#which is better than i expected because i was fully prepared for her to just. not give a fuck because i have trouble communicating with her
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yesterday was. a lot
#was sick on saturday right. slept from 4pm to 10am the next day#had a convo with my sister that turned south#and because of the weather being awful my SAD combined with that and sente into a depressive episode#had a breakdown over my relationship with my family and their (not. great acceptance/treatment of my autism)#cried for hours until my mum and dad sat down to have a talk#i vented stuff i have wanted to say for like. 2 years now. both understood and talked to my siblings about it#brothet completely understood#think my sister kinda understands#which is better than i expected because i was fully prepared for her to just. not give a fuck because i have trouble communicating with her#and now i feel kind of better?#i did. purge a fuckton of motorsport stuff from my blog because it was related to the conversation we had#but was one of many many many things that compiled into a very uncomfortable atmosphere for me in house#my mum is gonna try harder not to use the r slur which is a relief. my sister has agreed not to make fun of me when i do hear it#and become upset about it. they understand why i am upset about specific people they support and talk about in front of me#and i made sure to let them know i understand that they have diff opinions on people who have said hurtful things about disabled people#because they none of them will ever come from a place where those words hurt them#but still let them know how that affects my.... i dont wanna say trust? like my comfort in being autistic vs masking with them#which ive often been forced into doing and am still unlearning#most importantly theyve now accepted that i am autistic#that my diagnosis was not officially completed/given because the doctor advised against it. because it makes things way harder#really im just happy that i wont get comments from my sister about not actually being what i claim i am/have because they.#really upset me esp when these things that i am (autistic+adhd) and have (ocd/anxiety/depression) are linked but have been confirmed#multiple times by multiple doctors#idk i just hope things get easier from here. i can tell my family werent aware of how much this stuff was affecting me so im glad we talked#because keeping that inside was. exhausting
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WHERE NOBODY KNOWS YOUR NAME
For: @sharpbutsoft
Relationships: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson
Rating: Teen
Wordcount: 14.9k
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, mention of alcohol and financial exploitation of child stars
Tags: Famous Steve Harrington, Bartender Eddie Munson, Alternate Universe - No Upside Down (Stranger Things), Fluff, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Happy Ending, Eddie Munson Has a Crush on Steve Harrington, Steve Harrington Has a Crush on Eddie Munson, Snapshots
Summary: A drop dead gorgeous man walks into The Hideout one night while Eddie's bartending, and Eddie's absolutely determined to flirt with him. What follows is snapshots of the two of them growing closer and closer, all while Eddie's absolutely oblivious to the fact that Steve's secretly one half of the famous pop duo Scoops Troop.
This fic is a part of the @steddieholidayexchange
-----
The prettiest man that Eddie has ever seen walks through the door of the Hideout, and Eddie damn near drops the glass he was rinsing out. It's not like their town's small enough that Eddie could actually recognize everyone in it, and the Hideout gets enough business that Eddie doesn't know everyone who comes in, but still, he was not expecting to get hit in the face with that kind of handsome on his shift tonight.
Sure, the nearby resort is a particular favorite among the wealthy elite - Eddie even heard there was one douchebag pop singer who booked the entire place for two weeks in the spring, apparently just so he wouldn't have to associate with any other guests - but they usually stay on the resort. It's rare for any of them to venture out into the town itself.
Pretty boy is wearing a dark blue polo with Hawkins Hope in Action stitched in yellow across his shirt pocket, which Eddie definitely does not notice purely because he's admiring the way it stretches across his chest. He takes an empty seat at the bar, pushing one hand through his hair as he scans the chalkboard specials they've got on display.
"You think it's as soft as it looks?" Chrissy asks, nudging him with her hip as she joins him in absolutely not just staring at the guy from the backroom.
He huffs out a little laugh. "I think you've got a better chance at me than figuring that out, Chris."
Still, he's fully prepared to head out there and try on at least a little bit of charm, until Jeff comes up next to them.
"I think Chrissy should head out there for a while," he says.
Eddie turns to fix him with a betrayed look. "What? Come on, man, I said Chrissy had a better chance, not that I had no chance."
Jeff nods towards the guy. "Look at him, he's all on edge."
And it's true - the guy's perched on the bar stool like he expects to have to bolt at any minute, and he's started to hunch in on himself like he's trying to take up as little space as possible.
It's kind of sad, actually, which unfortunately doesn't make him any less cute.
"So?" Eddie asks.
"So you know I love you, man, but you can be kind of a lot," Jeff says apologetically.
Eddie gasps, whirling to face Chrissy. "Can you believe this?"
Her nose is a little crinkled, lips turned down the way she does when there's a hard truth she doesn't want to tell him. "You're not always the most soothing presence," she admits.
He lurches back dramatically, hand over his heart. "Complete and utter betrayal, from my own best friends no less."
Jeff pats him on the shoulder. "You'll get over it."
"You can talk to him next time," Chrissy offers.
Which, considering pretty boy is probably staying at the resort and not going to come back, is small consolation.
But, well. He's probably staying at the resort and not coming back, so Eddie guesses he really isn't losing out on much by not getting to talk to him.
At least he can enjoy the eye candy.
He keeps an eye on them at first, only partially because of said eye candy - Chrissy can handle herself, but if the guy is going to be the typical resort douche, Eddie won't hesitate to come back her up. Pretty boy starts to relax a little the longer he's there, though, and Chrissy's doing the genuine smile she does when she has a good customer, so he doesn't worry about it.
By the time the guy leaves, Eddie's heard the sound of them laughing a few times.
"His laugh is just as pretty as the rest of him," Eddie sighs to Chrissy as they watch him leave.
"His name is Steve," Chrissy replies. "He works for that charity that's booked the resort this weekend for a fundraising event."
"That explains what he was doing here," Eddie jokes. "I knew we wouldn't see a resort guest slumming it at the Hideout."
Chrissy rolls her eyes at him, but she doesn't disagree. "They work with kids in the foster care system," she says mildly. "They put on camps and events and things for the kids to come to, do fundraising to get money to support them. He spends most of his time with the kids.”
Eddie groans. “No, come on, that's not fair,” he whines. “Handsome and a pretty laugh and he works for a charity and it's for foster kids and he's likes spending time with them? He's gotta have some flaws. Maybe he's actually terrible with kids, maybe they all hate him.”
Chrissy giggles. “Maybe he leaves his wet towels all over the floor.”
Eddie nods. “Maybe he sings off key in the shower and it's awful and he won't stop.”
Chrissy gives him a little shove. “Well, Steve says they've booked the resort for a few camps and events throughout the rest of the year, so you'll have plenty of time to find out.”
“If he comes back,” Eddie points out.
“Oh, I have a feeling he'll come back,” she replies.
—
Steve comes back.
It's just him behind the bar tonight, with Gareth and Grant back in the kitchen, so Eddie spends a moment quietly collecting himself before he heads over.
Eddie shoots him a smile. "Hi."
"Hey," Steve returns, smiling at him in return - though it seems practiced, nothing like the soft, warm smile Eddie'd seen him give Chrissy when he left the other night.
Ouch.
"Chrissy's not working tonight," Eddie says, trying not to let his disappointment show.
Steve's face scrunches in confusion, a little furrow between his brow that Eddie has the immediate urge to reach out to try to smooth with his thumb.
What is wrong with him? He's usually way better at not letting customers get under his skin.
"Thanks for telling me?" Steve says, the end of the sentence raised up in a question like he's not quite sure he's giving the correct response.
"Just thought I'd let you know, in case you came back in hoping to see her again," Eddie says.
Steve's expression smooths out. "Oh. Nah, I just really liked the… atmosphere…"
He trails off, clearly aware of how what he's saying sounds, but Eddie makes a point of scanning around the bar anyway - it isn't empty, but it's not exactly crowded, either, occupied mostly by small groups who stick to themselves or solo patrons who are more interested in their drinks than engaging in conversation with other customers.
No one's paying the slightest bit of attention to them.
He cocks an eyebrow as he looks back at Steve, and now the smile he gets is a little less practiced, a little more genuinely pleased - maybe even a little teasing.
"Exactly," Steve agrees. "What's not to like about a place where nobody knows your name?
Eddie barks out a little laugh. "Not nobody," he returns. "It's Steve, right? I'm Eddie. What can I get you?"
He calls Steve's order of onion rings back to Gareth, then grabs a glass to get his beer.
"So, Chrissy said you work with the charity that rented out the resort?" he asks. "What do you do for them?"
Steve lights up a little at the question, which, unfortunately, makes him even prettier.
"I'm the activities director," Steve replies.
Eddie raises his eyebrows as he sets Steve's beer in front of him, inviting him to continue.
“I plan all the stuff for the kids to do at camp,” Steve clarifies.
His eyebrows go even higher. “That sounds exhausting.”
Steve huffs out a little laugh. “Sometimes,” he admits. “But I don't, like, personally do all of them. Some of the other staff will take lead on things that interest them - like Nancy does journalism and writing workshops, and Lucas picked up basketball, Jon does photography, and Robin's doing film watching and analysis. We actually do a lot of partnerships, too, get people to come in and do guest spots leading activities for like a week.”
Right, Eddie's pretty sure he heard that Hawkins Hope was a celebrity sponsored charity. Makes sense why they're able to afford using the resort for things.
“So what do you take lead on, then?” Eddie asks, mentally hi-fiving himself for finding an effortless way to ask Steve about his interests.
He's pretty sure it doesn't go unnoticed, because Steve blinks at him for a moment before he gives him just a little bit of a smirk.
It's a good look on him, though, so Eddie doesn't mind one bit.
“Swimming,” Steve replies. “Mostly lifeguarding, if we're somewhere on the water, and I do lessons. Baseball in the summer. Ice skating in the winter. Music, sometimes. Cooking. I'll pretty much fill in whenever I need to.”
Eddie's not surprised that the majority of those were sports, but it does mean he flounders a little bit in the next step of his plan - find a common interest and get his flirt on. He's a decent enough cook, but it's not exactly something he does for fun. Which means he's got one option left, and he latches onto it eagerly.
“What kind of music?” he asks.
Steve watches him for a moment, like he's waiting for the punchline. Or waiting to be judged, maybe - maybe the guy only likes Top 40s and is used to being looked down on from guys wearing Dio t-shirts.
And all right, Eddie might judge him a little - but only teasingly, and only if he knew him better. So he just waits, hoping he looks as genuine as he means to.
“I'm not picky,” Steve says finally. “I can find the merit in just about anything. It's not about the genre to me - it's about how the song makes you feel, if you can connect with the lyrics or if the music stirs some kind of emotion in you that you didn't even know was there.”
Oh.
“I get that,” Eddie says.
“Yeah?” Steve asks.
“Yeah,” Eddie agrees. “Like - it's not what I usually listen to, and it's not what people expect, but my mom loved Bluegrass and country. I hear it now and it makes me think of her. I still end up singing Hazel Dickens or Loretta Lynn when I clean the kitchen, makes me feel like she's there with me.”
And there's that soft, warm smile that Eddie'd briefly seen him give Chrissy - only now it's even worse because it's directed at him, and it keeps lingering.
“Yeah,” Steve says again, but this time it sounds like you really do get it.
“So, it, uh, sounds like you like what you do,” Eddie says.
“I love what I do,” Steve agrees. “What about you?”
Eddie shrugs. “Can't complain. I get a lot of freedom here, actually. I'm the one that comes up with most of the drinks on our specials list.”
That's usually the most he goes into it, but Steve's still looking at him, so much less closed off than he was when he first came in, and he leans in like he's interested.
So when Steve asks him to tell him more about it, Eddie does. How it's not what he thought he'd be doing after high school, but then, he hadn't really given a lot of thought to much of anything after high school while he was still there, too busy just trying to graduate. How he likes the people he works with and the Hideout itself, how much fun it is coming up with his own drinks, how he's gotten to the point where he can figure out the best drink for someone before they even know what it is themselves.
And all right, he'd maybe been bragging a little, maybe said that with just a little bit of a cocky smirk to see the reaction he gets, but he's still a little bit surprised when Steve picks up on it and gives it back.
“Yeah?” Steve asks. “Do me, then.”
Eddie smiles at him, pleased. “What's the first cocktail you order when you go somewhere new?”
“House special,” Steve replies immediately, shooting him a little smirk.
Eddie gives him a look.
“It's true!” Steve insists. “I can get an old fashioned or a margarita anywhere, but the house special is usually something unique.”
Eddie considers that. “What's your go to drink if you're making yourself something at home?”
“Lemon drop,” Steve says. “They're my best friend's favorite, I learned how to make them for her. It's the only drink I can pull off that isn't just popping a can of beer or pouring a glass of wine.”
Eddie hums. He already knows Steve's taste in beers, so - “Red or white wine?”
“White in the summer, red in the winter,” Steve replies.
“Whiskey or tequila?”
“Whiskey.”
“Apple cider or hot chocolate?”
“Apple cider.”
Eddie manages to fire off questions like that for a while, and Steve even plays along when he asks him something that clearly has little to do with his drink preferences - though Eddie is absolutely ready to spin a tale about how it's vital to know if someone is a summer or a winter person for flavor choices, and being a romance or a horror fan will tell him how adventurous they are if Steve questions it.
Steve doesn't call him on it, though he does raise one eyebrow and give him a little smirk at each one, which leads to Eddie dropping into his explanation, anyway.
He wants someone to appreciate his brilliance.
It makes Steve laugh, warm and a little surprised, like he hadn't been expecting it. “Does that excuse work?”
“I don't know,” Eddie admits. “I haven't tried it on anyone else. What do you think?”
Steve hums, eying Eddie up and down in a way that, ridiculously, makes Eddie want to hide behind his hair.
“Yeah,” Steve says. “I could see it working. Depends on how good your drink ends up being.”
That gets Eddie back on more confident ground, and he points dramatically at him. “Prepare to be wowed.”
Steve's an autumn person who likes apple cider, whiskey, and action films, so Eddie makes him a spin on a whiskey highball with ginger ale, apple juice, and cinnamon simple syrup.
Steve takes one sip and immediately looks delighted. It's far from the first time that Eddie's gotten that reaction, but coming from Steve, well.
Eddie doesn't want to say that it makes his whole week, but it kind of makes his whole week.
“This is amazing,” Steve says. “You do this all the time?”
“Eh, just when I feel like showing off,” Eddie finds himself saying, which is true but is definitely not what he wanted to admit to.
Steve's finally looking reasonably relaxed, though, so he can't bring himself to regret it.
“I hope you know you've set yourself up for having to do this every time I come in,” Steve tells him.
Eddie grins. “I'm holding you to that. Better not see you getting drinks from one of the other bartenders here,” he teases.
He's joking - really, he is - but when Steve laughs and agrees, well.
Okay, maybe he kind of means it.
—
It's Eddie's day off, but he's at the Hideout anyway.
He'd feel more pathetic about that if it weren't for the fact that it's Jeff and Gareth's night off, too, and they're also at the Hideout.
It's a slower night, so they're just sitting at the bar drinking beer and heckling Grant while the regulars ignore them and their antics. Or, well, he and Gareth are heckling Grant - Jeff is shifting back and forth between taking their side and taking Grant's, claiming neutrality with a gleam in his eyes that says he knows exactly what he's doing.
Even though he's not working, Eddie still looks up on instinct when the door opens - and then grins when he recognizes Steve.
He flings himself around the other side of the bar, ignoring Jeff and Gareth's surprised exclamations, and very heroically manages to not immediately wave Steve over. He plans to wait until Steve's come to sit at the far corner of the bar, then slide on up to him, but - Steve sees him and immediately makes a beeline to grab a seat in front of him.
Oh.
“Hey, Eddie,” Steve greets with a smile.
“Hey, Steve, what can I get you?” Eddie asks.
“I don't know.” Steve raises an eyebrow at him, expression almost playful. “You're the expert, right? What can you get me?”
“What is happening right now?” Gareth asks, immediately squashing the little thrill Eddie'd gotten at Steve's words.
“What's happening right now is that I'm trying to serve an actual paying customer, so why don't you two go find a table to sit at and shoo,” Eddie grumbles at him.
“Come on, Gar, let's quit bothering Eddie,” Jeff says, pushing away from the bar and tugging Gareth with him.
Fuck, Jeff is Eddie's favorite forever, he's going to owe him -
“Eddie's apparently decided to throw in a little free labor for us tonight,” Jeff calls back as they saunter off towards an open table.
Never mind, Eddie hates him.
Steve's brow furrows, and he looks up at Eddie expectantly.
“It's my night off,” Eddie admits.
“Eddie!” Steve chides.
“It's just one drink,” Eddie protests.
Steve rolls his eyes at him. “Uh-huh. What if I wanted more than one drink, were you going to hang out here all night?”
“Maybe,” Eddie grumbles.
Steve laughs at him, but it's soft and - well. It might just be Eddie's wishful thinking, but it sounds almost fond. “Go hang out with your friends. You can get me next time.”
Eddie sulks for a moment - like they're friends, like Steve is scolding him over a stupid decision and Eddie's whining at him about how it totally makes sense, really.
Wait.
“Come sit at the table with us,” Eddie says. “I can give you recommendations on what to order.”
Steve hesitates. “Your friends won't mind?”
“Nah. They love heckling me, so I'm sure they'll get a kick out of it. Come on, it'll be fun.”
Despite his words, Eddie's actually a little nervous that Steve won't get along with Jeff and Gareth, or that the tense, rigid way Steve had held himself when he first came to the bar will come back, but by the time Steve's two drinks in, he's folded almost seamlessly in with the three of them.
Jeff and Steve like the same baseball team, apparently, and he gets Gareth talking about ice skating in a way that makes him light up - a way that might make Eddie a little jealous, if Steve didn't keep catching Eddie's eyes and smiling at him.
Steve even gets a couple of their Lord of the Rings jokes, though he admits he hasn't read the books himself, just picked up on some things from the kids he used to babysit. The way he talks about this Dustin kid makes him sound more like a little brother than anything else, and it's really sweet.
Shit, he's probably not terrible with the kids. Maybe Eddie better hold out hope for the wet towels or the terrible shower singing.
It's probably pretty damn late when Eddie hears the door open, and glances over. The man walking in is unfamiliar, but he's looking around the bar with a sense of purpose that makes Eddie grimace.
“We're all up to date on our liquor license and everything, right?” Eddie asks in a low voice.
Jeff frowns at him. “Of course. Why?”
“Check your ten o'clock,” Eddie says, purposefully adding in a little flair like he's a spy operative keeping an eye out for the enemy. “He's just screaming off duty cop.”
Both Jeff and Gareth crane their heads to look, leaving Eddie to sigh internally, but Steve plays along, tipping his head in towards Eddie like they're sharing a moment.
