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birdiewriteslit · 4 months

Text

“on the down low”

harry james potter x f!weasley!reader

no voldemort au

summary: you and harry have been hiding your relationship from your family for four months, but when he stays over for the holidays, they start to uncover the truth, one by one.

warnings: idk how long this is but it feels long, kissing, fluff, CHRISTMAS

me pretending voldemort doesn’t exist again for the sake of plot convenience and my own happiness

Godric, you hadn’t realized how hard it would be to pretend over the holiday. At first, it seemed like a dream come true. Harry staying at the burrow for Christmas meant you’d be able see him whenever you wanted, but you couldn’t exactly do what you wanted.

During the day, you and Harry had to act indifferent to each other, like you hadn’t been together since the end of the summer.

It was different than it was at Hogwarts, where nobody suspected a seventh year to go for her brother’s best friend, who was a year younger. That excluded Hermione, of course, who was just too damn smart to not figure you out.

You hadn’t realized how easy it was to sneak around in a giant castle with a multitude of empty classrooms and an invisibility cloak at your disposal compared to your house of nine other people where the walls were thin and the furniture was old, regardless of proximity between you.

You kicked Harry’s foot under the dinner table. He looked up from his plate and stared at you, bewildered. You nodded to your mother who had just asked him a question he clearly hadn’t heard.

She looked at him expectantly, waiting for his response. “Sorry?” He took his gaze away from you and onto Molly.

“Harry, I asked you if you’ve gotten yourself a girlfriend this year?” she clarified.

Harry spluttered, glancing at you quickly before looking back at her. He cleared his throat. “No, I haven’t.”

Your mother tutted. “A shame, really. Let’s hope you don’t end up like Charlie. Such a handsome boy, and yet, he can’t find a nice woman to settle down with,” she sighed and turned her attention to your older brother, who was rolling his eyes.

Harry looked relieved that he was no longer the one being questioned. “Mum, stop it. I’m only 22. I’m too young to settle down. Bill’s older and he’s not married.”

Bill stopped mid bite to gesture violently at Charlie to cut it out, but Molly paid him no mind.

“Spend your whole life with dragons, see if I care,” she responded vehemently. “Let’s hope your sister doesn’t go off with you to Romania when she graduates.”

Now it was your turn to roll your eyes as you became your mother’s new subject of torture. It was true, you were looking into a career with dragons, but it was unlikely you’d end up on the same reserve as your brother.

“You know, darling, you ought to find a nice boy. It would do you well.”

You grimaced. “And here we are, back to your favorite topic.”

“Not mine,” Fred interjected.

“Certainly not,” George added. “She’s not allowed to date.”

“Oh, she’s not, is she?” Ginny said, giving you a seemingly knowing look. Merlin, you could only hope she knew nothing.

“No, and neither are you, Gin,” Fred said swiftly.

“We’ll that’s unfortunate,” Ginny looked at you smugly. “Because I think our sister has had her eye on someone.”

Harry turned paler than normal, looking at you in alarm, his face saying, ‘Did you tell her?’ Hermione, to his side, gave you a similar look.

Your face heated under the eyes of your entire family. You shot Ginny a glare before deciding to get her back. “That’s what you think, but I know you bloody well fancy Dean Thomas.”

The focus shifted from you to Ginny. “Dean Thomas?” said Ron, staring at your sister in astonishment.

“Who’s Dean Thomas?” your mother asked cheekily.

Ginny groaned, hiding her red face in her hands. “I’m excusing myself. Goodnight, family.”

She stood up from the crowded table and basically threw her plate into the sink before running upstairs.

“Seriously, who’s Dean Thomas?” your mum asked for the second time.

“A boy in Ron’s year,” you explained briefly. “He’s perfectly decent,” you elaborated further, once you realized your family’s eyes were unrelenting.

“Well, who does she think you fancy?” Bill said, grinning. Why did the first thing he contributed during this conversation have to target you? Why couldn’t it have been revenge on Charlie?

“How should I know? I haven’t told her anything that would make her think I was interested in anyone.” That was a lie. You did tell her something.

“Are you?” Bill followed up.

“That’s really none of your business,” you said, standing up from the table and clearing your plate.

“As long as it’s not someone in our year, that’s what I say.” Ron nudged Harry, looking at his friend who nodded weakly.

You began to walk up the stairs, but not before shooting Harry a look that pleaded him to come upstairs when he could get away. Because of your circumstances, you’d gotten very good at giving each other wordless glances like these.

A little while later, a pajama clad Harry entered your room, checking the hall for anyone before closing the door behind him.

“Ron thinks I’m in the bathroom. Did you tell Ginny about us?” he said hurriedly.

“Of course not,” you denied. “I may have given her a hint though.”

Harry’s eyes widened. “What?”

“I didn’t mean to! She was talking about Dean, and asked me if I liked anybody, and who am I to lie, so I said yes.”

“Um,” Harry interjected. “One problem with that is that we lie about our relationship every day. You are a liar.”

“Don’t interrupt me, Harry. Anyway, she asked me who and I wouldn’t tell her, so she started listing names. She asked me what I thought of you, and I let it slip that I thought you were cute,” you said sheepishly, toying with a button on his shirt. “I think I scared her off with the Dean thing, we should be in the clear.”

Harry only grinned. “You think I’m cute?”

“Oh shut up, would you?” you said, pushing his chest away from yours.

“Sure.” He pulled you back by the waist, his hands resting on your hips as he ducked down to kiss you. He tasted like toothpaste, but you really didn’t mind it.

He was about to pull away after a moment, but you tangled your fingers in his hair, keeping his mouth attached to yours.

“I’ve missed you all day,” Harry murmured against your lips.

“Godric, me too.” You clung onto him like you knew it wouldn’t last, and it didn’t. Ron called out to Harry from somewhere in the hallway, and Harry pulled away from you. His glasses were fogged up and he was cursing Ron.

When the lenses cleared, he leaned down to press another chaste kiss to your lips. “I’ll see you in the morning,” he whispered, exiting the room quietly.

You slumped onto your bed, staring at the open door with a forlorn look on your face. Ginny suddenly appeared in the doorway, her mouth hanging open and her hand pointing to the end of the hall, then to where you sat.

“What- what have I just witnessed? Why? This changes life as we know it. You! And Harry! You-“

You hurried to cut her off, standing from the bed and practically sprinting to the door to cover her mouth. “You be quiet now,” you warned, looking both ways in the hall and shoving Ginny inside your room.

“Why did I see Harry leaving this room looking like he’s got something to hide?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Listen, lady, you didn’t see anything, because nothing happened,” you said, pointing a finger at her.

“I never said anything happened, I just said he had something to hide. And guess what? I know he has something to hide, because I know you like him,” she retaliated, pointing her finger right back.

“Who? Me? Like Harry? Psssshhh… you’ve got the wrong girl. That doesn’t sound anything like me.”

Ginny folded her arms over her chest. “Oh really? Well, does this sound like you? Oh, Ginny, Harry’s just so cute! I wish he would like me back because, well, I just love him so much!” She batted her eyelashes, imitating a version of you that didn’t exist.

“Actually, Gin, that sounds nothing like me, so you can just forget anything that you think you saw,” you retorted.

“I don’t think I will forget. I think I’ll just tell everyone that you’re sneaking around with Harry. I didn’t miss the look he gave you at dinner either! So I can tell everyone, or you can quit lying and just give me all the details.”

She did have a way of getting you to cave. Really, it was just tactful manipulation.

“Alright fine, but if you tell anyone, you’re dead. Well, you can tell Hermione. She already knows.”

Ginny gasped, very offended. “You told her before your own sister?”

“I did not! She’s too smart for her own good. Anyways, sit down.”

Then, you told Ginny everything. It felt actually good to be able to talk about your relationship to someone other than Hermione, especially to your only sister, who you were honestly very grateful for.

You told her about how he kissed you a week before you left for school, solidifying the relationship you were having throughout the summer holiday. You told her about how he was funny and such a gentlemen. You even told her about how you’d been sneaking off since school started, and what you’d been doing.

Once Ginny was fully satisfied with the information and you were relatively sure she wouldn’t squawk to any of your brothers, she bid you goodnight and went to bed.

The following morning, Christmas Eve morning, you had risen later than usual. “Good morning, family,” you greeted, entering the kitchen and heading straight for the kettle.

“Morning,” Ginny said from the table. “I trust you slept well. I expect you feel loads lighter now.”

“Oh yeah, much lighter,” you grinned back.

“What are you two on about?” Bill said from his seat across from Ginny.

“Oh, nothing. Our sister just shared some interesting things with me last night,” she hummed.

You saw Harry’s head perk up from the couch, where he was laying. Ron was sprawled on the floor below.

“Gin, shut up,” you warned quietly.

“I’m not even sure I want to know,” Bill said.

“Oh, you’d be delighted, I’m sure. But, alas, I’ve been sworn to secrecy,” Ginny sighed.

“Then why even bring it up, you idiot?” you said as you sat down next to her, carefully eyeing a nervous looking Harry.

Bill followed your gaze and whistled lowly. You almost had a heart attack. “I see. That is very interesting.”

You turned to face your sister. “Look what you’ve done now. Why not just shout it from the rooftops?” you scolded.

“I didn’t say anything!” she defended.

“She’s right, you gave yourself away,” Bill confirmed, leaning in to whisper, “You’re lucky Ron’s pretty clueless on the floor over there.”

Your face burned. “Just don’t tell anybody.”

“Now why would I do that? It’s a whole lot more fun if you do it yourself.” Bill grinned, leaving you and Ginny at the table.

You dropped your head into your arms.

Later, you and Harry sat in the yard, leaning against a tree. You were on the side that couldn’t be seen from your siblings’ makeshift quidditch game across the yard.

It was the nicest day of break so far, not too cold, but not necessarily warm either. There was a dusting of snow on the ground, which delighted you.

You were lying in Harry’s lap, gazing up at him as he mindlessly played with your hair. “I can’t believe you told Ginny,” he said for the tenth time since breakfast.

You rolled your eyes and sat up. “I already told you, she was nagging me. Plus, I can’t really talk to Hermione about this sort of thing. She’s hung up on Ron. I keep telling her Lavender was just a phase because of some stupid love potion infused chocolate, but she usually just goes glum and ignores me.”

“You could just stop talking about us,” he suggested, shrugging his shoulders.

“You wouldn’t understand,” you said, reaching forward to fiddle with the zipper on his jacket.

“Why? Am I too charming and handsome for you to shut up about?” He grinned, taking hold of your hand and pressing it to his chest.

“Something like that.” You smiled, but quickly stopped when you saw the smug look on his face. “Don’t let that get to your head, Potter.”

“I won’t,” he said, leaning in to kiss your lips. His free hand came up to frame your face, and you placed yours on his thigh. You had half a mind to pull away, but only enough to see his face.

“Harry, we can’t do this out here. My siblings are right over there. Someone could see us,” you said softly, staring up at his bright green eyes.

“Honey, if you keep looking at me like that, I’m not gonna care,” he said, breath heavy as he looked at you adoringly. Your stomach did flips and you instantly forgot about reasons to hold yourself back.

You surged forward, kissing him hard on the mouth. You knew you wouldn’t get the chance to do so until well after dinner, so you took advantage of your siblings being distracted. He responded enthusiastically, wrapping an arm around your waist, tugging you closer.

“Woah, looks like I’ve caught more than just the snitch!”

You sprang apart, wiping your mouth as you looked up to see one of your grinning brothers, hovering above the tree on a broomstick holding a little golden sphere.

“Charlie! This isn’t what it looks like,” you managed, pushing yourself as far away from Harry as possible.

“Really, because it looks like you’ve been snogging his face off,” Charlie said, looking pleased with himself.

Harry burned bright red, refusing to make eye contact with either of you.

“Charlie, what’s taking you so long?” you heard Ron call from the other side of the yard.

“I’ll keep this a secret, but only because I love you, little sister. And because it’s funnier this way.” Charlie grinned again and turned on his broom to speed back to the group.

You and Harry left for the house before anyone else did, completely ignoring Hermione on the couch, her nose deep in a thick book, as you rushed upstairs.

Once you were sure you were alone, you stopped Harry in the middle of the hallway. “Okay, that was the last time. No more doing that in the open.”

“Sorry, got carried away. At least it wasn’t Ron who saw us.” Harry shuttered, not even wanting to think about what his reaction would be.

“Shake it off, Harry. Just three, only three of them know. There’s like a bajillion others that don’t,” you rationalized. “Look, we just need to get through this holiday without anyone else finding out that we’re together. I think we can do that.”

“You lied to mother?” A stiff voice came from down the hallway. Shit. You forgot Percy was still in the house, holed up in his room doing his Ministry work.

Harry’s eyes widened as he shook his head at you, refusing to turn around.

“You’re seeing someone and you lied about it?” Percy frowned. “Well, I’ll have to tell her.”

“No, you won’t have to tell her. Don’t tell her. Please,” you practically begged.

Percy didn’t look convinced. His steely gaze wouldn’t let up. “I won’t if you promise me to tell her.”

“I promise, Perce, just let me do it when I’m ready,” you said, less of a real promise and more of a strategy to get him to go back into his room. You were thanking God when he nodded curtly and did just that.

“Well, would you look at the impeccable timing on that,” Harry said sarcastically.

You grimaced. “Dinner’ll be a real treat tonight.”

Dinner was not a treat. It was delicious, of course, courtesy of your mother. But it was quite tense, at least for you and Harry.

Bill kept shooting you knowing glances from across the table, looking back and forth between you and Harry, who made the seemingly unconscious choice to sit beside you.

Charlie couldn’t even look at you without snickering to himself, prompting your mum to start questioning him on his odd behavior.

Percy was silently urging you to say something about it, pulling at his collar uncomfortably and staring at you, unrelenting.

Ginny was, thankfully, docile for the time being.

“Charlie, would you stop laughing at your sister? I don’t see what’s so funny about her,” Molly scolded, finally having quite enough of your brother’s behavior.

“Nothing’s funny,” he said with a hint of a smile.

Bill was looking at him with his eyes narrowed slightly. “What do you know?” he asked suspiciously.

“What do you know?” Charlie replied, just as skeptical.

“I think the better question is, what does dad know about muggles?” You laughed nervously, getting weird looks from Ron and the twins. “Come on, dad. Why don’t you tell us about your latest case?”

Your father looked up from his meal, looking surprised, for he had hardly been acknowledged since the start of dinner. “Oh, well, we had an odd couple in the other day. They were the sort who didn’t really look like they belonged together. So, anywho, they-“

“Hold on,” Ginny interjected. “How do you know they didn’t belong together? There are loads of couples who you might not think belong together, but actually do, so it’s best not to judge before you know the whole story.”

Your dad looked confused. “Um, I guess they just didn’t seem compatible, but I’m sure they belong together just fine, Gin, no need to worry about that.”

As he continued with his story about this couple and their illegally enchanted carpet, you turned to glare at Ginny.

She gave you a rather obvious look of annoyance, which gained the attention of Fred and George.

“Something’s going on here, Freddie,” said George, leaning to his right.

“Agreed,” said George, looking around the table.

You actually heard Harry gulp beside you. You put a hand on his knee, attempting to comfort him. This action made him choke on the sip of water he had taken.

“All right there, Harry?” Ron asked.

“Oh, yeah,” Harry coughed. “Just fine.”

Percy cleared his throat. “Maybe he has something to say.”

“Percy, don’t be rude,” your mother scolded. “The boy’s just choked.”

“Yeah, Percy, don’t know why you’d think he wants to say something,” Ginny said. “So, keep your mouth shut.”

None of the siblings who knew had known that others at the table were also aware, but they were each starting to connect the dots.

“Can I just have a nice Christmas Eve dinner with my family?” Molly slammed one hand on the table. “Enough of the fighting and the strange comments. Please, just be normal.”

Fred grinned. “I can’t imagine what’s abnormal about us.”

“Oh, me neither. But you, Freddie, are abnormal looking,” George followed.

The rest of the night after dinner was just as stressful. You and your siblings were sitting around the living room, with the exception of Percy, who, to your immense relief, had gone back to his room for work.

Fred and George decided it would be a good idea to play a game of truth or dare with the assistance of some veritaserum they nicked from Snape’s stores the day before holiday began.

Needless to say, you and Harry were not excited.

“Hermione,” Fred said. “Truth or dare?”

Hermione rolled her eyes as George made a gesture that suggested she should choose truth. “Dare,” she said.

“I dare you to go outside and kiss one of the gnomes.”

“A gnome, Fred? Really?” Ron scoffed.

“You’d rather she kissed you, would you?” George teased.

Ronsaid nothing, but his ears turned red, giving him away.

Hermione’s face turned a similar shade as she stood up from the armchair. “Fine, then.”

You all collectively gathered around the window and watched Hermione stalk outside and grab one of the ugly gnomes by its bald head. She made a disgusted face and gave the gnome a peck so fast that you barely saw it.

She came back inside and washed her mouth out in the sink before returning to the chair. “George,” she said coolly. “Truth or dare?”

“Truth, of course!” George said happily. “We’ve got to put our stolen goods to good use.”

“It was very wrong of you to take Professor Snape’s materials,” Hermione said, frowning. “Is it true that you were the ones who gave Ron amortentia spiked chocolates last month?”

