Taliesin: The Mighty Nein in my opinion is the closest we’ve ever played to an evil campaign. Because everyone was - I keep saying this - there is a world where all those characters turned into villains. Everyone other than Caduceus was like three bad days from (points to Jester) like you were ready to become the Joker.
part 1, you are here
It’s not very common for the whole party to come together for a meeting that has nothing to do with the end of the world. Therefore, there are procedures for this kind of thing, Mike has followed every one of them to a tee to bring everyone together.
So, honestly, it's kinda insulting that nobody's taking it seriously.
“Mike, buddy” Dustin starts and Mike narrows his eyes, “look, I get where you're coming from–actually no I don’t.”
If Mike had not been desperately trying to keep his cool for the past hour this would probably be when he starts screaming.
“And I don’t get what you guys are confused about! We have to keep Eddie away from Steve!”
“Why?” El pipes up “Eddie and Steve are friends?”
Mike tries to keep his shoulders from raising around his head. He knows they’re friends, and Steve is allowed to have other friends, but Eddie is a threat. If they stay friends Eddie will drive a wedge between Steve and the party. If that happens that will hurt Mike’s friends; but it's not just them he’s worried about.
“Look I’ve seen it happen with Nancy” Mike argues “you guys remember how she stopped hanging out with us. She hated babysitting duty” heavy air quotes “and then she was all alone when the friends she left us for left her”
Mike can see the reluctant agreement on the others faces as he plops onto the couch and crosses his arms.
“I” he sighs “I just don't want that to happen to Steve”
“Oh Please!” Max cuts in, huffing in annoyance “sure it could go bad, but it's not like we’re actually gonna get replaced”
Mike’s about to retaliate when they hear as Steve enters the house and greets Mrs. Wheeler and Holly.
“Oh, Eddie by the way,” Steve calls, apparently continuing a conversation with the older teen “what movie where you talking about earlier?”
“Halloween? You want to watch it?” Eddie replies
There is a kerfuffle of something being set on the counter “Yeah sure, If I leave the twerps sleepover early then I can pick up some snacks.”
The two boys keep planning but nobody in the basement is listening anymore.
“okay” Max turns back to look at Mike “how do we get rid of this guy?”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sorry this part is kind of short, I'm not really happy with it but its the best I could do under the circumstances.
Things are getting better now because I don't have to worry about my apartment anymore, so hopefully, the next update will be longer and better written.
Mike Wheeler and Steve Harrington have a complicated relationship. Most people assume that they only barely tolerate each other because of Steve’s past relationship with Nancy. Most of the party assume they reluctantly get along because of the Upsidedown; trauma bonds forged in Hell and a need to survive.
The truth runs deeper than that.
Steve knew Mike long before any Demogorgon sunk its claws into Hawkins. Before Steve was Nancy’s boyfriend, he was Mike's babysitter.
At first, Mike really did hate Steve. He hated Steve for being there instead of his parents, or even Nancy. He hated Steve for the rumors he had heard about the older boy. But mostly he hated Steve for needing Steve.
The Wheeler parents spent very little time in their own house, leaving several hours when their children would be home by themselves. For a while, it wasn't a problem because Nancy was there but Nancy joined as many after-school clubs as she could on the literal first day of her freshman year. That meant Mike needed a babysitter.
He tried to argue that he could take care of himself even though he knew that wasn't true. Even if it was, there was still one problem. Mike couldn't take care of Holly.
So Ted Wheeler grabbed the first decently responsible-looking high schooler he could find and that was that.
Mike couldn't hate Steve for long though. Not when Steve would actually play with Mike and Holly, not when he would cook on nights when Mike's parents would be out late and Nancy couldn't bother to be home, especially not when Steve bought Mike The Dungeon Masters guide despite knowing nothing about the game just because mike wanted it and was 4 bucks short.
So it's complicated.
He gets really annoyed with Steve, like all the time, and sure it pisses him off that his babysitter started dating his sister only to dump her and be a complete asshole. But he hasn't hated Steve for a long time.
On the other hand, they're not friends.
