Latest Posts by writingbygenesis - Page 3

ATWOW characters in Highschool + music taste HEADCANONS

(neteyam, ao’nung, tsireya, lo’ak, kiri, tuk, rotxo)

[ Modern!au, Tuk is still in elementary school lmao ]

Neteyam

Mr.popular guy at school.

Goes to bother Kiri and embarrass her in front of her friend-group everytime at lunch.

Does after school activities nearly every single day.

My boy is so academically smart.

He doesn’t need tuition, tuition needs him.

Ao’nung defo copies on his homework everyday before class.

He’s the typa guy that prioritizes school before hoes so Neytiri is so shocked (and happy) when he finally brings a girl back home.

All of the teachers love him because he can calm the class down easily.

Not in an annoying teacher’s pet way, in a way that he’s literally homies with everyone so they stfu when he tells them to atp.

He definitely listens to afrobeats you can’t tell me otherwise.

He lives for and PRAISES rema.

His favorite songs are Woman by rema, Last Last by burna boy and No Sleeping by 1da Banton.

He also often listens to old school rap like MF DOOM.

Ao’nung

He’s a player fosho.

Like not the typa player to cheat on his partner but the single typa mf that fucks with many people at a time😭.

He’s definitely into sports like basketball. I think we can all agree w that.

Typa guy to wear a basket ball uni with gold plated chains.

He teases the ‘nerds’ in every single class that he has.

Is a menace like usual.

He smells so strongly of cologne.

Typa guy that would walk around with his varsity jacket if not for him being in his basketball outfit everytime.

Type of guy that has a ‘top 3 most attractive teachers’ list w his friends.

Ao’nung listens to rap theres no other.

Not like playboi carti kinda rap no, bro listens to Lil mosey, YNW melly, blueface and dababy (unironically)

Tsireya

She has GROUPS of girls talking behind her back.

They’re all jealous cuz our girl’s perfect fr.

Has one real friend group and sticks with them.

Nobody has the heart to tell her that girls shit talks her while she’s so nice to them.

Has a stash of pads in her locker incase anyone asks for them cuz she’s a real one‼️🤞🏽.

Walks back home with Lo’ak every single day.

She smells like plumeria 24/7.

She defo listens to pop like pinkpantheress and olivia rodrigo. SZA and doja cat girly.

Lo’ak

He throws wet toilet paper balls at the bathroom walls.

Gets called weekly at the principal’s office and wonders why.

Jake and Neytiri are fed UP.

Walks around with a pair of headphones in the morning because ain’t nobody talking to him while he’s half asleep.

One of his ex friends tried doing that and they ended up w a sore cheek fr. keyword: Ex friend.

Does his homework during lunch and always gets caught by his teachers.

He gives gym rat energy but not the annoying ones (are there even those?)

He’s some teacher’s favorite just like his brother, just cuz he’s the class clown.

Bet y’all the english teacher always laughs a little too suspiciously at his dumb jokes.

As the troublemaker kid, outcast and DEFINITELY his father’s least favorite, it only makes sense that he listens to rock.

Like heavy metal and NU metal.

His favorite band is Aerosmith I can see it.

And his favorite songs are walk this way by Aerosmith and born to raise hell by motörhead (ironic enough).

Defo listens to domination by pantera

He listens to Kendrick lamar and The Weeknd at times too.

Kiri

She’s a vanilla girly.

Like vanilla ice cream, vanilla deodorant, vanilla perfume, vanilla EVERYTHING.

She defo has crystals that she brings with her everywhere she goes.

Once she beat up Lo’ak for touching her crystals but my man was just trina manifest good grades fr.

She never finishes her lunch and Neytiri considers even still giving her food atp.

Cannot live without music.

Her earphones are always dangling out of her pocket because she’s always removing and putting them back in there.

No denying that she listens to Taylor swift.

Girl is a swiftie for LIFE. Other than that she defo listens to those indie bands like surf curse and TV girl.

Her favorite songs are disco by surf curse and Lavender haze by taylor swift.

Tuk

She has the newest generation iPad because papa jake’s income is paying good.

Well she isn’t allowed to bring it to school but she doesn’t anyways.

One day she got caught cuz she was playing some barbie makeover game in class.

Flexes her new glittery bag because she can.

She shares her food with her friends that have none because Neytiri taught her good.

She’s defo the typa kid that goes to school with freshly braided hair and comes back with them baby hairs sticking out and somehow one braid just completely undone.

She doesn’t get bullied or anything she just can’t stay in place at all.

she listens to those cringe TikTok songs i’m so sorry.

She’s still in that era 💔

Rotxo

I just know he’s on the verge of crying every morning trying to do his hair.

He’s so cute like wtf.

He struggles to get a girlfriend lmao so he’s always third wheeling everything.

He’s adorable though like, how???

No cuz like this mf STILL does those weird troom troom food hacks TO THIS DAY.

Like the thing where you put fondant in an empty glue stick roll just because.

Let his inner child have fun ok.

He’s a mixed music taste listener.But he mostly listens to rap.

Got influenced by Ao’nung.

-

I got way too lazy to finish or correct this.

Did someone say

MODERN AU REQUESTS??? 😏😏

How about the squad (nete, lo'ak, tsireya, aonung, kiri and rotxo) in their freetime like what are the, doing? What's happening during their meetups?

— MODERN ATWOW CHARACTER HEADCANONS .

pairing : lo'ak x tsireya , kiri x rotxo ! a/n : hello user azaleaniath :) cute request fr. taglist : @nyotamalfoy @victoirey @theycallmesia @grierpilots @neteyamforlife @drinking-tea-and-be-obsessed @neteyamyam @elegantkidfansoul @elizarikaallen @amortencjja @dancingintheedark

neteyam !

cooks very well

he's always making dinner for the group

one time he asked you what your favorite fruit is and he's been making you special dishes with it since :')

a ladies man

the whole school literally swoons over him

literally an all-rounder

he's tried out for every single sport and made every team

his favorite?

football.

the group calls him a fuckboy even though he's never dated or fucked

because he's always on a sports team he's constantly locking in on his classes to keep his grade up

overall just a busy guy

the type to cancel plans last minute

"sorry guys, i have practice"

lo'ak !

gets in so many fights that people are scared of him

talks back to the teacher

it's justified tho because it takes up class time

he asks you for food 24/7

his playlist varies between rap and alternative songs

always has his hood up like the popular loner he is

asked ao'nung to put him on with tsireya

everyone in the school is shocked that he pulled her

changes his tiktok profile pic to the "i love my girlfriend" png

some people hate him, some people love him

dresses like a skater boy

constantly gets the friend group in trouble

and you all end up in the dean's office

"yes, neteyam's my brother, shut the fuck up"

tsireya !

the mom of the group

really popular tbh

every guy wants to get with her

but the only thing that's stopping them is the fact that lo'ak can fight

you rizzed her up at one point but nobody talks about it

has over 5k followers on instagram

won "prettiest smile" in the yearbook

the best on the swim team

she does long distance track too

lowkey becomes a therapist when you need to rant

always planning the hangouts

the queen of heart emojis

especially when texting lo'ak

"lo'ak, behave"

ao'nung !

pulls so many hoes

he's had like ten girlfriends at this point

listens to bryson tiller and bryson tiller only

his airpods are at max volume and the whole class can hear his music

the funniest one in the group

it's because he talks out of his ass

manspreads all the time

makes fun of the emo kids

he got suspended for posting pics of them

goes up to random people in the hallway and jukes them

the only person that can beat neteyam in a basketball 1v1

him and neteyam are everybody's hallway crushes

has a nickname for you just to annoy you

"can i get your snap? what? no, she's just a friend"

kiri !

the emo kid that ao'nung made fun of

listens to taylor swift religiously

wears headphones to school

always drawing in class

her laptop is decorated with stickers

has the best fits in the friend group

created a pinterest board for the type of wolfcut she wants to get

lowkey has an attitude

when she talks back to the teacher, you can hear lo'ak from the back of the classroom go "personally, professor, i wouldn't take that"

everybody thought she was gay until she dated rotxo

she's still queer

either wears a long skirt or baggy jeans with all her outfits

she gave you a drawing of you for your birthday and you hung it on your wall :)

"i hate it here"

rotxo !

a tryhard in school

his whole schedule consists of ap classes

does his homework during lunch

knows that the friend group is big so he makes sure everybody is included <3

shows up everywhere with eye bags from studying so late

wears rings

the only somewhat sane one in the group

brings you starbucks every morning because you have first period with him

plays the ukulele AND CAN SING

cannot go a day without spending time with kiri

walks her to every class :')

has a michael buble playlist

"you want to... put eyeliner on me?"

high by the beach

sfw & nsfw headcanons with chad meeks-martin, sam carpenter & ethan landry.

18+, unedited work and fem description, do not steal, repost or translate my work. thank you.

chad:

sfw

chad is a very protective bf, he's kicking ass the second someone calls you out your name.

the minute you become his gf he's doing everything for you.

sleeping with chad in the twin size bed in his dorm is really just you sleeping on top of him because he hardly fits on there on his own but he doesn't mind because he's a cuddler.

the type to serenade you like derek did to sid in scream 2. chad has no shame.

def the big spoon but secretly loves being the little spoon.

is surprisingly a good cook and has you taste his food n blows your food for you when he's giving you some hehe.

you guys probably go on ice cream dates.

he loves chisme, chad is a big gossiper and always gossips with you.

the bf that'll randomly throws you over his shoulder and carry you around.

imagine giving him back rubs 🥰 ofc he'll give you back rubs too but sometimes he gets a little too rough because when you let out a moan he gets distracted a bit and squeezes too hard but he apologizes immediately pressing kisses all over your back.

his love language is physical touch and he's always touching you whether it's holding your hand, holding your waist, hand on your thigh, hand in your back pocket, he's always got to have a hand somewhere on you.

he isn't always the jealous type because he knows 100% that you're his girl but if the person starts to get too handsy that's when he steps in and tells them to back off.

he'll probably call you babe or baby or sweetheart.

likes to help you with your skincare routine and will do facemasks with you.

HE IS SECRETLY A HUGE FILM NERD AND CONSTANTLY HAS COMMENTARIES ON HIS FAVORITE FILMS. is a secret harry potter fan, no i don't make the rules.

says he needs help studying but he's actually just pulling you into his lap and smothering you with kisses.

neck kisses always 🥰 it's definitely his fave place to kiss you.

chad is not afraid of pda so making out everywhere. he's def had you pinned against the wall at a party, his hand cupping your face and his leg pushed between your thighs.

imagine chad being a flustered around you like chad trying to sweet talk you, telling you that it'd be nice if you guys went out some time but the minute you lean forward a hand on his knee "you asking me out?" he's stuttering and flustered, mindy's probably a few feet away laughing her ass off because how down bad chad is.

you have an amused look on your face as he tries to find the words. "i-uhm-yeah- i mean yes-" he's nodding as you're smiling at him, you're giggling softly and he thinks he's messed it up "if you want to though, we don't have to."

you stand up and his eyes follow you "pick me up at 8." he's frozen when you kiss his cheek before walking off. he's immediately in shambles

nsfw

chad loves eating pussy, it's definitely one of his favorite things to do and he just love your sweet little moans for him. the way your nails dig into his skin, it's like heaven. he's a messy pussy eater idc what anyone says, he's got your wetness spread all over the lower half of hes face, he's basically making out your pussy.

i said it once and ill say it again, chad eats you out when you're stressed, the minute you come in and tell him you're stressed about an exam. his arms are wrapped around your waist pressing soft kisses against your neck as he listens to you rant about it. "i know something that can make you feel better." he'll tease tickling your side but before you know it you're laid out onto your back and he's eating you out with his arms wrapped around your thighs to hold you still.

he seems like the type to love missionary just because he gets to see your face, he gets to kiss all over your skin and just love all up on you but also does love when you're riding him, his hands gripping your waist as he watches you fuck yourself on him.

"that's my girl." "let me hear you." "look at you taking me so well."

he's very vocal definitely talks you through it and praises you a lot AND he definitely starts off slow with teasing movements until you're begging for him to move.

he loves to hear you beg and whimper for him and will wear your marks on him proudly.

loves manhandling you and also loves fucking your tits.

holds the hem of his shirt between his teeth so he can see you while you guys are having a quickie .

he's a big tease too though, if you tell him that something feels good he'll be like "what this?" before he does it again watching your eyes roll back.

ethan definitely has walked in on the two of you a bunch of times but you can't help that you can't keep your hands off your man.

is the guy that'll fuck you in front of your mirror to show you how hot you are.

he doesn't mind doing all the work and never asks for anything in return because everything for him goes with your pace.

he likes when you take control, he doesn't mind you pushing him down and taking what you want. what can he say? he loves a powerful woman.

he's definitely a whore for you, the minute you tell him that you're horny he's pulling off his shirt with one hand and taking off your pants with the other.

sam:

sfw.

very hesitant with the relationship at first but when she gets into it, she's actually a really caring and sweet girlfriend.

she's 100% an overprotective gf even when she doesn't mean to be, she cares about you so much she has to protect you. holds your hand in crowded areas so she doesn't lose you and because she still gets slightly nervous.

random headcanon but sam loves pizza but dont ask me how i know this but she does. she takes the toppings off your pizza for you if you don't like them.

is the big spoon, loves when you lay your head on her chest. she loves playing with your hair.

hates horror movies but secretly loves disney movies.

her love language is words of affirmation don't ask me how i know i just do!! she's not really the touchy type but if you're into that she'll try to be more cuddly with you but she's learning so give her a break she'll get the hang of it.

she sucks at bowling and mini golf.

she's never jealous (or at least that's what she tries to convince you) but she does get a bit insecure at times because she thinks you can do better than a murderer's daughter. you sometimes have to reassure her and tell her you love her and that you're down for forever.

has punched a guy at the bar who disrespected you.

loves when you scratch her scalp.

carries you home when you're drunk and maybe you admit your feelings for her or something but she won't mention it when you're sober she'll just be really weird tho.

gave you a pocket knife so you could protect yourself and she'd get super weird about this too when she gives it to you but tara is in the back giggling because she knows that this is a sign sam likes you.

forehead kisses!!!! she loves when you give her forehead kisses and she loves giving you forehead kisses.

not a big outside pda person but in private she's kissing you all the time and holding you. also not too big on pet names and will probably call you a variation of your name or something simple like babe.

stays up late waiting until you get home and honestly can't sleep unless you're in the bed with her.

secretly has you as her lockscreen.

washes your hair in the shower.

if you make her a playlist she listens to it religiously.

you'd have to ask her out because she'll check you out for months without saying a thing to you.

pretended to hate you when you guys first met because she's in constant denial of her feelings.

will probably have an argument about her being overbearing and then she'll blurt out that she loves you.

nsfw

she's very hesitant with the sex stuff, not because she's a virgin but because of her trauma. she doesn't want it to go far and you end up trying to murder her so for months yall are going steady but when she finally gets comfortable she's a mess for you.

she's not the crazy sex type, she's very vanilla, very only in the bedroom kind of girl but she definitely prefers to be more in control.

she isn't crazy experienced either when she's eating you out for the first time you have to tell her what to do but once she's get the hang of it shes not bad at it. she's a bit messy with it.

is a fool for seeing you in her clothes, will fold instantly and jump your bones right then and there.

isn't too vocal at the start but once she finally gets the hang of it you get a few "you like that?" "right there?" "you okay?"'s .

secretly a big tease and will take it real slow with you, placing small wet kisses down your body, sucking lightly at your clit, her fingers teasing you but she never gives you too much until your hands are in her hair and you are begging for her.

gags you with your panties if tara and quinn are hommmmeeee.

eating sam out and she'll have her hands in your hair pulling lightly at the ends and you'll especially know you're doing good when she has to cover her mouth from stopping from getting to loud and will always return the favor.

probably wants to experiment and gets something simple like handcuffs or a vibrator. she's not afraid to try knew things so if there is something different you want to try, don't be afraid to bring it up to her.

fucked you in a ghostface robe once

has pinned you against the wall and ate you out right then and there.

sam can get a little rough when she's horny, manhandles you a bit especially when she only has time for a quickie. she's tossing you on the bed, her hands gripping your skin.

gets super shy when you show off the marks she gave you.

drunk sam is horny touchy sam.

she has a praise kink don't ask me how i know but you telling her how good she's doing and how good she's making you feel really gets her going.

bought a strap once and loves using it on you but she definitely likes using her hands more, she's always been a more hands on type of girl.

loves when you straddle her, her hands are gripping your waist and her tongue is in your mouth as you began grinding against her. shes a wreck <3

i firmly believe she's a master with her fingers, idc about your opinion i know sam is.

didn't touch you for a month because tara caught you guys and she was so embarrassed and paranoid she'd catch you again.

ethan:

sfw

is 100% willing to be late to his classes so he can carry all your things for you to your class and definitely has puppy dog eyes for you.

will learn how to do your hair and ethan definitely ties your shoes for you.

chad catching you and ethan making out and him shoving you off his lap. "we were just talking." is his excuse but the lipgloss spread on his lips and his disheveled hair tells chad all he needs to know.

he probably applies your lipgloss for you and maybe helps you apply mascara but once you get to the eyeliner and stuff he backs out because his hands are so shaky.

licks his lips when he's concentrating .

pushes you on the swings.

first date was a roller skating date which he actually doesn't even know how to do but he got nervous and blurted out roller skating so you got to witness him fall a few hundred times.

tells you to come over after he's done with his homework because you distract him, take it as a compliment because if you were around he'd be focused on you the whole time.

can never really say no to you, he is a slave for you.

the first time he kissed you was in the dark and he accidentally kissed your nose, he was so embarrassed.

always kissing him on his cheek and vice versa.

holding your hand until you complain that your hand is sweaty.

helps you wipe your makeup off if you're too tired or drunk.

doesn't mind being the big or little spoon but he does love laying his head on your chest. whines in the morning when you have to leave for class and when you guys study together you always leave something behind accidentally so he probably has your earrings or pens somewhere.

probably calls you babe or honey.

he probably has murdered someone who talked bad about you ( possibly multiple people ) but ignore that babe he was just feeling a little goofy that day 🙂 ( it will happen again )

also not a big pda person but loves when you give him little kisses on the cheek or nose. is probably a weirdo and likes giving eskimo kisses or butterfly kisses.

not a huge partier but if you like to party, he will be there with you whether he's following you around like a lost puppy or watching you closely from a corner, he's there with you.

got drunk once and did karaoke to wildest dreams by taylor swift.

is the bf that pauses movies to give you his commentary.

gives you lessons on how to stab correctly and shoot and saw you once in his ghostface robe and almost collapsed because you looked so good.

a very secretly overprotective bf and follows you everywhere because he has 'nothing to do' but he actually just wants to make sure you're safe.

will say something doesn't bother him but he's actually burning on the inside. will get in a fight for you.

honestly ghostface!ethan and normal!ethan are two very different people, he'll be a normal shy boy but then suddenly he's gutting your bio teacher for failing you ( once again ignore it babe he's just a goofball 😍 )

nsfw

inexperienced but is a fast learner after a few sessions of you telling him what to do and where to touch he's got the flow and suddenly he knows all your tells and he's making you cum like he's done it a million times.

idc what you say ethan is a switch. and he's also a panty stealer i don't make the rules but he's less of a stealer. he'll shyly ask if he can take them, chad was scarred when he was helping ethan do his laundry and found a pair that had been uhm.....that ethan may have used for his own pleasure.

bite marks all over you always. he loves when you mark him up and we all already know he motherfucking whimpers.

fucked you with the handle of his knife.

wakes you up with his face between your legs on your birthday (or any holiday tbh)

mean!ethan calling you a dummy.

phone sex with ethan where he's whimpering into the phone telling you how he wishes you were touching him right now and how bad he wants you with him right now.

has fucked you in his ghostface costume, his head tilted down at you as his fingers slammed into you watching you moan and cry for him then he flips you over and fucks you into the mattress.

cried when you sucked him off the first time.

comes home from class stressed and eats you out as HIS stress reliever.

has fucked you in an alley once but he's not a huge public person so it only happens once or twice. you guys also probably fucked in the bathroom at a party. he's a bit more of a only in the bedroom type but sometimes he gets a little needy.

has a few secret kinks like choking (he likes to choke you and likes when you choke him), spitting, overstimulation (because he likes to see you cry) and a few others.

used to let you sit on his lap while he did his homework but you're banned because you keep making him hard.

loves your tits and sometimes when you're making out both his hands on cupping your boobs. also loves fucking your tits.

has fingered you in the back of the library.

read a fic where he cums in your panties and all i have to say is yes.

he's always a little nervous so he does ask chad for tips and stuff like that but soon he'll get the hang of what you like and what makes you feel good.

lives and breathes you and you only.

a/n: hey here are just some yummy headcanons! i really hope you enjoyed this and feel free to request! pls pls tell me what you think!

ok so here me out! for the bingo, pillow princess, with Ethan Landry! And prompt 10! I think it would be a cool idea where he is more dom, cause I view him as a switch! maybe they get back from a frat with the gang and the reader is really needy or something! anybting but anal and degradation really! have fun!

—𓆩[recharge]𓆪—

𓆩[main masterlist]𓆪 𓆩[request/ask me something!]𓆪 𓆩[updated bingo card!]𓆪 𓆩[bingo masterlist]𓆪 𓆩[join the bingo taglist!]𓆪

𓆩♡𓆪 CHARACTER - Ethan Landry x Fem! Reader

𓆩♡𓆪 TYPE - fluff, smut

𓆩♡𓆪 WORD COUNT - 2.6K

𓆩♡𓆪 SUMMARY - You and Ethan were an odd couple, he was more introverted while you were always wanting to do something until your energy burnt out. When it did burn out though, there was always one thing that could fix it- or, one person; Ethan Landry.

𓆩♡𓆪 STORY WARNINGS - foul language || of course, slight dom and sub dynamics || mentions of being drained emotionally || overstimulating environment || Ethan being a really good partner and helping you out || sex as a ‘recharge’ || Ethan is definitely a pleasure dom || smut warnings include public sex, sex in the elevator, oral, fingering, multiple orgasms, Ethan palming his cock & cumming in his pants, creampie, unprotected sex

It was way too crowded at the Halloween party, way too crowded. Everywhere you went there were just more and more people, and you couldn’t find Ethan anywhere.

“Chad, have you seen Ethan?” Your hands were getting shaky, head pounding from the bright lights.

“Uhm, no I’m sorry,” he says, taking a gulp from his cup before looking over at you. “Holy shit. You good?”

You shake your head. “N-No, I need to leave. I just… if you see Ethan, just let him know I’m going to be outside waiting for him to go home, alright?”

He shook his head. “No, I’ll go with you. No one’s supposed to be alone, remember? Come on, maybe we’ll find him on the way out.”

You nod, inhaling deeply as Chad placed a careful hand on your lower back. Chad never made you feel uncomfortable, and this was no different as he yelled at everyone to ‘move out the fucking way’ which made you giggle slightly. “Oh hey! There he is!”

You perk up, quickly looking around to see Ethan out of his costume, which explains why you couldn’t find him because you were looking for your cardboard knight. “Ethan!”

He looks up smiling, quickly finding you in the crowd before looking behind you. His smile falters as he walks over, meeting you both in the middle. “Everything okay?”

Chad shakes his head. “Y/N says she needs to leave, and I was going to walk her out so she wouldn’t be alone. But we found you! So it works out,” he looks down at you, raising a thumb. “You’re okay?”

You nodded. “Yes, I’m perfect. Thank you, Chad.”

You couldn’t see the slight tent in his cheeks, but he nodded. “Yeah, don’t mention it. Stay safe!”

He walks off as Ethan quickly grabs your hand. “You okay?”

You inhale deeply, shaking your head. Finding Ethan temporarily distracts you from noticing how many people were in this hot room, so you squeeze his hand. “Can we leave? Please?”

He nods, quickly finishing Chad’s path to the door before letting you out into the fresh, slightly chilly night air. You inhaled deeply, letting out a deep exhale as you watched the air fog up at your hot breath. “Thank you, E.”

“You don’t need to thank me,” he says, quickly placing his hand in the same place Chad did. “You want to get some food before we go home?”

You nod, pouting as you wrapped your arm around his, a small laugh coming from Ethan’s lips. You always did get a lot more childish when you were overstimulated socially.

He moved his hands to intertwine with your own, walking with you down the hall as he pressed soft kisses to your head. You inhale deeply, squeezing his hand as you walk through the city of New York. Your legs were cold, skin exposed to the cold air from the short dress you wore with your fairy costume. Ethan couldn’t stop smiling as your fingers rub along his own, the plastic wand you brought to the party now gone.

“You forgot your wand,” Ethan whispers as you both near the ice cream shop that had tacos that were to die for.

Even with the fact you were drained socially, the words only registered in the way that Ethan did not mean them to. “I don’t need my wand when I have you.”

He paused, looking over at you. “You have a wand, baby?”

You blushed madly, covering your cheeks as much as you could with one hand. “N-No! I don’t!”

You were lying and he knew it as he led you up the stairs, smiling as he opened the door to the ice cream shop. “You don’t have to lie to me, honey, I know how desperate you get.”

You groaned softly, covering your face as he led you down to where the person could take your order. Your cheeks were hot, even though it wasn’t the only thing developing heat. Your stomach twists and turns as you squeezed his hand while he ordered, ordering just an ice cream for you with your favorite flavors. “You want tacos?”

Yes, you did want tacos, but you wanted him more. “N-No, just the ice cream.”

He smiled, nodding as he tried to pull his hand from yours to grab his wallet. He smiled when your grip just got tighter, using his other hand to grab his wallet and give the man the money and grab your ice cream. “You can keep the change.”

You were already tugging him out the shop, his laugh echoing down the street as you licked the ice cream. He lets his hand slip into the exposed area of your back, pulling you closer. He watched you eat the ice cream quickly, mainly because you were trying to cool down your hot body, and his touch wasn’t helping.

“You're not going to share with me?” Ethan teased, his hand teasing lower along your back doing nothing to help your flusteredness.

You hold it up to his mouth, watching as he leaned down and takes the last of the top scoop, humming. “It’s cold.”

You laugh. “Of course it’s cold! What did you expect?”

“Hot,” he says as he opens the door to your apartment complex. “Something really hot.”

He was teasing you, and you knew it. You whined as he slowly pushed you to the elevator, already tugging at his pants as you threw away the cone. You were almost done with it, but it made you feel slightly guilty throwing it away, but not as guilty as you felt when Ethan pushed you into the elevator and you slammed the emergency stop button.

He laughs as you tugged on his shirt, whining. “E, please… please, I need you.”

“You need me honey? I thought you were drained, my love,” he teased you, another whine escaping your lips. “I don’t want to do this if you’re drained, sweetie, I’m not going to make you.”

You shake your head, pulling him down for another kiss. “No, no I want to. I want you to fuck me, Ethan, please.”

His hands pushed up your dress as he slowly crumbled to his knees and kissed along your thighs. “I’ll do anything you want me to, honey, anything at all. You just tell me.”

You pull your dress farther up your stomach, the mini skirt barely covering anything at all as he slipped down your black laced underwear. He leaned up, licking firmly against your wet cunt making you squeal as he grabbed the back of your knees. He pulled them over his shoulders, supporting you while you leaned against the metal wall.

You whined loudly as one of his hands squeezed your thigh, inhaling deeply as he slowly teased the ring of muscles with strong fingers. “You want it? I want to make you feel good, baby.”

You nodded vigorously, pulling back his thick curls as you stare down at him. “Please? Please, I want it, E I want it so bad,” you whined, your voice going up a few octaves as you bucked your hips. “I need you to fuck me so bad.”

He grins, his finger slowly slipping inside as you yell out. You rush to cover your mouth as his thumb rubbed into your clit, finding that perfect spot in that small nub of nerves that had your eyes rolling back. But when he stopped, his finger stilling inside of you making a loud whine fall from your lips, he looked up at you. “You want me to fuck you, baby? You don’t want me to eat you out?”

“Ethan!” You scolded, pushing your hips forward. “Stop being a tease! Put your mouth to work somewhere else.”

He laughed, leaning forward as he licked along your puffed up clit before easily sliding another finger into you. You moaned loudly as he used his tongue to repeatedly flick against your clit before moving lower, puckering his lips loudly against your hot cunt where his fingers thrusted in and out.

You moaned out loudly as he sucks, groaning loudly at every buck of your hips and tugging on his hair. “Ethan! Ethan, don’t stop, don’t stop!”

You were so sensitive, truly you were, you were already close to cumming on his tongue and fingers. You always were sensitive when you were needy, but at the same time, you could go for hours at a time to get back to your normally bubbly personality.

You pulled his face closer, another loud groan coming from his mouth making your pussy clench around his fingers as you wrapped your legs around his head. He groaned again, just to feel you clench around him, the thought of losing air between your thighs making his fingers speed up and his cock harden in his pants. He reaches down with his other hand, positioning the one inside of you to thrust with his pointer and middle before rubbing your clit with his thumb, palming himself through his jeans.

Your eyes rolled back at the loud groans falling from his lips, sparks traveling up your spine and your stomach clenching as his fingers curl deep inside of you, desperate to find that one spot that would make you cum on his tongue. He pushed his tongue into you with his fingers, a loud gasp escaping your lips as you tugged his hair harshly, groaning loudly as your mind blurred and mouth dropped open to fill the elevator with loud moans.

Ethan basically whines as he bucked his hips faster into his palm, sucking your cum straight from your pussy to taste all of you. He groaned loudly, just the taste of you making him cum in his jeans as you continued to ride his tongue, not done with his mouth quite yet.

You inhale shakily, letting out a whine. “Pl-Please, just a bit more, more more more, Ethan.”

He nodded into your cunt, three fingers pumping and curling inside of you, finding all of those perfect spots that made your stomach twist and moans fall uncontrollably from your mouth. “Yes! Yes, yes!”

