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we could get married {ominis gaunt x f!reader} {arranged marriage au}

summary: you met your new husband at the altar. he looks like he'd rather jump off a bridge than try and make this work.

request for the sweetheart that is @myrachondria who wanted an alternate arranged marriage au where ominis and reader fell in love AFTER the wedding

tws: arranged marriage, bad pureblood parenting and opinions, discussions and depictions of children, pregnancy, labour and parenthood, postpartum depression, smut, p in v, period typical treatment of women

everytime i do an arranged marriage fic, it turns into a deepdive into expectations of women at the time. maybe it's feminism, maybe it's two years of studying sociology.

unedited, lmk if u see the hp refs 😏

You didn't meet your new husband until your wedding day.

In fact, now that you think about it, you met his mother first.

The maids had been tying you into your wedding dress, pulling the corset strings tight to give you the visual of having the perfect hourglass figure. And then, without even a knock, despite the fact you were half dressed, your new mother-in-law to be came gliding in. Her aura was what you'd come to expect from the Gaunts. Cold, intimidating, and aloof. So when you saw her, your already shot nerves went into overdrive.

Why was she here? You can't have done something wrong already, you're not even married yet!

Lady Gaunt shooed the maids away, her slender hands taking hold of the strings of your dress. You had to admit, she pulled them much more delicately than the maids had. Your spine appreciated it.

"So. You're the little thing that will be marrying my Ominis, hm?"

Her Ominis? Merlin, you hoped she wasn't one of those overly attached mothers. That'd be just the cherry on the cake. An arranged marriage and a monster-in-law.

"Well, you're pretty enough. I've seen your grades from your NEWTS, so you're smart enough. Though, in truth, if you were neither of those things, you wouldn't even have made it to the altar."

That sent a shiver up your spine. You'd heard of the Gaunt reputation, of course. A reputation of cruelty. It was easy to imagine what might become of you, should they deem you worthless.

Lady Gaunt continued, paying no mind to your discomfort.

"I see only one reason why this marriage may not be as fruitful and successful as it should be. And that is my son."

What? Oh no, what's wrong with him?

That put you even more on edge. You were about to marry this man, after all. You didn't want to be told that he wouldn't be a good husband.

"Unfortunately, my Ominis has some outlandish ideas about blood purity. He cares little for the importance of continuing the bloodline of Salazar himself. And he cares even less for making sure that the mother of his children has the kind of lineage needed to keep our family pure. So as you imagine, he is quite against this marriage. He'll be hard to win round. But you must do so. Understand?"

Oh.

It was incredible, the way this woman was telling you the best possible thing you could hear about your husband, yet she was saying it as if it was a terrible skeleton in her family's closet. In fact, this was about the only thing anyone had said so far that made you not dread this wedding.

You knew what you were expected to say next. And it wasn't even a lie. You just weren't saying it for the reason she thought you were.

"Of course, my lady. I will endeavour to make sure mine and your son's marriage is a satisfactory one."

She smiled, and you knew you'd said the right thing.

-

Less than half an hour later, you were gliding down the aisle towards your fiancé, soon to be husband. And he wasn't even facing you.

To be fair, you knew he was blind. You obviously weren't expecting him to be watching you come down the aisle. But you certainly hadn't expected him to completely have his back turned to you either, not even acknowledging your existence.

His best man, however, was looking at you. There was no trace of happiness for his friend on his freckled face. Just mere curiosity. It made you feel odd. Like an animal in a zoo. Though it did please you when he leaned into Ominis' ear and whispered loudly that you were quite pretty.

Finally, the long walk was over, and you were at the altar with Ominis. And now that you could see his face, you could see that he was utterly displeased with this entire situation. It irritated you a little, despite being forewarned by his mother. You weren't thrilled about this either, but at least you weren't sulking and pouting about it publicly, in front of all your family and friends.

The two of you stumbled through your vows, and when Ominis said 'I do', it sounded more like he was signing himself up for some sort of suicide mission.

Okay. So maybe, just maybe, you overestimated how easy it would be to bring your new husband around.

-

The reception was equally as awkward. Your groom's best man took it upon himself to tell tales of how much Ominis had been dreading this. Your maid of honour, your darling cousin, could say nothing about what a love story you'd had, so instead, she uncomfortably listed off every accomplishment you'd ever achieved, until you were blushing and hiding your face behind your veil in embarrassment.

The first dance was you and Ominis alone, waltzing to some classical song. Ominis held you as far away as was physically possible while still being able to say he was dancing with you. You'd thrown your bouquet a little too far, and had hit your new father-in-law in the face. Though you considered that a slight win, as the choked noise he made was the only thing that had made Ominis smile that day.

And then it got to the end of the night, and you and Ominis were shoved off into a carriage to your honeymoon. The men were shouting raunchy things and advice to your new husband, while the women called out for you to enjoy your honeymoon.

Finally, you and Ominis were alone. It was time to try and get to know your husband.

"Well. Thank Merlin that's over, hm?" You spoke, hoping that a shared hatred of your wedding day would maybe encourage bonding.

It did not. Ominis merely made a 'hmph' noise, and closed his eyes. His breathing steadied out a few minutes later, and you didn't know the man enough to know if he was genuinely asleep or if he was pretending so he didn't have to speak to you. Whichever it was, he didn't open his eyes again until the carriage driver called back that you had arrived in St. Ives.

Ominis had swept out of the carriage, his wand ahead of him in that way you'd have to become accustomed to, and went right up the stairs. Meanwhile, you were tripping over your wedding dress trying to get out, until a kind maid stepped forward to put you out of your misery, untangling you and helping you out.

By the time you'd followed into your family's seaside home, the footmen informed you Ominis had decided to go for a walk around the town. Without you.

And so, the first night of your marriage was spent with you taking off your own wedding dress, and crawling into your marital bed alone.

-

The rest of your honeymoon went in quite the same fashion. You would attempt to hunt down Ominis. He would be several steps ahead of you, leaving the house at the crack of dawn, returning long after you'd gone to sleep. It seemed your new husband was something of a phantom, slipping in and out of your shared holiday home at will, paying no mind to how his new wife felt about the matter.

Though to be fair, you were used to people disregarding your feelings. That was how you'd ended up in this marriage, after all.

-

You didn't have your first proper interaction with your husband until you'd returned back to London.

Both of your parents had decided that your wedding was an excellent opportunity to host a celebration of the event (wasn't that what the wedding was for?), and as the guests of honour, you and Ominis were to be on each other's arms all night.

So you'd put on your nicest dress, a nice black, velvet, floor length number that suited your body type wonderfully. You'd strung some Gaunt family heirloom around your neck, a large locket with an 'S' embedded into it. And last of all, you'd let the maids mess with your hair and make up until you looked stunning. You would most certainly be catching eyes.

When it came time for the event to start, you and Ominis met at the top of the grand staircase.

Ominis, loathe as you were to admit it after such negligence on your honeymoon, looked wonderful. His suit was the same black velvet material as your dress, with a green bowtie. His father had given him his heirloom for the night, an intricate gold band with a black stone atop it. He looked almost... princely.

You hated it.

You should be thrilled to be married to this handsome, elegant man. And instead, every time you looked at him, you just felt sad. Sad that he didn't even bother to notice you. To try and get to know you. To even tolerate existing in the same space as you, unless he was absolutely forced to.

The man in question distracted you from your self-pity with a slight nudge. The music to queue you two in had begun. You slid your arm around his reluctantly, putting a fake smile on your lips as the two of you began to descend the staircase slowly, you waving elegantly at faces you recognised.

Eventually, you reached where your and Ominis' parents stood at the bottom of the staircase, slipping into place beside them.

Both of your fathers began the usual grandstanding speeches. Blah blah blah, two great families have been united, blah blah blah, soon you'll pop out a child.

It took everything in you not to roll your eyes at every word.

Once they were done, you were set free from your captivity at the front of the room. And you, of course, made a beeline to your beloved cousin, by the refreshment table.

Your favourite part of any event was standing with her, absolutely slandering anyone and everyone. The two of you were worse than a scandal sheet. Now that you were reunited, the bitching could begin.

"I'm not sure if Lady Black's hair is supposed to look like that, or if a bird nested in it on her way here. If so, I feel sorry for the poor bird." You casually said to your cousin, and then promptly heard someone choking on their drink behind you.

You turned to see your dear husband, red faced and coughing, and you went just as red. You rushed to hit him on the back.

"I'm so sorry, that was extremely unladylike of me! I hope you don't think less of me, it's merely an old joke between my cousin and I!"

Brilliant. Now you've done it. The one time your husband had heard you speak in a casual manner, and it was a bitter takedown of a woman he was likely distantly related to. At this rate, you'd be divorced by the end of the month.

