Make This Bitch Go Ooga Booga

Ghost: Do you want to play 20 questions? Y/N: Sure! Y/N: What's your favourite colour? Ghost, laser fucking focused: Triangle. Do you love me?

The Freak’s Secret Admirer

Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader

Summary: Reader wants to express her feelings for Eddie, except they’ve never spoken.

Content Warnings: fem!Reader, adult language, Jason Carver being a prick, sticky sweet fluff, and so much PDA.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

It started in the middle of the first semester.

She stood at her locker, her chest tight in anticipation. She repeated her cycle of glancing nervously at his locker a few down from her own and back to the small slip of paper she held out of sight behind her door.

It was a simple piece of folded up notebook paper, ‘Eddie’ was written across the front in her prettiest script, followed by a pink heart sticker, hoping that would be enough to let him know it was from an actual person. She worried he would crumple it up immediately, given all of the cruelties he’d endured in his time at Hawkins High.

Y/n had been watching the Munson boy ever since she first saw him; his personality and theatrics captivating her immediately. Soon enough she found herself looking for his face in every hallway she turned down. She noticed the way her heart felt when she’d hear his bold laughter in the cafeteria, and she absolutely adored that his locker was three down from hers.

She loved seeing him when he was alone, his beauty really shining when he wasn’t doing anything at all.

In her mind, he had no idea she existed, but that was far from the truth.

She spent a good part of her time wishing he would spare a glance in her direction, but he never did. Y/n told herself it was because she wasn’t noticeable, and that she couldn’t blame him, but she didn’t know the panic he felt in his chest when he saw her figure in his peripherals.

‘Ignore it and it’ll go away.’ he’d think, the thought of another unrequited crush absolutely unbearable.

At the beginning of the second semester when they were at their lockers, pretending to not notice one another, it happened. They both shared the thought of sneaking a glance at the same time and when they made eye contact, she smiled at him. Eddie couldn’t help but return it, which made the pounding in her chest intensify.

‘Okay, okay, that’s enough, freak.’ The unfriendly voice echoed in his head. He snatched his attention back to the inside of his locker with a shy grimace and shut his door to hurry to Spanish class.

Her heart sank as she watched him withdrawal, wondering if it was her fault. That’s when she got her brilliant idea.

Which brings us back to this morning.

She hadn't seen any sign of Eddie yet and knew this would be her prime chance to deposit her note through the slot of his locker.

‘Every second that goes by is a second closer he gets to showing up.’ She reminded herself.

Y/n took a breath and looked over both shoulders before stepping over. She knew it was his immediately by the etched ‘FREAK’ below the number at the top, which made the corner of her mouth tug downward in a disappointed frown. She quickly slid the note through and jumped away, checking her surroundings again.

She sighed in relief at the sight of the still empty hallway, students still trickling in from the arriving buses.

“Absolutely not, Emerson, how could you possibly think that of me?!” Eddie’s voice echoed in feigned offense down the hall from a short distance. Y/n debated on fleeing or sticking around to see how he reacted to the note and prayed to the powers that be that he’d be alone when he read it.

Before she could make a run for it, Eddie rounded the corner with his friend Gareth, shooting the shit and laughing the whole trip down the hall, the sight made Y/n weak in the knees.

“Save me a seat?” Eddie asked Gareth as he departed from their route to their first class. Gareth shot him a thumbs up and disappeared through the door at the end of the hall.

Eddie spared Y/n a glance as he stepped up to his locker, admiring the way she chose to style her hair with accent braids. It made him think of Lord of the Rings and the elves he’s imagined from DnD, he thought of this as he dialed his combination in the lock and swung his locker open, his thoughts interrupted as he was greeted with a fluttering note landing with a thump down by his feet.

He didn’t think anything of it at first, receiving notes about meeting up for sales after school was a normal thing, but notes of business never had his name written with a heart beside it. The sight made his stomach plummet into his ass and his heart rise into his throat. This could either be good or bad.

Y/n watched on, Eddie too focused on her note to feel her stare. He unfolded it with a hard swallow and deep breath.

‘Before you throw this out, I wanted you to know that your antics are the highlight of my day. I kinda have a crush on you... I hope you have a good one ❤️‘

Eddie stood with his mouth ajar, absolutely dumbstruck at the three sentences in front of him.

‘Is this English? I’m reading this right, right??’ He wondered, bringing the note closer and then farther away, flipping it over in his hands a few times before folding it back up to view his name again.

No sender, of course. He rolled his eyes in annoyance. The note itself seemed genuine, the feeling it caused in his stomach was evident of the way it flattered him. But he so deeply feared that it was too good to be true.

It wouldn’t have been the first time he received a fake love note before, but it had been a while. Maybe he was due for another. Defeated, he sighed and shoved the note in his back pocket as he shut his locker and rushed to class. Y/n noticed the stiff expression he wore behind his blushing cheeks.

She felt a sense of accomplishment along with the nagging sensation that she was going to have to send a few more notes before he took her seriously.

The next morning, Eddie got to his locker before Y/n was able to, which made her job harder. Eddie would be lying if he said he wasn’t bummed that he wasn’t met by another note when he arrived, but he shrugged it off, knowing it was too good to be true.

Y/n kept her head down as she spun the green combination dial, not bothering to look up until she heard the sounds of Eddie’s friends at the other end of the hall. “Ed! Dude, you gotta come see this, the new freshman drew my tiefling!”

Eddie perked up at this, shutting his locker and running to catch up with the group that stepped just out of sight. Y/n rushed to open her notebook to a clean page and snatch up a pink pen from her cup in her door.

She jotted the short sentiment down, ripping out the page and folding it as she had the day before, printing his name and heart on the front.

The Hellfire Club’s antics were audible, some of the boys visible from around the corner. She kept her eyes on the doorway, preparing for the sight of his curly hair or white reeboks catching her in the act, or one of his faithful freshman pointing her out.

But what was the point of the notes if she didn’t want to be known? She couldn’t answer that question. She did want him to know it was her, but she feared rejection almost as badly as he did.

She shoved the note into the slot quickly and promptly turned on her heel to go the opposite direction, but not before Mike Wheeler caught a glimpse of dainty hands flying away from Eddie’s locker, and a head of hair whipping back around to disappear within the chaos of students.

The Wheeler boy chalked it up to another business transaction and dropped the matter immediately, though something felt off. “Wheeler, tell your boy Byers to come sit with Hellfire at lunch today, we’ve gotta greet our new member properly!” Eddie said pointedly as he clutched the paper depicting the horned creature of Gareth’s imagination. Mike lit up at this, taking the paper back from Eddie’s grasp as he went back to his locker.

Eddie wore a small content smile as he opened his locker again, but the note falling down in front of him wiped it from his face instantly. Again, he looked around him for any suspects that could be watching from a distances for shits and giggles.

To his delight, he didn’t spot anyone looking on in amusement, which allowed him to inspect the note closer. He flipped it over in his hands, spotting the similar style his name was scribbled in. He gave a quiet snort, the rushed handwriting tugged at his heart strings.

He dragged his index finger across the letters that made up his name, stopping at the pink heart beside it. Maybe it wasn’t too good to be true.

He unfolded it slowly, holding it inside of his locker to prevent any basketball douchebags from snatching it and using it against him.

‘Good morning, cutie! I hope Hawkins High is kind to you today. ❤️‘

This note had a bit more of an effect on him than the first one did, this one feeling more… real. He fought the urge to smile into his blush and press his lips to the heart she left him on the page, settling for keeping it in his pocket until he could slip it into his wallet unseen later.

The note kept grabbing his attention throughout the day, making concentrating on his work a smidge harder than usual. When he’d slip away to the bathroom now and then he’d find himself getting the note back out to read it again.

‘I hope Hawkins High is kind to you today.’ Made his heart do tricks he didn’t know it could do. He wanted to find the culprit, but he couldn’t say he was in a rush to do so.

He wanted this feeling to last as long as it could.

Y/n walked down the hall during a bathroom break when she noticed Eddie leaving the boys room, the note she wrote him curled in his hand as he stared down at it.

‘He likes it, he likes my note.’ She celebrated internally. Eddie’s gaze met hers, quickly shoving away the note in his pocket with a blank expression falling across his features and hurrying past.

Y/n smiled to herself as she entered the bathroom, excited to write him more.

The next day, Eddie planned to get to school as early as he could. Before bed he sat with the notes he’d received thus far, a soft smile plastered on his lips as he traced the creases in the paper from how many times he opened and refolded them.

He ran his finger over the indentions of the letters the pen left when the sender wrote his name. He folded them back up and stuck them under his pillow, hoping to find another note in the morning.

Sadly, Eddie’s plans to make it to school early were foiled from the moment he opened his eyes. Instead of his alarm going off, he was met with a stream of water hitting him in the face. He bolted upright in his bed, taking notice of the two other leaks in his room and the lack of power.

“Shit!” He realized the electricity cut off was today and he forgot to mail the check to the electric company last week. Eddie ran to the kitchen, seeking the seal tape for events such as these.

After temporarily fixing the problem, he only had 15 minutes to get ready and to the school. “Jesus H Fucking Christ.” He mumbled to himself.

He tried his best to not speed, praying he wouldn’t catch a fine for trying to get to school. Luckily, he made it unscathed, having time to catch the closing door of his first hour class.

Eddie was eager to get to his locker before the second period of the day, dialing his combination with his fingers quaking.

Y/n took the route to class that passed her locker and noticed Eddie in a rush to open his. She noticed the lack of his presence that morning and worried he may not show.

Eddie’s locker door flew open, and before Y/n was all the way past him, she swore she saw him grin at the note he caught with an expectant hand.

‘I’m persistent, what can I say? 🥰 I hope something good happens to you today.

P.S. I think you’re cute 🦋’

Eddie felt the fluttering in his chest and suddenly felt warmer. He quickly folded the note and placed it in his pocket, shutting his locker with a satisfied smile on his lips.

Y/n loved how she felt when she saw Eddie get happy from the notes she sent. She knew it wasn’t the same as if he knew who was sending them but knowing she made his day a little brighter made hers brighter too.

Y/n anxiously stood by her locker, looking around for any sign of the boy she admired. She sighed, relieved and opened her notebook to write him a new note.

‘Should I get more flirty? Can I be flirty?’ She wondered, shifting from one foot to the other and flipping the pen around her middle and index fingers.

‘Good morning ❤️ Did you know you make me laugh almost every day? Well you do. You also do a great job of making my heart beat faster every time I see you. Maybe sometime I’ll have that same effect on you.

I hope you have a good one ⭐️‘

She smiled as she placed the star sticker at the end of the sentence and ripped the page from the book. She folded it once before a familiar sleeved arm had shot over her shoulder to hit his hand against the locker beside her with a slam, “Bah!” He exclaimed, making her jump and turn around. While she was stunned, Jason took the opportunity to snatch the paper.

“Jason, please give it back,” Y/n quietly pleaded, her hand outstretched. Eddie stood at the edge of the scene, as a few other students gathered to look on, which made Y/n want to puke.

Eddie watched as her face began to turn red with panic and humiliation, knowing exactly how it felt to be in her shoes. Everything in him wanted to get involved except for the small part that still feared getting his ass beat by Jason and his friends yet again—but this time it would be in front of his crush.

“Aww, please give it back!” Andy shrilled mockingly. Y/n’s chest began to quiver with her shaking breaths. She tried to remember if she wrote his name in the note anywhere or if she wrote his name right on top.

“I-It’s my homework for—“

“That’s sweet but homework doesn’t have cute little stickers on it,” Jason began unfolding the paper and only glanced down at it before Chrissy’s enraged hand snatched it from him and handed it to back Y/n.

“Jason, what the hell is wrong with you? Like truly, how many times do you have to be reminded to not be an asshole? We’re done, for good.” She charged through the crowded hallway, putting distance between her and her now ex boyfriend before he could cry, “Chrissy wait, just hear me out, baby.” and take off after her.

Eddie’s eyes stayed on Y/n, who crumpled the paper in her hand and willed the tears in her eyes to go away. She slammed her locker closed and slung her bag over her shoulder, dropping the now ruined note into the trash can at the end of the hall on her way past, which Eddie was determined to retrieve.

‘Cute little stickers, huh?’ He wondered.

After a few moments, Eddie walked at an easy pace to seem nonchalant, when on the inside he wanted to sprint to the bin and dump it out to ravage through its contents.

When he reached the end of the hall, he looked over his shoulder to see how many people were about to watch the freak go through the trash, and luckily no one was paying him any mind.

The wadded paper sat on top unharmed, which made him want to pump his fist in celebration already. He reached in and snatched the note swiftly, walking towards his next class and flattening the note.