He could feel his cock hardening all over again, his hips rutting on their own as all of your sounds fuel him as he sucked loudly on your pretty cunt. Another whine falls from your mouth, your pussy clenching again as his thumb gets harder against your puffy clit. You groaned this time, loud and from the back of your throat as you bucked your hips, hands stilling in his hair as you came again on his fingers.

He didn’t cum this time, he wanted to wait until he was inside of you and fill you up load after load until you were satisfied. He leaves your abused clit alone, humming into you making your pussy flutter around nothing as he pulls out his soaked fingers, pushing them into his mouth as he softly pats your thighs.

Shakily, you unwrap them from around his head with heavy pants as he helped you stand on the ground again. He slowly stood, pressing soft kisses to your lips as you pulled him lower for a firm, hot, tongue filled kiss. He groaned loudly as you jumped up, his hands catching your thighs immediately as he rolled his hips into yours, your bare cunt hot against the front of his jeans.

You pulled away with a giggle, looking down at the wet spot on his jeans. “Had some fun too, darling?”

He smiled, nodding. “Causing you pleasure gives me pleasure, honey,” he mumbles against your lips as your hands push down between you both to start unbuttoning his jeans. “W-Wait, you want to do it here? In here?”

You whined, shaking your head. “Please, Ethan. I need to feel you, just slip it inside and then we can go to my room, please.”

He inhaled shakily, nodding as you finished unzipping his pants and pulling them down just a bit to expose the front of his boxers, tugging on them. He groaned as you pushed your hand through the hole to pull out his cock that was still red and hard, cum still dripping out of the tip as he gasped. “Fuck fuck fuck.”

You whined, letting his cock go as soon as his tip pushed inside of you, his hips rutting to continue to thrust into you. Your nails dig into his back making him hiss, continuing to thrust even after he was fully inside of you.

He groaned into your ear as you whined, sucking on his neck to leave bright red and purple hickies. “Fuck, Y/N, you’re so fucking tight. Come on honey, how could I resist you? How could I not fuck this pretty pussy of yours, hm? You know just how to make me hard and want to fuck you.”

“N-No, don’t stop, please, I want you so bad. Need you to keep fucking me, E, I need you so bad,” you mumble into his neck, throat scratchy from all of the whining you were doing unintentionally. “Please don’t stop.”

Oh he wasn’t going to, how could he? He couldn’t even talk as your pussy flutters around his shaft, groaning loudly as the cold metal of the elevator started moving again. His hips move faster, gasps falling from your lips before they turned into loud moans. He wasn’t going to let the opening of the doors stop him from cumming inside of you, the only thought in his mind painting your insides white. “You’re doing so good for me baby, come on, you got another one in there for me right?”

You nodded repeatedly as his hand pushed in between the two of you, rubbing your clit. “What, does that feel good? Huh? Tell me how good it feels.”

You whined, head tilting back as he leaned forward to press kisses against your neck. “Yes! Yes, feels so good, so so good!”

Your words fuel him, continuous praise making his heart swell and his cock twitch inside of you, thankful for the fact you live in one of the higher floors. He grunts as the dings of the elevator get louder, groaning loudly with a final snap of his hips to thrust deep inside of you, cumming right as the doors open.

He slowly pulled you from the metal walls, your body slumping on his as you hugged him tightly and he walked to your apartment door. He keeps his cock inside of you, pulling the key from his pocket as he unlocked it and opened the door. After shutting it and locking it, your fingers run through his hair carefully as he tossed the keys onto the counter and goes straight to your room.

He opened the door, immediately letting you both fall against your bed as he rubbed your sides. “Want to go again?”

You nodded before you gasped.

“Ethan! We left my underwear inside the elevator!”

omg, I love fulfilling requests ♡ keep them coming for Bingo!!

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© asterias-record-shop

avatar headcannons:

how many kids does he want?

neteyam x reader, lo'ak x reader, ao'nung x reader (gn!)

neteyam:

the most out of any other on this list, coming in with wanting five.

in the words of quaritch- "a whole litter."

just like his sa'nu and sempu, neteyam wants a big family, full of little ones.

lo'ak:

loves every single second of fatherhood.

whittles toys for his little ones, especially ones he remembers he or his siblings playing with growing up.

little wooden ikran, toruk, 'angtsìk- and ilu and tulkun, too.

can hold at least four of his kids at a time. one on each hip, baby in the sling on his front, and a toddler in the wrap on his back. worried he'll drop one if he tries all five.

five kids can be overwhelming, of course, but he'll never raise his voice at them- if he really needs to yell, he leaves the kelku for a minute to let out his frustration.

insists on braiding their hair himself. he loves to do it.

makes him feel more connected to his little one, twisting and braiding their hair as gently and carefully as he can.

most parents hate their kids crawling into bed with them. with all the limbs kicking and pressing into you all night, who can blame them?

but neteyam can barely sleep without an uncomfortable leg pressing into his back, anymore. it's how he knows all his little ones are here, all safe.

contrary to the some of the other headcannons i've seen on this site, i believe lo'ak would only like two children.

ao'nung:

he just wants a small, loving little family.

he decided on two for a reason, too.

lo'ak would have been perfectly fine with just one, but then he thought about it more.

lo'ak grew up with four others- his siblings, his best friends.

he wanted that for his little, too.

becomes so calm, so easy-going and soft around his children.

lo'ak can obviously be reckless- but when he's with his babies, he's calm. his focus is only on them.

his favorite part of fatherhood is play time. any game his kids want to play, he wants to play with them.

they want to pretend they're riding an ikran? climb on! they want to play in the water? look out, daddy's splashing!

always makes sure both of them are included in the game, too.

no one will be outcast in this family.

he honestly doesn't think about things like that. he would take a moment to think about it, deciding on three at the most.

it seems like a good number to him.

it's the number of kids his parents had, too, so that might be why he's so comfortable with it.

he definitely thinks four would be too many, but three? it just sounds perfect.

he's one of those dads that pretends to be all tough around others, but behind closed doors- he's absolutely melted.

bonus!

this man spoils them. and i mean that.

ao'nung is a fierce leader- strong and proud.

but if his little one were to tug on his clothes and ask for something? it's over. he's crumbled, gone, off to spoil his baby and give them anything they want.

i'm talking dessert before dinner, letting them stay up late playing, anything their little hearts desire.

also... he'd have all girls. he never specifically wanted a boy or girl, and obviously its not something you choose, but something about his genes, man. i'm telling you: three little daddy's girls.

spider:

one.

spider doesn't think he'd be a good father.

but there's still this want pushed to the back of his head- to one day have a baby of his own.

spider thinks he'd be a horrible father.

in reality, if spider ever ended up with a little one...

they'd be the most loved baby on that moon.

probably wouldn't put them down their whole infancy, preferring to have them curled up against his chest at all times.

he wouldn't spoil them- he's raise his little one to be independent, strong, their own person.

but he would also show them that they were loved unconditionally.

that no matter what- their father would always love them. always.

©️ copyright yourlavenderlover, 2023

all rights reserved

do not copy/paste, claim as your own, post on different sites, or translate without prior consent from me

THE ATTRACTIVE THINGS NETEYAM DOES

always touching you. he is protective. there is absolutely no way to sugar coat this, and it is clearly demonstrated in atwow. your presence grounds him, and knowing you're there, right next to him, skin against his, instantly eases his conscious. he likes being the bigger spoon and splaying a hand across the expanse of your lower back when he's around you…he will completely blanch, though, if you're the one initiating something more intimate (back hugs, small touches or kisses on his shoulders, etc). however he LOVES to do it to you.

he is incredibly patient. as the oldest of four, patience is a necessity. he's mastered the ability to keep relatively calm when a situation calls for it. this includes when the two of you have an argument or disagreement about something. additionally, he is the type to give you space post argument. won't approach you unless he realizes he was 100% in the wrong or it's been more than a day of not talking to you. and if you're still a little bitter, he'll continue to stick around and patiently wait for you to realize how much you miss him.

luring you in by doing absolutely nothing. everything about him is just attractive. he could just be standing there and your eyes would still be drawn to him. he isn’t exactly aware, per say, about how alluring he can be, but he is definitely aware when your eyes are on him. once he's certain your attention is completely on him he'll show off or do things that make your cheeks heat and stomach do flips. he's a tease, there's no point in trying to deny it.

puts his entire trust in you and the relationship. now while he'll still get jealous at times (it's quite rare but definitely still happens), he trusts you completely. he thinks it'd be pointless not to, especially when you're already with him. you tell him all the time how happy you are with him, so why should he have any reason to worry, right?

constantly makes small quips and teases you. he loves to see you flustered and giggly, smiling so wide your cheeks ache. and one of the easiest ways to do that is to tease you about something…like he does to lo'ak, but less with the intention of annoyance. he especially likes to pester you about your height, always finishing off his taunting with something super flirtatious like, "but don't worry, my love, i like being taller than you. it makes me feel like i'm your sworn protector." he'll also comment on the size difference between your hands (!!!), always going on and on about how your palm was made to be pressed against his. "you're so small."

he's naturally competitive. this will undoubtedly lead to races on your ilu's/ikran's. neteyam likes the rush of adrenaline he receives when he's messing around with you—it makes him feel like a kid again. he can and will turn anything into a competition (only if the situation calls for it though!), and every time he intends to do this he's silently repeating the words take the bait, take the bait, take the bait in hopes of seeing your infamous eye roll followed by an "oh, you're on, sully."

gives you nicknames. as much as he likes the way your name rolls off his tongue, he loves the reaction you give him when he uses a nickname instead. at first he called you them to see you get flustered, but it soon became a sacred thing between the two of you. examples include (but aren't limited to!) my love, pretty girl, and babe.

his tail reveals EVERYTHING. no matter what he is feeling and/or trying to mask, his tail will give him away. every. time. for example, if he has noticed another na'vi get a little too 'friendly' with your smiling figure—this includes getting in your personal space or even touching you out of excitement—he won't outright say that he's jealous. oh no, this man will just let his gaze flicker between you both until you eventually return to him. and, of course, you notice his stiff stature, locked jaw, and swishing tail as you approach an obviously jealous neteyam.

© luvsellie 2023 | do not repost, republish, steal, or translate !!

by Ewski Images

ATWOW HEADCANONS/SCENARIOS - MODERN AU PT 1

description: atwow character headcanons/scenarios if they were dating you (in modern day au) 🤭 some of these are based on my personal experiences. This part contains Neteyam and Lo'ak scenarios.

NETEYAM

He would be the type to have "self care" dates with you where you hangout at your place and put face masks on him.

"can I peel it off now?" Neteyam reached up to touch the paste that was spread on his face. You would quickly smack his hand back down "no! It's not dry enough" Neteyam nodded and went back to leaning against the backboard of your bed while scrolling through his phone. "I'm gonna have to add moisturizer on your face afterwards because you have dryass skin" You said while laying down beside him on your stomach. All Neteyam did in return was give you his deadly side eye.

The type to take the most embarrassing pictures of you because he thinks it's funny

"Neteyam stop!" You grabbed a pillow and covered your face with it as Neteyam laughed, pointing a camera at you. "Oh come on just one pic pleasee" he would beg and try to pry the pillow off your face. Once the pillow got pulled off he'd put the camera straight to your forehead taking a picture of you with the 0.5 option on. He would laugh his ass off, almost falling off your bed once he viewed the picture. "You were mid blink" He managed to say while panting from all the laughter. You'd death stare him before smacking his forearm.

The type to wait for you by your school locker.

The school bell rang and you packed up your stuff before walking out the classroom door. You headed straight to your locker knowing that Neteyam was already waiting for you. You pushed your way through the tsunami of students through the halls until you finally saw your boyfriend. "Neteyam!" He quickly looked up from his phone and waved at you with his signature smile. He opened his arms signaling for you to hug him which you gladly did. "wanna go to my place?" He'd suggest while pulling back from the hug and taking a hold of your hand. "Yeah."

The type to bring you random gifts no matter the occassion

"I thought you might like this" He'd pull out a little box filled with stuff just for you. It had plushies, your favorite snacks, self care products, jewelry and one of his hoodies. "Neteyam thank you but you didn't have to really" You cupped his cheek and kissed it. Neteyam would jokingly roll his eyes before answering "Oh come on of course I gotta spoil my princess." He'd take your hand off his cheek and kissed your knuckles.

The type to have matching stuff with you.

Neteyam loved gifting you stuff especially if it's something you guys could match with. For example he'd gift you matching jewelry where if you put the two pieces together it'll make a symbol. He'd give you matching pajamas for when you two had sleepovers. He'd give you brand new shoes just so you can wear to school and match with him. He'd buy you a hoodie he'd already because he thinks it'll look cute on you.

LO'AK

the type to have a polaroid picture of you behind his phone case.

"Is that me?" You teased him after taking a look at the back of his phone. "What? Noo it's my side chick" Lo'ak said sarcastically with a grin on his face that quickly disappeared after you smacked him right in the chest. "Chill I'm joking yes it's you!" He'd dramatically clutch the left part of his chest where his heart was located at. "Yeah that's what I thought" You'd say before going back to cuddling with him.

The type to call you "bro" by accident

"yo bro can you pass me my charger?" Lo'ak would say nonchalantly not noticing you staring right through him. You squinted your eyes almost giving him the side eye before finally handing him his charger. "Bro?" You said with your eyes still locked onto him. He looked back at you confused before it finally clicked. "Ohh sorry my love it just comes out automatically ya know?"

The type to FaceTime you whenever he feels like it

You woke up to your phone ringing loudly right in your ear as your fell asleep with it next to your head. You groaned and picked it up to check who was calling you this late at night. Seeing that it was only Lo'ak you immediately answered. "Why are you awake?" You'd say first while he was fixing his pillow on the other side of the phone. "I'm not sleepy plus I missed you so" He'd answer nonchalantly as you thought for awhile. "I'll stay on call until you fall sleep then." Lo'ak would smile after hearing you say that and nodded. You guys ended up staying on call blabbering about random topics until finally your eyes began to feel heavy so you slowly shut them. Lo'ak was also quiet you thought maybe he fell asleep too. You were so close to drifting off to sleep before your phone flashed white with a clicking sound in the background. You immediately woke up again in shock. "Did you just take a screenshot of me?"

The type to call you embarrassing nicknames cause he thinks it's funny

"what's wrong stink stink?" Lo'ak would ask with his hands squishing your cheeks. You glared at him even more. You huffed and dropped the controller you were holding after losing to Lo'ak once again. "Don't be mad pooks I'm just a god at this game." He'd pinch your nose obviously messing with you "A god? Or a sweat who never leaves his room?" You'd tease him back which made his eyes widen and mouth open. "Oh chill out before your eyes pop out my love I'm only joking"

The type to have "study" dates cause he wasn't paying attention in class

"Hello? Lo'ak are you even listening?" You'd wave your hand infront of his face finally getting him out of his deep thoughts. He'd scratched his head before huffing. "I just don't get how I need physics in the real world." You'd simply roll your eyes and quietly chuckled. "Just learn it for now so you don't fail and have your mother skin you." You grabbed his hands gently rubbing his palm with your thumb. "Study now and we'll hangout after this alright?" Lo'ak grumbled quietly before nodding. "Ok but if I fail the test I'm blaming you"

texting atwow characters pt 4

Omgg it's been too long since I posted for this series but I promise I'll post more frequently 🤞

other parts

🏷️: @panandinpain0 @persondoingstuff @stars4deku @roryssworld @dreamtogether2000 @tuktuk34 @neteyamyam @inluvwithneteyam @drugs-for-memes || for some reason it won't let me tag the people with no posts? I'm so sorry if you're left out 🫶

» texting atwow characters pt 3!

pt 1 & 2:

texting atwow characters pt2

A/n: I love this series 🔥

PT1:

Tumblr

TEXTING ATWOW CHARACTERS

A/n: idk I thought this would be a funny idea 😭

– ATWOW MODERN DAY AU

messages between you and Lo'ak if he was your boyfriend pt 3 🫶

omg so bimbo!reader x subby (ish) ! ethan where he will literally do anything she wants , cooks whatever she wants , carries her , and is just right behind her at all times

your chin peeks over the crest of his shoulder when you press up onto your toes, the sharp peak burrowing into the smooth muscle when you can see the stove in front of you. "did you-"

"yes, sweetheart." his chest rumbles when he chuckles, flipping the pancake once over. "i didn't put any chocolate chips in there, can't you see that?"

you drop down so that your heels thud against the worn hardwood floor of his new shared apartment with chad, fingers twisting at the torn fabric of his old t-shirt that drifts below your midriff and tickles at the top of your thighs. despite being covered by thick socks - much against your argument you had with ethan five minutes prior - your toes are chilled, and you curl them subconsciously as a trail of his spend trickles down the middle of your thigh.

"i don't think you cleaned me up that well." you murmur, pulling up the hem of the t-shirt to observe its wandering path, but your lips curl up at the smell of a freshly-made pancake being added to the pile to his right.

ethan scoffs, bending forward to turn off the stove. "i cleaned you up just fine, princess. c'mon to eat, go sit down."

"but-"

"i know i cleaned you up, baby. that's there for a reason. i like it just the way it is." he coos, slipping in behind you to slip his fingers between your swollen, puffy lips to gather the slick on his fingers. "don't touch it."

rafe who cuts up your steak when you go to restaurants. rafe who oils your hair before bed. rafe who accidentally splurges on all the things you’ve been meaning to get. rafe who begs you to show him your shopping haul on facetime. rafe who always opens doors for you at restaurants. rafe who’ll leave his expensive jacket on the ground so you can step over puddles.

𝐣𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐲 | 𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 

part one | part two | part three | part four

summary you're a single mom living three trailers down. eddie thinks you're the prettiest girl he's ever seen. queue smiley face oatmeal, grossly misused power tools, desserts on the living room floor, a haircut, and an abundance of nerd metaphors [15k]

warnings teen mom!reader, fem!reader, r is junie's birth mother, fluff, hurt/comfort, eddie ends up being a total girl dad (<3), mutual pining, yearning etc, tw for not having much money, general loneliness, mentions of a shitty/traumatic pregnancy, general mom struggles :(, slowburn friends to lovers, you wash eddie's hair!!!! this was low-key requested by anon

𓆩❤︎𓆪

Eddie opens the door and finds a little girl on the steps of his house. Little girl feels generous – she's barely more than a baby. In a set of tiny matching pajamas and white socks stained green from the morning grass, she looks up at him with wide, sad eyes. 

"Hey," he says carefully. "Hey, sweetheart." 

"Good morning," she says, though it comes out blurry.

"Good morning," he repeats with a breathless laugh, instantly endeared.

He curls his hand around the railing and squats down. She really is very cute and obviously well looked after, although he realises upon closer inspection that she's been crying. 

"Where's your mommy?" Eddie feels silly as he asks, but what else do you say when you find kids by themselves? 

He's not really expecting her to know the answer. She pouts her small mouth and Eddie freezes up. 

"Mommy.” Her breath quivers. 

"Don't cry," he says very gently.

It doesn't work, obviously, and she starts whimpering in a way that turns Eddie's heart entirely. 

"Let's find mommy, okay? Do you wanna do that? Wanna come and find mommy with me?" 

"Yes," she says, though it quickly draws up into a sharp cry. 

Eddie treks down the stairs and turns back, waiting. The little girl looks down at the steps and her eyebrows furrow as she places one foot after the other, looking like her socks are stuck to a fly trap. 

He holds his hand out. "You got it," he says encouragingly, wiggling his fingers. 

Her relief is palpable. Her brows smooth as she takes his hand, so small he can cover her entire palm with the meat of his thumb. She wobbles down the steps and then hesitates at the damp ground awaiting. 

Eddie drops his gaze to her wet feet.

She looks up at him. Eddie doesn't think she means to but her eyes are pleading,and he's already moving to pick her up when she lifts her arms into the air.

She's heavier than he anticipates. He quickly gets used to the weight, shifting her against his side with his arm under her butt, her damp foot digging into his abdomen. She rests one hand on his shoulder and the other reaches for his hair. He can't help smiling at her as she pets the dark mess, hand clumsy but well-intentioned. 

He walks down past the van and onto dark asphalt, looking up and down the road to see if anyone's around. He figures she has to be a trailer park kid – she can't have walked very far, and she'd been waiting outside. She must've gotten mixed up and thought his trailer was her own, which hopefully means her mom lives close. 

The steps up into his trailer are on the right side. Eddie guesses she's come from the right. It's not a great assumption — he's grasping at straws. 

"What's your name?" he asks. 

She's taken a lock of his hair into her hands. Eddie worries for a second that she's going to try eating it but she only waves it around, looking pleased. 

"I'm Eddie." 

"Dee," she says. 

"Almost. Eh-dee," he spells out, again not actually expecting her to understand what he's saying. He's unsure about kids her age – he's unsure what age she even is. 

She babbles something unintelligible and Eddie hikes her higher up his chest. He strides out of the cool shadow and blinks, shielding his eyes against the yellow-white glare of sunshine. The little girl hides her face in his hair. 

He hasn't walked very far when he sees you behind the trailer three doors down, pinning clothes that look the same size as the girl's pajamas to a clothesline with unhurried hands. The front door is wide open. 

"Your poor mommy," he murmurs as he approaches, "out here doing the laundry by herself and you're halfway to Indianapolis. Musta got turned around, huh?"

You drop a small light blue dress on the floor and cuss just loud enough for Eddie to hear it. You pick it up fast and brush it down, looking over the fabric worriedly. 

Eddie cuts over soft grass, giving the baby's waist a pat and holding her ears away from his mouth as he raises his voice. "Hey, is this your kid?" he asks. 

You flinch toward him and your eyes go wide – wide, your lips parting and your brows jumping down like you might start yelling. 

You're really fucking pretty. 

Eddie’s quick to placate you. "She was sitting on my front steps." 

You still don't look very happy though your suspicion melds to confusion and then a stab of too-late worry. You rush towards them and Eddie turns his body to encourage the girl's gaze to you. His chest warms when she perks up. 

She wriggles in his arms impatiently and Eddie's surprised by how quickly she starts to cry, reaching out for you with insistent grabbing hands as he passes her over.

"It's okay," you say softly, tucking her into your chest. 

The difference in body language is unmissable. Where she'd been restless (though more than pleasant) in Eddie's arms, she completely melts into yours. Her little face presses into your neck and her legs curl up. You pat her butt soothingly. "It's okay, baby. Where have you been?" You look up at him for an answer with concern lining your pretty features. 

"I'm only three down," he says. 

 "Oh… Thank you," you say roughly.

Your gratitude is unnecessary. "That's okay. She's real sweet. I opened the door and the first thing she said was, 'good morning,'" he recalls with an easy smile. 

Joy lightens your entire face. He feels his breath catch in his throat. 

"She did? She said that?" 

"Yeah, she did.” He tries not to sound as confused as he feels.

Your eyes close with the force of your smile. You encourages your toddler’s face back and drop your chin to plant kisses all over her tiny cheeks. Eddie feels something foreign yawning in his chest as she starts to laugh, a tinkling sound that's sugar sweet. 

He scratches his neck and pretends to look over his shoulder, tamping his smile back into a neutral expression. 

"She's having trouble talking," you say, lifting your head as the baby's giggles taper off. "She can talk, she says 'mommy' all the time, but she's s'posed to be saying more 'cos she's almost two and I know she can do it, she's so smart, but-" You cut yourself off and laugh all breathless and sheepish. "Sugar, I'm sorry. I mean- Sorry. Thank you," it almost bursts from you, "for bringing her back. I don't know…" 

"You just moved in, right?" You nod. "The lock on the front door- they're all exactly the same, you just gotta shake it and it unlocks. Even someone small as her can could get it open with enough determination." 

"She can be very determined," you say ruefully, voice hushed. You're still patting her butt, swaying her from side to side. Eddie's in awe at how quickly she's settled, her button features crumpled by a big yawn. "Always gets what she wants."

"I bet she does, she's a total heartbreaker." 

You take a step towards him, your beat up sneakers half a foot from his converse. "She can't help it, she was born this pretty," you say. He loves how braggy you sound. 

"I can see where she gets it." 

As soon as he says it he wishes he could take it back. Not because he doesn't think it's true – you're really something else – but because he doesn't want to creep you out. 

Luckily, he's rewarded for his bravery by another beaming smile, your words warm as you tell him, "They said she was the prettiest baby they'd seen in twenty years up in Eskenazi general." 

The name pricks his ears. "You're from Indianapolis?" 

"Kind of." You tilt your head to the side. "I'm sorry, I don't know your name." 

"Eddie." He could applaud himself on how normal he sounds and how not normal he feels. 

"Eddie, I'm Y/N. D'you wanna come in for coffee? Or I can make you some breakfast? To say thank you for taking care of my Junie."

"Junie," he repeats, surprised. 

You shift from foot to foot. "She's a June baby. And she's getting kind of heavy these days, so. Breakfast?" 

He follows you up the steps and through the back door. 

"You can leave it open," you say over your shoulder. 

He catches an eyeful of your bathroom, an organised chaos that smells intoxicating, the rich scent of jasmine heavy in the humidity chased by something softer. Talcum powder, he thinks. 

You murmur something to Junie too quiet to hear and she rouses from her dozing, grizzling weakly. 

"It's breakfast time! Is that what you tried to come and find me for, some breakfast? So impatient," you scold her lightly, smiling all the while as you set her into a bright blue high chair with a big yellow duck with orange flippers printed on the cushioning.

You squeeze one of her feet and frown. "Your socks are wet. Did you go swimming in the grass?" 

Eddie leans against the doorway leading into the kitchen. He doesn't have any experience with kids. You make it look easy, pulling off her stained socks while she wiggles her protest and tickling the soles of her feet with the tip of your finger until she's happy again. 

You turn back to him, socks clutched in your hand. "I'm gonna make oatmeal. Is that something you…" 

"I'm an oatmeal fiend." 

You grin and do a lap to close the front door. "Sit down. I'll get you some coffee? I got milk and brown sugar." 

He throws himself into the seat next to the high chair with exaggerated enthusiasm. "Brown sugar? Sweetness, you're spoiling me." 

Junie laughs. Eddie pulls himself up into a proper sitting position and gawps at her exaggeratedly. "What's funny, little lady?" 

She giggles some more. Eddie leans his elbow on the tray of the high chair and pretends to glare at her. "I can already tell you're trouble." 

"She likes you." 

"Yeah?" he asks, looking at you over his shoulder. 

You're half obscured by cabinets as you poke your head out, an open sack of rolled oats in one hand and a small pan in the other. You nod happily and move to the sink. He can hear the sound of the faucet and the burner clicking on, the saucepan sliding over the stovetop. 

"I like you," he says to Junie quietly, rapping his knuckles on the tray. "But don't tell anyone, okay? I have a reputation." 

"So, uh, how long have you lived here?" you call, almost smothered by the rushing sound of oats tipping into hot water. 

Junie makes a funny face like she might sneeze. Eddie watches. "Since I was a kid." He's smiling as he talks, amazed when Junie starts to smile back. He nods his head gently up and down to encourage her. "Too long. Not that it's not nice here."

Junie looks like she agrees. 

"For sure, but..  not always where you picture yourself," you say tentatively. 

He hums his agreement. "Whatever though, right? A roof is a roof. Even when the roof is made of cardboard and corrugated metal. I mean, all things considered, this is a well kept vessel." 

He's not just trying to make you feel better – you really are making a go of it. There's not nearly as much clutter or decoration as his own home but it's twice as clean and every surface brags a clear affection – you fucking love your daughter. There's a framed photo of her as she looks now at the mantle without a single fingerprint on the glass, baby photos in smaller frames hang on the wall. 

Smallest of all, a photo of the two of you together. Your hands on her shoulders, your lips and nose pressed to her forehead. You're not looking at the camera, but Junie is, and she's exuberant. 

Toys, though few, are arranged neatly under the TV. It's really the type of clean that takes hours. He wonders how you'd ever make time for it. 

"You got a job?"  

"Yeah, I'm waitressing at Benny's?" You say it like a question. "The burger place?"

"Yeah, I know the one. Randolph Lane, near the laundromat. Does Junie go with you?" he asks. He cooes Junie's name and feels very happy when the girl in question smiles some more, reaching out with her hands. Eddie offers up the same palm she'd taken before and lets her squeeze his fingers in a surprisingly tight grip. "She looks like a working girl." 

"Benny said I could bring her with me until she starts daycare next week, so she really is a working girl." You giggle madly and Junie loves the sound, her chubby cheeks rounding as she smiles. 

"I knew it," Eddie whispers conspiringly. "You have the face for it." 

Junie laughs like something is truly hysterical and Eddie can't believe it, squeezing the small girl's smaller fingers in his and waving their joined hands together.

"She really likes you," you say, closer now. 

You set a steaming cup of coffee in front of him. He pulls his hand from Junie's and moves the hot mug away from the high chair though she'd never be able to reach it as you set your own mug and a pint of milk half-full across from him, the brown sugar you'd promised in a pink and orange ceramic dish with a lid that clinks as he pulls it off. 

You double back into the kitchen. This time you bring a baby bottle full of what he guesses is diluted juice and two teaspoons, handing him one with a quiet, "For you." 

"Why thank you," he drawls. 

He spoons a generous hill of crumbly brown sugar into his cup and swirls. 

"The oatmeal needs to soften. Is there anything you want with it? I've got lots of options," you tell him, pouring milk into your own mug. When you're done you and Eddie swap.

He thinks maybe you sound a little nervous and wonders if he's the first neighbour you've met. Or maybe you're still freaked out about Junie. 

He raises his eyebrows but doesn't look at you as he splashes milk into the dark recesses of his coffee, watching as it bursts back up to the surface and turns the drink a more acceptable brown. "What do you usually have?" 

"Junie gets peanut butter and blueberries." 

He tilts his head toward his shoulder just slightly and plants his elbows on the table, the rim of his mug held in tenuous fingertips. 

"What do you get?" he asks, thinking that if the baby gets such a sweet treat you must get something equally impressive. He thinks of raspberries and chia seeds, flakey sea salt and bitter dark chocolate. 

