HEAR ME OUT.

HEAR ME OUT.

bruce wayne and the reader having the exact same music taste (i’m thinking nirvana or deftones) and they lay in bed at night with headphones in each ear and listening together. GOD

drive me far away

FUCK YEAH I LOVE THIS IDEA THANK YOU SO MUCH ANON I LOVE U!!!! i hope i did your idea justice, it’s a little corny but i think it’s cute :) anyways ignore how bad i am at ending stories and enjoy!!!

pairing: pattinson! bruce wayne/ reader

warnings: female pronouns used in the form of ‘mrs.’ once. i think that’s it but lmk if i missed anything!

-

the first thing you and bruce found out you really had in common, was your music taste. it brought the two of you together tremendously, and you still bond over it to this day. wether it was nirvana, deftones, or even bands like new order, (YES, i strongly believe bruce would listen to new order/ new wave in general) you bonded over it all. no matter what time of day, no matter what activity, there was usually a song playing that both of you enjoyed.

it was a gloomy monday, and you had decided you wanted to give alfred the day off, or at least help a little. which took a lot of convincing.

“alfred please, just let me do the dishes, or something!” you always felt bad for him, even though he clearly didn’t dislike his job, you still felt the need to help every once in a while.

“alright, fine mrs. wayne. clean away” alfred throws his hands up in surrender and exits the room. bruce gives you a questionable look from where he was working at the kitchen table. “what??? i wanna help out” you retort at his silence.

“i didn’t say anything” he shrugs, before unwillingly going back to his work. you stick your headphones in as to not bother bruce, and begin to play “mollys lips” by nirvana. you bop your head to the music as you wash the dishes, silently mouthing the words as you go. bruce notices this, and decides that nows the perfect time to take a break from his work. he walks up behind you silently, and snakes his arms around your waist. he rests his chin on top of your head as he speaks.

“whatcha listening to?” he takes an earbud out of your ear and places it in his own, and an instant smile crosses his face. you push out of his arms and grab a ladle from the sink, going into full theatre mode now that you knew bruce wasnt working. you mouth the lyrics into the ‘mic’ with much exaggeration.

she said

she’d take me anywhere

she’d take me anywhere

as long as she stays with me

bruce leans against the kitchen counter, watching with full amusement and a lopsided smile.

she said

she’d take me anywhere

she’d take me anywhere

as long as i stay clean

kiss, kiss mollys lips

kiss, kiss mollys lips

you continue to perform your heart out, dropping down to your knees like a true rockstar at the end of the song. bruce claps enthusiastically.

“amazing” his sentence comes out broken between his laughter as he helps you up from the ground. you smile as he pulls you flush against him and places a kiss upon your lips.

“can i help you do the dishes” he mumbles lazily against your lips.

“weren’t you doing other work?” you question, looking over to the papers scattered across the table.

“i was, but i’d rather do dishes. less boring.” your shrug, placing your phone on speaker and playing the music aloud. the two of you slowly but surely finished the dishes, although you both were drenched because you thought it would be funny to start a water fight.

later that night, you were settled into bed, laying on your side and nose deep into a book as bruce got ready in the bathroom behind you. this was one of the rare nights that bruce didn’t go out, and the both of you went to bed at the same time.

you smile to yourself as bruce places himself flat against your back, entangling his legs with yours and placing soft kisses on the space behind your ear and down your neck to your collar bone. you place your book down, he then takes one of his earbuds and places it in your ear. deftones fills your head and you smile softly to yourself as you turn to face him. you were quite literally centimeters apart as the music plays for the both of you.

“be quiet and drive huh?” you speak over the music, quirking an eyebrow at him.

he shrugs, “basic, but one of my favorites” a smile ghosts his lips as his eyes scan your face. he was admiring you, drinking in your beauty. something he did quite often without thinking about it, he could be in the middle of doing anything, and he would stop to admire you. you decide to move in, your lips moving in sync with his as the song continued to play. bruce tugs you impossibly closer as he faintly mouths the lyrics against your lips.

it feels good to know you’re all mine

now drive me far

away, away, away,

that night, the two of you fell asleep in each others arms, music still playing in your ears as you dreams came and went.

Can you do 15-43-46-60 with Tate and the reader? Like Tate teasing the reader whilst she’s driving?