Steve's face is so close to his that he can feel the soft puff of air on his cheek when he breathes out, can see the whites of his eyes as his gaze flicks towards the door. Then he grins, and Eddie can see the way it makes his eyes crinkle at the corners.
Fuck, Eddie should be ridiculous around Steve more often.
“Retired cop, maybe,” Steve replies. “He's here for me. I, uh. I must have missed my curfew.”
Eddie looks back over at the guy, who must have spotted Steve, because he's making his way towards them.
“You still have a curfew?” Eddie teases.
“Shut up,” Steve says, but his smile hasn't faded.
“No, it's cute,” Eddie says. And honestly - it is. “Your dad is your ride when you've had a few too many to drink?”
Steve's eyes darken briefly. “My dad's an asshole,” he mutters, something cracked and bitter in his tone that Eddie's pretty sure wouldn't be there if Steve was entirely sober. “He wouldn't be caught anywhere near somewhere like this, or me in general.”
Well, shit, leave it to Eddie to open his mouth and accidentally step in it.
“Hey,” Eddie says, bumping his shoulder against Steve's. “Mine, too. Fuck ‘em, right? We're better off without them.”
“Better off without who?” Retired Cop asks as he stops in front of their table.
“Our terrible, horrible, no good, very bad fathers,” Eddie replies immediately, shooting Retired Cop what he hopes is a very charming grin.
It must be, considering Steve is back to smiling, and now he's looking at Eddie all soft and pleased.
Retired Cop grunts in what Eddie is going to optimistically assume is agreement.
“Hey, Hopper,” Steve greets. “This is Eddie, Jeff, and Gareth. Hopper's the head of security for Hawkins Heroes.”
“Among other things,” Hopper comments drily.
Eddie's going to guess those other things include picking up wayward activity directors when they stay out too late.
Steve looks a little abashed. “Sorry, lost track of time.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Hopper grumbles. “Get your shit and let's get going.”
“Thanks for letting me hang out with you guys,” Steve tells them.
“You kidding?” Jeff asks. “It was great, man.”
“Come back any time,” Gareth agrees.
“I'll have a new drink ready for you,” Eddie promises.
Somewhat foolishly, considering he knows that Jeff and Gareth are going to tease him about that, but the smile he gets flashed at him is well worth it.
“I still gotta settle the tab,” he hears Steve tell Hopper as they head out, but he's too distracted by Jeff and Gareth's smirks to think anything of it.
“Not a word,” Eddie threatens before either of them can say anything.
“Wouldn't dream of it,” Gareth replies, batting his eyelashes at him instead of saying anything.
“Just let me know when you have the drink ready,” Jeff agrees mildly. “We can call it Steve's Special.”
Gareth and Jeff fistbump each other while Eddie rolls his eyes and shoves himself up out of his chair.
He ignores their laughter as he heads over April, who's behind the register at the moment.
“What's my damage for the night?” he asks.
“Your friend already paid,” she tells him.
“Okay?” He frowns at her, a little too tipsy to make any kind of connection between his question and her answer. “I mean, I'm glad he didn't duck out on his tab and leave me stuck with it, but I'd still like to pay mine?”
She rolls her eyes. “No, you moron, he paid for all of you.”
Eddie gapes at her. “He what?”
April smirks at him. “Guy that good looking, and he picks up the tab for you and those two? I'd hang onto him.”
Eddie's pretty sure his cheeks are bright red. He covers it up by muttering, “Son of a bitch. I'll get him for this.”
—
Steve's already at the bar when Eddie arrives for his shift that night, which instantly makes him perk up.
His crush on the guy is probably a little bit out of control, but eh, that's future Eddie's problem. Tonight Eddie gets the pleasure of some very nice eye candy all night, on top of the security of knowing he's going to have an awesome interaction with at least one patron.
Steve's clearly been there at least a little while, since there's a half eaten plate of loaded fries and a beer in front of him, and he's chatting enthusiastically with Grant.
Well.
Maybe chatting is the wrong word for it, now that Eddie gets a closer look at them.
Steve's leaning in, one elbow braced on the bartop with his gaze focused intently on Grant, as if he was the only person in the room. He's saying something in what must be a low tone, considering Grant's leaning back in to hear him. And is that -
Yup, that's a faint pink flush to Grant's cheeks.
Eddie gapes.
"Is Steve flirting with Grant?" he hisses the moment he finds Chrissy.
Chrissy rolls her eyes. "They got into an argument about pick up lines. Grant said pick up lines are shitty and cliche and don't work, and Steve insisted it's not about them being lines, it's about delivery and intention."
"So they're… flirting to prove a point?"
Damn it, why didn't Eddie think of that?
Chrissy's smiling at him, that sweet little grin she gives him when she knows exactly what's going on in his head. "Why don't you go over there and tell Steve where you sit on the pick up line debate?"
Eddie hip checks her, but, well.
It's not a bad idea.
He does go over, if only because he wants to say hi before he actually starts working.
He hears Grant laughing as he gets closer, but it sounds a little strained.
"Hey," Steve says quietly. "I meant all of it, you know. I wouldn't have said anything I didn't think was true. Any girl would be lucky to have you. Or, uh, guy, if you swung that way."
"You're kind of making me wish I swung that way," Grant teases, but there's something sincerely appreciative in his voice that tells Eddie that they'd been talking about more than just an argument about pick up lines.
If Steve could stop being so kind to his friends, that would really help out Eddie's stupid heart.
He tells himself very firmly to absolutely not think into the fact that Steve's apparently okay with guys dating other guys.
Instead, he stalks up to the counter as Grant walks away, pointing accusingly at Steve.
“I caught you!” he informs him. “What, did you think you could hide it from me? That I wouldn't notice? You're in so much trouble.”
Eddie's not sure what he's expecting, but it isn't for Steve's expression to completely crumble. He sags in the chair for a moment, then Eddie watches him visibly pull himself together, straightening up and looking solemnly at Eddie.
“Okay,” Steve says, very quietly. “How do you want to do this?”
And that - completely deflates the wind in Eddie's sails.
“You're not like, actually in trouble, dude,” Eddie tells him. “I just can't believe you thought you could pay our tabs and we wouldn't realize it.”
Steve's brow furrows, then smooths out. “Oh!”
It's clearly a startled little realization, which immediately makes Eddie narrow his eyes.
“What did you think I was talking about?” he asks.
“I, uh. I guess I just wasn't sure what I did to upset you?”
Eddie considers that. It's possible - but Steve hadn't looked confused, he'd looked resigned. Like there was a secret that he was keeping, and he hadn't been expecting to be able to continue to keep it, and he was pretty sure Eddie knowing it wasn't going to be anything good. But what could he -
And then he remembers that he walked over in the middle of Steve flirting with another guy, and clearly implying that he was okay with guys dating other guys, and -
And the first thing that Eddie said was that he caught Steve and he was in big trouble.
Shit.
“It, uh,” Eddie starts, then stops, pausing to think about how he wants to say this. “There's a rainbow flag pinned up at the corner of the bar.”
Steve gives him a tiny smile. “I noticed,” he says softly. “It's one of the things that made me come back here.”
“Really?” Eddie asks, immediately derailed. “It was my idea to put it up. I wanted people to know the Hideout is a safe space, even if it doesn't look like it.”
“It worked,” Steve tells him. “You're a good guy, Eddie, that was a great thought.”
Eddie flushes, ducking his head for a moment before he determinedly gets this conversation back on track. “So, uh, I just wanted to make sure you knew that none of the staff here are going to hassle you no matter what way you swing. Especially not me.”
Steve looks at him for a long moment. “Especially not you?” he repeats.
Eddie swallows, then nods. “Yeah.”
Steve's quiet at first. Then, “Thanks, Eddie.”
Eddie nods again, letting the moment sit for a little bit. Then he shoots him a teasing little grin, tipping his head at the beer in front of Steve. “What you're really in trouble for is getting a drink from another bartender here.”
Steve smirks at him. “Oh, that's not mine. It's Robin's.”
“Robin?” Eddie asks.
“My best friend, the one who likes lemon drops? She came with me today, said she wanted to meet the guys who got me to stay out so late,” Steve replies.
Oh!
Eddie straightens up, looking around. “Where is she? I want to meet her.”
“She was going to the bathroom, but I think she got distracted on her way back,” Steve says drily. He nods over towards where Chrissy is talking animatedly with a girl he's never seen before. “So you might have to wait a bit on that.”
Chrissy's smiling in a way he hasn't seen her do in a long time, which immediately makes him like this Robin girl.
“Guess you're stuck with me until then,” Steve adds.
“Oh, no,�� Eddie says, voice monotone. “However will I get over my disappointment.”
Steve laughs. “You can start by getting me a drink.”
Yeah, okay, Eddie guesses he can do that.
He's going to finish the night by making the best impression possible on Steve's best friend, though.
Even if his own best friend seems to have gotten there first.
—
It's D&D night the next time Steve shows up at the bar.
The other regulars are pretty used to it, by now, and seem content to let the D&D crews take over the back half of the bar, but Steve hasn't seen it before. He's not sure when he started thinking of Steve as a regular - can someone be a regular if he doesn't live here, even if he does seem to come in every time he's in town? - but that's beside the point.
D&D nights were Eddie's idea. He'd wanted to do something similar to what he did in high school, give them a safe place to be able to play - only this time, some place fun, where they'd be welcome as adults instead of laughed at for playing a "kid's game." Even the nights when he isn't playing or DMing, he has a lot of fun with coming up with campaign themed drinks.
It's stupid, but he's kind of nervous about what Steve thinks of it. It's not like anything's going to happen with Eddie's crush, but he enjoys it anyway, enjoys Steve's company. It's going to suck if Steve laughs at it.
Steve beelines for the corner of the bar where Eddie's at as soon as he sees him, which makes Eddie smile involuntarily, despite the clench in his stomach when he sees Steve staring intently at the group in the back.
"Is that Dungeons and Dragons?" Steve asks.
"You know D&D?" Eddie asks. His stomach is still clenching, but now it's in a very, very different way.
"Yeah," Steve replies, shooting him a little smile. "Some of my friends play it. We actually used to have it as an activity for the kids, but Mike and Will are at college and Erica had this huge project she needs to finish for school, so it's on hold now."
"Have you ever played?" Eddie asks.
"A couple of times," Steve replies. "I did, uh. The side characters? For the kids a few times. Do you play?"
"Yeah. I used to run a D&D club in high school, actually, and I started D&D night here."
"Dude, that's really cool," Steve says, so genuine that it makes Eddie want to hide behind his hair. "Oh, hey, I know it's kind of a lot to ask, but would you be interested in doing it for camp this week? Some of the kids coming have really missed it. We'd pay you for your time, of course."
Eddie opens his mouth, then closes it again. "You want to pay me to DM a D&D game for summer camp?"
"Yes?" Steve says, like he's not sure why Eddie's in a little bit of disbelief here. "Only it's October now, so not summer camp anymore."
Right, because that's the unbelievable part.
"You know what? Sure. Do you want a one shot, or a short campaign?" Eddie asks.
Steve's face scrunches a bit in confusion.
"How many days do you want me there?" Eddie clarifies.
"All of them?" Steve blurts out.
Eddie's eyes widen, and Steve's ears go a little pink.
"I mean, how many can you do?" Steve asks.
Eddie considers. He could use some extra cash, and he's really missed throwing himself into D&D - he actually thinks he has the perfect campaign, one he used leading up to Halloween back in high school. A few tweaks and he thinks it'll be perfect.
"How about four days, five hour sessions each? Is that too long for the kids?" Eddie asks.
Steve shakes his head. "Nah, I've seen them spend like ten hours playing before, five should be perfect. Come by the resort around noon tomorrow and I'll have the paperwork all ready for you?"
—
There's more security at the resort than Eddie remembers there being the handful of times that he's been there before.
Makes sense, he guesses, since there's more kids than adults there now. It'd probably look bad if the resort let just anyone onto the grounds and some of the kids got kidnapped or something. And if they've got celebrities coming in to get their good PR by volunteering, too, they've probably got to be at the top of their game.
Eddie must be on the approved list, though, because once he's shown his ID and proven who he is, he's given a “guest staff” badge, a map of the resort, and a list of which amenities he's allowed to use for the next week.
Nice. Steve hadn't mentioned that, but Eddie is definitely going to take advantage of it.
He's a little early to meet Steve, so he wanders around the inside of the resort instead, taking in everything.
Eventually he stumbles onto a lounge with a roaring fire and a massive plush sofa, occupied by a teenage girl and a bunch of textbooks.
“Can I help you?” she asks, for all the world like she's a busy executive behind a fancy desk and he's already wasting her time, instead of a teenager sprawled out on a couch doing her homework.
“I'm looking for Steve,” he says.
Her eyes narrow as she sits up. “Why?” There's an edge in her voice now, something a little bit protective.
That's kind of sweet, actually.
“I'm meeting him here about a temporary gig,” Eddie says. “Hi, I'm Eddie.”
Her expression shifts from wary to downright skeptical. “You're the DM who that hairbrain thinks will do a better job than me?”
Yeah, Eddie's taking back that sweet comment.
“You must be Erica,” he says.
“That's Lady Applejack to you,” she retorts with a sniff. “You better be at the top of your game, or I will sneak behind any monster you throw my way and stab them in the back with my poison-soaked kukri. And I'll smile as I watch them die a slow, agonizing death.”
Oh, fuck, Eddie likes this kid.
He raises one eyebrow at her. “I thought you had a big project that you're supposed to be working on?”
She stares right back at him, unimpressed. “You going to rat me out if I come play?”
Eddie hams it up a little, making a big show of thinking it over. Before he can tell her that obviously, he's the last one to give any kind of quibble about playing D&D instead of doing homework, the sound of heavy footsteps approaching echoes through the lounge.
“Hey, Erica?” Steve's voice calls, sounding a little strained. “Can you keep an eye out for Eddie, tell him I'm going to be a little late? I gotta - oh. You're here!”
Steve's rounded the corner, and now Eddie can see the reason for the heavier footsteps. He's giving a piggyback ride to a kid, who looks about eleven or twelve. The kid's face is screwed up in pain, and Eddie spots a bloody, skinned knee peeking through ripped jeans.
“Hey, man,” Steve greets. “Give me a minute? I've got to get this guy to the nurse.”
“I don't want to go see Nurse Henderson,” the kid sulks. “Can't you just patch it up yourself? Max is going to tell me I should have just walked it off!”
“Probably,” Steve admits. “But she'd also want you to get looked at if you're really hurt. And Nurse Henderson is the only one who's qualified to decide that, right? Besides, didn't we already talk about not doing stupid things just for a girl?”
“Especially for a girl like Max, who's way too old for me,” the kid replies, in a tone of voice that says, yes, he's heard all of this before. “Fine, I'll go to the nurse.”
“I'll keep Eddie company,” Erica volunteers.
Steve looks at her with narrowed eyes.
“I'm just making sure his campaign is up to snuff,” she informs him.
Steve relaxes, though he still cuts his gaze over to Eddie and waits for him to nod before he takes off.
Eddie tilts his head at Erica. “How would you feel about a little extra backstory? A little party betrayal, maybe?”
Her eyes light up. “I'm listening.”
By the time Steve comes back, Eddie and Erica and hunched over character sheets, and they've got a frankly amazing tie in for Lady Applejack into his slightly tweaked campaign.
“I take it things went well?” Steve asks.
Erica stuffs her character sheets into her folder. “He'll do.”
Eddie gets the feeling that's high praise, coming from her.
“Pleasure doing business with you, Lady Applejack,” he says solemnly.
She rolls her eyes, but accepts the hug that Steve gives her, and Eddie's pretty sure he hears Steve whisper thank you.
“Come on, let's go see Joyce,” Steve says. “She's the director of Hawkins Hope, she's amazing. Then we can grab lunch after.”
“Are you bribing me with fancy resort food?” Eddie asks.
Steve grins at him. “Maybe.”
Joyce is amazing, but lunch with Steve is even better. Eddie makes a big deal of moaning over how good the food is, but really, making Steve laugh is the best part.
Yeah, Eddie's in way too deep.
—
"Eddie!" Steve greets when he comes into the Hideout a few days after the final session. He sounds a little bit breathless, and Eddie immediately smiles.
It's amazing how much having a favorite regular there improves his night, on top of the fact that he thinks he and Steve are actually friends now.
"Hey, man," he greets. "The kids all get where they're supposed to be okay?"
Steve looks at him like he did something amazing, instead of just asking a question that any decent human being would ask, but Eddie's not going to protest.
"Yeah, just the staff left now. Hey, I wanted to ask - we're doing a masquerade event on Halloween as a fundraiser. I mean, the event itself is going to be kind of shitty, catering to a bunch of semi famous people, but the staff are having an after party. Do you want to come?"
Eddie swallows, trying not to get his hopes up. "Me?"
"Well, yeah, you were basically staff this week, so you should come."
"Oh." Turns out it didn't work, not getting his hopes up, and now he's fighting disappointment.
Steve must take that for reluctance, though, because he adds, "Chrissy and Jeff and Grant and Gareth are all welcome too, so you don't have to worry about not knowing anyone there? Unless you guys already had plans."
"Nah, I think we were just going to hang out and watch shitty horror movies, I'm sure they'd rather go to an after party at the resort," Eddie says.
It sounds like a much better night than anything they had planned, even if it isn't what he thought Steve might be asking.
"Good! Uh, that's good." Steve looks uncertain for a moment, like he's having a debate with himself. Whatever it is, he must come to a decision, because he leans over the counter a little. "What about you?"
…okay, maybe he's not completely out of luck here.
"Me?" Eddie asks again, but this time he keeps his gaze locked on Steve's.
"You," Steve says again. "I was really hoping you'd come, Eds."
"Yeah? What do I get if I go?"
Steve smiles at him, this soft little hopeful thing, and his eyes drop briefly down to Eddie's lips. "I got a few things in mind."
Oh fuck, this is happening.
"Well now you've got me intrigued. I guess I better make an appearance."
Steve's expression lights up. “See you at the resort at ten?”
—
There's even more security when Eddie arrives at the resort on Halloween. He isn't driving - he's pretty sure there's going to be free alcohol tonight, and he's planning on taking full advantage of it - but the cab he and the others took gets stopped three times by security guards, and each time they have to show their IDs.
“Who the hell is going to the stupid masquerade?” Eddie grumbles after they finally get dropped off at a side entrance to the resort.
“Celebrities,” Gareth says with a roll of his eyes.
There's still a small crowd of people exiting the resort through the main entrance a little bit away, and despite the grumbling and eye rolling, none of them can help craning their heads just a little, to see if there's anyone they recognize.
There isn't - looks mostly like people with press badges and cameras.
There's a little bit of a commotion, though, and that makes them pause, just for a moment.
“He owes us!” someone is shouting. “One song for the bronze tier donors, that's it? What does Alistair think he's trying to pull?”