His heart about exploded when he saw the familiar roundness of her letters, but most of all, the stickers. He ducked into the bathroom to mull it all over privately.

‘Did you know you make me laugh almost every day? Well you do.’ He laughed softly and lovingly ran his fingers over the page, as if it were a physical extension of herself.

‘You also do a great job of making my heart beat faster every time I see you. Maybe sometime I’ll have that same effect on you.’ His breath caught in his throat, “Oh, sweetheart, you already do.” He mumbled.

‘I hope you have a good one ⭐️‘ He finished softly, sighing contently. Eddie cut his class; using the time to figure out how and when exactly he’d confess his love, and maybe smoke a joint, but he did know for one thing for certain; he wanted at least one more note.

Y/n did her best to forget about the incident with Jason, convincing herself that Chrissy intervened early enough before any real damage could be done.

She sat in the library for study hall with a few others in her class. Each person had a table to themselves, others—like Gareth, perused the aisles looking for something interesting to read.

After she finished her chemistry paper, she set about writing a new note. She took her sticker sheet out from her notebook pocket and found a clean page.

She began writing and unbeknownst to her, Gareth could see her sticker sheet through the gap in the books from the other side of the shelf. He gasped, recognizing the stars and hearts that graced the notes Eddie received for the last week or so. He knew of his friends crush on the girl, and knew how ecstatic Eddie would be if she ended up being his admirer, which lead him to try to get a look at her paper.

He tried his best to see what she wrote or at least what her handwriting looked like, though he couldn’t because she ended up leaning her head over on her hand, blocking his view entirely.

The boy sighed and ran a hand through his fluffy hair, deciding he needed to come up with a better strategy.

Was this idea better? No.

Was it effective? Yes, absolutely.

Was it also creepy? Completely.

Gareth decided to follow Y/n the best he could after she left study hall, hoping she’d choose to drop the note in Eddie’s locker soon so he could stop feeling so weird.

His prayers were answered when he saw her walk past her locker, which made him hang back around the corner for a second before she could look back at him. He peeked his head around and saw her reaching up to slide it in through the slot. He approached her hastily, wanting to catch her as discreetly as possible.

“What are you doing?” Gareth asked from behind her. Y/n jerked her hand away from the locker before she could deposit the paper and turned to face him. “Nothing, what are you doing?”

Gareth rolled his eyes and nodded at her hidden hands. “What’s that?” He asked.

“Oh, I just wanted to…buy drugs.”

“Liar.”

“Why’s that so hard to believe?”

“Because people who buy drugs don’t tell people they’re buying drugs.” Gareth shook his head in amusement.

‘Fuck.’

"You're the one sending the love notes, I already figured it out, you can stop trying to lie, really, it's sad." Gareth said with amused pity.

“Okay, you can’t say anything to him, not yet at least. I wanna send more before he figures out it’s me. I’m not sure how he’ll react.” She said.

“What? They’re the best part of his day, he’d be thrilled to find out who you are.”

“He barely even knows I exist, and I don’t even know what my end goal is with all of this, okay? I just—not right now, please.” She grabbed Gareth’s arm before he could walk away.

Gareth looked back at the girl, taking a deep breath and surveyed her eyes that pleaded for his cooperation. “Do you really like him?” He clarified, Y/n looked at her shoes and nodded reluctantly, “I really really do.”

“Alright, your secret’s safe with me,” Gareth whispered earnestly.

“Really?” She asked.

“But you’re gonna have to tell him someday. You can’t live in secrecy forever, it isn’t fair to either one of you.” Gareth said, shrugging his shoulders. He nodded at the locker, “You better put it in before the bell rings, I’ll keep watch.”

Y/n turned with a nod in agreement, ridding herself of the note quickly as if she were sending it in the mail. “Thank you, Gareth.” She said.

He smiled at her and shrugged his shoulders, “Thanks for making him feel special and shit. He won’t admit it but I know he’s kept them all.” He flashed another smile and left for good this time, leaving Y/n with a renewed sense of hope.

‘Maybe my chances with Eddie Munson aren’t so slim after all.’

Eddie huffed as he picked up the lock that hung from his the latch of his locker. He dialed the combination, ignoring some shoves on his back from passing assholes like Jason Carver. Eddie swung the door open, the note he’d been expecting this morning falling down. His heart leapt from his chest when he heard the familiar thump on the ground.

‘She wrote me a new note even after this morning.’ He beamed as he reached down quickly to snatch it from the floor.

‘🦋I love seeing how happy you get when you’re with your friends, your smile is my favorite💗’

He smiled at the compliment, bringing his fingers to his mouth to trace his lips. He read the note three more times. ‘your smile is my favorite’ lingered in his mind.

He sighed, pressing a kiss to the paper and shoving it into his back pocket to open his own notebook, and decided he would drop her a note himself, excited to play her at her own game.

The next day, during her third hour study hall, Y/n worked on her love notes in the library. She had her sticker sheet out and her colorful pens scattered across the table, hoping to make them all look like they weren’t written in one sitting.

‘Me again! I hope these don’t get annoying. Anyway, you know the drill. I think you’re the cutest boy in Hawkins ❤️ Have a good day!‘

‘I had a dream about you the other night, and if I’m being honest, I didn’t want to wake up. Maybe I could show you how it went sometime 💗’

She shook her head at herself for that one. She worried he’d think she’s some sort of deviant, but she was hoping it would excite him.

‘Have you figured me out yet? Or am I just that good?’

‘Thinking of you way more than I should be. ❤️‘

‘I hope you see something beautiful today🤍⭐️‘

She shoved the rest of the notes in her back pack pocket, using the last 15 minutes in the library to sneak out and deliver a note before the class change.

Little did Y/n know, Eddie had the same idea.

He held his slip of paper tight in his hand as he walked down the hallway a few minutes before the bell rang. He’d never spent this much time perfecting something he wrote, except maybe a song.

Before he could arrive at her locker, Eddie saw Y/n walking from the opposite direction, looking at her feet the whole trip. Eddie ducked into the bathroom, the zippers and contents of his bag jingling with every stride.

Y/n didn’t hesitate when dropping the new note into his locker. She loved the familiar warmth spreading through her chest at the prospect of making him smile.

The bell rang and she walked further down the hall, intending to look like she just showed up when she would eventually come around the other way while he needed to change his books.

Eddie walked out of the bathroom, noticing her absence and went ahead and opened his locker, his heart leapt at the sound of the note falling down for him. He didn’t even bother controlling his wide grin as he unfolded it hastily and read.

‘I hope you see something beautiful today🤍⭐️‘

Eddie’s heart melted yet further solidified his need to make her feel the same way she’s made him feel. As the hall emptied of students, he took his opportunity to open up the note he’d written for her to add something in at the bottom:

‘I hope you know you have been the most beautiful part of my day for a while now, the notes just made it better.’

He hurriedly folded the note back the way he had it and stuffed it in the slot before she could turn the corner. By the time she had made it back to her locker, Eddie was switching books out of his bag.

He saw Y/n begin to unlock her own from the corner of his eye. When he heard her door swing open, and the familiar sound of a folded note hitting the ground, he looked to her face to gauge her reaction.

Y/n’s heart lurched into her throat and her body felt rigid at the sight of the paper on the floor in front of her. Eddie bit his lip and shut his locker door, turning to confront his feelings.

She looked to him, her heart stopping at his full attention set on her for the first time.

“Go on, open it.” He uttered, anticipation in his eyes. Y/n nodded and cautiously picked up the note, turning it over in her hands to view her name with a heart drawn beside it. The sight made the corners of her mouth turn up, though she suppressed it out of habit.

Eddie took a hesitant step closer to her, unable to contain himself. She took a grounding breath and unfolded it.

‘There’s nothing I’ve wanted more than for you to notice me, let alone make a grand gesture of your affection like you have. No one has ever made me feel so special before. I’ve wanted to know you since I saw you on your first day wearing a Sabbath shirt and flowery skirt. Every day since then I’ve liked seeing what you wear and how you do your hair, especially with braids.’

Y/n tried to pace her breathing, the whole situation feeling too good to be true.

‘I’ve thought you were the cutest girl in Hawkins ever since’ Her heart dropped at the callback to one of her previous notes.

‘I hope you know you have been the most beautiful part of my day for a while now, the notes just made it better.’ Y/n couldn’t help her gaping and dumbstruck smile. Her eyes were locked on the paper in front of her, almost forgetting about the boy standing a short distance away.

He wore a smug smile at her wide eyes and heaving chest as he stepped closer in the empty hall, messing with his lips nervously.

“Hey, there.” He smiled, unable to look away from her. “Hi.” She whispered, unabashedly looking into his deep brown eyes. “You, uh, you got my note, huh?” He asked.

Y/n looked to the note in her hands and then back at him, “Mhm, I have.” She mumbled, a smile working its way onto her face.

Eddie nodded, his eyes glimmering for her. “Uh, nice handwriting by the way,” He held up her note in his fingers ,”And the stickers? They really are cute.” He said, pressing it to his heart as he looked her over.

“I-I thought you’d like them. I hoped you would, anyway.” She shrugged and quickly looked back to the ground as she felt her neck heating up. “Y’know you’ve really made me feel like the cutest boy in Hawkins?” He smiled, a light pink dusted his cheeks at the sentiment she’d written him.

The color drained from her face, suddenly embarrassed. “Oh, god,” she let out a nervous giggle as she hid her eyes behind her hands.

“No, no, no, come back!” Eddie teased quietly, reaching out and gently bringing her hands away from her face. “I mean it! Can I, uh, can I give—you know what, c’mere.” He said as he pulled her in for a tight hug, his head resting comfortably against hers. Y/n felt as if her heart could burst taking in his woodsy scent mixed with cigarettes and cologne.

“You’ve gotta know I’m pretty crazy about you, like, you being the sender only felt possible in my dreams—for a while it felt like a prank, but it’s really happening, you’re right here and it’s crazy… Thank you, sweetheart, truly.” He trailed off and kissed her on top of the head after a moment.

“I-I had no idea, I didn’t think you noticed me until last week, Eddie.” She said in a daze, her arms in loose embrace around him as she struggled to stay standing.

“You said my name, holy shit.“ He shook his head, an attempt at focusing on the current topic. “Sorry, sorry, you really thought I didn’t notice you? Seriously?! You’re gorgeous, babe, really, how could anyone go without noticing you?” He held her at arms length, gesturing to her entire being when he spoke of her.

Y/n’s eyes glossed as he gushed over her like it was second nature, and to Eddie it really was. Except now, he was allowed to spill his thoughts to the object of his desires instead of his friends. “Come with me, please?” Eddie pleaded as he shut her locker door and picked up her bag.

Y/n’s cheeks heated up at the prospect of ditching class. “C’mon, you’re always where you’re supposed to be, you won’t miss a lot today, I promise! Scout's honor.” Eddie held his hand up sacredly, knowing damn well his father never signed him up to be a scout of any variety.

“How could I say no to the cutest boy in Hawkins?” She smiled and followed after him to the parking lot. “That’s what I like to hear, sweet thing.” Eddie said lovingly, feeling as though she’d been his forever.

The nicknames and attention brought Y/n’s heartbeat up much higher than she ever thought possible, yet she’d never felt lighter. Eddie lead her to his van, quickly unlocking the back doors and guiding her inside. “Here you are, m’lady.” He said with an accent and a helping hand awaiting her.

Y/n shook her head as she stepped inside, Eddie quickly following after. “Make yourself at home.” he encouraged, getting comfy stretched out on his side. Y/n sat next to his upper half and held her focus on hands in her lap with her back against the wall.

There was silence, though Y/n couldn’t tell if it was uncomfortable or not. Before she could find anything to say, Eddie spoke first.

“I hope you know I meant it. When I said your notes have been the best part of my day since the first one, but, uh, seeing you in between classes… I‘ve looked forward to those moments every day for a long time… I can fit all of my books in my bag if I want to, you know? I just grab one or two at a time to up my chances of seeing you. Is that weird?” He asked as if he hadn’t already lured her into his van. Y/n shook her head vehemently, her eyes wide with need.

Eddie softened at her understanding and gently took her hand in his, “I just can’t believe you saw me.” He whispered, playing with her fingers as he spoke so vulnerably to the girl he’d spoken to for only the first time.

Y/n’s heart pounded in her ears as her internal monologue screamed at her to be daring, that she has the green light, that the boy she’s so down bad for has had feelings for her, so she should shoot her shot and make her move!

To test the waters she pressed his hand to her cheek, the warmth and plush of his palm was inviting and the perfect cradle for her face. He drew loving circles with his thumb on her cheekbone, hoping his next move wasn’t too forward.

