Things You Said When We Were Drunk With Din X Reader

Things you said when we were drunk with Din x Reader

Meve your brain is massive

I give you: the smaller gathering Din saved his fancy champagne for

Warnings: none, allllllll fluff, so much fluff

WC: 475

The oddly shaped bottle of amber liquid Karga had gifted Din sat half empty between your outstretched legs. Grogu was long asleep, tucked into a bassinet next to Din’s bed. The two of you were slumped in the kitchen floor, candlelight dancing off of the steel appliances, falling flat on the adobe tile work of the floor. Din’s armor was caught in the same orange glow. Veins heavy with alcohol, hearts light from the feeling of winning a years long fight.

You were giggling at Din’s dramatic retelling of Moff Gideon disappearing behind a wall of flames. The part of the story where he almost died in the same fire irrelevant for the time being

He tipped his helmet back and took another swig of the unnamed liquid. It was certainly the fanciest thing either of you had ever drank. All sweetness and no burn going down. You didn’t think it was strong at all until you were both doubled over in laughter at absolutely nothing.

You clasped a hand to his knee and squeezed it. “Man, what a day. You killed your arch nemesis, adopted your son, and became a homeowner before the sun set. All you’ve got left is to get married and you’d complete your bingo card,” you laughed.

He set the bottle down between the two of you, head tilted back against a cabinet door. He turned just slightly so you could tell he was gazing at you from under his visor.

“We could get married. Right now,” he said smoothly.

You laughed again. “Yeah, okay.”

He didn’t waver. Not a single muscle moved.

“Din, you can’t be serious,” instantly sobering up.

He still said nothing.

“Din, are you serious?”

He gave a simple, “Yes.”

“Din,” you said softly, your heart tugging under the weight of this moment, “You’re drunk.”

“I am drunk, but that doesn’t change how I feel about you.”

You were quiet for a long time. Sure, there had been moments you wondered if he could ever see a future with you. He had always steadfastly taken care of you, offering you the largest portion of food, offering you his bed, his blankets. When your boots or jacket wore through, he replaced them without being asked. He would just show up with a replacement in hand.

“You would really marry me?” you whispered.

“If you would have me,” he said softly, placing a gloved hand over yours.

A smile played on your lips, “Ask me again in the morning.”

“I’ll ask every day,” he said plainly drawing his other arm behind his head and crossing his ankles.

He was quiet for a long time.

“Are you going to sleep?”

“The sooner I go to sleep, the sooner I can ask again.”

You smacked his arm and laughed softly into the night.

“You’re an idiot, Din Djarin.”

LOVE MY LOVE !

— hobie brown x gn!reader + specified reader hcs

— tons of fluff, hobie being ur bf hcs, mentions of injury and blood, petnames, hobie being so hopelessly in love, specific hcs at the end for transmasc, cultural, and dyed hair reader, plus one for bad parents

— some classic hcs for hobie being in a relationship with you

— i have a small section on hobie’s hair, so if any info about his wicks is wrong, pls feel free to correct me! also the last 4 hcs are “if you are/have” kind of scenarios but everything before that is for everyone!

— starting off strong he definitely writes songs about you. he keeps his whole punk scene with his band, but these songs are written to himself. he keeps them in a notebook, with random lyrics scribbled in and chords to match them. his songwriting process is messier than most, so sometimes you can barely understand the order of the music or how it sounds. but this works in his favour; because then he’ll play it for you, gauging for your reaction and maybe that embarrassment you may show when he pours out his feelings.

— i mentioned this one in two fics before but i will do it again; he’s so for matching stickers and pins. both of your interests are smacked on his clothes, guitar, and whatever you chose to sport them on. he doesn’t care if they clash with his “punk persona”, after all, being punk means not conforming to societal expectations. so yeah matching stuff is definitely a thing for him. he’ll also match bracelets and rings with you if you’re down for that

— he is such a petnames person. his faves to use on you are sweetheart, darling, love, when it comes to the standard ones (with those he varies between throwing in a “my” in front of it and not just depends). he also likes referring to you as his “partner in crime” and “his/my star” (since he insists he doesn’t like labels ofc). he would also really like if you use petnames on him, or even a nickname. if you ever call him using “hobie”, he knows you’re upset and will fix things. now, if you call him “hobart”.. he’s running.