“Oh, wow,” Chrissy says. “I mean, I knew Alistair was the celebrity endorser for the charity, but I didn't think he'd be here tonight.”
Eddie shrugs. “Steve said it was for the semi famous.”
“Alistair and Hawk are a little more than semi famous,” Jeff points out.
There's more shouting at the front entrance that distracts them, though - looks like whoever it was that was complaining is getting very firmly escorted out to the parking lot by security.
“What are you losers still doing out here?” someone asks, and Eddie turns over to see Erica scowling at him from the side entrance.
He beams at her. “Lady Applejack, destroyer of Vecna, light of my life!”
Erica rolls her eyes. “Get your butts in here,” she orders, disappearing through the side entrance.
Eddie and his friends dutifully follow her, down a few hallways and into a massive ballroom that's all decorated in orange and black lights, fake cobwebs, swooping bats, and even a fog machine. There's about thirty or so people mingling about, but fortunately, she leads them to where Steve and Robin are standing together. They're both dressed in black tuxedos, but Robin has a twinkling gold halo crowned on her head and a pair of feathery wings, and Steve has a pair of devil horns. There's a cup of something bright orange in each of their hands.
Jesus, Steve looks even more gorgeous.
“Hey!” Steve greets, lighting up. “You guys made it!”
There's a round of greetings, finished by Steve pointing out the tables laden with food - some of it is clearly fancy shit that was probably left over from the masquerade, but a decent chunk of it is freshly made, mixed in with a ton of boxes of pizza and pitchers of various drinks.
“Come on,” Steve says, circling his fingers around Eddie's wrist and giving it a tug. “I want to introduce you to my friends.”
Steve leads him around the room, weaving through the small crowd and stopping whenever he finds someone. Eddie meets Jonathon Byers, Argyle, and Nancy Wheeler - Steve's ex, apparently, which throws him for a moment when he sees that they're clearly good friends.
Eddie can't imagine being friends with any of the small handful of exes he has.
Steve shrugs when he says as much. “Nancy and I are much better as friends,” he admits. “Our break up was… all right, it was pretty bad. But it was a long time coming. We just didn't work, you know? We wanted different things.”
“Not a great point in favor of you still being friends,” Eddie points out.
Steve laughs. “Nancy's amazing at what she does. She's an investigative reporter for her real job - she just volunteers here, because it's family. It's a lot easier being her friend.”
Eddie's not completely convinced, but he'll take Steve's word for it.
Nancy seems pretty great, anyway, when both of their circles of friends end up spending most of the party together. She and Robin and Chrissy keep ducking their heads together and giggling, and Jeff and Jonathon are having some kind of emphatic discussion about something Eddie doesn't really understand, and he's pretty sure Gareth and Grant and Argyle have snuck off somewhere to smoke weed.
Eddie's a little disappointed they didn't invite him, except, well, Steve's been pretty much plastered to his side the whole time, so he can't really complain.
“You want to get out of here?” Steve asks, when Eddie has definitely had too many candy corn jello shots to be effectively considering the ramifications of that question.
He agrees anyway, wholeheartedly, and hopes he doesn't come across as way, way too eager.
Steve is beaming at him, though, and he leads him out of the room.
“Let's go for a walk?” Steve suggests, which isn't quite where Eddie's mind had been going, but he can admit it's probably a better idea than anything he might have come up with.
So they grab their coats, and Steve winds a scarf around Eddie's neck even though Eddie insists it isn't that cold out.
He's pretty sure the scarf is Steve's, though - it smells like his cologne - so he doesn't actually try to stop him.
“This is definitely a date, right?” Eddie asks as they're walking along the path to the lake, their fingers laced together.
You know, just to make absolutely certain.
“Yeah, it's definitely a date,” Steve says with a little laugh.
“It's technically our fourth date,” Eddie points out.
There's a little furrow between Steve's brow as he frowns at him. “What?”
Eddie holds up his free hand so he can tick them off his fingers. “One, you bought me drinks and dinner at the Hideout.”
“I paid for Jeff and Gareth too!” Steve protests.
“Two,” Eddie says, ignoring him. “You bought me lunch at the resort.”
“We're staff, we get free lunch!” Steve says.
“Three, you invited me to go to a Halloween party with you. And four, moonlight walk by the lake,” he finishes triumphantly.
“Those are the same date!” Steve's clearly trying to sound exasperated, but he's grinning, so Eddie's calling it a win. “And the other two are like, half dates. So if you really want to, we can call this our second date.”
“Come on, sneaking away from the Halloween party to get time alone is at least worth a half date on its own.”
Steve rolls his eyes. “Okay, two and a half dates.”
Eddie pumps his fist in victory, but he doesn't get time to crow too much about it.
Steve kisses him for the first time out by the lake, leaves rustling in the wind and the reflection of the moon hanging heavy and orange.
It's perfect.
At the end of the night, after they've been gone from the party for so long that people have had to notice - though no one says anything - Steve gives him a piece of paper with his number on it.
“You don't have to call me,” Steve tells him, like there's any chance that Eddie won't use it immediately. “But I'd like it if you did.”
Eddie steals a pen and paper from the front desk, sprawls down his own phone number and shoves it at Steve.
“Here,” he says. “So you'll know it's me when I call you as soon as I get home.”
—
Eddie expected it to be a little awkward, trying to keep up a relationship - or whatever this is, is it a relationship when they've only had two and a half dates? - via phone, but it really isn't. Steve remembers his work schedule, and he calls him every day after he gets home from work, and it -
It's almost as good as having him there. They talk about their days, about everything and nothing, and it's so fucking good it helps distract him from knowing he's not going to be able to see Steve in person again until December.
Or at least, he wasn't supposed to see him until December.
But about a week after Steve's gone, when he's hanging out with Chrissy and trying to pretend like he doesn't miss him an unreasonable amount, Eddie asks, “Who is Alistair, anyway?”
Chrissy raises her eyebrows at him. “You don't know?”
Eddie shrugs. “It hasn't come up.”
“Scoops Troop?” Chrissy asks, like that's supposed to mean something. “The pop duo?”
And yeah, all right, the name sounds vaguely familiar, but it's not anything that Eddie looks for, and he shrugs again. “I mean, sure, I've probably heard some of their songs on the radio.”
She rolls her eyes. “You're ridiculous. I have a poster of Alistair in my bedroom, it's your favorite one. You've listened to him with me, he does that cover you really like, the one you said at least he wasn't a coward who changes the gender when he covers female songs.”
Shit, okay, yeah, now Eddie knows who she's talking about. He remembers that poster - a blown up shot of the pop star wearing a pair of tight jeans with the button popped, bare chested, head tilted back so all you could see was the line of his neck and the underside of his chin. He remembers sitting with Chrissy a year or so after they graduated high school, listening to one of his albums, hearing the guy sing about how it feels to watch the man he loves kiss some other girl, remembers how the song had stuck with him.
Huh. Handsome, good singer, funds charities - maybe he should have given more of his songs a chance.
“Oh,” Eddie says.
Chrissy laughs softly. “Yeah, oh. Should I tell Steve to watch out for your crush?”
Eddie bumps his shoulders into hers. “Steve is prettier,” he says confidently. “And sweeter, and funnier, and - everything-er.”
He does know to cut himself off before he starts going into too much detail, though, and instead he flops down on his bed.
“What's his deal, then? You have a poster, you probably know some things.”
Chrissy shrugs, flopping down next to him. “He's pretty private. Teenage pop star, made it big pretty quickly, had a huge, blow up falling out with his manager and record label. Went quiet for a while, made a massive comeback with a new manager and label as part of a duo with Hawk.”
Eddie hums softly. Nothing all that interesting - or nothing out of the ordinary from things he's read about in the music industry before.
“What was the blow up about?” he asks, curious. He could go look it up himself, of course, but it's easier to ask Chrissy.
“Something about his manager and label mismanaging his earnings. There was some kind of scandal back then about exploitation of child stars, it's why you don't see Harrington Studios or Brenner Talent Acquisition around much anymore.”
Jesus.
“Wait,” Eddie says. “Harrington Studios? Like Steve Harrington?”
Chrissy frowns. “Maybe?”
“Shit, Steve did say his dad was an asshole who wouldn't want to be anywhere near him,” Eddie says. “I wonder if that's why Steve cut ties.”
“You could call him and ask him,” Chrissy says mildly. “Didn't he say he and Robin were just going to be hanging around at home the next few days?”
Eddie narrows his eyes at her. “You just want to talk to Robin,” he protests, even though he's already picking up the phone.
Steve and Robin are home, and Steve sounds so happy to hear from him that Eddie almost immediately forgets everything else.
“I miss you,” Eddie says before he thinks better of it, before he wonders if maybe that's too much.
“I miss you too,” Steve says immediately, sounding a little bit relieved - like maybe he was worried it was too much, too. “I wish I could see you.”
“Hawkins isn't too far from here,” Eddie points out. “And I've got a guest room.”
“Yeah?” Steve asks, his voice a little soft, a little hopeful.
“Yeah. Come stay the night, we'll get pizza and watch bad movies.”
Steve hums a little like he's considering it, but it's playful, and Eddie's pretty sure he's going to say yes. “Are we counting this as a whole date, or is this another half date?”
Eddie breaks out into a grin. “Half date,” he decides. “That'll bring us up to three, and tomorrow we can make four.”
“Deal,” Steve agrees. “See you soon.”
Steve kisses him the second he and Robin arrive, crowding him in against the wall in the narrow hallway like it's been so much longer than a week since they last saw each other.
“Hi,” Steve murmurs when they break for air.
“Hi,” Eddie replies breathlessly, smiling so wide it hurts.
They end up squished together on the couch, Steve and Robin in the middle with Eddie and Chrissy on either side of them. After the pizza's gone, and they're mid way through their second movie - Eddie glances over, sees Robin's feet tucked under Steve's thigh, Steve's hand curled loosely around her ankle, Chrissy's head pillowed on Robin's shoulder.
Which sounds like a fantastic idea, actually, and he squishes down so he can lean into Steve's chest, Steve's arm wrapped around his shoulders.
Later, after the girls have disappeared into the guest room and Steve and Eddie are getting ready for bed, Steve seems… nervous, almost, as they climb under the covers.
“Everything okay?” Eddie asks.
“There's things you don't know about me,” Steve admits quietly. “Important things.”
Things like his dad owning a record label and working with a manager who exploits children, Eddie'd guess. Not a great thing for a guy who now works so closely with kids.
But Eddie trusts him.
“Hey,” he says softly. “It's okay. I mean, you don't know everything about me either, right? We're only at date three. It's okay if you want to take this slow, to get to know each other before we jump into the messy stuff.”
Steve looks like he's thinking about that. “That's okay?”
“Yeah, of course. If you want to feel each other out, keep this low commitment, even see other people, that's fine.”
It's not really fine, but now Eddie's said it, so he can't take it back.
Steve frowns at him. “I don't want to keep this low commitment,” he protests. “Eds - I'm in this. I don't want to date anyone else.”
“Oh,” Eddie says, a little shaky.
Steve's expression shutters a little. “Did you want to?”
“No!” Eddie replies, a little too quickly. “No, of course not. I just didn't want to pressure you. I, uh, I'm in this too.”
“Good.” Steve tips his head in to kiss him softly. “But - maybe slow is good? I haven't really had a serious relationship since Nancy and I broke up.”
“It's been a while for me, too,” Eddie admits. “…is it bad that it kind of makes me feel better? That we're both figuring this out together?”
Steve snorts. “Nah. Not bad. I kind of like the idea of figuring things out with you.”
—
“Hey, Munson!” April shouts from the office, when he's elbow deep in sudsy water doing the dishes. “You got a phone call!”
“Who is it?” Eddie yells back. He doesn't want to lose his groove if it's just a crank call, or one of his friends with something far from urgent.
“Some guy named Steve! Want me to tell him to get lost?” she asks.
“No!” Eddie yelps immediately. Then, in what he hopes is a calmer voice, “No, I'll come get it.”
He dries off his hands, passes April on the way to the office and has to put up with her smirking at him, but he pointedly ignores her.
“Hey, Stevie,” Eddie greets, already feeling himself smiling.
“Hey,” Steve says back. “Am I interrupting a busy shift?”
He sounds - just a little bit off. Almost like his normal self, but more like he's forcing himself to sound normal.
Eddie frowns. “Even if you were, it'd be a welcome interruption. What's up?”
“It's nothing really important,” Steve says. “I just - wanted to hear your voice, I guess.”
Oh.
Eddie lets himself feel soft and gushy over that for a moment before he leans out to shout, “April, I'm taking my lunch!” and closes the door to the office.
“Eds, you don't have to do that,” Steve protests. “I just wan-”
“Sweetheart,” Eddie cuts him off gently. “I can tell something's wrong. Taking my lunch is nothing - I'd drive to Hawkins right now to see you if you wanted.”
Eddie can Steve breathe out, a slow, ragged exhale.
“What happened?” Eddie asks.
“My dad happened,” Steve mutters.
Shit.
“Well, if anyone gets how hard it can throw you off when your shitty dad pops back up in your life, it's me,” Eddie says. “You want to talk about it?”
Steve's quiet for a moment. “I don't know why I let him still get to me,” he says after a while. “He didn't even talk directly to me. He hasn't tried to reach out since I cut him off, but he still knows exactly what to say to get under my skin, and he knows where to do it so it'll get right back to me. God, it's so stupid. I don't even care about his opinion, but…”
“But he's your dad,” Eddie finishes for him when he trails off. “Even if he's terrible, even if you don't want to be anything like him, even if you don't really want his good opinion, it's always going to matter a little.”
There's another exhale, though this one's tinged with something like relief. “Yeah. Exactly.”
“What'd he say?” Eddie asks.
Steve snorts. “Just the usual shit. I'm not living up to my potential, I'm wasting my time on publicity stunts, I've lost sight of what's really important.”
“Jesus Christ,” Eddie mutters. “Your dad really is an asshole.”
“Grade A,” Steve confirms.
“You sure you don't want me to drive down there?” Eddie offers.
“Nah,” Steve says, though Eddie can hear a smile in his voice. “I'm with Robin. She just went to pick up dinner, she should be back soon. Just, uh. Like I said, I wanted to hear your voice. It always makes me feel better.”
“You can't say stuff like that to me when you're not in kissing range,” Eddie teases. Mostly to cover up the way it makes his heart beat a little too fast.
“Sorry,” Steve replies, not sounding apologetic at all.
“Uh-huh,” Eddie says. “I'll still stay on the phone with you until Robin gets back. What do you want me to talk about?”
Steve hesitates for a moment before asking, “Is it too much to ask about what happened the last time your dad popped up?”
Part of Eddie wants to say that nothing Steve could ask him for would be too much, but he does the responsible thing and actually thinks about it before he answers.
“I was seventeen,” he says, once he's decided that yeah, he's okay with Steve knowing this. “I'd been living with my Uncle Wayne for almost five years. He blows back into town, claims he has something of my mom's that she'd always wanted me to get, before she got sick.”
“What was it?” Steve asks.
Eddie snorts. “Nothing. I already had everything of hers that she left behind. He didn't realize I'd already emptied out the old house after he left the last time. But he said he missed me, said he needed me. That he really wanted it to be the two of us this time, the way we always talked about when I was younger and he was teaching me things.”
Steve makes a little encouraging noise.
“Shitty things,” Eddie clarifies. “Other dads taught their kids how to fish or play ball, but mine? He taught me how to hotwire cars. Even at seventeen, he had me convinced. I wanted to believe him so bad, I went along with his idea. Ended up with him skipping town and me in a jail cell taking the fall. My uncle had to come bail me out.”
“I'm sorry, Eddie,” Steve says quietly.
Eddie shrugs, even though Steve can't see him. “It's not your fault.”
“That's not why I'm sorry,” Steve retorts, in a tone that Eddie knows means he's rolling his eyes. “I'm sorry that he couldn't see how amazing you are. You deserve better.”
Eddie feels his cheeks heat up. “So do you,” he replies. “Fuck our dads, all right?”
“Yeah,” Steve agrees empathetically. “Fuck ‘em. Who needs them when we have people who actually give a shit about us?”
Eddie wishes they were together, so he could take Steve's hand or tug him in for a hug or something, to make it clear that Eddie is one of those people who gives a shit about Steve.
“Yeah,” he settles for saying. “You can call me anytime, you know that, right?”
“I do now,” Steve says softly. “Thanks, Eds.”
Fuck.
“Any time,” Eddie managed to get out.
“You too, okay? Any time. Even if I don't answer right away, I'll always call you back.”
—
Eddie's pulling his boxes of Christmas decorations out of the storage space off of his little balcony when he notices one of the boxes is damaged.
He's not sure what happened. Water leaking, maybe, or maybe just the box giving out, but it's sagging in on itself, and when Eddie opens it he - he sees the remains of some of his oldest Christmas decorations. The ones that belonged to his mom.
Eddie stares at them for a long time, fighting back tears, and then goes inside to call his boyfriend.
“Hey, Stevie,” he says when he gets his answering machine. He doesn't even bother trying to sound like he isn't bummed. “It's not urgent, just - some of the Christmass stuff I had from my mom got wrecked. Guess I just wanted to hear your voice. Give me a call when you get this, yeah?”
There's an awkward pause that he almost fills with love you, before he hangs up real quick so he doesn't end up going there on a fucking voicemail of all things.
He doesn't really know how long it's going to be before Steve's able to call him back, and it's stupid to just wait around waiting, but… he can't actually bring himself to do the only thing he had planned today and get the Christmas decorations up.
Eddie's still dithering around hours later when the doorbell rings, and he considers ignoring it and pretending he isn't home. He's not in the mood to be any kind of good company, after all.
But then he hears Steve's voice calling his name through the door, and he's on his feet and opening it up before he knows it.
“You're here,” Eddie says, a little gobsmacked.
Steve shifts his weight, looking a little hesitant. “Is that okay? I mean, I know you said you wouldn't mind driving down to Hawkins for me if -”
Steve cuts off, because Eddie's dragged him inside the apartment and pressed him against the back of the door, doing his level best to kiss him senseless.
“It's not too much?” Steve manages to ask in between kisses.
“It's so far from too much,” Eddie returns.
Eddie's not really sure he knows what to do with someone who drove all the way here just for him, just because he was sad, but Jesus, he's not going to complain about it now.
They're both a little disheveled by the time they manage to get away from the door, and Steve gives him a tentative little smile.
“I brought you this,” Steve says, holding something out to him.
Eddie takes it, and it's - a copy of Loretta Lynn's Country Christmas. A signed copy. A signed copy specifically addressed to Eddie, wishing him a merry Christmas and a wonderful holiday season.
He looks back up, gaping at Steve a little. “Steve?”
“It was supposed to be your Christmas present,” Steve says. “But I thought - maybe you could use it now.”