Eddie leaned in slowly, giving her the opportunity to back away or say something, but instead she leaned into him, placing her other hand at the nape of his neck to pull him close.

The pair let out moans of relief as their lips crashed together. They moved against each other hungrily, not bothering to hold back any longer. Eddie found his way up to his knees, using both of his hands to hold her jaw.

When they’d pull away it was a mixture of moans, gasps, and short exchanges.

“You’re so soft,”

“I love your hands, want them everywhere,”

“Is this okay?”

Eddie had pulled Y/n over his lap and looked up at her before resuming. She caught her breath and pushed a couple loose strands away from his face before smiling down at him and nodding. “Things feel so easy with you, can’t believe I didn’t talk to you sooner.” She shook her head in disbelief before brushing her nose against his, which gave him butterflies.

“Can I take you out? I wanna do this right, I wanna take you everywhere, anywhere! Anywhere you wanna go, whatever you wanna do, I’ll make it happen. What do you say, sweetheart?” Eddie whispered, looking back down at her lips hungrily.

“Oh, I’ll go out with you, that’s not even up for discussion, Munson,” She teased, her smile tugging on his heart strings. “But as for location…” She leaned up, seemingly in thought while Eddie anxiously awaited her answer.

“You could take me to the nearest gas station and buy a bag of chips and a can of coke to split and I’d call it the best first date I’ve ever been on because you’re so special, Eddie.” She said softly. Eddie chuckled in disbelief.

“No, really. Out of all the guys in Hawkins I knew I’d feel the safest with you, yet, every time I thought about talking to you I felt like I was going to throw up. But now that I have it’s, like, the easiest thing ever.” Eddie felt a swell of emotions over take him. He couldn’t believe he was here in the arms of the girl he so deeply admired, listening to her call him special and safe.

Before he had the chance to say anything to try to match how wonderful she made him feel, she leaned down and engulfed his lips in a slow and passionate kiss. Her hands slid back into his hair, barely tugging at the roots of his unruly curls.

She could feel him smile into the kiss, his hands sliding from her back down to her thighs, stealing a quiet gasp from her when he paused to softly squeeze her ass on his way.

He stroked her thighs up and down, the denim separating him from the soft flesh he desperately wished to touch and squeeze. He adored the sounds their lips made together, and he craved to hear the other pretty sounds she made.

Eddie pulled away only enough to graze his lips down her jaw and neck, stopping where her neck meets her shoulder. He nipped at the skin softly, not hard enough to leave a mark but enough to send a burst of surprise to her tummy. “Oh…” she quietly reveled in the tingling sensation he sent through her with his teeth and tongue.

“Eddie… shit… w-we gotta stop.” She said dejectedly. Eddie ripped his lips from her with a wet smack, his eyes wide in panic. Had he done something wrong? Did she change her mind?

“Oh, no, honey, I don’t wanna stop, believe me,” She said when she noticed his worry. “But I can’t let myself go any further until we go get that bag of chips. We could continue this after, though, if—you know, the gas station run goes well.” She fiddled with his collar as she spoke, her last addition making him throw his head back and laugh, taking her hand in his and pressing a kiss to the back before looking back up at her lovingly.

“I’ll do anything for you, angel. But I won’t split a bag of chips with you, not on the first date at least, that’s something we’ll save for when we’re out of the honeymoon phase and broke. Today, my girl will be dining on the finest pizza in all of Hawkins, Indiana!” Eddie proclaimed as if he wasn’t referring to dominos.

But to Y/n it was the best pizzeria, and no other pepperoni pizza would be able to top the one he bought for her on that chilly spring day, huddled close under a blanket with the back doors open to face the lovely misty views of the quarry and wildflower fields.

Eddie couldn’t help but admire her as they ate in comfortable silence, the radio buzzing in the background as they chewed. A bit of sauce sat at the edge of his mouth, to which she reached out and wiped with her finger.

He turned his head to her instantly as she took her hand away and licked it from her thumb. “Sorry, I should’ve—,” she began to apologize, but before she could, he silenced her with a tender kiss to her lips. “Never apologize for touching me, ever.” He pulled back to whisper with a chuff smile on his lips.

Y/n nodded, the embarrassment melting from her body as he pressed kisses to her cheeks, forehead, nose, anywhere besides her lips. Giggles spilled from her mouth and Eddie discovered quickly it was his new favorite sound. While she was off guard, he pulled her into his lap.

“Y’know, being with a guy like me isn’t easy.” He said ominously, yet both joking and serious. “Oh is that so?” Y/n quipped as she settled between his legs, against his chest and picked up his hand to hold.

Eddie nodded, a permanent soft smile plastered to his face no matter how many times he tried to relax from his cheeks hurting. “Oh yeah, aside from the shit people will talk, I’m a needy guy, baby.” He shrugged his shoulders and looked back down at her adoring gaze waiting for him with her head tilted back against his shoulder.

“Try me, Munson.” She giggled as he kissed her head and picked up her slice to hand back to her.

“Let’s see… I like holding hands. And thighs, god, I love ‘em,” he paused to reach down and squeeze the underside of her leg and bury his face in the crook of her neck.

“Eddie!” She yelled through uncontrollable giggles. He took mercy on her and continued his list, counting off on his fingers. “I’m talking belly rubs, back rubs, head pats and scratches, and please feel free to play with my hair at your own discretion, you don’t ever have to ask. I like kisses, any and all are acceptable, really, please don’t be shy, sweet girl. I love— shit, I just love touch, but no one else needs to know that, capice?” Eddie emphasized his words by pressing his nose into the side of her cheek and leaving a chaste kiss there. Y/n nodded, “Your secrets safe with me, I swear!”

“And I’m just gonna go ahead and say now that if I’m...too much…you can tell me, I won’t get upset, I just know that not everyone wants that all the time, and I would never wanna—“

She tossed the pizza to the box with a flop, turning around to face him, sincerity written in her eyes. Eddies face lit up at the sight and was still taken off guard as she pushed her lips against his. She sat as she did earlier, straddling his waist. Eddie melted at her touch when she buried her fingers in his roots on one side and traced his chin and jaw with her other.

She pulled away to to look at him, though still kept him close with her embrace. “Thank you for saying that...I’m usually one of those people, and can’t take a lot of touch, but, I don’t know… you just..make me feel so comfortable.. I can’t, I've never wanted to touch someone so bad,” she averted her eyes sheepishly but Eddie only leaned into her touch to encourage her to continue. “But if I ever need space I promise to let you know as kindly as possible. My personal space issues aren’t your problem. You aren’t too much, Eddie. Ever.” She nodded and he returned it in confirmation.

“Tell me more about these standards,” she leaned back and grabbed him a drink, “Do you like being the big spoon or the little spoon?” She asked as she opened the cold can of coke and handed it to him.

Eddie blushed at the small action and took a sip, “I like both, I don’t discriminate! I love to hold and be held, you know?” He set the can down and circled his arms around her until they were flush against one another. Y/n only smiled and wrapped her arms around him in response.

Eddie took this opportunity to tilt his head down to be greeted with a face full of her cleavage, his nose and lips grazing the soft skin and breathing in her scent. He resisted the urge to shove his face in between them and revel, until Y/n set an encouraging hand against the back of his head easing him exactly where he wanted to be.

Eddie let out a sigh of relief only squeezing her tighter in his arms as slowly shook his head side to side and left a couple soft kisses across her chest, keeping the hot and heavy stuff for another time.

Right now he knew he had limited time. Eddie looked back up at her warm smile, flushed cheeks, and wide eyes.

“I wanna make you happy.” He whispered seriously, the smile finally fading from his face at the thought of his perfect day ending. Y/n scrunched her brow at the sudden shift in demeanor.

“Eddie...” She started, playing with his hair to soothe him. “You’ve brought me… joy ever since I saw you walking on the lunch table to yell at Andy Bauman in the cafeteria my first day of school. And then every day since just by being you. I’m not hard to please, I don’t need things from you, but I do need your respect, attention, and honesty, do you think I can have that?” She whispered tentatively.

Eddies heart melted further at her openness and nodded eagerly. “I want to do this right. I don’t want games. I want something real. With you.” She whispered, leaning her forehead against his to soak in the moment. Eddie slid his hand up to the back of her neck to tangle his fingers in her hair, using his other hand to move the rest away from her face on the other side.

He looked over every detail he possibly could, wanting to remember exactly how her skin felt, how the air smelled, the lovesick way she looked at him; the same way he looked at her.

“I can absolutely give you those things. And more. I can give you my trust, my admiration, my devotion, my...” His eyes searched for an answer in the air before a troublemaking smile crossed his lips, “body?” He smirked as she laughed at his answer.

“Those are all perfect, and you can expect the same from me, okay?” She asked sweetly. “Ooh, the same?” He joked, raising his eyebrows teasingly.

Y/n giggled and rolled her eyes even though her answer was “the same.” With a nod of finality.

Eddie took no hesitation and pressed the first of a million kisses to come to her lips.

Eddie and Y/n stayed out til the moon was high and full in the sky, the two feeling inseparable. When he eventually took her home, they lingered in the van parked by the curb.

“When I say this, I want you to know I really mean it,” Eddie said quietly with her hands in his. He focused on her bare nails as he ran his thumb over her knuckles. Y/n urged him to continue with a small nod, her eyes intently locked on his.

“Today was the best day of my life.” He smiled sheepishly.

“Mine too, Eddie.” She said. He smiled, letting go of one of her hands to reach for her cheek, bringing her in for what was supposed to be one more quick kiss.

One turned into two and then three more, smiles unmoving from their faces. “Walk with me?” She asked, her eyes flickering to the porch light. Eddie smiled and nodded, hurriedly getting out of his side to rush around the car in time to help her out, which made her chuckle.

“Y’know, you remind me of a puppy.” Y/n said as he swung their hands between them. Eddie sported an incredulous smile at the comparison. “A puppy, huh? How so?” He asked.

“Hmm,” she examined his face in thought, coming to a stop at her stoop. “I look at you and feel similar to how I feel when I see a cute puppy, you know? You’re playful, and sweet, you bite to show affection… You even said it yourself, you like belly rubs! Head pats? And those eyes?? C’mon, you’re the human embodiment of a puppy!” Y/n increasingly gets more excited as she comes up with more reasons to back up her claim.

“If this is your way of asking me to be your puppy, I’m so down.” he joked, giving her hand a squeeze.

Y/n couldn't help but smile before she checked her watch, 2 minutes to curfew. “I gotta get in there, but I’ll see you at school, yeah?” She said quietly. Eddie continued to beam at her as he nodded, bringing her in for one last tender kiss.

She stepped back to open the front door, turning to say, “Goodnight, puppy.” before she closed the door, leaving an awestruck Eddie stuck on her porch.

Y/n and Eddie tried to get to school as quickly as possible, but also took their time in getting ready to see one another.

Y/n added a couple of braids in her hair, letting the rest go in loose curls. She spent more time on her makeup than usual, used her favorite perfume, and wore a similar outfit to the one Eddie described in his note, though this skirt was shorter and tighter.

Eddie stayed in front of the mirror longer than he should’ve, trying to make his hair look effortlessly tousled without too much frizz, which he accomplished but not without losing an extra ten minutes he could’ve already used to be at school.

Eddie arrived first, a triumphant smile on his face when he fished out his note book from his bag and ripped out a new page. He grabbed his one blue ink pen and ripped the cap off with his teeth.

Eddie pressed the page against his locker, trying his best to make the writing legible.

He folded the note with haste, taking care to write her name and add both a heart and butterfly doodles around it before shoving it in her locker.

Eddie spun around and side stepped to his locker to do his usual routine of waiting around until she showed up.

In no time, there she was, a vision in a mini skirt and doc martens. His heart started pounding when he saw her grin appear as she made eye contact with him.

Eddies eyes grew wide in excitement, holding his arms outstretched for her to run into them. Y/n noticed his waiting embrace and sped up to an eager jog. When she met him, she reached up on her tip toes to throw her arms around his neck and pull him close as he did her.

“Good morning, gorgeous.” He mumbled into her hair, breathing in the sweet and alluring scent of her perfume that she sometimes wore. Eddie had smelled this on her before but only from a distance, today he got to bury his face into it and revel.

Y/n laughed as he nuzzled his nose into that spot he loved on her neck. She reached up to stroke the back of his head with her fingernails. “See? Total puppy.”

Eddie blushed and pulled back, taking one of her hands in his so he could get a good look at her outfit of the day. He let out an impressed whistle as he raised their hands for her to twirl under. “You look absolutely divine this morning. Really, sweetheart, are you trying to kill me?” He placed a hand over his heart as she looked to her shoes with a blush.