“Yes,” George said easily.

Ron scoffed loudly. ��You told me that wasn’t you! You said it was her! I was following Lavender Brown around for weeks because of those!”

“Well, we hadn’t meant for you to go for her. It was supposed to be someone else.” George winked at Hermione.

“We messed up the potion,” explained Fred.

George looked to you. “Truth or dare?” he asked.

“Truth,” you said mindlessly, thinking about Hermione and the gnome. You noticed the alarmed look Harry was giving you and realized your mistake. Damn gnome.

George grinned mischievously. “Do you really have a boyfriend?”

“Yes,” you said unwillingly.

A gasp from Ron could be heard from the other side of the room. Ginny and Hermione were looking rather nervous for you. On the contrary, Bill and Charlie were quite amused.

“Tell us, who is he?” Fred continued off of George.

“Harry Potter,” you admitted before slapping a hand across your mouth.

An even louder gasp could be heard from Ron that caused Charlie to burst out laughing. Fred and George were looking rather pleased with themselves. You supposed that was better than them pranking the life out of Harry for dating their sister, which you had expected to happen.

Harry sat on the couch with his hands clenched at his sides, looking at the floor as his whole face turned red.

“My sister, Harry? Really?” Ron said, his voice carrying a mixture of anger and betrayal.

“Yeah, well, I love her,” Harry said, fully dropping his head into his palms. He definitely hadn’t meant to say that to everyone in the room. “I hate this damn potion.”

“The heart wants what it wants, Freddie,” said George.

“It sure does, Georgie,” Fred said, clasping his hands together over his chest.

“Honestly, this is a Christmas miracle,” Hermione burst out. “I’ve been covering for you for months. Four, horrible, long months.”

“Four months?” Ron said, bewildered. “Hermione, you knew and you never told me?”

“Oh, please, Ronald. If you opened your eyes you would’ve seen what was going on,” Hermione said.

“Easy for you to say, you’re bloody brilliant. You could spot anything off. I love that about you,” Ron confessed.

Bill and Charlie were wheezing on the floor at this point.

“This is the gift that keeps on giving!” Fred exclaimed.

“I’m so happy we played this game,” George said through laughs.

Hermione stood, cheeks burning. “We should all go to bed. It’s Christmas tomorrow.” She went up the stairs quickly. Ron seemed to have forgotten all about you and Harry and followed her.

Your other four brothers slowly made their way upstairs, practically dying from laughter at your expense.

Ginny stood awkwardly, bidding you and Harry goodnight and leaving you alone in the room.

“That could’ve gone worse,” you said, finally making eye contact with Harry, who was still looking a little red.

“I, for one, didn’t fancy confessing my love for you to your whole family,” Harry said, scooting over to your spot on the couch.

“I did.” You grinned, leaning towards him. He rolled his eyes, but indulged you anyways, letting his lips touch yours.

“Merry Christmas, Harry,” you whispered against him. “I love you, too.”

#birdiewriteslit #birdiewritesfics #harry james potter x reader #harry potter x reader #harry potter #weasley!reader #harry james potter #harry potter fanfiction #harry potter fanfic #brothers best friend

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shady-lemur · 9 months

Note

hi hi! saw your post asking abt a prompt or idea about abby and, uh, i had this dream... its weird and nasty and cliche so... be prepared☺️😚

so uhh modern au but basically abby and manny are roommates,reader is dating manny (oops) and abby cant find her car keys literally the day she promised she'd take the reader, manny, and OW*N (who shes dating btw. oops. again.) and while everyones outside by her car waiting for her to come with the keys shes like mm maybe manny has them i should check his room and when she checks like his drawers and she finds the keys but more importantly, she finds a picture of reader, kneeled on the bed, their bikini top covering one breast and the other is out with teeth marks on it😗their eyes all droopy and hazy as they look up at the camera, their mouth agape, lips wet with spit and cum☹️☹️☹️ and abbys like damn have i ever been straight??? and then manny yells for her to come downstairs and she jumps and drops the pic on the floor, and it slides under his bed and she cant reach it cause yk her arms are huge and they cant fit under the bed😪 and she comes downstairs and takes you all to the beach and when you arrive she notices that youre wearing the same bikini from that picture and shes RED when she notices it. one thing leads to another and she fucks you hard into the pillow when she comes home, and films you while you suck on her strap🤪 im SORRY THIS IS SO STUPID AND FILTHY

do not ever apologize ever again. about anything. i think i died while reading that and got reborn. CAUSE HELLO?? i want your brain. i hope i did this justice.. thank you so much for your request.

CW : cheating, strap-on use, a little bit a degrading, filming, cursing, tell me if i missed anything!

MDNI!

you fix your cute little sundress before knocking softly on your boyfriend’s door. you’d been dating for almost a year now and you’ve met his roommate a couple times before. it definitely took some getting used to, your boyfriend living with another girl. but after so much reassurance from him that she’s literally like his little sister, you finally chilled out. she’s super nice too!!

abby opens the door in some shorts and an open hawaiian shirt, showing off her swimsuit top and her abs. you try to go stare too much at them. you’d totally have to ask her for her workout routine later! yeah.. you were only staring because you wanted abs like that. not because you wanted to be-

abby gives you a smile and opens the door wider, “cmon in. how have you been?” you smile at her and give her a hug when you’re inside. just an innocent one!! and the kiss you planted in her cheek was just a greeting between you girls of course!!

“i’ve been okay, work has been kicking my ass. but i’m excited to get to go to the beach! i’ve only been there twice this summer!” you frown and abby laughs. “you can set your bag on the counter next to the cooler. we’ll be leaving when owen gets here.” you nod at her and set your stuff down before making your way to your boyfriend’s room. you knock a few times before he opens the door.

“y/n, mi amor.” manny smiles at you and you smile back before wrapping your arms around his neck. “hi! are you ready to go?”

he nods, “of course. i got towels, sunscreen, and beach chairs. abby was in charge of snacks and drinks..” you give him a quick peck on the lips and smile up at him, messing with his hair. “i’m so excited! i’m so glad abby and her boyfriend are coming. she’s really nice.”

manny gives your ass a nice squeeze through your sundress and kisses you again, longer than before. “yeah yeah. it sounds like you love her more than you love me at this point.” he laughs.

you give him a look and rolls your eyes playfully. “oh my god manny. maybe i do.” you giggle as he lifts you up and carries you over to his bed, setting you in his lap. he hums and you lean in for another kiss. you whimper slightly as he pulls you closer to him and-

there’s a knock at his bedroom door.

“hey guys! we’re taking my car right? can you help me and owen take everything to the car?”

you remove your lips from manny’s and perk up at the voice. manny groans playfully and mumbles something about and cock block before answering, “sure.”

you get off of him and fix your short dress before opening his door. you both follow abby into the kitchen to gather your beach stuff and head to the parking garage.

“ah shit. i forgot my key.” abby moans at the inconvenience. you all decided to take her car because it was the biggest, and you didn’t want to have to take two cars. owen offers to go up and get them but abby refuses.

“i don’t even know where to tell you to look. i’ll be quick.” she puts down the cooler and bag she was holding and jogs back to where you came from.

————————————————————————-

abby unlocks her apartment door and looks in the entryway first. why the hell aren’t her keys in the key bowl? she always remembers to put them in the key bowl!! then she looks in the kitchen, then the living room, then her room.

oh wait.

manny borrowed her car when he was picking up a new bed for his dad! abby goes to manny’s room to begin the hunt.

first she looks on his dresser, then on his nightstand, then she opens the drawer to his nightstand. nothing too out of the ordinary. condoms, some pain killers, HER KEYS!! oh. something else catches her eye.

it’s a polaroid, of you. abby eyes widen and she picks it up to get a better look.

“shit.”

it’s almost like you’re looking right at her. you’re lazy, fucked out expression. you’re normally big, happy eyes, now dark and droopy, dripping with lust as you look up at the camera. you’re mouth open as your tongue sticks out, showing off the mess all over you. you looked like such a slut with cum all over your face, abby’s breath picks up when she notices the pool of it on your tongue. your bright red bikini top, basically falling off. it’s only on one of your tits, the other being shown off to the camera in all its glory.

and you’re fucking smile. the way your lips curl, showing how much you’re enjoying yourself. it made abby let out a whine as she feels a pool of slick forming in her swimsuit. she wasn’t even sure she liked guys anymore. owen? who the fuck is owen..? definitely not her boyfriend of 3 years!!

she’s so entranced by the photo, how can someone so sweet be so fucking dirty!? it makes her think about all the times she’s noticed your eyes drift down to her stomach or to her lips when she’s talking. the way you always talk about how strong she is. the way you always greeted her with a kiss on the cheek and a hug. you really were a slut!!

just then abby’s phone starts to ring. scaring the absolute hell out of her because lev changed her ringtone to the robot one. she drops the photo and pulls out her phone. oh yeah, she has a boyfriend..!

“hey. sorry i just found the keys. i’ll be down in a sec.” she talks fast, trying to mask her shaky breath! owen hums through the phone and laughs. “slow down. are you okay?”

“yeah i fine. i’m on my way down now! bye!” she hangs up before he can say “i love you.”

abby looks down at the floor only to realize that the picture has slid under the bed. just her fucking luck! first she realizes she’s attracted to her best friend’s girlfriend because of a picture and then she drops said picture under the bed?

she gets down on her stomach trying to find it, reaching her arms as far under as she can. it’s too far gone. she tries to slide herself under the bed but she damn near gets her shoulders stuck because they’re so big!

“fuck it. i was never even here.” she runs out of the room with her keys in hand and speed walks back down to the parking garage, trying to calm herself down the whole way there.

————————————————————————-

“can i please sit up front with abby? you guys can have.. guy talk.. in the back.” you ask manny, not even sparing a glance to owen. you don’t like owen. how could someone like abby be with someone like…. him…

owen shrugs and manny gives you a nod and a kiss behind climbing into the back. you clap excitedly and get into the front seat, smiling happily at abby, who was already seated in the drivers seat. “i hope you don’t mind i switched seats with owen.. i think i’d go deaf if i had to hear anymore about last night’s baseball game..”

abby laughs, avoiding eye contact with you, and grips the steering wheel a little bit tighter. “yeah that’s great. you can have aux if you want it.” you thank her and connect your phone. you start to play ‘moonlight’ by kali uchies once owen and manny are both in the car and abby starts to pull out of her parking space.

abby is sweating the whole 30 minute drive. she swears you were lifting the skirt of your sundress higher every so often ON PURPOSE. and when you sang along to the songs you played, laughing at your mistakes. there’s definitely a possibility abby came in her pants…

you on the other hand are sad. maybe you did wanna show off a little bit… what’s the harm in showing a really hot girl your thighs???????? but she didn’t look at you the whole ride there, didn’t laugh at anything you said, and didn’t sing along to any of the songs that she knew. what the hell?

you squeal when you see the water. “ahh!! we’re here!! i’m so fucking excited.” abby is the first one out of the car.. what a bitch! then manny gets out so he can hurry and open your door for you. “my love,” you give him a small smile and thank him before going back to the trunk to get some stuff.

“i’ll go find us a good spot!!” you call out, running into the sand once you grab a couple bags, manny gives you a thumbs up and a ‘be careful!’ before you run out of earshot.

abby gets the cooler as manny and owen start following slowly behind you. she can still hear their conversation though.

“she’s definitely high energy. bet that’s nice for some situations.” owen laughs. manny scoffs.

“get your mind out of the gutter man.”

so apparently everyone on this little beach trip thinks about having sex with you 🙂. owen’s comment makes abby sick, not because it’s her boyfriend making a joke like that about another girl though.

abby closes her trunk and catches up with them, “accidentally” bumping into owen’s shoulder as she passes right by them. when she finally makes it to where you set up a few towels and beach chairs she nearly has a heart attack. you smile at her and do a little spin. “do you like my bikini? i’ve only worn it twice.”

abby’s eyes bore into your red bikini. the same red bikini she saw when she saw you covered in cum earlier today…. and you had no fucking idea she knew. your face grows concerned when her face almost matches the color of your bikini top!

“abby? are you okay? is it too hot?” you worry, running over to her to feel her forehead and lead her to a beach chair. you get her a water from the cooler she had set down as she silently stares at you. you tilt your head at her and smile.

she shakes her head and finally meets your eyes. “yeah, fuck, sorry. i’m fine.”

your smile widens and you give a sigh of relief.

“you had me worried for a second!”

she laughs nervously and scratches her neck. “i like the color of your swimsuit..”

you look at her and your eyes sparkle. “really?! i was a little nervous about it because usually i’d go for black but they were out of these bottoms in my size in black and i really like the red so it was like a sign for the universe. ty eyes had other bottoms in black but these ones made my ass look better, don’t you think so?” you question, turning around to show her your backside. and she’s bright as a tomato again. jesus christ.

owen and manny finally make it, setting everything else up. you sit next to abby and look over at her. “are you gonna take your shorts off?”

she looks over at you and can’t even get out a full sentence. “i- um, i’m gonna- yeah.” she finally coughs out. you look at her for second and resist the urge to smile at her stuttering. you don’t take your eyes off her while she takes her shirt and shorts off, leaving her in a black two piece.

you try to ignore your face getting hot. it’s just because she’s got such a nice body, you need her workout routine…!

“can you put sunscreen on my back for me? manny never rubs it in the full way.” you giggle as manny playfully scoffs and rolls his eyes, cracking open a beer and taking a seat in a beach chair next to owen.

abby clears her throat and she nods awkwardly. she grabs the lotion bottle and lets out a shaky breath when you moan quietly at the feeling of the cold sunscreen. “i can get yours next if you want. we don’t want you burning!”

she lets out a quiet ‘yeah, thanks’ while she finishing rubbing the lotion in. when you tell her to ‘get the skin under my bikini too!’ she almost fucking combusts. the way her hands slide under your swimsuit top makes her wanna take it off you and-

“thanks abby!! turn around now and i’ll get yours.” you smile at her and grab the bottle, happy to help her. abby swears she saw jesus when your hands started massaging the sunscreen into her skin. she has to stop herself from whimpering when your manicured nails slightly scratch her back.

once you’re done you happily jump up from the towel you two were sitting on and smile at everyone (except owen!) “i’m going to the water! i need to cool off!” manny nods at you and takes a swig from his drink, “i’ll be down soon.”

you give him a nod. “if anyone sees any cool shells please please please save them for me!!” you yell while running towards the ocean.

————————————————————————-

abby was tasked with going to pick up some hoagies from a near by shop, of course you had to tag along. perfect bonding time!!

so here you are, sitting happily in the passengers seat while abby taps her fingers against her steering wheel, making her own little song. it was suppose to be curbside pickup but you’ve been waiting for 10 minute now! you look over at abby and smile playfully, “abby your arms are so strong. how many days a week do you go to the gym?”

abby’s face heats up instantly and she looks over at you. “um- like.. 5 days a- a week.” you tilt your head at her shyness. “is everything okay? you’ve been so embarrassed around me like all day..” you frown, getting closer to her. that just makes everything worse though because now abby has a perfect view of your boobs, only covered by that fucking red bikini.

abby gulps and looks away from you. then she laughs.. she laughs at you!! “you’re doing this on purpose.” you furrow your eyebrows and get closer, “what am i doing..?”

abby turns to look at you, your face only inches away from hers. she studies the way your eyebrows crease and your lips make a small pout. you instinctively lean closer and your chest heaves as you feel her hot breath on your lips. you just look at each other for a second before leaning in closer, her lips coming closer to yours before a knock at her window breaks you out of your trance.

abby quickly pulls away and turns to see a teenage boy holding a paper bag full of food awkwardly. you silently roll your eyes and look back down at your lap. fucking cockblock.

abby rolls down her window, takes the food, says thank you, gives him a very generous tip (even tho she already tipped on the app), and drives away.

you both sit in silence for the ride back to the beach.

————————————————————————-

you wanted to stay until sunset, but of course owen had to be home so he could get to bed on time for work :((( what a loser!! so now you were silently sitting in the backseat listening to some boring ass music that owen picked.

abby hasn’t said a word more than she had to to you since the car situation. it was making you pissed, i mean so what it’s a little awkward. you’re still at the beach together!! it’s not like she could just ignore you for the rest of you and manny’s relationship. it was clearly a mistake, you would be okay forgetting about it totally if she wanted you to.

once she’s pulled into her spot in the parking garage she wordlessly gets out to start taking the bags out of the trunk. everyone else gets out to follow her lead. when everything has been brought up to their apartment manny gives you a kiss and smiles. “me and owen are going to go for some beers. are you going home tonight?”

you smile back at him, “um, i think so. i might hang out with abby a little bit before i go though.”

he nods and gives you another kiss on the forehead before owen gets his car keys and says goodbye to abby and you. they leave and you turn to the blonde.

“can you please stop avoiding me?” you frown at her, watching as her eyes avoid your face and trail down to the red straps poking out of your dress.

“i’m not.”

you scoff and walk closer to her. “abby we can just forget it happened. i don’t wanna start shit and i wanna be your friend.” abby looks up to meet your eyes, there’s an intensity in her eyes that wasn’t there before. she walks closer to you, making you backup onto a wall. your hand instinctively goes to her arm.