— okay please please hear me out on this; he’s such a flower boy. loves getting and giving flowers. picking them while he’s out swinging just to bring them back to you is one of his main love languages. and he loves receiving them back. please give him flowers please. surprise him with them. put them in his hair. FLOWER CROWNS TOO FLOWER CROWNS! he just loves flowers, all kinds of flowers.

— his love language is physical touch and words of affirmation. he loves being in contact with you. hobie loves holding your hand, putting his hand on the small of your back, or patting your head. but his all time favourite? intertwining fingers. he loves the small and intimate feeling it provides, as well as comfort. hobie will praise you a ton. always congratulating you, telling you how amazing you are, that sort of thing

— hobie is very protective of the things he loves, including you. he would never take it lightly if say one of his enemies threatened him with you. he tries his best to keep you out of his spider-man work, but sometimes that just doesn’t happen. but trust, he will pull out all the stops to protect you. if you’re threatened, he’s with you 24/7, eyes always watching for the enemy who had the audacity to say they were going to hurt you

— he’s actually so smitten about you it’s insane. will never stop talking about you and how you make him feel. he loves it. loves seeing the way his friends roll their eyes whenever he says “s’ [Name] said-”. everyone who knows him knows he’s crazy about you. there was a time where he felt so alone in his life, but now that he has you, he remembers he isn’t alone. he remembers what he’s fighting for after your pep-talks to him whenever he feels down. you’re his pick-me-up, so ofc he’s gonna brag about you to his friends.

— hobie hates making you his “guy-in-the-chair.” ofc he’s hella grateful for you helping and supporting his cause, fighting for what’s right. but, one of the parts of that is fixing him up when he’s hurt. he hates seeing your face so worried when he swings into your window, blood pooling at his side as you grab a first aid kit. hobie never wants you to worry, he feels terribly bad about it. but he forever appreciates how you always help him, always welcome him home, always manage to make him feel better

— hobie brown said it himself; he is not a morning person. he gets up everyday like after 10, and so he likes to have you in bed when he wakes up. on the weekends, he’ll beg you to stay in bed and sleep more, holding your body close to him and coaxing you with soft neck kisses and raspy whispers (his morning voice btw its gotta be- oh my god). on the days he does manage to keep you to himself, he wakes up in a better mood with a small pep in his step a good amount of the day

— okay so his hair. he’s very very picky on who touches his hair. i wanna say that he would trust you to touch it, but it would take a while. the way hobie grew up and has ideals that makes it kinda hard to trust people. so it truly does take a while. but once he starts trusting you, he realizes how much he loves when you take care of his hair. he loves feeling your fingers mess with his wicks, combing at his scalp. i wrote a whole fic about this but he also loves when you decorate his hair, especially flowers (fic found here!). and once he truly trusts you, he’ll ask for your help when he washes his hair, since it could be time consuming.

— okay so politics and ideals; it’s very important to hobie you hold the same beliefs as him. i really can’t see him with someone who won’t fight and protest like he does tbh. because he needs that support. sometimes things like that just don’t go right, so he wants his partner there next to him to help him fight for what’s right and what they deserve. this is really important to him, hence why i just can’t see him with someone who won’t support him like that. so yea definitely gotta agree like that, and fight for the cause with him

— THIS ONES FOR ALL MY FELLOW TRANS BOYS ive been needing some of this. okay he takes no shit from anyone about your identity or his own. he’s very supportive of you and anything you need. no surgery and no t? he’ll help you bind and assures you you don’t have to conform to any trans agenda anyone sets for you. if you got surgery, he’s constantly helping you, making sure you take care of yourself afterwards. his favourite affirmations are “you’re so handsome.” and “you’re my pre’ty boy, y’know that?” god he’s so-

— now this one is for all my fellow cultural people. he would love to be taught all about your culture. make the food for him. show him the traditional clothing. tell him the history. he wants to know it all! hobie fights everyday for minorities who aren’t heard, and he always wants to know more about who he’s fighting for. he genuinely finds this stuff interesting, especially considering the different types of people he met during his youth. so please, immerse him in that side of you! he’s all ears!