Eventually, Ominis started coughing. And then he started laughing. And laughing. And laughing some more. He was actually starting to catch attention at this point, which made you glance around anxiously. Heaven forbid someone come over and ask what he was in hysterics over. Lady Black would probably use the Killing Curse on you on the spot.

Once he'd settled, he smiled at you. Actually smiled! You were glad to learn that Ominis looked even more handsome when he smiled. Then, he settled in between you and your cousin, beginning to offer his own critiques on your guests. And Merlin, he was ruthless.

"Lord Greengrass over there, I don't know if you ladies have ever had a conversation with him? Well, if you had, you'd know there are broomsticks more intelligent than him. And more eloquent, now that I think about it too." He said casually, a smirk on his face.

You promptly snorted in a very unflattering manner, and his smirk became a grin.

"That was a lovely noise." He chuckled, laughing louder when you swatted his arm with the back of your hand.

The three of you traded banter for the next few minutes, until your cousin excused herself with a wink at you. That left just you and Ominis, shoulders pressed against each other as you whispered jokes to one another.

All seemed to be going well, until your mother announced that the newlyweds would be engaging in a dance together, and you felt Ominis stiffen beside you.

As strange as it was to say, you wondered if the banter had taken him away from the situation the two of you were in. And it seemed the reminder, courtesy of this awful event, had brought him back to reality, taking his good mood with him.

You took his hand cautiously, hoping he wouldn't react badly. When he didn't snatch his hand back, you let out a sigh of relief, leading him to the centre of the ballroom. His hands went to your waist and your shoulder, and you quickly took up your position as well. Much like your wedding day, he was holding you at arms length, and you quickly searched for a way to make him more at ease.

"Do you think we can find a way to get your father to make that weird noise again? The one he did at the wedding, when I hit him with my flowers?"

It worked, thankfully. Ominis' face lit up with a sly grin, pulling you closer to speak lowly by your ear.

"If I get one of the centrepieces in your hands, do you think you could pull off that shot again?"

You smirked back.

"I can certainly try."

-

After the night of the ball, you and Ominis slipped into a friendly state of cohabitation.

What with you both being in your early twenties, and you know, married, you'd agreed finally that a civil relationship was likely the best option for a life that would be at least somewhat bearable.

Admittedly, you were much happier.

It was nice to be in a house where you weren't just wandering around alone any more. Though the house was awfully quiet when Ominis went to work. And when you mentioned potentially getting a job to your mother and mother-in-law, they both laughed in your face, telling you that's not how things were done.

So you had a lot of free time in those hours when Ominis was out. And with free time, came stupid ideas.

Such as the idea that you wanted a baby.

Which, you knew, was not something you should do just to have a hobby. But you'd always loved children, always volunteering to take care of the little ones in your family. You'd always imagined yourself with a big family of your own, several children following you around, that you could raise into actual people.

And you knew, between you and Ominis, you could raise good people. The both of you had discussed your distaste for the ideals of blood purity, for the childhoods you'd both been brought up with, and the decisions that had been forced upon you. The both of you wouldn't make the same mistakes as your parents. Your children would be happy and adored.

There was a selfish side to it as well though, in truth.

Ominis was handsome. Very handsome. You couldn't help but wonder what it would be like, should he start... exercising his husbandly privileges with you. You think he'd be good at it. He had such long fingers, and he moved so gracefully, and sometimes, he would dart his tongue out to lick at his lips. It made you squirm in your chair, to think of him using such talents for your pleasure.

After some careful consideration, you decided to broach the topic with him.

-

It took you about a month to work up the courage. It was a month of you two getting closer, at least. So hopefully, he'd be more likely to say yes. Emphasis on the hopefully.

You cornered him in the library, one rainy night. He was in the big armchair by the fireplace, his fingers drifting across one of his Braille books. You really did want to learn that, you thought to yourself. But that was a thought for later. You were putting off the real matter at hand.

Taking a seat cross-legged in front of the roaring fire, you softly called Ominis' name. He knew you were there, of course. His other senses were uncanny to make up for the loss of vision.

He glanced up from his book, his fingers slowing to a stop as he raised an eyebrow. You didn't often seek him out so late.

"Yes, my dear wife?"

You really needed to find a way to stop blushing every time he called you his wife.

Taking a second to compose yourself, you began your pre-planned speech which she hoped would convince Ominis to see things your way.

“I’m aware we haven’t been married long, and that we’re still getting to know each other. But I wanted to speak to you about something that I want very much. Of course, you’re free to say no and I won’t hold it against you, but if I don’t at least ask, I’ll never even get a chance at a yes, will I?”

You stopped for a moment after your babbling was done, then finally spit it out.

“I would like to try for a baby.”

Ominis’ eyes widened and his jaw fell open.

“Pardon? Did I hear that right? You want to try for a child?”

Letting out a noise of affirmation, you continued with the argument you’d spent the last month crafting. You’d be damned if you didn’t at least get heard out before he turned you down.

“One of the main things you said you were concerned about was that your children would be brought up the same way you were. But we’ve spoken about this. We don’t hold the same stupid views our parents do. We’re not cruel people. Our children would be loved, and safe, and they would know the importance of treating others with respect regardless of their blood status. We’ll teach our children that their family name will never be more important than their own happiness, or other people. We’ll be better than our parents were to us, because we know firsthand the pain the traditional pureblood method of parenting brings.”

Ominis’ face was unreadable, but he hadn’t interrupted to completely shut you down, so you powered ahead.

“Also, I have to admit… this is something that’s very important to me. I’ve always wanted children. Even when I was a pre-teen, I’d jump at the chance to babysit, because I just liked doing it. And at the moment, I feel quite… lost. I discussed getting a job with our mothers and got told quite clearly that it wasn’t an option. I feel as though having a child would give me a purpose. Not that I mean I want a child to cure my boredom. I merely mean that nothing would make me happier than to have a child, our child, who I could love and care for and help shape into a good person. It would bring me a great deal of fulfilment.”

Well, that was everything you had to say on the matter. All you could do now was wait for Ominis to process all this and let you into whatever was going on in that clever mind of his.

He was silent for a few minutes, before he spoke finally.

“I agree with what you said about raising them. We will be better parents than our parents were. And I understand how you feel about having children. I can see that’s something that’s very important to you, and I’d never dismiss that. But there is one more concern I wish to discuss before I’d feel comfortable making a decision on this matter.”

You looked up at him from your spot on the floor, wondering what else could be worrying him.

“My blindness. It is possible that it could be passed down to our children, should we have them. Would you be prepared to take the chance our child would have my condition? Would you be prepared to make the adjustments needed should that come to pass?”

That hadn’t even been a consideration for you, though you supposed you were in the position that you’d never had to consider before that your child may have a condition that would impact every aspect of their life. Despite not having thought of it before, your answer came easily to you.

“Absolutely. I don’t intend to be the kind of parent that makes their love conditional. If our child did inherit your condition, I would do anything needed to make sure they had anything they needed. I admit, I may not always know or consider immediately the kind of adjustments that may need to be made, but I’m more than willing to learn. And if you’d be willing to help with that, I would be honoured to do so. That’s the case even if we don’t have a blind child. I want your life with me to be as easy and comfortable as possible too. If there’s anything I can do to help make our home and our lifestyle better for you, please tell me.”

Ominis’ face relaxed at that. You were cautiously optimistic about that, but not ready to get your hopes up quite yet.

“This is quite a big decision. A life-changing decision, in fact. I need some time to think about this, make sense of how I feel about it.”

You agreed readily. It took you a month to even be able to ask him, and you were the one who definitely wanted the child. It was understandable that Ominis, who’d essentially just had this dropped on him, would need a while to think about it.

You could wait.

-

You’d been waiting a while now.

Your first wedding anniversary had come and gone, and still, not a word from Ominis about that question you’d asked him so many months ago. At this point, you’d just accepted that he probably had decided he wasn’t ready, and didn’t want to disappoint you by telling you. So you’d thrown yourself into hobbies, since your families were still firm on you not being at work.

You read a lot. Tried to learn instruments and languages. Picked up (and admittedly, abandoned) many different kinds of creative hobbies.

Some of those, you’d kept up, finding a passion for them. The others, you’d realised were not for you, and were more than willing to leave them be. It was nice, you thought, to have so much time to pursue anything and everything you might be interested in. But despite having things to absorb yourself in, it hadn’t lessened the craving in you to be a parent.

In fact, the months you’d spent with your husband had worsened that urge. The more you came to know him, the more you became certain that this was the man you wanted to be the father of your children. Ominis was kind, patient, and devoted to those he cared for. He remembered the things you liked and gave you gifts related to them. He taught you to read Braille like you wanted, and would ask you to teach him things he saw you do he found interesting.