Jesus Christ, Eddie's pretty sure he's really close to crying. He squeezes his eyes shut, taking a ragged breath.
“Thank you,” he says quietly.
He sets the album down, then practically launches himself at Steve, folding him into his arms and hugging him tight. Steve lets himself be held, sinking into the embrace and hugging him back just as strong.
Eventually, when Eddie's reasonably certain he's not in danger of crying - or blurting out a love confession - Eddie pulls back.
“How long are you here for?” he asks.
Steve shrugs. “I don't have any where to be now. I finished work up early, so I've got a few days before we have to get started on winter camp and the Hawkins Hope Christmas gala.”
“Stay here?” Eddie asks, even though he's a little afraid he's pushing it. The guy drove here for him after one upset voicemail, he's pretty sure he's not going to be turned off by the suggestion of staying over a few days.
“Shit, yeah, I'd love to. You want me to help decorate?” Steve offers.
Eddie swallows past the lump in his throat and nods. “Yeah, that'd be great.”
He puts on Loretta Lynn, and before he knows it he's laughing along with Steve as they bicker about where to put some of the decorations and immediately agree on others.
It's a much better day than Eddie could have ever imagined.
—
“How'd you guys even find this place?”
It's mid December, and the Hawkins Hope crew officially have the resort for the rest of the year.
Which means Eddie's been hanging out there pretty much all of his days off, to the point where the security staff don't even bother to check his ID anymore. They just let him waltz right into the resort to meet Steve at one of the lounges.
Or in the room Steve's staying in, which is where they're at now.
“We rented it out for a couple of weeks back in the spring. Or I guess, technically Scoops Troop did, but when Joyce saw it we figured it would be the perfect place.”
“That was you guys?” Eddie asks. “I figured it was some doucebag pop singer.”
“Well, I guess you'd be kind of right, depending on how you feel about Scoops Troop.” Steve says it too casually, like he's trying to pretend that he doesn't care about Eddie's response - but he clearly cares about Eddie's response.
Eddie hums softly. “How do you feel about Scoops Troop?”
“Hawk is fantastic,” Steve replies immediately. “She's so, so talented, she could do just about anything, you know? She's funny, and so damn smart, she's just amazing.”
Briefly, Eddie wonders if he should be jealous, but nah. Steve'd sounded similar to the way he does when he talks about Robin, and Eddie knows there's nothing going on there.
“What about Alistair?” Eddie asks.
Steve gives a one shouldered shrug. “I don't think my opinion really matters all that much.”
“Of course it matters, Stevie, your opinion always matters,” Eddie says.
Steve smiles at him, soft and fond. “Thank you.”
Eddie waits, but apparently Steve is going to play hard to get on the subject of Alistair. “Do you like him?”
Steve shrugs again. “Yeah, sure.”
Eddie raises his eyebrows, squirming a little so he's draped across Steve's lap, staring up at him expectantly.
Steve huffs out a little laugh, carding his fingers through Eddie's hair.
“It was touch and go there for a little bit,” Steve admits. “There was some pretty dicklike behavior going on for a while.”
Eddie gives a dramatic gasp. “A teenage idol? Being a dick? You don't say.”
There's another little laugh, which Eddie's going to count as a win.
“And now?” Eddie asks. “The charity thing, is that all a cover?”
“Nah,” Steve says. “That's genuine. You go through some shit, get a couple of good thumps on the head, it can change your perspective on a lot of things. Makes you realize what's important, and what's just bullshit, you know?”
It sounds like Steve's speaking from experience, and Eddie makes a little encouraging noise.
“My dad did some pretty shitty things to some of my friends,” he says quietly. “And to me. There was a time when I was probably too much like him. I mean, I wasn't ever that bad, but - I put popularity and shit above the things that really mattered.”
“It's hard to imagine you like that,” Eddie says.
Steve frowns a little. “Really?”
“Well, okay, you're kind of a preppy jock, and back in high school I would have thought you were a huge asshole. But I mean, I was kind of a dick back then, too. I probably would have judged you without even knowing you. And now, knowing you? Shit, you're amazing, Steve.”
Steve swallows, leaning down to kiss him.
“I kind of like that you don't know a lot about Alistair,” Steve admits quietly.
“Really?” Eddie asks.
“Yeah,” Steve says. “Most of the people that I work with, aside from the core staff? They're in this because it's a good look for them, or because of their connections with Scoops Troop. You're one of the few who helped out just because of the kids.”
“You guys did pay me,” Eddie points out.
Steve rolls his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, but you said yes before you even knew how much. It wasn't because of some celebrity, it was just because you're a good guy.”
Something squirms around in Eddie's gut, in a way that he can't decide is good or not. Don't get him wrong, Steve telling him he's a good guy's got his heart beating a little quicker, but he also feels like Steve's got the wrong impression of him.
“I mean, I also did it because you asked me to,” he says, before Steve goes thinking it was entirely selfless. “And you're the prettiest guy I've ever seen.”
Steve huffs out a little laugh. “You agreed to help out just to get paid and to get in my pants?”
“Well, not just that. It worked though, didn't it?”
There's another laugh, and Steve jostles him with his knee a little. “Seriously, though. There's not a lot of people in my life that aren't here because of Alistair.”
It's Eddie's turn to swallow. “Well, now you've got me.”
“Yeah,” Steve says, still far too serious. His eyes are so intense as he looks down at Eddie, like he's seeing straight through him - like he's on the verge of saying something big, something maybe too big.
“So what are you going to do with me, then?” Eddie asks, light and teasing, wiggling his eyebrows.
It works to break the moment, though Steve's still looking at him almost too closely.
“Keep you,” Steve says. “If you'll let me.”
Jesus Christ.
“Yeah,” Eddie replies. “Yeah, I'll let you.”
—
The sound of a piano playing draws him down one of the resort hallways, smiling softly as he recognizes it as a Billy Joel song.
“La, la-la, di-di-da,” echoes along with the notes of the piano. “La-la di-di-da da-dum.”
He follows the sound, until he reaches another one of the resort's many little lounging areas. This one has the customary fireplace, wide open windows with gorgeous scenery, and cozy seating. It also has a baby grand piano, and Eddie's a little shocked to see Steve sitting at it, eyes closed as he plays.
“Sing us a song, you're the piano man,” Steve croons. His voice is a little raspy, a little rough, low and soft and so fucking gorgeous that it makes Eddie catch his breath. “Sing us a song tonight. Well, we're all in the mood for a melody.”
“And you've got us feeling all right,” Eddie chimes in.
Steve's eyes fly open, and he looks a little panicked for a moment before his gaze catches on Eddie. The tension in his body relaxes a little, though there's something about him that seems a bit wary.
It makes Eddie feel like maybe he shouldn't make a big deal about this, shouldn't exclaim that he didn't know Steve could play or tell him that he should sing more often.
“Practicing for a music activity with the kids?” Eddie asks.
Steve's expression lights up with a smile, and Eddie immediately feels like he's said the right thing.
Which isn't all that common of an occurrence, honestly. Makes it feel pretty damn good that he just about always gets it right with Steve.
“Doing a piano lesson later,” Steve says.
“And you're going to teach them Billy Joel?” he asks.
Steve huffs out a little laugh. “Christmas carols, actually. I was just trying to warm up a little.”
“Don't mind me,” Eddie says, plopping down at the bench next to him and leaning against him. “Warm up away. Hey, you play one I know, and I'll even sing.”
Steve's expression goes contemplative for a moment. “How about we sing together?”
“You don't have to,” Eddie says a little guiltily, kind of worried that he'd made him feel pressured.
Steve shakes his head. “I want to. What's your favorite Christmas song?”
“Carol of the Bells,” Eddie says immediately.
Steve barks out a little laugh.
“What?” Eddie demands, bumping his shoulder. “It's a good one!”
“I know,” Steve says. “It's my favorite, too. It's just not a great dueting song.”
“Nah, come on, give me some notes. We got this,” Eddie insists.
Steve rolls his eyes, but his fingers dance over the keys as he starts playing.
“Hark how the bells, sweet silver bells, all seem to say, throw cares away.” Eddie's not exactly singing so much as he's whispering the words into Steve's ear, lips brushing up right against his skin.
It makes Steve's breath catch. He tips his head to face Eddie, playing without looking.
“Christmas is here, bringing good cheer, to young and old, meek and the bold,” Steve whisper sings back. Even like this, he sounds good - Eddie can tell he must have gotten some training, but with who Steve's dad is, he's not surprised.
Eddie kind of figures that's why any musical ability Steve has would be a sore subject, so he doesn't ask about it. “Ding dong ding dong, that is their song, with joyful ring, all caroling.”
“One seems to hear, words of good cheer,” Steve sings, lips so close to Eddie's that they're practically breathing the same air. “From everywhere, filling the air.”
Steve joins him in singing, “Oh how they pound, raising the sound,” their voices melding together in a way that Eddie's not sure is technically good, but fuck it feels downright magical.
They make it through a few more verses like that, but Steve kisses him before they finish out the song, and they're too distracted to get back to it.
Really, it's not like Eddie's going to complain.
Steve's amazing with the kids, he's clearly not a terrible shower singer, and Eddie's not holding out much hope for the wet towels on the floor at this point.
Eddie just doesn't know how he got so lucky.
—
When Eddie opens the door, Chrissy immediately smacks him with a magazine, but doesn't say anything until she and Jeff have pushed their way into his apartment and shut the door behind them.
Eddie blinks at them, bewildered.
“When were you going to tell us?” she asks in a low, excited whisper.
“Tell you what?” he asks.
“He probably swore you to secrecy, right?” Jeff asks.
“Can we talk about it now that we know?” Chrissy says. “Oh, wait, you probably had to sign an NDA or something, right?”
Jeff makes a face. “Are we going to have to sign an NDA?”
“An NDA about what?” Eddie demands.
Chrissy thrusts the magazine at him, shaking it until he takes it.
Oh.
That's Steve and Robin on the cover, wearing matching Christmas sweaters, with glitter on their eyelids and cheeks and snowflakes in their hair.
He can feel his expression go a little dopey and fond, but hey, how is he supposed to help it?
Eddie assumes it's some kind of article about the Christmas gala Hawkins Hope is throwing, but the caption of the picture catches his eye as he's looking up.
Christmastime With Scoops Troop! Alistair and Hawk spill about their holiday traditions.
It's not until Eddie hears Chrissy saying, “Oh” and Jeff going, “Oh shit, you didn't know,” that Eddie realizes he's gaping.
Eddie slams his jaw shut. “No,” he says tightly, feeling a sharp stab of hurt covered up immediately by a blinding rush of anger. “No, I didn't know that my boyfriend is famous. Apparently that's something that he didn't feel was important to tell me.”
He throws the magazine down onto the couch, stalking around the living room. “Apparently Alistair likes to play games with poor, hick bartenders, make them think they've found something amazing, while Mr. Famous Douchebag is probably off laughing with his other celebrity friends about what an idiot I am.”
“Eddie,” Chrissy says, sounding a little shocked. “I don't know if that's fair.”
“Fair?” Eddie demands. “Fair would have been leaving me the hell out of however he gets his rocks off. It wasn't coming into the Hideout again and again, hanging out with us and getting to know us, all the time keeping something like this!”
“Hey,” Jeff cuts in. “Come on, man, Steve didn't owe us anything then. He was just a guy coming into a bar to get some drinks, getting along with the staff there.”
Eddie snarls, because he wants to be as furious as possible, and he isn't thrilled that Jeff's making a logical point. “Fine,” he concedes. “But he owed me something. He should have told me what I was getting into before I got too deep. I don't - what, was his plan to just keep quiet about this forever and hope I wouldn't find out? How stupid does he think I am?”
Chrissy and Jeff are silent at that, but that just deflates Eddie more than if they had tried to argue with him.
“What am I supposed to do with this?” he asks.
“Do you want to break up with him?” Chrissy asks.
Eddie startles. “No!” Then he pauses, considering. “I don't know.”
“You don't know?” Jeff prompts.
“What if all of this was a game? What if he never liked me at all, and he was just a celebrity asshole having some fun?”
“What if it wasn't?” Chrissy counters gently. “What if he's just a guy who found someone he really liked and was too scared to tell him about this?”
Eddie drops down into the couch, burying his head in his hands. “I have to talk to him, don't I?”
—
Eddie goes to talk to him.
He asks the resort staff to let Steve know that he's here, waits around in the front entrance until one of the staff tells him they got the go ahead to let Eddie wait in Steve's room.
Eddie's sitting on the bed when Steve there.
“Eddie? Are you okay, they told me you-” Steve cuts off, and Eddie's going to assume that he saw the magazine in Eddie's hands.
He can't bring himself to look up to see him, to check for sure.
“Was any of it real?” he asks. His voice comes out rough, though he manages not to sound like he's on the verge of tears.
“God, Eds, of course it's real, how can-”
“Don't,” Eddie cuts him off, harsh and sharp.
Steve makes a little wounded sound before he falls silent, and this time Eddie can't help but look up at him.
Steve looks - he looks like a fucking wreck. His eyes are wet and sad, and he looks like everything that he'd been trying to balance on his shoulders has come crashing down. Eddie wishes he could say with confidence that the guy he knows, the guy he's fallen in love with, is the same guy he's seeing now, is who Steve really is.
Still, Eddie isn't here to purposefully hurt him. Chrissy and Jeff had talked sense into him - he just wants answers.
“I don't think it's fair for you to act like I'm out of line for doubting that,” Eddie says.
Steve crumples like a wet paper bag.
“You're right,” he says, which honestly - Eddie wasn't expecting. “It's not fair, I'm sorry. Of course you'd think that if I was hiding this, what else wasn't I telling the truth about?”
Eddie rolls up the magazine to hide how his hands want to shake, crinkling it with the force of his grip. “Were you ever going to tell me?”
“Not at first,” Steve admits, lips twisted in a humorless little smile. “This summer, I just - it was nice, spending time with people who had no idea who I was. I thought that would be it, but then the more time I spent with you, the more I fell for you, and by the time I realized I didn't want to let you go, I was afraid. Afraid of your reaction, afraid of what it would mean for us. There's so many people that think they know me as Alistair, and so few that know the real me. I knew, just - even if you didn't hate me, even if you still wanted to be with me, things were going to change. I wouldn't just be Steve anymore.”
“But… you are Alistair. I'm not getting the real you unless I can have both.”
Steve swallows. “Do you want both?”
Eddie blinks at him, a little thrown. “What kind of question is that?”
“Most people want to date Alistair, the pop singer. I haven't had anyone since Nancy who knew me as Steve first, and I - I don't know. I kind of thought it would work the other way, too,” Steve admits. “That you wouldn't want any part of Alistair.”
Eddie raises an eyebrow at him. “Dude, you keep talking about Steve and Alistair like they're different people. They're both still you, right? I mean, sure, you've got to put on a different front when you're out there with the press and the celebrities, but we all do that a little. You think I act the same way with most customers that I do with you?”
“I - no. Okay, well, I hope not,” Steve adds, just a little bit teasing.
“Definitely not,” Eddie says, giving him the tiniest smile. “So if you're really in this, I want you to be in it. I don't want you to have to hide something so huge from me. I think I deserve the chance to know all of you.”
“Okay,” Steve says softly. “You're right. You're - yeah. If you still want this, if I didn't fuck everything up, then I promise no more secrets.”
Eddie lets out a slow, ragged exhale. Then, “It was real, right?”
“Every bit of it,” Steve says. He inches closer, then when Eddie doesn't stop him, he comes to sit next to him.
“Everything I've told you is true,” Steve says solemnly. “It's okay if you can't believe that yet. I promise I'll work really hard to show you.”
Eddie shakes his head. “Maybe I'm stupid, but I do believe you. There's a lot of things that make sense now.”
Thinking back on it - he doesn't think Steve ever actually directly lied to him, not once. Just by omission.
“Fuck, your dad is even worse than I thought,” Eddie swears. “I assumed you guys had a falling out because he fucked over your friends, but he fucked over you.”
“And my friends,” Steve says. “Jane, Hopper's adopted daughter - she got it the worst. I mean, it was mostly our manager, Brenner, who was the real piece of work, but it's not like my dad gave a shit.”
“Fuck him even more,” Eddie mutters. “Am I allowed to ask what happened? Will I have to sign an NDA or something?”
Steve huffs out a little laugh. “No NDAs, and yeah, you can ask. Hopper and Joyce were the ones that uncovered a lot of it, at first, and then Nancy and Jonathan did this massive push and got all the details to leak to the press. They're in investigative journalism half because of how good of a job they did. Robs and I both almost quit music after, but Joyce and Hop knew this guy who was a really good manager, and Murray knew Dimitri who had a small record label, and it just… fell together.”
Eddie narrows his eyes. “Hopper's your head of security, isn't he?”
Steve grins. “And the security for Hawkins Hope, but yeah, mostly me and Robin. Jonathan also does most of our pictures for album covers and stuff, and Argyle actually handles our PR.”
Eddie hums. “Wait, why didn't I have to sign an NDA? What if I was secretly a reporter just pretending to be a bartender?”
Steve raises an eyebrow. “But you weren't.”
“What if I was?” Eddie insists. “Or, okay, what if it didn't work out and I was the kind of guy who liked petty revenge? What if some shady paparazzi comes up to me and promises a huge pay day if I spill all of the secrets I learned?”
“You wouldn't,” Steve says confidently.
Which, okay, yes, Eddie very much appreciates Steve's trust in him and it kind of makes him feel a little gooey inside, but Eddie's on a roll and he has a point to make.
“I could!” Eddie protests. “What if I was just a huge asshole? What do Hopper and Argyle think of you dating someone without an NDA?”
“I don't think I've ever had anyone mad at me that I didn't ask them to sign an NDA,” Steve says thoughtfully.
“Well clearly you've been dating douchebags,” Eddie grumbles. “You have to look out for yourself more, okay, what if I was just the worst person in the world and - what?”
Steve's smiling at him way too fondly. “I'm pretty sure I'm in love with you,” he says softly.
Eddie's breath catches. “Is that, uh. Is that a confession, or the reason you didn't have me sign an NDA?”
“Both?” Steve admits. “Look, I know it's kind of early, so I'm not expecting -”
“No, fuck that, I'm definitely in love with you,” Eddie cuts in. “I've wanted to say it since the time you called me at work.”
“Oh,” Steve breathes out. “Still?”
“Still.” Eddie makes a little face at himself. “I do trust you, Steve. It might take me a while to get used to everything, but I don't think there's anything I'm going to learn that will change that.”
Steve kisses him, tangling his fingers in Eddie's hair.
“Come to the Christmas gala with me?” he asks.
“Won't the press and stuff be there?” Eddie says.