— here’s one for my homies with bad parents (we matchin fr i see you). oh man hobie will not let your parents treat you like that, ever. if he sees them, it’s not good for them. he’s going to ensure you know that you never deserved that treatment from your own parents. he reminds you that you deserve love and affection, and he will be the one to give that to you. he’s very good at helping you through anything you need, with affirmations and his physical presence, he will always remind you that you are safe and that your parents truly are a joke

— this one for all my fellow dyed hair besties. hobie is so down to help you dye your hair 1000%. get the supplies and invite him over and he’s going go help you out. and trust, he knows what he’s doing. i feel like hobie definitely experimented with his own hair in the past, which includes having crazy colours. so he’s got your back, and will also recommend any colour he thinks is gonna look absolutely sick on you

Moorning dear flamingo I come with another request that was on my mind all night after reading the last update for the 5th time, sorry for bothering you so much in advance.

So ok, I was thinking about something like this, hobie because of all the swings he usually does, he has these recurring back pains so reader makes a special oil/atom for him and they have this super cute scene of care from reader to hobes♡

Midnight, I swear, seeing your blog on my notes makes my day. You’d never bother me btw, keep dropping your ideas and I’ll make them happen 😭💕

Listen, with the whole moving houses, my legs hurt sm 😂 do I think it’s a beautiful timing (however not beautiful that my legs hurt). This took me 4 days to write help 😭

So, seeing from all older spidermen, Peter B Parker (ITSV), Tobey’s and Andrew’s Peters also had back pain, so, for things I’m gonna go for an older Hobie (instead of being Spider-Man for three years, I’m gonna go for more time)

Warnings: not proof read djsjejef

Like Magic — Hobie x Reader

Being Spider-Man wasn’t easy. The rebellious acts, the recklessly jumping from top buildings, the constantly facing danger. On a superficial level, it all sounded fun to Hobie Brown. But by the end of the day, he always came back home tired. He loved his side job as Spider-Man, he loved wrecking havoc and bringing smiles to people, but it was a demanding job with no free days and no pay check. At most, food the people he helped gifted him, the smiles and good wishes from people. It was gratifying, but it did nothing for his tired muscles.

Especially swinging from one building to the other. The constant tension on his muscles and swinging his hips to gather momentum, had a particular rough effect on his back. All of it. From his shoulders all the way to his lower back.

People always made jokes how one day you woke up, in your late twenties, and trying to crouch to pick something from the ground, something new cracked and nothing was the same afterwards.

While Hobie could still crouch and pick up stuff, he did a lot more rough jobs with his back. He didn’t think of himself as old. But being Spider-Man was not a job that was friendly on your joints or muscles.

With every passing year of being Spider-Man, he resented it on his back.

He slid into your shared bedroom, his body tired, exhausted. You were stitching something on the bed as you looked at him and smiled.

“Hey, baby,” You said cheerfully.

Your radiant smile made Hobie feel like some of the weight lifted off his shoulders, despite the ache all over still being there.

“Hey sweet’eart” He smirked and groaned as he took off his mask and put his guitar down. He went punto your bed and cupped your face, directing your attention to him as you giggled and pressed your lips against his, humming sweetly into his kiss.

“Watcha doing?” He asked curiously.

“Fixing my favourite skirt,”

“Good. I like that skirt on you,” He sighed. “I like it even better when you take it off,” He winked as he collapsed on the bed and groaned loudly.

“Are you alright?” You asked softly, Hobie groaned in response. “Is your back bothering you again?”

“Yeah…” He sighed. “You know, swinging and shit,” Looking at you with a sleepy smirk. “Baby…”

“I know,” You said anticipating his request as you got up and looked around one of the drawers of your closet, taking out some ointment. “You know the drill…” You said as he sat up and took off his shirt and top part of his suit. Lying back down, over his stomach, Hobie relaxed on the bed as you rubbed some ointment in your hands. “Lower back?”

“All of it actually…” He sighed deeply, closing his eyes.

As you started massaging his back, he let out a soft groan. Burying his face on the pillow. You chuckled. Gently pressing your fingers, you admired the little details in Hobie. His wild hair, thin complexion, the fading scars from wounds from earlier events, his enhanced healing factor quickly erasing any tracks from previous fights.