In summary; you’d started to develop a little bit of a crush on your husband. But you were fairly certain he only saw you as a friend at best, as the woman he was stuck with at worst.

What a strange, strange dilemma you were in. Most people would be thrilled to like their spouse. And here you were, stressing over it like it was the worst thing that could ever happen to you.

-

After sixteen months of marriage, Ominis finally concluded the conversation you’d left on hold so many months ago now.

The two of you were sitting at the dinner table after eating, you working on your knitting, him fumbling with a kalimba you’d abandoned months ago, when he said it.

“You know, after a lot of consideration, I think I’m ready for a child.”

You let out a squeak of pain as you promptly stabbed yourself with your knitting needle in shock.

Once Ominis had fussed over your finger like the mother hen he tended to be, you returned to the topic at hand.

“You really mean that? You actually do want to have children? Now?”

He nodded patiently, a small smile on his face.

“I know I took a while to answer you, but I wanted to ensure I thought this through fully. But you were right in what you said. We’ll be good parents. I do want children, and a petty part of me wants to raise them in a way my parents hate, because then I’ll know I’ve done it right. And if they were to inherit my blindness, I feel confident that we’d be able to handle it as a team. So, yes. I’m ready if you are.”

Instead of responding verbally, you flung your arms around Ominis’ neck, tugging him closer. On thinking back, you realised this was probably the most contact the two of you had ever had. That would change soon enough, you thought with a blush, if you were to have a child together.

Ominis’ mind seemed to be going the same place, based on the light flush spreading across his pale cheeks.

“You are aware though, that if we are to have a child, we will have to be… intimate. More than once, likely. Is that something you’re comfortable with?”

You let out a quiet yes, feeling a sudden rush of shyness, and he smiled back, seemingly just as nervous.

“Would you maybe… like to start trying now? Or is that too sudden?”

Your enthusiastic agreement burst out before you could control it, and the familiar feeling of embarrassment came right after. Luckily for you, Ominis was too focused on managing his own blush to notice.

After a moment’s hesitation, he intertwined his fingers with yours, leading you up to the master bedroom. Seeing him in this room was a strange sight, even though it was always intended to be shared with him. Since your wedding, you’d resided in this room alone, while Ominis had taken up the guest bedroom closest to the office and the library.

Then, for the first time in your marriage, he leaned forward and kissed you.

It was a gentle kiss, his soft lips moving against yours slowly and hesitantly.

The two of you had never kissed at your wedding, but while this was your first kiss with Ominis, it wasn’t your first kiss ever. You thought it might have been the sweetest though, but you may have been biased based on how much you were starting to care for this man.

Those elegant hands of his came to rest on your waist, pulling you closer until your chest was flush with his. Your hands came up to hold onto his shoulders, and the entire moment was just… nice, as simple as that was to say. It was just a very nice, soft moment.

The two of you stayed like that for a while, just kissing, but the feeling of him against you started to make you feel warm, like you needed something. And while you may have been inexperienced in this situation, you were fairly sure what you needed.

Pulling away from Ominis, the only thing that left your lips was a whispered ‘please’.

He didn’t need you to elaborate.

His hands still holding your waist, he walked you backwards slowly until your legs hit the bed, making you sit instinctively. You kept moving back until you were near the head of the bed, watching as he began to crawl onto the bed after you, his pace painful. Eventually, your head was pressed against the pillows with Ominis supporting his weight above you.

Eyes not leaving yours, he began to unlace your house dress. Once you were free of the ties and fastenings, he slipped it off you and you pushed the fabric off the bed to the floor. He let out a pleased hum as he started to trace your body, finding it bare beneath the dress. As he began to map your skin, you worked at his shirt, slipping it off his pale shoulders. You shouldn’t have been surprised to see the constellations of beauty marks on his torso, but it made your mouth go dry with desire regardless.

Ominis pulled back to remove his trousers and underclothes, letting them fall around his ankles and stepping out of them. Within a moment, he was back above you, but this time, he clearly intended to leave no space between the two of you.

Using one arm to balance himself against the mattress, his other came around your back to lift you slightly so you were pressed against him. The feeling of your breasts pressing against his warm chest made you shiver, letting out a soft sigh of pleasure.

The two of you hadn’t even properly started, yet you couldn’t help but wonder why you both hadn’t been doing this for the entirety of your marriage.

Ominis’ head dipped to kiss you again, his tongue nervously darted out to trace your lips until you opened them, allowing him to deepen the kiss. Once your tongues touched, it spurred you both on, and Ominis reached down to take himself in hand. Somehow, you hadn’t looked down through all this, and the movement drew your attention. The view made your eyes widen in surprise.

You’d never seen one before. You didn’t think they were supposed to be pretty. But Merlin. Ominis’ was pretty. It was long, and slender, which made sense because that’s how Ominis was, every inch of him. And the head of it seemed to be blushing, a soft pink colour not dissimilar from the one on his cheeks right now. The very tip was beaded with a pearly white dot of fluid, and you couldn’t help but tilt your head in fascination as you watched the bead begin to trickle down the length of him in a way that made your tongue itch to trace after it.

Your visual exploration was cut short by your husband clearing his throat softly. Clearly, he’d noticed your admiration, but was ready to move to the next part. You couldn’t agree more.

Leaning forward to kiss him again, Ominis reached down again to grip his length, pumping it to spread the fluid at the top so it coated him fully. Ominis appeared to be surprisingly adept at all this. You knew he’d never done this either. Perhaps he’d asked his loud friend for advice.

That train of thought got stopped in its tracks when you felt Ominis guide himself closer, his tip nudging against your entrance. He let out a shuddering breath as he felt the wetness there, his forehead coming down to press against yours.

“Can I? Please?”

You nodded, knowing he’d feel the movement of your head against his, and your toes curled a little as he began to push that deliciously long length into you. Once his hips were flush with yours, the coarse blonde hair at the base of him almost tickling you, both of you stopped completely.

All that could be heard in the room was the heavy breathing coming from both of you, pressed against each other in every place you could be.

And then Ominis’ hips pulled back until he was barely inside you any more, pushing back forward. The sensation of him moving so slowly was the ultimate tease, and you brought your lips to his again, hoping that it would encourage him the way it did earlier. And it did. His hips snapped against yours almost instinctively, and you let out a moan before he could apologise. Your noises opened the floodgates, and soon, his pace was steady and relentless.

All you could do was bury your head into his neck as he thrusted, letting out muffled cries into his heated skin.

You felt so close to something. You didn’t know what, but it felt good. You just needed a little more.

Then those lovely long fingers were rubbing circles just above where you were joined, and you were chanting his name as you went over the edge. You’d never felt anything like it. Why were people not doing this constantly? Was this why married couples had a honeymoon? So they could have some time to do this as much as possible, to get it out of their systems before they were expected to behave like normal, functioning members of society? Whatever the answer to those questions were, you didn’t care because all that mattered was Ominis and the amazing feeling he was giving you right now.

The way you were clenching around him as you rode out your high soon had Ominis following you in your release, and the sensation of him filling you up had your eyes rolling back into your head. He took a moment to catch his breath, before pulling out, leaving you with the sense that you were empty. Then he pressed an affectionate kiss to your forehead, before rolling to the side and collapsing onto his back beside you.

-

Now that the two of you had started, it was impossible for you both to stop.

Ominis had a good day at work? Sex to celebrate. Ominis had a bad day at work? Sex to cheer him up. You’d finished a project you were working on? Sex to celebrate. You felt understimulated? Sex to cure your boredom. The two of you were insatiable.

It wasn’t a shock that you were with child by winter, but it made you both incredibly happy nonetheless.

-

Ominis absolutely doted on you during your pregnancy.

He’d been in your bedroom more often since you’d begun being intimate, but once the baby was on the way, he asked to move in there officially for the duration of your pregnancy. It took a while to get used to having another person in your bed with you for a whole night, but it didn’t take long for the two of you to figure out a routine. Ominis was a light sleeper, and you were increasingly restless, so you worked out a system where he would hold you close and soothe you to sleep, and his embrace stopped you from moving and waking him up. Inevitably, his hand would always come to trace circles on your growing stomach.

He was at your beck and call for anything you needed. If you had a craving, he was pulling his shoes and coat on to go and fetch it for you, no matter the time. On the rare occasions he had to stay away for a while for work, he would send owls constantly. If you mentioned wanting anything in your letters, you’d soon find a grumpy Sebastian at your door, with said item in his hands.