Tate Teasing the Reader While She Drives

15. “Wanna bet?”

43. “Does this get you hard/wet?”

46. “I’m trying to drive here!”

60. “Cum for me.”

Yo I’m sorry this took me SO long, I hope the person who requested this is still even here. :/

Summary- Fingering, handjob, careless driving, orgasm, a very cocky teenager called Tate Langdon. Words- 1.3k

for obvious reasons that include leaving the house, Tate isn’t dead

I hope you enjoy! :)

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“You’re just mad cause you know I’m better at driving than you”, you say, gathering your belongings and putting them in your purse. Tate scoffs.

“I’m far better”, he replies.

“You get distracted at everything! I can focus on the road much better than you can”.

A cheeky grin comes over Tate’s face when he hears your challenge, and he chuckles. He ties the laces to his Vans and looks at you with an amused expression.

“Wanna bet?”.

You smile at him innocently, not knowing what torture Tate has in store for you. But your competitive side would never allow somebody as cocky as Tate to have the satisfaction of winning. You had to prove him wrong, whatever he had in plan.

Once you both sat in the car, you put on your seatbelt and looked over at Tate. He closes his car door and looks at you innocently, crossing his hands on his lap. You blink at him slowly and wait for him to put on his seatbelt, which he doesn’t do. He laughs hearing your dramatic groan as you reach over to put it on for him, to which he gives you a big childish grin and you roll your eyes, then start driving.

Trying to keep your eyes on the road, you occasionally look at the unusually quiet boy in your passenger seat. Even though you didn’t know what he was planning, his suspiciously content expression and deafening silence only meant he could be up to no good. Tate turns down the Nirvana playing on the radio but doesn’t say anything. You look over at him with confused eyebrows and he pretends to not notice you looking at him. Just as you’re about to ask what he’s up to, you hear a weird sound which immediately catches your attention. You turn your head to see Tate unzipping his pants and palming himself through his underwear, looking around through the windows, like nothing’s happening. Your eyes widen as you look at him for a few seconds too long, having to quickly divert your eyes back to the road. Your lips tremble for something to say and you only just manage to get something out.

“What-? What are you-?”

“I thought you don’t get distracted?”, Tate said cockily, making you sigh, finally understanding his cheekiness earlier. Without hesitating, he takes his hardening cock out of his undies and strokes himself. You look around at the cars on the busy road you’re on and worry whether somebody else will see you. You try not to give into temptation, knowing he’s only trying to annoy you and distract you, but you can’t help but glance occasionally, trying not to stare for too long, for safety reasons. His cheeky grin gets wider when you make eye contact and he notices you biting your lip.

“Does this make you wet?”, Tate whispered seductively. He begins to rub his cock fully, clearly not caring about the cars surrounding you. You moan softly at the sight, answering his question, and grab onto the steering wheel harder. He chuckles at your determination and stops touching himself completely. You stop the whine coming from your lips, knowing this is for the better, but not denying how wet seeing him pleasure himself makes you. You slightly rub your legs together as much as you can, the underwear under your skirt getting wetter by the second. The idea of other people watching excited you in a new way you never felt before, and the adrenaline rush you had to contain made your thighs tingle. You stare straight forward, and suddenly feel Tate’s huge hand on your thigh. Though this was something he did often, you were already too aroused for him to touch you at all. You brush his hand away softly, but he quickly returns, this time gripping harder, and rubbing closer to between your legs. A soft moan escapes your lips and Tate smirks, knowing the effect he has on you. You look over at him pleadingly and he pretends to scold you.

“Eyes on the road, missy”.

Your sweaty hands don’t know what to do with themselves, rubbing up and down the steering wheel, trying to focus on anything but the minimal stimulation on your bare thigh.  Tate uses his long, slender middle finger to slide up and down directly on your underwear, making you flinch slightly. He exhales in satisfaction at how wet you feel and moves your underwear to the side. You tense your whole body, gripping the steering wheel and clenching your jaw in the process, trying to not melt between his skilled fingers. He sees this and raises an eyebrow at your silent protest. He puts his middle finger on your wet slit and slowly pushes it inside, a gasp immediately leaving your mouth.

“I’m trying to drive here!”.

