gate?
What are the odds the boys are talking about a gate to Disneyland?
You sigh, not liking the odds at all.
You slide yourself into Dustin’s chair and force your brother to share with you. He squeaks in surprise and you flash him a tight lipped smile, which causes him to gulp. He knows he’s been busted. 
Mike scoffs at your arrival. “Gee, wonder why you’re here Y/N.”
“Go on, continue this conversation with Mr. Clark here. I wanna hear it.” 
Mr. Clark looks at you uncertainly but Mike simply carries on with the conversation as if you aren’t even here. “But what if this gate already existed?”
“Well, if it did I think we’d know.”
You snort. “Wanna bet?”
Again the man looks at you uncertainly and clears his throat, uncomfortable by your presence. “What I mean to say is that it would disrupt gravity, the magnetic field, our environment.”
“So if there is a gate, it’d be really bad?” You ask, but you already know the answer. 
“Oh, definitely. It might even swallow us up whole!” 
You and the boys look around the table at one another, not at all liking what Mr. Clark is saying. Swallow you guys up whole? That’s not really something you’re interested in. 
Mr. Clark sees your nervousness and shrugs. “Science is neat, but it’s not very forgiving.”
Silence falls upon the table. 
Mr. Clark is such a peachy person.
“Well!” You throw your hands upon the table and the loud noise causes everyone to flinch. “Thank you so much for that lovely information, Mr. Clark. It was truly riveting, but would you mind giving me and the boys a second alone? I just, I want to make sure they’re doing okay after today.” 
You bat your eyes at the man, something you never do, and he clears his throat and excuses himself. The second he’s gone you snap your finger in the boys’ faces. “Hey, listen up. Whatever you guys are planning? Don’t.”
As usual, Mike is the one who argues. “But-”
“No.”
“You don’t even know what we’re-”
“No.”
“Can you at least let me-”
“Sure,”
“Really?”
“No.”
Lucas and Dustin watch the interaction with slight pleasure, amused by your ability to shut Mike up, but when he turns to them for help they reluctantly give in. 
“Y/N,” Dustin sighs, “honestly, how many times are we gonna do this whole ‘we’re not allowed but we’re going to do it anyways’ bit?” 
You glare at your brother. “However many times it takes for you guys to finally listen.”
“Cool. Then we’ll expect you to bust down Mike’s door later tonight.”
“I’m not kidding,” you face all the kids and make sure they’re listening. “Whatever you’re trying to do, don’t. Jonathan and I-”
“You told Jonathan?” Mike exclaims but Lucas shushes him. 
“We’re going to handle it, we already have a plan but whatever you do: stay out of the woods from here on out. We think… We think there’s a monster out there hiding. I just want to make sure you guys are safe.”
“Monster hunting?” Dustin’s eyes light up and you silently curse Jonathan and Nancy for even suggesting you do this in the first place.
“Technically… yes, but you guys absolutely have to stay put.”
They stare at you as if you’re insane.
“You do realize who you’re talking to, right?” Dustin asks. 
You flick his head. “Yes, and I’m putting a lot of trust in you guys right now. I’ll let you guys do whatever you want so long as it doesn’t include the woods. Until you get an all clear from me, it’s off limits.” 
Mike thinks this over. “Can we look for the gate then?”
You sigh. There’s no other way to appease them. “If you don’t go near the woods… then fine.”
The boys begin to cheer, which causes several funeral guests to stare at you with judgment. You realize now that this probably hadn’t been the right setting to have this conversation in. Oh well.
You don’t let the boys cheer for long. “However-”
“There she goes,” Lucas sinks into his seat and squeezes his eyes shut. 
“I get full updates whenever I please. I don’t care if I have to track you guys down from the gates of hell itself, but I will find you and you will tell me everything. Deal?”
Lucas, Dustin, and Mike gather close together and duck their heads down so whisper to one another. You roll your eyes but wait for them to finish. When they’ve reached a decision, Mike interlocks his fingers and places his hands on the table. “You’ve got yourself a deal.” 
– 
As soon as you’ve changed out of your funeral clothes and into a simple pair of jeans and a sweater, Jonathan arrives at your house. You kiss your mom’s cheek before leaving and shout over your shoulder, “Remember the deal, Dustin!” 
You don’t quite catch what your brother responds with but you honestly don’t care enough as you run over to Jonathan’s car and hop into the passenger seat. 
“You certainly didn’t waste any time getting here,” you say in lieu of a hello. 
Jonathan shrugs. “No time to waste when it comes to monster hunting.”
“You do realize that we’re only scouting out the woods tonight, right?” 
You, Jonathan, and Nancy had decided earlier to simply go and explore the woods for any clues of the monster and then figure out how, or even if, you can kill it. 
“I know, but monster hunting sounds cooler.”
“Bless you, bee.” 
The two of you get to the field in no time. Jonathan had been the one to suggest the spot a few yards behind his house for target practice and Nancy had agreed to bring a bat just in case you needed more protection. 
And you?
You’re bringing the cans to serve as targets for shooting. Your family has never owned a gun and last time you checked, Dustin doesn’t play any sports, so all you can offer is your emptied recycling bin contents. 
It doesn’t take long for you and Jonathan to set up the cans on top of the tree trunks before he begins shooting. Jonathan takes a deep breath and holds the gun up so it’s eye level and looks over at you. “Ready?”
You take a deep breath as well and prepare yourself, knowing it’s about to become loud. “Yeah, start shootin cowboy.” 
The first shot hits a tree behind the can, nowhere near its intended target, and you wince. It’s looking like the monster might actually win at the rate Jonathan’s aim is going. 
“It’s okay,” you tell your friend. “The tree looked at me funny, he had it coming.” 
Jonathan snorts. “You’re laughing now, but I can’t exactly hunt a monster if I can’t even shoot it.” 
“Maybe you could talk nicely to it?”
“And say what, exactly? ‘Hey, Mr. Monster, where are you hiding my brother?’”
You step closer to him so that you’re now side by side and you nudge his shoulder. “Hey, you never know. It could work.”
Jonathan readjusts his grip on the gun and aims it once more. He takes another shot, this time it lands a bit closer to the can, but not by much. He lets out an agitated, “Fuck!”
He tries shooting again and again but each shot is as unpredictable as the last. After his sixth round of firing you can see how tense his shoulders are and the way he’s clenching his fists against the weapon. You remember how he acted earlier today, the newfound anger and resentment within Jonathan that had originally impressed you. Now it only frightens you. 
When he goes to re-aim the gun for the seventh time, you grab at his hand and stop him. 
“Bug, what are you-”
“Let’s go for a walk.” 
Jonathan looks at you like you’re crazy but you simply take the gun from his hands, click the safety back on, and then walk over to the tree stumps to rest it against one of them. When you’re done you walk back over to the boy and interlock your fingers with his to drag him along. 