On a night, he would slide down the bed until he was level with your swollen belly and read stories to your child. Often, he would read the Tales of Beedle the Bard. His favourite was the ‘Fountain of Fair Fortune’, though you were fond of the ‘Deathly Hallows’. Ominis said it was too dark for a little one, but he’d read it to you without fail regardless. Once he’d finished his nightly book, he’d stay down there a while, whispering to the baby in a low tone you couldn’t hear. You were more than happy to let him have his one on one daddy-bump time. You got the baby all the time at the moment anyway.

And when it eventually came time for the birth, he refused to leave your side despite the protests of his father and the doctors. He was determined to be there. The most comforting part was that you knew he wasn’t just there for the baby, he was there to support you. Your labour was long and intense, lasting over a day. He left your side as little as possible, only to attend to basic needs or to fetch something for you.

At the end of it all, your little boy was placed into his arms. Tears trailed down his cheeks silently as his fingertips trailed over your son’s delicate features so softly it made you cry even more. The pair of you spent the rest of the night in your shared bedroom, laid on the bed together with your new tiny baby between you both. You told him all about how much your son looked like him, and he started a playful debate about who’s nose he had. You swore it was Ominis’, while Ominis was convinced it felt the exact same as yours did. You called it a truce when your laughter got a little too loud, and the baby let out a little cry, sending you both into panicked new parent mode.

The pair of you agreed to call him Luc, based on the Latin word for 'light', because you were both in total agreement that he was the light of your lives.

Neither of you mentioned the fact that technically, he was supposed to move back in the guest bedroom now the baby was here. He stayed by your side every night the same as he did before.

And after all he’d done for you over the past nine months, you couldn’t deny it to yourself anymore. You were in love with your husband. But you didn’t know if he loved you back, or if he could, considering how against you he’d been at the start. You weren’t willing to admit it and risk your new bliss, so you’d have to live with never knowing.

-

Being a mother was hard.

You were fortunate in that you could afford maids and cooks to take the workload of the housework off you.

But your little one was extremely colicky, and he would cry for hours, and nothing would stop him. You would spend your days closed up in the nursery, trying desperately to soothe him, and he just would not stop wailing.

Often, as soon as Ominis left the house and you went to your son, you would cry alongside him. You were so tired, and achy, and your postpartum hormones were raging wild within you. You loved Luc more than life itself, but you were just so sad. You knew you should speak to Ominis about it, but a little voice in the back of your head was insistent that he’d be so disappointed in you.

You were the one who’d wanted this baby. You said you could handle caring for him during the day while Ominis was at work. You shunned the idea of nannies because you were so certain you could do this alone. You’d made your bed, and as far as you were concerned, you were merely going to have to suck it up and lie in it.

-

Today had been bad.

Your little love had been screaming, quite literally, for the past three hours straight. You'd had him in your arms the whole time, walking back and forth in nursery as you hummed mindlessly through your tears.

You were so tired.

Every time Luc cried on a night, you were up at his side to tend to him before the noise could wake Ominis. It felt unfair that he would have to work and pick up your slack as a mother. When he'd laughed about how you'd both lucked out by having an infant that slept through the night so well, you'd smiled back faintly, hoping he didn't notice you didn't respond.

In your weepy, sleep-deprived state, you failed to pay attention to the time. Or the front door opening and Ominis calling out to you.

So it made you let out a yelp of surprise when you heard him say your name from the doorway in a concerned tone.

"What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

Being asked that made you cry harder for some reason. You slid down to the floor, Luc in your arms, crying just as hard. Like mother, like son, you supposed.

Ominis was by your side in an instant, taking the baby and pressing him to his chest. He slid his free arm around you, pulling you closer until your head was resting on his shoulder. His long fingers stroked through your hair soothingly until your sobs abated to little sniffles before he finally spoke again.

"What's going on, dearest? I've never seen you get upset like this, not even after two years of marriage."

And just like that, you told him everything. How sad you felt, how hard it was to handle Luc, how you felt ashamed to ask for help because you should be able to do it alone. He listened to it all patiently, his hand on your hair never faltering.

"Darling, we're in this together. We agreed that we'd work together to raise Luc, not that you'd do this all by yourself while I worked. And you taking care of him during the day is just as hard work as what I do during the day. It's not fair on yourself to expect yourself to be the perfect mother. You've never done this before, and even if you had, you're only human."

You nodded into his shoulder as he spoke. Hearing his voice saying these things downed out the little self-doubting one in the back of your head that said you were a failure.

He kept going, promising he would start working from home some days, that he'd help you find a nanny so you could have some breaks, making you swear to let him get Luc on a night when he could so you could catch up on the sleep so desperately needed. He also made you promise to see a healer about how you were feeling, to see if anything could be done.

By the time Ominis had finished speaking, Luc had fallen quiet. The combination of the rare silence and getting things off your chest had you the most optimistic you'd been in weeks.

Taking advantage of the sleeping baby, Ominis ran you a bath. Once you were happily settled in the hot bubbly water, his hands ran through your hair once more, cleaning it and massaging your scalp in a way that made you melt.

As soon as you were all clean, he wrapped you in your comfiest nightclothes, scooping you up to put you in your still-shared bed. He pulled the covers up over you, and as he did, he dipped his head to give you a soft kiss.

"I love you. I don't think I've told you that before, but I really, truly do. As loath as I am to admit it, the best thing my parents have ever done for me is arrange this marriage, because now I have you."

You mumbled it back sleepily, and as you watched him settle beside you and begin to read, all you could think before you fell asleep was that this marriage had turned out far better than just 'satisfactory'.

Finding someone that understands The Character™ the same way you do

It breaks my heart knowing there are so many beautiful souls out there questioning their worth because someone they loved made them feel unloveable.

make me choose ↳ niles crane or frasier crane (asked by anonymous)

somebody HELP i cannot stop imagining HL characters in phantom of the opera

• sebastian as the phantom (for obvious reasons, sorry queen)

• f!MC as christine (sing for me, baby)

• not sure if i prefer ominis or garreth as raoul, i love ominis but i’m not certain i want to put that sweet boy through any more trauma

• IMAGINE natty as meg, and prof. onai as madam giry

i could probably go on but i won’t for now :)

somebody HELP i cannot stop imagining HL characters in phantom of the opera

• sebastian as the phantom (for obvious reasons, sorry queen)

• f!MC as christine (sing for me, baby)

• not sure if i prefer ominis or garreth as raoul, i love ominis but i’m not certain i want to put that sweet boy through any more trauma

• IMAGINE natty as meg, and prof. onai as madam giry

i could probably go on but i won’t for now :)

Gregory the puffskein 🖤 by @lil-grem-draws

With bonus audio of @ask-ominis that I definitely didn't record in the Slytherin common room...

No, Gregory, you must NOT EAT THE SOFA

Sebastian, could you pass me the puffskein treats please, Gregory is hungry.

“good girl” only works if you’re the right person, otherwise i don’t care if you think i’m the naughtiest opossum in the fuckin woods

Batman: Widening Gyre (2009) #1

“no grave can hold my body down. i’ll crawl home to her” …. yea …. that. that or Nothing

Costume Appreciation: Christine Daaé in The Phantom of the Opera (2004)

you are good even when you are unemployed.

you are good even when you need to rely on others’ help.

you are good even when you are depressed.

you are good even when you are hurt.

you are good even when you are scared.

you are good even when you are overwhelmed.

you are good even when you are not tidy.

you are good even when you are confused.

you are good even when you have difficulty performing tasks.

you are good even when you feel like you’ll never measure up to being an adult.

symptoms are not morality.

Crying. Laughing. Dying.

Credit to

TikTok

Kira💫 (@sallowss) | TikTok

Kira💫 (@sallowss) on TikTok | 527.4K Likes. 17.3K Followers. IRL Multi acc!!🤍 Seb and Omi my favs🫶 🦊Kiriko, Mercy,🩺 Mainly CC & VSP 💗.Wat

Ominis: *speaking parseltongue*

MC: Oh my.. that‘s an amazing skill! So cool!

Sebastian: OI MC! CHECK THIS OUT

hogwarts legacy // incorrect quotes ft. my mc 🐍

Reblog if you’re kind of a dumbass

oh my fuuuu--

(source: j_kaluzhnaya on Twitter)

These two be like when they're a cat :

Template from VVV

What’s it like being 21 and older

"oh sorry, i guess i was infodumping again" - sad, shy, apologetic

"you sly dog, you got me monologuing" - cool, strong, confident

Wand Speculations

I've been watching a few streams while waiting for the game, and I've decided to theorise about Ominis', Sebastian's and Anne's wands since #TeamSlytherin and I like to overanalyze NPCs (I love how much detail Magic Awakened provided about its companions) d(ﾟｰﾟ@)

Sebastian: Yew, Dragon Heartstring, 12 3/4", Unbending

"The wand of yew is reputed to endow its possessor with the power of life and death, which might, of course, be said of all wands; and yet yew retains a particularly dark and fearsome reputation in the spheres of duelling and all curses."