“you’re a fucking tease. the kisses on the cheek? the hugs? showing me how your ass looks in your swimsuit? you know what you’re doing.”

you look up at her nervously. “abby.. i-“

“and that fucking swimsuit. shit..” she looks at you and you try to hide your smile when her hand goes to your neck. you lean in slightly, leaving it up to her to connect your lips.

and she does.

she roughly crashes her lips into yours, the feeling of desperation evident in the way her lips move against hers. you’re just as needy, whining as you bring your hands up to pull her closer by her shirt. you feel her leg slip in between yours and gasp when her knee bumps your clothes clit.

you intertwine your fingers into her hair, pulling back to break the kiss. “shit abby..”

she smiles at you as you buck your hips onto her knee. “you want this baby?” she whispers, bringing her lips down to press kisses against your neck. you look at her and nod. she laughs.

“tell me how bad you want it. beg for it baby.”

you look down at her as her kisses move lower and she moves her knee from between your legs. you whimper at the feeling of her lips against your skin. “i want you so bad. i need you abs.. please.”

abby lets out a shaky breath and kisses your collarbone before picking you up and carrying you to her room. you’d never been in there before. a few posters of soccer players, a signed baseball on her huge bookshelf, lots of plants.

she puts you down on her bed and goes to open her closet. “take your dress off for me and wait. don’t take off the fucking bikini.”

you nod and hun at her request, quickly doing what she told you to do. you sit in the middle of her bed and watch as she strips, grabbing her purple strap and sliding it up her legs. the sight of her thigh muscles makes your cunt squeeze.

you could probably cum right then and there from looking at her. “abby pleasee..” you whine. she makes her way back to the bed, laughing at your neediness. she makes you sit up against the headboard as she goes back to kisses your chest, bringing her hands to fondle with your tits through your red bikini. “shit.. ‘so pretty.”

she looks up at you as she kisses the exposed skin. “what do you want first baby?”

you bring your hands to her hair and try to talk clearly through shaky breaths. “i wan- want your fingers please abs..” she smiles at you and kisses your lips again before going to untie your swimsuit bottoms. “shit. i’ve barely done anything..” she says in awe when your wet cunt is uncovered for her.

you cover your face in embarrassment but she doesn’t like you. how dare you cover your pretty face :(..

you gaps when her cool finger makes contact with your warm clit, rubbing experimental circles on it. her smile grows when you start to quietly moan. you bring your hand up to cover your mouth but she shakes her head. “none of that angel.. i wanna hear you.”

you whine and she plunges two of her fingers into your pussy. she can’t decide if she likes watching your face or cunt more!! “aww shit angel. so tight..” you move one your hands from her hair to tease your nipple through your bikini top. your moans start to rise in volume when she starts to thrust her fingers and rub your clit.

“fuck.. abby!” you moan out, scratching her scalp with your acrylics. “don’t stop..”

that eggs her on a lot more, making her start to kiss your stomach, biting and sucking your skin deliciously. your legs start to shake when she speeds up her movements. “abs! oh my god i’m gonna cum..”

she looks up at your eyes and winks, almost playfully, “go ahead babe. please.”

that’s your breaking point, you see white as the knot breaks in your stomach.your chest heaves as abby fucks you through it.

“shit princess. so perfect.” she brings her fingers up to her mouth so you watch as she licks them clean. you smash your lips into hers the moment she satisfied with the amount of your cum she got off her fingers. she moans beautifully into the kiss as you pull her closer. after a few seconds she breaks it off.

“do you want more angel? you wanna get my cock ready for you?”

you nod, batting your eyelash at her as she moves to be sitting against the headboard. you crawl over to sit inbetween her open legs. abby shudders at the sight of your puffy lips and red swimsuit top. you were gonna be the death of her.

“go ahead baby. you know what to do.”

you move down and smile at her before licking up her strap, keeping eye contact when you take the tip into your mouth. abby grabs the back of your head by your hair to help you take it all in your mouth. “shit angel. so fucking good..”

you look at her facial expressions as you messily start to bob your head up and down to take her cock down your throat. if you didn’t know any better you’d think she was feeling everything you were doing with the way her face was contorting.

“fuck. look at you go baby.. wish i could watch you all day.”

you look at her and let her strap go so you can give her a sultry smile. “you could.. get your phone abs.”

she thinks she just fell in love with you on the spot.

she gets her phone from her night stand before you start to suck her strap again, making sure to give her a good look at your cleavage too.

abby brings her hand back to the back of your hand to fuck your throat, she throws her head back when you moan at the feeling. the harness is bumping her clit so nicely. “shit angel.. wish i could feel your pretty lips.”

you look up at the camera and bat your lashes, moving your body so the camera can capture your arched back and bare ass. abby smiles at you, “such a fucking whore. so perfect for the camera.” she moves her free hand down to caress your skin before moving it back to your hair and fucking to into your mouth even harder. abby could cum just from your cries when the strap starts to hit your throat every thrust. but with the harness hitting her cunt so nicely and your perfect body in front of her it was all too much.

“shit! i’m gonna cum..”

you look up at her, your eyes welling with tears from the rough pace she’s set and she’s done for. her pretty moans picking up on the video as you help her through her orgasm. you’d definitely need to text her for the video later!!

abby breaths heavily and looks at you as you give her fake cock one last kiss and sit up to get closer to her. you close the space between the two of you and connect your lips with hers. she makes sure her camera gets the nasty kiss too before stopping the video and throwing the phone somewhere.

“shit princess, you’re so fucking hot.” abby breaths out as you straddle her lap, lightly jumping her strap as you wrap your arms around her neck and kiss her sloppily.

“i need more abs.. please.” you look at her and she gives you a playful smile. “only since you asked so nicely.” you use your hands to explore her chest, feeling her muscles and making your way to her bare nipples.

“let me take that fucking bikini off first.”

you giggle and lift your arms enough for her to untie the back and let the red material fall from your shoulders, leaving you completely bare for her. “so beautiful. so fucking beautiful.” she brings her lips down to suck one of your nipples, using her hand to pinch the other one. you whine at her and arch your back, making you press against her beautifully.

“you ready for my dick baby?” you nod at her and smile when she taps your ass, signaling you to get up. you climb of of her and sit patiently for her next orders. “get on all fours. face the bed frame babe.” she tells you and you follow her instruction happily. she gets behind you and fondles with your ass a bit before letting her fingers slide through your slick. “so fucking wet.. what a slut.”

your cunt clenches at the mean word. “only for you..” she hums and finally lets the tip of her cock slide into you. you moan at the intrusion.

“fuck. so tight.”

you have a hard time calming down as she tries to push herself deeper, you grip onto the pillow in front of you. her pillow.

once she’s fully in she gives you a second to adjust, not moving until you give her the go ahead. but once you do.. oh my god it’s over for you. her pace is fucking brutal, her hands gripping your waist to help you move her hips.

“abby! oh my god!”

the sound of your sticky cunt against her harness, the claps of your hips against hers, and your moans filled the room before the front door opening slows your movements. well not yours, you didn’t even hear it over the sound of your own pleasure. but abby did.

a few seconds later there’s a knock at abby’s bedroom door and she starts to fuck into you faster, making your eyes go wide with panic as you look back at her smirking face.

“abby? i’m home. is y/n still here?”

you try to be quiet but you just can’t, the way her cock is hitting the spongy spot inside of you so perfectly makes your eyes roll. you decide to stuff your face into her pillow as a lady resort.

“no! she left a couple minutes ago.”

you hear your boyfriend hum and walk away, you hear his bedroom door shut a few seconds later.

abby leans down to whisper in your ear. “what a dirty girl. screaming my name while your boyfriend unlocks the door huh?”

you moan her name and a few ‘please’s and ‘yes’s in return. you can’t even try to say anything else. your hands grip onto the sheets as all your sounds get muffled by her pillow. abby lets out an airy laugh.

her hand comes down to rub your clit as you sob, everything was so overstimulating. her fast pace, the friction on your clit, her shaky breaths, and your fucking boyfriend in the other room.

“gotta be quiet baby.” abby shushes you and you shake your head. “‘can’t..”

your orgasm crashes into you fast, you can’t even warn abby before your seeing white. it just keeps going too.. abby slows down as she watches in awe. you fucking squirted on her cock.

“shit angel..” abby breathes out as you come down from your high. your eyes widen once you realize what you did. “fuck.. i’m so sorry. i didn’t even know i could do-“

“shh, it was so fucking hot.” abby says as she pulls out and lets you collapse on her bed. you laugh tiredly at her and yawn.

abby gets up and takes her strap off. “you can fall asleep after i change my sheets, i don’t want you sleeping in any bodily fluids..”

you laugh harder and turn to lay on your back so you can look at her. “fine.. can i use your shower really quick while you do?”

she nods and helps you off the bed so you can walk into her personal bathroom. “there’s towels in the cupboard. you can use any shit that’s in there.”

————————————————————————-

after your shower you walk out to abby sitting in her bed with snacks and a comfy hoodie on. there’s a pile of clothes on the corner of the bed and new bedspread. “those clothes are for you.”

you nod and thank her before getting changed and climbing into bed with her, melting into her when she wraps an arm around your shoulder and pulls you closer. “i though we could watch a movie or something.. we can’t risk sneaking you out until tomorrow morning when manny leaves for work.”

you hum and press a kiss on her cheek. “sounds good..” you say tiredly. abby smiles at you and rubs shapes into your arm as you fall asleep during the movie you picked.

everything would be hell tomorrow, you and abby have gotten yourselves into some deep shit..

but that was for tomorrow abby, for now she was happy holding you close and listening to the sound of your breaths.

#tlou part 2 #tlou fic #abby anderson #abby tlou #abby anderson smut #tlou smut #abby x fem!reader #val’s requests!

548 notes · View notes

danikamariewrites · 2 months

Note

First off, I always love reading your work. Makes me smile when I’m going through it 🫶🏻

Could you do rhys x reader or maybe a batboys head canon for how they’d take care of you while life seems to be out to get you? Like every time you think your problems are solved, something blows up in your face? Maybe like something breaks in your flat, and then something crazy happens at work, and then like you get sick or something and reader is just super down and rhys/batboys are trying to bring her back up? Taking care of her and stuff?

Sorry if this is too confusing or similar to anything you’ve had before, my brain is a little short-circuited tonight lol and I’ve been kinda going through it so I can’t think straight

Dry Your Tears

Bat boys x reader

A/n: I dream of the three of them taking care of me. Also I’m sorry babe, I’m also going through it so we’re together on this

Warnings: Tamlin being mean to reader, anxiety, and fluff

Your luck for charming High Lords and their advisors has finally run out

You were on a roll on your little tour of Day, Winter, and Summer

But coming home from other courts empty handed sucked

Especially when it was the spring court

With Tamlin finally back in power with a group of advisors and his court put together he’s been full of himself acting all high and mighty

Yesterday was your first time there since the court was put together

Of course it was all males who didn’t respect you one bit and Tamlin was no help either

The spring high lord was very condescending and it brought out your insecurities about your place in the court

Tamlin also targeted your relationship with the boys, pointing out other flaws there

You slept in your own bed once you arrived at the town house since you left Spring so late

As you fell into a fitful sleep you dreaded the paper work you had to do in the morning

The next morning you found a note on the kitchen table from Rhys that read, Sorry we missed you darling. Emergency in Windhaven. We’ll be back tomorrow morning. We love you very much

You frown at the note but smile at the little heart drawn at the end

After breakfast you set out to do paperwork with infrequent visits from Amren about updates on court matters

Getting to the Spring Court report drained you

Just thinking about it makes your skin itch

You get up deciding to take a walk to clear your head

The walk didn’t help. It simply made things worse

There was too much around the town house that didn’t feel right to you. Like you needed to reorganize

But now you wanted new furniture and things bc the throw pillows didn’t look right and the couch looked too old

To distract from that you went into the kitchen to find a snack only to realize none of the boys went grocery shopping (who are you kidding it’s Nuala and Cerridwen that do it)

You slammed the cabinet shut

With the slam of the cabinet a cough crept up your throat

It was dry and you felt like you couldn’t breathe

You shouldn’t have traveled to Winter then Spring

Ignoring what the cough meant you remembered your report for Rhys and stomped back to your office

The report took way longer than you would’ve liked

Thinking about Tamlin and his comments about your relationship made you blood boil

As your anger washed away it turned into anxiety and sadness and doubt

Are you capable of this job if these males get to you so easily? Is your relationship and mating bond with the boys going to last?

You needed to shake this off. You closed your side of the bond as to not worry your mates. They don’t need to worry about you right now

You kept stewing in your anxiety and anger for the rest of the day

Amren left at 5 so you had dinner alone with what was left in the house. You’d go shopping tomorrow when your head was clear and you weren’t pissed at the fact that the boys forgot

Sleep evaded you that night as you wished your boys were here to hold you and whisper sweet nothings to you

Your cough kept you up all night as well

By the time the sun was up you were curled against against the headboard. Your eyes watering from that dry cough you’ve developed. You didn’t feel like moving, you were too tired. Too tired to even greet your mates at the door

Cassian’s heavy, booted footsteps come up the stairs first

Tears pricked your eyes from exhaustion and anxiety

Azriel silently pushed your bedroom door open, making his way over to your bed. “Hey princess, whats wrong?” You sniffle and start to cry harder into his chest

Without hesitating Az picked you up, rushing you to your shared bedroom. Rhys and Cass stop unpacking and move to comfort you

“My darling, why are you so upset?” You look up at the three of them with the saddest look on your face. Cassian wipes your tears with his thumbs giving you an equally sad look

You look back at Rhys tapping your temple for him to look at your memories. Rhys nods and you close your eyes

He shares your memories of the Spring meeting and your day yesterday. When it was over you opened your eyes to see Az and Cass fuming. Rhys was giving you a sympathetic look. “Darling, no. You do not listen to a word they say. You do not believe them. Everything they said was a lie, alright.” Rhys said firmly, cupping your face in his large hands

“You are our world, sweetheart. Don’t think for a second that you aren’t important.” Cassian stressed, kissing your forehead

The next few days are spent taking care of you and cheering you up

You read together, go out for meals, shopping for clothes books and anything else your heart desired or whatever the boys felt like spoiling you with. The boys even did the grocery shopping

They take turns holding you on their laps, keeping you tucked into their chest as they tell you stories from camp or when they first fell in love with you and other relationship stories

You have to admit, it was hilarious to imagine the people of Velaris staring as their High Lord, the General, and Spymaster food shop

Laughing about it did make you feel better

They spent the next few nights worshiping your body. Paying attention to every part of you that gets a reaction. Working you up to the most earth shattering orgasms you’ve ever had

By the end of the week you had put Tamlin and his court out of your mind, feeling overjoyed at the amount of love your mates show you

286 notes · View notes

dewitty1 · 3 months

Text

Fic Recs Wrap Up January 2024♡(੭ˊ͈ ꒵ˋ͈)੭*･:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*☆

The Wake-up Kiss by Justlikewriting

This time, when Harry found himself without a date for the Ministry Yule Ball, Parvati Patil was unable to step in. So, he was left with the only other viable option: to ask Draco Malfoy. Which would be fine, of course: it had been twelve years since the war after all. And they saw each other regularly now, meeting up with the same group of friends almost every Friday night. Harry, however, obviously hadn’t taken into account just how insufferable Zacharias Smith could be. Rec Post

The Binding and the Loosing by TheGoblinMatriarch @thegoblinmatriarch

Draco Malfoy is a reclusive academic who works on layered generational magic under the pseudonym Scholar Griseo. When he is contacted by a ‘James Black’ for help with a tricky situation with a magical House, he can’t help but notice the similarities between his potential client and Harry Potter. Since he can’t exactly refuse to help the Saviour of the magical world, Draco girds his loins and visits Grimmauld Place, where he ends up involved in what he must presume is one of those classic Harry Potter misadventures. Bonding, sentient Houses, domesticity ahoy! Rec Post

A True Entanglement by Booktopus @thebooktopus

One moment, Harry was minding his own business, going about his workday, and the next, he found himself being dragged across the Ministry by a red string that had somehow curled up in a pretty little bow around his wrist. A story of fate, smut, falling in love, and a string named Harold. Rec Post

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When Draco’s anger management issues land him in St Mungo’s, he thinks his Quidditch career is over. But Harry, A&E Healer and notorious workaholic, is faced with a similar predicament. To save their jobs, the two of them decide to fake a relationship. All they have to do is convince their friends and employers… and not fall in love in the process. Simple, right? Rec Post

Everything is Relative to You by honeybeet @thehoneybeet

Potter was supposed to have lived. Draco is certain of this. That Potter would no longer walk the earth was tantamount to the sun moving west to east across the sky. If only he could have stopped this from happening, if he’d have known… It comes to him as ideas often did: too late. Or, Harry dreams of his past lives, and Draco is in every one. Rec Post

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On a cold December morning, Remus Lupin shows up on Severus Snape’s doorstep with a child with very familiar eyes. Rec Post

Evitative by Vichan @k-vichan

In the summer before his fifth year at Hogwarts, Harry is drawn to a room in Grimmauld Place. Like the Gryffindor he is, he enters the room without fear. The room is a library, and Harry is surprised to find that he’s eager to learn.