There’s not a whole bunch of room in the clearing for a walk per say, but there’s enough to go a few laps around for Jonathan to take a breather. You’re not sure exactly what’s going on with him but a walk has never hurt anyone. 
Jonathan’s silent the first lap around. You’re content with this and you admire the fall weather and enjoy the slight warmth from the sun as it kisses your face. When you’re on the third lap you decide to ask a question that’s been on your mind since yesterday when Nancy showed up at the funeral home. 
“Do you really believe Will is alive?”
Jonathan thinks the question over for a moment, and as he’s lost in thought you notice that he begins gently swinging your hands back and forth absentmindedly. “I can still feel him.”
“Feel him?”
“Yeah, I know it sounds crazy but…”
“No, I think I get it. I mean, I’d be able to feel if something bad happened to Dustin. I know I’d be able to, even if there’s not necessarily a science behind it. It’s like there’s a lifeline connecting us, like some unspoken sibling thread that neither one of us can sever.”
“A sibling thread?” Jonathan asks, a slight laugh accompanying his question. 
“Oh, you know what I mean, bee.” 
“No, no. I wanna hear all about this thread theory of yours.” 
Jonathan’s bright mood is back, reminiscent of the boy you once believed you knew better than you knew yourself, so you entertain his teasing if only to sustain his light a little longer. “If I explain this theory you have to promise not to laugh at me.”
“I promise,” he says and he gives your hand a light squeeze. 
“Alright, but if you decide I’m insane after this, just know that you legally cannot leave me. You signed a contract.” 
“Oh, did I?”
“You sure did, bee. Anyways, back to me,” a slight breeze surrounds you for a moment and you let the crisp air fill your lungs. “I have this theory that we’re all connected to each other in some way by different threads. Some threads are older than others, stronger, or maybe even more rigid, but they’re there. Whether it’s a thread between you and your family, the love of your life, or a stranger you happen to pass on the street one day, none of it happens by accident.” 
“The threads are the reason it all happens?”
“Not necessarily, but yeah. To put it simply, I guess you could say that.” 
“So, for our thread,” Jonathan stops walking and tugs at you to stop as well. “After everything we’ve been through, all that we’ve done for one another, what thread would you say our’s is?”
His question catches you off guard; you can hear your heart beating within your chest. There’s so many things you wish you could tell him.
Our thread is one of romance, of lovers, of soulmates, even. 
The feelings build within you and the words threaten to spill out. The November sun is beginning to set and everything is golden in its light and Jonathan is a part of it all. His brown eyes are like warm honey on a cold winter morning and his hair is slightly ruffled from the wind that leaves his cheeks flushed and rosy. 
“Our thread,” your voice catches in your throat for a moment. “You know what our thread is, bee.”
He pulls you closer to him and in this moment all you can focus on are the slight freckles that dot across his face and neck. “Do I?”
Jonathan has never, ever looked at you like this before. There’s an intensity within his eyes that frightens you and leaves you feeling bare before him. Does he know? Has he figured it all out?
“I…” You can’t form the words you want to say; the three words that have been weighing upon you feel even heavier than before. They’re thick on your tongue, syrupy and dense and you feel as if you can’t breathe.
“Y/N?” He whispers, but you can only shake your head. 
It’s too much. It’s all too much. 
And then suddenly Jonathan leans in. 
Maybe you’re imagining it. 
Maybe you’re delirious after almost a week of sleepless nights and exhausting encounters. 
Or maybe, just maybe, he feels the same way about you. 
You lean in as well and allow yourself to close your eyes; you believe that just this once you can be selfish and accept more than you may deserve.
“Hey! Guys!”
Nancy’s shout causes you and Jonathan to spring apart. 
You want to scream. 
Of course it’s Nancy fucking Wheeler. 
Jonathan drops your hand and waves the girl over while you stand there, trying to collect yourself. As she walks over, you have just enough pride left over to say, “You know I’d do anything for you, right?”
The question is one Jonathan isn’t expecting. He steps back a bit, now even more aware of the close proximity the two of you had only seconds ago. “Of course I do, bug. You’re my best friend.”
Best friend. 
The words hurt more than they should, really. 
“Right. Best friend, ha.” You step even further away from Jonathan, which he raises his eyebrows at. 
“Did I miss something or…?”
If you had the time, you’d ask him why he wanted to know about the thread between the two of you. Why he looks at you like you’re the most precious thing in the entire room. Why, just minutes ago, he leaned in as if to kiss you. 
But Nancy is now only a couple feet away and it wouldn’t be fair to ask her to give the two of you some privacy. You spot the bat in her hand and it serves as a reminder of what the three of you are here for in the first place. 
Will, Barb, the monster. 
“No, of course not,” you clear your throat and greet Nancy as she arrives. “Hey, Nancy.”
She smiles at you and then says hello to Jonathan. “Hey, where’s the gun?”
You point over to the cans and the tree stumps. “Over there, we just wanted to go for a little walk after shooting a few rounds.”
Nancy nods and walks over to inspect the undamaged cans. “You said you already shot a few rounds?”
Jonathan ducks his head down. “Yeah, well. It’s not as easy as it looks in the movies.” 
“Y/N, did you try shooting?” 
“Pfft, I’m definitely not a weapons kind of girl. I prefer to use my crippling good looks instead.”
While you and Nancy talk, Jonathan walks back over to the gun and reloads it. He motions for the two of you to step back and he shoots a few more times. Not once does he hit the can. You pinch the bridge of your nose and sigh. 
“You’re awful at this, bee.”
“Yeah,” Nancy agrees.
Jonathan looks over at her. “Have you ever shot a gun before?”
She scoffs. “Have you met my parents?”
“I don’t know, Mrs. Wheeler seems like the type to have a hidden gun.” You say, and Nancy waves you off. 
“Well, I haven’t shot one since I was ten. My dad took me hunting on my birthday and made me kill a rabbit.” Jonathan’s words make you frown. Every day he gives you another reason to hate Lonnie. 
Nancy sympathizes with Jonathan and the two of them fall into an easy banter that you’ve never seen before with him. He’s comfortable around her in a way that makes your stomach twist. He tells her about his parents and how they may have loved each other at one point but now no longer do. He’s opening up to her after only a few days of really knowing her. 
Lovely. 
Nancy shares some details about her own family and how she believes her parents never loved each other, which you can relate to. You watch as Jonathan hands her the gun as she explains how her mom had been younger than her father. “He had a cushy job, money, came from a good family. So, they bought a nice house at the end of a cul-de-sac and started their nuclear family.”
“Isn’t it funny how the fathers never seem to suffer the same fate as the mothers?” You ask, and Nancy looks over at you in confusion, so you explain further. “My own parents, they were like yours except the moment my mom was no longer young, my dad left. Found a newer and cheaper model back home in Virginia.” 
“I didn’t know that, I’m sorry Y/N.” 