In my opinion the combination of core, length and flexibility match someone who learns quickly, who will find his spells strongly affected by his emotions, who is prone to flashy and combative magic and an unwillingness to stray from his chosen path

Ominis: Cedar, Unicorn Hair, 9 1/2", Rigid

"Whenever I meet one who carries a cedar wand, I find strength of character and unusual loyalty … the cedar wand finds its perfect home where there is perspicacity and perception." Cedar is also a tonewood, used in constructing instruments, and perhaps would be more sensitive to sound or vibrations, helping him navigate.

In my opinion the combination of core, length and flexibility match someone who unwilling to turn to dark magic or compromise his ideals, who doesn't trust easily and favors more refined spell casting.

Anne: Alder, Unicorn Hair, 12 1/4", Slightly Yielding

"Alder is an unyielding wood, yet I have discovered that its ideal owner is not stubborn or obstinate, but often helpful, considerate and most likeable."

In my opinion the combination of core, length and flexibility match someone who is firm in her ideals but also diplomatic, confident in her spellcasting, and carries a healthy dose of skepticism towards dark magic.

HL students’ Patronuses

Here are my personal Headcannons:

Amit Thakkar- Owl (nocturnal, wise, practical, likes to be “above it all” but not in a pretentious way)

Everett Clopton- Crow (highly intelligent, but likes to cause mayhem)

Lucan Brattleby- Mantis Shrimp (Tiny, easily underestimated, but WILL fuck you up)

Natsai Onai- Gazelle (My exact reasoning is minor spoilers but it’s also just such a good fit for her)

Poppy Sweeting- Great Pyrenees (I know she has a story connection to Hippogriphs, and that would also work, but since magical creature Patronuses are rare I wanted to give her something that was adorable but also bred to protect sheep from wolves)

Sebastian Sallow- Bull (this one feels so obvious to me. He’s got big taurus energy in his single-mindedness and his disregard for the destruction that single-mindedness causes. But he’s also practical, devoted, intelligent, funny, and I always think of Bulls as a sort of tragic animal in like, a bullfighting context)

Ominis Gaunt- Mongoose (He doesn’t think he can produce one at first because of his past and that no one in his family can. So imagine how sweet it would be when he realizes that not only can he do it, but it’s an animal famous for fighting snakes! I also imagine that since he’s blind someone would have to tell him what that is, so theres some free fanfic potential there for ya)

my favorite trope is when someone believes they’re hard to love and someone who loves them like it’s breathing.

I actually think there’s something incredibly apt about ursa having had a passion for theatre. performance & performativity are at the crux of these fire nation ideals—of the inherent glory of monarchy and its subsequent ostentation, of imperialism and the need to spread the fire nation agenda and aesthetic, of having power for the sake of power. ozai is also a performer. he revels in having an audience. think of the arena in which the agni kai is held, think of the intimidation of the throneroom, think of his entire plan to raze the earth kingdom to the ground. it’s the aesthetics of fascism and the performance of power that make him so intimidating, so infallible and unquestioned. and his children emulate that too. zuko and azula are always performing, trying to project an image of power, when deep down, they are terrified. azula uses acting, costume, makeup to finally take ba sing se, a previously-considered insurmountable achievement. (and it is worth noting that kyoshi herself used facepaint as a way of projecting power & confidence—which she learned from her family of opera performers.) zuko tries his hardest in book 1 to seem intimidating, and does his best impersonation of ozai to do so. no doubt ozai got it from his father, and azulon got it from his. imperialism relies on symbols and a projection of power (“fire nation first” / “spread the glory of the fire nation”) but of course, the fire nation is not inherently superior to any other nation—that notion is propaganda, an artifice; it’s all theater.

shoutout to the mutuals that i am scared to talk to bc they are really cool. love you guys

Knocked Up

Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader Oneshot

Summary: Reader and Eddie planned to never have kids, having dreams of travels and a honeymoon phase that never ends, until one rainy day when Y/n takes a test..

Content Warnings: adult language, adult themes, unwanted pregnancy, pregnancy symptoms, angst, suspected cheating, fluff, Eddie being a baby hog

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Y/n and Eddie were together for years. They’d graduated, moved in together, gotten jobs, and started a nest egg, also known as the rainy day fund.

They had meticulously planned their life together in order to avoid ending up like their own parents who seemed to fuck up at every turn, not to mention while having kids.

Which is exactly why they decided they wouldn’t have any. It wasn’t a hard decision, neither of them finding themselves to be baby people and hoped to give each other all of the time and attention they hadn’t received in their upbringings, wishing to travel and live a nomadic life.

Though they didn’t end up traveling right away, they knew they had time for it. They’d come a long way from the inseparable couple skipping class to smoke and makeout all those years ago; Eddie landed a job in a nice garage making a steady rate, while Y/n worked as a waitress at a grill downtown. They’d been diligent in putting money back for a rainy day or ‘something really really cool’ as Eddie would say.

And did the rainy day come.

Literally.

One rainy morning in April, Y/n paced nervously in the trailer, a developing pregnancy test in the other room on the bathroom counter. “How fucking long is this supposed to take?” She grumbled to herself, picking up the timer for the thousandth time as it went off. She yelped and fumbled with the knob trying to silence the ringing, tossing it onto the couch as she sprinted into the bathroom.

Her heart hammered as she picked up the test, the two lines reading positive making it cease altogether. “Holy fucking hell.” She breathed, the newly familiar nausea twisting in her stomach and sent to the toilet with a lurch.

Y/n spent the rest of the day hoping to figure out how to tell Eddie what was going on. She’d been ignoring the signs for a month, too afraid to face the music and finally put her mind to rest. The tender breasts, the constant stomach ache, dizziness, and of course the missed period. Eddie had asked her if she’d had her monthly visitor, to which she panicked and said ‘yes.’

She hated herself for lying, but the thought hadn’t occurred to her that her period was late until he asked. Truth be told she never really paid attention to her cycle before and this time it bit her in the ass.

Y/n worried about how Eddie would react; knowing he didn’t have any plans on being a father and how he’d feel about her lying about such a heavy topic. Part of her feared he’d be upset with her, maybe even enough to leave her.

She debated for a while between procrastinating and ripping the bandaid off, not knowing which way would be easier. If Eddie loved her as much as he showed he did, then this should be easy.

She decided to cook him his favorite meal to start, complete with a dessert that was his own grandma’s recipe. Grandma Edna was one of Eddie’s favorite people, her cookie brownies being his favorite because ‘It’s like Dr. Frankenstein decided to combine two desserts. It’s ingenious, the woman is a God.’ She chuckled at the thought while she poured the oil in the pot to fry the chicken.

As the oil heated up, an intense and foul aroma permeated the trailer that sent her stomach churning and her head spinning. Y/n held her t-shirt over her nose to fend off the smell that’s never bothered her before as she checked the coloring of the food and put it back in the oil for longer.

Y/n slumped against the opposite counter, the window over the sink shoved open as wide as it would go. She took deep cleansing breaths and did her best to push through, telling herself she just needed to eat something though nothing sounded safe enough.

At 6:00, like every evening, Eddie came home from work in his grease spotted uniform, calling “Honey, I’m home!” as he entered.

He quickly dropped his lunchbox on the counter with his keys and undid the buttons of his blue garage jumpsuit to strip it off, leaving him in his boxers and a tank top.

“Aw, you’re making fried chicken?! AND mashed potatoes?” His eyes bugged as he struggled to kick the fabric off his foot, carrying the rumple of stains to his lady, planting a kiss on her cheek and wrapping her in his arms the best he could without getting her dirty.

Eddie took note of the gradual change over the last month or so, how short she had become in conversation, how she had made excuses about not feeling good, running to the toilet all hours of the day; he really started to worry about her and her mental health, maybe even if her feelings towards him were the problem.

He decided to keep his cool, making sure he was doing his duty by her to give her comfort and space when needed, and only assuming she’s upset with him when she’s explicitly told him so.

He figured today was another hard day, her glum and sullen look on her face evident of her discomfort. “Could you help me get these out? I heard coke and dish soap might help.” He said, showing her the spots in question before tossing it towards the laundry room with an easy smile on his lips, one he probably wasn’t even aware of it was so common with her. “Uh, yeah, of course. I’ll give it my best shot.” She nodded and stirred the fluffy mash on the stove.