Your hands, soft and delicate against his skin, a lot warmer than your hands, as your fingers pressed on the tense points of his back. Each touch, making him sigh in relief. Following the line of his spine, the contour of his muscles, brushing his sides, tickling him every once in a while.

“God, how do you do it?” Hobie moaned softly. "It’s like magic,"

“Well you see, when you have to massage your boyfriend’s back on a daily basis, you learn a thing or two on massaging…”

“Lucky guy,”

“You think? I think I’m the lucky one, actually” you giggled as you leaned down and pressed a sweet kiss on his shoulder, making him hum.

“Are you sure? I’ve heard he’s a total punk,”

“Love that about him. He’s perfect for me so, people can say whatever they want about him, I won’t love him any less…” You purred against his ear.

“Would it be too bad if tomorrow I decided to stay in bed with you all day long?”

“I need to go to work,” You giggled.

“No you don’t. Your boss won’t mind,”

“Hobie,”

“When was the last time you called in sick?”

“Yes, you have a point there but,”

“Let’s be real, the book shop won’t crash just because you aren’t there. I know you love working there, and your boss in nice to you, but how many people buy secondhand books on a daily basis?”

You rolled your eyes playfully. “You’re right. We don’t get a lot of people, he can handle the store on his own for a day…” You sighed. "You win, Hobart…" You rolled your eyes playfully at him.

"I always win," he said with a cheeky smirk, rolling over his side as he looked at you with an inviting stare.

Sighing and dramatically putting your hands on your waist. His stare changing into a puppy look, making you giggle as you went over the bed and laid down next to him. As he pulled you into a tight hug. Nuzzling his face against the crook of your neck, you wrapped your arms around him.

"Thank you…" He whispered, his voice much lower and softer. A voice you only got to listen in times like these. "I promise I won’t ask you to skip work for the rest of the year…"

"It’s July, Hobie…"

"It’s my best offer, take it or leave it…" He chuckled as you kissed his forehead.

"You’re impossible," You joked.

"You love me this way," He smirked.

"I do. Very much, actually"

"I love you too,"

Loving a man like, (Hobie Brown)

Romantic/Relationship Hcs

Hobie Brown x fem!reader

AN: I see him as 19, at the youngest.

TW: Some references to suggestive themes, language.

Folks might think Hobie Brown is too wild for a committed relationship. They'll say "Oh, that guy's no good for a girl like you. He's probably got a girl for every day of the week he can chat up." You know different. You know, that deep down... deep in his soul... he's a dork.

Okay, but really, Hobie is too private with his heart to date or play around with people. When he commits to a person. He commits. And it can't be just anybody that pulls him from his shell. No matter how friendly he seems with Gwen and Pavi, that bond is from knowing right off the bat they are fellow Spider-Men and they understand that.

With you, Hobie started out as a friend. Then as a best friend. Then probably dipped into a friends with benefits type deal. And then, while laying next to you it just dawns on him "Aw fuck me, I'm in love with her." And Hobie will proceed to not tell you until you confess to him first. This could take multiple years.

Hobie is at his core, a gentle-hearted person. Which comes out with how he is with you. When you're alone, he's taking off his rings to run his fingers down your cheek. He likes to spend lazy morning sleeping in with you on his chest.

He believes everyone should be free to do as they like and that no one person is better than another. He saves lives because he knows he is uniquely capable of doing so, not because of a role he must fulfill. You admire this about him. His humility and his level-headedness. Because Hobie really is the coolest guy you know and while he's confident in himself, he is never smug.

Hobie will likely never call you his girlfriend or refer to himself as your boyfriend. Even after many years spent together, Hobie will not apply a label to you. He will, however, use pet names. Some Most of which are purposely silly. Like calling you "angel," or "babes," or even "darlin'". You honestly can't tell if he's joking or being serious with them anymore. One time he called you "Duckie," in his most posh accent possible and you laughed so hard you forgot what he was calling you for.

That said, Hobie rejects any attempt at using pet names or nicknames. He will act like he can't hear you. The biggest reaction you've ever gotten out of him was shouting "HOBART," from down the street and he turned to you in horror. To this day, he has no idea how you found out his legal first name.