You shrug. “It’s not like I go and advertise it. Besides, he was an asshole anyways and my mom is better off without him. She’s the sweetest woman in the world who was forced to run back to her family in Hawkins. Nuclear families aren’t all they’re cracked out to be.”
Jonathan ruffles your hair to get you to laugh, which he succeeds in doing. “Screw that.”
 Nancy raises the gun to eye level and closes one of her eyes, her beautiful face now scrunched in concentration. “Yeah, screw that.”
And with that, she shoots a perfectly aimed shot and knocks the can off the stump. You and Jonathan look at her, stunned, but she can only laugh. 
“Damn, Jonathan. Remind me to never piss Nancy off.” You say, still staring at the fallen can. 
Only he doesn’t hear what you’ve said because he’s too busy staring at Nancy. You can tell he’s impressed by her hidden shooting talent and the way she holds herself with such confidence. His eyes shine as he stares at her and he almost seems to come to life whenever she looks back at him. 
Jonathan looks at Nancy and you know he sees what everyone in Hawkins sees: a beautiful, fierce, and incredible girl. 
Nancy Wheeler, the perfect enigma.
Suddenly it clicks. 
Jonathan is in love with her, or at least he’s beginning to fall in love with her. 
You want to hate her. Afterall, she already has Harrington head over heels for her, and yet you can’t blame either one of the boys. She’s perfect and brilliant and everything you’re not. You’d fall in love with her too if you weren’t already in love with someone else. 
You watch as Nancy and Jonathan become lost in their own little world, him helping her reload the gun as she flashes him a shy smile, and you no longer exist near their presence. It feels like a fucking stab to your already open wound of a heart. You watch the way he ducks his head down whenever she looks at him and the way she stares at him when he isn’t looking. 
Nancy shoots a few more rounds and each shot feels like a hammer coming down onto your own coffin. Each time Jonathan looks at her you feel another nail enter. 
Clearly there’s no room for you here. 
Which is fucking ironic given that you’re in a giant field outside. 
You reach for Jonathan’s hand and tug him forward. He gives you a look as if asking is everything okay? and you wish more than ever that things were different between the two of you. You give him a soft shake of the head. “I can feel a headache coming on and I just remembered that I have a shift tonight, so I should get going.” 
He frowns. “But what about the monster? We can’t look for him without you.”
“You’ll be fine without me,” to your horror you can feel tears forming, which you quickly wipe away before Jonathan can notice. “I doubt I’d be any help, anyways. I suck with guns. Nancy’s the professional here.” 
“I mean, I guess, but…” He looks over at Nancy, who is busy firing the gun and hitting every target she aims for, before pulling you even closer to him. “Are we okay? I feel like, I don’t know… like I’m losing you.”
Your breath catches in your throat. He could never, ever lose you, but if you don’t leave now then you’re afraid that maybe you’ll lose yourself. 
“Don’t be silly, bee. You’re not losing me, no matter how much you may want me to.” You try to tease him, but your heart isn’t in it. 
“You didn’t answer my question, Y/N. Are we okay?” He’s looking at you with so much adoration and concern in his eyes that it almost makes you sick. 
“Of course we are. I promise. I think it’s all just catching up to me, if I’m being honest. Between finding Will and tracking down my own brother, I think this monster hunting business may break me.” 
Jonathan eyes you for a moment as if to try and catch you in a lie, but while you’re only telling him this as an excuse to get away from him and Nancy, it’s not technically a lie. You are exhausted. Plus, you really do have a shift. 
The boy scans your face once more before deciding that you’re telling the truth. You know he suspects there’s something else behind your words, but thankfully he doesn’t pry. “Let me tell Nance that I’m driving you home,” 
And there it is again. 
Nance.
The nickname is like a punch to your gut and only solidifies that you should go. “It’s okay, bee. It’s still nice out, figured I’d walk home and get some sun before winter officially takes over Hawkins.” 
“You can’t expect me to let you walk alone now that we know there’s a monster out there taking people, bug.” 
You kiss his cheek, letting your lips linger for a little longer than necessary. “I’ll be careful, I promise. Stay with Nancy and call me tonight after you guys are done scouting around. We’ll figure out where to go from there. Okay?”
You don’t give Jonathan time to argue because you pull away and inform Nancy of your departure. She also frowns at the idea but has already learned that you’re not one to be told what to do. She understands this aspect of you, and you understand it within her as well, so she wishes you goodbye and tells you to stay safe before going back to shooting.
As you leave, you feel Jonathan’s eyes follow after you. 
– 
The walk ends up being more than enough to clear your head. You haven’t had any time to be alone in god knows how long, so it’s nice to have some time to just think and enjoy the quiet. There’s a lot you need to think about, but at the very forefront of your concerns are Will and El. You still have no idea how they’re connected or how the monster comes into play.
Then there’s Steve, oddly enough. 
You’re not really sure why he’s in the midst of your thoughts, but there he is. Smiling at you and laughing at your jokes and telling you that you’re pretty as he instills a carefree sense within you that feels foreign to enjoy. 
As his words ring through your head, you find your thoughts drifting towards Jonathan and the way he holds your hand every time you’re worried about something and the way he kisses your hair after a particularly hard day.
You’re not sure why the two boys almost seem to clash within your mind, but you don’t have time to look into it. Your shift starts soon and god knows how long your coworker Alex can survive on his own if you’re late. 
Work is slow as usual tonight, but you find the downtime a pleasant relief. It gives you the opportunity to skim some new books that shipped in and catch up on some Spidey storylines. In between stocking books and arranging comic displays you find yourself wondering just how true to his word Dustin stayed earlier. 
Like hell those kids really stayed out of the woods. 
Your question is answered as soon as you get home and find your brother crying in his room. Panic immediately swells within your chest and you run over to him.
“What’s wrong?” You check Dustin’s body for any sign of injury and he lets you as he cries, too upset to wave you away. When you’re assured that he’s okay, you feel your heartbeat calm down again. 
Christ, everytime you see this kid he takes ten damn years off of your life. 
You pull a chair from his desk and sit in front of him. “Dustin, do we need to have another code blue?”
“Maybe,” Dustin sniffles, wiping away a few tears. 
“Okay, then code blue. What happened? Is everyone okay? Is it El?” At the mention of the girl’s name, Dustin flinches. Your blood runs cold. “Dustin, what happened with El?” 
“You won’t yell at me?”
You smooth down his always wild hair. “Never during code blue. Please talk to me, bud.”
Dustin explains how he and the group had gone looking for the gate like they told you they would. He explained how they’d followed the train tracks throughout Hawkins for what seemed like hours. 
“The train tracks that go through the same woods I told you not to go in?”
“Like hell we were gonna listen to you.” 
“Yeah, I know.”
This gets Dustin to laugh a bit, which you’re relieved to see, before he continues his story. When he reveals El’s weird behavior and the way she seemed to be hiding something from them, you feel dread creep in. “Did she… Did she do something to prevent you guys from finding the gate?”