Mike isn't really nice to Steve and Steve doesn't really hang out with Mike one on one anymore. Mike doesn't treat Steve like one of his friends either.
Mike cares about his friends, there is nothing he wouldn't do for the people he cares about and there is a lot he wouldn't do for Steve.
Mike knows he gets jealous pretty easily (and deep down he knows he's a bit too possessive of his friends) but he's working on it.
It's been forever since he snapped at one of The Party for doing something without him. He didn't even complain when Holly, El, and Max had a sleepover and he wasn't allowed in his own damn basement.
But right now even he can tell all his progress has flown out the window.
Because right now he's glaring daggers across the room where Steve and Eddie are sitting cross-legged hunched over the Wheelers' coffee table, Eddie is Teaching Steve how to play DnD...that's supposed to be Mike's job.
For the first hour, he rationalized it as having always been the guy to teach people how to play DnD. But if he’s honest, for the first time since he’s met the guy, Mike feels possessive about Steve, Mike's jealous That Eddie and Steve are doing this without him, He is angry that this is happening.
Because it's not just about Eddie Stealing Mike's job--It's not just about Mike.
You see, Steve asks a lot of questions about a lot of stuff and everyone in the party is Steve’s guy for something or other; Dustin is the science guy, Lucas is the comics guy, Will and El are the Upsidedown guys, Max is the movie/videogames guy.
And Mike? Mike is the fantasy guy.
Mike has always been Steve’s fantasy guy, he's always the one Steve asks about how magic works or what Moradoor is.
Mike should have been the guy Steve asked to teach him how to play.
It's not fair that after everything they've been through together, Eddie gets to swoop in and be Steve’s new go-to fantasy guy just like that.
What if it doesn't stop there? Now that the Party is officially in Highschool Steve does have much reason to hang out with any of the party just by themselves besides them being Steve’s guys. What if Eddie becomes Steve’s guy for everything?
Mike can't let that happen.
THE MIGHTY NEIN: Alone & Together
For @kermit-coded Happy Birthday!!!
Critical Role cast singing Ruby of The Sea.
I knew Matt Mercer has pipes, but damn!
Science fiction is full of first contact stories, but is there a such thing as LAST contact? Decide exactly what that means, and write about it.
It was too late, when the humans came. They were a young species, still exploring outwards, vital and thriving.
We… were not.
War had ravaged us, and sickness, and war once again, until our population dwindled beyond the point of recovery. We struggled against that, of course… we used genetic manipulation, and cloning, and even more desperate measures. None succeeded. When the humans came, we were sinking into apathy, only a few tens of us left. We had begun to discuss whether we should commit a mass suicide, or simply wait to fade away.
And then the young species came, in their clumsy ships, and they asked us why we were so few.
“We are becoming extinct,” we told them. “We have passed the point of recovery.”
It is custom to avoid the races that are dying – once a species reaches the point of inevitable extinction, even war is suspended, and the fiercest enemy pulls back. The custom was born of plagues and poisons that could be carried forth from a dying world to afflict a healthy one, but it has the implacable weight of tradition now. After we are gone, after they have waited for the prescribed period of quarantine, there will be a fight for our world. Habitable worlds are few, and this is a good one, with plenty of free groundwater and thriving vegetation. It is a bitter thing to be grateful for the custom that allows us to die in peace, but we are grateful.
But the humans don’t know that custom, and they do not leave. They seem distraught, when we tell them we are dying, and try to offer their aid - but their technology is behind ours, and it is too late. When they realize that they can’t save us, though, they do something that bewilders us.
Wowza. Part one blew up way more than I thought it would so here! Part two! I do have more thoughts about this so there might be a couple more parts to come. We'll see ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
------
Eddie takes half a second to consider just not answering. Maybe throwing his phone away and never going back to the restaurant they went to last night so he never has to confront whatever it is that's about to happen. Maybe even fleeing the country and living alone on a sheep farm with no friends and go relationships ever again so something like this never happens again.
But then he thinks of Steve. Kind, funny Steve with the bright eyes and soft skin who looked at Eddie like he could fall in love with him and he knows that whatever comes next, Steve deserves for Eddie to see it through with him.