“Knew I could count on you.” He said before kissing her cheek on his way past, going to the bathroom to start the shower and let the water heat up. Y/n moved the chicken from the boiling oil to the plate she had prepared for them to rest, turning off the stove and thanking the powers that be she made it through without puking or burning anything.

“What’s you do today? Did you enjoy your day off? Are you feeling any better?” Eddie asked, her stomach lurching in response. Her feet moved before she could give any warning that she’d come barreling through the four foot by four foot bathroom they shared to puke in the toilet.

“Baby??” He questioned as she heaved the remnants of the saltines she managed to scarf down during the day. She wiped her mouth and tried to brace herself against the toilet to stand though she wobbled.

“Hey, hey, I gotcha, don’t worry.” Eddie cooed, wrapping his arms gently around her middle and pulling her to sit with her back up against him.

She leaned back against his warm chest, the linoleum floor cold on her legs. The shower head rained hot water, the steam started to fill the top of the room, and the pitter patter of the water drops thudded against the thick shower curtain in a soothing rhythm as he held her close.

“You need to go to the doctor and figure out what’s wrong with you, I’m done waiting, I can’t do it anymore.” He whispered, his brow crinkled in worry.

Y/n sighed, a sob escaping her lips as she did. Tears began to roll down her cheeks while she tried to gain composure, though it didn’t work. Instead she pressed a hand to her mouth and let the sobs roll over her body.

“Hey, hey, hey, what’s wrong?” He asked as she turned her face into his chest, her hot tears falling against him as a realization hit, “Oh! Is it your period again? Already?? Are you hurting? I can get you some midol—“ He tried to stand, to go into the kitchen and grab some pain medication to make it all go away when she reached out to hold his leg with her whole body, another sob escaping her.

“It’s not that, Eddie. I-I don’t wanna tell you—I do! I do wanna tell you, but I’m scared. I’m scared you’re gonna be so upset.” She heaved, keeping her hold on his leg as he looked down at her, the confusion and alarm evident in his eyes.

Why did she feel so guilty? What had she kept from him? Had she cheated on him? Was that why she was throwing up for a month?

“Y/n, baby, you’re scaring me. Did something happen? Di-Did you make a mistake?” He said, trying his best to ask the questions flooding his mind without breaking down and crying at the mere thought of what they have being gone.

“I mean.. yeah—Yeah I made a mistake... We made a mistake, actually.” She trailed off, looking at the small heaping trash bin by the toilet. Eddie blanched and sunk back to the floor with her, still unsure as to what she meant when she started digging through an abnormal amount of toilet paper on top of the trash.

Before he could ask her what she was doing, she turned to join him by the tub and handed him a closed pregnancy text box. Eddie looked at it and then to her and cocked his head. “Open it.” She whispered, unable to meet his eyes.

Eddie popped the top open and dumped the two sticks onto the floor between them, flipping them over so he could see the result window with two bright pink lines. “What does that mean, Y/n?” He asked, his voice cracking when he reached just barely above a whisper.

Y/n took some shallow breaths as her body and face went numb with fear. “I’m so sorry, Eddie..” She mumbled, picking at her chipped black fingernail polish, still left over from the last time Eddie painted them for her.

“What do you mean you’re sorry?” He asked, his eyes filled with both horror and wonder. “What do you mean, what— I'm pregnant—”

“Is it mine?? I’m asking if I’m—Did you—Y’know, I know shit happens, I know sometimes people hurt the people they love, sometimes mistakes happen—“ He rambled in a panic, his eyes wide and a couple tears escaping from the corners.

Y/n’s jaw dropped, “Eddie, of course it is! There’s nobody else it could possibly be, I haven’t slept with anyone else in, what? Almost.. 6 years, now?”

She quickly counted the numbers on her fingers absentmindedly as Eddie threw his arms around her and laid her down on the floor, holding her to his chest as he breathed a sigh of relief. His heart started hammering for reasons completely different than before. He couldn’t help the smile that refused to leave his lips, and the tears slipping from the corners of his eyes couldn’t be helped.

“Did you really think I’d cheat on you?” She asked with an almost quivering voice. Eddie shook his head vehemently, “No, no, no, just—you’ve been.. weird for a few weeks now and I thought I’d let you come to me since I was constantly asking what was on your mind, I figured if you were upset with me you’d tell me, you know? But then… you said something about a mistake, a-and the worst thing my mind could come up with with was you cheating but then the tests said you’re pregnant and-and you seemed so upset I couldn’t help but think—“

“Aw, honey, no.” Y/n cooed, her hand stroking Eddie’s cheek lovingly as she shook her head in earnest. Eddie’s cheeks shined with tears as he leaned his face into her soft hand. “I was upset because we’ve always said we didn’t want kids, Ed, we have plans! We can’t live with a baby on the road, we can’t see the world, there’s barely even wheelchair access anywhere, how are we supposed to lug a baby and stroller around the House of Blues?? And I lied about my period and.. I was so scared you’d be angry. Maybe angry enough you wouldn’t wanna—“

“Y/n.” Eddie said sternly, taking her chin in his hand and bringing her eyes to his. “I know I said I don’t want kids, I know this deviates from the plan, but I’m not angry. I’ll take this over you cheating on me any day!” He tried to make her smile, which he did with little success.

“Nothing could make me hate you, Y/n, you’re the best person I know and I somehow tricked you into falling in love with me. I wouldn’t ever do anything to jeopardize that.” He tried again, being met with her real smile spreading wide across her face to his delight. “And if there’s anyone I want to try to raise a kid with, it’s you… I really think we could do a good job together—and it’s not like we’re alone anymore! We’ll always have Wayne and the rest of our chosen family.. and I hope you know I’d never leave our family.”

And when he said it, it became real.

Our family.

“Our family?” She whispered, like a safety blanket was draped around her shoulders to make everything feel safe and okay. “Yeah, baby, you are my family, you always have been. And now we’re gonna be a real family, with a baby and everything!” He smiled and touched his nose to hers, gently cupping her cheeks in his hands and stroking her skin.

“I love you, Eddie.” She said in a whisper against his lips before kissing him deeply. “I love you too, baby. Forever and ever and the rest of time.” He declared as he flipped them over for her to sit on top of his lap this time. Their lips were warm and soft working against each other, the sweet taste of his saliva trickling into her mouth as they kissed. Eddie ended with a handful of kisses sprinkled across her face, their tears dry and smiles lingering.

“C’mon, mama, get in the shower with me and I’ll wash your hair.” He sat up and curled a lock of her hair around his finger, the offer earning him a forehead kiss.

“Already calling me mama, huh?” She teased as she tried to stand without him, his hand coming to rest on her shoulder before she could. She shot him an inquisitive look as he stood, holding his hand out for her.

“What? I need to make sure my lady always has help, even more so now!” He pointed out as he checked the water temperature again

Y/n giggled at his protective instincts as he began undressing. “We definitely gotta get out of here before Ozzy slash Axel comes.” He mentioned casually as he tossed his pants into the hall.

“Ozzy slash Axel? And what if it’s a girl?” She asked incredulously.

“Ozzy’s the girl’s name! You can’t tell me it wouldn’t be badass.” He said as he stripped off his tank top, revealing his pale torso as Y/n shamelessly ogled him, “We’ll see about that, daddy.” She teased, slipping off her shirt and shorts from the day.

Eddie chuckled at the nickname, “I don’t think I’ll get used to that.” He scoffed.

“Is it different than you calling me mama?” She smarted with her arms crossed.

Eddie turned back to her with amused wide eyes, “Uh, yeah. It’s completely different now. I’m not just your daddy anymore, I’m someone’s actual daddy now. Or at least I will be.” He glanced down at Y/n’s middle as she lifted her shirt.

She tried not to look at Eddie after she noticed her rounded lower stomach, something she assumed was just bloat until today. “I don’t know if I’ll get used to that, either...” He chuckled, not hiding his gaze at her abdomen.

“Eddie, I’m like two seconds pregnant, quit looking at me like that.” She mumbled with pink cheeks as she rid herself her underwear and stepped under the water with his help.

“I know, but you can’t tell me it doesn’t already look different. You said it’s been more than a month now, right? Your body’s already building a home, isn’t that amazing?” He asked as he joined her, kneeling in front of her naked body as he had a million times before, except this time his focus was slightly shifted north.

He held her hips in both hands, studying the front of her in a new way, turning her side to side as if he were inspecting her like she was the first of her kind. He couldn’t help his smile or the gleam in his eye as he looked up at her. “Y’know when I met you I thought the idea of a nuclear family was hell?” He asked as he stood, looking down at her while he moved all of her hair behind her ears and shoulders.

Y/n shrugged, “I, mean, yeah, still is.”