You blink. "What?" 

"What do you have, on your oatmeal?" He punctuates his question with a sip. 

"Salt. Sometimes raisins." 

You make a nice cup of coffee. Eddie holds it in both hands and leans into the table. "That's it?" 

You shrug. Junie starts to whimper about something Eddie doesn't understand. You reach out to hold her hand. "She loves blueberries. Don't you, Junie?"

"Blue," Junie says. 

You're smiling as you take another small spoonful of brown sugar. You lick the tip of your finger and dip it into the well of the spoon until a few grains are sticking to you and hold it up to Junie's lips. "She loves sugar, too, but toddlers aren't s'posed to have it. Or so they say." You smile as she sucks the sugar off before wiping your spit wet finger in your pants. 

Daughter appeased for a moment, you hold your chin in your palm and turn your attention to him. "Where do you work?" 

He imagines this is how a plant feels when the sun comes out. "The Hideout, for now. I'm a very essential and irreplaceable bus boy." He nods very seriously.

"What's after?" 

"Music." 

Your lips curl into an interested smile. "Music? You a singer?" 

"I have a great set of windpipes," he says agreeably, grinning. "But I'm a guitarist." 

"And you're in a band?" 

"I- I was. Yeah, we were good, too, but everybody graduated and our drummer skipped town. I just sub rhythm guitar for whoever wants me to." 

"At the Hideout?" 

"At the Hideout." He decides on his next words carefully. You could come see me play. Weak. You're welcome to come see it for yourself. Too strong? You're welcome to come by one night. Bring Junie. 

He's not asking you on a date; he's a new acquaintance extending an invitation for you to get out and see a new place. That's all it is. 

He opens his mouth to try and suddenly there's a loud clattering. Eddie flinches, blinks, finds that Junie has thrown her bottle of juice across the room. 

Eddie waits for you to maybe tell her off like some of the mom's he's seen at Bradley's. A glare, a hissing remark to be good. 

You reach over and your shirt rides up your back. Eddie averts his gaze guiltily.

You put the bottle back on the tray, giving him an apologetic grimace. "Sorry, Junie has recently discovered that every time she drops something I'll pick it up for her." 

"Smart Junie." 

The bottle falls to the floor again. "She's a genius." You don’t sound entirely pleased, picking the bottle up again and holding it just out of Junie's reach. You shake it up and down. "S'juice. You like juice," you try to reason with her.

Junie reaches for it. You purse your lips. "Be good," you say softly. 

Junie takes the bottle and shakes it. 

It's a small victory and still softens every feature. Your eyes squint, your bottom lip juts out a touch, your nostrils flare with a pleased inhale. 

"Thanks, junebug."

"Tanks," Junie says. 

"Thanks," you repeat, bubbly baby talk. "Thanks. Say thanks, Junie." 

Eddie watches you encourage her over his coffee. It's quiet, peaceful here in a way nowhere else in his life has ever been besides quiet Sunday mornings with his Uncle. There's only the sound of the gas stovetop burning and your happy, patient voice. 

Junie says "Tanks," a couple more times. You don't give up. When she finally says something that sounds almost like a "Thanks," you whip your gaze to his. 

"Did you hear that?" you ask. Your pride is evident. 

He puts down his half empty mug. "She said it." 

"She said it," you repeat, your shoulders moving in the tiniest happy dance he's ever seen. You stand up and take her face into delicate hands. "She's my smarty pants. Aren't you, baby?" 

You dot a kiss over her head and head back into the kitchenette. 

"Tanks," Junie says animatedly, running on an affection high. She accidentally knocks her bottle over.

"Thanks, Junie," Eddie corrects, righting it. 

He finds it easier to baby talk than he imagined. Being nice to little kids – that's easy. Especially as he gets older. When they hit the pre-teen mark is when he starts to steer clear, but even then he can't help doting on them sometimes. Like his club – idiots, annoying idiots, but his annoying idiots. He doesn't hold back with them. He doesn't feel like he's holding back now, either, it's just different. 

Baby's want love. Care and affection. 

And to pull Eddie's hair, apparently. 

Junie's reaching over the gap with a fierce look on her face. Eddie pulls his chair closer and decides to let her try it out. She hadn't given him any reason to worry before, and she doesn't now as she takes a chunk of his hair into her hand. She pulls very gently, likely more that her fingers have gotten caught in his messy curls than any maliciousness. 

"What's your fascination with my hair?" he asks her. 

In her own home Junie's very noisy. When he'd found her outside she hadn't done much besides whimper weakly. Now, she's a riot of gurgling and humming. 

"Are you a singer, Junie?" he asks. 

"She sings all the time! She loves the Muppet Babies on TV, but I- uh, I haven't been able to actually get cable, yet. But when I get paid next week…" You come back into view with two bowls in hand. "She'll be in her oils." 

Eddie says thanks as you put a bowl down in front of him. There's a smiley face there made up of berries with banana slices for eyes. He feels something crawling up his throat and has no idea what it is, and then something completely different when he sees your own bowl, a stretch of plain oatmeal with no delicious adornment. 

You leave and quickly return with a smaller bowl, a baby spoon and a jar of peanut butter.

"Do you want some?" you ask, opening the jar to push the baby spoon inside. "I would've just put it in anyway but then I worried you were allergic." 

You hand it off to Junie and she licks at it happily. 

"Sure, I'll have some. Where's your smiley face?" he asks. 

Your eyes widen slightly. Eddie's not academically inclined but he's never been stupid, and he sees it for what it is, something he's seen in himself and in every other poor kid who didn't bring lunch to school.

"I don't really like bananas," you say. 

Whether you're lying or not isn't something he needs to know.

"Well, you're gonna have to share the blueberries with me, I can't eat this much fruit. I got a hearty diet of chips and microwave oven dinners to uphold." 

Eddie shovels half of the smile into your bowl. You clutch your spoon in your hand like you want to protest, but no way is he gonna watch you miss out on nice things in your own home. 

You smile and don't say anything for a while, rubbing the edge of the bowl with your spoon, your thoughts somewhere else. 

Junie's food sits billowing steam in the middle of the table, which annoys the poor girl endlessly. She wiggles and murmurs and sucks at her empty spoon with a growing line between her brows. 

Eddie eats and feels much better when you finally start to eat your own meal, leaning back in his chair heavily to loll his head towards Junie. "Your mom makes amazing oatmeal. You're really missing out." 

You choke on a laugh and grab her spoon to load up with another small heap of peanut butter. "That is so cruel to lord over her,” you say. “I can't give it to her yet! It's scorching. She has a fragile mouth." 

"I'm sure." 

He picks one of his blueberries out of the bowl and offers it to Junie, who takes it slowly despite her previously rabid hunger 

More oatmeal eating. Eddie ends up giving the rest of his fruit to Junie, your generous dollops of peanut butter more than enough to enjoy the oatmeal. He might argue it doesn't need any adornment at all.

You stir peanut butter into Junie's bowl and wrestle the baby spoon out of her tight grip.

It's a process to watch. You scoop up oatmeal, blow on it until you're sure it's cool, and push it into Junie's mouth efficiently. There's a method to it, the way you lift the handle of the spoon so oatmeal doesn't drip straight back out of her mouth. When it does you scrape the lip gently against her chin to catch it before it ruins her shirt. 

It starts to rain. Hard not to notice, a light drizzle opens and sprays down against the windows and for a moment there's no reaction. Then, gasping, you drop Junie's bowl back onto the table in stress. 

"Shit, the laundry. Are you okay to watch her please? Sorry. I'll be five seconds," you say, already heading for the back door. 

"Sure.” He sounds about as startled as he feels. 

The back door shushes open and your feet dip down the steps. Junie is not very pleased with her breakfast getting put on pause, her face growing as unpleasant as the weather outside.

"Mommy," she says, unhappy and loud.

Eddie doesn't think about it as he picks up her bowl. It's more a pulse of feeling than a thought. Feed her and she won't cry. 

He blows on a spoonful of oatmeal with likely too much vigour. 

Junie's still complaining as he holds it in front of her face. If she's surprised to be fed by somebody who isn't her mom she doesn't show it, her sticky face growing suddenly slack as she realises her oatmeal is back in play. Her lips part.

He feeds her oatmeal, does a very bad job, and tries to gather what's escaped with the spoon as Junie waves her hands around and pokes at spilled food on the white tray in front of her. By the time you come back damp and breathless with the cold chasing your heels he's successfully managed to feed her what was left of her breakfast. He's embarrassed to be caught but tries not to show it. 

"You okay?" he asks, looking you up and down amicably.

"S'only a little rain." You push the laundry basket onto the sofa and smile sheepishly. "You didn't have to do that." 

"And have the precious little lady starve?" 

"Starve!" you repeat, a feigned incredulousness to your tone. 

"She was giving me the puppy dog's," he says, shrugging as he takes the spoon out of Junie's wet fingers. 

She whines for a second at his robbery but seems to realise she's full, picking her juice back up to shake some more. 

You exhale through an open-mouthed smile.

"Thank you. She's gonna love you now, she loves anyone who gives her food. She's a real cadge at the diner. Never seen so much free cherry pie in my life," you remark, turning to what looks like your diaper station. You wade through a mess of things he doesn't recognise and pull out a packet of baby wipes. 

"And her mom? Is her affection so easily garnered?" 

"Takes more than a cherry pie to win me over," you joke, sitting down in your chair in front of the high chair with a soft sigh. You pull out one of the wipes and take Junie's wrists into your hand, wiping her fingers clean methodically. "I need at least a squirt of whipped cream on top before I consider any fondness." 

He chuckles and you laugh too. It's short-lived, your lips pursed as you wipe Junie's face clean. She hates every second of it, writhing in her chair like she's being tortured as you clean a mess of brown and blue from her round chin. 

"Sorry, I'm sorry. Done, done," you say, holding your hands up in surrender. 

She pouts. 

"Don't be like that," you scold her mildly. "Look how lovely and clean you are now! Eddie can see how pretty you look again." 

You slide your hands under her armpits and pull her out of the highchair, groaning. 

"Oh, there you go. Where's Mr. Bear gone, baby? You can play sticky bricks with him so I can get ready for work." 

Work. Work. Where Eddie was going. Where Eddie is very likely supposed to be. He checks the time and his eyes flare, standing up abruptly. You turn  toward him with Junie anchored on your hip, both wearing matching expressions of curiosity.

"Sh-“ Don’t swear around babies. “I'm sorry, I got somewhere to be that I totally spaced on."

You blink. "That's okay." 

"It was sick to meet you," he says. 

You blink some more and walk to the front door, pulling it open as an understanding smile curls your lips. "Super 'sick,'" you say, bemused. "Thank you so much for bringing Junie back. Really, I mean, if anything ever happened to her." You don't finish because it's obvious, your bright tone underlain with a burning fear.

He walks sideways out of the door and down one step, knowing he's super fucking late but not caring too much as he says, "Listen, I can bring you a deadbolt." 

"You could?" 

"Sure thing. Make sure this little lady," and he says it chidingly, directing his gaze at Junie who goes all shy and smiley from the attention, "doesn't go on anymore morning adventures. Especially without her shoes." 

"That would be… that would be awesome, Eddie. Thank you." 

He waves his hand and descends the last of the steps. "I'll come around tomorrow?" 

It's a Saturday today. He's not surprised that you're both working the weekend, but he is surprised that you're working Sunday too when you say, "Would after five be okay?" 

"That's more than okay. Bye, trouble," he says to Junie, bringing a hand up to shield his hair from the drizzling rain. 

You look lovely on the stoop, fresh-faced and in your lounge clothes. You tug Junie up your chest and take her hand into yours. "Say 'bye', Junie," you tell her, waving her hand. "Bye! Bye-bye, Eddie." 

"Bye Junie!" he calls, waving at the little girl with great fervour.

"Bye!" Junie calls back. 

You both grin. 

-

You're super tired from work and exhausted from an upset daughter. Even now Junie fusses. She hasn't been getting her naps because you can't set her down anywhere that isn't the wooden high chair in Benny's restaurant, which is months of a routine disrupted. 

You're not mad at her – the opposite, you feel awful to mess her up like this, awful that she's so upset. Trying your very best to calm her down, you're swaying her from side to side in the middle of your messy living room with your hand patting a steady rhythm into the narrow breadth of her back. 

"I know, baby, I know. I'm sorry. You'll get your nap tomorrow, I promise," you say, trying for softness and missing, desperation eating at your tone.

You try not to have a heart attack at the thought of her first day at the new daycare. I can't think about it, you tell yourself, moving your thoughts onto the Sunday checklist. 

Junie's been fed. Unfortunately, she's the kind of wound up where the only solution you can think of is to get her in bed. If you can get her down soon she'll sleep until maybe 4AM. Not ideal; you'd prefer she slept later tonight and woke up at a healthier 6AM with you. When she does wake, no matter the time, you'll have her eat something substantial for breakfast and take a much needed bath. 

Laundry, bills, cleaning, it all runs through your head. Junie's hair, her snacks for daycare, her clothes. Does she have clean socks for the week? Does she have a vest top for tomorrow? 

Her crying grows loud and you can't think of anything except how overwhelmed you feel. 

"It's okay, baby, just go to sleep." You shush her softly.

Somebody knocks the door. 

You and Junie are similarly nonplussed. Her crying ceases for a second and her head turns in tandem with yours. 

"Oh. Oh, you know who that is, huh?" you ask her, making for the door while her cries are still on pause. "That's our new friend Eddie. You remember Eddie?" 

You pull open the door. There he is on the porch with a bag and a plastic case, wearing a shirt with short sleeves. You realise for the first time that he has tattoos. 

"Hi," you say. 

"Hi. Hi, Junie," he adds, looking at her tear-stained face. "Have I come at a bad time?" 

"No, you're good. You're great, thank you for doing this." You lean back against the door and Eddie skirts past you. That close, you can smell the heavy sage and sandalwood of his cologne and see the beauty mark under his ear, dark hair tucked behind the shell. 

He stops in the middle of the room and puts down the plastic case. "I'm gonna try to do it. Try being the essential word, and I make absolutely no promises." He makes a small cross with his hands leading out and the bag falls from the crook of his elbow to his wrist. 

It sounds like more than a deadbolt. Eddie sees your gaze and jumps into theatrics that hook Junie's attention straight away, ruffling through the bag. He pulls out a VHS tape and then a second, one old and one newer. 

"For your consideration." He presents them grandly against his check, his eyes flitting from your daughter to the tapes in wait of her reaction. 

Junie has no clue what a VHS is. She thinks the TV is magic. 

You swoop in and gasp loudly for Junie's sake, having identified his proffered tapes immediately. 

"You know what that is?" you ask her, pointing at the slipcover. "Muppet Babies! There's Kermit and Fozzy and Rowlf and Gonzo." You touch your finger to each puppet in turn as you reel off their names. 

Junie looks up at you like maybe she remembers, so you start to sing the theme tune for her. "Muppet Babies, they make their dreams come true. Muppet Babies, they'll do the same for you!"

The song jogs her memory. She starts her nonsense singing in a valiant but juvenile effort to recreate the music, dancing in your arms. 

You sing it again for her as you lower her to the floor. She doesn't whine to be picked back up, a great sign that her mood has turned, instead walking to the TV, a small silver combi with a bubble screen. She raises her arms up high and starts hitting the TV stand with her palms flat. 

Eddie looks to you as if he's checking that it's alright before crossing the small space and turning on the TV, your relieved smile more than enough encouragement. He's careful not to step on Junie's feet, surprised when she walks into his leg. She grabs onto his jeans and looks up at him with wide eyes. 

Eddie visibly softens. 

It's kind of crazy to see him, this metalhead dude covered in dark tattoos and wearing safety pinned jeans looking down at a toddler with nothing but patience in his eyes.

He drops his hand very lightly to her tiny back and pushes in the tape. "Hi, sweetheart."

"Hi," Junie says. 

She doesn't let him touch her for very long, falling to her knees to pull out the bin of stickle bricks hiding underneath as Eddie fast forwards through the adverts and then turns up the volume until the Muppet Babies theme is echoing against the wood panelled walls.. 

Junie's eyes dart up the screen, two bricks held in her hands and a great smile on her face. 

"Where did you find that?" you ask, in awe. 

He steps over her and comes back to your side, crossing his arms over his stomach with a smug smile. "Not telling. Ruins the magic. Got The Bugs Bunny Show for when she gets bored of Miss Piggy." 

You smooth down your rumpled black work skirt and smile shyly. "I can pay you back… Next week." 

He looks lost for words for a split-second. It clears fast, and he says, "Tell you a secret. I have a friend down at good old Family Video that let me have 'em for nothing." 

"Yeah?" you ask, unsure. You worry he's lying to make you feel better. 

"Uh-huh. Friends in high places," he brags sarcastically. 

You turn to watch Junie smile for the first time in hours and have to scrub your face to hide how shattered you feel. It's been a really long week. Your relief is a physical thing, a hand on your shoulder. You feel yourself deflate. 

"You okay?" Eddie asks. 

You press the backs of your hands to your cheeks. "Thank you. Really. You saved me." 

"Yeah?" he asks, dialling up the drama. He lifts his chin high. "Would you say, oh, I don't know, that I'm your hero?" 

It's his clear joking tone that saves him. If you'd detected even a smidge of genuine expectancy from him you likely would've shoved him out the door. 

"Mm-hm. My hero," you croon, both of you grinning. 

He turns back to the grocery bag and pulls out a bottle of juice. "I was gonna bring coke but I didn't want Junie to feel left out." 

You move to the cabinets and can't believe how nice he is. You get a little warning stab, that feeling of if it's too good to be true… and shake it off. Maybe it'll turn out that way and you're not gonna do anything stupid to chance it, but he seems like a normal guy. A good neighbour who wants to be your friend.

You're in dire need of one of those. 

"What was wrong with the little lady?" 

You pour juice into a glass for him, less into a glass for you, and a half-inch into a clean baby bottle. "I can't get her down for a nap when she's with me at work and it really caught up to her today. She-" You yawn so wide it hurts your cheeks, covering your face with your arm. 

Eddie looks up from where he's kneeling in front of the open plastic case he'd brought with him. "Caught up to you too, I think." 

"A little." You smile ruefully. 

He holds something red and black in the air. "This'll wake you up," he says. 

It's a small hand drill. He presses down on the trigger twice in quick succession and Junie lies down on the floor to look backwards at him. 

“Woah,” you say.

Junie rolls onto her knees and then stands. She's in that stage of walking where she can mostly do it but has a great tendency to trip over anything that might be in her way, and she stumbles as she approaches. Eddie moves the drill away from her and opens the case wide to show her his array of drill bits. 

"How'd you like them, Junie?" he asks. "Pretty cool, huh?" 

"What do they all do?" you ask. 

"I don't have the foggiest," he says, grinning up at you. "And I really wanted to be cool and pretend that I did. I was going to, but you asked me that and now we're sunk." 

Junie pokes at all the silver metal and turns away, bored, to return to her cartoons. 

"I'm sorry," you say, not sorry at all. 

"You should be." He shakes his hair out. "Can't say woodshop was something I ever paid much attention to in school." 

You squat down beside him where he's counting the screws out for the deadbolt he'd acquired for you, your small cup of juice in hand. The deadbolt isn't new but it's clean of rust and that's all you care about. It doesn't need to do anything besides work. 

"It can't be too hard though, right?" you ask quietly. There isn't any need to talk loudly this close to him and your head is starting to hurt from a long day. 

"I hope not." He passes you the drill. "Hold onto that?" 

He stands and you follow, the deadbolt frame in hand. He turns to your front door and holds it up to the frame, far from the door knob. "Where'd you want this thing?" 

"Wherever you think is best," you say quickly. 

"Got a pencil?" 

You don't. You're ashamed to offer him a cyan blue crayon from Junie's arts and crafts. He takes it with a gleeful smile and uses it to draw a line under the deadbolt's two parts to make sure they fit together once they've been drilled in. 

Junie starts fussing and you squint at her, trying to guess what's wrong. You leave the drill on the small table by the door.

"Junie, you want some dinner?" you ask, walking up behind her where she's stood watching TV. You rub her shoulder and lean over her, your face upside down in front of the TV. "I don't think you're hungry. Let's change that diaper." 

She certainly doesn't want you to. You turn to Eddie where he's making clumsy crosses on the door in place of the screws, his brows furrowed. 

"I'm gonna go get her some jammies," you say, and then wince. "Pajamas." 

"Jammies," he repeats. You hate how happy he looks. 

A hot flush washes over you. "She's the only one I talk to." 

Again, that awful softening of his features. He's got the biggest, brownest eyes you've ever seen. "Why don't you get changed, too? I'm gonna start drilling." He waves the drill and you don't like how loosely he holds it. 

"Please don't ruin the door." 

A wolfish smile. "No promises." 

You leave all the doors open. Eddie's nice but you're not stupid – if he plans on kidnapping her or something evil this is the perfect time. Though, you suppose, he could’ve abducted her when he found her outside.

You shed your uniform and pull on a pair of loose fitting pants. You can't find a clean t-shirt, probably because you own a grand total of three, and you get distracted when the drill starts whirring and Junie screams. 

You know in your heart that it's just a baby scream rather than a sign that she's in pain and you still can't let it lie, rushing down the hall. You can see her, see that she's uninjured, only looking at the drill.

She's excited. 

"You like that?" Eddie asks her. "Is that funny?" 

Junie claps her hands together and reaches for the drill. 

Eddie frowns. "Sorry, you can't have it. I gotta finish the door for your mommy. Why don't you build me something with your bricks, yeah? Something big." 

Junie reaches up for the drill again. 

"I can't, Junie, it's too dangerous. Don't want you to get all mutilated." You wrinkle your nose at what he's saying. He turns the drill towards his chest and touches the drill bit to his collar. "Look, see this? It's not for little hands." 

Junie steps over the case of things on the ground and leans against Eddie's legs, insistent. 

Your mouth drops open as he starts the drill and puts on some fake anguished screams. "Ah! Oh my god, it's eating me!" 

Junie starts laughing at his fake screaming. Her eyes widen, her hands clinging to a rip in his jeans. 

"Think that's funny, do you? Heartless girl. Where's your juice gone, hmm?" He holds the drill behind his back and points to her bottle on the side of the couch where you'd left it. "You want that?" 

He goes over her head to grab it and encourage it into her hands. "Yummy," he says, his eyes moving to where you stand in the door past the kitchen, eyebrows jumping up. "Everything okay?" 

"Screaming," you say, awkward in your breathlessness. 

Eddie's eyes stay resolutely on your face. "She's okay. The drill is exciting. You're shirtless, you know." 

You spin on your heel and back into your room. Your heart a jack hammer, you sieve through clothes until a rumpled t-shirt that smells of deodorant but not sweat appears and shrug into it. 

Junie has a much better selection of clothes. You pick out some matching pajamas for her and a thick pair of socks and tuck them under your arm with her changing matt.

When you return this time, Eddie's drilling a third and fourth hole into the wall next to the door and Junie's watching with the teat of her bottle in her mouth, chewing but not drinking. You lay her mat down on the floor and grab her with a big sigh. 

"Alright, Junie, let's get you all fresh for bed." 

You change her diaper and she doesn't misbehave too much, Eddie's general presence a distraction. Soon she's sitting in your lap, dressed in new pajamas and smelling of talcum powder and baby creams, her wool socks soft as you rub your thumbs into the instep of her feet. 

You sit on the floor watching Eddie drill the screws into the deadbolt frame. Junie slouches against you, her head digging into your chest and her tired arms struggling to hold up her bottle. You hold it up for her, watching Eddie's hands and his arms, how they move. Muscle and ligament tense under the skin, tattoos warping, his bats propelled into flight. 

"I like your tattoos," you say. 

Eddie stops drilling to look over his shoulder. "What?" 

"I- I like your tattoos." 

He lights up. His back straightens out and he turns back to the lock, giving the last screw a final good twist. The door makes a groaning protest and then it's quiet. Just Muppet Babies, Junie's soft suckling and the compliment you'd given adrift in the room. 

"They're pretty sweet," he allows. You can hear how pleased he is though he won't look at you. 

"They're cool. Have you had them long?" 

Eddie starts to tell you all about them, fiddling with something you can't see on the door. 

Junie decides that she doesn't want to be sitting anymore and turns in your arms, hands coveting your neck. You lift her into your chest and rub circles in her back, the weight of her emptying bottle on your shoulder. Soon, her small arms go lax. There's a rush of air as her lips open from the teat and the bottle tumbles to the rug with a dull thud. 

He pulls open the door.  Cool air rushes in. He closes it, slides the deadlock into place, and then pulls hard to make sure it won’t come free. 

It’s solid. 

He laughs triumphantly and Junie stirs. You pat her back and make some quiet shushing sounds and Eddie turns around, a slip of his teeth on show as he grimaces. 

"Sorry," he whispers. 

You shake your head. "You're amazing. Thank you." 

If his cheeks weren't pink they are now. He leans into it, hiding one cheek behind his hair. "Stop," he says, exaggerated. 

"I'll make it good, I swear," you whisper, covering Junie's ear with your hand. "I'll make you the best dinner ever. I'm the best at Kraft's mac and cheese, or-" You flush hot, realising that mac and cheese might not be the treat you think it is to him. "Or we can order in," you say, doing the maths in your head. You can't afford it, but maybe Benny-

"Kraft's mac and cheese? You're spoiling me." 

You beam. 

Eddie cleans up the small mess he's made. You're afraid to move quite yet in case Junie's not really sleeping, though she's a dead weight in your arms, and you watch Eddie walk through the room with both caution and ease. 

"Oh, you don't have to do that,” you say. 

He folds the baby blanket in his hands and puts it back on the armrest of the couch before moving on to the stickle bricks, not looking at you as he says, "Just earning my wage, doll." 

You can't watch him clean your home. You wrap a tight arm around Junie and rise to your feet. Eddie sees your approach and his movements grow faster, rushing to clean up the mess before you can stop him. You don't know who starts first but you're both laughing as you grab his wrist. 

"Stop!" you whisper, mock-furious. "Stop cleaning." 

"Sh, you'll wake the baby." 

You shake your head in bemusement. "I'm gonna go set her down. Then mac and cheese." 

"Take your time. Lots of things for me to clean up out here," he says with a mock sincerity. 

You drift down the hall and turn back to sneak a glance at him. He's pulled Muppet Babies out of the TV and is rewinding it around his thumb, a small smile on his lips as he hums the theme tune to himself. 

With Junie finally in bed for the night you take a quick peek at yourself in the mirror on your nightstand and cringe. You look tired. You give yourself a big smile and feel better; a smile makes even your most exhausted features look pretty. 

You slap on some chapstick. You know, to counter your dry lips. It shines. 

Slipping out of the bedroom, you close the door as quietly as you can manage. 

Eddie's standing at the end of the hallway. You expect to feel scared. Instead, you’re perplexed.

"Hi?" you whisper.

"Can I use the bathroom?" 

You laugh. "Yeah. Course you can." 

You have to pass each other in the hallway. His hip bumps your hip, a short rub of fabric. 

You're still thinking about it when he finds you behind the stove, half asleep with your face in your hand. It's the kind of tired where your eyes keep slipping shut, not aching so much as blurry with a heavy head. 

"You okay?" he asks quietly, sitting down at your cramped table. 

You hum. "Hm. Just tired." You give him a guilty smile as you tip the bigger portion into his bowl.  "Sorry. Mac and cheese with bacon bits for you, my hero." 

"Thanks, sweetheart." 

The fatigue ebbs a little. 

Eddie’s easy to talk to. He makes you laugh. When you say goodnight, he looks back over his shoulder twice.

-

It's a funny coincidence that Eddie sees you Friday night. He never grocery shops on a Friday but he knowd when his uncle gets home in the morning there won’t be anything for him to eat after his shift. He takes a sharp turn towards the TV dinners and there you are at the bottom of the aisle with Junie in the seat of the cart. You're talking to her like you'd talk to anyone, though you didn't sound so saccharine sweet over mac and cheese. Close, but not quite. 

"What do you want?" you're asking. "Ham and pineapple or mini pepperoni?" 

Junie holds her hands out for both boxes. You let her take them and the two of you puzzle over the pizzas, heads bent together. 

"Pepperoni, right?" you ask her, quietly enough that he almost misses it. 

"Peroni," Junie agrees. You let her keep the box and put the other one back in the freezer. 

"Pepperoni," you correct, absentminded. 

"Peroni." 

"Pepper-roni." You sound it out slow, looking at a scrap of paper in your hand. 

"Pepper."

"You'll get there. Do you think we need shampoo this week?" You start jovial, but quickly lose your sprightliness. "Maybe I can put some water in the bottle and just… shake it up. No, we definitely need it." 

Eddie watches you look over the cart. He knows exactly what you're thinking, What can I put back?

"Hey!" he calls, walking a little faster to try and hide how he'd been listening. 

You turn on the spot and smile as soon as you see him. Junie, to his delight, is even more excited. 

"Hi," she says, hands thudding along the cart's handlebar. 

"Hi, Junie. How's my favourite neighbour?" 

She babbles. 

"I'm psyched to hear it. How about you, sweetheart?" he asks, parking his cart next to yours. 

You're looking very tired. Still in your work uniform with a hoodie thrown over the top and your smart flats swapped for a pair of converse with the laces undone. You pinch your cheeks up into a big smile. He guesses that with a baby you've gotten very used to hiding how you feel.

You don't hesitate to lay it down thickly. "I'm really good." 

"Yeah? How's Junie liking daycare?" 

You cover your hands with your sleeves. "She loves it. Loves napping again. She-" You frown. "She doesn't like the mornings. Dropping her off. But after." You nod with a tentative smile "Yeah, it's nice to pick her up." 

"Uh-huh. How's work?" 

"What?" 

"How's work for you? How's Benny's?" he prods. 

"You're asking me about work?" 

"Why wouldn't I be?" 

"Nobody ever asks about work," you say. 

You can't look at him as soon as you've said it, your eyes moving back to the grocery list in hand. It's an old envelope, and it crinkles under your squeezing fingers. 