Then he gets the bad news: he’s been accidentally expelled from Hogwarts, and he needs to be sorted again. Everyone is confident that he’ll go straight back to Gryffindor, but with what he’s been learning, Harry’s not so sure. Rec Post

The White Pawn by Soupy_George @soupy-george

When eighteen-year-old Draco Malfoy finds himself back at Hogwarts on the eve of Voldemort’s infamous return, he is confronted with the most difficult decision he’s ever had to make: Relive the 6th year at school he’s tried so hard to forget, or do the unthinkable and ally himself with Potter’s lot… Rec Post

Howlr by partialtopotter @partialtopotter

Howlr is the new dating application enchanting Witches, Wizards and Everyone in between. Are you looking for the one or a one-night stand; it’s all here folks. Howlr is sponsored by Weasley Wizard Wheezes, the same team that brought us the Spellular just two years ago. Ginny Weasley, famed chaser for the Holyhead Harpies, swears by the app, ‘guaranteed to make sparks fly,’ she says. The magic awaits you! Rec Post

Here are a few more fics I've read recently that y'all might like to check out as well!(ノﾟ∀ﾟ)ノ━☆ﾟ･*:.｡. .｡.:*･.*･｡ﾟ*:・ﾟ✧

Inevitable [Drarry] by violenttulips

After the war, Harry Potter becomes a talented Senior Auror with a penchant for injury in defense of his colleagues. Draco Malfoy leaves the country for five years and becomes an accomplished Specialty Healer. He comes back after he accepts a job at St. Mungo's Hospital. When they meet again, it's clear that Draco has changed significantly in the years since they attended Hogwarts together, and Harry finds himself strangely attracted to his former rival. But things never come easy for the Boy-Who-Lived, and that's not about to change now.

Learn To Fly by Ladderofyears @ladderofyears

January 2004: Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter are two of the finest Seekers in England, deadly rivals and secret lovers. As far as Draco is concerned, that's how it'll stay forever. He is betrothed to beautiful heiress Astoria Greengrass, and they are due to have a big summer wedding. Everything changes during a hotly fought Arrows versus Wimbourne game when Draco falls from his broom. To his huge shock, when Draco awakes in St Mungo's, he discovers he is pregnant. What will Draco do, now everything in his tidily compartmentalised life has to change?

He Comes Like a Thunderstorm by korlaena @korlaena

Draco is doing his best to balance the life he wants to live and the life he’s forced to live. He’s nearing the tail-end of a long, post-war probation when Harry Potter crashes back into his life with all the grace of a charging Erumpent, breaking through his carefully constructed rules and routine. Caught up in a whirlwind of sex and lust, Potter unwittingly shows Draco that his life as an Incubus doesn’t have to be as lonely and unfulfilling as he thought, but how long can it last?

Denouement by the_never_was

Pale face in paler hands, he is devoid of color. He is only the moonlight. And he wonders if he'll find the sun. A story about Draco entering a period of change that will either shatter him or enfold him into Harry Potter's world.

( •ॢ◡-ॢ)-♡ I hope you enjoy these fics as much as I have! Happy reading, y’all! xoxo Carey (◍•ᴗ•◍)♡ ✧*💜💙💚💛❤💗💕💖

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firstfullmoon · 2 years

Photo

Alex Dimitrov, from “Love,” in Love and Other Poems

[text ID: I love August and its sadness.]

#w #poetry #alex dimitrov #we’ll dream of a longer summer

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apoemaday · 1 year

Text

March

by Louise Glück

The light stays longer in the sky, but it’s a cold light, it brings no relief from winter.

My neighbor stares out the window, talking to her dog. He’s sniffing the garden, trying to reach a decision about the dead flowers.

It’s a little early for all this. Everything’s still very bare— nevertheless, something’s different today from yesterday.

We can see the mountain: the peak’s glittering where the ice catches the light. But on the sides the snow’s melted, exposing bare rock.

My neighbor’s calling the dog, making her unconvincing doglike sounds. The dog’s polite; he raises his head when she calls, but he doesn’t move. So she goes on calling, her failed bark slowly deteriorating into a human voice.

All her life she dreamed of living by the sea but fate didn’t put her there. It laughed at her dreams; it locked her up in the hills, where no one escapes.

The sun beats down on the earth, the earth flourishes. And every winter, it’s as though the rock underneath the earth rises higher and higher and the earth becomes rock, cold and rejecting.

She says hope killed her parents, it killed her grandparents. It rose up each spring with the wheat and died between the heat of summer and the raw cold. In the end, they told her to live near the sea, as though that would make a difference. By late spring she’ll be garrulous, but now she’s down to two words, never and only, to express this sense that life’s cheated her.

Never the cries of gulls, only, in summer, the crickets, the cicadas. Only the smell of the field, when all she wanted was the smell of the sea, of disappearance.

The sky above the fields has turned a sort of grayish pink as the sun sinks. The clouds are silk yarn, magenta and crimson.

And everywhere the earth is rustling, not lying still. And the dog senses this stirring; his ears twitch.

He walks back and forth, vaguely remembering from other years this elation. The season of discoveries is beginning. Always the same discoveries, but to the dog, intoxicating and new, not duplicitous.

I tell my neighbor we’ll be like this when we lose our memories. I ask her if she’s ever seen the sea and she says, once, in a movie. It was a sad story, nothing worked out at all.

The lovers part. The sea hammers the shore, the mark each wave leaves wiped out by the wave that follows. Never accumulation, never one wave trying to build on another, never the promise of shelter—

The sea doesn’t change as the earth changes; it doesn’t lie. You ask the sea, what can you promise me and it speaks the truth; it says erasure.

Finally the dog goes in. We watch the crescent moon, very faint at first, then clearer and clearer as the sky grows dark. Soon it will be the sky of early spring, stretching above the stubborn ferns and violets.

Nothing can be forced to live. The earth is like a drug now, like a voice from far away, a lover or master. In the end, you do what the voice tells you. It says forget, you forget. It says begin again, you begin again.

#poetry #Louise Glück #march

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imaginingaustin · 1 year

Text

me, her, and the moon

summary: when you wake up after a bad dream, austin finds you stargazing as you try to ease your mind.

you returned home from work one evening to a wonderful smelling meal. you walked through your entry way into the kitchen to find austin unloading the delivery bags that were spread across the counter.

“perfect timing! the food just got here.” he said with a smile. you walked over to him, pressing a quick kiss to his lips before going to your room to change from your work clothes. you walked back out to the dining room where austin had plates made of food. you sat down with him and started eating, making small talk and catching each other up about your days.

“i’m just glad its friday and i dont have to worry about work again until i go back on tuesday.”

“you’re off monday?” he asked, raising a brow.

“yes, fortunately. my manager gave me the day off because they ‘recognize how hard i’ve been working and can see that i am pulling more than my fair share of work.’” you said, mimicking your manager’s voice, causing austin to laugh.

“well, i can vouch for that. you have been working really hard these past few weeks and deserve much more than just an extra day. but at least your boss can recognize that.” austin said, and you nodded in agreement.

“i’m just waiting for summer when work calms down. then i wanna take trip, just me and you. i don’t care where, but i need to be on a beach with a margarita in my hand.”

“that sounds like a perfect idea. i’ll get planning right away.” austin said with a smile. you finished dinner, and lounged on the couch watching tv before you started to fall asleep. the two of you moved got ready for bed, you quickly falling asleep once your head hit the pillow.

a few hours later, you were jolted awake by a nightmare. you sat up in bed, panting and trying to catch your breath while remaining as quiet as possible so you didn’t wake austin. his light snores filled the room, bringing you back down to earth. you watched him sleep, heart swelling at the sight, as your breath finally calmed. you quietly climbed out of bed, grabbing your water bottle from the nightstand, and moving to the living room. you contemplated turning on the tv, but ultimately decided to move out onto the back patio, beautifully illuminated by the moon.

you plopped down on the patio couch, looking up at the stars, finding peace in counting them. it allowed you take your mind off the nightmare you’d had, and sitting with the ambiance of the night was calming. you sat out there for a while before you heard the back door open. you turned to the noise to find austin stepping out onto the patio.

“hey, did i wake you?” you asked.

“not immediately. i rolled over and reached out for you, but came up empty handed.” he sighed. “what are you doing out here?” he asked as he sat down with you. he placed his arm around your shoulder and you leaned into his side.

“i had a bad dream. i forgot what it was as soon as i opened my eyes, but i just know that it was stressing me out and i was sweating really bad.” you sighed. “i had a headache when i got out of bed, but it seems to have subsided since i’ve cooled down.”

“i’m sorry.” austin said, looking at you with a pout.

“it’s okay. its just the stress of work building up and me finally hitting the wall. hopefully it’ll subside once i’m less busy.” you sighed, intertwining your fingers with austin’s, pressing a kiss to the back of his hand.

“then we’ll be on the beach and you'll have margaritas in both of your hands.” he laughed.

“oh that’s even better than what i suggested.” you laughed. you and austin sat there quietly as you continued watching the stars. you started to fall asleep on austin’s shoulder, and you let you rest for as long as he could before he himself got uncomfortable. you were deep asleep by that point, so he gently lifted you from the couch and carried you back to bed. unknown to you, he stayed up for a little bit longer, watching you sleep, making sure that you stayed asleep. once you’d been asleep for about an hour, he went back to sleep, holding you tight in his arms.

#austin butler #austin butler imagine #austin butler fanfic #austin butler fanfiction #austin butler x reader

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jqhotchner · 4 months

Text

wedding bells

“…pardon my interruption…”

he stares at his mom and sister blankly. they couldn’t be serious. this was beyond the definition of fucked up. this wasn’t some movie. this was his life. this was your life.

he couldn’t possibly ruin your wedding. no! he’s already ruined your happiness enough. you deserved to get married to the man you love. that’s no longer him.

he was heartbroken, sure. but he deserves this. he deserved to suffer. you deserve to walk down the aisle like you deserved to do all those years ago. he knew this was the wedding of your dreams.

he knew from the moment he saw the church. this was the church he was gonna marry you. the church you picked out.

“no. she doesn’t deserve this!” harry shakes his head.

anne rubs her sons shoulders. “did i ever tell you about my first love zac?”

he frowns at his mother. he shakes his head as his mother takes a deep breath.

“i met him a few years before your father. i was deeply in love with him. he was the one,”

both harry and gemma stared at their mother shockingly. they had no idea she loved someone before their father. they always thought their dad was her first love.

“he was american. only visiting distant relatives for the summer. we fell in love instantly. god was he the most amazing generous man. when summer ended he begged his parents to stay, just for me. how romantic, huh? except it ended there. we tried to keep in touch sending letters. but after awhile the letters slowly went away. i assumed he moved on. that was until three years after you were born. he came to visit. hoping that i was still there. and i was. but i had moved on and married your father and had two amazing kids. unfortunately he didn’t come to reconnect. he came to tell me that he loved me and would never stop. but he was sick. very sick. it’s why he stopped writing the letters because he thought it was best that he let me go. he knew his illness was terminal. he had a about three more months left. but he couldn’t die without telling me how he felt. in that moment we both knew we wasted so much time. we could have been together but he let me go and i didn’t ask questions or try to call him. anything! i just let zac slip though my fingers. and if i would have just called him and checked on him, maybe ask him questions, maybe we would have been together instead. don’t do what i did baby. don’t let her slip through your fingers.”

harry sheds tears. “but what if—”

“then we’ll be right here to pick up the pieces again.” gemma whispers.

harry nods. he gets out of the car, runs to the church, and takes a deep breath before opening the door. and just like the movies everyone stares at him. including you.

he just stands there. everyone starts to whisper. harry didn’t know what to say. but he knew if he didn’t speak he would look like even more of an idiot. but something happened. he said nothing but you ran.

everyone gasped. harry didn’t know what to say or do. he couldn’t speak. he thought you were gonna slap him for ruining your wedding, run back to the podium, and get marry.

instead you surprised him. you grabbed his hand and ran out of the church. leaving everyone speechless.

“i can’t do it. i can’t marry someone i don’t love. i—harry you broke me. you broke every fiber of my heart. but i love you. i always have and i always will. and—i don’t wanna marry anyone else but you.”

“then let’s get married, darling.”

again i have no idea wtf this is but here is the final part to wedding bells :)

#harry styles x black!reader #harry styles x reader #harry styles fake ig #harry styles x fem!reader #harry styles x y/n #harry styles #harry styles imagine

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lambertdiary · 8 months

Text

After All These Years - Chapter One

‎‎‎‎‎Chapter Two ✩ Chapter Three ✩ Chapter Four

Chapter Summary: Y/N and Dalton are childhood best friends who do everything together, but when the Lambert family moves away they are separated and forced to forget about each other.

Word Count: 1.7k+

Warnings: angst, mention of Dalton's coma, allusion to the further

A/N: omg I'm so excited to finally share with you this mini-series i've been working on. The story is entire based on this request by @daltonsqueen so thank you so so much for requesting it!! This first chapter is a little short since I wanted to use it exclusively to describe their friendship when they were kids (hopefully you guys still like it), but I promise next chapter is a lot longer! As always thank you guys for reading and feedback is always appreciated. Also I “accidentally” quoted one of Taylor Swift's songs.

MASTERLIST ✩ SEND ME A REQUEST

Summer days were Y/N’s favorites. Especially when she got to stay home instead of driving around with her parents visiting family or going to boring restaurants, on days like those she could sleep in and beg for more time to play with her best friend, the nine year old that lived next door. His name was Dalton and his family has lived there for a lot longer than she or Dalton have been alive, but they met when they were both seven.

She was an only child so before Dalton she felt lonely most of the time, of course she had friends but she could only play with them at school, so summers were extremely boring for the little girl. And something about her, she loved making friends. Friends were really important to her so having no one during school breaks was… upsetting.

Until one hot summer morning when she heard her parents talking about a kid with a lemonade stand outside of the house next door “Can I go?” She has never befriended someone from her neighborhood, the other kids were older and not very nice to her, so if there was a potential friend living there she needed to know.

“Sure sweetie, I don’t see why not” Her mom gave her a dollar and walked with her outside, staying on the front porch while Y/N made her way to the lemonade stand.

“I’m Y/N” She said as soon as she got there “My mom says you’re selling lemonade”

“Yes! Would you like to try some?” The little boy said happily, it didn’t look like he was selling much.

“I only have one dollar”

“I can give you two for one dollar!”

“Okay” She gave him the dollar bill and watched as he pulled out 2 tiny cups and poured cold lemonade on them “What’s your name?”

“Dalton, this is my house” He said pointing at the house behind him.

“That’s mine!” She exclaimed, happy someone her age lived so close to her.

Dalton grabbed the cups and handed them to Y/N, who took them carefully. They were a little sticky on the sides since Dalton poured too much on them and spilled a little bit “Do you wanna play after you’re done with your lemonade stand?”

“Yes!” He seemed really excited “I have a pool in my backyard, do you wanna check it out?”

“I gotta ask my mom” Y/N replied, looking at her still standing by their front door.

“That’s okay, you can go ask her and come by later!”

“I will” Y/N replied before running back to her house, almost spilling the rest of the lemonade she just bought from Dalton “Mommy, can I go play with Dalton?”

“I don’t know, honey” She hesitated, directing her attention to the little kid, he was waving at her so she waved back.

“Pleaseee” Y/N was pouting and giving her puppy eyes, she really wanted to play with Dalton.

“Okay, why don’t I talk with Dalton’s mom and then we’ll see”

They became best friends that day, seeing each other nearly everyday. Y/N helped him with his lemonade stand after Dalton told her he was saving money to buy a new toy that apparently all the cool kids at his school had, and eventually, they did everything together, they told each other everything, from deep secrets any little kid would consider deep secrets to simple weird dreams. Dalton would tell her about this magical place he could visit every night and Y/N used to get secretly jealous she couldn’t go there.

During school time they couldn’t play as much, but summers were when they would make up for all that lost time. Sometimes, they would even have sleepovers and spend more than 24 hours together so when summer was coming to an end, they would both be really sad. However, this time it was different.

“We’re moving to a new house” Dalton said out of nowhere. They were currently in Y/N’s living room, having snacks under a pillowfort they spent all morning building.

“Why?” Y/N asked, not knowing exactly what he meant.

“I don’t know” Dalton’s eyes were filling with tears “It’s really far away”

“Why can’t you stay here?” Y/N was about to start crying too.

“I don’t know. My parents took us to the new house yesterday and we were in the car for a really long time”

“You can stay here with me” She suggested “We can build a pillowfort in my room and that’s where you will sleep!” Y/N was satisfied with her solution, but Dalton knew that wasn’t an option.

He shook his head, making a few tears fall on his clothes “We are leaving on Friday”

“Before summer is over?”

“Yeah, my mom says we have to settle in before schools starts”

“What about our sleepovers?”

Dalton shrugged his shoulders “Maybe I can still visit you in my dreams”

“But what about me? You know I can’t see you or go where you go”

They talked about that the rest of the day, Y/N asking a million questions and Dalton not knowing how to respond. That’s when they experienced a heartbreak for the first time, two best friends being ripped apart from each other at a very young age.