While Hobie can be goofy, his flirtations are usually very solid. It's the confidence. He can say some of the silliest things but it just works on you. Sometimes when you're at parties or shows he'll come up to you and talk as if he's literally just meeting you for the first time. Just slinking up next to you saying "You're way too fit to be posted at this pub all by your lonesome. Mind if I take this spot?" You'll tease back with a quick "I'm waiting for my guy, actually. He's late." Hobie only grins back at you. He loves it when you play his games.

Hobie is not a holiday type of guy. He doesn't mess around with Christmas, Valentine's Day, New Year's, and especially not any holiday celebrating some dead fascist or colonizer. So, you know not to expect gifts or any major changes to your day with Hobie.

Now, your birthday? Different story. Not that he'll go to some shop and buy a normal cake with candles or whatever. Hobie is an acts of service and physical affection sort of guy. I can't explain it, but he looks like he gives good back rubs.

We also don't know for sure how he fixed the gizmo/goober/interdimensional watches. So we can assume that he's either very tech savvy or he knows a guy. I imagine Hobie comes into your house, sees that something is busted or broken, and just replaces it without saying anything. He's like a friendly cat.

He shares/just takes your jewelry all the time. Rings, earrings, bracelets, you name it. He'll give you anything he's wearing right back too. Not in a possessive way, but just an extension of holding hands. Hobie feels like he's carrying something of you with him like a good luck charm.

A major struggle with being with Hobie is that he keeps a lot to himself. No matter how much you two have been through. Hobie will always try to solve his problems on his own. Whether it's a mishap with the dryer, getting pinched by a cop, or trouble with the multi-verse. He's going to try to do it alone and without you knowing. Because it's what he's used to.

All that said, you are his favorite place to be. Wherever he is sucks unless you are there with him. And although you have your issues to sort out, he loves you. Once you both know that, there's no parting him from you. He's stuck to you like spray paint on a denim jacket, Duckie.

Oh yeah here are some Hobie headcanons bc some people are weird abt him

hey i have a req for the penny verse!! if u want can u possibly do penny gets her period and like starts freaking out and only eddie’s home so he’s like “uh- i’ll go get some pads” if u want to ofc!!! i love ur writing <33

five months later and i was finally able to get to this one. sorry about the wait and i hope i did it just! this was also definitely influenced by me finally having seen Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.

rockstar!eddie manip by the talented @themunsonator5000!

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐁𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐫

(dad!rockstar!eddie munson x mom!reader) *but like you're not even in this*

summary: Eddie's daughter gets her first period. Somehow, she ends up comforting him.

warnings: lots of sentiment, brief (and i mean brief) mention of an oc side character death, angst, fluff, some hurt and whole lot of comforting. and of course mentions of periods.

𝗮/𝗻: 𝗲𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗲'𝘀 𝗮 𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗸𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁, 𝗴𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂!

Eddie let out a sigh as he collapsed back onto the couch, body nearly sinking into it.

  The house was finally quiet. He wasn’t sure if he liked that or not. Felt foreign to him, especially in the new house.

  He glanced around the living room, brown eyes lingering on a few empty boxes that had yet to be broken down from the move.

  It was a big change, moving from Hawkins to California and he was well aware there wasn’t a single member of his family that was feeling completely positive about the experience. He could tell you were trying to be, for his sake and for the kids, but leaving behind all your friends was difficult. Even Eddie was struggling, despite Jeff, Gareth and Anthony being close by.

  Corroded Coffin had picked up quite a bit of traction and a loyal fanbase that was stemming into a borderline crazed one. The demand for more performances and appearances was high. Eddie never thought they’d ever reach this level, had dreamed of it once but after he found out you were pregnant with Penny, he didn’t care for the dream anymore. He preferred his reality, his family.

  Then the kids got older and you always encouraged him to keep playing so they did, and it happened. It wasn’t instant, overnight, or even close in years but they’d finally reached the point where the members were rarely in Hawkins. It had been the source of a lot of tension in your relationship, the hardest thing the two of you had ever gone though. You hated that he wasn’t around much and so did Eddie, but there wasn’t much he could do about it. Contracts had been signed and the ink had already dried.

  The fighting had been exhausting, at one point it felt as though the two of you lost each other and that had been terrifying. 