“Yeah. It's okay if you're not ready for that, but I - I think I'd like to tell people that I have a boyfriend. To introduce you whenever you are ready.”
Eddie considers that. He's honestly not sure he is ready, but - shit, is he ever going to feel ready? “Yeah,” he says. “Jesus, yeah, let's do it.”
“Yeah?” Steve says, his face lighting up.
“Yeah,” Eddie says again. “Just, uh, let me call my uncle and tell him first. Unless - do you want to come with me, tell him together?”
Steve kisses him again. “I'd really like that. We're still in this, still figuring this all out together, right?”
Eddie follows after him for another kiss. “Together,” he agrees.
Yeah, Eddie can handle that. As long as they're together.
#eddie munson#steve harrington#steddie#stranger things#steddie fic#steddie holiday exchange#pop singer steve harrington#bartender eddie munson
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Team Player 1/7
Hangster. Jake's cousin plays for the Sydney Roosters and gifts him with merchandise regularly. Bradley has an unexpected realization.
Jake opens the gift from his cousin and snorts. He can never wear this.
“You like it? It’s for the team I just signed with…”
Of course it is. Fuck.
“Congrats man, really happy for you. Thanks.”
“You’ll have to watch a game when you come visit. Wait, do they show footy matches on TV here?”
“Footy? Jake asks, eyebrow raised, because he thought is was rugby that Josh played.
“Rugby league. Footy. And we don’t wear all those pads and helmets like you lot do over here.”
Jake ducks his head to hide a smile, his younger cousin immensely proud of his own country and national sport. Not something Jake will ever understand, but he does understand passion and loyalty.
… … …
“The Hard Deck, what’s that mean?”
“Well, the way you say it makes it sound like something far filthier than what I think it should mean…”
“Still doesn’t tell me what it means… Hard Deck Hard Deck Hard Deck…”
“Oh my god, can you stop with sayin’ that! Sound like you’re sayin’ you’ve got a hard dick…”
His other cousins snort and he wonders why he thought it would be a good idea to agree showing them around San Diego. Of course, three people in their early to mid-twenties versus their parents who are all in their mid-sixties to seventies he’d felt that maybe they’d want a break from one another. He can’t imagine going on a four-week vacation with his parents. Ever. Let alone as a fully-grown adult. A couple of weeks visiting home is his limit, and even then he has to spend most of the time out of the house and helping out around outside to get away from the oppressive expectation of how he hasn’t brought anyone home. Again.
“Tell me what it means!”
“It’s slang for altitude you idiot, now stop being a dick!” Emma says, slapping at her younger brother’s head and Jake wishes he had a closer relationship with his own sister.
“Well that’s just boring! Hard Dick sounds like we’re going somewhere interesting!”
“It’s a Navy bar, just… thought I’d introduce you to a couple of my friends.”
“You have friends?” Isabella asks, and Jake pulls a face. Maybe he’s glad he doesn’t have a close relationship after all.
“Jake!”
“Javy, hey. Man it’s good to see you.”
“You too… these your cousins? Can definitely see they got the better deal in the gene pool…” Javy says, smiling over Jake’s should and he glances back and he guesses his cousins are attractive, except they’re his cousins and he’s seen them grow up through regular photos exchanged via their parents, and this is only the third time in his life that he’s spent any significant chunk of time with them. And of course Javy is already getting flirty with them. Halo and Fritz are there, he can see Bob and Phoenix at the bar.
“Yeah. Everyone, these are my cousins Isabella, Emma and Josh. They’re currently visiting because of my dad’s seventieth birthday. And don’t let him drink,” Jake says, pointing at Josh. “He’s not legal.”
“Hey! It’s legal back home.”
“And Penny here could be fined for serving minors. So no.”
“Also you’re meant to be preparing for camp, which means no empty calories.”
“Ugh. You guys are the worst.”
“I can’t wait for you to meet your trainers, because what we put you through will seem like child’s play…”
It falls into easy banter, his cousins asking dozens of questions and his squadron humoring them and he takes a sip of beer from the bottle Phoenix hands him.
Life is good.
… … …
“You want to tell us something there Bagman?”
“What?”
She tugs at his top and he glances down, realizes he’s wearing the tank that Josh sent him for working out in. He apparently gets a lot of merchandise and Jake seems to be the person he wants to send it to. Apparently he has a case of hero worship. However this particular top is damned comfortable and perfect for working out in, almost as good as wearing nothing, which isn’t an option at the on-base gymnasium, but he’d just grabbed it subconsciously.
“Uh, it’s the team my cousin plays for.”
“And you’re wearing it why?”
“I like it,” he says, and he mentally hits himself in the forehead with his palm. What the fuck is he thinking. He could have said it’s comfortable, or it’s washing day, only clean thing I had, not… I like it.
“Really? Interesting. Wait, was this your male cousin? Josh?”
“Yeah. It’s a rugby team.”
“Mmm. Rugby is a game to enjoy watching…”
“What?”
“No covering up of those athletic bodies, all out on show… Strike a pose Seresin, I’ll send it to you so you can send it to your cousin and show your appreciation.”
He frowns, because Josh would probably like that, but he’s pretty sure Trace is up to something because she never calls him Seresin. He stands and lets her take the photo though, giving her a grin and a wink, because why the hell not?
… … …
Bradley stares at his phone.
Stares some more until the screen goes black and he unlocks it and the photo is back.
Jake Seresin wearing a basketball top, sweat-shiny and winking at the camera, hair dark, damp and mussed from working out. He looks good. That’s all his brain can process.
Natasha’s message telling him he really missed a good workout at the gym.
Bradley’s never thought about his callsign as a thing before, as a name that might brand someone as his. He’s never been a particularly possessive boyfriend. Seeing Hangman wear a top with Roosters across the front makes his fingers itch, and not only because he wants to go and add an apostrophe, but because he wants to touch. He’s wanted to touch Hangman before, sometimes to punch him in the face, but mostly to rough him up a little bit… he’s always resisted though, aware he’s got to keep sharp control of his temper.
Right now it’s not his temper he has to keep control of.
To be continued? 🤷♀️
PART TWO
(Obviously the answer to it being continued was 'yes!!!')
#Hangster#Sereshaw#Top Gun Maverick#rooster x hangman#and they don't even interact in this#Team Player
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Shenhe vs Xiao
A/n: original got lost so i had to rewrite it. Its a bit rushed because i have school tomorrow and there’s alot of complications with it so once that’s sorted out I’ll be able to do more longer posts
Gender neutral reader
Unlike the others so far they’re on good terms with each other. Shenhe isn’t competitive and neither is Xiao really. What they both want is you yes but they also want to keep your clumsy ass safe. You happen to be a bit slow in the head which means you get into trouble easily and frequently find yourself injecting or hurt in some way. So its rare you aren’t at Bubu Pharmacy or in bed recovering. Because of this their protective instincts are often on overdrive. Shenhe accompanies you almost everywhere like a bodyguard while you teach her about social etiquette. You aren’t clumsy, just a bit stupid and not always the brightest. Running into doors, walls, posts, etc.
if you even mention Xiao or something similar to his name will he teleport to you. Xiao is like a cat almost. He’s distant but loving in his own unique way. You once caught him sleeping next to your bed in Bubu Pharmacy. Apparently he exhausted himself by teleporting you there, you were sure to treat him to some almond tofu even if you hardly remembered the ordeal before. He will bring you what he believes to be delicious food but for the Adepti its hardly human-appetizing. Its more likely than not just tasty plants. Xiao however isn’t very touchy. Don’t even surprise him with physical touch. He gets startled and may react with force out of impulse. Rather it takes a long time and patience to wean him into a more accepting and comfortable one. He actually is a bit torn himself on his feelings. He himself actually thinks Shenhe would be a better choice. You’re both human, you’re both mortal. She isn’t cured like he is. She won’t have to outlive you. He knows the best thing is to leave you to her, she will certainly treat you well but he still loves you too much to fully give up. He will not force you to choose him, rather keeping the option open. More than anything, he wants you safe and happy.
Shenhe unlike Xiao is more willing to go beyond normal etiquette. If you hold her hand she just looks at you expecting a explanation. But like Xiao you will have to walk her through relationship ettique or proper courtship. Otherwise she’ll go with Cloud Retainer’s traditional methods which often are leave various gifts at your door. Its sweet at first! Pretty flowers and stones, but then she finds out you like meat and there’s now a whole ass bird just lifeless at your doorstep. You had to correct this. But she still brought a boar larger than you knew boar could be one time. You struggled to prepare the meat so most went to neighbors or nearby kitties with big appetites. You had to specify which was a more appropriate offering to her. Shenhe loves also like a cat but unlike Xiao she’s more flexible. She doesn’t initiate contact herself, but if you hug her she won’t shy away. Instead responding with a hug herself.
In the end you will have to initiate most steps as you’re dealing with two types of cat personalities here. But i mean maybe you could have both?
#genshin imagines#genshin x y/n#genshin impact#domestic fluff#shenhe x you#shenhe x reader#xiao x y/n#xiao x reader#gender neutral reader#wlw vs mlw series
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Preliminary Poll
Vanellope von Schweets
Submission reason:
Ralph Breaks The Internet was a fucking awful sequel in almost every possible way, including how it characterised Vanellope. In the first movie, she's a spunky, brave, gutsy lil kid who desperately wants not just to be a playable character, but to be accepted. Seen as a 'glitch', she is literally not accepted as human by the other characters in the game. She can also be a bit of a pill, but that's understandable given her FIFTEEN YEARS of exile and ostracisation in her own home. Also unrelated but her 'glitch' not being 'fixed' by the end, but instead her learning to accept and even embrace it as part of herself and the other racers accepting her as she is - amazing. (curing disability trope my beloathed)
Jump-cut to the sequel, where six years have passed and suddenly her fifteen-year dream is... too... boring for her? What? Where'd that come from? So her solution is to build some fun shortcuts and extra tracks and whatnot in the game - okay, sure, but then she starts going against the player and taking control to use those shortcuts while being played, in broad fucking daylight, which - oh, shocker - leads to the game getting unplugged. Indirectly, but still! Then she and Ralph (and believe me I will make an entire separate post for him because they BUTCHERED him) go to the Internet - again, in broad daylight while the arcade is open. Isn't... isn't leaving their games in the middle of the day exactly what almost got Ralph's game unplugged in the first movie? Huh?
Nothing much to add for most of the movie. Vanellope just acts like a brat the entire time, which does not remotely make sense for her as a character. But then. The ending happens. Oh fucking gee guvnor I wonder how they could possibly fuck up the ending that badly - OH LET ME TELL YOU.
So like in the movie they go into this multiplayer apocalypse car-jacking game a la Fortnite, and Vanellope decides within less than a day that this game is totally the coolest place ever and she should totally stay here forever. And she. she does. she stays in Slaughter Race forever. this is presented as the Right Thing To Do because she's Following Her Dreams and isn't it great NO! NO IT ISN'T!
She's the president of Sugar Rush, and yet she's fully prepared to drop her responsibilities and go off to live somewhere else without a second thought. This isn't 'following your dreams'. This is a nine-year-old kid acting on impulse. And the movie paints her as being in the right! I'm not at all saying Ralph WAS in the right (again, we'll get to him) but even if he was well-written I'd still expect him to be concerned with Vanellope's decision here.
Oh and then there's the fact that SHE'S PRETTY MUCH DOING EXACTLY WHAT THE VILLAIN IN THE FIRST MOVIE DID. What it was supposed to be a cautionary tale AGAINST doing. Heck, Vanellope was hands-down the person hurt the most by Turbo's actions, and yet she brushes it off with "I'm one of sixteen racers, who's going to miss me?" Sure, but aren't you a little concerned that the players might miss not only the main character of the game, but also the most popular character by far? Or maybe even the other racers? Who have supposedly been your friends for six years now? None of them would miss you? And it's never even brought up! Turbo and the negative effects of his actions are never even mentioned, by either party. I can even imagine something with this plotline working in a better written movie - again, Vanellope was the person hurt the most by Turbo's actions, so it should be her call after all. They could have spent longer making sure this decision was the right one, shown Vanellope doubting it and eventually deciding it's what she truly wants, gone through the whole process of making sure this move won't hurt anyone, all the other characters coming to terms with it, they could even make a case for how all the trauma Vanellope endured in Sugar Rush kind of tainted it for her and that's why she's so dissatisfied with her life there - but no, none of that. It all feels staggeringly out of character and makes barely any sense.
(And don't get me started on how the Slaughter Race crew just magically happen to find the original code for a twenty-one-year-old arcade game character, snip it out and plug it into an online game. I know the movie about videogame characters coming to life isn't exactly famed for having realistic representation of how coding works, but this is some absolute bullshit and it just gets immediately swept under the rug.)
So yeah they well and truly massacred my girl Vanellope and the sequel is non-canon in my mind. Thank you and goodnight.
Propaganda:
Not sure if it counts, but I wanted to just mention it. There's this really really good fix-it fic of the sequel on fanfiction.net called It's A Slaughterful Life. Go read it. It's amazing.
#look how they massacred my girl#vanellope von schweetz#wreck it ralph#ralph breaks the internet#vanellope
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crimson river//the ahs boys period headcanons!
pairings; the ahs boys x fem reader
rating; pg13
warnings; mentions of the menstrual cycle, blood, period sex
Tate Langdon;
• Yes, he’s fully aware of what a period is. And he’s also aware that it’s something that may cause you pain, which is the one thing that Tate can’t stand seeing you in.
• He knows whenever he’s not having a good time that you usually rub small circles on his back, so this is when he returns the favour and does the exact same back to you in bed.
• Thinks it’s ridiculous that women need to go through this all for a fucking baby. His way of wording it is that the kid should suffer, not you.
Kit Walker;
• He’s willing to go anywhere to get you something that’ll soothe you’re pain. The minute you start getting cramps, he’s offski to the nearest store.
• Unlike Tate in this situation, Kit is very grateful that you’re willing to allow you’re body to let you experience this for having his kids in the near future. He knows some women have made decisions to avoid this, but you’re strong and Kit LOVES it.
• And for that, he’ll do everything in his power to make sure you’re suffering is eased slightly. No more cramps, cravings, nada.
Franken Kyle;
• The whole week he’s just really confused on why you’re getting so angry and upset quite easily.
• He ends up going to either Cordelia or someone he knows will be able to explain to him why this is happening. They inform him that he just needs to take his time with you, and try to keep you’re stress levels to a minimum.
• Kyle just goes into you’re room and gives ya one of his big old cuddles! He understands how you’re feeling, and he truly hopes a little bit of affection might cheer you up.
Jimmy Darling;
• Jimmy knows it’s a bit hard to find the necessities you’ll be needing during this time. So, he digs out a little bit of spare cash and then he’s off into town.
• He tries his best to make sure no one annoys you or waltzes into you’re trailer every five seconds. His mother slightly goes overboard, so he asks her to give you some space.
• You rely on both Jimmy and Eve through this whole week. They don’t mind at all. The two are more than happy to help you when you need it most.
Dandy Mott;
• WHAT THE FUCK DO I EVEN SAY HERE LMFSOZOJDE..
• Let’s just say, Dandy never really grew up with the ‘period talk’ and whenever his mother said ANYTHING about it, he’d scream at her and demand she stopped talking.
• You don’t see him frequently. Usually he’s in the bathroom gagging at the smell then trying to make it up to you by ordering Dora and his mother to retrieve absolutely everything you’ll be needing. It’s sickly sweet if i’m being honest.
James Patrick March;
• He’s trying his best to stop himself from insisting he be the one who’s able to soothe you’re pain.. in other ways..
• “JAMES! THAT IS ABSOLUTELY REPULSIVE!!!”
“But darling! Since when has a little blood affected me, hmm?”
• You immediately refused and he understood. Though he did say it you changed you’re mind he’d instruct Miss Evers to clean it up afterwards..
Tristan Duffy;
• No, he’s not disgusted. The only thing that’s bothering him is how fucking moody girls can be when this happens.
• He’ll sit in bed with you, trying to order some food to make you a bit happier. He manages to text someone in the hotel to bring it up to you both.
• Prepare for a week filled with cartoons and movies, because that is exactly what Tristan wants. He expects you to rest and just relax with him, snuggling together.
Rudolph Valentino;
• It’s hard for him to always be by you’re side during this week of hell. Though, if there’s times that he can be, he’ll make sure he’s there.
• Treats you with tons of expensive items, trying to make this a more happier experience for you. I suppose it’s better being treated and in pain than just being stuck in pain with no treats at all!
• He’ll look after you well. Despite him having to go out filming at certain times, he frequently contacts you so you can let him know how you’re doing.
Kai Anderson;
• Don’t even try to use this as an excuse, because Kai will literally have you pick yourself off the damn floor if it means pushing you out of bed so you’ll get up and join the cult for the day.
• Got cramps? Too bad. Kai always reminds you that you’re doing this for him and his future kids. So suck it up and act like nothing’s wrong. (SMH KAI THIS AIN’T HOW IT WORKS)
• Okay, Kai gets extremely turned on by how feisty you are whilst on you’re period. You could be yelling at the whole cult for all he cares. If it gives him pleasure, go right ahead.
Michael Langdon;
• We know for a fucking fact this man didn’t get to learn about periods before he unexpectedly aged.
• Blood doesn’t bother him. That, we’re aware of. But perhaps the smell can throw him off and make Michael a tad bit queasy.
• He obviously doesn’t know how to use a tampon, so when he finds out some women need to practically stick one up themselves, it leaves him in disbelief.
#ahs fandom#american horror story#finn wittrock#ahs hotel#evan peters#dandy mott#freak show#james patrick march#james march#ahs freakshow#james march x reader#dandy mott x reader#tate langdon x reader#tate langdon x you#tristan duffy x reader#tristan duffy#rudolph valentino#valentino x reader#michael langdon#cody fern#kit walker x reader#kit walker#ahs fluff#ahs headcanons#headcanon#michael langdon x reader#jimmy darling#kyle spencer#kai anderson#kai anderson x reader
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Give it to your sister
Fandom: Encanto
Characters: Mirabel, Luisa
Summary: Mirabel hides sometimes. Luisa is no stranger to things becoming too much.
A/N: I am late as usual and just watched Encanto and needed to write something because I love that family with my whole HEART. I'm not sure how much I'll write for it, but feel free to send me prompts for now and maybe I'll fill them!!
Words: 752
Mirabel hid sometimes, when it all became too much. She was certain no one noticed - everyone used to her being in the way, to her overwhelming urge to try to be of use. It always surprised her when she did it, because it was usually for the smallest reason. The last straw breaking the camel’s back. A change of tone. Someone ignoring her, or snapping at her, or the whole house moving to a rhythm she couldn’t keep up with and she finally realized she was tired. And so she hid. Not in the nursery, because that didn’t seem like hiding. Anyone could find her there. She didn’t want to be found.