"Sorry," you mutter. 

Eddie bites back a frown. "Well, I'm asking." 

He holds out his hand for the list and you give it without thinking. He adores your handwriting the second he sees it, scanning the list for anything in this aisle.

"Hey, tell me about it," he prompts at your silence, pushing his cart. It takes you a millisecond to catch up, but when you do you're near frenetic. 

"Well, I messed up like, five different orders today. And when I had Junie it was like they didn't care 'cos she's cute, but now she's not there they get pretty angry pretty quickly." 

"She's like a magic item." 

"Right," you say, sounding like you have no idea what he's talking about. "She was my lucky charm. 'N now when I mess up I gotta practically beg some of those guys to leave Benny alone. He's too nice to me already."

"Are they all terrible?"

"No, the regulars, guys in there everyday, they're all great. They're too generous. Benny's too generous. I know he's fluffing up my tip jar. I hate that. I don't want him-" You flinch. It's strange. Eddie takes a small step closer to you and waits for you to continue, but you've lost all steam. "Sorry, I don't mean to weigh you down with all of this." 

"I asked. And I get it." 

"I don't want him to feel sorry for me." 

"Hey," he says, reaching out for a box of cereal on your list. He presents it to Junie and shakes it around, "who said anything about all that?" 

"No, I know, I just-" 

Junie smiles her approval and he chucks the cereal in your cart with a rattle of metal. "I'm not trying to make you feel worse, I swear. I get it. I- You said he's a nice guy, right? So maybe he doesn't feel sorry for you at all. Maybe he just likes you. He owns that place. I don't think it hurts him to put an extra twenty in your tips." 

Junie reaches up. You turn to her and lean down until your face is a few inches from hers. "I wish I didn't need it," you say quietly. 

"I know." 

Junie puts her hand on your cheek. 

You sniff, not crying or anything like that, only breathing. "Thanks, Junie," you murmur. 

"Mommy," she says. She sounds a little concerned. 

"Let's go get something yummy, baby." You stroke her face lightly. "I'm thinking canned peaches. Or pears, um. Fruit cocktail. And condensed milk," you add, sounding unsure.

"I got a can or two of that laying around," Eddie says, because he knows that shit is expensive. "Wayne hates sweet stuff." 

"I couldn't-" 

"You let me come over for one of those mini pizzas and I'll bring the dessert," he says, like he knows you'll say yes. He doesn't know. Eddie Munson’s an expert in pushing his luck. 

Junie starts clapping her hands together. 

"I think she's decided," you say. 

-

You're terrible with a can opener. You whine to yourself as you struggle to get open the second can. Eddie had insisted on peaches and pears and fruit cocktail, because he wanted to try them all apparently. And then some dramatic speech about little kids getting spoiled.

You can hear him now in the living room with Junie. They're laughing in a way that you're worried about, that guilty, hushed giggling that raises your hackles. 

"Shush," Eddie says, faux-angry, "your mom's gonna hear." 

"Shush," she repeats with much more enthusiasm. 

"You shush! Look, don't do that, Junie, you're gonna get it tangled in your hair," he says. 

You carry the can and can opener with you into the living room. Something about tangled hair gets your heart racing. 

"Eddie, please don't let her get stickies in her hair," you say quickly. 

"They're called stickles," he says, dropping back onto his hands, head over his shoulder to give you a bright-eyed smile. 

"I know what they're called. Junie can't say stickles." 

"Stickles," she says. 

"She couldn't when I got them," you amend. 

He's up quicker than you can really take in, hands extended. "Let me do it," he says. 

He works the can out of your fingers. It's more contact than you've had with somebody who wasn't your daughter in a very long time and it leaves you shell-shocked. Eyes on his nice hands, bigger than yours with thicker fingers and his riot of rings. He presses the can to his chest and hooks the opener, peeking between it and you intermittently. 

"Go see what we made for you," he encourages. "I'll do it." 

His arm brushes yours as he moves to the kitchen and that's worse than his fingers. You rub where he'd touched and drop down on your knees next to Junie, looking over the stickle bricks with a smile. It's a heart, poorly construed and of tens of colours. It falls apart when she tries to pick it up so you help her remake it, cooing. 

"Thanks, baby. This is for me, huh? You're so sweet." Your voice drops to a murmur. "My sweet girl. Wanna cuddle?" 

You open your arms out and she doesn't seem very interested. "Please?" you ask, vying for her waist. 

She lets you pull her into your lap. When you actually start to hug her she does her lovely melting thing that she always does, a floppy fish in your arms but with tiny squeezing hands. You giggle at her antics and lift her up so her face falls into your neck. 

"Thanks for my heart, Junebug." She snuggles her head into your neck, hair squished to your skin. "I love you," you whisper, rubbing her back. 

"The works," Eddie announces grandly as he appears, two bowls in hand.

"Eddie, that's too much for her." 

"She's a growing girl." 

"A growing girl with a tiny tummy," you say turning her around in your arms. "Tell you what, you have that one," you point to the biggest one, "and we'll share that one." 

"How about you share the big one?" he asks, though it hardly sounds like a question. He sits down and places the bowl in her lap. 

You grab the spoon before she can and stir up some of the fruits. "Wow, look at this! You gonna say thanks? Thanks Eddie.”

She doesn’t say thanks — her mouth is too far open to form words. You make quick work of shovelling fruit and condensed milk inside, chilled enough that she shivers in your arms. 

“Yeah, that’s good,” you say agreeably.

She gets enthusiastic enough to take the spoon and you let her, even when she totally mauls the food, eating so loudly that Muppet Babies becomes inaudible. 

Eddie eats slowly. You can feel his gaze. “You’re not gonna have any?” he asks. 

You’d felt it coming. Your answer is clumsy anyways. “No, I will. I just… I always have her leftovers,” you say, sheepish. 

He stands up. 

You’re gonna ask why when Junie tips fruit down your legs, cold on the naked skin of your ankle. You dab at your pajamas with a small sigh. There’s no point in getting upset. She’s a messy eater but they all are at this age. Honestly, it’s nice to see her attempting to use a spoon rather than her hands. 

“You’re doing a good job,” you say. You’re not totally sure who you’re talking to. 

“Tada!” Eddie cheers, wielding a third bowl of fruit. “Swap with me?”

“What?”

“You think Junie’ll come sit in my lap?” he asks. He doesn’t wait, really. He holds out the bowl and you take it on impulse as he sits down heavily. 

He takes her into his lap with a cheerful groan. “Oh, c’mere, sweetheart. There’s enough milk on your chin to bake a cake.” He wipes it with his hand. He doesn’t so much as wince at the mess. 

You stare. He eases the spoon out of her grip and scrapes up a half-spoonful of what looks like pear and feeds it to her with the same kind of deftness of hand that’d taken you months to learn. 

He can feel your gaze, evidently, because he looks up. There, you catch it, that slither of insecurity he hides well. 

You pick up your bowl and start eating. It’s the nicest thing you’ve eaten in almost two years. You’d die for Junie. You’d do worse. But to eat, to know she’s fed — gorged — to know you can sit here and eat this whole bowl of fruit all to yourself and you won’t have to put it down, that’s heaven. It’s better, because you never let yourself have anything nice if you can help it. 

The fruit turns to a lump in your throat and you swallow it, sniffling. Your lashes grow heavy with unshed tears and you keep your gaze resolutely on your dessert. When was the last time you had something this nice all to yourself? When was the last time somebody ever went out of their way to be this nice?

It’s a small gesture and a huge one. A tear dribbles down your cheek. You lick it away and keep on eating. 

-

Eddie starts to come around every Friday. It’s a good deal; you make dinner and he makes dessert. After that first time he makes it his mission to give you heaping bowls too much to eat most of the time. Soon, he’s coming a few days a week, not always long, sometimes until the late hours, though you tell him desserts are a Friday only occasion. He complies grudgingly. 

You make your first friend in years, and it’s so sweet you don’t know what to do with yourself. 

Or what possesses you to offer to cut his hair. 

Eddie's sitting on the couch with Junie, his big thigh to her little one and a picture book spread between them whilst you clean the kitchen. He's not reading to her – she's trying to read to him. She can't read, of course, but she can remember some of the words in relation to the pictures. She pokes at the blue cat and says blue. She pokes at the blue dog and says blue. She also points at the red cat and says blue. It's a learning curve. 

Eddie gives corrections and encouragements just as you would. You smile at him from behind your cup of water. 

"He's red, sweetheart," he murmurs, arm around her shoulder to hold the book's edges. "Red cat." 

"Red cat," she repeats with enough accuracy to make you choke on your water. 

Eddie gasps almost as loud as you do. "Right! Red cat! You're so smart, junebug, I can't believe it," he praises, squeezing her shoulder. His gaze meets yours and he smiles. 

You send him back your sweetest smile. If he wasn't always so nice to you you'd like him anyway because of how he treats Junie, like she's the fucking sun. 

She gets so excited when other people are happy that she starts laughing, standing up and trampling all over his legs to give him a hug. She's given him half hugs, she's fallen asleep by his side and loves to pet his hair, but this is a proper, tactile hug. Her arms wind around his neck with purpose and as soon as his surprise has faded he brings his arms up to hug her in turn, laughing delightedly. 

"You're such a smarty-pants," he praises, rubbing her back with a boyish brashness. 

She squeals as he squeezes her, his fingers digging into her ribs. Never cruel, only tickling her. She eats up every second of it and buries her face in his neck, laughing her wound up baby laugh that always brings a smile to your face. 

"Ooh, she's so smart. First blue, then red. Next you'll be saying indigo, and vermillion, and-" 

He cuts off when Junie gets one of her nails caught in his hair. She jolts and whines like it hurts and he goes rigid. You move forward to play mediator but he's already pulling her away gently and making small shushing sounds. "Chill out," he chides lightly, "I got it. Here." He pulls the hair from under her fingernail and rubs the pad of his thumb over her hand. "Sorry, I'm sorry," he apologises, pouting at her scowl. He envelops her hand in his and waves it around. "Forgive me?" 

She doesn't learn her lesson, pushing her hands back into his hair, probably less kind than what’s ideal. Eddie doesn't flinch. 

You sit on the armrest gingerly. "Can I ask you something?"

Eddie looks over Junie’s head. "What's that?" 

"Have you always had long hair?" 

He doesn't balk. "No, of course not. I fu-" He clears his throat. "My mom was the best, and I fit in just like everybody else growing up. When I ended up with Wayne I was-" He smiles. It's the kind of rueful grimace that says, You didn't ask for this.

You smile encouragingly.

He drops his gaze to Junie, worming his arms around her in a loose hug as she continues to play with his hair. "I was mad about everything, and I remember him asking when I wanted to get my hair trimmed and I said ‘never’. Took a few years for it to grow past the awkward stage," he bares his teeth and nods toward his shoulder, as if allowing his past misdemeanour. "But now I'd say it looks pretty sweet." 

"I love your hair," you say. 

Eddie beams. "You don't think it's too long?" 

Emboldened by his reaction, you slip off of the armrest to sit next to him, turning in until your knees touch. Junie, loyal as she is, climbs straight into your lap with a babble. 

You pat her back with one hand and raise the other cautiously for permission. Eddie flares his eyes wide, as if to say, You want to? Go on. 

You take a lock of his hair between your fingers like Junie had moments before. "I like it like this." 

"But?" 

You look at the ends, an inch of limpness where the rest curls. "You haven't had it cut since you were a kid?" 

"Maybe not that long, but it's been a while. I do it myself sometimes." He gestures to his bangs. He speaks quietly. A rarity though not unknown for him to be so hushed. 

You tuck the curl you'd been examining behind his ear carefully. 

"Do you think my hair looks good?" you ask. 

"Sh- Sorry, of course I do. I swear I was gonna-"

You shake your head, laughing. "Not like that. What I mean is, I cut my own hair. I cut Junie's, too, and I could do yours if you wanted me to." 

He goes quiet. 

"Only if you wanted. I know it's a lot of trust, so-" 

"Would you do it now?" 

You hold Junie's head away from yours to prevent a loving headbut. "Right now?" 

"I'm in dire need." 

He throws his big brown puppy dog eyes your way and you couldn't say no if you wanted to. 

You explain how he needs to get it wet first and how the shower head in the bathroom doesn't detach. "It's, like, built into the wall." 

"I could go home, come back?" he suggests. 

"I can do it over the sink?" 

-

Eddie can't remember the last time somebody washed his hair for him. He knows there must've been a time, some place in his life where his mom or dad had done it for him. He thinks that, if he'd asked, Wayne would've tried it once or twice growing up, but now Eddie's most definitely at the age where having his hair washed is a foreign luxury. 

And it does feel luxurious.

It shouldn't; the sink basin is very small as they tend to be in the trailer kitchenettes – small sink, small stove, small small small – and Eddie has to crane his neck. Already the space between his shoulder blades aches from being bent over, and he can't breathe well, smothered by steam. 

But your hands. One shields his eyes from run off, a gesture unnecessary and far from lost on him, while the other massages shampoo into his scalp. He'd been surprised when you started because you hadn't mentioned washing his hair, and he'd said, "You don't have to do that." 

You'd hummed. "Well, it's kind of a waste not to." 

That was that. 

Your nails scratch lightly against his scalp and if his eyes weren't already closed they would've fluttered shut. He nibbles his lip and tries very hard not to show outwardly how nice it feels. Your left upper arm rubs against his back as you scrub at his roots, your right soaking wet beside his face, covering his eyes uselessly. He doesn't mention it. All this touching, he doesn't want it to end.

Your proximity honest-to-God sets him on fire. Your body pressed to his is a flame over his ribs. 

"Maybe we shouldn't cut it at all," you say, stroking wet bangs away from his forehead. "It's soooo long." 

"Can’t do it?" he teases.

"Keep your eyes closed, okay? I'm gonna rinse." 

It's a comforting process. You dip your cup into the water. It fills with a wet glug, the rim shushing against the basin's bottom. You hold it over his head and pour carefully, heat caressing his scalp as the soap is washed away. 

It's over too soon. You grab the towel you'd procured and tuck it around his shoulders, wringing all the excess water from his curls back into the sink. You encourage his head up wordlessly and he stands there, arms useless against the countertops edge, water sloughing down his face as you press the ends flat between your hands. 

You lift his head and push his hair back with your hands, raking your fingers through it and laughing as soon as his face appears. "Eddie! I'm sorry, you're totally drowning." 

He chuckles. They fade away as you pinch the corner of the towel and start to dab his face dry, dragging the rough material over his cheeks with an expression he can't read on your pretty features. Almost pensive, not quite. 

"There," you say under your breath. "Saved you." 

"My hero." 

You smile at him softly before spinning on your heel. "I gotta find the hairbrush. And the good scissors." You look into the living room quickly and then turn to the hall leading to your bedroom. 

Eddie looks into the living room too. Junie's not upto much, only watching TV, unusually subdued. He doesn't disturb her despite the itch to go over and play.

One of the muppets starts laughing about something and she laughs too. 

"What are you smiling about?" you whisper from behind him. 

"Nothing," he says quickly.

You raise your eyebrows. "She has a nice laugh, right? Doesn't matter how bad I feel, she laughs and everything's okay for a little while." 

He feels a fond stab in his chest. "Her laugh's like yours." 

"I guess we do sound the same." 

You do, but it's not really what he'd meant. 

The metal sound of scissors snapping. You wield them at him faux-threateningly and shepherd him into a chair you've dragged to the middle of the kitchen. 

Eddie fights goosebumps as you pull a brush through his hair, loses when you take a lock at the front between two fingers and stop about an inch and a half from the end. 

"I'm gonna do that much, okay?" 

You're a quiet hairdresser. Eddie doesn't care, he can talk for Indiana, but there's something so sweetly simple about the quietude, just your hands in his hair, the snipping of your scissors and Junie's occasional excited chattering. You start to hum a song Eddie doesn't recognise about halfway through. It's melancholy. He doubts you realise what you're doing. 

You draw silent as you round to the front. Eddie watches your hands work for what feels like hours. You have really pretty hands, not perfect, burnt fingertips and neat little nails. They smell like honey hand soap.

You pull two locks from the front together to make sure they're the same length. His curls will hide any discrepancy, he knows from experience, but he doesn't want to tell you that. Selfishly, he wants that extra time with you this close. 

You work your way between his legs to comb his half-dried bangs. Eddie looks up at you with wide eyes.

"You want me to trim these, too?" you ask quietly. 

"If you please." 

You huff a laugh through your nose and start to trim his bangs carefully. He closes his eyes, and maybe it's the fact that he can't see you that gives him the confidence to reach out for your hip, a touch that can't be defined as amicable. He curls his fingers into the soft material of your shirt and feels the heat of your skin underneath. 

You draw closer, as close as you can be. 

"What made you decide on bangs?" you ask. 

"Zits, mostly." 

He can feel your laugh under his hand. 

"I used to… I used to powder my face," you confide, a murmur, "like, an inch thick to try and hide everything. Being pregnant makes you so-" You pause to snip some hair, comb it away. It tickles his face. "Well, it makes you spotty. Or it made me spotty. It actually made me really sick." 

"That's must've sucked," he says earnestly. 

"It- Yeah. I guess it did. I don't know." 

He hadn't meant to bring up something unhappy, but he's hungry to know. "Were you on your own?" 

"Mostly." 

"What was the worst part?" 

"Being scared all the time."

He'd been expecting morning sickness or aching feet. "You were scared?" 

"I honestly thought I was gonna die, Eddie." 

He opens his eyes and leans back in his chair, hand flexing over your hip, as he tries to tamp down his surprise. 

"It was," you mess with his bangs with the tip of your ring finger, "hard. I felt sick all the time, and when I didn't I would make myself sick worrying about her. What if I eat something or I catch something and it hurts her? What if- what if it all works out perfectly and then I can't look after her?" 

"Did it work out perfect?" 

You rub your lips together. "Uh, I guess so. It took a long time, and it hurt," you sound especially unhappy with that part. 

He strokes up your waist, wanting to soothe the small crease between your eyebrows. "By yourself?" 

"Yeah, by myself." 

"I'm sorry." 

You tuck his hair behind his ear and grin at him. "Now what are you sorry for?" Your hand lingers near his cheek. Slowly, you turn it, pressing the knuckle of your index finger into the skin under his eye and rubbing a small line. He worries he’s in love with you right then and there. "Not like you're the one who knocked me up." 

You drop your hand and Eddie really doesn't want you to go anywhere, his grip kind but steadfast, bringing the other arm behind your back in a loose hug. "Who was it?" 

"Just some guy. Nobody. Nobody worth thinking about." 

"How old were you?" he asks. 

"Why are you asking me all this stuff?"

"I wanna know about you." 

You bring your hands to the towel around his neck and pull on it mildly. "I was sixteen. Seventeen when I had her." 

He drags his fingertips up and down the small of your back lightly, almost like he's playing guitar. "I'm sorry you were all by yourself. That young. When I was sixteen I was still watching The Bugs Bunny Show."

You giggle and your hands move up to the side of his neck. He can hardly breathe, afraid to dispel whatever enchantment it is that he's under. 

"Could be worse, huh? I'm nineteen and I still watch Muppet Babies," you joke. 

"Why wouldn't you? It's the pinnacle of modern television." 

"Yeah?" 

Your beaming smile hits him straight in the chest. He thinks about how beautiful you look and can't stop, hiding his face in your stomach to stop from saying something stupid, laughing loud. You laugh in tandem, hugging the back of his head until your giggles peter out. 

A small hand on his arm. You both turn at the same time and find a very unhappy Junie.

"What?" you ask her. Then, teasing, "Are you jealous?" 

You lean down to pick her up. Eddie's gutted to lose your touch and then quickly exuberant when Junie ducks out of your arms to grab at his legs. 

"Oh my god, yes," he says, holding out his hands. 

Junie tries to take them and he slips them under his arm, pulling her onto his thigh with a big sigh. The sigh is half the fun, a theatrical reluctance when really he's always happy to have her climbing on him. 

As soon as she's in his lap she's pleased, turning her head so she can watch the TV across the room. 

You roll your eyes at his smug smile. "Shut up. She just wants what other people have." 

"And you had me?" 

"Shut up, Munson, seriously," you say. You don't sound half as mad as you're trying to. 

Eddie takes a drying curl between his fingers and pokes at the side of Junie's face. "Whatever you want, sweetheart," he says, grinning when your daughter starts to squirm on his thigh. 

He grins at her and tickles her until she's curling in with her chin dropped to her chest, smiling despite herself. 

His fondness colours every word as he croons, "I got you." 

Junie sounds about as outraged as a toddler can be when he tickles her nose and then drags the tip of the freshly trimmed curl under her eye. He draws a big circle around one of her cheeks until it's kissing her chin. She dissolves into giggles while squirming to get away from him and so he stops, only for her to blink and tug at his wrist. 

He tickles her until she's screaming. 

You pause on your knees where you'd been sweeping up his trimmed hair to look up at her and he's struck with guilt. "Y/N, you don't have to do that. I'll do it." 

"No, you're okay." 

Eddie finds his gaze drawn to your thighs, spread out as they are in your kneeling position, and then stolen by Junie as she almost topples off of his lap. 

"I think…" he begins quietly, speaking to Junie though it's just as much for you, "that your mom deserves something nice for my haircut. What do you think?" 

"I don't think that," you say. 

"Wasn't asking you," he says seriously. Back in baby mode he continues,  "What's mommy like, huh? What's her favourite thing in the whole world, besides you?" 

"Sleep," you say. 

"Well, I can't help you there." 

"You help me there all the time. Junie sleeps like a log every Friday." 

"Food coma," he says knowledgeably. 

"You really don't have to get me anything, Eddie. My services were administered charitably." 

He pushes his hands behind Junie's back and pulls her to his chest before standing. When he has her secure in one arm he pulls the chair back to your small table and tucks it in.

"Get up," he says to you. "I'll do it, alright? Swap with me." 

You ignore him until he starts kicking you in the leg. "You're ridiculous!"

"You're ridiculous. Seriously, get up. You're not a serf." He returns your glare. "I'm a big boy, I can clean up after myself." 

"It's my house." 

"If you don't let me-" 

"Christ! Okay." You drop the dustpan and brush sullenly, wiping your hands together as you stand before taking Junie out of his arms. "I'll make dinner." 

"No you won't! I'm gonna order takeout," he says factually, already on his knees and sweeping. 

"No you're not." 

"I am. Me and June already talked about it. She's craving Marino's pizza." 

"I'm not gonna let you use the phone." 

"I'll walk to my place and order the pizza to here." 

"Eddie-" 

"Why are you being a hardass?" he asks. 

"Fine! God, clean up your gross hair and order your stupid pizza. You're making me crazy," you say, collapsing onto the sofa with a little oomf, Junie's weight hitting you hard in the chest. She moves into a sitting position and pulls your shirt up, hands moving across the space under your chest. 

Eddie throws himself into cleaning all the mess you'd made for him, the hair and the towel and the sopping wet draining board. He washes the dirty baby bowl on the side and fills up one of Junie's bottles with water, then a glass for you. He hasn't seen either of you drinking a thing since he's been here, likely his fault for distracting you. 

He's about to call for pizza when he peers past the cabinets and sees you dozing on the couch. He decides pizza can wait until tomorrow; it's later than he realised. 

Junie's halfway across the room with Mr. Bear playing make believe. She talks and talks and talks, gibberish to him but what's likely an unending, complicated storyline, no doubt. 

Eddie approaches with the bottle already outstretched. "Junie," he says, and when she doesn't answer, "Junebug. Junie. Junie." Each iteration of her name softer and sweeter than the first, hoping to entice her in. 

He holds the bottle in front of her face.

She finally looks up with a pout. 

"For you," he says, offering the water. 

She seems mildly interested as she takes it, turning back to her teddy and talking around the teat like it's not there. 

You're struggling to keep your eyes open. Eddie gives the room a quick once over before kneeling down in front of you, tugging your shirt down to cover your exposed tummy as he says, "I should head home." 

You blink at him and turn onto your side, cheek squishing into the couch cushion. 

"Okay? Why don't you and Junebug head to bed?" he asks, using a tone not far from what he'd use with your daughter. 

"You know, her full name's Juniper," you whisper. 

He didn't know. "Really? I love that." 

You wrinkle your nose, sounding very tired as you continue, "But someone told me it sounded like a name for a cat. So I've called her Junie ever since."

"It doesn't sound like a cat's name," he placates. "It's beautiful. You chose well." 

"Yeah?" 

Eddie smiles at you fondly, eyes tracing down your nose to your lips, shiny with balm. He tilts his head to the side to mimic yours. He could kiss you. 

"Sounds like the name of an elf. Juniper Lightfoot, or… Goldwind. She could even be a mage. Juniper the Brave." 

"Juniper the Loveliest," you say, and then grin. "Juniper the Hungriest." 

"Juniper the All Great and Hungriest," Eddie says decidedly. 

"Would you make her a hero, in your game?" you ask. 

"Of course I would. She wouldn't even need to divide, she'd just conquer." 

"What about me?" 

"What, would you be a hero?" 

You nod. He doesn't know why, but he thinks his answer is going to hold a lot of weight with you. 

"You would be," he starts quietly, words painted slowly as he raises a hand to rest on your wrist, pinky finger spread over the hill of your thumb, "a fighter. With insight and survival." 

"I don't know what that means," you say. 

He leans in. "It means yes, you'd be a hero. You'd save kingdoms. Slay dragons." He squeezes your wrist. 

"I think I better leave all that stuff for Junie. I'll just cheer you guys on from the sidelines." 

"You're her mom, she can't do it without you. And even if she could I bet she wouldn't want to. Where's all the fun in guts and glory if you can't share it?" he asks, rubbing his thumb over your skin.

Your eyes shut. Eddie doesn't know if it's from fatigue or a want to end this conversation. He feels marginally embarrassed for descending into nerd metaphor with you, but he thinks it's the kind of thing you needed to hear. He thinks if Junie could understand how often her mom prioritises her and misses out for her she'd want to fix that. Eddie doesn't know you half as well as she does and it breaks his heart sometimes to watch you insist on a smaller portion, to watch you put things back at the grocery store because she wants a box of milk duds, even to watch you wear yourself out ironing baby clothes in the only pair of pajamas you own. 

"Make sure you lock the deadbolt behind me," he says carefully. You hum. He gives your wrist one last squeeze. 

Junie looks tired in that she's getting agitated, whimpering under her breath. Eddie ducks down to give her upper arm a good rub. "Why don't you go cuddle with your mom?" he asks her, turning her by the shoulder so that you're in her eye-line. "Go have a lie down." 

He doesn't know whether what he says makes any difference but you extend your arms out and Junie walks towards you, big staggered steps that make him laugh to himself as he pushes into his unlaced converse. 

"Don't forget to lock up," he says in place of a farewell. 

"Goodnight, Eddie," you say. 

He waves. You're both too tired to wave back. 

He's surprised to find his Uncle Wayne still home when he gets in, shoving into his work boots with a grunted hello.

"Hey." 

"Did you cut your hair?" Wayne asks, perplexed, a little gruff. 

"Junie's mom did it for me." 

"'Junie's mom,'" Wayne quotes dryly, slugging his bag over his shoulder. He's heard all about Junie's mom.

Eddie scratches the back of his neck and splutters when a big hand claps his back, a demonstration of Wayne's pity as he passes through the open door. 

Eddie spins to watch him jog down the steps. "We're friends," Eddie calls. 

"Don't be dumb," his uncle says without turning back. 

"I'm not exactly known for being smart," Eddie says to himself, cheeks heated by a furious blush. 

𓆩❤︎𓆪

thank you for reading! | my masterlist | multi-chapter

if you enjoyed, please reblog! i promise it makes a difference ♡

mbav boys headcanons

pairing: ethan morgan x fem!reader, benny weir x fem!reader, rory keaner x fem!reader

— enjoy this compilation of thoughts ive had about benny, ethan, and rory that i decided would be better in one post instead of three separate ones

ethan morgan ♡

imagine calling ethan pretty boy

he gets so so so red

anyways

imagine you sitting on his bed and ethan's behind you, arms wrapped around your waist while he helps with homework

jane loves you. youre practically her best friend

argh ethan >>>> hes so pretty

remember that one episode when he gets called puppy face?

yeah thats ur contact name for him.

and also ^^

you just randomly squish his cheeks and call him puppy face

argue with the wall 💁‍♀️

benny weir ☆

benny definitely likes to call you "my girl"

its so cute

like he's constantly saying things like "attagirl" "that's my girl" stuff like that yk

and if you do any shows/sports he's screaming "THAT'S MY GF" at the top of his lungs

if you're sick, he tries convincing you to drink a potion he made "that'll make you feel better!! trust me!" and you, very obviously, are like, "ew no. the last time you gave me a feel-better potion, i grew pig ears" "THAT WAS ONE TIME"

wearing his collared shirts >>

would force you to watch terrible nerdy shows with him just so he can hang out with you

rory keaner ⚡︎

oh boy

if it was up to him, he'd wrap himself around you and never let go

soooo touchy

this boy's love language is physical touch

so be prepared for constant touching

you guys sit next to each other in science

and he always has his hand on ur thigh, around your shoulder, or he's holding your hand under the table

he has failed tests and assignments because he was too busy staring at you and thinking, "wowzer. thats my girlfriend."

10/10 calls you babe, honey, regular nicknames

but also

he 100% calls you silly goofy things like sweetcheecks, sugarplum, honeybun, terrible cringey nicknames that make you playfully whack him upside the head

he saw the lost boys once and then dressed like marko for like a week

i hc that rory knows how to sew, so he probably makes you a bunch of really silly stuff, like a shirt with "rory's girl" embroidered on the back in sequins 😭

Masterlist

Song prompts

An updated and hopefully more easily navigable masterlist of all of my posts. Links that are just names are ‘Meeting and Dating’ posts. (Last updated 1/29/22)

 Hope you enjoy!