Y/N’s mom was almost as sad as they were. She knew how much Dalton meant to her and Dalton leaving meant Y/N being somewhat alone during the summer again. They truly loved each other, how could they not? The friendship between two little kids was the purest form of love that could ever exist.

The Lambert family left really early on Friday, but Y/N promised she would wake up on time to say goodbye. So there she was, standing in front of what used to be her best friend’s house, hugging Dalton goodbye.

“It’s not fair” She whispered in Dalton's ear, trying really hard to steady her breathing with all that crying.

“But I will see you again, I promise” Dalton was also crying, and he couldn’t help but feel like his best friend was sad because of him “My mom says we can visit you one day” He said wiping his own tears.

“Will she talk to my mom?”

Dalton nodded before running up to his mom and taking a piece of paper from her hands “I made this for you” He said, giving it to Y/N, it was a beautiful drawing of the both of them. They were in the pillowfort, Dalton wearing his super hero costume and Y/N with her favorite baby blue pajamas.

“I will keep this forever” Y/N said, looking at the paper and bringing it closer to her heart.

All four parents looked at the kids, feeling for them. They were all amazed at the special connection they had and they were of course sad they had to break them apart. But unfortunately that wouldn’t change anything.

The drought was the very worse for the both of them, but especially for Y/N. Dalton had two siblings he could play with (that didn’t mean he wouldn't miss her), but Y/N went back to staying in her room all day. She still played and tried to have fun by herself, but all those games she and Dalton made up weren’t as fun without him.

Weeks went by and Dalton still hadn’t visited. Y/N would constantly ask her mom about him and why he broke his promise. She knew the reason, Dalton was in coma, but she didn’t think telling that to a little girl would be the best idea.

It wasn’t until a month later Y/N found out the truth. It was a mistake, she overheard her parents talking about Dalton and how he still hasn’t woken up from his coma. She didn’t know what that meant, so later when she confronted them about it they tried their best to explain it to her without making it sound as tragic as it really was. The last thing they wanted was for her to think he was dying, even though that’s what it looked like. So instead they just told her something like “He’s really sick so he has to go to sleep a lot, that’s why he can’t come visit you”

“Can’t we go visit him?” She asked crying, scared that her best friend was really sick.

Her parents at some point did consider the possibility of visiting him and his family, but discarded the idea when they realized what someone in a coma really looks like. They didn’t want little Y/N to see her best friend in such a… lifeless state “I’m sorry, honey. But we’ll have to wait until he gets better”

That was the last time she talked about him with her parents, any other time she tried to ask they didn’t really say anything and with time, she stopped asking. So her memory of him gradually faded away somehow, she stopped wondering about him, wondering if he was okay or if he was now gone. Maybe it was easier for her to block everything they lived together than to recall how painful losing him was.

But it was hard for Dalton too. He had a pretty rough few years after he moved. Being in a coma, forgetting a whole year of his life, having a complicated relationship with his dad, seeing his parents fight all the time and eventually get divorced. For years, he did think about Y/N a lot, he didn’t stop wondering about her but with so many things flooding his mind, he never really made time to reconnect.

In the end, the memory of her stopped being so constant and with time it went away almost completely, just like everything else from his childhood. Except that he would occasionally remember her existence, anytime someone asked about his early years her name came to his mind, their friendship being the only distinct memory before everything went downhill. Dalton never talked about her though, he thought bringing up a childhood friend he moved away from years ago was a little weird, so he just didn’t. It seemed like everyone around him forgot about her, so maybe he should too.

#after all these years #dalton lambert #dalton lambert x reader #dalton lambert fluff #dalton lambert fic #dalton lambert imagines #dalton lambert imagine #dalton lambert fanfic #insidious #insidious the red door #insidious 5 #ty simpkins

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havecourage-darling · 2 years

Text

Right to the bone

prompt: “you’re still my emergency contact and i’ve been in an accident so you drop everything to come to the hospital”

pairing: Eddie Munson x Adopter! Hopper Female Reader

wc: 13K (I don't know what happened.)

warnings: cursing, canon hopper temporary death, grief, lovers to exes to ???, hurt/comfort kinda, non canon compliant, post-s4V2, our boy lives

PART TWO

Masterlist || AO3

Something was pulling at you from the blissful sleep you’d fallen into a few hours ago. Opening and eye, you groaned and fumbled for the phone. Whoever was calling better be dying or in dire need of your help or you were going snap their necks.

“Hello?” You answered groggily.

“Hi! I’m calling from Hawkins Hospital – is this Ms. Hopper?”

What? Hawkins? “Yes, that’s me.”

“You were listed as the emergency contact for Edward Munson?”

At that, you blinked. Were you dreaming? You thought back to your earlier words and winced. You hadn’t meant that literally.

“Miss?”

“Yes,” you croaked, clearing your throat, “I-I’m sorry. Was he in an accident?”

The hesitation on the other end of the phone made your stomach churn. “He was brought in a few hours ago. After the earthquake we are doing the best we can, but-”

“Earthquake?” You shot up, blanket falling to your waist.

“Yes? There was an earthquake last night. I apologize for the hour.”

Swallowing, you clenched the blanket to your chest. “Is he – is he…” You couldn’t say the words. They were stuck in your dry throat, impossible.

“He’s alive,” she said.

The air in your lungs swooped out, leaving you feeling like a deflated balloon.

“But,” the voice started.

But? But what?

“It’s urgent you make your way here. We are unable to locate his next of kin. Would that be you?”

“No, uh, he lives with his Uncle Wayne. I’m in Wisconsin,” you said, realizing.

“Oh,” she said quietly. “If you would like to come see him, I recommend you try and get here as quick as possible.”

“Is he – please, is he critical?”

“You can speak with a doctor when you arrive.”

Shit.

“I’ll be there,” you promised, already hopping off your bed. “It’ll take me a few hours but I’ll be there. Don’t, please – don’t let anything happen to him.”

“We’ll try our best,” she said before clicking off.

Earthquake? You glanced at your closet and frowned. The walkie sat, unused and collecting dust, at the back of your wardrobe. You had made everyone promise, after your father was killed – you wanted nothing to do with Hawkins and its ability to kill all the good people in it. Every single nerve in your body missed them – because of course you had but, it hurt to be in that town. It hurt to remember.

“Fuck me,” you hissed, hastily packing your bag and grabbing the walkie on the way to your car. Glancing at your watch, you realized how late it was. If you were lucky and there was no traffic, you’d be able to make it to Hawkins by sunrise.

When you stopped for gas just outside the city, you called your sister. If something had happened in Hawkins you were sure it wasn’t something as easy as a natural disaster. You’d spoken to El a few days ago, she was excited to have Mike visit for spring break. She’d been sad when you told her you couldn’t afford to visit – your job having denied your vacation request – but you’d save to be able to visit in the summer. California sounded like it was going well for her.

“The number you have reached is not in service,” the operator notified you. The invisible hand inside your stomach reached up and clamped onto your throat. Squeezing, once again, until you felt you could no longer breathe.

The yellow, flickering, lamp above you gave out – leaving you in darkness. Slamming the phone down, you quickly made your way back to your car. You’d learned long ago to be afraid of faulty lights and the creatures that awaited in the dark.

With hesitance, you glanced over at the walkie from where it laid in the passenger seat. It was charged, because while you wanted to forget – you weren’t stupid. Your father had taught you better than that.

For the first time, in almost a year, you turn it on. Your finger turns the dials onto the right channels and you press the worn button down. “Dustin, do you copy?”

There static silence was oppressive. It filled your car with a sense of dread and the shattered pieces of your heart slammed against your ribcage.

“Henderson! Do you copy?” You tried a second time, voice louder and desperate even to your ears.

Fuck. You dropped your forehead to your steering wheel and dropped the walkie back onto the seat.

Take a deep breath sweetheart, your dad’s voice swam through your head, ever your conscience. You can do anything you want to. Just take a deep breath, count to ten, and let go.

“Okay,” you told the ghost in your head, “okay, dad.”

Turning the key in the ignition, you felt it come alive under your hands. Fear swirling in your stomach, and apprehension in your shoulders, you took a deep breath. You closed your eyes and counted to ten.

Your car hadn’t originally been yours. Or it would’ve been had your dad lived long enough to fix it up for you. It had been his father’s – your grandfather’s. It sat in a garage, hidden away from your wandering eyes, while he tried to fix it up to give it to you as a graduation gift. Jonathan had helped you finish what he started; he hadn’t had much left to go.

It was an older car, that needed constant checking in on, and with enough miles to seem faintly worrisome but it was yours. It was the only thing that had seen you through your grief the days after Starcourt. El had managed to take a ride in it that summer before leaving for California – you’d both cried the entire time.

You weren’t sure if the car smelled like cigarettes or you desperately wanted them to. There was a carton in the glove box, familiar ones that you lit up on occasion so the scent could sink into your clothes. The memories of him laughing in his cruiser swirled around you like smoke, something you could see but weren’t allowed to touch.

The dark sky started to lighten the closer you got. By hour three, the sun was peeking at you from the horizon. It seemed that, it too, was surprised to see you make your way back to the one place you vowed to never return. By the time you were a few miles out, the hand inside you tightened its hold on you.

It’s just a town. It couldn’t hurt you.

Welcome to Hawkins!

The sign flashed as you passed it, the yellow font mocking almost. As if testing you, the first memory clawed its way up to the front of your mind.

“Watch over your sister, okay? Be safe. Don’t do anything stupid,” your dad said, his mustache tickling your skin when he kissed your forehead. “I love you kid.”

“More than the moon?” You asked, fear rolling off you like waves.

Your dad smiled, his tired eyes and Hawaiian print shirt making you smile back. “More than the stars, the moon, and the universe combined.”

“See you soon?” You asked, desperately needing to hear him say the words.

With a last tight hug, he nodded into your head. “See you soon.”

You tightened your grip on the wheel and clenched your teeth. One, two, three, four… at ten you heaved another deep breath and felt the hand loosen its death grip.

As you hit the center of town, you saw signs of its inhabitants awaking. Another, equally familiar, vine snuck up on you. Driving past a familiar diner, you felt the second physical blow.

“I’ll love you forever, you know?” Eddie said, eyes twinkling like they knew something you didn’t.

“Forever?” You asked. “That’s a long time.”

“Not enough, Hop’, not nearly long enough,” he said, eyes darting down to your lips.

You smiled, flustered, as he trailed a hand down your arm. “I love you too,” you said quietly, like it was a secret you wanted to keep safe.

Eddie’s answering smile was blinding. It reminded you of a sunrise, the sunbeams chasing away the darkness out of every corner, a protection almost. A safe haven that came in the form of Metallica, electric guitars, silver rings, and a gentle patience that you’d never seen before.

“Yeah?” He asked, bravado dropping for once.

Watching him reach for your fingers slowly, you let him intertwine them. He felt like a comfort you’d never known before and he tasted like pancakes and maple syrup. You’d love him forever too.

“Deep breaths,” you reminded yourself, “deep breaths.”

You could see some mild damage to some of the houses the closer east you got. Turning left at the supermarket, you stopped at the sight of road blocks. Pulling over to the left, you stood from your car and gasped. The ground a few yards in front of you was cracked, as if caught mid-yawn, and the trees were all uprooted. It went on as far as you could see, tinged in the warm light of the awakening sun.

“I told you people, no reporters! We’re still double checking that everything is safe, don’t your kind understand that?” An authoritative voice boomed.

Whirling around, your hair got caught in the warm breeze, sticking to your cheeks.

“Powell?” You breathed; your voice rusty from your worried silence on the drive over. Clearing your throat, you watched as the man you’d known growing up in this town walked over and pulled you into a tight hug.

“Thank God,” he whispered. “You’re alright.”

“What…what happened here?” You asked him, not sure you wanted to know the answer.

Powell shook his head. “It’s been a hell of a week and it’s only Monday squirt.” The nickname hit like a blow to your solar plexus. Blinking back your tears you nodded as he described the earthquake that had hit a little over a day ago.

Murders. Earthquake. A lot of people injured. Only a handful of casualties. “It could’ve been worse, we’re glad it didn’t take too many houses in its path of destruction. Mostly old warehouses and it’s got a crater in the middle of Lover’s Lake that’s going to be a pain in my ass today.”

Your quiet throughout his retelling, sure of the fact that the town would rally. You knew, though, you knew it was bigger than that.

“Where were you headed?” He asked eventually, eyeing your car.

Not sure how much of your cards to show, you motioned down the closed road. “Was taking a shortcut to the hospital.”

His eyebrows flew up. “The hospital?” He eyed you, his gaze unintrusive but observant. The same way your dad used to do it. “You’re going to see the Munson boy.”

Without answering, you took a few steps back towards your car. “It was nice to see you Powell.”

“Be careful with him,” Powell said, freezing you in your tracks, “he’s been through…a lot these past few days. I’m…I hope he makes it.”

Not sure how much more you can take; you wave a hand in the air. “Don’t…don’t tell anyone you saw me, not yet, please?” Powell smiled sadly but you knew he understood. If anything, he might have understood the best out of everyone.

“Anything for you, Hopper,” he said, your last name sounding a little unsteady in the cool morning air. “Drive safe.”

“I’m here to see a patient.” You said to the receptionist, a woman you didn’t recognize. Her face was round, her eyes a soft blue. The blonde in her hair was dulled under the fluorescent lights but her smile was bright.

“Name?”

“Eddie Munson.”

She stilled, eyes darting back up to yours. “Visiting hours aren’t until this afternoon. You’re not a reporter, are you? I can have security here in two seconds.”

Wringing your hands, you gazed over her shoulder, towards the empty hall behind her. “I – I’m his emergency contact? I got a call last night – or earlier this morning? I drove all night to get here.”

Her defensive look softened at your stumbled words.

“Ms. Hopper?”

You nodded, pulling the sleeves of your sweatshirt over your knuckles. You knew how this went, family only. The rules were rules and you no longer had any pull in this town. Hiking your bag up higher on your shoulder, you made a decision. “I’m his fiancé. His next of kin is his uncle Wayne but, I drove straight here when I heard the news.”

The woman’s expression softened even further. “Okay honey, just give me some ID so I can get you a pass and sign you in so no one asks again.” As you waited for her to print out your pass, you rocked back onto your heels, a nervous habit you’d failed to break.

“The town will stop harassing him with time,” the nurse said, eyes knowing.

What?

“There are a lot of close-minded folk in this town, but ever since his name was cleared and word got around that he tried to save that girl’s life – the tide’s been turnin’ honey. Don’t worry.” She sighed, passing you your ID and visitor’s pass. “I just can’t believe that Carver boy was the root of all this. Oh, I’m just taking up your time, I’m sorry. He’s down the hall room 501 to your left.”

“Thank you,” you said quietly, head swimming. Carver? Jason Carver?

Her soft voice floated over to you. “You should talk to him honey. I reckon he’d be happy to hear your voice. Press the button if you need anything.”

Nodding, you pulled your bag’s strap tighter around your fist and stood before room 501.

Take a deep breath. Count to ten. Let go.

With bravery you didn’t feel, you turned the knob and felt your legs almost give out from under you.

“Oh, Eddie,” you sighed, walking over to his bedside. The entirety of his neck and arms were bandaged, his face had bruising and scratches by his jaw. You sank into the chair that was closest to him and fought the tears that wanted to make themselves known. “Sweetheart, what’ve you gotten yourself into?”

If you’d suspected that this had something to do with the upside down before, his injuries confirmed it. You needed to call El when you got the chance – somehow, you hoped that California was far enough that she wouldn’t be affected. It felt wrong, in some way, to reach out and touch the only unbruised part of him – but you couldn’t help it. It’d been so long since you last saw him, you hated that he’d fallen into this.

Your fingers danced lightly across his cheekbone, wishing you could will his injuries away, and before you could stop yourself, you pressed a kiss to his temple.

“Ms. Hopper?” A voice called out tentatively. Whirling around, heart pounding, you relaxed minutely when you saw a tall woman in a white coat.

“Hi,” you breathed, “yes, I’m sorry you startled me.”

“My apologies,” she said, closing the door behind him. “I’m Mr. Munson’s primary doctor, can I confirm what your relationship is with the patient?”

The guilt threatened to choke you but if they hadn’t found Wayne, you couldn’t leave him here, not alone. “I’m his fiancé. The hospital called me because he had me listed as his emergency contact.”

She nodded, satisfied, and pulled out a chart from under her arm. “Well, Ms. Hopper, Eddie was very, very lucky to have been brought in when he was.”

Your chest tightened. The doctor went through all of his injuries, deep lacerations, bruising, a concussion, and a broken ankle.

“It says here that he was brought in by a-” she flipped through the folder, “-Steve Harrington and Nancy Wheeler?”

The last, delusional, pieces of hope that were clinging to the hope that this was just a normal injury, disappeared. “Yeah, they’re our friends.”

“They say he was hurt in the earthquake,” the doctor was clearly skeptical about that explanation but you weren’t surprised. You knew a cover up when you saw one.

“When will he wake up?” You asked instead.

With a frown, she turned to Eddie. “We gave him a lot of pain medication post-surgery, so it’s really up to him. It’s been twenty-four hours and he should wake up anytime now. The process can be gradual so please do not become alarmed if you see movement from him before falling back asleep. It’s completely normal. I’ll be here for the night, should you need me or have any questions please let one of the nurses know.”