New Message: Steve H.
Hey
Just that one word sends Eddie's heart into his throat. He can see that Steve is still typing, those little ellipses of doom popping on and off the screen. Realistically, Steve probably doesn't know what happened, right? Eddie's pretty sure Steve wasn't in on it and it's been less than an hour since Eddie himself found out, so probably not.
Steve H: Gareth called me
Fuck.
Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck.
If Eddie's heart was in his throat at the first text, the second one has it dropping through his body and out of his goddamned ass. It's not that he doesn't want Steve to know. He was always planning to tell him, he was just hoping he could be the one to do it. Gareth being a little shit and calling Steve first was not part of the plan.
Steve H: He told be about the prank. I'm sorry if I wasn't what you expected and you were just being nice. We can pretend it never happened. No hard feelings.
Eddie slams his head into his pillow. This is such a cluster fuck he can hardly bring himself to look at the text but he needs to come up with some kind of response, like, yesterday if he wants any chance of keeping the man of his dreams from running for the hills because apparently, Eddie's friends are trying to destroy his life. He takes a deep breath and starts typing.
Eddie: Hey, I'm so sorry about that. I just found out about what they did an hour ago at practice. I didn't think they would just call you out of the blue like that, I was just about to text you.
Not completely true, but Eddie was going to text him about it, just after screaming into his pillow and making a couple Vudu dolls first.
Eddie: For what it's worth I really do like you and I would love to still take you out on that second date, but I understand if my friends scared you off and you want nothing to do with me. I know it's fucked up.
It takes a minute for Steve to respond, the typing bubbles ebbing and flowing as Steve types and retypes whatever it is he wants to say. Eddie is about ready to call it a wash and start googling sheep farms for sale in Ireland when a new text comes in, dispelling all thoughts of learning to sheer wool.
Steve H: Are you sure?
And fuck if that doesn't hurt his heart. Eddie has spent all of two and a half hours with Steve, he's a virtual stranger, but Eddie can swear he can feel all of Steve's secondhand insecurity through that one lonely sentence. Before he even registers what he's asking, he send a quick reply.
Eddie: Can I Facetime you?
Before Eddie can try to rethink his decision, his screen lights up with a notification. Steve is calling him.
Eddie scrambles to answer, fumbling his phone a little in his haste and almost missing the call completely. He manages to get it on the last ring, breathing heavily in a way he knows can't be flattering.
All thoughts about his lack of dexterity fly out the window when he looks into his screen. On their date, Steve was perfectly put together. Hair meticulously done, clothes freshly pressed, and a light sheen of lipgloss accentuating the perfect curve of his mouth. While Steve is still beautiful through the lens of his camera, it's clear that he's been crying. His eyes are red and a little puffy, hair out of order in a way Eddie thinks is probably unusual for him, and Eddie can see that he's wearing a well-loved beige hoodie.
"Hi," Steve says, waving a shy hand almost the same way he had last night.
"Hey sweetheart," Eddie says, keeping his voice low and gentle, desperate to soothe Steve however he can through the distance of their phones.
For a minute they just look at each other, neither one knowing what to say in a situation like this. Eddie sees Steve gearing up to say something, but he cuts in before he starts. There's something he needs to say while Steve can see him face to face.
"I'm really sorry about what happened!" He says, much lounder than he intended. "My friends were being dicks. I haven't dated in a while and instead of being normal fucking people they set up this whole stupid prank but I swear I wasn't in on it!"
Something about what he says draws a small smile from the corner of Steve's mouth, so Eddie keeps talking. "Besides, if they wanted to prank me they should have picked someone that isn't a literal fucking model in disguise. There wasn't a chance in hell I wasn't going to beg you for that second date."
At that, Steve gives a little chuckle and it lifts Eddie's heart from where it'd fallen onto the floor and puts in back in his chest 10 times lighter than before.
"Jesus, are you always such a flirt Munson?" he says.
"Only when the boys are especially pretty," Eddie responds.
Steve gives another little laugh at that before sobering up. He gives Eddie a long look through the phone, and Eddie lets him.