Eddie loved the effect he had on her, making her blush was always a win in his book. He wanted to flatter her until she was a cherry tomato. Y/n took off her back pack, moving to set it on the ground in front of her when Eddie picked it up to hold for her as she exchanged books. “Well aren’t you sweet?” She said quietly as she tried to remember her combination.

Eddies fingers anxiously drummed on the handle of her bag he held. When the door swung open, she almost missed the sound of the note hitting her foot. Y/n’s eyes snapped to his, observing the guilty and mischievous glint in his eye as he shrugged his shoulders. “Go, on open it.” He said, nodding to the note with a pleased smirk. Y/n tried to keep her breath steady as she unfolded the last note.

‘Can I call you my girlfriend?💙

Yes or No’

Y/n kept a good poker face as she stared at the note, wanting to make Eddie sweat a bit. “Hmm,” She asked, pressing the note to her chest as if it were private, fumbling with the pen cup on the locker door that separates them.

Eddie tried to keep his cool but when she looked so serious in front of him and took seconds longer than she should’ve needed to circle an answer, he started to fidget. Y/n sat back with an amused smile twitching at her lips.

Eddie took a subtle but deep breath, suddenly nervous as if the whole day together hadn’t been of any encouragement. He watched on as she scribbled something on the paper and circled an answer, folding it back up and promptly handing it back to him.

Eddie swallowed hard and unfolded the note as she waited patiently. He looked down at the answer section of the note, chuckling when he saw she wrote ‘Hell’ above ‘Yes’, a bold heart around the two.

Eddie’s eyes darted back up to her, his smile almost maniacal as he dropped her bag and shut her door to press wet kisses to her lips and face as she giggled the whole time and tried to keep up. “Eddie! That tickles!” She squeaked though the laughter Eddie delighted in so much.

“I’m so sorry,” He said before resuming his kisses sporadically, backing her up against the locker. “It’s just,” he placed another kiss on her cheek, pushing her hair away from her face and burying his fingers in it behind her neck to keep her close, her fingers stroked his wrists adoringly.

“when it comes to my girlfriend,” he pressed a kiss to her nose and then rubbed it with his own, back and forth, before continuing, “I can’t help myself, especially when she looks this pretty on a daily basis.” He gazed adoringly into her eyes.

“Wow, she sounds great.” She quipped, which made Eddie roll his eyes. “She is..She’s such a dream. Funny, smart, reads good books, cunning, and irresistible, like when she looks at me the way she is right now...” His voice dropped to an earnest whisper, watching as she looked from his eyes to his lips.

Y/n ran her tongue over her bottom lip before diving in and kissing him softly, smiling when he hummed contently into it, the whole world falling away.

“Holy shit!” A familiar voice halted their affection, the couple turned quickly in their embrace to see who was speaking. Mike Wheeler stood with his mouth hanging open.

Gareth rounded the corner and spotted Mike first, following his gaze to Eddie and Y/n with their arms around each other, the girl leaning into Eddie’s body as if he were a giant teddy bear.

“You did it!” Gareth said to Y/n, a bright smile lighting up his face as he gave her a congratulatory pat on the back. Eddie short circuited for a moment and shook his head between the two of them.

"Wait, you knew? How—" Eddie questioned, too happy in his current position to be actually angry.

"He caught me once, I swore him to secrecy."

"Relax man, she practically threatened to kill me if I told you." Gareth held his hands up in surrender as Mike was joined by Dustin and Lucas.

"Eddie, I didn't know you had a girlfriend!" Dustin said in surprise, Lucas wearing a matching expression.

"Breaking news, Hawkins! My girl's the prettiest in all the land!" Eddie announced, catching the attention of the entire hallway, tossing the note with a flick of his wrist in Dustin's direction, the boy scrambling to catch it.

Eddie turned to his girl and pulled her in close to plant one more kiss on her lips before the bell rang. "Get ready to tell me absolutely everything about yourself later, I'm thinking burgers and the stars, maybe?"

"That sounds fantastic. But only if you're prepared to do the same, I'm gonna need all your deepest darkest secrets." She shot him a foreboding look that had him suppressing a giggle.

Dustin handed the note to Eddie, who shoved it in his wallet with the others where bills would typically go. The sight made Y/n's heart flutter.

"They're all yours, sweetheart." He pressed a kiss to her forehead before walking down the hall with her towards his first class. "I'll see ya, later, girlfriend." He smirked, not quite ready to let go of her hand until she was too far.

"Lookin' forward to it, boyfriend." She rolled her eyes through a blushing smile and walked to class with more pep in her step than ever.

They never stopped writing each other notes, only getting more mushy and lovey as time went on.

When Y/n would eventually make Eddie lunches for work, she'd make sure to write him a special note to find at the bottom 'For the cutest boy in Hawkins' she'd tease, doodling hearts and stars all around the edges.

Eddie saved all of them. He decided he should keep track of how many notes he was behind on and needed to catch up, sending notes every day to his love in different ways.

Notes in her locker, her pockets, hand delivered (sometimes during class) by a member of Hellfire if it wasn't himself, under her pillow, in the seat of the car, sometimes he'd replace her bookmark with a note of his to greet her the next time she decided to read her book before bed.

Later they left notes for each other all over the house, until they decided to save on paper and get a marker board.

It was supposed to be for phone messages, important upcoming events, and to keep track of bills, but Eddie always wrote her a note before he left for work.

'I already cant wait to see you. Enjoy your morning'

'Eddie loves Y/n'

'Make today your bitch xoxo'

Y/n felt discouraged for a little bit because she wanted to figure out a new special way to wish him a good day, too. It wasn't until she walked into the bathroom to brush her teeth that evening that she realized she could write on the mirror for him the night before.

After writing cute sweet things like 'Good morning to the cutest boy in Hawkins' or 'the best boy deserves the best day' for a while, she decided she wanted to shake things up a little.

One evening, before he got home she left him a message on the mirror to see when he went to wash the day off from his job at the garage in town.

"Hey, baby!" He called when he entered the apartment he stayed at most of the time, tossing his keys on the counter and stripping off his jacket from over his blue work jumpsuit, stained with grease and dust.

"Where's my best girl at?" He asked as he scrubbed the majority of the oil from his hands at the sink, checking out the dinner simmering on the stove. He gave it a couple stirs until Y/n could take back over.

Y/n came out of the bathroom from putting a towel and clothes out for him to change into, noticing his messy ponytail and smiling at how cute he always looked doing things when no one was watching.

"Hi, pup." She said quietly approaching him, wrapping her arms around his middle, which he indulged in lightly and then pushed her hands back to her side as he turned around to lean close by her ear, knowing exactly how giggly she gets when he does this. "'m gross, sweetheart," he said sweet as honey, and pressing a kiss on her neck below her ear, "I gotta get out of these clothes before I love all over you, I would hate to leave greasy handprints on the front of that cute little shirt you have on." He mumbled in her ear followed by a wink as he walked to the bathroom.

Y/n blushed and stirred the pasta, then bent down to check the garlic bread in the oven, when she heard his laughter echo in the small apartment.

Eddie had flipped on the light and turned on the shower, when he brought his attention to the mirror as he undressed, noticing a new note waiting for him.

'Nice ass. (:'

He couldn't help but come apart at the seams. He was about to walk back out to the kitchen to ruin her white tshirt, when he then noticed the fresh towel and comfy clothes laid on the toilet for him.

He paused, staring for a moment. He'd never get used to his lunches being packed, not to mention his clothes laid out for him, this was a first. In this moment, every act of service Y/n had done for him in the last two years rushes through his head.

All the times she'd offer to wash his hair after a long day, the countless meals, the nights she insisted on being the big spoon, the times he'd come home to the trailer after hellfire and she'd have the dishes or laundry done, or his bed made with new sheets even if she wasn't spending the night.

Eddie tried to make it clear she didn't have to take care of him, that it wasn't her job or expected of her just because she was his girlfriend. Y/n only met his concern with a soft smile and a shake of the head, "I know Eddie, that's why I want to." she'd say.

But something about the neatly folded pajamas that sat on top of the towel with some fresh socks and briefs sent him over the edge.

He knew in his heart it was time to make things even more permanent.

Eddie took his girl on a drive for their 3 year anniversary in the spring. Y/n did her best to coax the destination out of him during the weeks prior to their weekend, but Eddie kept this secret locked up tight.

Eddie followed the familiar winding path through the back roads of Hawkins, spying the newly bloomed wildflowers in the fields surrounding the quarry.

They backed into their spot by the shore, one they hadn't visited since they'd graduated.

"Aw, puppy, it's been so long!" She said, her breath taken. "I know, that's why I thought it'd be great if we picnic'd here." He smiled at her as he got out of the van to pull the back doors open. Y/n kept her eyes on the scene before her, until Eddie cleared his throat to show her the extravagant pallet he'd prepared for them, much different to the set up they'd enjoyed the first time they came around here.

"Eddie! Baby, it's so pretty!" She gushed and climbed in, his satisfied smile never leaving her. "Yeah? You think so?" He said, hopping up next to her.

"Eddie, you never stop impressing me." She said as she made herself cozy. Eddie blushed and averted his gaze. "You flatter me, babe. You always have." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders to give a kiss to her forehead.

"You're just really special to me, what can I say?" She hummed and kisses the back of his hand that rested in her interlocked fingers.

"Baby, could you grab the picnic basket over there?" Eddie nodded to her side of the van, the basket sat in the corner on top of their picnic blanket.

Y/n nodded eagerly before retrieving the blanket and basket, and handing it to Eddie. He started setting out a couple dishes and forks, then sprinkled a couple handfuls of rose petals around the area.

"Is this sufficient, your grace?" Eddie said in an exaggerated and posh accent. Y/n followed with a sigh, "It'll do, I suppose." She giggled and gave him a kiss.

Eddie reached back in the basket, bringing out the cake he bought that morning, the both of them digging in immediately.

After they'd devoured half the cake, Eddie couldn't wait any longer. "I, um, I made you a present." Eddie laughed nervously, reaching to the bottom of the basket and pulling out a photo album. "Nancy helped me with a lot of it, since she's good with this stuff, but, uh, yeah."

Y/n sat with a mouth full of cake and no words to say. "I've added to it for a while, but I mostly put it all together the last week at lunch. You should take a look." He held it out to her. Y/n quickly swallowed and dusted off her hands before the hefty book was dropped in her lap.

Eddie scooted close next to her so they could look together. Y/n flipped to the first page and was met with their very first picture, captioned with the note he sent asking her to be his girlfriend.

"Ed—" she couldn't finish because of the tears welling up in her eyes, deciding to turn to the next page.

Eddie had displayed their notes along with their pictures and memorabilia from their years together, including lucky pennies, pressed flowers, concert tickets, song lyrics written on a paper napkin. Y/n sat silently as she turned each page looking at the times gone by.

They giggled at a picture of themselves in the front seat of the van, looking stoned as hell with heavy lidded eyes, smiling widely and sticking out their tongues to touch between them. "Have we ever known personal space?" She asked, Eddie only licking her ear in response.

Another they came across was one Steve took of them at Lovers Lake during their first summer together, they both stood by the shore, completely soaked. Eddie stood behind Y/n wrapping his towel around the both of them as they laughed.

Eddie was eager for her to see the photo strip they thought was long lost from New Years. They spent the night at some bar in Indianapolis with their friends, getting absolutely plastered and following the drinks up with a high. Eddie and Y/n found themselves in a photo booth with props and went ham.

At first they didn't use anything, too inebriated to notice their options. In the first picture, they're leaned against each other, smiling with almost closed eyes. In the next frame, they've realized they can dress up, Eddie's arm reaching out from behind Y/n, her eyes wide with excitement.

Eddie wrapped a feathery boa around them as Y/n placed a Happy New Year headband on his head, and then let him set giant glasses on her face.

After they posed with wide smiles and discarded their props, Eddie knew he wanted to use the last one to pull her in for a wet kiss right at midnight.

“Oh my god, I can’t believe you found this!” She said eagerly pointing to the strip and fawning over the nostalgia it provided.

She saw the Polaroid she took of Eddie when he spent the night at her apartment for the first time, a shot of him making a silly face as he chopped vegetables for their dinner.

She saw a few of herself she hadn’t seen before. There were some of her sleeping, getting ready for bed of an evening, or folding laundry and holding up a pair of his underwear to be funny, captioned with some of the stickers she used to always have on hand in school, pieces cut from poetry books, and the notes he wrote about her.

She didn't notice the tears spilling over, or the butterflies tingling in her chest when she turned to the last page that had only one note, one that looked newer compared to the crinkled and yellowed pages of the past. It only said:

'Can I call you my wife? 💙

Yes or No'

Y/n only sniffled and looked to Eddie, who had matching tear tracks running down his cheeks. He shot her a warm smile and pulled the ring box out of his pocket. "What do you say?" He whispered, grasping her left hand in his, the air heavy with anticipation.