“She used her powers to mess with the compass. Lucas found the blood on her jacket.”
You sense that there’s more. “And then?”
“Mike and Lucas… they-they started fighting.” Dustin’s voice breaks, “they started really going at it, and I tried to stop them. I swear I tried, Y/N!”
“Shh,” you reach for his hand to try and calm him down. “I know you did, but I also know how Mike can get when he’s protective of someone and I know that Lucas isn’t El’s biggest fan. It was a recipe for disaster.”
Dustin snorts, “No kidding.” Then his face darkens once more, “but they wouldn’t listen, and that’s when El screamed.” 
“She screamed?”
“I think she was overwhelmed, but she used her powers on Lucas and flung him across the yard and he hit his head pretty hard…”
“She what-”
“She didn’t mean to! She looked really upset after, and Lucas was fine after he woke up-”
“He was knocked unconscious?”
“And then he stormed off and El ran off. We searched for her, but…” 
You stare at your brother in shock. That definitely hadn’t been what you were expecting. El never struck you as a violent girl, but she knocked Lucas out with her mind. Sure, she may have been trying to break up the fight, but you’re willing to bet that she lost control for a moment and Lucas ended up getting hurt as a result.
Maybe you don’t want superpowers. 
“Y/N, have I lost all my friends?” Dustin asks. 
You shush him once more. “No, of course not. You three boys have always been so drastically different from one another, and this week has been one from pure hell. It makes sense that Lucas and Mike finally snapped, but I promise you that they’ll bounce back eventually.” 
“And El?”
“I’m not sure what to make of her,” you admit. “She isn’t violent, I know she’s not. But we also clearly don’t know her as well as we think we do. I just, I need you to be careful around her, okay? Fight for her, defend her like you would for the boys, but be cautious as well.”
“Cautious, got it.” He cocks his head at you, “but what about Lucas and Mike? They’re still friends, right?”
“Of course they are. Just… sometimes friendship can be hard, but it’s almost always worth fighting for. It’s rare to find friends as loyal as Mike or as brave as Lucas or even as sincere as Will. Yet look at you guys, all together; you’re all incredibly lucky to have one another.”
“Lucky like you and Jonathan?” Dustin asks, a sly glint in his eyes. 
You smile, even if he’s teasing you. “Yeah, like me and Jonathan.”
Dustin returns your smile and you squeeze his hand. “Anyways, I say give Lucas some time to calm down. I think he was scared, more than anything. Tomorrow you can try to talk to him again.” 
Your brother nods at your words and he seems better than he did when you first started the conversation, so you open your arms wide and engulf him into a hug. 
“Code blue concluded, I guess.” Dustin mumbles against your chest, which causes the two of you to laugh.
– 
After your talk with Dustin, you head back to your room and wait for Jonathan to call. You glance at the clock and figure that maybe him and Nancy were still out scouting for clues, so you busy yourself with some homework.
When it nears ten at night and the phone still hasn’t rung, you sigh and reach over for the phone on your desk. You dial Jonathan’s number and hope he simply forgot to call, but when no one answers after your fifth time calling: you begin to worry. 
Ya know, maybe it wasn’t your best idea letting him and Nancy go off alone with a monster on the loose. 
You find yourself frantically biking to the Wheeler’s house before you can even think about it. The night blurs past you and as you walk up their driveway and try to rest your bike against their mailbox, a familiar BMW parks next to you. 
“We’ve gotta stop meeting like this, Henderson.” Steve says as he sends you a wink. 
You almost greet the boy before Tommy’s head pops out from the passenger side window. “Hey good lookin.”
You hear Carol berate him and the two begin to bicker as Steve gets out of the car. 
Great. He brought the idiots.
Steve walks over and takes your bike from your hands. After a couple seconds of repositioning and balancing, he finally manages to get the bike to stay upright. “Tada!”
“I almost had it,” you glare at him. 
“Sure ya did.”
Steve’s presence is frustrating as always, but you spot Jonathan’s car parked down the street and Carol’s shrill voice becomes increasingly irritating. You don’t have time for this right now. “What are you doing here, Harrington?”
“I could ask you the same thing.” When you glare at him, he finally says, “Nancy promised she’d call me but hasn’t, so I wanted to check on her.”
His sincerity is why you say, “I’m here for…” You realize you can’t necessarily tell Steve about Jonathan possibly being here. You have a feeling it wouldn’t end well, but you’re also not keen on lying to the boy. You’re already keeping secrets from practically everyone in your life; you don’t want to add Steve to the list. Not when he doesn’t deserve it. 
“I’m looking for Jonathan,” you confess, worried about Steve’s reaction. 
He frowns. “Why would Byers be here?”
“Him and Nancy have this… thing for english. Due tomorrow. A big thing. Like, huge. So they’re working on it together. In the house. Where Nancy lives. Here.” You stumble over your words, more nervous than usual, but you weren’t expecting Steve to be here or that you’d need a cover story. 
“Uh huh,” something almost aggressive flickers across Steve’s face and you silently curse to yourself. You said the wrong thing. 
“Funny, Nancy told me she was only helping Byers for the funeral.” 
Shit.
Tommy and Carol watch from the car, obviously amused by the whole situation. 
“Right! She was, now she’s working on an assignment with him.” Technically not a lie, you’re just omitting the fact that the assignment in question is monster hunting. 
“You’re really bad at lying, Henderson.” Steve walks past you, now over the conversation, and you struggle to keep up. You try to block his path, assuming that he’ll use the front door, but as you near the front step he side steps you and starts heading towards the bushes. 
“What are you doing?” You whisper loudly, trying not to draw too much attention to yourself. 
Steve ignores your whispered yelling and jumps on top of the radiator. Once he’s up, he begins to pull himself over the overhang and up onto the roof. There’s a window just above the ledge with a light on, which you presume to be Nancy’s room due to the practiced ease in which Steve scaled the house. 
You don’t try to climb up after him in fear that you’ll only end up embarrassing yourself. “Ya know, Mrs. Wheeler loves me, I could’ve just knocked on the door.”
Steve peers down at you, an easygoing smile now back on his face. “Relax, this is quicker. Besides, you gotta admit it was impressive to watch.”
Again he winks at you and you feel your cheeks flush. He’s right, it had been impressive to watch; he had made it look so easy. While you struggle to come up with a witty retort, Steve almost knocks on Nancy’s window before his smile drops.
You notice the way his face hardens. “Steve?”
He doesn’t respond, which only concerns you more. You begin to think about the millions of possibilities surrounding Nancy, Jonathan, and monster hunting; fear creeps in. “Is Nancy there? Is she okay?”
“Of course you’d be worried about Nancy right now,” Steve laughs bitterly. You frown at his words, unsure what they mean, but before you can ask anything else Steve angrily climbs back down.