"Are you sure you don't want to just call it quits here man? Gareth was pretty adamant that I'm not the kind of guy you usually go for. I don't want you to feel like you have to humor me out of kindness." There's a forced flippancy to Steve's words that Eddie knows well from his own Munson Coping Strategies Handbook. Steve is trying to give him an out, but Eddie can tell that he doesn't want to.
For the first time since this all started, Eddie is well and truly mad. Gareth and Jeff had absolutely no business poking around in his love life in the first place, but now they've reached out to the guy Eddie already told them he liked to what? Tell him never mind actually, we don't think you're the right guy for our friend even though he told us very explicitly how into you he is.
Eddie lets all the frustration, anger, and tenuous hope building up in his chest fuel his reply. This one has to count, he can feel it. It's a charisma saving throw with the whole campaign on the line. He can't miss this one.
"Honestly Steve, if you asked me two days ago what I was looking for in a partner, I probably would have said I wanted to date another alternative metalhead or punk who likes playing DnD and getting high on the weekend." Eddie can see Steve's shoulders slump as his eyes dart away, but he pushes on, determined to make his point.
"But, I haven't had as good a time as we had last night in a really long time." Steve looks back up, eyes alight with the same tentative hope Eddie himself is channeling. "I think you're funny and interesting, and you have the absolute worst takes on ice cream flavors, and you're hot as hell. Like, seriously the hottest guy I've ever seen in real life."
Steve smiles, the edges of his eyes crinkling.
Critical success.
"So, about that second date."
-------
Tag List
@wheneverfeasible @the-dark-hearts @sofadofax @wrenisfangirling @whatfinestandsfor @lilpomelito @raisedbylibrarians @ollyxar @mugloversonly @xxbottlecapx @hezaaxdexangelous @kimsnooks @that-one-gay-crow
There is an AITA out there that I can't find but it's been haunting me for weeks with visions of semi-angsty Steddie that I need to release onto the world. (If anyone happens to know what I'm talking about hit me up and I'll link it)
Edit: @jazzathebunny found the original AITA from Reddit linked Here for anyone who wants to read it. I'm definitely not doing exactly the same premise but this was my jumping off point 😊
Part Two! ------
Modern AU, Eddie and the guys are a moderately successful local band in the Chicago area playing gigs on the weekends and doing small tours whenever they all have the time. Gareth and Jeff are both in college while Eddie and Freak are both working part-time at a game store. Eddie managed to lock down that assistant manager position that lets him work 30 hours a week with weekends off for gigs. All in all, it's a pretty sweet deal and they can't complain.
Eddie had sworn off dating after a small handful of disastrous relationship attempts in their first year in the city. He dismisses any advances from people who attend their shows and tries not to think about how much he wants to make a genuine connection with someone and have something real. He's been burned one too many times to try and make something with someone he met in a bar or at work.
He knows the guys talk about it behind his back sometimes, he catches Jeff and Gareth fervently whispering to each other and stopping when they catch him entering the room one time too many to not suspect they're talking about him and he can't think of anything else going on in his life that they would feel the need to whisper about.
The fervent conversations take a slight uptick one day and about a week and a half after they do, Gareth hits him up and tells him he wants to set Eddie up with a guy from one of his classes. At first, Eddie is skeptical and cites all the reasons why he doesn't want to try with anyone right now but eventually, Jeff jumps in to plea the case and Freak jumps in on top of that and under the combined weight of his best friends he agrees to meet up with this Steve guy.
The guys set up the whole thing and before Eddie knows it it's Saturday night and he's wearing his best black jeans and a gray button-down, untucked, to go on an honest to God blind date like his life is some low-budget romcom.
Steve is not at all what Eddie thought he would be. Not the kind of guy he thought his friends would pick out for him given they know he usually goes for other alternatives like himself. Steve, who is shyly waving him over and getting out of his seat to great him, is the very epitome of prep. Well-fitted polo, light blue chinos, and what Eddie assumes this guy thinks are casual loafers. He's handsome to be sure, a 12/10 at least with perfect hair and defined biceps but Eddie is fairly sure he's being punked.