"Eddie.." she whispered, looking down at the open box on his knee. It contained a thin silver band, perfect for her finger until he could afford something more grand and ornate, though he knew she'd be thrilled with anything he presented to her.

"Hell yes." Her voice broke as she sniffled and laughed, Eddie's smile doubled in size as he slid the ring onto her finger with quaking hands.

Time stood still as they looked at one another. "You realize what this means?" Eddie asked, taking her face in his hands. She gave him a skeptical look. "You're mine and I'm yours and there's no getting rid of me... unless you wanna pay a bunch of money in court, cause I'll fight that shit hard, honey." He smarted off as more stray tears escaped and she laughed at his antics.

"But really, you've made me the happiest guy ever. You make me feel like the most important person on the planet, from your first note. I never want to stop trying to make you feel the same way— I wanna keep doing life with you, I wanna experience the world with you. You make me want things I've never thought about wanting. I never thought love could be like this, Y/n. You're everything to me; the greatest person inside and out and I can't wait to see what we do." He grinned and kissed her lips before she could say anything else.

And they lived happily ever after

Source? I decided it was true

OMG you should do a gareth x reader and like you join the hellfire club and he has crush on you and he ends up telling you and you like him back!

Idk why it took me so long to write this. Characterizing Gareth should not have been as difficult as it was lmao. But y'know what it took to finish this? Sitting upside down. In a chair.

Like, y'know in big hero 6 when Tadashi holds Hiro upside down or whatever to get him to think and it worked? Yeah. That was me.

But I hope you enjoy this, it definitely got away from me lol. It wasn't supposed to be this long and the ending was definitely a little rushed. But whatever.

(Also, somewhere in an alternate universe, Gareth does turn out to be an axe murderer)

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Word count: 5.8k

Pairing: Gareth Emerson x Reader

Warnings: underage drinking, swearing, mentioned drug use

Request Here

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Eddie strutted down the hall with you at his side, excitement putting an extra bounce in his steps. He looked like a child, the pins on his jacket rattling.

You smiled faintly. A few weeks ago he asked you to play D&D with him. The two of you had gotten together to get high once or twice, you bought all your shit from him. And you mentioned how you used to play back in middle school.

That spurred the conversation of the Hellfire Club, which you'd heard a lot about. Mostly bad things if you were being honest, but hey. That was highschool.

It took him a while to convince you to join his club, and then bring you up to speed on all the rules and remind you how to play.

But now here you were, joining your first campaign with the Hellfire Club. You were pretty excited, you couldn't lie.

Not like you'd tell Eddie that. He'd be even more bouncy than he was right now.

Eddie kicked the door to their 'club room' with a loud crash, "hey nerds!" He called with an obnoxious grin.

You followed him into the room, which used to be the old theatre, but considering a new and bigger theater had just been built, this one was given to Eddie's club. It was really the only room they could spare.

Plus, it was pretty on brand; playing a fantasy game where drama had taken place.

They were backstage and all the lights seemed to be on. They were very colorful too, lighting the room up beautifully. There was also discarded sets and other junk pushed towards the walls and out of the way.

You went to look at the table where the other members sat, leaving the throne at the head of the table empty. You guessed that was Eddie's seat. His place at the table was already all set up, there were even candles lit on either side.

The rest of the table was occupied by the club members. A handful of them were underclassmen. You could tell by their baby faces. "Henderson! Drumroll!" He pointed to the table as he got closer.

A boy with brown curls obediently began to drum his fingers against the table, muttering, "why doesn't the drummer do the drumroll?"

"Shut it," Eddie said, pointing at him again. He got close enough to step right up onto the table. And then he bowed low, hand extended to where you stood with an amused smile.

"Please welcome the newest member of Hellfire! Y/N L/N!" He cheered as he rose back up, to which received several greetings ranging in enthusiasm.

Eddie grinned and hopped down from the table. He stepped forward and walked behind you, guiding you forward. "Curly is Dustin Henderson," he said, pointing him out once again. "His friends, Michael Wheeler, and Lucas Sinclair," he said, pointing to each of them.

You smiled and waved to the three younger boys. They looked like babies, they were so young. You wanted to squeeze their cheeks.

"That's Jeff. And finally, there's Gareth. He's a pain, ignore him more than you ignore the others," he instructed you very seriously.

Your eyes lingered on Gareth. He had the fluffiest hair you'd ever seen and you could imagine how soft it would feel beneath your fingers. He wore the same shirt as the others, white and black with the Hellfire logo. He also layered on a red and black flannel with the sleeves cut off.

Gareth fixed his annoyed look on Eddie. "And why should they ignore me?" He asked, his voice higher than you thought but beautiful to listen to.

"Because you're a pain," Eddie repeated with a 'duh' tone. But unfortunately for him, the only free spot they had was beside Gareth. He glared at Gareth like it was his fault once he realized.

You clapped Eddie on the shoulder with a laugh,"I deal with you everyday. I'm sure I can handle Gareth," you assured with a grin, going and sitting next to Gareth.

Eddie smiled before he understood, and when he did his expression grew annoyed. "Ha ha, very funny," he droned, sitting on his throne. "Now everybody shut up and let's get started!"

---

As soon as the session was over, Dustin cornered you while you waited for Eddie to pack up. He eagerly chatting your ear off about just about everything. You found it endearing how enthusiastic he was. His friend Mike, looked apologetic though as he awkwardly stood at his side.

"So how do you know Eddie?" Dustin asked, adjusting his cap. "Are you guys friends?"

"Oh, he's my de…uh, detention partner," you quickly altered your sentence. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to tell the kid Eddie was your dealer. Plus it wasn't like you were lying, Eddie had been your detention partner a couple of times.

"Really?" Dustin asked, ignoring Mike's urging warning that they were going to be late. "How long have you been playing D&D?"

"Since eighth grade," you answered honestly. "Gave me something to do after school."

"Why did you just now join Hellfire?" Mike finally gave in and asked a question. You knew he was curious too, after all you were a new face.

"Because I was too busy before," you shrugged, glancing to see if Eddie had packed up all his things yet. You looked back at the boys. "And I never had a ride."

"Do you need a ride?" Gareth asked, swinging his bag over his shoulder and stopping next to you. The way he looked you up and down wasn't as subtle as he thought it was.

"Nah, Eddie—"

"Gareth, you take 'em home," Eddie cut you off. "I forgot, I have to take Henderson and Wheeler. Their ride is busy so of course, the burden falls to me," he said with a shake of his head.

Dustin swung his head around to stare at Eddie. "What!?" He yelped. "What happened to Steve? Why didn't you say anything sooner!" He shouted, storming over to Eddie.

Gareth tilted his head towards the door and you nodded, walking out of the theater with him. It was silent for a few moments before you broke it.

"So you're a drummer?" You asked.

Gareth looked over at you and nodded, "yeah, for our band. Eddie tell you?"

You shook your head. "You're in a band? Eddie's in a band and he didn't tell me? That ass," you scoffed.

"I'm surprised you've gone this long without knowing," Gareth replied earnestly. "He's your dealer, right? I think he's mentioned you a few times."

"Didn't want to say it in front of the kids," you nodded, "but yeah. That's how I originally met him."

"So you've been 'round his? I know you've seen his guitar," Gareth held the door open for you. "He uses it for gigs only. It's his prized possession."

You suddenly remembered the name of the band. Eddie invited you out one day but you'd been too busy to attend. Now you had a reason to attend one of their shows. "Corroded Coffin, right?" You asked with a proud grin at remembering.

Gareth smiled at you. And wow was his smile beautiful. He nodded. "So ya do know our band," he mused. "Yes, I'm our drummer."

"Well considering that Dustin kid was asked to drumroll and not you, I'm gonna assume you're not—"

"Hey," Gareth said, affronted, turning to point a finger at you, "I'll let you walk home," he threatened.

"I didn't say it," you held your hands up in surrender. "I said nothing. What you use to fill in the blanks is entirely your—"

"Oh shut up," Gareth elbowed you in the side.

You jumped away from him with a scowl on your face, rubbing your injured side. "I'm not feelin' the love here, Gareth," you huffed. "I think I will walk home," you said, making a 90° turn and walking off.

"Hey!" Gareth shouted, grabbing your arm before you could get too far and pulled you back against his side. He casually tossed an arm around your side to prevent a repeat. "Eddie would murder me with my own sticks if I let you walk home."

"Maybe then you’ll learn some manners,” came your snarky reply but you let him guide you. You tried to ignore how his touch made you feel.

“Look who's talking,” Gareth replied, unfortunately releasing you. He walked around to the driver's seat and unlocked the doors.

You grinned and got in the car. “So, besides playing D&D and playing the drums, what do you do?” You asked, a pathetic attempt to keep the conversation going as you clicked your seatbelt on.

Gareth ignored his own seatbelt and put his arm behind your seat as he twisted to look behind him as he reversed out of his parking spot. “Really?” He asked, making eye contact briefly. “Small talk?”

Warmth coursed through your body as you rolled your eyes, trying to pretend like the small action didn't fluster you. You were rapidly developing a crush on him. You were unable to decide if it was surface level attraction or if it'd maybe have a chance to develop into something real. “Are you really judging me, drummer boy?” You mocked.

“Oh wonderful, I haven’t ever been called that before,” he said flatly, turning and removing his hand from behind your seat. “Ask me something worthwhile.”

You took a moment to think about an ‘interesting’ question. “Okay, what’s the weirdest thing you have been called?” You asked.

Gareth paused to actually think about it. "Freak," he answered honestly. "That's what just about most of the school calls me. Us. Hellfire," he clarified.

You had to admit, you felt your heart squeeze at the sympathy you felt for him. You despised the words especially when it was used so maliciously. You pursed your lips, "that was supposed to be a light hearted question, sorry."

Gareth only laughed. "Hey, well, you asked," he replied, tapping the steering wheel. "Better get used to it. I did. Easier that way."

"No thanks," you shook your head for emphasis. "The second anyone calls me that, they're getting my fist."

"That's fair," Gareth conceded. "Hey, where am I going anyways?" He asked with a frown, slowing slightly to give you time to answer..

"Oh you missed the turn about a mile ago," you confessed, looking up at him. "But I figured it was too late to tell you."

Gareth was silent for a few seconds before he exploded. "What!?" He loudly demanded. "I am never driving you anywhere ever again!" He exclaimed. "Why didn't you say anything!"

"Sorry!" You shouted back. "I'm sorry! I just…I don't know, don't yell!"

"You're yelling too!" Gareth screeched, making a wild U-turn. You heard several things rattle and roll in his car.

"Hey—hey! Cool it with the crazy driving!" You continued to shout, holding onto what you dubbed the 'oh shit' handle on the roof. He was worse than Eddie, which was saying a lot.

"Just tell me where I'm going!" Gareth turned to look at you, a crazy grin on his face as he continued to shout.

You realized he wasn't upset, but rather having fun. You grinned. "Just drive!" You managed between laughter. "You don't have anywhere to be, do you?"

Gareth shook his head no and joined in your laughter. "I like you!" He shouted.

"Then why are you yelling!?"

Gareth's smile never died as he repeated, in a much more respectable volume, "I like you."

You grinned, "thank you," you responded. "You're not so bad, for a drummer," you added belatedly.

Gareth's eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open in very obvious, and deep offense. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what I said."

Gareth scowled, "you got a problem with drummers?"

"Well, the last drummer I dated was crazy. I find the guitarist to be much more sane—"

"Uh, in what world is the guitarist more sane than the drummer!?" Gareth wildly demanded. "No way is Eddie more sane than I am!"

"Hey I'm just telling you my past experiences!" You defended, "I didn't say I like Eddie more than you—well, actually—"

"I'm giving you a ride home." Gareth sounded deeply offended again as he turned to stare at you.

"Eddie gives me drugs."

"That you buy. I'm doing this for free and in my own time."

You paused. You didn't have a response for that because he did have a point. "Fine," you conceded. "Fine, fine. Sorry for insulting you, drummer boy."

Gareth's victorious grin twisted into a scowl. "Can't you come up with a different nickname?"

"No."

Gareth sighed as he took a right turn. "I need a nickname for you now. It's only fair," he stated.

"No," you turned down, you knew this could only end in an embarrassing or terrible nickname. You had a reputation to maintain, you couldn't let him give you a nickname that would likely stick and catch on.

"You're a nerd but that just…doesn't fit," Gareth murmured to himself, staring out at the road.

You were concerned about the spaced out look on his face and thought maybe it wasn't a smart idea to let him drive you around.