Pretty In Pink~

Duckie Dale

- NSFW

Making out with Duckie

Duckie taking you to prom

Duckie Dale cheering you up after a rough day

Andie

Blane McDonagh

- NSFW

A study date with Blane

First fight with Blane

First kiss with Blane

First time with Blane

Steff McKee

- NSFW

Steff having a crush on you

Spending Valentine’s Day with Steff

Sixteen Candles~

Jake Ryan

Farmer Ted

Caroline Mulford

Bryce (Not completed yet)

- NSFW

Bryce having a crush on you

Making out with Bryce

Spending your first Valentine’s Day with Bryce

Cliff (Not completed yet)

- NSFW

Cliff having a crush on you

Making out with Cliff

The Breakfast Club~

John Bender

- NSFW 

Bender taking your virginity

The way you make me feel

Brian Johnson

- NSFW

Andrew Clark

Allison Reynolds (Not completed yet)

Allison dating a shy nerdy girl

Ferris Buellers Day Off~

Getting drunk with the Ferris Bueller crew

Going on the Ferris Adventure

Cameron Frye

- NSFW 

Cameron taking your virginity

Making out with Cameron

Cameron Frye comforting you when you’re upset

Starting a family with Cameron

Going on your own adventure with Cameron

Heathers~

J.D.

- NSFW

Being in a long term relationship with JD

J.D. with a chronically ill s/o

Veronica Sawyer

Heather Chandler

Back To The Future~

Marty McFly

Traveling in time with Marty

George McFly (Not completed yet)

- NSFW 

George with a dominant flirty s/o

George getting jealous and being dominant

The new girl standing up for George

Say Anything~

Lloyd Dobler

Can’t Buy Me Love~

Ronald Miller (Not completed yet)

Being Cindys friend and Ronalds crush

Cindy Mancini (Not completed yet)

Faking it (Cindy x reader)

Kenneth Wurman 

- NSFW

Making out with Kenneth

Some Kind of Wonderful~

Keith Nelson (Not completed yet)

- NSFW

- Grease Monkey

Making out with Keith Nelson

Spending Valentine’s Day with Keith 

Dead Poets Society~

Dead Poets Society Kinks

Neil Perry

- NSFW

Jealous Neil Perry

Neil dating an artist

Spending the holiday season with Neil

Why do you always do that?

Dating Neil and Todd

- A threesome with Neil and Todd

Todd Anderson

- NSFW

Comforting Todd when he’s upset

Jealous Todd Anderson

Jessies Girl

The Birthday Surprise

Dating Neil and Todd

- A threesome with Neil and Todd

Charlie Dalton

- NSFW

Charlie taking your virginity

Jealous Charlie

Making out with Charlie

Comforting Charlie after he’s expelled

The poets walking in on Charlie and his secret girlfriend

Having to tell Charlie you’re pregnant

Dont Get Me Wrong

Knox Overstreet

- NSFW

Jealous Knox

Making out with Knox

Spending Halloween with Knox

Spending Valentines day with Knox

Knox with an s/o who’s easily flustered by romantic gestures

Steven Meeks

- NSFW

The Exchange Student

Spending Valentine’s Day with Meeks

A study date with Meeks

Gerald Pitts (Not completed yet)

- NSFW

School Ties~

Rip Van Kelt

Chris Reece

Charlie Dillon

Grease~

Kenickie Murdoch

The Karate Kid~

Daniel Larusso

Pianos and Pushes

Johnny Lawrence

Dutch

The Outsiders~

Dallas Winston

Sodapop Curtis

Two-bit Mathews

Johnny Cade (Not completed yet)

- NSFW

Darry Curtis (Not completed yet)

Johnny Cade’s sister coming back and falling for Darry

Darrys girlfriend landing a job as a singer

Rumblefish~

Steve Hays

Dirty Dancing

Billy Kostecki

Better Off Dead~

Lane Meyer

The Lost Boys~

Poly Lost Boys

Poly Modern!Lost boys

Getting Drunk with the Lost Boys

The Lost Boys taking care of you when you’re hurt

The Lost Boys with an s/o having an anxiety attack

The Lost Boys dating a shy short girl

The Lost Boys fighting with their mates

The Lost Boys having a curvy mate

The Lost Boys with a sweet and innocent s/o

- NSFW

Group Sex with the Lost Boys

David (Not completed yet)

David having a crush on you

David taking your virginity

Laddies older sister

Sins of the Flesh and Matters of the Heart

Dwayne

Dwayne having a crush on you

A Little Stevie Nicks

Sins of the Flesh and Matters of the Heart

Paul

Paul having a crush on you

Marko (Not completed yet)

Marko having a crush on you

Edgar Frog

Making out with Edgar

Michael Emerson (Not completed yet)

- NSFW

Sam Emerson (Not completed yet)

- NSFW

Near Dark~

Severen

- NSFW

Interview with the Vampire

Lestat and Louis dating a girl who loves horror movies

Lestat de Lioncourt (Not completed yet)

Lestat with a Trad Goth Witch s/o

Louis de Pointe du Lac

- NSFW

Armand (Not completed yet)

- NSFW

Armand with a s/o who’s never been in a relationship

Fright Night~

Jerry Dandridge

Martin

Martin Mathias

The Goonies~

Brand Walsh

Stand By Me~

Ace Merrill

If you want out just say it

The Sandlot~

Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez

Weird Science~

Gary Wallace

Gary Wallace dating a tall girl

Wyatt Donnelly

Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure~

Dating Bill and Ted

Sleepover with Bill and Ted~ including Nsfw

Ted Logan

- NSFW

Making out with Ted

Fighting with Ted

Meeting “the parents” with Ted

Ted asking you to be his Valentine

Playing Romeo and Juliet with Ted Logan

Being Pregnant with Teds child

Being married to Ted

Bill S. Preston 

- NSFW

Fighting with Bill

Being married to Bill

Dream A Little Dream~

Dinger Holfield

- NSFW

Fast Times at Ridgemont High~

Mike Damone

Brad Hamilton

- NSFW

Jeff Spicoli

Dazed and Confused~

Kevin Pickford

- NSFW

Randall “Pink” Floyd

- NSFW

Making out with Pink

Don Dawson

Benny O’Donnell

- NSFW

Making out with Benny

Fred O’Bannion

- NSFW

Mitch Kramer

Ron Slater

Shavonne Wright

- NSFW

Jodi Kramer (Not completed yet)

- NSFW

Sabrina Davis (Not completed yet)

- NSFW

Empire Records~

AJ

Lucas

Mark

Eddie

Berko

Being a shy employee who has a crush on Joe

Dogma

Dating Loki and Bartleby

Clerks

Randal Graves

Waynes World~

Garth Algar

Austin Powers~

Austin Powers

Just One Of The Guys~

Greg Tolan

Terry Griffith

Harold Sherbico (Not completed yet)

Harold Sherbico having a crush on you

Johnny Be Good~

Johnny Walker (Not completed yet)

- NSFW

Twister~

Robert “Rabbit” Nurick

Night Of The Creeps~

Chris (Not completed yet)

- NSFW

Intruder~

Randy

- NSFW

Produce Joe

Heaven Help Us~

Ed Rooney

- NSFW

The Chocolate War~

Archie Costello

- NSFW 

- NSFW Submissive Archie

Being Married to Archie

Archie with a chronically ill s/o

Making out with Archie Costello

Going to the beach with Archie

A threesome with Obie and Archie

Obie Jameson (Not completed yet)

- NSFW

Jerry Renault

- NSFW

Toy Soldiers~

Ricardo Montoya

Three O’Clock High~

Buddy Revell

Young Guns~

Billy The Kid

Doc Scurlock

Jose Chavez y Chavez

Dirty Steve Stephens

Preference~ Spending Christmas together

Police Academy~

Tackleberry having a crush on Mahoney’s little sister

Combat Academy~

Perry Barnett

- NSFW Submissive Perry

Yandere Perry Barnett

Perry Barnett being needy

Jealous Perry Barnett

National Lampoons European Vacation~

Rusty Griswold

Porkys~

Anthony “Meat” Tuperello

Meat having a crush on Peewees sister

Mickey Jarvis

Admit it

Brian Schwartz

Being Tim’s sister and falling in love with Brian

Tim Cavanaugh

Tommy Turner

Major League~

Ricky Vaughn

Twins~

Julius Benedict

Total Recall~

Douglas Quaid

- NSFW

Earth Girls Are Easy~

Mac

Full Metal Jacket~

Private Joker

Private Joker with an artist s/o

Animal Mother

Cowboy and Animal Mother fighting over you

Leonard Lawrence

Sgt. Hartman

- NSFW

Preference~ The boys with an s/o who has an ex that stalks them

Platoon

Elias Grodin

Chris Taylor

Gator Lerner

Dating Elias’ squad

An Orgy with the 25th division

Preference~ The boys as daddy doms

Top Gun

Maverick

- NSFW

Dogfight~

Eddie Birdlace

- NSFW

Clueless~

Elton Tiscia

10 Things I Hate About You~

Joey Donner

- NSFW

Jealous Joey Donner

She’s All That~

Simon having a crush on Laney’s friend

That Thing You Do!

T.B. Player

Senseless

Tim LaFlour

Crybaby~

Wade Walker

So I married an Axe Murderer

Charlie MacKenzie

Scream~

Poly Billy and Stu

Helping Billy and Stu on their murder spree

Billy Loomis

- NSFW

Bringing Billy to a big family Christmas party

Stu Macher

- NSFW

Randy Meeks (Not completed yet)

- NSFW

Randy Meeks with an sfx artist s/o

Idle Hands~

Anton Tobias

The Faculty~

Zeke Tyler

- NSFW

The Craft~

Nancy Downs

- NSFW

Sarah Bailey (Not completed yet)

Being a witch and getting close to Sarah 

The Crow~

Eric Draven

Edward Scissorhands~

Edward Scissorhands

Falling in love with Edward

Beetlejuice~

Adam Maitland

Lydia Deetz

The Addams Family~

Pugsley crushing on Wednesday’s ‘relatively normal’ friend

Gomez Addams

Hocus Pocus~

Max Dennison

Thackery Binx

Poly Max and Thackery

Halloweentown

Luke dating a witch

Caspar

Caspar McFadden

Little Shop of Horrors~

Seymour Krelborn

- NSFW

Ghostbusters~

Ray Stantz

- NSFW

Egon Spengler (Not completed yet)

- NSFW

Creepshow

~2

Andy Cavenaugh

Forbidden Zone~

The Devil

- NSFW

Legend~

Little Persephone

The Princess Bride~

Inigo Montoya

Labyrinth~

Jareth

Jareth falling in love with you 

Ladyhawke~

Phillipe Gaston (Not completed yet)

Fairytale

The Secret Garden~

Archibald Craven falling in love with you

Something Wild~

Ray Sinclair

Good Will Hunting~

Being apart of the good will hunting gang

Will Hunting (Not completed yet)

- NSFW

Will having a crush on you

Comforting and being comforted by Will

Chuckie Sullivan

- NSFW

The Rainmaker~

Being there for Rudy through the trials

The Devils Advocate~

Kevin Lomax

Misery~

Paul Sheldon

Silence of the Lambs~

Clarice Starling

The Fly~

A will they, won’t they relationship with Seth Brundle

An American Werewolf in London~

Jack Goodman

Re-animator~

Herbert West

The Evil Dead~

Ash Williams

Aliens~

Dwayne Hicks with an Android!s/o

Bishop

Candyman~

Daniel Robitaille

Friday the 13th~

Jason Voorhees

Sleepaway Camp~

Ricky Thomas

Children of the Corn~

Malachai Boardman

Carrie 

Carrie White

Jaws~

Being married to Hooper and going to Amity with him

The Thing

R.J. MacReady

The Shining

Jack Torrance

Jurassic Park

Ian Malcolm

The Truman Show

Truman Burbank

Harold and Maude

Harold Chasen

The Godfather~

Young Vito Corleone

Old Vito Corleone

Vito (both versions) with an artist s/o

Michael Corleone (Not completed yet)

Years Gone By

Tom Hagen

Sonny Corleone (Not completed yet)

Sonny with a shy, virgin s/o

Sonny dating his opposite

Goodfellas~

Henry Hill

Tommy Devito (Not completed yet)

Tommy with a chubby artist s/o

L.A. Confidential~

Jack Vincennes

- NSFW

The Untouchables

Eliot Ness

The Green Mile~

Percy Wetmore (Not completed yet)

- NSFW

The Shawshank Redemption~

Andy Dufresne (Not completed yet)

Andy falling in love with you

Tommy Williams

Die Hard

John McClane

Cobra

Marion “Cobra” Cobretti

Rocky

Ludmilla Drago

Taps~

Brian Moreland (Not completed yet)

- NSFW 

Stand and Deliver~

Angel Guzman

- NSFW

My Bodyguard~

Ricky Linderman

Melvin Moody

3 Ninjas~

Samuel “Rocky” Douglas

The Mighty Ducks~

Adam Banks

Being apart of team USA and meeting Charlie and Adam

Dean Portman

- NSFW

Being Fulton’s sister and Dating Dean

Dean cheering you up

Fulton Reed

Lester Averman

Dwayne Robertson having a crush on you

Newsies~

Specs

The Rocketeer~

Cliff Secord (Not completed yet)

Cliff having a crush on you

George of the Jungle 

George

Ladybugs~

Matthew

Cats~

The Jellicle cats meeting a human!s/o

Santa Clause

Jack Frost

Gremlins

Being snowed in with Billy

Buffy The Vampire Slayer~

Spike

- NSFW

Spike having a crush on you

Having a bad fight with Spike

Sabrina The Teenage Witch~

Harvey Kinkle

The Stand~

Harold Lauder

Goosebumps~

Sticks

Freddy Renfield

Saved By The Bell~

Zack Morris

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air~

Will Smith

Mork and Mindy~

Mork

Friends

Sandy (Not completed yet)

- NSFW

Freaks and Geeks~

Wishing I Was Her

Kim Kelly dating her polar opposite

Meeting and Dating Max Dennison

(Not my gif)(Requested by anonymous)

- You met Max after he moved to Salem. The two of you were in the same History class and sat fairly close to each other. Because of this; and the fact that you’re drop dead gorgeous, he quickly developed a crush on you.

- It doesn’t take long for him to shoot his shot but there is a period in time where he’s waiting for the right moment to say something and just doing the typical “I have a crush on you” things.

- When Max has a crush, he’ll do whatever he can to see them more; making sure he’s behind them on his bike as they begin to walk home, sneaking glances at them in class, strategically sitting at a lunch table where he’ll be able to watch them or standing close to their locker.

- Once he’s had enough of just watching, he’ll move on to using any excuse he can to seem cool and/or talk to them. This is usually when he begins to come up with a plot to ask them out and it’s not long after that he actually does so.

- Max asks you out only about a week or so after he moves to Salem. He was just planning on giving you his phone number or asking if you’d like to hang out sometime but things didn’t really go as planned.

- He’d wanted to go out and explore the town by himself but his parents forced him to take Dani with him while they continued to unpack. So, he begrudgingly let his sister join him on his adventure, figuring that the worst that could happen was her slowing him down and slightly annoying him.

- They’d gotten a good ways into town without a hitch; besides Dani forcing him to pick flowers, and Max had just about let his guard down. Well, that was until he saw you.

- He immediately froze in place, greeting you in surprise as you just so happened to turn and spot them. Dani immediately connected the dots as to who you were, she’d heard her brother secretly fawn over you more than once.

- It was only after you glanced down at his hand that Max remembered he was holding his sisters wildflower bouquet. He laughed nervously, raising his hand a bit and trying to make himself seem less like a loser as he explained he was looking after his little sister …and her flowers.

- While Dani is undoubtedly an adorable sweetheart, she is also somewhat devious. She uses this delightful coincidence to get her way, mentioning that Max was “just about to take her to the park”. He was just about ready to kill her before you chimed in.

“Aww, that’s so sweet!” Bingo.

- He immediately acted as though that was the plan all along and invited you to join them while Dani smiled at her obvious success. A cute boy asking you to go to the park with him and his little sister, why wouldn’t you agree?

- So you joined the two of them, laughing and watching on fondly as he played with Dani and getting to know each other more and more whenever she went off to do something on her own. You wound up staying there for hours and probably would have stayed even longer if Dani hadn’t mentioned that her feet hurt and that she was tired. 

- If Max had learned anything at all, he learned that you thought it was cute when he was nice to his sister, so he offered her a piggyback ride as the three of you walked home. When you arrived at your house, he set Dani down and walked you to your door. 

”Well, if you ever want to go to the park again, you know who to call.” He smiled, handing you his number before joining back with his sister. 

“Dani? Have I ever told you that I loved you?” The little girl couldn’t help but smile at her goofy older brother. 

- The two of you had your first actual date a few days later. He took you to the movies, then to go get some ice cream, and finally you wound up back at the park you’d gone to, sitting on the swing and eating your dessert. 

- He told you that you had something on your face, smiling as he leant in and kissed the corner of your mouth before slowly making his way to your lips. 

- It was in that moment; with your lips pressed against his, that Max thought to himself maybe Salem wasn’t so bad after all. 

- Innocent pda all the time. He just can’t help himself when you’re standing right there and looking so adorable.

- Handholding whenever you can. You swear he’s gonna learn how to be ambidextrous with how much he wants to keep your hand in his.

- Soft, chaste kisses.

- Cheek kisses. He can never hold back a smile when you give him one.

- He likes keeping his arm around your waist while you walk together. He likes how perfectly you fit into his side.

- Tight hugs. He does that thing where you give the person a squeeze and sorta sway with them while you hug, it’s very nice.

- Hugs from behind. He always presses a kiss to your head before he pulls away.

- This boy literally daydreams about cuddling his crush; he’d adore cuddling you anytime, anyplace. He usually wants to be the big spoon but he’d be up for any type of snuggling.

- He leans his head on yours whenever you rest your head on his shoulder.

- Hanging out with him in his widows walk, stargazing or watching the sunset/sunrise.

- He really doesn’t care what the two of you do as long as you’re together.

- Typical teenager dates: going bowling or roller skating, watching movies, getting pizza or ice cream; things like that.

- He tries to make you laugh with little impressions and exaggerative comedic routines.

- Getting teased a lot. He’ll pop out from behind corners to spook you, jokingly mock you and your little superstitions, and attack you from behind, wrapping his arms around you and growling while nuzzling his face into your neck. He thinks your reactions are cute.

- Watching him play his drums. Sometimes he’ll try and teach you how to play, othertimes he’ll just try to show off.

- He really wants you to think he’s cool and to be in awe of him. He’s constantly trying to show off and peacock for your attention.

- He’s quite fond of nicknames and pet names. He uses special ones though, something uniquely you.

- He keeps your photo framed on his nightstand or tucked under his pillow. He kisses it like every morning and night, occasionally talking to it when you’re mad at him or when he doesnt know what to do in a situation. It’s cute …in an odd way.

- He’s in awe of you everytime he sees you dressed up or after a long time of not seeing each other. Sometimes he just can’t believe how beautiful you are.

- The amount of doodles he’s made of you while in class couldn’t even fit in a normal sketchbook.

- Dani is always interrupting the two of you, busting into his room and jumping between you as you sit on his bed or forcing her way between you two on the couch. She winds up accompanying you on a few of your dates, especially when his parents are busy. He can’t say he’s completely upset about it though, he likes watching you interact with her.

- You and her are probably best friends and occasionally hang out on your own without Max. She’s definitely spilled some embarrasing facts/secrets about Max whether one front of him or not.

- He’s sort of embarrassed by his family and their shenanigans. He turns bright red whenever they start acting all excited/childish. You cant imagine his relief when you assure him that you think its cute.

- He has a little sister so even though he’s a fairly typical teenage boy; he has that “I actually respect females” mindset. To an extent of course, he still can’t help but think about your yabbos from time to time.

- There isn’t a lot that grosses him out anymore since he was already a little grown up by the time his parents had Dani. He had to go through all those yucky baby phases so he has no problem holding your hair as you puke, bandaging your cuts, dealing with periods, wiping dirt off of you, and so on. Life’s gross, he’s accepted that a long time ago.

- Standing up for him. He finds it both embarrassing and touching at the same time.

- Letting him rant to you about how much he misses LA. He always absentmindedly adds on that you’re the only good thing to come out of Salem and it never fails to make you melt.

- Comforting him. He has a tendency to blame himself when things go wrong or work himself into a fit when something bad happens. You try to make sure he doesn’t while also making him feel better. He’s always there for you when you need it as well.

- He’s a sweetheart and an adorable one at that. He’s always trying to make you feel better whenever he can and; overall, just being super nice to you. Making sure you’re happy is very important to him.

- He’s got a hard time keeping his mouth shut; he just cant help but say what he wants and not inconspiciously or very quietly either. You’ll oftentimes have to get him out of a situation before he starts more trouble than there has to be.

- Bringing out the best in each other.

- He sends a glance your way whenever someone mentions lovers, couples, or otherwise romantic things. It’s sort of like he’s saying “yeah, I’ve got one of those” or making future plans for the two of you in his head.

- Riding your bikes together or walking alongside him while he purposefully keeps pace with you on his.

- Going on stupid little adventures. They may be a bit reckless but they sure are fun.

- He’s somewhat of a pushover. He can very rarely resist your pleading/puppy dog eyes, especially when its combined with affection. You could genuinely stop him in his tracks with a single touch.

- You’ve definitely convinced him to let you put a face mask on him, braid his hair or do his makeup. Dani may or may not have been present or at least walked in on the two of you. She has not let him live it down since.

- He’s not scared of the supernatural; at least not yet, or spiders/insects, so he leaps at the chance to “protect you”. He tells you to “fear not” as he “vanquishes the beast”, delicately pushing you behind him and killing the thing or calling out to whatever ghouls may be lurking around.

- He insists in walking you home, mainly because it gives him the chance to spend more time with you.

- A trait he’s developed as an older brother is being protective of his loved ones. He won’t let anything happen to you; if he can help it, and usually has a pretty good plan when trying to get you out of trouble.

- He’s not an extremely jealous person. People being outwardly flirty or interested in you would tick him off but he reasons that you want him, not them and then he’s fine. Old boyfriends don’t bother him either, he’s your new and improved boyfriend; what would you want with them.

- He lashes out when he’s upset so you’ve definitely had your fair share of fights though they never last for very long. He immediately feels bad when he notices he’s actually hurt you and does whatever he can to apologize.

- He starts off with a genuine apology before he trying to explain himself, making a few little comments to try and get you to smile afterwards. Once you seem to forgive him, he shyly opens his arms and smiles as you go to hug him.

- He tells you that he loves you a lot; he just can’t help it. Everything you do makes him want to shout it out to the world.

- Prior to meeting you, he didn’t want to go to Salem at all, but now that he has you? He can’t bring himself to even think about leaving it.

ੈ✩‧₊˚ atwow (& y/n) as a modern friend group in pictures!!

❀ disregard race and physical looks, i just based who’s who based on gender, placement, ect! just imagine them as themselves :)

❀ i got all of these from pinterest!

❀ imagine these posted on their ig stories!

.・゜゜・　　・゜゜・．.・゜゜・　　・゜゜・

I posted js now but my wifi wad acting up so it was deleted 😒 so wtv but I'm putting this as 2.5 bcs it was always supposed to be in p. 2 bit didn't fit

ATWOW SOCIAL MEDIA PT. 2.5

ATWOW MODERN DAY AU

Messages between you and Lo'ak if he was your bf pt 2 🫶

Pt 1!!

modern au atwow tweets ! p.4

ao’nung x reader!

-

getting high with them | twilight headcanon

carlisle cullen;

• honestly he’s so chill you wouldn’t even notice that he was

• not that he’d tell you anyways

• for him it’d be a one time thing, something he would try and never lay his eyes on again

• so basically he’s his regular self, maybe a little more stressed out

• 0/10 he didn’t enjoy the experience at all

esme cullen;

• no

• just no

• you could cry and beg her all you wanted but never in a million years would she ever try it

• to be completely honest she’d be offended you’d even ask

edward cullen;

• he’d be so disgusted that you’d even offer to him

• our boys old, and he grew up in a time where it was frowned upon so you can’t really blame him

• but once you’d finally get him game it was HILARIOUS

• he’d start like spilling all kinds of edgy emo lyrics

• he’d basically turn into an edge lord and spill out all his feelings to you

bella swan;

• human bella wouldn’t enjoy any second of it

• she’d try it and she’d be chill but it was kind of a no go for her

• she’s chill when she’s high, nothing really special she kinda just stays the same

• now vampire bella is definitely a lot funnier

• she matches your energy and is a lot easier to have a good time with

jasper hale;

• nah because he’s fun

• he’d smoke with you, and hangout and vibe and have a good time

• he wouldn’t do it without you though

• like if anybody else asked he’d decline

• wasn’t big on the idea but enjoyed the experience with you

• would do it with you only again

alice cullen;

• it’d be damn near impossible to even get her to try

• she thought it was ridiculous and childish but if it would make you happy

• she tried to match your energy though she wasn’t enjoying any second of it

• very bad experience for her but she enjoyed seeing you happy

emmett cullen;

• y’all already know he’s down for anything especially if it was smoking pot with his bae

• he’s so much fun

• he enjoyed every second of it and even suggested it become something normal you guys did together

• he loves it and would definitely do it again

rosalie hale;

• she was down for it

• she was chill, and she gave off good vibes

• it definitely made her a lot happier

• her usual mopey self was funny and loud

• but like the others she wouldn’t do it if you weren’t around or doing it with her

riley biers;

• i love riley but i feel like he’s the type of guy to be like “any girl that smokes is unattractive”

• so it’d be pretty hard to get him to try

• #AntiMarijuanaUsage

• he’d make fun of you for doing it

• he’s a hater fr

victoria sutherland;

• nah because my girl is so fun

• she’s always down for whatever with you so you already know she was down to try it

• even sober she’s fun but when high she’s even better to be around

• she enjoyed the experience with you and would definitely do it again

jane volturi;

• nah she’d be so paranoid the entire time

• “(y/n), did you hear that?!”

• “girl chill out it was just the leaves”

• would start going on about some random lady she almost scrapped the week prior

• she had fun, she’d probably do it again tbh

Masterlist

Song prompts

An updated and hopefully more easily navigable masterlist of all of my posts. Links that are just names are ‘Meeting and Dating’ posts. (Last updated 1/29/22)

 Hope you enjoy!

Pretty In Pink~

Duckie Dale

- NSFW

Making out with Duckie

Duckie taking you to prom

Duckie Dale cheering you up after a rough day

Andie

Blane McDonagh

- NSFW

A study date with Blane

First fight with Blane

First kiss with Blane

First time with Blane

Steff McKee

- NSFW

Steff having a crush on you

Spending Valentine’s Day with Steff

Sixteen Candles~

Jake Ryan

Farmer Ted

Caroline Mulford

Bryce (Not completed yet)

- NSFW

Bryce having a crush on you

Making out with Bryce

Spending your first Valentine’s Day with Bryce

Cliff (Not completed yet)

- NSFW

Cliff having a crush on you

Making out with Cliff

The Breakfast Club~

John Bender

- NSFW 

Bender taking your virginity

The way you make me feel

Brian Johnson

- NSFW

Andrew Clark

Allison Reynolds (Not completed yet)

Allison dating a shy nerdy girl

Ferris Buellers Day Off~

Getting drunk with the Ferris Bueller crew

Going on the Ferris Adventure

Cameron Frye

- NSFW 

Cameron taking your virginity

Making out with Cameron

Cameron Frye comforting you when you’re upset

Starting a family with Cameron

Going on your own adventure with Cameron

Heathers~

J.D.

- NSFW

Being in a long term relationship with JD

J.D. with a chronically ill s/o

Veronica Sawyer

Heather Chandler

Back To The Future~

Marty McFly

Traveling in time with Marty

George McFly (Not completed yet)

- NSFW 

George with a dominant flirty s/o

George getting jealous and being dominant

The new girl standing up for George

Say Anything~

Lloyd Dobler

Can’t Buy Me Love~

Ronald Miller (Not completed yet)

Being Cindys friend and Ronalds crush

Cindy Mancini (Not completed yet)

Faking it (Cindy x reader)

Kenneth Wurman 

- NSFW

Making out with Kenneth

Some Kind of Wonderful~

Keith Nelson (Not completed yet)

- NSFW

- Grease Monkey

Making out with Keith Nelson

Spending Valentine’s Day with Keith 

Dead Poets Society~

Dead Poets Society Kinks

Neil Perry

- NSFW

Jealous Neil Perry

Neil dating an artist

Spending the holiday season with Neil

Why do you always do that?