Not immediately, anyway.
“There you are.” Mirabel caught the anxiety melting off of Luisa’s face when she looked up to find her crouching down to peek at her. “Only you would think to hide beneath Dolores’ bed.”
Mirabel grinned sheepishly. “I figured no one would expect me to go for the person who would hear me even approaching the door.”
Luisa laughed, delighted. “That’s clever. Too bad she could hear your breathing and told me to check on you. Scoot over.”
Mirabel did what she was told and didn’t bat a single eyelid as Luisa lifted the bed so that she could crawl under it too. “I’m fine,” she said before her sister could ask.
“You’re not.” She knocked their shoulders together as lightly as she could, but it still jostled her. “It’s okay. I don’t blame you.”
Mirabel wasn’t used to people noticing, except her mother. Even if they did, most of them kept quiet about it; her lack of powers as hush hush of a topic as Bruno’s existence. Antonio’s big day was approaching and the house was a whirlwind of preparations that she wasn’t getting included in. In fact, Abuela was probably two mistakes away from tying her to a chair to keep her from intervening. It was quite humiliating.
“Humiliating to be able to sit back and relax?” Luisa said when she’d finished ranting.
“To not be of use.” Despite her frustration she didn’t miss the way something flickered across Luisa’s face which she couldn’t fully interpret. “I don’t mean to complain, I promise-”
“It’s good to complain sometimes.” Luisa wasn’t looking at her, instead opting to pick at a speck of dust on the floor which only she seemed to be able to see. “It’s better than hiding.”
Mirabel buried her face in her arms, suddenly embarrassed. “I don’t mean to hide.”
“Hey.” A poke to her side. “Look at me.”
“Don’t wanna.”
Luisa let out a laugh. “Come on. Please.” She dragged out the word, almost singing it. Mirabel could picture her grinning, the way she would when they were younger and Isabela had pissed Mirabel off so that Luisa had to try to save the day. Luisa always tried to save the day. They were alike in that way, only at least her sister usually succeeded while Mirabel always failed.
Another poke to her side, as if Luisa could sense she was wallowing. “Mirabel.”
Mirabel whined, burying her face even deeper so that her nose was almost touching the floor. Maybe she should’ve found a better hiding spot.
The poke was suddenly aimed higher, which was definitely on purpose, and Mirabel cried out and tried to move her arm down to shove Luisa off, only Luisa grabbed it before she could and poked at her upper ribs again just where she knew it tickled.
“Luisa!” Mirabel shrieked, already laughing, realizing how close her sister’s now continuous pokes were to her armpit. “Don’t!”
“Should’ve looked at me when I asked you to.” She could hear Luisa’s smile in her voice, although she couldn’t see much as she’d knocked off her own glasses in her attempt to roll away in a space that was way too small for this type of activity.
Still she tried, rolling over to the side which Luisa was torturing to try to block her attacks, which of course just led to Luisa going for her belly, hugging her close in the process so that Mirabel couldn’t move away at all. Whatever she was saying through her laughter, Luisa ignored. Mirabel wasn’t entirely sure it made sense anyway, her words jumbled and choppy, her giggles bubbly and loud.
“I wonder how Dolores hasn’t burst in here yet, since it sounds like I’m murdering you.”
Dolores was, unbeknownst to them, standing just outside the room smiling at the sound of her cousins.
#tickling#ticklish!mirabel#mirabel and luisa#encanto#encanto fic#tickle fic#give it to your sister#n writes
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7 Sins Legacy - generation 4 (pride)
Some days ago while Supriya was in Sulani...
Rohan: Dad, can I talk to you?
Suraj: Sure, what's wrong?
Rohan: How would you feel if someone else would become head of the party? ...I'm not talking about myself.
Suraj: What do you mean?
Rohan: I mean.. I think you should give the position to Supriya.
Suraj: What?
Rohan: I know she will do so much better leading our political party than I ever will. You've seen how hard she works and how fast she earned promotion after promotion, and she's dedicated... Besides, I'm afraid that she will leave if she feels like she can't fully progress within the career.
Suraj: I thought that leading the party is something that you also wanted. We've discussed it for a long time and you never seemed to want anything else. Why would you give that up just because you're afraid someone wants to leave?
Rohan: ...Well, you see, when I was younger you always told me that I could be the next leader of your party. It was such an obvious path for me to follow, that I never even thought twice about it. And don't get me wrong, for a long time I really wanted it too-
-but recently I've started thinking about it, a lot. And I've realized that sometimes the things I once wanted can change. It's a lot of responsibility and I don't know if I want that. That doesn't mean that I want to stop working for the party, it just means that I... don't want to lead it.
Suraj: You love her.
Rohan: I- WHAT? No, I mean... I-
Suraj: I can see it in the way you look at her. It's the same way I looked at your mother when I first met her.
AAAHWWW!
Rohan: Indira! ...Mom? I would expect if from Indira to eavesdrop, which is already bad enough, but you mom?
Suraj bursted out in typical dad laughter "Oh come on, we all know how much your mother loves gossip."
Gunita: I'm sorry darling, I wanted to say something about it when I saw Indira stopping in her tracks when she came down the stairs, but then I heard you talking and I got curious too.
Suraj: The gala where I'm going to publicly announce my retirement is within a week. You have to think carefully about whether this is really what you want, so we can discuss it at work with the others. Because I know that even if I give you the position, you'll probably still hand it over to Supriya if you've made up your mind already.
Indira: [jokingly] Don't get me wrong, I like Supriya, she seems really nice. But can't you just ask her out on a date instead of offering her the most important position within the party? You're coming on a bit strong there, dear brother.
Rohan: Guys please, that's besides the point: if we really want what is best for the party, we should consider giving her the position.
Gunita: Indira, why don't you come with me to the kitchen so you can help me prepare dinner. That way these two can finish their talk in private if they need it.
Indira: Okay, okay, fine.
#I made this family just to support the story but I actually really really like them#they are quite nice people and not as scary as that they seem from the outside you just have to take the time to get to know them#the sims 4#ts4#sims 4#the sims#sims#simblr#ts4 legacy#sims 4 legacy#ts4 gameplay#sims 4 gameplay#7sinslegacy#gen4 pride#rohan#suraj#gunita#indira
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The Rookie and allowing women to fuck up
So what I genuinely love about The Rookie, is that in a show where you’d expect the opposite our female characters are diverse, complex, and extremely human. Each one of our main three have their different strengths, weaknesses, triumphs and honestly what is the most important to me, their fuck ups.
Starting with Lucy Chen (the character I relate to the most): Lucy is such a good character to me because her strength has always been presented as her empathy, her ability to put herself in anyone’s shoes is what makes so good. Her traditionally feminine trait is seen as a strength by everyone who knows her. BUT Lucy also fucks up, she makes mistakes. She’ll overthink things to the point of paralysis. She was fully prepared to, and was willing to cheat on Chris with Tim, and then stayed with him for months out of guilt and fear. Lucy fucks up! She makes huge mistakes. Which is what makes her such a good character. Lucy will make impulsive choices, she’ll try and solve things without consulting others (Metro), and she’ll think she was right. Lucy will read things incorrectly and she’ll react badly, but she’s the most empathetic, kind, adorable person. She’s human as hell.
Next: the one, the only Nyla Harper: Nyla is such a good flawed character, because she also thrives at some of the same things Lucy does. Nyla is a rockstar UC detective, Lucy also thrives at UC, but holy shit these two women are not the same. Nyla’s skills and strength do not come from her sense of empathy. Nyla’s skill at UC come with her ruthlessness. Her ability to create a shell around her so impenetrable that people just don’t know the real her. Nyla is so professional, and so competent, and her personal life is a goddamn mess, for a while. She’s bad at opening up. She did choose UC over her family and had to fight tooth and nail to get her daughter back. When she finally did, and her life calmed down, she dated two guys cause she wanted the attention! She was cruel to Aaron because it was for his own good (she thought she knew best). She used Penelope’s past against her, which was an objectively fucked up thing to do, but it was human and it was a *mother’s* move.
Next: Angelaaaaaa Loooopeezzzz
Angela is such a good character y’all. She’s someone we’ve seen put on so many different hats. Her TO’ing was different than Tim’s, Talia’s, or Nyla’s, she was Jackson’s older sister. She taught him, she didn’t wash Jackson out on his first day. She looked out for this kid. But also Angela wanted desperately to make detective, her failed tip trading scheme was her going too big. She was overconfident, and it cost her. But she was a badass, she just kept trying. But also we’ve seen Angela be insecure, in her relationship with Wesley, with her mother, and as a mother. Angela Lopez is a badass, but she is so so so soft sometimes. And she’s not perfect, her single minded devotion to catching Elijah, her need to *the* person protecting her family. So many fuck ups there. So many better ways to handle it. But she didn’t, and that’s what makes her Angela. and OH a woman on television being allowed to have realistic views on having another kid. Angela was allowed to be hesistant and not excited about being pregnant again, and no one thought she was being a villain or being terrible. She was scared about her life changing *again* and that was okay. She’s So Human.
#the rookie#lucy chen#nyla harper#angela lopez#i just love when women fuck up#tim bradford#wesley evers#james murray#Chenford#wopez#jayla#women#elijah stone
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Northanger Abbey Readthrough, Ch 4
Catherine is fully prepared to meet Mr. Tilney again but he is nowhere to be found! Disaster!
However, good is on the horizon, Mrs. Allen finally finds a friend, Mrs. Thorpe, an old schoolfellow. Austen throws in a great joke:
Their joy on this meeting was very great, as well it might, since they had been contented to know nothing of each other for the last fifteen years.
Austen brings up this again in Mansfield Park, where for all her sisterly love, Mrs. Norris will not put herself in any expense to see her sister:
It had, in fact, occurred to her, that though taken to Portsmouth for nothing, it would be hardly possible for her to avoid paying her own expenses back again. So her poor dear sister Price was left to all the disappointment of her missing such an opportunity, and another twenty years’ absence, perhaps, begun. (Ch 37)
It is such a true thing, a sad thing, that we claim to love people and yet are content to never see them... (Or even write) This is clearly performative friendship, but it happens with real ones too.
I love the "friendship" between Mrs. Allen and Mrs. Thorpe because it is so true to life, they both talk about themselves and really don't listen to the other:
they proceeded to make inquiries and give intelligence as to their families, sisters, and cousins, talking both together, far more ready to give than to receive information, and each hearing very little of what the other said.
Also, Mrs. Allen unable to brag about children contents herself by knowing she has more handsome lace!
So I have heard theories that this whole meeting was planned by the Thorpes, but honestly, the Thorpes are not that good at planning. Also, the childhood acquaintance is real. It seems likely to me that the Thorpes were already going to Bath to husband hunt and John Thorpe planned to bring James, but everything else was a "happy" coincidence.
We meet the three Thorpe sisters:
Her eldest daughter had great personal beauty, and the younger ones, by pretending to be as handsome as their sister, imitating her air, and dressing in the same style, did very well.
This comes much later, but the younger Thorpe sisters are basically clones of Isabella. We hear them talk and it's identical to Isabella. I cannot imagine spending time with this family! I would explode.
Miss Thorpe, however, being four years older than Miss Morland, and at least four years better informed, had a very decided advantage in discussing such points; she could compare the balls of Bath with those of Tunbridge, its fashions with the fashions of London; could rectify the opinions of her new friend in many articles of tasteful attire; could discover a flirtation between any gentleman and lady who only smiled on each other; and point out a quiz through the thickness of a crowd.
Quiz does not mean "a short test" until the 1850s. The word quiz is used a lot in Northanger Abbey and it's current meaning is, "odd person, person or thing deemed ridiculous".
This passage reminds me a lot of a section from Austen's Love and Freindship:
Isabel had seen the World. She had passed 2 Years at one of the first Boarding-schools in London; had spent a fortnight in Bath and had supped one night in Southampton.
“Beware my Laura (she would often say) Beware of the insipid Vanities and idle Dissipations of the Metropolis of England; Beware of the unmeaning Luxuries of Bath and of the stinking fish of Southampton.”
In both passages, I believe we are meant to understand that the informant is not actually that informed, they just look worldly to our poor naive heroine.
This passage is a jab at the novel style of the era:
This brief account of the family is intended to supersede the necessity of a long and minute detail from Mrs. Thorpe herself, of her past adventures and sufferings, which might otherwise be expected to occupy the three or four following chapters; in which the worthlessness of lords and attorneys might be set forth, and conversations, which had passed twenty years before, be minutely repeated.
I didn't really understand the reference until I read Belinda by Maria Edgeworth, wherein a character gave a 36 PAGE history of herself. It was very strange to read and not very natural. So good on Austen for realizing that style was terrible.
Also, this much loved quote is so sarcastic:
Catherine was delighted with this extension of her Bath acquaintance, and almost forgot Mr. Tilney while she talked to Miss Thorpe. Friendship is certainly the finest balm for the pangs of disappointed love.
Ah yes, her disappointed love of not seeing the guy she danced with for one evening! And her friendship of about 10 minutes.
#northanger abbey readthrough#ch 4#northanger abbey#catherine morland#mrs. thorpe#mrs. allen#isabella thorpe
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Moment(s) of Truth
Book: Crimes of Passion
Pairing: M!Trystan Thorne x F!MC (Emma Rose)
Rating: General
Word count: 1059
Summary: They think they're being discreet. They're not. Trystan and Emma as seen through other people's eyes. Ft. Olivia Nevrakis.
Olivia
Her Eminence Anastasi Zimena of Lythikos?
Oh hell no.
Olivia’s focus zeroes in on the woman who walked in on Trystan Thorne’s arm two minutes ago, moving with an air that would lend credence to her claim – if Olivia didn’t know full well that there is no Her Eminence Anastasi Zimena, not in Lythicos, not in all of Cordonia.
For some reason, this woman and Trystan are pulling a con. Olivia intends to find out why.
She dismisses the impulse to march up to them and demand answers. Too unsubtle and inelegant, and Olivia Nevrakis is nothing if not elegant. So she bides her time. It doesn’t take long to figure out that “Anastasi” is conducting a series of interrogations, not that the lot of hopeless fools realize they’re being interrogated.
Whoever this Sonja person is, she’s important to her. She makes a mental note to learn who they both are.
She watches Trystan and “Anastasi” dance together, and… her identity isn’t the only thing they’re faking. There’s none of the ease and comfort of an established relationship, so whoever they are to each other, it isn’t a romantic partner. Still, they’re something. There’s a spark there. A personality clash, maybe. Or an attraction.
She watches Trystan walk away, with Anastasi hot on his heels, and makes her move. She puts one of her daggers to her lower back and whispers, “So… Anastasi of Lythikos, eh? What a pleasure to run into you here… cousin.”
2. Mafalda
Mafalda walks out of the police station and stops in her tracks. Trystan and Emma are standing close together, his hand on her shoulder and their faces inches apart.
“Aha,” she says under her breath. “I knew it.”
She’s had her suspicions about Emma’s relationship with her client/new partner/bane of her existence since the beginning. There’s been a certain… tension between from the moment Trystan told her he wanted to hire Emma, and Mafalda has spent the last few weeks wondering whether it stems from Emma’s annoyance with the arrangement or something more.
Looking at the two of them now, leaning closer to each other, she doesn’t have to wonder anymore.
“I’m not interrupting something, am I?”
They try to play dumb, which… seriously? She’s almost insulted. She’ll give Trystan a pass because he hardly knows her, but Emma should know better by now. She’s a detective, for god’s sake.
Oh, well. No one is particularly smart while within the grasp of infatuation, Mafalda thinks. She’ll be magnanimous and let this one go.
She fully plans to have a little fun at their expense, though. It’s the little things in life.
3. Lydea
Lydea wasn’t prepared to break a sweat, let alone get a serious workout this morning. After all, Trystan is good, but she’s better. Still, she knows very well how easily arrogance can lead to failure, so she takes half a dozen of her best people with her to arrest him. Just in case.
She wasn’t expecting the woman, but she shrugs it off as a mere detail. It’s hardly a surprise that her brother has company over. She even feels a little sorry for the traumatic memory this is bound to leave in the stranger.
Until she launches herself into the fray and takes three of Lydea’s best people down.
But she isn’t too upset. Trystan is clearly more worried about New York over there than he is about himself, so it’s an unintentional favor when she lands hard on her back and distracts him long enough for Lydea to incapacitate him.
It isn’t until the flight back home that Lydea realizes she’s seen that face before. In the intelligence files about Trystan’s new colleagues.
Detective Emma Rose.
“Oh, brother,” she says with a sigh. “Still mixing business with pleasure, I see.”
4. Ruby
Ruby hangs up the phone and turns to Luke.
“Babe, wake up.” She nudges him gently, then harder when he only grunts. “Wake up! Trystan needs us.”
He opens one bleary eye. “If he’s having a bagel emergency again, I swear to God…”
“Luke. He’s been arrested for his fiancée’s murder. He must be halfway to Drakovia by now.”
He sits bolt upright. “I’ll be ready in five.”
She jumps out of bed and drags on a pair of pants, going over her conversation with Emma again.
“Trystan was arrested this morning.”
“What? But…”
“I called Marguerite, her plane leaves for Drakovia ASAP. Are you in?”
“Obviously, but what happened?”
“His sister broke into his apartment this morning saying he was under arrest for Juliana’s murder. I tried to stop them, but there were too many of them. I’ll fill you in later, for now, try to meet us at the airport in thirty.”
Even as she begins to pack, Ruby’s mind keeps coming back to one question. What was Emma doing in Trystan’s apartment so early?
5. Olivia
She watches Trystan walk up to the dais, and maybe it’s because she remembers Liam’s coronation so well, but she easily recognizes the fear in his eyes.
But there’s also something else, something she can pinpoint precisely because it’s so unlike how it was with Liam. Where her best friend was proud to be taking on the mantle, Trystan looks like he’s walking to his execution. This isn’t a happy, if scared, man. This is someone who wishes he could be anywhere but here.
In many ways, he reminds her of Leo. But Leo had the good sense to recognize how unsuitable he was for the job and walk away in time. Apparently, that’s beyond Trystan’s capabilities.
But no. Olivia remembers the way he looked at Emma – first back at the Iverson gala, and again after his recoronation. She refuses to believe he’s going to be such as an idiot as to go through with this.
“We need someone who loves Drakovia above all else.”
She follows the direction of his gaze knowing full well what, or who, she’ll see. Really, it’s exhausting being right all the time.
Still, when Trystan places the crown on Lydea’s head, Olivia surprises herself by feeling almost sentimental. A king abdicating for the person he obviously loves? It’ll take a stronger person even than Olivia to be unaffected.
“I didn’t see this coming,” Liam whispers next to her.
She exchanges an amused look with Riley.
“Trust me, Liam. We know.”