"...I'll think of it," he finally shrugged. "But you need a new name other than drummer boy," he said, pointing a finger at you.

"Thumper," you replied.

"Will you be the Bunny to my Thumper?" Gareth wasted no time in asking.

You paused. "You've seen Bambi?" You asked in surprise. He didn't seem the type to sit through that kind of movie.

"I have a younger sister," Gareth offered in explanation, glancing over at you, "we've seen it a million times. Even my older sister's made me watch it."

You wanted to tease him, but you thought it was so sweet he watched it with her so many times. You smiled instead, "that's cute."

"Don't tease me," Gareth warned seriously.

"I'm not," you said quickly, "swear on my life. I'm not teasing you. I think it's cute that you watch movies with them."

Gareth tapped the steering wheel again to an imaginary beat and nodded, accepting that answer. "Do you need to be home soon?"

"I don't have a curfew," you answered, which…wasn't completely honest but he didn't need to know that. You wanted to spend more time with him though, he was interesting. And cute.

"Good. I was gonna take a ride out to the drive-in. I hope you like horror," he looked over at you again.

"The drive-in is in the next city," you stated the obvious.

"Yep," Gareth agreed.

"Okay," you said. This would be fun. You hoped. You had just met him, but he didn't strike you as an axe murderer or something.

---

Gareth was in fact, not an axe murderer. The two of you went to the drive in together and saw a horror movie that you honestly lost the plot of, too distracted by him.

He was very engrossed by the movie. He laughed at parts he definitely shouldn't have, popcorn in hand. He made snide little comments about the actors or the movie in general.

His commentary made you crack up and you couldn't focus with him murmuring some smartass comment in your ear every few minutes.

You wouldn't have changed a thing about the night.

Well. You'd change one thing.

Gareth walked you up to your door with the excuse of, "you never know where a murderer might be lurking."

You doubted they'd lurk in the few feet from the street to your door, but you decided to humor him.

So you walked with him, arms brushing together with every step. Neither of you made an attempt to stop the contact. Neither of you attempted more contact

When you arrived at your door, he stopped you from opening it with a hand on your arm. "Hey," he began, shifting his weight and dropping his hand.

You turned to him, the faint light of your neighbor's porch light illuminated his face enough for you to see his shifting gaze. "Hi," you warmly replied, smiling at him.

"Hi," he laughed, looking away. He cleared his throat and tucked his hands into his jean pockets. He rocked forward on his toes as he spoke. "You should come to our show."

You were nodding before you even comprehended the suggestion. But once you did, you smiled. "You want me to come to your show?"

Gareth looked away again and shrugged, "yeah. Thought you'd like it. I'll prove I am a good drummer despite what some people think," he pointedly said.

Your smile grew. "I'll be there," you promised. You found yourself wishing for a kiss. Hell, even a brush of his lips against your cheek would sate you. But of course, nothing happened.

Gareth took a step back and nodded at you. "Night, bunny," he said, turning around and heading back to his car.

"Night, thumper," you murmured, your voice lost to the night. You stared at his back for a second longer before finally turning and heading inside.

---

You informed Eddie of your plans and Gareth's invitation and he would not leave you alone. You regretted telling him.

"Wait, wait. I explicitly told you to stay away from Gareth and you went on a date with him!?" He screeched, his voice disappearing into the forest surrounding you two. Thankfully, you decided to have this conversation outside of school.

"It wasn't a date," you denied, waving a hand. You sat up on the picnic table and stared down at where he was sitting on the bench. "It was just a movie."

"No, it was a movie at the drive-in," Eddie replied, putting more emphasis on the words like a weirdo. "You know what happens at drive-ins? Sex!" He shouted. Like a weirdo.

You grimaced, "what? No, stop. I didn't sleep with your best friend. Calm down," you huffed. "Jeez, Eddie. It was just a movie."

"Oh really? How do I know you didn't have sex in the backseat?" Eddie pressed.

You rolled your eyes. "You're disgusting," you stated.

"That's hateful," Eddie replied. "How come you never come to my shows when I invite you? Why is Gareth so special?" He complained.

He was right to complain. He invited you to his shows a couple of times, but you'd always declined. Either you were too busy or you weren't particularly interested.

That had been before you met the cute drummer.

"He's not special. I'm just not busy this week," you lied. "If you would have asked me, I would have said yes." You probably wouldn't have. No offense to Eddie.

"Mhm," Eddie hummed, eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Fine. I'll believe you," he said. "I'll give you a ride. I guess."

You grinned.

---

Eddie picked you up as promised. Once you were inside, he left you at the bar as he went to go set up.

Fuck did he undersell his band. There were already people gathering and more coming inside as time passed. You were impressed.

And by the time their set started, a crowd had gathered around the stage, dancing to the music and hyping up the band with their support.

You didn't join the crowd and instead stayed at the bar and watched. You had a good view of the whole band from where you were. And by that, you meant you had a good view of Gareth.

And sure, Eddie was absolutely killing it on stage, his voice was perfect for his songs and his playing was unparalleled. But your eyes were glued to Gareth, who was enthusiastically slamming his sticks against the drum kit. Head bopping to his own music with an infectious smile.

You got into the music quickly, but your eyes never strayed from Gareth for too long. He was too captivating to look away from.

But when the show ended and the band packed their things up, you finally turned away from the stage.

"How'd you like the show?"

You looked over and nearly fell out of your chair. "King Steve?" You couldn’t stop the old title from tumbling from your lips, you were that surprised at seeing him. "Holy shit! What are you—this doesn't seem like your type of scene." Granted, you didn’t know much about Steve Harrington nowadays. You hadn't seen him in two years.

Steve awkwardly laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's not," he agreed, "Eddie invited me." He shrugged and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Ah," you said slowly, nodding in understanding. "Eddie invited you."

Steve rolled his eyes, "it's not like that."

"Sure," you answered. "But it's fine if it is," you offered. "Gareth invited me."

"Steve," Gareth said, startling you as he materialized behind you. "Eddie didn't say he invited you." He gave him little more than a glance though before looking at you. "Hi."

You smiled, "hi," you responded. "You were amazing."

Gareth grinned, obviously pleased by the compliment. He ruffled the hair behind his ears, "thanks," he said. “So? I’m a good drummer, right?”

You playfully tilted your head as if pretending to think about it. He shoved you over and you shook with laughter, “yes, yes. You’re a good drummer. Best I’ve heard, but don’t let it go to your head,” you complimented with sincerity.

Gareth turned away with a bashful smile playing at his lips. “No promises,” he murmured, “I wasn’t uh, I wasn’t sure if you were gonna show,” he continued, drumming his fingers against the bartop.

“Ouch,” you deadpanned, holding your chest, “so little confidence, Emerson.”

“Oh, it’s Emerson now?” Gareth scoffed, arching a brow. “And I was just about to offer you a ride home.”

"Oh no, whatever shall I do?" You dramatically asked, "thank god Eddie is my actual ride."

"Is that a no?" Gareth asked impatiently.

"Let me buy you a drink," you offered instead of answering. "You really were amazing tonight."

"I gotta drive," Gareth pointed out.

"You won't get drunk off one drink, will you?" You asked, before shrugging. "If you want….you could come over. Have a drink or—or something. I dunno," you said, sounding way less confident than you would have preferred.

Gareth was silent, deliberating the idea as his eyes scanned the bar, eventually he nodded. "Okay," he agreed, "are you providing dinner as well or are you just trying to get me drunk?" He asked with a teasing smirk.

"Depends if you get us there in one piece," you replied, tucking your hands into your pockets and following him as he walked outside.

"All this slander on my driving from the person who can't drive," Gareth deadpanned, giving you an amused look. "Would you like to drive?"

"I would, actually," you answered, much to his surprise. "I can drive, y'know. I just don't have a car. Or a license," you shrugged, Eddie let you drive his van once or twice. In addition to stealing your parents cars, that's how you learned.

Gareth tossed his keys at you without saying anything and you barely caught them before they smacked into your face. You had half a mind to chuck them at his face.

You decided against it though, and followed him out to his car. You climbed into the driver's seat with a grin. "If I crash, it's not my fault," you stated, sticking the keys in the ignition.

"What happened to knowing how to drive?" Gareth asked, clicking his seatbelt on with a skeptical look.

"I never said I did it well," you cheekily answered as you pulled out of the parking lot and drove away.

You took a detour and got some food for the two of you (which Gareth was very happy about) before driving home.

You were proud to say you got both of you there in one piece. You didn't run any red lights or stop signs either, which you were very proud of.

Gareth didn't think it was so amusing.

"How is it an accomplishment, Y/N? That's the law," he pointed out, holding the food as he climbed out of his car.

You held the six pack you bought with your trusty fake ID, since you technically had promised him a drink. You tossed his keys over the hood of his car, "this is coming from someone who said, and I quote, speed limits are just suggestions," you snarked.

"Yeah, but I don't make a habit of running red lights," he sniped, catching the keys and pushing them into his pocket.

You pulled your own keys out as you walked up to your front door, correcting over your shoulder, "I don't make a habit of it, it's only happened once or twice. But in my defense, the light turned red right when I got to the intersection so I couldn't stop." You slid your keys in the lock and opened it, stepping to the side to let him in first.

"My parents are out of town, so don't worry," you said when you noticed his hesitation, stepping inside behind him and shutting the door.

"Starting to think you have ulterior motives," he called from where he set the food down on the coffee table. He sat himself down on the floor back against the couch.

"It's nothing like that," you promised. You took two beers out of the black and put the rest in the sink. You joined him on the ground, handing off a beer.

"You sure it's nothing like that?" He asked, eyes searching your face.

You nodded and turned away from his gaze before you could blush or say something stupid. You got up quickly to look for a movie to put on.

And with a smirk, you put Bambi on.

"Seriously?" Gareth deadpanned, staring at the screen as the opening played. "You're so funny, bunny."

"I try," you said with a mocking bow. You straightened up and joined him on the floor once again and began to eat.

Just like at the drive-in, he made snarky, sarcastics comments under his breath and kept a running commentary going. And just like at the drive-in, you didn't mind one bit. You discovered you loved hearing his voice.

"Thumper is so cute," you said with feeling, staring at the screen with a smile. The little bunny just melted your heart, he was adorable. You watched as he tried to get Bambi on the ice.

"Eddie can be Bambi," Gareth said thoughtfully. "He's as clueless as him. Besides Bambi looks almost high in some scenes—"

"Don't say that!" You chided with a laugh, "he doesn't not. He's a baby deer. He's supposed to be clueless. And Eddie isn't as spacey as a baby deer."

"Oh please, I've known him for years," Garqeth dismissed. He pointed at the screen where Bambi was struggling on the ice. "That's exactly what he gets like on skates. Haven't managed to convince him to ice skate though," he said with a dejected sigh.

"I'll skate with you," you volunteered, just to watch him light up. You smiled at how happy it seemed to make him. God he was just precious. Just like Thumper.

Gareth didn't say anything as his eyes returned to the TV screen, but he did settle back into the couch. His arms crossed and he looked pleased.

You took a drink from your half empty bottle. But just as you tipped it back, swallowing a mouthful of the bitter liquid, Gareth decided to speak.

"I like you. A lot. Romantically," he said, turning to look at you.

You choked, immediately setting the glass down on the table, coughing harshly, trying to dispel the liquid you accidentally inhaled. "Jesus Christ," you croaked between coughs.

Gareth reached over to pat and rub your back. "Interesting reaction," he said, his shoulders shaking with ill-concealed amusement.

"Shut up," you scowled, wiping your mouth with the back of your hand. "You're an ass, Gareth Emerson. I could have died!"

"And that would've been a shame," Gareth said mournfully. "So?" He asked.

"I'm starting to rethink my feelings about you," you said sourly, rubbing your chest.

Gareth shoved you.

"Wha—Gareth! Not helping your case right now," you exclaimed, sitting up from where you dramatically fell over. "You have a crush on me?"

Gareth nodded.

You grinned. "Okay, well, good. Because I have a massive crush on you too," you said happily. "Probably from when I first saw you. Y'know, I think the hair is what sold me. And then your personality. Is that shallo—"

Gareth leaned over to claim your lips with his. You eagerly pressed forward, kissing him back without hesitation.

You groaned into the kiss as he licked into your mouth, lips parting with no resistance. You reached out to touch him, your hand buried in his hair, tugging gently.

Gareth pulled away soon after that, a lazy smile on his face, his cheeks red. "My new favorite hobby might be kissing you now," he breathlessly confessed.

"Yeah," you agreed, feeling drunk off his kiss alone. "Yeah—we should, uh, we should definitely do that again."

Gareth grinned, "take me out to dinner first."