He smiled and tilted her chin up, her hair meeting the stream of water as he did, getting her hair all nice and warm and wet for him. “Yeah, well, as stubborn as I am, you were able to change that pretty quick.” He sighed, squeezing some soap into his palms. Y/n gasped softly, tilting her chin back down to meet his eye as he turned her by her shoulders to wash her hair.

“Yeah, I know, so soft and gross, ew.” He joked, smirking when he saw her shoulders bouncing with a chuckle. “But it’s true. You’re just—you’re so good.. at taking care of me, at being a person, at being a friend, you’re good. Great, even.. the best.” He whispered, massaging his fingers into her scalp and working the soap into a lather.

“Truth be told, I’ve been holding back on telling you because I knew you didn’t want kids and I wanted to respect that. Cause either way, baby, I’m happy with you, and I’m not making you have any baby you don’t wanna have.. so if this isn’t something you want, that is okay with me, truly.” He stopped his movements and held his hands on her shoulders to speak next to her ear.

Y/n turned to him again, her eyes wrought with longing. “Eddie, you have no idea how happy it makes me to hear you say that. But you’ll be even more happy to know I want this. Through and through.” She nodded in finality, wrapping her arms around his shoulders as he brought her in for a tight hug.

“I’m gonna take such good care of you guys.” He mumbled into her shoulder, more to himself than to her.

After that, Eddie spent his spare time taking on odd jobs to make extra cash to add to the ‘rainy day fund’ which was quickly changed to ‘the baby fund’, while Y/n contributed half of her tips. The couple was satisfied with their growing chunk of money, the feeling of being real adults swelling their hearts with pride for themselves and one another.

They’d stay up late at night talking about the what ifs and the scenarios of late nights and early mornings and potty training and tying shoes.

Somewhere in there they got around to the deeper parts of their childhoods and dissected the uncomfortable and painful parts, figuring out where their parents went wrong and what they’ll do differently, some nights ending in an embrace and tears at the stories traded and relived.

One night, Eddie laid with his head on her chest, tracing shapes into the smooth skin of her hard and prominent bump as they watched Family Feud before bed. Like a ball rolling under a blanket, Eddie saw the skin of Y/n’s belly move as the baby punched or kicked a foot, sending their mother groaning and their father yelling.

“What the fuck!!” He exclaimed, jumping back in horror. Y/n laughed and held her stomach until the baby got comfortable. “They’re moving, that’s all. You finally caught them in action, I told you they’re strong! That felt like a fist or an elbow, I’m not quite sure.” She said looking back down at her now lopsided belly from where the baby rolled over to another side.

“Come look.” She whispered to keep from disturbing the sleeping fetus. Eddie craned his neck over to see what she was looking at. “Oh my god, babies are so weird.” He said with a smile and a gleam in his eye.

“Should I, like, push him back over?” He asked, resting his hand on the bulging side of the bump as she giggled profusely. “Eddie, no! They’ll move in a minute. Why do you think it’s a boy anyway??” She swatted his hand off her stomach as she took her turn laying on his chest to read the survey board on the tv.

“That kid is too ornery to be a girl, trust me. The grief he’s giving you right now is classic Munson boy behavior, and I’ll go ahead and apologize for how down bad you’re about to be for his brown eyes.” He batted his lashes at her as she turned to look at him in disbelief.

“You’re gonna eat those words, Munson, just you wait.

And when the rainy winter day came, Eddie’s words reigned true.

“It’s a boy!” The doctor announced. Y/n’s hair stuck to her face as she fought to catch her breath while the nurses prepared the baby to get his umbilical cord cut. “Alright, dad, just make a cut right here,” the doctor instructed as a nurse set their baby boy on his mother’s chest, Y/n’s body wracked with sobs as Eddie watched the scene happen around him and back to the scissors and clamps before him.

“ ‘S not gonna hurt them is it?” He asked quietly. The doctor laughed lightly and shook his head, “No, no, I assure you your wife and son will be just fine.”

‘My wife and son’

Eddie breathed a laugh, the color returning to his face after the last hour of Y/n’s labor had his soul close to leaving his body. He accepted the scissors and made a cautious snip, his eyes jerking over to the dark haired baby on his loves chest, relieved when he saw neither of them batted an eyelash.

The nurses took the baby for his measurements, announcing he was seven pounds and one ounce, nineteen inches long, born at 4:20 in the morning to which Eddie snickered as he held his girl’s hand and stroked her knuckles lovingly.

Eddie brushed the hair back from her forehead as the nurses cleaned the area and swaddled the baby, now clean from the bodily fluids he had spent his time growing in like a butterfly in a chrysalis.

“You did so good, baby,” he pressed a kiss to her hand, his eyes feeling leaky now that he got to really talk to her for the first time since active labor started. “I’m so proud of you. You, like, hulked out there at the end. It was crazy! And seven pounds?? That’s literally a bowling ball, you know?” He rambled in amazement as the nurse handed Y/n a blue bundle.

“Lemme look at that face,” he whispered, craning his head to get a look at the baby he waited to meet for so so long.

And there he was. Full little lips, his tongue poking out between them as he wriggled, his button nose wrinkling as he fussed, his face scrunched in frustration.

“C-Can I hold him? After you, of course, whenever you’re ready—“

“Eddie?”

“Yes?”

“I’m ready, here, take him.” She smiled, holding out the bundle, too tired to keep her arms up and eager to see the way he looked holding their baby they feared having. Eddie quickly accepted the baby from her arms, taking care to hold his neck and feeling startled at how light he felt in his arms.

“Holy shit.” He whispered, running his index finger down the center line of his forehead, his eyes opening for the first time to reveal shining dark eyes, almost black.

“What is it? He got six fingers or something??” Y/n asked in a panicked daze. Eddie chuckled without taking his eyes off his son, his eyes prickling with tears.

“Nothing—he, uh, he just—he’s the prettiest person I think I’ve ever seen.. and he has brown eyes, I think.” He said quietly, finally looking up at the mother of his child.

“Lemme see!” She whispered excitedly. Eddie stepped over to the chair next to the bed as the nurses left.

The baby looked rather unimpressed between the two of them, their faces permanently etched in awe as they stared at his open eyes. “He’s looking right through us.” Eddie whispered.

“He can’t even see us, yet.” Y/n giggled, tracing her baby son’s face with her pointer finger, stopping to squish his cheek lightly. “It’s all blurry for him right now.” She mentioned, the baby’s eyes relaxing into the hospital lighting a little more and blinking away discomfort.

“So, what’s his name?” Eddie asked, pushing the front of his little hat off his head to stroke his thick curls that swirled against his scalp. Y/n hummed, sitting in silence until she looked over at their bag, his latest fantasy novel, just visible under a hoodie.

Eddie had been inseparable from the book every night before bed, sometimes reading the extra cool parts to Y/n, who loved to hear the adventures of the band of rogues that called themselves the Realm Riders.

“What about Ryder?” Y/n said.

Eddie’s ears perked at that, “Ryder Wayne?” He asked with a growing smile. Y/n giggled, “What do you think?” She asked.

“I love it! It sounds like he’s a knight or-or-or a cowboy, or something!” Eddie nudged her arm with gentle excitement.

Her cheeks warmed with her smile, “The noblest of his countrymen just like his dadd—“

Eddie cut her off by pushing his lips onto hers, their first kiss shared as parents. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Eddie. You’re gonna be such a good dad to him, you know that right?” Y/n whispered, their foreheads pressed together as the baby settled into a slumber. Eddie swallowed hard and nodded his head reverently.

“You’re thoughtful and kind and loving and strong, you are going to set such a good example and-and we’re gonna give him such a happy home to grow up in. And he’s gonna know how much his parents love each other, and him, always, okay? He’ll have everything we didn’t..” Y/n whispered.

Eddie smiled, the tears rolling down his cheeks at the overload of affirmation and praise. “I swear to it..” he mumbled, taking her hand and pressing it to his lips, “ I-I never thought I’d feel this way... I didn’t think it was real.. y’know, feeling like a real family. And now we are. Because of you.” He beamed at her with tears spilling over his eyes. “I hope you know I plan on marrying you the moment I can afford a ring to go on that precious little finger of yours.” He mumbled.

Y/n’s heart leapt, “You mean you already wanna promote me from baby mama?” She sniffled through the joke, his goofy smile stretching across his face.

“Absolutely. The best baby mama I have should share our last name.” Eddie remarked back, planting a kiss on her forehead. “Unless you want us to take your last name! I can do that. I’m cool with not being a Munson anymore, it might be good for me—“

“No, no, no, Eddie I wanna be the Munsons.. We’ll put it on a mailbox or something for the whole world to see, everyone in Hawkins will know we’re your family.” She smiled as his smile returned to his face again.