But, Eddie doesn't want to be rude so he goes to meet Steve at the table, confirming just in case that he's actually here to meet with a guy named Eddie. Steve gives him a bit of a confused look, saying that Gareth showed him a couple pictures of Eddie before he agreed to meet and figured he'd done the same for Eddie off Steve's Instagram. Gareth had, in fact, not done anything of the sort but they both dismiss it and get on with their date.
In all honesty, Eddie is expecting it to be a complete wash, but it turns out that even if Steve is not at all what Eddie would have previously said what his type, Steve is damn near perfect. He's funny, kind, a little bitchy, and even though he proves himself to be every bit the sports nerd he looks like he doesn't turn his nose up at Eddie's own much more classically nerdy interests. By the end of the date, Eddie has a new type and that type is Steve Harrington. He's quick to lock down a second date for the next weekend which Steve happily agrees to. They exchange numbers and Steve gives Eddie a chaste kiss on the cheek that has him floating all the way home.
Steve texted him that next morning letting him now he had a great time and is really looking forward to their next date and Eddie thinks this might be the start of something big for him. When he gets to practice he's clearly still floating on cloud nine and in his own little world designing their marriage invitations and matching tombstones so he doesn't notice the sly grins on his bandmates' faces.
"So...how'd it go last night? Everything you dreamed it would be?" Gareth asks, a strange glint in his eyes that Eddie doesn't clock.
Eddie goes on and on about how nice Steve was and how he might be The One, thanking Gareth profusely. Freak looks pleased for him, giving him a hard pat on the shoulder in congratulations but when Eddie finally tunes back into the real world he's greeted by Gareth's livid expression and Jeff's overly concerned one.
He asks the guys what the fuck is up and it turns out that Gareth and Jeff set this whole thing up as a prank of sorts. Eddie was never supposed to hit it off with Steve who Gareth selected specifically because he's a "totally brain-dead prep" and as far away as someone could get from Eddie's previous relationships. He was supposed to be someone Eddie could go on a date with and not form a connection with without getting completely burned at the end like all his previous relationships in the hopes of getting him out of his slump.
Jeff was in on it as well. He wanted to get Eddie back out there, so when Gareth presented the plan he sat in on a couple of Gareth's general credit business class sessions to help pick the guy out.
After Jeff and Gareth finish explaining he does a complete 180 and just...leaves. In any other situation, he would be raging and verbally tearing his friends a new asshole but instead, he completely disengages and walks out the garage door, ignoring his friends' shouts to come back.
He goes back home, socked and hurt and so very confused about how the hell he found himself in this position when his phone lights up.
New Message: Steve H.
Fuck.
-------
Part two coming soon??? Maybe???? We'll see.
Or: a secret Admirer AU
It takes a bit for Steve to go to pick up Eddie’s letter. A part of him is afraid of what he’ll find. It’s just, this will be in reply to the first letter he’d written that felt wholly like his own. So, he hesitates, afraid the words will condemn him, or there won’t be any at all. So, he stalls.
Chrissy never asks him about it, just follows his lead the way she always has when it comes to Eddie.
When he does finally go to the library to pick it up, he goes alone. Steve knows Chrissy’s going to be upset, and he gets that. It was stupid, and childish, and dangerous. He trusts Chrissy, he does, but he doesn’t want to share this response with her.
Not yet.
It’s safely tucked into his backpack; the library had felt too open—left him feeling exposed—for Steve to feel comfortable opening it there, without Chrissy there as his shield.
He’s about to enter the bathroom, ready to hunker down in a stall and read the letter when a snide voice coming from behind stops him in his tracks.
“You know, it’s fucked up that you’ve been following your girlfriend around like that.”
Steve turns, stunned. He’s stuck in the entrance to the bathroom, the swinging door hitting him in the back as he stares into the angriest set of eyes he’s ever seen.
He only recognizes her in the nebulous way everyone in a small town recognizes each other, but she’s glaring at him like he ran over her puppy without telling her.
“What?” Steve asks, already lost in this interaction after one sentence.