#trystan x emma#trystan x mc#trystan thorne#detective rose#emma rose#crimes of passion#playchoices#did i finish writing this to procrastinate on prepping for my interview tomorrow? maybe
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What Are Friends For? (Mapi Leon & Alexia Putellas x Reader)
Summary: Mapi helps her bestie, Alexia, prepare to propose to her girlfriend
This was hurriedly finished because that game was devastating and we all need something good right now. Hopefully it's still fun to read.
Proposal location: Barcelona Unique Hotel Room | W Barcelona (marriott.co.uk) if you scroll all the way down, you can see the amazing view from the terrace
"Maria! Pay attention." Alexia reached over and pinched Mapi.
"Ow!" she yelled, rubbing her arm. "Chill, Ale. She's not going to be here for hours yet."
"You know her. She'll show up at the worst possible minute."
"Is that any way to talk about your fiancé?"
"Not my fiancé," Alexia reminded her.
"Almost fiancé," Mapi corrected with a teasing eye roll. "You're asking her in a few days. She's going to say yes. It's a given."
"You really think she'll say yes?"
"Duh, dude. That girl is more obsessed with you than some of your crazy online fans."
"Shut up," she muttered. She ducked her head, looking down at the pictures again. "Okay, which of these two is better?" she asked, pointing at two pictures. They were both photos from the first trip you ever took together. Mapi pointed at one. Alexia moved it to the pile of photos she was planning to use and dropped the other photo back into the box she'd pulled it out of.
Taking more photos out, she heard the key in the lock. "Shit!"
Mapi grabbed the photos off the table and shoved them under her computer while Alexia hurriedly closed the box and shoved it in a cabinet. They both turned to look at the door as it flew open, surprise all over their faces.
"What are you two getting up to? You look like I just caught you looking at porn." You closed the door and put your bag next to it.
"It was one time!" Mapi yelled as you walked closer to them. "And I fully expected you to stay in Alexia's room that night."
You bent over to give Alexia a kiss hello.
Alexia pulled you down onto her lap. "You're home early."
"That's not suspicious at all." You wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Not even a 'hello' or 'how was your afternoon' to try to distract me first?"
"We were just talking about where we should go for vacation at the end of the season." The lie easily rolled off Mapi's tongue, saving Alexia from having to make something up. She knew there was nothing Alexia hated more than lying to you or keeping things from you.
“Since I met you two, I’ve never been anywhere for vacation other than Ibiza.” You looked between the two of them, narrowing your eyes. "You know what, I actually don't want to know." You pushed up from Alexia to stand next to them. “Are you staying for dinner, Maria?”
"Only if Alexia promises not to show off her terrible dance moves while we cook."
"I'm not promising that. Y/N loves my terrible dance moves."
"It's true," you said, with a laugh. Backing up into the kitchen, you started pulling out vegetables from the fridge, assuming Maria would stay. She always did. You shook your head when you heard them arguing over who was the better dancer. There was no point in telling them they were both equally terrible.
After dinner, they said goodnight to Mapi and sat to cuddle for a few minutes on the couch before bed. Alexia tucked herself under your arm and laid her head on your chest.
“I want to take you on a date this weekend,” Alexia said, playing with the sleeve of your shirt.
“I’d love that,” you said, scratching the back of her head. “What do you want to do?”
“I’ll plan it. You just show up looking beautiful.”
"I can't wait." You leaned down to give her a kiss.
~~~
On Saturday, Alexia met Mapi at the hotel she had chosen for the night. She'd gotten a corner suite with a huge terrace overlooking the ocean. You had always dreamed of getting engaged at the beach. Alexia wanted this moment to be just for the two of you, though. The beaches in Barcelona were always crowded and you both were easily recognized by most people in the city now. It was both a gift and a curse.
“Do you know what you’re going to say?” Mapi asked. It was the only part of the proposal that Alexia hadn't shared with her. “Or are you winging it?”
“Mostly winging it," Alexia said as she continued clipping photos to the boards she'd brought. "There’s a few things I’ve been thinking I should say. But I didn’t want it to sound rehearsed.”
"She's going to love it," Mapi said, hearing the nerves in her friend's voice. "This is the perfect proposal, Ale."
"I don't know why I'm nervous." Alexia looked at all the pictures in front of her. There were pictures from your life together, from the time you were friends up to now. "We've talked so much about this. I know she wants this. And I definitely want it."
"You're just overthinking. It's going to be amazing." Mapi tugged Alexia's arm. "Come on, let's go move all that patio furniture. Maybe getting your sweat on will take your mind off your nerves."
~~~
Alexia had asked you to meet her in the lobby of the hotel at 6pm. It was easy enough to convince you it was only for dinner because you had been wanting to eat at one of the restaurants at this hotel for months. You thought it was a little strange that she hadn't come with you from home. But she had said she needed to help Mapi finish something and would get ready at her house rather than driving all the way home and then all the way back to the hotel.
You found her sitting in the lobby, dressed in a strappy plain black dress with a very high slit. Her legs were crossed and she was leaning forward, typing on her phone. Her hair was softly curled and falling forward to partially cover her face. You gave yourself a minute to admire her. She looked stiff, you realized. You hoped maybe this date would help relax her a little.
Crossing the lobby to her, you touched her head. Her eyes traveled up your dress to your face.
"You look incredible," she murmured. She stood, pulling you into a tight hug.
"You do, too. I stopped to stare at you for a minute because you took my breath away." You pulled back to give her a small kiss. You dropped your arms and she took your hand in hers. "Lead the way, hermosa."
You were surprised when she lead you towards the elevator and used a key card to press the button for the 21st floor.
"I thought we were going to dinner."
"We are. I just want to show you something first. I figured you wouldn't mind if we stayed here overnight."
"Oh, but I don't have anything with me."
She giggled and kissed your cheek. "I brought a bag for you, baby. Don't worry." She slipped her arm around your waist, holding you close against her. When the elevator stopped at 21, she lead you out and down to the end of the hall. She unlocked the door and held it open for you to step through.
You were immediately greeted by the sight of a huge bed in front of floor to ceiling windows, giving you a clear view of the ocean below. "Wow. This is beautiful."
"The thing I want to show you is out on the terrace," she said. She walked you over to the large sliding doors and opened them for you.
For the second time that night, Alexia took your breath away. Stepping out onto the terrace, you were greeted by dozens of photos of you and Alexia. There were hundreds of rose petals strewn across the ground. The sun was setting over the ocean below and you could see all of Barcelona from up here.
"Babe," you whispered. You let her pull you over, closer to the edge. She took both of your hands in hers, holding them between you.
"When you came to Barcelona five years ago, I fell for you so fast. I spent so long wishing you were mine. You’re the most incredible woman and somehow you love me, too.
"I love every moment with you, even when you’re annoying me on purpose or when you’re angry with me. I love that we always end up dancing in the kitchen when we cook. I love the way you love me. I love waking up before you and listening to those stupid noises you make. I love our life together. I love you so much."
Behind the jacuzzi, Mapi tried to keep silent and not interrupt the moment. She had set up Alexia's phone on the other side of the terrace to take a video and she was using her own phone in this spot to take photographs. Alexia knew she was there, thankfully. Y/N looked like she was ready to take Alexia back inside and make use of the giant bed. Hopefully Alexia remembered Mapi was hiding up there.
She snapped more photos as Alexia reached behind one of the chair cushions and pulled out the ring box, as she got down on a knee, and as Y/N threw herself into Alexia's arms, pulling her back to her feet. She caught the kiss with the ring box visible in Alexia's hand still.
Clearly Alexia did not remember that Mapi was up there. As the two continued kissing the heck out of each other, Mapi ducked behind the jacuzzi to look at the photos. Her heart melted for her friends. They both looked so happy. Looking at the last picture of their kiss, she made the instant decision that everyone needed to see it. She posted it to Instagram as a public story, tagging them both, and adding a few hearts for good measure.
Alexia could kill her tomorrow. She was clearly too busy right now to do anything about it.
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Cosette!
There's a strong implication that the Rue Plumet house is an opportunity for romance, both through earlier descriptions of the garden (the emphasis on youth, weddings, love, etc) and lines like this:
"The convent is a compression which must last the whole life, if it is to triumph over the human heart. On leaving the convent, Cosette could not have found anything sweeter or more dangerous than the house in the Rue Plumet. It was the commencement of solitude with the commencement of liberty, a closed garden, but a sharp, kind, rich, voluptuous, and odorous nature; there were the same dreams as in the convent, but glimpses could be caught of young men,—it was a grating, but it looked on the street."
Most obviously, the passage mentions that Cosette could see young men through the grating, but the language used to describe the garden ("voluptuous") feels quite sensual. Romance would also be the specific subject Jean Valjean and the nuns couldn't/wouldn't prepare her for; if the nuns ever had experience with that, they swore it off when they became nuns, and Jean Valjean has never experienced romance ("Jean Valjean had never loved anything [. . . . ] [He] had never been father, lover, husband, or friend" - LM 2.4.3). I think Hugo centers romance and relationships for young women in a way that's uncomfortable (even if it's unfortunately realistic in some ways, given that they were financially very important [the struggle of having enough money if unmarried as a woman] and risky because of social pressures [like Fantine being ostracized because she had a child without being married]). Part of the discomfort is also from the way these societal expectations of gender blend with Hugo's ideas, like his notion that Cosette is especially lost because she doesn't have a mother to guide her with the combined experience of being a "virgin" and a "wife." Still, it's true that romance would be difficult for Cosette because she doesn't have someone to easily communicate with on the subject. Jean Valjean is the only person she has right now, and it's not a topic he's very aware of. Rather than the framing here, then, it's a bit more sympathetic if we take it as another instance of the importance of a broad network of social support. Romance would not be as dangerous to Cosette if she had a variety of people to learn from, just as it would have been safer for Fantine if she had had people to fall back on after being abandoned or if people had advised her more directly in the first place about what to expect from a student-grisette romance.
The house is also mixed for Cosette in that it contains remnants of a cage. The convent is the true "compression," so she's free now that she's no longer there. Still, the psychological cage might remain; we don't know if she'll break free of it. The grating is part-cage as well, giving her more freedom than the convent but still constraining her. She can see the world now, but she's not fully in it, either.
Most importantly, Cosette is still a child! Hugo's speculating on her future here, but Cosette just wants to find interesting insects! Her love of searching for creatures feels like a return to the gamins, who do the same when playing; it's a shared trait that defines them as children, regardless of their different backgrounds. They're all still young, so they play.
Her love for her father is so sweet. I adore that she tries to fight against Jean Valjean's total lack of self-esteem by demanding that he treat himself better, or else she'll treat herself the same way:
""Father, I feel very cold in your room; why don't you have a carpet and a stove?"
"My dear child, there are so many persons more deserving than myself who have not even a roof to cover them."
"Then, why is there fire in my room and everything that I want?"
"Because you are a woman and a child."
"Nonsense! then men must be cold and hungry?""
Cosette knows that Valjean would never make her suffer, so if she makes herself live like him, she won't actually live badly. He'll just raise his own standard of living to make sure she's comfortable. Valjean's love for Cosette is one of his main defining traits, but she really loves him, too, and it's great to see that expressed!
I also love that their bond transcends societal expectations and is unique to them. In the passage above, for instance, Cosette questions gendered expectations over what men, women, and children should respectively tolerate, rejecting the idea that women and children should be prioritized over men. Part of it is certainly that she knows her father could be living more comfortably, but it's also because she loves him and doesn't want him to suffer needlessly based on any justification, whether it be others' poverty or gender. She sees Jean Valjean as both her father and mother as well, calling him "father" and imagining him like this:
"When she thought at night before she fell asleep, as she had no very clear idea of being Jean Valjean's daughter, she imagined that her mother's soul had passed into this good man, and had come to dwell near her. When he was sitting down she rested her cheek on his white hair, and silently dropped a tear, while saying to herself, "Perhaps this man is my mother!""
It's especially moving because Valjean sees himself in a similar way, feeling that he is her father because she needed one just as he needed a child, but also "[feeling] pangs like a mother" upon adopting her (LM 2.4.3). Fantine is ever-present in their relationship (and Cosette's dream was both beautiful and sad), but not entirely in an upsetting way. Valjean's feelings are unclear, and Cosette loves her mother, but in a vague way, since she doesn't remember her. But in a spiritual/religious way, Valjean and her mother's spirits have merged to her, preserving what she's heard about her mother's love and combining it with her lived experience of love. It's very sweet, and it makes sense that she would imagine her mother this way after such a religious upbringing.
Unfortunately, the metaphorical prison of the convent and the cage of the grating aren't the only dark shadow in this chapter. The last line is a bit ominous. For context, here it is in English and in French:
"The poor wretch, inundated with an angelic joy, trembled; he assured himself with transport that this would last his whole life; he said to himself that he had not really suffered enough to deserve such radiant happiness, and he thanked God in the depths of his soul for having allowed him—the wretched—to be thus loved by this innocent being."
"Le pauvre homme tressaillait inondé d'une joie angélique; il s'affirmait avec transport que cela durerait toute la vie; il se disait qu'il n'avait vraiment pas assez souffert pour mériter un si radieux bonheur, et il remerciait Dieu, dans les profondeurs de son âme, d'avoir permis qu'il fût ainsi aimé, lui misérable, par cet être innocent."
Jean Valjean is still a "misérable," and he defines his worth through suffering. He's happy with Cosette, which is wonderful! But he also thinks he doesn't deserve her, even if she clearly thinks otherwise. His joy, then, is in constant tension with his status as a misérable, and while Cosette tries to help - she's making him live decently! - she also doesn't know why he has this mindset. Jean Valjean has love, but he still carries the logic of the prison system with him, and by that logic, he will never "deserve" happiness.
#les mis letters#lm 4.3.4#cosette#jean valjean#I just want them to stay happy and accept that they're happy#but Jean Valjean's lack of self-worth is ever-present :(#I love Cosette so much though#she's so funny as a child and she loves her father so much
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Elorcan again
For @decadentpostnacho <3
Elide smiled at her husband's sleeping form. He almost always woke up before her, so it was a nice change to see his harsh face relaxed by sleep. He looked younger and more human like this, his hair mussed up across his forehead, his jawline a little softer around the edges, his full lips soft and inviting. Unable to help herself, Elide ran her fingers through his hair. He purred then opened his eyes blearily. "Elide?" His voice was hoarse from sleep but he smiled lazily as Elide continued to stroke his hair while her other hand wandered down his body. "Good morning, husband," Elide whispered. "Good morning, wifey. You're up early." "Yes. Do you have any idea how early I had to get up to beat you? Can't you ever sleep in?" Lorcan huffed out a laugh. "No." Elide pouted. "Not even for me?" Lorcan sighed. "If you want me t-"
"I was joking, darling, relax. I actually woke up early because I wanted to ask you something."
"Yes?"
Elide swallowed. "I'd like you to teach me how to fight." Lorcan slowly got up fully, looking at her. "With a sword?" Elide blinked. "Is there another way to fight?" Lorcan smirked. "Well, you could always fight with my axe..." Elide knew he was referring to that moment Elide had slayed the ilken with his axe. "Those were extreme circumstances." "I know, Elide. In reality, it will probably take a long time for you to be able to truly handle a sword properly." Elide shook her head. "I don't need to be properly trained. Just...teach me basics. Please." Lorcan nodded before slumping back on the bed. "Are you...going back to sleep?" Lorcan grumbled, "You woke me up an hour early." Elide snickered. "You big bear." Lorcan mumbled, "Leave me alone," and Elide only laughed louder. "Big scary man needs his sleep." "Sleep is essential for good health," Lorcan muttered. Elide couldn't stop laughing even as she left the room to find breakfast.
Elide stood in an open space behind their house. She felt awkward standing there in a dress typical of a lady of Perranth, but she didn't have any armor. At least Lorcan wasn't in armor either. "Before you pick up a weapon," Lorcan said, noticing her staring at the weapons rack, "do you know basic self-defense tactics?" Elide tilted her head slightly. "Like what?" Lorcan shrugged. "Typical vulnerable places to hit someone. Kicking them in the groin, shoving their nose, elbowing...I guess not," he said when he saw Elide's blank expression. Well, you're smaller, so if you get attacked, it's better to go with the elbow strike rather than the fists, which hurt more. Let me show you." He gently wrapped his arms around her waist, and Elide leaned back into him. "Elide, what are you doing?" Elide blinked. "You're supposed to try and escape my grip, not get further in it." Oh. Right. Elide blushed as she pulled away, not missing Lorcan's smile as she pushed off. "Drop your weight down, get your hips lower than mine, and bend your head forward." Elide obeyed, frowning at the strain it put on her still-healing ankle. "Ok, now elbow me." Elide almost refused before she realized that he'd gone through much worse and she probably wouldn't be able to hurt him physically anyway. So, she twisted her hips and swung her elbow into his face as hard as she could.
As she expected, Lorcan barely even flinched, but he let go of her. "Good. That strike would've broken most people's noses." "But not yours, because you're a super strong male," Elide teased. Lorcan blushed. "I-uh-anyway, sometimes they'll grab your arms and render them unusable, in which case the back of your head is a powerful weapon." He wrapped his arms around her again, this time carefully restraining her arms. "Go ahead. Hit me." Elide squatted down, preparing herself. Then she leaped and slapped the back of her head into Lorcan's face. Again, he barely flinched, although he smiled in approval at her form. Then he went to the weapon rack and picked a wooden sword, handing it to her. "Very good, Elide. Now try this one."
#not me stealing feysand and nessian concepts and making them elorcan#but like ten times better because lorcan is god tier#lorcan salvaterre#lord lorcan lochan#elorcan#elide lochan#elorcan trash
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Chapter 15 of 21 Questions
better interface on wattpad + chapter updated till 27
ORLANDO VERSUS TOUR SHOW
Fucking nine in the morning, I am being woken up at nine in the morning to go I don’t even know where. To say Alex was confused was an understatement. Lily had randomly woken Alex up to announce to her that they were going on a road trip for a couple of days. Nothing too extravagant according to Lily, but Alex was still sceptical – and tired. She was definitely too tired to think about the why and how so she simply decided to accept it. Alex knew anyways that once she was up, she was unable to go back to sleep so she just got up and dressed with an outfit prepared by Lily. The girls’ suitcases had also been packed beforehand but Alex wasn’t allowed to look at what was inside as Lily didn’t want her friend to recognise almost all of the clothes they had packed a few days prior when they went to Atlanta.
“You can get ready in the car,” Lily suggested. “It’s quite a long drive.”
“M’kay, I’ll forget how suspicious all of this is right now. You’re lucky to have chosen my favourite hoodie.”
The piece of clothing in question was a GAP orange hoodie that Alex had been over the moon to find as it was exactly the same one owned by none other than Chris Sturniolo, which Lily knew perfectly. As Lily had chosen for Alex to support Chris’s team again – he did win last time, she had decided to wear a fully blue outfit in honour Matt’s request at the Atlanta show.