  And his kids—his babies. He was missing out on his babies growing up and it broke his fucking heart. Wayne appeared indifferent, but Eddie knew he cared and Penny was like you, always trying to seem okay and put together but she was hiding stuff from him—no scary secrets or rebellion, she was hiding her feelings.

  When you found out you were pregnant again, in the midst of all the fighting and distance, it had been the final straw for Eddie. He wasn’t about to let his family slip between his fingers. 

  The moment a show ended, and he didn’t have another the following day, he was rushing off stage to shower, throwing some inconspicuous clothes on to keep the invasive cameras from recognizing him, before he was on the next flight to Indiana. It didn’t matter if he only got to be there sporadically, he was there every. single. chance. he got.

  And when Maple was born during one of their concerts, Gareth was subbing in for lead vocals while he was holding your hand in the delivery room.

  It took time, love and a lot of nurturing but things got better. Then, you’d brought up moving to California. Most of Corroded Coffin’s appearances were based in the area which meant you and the kids would be closer to him, able to see him nearly every day if he wasn’t doing press or touring.

  You were extending the olive branch. 

  In truth, he hadn’t wanted to agree immediately, knew he’d be leaving Wayne behind (the old man said he wasn’t meant for city life, that he’d stay and have a place for his grandkids to visit and he couldn’t leave behind the women he loved, both of them now resting in the same cemetery), as well as your shared friends and the friends Penny and Wayne had made. It was a lot to leave. 

  In the end, you were willing to leave everything if it meant you’d never have to leave Eddie, never have to break your family. So, the boxes had been packed and labeled, goodbyes had been exchanged (Penny had cried when little Winnie, Megan and Margot Harrington, hadn’t wanted to let her go and Wayne had exchanged a heartfelt hug with his namesake, who was his favorite person to be around) and all your friends and family had been left waving goodbye to you from the rearview mirror.

  Yeah. Everyone was adjusting.

  Which led to today. Wayne had a field trip to the zoo, which he didn’t want to go on because of how new he was and his lack of friends. You’d been planning on taking the baby and going with him (the only way he’d agree to go) until Penny came down with something last night, complaining about not feeling good which meant you’d have to stay home with her. 

  If Eddie’s family was making sacrifices for him, then he was more than willing to make a sacrifice on behalf of Ari, his publicist, and canceled an interview he hadn’t even wanted to do in the first place. The guys were also happy to stay home, so it was a win. You took Wayne on his field trip, because Eddie couldn’t go anywhere without some dick with a camera following him around, and Eddie stayed home with Penny and Maple.

  Only, Penny locked herself away in her room and either Eddie was really out of practice or Maple just had a difficult time bonding with him because she would not stop wailing and shrieking. She had more teeth breaching her gums, and Eddie had tried everything he could to sooth her, everything he’d used with Penny and Wayne; frozen teething toys, massaged over the area of her gums, baby orajel, cuddles, she just fought him every time. 

  The only reason she’d gone down was because of how hard she’d been crying, little body shaking and trembling as she shrieked as loud as her little lungs would allow her to, tears streaming down her face and continuously pooling in her eyes. She’d worn herself out.

  Big moment of defeat for him, he’d felt guilty ever since he put her in her crib, wiping the wet trails from her face. Even in sleep, she didn’t look at peace.

  He could play to sold out arenas, had played a five hour concert in Madison Square fucking Garden, but he couldn’t sooth his baby, couldn’t take his son to the zoo and his oldest barely talked to him. 

  The life of a Rockstar.

  With a heavy sigh, Eddie reached to his side for the remote to the television. When his palm met the fabric of the cushions, he let out a more aggressive sigh, rising so he could take the couch apart in his search for that damn remote even though he knew it would somehow pop up in the most conspicuous place, though he’d last left it on that fucking cushion.

  He’d just lifted one large cushion when he heard a high pitched shriek.

  “MOM!”

  Penny.

  Eddie dropped the cushion as he ran upstairs towards her room. When he burst through the door, head whipping around, he still couldn’t find her. Then he noticed the light coming from under her bathroom door and rushed forward.

  “Penny?!” He called out, aggressively twisting the knob but it didn’t budge. He got desperate and shouldered the door, ready to break it down in an instant if she didn’t answer, “Penny, are you okay?!”