Do I mourn the fact that this isn't the last chapter because it's a spooky number? Yes, yes I do. But!
Have fun!
In this we have the renovation and reopening of the club, the trial of Robin's attacker, and Steve gives the performance of his life.
~
Construction of the new stage went smoothly with guardrails to keep the dancers from falling off and keeping the crowd from getting to handsy.
The chairs and tables were red leather and black metal fittings. The chair backs had the club logo in wrought iron. It was really cool. The wood floors where replaced by red and black tiles. The walls were painted with flames and the lighting was changed over to faux candles.
The whole vibe went from converted speakeasy to an actual Hellfire Club. When the second set of dressing rooms were finished; it would be the backup dancers on the right, because they had more costume changes to go through in a night and needed the bigger space for all their costumes and the Sins on the left.
Each Sin would have their own vanity and closet where they would have more room to change into their Sin costumes, because they tended to be more over the top. Well, all but Brian’s. Brian’s was his three piece suit, but he was a large guy, so he still needed all the space he could get.
"S'in the drawer." Steve mumbles, "with the... s'with the bear."
Eddie blinks awake, squinting over Steve's hair at their little alarm clock. 3am.
"Nn, no, s'are my french fries." Eddie sits up a bit, Steve doesn't talk in his sleep often, but when he does it's always a golden opportunity to ask him ridiculous questions, and Eddie's not one to squander opportunities. "He wants tots."
"Sure, everyone likes tater tots, hey Stevie, who's your favorite kid?" He asks this one every time, he rarely gets the same answer twice in a row.
"Lucas," he says.
"Why is Lucas your favorite kid Stevie?"
"S'got a Nintendo." Eddie has to bite down on his lips hard to stop himself from laughing. Thankfully Steve sleeps on soundly through the little wheezes that escape.
"He does indeed," Eddie says when he has better control of himself. "What do you want for your birthday, baby?" It's coming up after all, maybe he can get some extra ideas.
"Mmm rocket ships."
"Is that right?"
"M'gonna be an astronaut."
"Sounds good, Stevie, you better make room to take me with you though." He says, with a smile in his voice.
"Inna suitcase."
"Sure, sure, very comfortable. Hey honey, what kind of animal do you think I am?"
"No they'll eat all our cake." He mumbles, so Eddie rephrases.
"What kind of animal would Eddie be, Stevie?"
"S'a raccoon. Lil- lil raccoon hands, lit'l raccoon man." He croons, and Eddie smiles at him indulgently, he's cute, and Eddie is going to tease him mercilessly. "Feral lil... jus'a lil guy."
"Yeah, that tracks, bet the eyeliner helps huh. Would you still love me if I was a worm baby?"
"Mm? It's green."
"It's important, Stevie." He sing songs, trying to get his attention when he doesn't get a response, "Steeeeevie, Steve, sweetheart, baby, love, daaaarling."
"Mm?" Steve questions, face mashed into his own arm. There're creases in his skin from his pillow, his hair is a birds nest, and there's a veritable lake of drool just in front of him where it's pooled off the edge of his bicep onto the fabric. It's gross. He's beautiful.
"Would you still love me if I was a worm, Stevie?" He asks again.
"Mm'yeah," Steve sighs out, smushing his cheek against his arm harder.
"Really, just like that?" Eddie snuggles him carefully closer, pulling him onto his own pillow where it's dry, "what if I was all slimy and ugly?"
"Mm'nah, Robin says." Steve says, matter of fact.
"Robin says?" He prompts.
"All th'time."
"What does Robin say, sweetheart?"
"Love s'love." Eddie can't help himself this time, the laugh bursts out of his chest, bright and loud, startling Steve awake.
"Wh- Eddie?" Steve groans, pushing himself up groggily, "s'going on?"
"It's nothing, love, I'm sorry," he soothes, bringing Steve's head back down onto his chest this time. "I'll tell you in the morning, okay?" Steve blinks at him, eyes half open, assessing.
"Okay," he agrees, going easily and rubbing his face into Eddie's chest. There'll be drool there by morning, Eddie can't find it in himself to care.