“Can I trust you not to look at your location on your phone?” Lily asked Alex once they were in the car and ready to leave.
“Yeah, I promise to keep our destination a surprise because I trust you,” Alex replied with a playful tone.
~~~
Almost two hours later, the girls were nearing Orlando. As Alex had tried to not pay attention to the road signs and given her poor sense of direction, she had no idea where they were going until the huge ORLANDO: NEXT EXIT sign appeared above the road.
“Wait a damn minute– are we going to Orlando for the reason I think we’re going to Orlando for?” Alex turned to Lily as she was getting hopeful.
“Well, I don’t know…” Lily couldn’t resist a smile. “What are you imagining?”
“Lilyyy”, Alex dragged out the last vowel. “Please tell me we’re going to see the triplets again?”
Alex’s voice was almost pitiful as she was now a hundred percent sure that they were there for them. As Lily told Alex to open her most recent conversation on Instagram, the blonde started reading the messages and almost screamed from pure joy as she now had the confirmation that they had tickets to the Orlando show of the Versus Tour.
“You cannot know how I would be ready to marry you right now for this”, Alex said as she just wanted to hug her best friend.
“I mean– we can always ask the venue if they do weddings”, Lily laughed at her own comment which in turn made Alex laugh as well.
Alex was over the moon and couldn’t stop thanking Lily until they arrived at their hotel’s parking lot. They checked in their rooms and began to get changed as Alex discovered what was in her suitcase.
“I understand now why I’m wearing my Chris hoodie, but what was the point of packing so many clothes?”
“You don’t expect us to wear the exact same thing two shows in a row, don’t you?”
“What–” Alex was really confused as she wasn’t even wearing anything that she wore in Atlanta. Once again, she got hit with a wave of hope as she thought she was getting it. “I swear to God if you mean a third show, I’m buying rings right now and asking Nick to marry us today.”
Lily simply handed four pieces of paper to Alex and let her read them. The first two were for the show of today in Orlando while the other two had TAMPA written on them. Alex couldn’t believe that it was more than simply being at the shows. Indeed, they were going to be able to take pictures again with the triplets and even have the opportunity to talk to them before the show the next day.
“So, what are you waiting for?” Lily teased. “Don’t forget I only wear silver, just like our tickets for today.”
Alex hugged her friend to thank her for everything she did and couldn’t wait to experience another show of the Versus Tour. She knew that it would mostly be the same thing over again as the games didn’t change, but it would still be a special day to remember for years.
~~
Alex and Lily were now at the venue, ready to queue before getting their picture taken. Although they wished to be able to take pictures after the show when one of the triplet would wear the crown, getting their pictures before meant that they could come back early to their hotel and get enough rest before driving to Tampa the next morning.
Per Matt’s request, Lily was wearing a blue flannel with a black tank top underneath along with her blue flared jeans and her boots. She had asked Alex to draw sharks on her cheeks, the same way she had had the bats in Atlanta. Alex had kept her orange hoodie on and had simply put on black sweatpants with her white sneakers, which was a very “Chris outfit” according to her.
While queueing, the girls had been able to take pictures with funny sunglasses and get friendship bracelets which they thought made the experience even better. Meeting people you didn’t know ten minutes before but forming a bond due to common interests was beautiful, even if you might never see that person again.
Way less nervous than in Atlanta, the girls were simply excited to see the triplets again as it was almost their turn to get their pictures taken. They had chosen again to be together in the two photos and so they both went in front of the camera.
“Hey, you changed teams!” Nick exclaimed as soon as he saw Lily’s makeup before hugging her.
“Hi! Oops, sorry.”
While Lily was bonding with Nick for the second time, Matt couldn’t help but look at her even though he was hugging Alex. He had quite a good memory with faces and immediately recognised the bubbly girl he had met a few days ago.
“Hi, glad you could make it.” Matt said, almost relieved that she was here.
“Heyy, yep and I’m betting on you today.” Lily smiled at Matt.
As Lily was about to hug Chris next, she and the two other triplets noticed that he was frozen smiling in front of Alex. The reason why? They were wearing matching hoodies and Chris couldn’t believe his eyes. He didn’t care if they were going to hold the line and piss off the cameraman as well as security, he had to make everyone notice.
“This is the best thing to happen today”, Chris happily said as he dapped up Alex – no worries, she did get a hug before Chris realised they were matching. “Guys, have you seen that?”
The three people next to him had no choice but to nod as obviously, they could see the two bright orange hoodies from a mile away. Even the people waiting in line found it extremely funny as they were trying to record the moment which was very much giving that one Spiderman meme.
After noticing that they weren’t supposed to take this long for the group pictures, Nick suggested they take them quickly as to not “fuck up the tight schedule”. Therefore, they took two pictures with Matt on Lily’s side, Chris on Alex’s once again and Nick in the middle. In both pictures, Chris and Alex had decided to point at each other as none of them could get over this coincidence.
After thanking the triplets and saying goodbye, the girls left the photography area to start walking towards the pit. What they couldn’t see behind them was Chris nodding to his brothers and giving a sort of hand signal to their manager Laura who was standing a few metres away from everyone. She understood immediately and began to follow the two girls in order to stop them before they could reach the crowd.
Alex and Lily were definitely confused as to why they were being pulled aside by Laura but their expression rapidly morphed into one of surprise as she explained what would happen to Alex if she wanted to: getting on stage during today’s show and playing the games on Chris’s team. Although it wasn’t even addressed to her, Lily agreed on behalf of her friend who was too stunned to speak but eventually nodded once her brain had processed the proposal. This is how Alex thus found herself backstage waiting with two other girls – one was wearing a shark onesie while the second was dressed in purple with Nick’s team’s name written on her top.
While the three girls were waiting to go on stage, the triplets had come to see them and explain the structure of the show before they left to announce the popular vote – which Matt won once again. Then, Nick introduced each teammate and it was finally time for the girls to appear. As Alex walked on stage towards Chris, she tried to find Lily in the crows as a way to get some moral support. The blonde quickly found her best friend who gave her the biggest smile ever, which Alex reciprocated with a wave. Now that everyone was on stage, Nick explained the rule of the first activity:
“So here’s what we’re gonna do. Every teammate is gonna paint their triplet, no matter if it’s us right now or last week or whenever, you just gotta make it look like us.”
Alex and the two other girls agreed, then got ready as they would try to paint the triplet they were with during the next two minutes.
“I hope you make me look good, I saw what you can paint”. Chris said to Alex as he believed in her.
“Brooo, so much pressure right now.” Alex tried to focus on the canva in front of her. “What I painted for you guys was me alone in a room for hours so I won’t do as good.”
“It’s okay, I’ll be proud no matter the result don’t worry!”
Alex was feeling more relaxed as Chris was very supportive, which increased her motivation to win this round. She had decided to paint Chris as he currently was: wearing the crown and the orange hoodie. It seems that Chris was right to believe in her skills because she enabled their team to get the most cheers and therefore win the painting activity – which led to Lily screaming the loudest she could for her best friend. Chris and Matt were now tied with one point each as the game of trivia was about to start.
Tools were brought on stage and each team sat down with a small whiteboard.
“You got this babe!” Lily shamelessly shouted as there was a brief silence.
Alex chuckled and thanked Lily with a huge smile as she waved back at her.
“Damn, you’re not supposed to support them when you’re wearing my colour.” Matt chimed in as he recognised Alex’s friend.
This small exchange led to everyone in the venue laughing until Nick tried to shush the crowd before giving the signal for the questions to start being asked. From the origin of Halloween to the weight of the world’s biggest pumpkin, Chris and Alex were doing pretty good as they had gained three points thanks to the girl. Indeed, the blonde had based half of their answer on Lily, which had made Chris laugh every time – “Lily has a white car so it must be the answer” and “Lily has brown eyes so she proves our point”. Not that he was mocking Alex, but he was admirative of their bond and the support the girls gave each other.
It was now time for the last question as they were asked for the numbers of stars on the Walk of Fame.
“Eh, how would I know?” Alex wondered out loud.
“Don’t you have an idea? A rough number at least?” Chris asked the girl as he didn’t have any.
“Bro, I live on the other side of the country like– I don’t know but a lot I guess…”
“Hmm”, Chris tried to think. “How do we feel about a thousand?”
“Let’s go with that, should be kinda close I hope.” Alex agreed with her teammate.
As the timer stopped, Matt said five hundred stars, Nick said seven hundreds and sixty while Chris said a thousand. Turns out that even a thousand was not “kinda close” as there are actually two thousand seven hundred and fifty-two stars on the Walk of Fame. The trivia activity had now come to an end and it was time to play basketball.
“So glad to be on your team because I know we’re def winning,” Alex claimed.
“I know I’m the best but I’m still counting on you.” Chris’s ego was absolutely boosted by the girl.
“Yeah, no worries. I should be able to get at least one, I hope…”
True to her words, Alex did manage to get the ball in and at the end of the game, her and Chris managed to stay in the lead with nine points. As Nick had seven and Matt five, it meant that the game of Jenga was going to determine everything. Right before the last activity began, Alex’s eyes seeked Lily once again and were met with the purest expression of love as Lily was capturing her best friend’s happiness with her camera. Knowing that Lily was watching her, Alex was ready to give her best and not knock the tower down.
While it would be the triplets’ turn to play, Alex and the two other girls would talk with each other, thus deepening the bond between them as something more than just being competitors. Indeed, they were here due to the same love for Nick, Matt and Chris.
Thanks to the platform on her sneakers, Alex was almost as tall as Chris and was able to keep playing while the tower kept getting higher. Chris had just managed to prevent it from falling as it was looking very much like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Then, like lots of previous shows, Matt eventually failed and was the one to lose the game of Jenga. While the middle triplet was in despair, Chris went to high five and hug Alex as they were therefore the winners of the Orlando show. Alex was absolutely overjoyed: not only did she go on stage with her favourite YouTubers, she helped bring victory to her team. As Alex went to hug everyone on stage, Lily was still taking pictures of her friend. She never wanted to forget Alex’s expression on that day and wished to cherish it forever. Alex’s joy was to be remembered and appreciated as she deserved what was happening to her.
Then followed the crowning ceremony when each time took pictures before taking one with the triplets and their teammates. Nick, Matt and Chris thanked the crowd and the fans on stage with them before going backstage as Tril was going to perform again.
“Thank you so much for this wonderful experience”, Alex said to the triplets when they left the stage.
The other girls agreed and thanked the triplets as well, before getting guided back to the main area of the venue.
“I’m glad you guys all enjoyed it. It was so nice having you with us, and we’ll maybe see you again one day!” Nick told the girls before bidding them goodbye.
Alex and the two other fans left the triplets and went back to the pit while Tril was still performing. They spent the rest of the mini concert together and each joined their friends after exchanging their socials to keep in touch.
“ALEX!!” Lily ran to hug her best friend as they were together for the first time since a couple of hours.
“LILY!! Oh my God, this was the best day ever!!”
“I. Am. So. Happy that you got to live this babe, this is amazing!! I have so many good pics, I need to show them all to you tonight.” Lily was ecstatic regarding what Alex experienced.
“Yay, I wanna see them all and I absolutely want to post some.” Alex hugged Lily and held her tight. “Thank you so much for capturing those moments for me, I love you.”
“Love you too.”
The two girls kept fangirling about today’s show on the way back to their hotel. They had the same routine as in Atlanta as Alex showered first while Lily took her camera and laptop to actually edit her pictures. She was choosing her favourites – those who were truly highlighting Alex’s happiness and some of the triplets that she thought looked good. Lily was realising that she had unconsciously taken many pictures of Matt – not as many as photos of Alex obviously – and couldn’t help but admire them for a bit until her friend got back in the room.
“Hey, if you wanna look at my pics from today and download your favourites. Go ahead and see if you like some.”
Alex thanked Lily before going to sit on the bed and skim through the brunette’s pictures. She selected some of her on stage and a couple of the triplets. She knew that Lily didn’t really like to have her face on social media so Alex didn’t include their group pictures in her Instagram post. She still decided to tag Lily’s photography account as she was the one who had taken the pictures and figured she would also tag sutrnioloteam in case the triplets would check their most famous fan account.
As Lily returned from her shower, she got her laptop back from Alex and started looking at the pictures she had taken of Atlanta and Orlando, but only of the city and its landscapes. She thought that after being in Tampa, she would post a small dump of their trip.
When the two girls had eventually each seen hundreds of photos, they began to feel tired and went to sleep as they would have a long drive tomorrow to reach Tampa for their third show of the Versus Tour. They knew that today being a Wednesday, it meant that a new video would come out but they chose to watch it the next day as they had planned to leave early and get some rest before the show.
“Good night Lily, thanks for being the best friend ever and gifting me with such wonderful memories.”
“Good night Alex, I’ll always do my best to make you happy.”
Thank you for reading. Votes and comments are always appreciated if you like this story :) The story is co-written w @/little_grapejuice on wattpad
#chris#chris sturniolo#christopher sturniolo#matt sturniolo fanfic#matthew sturniolo#matt sturniolo#matt#nick stuniolo fanfic#nick stuniolo#nick sturniolo#nick#the sturniolos#the sturniolo triplets#sturniolo#sturniolo triplets#sturniolo x reader#sturniolo fanfic#fanfiction#fanfic
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I know you’re doing the prompts but what are Optimus and megatron thought on frieda and historia in the modern day UA?
Previous ask in the Peaceful Timeline
Disclaimer before I begin: I don't mind people asking me other things regarding the other timelines besides the prompts. It's just going to take me time to answer them because I'm busy with work and other things. As long as you follow the ground rules, we're fine.
Also, a side note, I don't like spoiling future chapters of my work. It's just a general rule of thumb for myself when I'm asked about what will happen next. I did tell someone once about Azula showing up in my old TFPxATLA fanfic (which no longer exists), and they decided to be a dick and spoil it in the comments section when it was up on fanfiction.net. Thankfully, there were some people who didn't see it, but the fact that someone was willing to spoil the whole experience for someone else just goes to shows that no one online is respectful and I cannot trust anyone.
So you wait like everyone else.
That being said:
With the Peaceful Timeline 2,000 years later, I tend to take a lot of inspiration from Isayama's AOT modern day AU. Mikasa being goth, Armin being a nerd, Eren being rather apathetic in a peaceful world, etc.
That being said, because Historia is a bitch, Optimus is internally annoyed at Historia's behavior while Megatron absolutely hates her guts!
Megatron: How in the Allspark did Ironspark's descendants turn into that?!
Optimus: Megatron, we cannot control how Historia was raised-!
Megatron: Control my aft! I'm fully ready to interfere to teach this girl some fragging manners!
When Optimus tells the modern day trio that Historia is the most recent line in Ymir's descendants, they can't help but complain and feel bad for Optimus. Armin and Mikasa talk about how she's a snobby cheerleader with more money than she'll ever need, with people following her around like servants. Eren explains that Historia had accused him of doing something wrong when he didn't and harassed him for it. Eren ended up biting Historia's head and the video ending up going viral, humiliating the girl.
Megatron patting Eren on the back: Good job.
Optimus: Megatron!
Megatron: She deserved it and you know it!
Even though Eren explains that he apologized because he felt bad for Historia, Megatron still has more respect for the teen because he managed to make a fool out of that brat. Optimus relents that protecting the family and allowing them pathways to earn more money than they need has caused them some problems. He just wanted them to be safe!
Eren: You made monsters.
Megatron: The boy is right.
Mikasa: Aren't you technically an accomplice in making Historia mean?
Megatron: The difference between me and the Prime is that the bar is on the floor. Any good thing I do will exceed expectations. Optimus preaches about morals even though he's just as annoyed with Historia as I am!
Optimus looks away in embarrassment.
Freida is still kind in the Peaceful Timeline; however, there was a lot of expectations and demands for her, being part of the Reiss family. There have been a few times where she has acted out in the past and ran away, one of which resulted in her getting kidnapped. Both Optimus and Megatron had to rescue her from her captors (Optimus ordered Megatron to not kill them because that would cause more problems for them, and Megatron relents). Optimus quietly reassures her that she would be safe and tells her not to tell the police about the two of them. Freida can't help but ask if she'll see them again, and Optimus says that might be possible, but in the late future.
After that incident, Freida learns to behave and better herself for the sake of the Reiss family. She gets older, studies and exceeds expectations to make her family proud. Uri, the previous head of the Reiss family, ends up dying from cancer, and he lists Freida as the heir to the family, skipping Rod altogether. It stuns Freida, even as they prepare the funeral arrangements. At the funeral, she spots a middle aged man in a hat and a black coat in the crowd before he disappears in an instant. However, in the distance, she spots Optimus and Megatron watching from afar in human form. Optimus had an umbrella over him while Megatron hid under the leaves and branches of a tree.
Freida has taken on a lot of responsibility, and her already thin relationship with Historia is practically non-existent. She has tried to bond with her sister, but interactions have usually amounted to nothing. She was given the family's heirloom ring and gave it to Historia (Ymir and Oshern's wedding rings), telling her to give it to someone she loved, but Historia didn't seem to care about their priceless ring. Her reaction was non-existent. Just apathy. It bothered her. It made her feel upset. Historia had little expectations and was given everything she wanted, but still seemed to want something more. Freida did end up seeing the viral video of Eren biting Historia, and Historia coming home in tears. She tries to comfort Historia, but she tells her to go away.
Freida does still push and ultimately comforts Historia as she cries her heart out. She states her fears of being bullied at school and being alone. She hates how selfish and horrible she's been, and Freida asks her if it's because her selfishness and apathy came back to bite her. Historia is offended, but Freida explains her behavior from her perspective. And tells her that she needed to be kinder, because one day, the world could be ripped out from under her and there might be no one there to protect her.
"If you're always so cruel to other people, they won't be by your side when you need help," Freida warned her, "This is a result of your cruelty, and now you have to learn to live with it."
It ultimately blows over later, but Freida does notice a slight change in Historia's behavior. There is some improvement, but not that much.
Meanwhile, Optimus and Megatron continue to keep tabs on Freida, and are content with the way that she's turned out to be all things considered. They still don't interfere with Frieda's life unless she's in actual danger.
(There's a lot that I have for the modern AU for the Peaceful Timeline, so if you want to ask, go ahead. Also, thought it would be fun to reference Kenny for reasons. Lol.)
#attack on prime#transformers prime#tfp#attack on titan#asks#snk#shingeki no kyojin#aot#send me asks#ao3#tfp optimus prime#tfp optimus#optimus prime#megatron#tfp megatron#historia reiss#eren jaeger#armin arlert#mikasa ackerman#frieda reiss#what if optimus appeared during founder ymir's time aka the peaceful timeline#macadam#maccadam#maccadams
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