Dating Neil and Todd

- A threesome with Neil and Todd

Todd Anderson

- NSFW

Comforting Todd when he’s upset

Jealous Todd Anderson

Jessies Girl

The Birthday Surprise

Dating Neil and Todd

- A threesome with Neil and Todd

Charlie Dalton

- NSFW

Charlie taking your virginity

Jealous Charlie

Making out with Charlie

Comforting Charlie after he’s expelled

The poets walking in on Charlie and his secret girlfriend

Having to tell Charlie you’re pregnant

Dont Get Me Wrong

Knox Overstreet

- NSFW

Jealous Knox

Making out with Knox

Spending Halloween with Knox

Spending Valentines day with Knox

Knox with an s/o who’s easily flustered by romantic gestures

Steven Meeks

- NSFW

The Exchange Student

Spending Valentine’s Day with Meeks

A study date with Meeks

Gerald Pitts (Not completed yet)

- NSFW

School Ties~

Rip Van Kelt

Chris Reece

Charlie Dillon

Grease~

Kenickie Murdoch

The Karate Kid~

Daniel Larusso

Pianos and Pushes

Johnny Lawrence

Dutch

The Outsiders~

Dallas Winston

Sodapop Curtis

Two-bit Mathews

Johnny Cade (Not completed yet)

- NSFW

Darry Curtis (Not completed yet)

Johnny Cade’s sister coming back and falling for Darry

Darrys girlfriend landing a job as a singer

Rumblefish~

Steve Hays

Dirty Dancing

Billy Kostecki

Better Off Dead~

Lane Meyer

The Lost Boys~

Poly Lost Boys

Poly Modern!Lost boys

Getting Drunk with the Lost Boys

The Lost Boys taking care of you when you’re hurt

The Lost Boys with an s/o having an anxiety attack

The Lost Boys dating a shy short girl

The Lost Boys fighting with their mates

The Lost Boys having a curvy mate

The Lost Boys with a sweet and innocent s/o

- NSFW

Group Sex with the Lost Boys

David (Not completed yet)

David having a crush on you

David taking your virginity

Laddies older sister

Sins of the Flesh and Matters of the Heart

Dwayne

Dwayne having a crush on you

A Little Stevie Nicks

Sins of the Flesh and Matters of the Heart

Paul

Paul having a crush on you

Marko (Not completed yet)

Marko having a crush on you

Edgar Frog

Making out with Edgar

Michael Emerson (Not completed yet)

- NSFW

Sam Emerson (Not completed yet)

- NSFW

Near Dark~

Severen

- NSFW

Interview with the Vampire

Lestat and Louis dating a girl who loves horror movies

Lestat de Lioncourt (Not completed yet)

Lestat with a Trad Goth Witch s/o

Louis de Pointe du Lac

- NSFW

Armand (Not completed yet)

- NSFW

Armand with a s/o who’s never been in a relationship

Fright Night~

Jerry Dandridge

Martin

Martin Mathias

The Goonies~

Brand Walsh

Stand By Me~

Ace Merrill

If you want out just say it

The Sandlot~

Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez

Weird Science~

Gary Wallace

Gary Wallace dating a tall girl

Wyatt Donnelly

Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure~

Dating Bill and Ted

Sleepover with Bill and Ted~ including Nsfw

Ted Logan

- NSFW

Making out with Ted

Fighting with Ted

Meeting “the parents” with Ted

Ted asking you to be his Valentine

Playing Romeo and Juliet with Ted Logan

Being Pregnant with Teds child

Being married to Ted

Bill S. Preston 

- NSFW

Fighting with Bill

Being married to Bill

Dream A Little Dream~

Dinger Holfield

- NSFW

Fast Times at Ridgemont High~

Mike Damone

Brad Hamilton

- NSFW

Jeff Spicoli

Dazed and Confused~

Kevin Pickford

- NSFW

Randall “Pink” Floyd

- NSFW

Making out with Pink

Don Dawson

Benny O’Donnell

- NSFW

Making out with Benny

Fred O’Bannion

- NSFW

Mitch Kramer

Ron Slater

Shavonne Wright

- NSFW

Jodi Kramer (Not completed yet)

- NSFW

Sabrina Davis (Not completed yet)

- NSFW

Empire Records~

AJ

Lucas

Mark

Eddie

Berko

Being a shy employee who has a crush on Joe

Dogma

Dating Loki and Bartleby

Clerks

Randal Graves

Waynes World~

Garth Algar

Austin Powers~

Austin Powers

Just One Of The Guys~

Greg Tolan

Terry Griffith

Harold Sherbico (Not completed yet)

Harold Sherbico having a crush on you

Johnny Be Good~

Johnny Walker (Not completed yet)

- NSFW

Twister~

Robert “Rabbit” Nurick

Night Of The Creeps~

Chris (Not completed yet)

- NSFW

Intruder~

Randy

- NSFW

Produce Joe

Heaven Help Us~

Ed Rooney

- NSFW

The Chocolate War~

Archie Costello

- NSFW 

- NSFW Submissive Archie

Being Married to Archie

Archie with a chronically ill s/o

Making out with Archie Costello

Going to the beach with Archie

A threesome with Obie and Archie

Obie Jameson (Not completed yet)

- NSFW

Jerry Renault

- NSFW

Toy Soldiers~

Ricardo Montoya

Three O’Clock High~

Buddy Revell

Young Guns~

Billy The Kid

Doc Scurlock

Jose Chavez y Chavez

Dirty Steve Stephens

Preference~ Spending Christmas together

Police Academy~

Tackleberry having a crush on Mahoney’s little sister

Combat Academy~

Perry Barnett

- NSFW Submissive Perry

Yandere Perry Barnett

Perry Barnett being needy

Jealous Perry Barnett

National Lampoons European Vacation~

Rusty Griswold

Porkys~

Anthony “Meat” Tuperello

Meat having a crush on Peewees sister

Mickey Jarvis

Admit it

Brian Schwartz

Being Tim’s sister and falling in love with Brian

Tim Cavanaugh

Tommy Turner

Major League~

Ricky Vaughn

Twins~

Julius Benedict

Total Recall~

Douglas Quaid

- NSFW

Earth Girls Are Easy~

Mac

Full Metal Jacket~

Private Joker

Private Joker with an artist s/o

Animal Mother

Cowboy and Animal Mother fighting over you

Leonard Lawrence

Sgt. Hartman

- NSFW

Preference~ The boys with an s/o who has an ex that stalks them

Platoon

Elias Grodin

Chris Taylor

Gator Lerner

Dating Elias’ squad

An Orgy with the 25th division

Preference~ The boys as daddy doms

Top Gun

Maverick

- NSFW

Dogfight~

Eddie Birdlace

- NSFW

Clueless~

Elton Tiscia

10 Things I Hate About You~

Joey Donner

- NSFW

Jealous Joey Donner

She’s All That~

Simon having a crush on Laney’s friend

That Thing You Do!

T.B. Player

Senseless

Tim LaFlour

Crybaby~

Wade Walker

So I married an Axe Murderer

Charlie MacKenzie

Scream~

Poly Billy and Stu

Helping Billy and Stu on their murder spree

Billy Loomis

- NSFW

Bringing Billy to a big family Christmas party

Stu Macher

- NSFW

Randy Meeks (Not completed yet)

- NSFW

Randy Meeks with an sfx artist s/o

Idle Hands~

Anton Tobias

The Faculty~

Zeke Tyler

- NSFW

The Craft~

Nancy Downs

- NSFW

Sarah Bailey (Not completed yet)

Being a witch and getting close to Sarah 

The Crow~

Eric Draven

Edward Scissorhands~

Edward Scissorhands

Falling in love with Edward

Beetlejuice~

Adam Maitland

Lydia Deetz

The Addams Family~

Pugsley crushing on Wednesday’s ‘relatively normal’ friend

Gomez Addams

Hocus Pocus~

Max Dennison

Thackery Binx

Poly Max and Thackery

Halloweentown

Luke dating a witch

Caspar

Caspar McFadden

Little Shop of Horrors~

Seymour Krelborn

- NSFW

Ghostbusters~

Ray Stantz

- NSFW

Egon Spengler (Not completed yet)

- NSFW

Creepshow

~2

Andy Cavenaugh

Forbidden Zone~

The Devil

- NSFW

Legend~

Little Persephone

The Princess Bride~

Inigo Montoya

Labyrinth~

Jareth

Jareth falling in love with you 

Ladyhawke~

Phillipe Gaston (Not completed yet)

Fairytale

The Secret Garden~

Archibald Craven falling in love with you

Something Wild~

Ray Sinclair

Good Will Hunting~

Being apart of the good will hunting gang

Will Hunting (Not completed yet)

- NSFW

Will having a crush on you

Comforting and being comforted by Will

Chuckie Sullivan

- NSFW

The Rainmaker~

Being there for Rudy through the trials

The Devils Advocate~

Kevin Lomax

Misery~

Paul Sheldon

Silence of the Lambs~

Clarice Starling

The Fly~

A will they, won’t they relationship with Seth Brundle

An American Werewolf in London~

Jack Goodman

Re-animator~

Herbert West

The Evil Dead~

Ash Williams

Aliens~

Dwayne Hicks with an Android!s/o

Bishop

Candyman~

Daniel Robitaille

Friday the 13th~

Jason Voorhees

Sleepaway Camp~

Ricky Thomas

Children of the Corn~

Malachai Boardman

Carrie 

Carrie White

Jaws~

Being married to Hooper and going to Amity with him

The Thing

R.J. MacReady

The Shining

Jack Torrance

Jurassic Park

Ian Malcolm

The Truman Show

Truman Burbank

Harold and Maude

Harold Chasen

The Godfather~

Young Vito Corleone

Old Vito Corleone

Vito (both versions) with an artist s/o

Michael Corleone (Not completed yet)

Years Gone By

Tom Hagen

Sonny Corleone (Not completed yet)

Sonny with a shy, virgin s/o

Sonny dating his opposite

Goodfellas~

Henry Hill

Tommy Devito (Not completed yet)

Tommy with a chubby artist s/o

L.A. Confidential~

Jack Vincennes

- NSFW

The Untouchables

Eliot Ness

The Green Mile~

Percy Wetmore (Not completed yet)

- NSFW

The Shawshank Redemption~

Andy Dufresne (Not completed yet)

Andy falling in love with you

Tommy Williams

Die Hard

John McClane

Cobra

Marion “Cobra” Cobretti

Rocky

Ludmilla Drago

Taps~

Brian Moreland (Not completed yet)

- NSFW 

Stand and Deliver~

Angel Guzman

- NSFW

My Bodyguard~

Ricky Linderman

Melvin Moody

3 Ninjas~

Samuel “Rocky” Douglas

The Mighty Ducks~

Adam Banks

Being apart of team USA and meeting Charlie and Adam

Dean Portman

- NSFW

Being Fulton’s sister and Dating Dean

Dean cheering you up

Fulton Reed

Lester Averman

Dwayne Robertson having a crush on you

Newsies~

Specs

The Rocketeer~

Cliff Secord (Not completed yet)

Cliff having a crush on you

George of the Jungle 

George

Ladybugs~

Matthew

Cats~

The Jellicle cats meeting a human!s/o

Santa Clause

Jack Frost

Gremlins

Being snowed in with Billy

Buffy The Vampire Slayer~

Spike

- NSFW

Spike having a crush on you

Having a bad fight with Spike

Sabrina The Teenage Witch~

Harvey Kinkle

The Stand~

Harold Lauder

Goosebumps~

Sticks

Freddy Renfield

Saved By The Bell~

Zack Morris

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air~

Will Smith

Mork and Mindy~

Mork

Friends

Sandy (Not completed yet)

- NSFW

Freaks and Geeks~

Wishing I Was Her

Kim Kelly dating her polar opposite

𝐣𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐲 | 𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 

part one | part two | part three | part four

summary you're a single mom living three trailers down. eddie thinks you're the prettiest girl he's ever seen. queue smiley face oatmeal, grossly misused power tools, desserts on the living room floor, a haircut, and an abundance of nerd metaphors [15k]

warnings teen mom!reader, fem!reader, r is junie's birth mother, fluff, hurt/comfort, eddie ends up being a total girl dad (<3), mutual pining, yearning etc, tw for not having much money, general loneliness, mentions of a shitty/traumatic pregnancy, general mom struggles :(, slowburn friends to lovers, you wash eddie's hair!!!! this was low-key requested by anon

𓆩❤︎𓆪

Eddie opens the door and finds a little girl on the steps of his house. Little girl feels generous – she's barely more than a baby. In a set of tiny matching pajamas and white socks stained green from the morning grass, she looks up at him with wide, sad eyes. 

"Hey," he says carefully. "Hey, sweetheart." 

"Good morning," she says, though it comes out blurry.

"Good morning," he repeats with a breathless laugh, instantly endeared.

He curls his hand around the railing and squats down. She really is very cute and obviously well looked after, although he realises upon closer inspection that she's been crying. 

"Where's your mommy?" Eddie feels silly as he asks, but what else do you say when you find kids by themselves? 

He's not really expecting her to know the answer. She pouts her small mouth and Eddie freezes up. 

"Mommy.” Her breath quivers. 

"Don't cry," he says very gently.

It doesn't work, obviously, and she starts whimpering in a way that turns Eddie's heart entirely. 

"Let's find mommy, okay? Do you wanna do that? Wanna come and find mommy with me?" 

"Yes," she says, though it quickly draws up into a sharp cry. 

Eddie treks down the stairs and turns back, waiting. The little girl looks down at the steps and her eyebrows furrow as she places one foot after the other, looking like her socks are stuck to a fly trap. 

He holds his hand out. "You got it," he says encouragingly, wiggling his fingers. 

Her relief is palpable. Her brows smooth as she takes his hand, so small he can cover her entire palm with the meat of his thumb. She wobbles down the steps and then hesitates at the damp ground awaiting. 

Eddie drops his gaze to her wet feet.

She looks up at him. Eddie doesn't think she means to but her eyes are pleading,and he's already moving to pick her up when she lifts her arms into the air.

She's heavier than he anticipates. He quickly gets used to the weight, shifting her against his side with his arm under her butt, her damp foot digging into his abdomen. She rests one hand on his shoulder and the other reaches for his hair. He can't help smiling at her as she pets the dark mess, hand clumsy but well-intentioned. 

He walks down past the van and onto dark asphalt, looking up and down the road to see if anyone's around. He figures she has to be a trailer park kid – she can't have walked very far, and she'd been waiting outside. She must've gotten mixed up and thought his trailer was her own, which hopefully means her mom lives close. 

The steps up into his trailer are on the right side. Eddie guesses she's come from the right. It's not a great assumption — he's grasping at straws. 

"What's your name?" he asks. 

She's taken a lock of his hair into her hands. Eddie worries for a second that she's going to try eating it but she only waves it around, looking pleased. 

"I'm Eddie." 

"Dee," she says. 

"Almost. Eh-dee," he spells out, again not actually expecting her to understand what he's saying. He's unsure about kids her age – he's unsure what age she even is. 

She babbles something unintelligible and Eddie hikes her higher up his chest. He strides out of the cool shadow and blinks, shielding his eyes against the yellow-white glare of sunshine. The little girl hides her face in his hair. 

He hasn't walked very far when he sees you behind the trailer three doors down, pinning clothes that look the same size as the girl's pajamas to a clothesline with unhurried hands. The front door is wide open. 

"Your poor mommy," he murmurs as he approaches, "out here doing the laundry by herself and you're halfway to Indianapolis. Musta got turned around, huh?"

You drop a small light blue dress on the floor and cuss just loud enough for Eddie to hear it. You pick it up fast and brush it down, looking over the fabric worriedly. 

Eddie cuts over soft grass, giving the baby's waist a pat and holding her ears away from his mouth as he raises his voice. "Hey, is this your kid?" he asks. 

You flinch toward him and your eyes go wide – wide, your lips parting and your brows jumping down like you might start yelling. 

You're really fucking pretty. 

Eddie’s quick to placate you. "She was sitting on my front steps." 

You still don't look very happy though your suspicion melds to confusion and then a stab of too-late worry. You rush towards them and Eddie turns his body to encourage the girl's gaze to you. His chest warms when she perks up. 

She wriggles in his arms impatiently and Eddie's surprised by how quickly she starts to cry, reaching out for you with insistent grabbing hands as he passes her over.

"It's okay," you say softly, tucking her into your chest. 

The difference in body language is unmissable. Where she'd been restless (though more than pleasant) in Eddie's arms, she completely melts into yours. Her little face presses into your neck and her legs curl up. You pat her butt soothingly. "It's okay, baby. Where have you been?" You look up at him for an answer with concern lining your pretty features. 

"I'm only three down," he says. 

 "Oh… Thank you," you say roughly.

Your gratitude is unnecessary. "That's okay. She's real sweet. I opened the door and the first thing she said was, 'good morning,'" he recalls with an easy smile. 

Joy lightens your entire face. He feels his breath catch in his throat. 

"She did? She said that?" 

"Yeah, she did.” He tries not to sound as confused as he feels.

Your eyes close with the force of your smile. You encourages your toddler’s face back and drop your chin to plant kisses all over her tiny cheeks. Eddie feels something foreign yawning in his chest as she starts to laugh, a tinkling sound that's sugar sweet. 

He scratches his neck and pretends to look over his shoulder, tamping his smile back into a neutral expression. 

"She's having trouble talking," you say, lifting your head as the baby's giggles taper off. "She can talk, she says 'mommy' all the time, but she's s'posed to be saying more 'cos she's almost two and I know she can do it, she's so smart, but-" You cut yourself off and laugh all breathless and sheepish. "Sugar, I'm sorry. I mean- Sorry. Thank you," it almost bursts from you, "for bringing her back. I don't know…" 

"You just moved in, right?" You nod. "The lock on the front door- they're all exactly the same, you just gotta shake it and it unlocks. Even someone small as her can could get it open with enough determination." 

"She can be very determined," you say ruefully, voice hushed. You're still patting her butt, swaying her from side to side. Eddie's in awe at how quickly she's settled, her button features crumpled by a big yawn. "Always gets what she wants."

"I bet she does, she's a total heartbreaker." 

You take a step towards him, your beat up sneakers half a foot from his converse. "She can't help it, she was born this pretty," you say. He loves how braggy you sound. 

"I can see where she gets it." 

As soon as he says it he wishes he could take it back. Not because he doesn't think it's true – you're really something else – but because he doesn't want to creep you out. 

Luckily, he's rewarded for his bravery by another beaming smile, your words warm as you tell him, "They said she was the prettiest baby they'd seen in twenty years up in Eskenazi general." 

The name pricks his ears. "You're from Indianapolis?" 

"Kind of." You tilt your head to the side. "I'm sorry, I don't know your name." 

"Eddie." He could applaud himself on how normal he sounds and how not normal he feels. 

"Eddie, I'm Y/N. D'you wanna come in for coffee? Or I can make you some breakfast? To say thank you for taking care of my Junie."

"Junie," he repeats, surprised. 

You shift from foot to foot. "She's a June baby. And she's getting kind of heavy these days, so. Breakfast?" 

He follows you up the steps and through the back door. 

"You can leave it open," you say over your shoulder. 

He catches an eyeful of your bathroom, an organised chaos that smells intoxicating, the rich scent of jasmine heavy in the humidity chased by something softer. Talcum powder, he thinks. 

You murmur something to Junie too quiet to hear and she rouses from her dozing, grizzling weakly. 

"It's breakfast time! Is that what you tried to come and find me for, some breakfast? So impatient," you scold her lightly, smiling all the while as you set her into a bright blue high chair with a big yellow duck with orange flippers printed on the cushioning.

You squeeze one of her feet and frown. "Your socks are wet. Did you go swimming in the grass?" 

Eddie leans against the doorway leading into the kitchen. He doesn't have any experience with kids. You make it look easy, pulling off her stained socks while she wiggles her protest and tickling the soles of her feet with the tip of your finger until she's happy again. 

You turn back to him, socks clutched in your hand. "I'm gonna make oatmeal. Is that something you…" 

"I'm an oatmeal fiend." 

You grin and do a lap to close the front door. "Sit down. I'll get you some coffee? I got milk and brown sugar." 

He throws himself into the seat next to the high chair with exaggerated enthusiasm. "Brown sugar? Sweetness, you're spoiling me." 

Junie laughs. Eddie pulls himself up into a proper sitting position and gawps at her exaggeratedly. "What's funny, little lady?" 

She giggles some more. Eddie leans his elbow on the tray of the high chair and pretends to glare at her. "I can already tell you're trouble." 

"She likes you." 

"Yeah?" he asks, looking at you over his shoulder. 

You're half obscured by cabinets as you poke your head out, an open sack of rolled oats in one hand and a small pan in the other. You nod happily and move to the sink. He can hear the sound of the faucet and the burner clicking on, the saucepan sliding over the stovetop. 

"I like you," he says to Junie quietly, rapping his knuckles on the tray. "But don't tell anyone, okay? I have a reputation." 

"So, uh, how long have you lived here?" you call, almost smothered by the rushing sound of oats tipping into hot water. 

Junie makes a funny face like she might sneeze. Eddie watches. "Since I was a kid." He's smiling as he talks, amazed when Junie starts to smile back. He nods his head gently up and down to encourage her. "Too long. Not that it's not nice here."

Junie looks like she agrees. 

"For sure, but..  not always where you picture yourself," you say tentatively. 

He hums his agreement. "Whatever though, right? A roof is a roof. Even when the roof is made of cardboard and corrugated metal. I mean, all things considered, this is a well kept vessel." 

He's not just trying to make you feel better – you really are making a go of it. There's not nearly as much clutter or decoration as his own home but it's twice as clean and every surface brags a clear affection – you fucking love your daughter. There's a framed photo of her as she looks now at the mantle without a single fingerprint on the glass, baby photos in smaller frames hang on the wall. 

Smallest of all, a photo of the two of you together. Your hands on her shoulders, your lips and nose pressed to her forehead. You're not looking at the camera, but Junie is, and she's exuberant. 

Toys, though few, are arranged neatly under the TV. It's really the type of clean that takes hours. He wonders how you'd ever make time for it. 

"You got a job?"  

"Yeah, I'm waitressing at Benny's?" You say it like a question. "The burger place?"

"Yeah, I know the one. Randolph Lane, near the laundromat. Does Junie go with you?" he asks. He cooes Junie's name and feels very happy when the girl in question smiles some more, reaching out with her hands. Eddie offers up the same palm she'd taken before and lets her squeeze his fingers in a surprisingly tight grip. "She looks like a working girl." 

"Benny said I could bring her with me until she starts daycare next week, so she really is a working girl." You giggle madly and Junie loves the sound, her chubby cheeks rounding as she smiles. 

"I knew it," Eddie whispers conspiringly. "You have the face for it." 

Junie laughs like something is truly hysterical and Eddie can't believe it, squeezing the small girl's smaller fingers in his and waving their joined hands together.

"She really likes you," you say, closer now. 

You set a steaming cup of coffee in front of him. He pulls his hand from Junie's and moves the hot mug away from the high chair though she'd never be able to reach it as you set your own mug and a pint of milk half-full across from him, the brown sugar you'd promised in a pink and orange ceramic dish with a lid that clinks as he pulls it off. 

You double back into the kitchen. This time you bring a baby bottle full of what he guesses is diluted juice and two teaspoons, handing him one with a quiet, "For you." 

"Why thank you," he drawls. 

He spoons a generous hill of crumbly brown sugar into his cup and swirls. 

"The oatmeal needs to soften. Is there anything you want with it? I've got lots of options," you tell him, pouring milk into your own mug. When you're done you and Eddie swap.

He thinks maybe you sound a little nervous and wonders if he's the first neighbour you've met. Or maybe you're still freaked out about Junie. 

He raises his eyebrows but doesn't look at you as he splashes milk into the dark recesses of his coffee, watching as it bursts back up to the surface and turns the drink a more acceptable brown. "What do you usually have?" 

"Junie gets peanut butter and blueberries." 

He tilts his head toward his shoulder just slightly and plants his elbows on the table, the rim of his mug held in tenuous fingertips. 

"What do you get?" he asks, thinking that if the baby gets such a sweet treat you must get something equally impressive. He thinks of raspberries and chia seeds, flakey sea salt and bitter dark chocolate. 

You blink. "What?" 

"What do you have, on your oatmeal?" He punctuates his question with a sip. 

"Salt. Sometimes raisins." 

You make a nice cup of coffee. Eddie holds it in both hands and leans into the table. "That's it?" 

You shrug. Junie starts to whimper about something Eddie doesn't understand. You reach out to hold her hand. "She loves blueberries. Don't you, Junie?"

"Blue," Junie says. 

You're smiling as you take another small spoonful of brown sugar. You lick the tip of your finger and dip it into the well of the spoon until a few grains are sticking to you and hold it up to Junie's lips. "She loves sugar, too, but toddlers aren't s'posed to have it. Or so they say." You smile as she sucks the sugar off before wiping your spit wet finger in your pants. 

Daughter appeased for a moment, you hold your chin in your palm and turn your attention to him. "Where do you work?" 

He imagines this is how a plant feels when the sun comes out. "The Hideout, for now. I'm a very essential and irreplaceable bus boy." He nods very seriously.

"What's after?" 

"Music." 

Your lips curl into an interested smile. "Music? You a singer?" 

"I have a great set of windpipes," he says agreeably, grinning. "But I'm a guitarist." 

"And you're in a band?" 

"I- I was. Yeah, we were good, too, but everybody graduated and our drummer skipped town. I just sub rhythm guitar for whoever wants me to." 

"At the Hideout?" 

"At the Hideout." He decides on his next words carefully. You could come see me play. Weak. You're welcome to come see it for yourself. Too strong? You're welcome to come by one night. Bring Junie. 

He's not asking you on a date; he's a new acquaintance extending an invitation for you to get out and see a new place. That's all it is. 

He opens his mouth to try and suddenly there's a loud clattering. Eddie flinches, blinks, finds that Junie has thrown her bottle of juice across the room. 

Eddie waits for you to maybe tell her off like some of the mom's he's seen at Bradley's. A glare, a hissing remark to be good. 

You reach over and your shirt rides up your back. Eddie averts his gaze guiltily.

You put the bottle back on the tray, giving him an apologetic grimace. "Sorry, Junie has recently discovered that every time she drops something I'll pick it up for her." 

"Smart Junie." 

The bottle falls to the floor again. "She's a genius." You don’t sound entirely pleased, picking the bottle up again and holding it just out of Junie's reach. You shake it up and down. "S'juice. You like juice," you try to reason with her.

Junie reaches for it. You purse your lips. "Be good," you say softly. 

Junie takes the bottle and shakes it. 

It's a small victory and still softens every feature. Your eyes squint, your bottom lip juts out a touch, your nostrils flare with a pleased inhale. 

"Thanks, junebug."

"Tanks," Junie says. 

"Thanks," you repeat, bubbly baby talk. "Thanks. Say thanks, Junie." 

Eddie watches you encourage her over his coffee. It's quiet, peaceful here in a way nowhere else in his life has ever been besides quiet Sunday mornings with his Uncle. There's only the sound of the gas stovetop burning and your happy, patient voice. 

Junie says "Tanks," a couple more times. You don't give up. When she finally says something that sounds almost like a "Thanks," you whip your gaze to his. 

"Did you hear that?" you ask. Your pride is evident. 

He puts down his half empty mug. "She said it." 

"She said it," you repeat, your shoulders moving in the tiniest happy dance he's ever seen. You stand up and take her face into delicate hands. "She's my smarty pants. Aren't you, baby?" 

You dot a kiss over her head and head back into the kitchenette. 

"Tanks," Junie says animatedly, running on an affection high. She accidentally knocks her bottle over.

"Thanks, Junie," Eddie corrects, righting it. 

He finds it easier to baby talk than he imagined. Being nice to little kids – that's easy. Especially as he gets older. When they hit the pre-teen mark is when he starts to steer clear, but even then he can't help doting on them sometimes. Like his club – idiots, annoying idiots, but his annoying idiots. He doesn't hold back with them. He doesn't feel like he's holding back now, either, it's just different. 

Baby's want love. Care and affection. 

And to pull Eddie's hair, apparently. 

Junie's reaching over the gap with a fierce look on her face. Eddie pulls his chair closer and decides to let her try it out. She hadn't given him any reason to worry before, and she doesn't now as she takes a chunk of his hair into her hand. She pulls very gently, likely more that her fingers have gotten caught in his messy curls than any maliciousness. 

"What's your fascination with my hair?" he asks her. 

In her own home Junie's very noisy. When he'd found her outside she hadn't done much besides whimper weakly. Now, she's a riot of gurgling and humming. 

"Are you a singer, Junie?" he asks. 

"She sings all the time! She loves the Muppet Babies on TV, but I- uh, I haven't been able to actually get cable, yet. But when I get paid next week…" You come back into view with two bowls in hand. "She'll be in her oils." 

Eddie says thanks as you put a bowl down in front of him. There's a smiley face there made up of berries with banana slices for eyes. He feels something crawling up his throat and has no idea what it is, and then something completely different when he sees your own bowl, a stretch of plain oatmeal with no delicious adornment. 

You leave and quickly return with a smaller bowl, a baby spoon and a jar of peanut butter.

"Do you want some?" you ask, opening the jar to push the baby spoon inside. "I would've just put it in anyway but then I worried you were allergic." 

You hand it off to Junie and she licks at it happily. 

"Sure, I'll have some. Where's your smiley face?" he asks. 

Your eyes widen slightly. Eddie's not academically inclined but he's never been stupid, and he sees it for what it is, something he's seen in himself and in every other poor kid who didn't bring lunch to school.

"I don't really like bananas," you say. 

Whether you're lying or not isn't something he needs to know.

"Well, you're gonna have to share the blueberries with me, I can't eat this much fruit. I got a hearty diet of chips and microwave oven dinners to uphold." 

Eddie shovels half of the smile into your bowl. You clutch your spoon in your hand like you want to protest, but no way is he gonna watch you miss out on nice things in your own home. 

You smile and don't say anything for a while, rubbing the edge of the bowl with your spoon, your thoughts somewhere else. 

Junie's food sits billowing steam in the middle of the table, which annoys the poor girl endlessly. She wiggles and murmurs and sucks at her empty spoon with a growing line between her brows. 

Eddie eats and feels much better when you finally start to eat your own meal, leaning back in his chair heavily to loll his head towards Junie. "Your mom makes amazing oatmeal. You're really missing out." 

You choke on a laugh and grab her spoon to load up with another small heap of peanut butter. "That is so cruel to lord over her,” you say. “I can't give it to her yet! It's scorching. She has a fragile mouth." 

"I'm sure." 

He picks one of his blueberries out of the bowl and offers it to Junie, who takes it slowly despite her previously rabid hunger 

More oatmeal eating. Eddie ends up giving the rest of his fruit to Junie, your generous dollops of peanut butter more than enough to enjoy the oatmeal. He might argue it doesn't need any adornment at all.

You stir peanut butter into Junie's bowl and wrestle the baby spoon out of her tight grip.

It's a process to watch. You scoop up oatmeal, blow on it until you're sure it's cool, and push it into Junie's mouth efficiently. There's a method to it, the way you lift the handle of the spoon so oatmeal doesn't drip straight back out of her mouth. When it does you scrape the lip gently against her chin to catch it before it ruins her shirt. 