“Steve, what-” He pushes past you in a frenzied hurry to get to his car, but you grab his jacket and force him to stop. “Answer me! Is Nancy okay? Was Jonathan with her?”
Steve whips around and sneers at you. “Why do you even care about them? About him?”
“Because we’re friends,” you say, and for the first time you really mean it. Nancy has become someone you’d call a friend. 
Another cruel laugh escapes Steve’s lips. “Friends, huh? Yeah, those two looked real fucking cozy in her bed.”
A wave of nausea hits you.
“W-what?” You drop your hand and release his jacket. 
“It’s incredible, really. Byers has some fucking nerve.” Steve runs a hand through his hair in agitation and begins to pace. You’re too numb to stop him. “I mean, look at you! He has everything he could possibly want, but he decides to go after my girlfriend.”
“It’s not like that-” 
“Did he tell you they’d be in her room, alone in her bed, underneath her blanket?”
More nausea hits you. “No,”
They were supposed to look for any signs of the monster in the woods. That’s all he told me, you think. 
“So he’s a liar, too.” Steve scoffs, “you deserve better, Y/N.”
And with that, he heads back to his car and drives away, leaving you standing alone once more in the Wheeler’s driveway. You get a sense of deja-vu, watching Steve’s BMW descend down the street, but only this time there’s no warmth fluttering within your stomach as he leaves. 
All you feel is nausea. 
You don’t remember the bike ride home; you’re not sure how you even made it back safely without crashing into anything. All you remember is that you cried the entire way. 
You’ve lost Jonathan, there’s no denying that now. He’s Nancy’s, wholly and truly, he’s hers. 
He was never yours in the first place, you remind yourself. 
But if he was never yours in the first place, then why does it feel like you were almost something?
No. 
You don’t want to think about it that way. 
Yours or not, you can’t afford to lose Jonathan. 
Something or everything, you’ll take whatever you can when it comes to him. 
Everything, anything, nothing. Whatever he gives you, you know you’ll cling onto it with all that’s within you.
But your friendship with Jonathan is too precious to lose, too meaningful to let stupid feelings ruin it. You refuse to let anything come between your friendship with him, and you swear to yourself to shove everything down. Every hurt feeling, all the pain stabbing within your chest, you force it all down to focus on finding Will. 
He’s all that matters right now, even if it feels like the thread connecting you to Jonathan has begun to wither.
Will has to come first. 
You have to find him, something good and lovely has to come from this. You can’t let this all be for nothing.
-
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reveluving · 6 months
Text
if the skirt fits ; andy barber x reader
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summary: Andy finds a little secret of yours.
warnings: heavily implied s~mut; costume kink (minors DNI!), familial fluff & mild humour!
a/n: you don't know how happy I am for finally sharing this piece with y'all, considering how it has been collecting dust in my drafts since LAST YEAR, but here it is; one of my earliest ideas for the series! don’t forget to leave some sugar! ᐠ( ᐛ )ᐟ
» wanna know what I have in store this fall? come & check out my m.list for 'reve's quirky reverie 🕷️'!
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“It fits you perfectly,” He purred, almost deep in thought—probably in his own fantasy, “So perfectly.” ;
"You could dress up as Jason?" You suggested what might’ve been the seventh costume idea since the drive home from dinner at the Thai restaurant nearby. 
"Done that." Jacob replied as he leaned forward from his seat to talk to you and his father.
"Spiderman?" 
"I feel like everyone's dressing up as Spiderman this year." 
"But not everyone's going to dress up as the same one." You had a point, considering how you and his dad were the first victims of his Spiderverse fixation since the second movie was released, so you knew what you were talking about.
"I guess,” Jacob thought for a moment before falling back in his seat, taking your idea into consideration, “I guess I just want something… different." 
"If you want different, then we could get you one of those inflatable dinosaur costumes on the internet." Andy held a playful look even as his eyes remained on the road.
"Very funny, dad." His son grumbled, despite fighting back his own smile.
"Aw, cheer up, Jake. You've got time." You reassured him. 
“Yeah… And I’m not too worried. The store next to Aunt Sarah’s bakery got some cool stuff when I bought last year’s costume,” Jacob mused before asking you, "What about you, mom? Have you thought of a costume yet?" 
Ah, mom. Even after all this time, you and Andy will never get tired of him calling you that.
"Mmm, not yet. But when I do, I'll make sure you're the first to know." You and Jacob shared a smile in the rear-view mirror, only to be interrupted by Andy clearing his throat.
"Uh, you're gonna tell him first and not me?" He cocked his head, feigning disbelief.
"Of course. You lost that privilege when you suggested Jake the dinosaur costume." You and Jacob laughed as Andy dramatically groaned, telling you ‘I didn’t mean it’ in an angsty teenager tone.
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"I am not dressing up Ken." Andy answered, removing his watch and leaving it on the vanity table.
"Oh, c'mon, Cowboy Barber has a nice ring to it." You said with a lilt. 
"And where exactly am I going to find a Western shirt in my size?" He quirked an eyebrow at you.
"We could always ask the Flags. Her husband might have one hidden somewhere."
"Just because we've seen him with a cowboy hat last Halloween?" He remembered seeing him wearing one during the community party at the park.
"You'd never know. Barbie and Ken are safer than your recommendation." You opened the closet without taking your accusatory eyes off him.
"What's wrong with a devil and an angel?" 
"Andy." Surely he could tell how ridiculous he sounded. 
"It's… easy…? And you'd look really good in it." He tried to persuade you, standing next to you.
"At a party full of kids?" You weren't sure how the parents that were a little more… conservative would feel about their kids' teacher dressing up like that.
"I didn't say it was for Wilson's party. It's for our afterparty," He wiggled his brows, "Just you and me while Jake stays over at the Wilson's." 
You snorted. How cheesy of him.
"Wilson's party first, then whatever you want after," You turned back to the hanging clothes, "And besides, you should be the devil, not me." 
That wasn't a no.
"You know what," He pursed his lips, already considering your idea—especially with the black suit he knew you'd melt over, plus a red tie before dodging the swat of your hand with a laugh. Just then, he noticed you'd been searching for something for a while, unbuttoning his cuffs and folding his sleeves before asking, “Need some help?”
“I can’t find my panties. The baby blue ones.” You frowned.
“The one with the lace?” He asked, prompting you to nod, “I mean, as much as I love seeing you in those, you know I don’t mind you without any in the first place.”
“Nice try, Barber," You narrowed your eyes at him, gesturing to the drawers in front of him before you rummaged through the pile of folded clothes on the bottom rack, “Help me search the drawers, please.”
He did as he was told, looking through the first stack before moving on to the next.
There was little progress in your searches but your curiosity was only piqued when out of the corner of your eye, Andy was looking closely at something.
“Did you find it?”
He took a quick breath before answering, “No, but I did find something better.” 