You gestured to the food between the two of you, "excuse me, what would you call this? Technically, if anything, this is our second date," you pointed out.

Gareth seemed to have no wiseass comment for that and he instead kissed you again.

---

Like all good things, the night eventually came to an end. Gareth drove home (you two decided it was fine since he only had a beer) and that was the end of the night.

You went to bed dreaming about him, because that's how hard you'd fallen for him. And now you had him. You were now dating Gareth Emerson and honestly? You could not have been happier.

The next morning, you were woken up by a blaring horn. You very nearly fell out of bed, half asleep as you got up.

You jumped when the horn honked again and you groaned, muttering swears under your breath at being so rudely awoken.

You got to the door and threw it open, still in your pajamas and glared at the car. You realized it was Gareth's. "What the fuck!?"

"Hey, bunny," he called out of his open window with a delighted cackle. "come on, come on. Let's go," he urged, "we have places to be!"

"Why are you so excited to go to school?" You asked, crossing your arms. "I'm not even dressed!"

"Who said anything about school?" Gareth smirked. "Hurry and get dressed. We have places to be," he repeated, enunciating his words with another obnoxious beep of his horn.

"Fine, fine! Stop honking, my neighbors already hate me!" You exclaimed, whirling around and heading back inside. But before you closed the door, Gareth loudly honked one last time.

You rolled your eyes and went to get dressed. A little embarrassed at being seen in your pajamas, but you got over it quickly.

You headed out of your house dressed for whatever it was Gareth was up to. You got in the car, and were greeted with a sweet kiss. And when he pulled away, he was smiling. "You look good," he said and stepped on the gas.

You lurched forward and scrambled to get your seatbelt on. "Where are we going?" You asked, staring at him expectantly.

"Surprise," he replied. After a few moments, he gave in. "We're going on a date. Double date. I told Eddie, sorry," he said, glancing over at you, tapping the steering wheel again.

"No, don't apologize," you said quickly, "it's fine. But uh, last I checked, Eddie was single. Painfully so," he said.

Gareth began to smile, "well it seems like we're not the only one who got serious last night," he said, "Eddie and Steve are a thing. But it's supposed to be a secret."

"How is it a secret if we're going on a date with them?" You couldn't help but ask.

"It's a secret date," he answered. "Eddie was looking for a new spot to deal after he almost got busted, and found a good place for a picnic," he explained.

You wondered just how long the two of them spent on the phone last night. It was an amusing thought to picture them gossiping over the phone.

"Okay," you said, satisfied with the answers you'd gotten and glad to know he hadn't spontaneously decided to murder you with an axe out in the woods.

The drive was mostly quiet, with metal music playing through the speakers.

Eddie and Steve were already there when the two of you arrived. You had to take a little hike through the woods to get to them though, which didn't really help your axe murderer theory.

But you eventually found Eddie and Steve in a small clearing. They were sitting on opposite tree stumps, a large one between them. That's where they had the food set up.

"You're late," Steve called when he laid eyes on you both.

You smirked when you seen him and sent a knowing look between him and Eddie. "What'd I say?" You asked.

"Y/N wasn't even awake when I went to get them," Gareth threw you under the bus, sitting right on the ground and reaching for the food.

"Traitor," you muttered, sitting opposite of him on the ground, internally grimacing about having to get the dirt out of your clothes later. "He was being obnoxious and kept honking!"

"I told you to stay away from him," Eddie said around a mouthful of food. "But does anyone listen? No," he said.

"Nothing new," Steve replied.

Eddie glared.

You reached for your own food with a smile. You could get used to this. This was so much better than being stuck in class all day.

And hey, you even got a very pretty looking rock from Gareth at the end of the date. He had disappeared for about half an hour and returned soaking wet, but with two rocks in his pockets that he waded through a creek for.

He gave you one, and kept the other.

You never got rid of the rock. It stayed with you always, even when others joined your collection. That first rock held so much more significance to you.

Even years later, that rock remained your most prized possession.

Dano!Riddler: Oh my god, it’s (y/n)! I’m in love with them!

The Coffee Barista: Oh that’s so sweet! How long have you guys been going out?

Dano!Riddler: No we’re not going out. I’ve never even talked to them

loml

Okay hear me out, Eddie nervous on your first valentines day together wanting to make it special and only knowing how to valentines from what he's seen at school and he panics and is very eddie about the whole thing 👀

please my heart almost couldn't take this. i swore nothing over 1k but nervous and panicking eddie being all cute?? yeah i couldn't help myself. this isn't edited, sorry in advance. no warnings, just fluff.

wc: 2.2k

He feels stupid.

It's the only thought ringing through his head as he sits at the Munson's dining table, scraps of construction paper strewn over the worn wood, glue stick drying out to the side and scissors digging into his knuckles. 

It had started as a prophetic vision after a few hits from his blunt; it was quickly souring into the most ridiculous thing he’s ever done. 

The high had worn off, Eddie had glued his fingers together thrice now (seriously, how was this glue stick approved for children?), and the end product…. Well, he hated it. 

The card was tacky. The flowers were uneven. He didn’t even have the willpower nor time to make a full bouquet as he had originally wanted to while under the influence. Pink glitter was now overtaking the trailer, and he’s never seen his uncle look so damn entertained. 

“Boy, what on God’s green Earth are you going?” 

Normally, the twang of Wayne’s accent would be comforting. But right now, all Eddie could hear was held back laughter choking up his old man’s throat, and a glint in his eye that felt a lot like a taunt, and he felt the farthest from comforted in a very long time. 

“Mind your business, old man,” Eddie grumbles, tongue sticking out as he tries to reglue a corner of a paper heart he had cut out, needing it to stick down properly. He probably should have purchased glue, in hindsight. 

“Where did you get all this paper?”

“I said mind your business.”

“Is that pink glitter?” 

“Don’t you have work?” Eddie huffs, grabbing at the Valentine card he was attempting to salvage, cheeks blushing more vibrant than any of the arts and crafts supplies spread about. 

He didn’t want to admit how embarrassed he was. He didn’t want to give anyone else the satisfaction. It was his own damn fault, really – he had offered for your nightly diner dates to be on him one too many times this last month, and entirely forgotten to put away any extra cash to get you a proper Valentine. And this was his last resort. 

He’d tried to convince the local florist to discount the flowers missing one too many petals for him, he’d tried to scope out the cheapest cards available at Melvald’s. He’d begged and bartered with every option in town to simply get you something for the day of love, and in the end, he’d simply fallen short.

So now, all he had was a palm full of gritty glitter and homemade items that looked worse for wear. 

One of the kinder ladies that lived two trailers down had been happy to offer Eddie some of her scrapbooking papers, throwing in the glitter for good measure, and he still had an old glue stick from when he’d built one of his custom tabletop maps for a D&D campaign. With five hours and a dream, he was now the not-so-proud creator of three handmade paper roses, and a card hardly large enough to fit in his palm. 

When he took a step back to look at it all, Wayne was right to be snickering on the couch over it all. 

“They’re going to hate it,” Eddie laments, glaring down at his creations, “They’re going to hate it, and I’m going to get dumped on our first Valentine’s day together.”

“Don’t be so harsh on yourself, son,” Wayne tries to genuinely comfort Eddie now, leaning forward to get a better look at his last five hours of work, “I’m sure they’re gon’ be happy that you just thought of the-”

“My life is over,” Eddie interrupts, walking over to the couch to collapse dramatically.

Wayne stops him, however, throwing up a hand, “Nope. You’re not gettin’ that damn pink glitter all over my couch. Go mope in your room.”

After a brief stare-off, a whole ten seconds wasted when Eddie could be wallowing in his self-pity, Eddie does exactly that.

He hopes Wayne is right, for all their sakes. There’ll be bigger things to worry about than just glitter if you really do hate Eddie’s attempt at a sincere Valentine. 

—

It takes nearly a full minute of knocking on the Munson’s trailer’s front door before Eddie opens it for you – that’s your first sign that something is terribly wrong. 

Your next sign is when Eddie hardly adds any enthusiasm into your welcome kiss, so reserved, as though he might be in a constant state of cringing; a constant state of preparing for the worst. 

“Is something the matter?” you ask innocently enough, toeing off your shoes and shifting your bag in hand. You’d picked up a few movies for the night, a variety of cheesy rom-coms Eddie expressed a slightest bit of interest in along with a few more up his alley. A horror film that neither of you had seen that looked to have a budget of $10 and a dream, and Labyrinth. 

The latter, you’d both already seen. Neither of you would pass up seeing David Bowie in his full glory, though. 

“It’s fine,” Eddie huffs out, still refusing to meet your gaze, “Want me to put on some popcorn?” 

You can’t help but light up as you follow him in his rush to the kitchen, “God – yes, please. I also got some sour patch kids, your favorite, and-”

You cut off when you catch sight of the dining room table. 

Eddie doesn’t glance back as he reaches up to the cabinet holding the stash of popcorn he keeps around for your movie nights, “And?” 

“Eddie…” you slowly draw out in a questioning tone, looking at the mess before you, “What, uh, happened here?” 

It’s an explosion of quintessential Valentine’s day. Pink paper hearts, strips of deep reds discarded messily. A shimmering glitter covers the table, and you can’t recall any DIY projects of Eddie’s for Hellfire that might involve that. 

“What?” He’s quick to turn around at that, and you watch as all the blood drains from his face, “Oh, fuck, I-” he launches himself back around the kitchen counter frantically, grabbing at any piece of paper he can find, “Shit, I meant to clean this up earlier, I’m sorr-”

“What were you making?” 

Eddie pauses all movement, glancing up at you in fear. 

You’re not even sure what he’s afraid of. All you can do is furrow your brows, twist your lips, scrunch your nose. 

Was it meant to be a surprise of some sort?

He swallows hard, standing up straight as he shifts uncomfortably on his feet, “I….”

When no words follow, you raise a brow, trying to silently encourage him to continue on. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

And oh, he’s such a bad liar. A pretty one, but a terrible one. 

There’s no sign of the stellar poker face you’ve seen him wear during Hellfire sessions, no impeccable cockiness to cover up the obvious. His wringing hands draw your attention to his knuckles, all the drying glue and glitter peeling off bit by bit.  

“You sure about that?” you press, grin slow spreading as you take a step closer to him, eyeing the mess he tries to shift in front of to block from your sights.

“Positive.”

“Has anyone told you you’re an awful liar, Munson?”

“I’m not ly-” 

You scooch around him effortless, dropping your bag in the process and making him yelp out as he tries to catch you. His arms are quick to wrap around your waist as you try to get a clearer view of what he had been so desperate to conceal, but even his best efforts can’t stop you. 

It’s all a bit childish from the outside. Reckless giggles, flailing limbs – even Eddie is smiling in his panic. 

“Let go of me!” 

“Then leave it alone!”

“I wanna see what you made!” 

Each screech between the two of you is overcome with laughter as he pulls you flush to his chest, caging you in and yet failing to cover your eyes. 

You spot what he was trying to hide, and all attempts to escape his hold cease. 

“Are those…” you start, a little breathless as you stare in awe. You swear, you could burn up from the warmth blooming in your chest. When his arms go the slightest bit limp, you have your answer before finishing the question, “Are those for me?” 

A small jar, one that had once held some of Eddie’s pick collection, now holds three handmade paper roses. Mingling petals of two different shades of red, with tightly rolled pieces of green paper servings at their stems. Two even have leaves, cut jagged and true to nature. 

Leaning against the small paper flower display is a card.

It’s a messier ordeal than the flowers, but you’re still prying Eddie’s forearms from your stomach in a rush to grab it. 

“Hold on,” he rushes out, no longer laughing as you get a hold of the card, “Wait, listen, I can explain. I just- I spent most of my money when we went to Benny’s for shakes last week, and I forgot I wouldn’t get any more cash before today, and I just-” he’s stumbling over his words, a mess of flying hands and wide eyes as you turn to face him, “I… I’m sorry, okay? I swear, they’re just placeholders until I get you a real gift for Valentine’s Day.” 

You’re hardly listening to him as you look down at the small paper, folded over fairly impressively to mimic one of the fancy cards from Melvard’s. It’s thinner, sure, but you’re mesmerized as you trace over the heart cut out of the center. It’s filled with pink glitter that clings to your fingertip as it passes, and you can’t help but let out a small laugh. 

And then you open the card. 

The outside was plain white save for the heart, but the inside is gorgeous. Hand drawn vines and flowers fill the empty space inside. Roses, mums, lillies – every flower you can think of is amongst the bunch. All etched out in ink, an ink you recognize from Eddie’s favorite pen, and every gentle line sketched out to make the larger picture sends your heart racing a few beats faster.