It starts to rain. Hard not to notice, a light drizzle opens and sprays down against the windows and for a moment there's no reaction. Then, gasping, you drop Junie's bowl back onto the table in stress. 

"Shit, the laundry. Are you okay to watch her please? Sorry. I'll be five seconds," you say, already heading for the back door. 

"Sure.” He sounds about as startled as he feels. 

The back door shushes open and your feet dip down the steps. Junie is not very pleased with her breakfast getting put on pause, her face growing as unpleasant as the weather outside.

"Mommy," she says, unhappy and loud.

Eddie doesn't think about it as he picks up her bowl. It's more a pulse of feeling than a thought. Feed her and she won't cry. 

He blows on a spoonful of oatmeal with likely too much vigour. 

Junie's still complaining as he holds it in front of her face. If she's surprised to be fed by somebody who isn't her mom she doesn't show it, her sticky face growing suddenly slack as she realises her oatmeal is back in play. Her lips part.

He feeds her oatmeal, does a very bad job, and tries to gather what's escaped with the spoon as Junie waves her hands around and pokes at spilled food on the white tray in front of her. By the time you come back damp and breathless with the cold chasing your heels he's successfully managed to feed her what was left of her breakfast. He's embarrassed to be caught but tries not to show it. 

"You okay?" he asks, looking you up and down amicably.

"S'only a little rain." You push the laundry basket onto the sofa and smile sheepishly. "You didn't have to do that." 

"And have the precious little lady starve?" 

"Starve!" you repeat, a feigned incredulousness to your tone. 

"She was giving me the puppy dog's," he says, shrugging as he takes the spoon out of Junie's wet fingers. 

She whines for a second at his robbery but seems to realise she's full, picking her juice back up to shake some more. 

You exhale through an open-mouthed smile.

"Thank you. She's gonna love you now, she loves anyone who gives her food. She's a real cadge at the diner. Never seen so much free cherry pie in my life," you remark, turning to what looks like your diaper station. You wade through a mess of things he doesn't recognise and pull out a packet of baby wipes. 

"And her mom? Is her affection so easily garnered?" 

"Takes more than a cherry pie to win me over," you joke, sitting down in your chair in front of the high chair with a soft sigh. You pull out one of the wipes and take Junie's wrists into your hand, wiping her fingers clean methodically. "I need at least a squirt of whipped cream on top before I consider any fondness." 

He chuckles and you laugh too. It's short-lived, your lips pursed as you wipe Junie's face clean. She hates every second of it, writhing in her chair like she's being tortured as you clean a mess of brown and blue from her round chin. 

"Sorry, I'm sorry. Done, done," you say, holding your hands up in surrender. 

She pouts. 

"Don't be like that," you scold her mildly. "Look how lovely and clean you are now! Eddie can see how pretty you look again." 

You slide your hands under her armpits and pull her out of the highchair, groaning. 

"Oh, there you go. Where's Mr. Bear gone, baby? You can play sticky bricks with him so I can get ready for work." 

Work. Work. Where Eddie was going. Where Eddie is very likely supposed to be. He checks the time and his eyes flare, standing up abruptly. You turn  toward him with Junie anchored on your hip, both wearing matching expressions of curiosity.

"Sh-“ Don’t swear around babies. “I'm sorry, I got somewhere to be that I totally spaced on."

You blink. "That's okay." 

"It was sick to meet you," he says. 

You blink some more and walk to the front door, pulling it open as an understanding smile curls your lips. "Super 'sick,'" you say, bemused. "Thank you so much for bringing Junie back. Really, I mean, if anything ever happened to her." You don't finish because it's obvious, your bright tone underlain with a burning fear.

He walks sideways out of the door and down one step, knowing he's super fucking late but not caring too much as he says, "Listen, I can bring you a deadbolt." 

"You could?" 

"Sure thing. Make sure this little lady," and he says it chidingly, directing his gaze at Junie who goes all shy and smiley from the attention, "doesn't go on anymore morning adventures. Especially without her shoes." 

"That would be… that would be awesome, Eddie. Thank you." 

He waves his hand and descends the last of the steps. "I'll come around tomorrow?" 

It's a Saturday today. He's not surprised that you're both working the weekend, but he is surprised that you're working Sunday too when you say, "Would after five be okay?" 

"That's more than okay. Bye, trouble," he says to Junie, bringing a hand up to shield his hair from the drizzling rain. 

You look lovely on the stoop, fresh-faced and in your lounge clothes. You tug Junie up your chest and take her hand into yours. "Say 'bye', Junie," you tell her, waving her hand. "Bye! Bye-bye, Eddie." 

"Bye Junie!" he calls, waving at the little girl with great fervour.

"Bye!" Junie calls back. 

You both grin. 

-

You're super tired from work and exhausted from an upset daughter. Even now Junie fusses. She hasn't been getting her naps because you can't set her down anywhere that isn't the wooden high chair in Benny's restaurant, which is months of a routine disrupted. 

You're not mad at her – the opposite, you feel awful to mess her up like this, awful that she's so upset. Trying your very best to calm her down, you're swaying her from side to side in the middle of your messy living room with your hand patting a steady rhythm into the narrow breadth of her back. 

"I know, baby, I know. I'm sorry. You'll get your nap tomorrow, I promise," you say, trying for softness and missing, desperation eating at your tone.

You try not to have a heart attack at the thought of her first day at the new daycare. I can't think about it, you tell yourself, moving your thoughts onto the Sunday checklist. 

Junie's been fed. Unfortunately, she's the kind of wound up where the only solution you can think of is to get her in bed. If you can get her down soon she'll sleep until maybe 4AM. Not ideal; you'd prefer she slept later tonight and woke up at a healthier 6AM with you. When she does wake, no matter the time, you'll have her eat something substantial for breakfast and take a much needed bath. 

Laundry, bills, cleaning, it all runs through your head. Junie's hair, her snacks for daycare, her clothes. Does she have clean socks for the week? Does she have a vest top for tomorrow? 

Her crying grows loud and you can't think of anything except how overwhelmed you feel. 

"It's okay, baby, just go to sleep." You shush her softly.

Somebody knocks the door. 

You and Junie are similarly nonplussed. Her crying ceases for a second and her head turns in tandem with yours. 

"Oh. Oh, you know who that is, huh?" you ask her, making for the door while her cries are still on pause. "That's our new friend Eddie. You remember Eddie?" 

You pull open the door. There he is on the porch with a bag and a plastic case, wearing a shirt with short sleeves. You realise for the first time that he has tattoos. 

"Hi," you say. 

"Hi. Hi, Junie," he adds, looking at her tear-stained face. "Have I come at a bad time?" 

"No, you're good. You're great, thank you for doing this." You lean back against the door and Eddie skirts past you. That close, you can smell the heavy sage and sandalwood of his cologne and see the beauty mark under his ear, dark hair tucked behind the shell. 

He stops in the middle of the room and puts down the plastic case. "I'm gonna try to do it. Try being the essential word, and I make absolutely no promises." He makes a small cross with his hands leading out and the bag falls from the crook of his elbow to his wrist. 

It sounds like more than a deadbolt. Eddie sees your gaze and jumps into theatrics that hook Junie's attention straight away, ruffling through the bag. He pulls out a VHS tape and then a second, one old and one newer. 

"For your consideration." He presents them grandly against his check, his eyes flitting from your daughter to the tapes in wait of her reaction. 

Junie has no clue what a VHS is. She thinks the TV is magic. 

You swoop in and gasp loudly for Junie's sake, having identified his proffered tapes immediately. 

"You know what that is?" you ask her, pointing at the slipcover. "Muppet Babies! There's Kermit and Fozzy and Rowlf and Gonzo." You touch your finger to each puppet in turn as you reel off their names. 

Junie looks up at you like maybe she remembers, so you start to sing the theme tune for her. "Muppet Babies, they make their dreams come true. Muppet Babies, they'll do the same for you!"

The song jogs her memory. She starts her nonsense singing in a valiant but juvenile effort to recreate the music, dancing in your arms. 

You sing it again for her as you lower her to the floor. She doesn't whine to be picked back up, a great sign that her mood has turned, instead walking to the TV, a small silver combi with a bubble screen. She raises her arms up high and starts hitting the TV stand with her palms flat. 

Eddie looks to you as if he's checking that it's alright before crossing the small space and turning on the TV, your relieved smile more than enough encouragement. He's careful not to step on Junie's feet, surprised when she walks into his leg. She grabs onto his jeans and looks up at him with wide eyes. 

Eddie visibly softens. 

It's kind of crazy to see him, this metalhead dude covered in dark tattoos and wearing safety pinned jeans looking down at a toddler with nothing but patience in his eyes.

He drops his hand very lightly to her tiny back and pushes in the tape. "Hi, sweetheart."

"Hi," Junie says. 

She doesn't let him touch her for very long, falling to her knees to pull out the bin of stickle bricks hiding underneath as Eddie fast forwards through the adverts and then turns up the volume until the Muppet Babies theme is echoing against the wood panelled walls.. 

Junie's eyes dart up the screen, two bricks held in her hands and a great smile on her face. 

"Where did you find that?" you ask, in awe. 

He steps over her and comes back to your side, crossing his arms over his stomach with a smug smile. "Not telling. Ruins the magic. Got The Bugs Bunny Show for when she gets bored of Miss Piggy." 

You smooth down your rumpled black work skirt and smile shyly. "I can pay you back… Next week." 

He looks lost for words for a split-second. It clears fast, and he says, "Tell you a secret. I have a friend down at good old Family Video that let me have 'em for nothing." 

"Yeah?" you ask, unsure. You worry he's lying to make you feel better. 

"Uh-huh. Friends in high places," he brags sarcastically. 

You turn to watch Junie smile for the first time in hours and have to scrub your face to hide how shattered you feel. It's been a really long week. Your relief is a physical thing, a hand on your shoulder. You feel yourself deflate. 

"You okay?" Eddie asks. 

You press the backs of your hands to your cheeks. "Thank you. Really. You saved me." 

"Yeah?" he asks, dialling up the drama. He lifts his chin high. "Would you say, oh, I don't know, that I'm your hero?" 

It's his clear joking tone that saves him. If you'd detected even a smidge of genuine expectancy from him you likely would've shoved him out the door. 

"Mm-hm. My hero," you croon, both of you grinning. 

He turns back to the grocery bag and pulls out a bottle of juice. "I was gonna bring coke but I didn't want Junie to feel left out." 

You move to the cabinets and can't believe how nice he is. You get a little warning stab, that feeling of if it's too good to be true… and shake it off. Maybe it'll turn out that way and you're not gonna do anything stupid to chance it, but he seems like a normal guy. A good neighbour who wants to be your friend.

You're in dire need of one of those. 

"What was wrong with the little lady?" 

You pour juice into a glass for him, less into a glass for you, and a half-inch into a clean baby bottle. "I can't get her down for a nap when she's with me at work and it really caught up to her today. She-" You yawn so wide it hurts your cheeks, covering your face with your arm. 

Eddie looks up from where he's kneeling in front of the open plastic case he'd brought with him. "Caught up to you too, I think." 

"A little." You smile ruefully. 

He holds something red and black in the air. "This'll wake you up," he says. 

It's a small hand drill. He presses down on the trigger twice in quick succession and Junie lies down on the floor to look backwards at him. 

“Woah,” you say.

Junie rolls onto her knees and then stands. She's in that stage of walking where she can mostly do it but has a great tendency to trip over anything that might be in her way, and she stumbles as she approaches. Eddie moves the drill away from her and opens the case wide to show her his array of drill bits. 

"How'd you like them, Junie?" he asks. "Pretty cool, huh?" 

"What do they all do?" you ask. 

"I don't have the foggiest," he says, grinning up at you. "And I really wanted to be cool and pretend that I did. I was going to, but you asked me that and now we're sunk." 

Junie pokes at all the silver metal and turns away, bored, to return to her cartoons. 

"I'm sorry," you say, not sorry at all. 

"You should be." He shakes his hair out. "Can't say woodshop was something I ever paid much attention to in school." 

You squat down beside him where he's counting the screws out for the deadbolt he'd acquired for you, your small cup of juice in hand. The deadbolt isn't new but it's clean of rust and that's all you care about. It doesn't need to do anything besides work. 

"It can't be too hard though, right?" you ask quietly. There isn't any need to talk loudly this close to him and your head is starting to hurt from a long day. 

"I hope not." He passes you the drill. "Hold onto that?" 

He stands and you follow, the deadbolt frame in hand. He turns to your front door and holds it up to the frame, far from the door knob. "Where'd you want this thing?" 

"Wherever you think is best," you say quickly. 

"Got a pencil?" 

You don't. You're ashamed to offer him a cyan blue crayon from Junie's arts and crafts. He takes it with a gleeful smile and uses it to draw a line under the deadbolt's two parts to make sure they fit together once they've been drilled in. 

Junie starts fussing and you squint at her, trying to guess what's wrong. You leave the drill on the small table by the door.

"Junie, you want some dinner?" you ask, walking up behind her where she's stood watching TV. You rub her shoulder and lean over her, your face upside down in front of the TV. "I don't think you're hungry. Let's change that diaper." 

She certainly doesn't want you to. You turn to Eddie where he's making clumsy crosses on the door in place of the screws, his brows furrowed. 

"I'm gonna go get her some jammies," you say, and then wince. "Pajamas." 

"Jammies," he repeats. You hate how happy he looks. 

A hot flush washes over you. "She's the only one I talk to." 

Again, that awful softening of his features. He's got the biggest, brownest eyes you've ever seen. "Why don't you get changed, too? I'm gonna start drilling." He waves the drill and you don't like how loosely he holds it. 

"Please don't ruin the door." 

A wolfish smile. "No promises." 

You leave all the doors open. Eddie's nice but you're not stupid – if he plans on kidnapping her or something evil this is the perfect time. Though, you suppose, he could’ve abducted her when he found her outside.

You shed your uniform and pull on a pair of loose fitting pants. You can't find a clean t-shirt, probably because you own a grand total of three, and you get distracted when the drill starts whirring and Junie screams. 

You know in your heart that it's just a baby scream rather than a sign that she's in pain and you still can't let it lie, rushing down the hall. You can see her, see that she's uninjured, only looking at the drill.

She's excited. 

"You like that?" Eddie asks her. "Is that funny?" 

Junie claps her hands together and reaches for the drill. 

Eddie frowns. "Sorry, you can't have it. I gotta finish the door for your mommy. Why don't you build me something with your bricks, yeah? Something big." 

Junie reaches up for the drill again. 

"I can't, Junie, it's too dangerous. Don't want you to get all mutilated." You wrinkle your nose at what he's saying. He turns the drill towards his chest and touches the drill bit to his collar. "Look, see this? It's not for little hands." 

Junie steps over the case of things on the ground and leans against Eddie's legs, insistent. 

Your mouth drops open as he starts the drill and puts on some fake anguished screams. "Ah! Oh my god, it's eating me!" 

Junie starts laughing at his fake screaming. Her eyes widen, her hands clinging to a rip in his jeans. 

"Think that's funny, do you? Heartless girl. Where's your juice gone, hmm?" He holds the drill behind his back and points to her bottle on the side of the couch where you'd left it. "You want that?" 

He goes over her head to grab it and encourage it into her hands. "Yummy," he says, his eyes moving to where you stand in the door past the kitchen, eyebrows jumping up. "Everything okay?" 

"Screaming," you say, awkward in your breathlessness. 

Eddie's eyes stay resolutely on your face. "She's okay. The drill is exciting. You're shirtless, you know." 

You spin on your heel and back into your room. Your heart a jack hammer, you sieve through clothes until a rumpled t-shirt that smells of deodorant but not sweat appears and shrug into it. 

Junie has a much better selection of clothes. You pick out some matching pajamas for her and a thick pair of socks and tuck them under your arm with her changing matt.

When you return this time, Eddie's drilling a third and fourth hole into the wall next to the door and Junie's watching with the teat of her bottle in her mouth, chewing but not drinking. You lay her mat down on the floor and grab her with a big sigh. 

"Alright, Junie, let's get you all fresh for bed." 

You change her diaper and she doesn't misbehave too much, Eddie's general presence a distraction. Soon she's sitting in your lap, dressed in new pajamas and smelling of talcum powder and baby creams, her wool socks soft as you rub your thumbs into the instep of her feet. 

You sit on the floor watching Eddie drill the screws into the deadbolt frame. Junie slouches against you, her head digging into your chest and her tired arms struggling to hold up her bottle. You hold it up for her, watching Eddie's hands and his arms, how they move. Muscle and ligament tense under the skin, tattoos warping, his bats propelled into flight. 

"I like your tattoos," you say. 

Eddie stops drilling to look over his shoulder. "What?" 

"I- I like your tattoos." 

He lights up. His back straightens out and he turns back to the lock, giving the last screw a final good twist. The door makes a groaning protest and then it's quiet. Just Muppet Babies, Junie's soft suckling and the compliment you'd given adrift in the room. 

"They're pretty sweet," he allows. You can hear how pleased he is though he won't look at you. 

"They're cool. Have you had them long?" 

Eddie starts to tell you all about them, fiddling with something you can't see on the door. 

Junie decides that she doesn't want to be sitting anymore and turns in your arms, hands coveting your neck. You lift her into your chest and rub circles in her back, the weight of her emptying bottle on your shoulder. Soon, her small arms go lax. There's a rush of air as her lips open from the teat and the bottle tumbles to the rug with a dull thud. 

He pulls open the door.  Cool air rushes in. He closes it, slides the deadlock into place, and then pulls hard to make sure it won’t come free. 

It’s solid. 

He laughs triumphantly and Junie stirs. You pat her back and make some quiet shushing sounds and Eddie turns around, a slip of his teeth on show as he grimaces. 

"Sorry," he whispers. 

You shake your head. "You're amazing. Thank you." 

If his cheeks weren't pink they are now. He leans into it, hiding one cheek behind his hair. "Stop," he says, exaggerated. 

"I'll make it good, I swear," you whisper, covering Junie's ear with your hand. "I'll make you the best dinner ever. I'm the best at Kraft's mac and cheese, or-" You flush hot, realising that mac and cheese might not be the treat you think it is to him. "Or we can order in," you say, doing the maths in your head. You can't afford it, but maybe Benny-

"Kraft's mac and cheese? You're spoiling me." 

You beam. 

Eddie cleans up the small mess he's made. You're afraid to move quite yet in case Junie's not really sleeping, though she's a dead weight in your arms, and you watch Eddie walk through the room with both caution and ease. 

"Oh, you don't have to do that,” you say. 

He folds the baby blanket in his hands and puts it back on the armrest of the couch before moving on to the stickle bricks, not looking at you as he says, "Just earning my wage, doll." 

You can't watch him clean your home. You wrap a tight arm around Junie and rise to your feet. Eddie sees your approach and his movements grow faster, rushing to clean up the mess before you can stop him. You don't know who starts first but you're both laughing as you grab his wrist. 

"Stop!" you whisper, mock-furious. "Stop cleaning." 

"Sh, you'll wake the baby." 

You shake your head in bemusement. "I'm gonna go set her down. Then mac and cheese." 

"Take your time. Lots of things for me to clean up out here," he says with a mock sincerity. 

You drift down the hall and turn back to sneak a glance at him. He's pulled Muppet Babies out of the TV and is rewinding it around his thumb, a small smile on his lips as he hums the theme tune to himself. 

With Junie finally in bed for the night you take a quick peek at yourself in the mirror on your nightstand and cringe. You look tired. You give yourself a big smile and feel better; a smile makes even your most exhausted features look pretty. 

You slap on some chapstick. You know, to counter your dry lips. It shines. 

Slipping out of the bedroom, you close the door as quietly as you can manage. 

Eddie's standing at the end of the hallway. You expect to feel scared. Instead, you’re perplexed.

"Hi?" you whisper.

"Can I use the bathroom?" 

You laugh. "Yeah. Course you can." 

You have to pass each other in the hallway. His hip bumps your hip, a short rub of fabric. 

You're still thinking about it when he finds you behind the stove, half asleep with your face in your hand. It's the kind of tired where your eyes keep slipping shut, not aching so much as blurry with a heavy head. 

"You okay?" he asks quietly, sitting down at your cramped table. 

You hum. "Hm. Just tired." You give him a guilty smile as you tip the bigger portion into his bowl.  "Sorry. Mac and cheese with bacon bits for you, my hero." 

"Thanks, sweetheart." 

The fatigue ebbs a little. 

Eddie’s easy to talk to. He makes you laugh. When you say goodnight, he looks back over his shoulder twice.

-

It's a funny coincidence that Eddie sees you Friday night. He never grocery shops on a Friday but he knowd when his uncle gets home in the morning there won’t be anything for him to eat after his shift. He takes a sharp turn towards the TV dinners and there you are at the bottom of the aisle with Junie in the seat of the cart. You're talking to her like you'd talk to anyone, though you didn't sound so saccharine sweet over mac and cheese. Close, but not quite. 

"What do you want?" you're asking. "Ham and pineapple or mini pepperoni?" 

Junie holds her hands out for both boxes. You let her take them and the two of you puzzle over the pizzas, heads bent together. 

"Pepperoni, right?" you ask her, quietly enough that he almost misses it. 

"Peroni," Junie agrees. You let her keep the box and put the other one back in the freezer. 

"Pepperoni," you correct, absentminded. 

"Peroni." 

"Pepper-roni." You sound it out slow, looking at a scrap of paper in your hand. 

"Pepper."

"You'll get there. Do you think we need shampoo this week?" You start jovial, but quickly lose your sprightliness. "Maybe I can put some water in the bottle and just… shake it up. No, we definitely need it." 

Eddie watches you look over the cart. He knows exactly what you're thinking, What can I put back?

"Hey!" he calls, walking a little faster to try and hide how he'd been listening. 

You turn on the spot and smile as soon as you see him. Junie, to his delight, is even more excited. 

"Hi," she says, hands thudding along the cart's handlebar. 

"Hi, Junie. How's my favourite neighbour?" 

She babbles. 

"I'm psyched to hear it. How about you, sweetheart?" he asks, parking his cart next to yours. 

You're looking very tired. Still in your work uniform with a hoodie thrown over the top and your smart flats swapped for a pair of converse with the laces undone. You pinch your cheeks up into a big smile. He guesses that with a baby you've gotten very used to hiding how you feel.

You don't hesitate to lay it down thickly. "I'm really good." 

"Yeah? How's Junie liking daycare?" 

You cover your hands with your sleeves. "She loves it. Loves napping again. She-" You frown. "She doesn't like the mornings. Dropping her off. But after." You nod with a tentative smile "Yeah, it's nice to pick her up." 

"Uh-huh. How's work?" 

"What?" 

"How's work for you? How's Benny's?" he prods. 

"You're asking me about work?" 

"Why wouldn't I be?" 

"Nobody ever asks about work," you say. 

You can't look at him as soon as you've said it, your eyes moving back to the grocery list in hand. It's an old envelope, and it crinkles under your squeezing fingers. 

"Sorry," you mutter. 

Eddie bites back a frown. "Well, I'm asking." 

He holds out his hand for the list and you give it without thinking. He adores your handwriting the second he sees it, scanning the list for anything in this aisle.

"Hey, tell me about it," he prompts at your silence, pushing his cart. It takes you a millisecond to catch up, but when you do you're near frenetic. 

"Well, I messed up like, five different orders today. And when I had Junie it was like they didn't care 'cos she's cute, but now she's not there they get pretty angry pretty quickly." 

"She's like a magic item." 

"Right," you say, sounding like you have no idea what he's talking about. "She was my lucky charm. 'N now when I mess up I gotta practically beg some of those guys to leave Benny alone. He's too nice to me already."

"Are they all terrible?"

"No, the regulars, guys in there everyday, they're all great. They're too generous. Benny's too generous. I know he's fluffing up my tip jar. I hate that. I don't want him-" You flinch. It's strange. Eddie takes a small step closer to you and waits for you to continue, but you've lost all steam. "Sorry, I don't mean to weigh you down with all of this." 

"I asked. And I get it." 

"I don't want him to feel sorry for me." 

"Hey," he says, reaching out for a box of cereal on your list. He presents it to Junie and shakes it around, "who said anything about all that?" 

"No, I know, I just-" 

Junie smiles her approval and he chucks the cereal in your cart with a rattle of metal. "I'm not trying to make you feel worse, I swear. I get it. I- You said he's a nice guy, right? So maybe he doesn't feel sorry for you at all. Maybe he just likes you. He owns that place. I don't think it hurts him to put an extra twenty in your tips." 

Junie reaches up. You turn to her and lean down until your face is a few inches from hers. "I wish I didn't need it," you say quietly. 

"I know." 

Junie puts her hand on your cheek. 

You sniff, not crying or anything like that, only breathing. "Thanks, Junie," you murmur. 

"Mommy," she says. She sounds a little concerned. 

"Let's go get something yummy, baby." You stroke her face lightly. "I'm thinking canned peaches. Or pears, um. Fruit cocktail. And condensed milk," you add, sounding unsure.

"I got a can or two of that laying around," Eddie says, because he knows that shit is expensive. "Wayne hates sweet stuff." 

"I couldn't-" 

"You let me come over for one of those mini pizzas and I'll bring the dessert," he says, like he knows you'll say yes. He doesn't know. Eddie Munson’s an expert in pushing his luck. 

Junie starts clapping her hands together. 

"I think she's decided," you say. 

-

You're terrible with a can opener. You whine to yourself as you struggle to get open the second can. Eddie had insisted on peaches and pears and fruit cocktail, because he wanted to try them all apparently. And then some dramatic speech about little kids getting spoiled.

You can hear him now in the living room with Junie. They're laughing in a way that you're worried about, that guilty, hushed giggling that raises your hackles. 

"Shush," Eddie says, faux-angry, "your mom's gonna hear." 

"Shush," she repeats with much more enthusiasm. 

"You shush! Look, don't do that, Junie, you're gonna get it tangled in your hair," he says. 

You carry the can and can opener with you into the living room. Something about tangled hair gets your heart racing. 

"Eddie, please don't let her get stickies in her hair," you say quickly. 

"They're called stickles," he says, dropping back onto his hands, head over his shoulder to give you a bright-eyed smile. 

"I know what they're called. Junie can't say stickles." 

"Stickles," she says. 

"She couldn't when I got them," you amend. 

He's up quicker than you can really take in, hands extended. "Let me do it," he says. 

He works the can out of your fingers. It's more contact than you've had with somebody who wasn't your daughter in a very long time and it leaves you shell-shocked. Eyes on his nice hands, bigger than yours with thicker fingers and his riot of rings. He presses the can to his chest and hooks the opener, peeking between it and you intermittently. 

"Go see what we made for you," he encourages. "I'll do it." 

His arm brushes yours as he moves to the kitchen and that's worse than his fingers. You rub where he'd touched and drop down on your knees next to Junie, looking over the stickle bricks with a smile. It's a heart, poorly construed and of tens of colours. It falls apart when she tries to pick it up so you help her remake it, cooing. 

"Thanks, baby. This is for me, huh? You're so sweet." Your voice drops to a murmur. "My sweet girl. Wanna cuddle?" 

You open your arms out and she doesn't seem very interested. "Please?" you ask, vying for her waist. 

She lets you pull her into your lap. When you actually start to hug her she does her lovely melting thing that she always does, a floppy fish in your arms but with tiny squeezing hands. You giggle at her antics and lift her up so her face falls into your neck. 

"Thanks for my heart, Junebug." She snuggles her head into your neck, hair squished to your skin. "I love you," you whisper, rubbing her back. 

"The works," Eddie announces grandly as he appears, two bowls in hand.

"Eddie, that's too much for her." 

"She's a growing girl." 

"A growing girl with a tiny tummy," you say turning her around in your arms. "Tell you what, you have that one," you point to the biggest one, "and we'll share that one." 

"How about you share the big one?" he asks, though it hardly sounds like a question. He sits down and places the bowl in her lap. 

You grab the spoon before she can and stir up some of the fruits. "Wow, look at this! You gonna say thanks? Thanks Eddie.”

She doesn’t say thanks — her mouth is too far open to form words. You make quick work of shovelling fruit and condensed milk inside, chilled enough that she shivers in your arms. 

“Yeah, that’s good,” you say agreeably.

She gets enthusiastic enough to take the spoon and you let her, even when she totally mauls the food, eating so loudly that Muppet Babies becomes inaudible. 

Eddie eats slowly. You can feel his gaze. “You’re not gonna have any?” he asks. 

You’d felt it coming. Your answer is clumsy anyways. “No, I will. I just… I always have her leftovers,” you say, sheepish. 

He stands up. 

You’re gonna ask why when Junie tips fruit down your legs, cold on the naked skin of your ankle. You dab at your pajamas with a small sigh. There’s no point in getting upset. She’s a messy eater but they all are at this age. Honestly, it’s nice to see her attempting to use a spoon rather than her hands. 

“You’re doing a good job,” you say. You’re not totally sure who you’re talking to. 

“Tada!” Eddie cheers, wielding a third bowl of fruit. “Swap with me?”

“What?”

“You think Junie’ll come sit in my lap?” he asks. He doesn’t wait, really. He holds out the bowl and you take it on impulse as he sits down heavily. 

He takes her into his lap with a cheerful groan. “Oh, c’mere, sweetheart. There’s enough milk on your chin to bake a cake.” He wipes it with his hand. He doesn’t so much as wince at the mess. 

You stare. He eases the spoon out of her grip and scrapes up a half-spoonful of what looks like pear and feeds it to her with the same kind of deftness of hand that’d taken you months to learn. 

He can feel your gaze, evidently, because he looks up. There, you catch it, that slither of insecurity he hides well. 

You pick up your bowl and start eating. It’s the nicest thing you’ve eaten in almost two years. You’d die for Junie. You’d do worse. But to eat, to know she’s fed — gorged — to know you can sit here and eat this whole bowl of fruit all to yourself and you won’t have to put it down, that’s heaven. It’s better, because you never let yourself have anything nice if you can help it. 