A beat later, you nodded, and she sighed. Leaving without another word, you slumped back into the chair and pinched the bridge of your nose. “What the hell happened?” You asked Eddie, not expecting an answer. “The gate was closed, we killed it, El – everyone, we lost so much to make sure it was gone. What happened?”

Moving your backpack to the floor, you reached for Eddie’s hand and brought it up to your cheek. His pulse pounded steadily, the machines confirming to you that he was alive and breathing, and you started to cry.

It wasn’t fair. How much more did this town need to take from you before there was nothing left? You dropped your head to the bed, tears dropping to the white, scratchy, fabric, and you closed your eyes.

He was okay. Eddie might not love you anymore, he might not want you by his side, but he was alive and that was enough for you. You needed to try and find someone, Wayne or Steve – you had to find out what had happened. Maybe one of the nurses had a phone book you could look through.

With a jaw cracking yawn, you let the warmth of Eddie’s hand and the steady beeping of the machines, poke at your exhaustion until you were lulled to sleep.

Blinking your eyes open, you smacked your lips – throat dry. Stretching as you sat up, you felt your spine crack satisfyingly as you readjusted. The sun was higher up in the sky and the clock let you know you’d slept for less than an hour but you felt refreshed.

“Good morning, Firecracker,” a hoarse voice said, the hand in yours twitching.

Startled beyond all measure, you squeaked, standing and wincing at the screeching sound the chair made.

“Eddie?” You stammered. “Eddie, do you remember what happened to you?”

His bruised face twisted into something confused. “Not really. I woke up a few minutes ago and you were sleeping here. Why are we in the hospital?”

You opened your mouth but your voice got stuck in your throat. What had happened? Why was he looking at you like that?

“I’m not sure,” you said honestly, “the doctor says you got here just in time. I know you said you didn’t want to see me again-”

Eddie’s eyes narrowed and he tried to shift but groaned. “What are you talking about? Were we in a car crash?” His eyes took you in. “You look okay. How’s my car?”

What?

“Eddie?”

“Yeah, sweetheart?”

Blinking.

“What’s…the last thing you remember?”

Eddie frowned, his eyes becoming unfocused and then he shot you a stupidly ridiculous smile that had no right to make your stomach flutter the way it did. “I was showing you the song I wrote…we were in my room, rushing to get you home before curfew,” he wiggled his brows, despite his confusion, and your heart dropped to your feet, “that was your fault.”

Forgetting yourself for a moment, you realized you knew what he was talking about. Your throat closed, folding in on itself. That had been…more than a year ago, in the winter of your senior year.

You grinned as Eddie put down his guitar and turned to look at you, eyes nervous. “So? What do you think?”

Pretending to think it over, you laughed and launched yourself at him. Eddie caught you, because he always did, and fell back onto his bed. His puff of laughter fanned over your skin, his eyes lighting up. “That bad huh?”

“It’s amazing!” You said, straddling him. “It sounds great, are you going to play it at the Hideout?”

Eddie nodded. “We’re not suppose to play original music but Gareth thinks we should just go for it.”

“Definitely,” you said, “I’m going to ask Steve for his video recorder. It’ll be the first time Corroded Coffin performs to a live audience their original music.”

“To about ten people and my girlfriend,” he said, rolling his eyes, but expression pleased. You knew he was nervous and didn’t want to let anyone know but you knew him too well to fool.

“Everyone starts somewhere,” you insisted, “you’re good, Eddie. I know this is just the beginning for you guys.”

His eyes softened, and your heart skipped. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” you said, “so much, you have no idea,”

“Yeah?”

You loved how no matter how many times you said it, it always made him light up. “Yeah, Munson.”

“God, you’re amazing,” Eddie flipped you both so he was hovering above you.

Laughing, you wiggled beneath him, grinning when you hear him groan. “Careful there, Munson, I might get an ego.”

“Shit, and it already almost doesn’t fit into this trailer, can’t have it getting bigger,” he murmured, nipping at your neck. “You’ve got curfew in an hour.”

“Mhmm,” you sighed, pulling his hips down sharply to yours. Both of you hissed at the sudden pressure, your hand already fumbling with your waistband.

“Sweetheart, your father already hates me,” Eddie reminded you, not stopping you from yanking his shirt off.

You laughed at his interested expression. “It’s been three years, you’re growing on him,” you said, knowing it was partially true.

“I’m sure,” he grunted as you flung your shirt off. His mouth immediately fell to the swell of your breast, lapping at the fading bruise he’d left behind this morning. “Do you think it’s normal?”

“What?” You said, squirming, when he stilled.

“Being this in love with someone?” He asked, surprising you with his sincerity. You glanced at him but he dropped his forehead to yours, his hand on your bare hip tracing circles into your skin. “When you’re not here, you’re all I think about. When you are here – all I want to do is-”

“-get into my pants?” You asked, joking.

Eddie’s eyes flashed enticingly and you grinned. “You’re insatiable, Firecracker.”

“That’s because I can’t get enough of you,” you said, nipping at his ear and savoring in the way his hips twitched. “It’s always been you. So, no, you complete sap – you’re not alone.”

“That’s a relief,” Eddie teased, frantic hands starting again.

His hair tickled your skin as you lifted your hips to help him pull your jeans down. Laughing lightly at the sensation, you brought Eddie’s face down towards your own and shot him a look. “You know, no one ever believes me when I tell them you’re an incurable romantic.”

Eddie shot you a look. “Good, I have a reputation to upkeep, you know.”

“The town cult leader?” You asked, pretending to widen your eyes in fear. “Oh no, are you corrupting me?”

At that, Eddie cackled. “Sweetheart, if anyone’s corrupting here – it’s you.”

“And don’t you forget it,” you said, kissing him again.

The memory hits you like a semi-truck and you need to sit down to gather your thoughts. Your mind raced – amnesia? Was he hit that hard in the head? Panic started clawing at you, black spots appearing at the corner of your vision, and you wrung your hands together.

“What’s wrong?” Eddie asked, eyes on you.

You couldn’t look at him for too long, you hadn’t been apart for long enough for it to stop hurting. “Nothing, Eddie,” you rasped, breath ragged.

“Right, and you look ready to throw up because?” Eddie hissed as he shifted more towards you. “Is it because of the accident? I’m sure I’ll be fine. I’ve had worse. What’s wrong with me anyway?”

His joke hit too close and you jumped to your feet. A nurse – you needed a nurse. “I’ll be right back, okay?” Finally glancing at him, you realized his eyes had a glazed look to them.

“Mhmm.”

You stumbled into the hallway, tripping over your feet as you all but collapse into the nursing station. “My e- fiancé woke up,” you said, chest heaving, “he doesn’t – his last memory – he thinks it’s a year ago.”

The nurse, looking entirely unworried, nodding calmly. “That’s common when waking up from sedation, don’t worry. Let’s go take a look at him.” As she walked you back to the room, you chewed on your thumb, mind running wild.

“Oh, looks like he fell back asleep,” the nurse said, smiling, “it’s absolutely normal, don’t fret. Oh, look at you, you look like you’ve seen a ghost!”

You had.

“His vitals look good, everything’s okay. Don’t worry, this is a good sign! He’s not likely to remember much when he wakes up next so don’t hold anything he says against him. It varies from person to person but, it means he’ll be awake soon. Okay?”

Nodding dumbly, you felt her squeeze your shoulder before puttering back out through the door.

“Okay, Hopper,” you inhaled, “get it together.” Grabbing the nearest phone, you dial the number you’d yet to forget and prepared yourself to hear Wayne’s voice.

“The number you have called is no longer in service.”

A chill ran down your spine. How was that possible? You dialed the number again, worried you’d gotten it wrong but the operator echoed the message. Hanging up, you frowned. If the phones were down…or if Wayne wasn’t at the trailer anymore – this couldn’t be good.

Eddie smacked his lips, eyes fluttering before sighing and falling quiet again.

You couldn’t do this. You couldn’t stay here while he woke up living in memories that hurt you.

“Alright, time for the calvary,” you said to yourself. Reaching towards your backpack, your hand wrapped around the walkie. You were sure Dustin was awake at this point, someone had to be.

“Dustin, do you copy?” You try again.

There’s a few beats of silence before your walkie, for the first time in months, crackled with life.

“Hopper?” It screeched.

“Yeah, it’s me.”

“Holy shit.”

“I know,” you sighed, “it’s been a while.”

“Ten months.”

You winced at the hurt in Dustin’s voice. An apology was on the tip of your tongue when a third voice joined.

“I’m sorry, was that Hopper’s voice I heard or am I hallucinating from how early it is?” A groggy sounding Steve asked.

Rubbing your temples, you contemplated answering before sighing. “Yeah, it’s me.” The exhaustion in your voice was evident.

“Wait, are you okay?” Dustin asked, ever your worrier.

“Did someone say Hopper?” Robin croaked.

“I think so,” Nancy’s voice came next and you sighed.

The whole gang. “Yeah. I’m…at Hawkins Hospital.”

The walkie exploded into a flurry of voices and you lowered the volume considerably.

“There was a mix up, I’m still Eddie’s emergency contact and they called me. Once I heard about the earthquakes, I suspected something was happening. Does anyone want to fill me in?”

“It’s too much to do over the walkies,” Dustin sighed.

“Don’t move. We’re already on our way.”

The walkie went silent then, no doubt the group swapping over to a different frequency to discuss. You felt like an outsider but – that had been what you wanted. So why did it hurt so much?

Gaze dropping back down to Eddie, you notice his nails are painted – mostly chipped but pieces of black nail polish still clung to some of his fingers.

“You got everything?” He asked.

Nodding, you stayed quiet, watching the buildings get closer and closer together.

You were nervous to join in on the last year of middle school, mid-year. Your dad promised you’d like Hawkins; it was where he grew up. The tree lined streets blurred around you as you sped past them.

“Where’s mom?” You asked, hating yourself for the flash of pain that crossed his face. She’d always been the one to take you to school on the first day.

“She went to England, remember honey? With some of her old family.” You heard what he didn’t say. She left us. She didn’t want you anymore. You knew better than to ask about her.

“I’m sorry,” you said softly.

“Don’t be,” your dad parked in the lot and followed you as you hopped out. “I know this is hard honey, I know. I love you, okay? Nothing changes that.”

“You promise?” you asked, mortified for your need of validation.

His face shifted into something sad before solidifying into something you didn’t recognize. “No matter what anyone says, squirt, you are my daughter. You are my family. It’s you and me against the world now, okay? Hoppers stick together through everything.”

Smiling, you hurled your arms around his neck and squeezed him tightly. “Alright. You want me to go in with you?”

“Oh my God no,” you hissed, “Dad please, you’re in uniform.”

Your dad laughed, his belly shaking while he pushed you towards the school. “Teenagers man. I liked you better when you were a little squirt!”

“Bye!” You said, speeding off before he could change his mind. Making sure he wasn’t following, you managed to slam into something – someone.

“Ouch,” a voice grumbled from the floor.

“I’m so sorry!” You squeaked, hand flying down to the boy you’d trampled. “Great, it’s my first day and I’m already running people over.”

A pair of wide brown eyes shot open and you startled at their depth. “First day? You’re the new deputy’s kid?”

You groaned. “Does everyone know?”

The boy straightened, dusting off a few leaves from his pants before nodding. “When someone new drops into this shithole, everyone takes notice.”

“Great.”

At that, his serious face broke and his laugh completely transformed his face. Your palms started sweating and you didn’t know what the feeling in your stomach was. His hand came up to fix his backpack and you noticed his painted left hand.

“Are your nails painted?” You asked before you could stop yourself.

Unaffected by your question, his eyes lit up and he nodded. He held his hand out and you noticed that he had painted his nails black. “Metal right? I’m starting a band.”

“A band?” Your brows flew up as you shook his hand. You’d never known anyone your age that was in band. “What’s the name?”

“Corroded Coffin!” He grinned, looking boyish. “My best friend got a drum set for his birthday and my uncle said he’d give me some money for a guitar if I pass the year.”

“That’s so cool,” you breathed.

“It is?” He said, making you laugh.

You watched him pick at the peeling nail polish and were suddenly glad you’d almost mowed him down. “Yeah.” The bell rung, indicating you were late and you straightened. “Oh, I’m sorry – I have to go.”

“Wait!” He shouted as you jogged up the stairs. You turned around, smiling at his exaggerated moves. “I’m Eddie Munson.”

“I’m-”

“I know who you are, new girl,” Eddie said, smiling. “See you around?”

Your heart skipped. “Yeah. See you.”

The memory was abruptly pushed back into the locked cabinet it crawled out from when the door to the room slammed open. You jumped, startled at the chaos that swirled into the room.

“Oh my God!” Dustin screeched.

“Stop screaming Henderson,” Robin said, sweeping into the room and grabbing the chair next to yours. “This is a hospital.”

“Holy shit, ghosts do exist,” Steve said, frozen at the door.

You rolled your eyes. “You came to see me for Thanksgiving, doofus.” Steve and Robin had been the only ones from Hawkins that refused to let you disappear without a word. They’d driven up to help you move into your apartment near campus and surprised you in November.

“I knew you wouldn’t come back to Hawkins and we didn’t want you to spend your first holiday alone,” Steve said, pulling you into a tight hug.

Robin grinned. “Besides, you’re off to California for Christmas. We need our share of Hopper at least during one major holiday.”

“Yeah, but I never thought I’d see you here again,” Steve said, eyes darting over to Eddie then back to you.

Robin flung her arms around you. She smacked a kiss to your cheek and sighed when you squeezed her back. “I know you’re not happy to be here, but I’m happy to see you.”

Steve shoved her aside, grumbling when Robin smacked his shoulder, but pulled you into his arms anyway. “You good, Hop?”

“Yeah,” you croaked, hating the feeling of safety that their arms brought you. It was like a boat coming back to harbor. “I’m good Harrington.”

Steve stepped back, leaving a straight line to a pouting Dustin. You smiled, taking a small step forward as he shot his nose up in the air. “You didn’t just leave the town behind, you know,” Dustin said, “you left us here too.”

“I know,” you admitted, “but you understand why I did it, right?”

At that, he deflated. “Yeah.” You took advantage of the moment and slammed into him. “Oof,” he grunted, arms coming up to your back, steadying the both of you.

You’d babysat Dustin – all of them – since your first week in Hawkins. While you had a major soft spot for Will, Dustin was always one of your favorite people in the entire town. “I missed you kid,” you said quietly, horrified to feel tears building.

“I missed you too,” he said, squeezing you. His forgiveness a balm over a wound he hadn’t inflicted. Your eyes fell onto Eddie’s sleeping figure and you sighed. “Don’t leave and forget us again, okay?”

Laughing, you stepped back, wiping your eyes and shaking your head. “Dustin Henderson, I can say, without a doubt, that you’re unforgettable.”

His eyes brightened and you fell back into the seat you’d vacated. “Alright, give me the long version.”

“Well shit,” you breathed. “Have either of you been able to get ahold of El? Jonathan? Will?”

“No,” Dustin sighed. “We’ve been trying. We think they knew something was happening – or they had to go somewhere. Agent Stinson isn’t really forthcoming with information.”

That was a new name to you – Stinson. You’d briefly met Dr. Owens when he’d come to your, late, rescue at Starcourt. You didn’t like him but your dad had trusted him and clearly it was well placed if they’d managed to clear Eddie’s name.

“Why didn’t you call me?” You asked, a little hurt, “I would’ve come.”

Steve and Dustin glanced at each other. “We were going to but…Eddie told us not to.”

“After we told him about what was happening and we realized that people were dying – he was worried that you could be targeted,” Robin explained, “he said you’d finally made it out of here and we couldn’t be the ones to curse you.”

Of course, that overprotective idiot.

“And he’s really cleared of all the charges?”

Robin nodded, kicking her legs out. “They pinned it on Jason. I feel a little…bad but there were no other options. The official story is that Jason was jealous when he heard Chrissy was buying from Eddie. He killed her and tried to get Eddie too. Half the town thinks Eddie’s heroic for trying to save her but the other half still…you know, it’s still Hawkins.”

“Of course,” you snorted.

“I don’t know why the front nurse called you,” Steve said, scratching his cheek, “our numbers were down and Wayne’s been by. In fact, I think this is the longest he’s been away from Eddie’s side. Powell called him in to try and grab as much as he could from the trailer.”

“I saw the damage on my way here,” you said, “they’re saying it’s an earthquake?”

Dustin’s curls shook as he laughed. “That’s what they felt so, it’s what they sort of clung to. The two gates managed to crack open and burrow through the town but these guys got him in time. Eddie bought everyone enough time to finish it.”

“Is Max okay?” You asked.

“Yeah, she’s actually going home today. She’s on the first floor somewhere in pediatrics. Both her legs are broken but, she’s back to her normal self again.”

The story was overwhelming but you knew from experience that it usually always was. There was nothing normal about any of this. “Have you tried El again?” You asked, anxiety for your sister. You knew Joyce – and Jonathan – would protect her with their lives but, the radio silence was worrying you. She was all you had left.

“We’ll find them, I promise,” Dustin said, his expression growing serious. “Don’t worry.”