  “I need mom!” She called through the door.

  “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?” He kept trying the knob, eager to just yank it off and get to his little girl.

  Had she slipped and fallen? Thrown up? Should he call an ambulance–no, fuck that, they’d be too slow, he’d grab Penny and the baby and take her himself.

  “NO! I’m fine, I just–I need mom.” Penny sounded closer, and Eddie felt a little relieved to know she wasn’t injured. But why didn’t she want him?

  “I can help, sweet pea! Your tummy upset? I can make some soup! Or-or I can go get you what you need!”

  “The only thing I need is mom.” She was right on the other side of the door now. 

  Eddie sighed, forehead dropping against his side of the bathroom door in defeat. Of course she didn’t want to talk to him. “Well, mom isn’t here right now. So. I guess you're stuck with me.”

  Alright, maybe Eddie had been expecting her to take pity on him but she didn’t.

  The door remained closed and she stayed silent so with a heavy heart, Eddie settled against the wall opposite of the door. He’d be there for her when she decided to come out.

  It took about ten minutes before he heard the door unlock and it opened slowly, just her head poking out in his exact direction, as if she’d known he’d still be there. Her big brown eyes were vulnerable, eyebrows slightly furrowed–she was nervous.

  “I’m bleeding.” She said it so softly, it had Eddie scrambling up and towards her. She backed into the bathroom to allow him in, but when he looked her over, he didn’t see any injuries. She was just fidgeting, playing with her fingers. It was when she glanced up at him and then nervously to the toilet bowl that it clicked for him.

  Penny had her first period. 

  “Oh, shit.”

  “Dad!”

  “Sorry, sorry! I just–wow, uh, first…”

  “Period, dad. I got my period!” She rolled her eyes and Eddie just nodded, head moving like a bobble head.

  “I know! I know! Trust me, I know what a period is. I’m just–you caught me off guard, I mean your mom said–.” And then Eddie recalled exactly what you said, “Hold on, I’ll be right back.”

  Eddie ran from her bathroom, towards the master bedroom. Sure enough, a peak under one of your shared bathroom cabinets produced a box of pads, unopened. 

  “Yes.” He hissed, snatching it from its place before he ran back to her room. Penny hadn’t moved from her spot, eyes widening as he offered her the box and wiped the hair out of his face.

  “Here. Your mom got you these, she said–she uh, had a feeling you’d, you know, start soon.”

  Penny took the box from his hands, glancing down at them in wonder. 

  Eddie watched her, heart clenching for some reason he couldn’t quite explain. 

  “Pretty big moment, huh?” He broke the silence with a soft chuckle, clearing his rapidly tightening throat.

  It turned out to be the right thing to say, she angled her head up to beam at him. 

  “I can’t believe I got it, everyone else has it but I didn’t think I would!” 

  Penny was excited about it, you’d explained to him that she would be when she first got her period, because Eddie knew how much you hated yours (unless you thought you were pregnant–then it was suddenly your best friend who you missed dearly). It would be a big moment for her, a right of passage in girlhood or something. Or at least one that tampon and pad companies established. 

  “So it is a big moment,” Eddie reiterated, blinking hard.

  “Yeah, I–dad, are you crying?”

  Eddie kept blinking, shaking his head as his vision blurred and he sniffled, “No. Why would I be crying? I’m not crying, my little girl has a period. That’s it. Nothing to cry over.”

  “Dad…” She started before she placed the box on the tile and hugged his waist.

  That’s when Eddie actually started crying, bending over to wrap his arms around her shoulders. He held her like that for a few moments, pressing a few kisses to the top of her head.

  It seemed like she was trying to comfort him because she didn’t pull away, just let him hold her until eventually he realized she’d need to actually use one of those pads.

  “You know how to work those, right?” He asked, standing straight though his hands remained on her shoulders as her arms went back to her sides.

  “I know how to use them, dad, some of the girls at school showed me theirs.” She laughed out, “I still can’t believe I got it!”

  “Is that why you didn’t go to school?” He asked and she got quiet, shifting her weight and toeing the grout before she looked up at him, eyes clouded with guilt.

  “Shanti’s having a sleepover tonight and if I went to school, they’d know I’m not sick.” She admitted and Eddie frowned.