You furrowed your brows, standing up to ask what he meant by that until you caught sight of the familiar skirt he held.
Plaid, grey and extremely short.
Uh oh.
You clasped your hands together in front of your tummy as you stared at the microskirt with wide eyes. You were even failing to notice him slowly breaking into a smirk. He didn’t stop there, reaching into the drawer he was looking into with his other hand to take out the matching tie. Your lips parted, darting your eyes between the article of clothing and the smug look on his face.
“I can explain,” You finally spoke up, your voice softer than you hoped for.
“Please, do,” He held the ends of the untied tie with both hands, “Because I’m pretty sure these are too small to be mine.”
Oh, he was going to have some fun with this.
“Well, it’s, y’know,” You moved your hands around, only to silently plea for him to understand without having you say it, “Andy, c’mon. You know what it is.”
It wasn’t enough for him, though, raising his brows and encouraging you to continue. 
He was clearly enjoying this. A whole lot. 
Unbelievable.
“It’s my old costume.”
He hummed, appraising the garment as he immediately imagined what you would look like in it, “So my pretty girl has a dirty secret of her own. Did you break any necks when you pranced around the neighbourhood in this?” 
“In my defence, I only wore that once, when I was in college, so,” You corrected him, recalling the party you attended in your final year. 
“So, you broke college boys’ necks.” 
“I didn’t say that,” You shook your head in amusement, “I just didn’t have the heart to give it away. It was just one of those rare times where I truly enjoyed living in the city.” 
Though the city wasn’t far from Reve Road, and hell, you’ve even thought about moving back once or twice in your earlier days, truthfully, you haven’t been there in ages, and thank goodness, too. What would life be like if you hadn’t stayed, made a name in the peaceful neighbourhood and met the Barbers?
"Do you miss it?" 
"Sometimes," You mustered a small smile, though it didn't quite reach your eyes, "But I had my fun. Grew up to be a city girl, earned my degree and let out my ‘wilder’ side a couple of times. But I love it here more, and if I want to keep my job, the last thing my students and my son need to see when they go trick-or-treating is their Literature teacher in this." 
You shared a hearty laugh. Your wonders about who or what you could’ve been if you stayed in the city were nothing more than a mere curiosity, and even then, it hardly mattered to you now.
“Wouldn’t hurt to relive the old days here in our room.” Oh?
"You can't be serious," You chuckled nervously, "It might not even fit." 
You were lying—you barely looked any different from your college years. You just weren’t sure if you were ready to see his reaction over such scandalous attire.
"All the more reason to try it," He replied confidently, closing the gap between the two of you. His voice deepened as he whispered, "C’mon. You can be a good girl for me, can’t you?" 
Like the gentleman he was, he used your weakness against you.
You knew you were done for when you gulped under his intense stare, cocking his head in the bathroom’s direction. 
You snatched the garments out of his grasp, the ‘deathly’ glare on your face contrasted with his conceited one as you obtained the shirt that came with it out of the same drawer. He continued to hold your gaze even as you closed the door.
Once you were alone, you couldn’t help but let out a silent scream.
You were too embarrassed to even face the mirror as you got dressed, not until you slid on the last piece—the skirt before turning around to look at yourself. You could barely acknowledge the coincidence of covering your face with your hands like a bumbling schoolgirl.
Because that was exactly what you looked like.
You remembered washing the set a couple of times after your first and only wear, and even then, you didn’t think the skirt could shrink that little. Your ass was hanging out of the hem, offering an ample peek at the black bikini brief you had taken with you. 
You came out of the bathroom, ignoring the warmth spreading through your body as you were met with Andy sitting at his side of the bed, shamelessly displaying the prominent tent bulging in his pants.
He hummed in approval before beckoning you to his lap, "Come here." 
You kept your gaze on the ground as you walked over to him, standing in between his legs.
"Come here." He repeated, this time, forcing you to maintain eye contact as he tapped his knee.
You let out the softest whimper, your arms encircling his neck before straddling one of his thick thighs. He rested his hands on your hips, only to run them up and down your body, watching your face already contorting between bashfulness and desire.
“It fits you perfectly,” He purred, almost deep in thought—probably in his own fantasy, “So perfectly.” 
He pulled you closer, bouncing his knee to rub against your clothed sex. Electricity coursed through your body over the not-so-innocent move, your breathing growing heavier by the second as he teased you further.
“But you haven’t answered my question yet. Did they or did they not stare at you when you wore this?”
He rendered you speechless. You were beginning to think your heart might burst out of your chest at any point. 
“I’m sure they did,” A part of him wanted to be annoyed but miffed was a better way to put it. Not at you, though, he could never. You were just trying to have fun and make the most out of what life had to offer. But if he was there to see you in this the first time you had it, likely showing your wilder side, oh, he couldn’t lie and say you wouldn’t catch his eye either. 
“But I guess that doesn’t matter anymore,” His hands slid past the hem, lifting it for him to drink in the sight of your curves, “It’s just you and me now.”
You dropped your head on his shoulder, hoping to stifle the moan that threatened to slip past your lips.
“Just imagine me bending you over the bed so I can get a peak of what’s mine underneath,” He sighed dreamily, smiling when your ass jiggled as he grabbed at and squeezed them, “Or should I throw you on the bed and have you on your knees?”
You didn’t answer, too focused on the way he groped your body until you jumped at the resounding crack and the sting that came with it on your left cheek.
"Does it come with thigh highs?" He asked ever so casually as if he wasn’t straining to have you just as much as you were him.
"I-It did, but… I kinda lost it." 
"That's fine. I can always get you a new one," He nosed your jaw, "In fact, I'll buy you more than just a pair. Maybe match some with your panties." 
You mewled, raising your head and granting him access to your neck. 
“You'd do everything your favourite professor tells you to do, wouldn’t you?” 
Fuck.
“Andy, I–” You nearly called him Professor Barber when the sounds of knocking on your door caused you and your husband to freeze up.
"Mom, dad,” It was Jacob, “I think Beemo's been collecting… socks under the couch?" 
Like a fish out of water, your mind was too blank to respond or even acknowledge the question. Thankfully, Andy was able to do it for you, “We’ll be right there!”
The two of you waited until his footsteps receded before you were able to let out a sigh of relief. Andy, on the other hand, had the audacity to chuckle at you. There was no reason for you to worry about scarring Jacob since Andy had already locked the door.
“Very funny.” You murmured sarcastically, moving off him and loosening the tie, hoping to ignore the ache in between your legs for the time being.
“Hilarious,” He cockily added, standing up with an almost pained groan. He stood behind you before wrapping his arms around your waist, “But this isn’t over.”
You stopped.
“I meant what I said about buying you thigh highs with it. Or better yet, some fishnets because my wife’s not so innocent after all.”
Despite getting cockblocked, he was immensely satisfied to see you shiver.