“So,” you exhaled, “is it over? For real this time?”

“Yeah,” Robin said, looking both exhausted and relieved all at once. “It looks like it.”

The four of you knocked on wood quickly.

“Alright,” you stood, already feeling like this room was a cage. “Take me to Max, I wanna see Red with my own two eyes.”

“We’ll stay with him,” Robin said, “you two go ahead.”

Dustin nodded, motioning for you to follow him.

The walk down the four flights of stairs was comfortable. “He still loves you, you know,” Dustin said right as you stepped out the stairway, making you stumble.

“Jesus, Dustin,” you hissed, rubbing your elbow.

He smiled sheepishly. “Ever since you left – he’s been…it’s been bad. He was doing a little better but I know him,” he shrugged, “and I’ve known you even longer.”

“Dustin,” you warned.

As usual, he disregarded you. “I love you both. Just, don’t hurt each other any more than you already have, okay?”

Affection for this rapidly growing kid swelled in your chest. “It’s complicated, Dustybuns.”

“It doesn’t have to be.”

Without waiting for your response, he kicked open the door to your left and laughed when Lucas shrieked. “I brought you guys something.”

“If it’s more of your stupid dnd magazines I’m going to rip the pages and shove them down your – Hopper!” Max gaped, eyes lighting up. “Holy shit, what are you doing here?”

“Eddie,” Dustin said.

Without preamble, you felt a pair of arms wrap around your shoulders. “Hey Sinclair,” you said, hugging him bag. “Heard you made the basketball team.”

“Who cares about him,” Max grumbled her eyes bright. Lucas laughed, squeezing your shoulder.

“Hi Maxine,” you said, pulling her gently into your arms. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

“I’m not that easy to kill,” Max shrugged, but you heard what she wasn’t saying. “I’m happy you’re here.”

“I’m sorry you got sucked into all this again, all of you,” you sighed. Lucas reached for Max’s hand, shy expression on both their faces.

“I’m going to go visit Eddie for a minute, you okay?”

“Yeah, weirdo, I’ll be fine.” She nodded towards you. “She’s got the best punch in all Indiana.”

Snorting, you knew she was talking about the time you’d decked Billy. You had been sure he was going to kill Steve, straddling him on the floor of the Byers’ house. He almost broke your hand with his stupid jaw.

“That’s true,” you said, shaking out your hand. “I got her, Sinclair. Don’t worry.”

“So,” Max said once Lucas and Dustin had left, “why are you really here?”

“The hospital called me, said I needed to get down here because Eddie was here,” you said, honestly, “I knew, after I heard about the earthquake, that it meant something had happened.”

“We tried to keep him out of it,” Max sighed, “he’s just as stubborn as you are.”

Max’s red hair glinted in the morning sun, the strands dancing with color as she shifted while she recounted her side of the story. “You saw El?” You blinked, sitting up straighter.

“Yeah,” she said, smiling at your relief. “She helped me hide from Vecna.”

“With her powers?” You blinked, shocked. How the hell had they come back? Where was she?

Max nodded. “She disappeared before I could ask but she had them back. We’ve tried calling but-”

Lucas smacked the door open, eyes wide, and chest rising quickly. “Uh, we were in the middle of a conversation,” Max snarked, teasing.

“Eddie…he’s awake.”

You stand outside the door, where you could hear a familiar voices and laughter filter through. For a moment, a genuine moment, you consider not going in. Steve and Robin wouldn’t fault you for it – they knew you better than anyone besides Jonathan. You could find a hotel and settle for the night. You could get into your car and drive back to your empty apartment. Fingers twitching, you chewed on the corner of your mouth, trying to sort through the chaos inside you.

“I don’t understand why you’re acting like this now,” you said, heart in your throat. You’d been getting better…right? It’d only been a few months. “Is it because of school? Because I’m leaving?”

Eddie groaned, rubbing a hand down his face. “I heard you tell Steve that you didn’t think you could go.”

“What?” You stammered, lowering yourself onto the edge of his bed.

“You said, I can’t leave Eddie behind – I’m thinking of transferring over to Hawkins community college. You can’t do that. Not for me. Your dad would roll in his grave if he knew you were throwing out a full ride to one of the best schools in the state for someone like me.”

Enraged, you stood and waved a hand. “That’s my decision! You can’t just decide what’s best for me!”

“You said it yourself,” Eddie shouted back, “this town is poisonous. It’s cursed and it’ll keep hacking away at you if you don’t get the hell out of here.”

“I can’t believe you.”

Eddie pinched the bridge of his nose and you watched him pace. “There’s nothing left for you here. You’ve been walking around these past three months like a zombie. I know – I know that grief is overwhelming but this town, this fucking place won’t let you go. Every time I see you doing better, it finds a way to knock you back down. I…I can’t be the reason why you sink. I won’t.”

“So, what you’re breaking up with me?”

Pain flashed across his expression and you felt your heart break. “Yes.”

“Are you serious?” You asked, almost a whisper. “Eddie, are you serious right now?”

“It’s for your own good.”

Pride and panic flared through you. “I’m not going to beg you not to leave me. I won’t do it if that’s what you’re waiting for.”

“How could you even – no, Hopper, that’s not what I’m waiting for. I love you.”

You sneered. “Well, it sure doesn’t sound like it.”

“You have to understand, on some level I know you do.”

Gritting your teeth, you looked out Eddie’s window and at your new car. Jonathan had finally finished its last finishing touches and you’d been so excited to come show Eddie.

“Hopper?”

Closing your eyes, you saw your dad in his cruiser. You saw Barb in her nightdress as you and Nancy braided each other’s hair. Joyce with Bob, dressed for Halloween. El, her leg broken, and her chest heaving with sobs as you watched the mall erupt in flames. Will, as he screamed in pain. Billy, with his last act of defiance.

He was right. This town was haunted and that’s why you’d told Joyce it was okay to take El with her to California. You’d wanted her out of here, safe. You knew, in his own way, that’s what Eddie wanted for you.

“Would you come with me?” You asked, hating how small you sounded.

Eddie’s sad smile told you everything you needed to know. “I can’t leave Wayne. I’m not done with school – if I’ll ever be. I’d just be dead weight to you.”

That was bullshit. He’d get a job at a shop in a heartbeat, and you knew that. He’d like your campus, small as it was. He was scared – and being hypocritical.

“Wayne would be fine with it. He’s always known we’d end up together anyway,” you said, narrowing your eyes at him. “You’re just scared. You don’t want to take the risk of leaving the only place you know. Even if it’s for me.”

“That’s not true, don’t put words in my mouth.”

You threw up your hands. “That’s what you’re doing with me!”

“That’s different! I want what’s best for you!”

“And what if that’s you? What if I don’t know how to be happy without you?”

Eddie’s face twisted. “You’ll learn. You’ll move on.”

“Wow,” you said, swiping angrily at the tears on your face. “You’d rather stay here, the place you want me to leave, than come with me. You’d pick Hawkins over me?”

“That’s not what I’m doing,” he said, sounding unsure. “I’m – you’ll understand eventually.”

And that was it. Your best friend, the person you thought you’d share the rest of your life with and the last person you had a tether to, just placed you out onto the street like you weren’t worth anything.

“Okay.”

Eddie reached for you and you snapped your arm out of his reach. Hurt flittered across his eyes but you didn’t care. Not anymore. The numbness that hid in the corners of your mind, waiting for your moments of weakness, slithered out and controlled the rest of you. El, your dad, Eddie, your friends…it didn’t hurt. It couldn’t hurt. You wouldn’t survive it. Not now.

“Hopper…” Eddie’s expression twisted.

“Don’t touch me,” you said, blinking at him. Grabbing your bag and your sweatshirt, you made your way out the trailer.

“Sweetheart, please,” Eddie’s voice sounded panicked, his body close behind you.

Throwing your bag into the passenger’s seat, you rounded towards the other side of the car and froze when his hand caught your door.

“That’s it? You’re not – going to say anything else?”

Why would you? Everyone always left. Why would you think Eddie was any different?

“No,” you said, wanting to hurt him, “what’s left to say? You chose this town over me. It’s officially taken everything I care about.”

“I’m not-”

Tears pricked at the corner of your eyes but the monster taking over you herded the emotions back. What was the point? “Let go of my door.”

“I don’t want us to leave it like this.”

“Eddie,” you snapped, “let go of my door. You wanted me to go? I’m going. Let me go.”

Wordlessly, he pulled his hand away and you slammed your door. Without a backwards glance, no matter how much you wanted to, you drove out of the trailer park and out of this hellmouth.

You closed your eyes and sighed. Once your anger had worn off and the depression had let up on it’s hold on your chest, you realized how shitty you’d been. Eddie had called you for the first three months, like clockwork. Every Friday and Sunday night. You’d ignored him until he stopped calling.

It’d been almost a year and you were only just beginning to crawl out of the hole you’d been thrown into – those first few months, had been rough. Eddie…you shouldn’t have dumped it all on him like that. He’d made mistakes but – so had you.

Stomach flipping, you took a step back, not sure if you were ready to open the can of worms that this would unleash.

The universe, as if hearing you indecision, swung the door open before you could walk away. Dustin blinked, his eyes widening, and the room behind you went silent.

“Um,” you said, clearing your throat, “I was just-”

You stumbled over your words, not able to look at anyone in the eye. The following silence was painful, enough to make you take another step back. As if anticipating your need to run, Steve stood up from the foot of Eddie’s bed.

“Alright, uh, let’s all give them a second – it’ll be awkward enough without all you making it worse,” Steve joked, herding your friends out the door and squeezing your hand as he passed.

With an awkwardness that was beyond painful, you stumbled into the room. Eddie’s eyes felt like they were branding you as they swept down your body.

“You look good,” he said, clearing his throat when it came out roughly, “better than the last time I saw you.”

“Yeah,” you said, sitting in the chair furthest from him. “I – uh, I’ve been seeing a therapist. She’s…basically my life raft right now.”

“That’s good, I’m glad,” Eddie said, and you knew he meant it. You both settled into an uncomfortable silence, your stances defensive.

“I’m sorry about the girl,” you said quietly, not able to stand the quiet, “Chrissy.” You chanced a look at him and realized he had a lot more color to him than he’d had last night.

Eddie’s brows furrowed. “Me too, I just…left her there.”

Instinct had you reaching for his hand to comfort him but at the last minute you snatched yours back to your chest. Eddie huffed; eyes amused. “You didn’t – you didn’t know about any of this. Anyone would’ve run,” you said, lamely.

“Not you,” he said with a certainty that had you reeling. “You would’ve stayed. You always did.”

Until you didn’t.

“I don’t really remember her,” you said quietly, the words you want to ask buried in your ribcage. “I think she’d be proud of you. I hope…everyone who’s been affected by this. Barb, Billy, Bob… I hope they’re proud of what you’ve all done. What I’ve done.”

As always, Eddie heard what you didn’t say. With another sweep of his wide brown eyes, he dug the words out of your chest and laid them out to see. “She wasn’t my girlfriend. Chrissy. She was buying.”

The words, I didn’t ask, were on the tip of your tongue. Old defensive habits rearing their ugly heads. You shrugged, not knowing what to say. “Okay.”

Eddie groaned instantly. “I hate when you do that.”

“Do what?” You sighed, feeling the need to snap.

He waved a weak hand in your direction. “You act like you don’t care. Like nothing affects you.”

The accusation stung, words you’d heard before, but you bit your lip and kept silent. Glancing out the open window, you watched the moon disappear behind a flurry of clouds. He was hurt, you were too, and you knew each other too well to pretend like that wasn’t hanging above your heads.

“I don’t want to do this with you right now,” you said quietly, “you almost died.”

“Well, I’m fine now so you can go. I promise to change my contact information as soon as possible,” he said, eyes skirting away from yours.

You flinched, like he’d stuck you and nodded. Of course, what had you been expecting? He’d asked you to leave and you’d asked him to go with you. Neither of you really got what you wanted. What the hell were you still doing here? He was fine. Everyone was fine. You weren’t needed here.

“Okay,” you said, reminiscent of that afternoon. Eddie’s eyes snapped to yours, like he heard the echo too.

“Wait,” he said, voice desperate. You stopped, at the foot of his bed, and turned to him. “I have to ask.”

Your heart raced.

“Why didn’t you tell me? Four years. We were together for four years and you just kept me in the dark.” You had wondered how long it’d take him to ask you that, if he would ever. “I knew something was wrong but…something this big?”

“My dad – he didn’t want us to tell anyone. They were always going to want El back and she’s, my sister. We couldn’t let them find her. I wanted to protect you. You were the only person I could be normal with. The only one who made me feel like I was normal.”

Eddie nodded, understanding.

“It wasn’t that I didn’t trust you. I trusted you more than anyone in my life – next to my dad. After Starcourt, after my dad…I almost told you. I just – I was thrown into the ocean and didn’t know which way was up. I was an orphan again and alone and El was leaving. I had choices to make. People kept asking me what to do and I didn’t know! I was lost and honestly, having to deal with the grief, with El losing her powers, with her grief, and having to explain it all to you while worrying the KGB were going to somehow know that you knew – it was too much for me at the time.”

“I understand,” he said, expression softening like he could sense your panic at just saying it out loud.

“Is that it?” You asked.

“How…how’s school?” Eddie ignored your question.

Lonely. “Fine,” you said.

“You?”

“Fine.”

Wincing, you cracked your knuckles to have something to do. The corner of Eddie’s mouth twitched, like a ghost of smile.

“What?”

Eddie motioned to your hands. “You do that when you’re uncomfortable.”

“I’m not,” you lied, not wanting to feel unnerved by his up-to-date knowledge of you. You’d changed. You weren’t the same girl who’d left last summer.

“It’s okay. I knew that this would happen – I’m someone you once knew.”

And fuck if that wasn’t one of the hardest pills to swallow.

Not wanting to let the hurt fester, you blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “How’s Wayne?” Eddie shot you a knowing look, and an apologetic smile, but as if summoned – the man in question walked through the open door.

“I heard you’d woken up from Henderson! I don’t know why no one called me. I got here as soon as I could - sweetheart?” You almost crumpled at the sound of care in his voice.

“Hi,” you said, feeling small. You knew Eddie noticed, his eyes widening, watching as you leaned into Wayne’s surprised hug.

“What – what are you doing here?” He asked, smile wide.

You pointed to Eddie. “I, um, heard what happened.”

Wayne walked over to Eddie, as if remembering why he was here, and cupped his face. “Don’t do that to me again, kid.”

“Sorry,” Eddie mumbled, smiling up at him.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” Wayne said, sighing. His eyes turned over to you and he smiled.

“How’s school?”

You wrapped your arms around yourself and tried to keep your eyes on Wayne. “It’s going well. The classes are hard but, it’s interesting.”

“Make any new friends?”

Eddie’s eyes burned into yours. “Yeah,” you said, thinking of your classmates and neighbors. “Yeah, I have.”

Wayne smiled, pleased, sitting onto the chair by Eddie.

“I hope you don’t mind me saying – I knew you two would find your ways back to each other,” Wayne said, sighing like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. “You’ve always been the only one. Since that day in eighth grade that he came home yelling about the Jim’s girl. How nice you’d been and how you liked his black nail polish. I’ve been telling him to get his GED and make his way on up to you.”

“Wayne.”

You smiled, the memory of a thirteen-year-old Eddie with his shaved head and chubby cheeks. “I’m – we’re not,” you coughed, “this isn’t…”

Wayne frowned and sighed. Turning to look at his nephew with a sharp glare, you muffled a laugh at Eddie’s disgruntled expression. “What? It’s not – oh my God Wayne, can we talk about this later?”

“Later when she’s gone back to a different state?” Wayne asked, gruffly.

Eddie closed his eyes and you watched as his face flushed pink.

“Not that I’m not happy to see you, darlin’, but what’re you doing back here then if you’re not…”

“I’m still his emergency contact,” you explained, “they called me and I drove down.” Wayne’s brows rose high on his forehead and you bit your cheek.

Feeling like you were intruding on something, you stood, despite Eddie’s sharp look. “Why don’t I give you two a few minutes? Wayne, would you want some coffee?”

His familiar warm smile kept the dark clouds over you at bay. “Thank you, sweetheart, that’d be great.”

You took your time, grabbing a handful of snacks for any visitors that would come by later in the day. After contemplating a few jello cups, you grabbed Eddie’s favorite and ignored the pang in your chest. Precariously balancing your purchases on the coffee tray, you slowly made your way back to the room. You could hear the nurse on shift puttering around inside so you sat in the chair outside the room, waiting.

“You must be excited to see your fiancé,” the nurse’s bright voice floated out into the hallway. “She was so worried, completely frazzled the poor thing. I could hear her crying when I made my rounds.”

The silence was deafening. Closing your eyes, mortification drowned you. Maybe you could just leave the food here and be back on your campus by morning.

“Ah, yes,” Eddie’s voice sounded less convincing than Dustin trying to lie. “She…she’s studying at Milwaukee School of Engineering right now. I think it must’ve been a bit too much of a surprise for her.”

“She looked like she drove through the night, poor girl,” the nurse said, the sound of her changing his IV bag echoed in the room. “You two are a lucky pair.”

“Yeah?” Eddie asked.