  “I was actually talking about cramps, but she didn't invite you?”

  Penny went back to avoiding his gaze and walked over to the bathroom wall, resting her back against it so she could slide to the floor and pull her knees to her chest. Eddie immediately joined her, one knee up and the other leg spread out. She was finally talking to him, he didn’t want it to end.

  “She invited me, but they’re just gonna talk about their periods and boys and stuff. And I didn’t have my period so I didn’t want to go.”

  “Oh, I see,” Eddie didn’t want to talk about the subject of boys and stuff, he’d put that off for years if he could. “You could go now, you’ve got your period.”

  “I don’t know,” she put her chin on the top of her knees, and Eddie stared at her, still so amazed at how much she looked like you. “I don’t know if they really like me. I’m trying really hard, but it doesn’t feel easy, doesn’t feel natural.”

  “I know how you feel,” he muttered and when she glared at him from the corner of his eyes for daring to try to relate to a girl in the sixth grade, he started rambling, “Sometimes, you know, you feel like you’ve got to try hard to get people to talk to you and sometimes you feel like they’re not happy with you so you try harder, and then you can’t tell if they like you or if they like how hard you’re trying or how desperate you are to be with them and wanting them to spend time with you or if you’re just annoying them. And they feel bad for you.”

  Eddie stared at the large mirror across from the pair, at his reflection and soaked in the truth of it all. He could relate to Penny a little too much.

  His head lulled to the side, catching her eyes as she watched him.

  “But she invited you, baby. If you ask me, I think they want to be your friends. Maybe it doesn’t feel natural because you’re scared to stop trying so hard.”

  She considered his statement, pursing her lips. 

  “Maybe you’re right. Can I even go? You’re not mad at me for lying?”

  Eddie huffed out a breathy laugh, hand reaching over to stroke over her curls, “About this? No. I’m just glad you told me. You can go if you want, okay?”

  She nodded, and Eddie withdrew his hands as she stretched her legs out, figuring the conversation was over. He felt a little better about their relationship–she hadn’t iced him out after all. 

  Penny moved onto her knees, ready to push herself up and Eddie was about to do the same thing when she got his attention. 

  “Uhm, daddy?”

  “Yeah, baby?”

  “I think the people you’re talking about moved from Hawkins over here because they want to be with you, too. All the time. You don’t have to try so hard, ‘cause we love you a lot. Maple’s just a big cry baby.”

  There was no way Eddie could deny the water at his lower lash line or the two large tears that trailed down his cheeks. “C’mere.”

  Penny wrapped her arms around his shoulders as Eddie hugged her to him tightly, eyes squeezing shut as the two ton weight that had been pressing on his heart was lifted by a little girl barely half his size.

  “I love you, daddy.” She whispered, squeezing him back. Ediie could feel something wet pressing against his neck and he realized she was crying, too. The last time he’d seen her cry was when they said goodbye to everyone in Hawkins. Eddie inhaled a shaky breath as he responded, a hand moving to cradle the back of her head.

  “I love you, too, baby. I love you all so much.” 

  They held each other until she pulled away, wiping at her face. 

  “I have to put on a pad, daddy.”

  “Oh, right. Yeah. I’ll give you some privacy.” Eddie pushed himself up, stretching his arms up and relishing in the sensation.

  “Can we watch The Wild Thornberrys after?”

  “Of course, baby.” That was the children’s show Flea always bragged about being on. Dude had so many movie roles, it was insane. 

  Eddie was about to leave the bathroom, doorknob in his hand to close it behind him when she stopped him again, “And daddy, if you want to spend time with me, you can always take me to the Spice Girls concert.”

  Eddie smirked, amused with the innocent act she was playing, eyelashes batting and making her eyes appear even wider.

  “I’ll think about it.”

  While Penny finished up, Eddie checked in on Maple–who was awake and waiting for him, pacifier in her mouth and little arms outstretched the moment he came into view.  His little mini-me (out of all of his kids, she looked the most like Eddie) cuddled up to him as soon as he picked her up, cheek resting on his shoulder.

  Then he went in search of the house phone so he could call Ari and get tickets for the next Spiceworld show.

(Penny ended up finding the remote for the TV on the arm of the loveseat where Eddie had not left it.)