‘Beemo, are you collecting underwear too?’ You heard Jacob ask the cat incredulously, only for a ‘wait!’, followed by his footsteps going down the stairs, probably chasing the feline with whoever’s briefs or undies he had in his mouth. You could only hope it wasn’t yours.
“And, that’s our cue,” His shoulders slumped, only to growl in your ear, “Wear this for me tomorrow after dinner.” 
He then released you with a big smooch on your cheek, exiting the room to find his son, but not before winking at you.
Leaving you to wonder on your own if he’d throw you on the bed or have you on his lap tomorrow.
˚ · . f i n . · ˚
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» a/n: now is a good time to say; no, I have yet to come back to the series, but I was too stoked about this event and thought 'hey, this should be the best time!'
» consider it as a mini compensation! but I do want to thank you for still sticking around, just know 'future mrs barber' is nowhere near discontinuing! ;; gorgeous rose divider by @firefly-graphics ♡
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just-jordie-things · 8 months
Note
hey!! can i req part 2 of the headcanons meeting megumi for the first time during the jujutsu tech exchange event? thank you!
a/n: ik i said i would make a part 2 for this a long time ago but y'all know i lie :3
read part one here ___
the first mistake megumi made was telling yuuji and nobara about his run in with you during the first portion of the exchange event.
because during the second portion, the pair would not stop teasing him about it. every time he was stuck on the benches with one or both of them, it was nonstop snickering. something about a crush.
so when he actually had to participate in the baseball game, he was very distracted. that brings us to mistake two.
mistake two was he couldn't seem to bring his attention away from you.
if it was his turn to bat, his eyes were finding you in the outfield. if he was on one of the bases, he was sneaking glances out of his peripheral. it didn't completely ruin his ability to play the game, but it did make it more difficult. and it was obvious to his team that his head was in the clouds.
but he couldn't help it. when your eyes would meet you always gave him a little smile and a discreet wave of your hand, as though you were old friends, and not practically strangers.
and god, it got worse when the teams swapped and it was tokyo's turn to pitch.
when you were up to bat you had such a confidence about you. which was deserved, you hit a perfect home run after all. megumi was standing in the outfield completely awestruck. which didn't go unnoticed by his so-called friends, who were still laughing and teasing during the game.
at one point he completely missed an easy out because he hadn't noticed the ball falling in his direction. he was too focused on how excited you looked when you cheered for miwa to run all the bases. you got riled up when you were proud, bouncing and waving your arms as you supported your team. it was... cute.
he didn't actually get to talk to you until the game was over, and actually, you were the one to approach him.
he'd just taken off the dumb helmet that made his hair feel flat and weird. he'd been trying to fix it back to normal when he realized you were walking up to him, your bag slung over your shoulder while the rest of your classmates were already headed out.
it was strange to be alone with just you. it made his face feel hot with awkwardness. (it was awkwardness... right? after your weird encounter during the first part of the event?)
"i just wanted to say good game," you'd said sweetly, and to his surprise, you even stuck your hand out. "it was fun"
despite some hesitation, megumi shook your hand. he made tht awkward too, staring at you like you had a hidden plan of attack, and holding onto your hand a little too long.
you didn't seem bothered by his behavior, you even laughed when you eventually slipped your hand out of his hold.
"uh, yeah, i guess it was... fun" he agreed half heartedly. team sports weren't really his thing. and he could've done without the relentless teasing from his friends through most of it.
"anyways..." you shifted your stance a bit, your hands folding together behind your back. "i also wanted to tell you that i like your shikigami. it's cute. like you. and if you're okay with it, could i give you my number?"
poor guy's doing a full double take, his eyes widen, his face goes pink and his mouth is gaping like a fish. he looks kind of ridiculous, but you're endeared by it, laughing softly as you wait for his response.
"your number?" he repeats, dumbly.
"yeah," you nod. "i dunno. i like you. i wanna talk to you more"
you were so damn blunt megumi wasn't sure if this was some kind of prank or not. it had to be, right?
nonetheless, he's fumbling for his phone, unlocking it and handing it to you so you could put your number in. you're grinning, happily typing in your contact info before passing it back to him.
"no pressure!" you tell him with a smile, just to be sure he's not uncomfortable. "you don't have to reach out. but, if you do, i'll answer" you add the last part softly, accompanied with pink cheeks and shy eyes that barely meet his.
"no, i'll call" he says with certainty.
you're beaming, taken aback by his blunt interest, but eager to know your little crush was reciprocated.
"alright then," you hum. "then i guess i'll talk you later"
you bid him goodbye, having to rush after the rest of your classmates who were determined to go back to kyoto with or without you. but you make sure to give megumi a wave over your shoulder.
he's still frozen in place, not totally sure what had just happened, but he waves back, and his heart starts to beat erratically in his chest.
you don't know it, but before he calls you a day later, he paces the halls of the school trying to think of just what to say when you pick up. he's mad anxious, wanting to come across just right, to tell the right stories and ask the right questions. he's not sure what you saw in him in a matter of a day that made you develop an interest, but he's determined to make sure you remain interested.
he doesn't know it, but you're so excited when he does call that you don't mind at all when he talks about. he could've told you how he'd spent every minute of his day and you would've been delighted to listen.
___ a/n: sorry again this is four months late bcuz i suck :3
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rakkuntoast · 9 months
Text
ok i got nothing else to do so here's a transcript of the whole trauma talk
philza stream july 22nd 3:26:06
Tallulah: if i think u were paranoid, he is even more. y'all need a break
Phil: i mean it's cuz we've like experienced some kind of loss with the eggs, right? so, we've had the nightmare, alright. Chayanne lost a life to neglect cuz of misscommunication. Tallulah, you lost a life to the code monster...
Phil: Like we've felt what it's like to have you guys dissappear from our grasp, right? you've like- you've dissapeared from this world briefly, and we know what it's like. Like i-i've personally know what it's like, for you guys to fucking dissapear entirely like, the nightmare happened and i thought that was it, i was like "fuck well, it's done" and i felt so empty, right?
Phil: I-I genuenly felt like i lost a hardcore world, like- the 5 year world that i lost? that's what it felt like, i was like fucking miserable. And then bad uh- lost dapper like- like in a weird glitch type thing, and that got reverted. But when it happened, you can hear it in his voice like, he was distraught like- theres like a bond that we share even if is playing block game, you know?
Phil: we're just hanging out like, i wanna protect you guys with everything i can. everything i have i wanna protect you with, you know? but... i understand that i can't protect you for everything, so i just try to protect you from that i can, so... (and ooc out-of-character, i think everyone watching is incredibly invested also -laughs-, we're in the same boat)
Tallulah: It's understandable, thanks for sharing how u feel with us i'll be more careful
Phil: that's okay, you- you- you're very careful already tallulah, it's chayanne that fucking dives head first into danger all the time. He's- he's a bit more reserved now, you can do that chayanne when like theres more people, its fine, cuz then we can look after you, we can back you up. But when its just me and you, or me, you and tallulah.... we gotta- we gotta stick together, alright? we've seen all kinds of strange things happen
Chayanne: i mean, gosh i'm bad with words!!!