Underneath the glitter heart is a large bee, made with a speech bubble. 

“Placeholder?” you laugh breathlessly, biting your lip to stop from smiling like a fool. “You call all this a placeholder?” 

Bee mine? 

It’s so cheesy, it aches. 

Written in makeshift cursive, not quite as neat as it could have been, but clearly a valiant effort from the shy man standing before you. You can’t fathom how he’s embarrassed about this when you look up at him with fluttering lashes and a chest full of fizzling love. 

“I thought you were going to hate them,” he hoarsely whispers as he reaches a hand to the nape of his neck. 

“Hate them?” you repeat in disbelief, turning your attention back to the handmade flowers. “In what fuckin’ world would I hate these?”

You lift one of the roses from the mini jar, and sniff it on instinct. It should only smell like paper and glue, but it doesn’t – Eddie’s obviously spritzed his cologne onto the flowers.

The miniscule detail has your heart bursting. 

He’s still petrified as he stares at you, shrugging hopelessly, “I just know it’s our first Valentine’s together, and people usually go all out-”

“This is going all out, Eddie.”

You can’t imagine being capable of any more love for the boy in front of you. Genuinely – you don’t believe your bones could handle the weight of it, that your heart could take it. You’re filled to the brim with it, buzzing like summertime cicadas beneath your skin from all the vibrant emotions you have for him. For every blemish across his skin and every kink in his curls, for those big brown eyes simply staring at you now. Those knuckles covered in glue and glitter. Those lips that you can’t handle another second not kissing. 

And so you don’t. Not another second is wasted as you fling yourself forward, nearly dropping the paper flower in hand as you grab each side of his face, bringing him to you in a hard kiss. 

You hope he feels all that love. You hope the weight of it presses down on his shoulders, even if just a little, so he gets it. 

“I fucking love it, Eds,” you laugh into the kiss, pressing your forehead, “I- Honestly? I think this is the nicest Valentine I’ve ever gotten.” 

“Really?” his eyes pop open, pulling back from you slightly until you simply won’t allow it. You want him close – you need him pressed against you. “Well, shit. I thought you were going to hate them and break up with me.” 

“Me, breaking up with you? After this?” you parrot back in disbelief, shaking your head, tip of your nose rubbing against his through the action, “God, you’re an idiot, Eddie Munson. My idiot, but still.” 

He finally cracks a smile, and you lose yourself in the dimples that appear as he asks, “Does this mean you’ll be my Valentine?”

“Absolutely.”

Just me, him, some aphrodisiac and a whole abandoned RDA building all to ourselves 😫😫

fr tho why is everything smut😭😭 i wanna read angst that would ruin me, make me sick to my stomach and cry like there's no tomorrow bro i want a fanfic that is so devastating that i won't be able to function for the next few months

𝐰𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐫𝐝 | 𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐩𝐡 (𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬) 𝐱 𝐟𝐞𝐦!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: at ralph’s birthday party, you feel the need to apologize for what you’ve done.ralph, meanwhile, has a question to ask you. 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: ralph (timewasters, 2017) x fem!reader 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: none! cuteness with ralph, maybe kissing? if that’s a warning? 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞: this is so short i’m sorry but it’s fine (also the surname penbury is courtesy of @mypoisonedvine hehe thanks jd <3)

“Don’t you think you’re a little mean to Ralph sometimes?” you asked, looking down into your glass of champagne. The party was raging all around you, the jazz quartet having moved into some slower songs after the fun of their first song, and Victoria had dragged you to sit and gossip about the “drippy” musician that she planned on asking to dance. 

Of course, this wasn’t the first time you had ever posed the question to Victoria. You had known Lady Victoria Penbury since you were in nappies together, and you had known Lord Ralph for just as long— Ralph had a habit of trailing after his twin like a lost puppy, and, while Victoria had always treated her brother as a brother, teasing him and all, since moving into adulthood, her teasing had become more than that. 

“What do you mean?” Victoria asked, her pencil-thin eyebrows furrowing in confusion. “He’s Ralph.” 

“That doesn’t mean anything,” you said. “You talk over him all the time, you dismiss him constantly; he doesn’t deserve that.” 

“And since when do you care?” Victoria asked. “You’ve done it too.” 

“I used to,” you corrected her. “And I feel bad about it. But he’s your brother, you should treat him better.” 

“Why do you suddenly care about how I talk to Ralph?” Victoria asked.

“Because it’s his birthday too,” you said, gesturing across the room to him. “And he’s sitting all alone over there.” 

“If you’re so concerned about him, you go over to him,” Victoria told you, lifting her nose up. “Go apologize for the way we’ve treated him.” 

“I was never as bad as you,” you said, gritting your teeth. “At least I act like I actually care about Ralph.” 

With that, you got up from the table, gathering your purse in your hand, and you scowled once more at Victoria before taking yourself across the room to where Ralph sat all alone, nursing a glass of champagne. He looked pitiful, although Ralph often looked pitiful, his big eyes wet and owlish and his shoulders slunk in on himself. You knew that Ralph had the capacity to be lively, and seeing him look so forlorn only tugged on your heartstrings. 

“Hi,” you said gently, and he looked at you with his doe eyes. God, he really was gorgeous, especially in the multicolored suit jacket that he wore. His hair was slicked back, small fashionable waves sculpted, and you watched his entire demeanor change at the sight of you. 

Ralph straightened up, a smile breaking on his face, and he cheered your name. “How are you?” he asked, and he gestured at the empty chair next to him for you to sit. The beads on your dress lightly clacked as you sat, and Ralph looked like he couldn’t wipe the grin off of his face. 

“I’m fine,” you mumbled. “How are you, though, Ralph? You look… Sad.” 

Ralph shrugged. “I’m merely gathering energy,” he told you. “For the next dance! Would you dance with me?” 

“Of course I will,” you told him, but you struggled to swallow. “Ralph, I wanted to come here to say, um… I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Ralph asked, his eyebrows furrowing, much like his sister; for twins, they didn’t look anything alike, but often they had the exact same expressions and mannerisms. “You’ve done nothing wrong.”

“But I have, though,” you protested. “I’m so… I’ve been so mean to you. I wanted to tell you that I’m sorry.” 

“You haven’t been mean,” Ralph said. He played with his tie, his fingers lightly stroking the silken fabric, and you sighed heavily. He was anxious and uncomfortable, you could tell, and you reached out and took his hand. 

“Yes, I have,” you told him. “I-I’m rude to you all the time, I never listen to you, I feel proper terrible about the way I’ve treated you these past few years. And here we are, your birthday party, and you’re all alone. If I’ve done anything to hurt you, please, let me apologize.” 

Ralph was quiet, his chest heaving as he sighed, and he mumbled, “You’ve done nothing bad to me. Victoria is your friend, and I, her little brother. If anything, treating your friend’s little brother like dirt is common, and you’ve not nearly gotten there yet.” 

“Ralph, you realize how bad that is, right?” you told him, holding his hand tightly. “I’m sorry for treating you that way. I-I feel awful.” 

Ralph was quiet for a moment, obviously thinking, and he took his bottom lip between his teeth.  “Dance with me now,” he said simply. 

“Dance with you?” you repeated. “Why?” 

“Because I want to dance, there’s a good song playing, and I have nobody to dance with,” Ralph told you. Then, grinning, he added, “You promised me. And it’ll help me accept your apology quicker.” 

“Oh, so you’re manipulating me?” you asked with a light laugh, and Ralph nodded quickly. 

“It’s what I do best,” Ralph told you, and you were glad to see his smile back. Ralph was a typically happy guy, always giddy and smiling, and you loved to see it. Truthfully, if you could find it in yourself to admit it, you loved to see Ralph. 

He was such great fun, always chattering away or playing his ukulele, and, over the years, you had grown a fondness for the slightly younger Penbury sibling. He was a handsome man, those big eyes and pink lips and sweet smile, and his chirpy happiness was intoxicating; that is, when Victoria wasn’t dissing him. There might have been a time when you would have said that you had a crush on Ralph, but, now, as adults, you had locked those feelings away. 

Ralph stood from his chair, his hand still in yours, and he pulled you to the middle of the dance floor, his shoes making an odd tapping noise as he walked. “Are you…” you started with a giggle, and Ralph’s smile grew. “Are you wearing tap shoes?” 

“Yes!” Ralph exclaimed. “Aren’t they wizard?” His face fell for a moment, almost as if he expected you to interrupt him or shout his name to get him to quiet down, and your heart hurt. 

“They are wizard,” you told him. “Exceptionally wizard, Ralph.” 

“A-And my hair?” Ralph asked next, his hand drifting up to lightly touch the finger waves in his hair. 

“Handsome, as always,” you said, and that cute smile spread across his lips again. One of his hands came down then to touch your waist, the other capturing your free hand, and you laughed at the tap-tap-tap of his shoes as he stepped to dance with you. 

“You look beautiful,” Ralph told you, and, when you looked up at his face, you were mesmerized by those eyes of his. If you were just a little drunk, you might have even tried to kiss him. You felt the pull in your belly, but your confidence is what you lacked. You didn’t care what Victoria thought, or any of your other socialite friends— you were terrified of Ralph. Sweet Ralph scared the hell out of you. If you kissed him and he rejected you, you had no idea what you would do with yourself. 

“Thank you,” you told him anyway, and you clenched your back teeth to keep in any confessions of admiration. 

Ralph, it seemed, had other ideas. A moment passed, those big eyes fixed on your face, and he whispered, “Please don’t hate me.” 

“Why would I—“ you started, but Ralph leaned forward before you could finish your question, and he pressed his lips to yours. The kiss was objectively simple, nothing more than his mouth meeting yours, but fireworks exploded in your chest all the same. Ralph was kissing you, and you loved it. 

The kiss broke, and you couldn’t control the warm flush that invaded your cheeks. Ralph gave you a shy smile, and he said, “Do you hate me?” 

“I could never,” you told him, and your hand lifted from his and fell to the back of his neck, and you kissed him again. You could almost feel Victoria’s beady eyes lock on you as you kissed Ralph, but you didn’t care. You didn’t care about anything; only Ralph. 

Ralph said your name against your mouth, and you pulled away from him with hopeful eyes. “I…” he started. “I wanted to… I have a question for you.” 

“Anything, Ralph,” you told him, your eyes softening at him. “What is it?”

“I’ve wanted to ask you for years,” Ralph confessed, and your fingers played with the hair at the nape of his neck. He smiled at your simple affections, and he cleared his throat, like he was nervous. “But do you… I…” 

“”Ralph?” you asked gently, cradling Ralph’s cheek in your hand. He nuzzled his face into your hand for a moment, his eyes closed as he breathed, and he finally opened his eyes and looked down at you. 

“Marry me.” 

“Ralph,” you gasped, and your heart sank into your stomach. “Oh, darling, I can’t do that.” 

“Why not?” Ralph asked. “We’ve known each other our whole lives, and I love you, and I know that you love me too. You don’t have to tell me, because I know.” 

You liked how Ralph just seemed to know, that you didn’t need to tell him anything. Despite him knowing, though, you needed to tell him. “I do love you,” you confessed. “I think I always have. But we can’t just get married, darling, there are things we need to do first.”

“Like what?” Ralph asked quickly. “I’ll do them. Anything to be yours.” 

You took a deep breath, and you mumbled, “At least take me on a date first before you marry me.” 

“I’ll do it,” Ralph told you. “What else?” 

“Ralph, darling, it’s just not how things are done,” you uttered. Despite everything, you stayed in his arms, and you leaned forward and touched your cheek to his chest. You could feel his heartbeat under his jacket, quick like a rabbit’s, and you added, “I need a ring, and we’re not even courting. I adore the thought, I do, but we can’t just get married.” 

“Says who?” Ralph asked. “I’ve loved you since we were little. And, knowing how you feel, it only makes me more anxious to start my life with you.” 

“You have a life—” you started, but Ralph cut you off. 

“Do I?” Ralph asked. “Trailing after my sister is not a life. My life means nothing without you, my love. You bring me meaning and happiness.” 

“You do the same for me,” you said softly, and you looked up at his face. “I… Alright, Ralph. I’ll tell you what: I’ll marry you tomorrow if you want, but you have to tell Victoria.” 

Ralph pouted, and it made you smile. “Must I?” he asked, like the tortured little brother that he was. 

“It’s like you said,” you told him. “If you’ve known me your whole life, so has your sister. Tell her that you intend to marry me tomorrow.” 

Ralph looked over his shoulder to Victoria, who was, as you had suspected, staring right at you. “One more kiss before the dragon breathes fire and slays me?” he mumbled as he turned back to you, and you giggled. 

“Of course, my darling,” you whispered, and Ralph leaned down to kiss you one more time.