“My family...” Eddie smiled and shook his head in quiet disbelief at the words coming from his mouth.

When they arrived home, their friends were crammed in the tin can of a trailer home with a blue banner held up by Robin and Uncle Wayne that read ‘Welcome Home, Baby Munson!’

From the outside of the door they could hear the scuffle and bickering of the friends trying to get in place quietly. Eddie held his love’s arm to help her walk, his son in the baby carrier in his other. The two looked to each other and snickered, “Let’s give them a few more seconds, huh?” He asked, his soft stare flitting over her face.

She nodded, turning back to the door, the curtains jerking closed as she did so. “I think they know we’re here.” She whispered, nodding to the window as she eased forward to the wobbly porch steps.

Eddie held his hand up behind her back as she clutched the equally as trusting rail as she climbed. The door opened before she could turn the handle, the crowd shouting, “Surprise!” as they entered their home.

Y/n smiled, looking at Eddie as he greeted his family. Steve wrapped him up in a firm hug, quickly pulling away to kneel and peek at the fussy baby in the carrier. Dustin led the hoard of Hellfire members all chattering and asking wild questions:

“Was there a lot of blood?” “Did you watch?” “Did you cut the cord?” “Did they let you keep any?” “What is the baby?” “What’s its name?” “How do you know they didn’t switch it?” “Did you guys get matching bracelets?” “Does this mean you’re married now?”

Eddie tried to keep up with the questions as they all flew around him, his eyes searching for his partner as they were separated in the chaos. He noticed Robin helping her to the bathroom when he spotted Wayne, a small smile on his lips as he nodded at Eddie to come to him; the same way he’d done the boy’s whole life.

Eddie’s legs began moving before he told Dustin he’d tell him the whole story later. The baby in the carrier grunted, ready to be held or irritated by the noise.

“Why don’t we Munson men take a minute, huh?” Wayne patted his boy’s shoulder fondly, Eddie nodding with quiet eagerness.

Eddie led his uncle to their bedroom, setting the baby carrier on the bed before pushing the visor back to reveal the sweetest set of brown eyes that resembled a baby Wayne once knew long ago.

“Uncle Wayne,” Eddie started as he unbuckled the small seat belt from his son’s delicate chest, his little hands coming up to rest in front of his face as he pouted. “I’d like you to meet your grandson, Ryder Wayne.” He finished as he adjusted his baby in his arms, the baby fully awake and blinking, his eyes Looking from Eddie to his grandpa.

Eddie finally looked back up at Wayne, who was having trouble keeping his breath steady. His eyes prickled with tears as he swallowed the hard lump in his throat and nodded.

“You just really had to make a grown man cry, didn’t you, Ed?” He asked as a couple tears slipped from the corner of his eye. “C-Can I hold ‘em?” He asked his nephew quietly. Eddie’s eyes lit up immediately as he nodded, handing the bundle over to his uncle. The two men sniffled in silence, their eyes unmoving from the baby between them.

“Y’know, over the years I had my worries; that you’d run off, or end up with the wrong folks, that you’d get discouraged and quit school—or worse… Your little ideas have given my heart quite the jump start since I’ve had you, kid, but this one.. well.. this one might just be the best scare you’ve ever given me.” He chuckled as the tears ran more freely, looking over to his grown boy again to see matching tears rolling down his pale cheeks.

The two laughed and held each other close, admiring the sweet boy between them until Y/n opened the door quietly.

“Hi, sorry to interrupt—“

“Nonsense! Get on in here, darlin’, I’s just meeting my grandson.” Wayne said with pride, beaming down at the boy in his arms. Y/n took her place under Eddie’s arm until the baby scrunched his face up in a cry.

“Aww, there he goes.” Wayne chuckled easily before handing the baby to his mother.

“I bet it’s time for another bottle.” Y/n said in thought then looked at Eddie, who checked his watch before nodding at her.

“Yeah, it’s been two hours, he’s a hungry little dude.”

“I guess it’s time to get out here, huh?” Y/n asked Ryder as if he’d have a response. The three of them reentered the living room, the party noticing almost immediately.

“So it is a boy?! Max was just messing with us?!” Dustin asked as the boys looked amongst each other, Will dragging his palm down his face in annoyed amusement while Max and El snickered quietly.

Y/n and Eddie chuckled, the new father making up a bottle of formula while Y/n took a seat on the couch in between Robin and Steve.

“Ah, that is correct, young Henderson. Hellfire Club now has a rightful heir.” Eddie approached Y/n, who expected him to give her the bottle but instead he held out his arms, making grabby hands at his baby.

Y/n handed him over without hesitation, the baby’s fusses silenced as soon as the bottle was in his mouth. “Ladies and gents, I’m honored to present to you, the first of many Munson babies, Ryder Wayne.”

The crowd went wild as the grumpy little guy scowled in response, giving his best side eye before closing them and trying to fall asleep.

“The first of many?” Y/n scoffed, “Where did that come from.”

“Look at his precious face and tell me you won’t have any more.” He grinned proudly down at his son, not even having to look at his girlfriend to know he was right.

Everyone wanted their picture taken holding the baby, especially the Hellfire Club. “It’s our turn next, Harrington, wrap it up.” Gareth teased, his arms across his chest as he impatiently waited for his turn to hold his best friend’s baby.

“I can’t wait to have a baby,” Dustin mentioned as the club gathered around the couch, Eddie and Steve’s faces snapping to the boy immediately and shouting, “Yes you can!”

The girls wanted pictures with both Eddie and Y/n, and of course Wayne needed a couple with ‘his boys’, calling Y/n back into the frame after she set Ryder gently into his arms.

“Whoa there, Missy, you’re a Munson now, get on in here.” He urged through his drawl. Her cheeks burned as she scampered back up next to Eddie, his arm wrapping around her proudly as they smiled.

“Now let’s get one of the new parents and their baby!” Jonathon suggested, peeking out from behind the camera as Nancy gathered the Polaroids and laid them on the counter to develop properly.

Wayne grinned and clapped Eddie on the shoulder before stepping out of the frame. Eddie’s cheeks were pink from his permanent soft smile, his eyes beaming at the mother of his child as she looked down at Ryder between them.

“That’s perfect! Don’t move.” Jonathon urged before snapping the photo, which would hang on the wall until they had grandchildren to show it to.

Later that evening, when all the friends left with promises of returning soon, Wayne lingered behind, waiting for the perfect time to talk to Eddie alone.

“Alright, gentlemen, as much fun as this is, I have to go lay down.” Y/n yawned, patting Wayne on the shoulder, planting a kiss on Eddie’s head, and bending down to take the baby, but not before Eddie could turn away from her. “What do you think you’re doing?” He asked in feigned offense.

“Uh, taking him to bed?” She asked.

“No, no, no, you just gave birth, I’m on baby duty until you’re rested. Go! Shoo! I’ll see you in a few hours, mama.” He urged, using his free hand to swat at her playfully until she was gone from the room.

A lingering smile stayed on his lips as the men chuckled together. “I, uh, been waiting to give this to ‘ya,” Wayne started as he reached in his pocket for his wallet.

Eddie shook his head immediately, “No, Wayne, uh-uh, no way, we aren’t taking your mon—“

Wayne opened his billfold and pulled out a single gold ring, an emerald in the center of the setting. Eddie’s jaw dropped, only remembering that ring from his childhood. “Is that—“

“Grandma Edna’s wedding ring? Yeah. It is.” Wayne chuckled quietly before sighing and handing it to his boy, closing his fingers around it and nodding, more to himself than to Eddie.

Eddie looked at Wayne with wide eyes, a ring in one hand, a baby in the other, his life feeling surreal in this moment. He shook his head at his uncle in disbelief, Wayne nodding back at him, “Yeah, it’s really happening, son.”

Eddie nodded, tears welling up in his eyes for the hundredth time in the last 24 hours.

“I never imagined—not even in my wildest dreams—“ Eddie hiccuped through the brewing tears.

“I know, son, I know.” Wayne said, the grown boy laying his head on his uncle’s shoulder as he’d done many times before, letting a couple tears loose while he inhaled the familiar scent of cigarette smoke and motor oil lingering on his work shirt.

“Thank you, Wayne. For everything—Absolutely everything.” The metal head urged into the old man’s shoulder, his baby boy sleeping soundly between them as the only father he’d ever truly known patted his back soothingly.

“And I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat… you’re my boy.” Wayne mentioned through a tight smile, his life feeling surreal, too.

What do you mean jkr didn’t tell us Dumbledore was gay in the books? He’s literally a head master