Phil: yeah, its alright. im just gonna throw some blocks out of my inventory
Tallulah: i gotchu brother
Phil: awww -laughs- gotta back eachother up, back eachother up guys
Tallulah: you show more with ur actions chay, that's more than enough
Chayanne: i dont want to die, i wont die soon, i take everything you showed us seriously
Phil: (overlaps) guessing "super seriously", yeah yeah yeah yeah.
Phil: You know what i think makes it more stressful? Is that us players can't see your health, right? So like, we don't iknow how close you are to danger, we can't- you can't talk to us mid fight, alright? like, you talk to us throught signs and books and stuff but like, we have to go through body language alone to figure out how in danger you are... You can't tell us, you dont have like a button to press, you don't have- there's like nothing to indicate that you're extremely low on health or in peril, alright?
Phil: So it makes it more stressful for the players and the people watching cuz we dont know, so i have to just be super fucking careful... And just treat it like you're on like barely any heart all the time, just in case
Chayanne: Thank you so much for that, when the giant squid grabbed me i was shaking-
Phil: -laughs- Oh god
Tallulah: Thank you for being such a good mentor (and father figure) i can't promise i might not die, but i will fight if i have to-
Phil: Oh i absolutely believe you'll do your absolute best to survive tallulah
Chayanne: When the giant squid grabbed me i was shaking bc i thought that was the end of it
Phil: Yeah- that was terrifying yeah, it's so- it's so like stressful
Tallulah: -to still be here with you all. i promised my papa and i make that promise to you
Phil: Aww, thank you Tallulah, thank you.
Phil: I feel like there's enough counter-measures in place that- realistically um it shouldnt be- nothing bad would happen like- you souldn't lose a life but.. You know me, and I- you know how im- I just I know that multiple bad things can stack on top of eachother and cause a really bad thing to happen, so like we have to be just careful of that, you know? You can be prepared for anything but there's always gonna be ways that you'll be unprepared for something, alright Phil: so- as long as we just prepare as much as we can and just be extra safe and not put ourselves in unnecessary danger then.. These situations that could happen can't happen. The only thing we can't prevent against really, or we can prevent it a little bit- but we can't really prevent it is when the code monster decides to take the life from an egg cuz.. You've seen it first hand, it does not give up
Chayanne: So yeah, it's not a good feeling ;_;
Phil: Yeah... I'm glad you guys are in the same page
Tallulah: In conclusion: we need to go to tio Roier's therapy sessions
Phil: -laughs- Is Quackity paying for it, yeah? Quackity got that on lock, it's like and insurance- it's like a company insurance, like a benefit you have for working with the server. its like "okay so uhh, who needs to book a therapy session today" everyone raises their hand at the same time, good god. Yeah, we'll go to family therapy together, we'll work it out, we'll work it out
edit: minor spelling mistake </3
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etherealstar-writes · 3 months
Text
I WANNA BE YOURS | LIONESSES X READER | PT 7
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pairings: lionesses x reader
summary: in which you're accidentally added to a random group chat, not knowing they're all actually famous footballers, and obliviously end up having many of them competing for your love and attention.
part: seven
part one here
✦ ——— ✦ ——— ✦
THE NATIONAL DIVING TEAM
the REAL karate kid
good afternoon losers
and y/n <3
the imposter
hey
willybum
good afternoon you dumbass
and hello to you too y/n
the REAL karate kid
rude
how are you y/n?
the imposter
eh i'm doing fine i guess
stairway
is everything alright
the imposter
i got fired from work today 😔
lotte
what happened?
if you don't mind me asking
the imposter
so i told ya what i do for work yeah?
well i've worked for this company for the past
whole year as their main solo media manager
and then my boss found out that his good old
friend's son was looking for a job and he's also
a photographer and social media manager so he
decided to fire me and hire him instead to
keep his relationship strong with his old friend
the REAL karate kid
that really sucks
your boss sounds like a terrible person
the imposter
yeah he was a really difficult person
i am kinda glad tho ngl
i don't have to see his annoying face ever again
but back to job hunting again 😔
neev
if it makes you feel better
leah got head-shotted in the head
by lessi during training
the imposter
i really hope someone got proof of it
stairway
i gotcha
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maya
HELP
lotte
got K.O-ed lol
willybum
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this isn't funny
i got a full on concussion
i'll get you back russo
the REAL karate kid
not my fault you're a terrible defender 🤷‍♀️
willybum
EXCUSE ME?!
the imposter
dam
them calves 😮‍💨
has anyone ever asked you
to step on them?
neev
um y/n is there something you'd
like to share with the group ...
willybum
weirdly enough yeah
i have been asked that
elton
it was actually just y/n asking
on a secret account
the imposter
don't expose me like that 😩
meado
every time i open this group chat
i get deeply concerned for you all again
i don't even know who y/n is and i feel like
i should be concerned about her as well
the imposter
woah
meado
i thought we were getting along well 😔
stairway
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well if meado is concerned then
i guess she's offering to pay for
our therapy so let's go gang
the imposter
also
why do guys always train and
play football together?
elton
oh you know
we just like to play football together at times
stairway
yeah
it's fun
the imposter
okay ....
who am i to judge
✦ ——— ✦ ——— ✦
THE LION KING SQUAD
russo
uh
so guys
i have done something
toone
oh no
that is never a good sign
le tissier
okay i'm intrigued
this is gonna be bad
wubben-moy
the fact that she's using the group chat
without y/n is not a good sign
stanway
is she about to introduce her new wife
to us or something? did you like run away
and get married in vegas or something?
charles
we literally saw her yesterday georgia
so if she had then that would be
insanely impressive
toone
is that why you weren't at training today?
greenwood
ella looked very lost today
it was worrying
russo
yeah
i ran away with y/n and we got married
toone
HUH
stanway
WHAT
charles
EXCUSE ME
russo
OF COURSE NOT YOU IDIOTS
not yet anyway 😏
but back to the point
leah was also in on this
bright
oh like that's any better
williamson
excuse me??
wubben-moy
here we go
russo
okay
so
you know how y/n's looking for a job yeah?
well leah and i thought we'd put in a
good word for her in our media admin so
that you know .... maybe she can get
offered a job here and you know we can
actually meet her and get to know her irl ....
stanway
that is actually ....
the most decent idea i've heard from ya
charles
yeah fr
hemp
oh my god y'all are such simps
stanway
shut up
toone
i do wonder when y/n will find out about
who we are or if she ever will
charles
nah she's got to find out soon with
the euros starting next week?
williamson
i reckon we tell her after the euros
wubben-moy
well that shall be eventful
part eight here
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