You opened an eye and couldn’t help but lean forward, hanging onto her words. “I’ve never seen someone look more in love than that girl. I hope you don’t mind me giving my well wishes for your wedding. I know anyone who looks at you the way she does, can make it through all this mess.”

Someone coughed and you winced. Fuck this, you were going to drop off everything – say your goodbyes and leave. He clearly didn’t want you here anymore than you wanted to be back here. You closed your eyes, pretending to be asleep as the nurse walked out. After a few moments, you cracked an eye open and frowned.

“Son,” Wayne sighed.

“Don’t.”

“Enough,” Wayne’s voice was stern – something you’d never heard before. “Enough of this Edward.”

You blinked, glancing at the door left ajar. Edward? The kid in you had you cringing in sympathy. No one ever called Eddie by his full name.

“I watched you wither away when she left. I heard you crying, wasting away into someone that reminded me of your father.”

“She’s nothing like my mother,” Eddie said, surprising you with his defense. “She needed to get out of this fucking town and I wasn’t going to be what kept her back. I told her to go – she didn’t leave me behind.”

“Then why are you acting like it?”

“I-I, Wayne – I don’t-”

“Why did you put her down as your emergency contact?”

The silence was poignant. Your heart jumped into your throat.

“I forgot to change it, that’s all.”

Wayne scoffed. “You don’t forget something like that, Eddie. Maybe, just maybe, the same way she dropped everything in the middle of the night to drive back to this sorry town for you – you kept her down on the off chance she’d come when you called.” A loud groan echoed. “Eddie, for God’s sake her father had just died. She had no family. And you ran her out of town. I know you love her son, but you can’t keep this up. It’s not healthy.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about old man.”

“Kid. She answered your call, so now the ball is in your court. You gotta try. You can’t make decisions for her. Trust me. I don’t want you making my mistakes and ending up all alone and angry at the world. I let Rebecca walk out the door and I’ve missed her every day since. Is that what you want? To regret losing the best thing that’s ever happened to you?”

Swallowing around the lump in your throat, you blinked back your tears.

“Wayne…”

“If she’s offering you a hand to help you stand, you can’t leave her waiting. Not anymore,” he said, voice firm. “If you don’t want to take the hand then fine. Just stop being surprised when people leave after you’ve told them to.”

“Where are you going?” Eddie’s voice sounded panicked.

“I’m going home to get some sleep. You’re going to talk to her, Eddie. She’s always seen the best in you, it’s time you do the same. I’ll see you in the morning son.”

His footsteps echoed in your ears and you didn’t move when the door was pulled open. Not bothering to pretend to be asleep, you tried to hide the tears at the corner of your eyes.

“Oh sweetheart,” he sighed, squatting down to your level. “I know, I know.”

Falling into his arms, you closed your eyes and let the smell of cigarettes and aftershave wash over you. It wasn’t the pair of arms you’d kill to be able to have around you one last time, but Wayne had never been anything but welcoming to you.

“Why does it hurt so bad?” You asked, voice quiet and watery. The lack of sleep, the bone deep exhaustion and fear collapsed within you like an overflowing glass. Your defenses crumbled and you buried your face into the last bit of comfort you knew. “Why does everyone I love get ripped from me? Is it me?”

“No, it’s not. You listen to me,” Wayne said, pulling away. “There is not a thing wrong with you. I know you miss your father, sweetheart, grief is a heavy thing. You can’t carry it alone.”

Wayne caught your gaze as it landed on the closed door. “My nephew has never been the first out of the gate but, I know that boy has been in love with you since that first day.”

“What if it’s not enough?” You asked, the question seared into your skin since your life began.

Love hadn’t kept your biological parents with you. Love hadn’t kept Sara alive. Love hadn’t kept your mother from leaving you both. Love hadn’t kept your father alive. Love hadn’t been enough to keep you and Eddie from crumbling. Love hadn’t done anything for you. What had it been in your life besides a source of pain?

“It’s not enough sometimes but, isn’t it worth fighting for?” His stubble scratched your forehead as he kissed your temple. “I’m at a hotel downtown if you need me, okay? Don’t leave without saying goodbye this time.”

Guilt shot through you but you knew he hadn’t meant it unkindly.

“Thank you,” you said, squeezing his hand once more before letting him disappear through the elevator doors.

Feeling too warm, you pulled your school sweatshirt off, the cool air feeling a little calming on your clammy skin. Taking a few deep breaths, you glanced down at the food on the chair and nodded to yourself. It was late, you needed to sleep, and you knew that Steve was likely only barely holding Dustin back from coming to find you.

“Hey,” Eddie said, looking startled when you walked in. His eyes hovered around your neck and a blank expression took over his face.

“Um, Wayne just left and didn’t take his coffee so – I’m going to leave all this here, okay?”

Eddie blinked. “Uh, yeah, yes.”

“Since, you’re – you know, okay – I’m going to…get going,” you said quietly.

Shooting up, Eddie groaned when it all but tugged out the IV from his arm.

“Eddie!” You jumped, startled. Reaching his left arm in seconds, you checked on the tape – your fingers dancing over the bandage. “I don’t think you pulled it out, you just moved it a little.”

Looking up from his arm, you realized you’d gotten a lot closer than you’d meant to. Dropping his arm suddenly, he winced at his wrist collided with the bed barrier.

“Sorry,” you muttered, grabbing your bag and hauling it over your shoulders. You’d only made it across the room when his voice stopped you.

“Are you coming back?”

Isn’t it worth fighting for?

“I don’t know,” you said honestly, dropping your eyes to the linoleum floor. “We’re…I don’t want to fight with you. I’m glad you’re okay, genuinely. I think, maybe, we both just need to process.”

When he didn’t answer, you brought your eyes back up to his but he wasn’t looking at you. He was staring at your neck again. Before you could ask him if you had something on you, his expression shifted into something determined.

“We’ve had almost a year to process,” Eddie said, eyes darting up to yours. They pinned you to the spot, your body unwilling to move. “I’m – I’m sorry.”

Pressure built behind your eyes and you pressed a palm to them. “Eddie,” you pleaded.

“No,” he said firmly, “I ran you off last time. I told myself I didn’t want to hold you back. You deserve better than this shithole and some boyfriend that doesn’t know what he’s doing with his life.”

“I never thought you-”

“I know,” he said, face softening into something familiar and your heart thudded painfully. “I know you didn’t.”

After a beat of uncomfortable silence, you shifted your weight and Eddie sighed.

“Look at me.”

You let your eyes trail up his body until you met his own.

He nodded, like he’d gotten an answer to a question he hadn’t asked. “I’m sorry I was stupid enough to let you go.”

“I-”

“Let me say it, please?”

Nodding, he continued. “I’m sorry for projecting onto you when you were already going through the worst time of your life. I’m sorry for deciding for us that you needed a new start away from here, one without me in it. I’m sorry for breaking what we had.”

After months of wanting to hear those words, you didn’t know what to do now that they’d been said. “I…thank you. For saying that. I’m sorry too. I was lost – I’m still lost in my grief. It’s hard, to walk around knowing I’ll never see him again, you know? El understands but she’s so far away and I didn’t want to be another weight that dragged you down.”

“You could never,” he said, eyes flashing. “Can you come here?”

Walking over to his side, he reached for your hands and brought them up to his lips. “Sweetheart, I promised to love you forever.”

“Eddie-”

“And I meant it. It hurt me to see you stumbling through the dark, to know you’d lost something that couldn’t be replaced. Something I couldn’t help heal. I thought that school would help in ways I couldn’t. Being away from this hellhole. A new, fresh chapter. That’s all – that’s what Chief wanted for you. To follow your dreams and that school had been on your radar since we were freshman.”

“It did, it has,” you said, not wanting him to think he was wrong. “It’s cathartic to be in a place where no one knows you. Where people don’t stare at you sadly because you’re the dead chief’s daughter.”

“I’m glad,” he said, brushing his lips against your knuckles again, the gesture stirring awake something you’d long ago put to bed. The silence shifted to something comfortable and you were happy you could get there, at long last. “You’re wearing my necklace.”

Your free hand flew to your neck and you closed your eyes. “I – it was the middle of the night and I just threw on a sweater and some shoes,” you said, trying to bend the truth into an explanation that didn’t paint you in a desperate light.

“I remember once you said you were like a graveyard,” Eddie said, fingers trailing up towards the bracelet on your wrist. You knew exactly what he was talking about.

The rain outside pounded against Eddie’s window, the day looking just as miserable as you felt inside. It was mid-August and the school was expecting your response on whether or not you’d be deferring due to bereavement for a semester. You hated that word. Bereavement. It was so small compared to how big a loss you’d suffered.

“Good morning sleepyhead,” Eddie said, arm curling around your waist, pulling you into his chest.

Closing your eyes, you savored the moment. The only time you felt anything was when he was wrapped around you like a shield that could keep the world out. The only few minutes where you felt normal again, not a twice again orphan.

“Good morning,” you whispered. Sometimes you wondered that if you were quiet enough – maybe the universe would stop the day from coming. The moon would stay and the dark would let you keep hiding in its embrace.

“How did you sleep?” He asked and you knew what he really meant. Was it a bad day or good day? Would you be able to get up and put on the mask of a functioning person or did you need to hide away in his room?

Tired of disappointing him, of seeing him drown in the waves of your endless grief. “Okay.”

“Yeah?”

You nodded. A small sunbeam shot through the dark clouds and landed on your arm. Looking down, you smiled when you saw your illuminated bracelet.

“Do you know what I’ve been thinking about?”

“Hmm?”

The watch that you wore religiously sat at Eddie’s desk, where’d you last left it, winking at you. “I’m like a graveyard.”

At that, he sat up, hair wild and eyes clinging onto sleep still. “What?”

You motioned to your bracelet. Sara had made it for you when she was in the hospital. She promised she’d pick only the best beads, an identical match for the one she’d worn on her wrist. The one that now laid six feet beneath the dirt, buried with her. You’d never taken it off since that day.

“Sara made me this bracelet, that watch is…was my dad’s,” you said, ignoring how your voice cracked. You twisted the simple silver band on your index finger. “This was my mother’s wedding ring. She left if behind and I took it before he could throw it out.”

You sniffed, tears already falling despite your best efforts. “Eddie, I’m a graveyard of the people who didn’t stay. The one’s who left me behind.”

“Sweetheart,” Eddie sighed, pulling you into his arms. Your tears fell silently, quickly dampening Eddie’s collar.

“I’m sorry,” you said. Sorry for being this way. Sorry for always crying. Sorry for not being able to be who I was before. I’m sorry. Glancing up at him, you knew he’d heard what you hadn’t said. His hands came up to cradle your face, thumbs brushing gently at the last few tears.

“You never have to be sorry, sweetheart. My love for you isn’t conditional,” he whispered. He rocked you for a moment, both of you in varying states of undress, blankets tangled between you.

“How about this? We try and make some breakfast and I’ll let you pick whatever movie you want. Steve’ll bring it over and we can watch them until we can’t stay awake any longer.”

“Don’t you have rehearsal?” You asked, trying to remember what day it was.

“I’m all yours, baby,” he said, smiling. “Hey, I have an idea.”

“What?”

With a quick tug, Eddie’s necklace tumbled into his palm. He leaned over your shoulder and clipped it around your neck. Your hand went up to the guitar pick dangling at the base of your throat. “Eddie, isn’t this the-”

“It doesn’t matter,” he said, eyes on the necklace around your neck. “It’s yours.”

“Are you sure?” You asked, confused at the sudden gesture.

He smiled, a beaming, genuine thing and you couldn’t help but reciprocate. “I’ve never been more sure of anything. That belongs to you.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s my reminder to keep going when life gets too much. It’s something alive. Things that are alive don’t go into a graveyard. So, you can’t be one.”

You shrugged, fingers playing with the familiar pick. “Did you want it back?”

“No, it’s yours,” he said, eyes on the necklace, “I’m just sorry I became something else to add to your graveyard.”

You smiled sadly, realizing that Eddie was right. It was a reminder – of what had been. Just like the others.

“I still love you,” he said, exhaling and tightening his hold on your hand. “I think I really will love you forever.”

Somehow, you both knew and were surprised at once. You were suddenly struck by a familiar wave of exhaustion and grief. It threatened to pull you under again, it sank its fingers into your legs and pulled. “I love you too, Eddie Munson,” you said quickly, afraid you’d disappear any moment. Tears stung your eyes and you closed them, not wanting them to fall.

“Why does that sound like goodbye?” He asked.

“Because it might be,” you finally admitted, to him and to yourself. Here, in this hospital room, at midnight, alone with your first love.

“Does it have to be?” His expression turned into one of desperation and it hurt you more than anything else.

Because he hurt you when he pushed you away, no matter what the reason was. Because he was someone you loved too deeply, you wouldn’t recover if he was taken from you too. Because you had both said things that cut the other. Because sometimes the history between you two made it more complicated than it had to be.

“Because sometimes love isn’t enough.”

Eddie flinched, like you’d punched him.

“Ms. Hopper?” A voice called out. You quickly wiped the tears from your face and inhaled deeply.

“Yes?”

A new nurse popped her head in. She hesitated, clearly reading the mood, and pointed to the hallway. “Did you want me to get you a fold out bed? You can stay with your fiancé if you’re staying the night.”

Smiling through the sound of your heart shattering, you shook your head. “I’ve got a few things I need to do, but thank you. I’ll be leaving shortly.”

“Of course,” she said, scuttering away.

The silence left behind made you want to bolt for your car and not look back.

“Are you going back to Wisconsin?”

You shook your head. “It’s spring break and Buckley threatened to smother me in my sleep if I didn’t spend a day with her. I’m pretty sure Dustin and Harrington will be on me if I leave too soon also.”

“Where are you staying?”

“Does it matter?”

He sighed. “Are you coming back?” He asked again.

“I don’t know,” you said honestly, your hands itching for his.

When he didn’t respond for a few beats, you took it as your cue to leave. Gathering up your sweater and now cold coffee, you padded towards the door – heart breaking once again.

“It’s enough.”

You froze. “What?” Turning around, you glanced at him, at your Eddie. He looked pale, bruises mottling every inch of him, and purple bags hung under his eyes. He looked like someone who’d been through hell and came out the other end.

“Our love – it’s enough,” he said, matter-of-fact. “I let you go last summer because I thought it was in your best interest but we tried that and it didn’t work. It’s not working.”

Watching his chest rise and fall, you knew he was serious. His hands fisted the thin hospital blanket over his lap, tightly enough that his knuckles whitened.

“Do you love me? Are you still in love with me?”

You closed your eyes, the ache in your chest growing. “Don’t make me say it again,” you said.

Eddie frowned. “Do. You. Love. Me.”

“Yes.” Opening your eyes, you nodded at him, feeling like your chest had been cracked open. “Yes, Eddie. More than anyone else in the world.”

At that, his face smoothed over and he nodded, almost to himself, and let go of the blanket.

“That’s it?” You said, incredulous when he didn’t continue.

He shrugged, a familiar lightness settling into him. “Yeah. You’re it for me, Hopper.”

Flustered by his candor, you wrung your hands. “I – I don’t know what to say. What does that mean?” You hated the small ember that ignited in your chest and the fact that your battered heart wanted to jump back into his hands.

“You don’t need to say anything,” he said, smiling up at you, “I wasn’t sure before – I almost drove up to your campus like a million times this past year. I didn’t know if you’d want me again. Now that I know? There’s nothing that’ll stop me. Not Vecna, not demobats, not even this cast.”

The urge to grin at his declaration, at the warmth that it spread through you, was impossible. “I don’t…Eddie, I don’t know.”

“That’s okay,” he said, the smug smile on his face nudging the ember into a flame. Teasing…he was teasing you. “It took you longer the first time round too. I can wait. I know you better than anyone else. I’m Eddie the Brave now and he needs his rogue elf back.”

There was no fighting the smile that broke out on your face. Eddie sighed at the sight of it, like he’d been waiting on it for a while now – and who knew, maybe he had. You looked at your scuffed converse and chewed on your bottom lip.

“What?” He asked. “You can tell me anything.”

Stepping up to the bed, you cradled his cheek and smiled again when you saw his startled eyes. “You have always been courageous. I’ve never hated this town for anything more than how it convinced you that you were anything but. You deserve the world, Eddie the Brave. Even if that’s not me.”

Eddie’s eyes looked suspiciously misty, and you knew it was your time to go.

“If that was your way of discouraging me, you’ve made a mistake,” Eddie cried out.

You couldn’t help the laugh that fell from your lips. Eddie blinked, dazed and smile wide enough to split his face in two.

“Are you coming back?” He asked, his voice unsteady and your hand on the doorknob. Glancing over your shoulder, you looked at your first love – your only love. Your heart waved at you from his palms, ecstatic to be back where it belonged, and beamed at you like the traitor it was.

Somethings were worth fighting for. “Yeah, I’ll be back,” you said, ducking out into the hallway before he could say anything else. Leaning against the cool tiles for a breather, you shook your limbs out.

Take a deep breath, count to ten, and let go.

A/N: I have an idea for a part two, but idk, what do you guys think?

A/N#2: okay I wasn't expecting this many people to like this emo fic :') but lmk if you want to be tagged for part 2!

#eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x you #eddie munson

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