"Goodnight, Stevie." Eddie says, kissing his hair, already thinking about where to buy Steve a toy rocket ship and the ugliest raccoon plush he can find for his birthday. "Sweet dreams."
yesterday i was insane about that fictional man. today i am insane about that fictional man. tomorrow? take a wild guess brother
Yasha falling asleep staring at women she loves.
NSFW (this is literally just porn) - part of the Steddie Upside-Down AU universe, but can be read as a standalone
“What are you doing, Munson?” Steve asks, tone teasing enough to keep away the sting of being last-named by his boyfriend.
The carpet’s rough against his knees where they show through the holes in his jeans as he slides forward far enough that he can pillow his head on Steve’s thigh. Steve’s jeans are scratchy, too. Eddie rubs his cheek against the denim, turning his head just enough to catch Steve’s tender gaze.
“I’ve never done this before,” Eddie replies. His cheeks instantly warm at the admission, but their bedroom lights are off, the only light that of the fading day filtering in through the curtains. Maybe Steve won’t notice.
As if in answer, Steve reaches out to caress Eddie’s cheek. He closes his eyes against the feeling, overwhelmed.
“Never done what?” Steve asks.
He runs his fingers up Eddie’s cheekbone and into his hair. His scalp tingles where Steve scratches at it. A high-pitched whine unwillingly slips out of his slack mouth as Steve’s fingers get caught in a tangle at the back of his head.
“Hmm?” Eddie asks, opening his eyes just to drown in the dark pools of Steve’s eyes, pupils blown with need. Steve clenches his fist in Eddie’s curls and pulls.
“Never done what?” Steve asks, still pulling at the roots of Eddie’s hair.
Eddie can’t think past the fire on his scalp and the way it somehow flows through his veins straight into his cock. “You know what.” He tries to modulate his voice, but it comes out breathy and desperate.
Or: a secret Admirer AU
Jeff calls her. It’s the first time they’ve spoken on the phone, and something flutters in her chest.
“How did you get this number?” she asks, finger twirling the coiled wire of the phone as she smiles down at her socked feet.
“There’s only one Cunningham in the phone book, Chrissy,” he replies, all dry wit—she can almost see the smirk on his face. “It’s not exactly rocket science.”
She laughs, shuffling around her kitchen, suddenly desperate to move, but she’s leashed to the wall by her phone’s cord, so it’s only about four steps each way until she’s bungee-corded back to the starting point.
“Smartass.”
Jeff laughs this time, quiet the way he always is, but her chest feels like a supernova’s exploding in it. “But that’s not why I called.”
Chrissy’s smile fixes to her face before drooping down into her shoes with her gut. “What’s wrong?” she asks, now standing statuesque in her kitchen, cold tiles leaching all the warmth from her feet even through her thick socks.
“Nothing,” Jeff sighs, and there’s a crackling sound, like he’s rubbing his face in exhaustion. “Just—Steve drove me home.”
“Is he okay?” she asks, clenching the phone hard enough in her hand that the cheap plastic creaks.
“I think so?” Jeff replies, sounding unsure. “He just seems sad, man.”
Steve and Jeff don’t spend a lot of time together, but he’s been around enough that she trusts his judgment.
Steve is sad.
And this story is back!!! Sorry about last week, but I really wanted to finish the rockstar AU.
In this we get, Chrissy and the girls being cute and everyone gets to know each other a little bit more.
~
Chrissy stayed the first day to help with the meltdowns but was a little surprised when Steve let them just lie on the floor.
Steve caught her raised eyebrow and huffed a laugh. “Sometimes the best way to deal with a temper tantrum is to ignore it. Plus, their dad just left for what is not short amount of time. He’s not coming back tomorrow or even next week. He’s going to gone for months. I think they deserve a little floor time, don’t you?”
She cocked her head to the side. “Huh. I never thought it of it like that.” She walked over to the girls and laid down next to them.
When Steve came back from making breakfast, he found both girls wrapped around Chrissy and all three of them sound asleep. He went back into the kitchen and carefully wrapped up their sandwiches. Lunch could wait.