The fruit turns to a lump in your throat and you swallow it, sniffling. Your lashes grow heavy with unshed tears and you keep your gaze resolutely on your dessert. When was the last time you had something this nice all to yourself? When was the last time somebody ever went out of their way to be this nice?

It’s a small gesture and a huge one. A tear dribbles down your cheek. You lick it away and keep on eating. 

-

Eddie starts to come around every Friday. It’s a good deal; you make dinner and he makes dessert. After that first time he makes it his mission to give you heaping bowls too much to eat most of the time. Soon, he’s coming a few days a week, not always long, sometimes until the late hours, though you tell him desserts are a Friday only occasion. He complies grudgingly. 

You make your first friend in years, and it’s so sweet you don’t know what to do with yourself. 

Or what possesses you to offer to cut his hair. 

Eddie's sitting on the couch with Junie, his big thigh to her little one and a picture book spread between them whilst you clean the kitchen. He's not reading to her – she's trying to read to him. She can't read, of course, but she can remember some of the words in relation to the pictures. She pokes at the blue cat and says blue. She pokes at the blue dog and says blue. She also points at the red cat and says blue. It's a learning curve. 

Eddie gives corrections and encouragements just as you would. You smile at him from behind your cup of water. 

"He's red, sweetheart," he murmurs, arm around her shoulder to hold the book's edges. "Red cat." 

"Red cat," she repeats with enough accuracy to make you choke on your water. 

Eddie gasps almost as loud as you do. "Right! Red cat! You're so smart, junebug, I can't believe it," he praises, squeezing her shoulder. His gaze meets yours and he smiles. 

You send him back your sweetest smile. If he wasn't always so nice to you you'd like him anyway because of how he treats Junie, like she's the fucking sun. 

She gets so excited when other people are happy that she starts laughing, standing up and trampling all over his legs to give him a hug. She's given him half hugs, she's fallen asleep by his side and loves to pet his hair, but this is a proper, tactile hug. Her arms wind around his neck with purpose and as soon as his surprise has faded he brings his arms up to hug her in turn, laughing delightedly. 

"You're such a smarty-pants," he praises, rubbing her back with a boyish brashness. 

She squeals as he squeezes her, his fingers digging into her ribs. Never cruel, only tickling her. She eats up every second of it and buries her face in his neck, laughing her wound up baby laugh that always brings a smile to your face. 

"Ooh, she's so smart. First blue, then red. Next you'll be saying indigo, and vermillion, and-" 

He cuts off when Junie gets one of her nails caught in his hair. She jolts and whines like it hurts and he goes rigid. You move forward to play mediator but he's already pulling her away gently and making small shushing sounds. "Chill out," he chides lightly, "I got it. Here." He pulls the hair from under her fingernail and rubs the pad of his thumb over her hand. "Sorry, I'm sorry," he apologises, pouting at her scowl. He envelops her hand in his and waves it around. "Forgive me?" 

She doesn't learn her lesson, pushing her hands back into his hair, probably less kind than what’s ideal. Eddie doesn't flinch. 

You sit on the armrest gingerly. "Can I ask you something?"

Eddie looks over Junie’s head. "What's that?" 

"Have you always had long hair?" 

He doesn't balk. "No, of course not. I fu-" He clears his throat. "My mom was the best, and I fit in just like everybody else growing up. When I ended up with Wayne I was-" He smiles. It's the kind of rueful grimace that says, You didn't ask for this.

You smile encouragingly.

He drops his gaze to Junie, worming his arms around her in a loose hug as she continues to play with his hair. "I was mad about everything, and I remember him asking when I wanted to get my hair trimmed and I said ‘never’. Took a few years for it to grow past the awkward stage," he bares his teeth and nods toward his shoulder, as if allowing his past misdemeanour. "But now I'd say it looks pretty sweet." 

"I love your hair," you say. 

Eddie beams. "You don't think it's too long?" 

Emboldened by his reaction, you slip off of the armrest to sit next to him, turning in until your knees touch. Junie, loyal as she is, climbs straight into your lap with a babble. 

You pat her back with one hand and raise the other cautiously for permission. Eddie flares his eyes wide, as if to say, You want to? Go on. 

You take a lock of his hair between your fingers like Junie had moments before. "I like it like this." 

"But?" 

You look at the ends, an inch of limpness where the rest curls. "You haven't had it cut since you were a kid?" 

"Maybe not that long, but it's been a while. I do it myself sometimes." He gestures to his bangs. He speaks quietly. A rarity though not unknown for him to be so hushed. 

You tuck the curl you'd been examining behind his ear carefully. 

"Do you think my hair looks good?" you ask. 

"Sh- Sorry, of course I do. I swear I was gonna-"

You shake your head, laughing. "Not like that. What I mean is, I cut my own hair. I cut Junie's, too, and I could do yours if you wanted me to." 

He goes quiet. 

"Only if you wanted. I know it's a lot of trust, so-" 

"Would you do it now?" 

You hold Junie's head away from yours to prevent a loving headbut. "Right now?" 

"I'm in dire need." 

He throws his big brown puppy dog eyes your way and you couldn't say no if you wanted to. 

You explain how he needs to get it wet first and how the shower head in the bathroom doesn't detach. "It's, like, built into the wall." 

"I could go home, come back?" he suggests. 

"I can do it over the sink?" 

-

Eddie can't remember the last time somebody washed his hair for him. He knows there must've been a time, some place in his life where his mom or dad had done it for him. He thinks that, if he'd asked, Wayne would've tried it once or twice growing up, but now Eddie's most definitely at the age where having his hair washed is a foreign luxury. 

And it does feel luxurious.

It shouldn't; the sink basin is very small as they tend to be in the trailer kitchenettes – small sink, small stove, small small small – and Eddie has to crane his neck. Already the space between his shoulder blades aches from being bent over, and he can't breathe well, smothered by steam. 

But your hands. One shields his eyes from run off, a gesture unnecessary and far from lost on him, while the other massages shampoo into his scalp. He'd been surprised when you started because you hadn't mentioned washing his hair, and he'd said, "You don't have to do that." 

You'd hummed. "Well, it's kind of a waste not to." 

That was that. 

Your nails scratch lightly against his scalp and if his eyes weren't already closed they would've fluttered shut. He nibbles his lip and tries very hard not to show outwardly how nice it feels. Your left upper arm rubs against his back as you scrub at his roots, your right soaking wet beside his face, covering his eyes uselessly. He doesn't mention it. All this touching, he doesn't want it to end.

Your proximity honest-to-God sets him on fire. Your body pressed to his is a flame over his ribs. 

"Maybe we shouldn't cut it at all," you say, stroking wet bangs away from his forehead. "It's soooo long." 

"Can’t do it?" he teases.

"Keep your eyes closed, okay? I'm gonna rinse." 

It's a comforting process. You dip your cup into the water. It fills with a wet glug, the rim shushing against the basin's bottom. You hold it over his head and pour carefully, heat caressing his scalp as the soap is washed away. 

It's over too soon. You grab the towel you'd procured and tuck it around his shoulders, wringing all the excess water from his curls back into the sink. You encourage his head up wordlessly and he stands there, arms useless against the countertops edge, water sloughing down his face as you press the ends flat between your hands. 

You lift his head and push his hair back with your hands, raking your fingers through it and laughing as soon as his face appears. "Eddie! I'm sorry, you're totally drowning." 

He chuckles. They fade away as you pinch the corner of the towel and start to dab his face dry, dragging the rough material over his cheeks with an expression he can't read on your pretty features. Almost pensive, not quite. 

"There," you say under your breath. "Saved you." 

"My hero." 

You smile at him softly before spinning on your heel. "I gotta find the hairbrush. And the good scissors." You look into the living room quickly and then turn to the hall leading to your bedroom. 

Eddie looks into the living room too. Junie's not upto much, only watching TV, unusually subdued. He doesn't disturb her despite the itch to go over and play.

One of the muppets starts laughing about something and she laughs too. 

"What are you smiling about?" you whisper from behind him. 

"Nothing," he says quickly.

You raise your eyebrows. "She has a nice laugh, right? Doesn't matter how bad I feel, she laughs and everything's okay for a little while." 

He feels a fond stab in his chest. "Her laugh's like yours." 

"I guess we do sound the same." 

You do, but it's not really what he'd meant. 

The metal sound of scissors snapping. You wield them at him faux-threateningly and shepherd him into a chair you've dragged to the middle of the kitchen. 

Eddie fights goosebumps as you pull a brush through his hair, loses when you take a lock at the front between two fingers and stop about an inch and a half from the end. 

"I'm gonna do that much, okay?" 

You're a quiet hairdresser. Eddie doesn't care, he can talk for Indiana, but there's something so sweetly simple about the quietude, just your hands in his hair, the snipping of your scissors and Junie's occasional excited chattering. You start to hum a song Eddie doesn't recognise about halfway through. It's melancholy. He doubts you realise what you're doing. 

You draw silent as you round to the front. Eddie watches your hands work for what feels like hours. You have really pretty hands, not perfect, burnt fingertips and neat little nails. They smell like honey hand soap.

You pull two locks from the front together to make sure they're the same length. His curls will hide any discrepancy, he knows from experience, but he doesn't want to tell you that. Selfishly, he wants that extra time with you this close. 

You work your way between his legs to comb his half-dried bangs. Eddie looks up at you with wide eyes.

"You want me to trim these, too?" you ask quietly. 

"If you please." 

You huff a laugh through your nose and start to trim his bangs carefully. He closes his eyes, and maybe it's the fact that he can't see you that gives him the confidence to reach out for your hip, a touch that can't be defined as amicable. He curls his fingers into the soft material of your shirt and feels the heat of your skin underneath. 

You draw closer, as close as you can be. 

"What made you decide on bangs?" you ask. 

"Zits, mostly." 

He can feel your laugh under his hand. 

"I used to… I used to powder my face," you confide, a murmur, "like, an inch thick to try and hide everything. Being pregnant makes you so-" You pause to snip some hair, comb it away. It tickles his face. "Well, it makes you spotty. Or it made me spotty. It actually made me really sick." 

"That's must've sucked," he says earnestly. 

"It- Yeah. I guess it did. I don't know." 

He hadn't meant to bring up something unhappy, but he's hungry to know. "Were you on your own?" 

"Mostly." 

"What was the worst part?" 

"Being scared all the time."

He'd been expecting morning sickness or aching feet. "You were scared?" 

"I honestly thought I was gonna die, Eddie." 

He opens his eyes and leans back in his chair, hand flexing over your hip, as he tries to tamp down his surprise. 

"It was," you mess with his bangs with the tip of your ring finger, "hard. I felt sick all the time, and when I didn't I would make myself sick worrying about her. What if I eat something or I catch something and it hurts her? What if- what if it all works out perfectly and then I can't look after her?" 

"Did it work out perfect?" 

You rub your lips together. "Uh, I guess so. It took a long time, and it hurt," you sound especially unhappy with that part. 

He strokes up your waist, wanting to soothe the small crease between your eyebrows. "By yourself?" 

"Yeah, by myself." 

"I'm sorry." 

You tuck his hair behind his ear and grin at him. "Now what are you sorry for?" Your hand lingers near his cheek. Slowly, you turn it, pressing the knuckle of your index finger into the skin under his eye and rubbing a small line. He worries he’s in love with you right then and there. "Not like you're the one who knocked me up." 

You drop your hand and Eddie really doesn't want you to go anywhere, his grip kind but steadfast, bringing the other arm behind your back in a loose hug. "Who was it?" 

"Just some guy. Nobody. Nobody worth thinking about." 

"How old were you?" he asks. 

"Why are you asking me all this stuff?"

"I wanna know about you." 

You bring your hands to the towel around his neck and pull on it mildly. "I was sixteen. Seventeen when I had her." 

He drags his fingertips up and down the small of your back lightly, almost like he's playing guitar. "I'm sorry you were all by yourself. That young. When I was sixteen I was still watching The Bugs Bunny Show."

You giggle and your hands move up to the side of his neck. He can hardly breathe, afraid to dispel whatever enchantment it is that he's under. 

"Could be worse, huh? I'm nineteen and I still watch Muppet Babies," you joke. 

"Why wouldn't you? It's the pinnacle of modern television." 

"Yeah?" 

Your beaming smile hits him straight in the chest. He thinks about how beautiful you look and can't stop, hiding his face in your stomach to stop from saying something stupid, laughing loud. You laugh in tandem, hugging the back of his head until your giggles peter out. 

A small hand on his arm. You both turn at the same time and find a very unhappy Junie.

"What?" you ask her. Then, teasing, "Are you jealous?" 

You lean down to pick her up. Eddie's gutted to lose your touch and then quickly exuberant when Junie ducks out of your arms to grab at his legs. 

"Oh my god, yes," he says, holding out his hands. 

Junie tries to take them and he slips them under his arm, pulling her onto his thigh with a big sigh. The sigh is half the fun, a theatrical reluctance when really he's always happy to have her climbing on him. 

As soon as she's in his lap she's pleased, turning her head so she can watch the TV across the room. 

You roll your eyes at his smug smile. "Shut up. She just wants what other people have." 

"And you had me?" 

"Shut up, Munson, seriously," you say. You don't sound half as mad as you're trying to. 

Eddie takes a drying curl between his fingers and pokes at the side of Junie's face. "Whatever you want, sweetheart," he says, grinning when your daughter starts to squirm on his thigh. 

He grins at her and tickles her until she's curling in with her chin dropped to her chest, smiling despite herself. 

His fondness colours every word as he croons, "I got you." 

Junie sounds about as outraged as a toddler can be when he tickles her nose and then drags the tip of the freshly trimmed curl under her eye. He draws a big circle around one of her cheeks until it's kissing her chin. She dissolves into giggles while squirming to get away from him and so he stops, only for her to blink and tug at his wrist. 

He tickles her until she's screaming. 

You pause on your knees where you'd been sweeping up his trimmed hair to look up at her and he's struck with guilt. "Y/N, you don't have to do that. I'll do it." 

"No, you're okay." 

Eddie finds his gaze drawn to your thighs, spread out as they are in your kneeling position, and then stolen by Junie as she almost topples off of his lap. 

"I think…" he begins quietly, speaking to Junie though it's just as much for you, "that your mom deserves something nice for my haircut. What do you think?" 

"I don't think that," you say. 

"Wasn't asking you," he says seriously. Back in baby mode he continues,  "What's mommy like, huh? What's her favourite thing in the whole world, besides you?" 

"Sleep," you say. 

"Well, I can't help you there." 

"You help me there all the time. Junie sleeps like a log every Friday." 

"Food coma," he says knowledgeably. 

"You really don't have to get me anything, Eddie. My services were administered charitably." 

He pushes his hands behind Junie's back and pulls her to his chest before standing. When he has her secure in one arm he pulls the chair back to your small table and tucks it in.

"Get up," he says to you. "I'll do it, alright? Swap with me." 

You ignore him until he starts kicking you in the leg. "You're ridiculous!"

"You're ridiculous. Seriously, get up. You're not a serf." He returns your glare. "I'm a big boy, I can clean up after myself." 

"It's my house." 

"If you don't let me-" 

"Christ! Okay." You drop the dustpan and brush sullenly, wiping your hands together as you stand before taking Junie out of his arms. "I'll make dinner." 

"No you won't! I'm gonna order takeout," he says factually, already on his knees and sweeping. 

"No you're not." 

"I am. Me and June already talked about it. She's craving Marino's pizza." 

"I'm not gonna let you use the phone." 

"I'll walk to my place and order the pizza to here." 

"Eddie-" 

"Why are you being a hardass?" he asks. 

"Fine! God, clean up your gross hair and order your stupid pizza. You're making me crazy," you say, collapsing onto the sofa with a little oomf, Junie's weight hitting you hard in the chest. She moves into a sitting position and pulls your shirt up, hands moving across the space under your chest. 

Eddie throws himself into cleaning all the mess you'd made for him, the hair and the towel and the sopping wet draining board. He washes the dirty baby bowl on the side and fills up one of Junie's bottles with water, then a glass for you. He hasn't seen either of you drinking a thing since he's been here, likely his fault for distracting you. 

He's about to call for pizza when he peers past the cabinets and sees you dozing on the couch. He decides pizza can wait until tomorrow; it's later than he realised. 

Junie's halfway across the room with Mr. Bear playing make believe. She talks and talks and talks, gibberish to him but what's likely an unending, complicated storyline, no doubt. 

Eddie approaches with the bottle already outstretched. "Junie," he says, and when she doesn't answer, "Junebug. Junie. Junie." Each iteration of her name softer and sweeter than the first, hoping to entice her in. 

He holds the bottle in front of her face.

She finally looks up with a pout. 

"For you," he says, offering the water. 

She seems mildly interested as she takes it, turning back to her teddy and talking around the teat like it's not there. 

You're struggling to keep your eyes open. Eddie gives the room a quick once over before kneeling down in front of you, tugging your shirt down to cover your exposed tummy as he says, "I should head home." 

You blink at him and turn onto your side, cheek squishing into the couch cushion. 

"Okay? Why don't you and Junebug head to bed?" he asks, using a tone not far from what he'd use with your daughter. 

"You know, her full name's Juniper," you whisper. 

He didn't know. "Really? I love that." 

You wrinkle your nose, sounding very tired as you continue, "But someone told me it sounded like a name for a cat. So I've called her Junie ever since."

"It doesn't sound like a cat's name," he placates. "It's beautiful. You chose well." 

"Yeah?" 

Eddie smiles at you fondly, eyes tracing down your nose to your lips, shiny with balm. He tilts his head to the side to mimic yours. He could kiss you. 

"Sounds like the name of an elf. Juniper Lightfoot, or… Goldwind. She could even be a mage. Juniper the Brave." 

"Juniper the Loveliest," you say, and then grin. "Juniper the Hungriest." 

"Juniper the All Great and Hungriest," Eddie says decidedly. 

"Would you make her a hero, in your game?" you ask. 

"Of course I would. She wouldn't even need to divide, she'd just conquer." 

"What about me?" 

"What, would you be a hero?" 

You nod. He doesn't know why, but he thinks his answer is going to hold a lot of weight with you. 

"You would be," he starts quietly, words painted slowly as he raises a hand to rest on your wrist, pinky finger spread over the hill of your thumb, "a fighter. With insight and survival." 

"I don't know what that means," you say. 

He leans in. "It means yes, you'd be a hero. You'd save kingdoms. Slay dragons." He squeezes your wrist. 

"I think I better leave all that stuff for Junie. I'll just cheer you guys on from the sidelines." 

"You're her mom, she can't do it without you. And even if she could I bet she wouldn't want to. Where's all the fun in guts and glory if you can't share it?" he asks, rubbing his thumb over your skin.

Your eyes shut. Eddie doesn't know if it's from fatigue or a want to end this conversation. He feels marginally embarrassed for descending into nerd metaphor with you, but he thinks it's the kind of thing you needed to hear. He thinks if Junie could understand how often her mom prioritises her and misses out for her she'd want to fix that. Eddie doesn't know you half as well as she does and it breaks his heart sometimes to watch you insist on a smaller portion, to watch you put things back at the grocery store because she wants a box of milk duds, even to watch you wear yourself out ironing baby clothes in the only pair of pajamas you own. 

"Make sure you lock the deadbolt behind me," he says carefully. You hum. He gives your wrist one last squeeze. 

Junie looks tired in that she's getting agitated, whimpering under her breath. Eddie ducks down to give her upper arm a good rub. "Why don't you go cuddle with your mom?" he asks her, turning her by the shoulder so that you're in her eye-line. "Go have a lie down." 

He doesn't know whether what he says makes any difference but you extend your arms out and Junie walks towards you, big staggered steps that make him laugh to himself as he pushes into his unlaced converse. 

"Don't forget to lock up," he says in place of a farewell. 

"Goodnight, Eddie," you say. 

He waves. You're both too tired to wave back. 

He's surprised to find his Uncle Wayne still home when he gets in, shoving into his work boots with a grunted hello.

"Hey." 

"Did you cut your hair?" Wayne asks, perplexed, a little gruff. 

"Junie's mom did it for me." 

"'Junie's mom,'" Wayne quotes dryly, slugging his bag over his shoulder. He's heard all about Junie's mom.

Eddie scratches the back of his neck and splutters when a big hand claps his back, a demonstration of Wayne's pity as he passes through the open door. 

Eddie spins to watch him jog down the steps. "We're friends," Eddie calls. 

"Don't be dumb," his uncle says without turning back. 

"I'm not exactly known for being smart," Eddie says to himself, cheeks heated by a furious blush. 

𓆩❤︎𓆪

thank you for reading! | my masterlist | multi-chapter

if you enjoyed, please reblog! i promise it makes a difference ♡

Dating Jungkook headcanons

Jungkook x Reader

Warnings: some swearing, a lil suggestive, I think that's it

A/N: Thank you to the lovely anon who requested this, I've never written a list like this before so it's a little scattered, sorry. Anyway I'm very soft for this man now, goodbye.

Masterlist

Requests are open

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

Dating Jungkook is, for lack of a better word, messy. But like in all the best ways.

Late night hangouts when y'all can't sleep and you just end up at the local convenience store, eating snacks or whatever and talking until you notice the sun coming up.

I know I wrote a lil blurb abt it already, but karaoke dates are a regular occurrence. Doesn't matter if you can sing or not, y'all are just having a good time seeing who can hit the highest note(it's him, sorry)

He's one of those people whose friends probably tease cause he says "my s/o is my best friend". But he actually means it, you are his best friend.(I really feel like he would fall for a friend, but that's a discussion for a ot7 reaction I'm working on for next week👀)

Acts really cocky sometimes, but will fold like a house of cards(ha) into the softest boi at the slightest provocation from you.

He's fucking whipped for you, and he knows it.

Was so nervous to kiss you the first time that he legit backed out like three times before it finally happened.

Probably has some kind of nickname for you like "my light" or "my life."

But on the other hand, y'all also tease each other relentlessly, it's like a second love language with him.

Like he will sit there while you're trying to read or smth and poke your cheeks until he gets a reaction out of you.

Will make height jokes, even if you're only like 1in shorter than him.

"Tiny baby." He coos while patting your head. "I'm gonna climb up there and kill you." You warn. "So tiny, so precious."

But if he catches anyone else giving you a hard time about something, God help them.

Possessive(*cough perilla leaf debate)

Gives you his sweatshirts to wear because you look cute in them, but also loves that it's a subtle sign to anybody else that you're his.

This goes both ways though, he loves when you call him yours.

The first time you called him "your boyfriend", he legit short-circuited for a second.

Would probably have matching, macrame type couple bracelets that y'all made together for your second or third month anniversary.

Protective AF

Does that thing where he makes sure you walk on the inner half of the sidewalk when are you're out together, so you're protected from the street?

Not big on Pda exactly, but usually has an arm around you or is holding your hand. He doesn't even realize he's doing it sometimes, it's just kinda become a habit to have you close as much as possible.

He gets so little time with you as it is, so he just wants to make every second count.

When it's just the two of you though, he becomes a fucking koala and will NOT let you go.

Clings to you like his life depends on it.

Begs you to stay over all the time, swears that he can't sleep well unless you're next to him.

At this point, you might as well move in, half of your shit's at his place already anyway.

Looks at you like you're a literal dream.

Like some mornings when neither of you are really awake yet, you look over and he's just staring at you over your coffee mug like🥺

Loves to make you flustered tho

Like, if he notices you have a thing for his arms, he's gonna take every chance he can to roll his sleeves up in front of you just to see your face go red.

Randomly walks up to and gives you these deep, intense kisses and then? just fucking walks away as if nothing happened? Like, nuh-uh, get your ass back here and finish what you started sir!

Talks about your future together with such casual certainty. Like "when we get married, we should get a house like that".

Refers to Bam as your child.

Idk where I'm going with this or how to end it, so I'm just gonna stop here, but yeah. I just think he's neat lol.

All rights reserved  by Ana Rivero

SOMEBODY ELSE !

neteyam/ao'nung x reader ! smau

" i don't want your body but i hate to think about you with somebody else. "

summary — you've always been best friends with neteyam, even after you broke up. and there's never been any trouble between the two of you, until someone else catches your eye.

— status ! ongoing, updates are irregular lol

a/n — i'm so excited for this jsbdjdh anyways i did a different take on this and it's a college au, and they're human as well in this :) (💭— written portion)

chapters !

profiles.

1. — 8am class.

2. — die in a hole.

3. — shut up. (💭)

4. — friday night. (💭)

— profiles pt. 2

5. — last night. pt 1 (💭)

— part 2. (💭)

6. — a date.

— mom? dad? (extra!)

7. — moving on.

8. — i lied.

9. — jealousy. (💭)

10. — arguments. (💭)

11. — deja vu. (💭)

12. — breakup. (💭)

13. — finally. (💭)

14. — petty like that.

15. — no one. (💭)

16. — found out. (💭)

17. — you. (💭)

18. — waiting for. (💭)

19. —

20. —

extras !

— somebody else memes

taglist / closed ! (bold means i cant tag you) @n7ytiri @ilovejakesullysdick @possysblog @love-chx @stars4deku @evphology @afro-hispwriter @ydsm-29 @tsireyasgf @goldeneywa @doulcha @krazy-kattzz @fucksnow @squid4 @blairrrrrr @neteyamforlife @dreamtogether2000 @444lyra @ambria @cawi00 @calums-betch @burntoutraven @powowowy @fadingpalacebonkpsychic @elegantkidfansoul @kolsmikaelson @mirikusashes @yukichan67 @goodiesinthecloset21 @netemoon @littlethingsinlife @coconut-dreamz @infamouslyclumsy @anm3mi @jjkclub @throwitbacktae @whoreforpomegranates @lolzies11 @ellasully @neteyamlvr11 @il0veheartz @liyahsocorro @nao-cchi @avatarlover21 @drugs-for-memes @marcswife21 @zendayaswrld101 @grierpilots @misscaller06 @erenjaegerwifee @lightskinloak @mommyneytiri @solaceinwritings @inluvwithneteyam @halibanana @iheartamajiki @ipoopedmypants47 @neigesprincess @ghostjoohoney @lookiiheh

© eitaababe — please do not steal or copy my work onto other platforms without permission !

THE ATTRACTIVE THINGS JJ MAYBANK DOES

calls you a plethora of nicknames. he is a nickname kind of guy, i don’t make the rules! whether he is in the mood to tease or just simply acknowledge you, nicknames are his way of going at it. jj enjoys the way you roll your eyes and look away, slightly annoyed at him (and the butterflies that erupt in the pit of your stomach). he started doing it as a joke, but after a while, it just stuck. his favorites are definitely baby, pretty girl, and princess.

he does not hesitate to take the blame for you. with you being one of the most, if not the most, important thing in his life, he would much rather take the fall for something you did than have you face the consequences. even if it is something incredibly small, he’ll gladly take a step forward for your sake.

lets you fiddle with his rings. as a ring girlie myself, i will fight anyone and everyone who objects to this headcanon. when you’re bored in class, tired of listening to mr. sunn drone on and on about some history lesson, jj will pick up on your weariness and just offer you his hand. and, of course, you happily toy with the rings on his splayed fingers, spinning the jewelry that reflects daylight from the classroom windows. you can’t help but enjoy the warmth of his palm under your touch, forever content running your fingers over the smoothed out calluses and warm metal.

wears sleeveless shirts under your request. knowing you have quite the obsession with his arms (as you should), he likes to show them off. when he wears muscle tees or wife-beaters he is always sure to be extra smug about it, often wrapping his strong arms around your waist and shoulders. occasionally, when you’re feeling a little bolder than normal, you’ll even take the initiative of linking his elbow with yours as the two of you either walk or simply just stand side by side, not missing the opportunity to have his tanned skin against yours, bicep within your hold.

is the “wear whatever you want, i can fight” type of boyfriend. jj loves seeing you in provocative and revealing clothing (not including a bathing suit). whether you wear it often or not, you can count on the fact that he will immediately rush to tell you how gorgeous you are, his eyes bright and lips pulled into a flirtatious smile. “you look nice, baby.” the expression on his face always tell you he’s thinking you look more than just ‘nice,’ but you let his hidden yet obviously dirty thoughts slide. however, if someone else makes comments, or their eyes stay glued to somewhere they shouldn’t, jj is quick to give a warning. whether they choose to listen or not is up to them, but god help the motherfucker who decides to give not just give you a hard time, but also him.

shares his hobbies with you and vice versa. one of his love languages is quality time, and seeing you enjoy the same things he does instantly puts a smile on his face. additionally, if you want to take the time and teach him about some of your own hobbies, this man will do anything in his power to get good at it. you both like the closeness and intimacy of being somewhat vulnerable with each other.

open to hugs at any given point in time. his hugs are just…out of this world. you like the way time just seems to pause, even if it’s only for a second, the moment his front is pressed against yours. and the way he holds you—as if you are both the sturdiest and most fragile thing in the universe. his hugs make your heart beat wildly, and you’re certain there are times when he can feel it thumping against his own. the feeling of being swallowed by his existence makes everything just seem utterly complete. and this includes back hugs; jj is an enormous fan of these. the familiarity of your body against his, while he is able to be working on another task, is such a heavenly concept to him. multitasking, am i right?

is always there, ready to protect you at a moment’s notice. whether it be physical or verbal, you can count on your lovely boyfriend to be right by your side the moment something goes south. while he will gladly let you handle a situation on your own, the moment you send him a look he will happily step in and defend you. if the problem turns into something more dangerous, and more than a verbal assault, he’ll rush in without consulting you about it first. he would rather you be okay and mad at him than hurt and full of regret.

does things just to see you happy (but also contradicts you just to be annoying). being the way that he is, jj will always be a vexing combination of charming and irritating. he loves to see you happy and will do anything to get even the slightest grin on your face, but that also means he loves to annoy the absolute fuck out of you just for kicks. if you are trying to study for school or do something alone in a quiet space, he is there to make the one-person job a two-person job. will not take ‘no’ or ‘go away’ as an answer when it comes to being around you.

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