“Oh, don’t worry, that doesn’t bother me”, Tate states sarcastically, pushing his finger in knuckle deep and curling it straight up. A high pitch moan escapes your lips, and with a desperate expression, you search around for a quick place to park. As you try to keep your increasingly more and more shaky legs steady, and on the pedals, Tate begins to find a rhythm and curls his long powerful finger deeper every time. You whine, trying to keep your eyes open and constantly having to stop your head from rolling back. Tate pushes in a second finger and curls them both up at a faster paster, biting his lip as he watches you try to not fall apart. He moans watching you and grabs his cock, stroking it at the same time as he curls his fingers into you. Though your pleading face stays on the road, aching for a place to stop the car, your soaking pussy clenches around Tate’s fingers, holding them inside. Tate digs around in you like he’s looking for lost treasure but as he pulls them out slightly, rubbing and trying to find your g-spot, you take one of your clammy hands off the steering wheel and push his hand in deeper, yearning to feel every inch of his long fingers.

“Needy girl”, he mocks you. “Cum for me”

He demands and curls his fingers harder and faster pushing you over the edge. You moan and completely let go, giving in to his touch and releasing your excitement all over his hand. Your mind and vision go foggy as your eyes struggle to stay open, and the one hand left on the wheel battles with the aftershock of your powerful orgasm, trying to stay still. His attack on your insides doesn’t stop, even after you release, bringing you overwhelming pleasure. You pathetically attempt to pull his hand away from you, knowing that you don’t want him to stop, but he does and rips his fingers out from you, earning a sad whine. Soon enough, your eyes light up as you find a car park to a supermarket, and you quickly park, barely making it between the lines. You finally relax, and look over at Tate, who wasted no time in using the wetness you left on his hand to pleasure himself.  You forcibly take his hand off himself and he looks at you, expecting you to replace his hand with yours. Instead, you undo your seatbelt, and open the car door.

“You’re driving home”, you step out of the car and walk around to the passenger seat. Tate awkwardly shuffles to the driver’s seat, and watches you sit beside him.

“Maybe it’s a good job, I don’t get distracted as easily”, Tate says laughing. Though he quickly stops when you look at him with a serious expression and wrap your fingers around his hard dick.

“Wanna bet?”

Would you ever write for like rockstar!eddie and reader like maybe she's an actor or something or she's his high-school sweet heart and even after he got famous he stayed with her

rockstar! eddie x wife! reader

OMG, ok so you caught my attention. i’ve always wanted to write for rockstar! eddie. i also daydreamed a lot that the reader is his wife (and yes, his highschool sweetheart as well) you know like that bombshell wife that even his fans simp for her as well, gets featured in some magazines and shows. alongside tour interviews and such.

i can imagine the dynamic between them sort of like ozzy & sharon (without the major toxicity but the yelling is there) but overall, you’re just one hella of a wife to corroded coffin’s frontman. and he’s very proud to show you off every interview he gets.

this time they’re doing a reality tv one! like the Osbourne’s.

suggestive themes under the cut

｡･:*˚:✧｡

another day in the munson household… 

“eddie!” you shouted amidst the large canopy of the munson LA mansion. the camera man swerves the camera to eddie munson’s face, eddie fucking munson, leader of one of the grossing rock bands alive in the 90’s. he lets out a sigh as he can hear your heels stomp against the hardwood large stairs as he looks to the camera with a smirk, counting in his head for your barge in as he speaks. it was another filming day for their own reality tv show, his manager urged him to do this, fans demanding wanting to know more about him and his darling wife. you.

“ah, and here comes my smoking hot angry wife—“

the door slams open inside the studio room, the camera whips to you. all dolled up, fresh from your make-up room, wearing a very tight dress that hugged your body nicely. he wasn’t even focused on the terrifying anger written on your pretty face, just that he’s very focused now on your chest. the camera man backs away, slightly scared, seeing as you had something in your hand. fan mail apparently! tons of it in your hand as the other was situated on your hip, very angry stance.

it was cute to him.

“baby, darling.” he greeted with a smirk, urging your hothead to come closer to him, he was sitting on his office chair, the one he always sat on whenever he would spend nights in this studio room to write or compose a song.

“send panties in the mail! panties? are you out of your fucking mind!?” you threw the mail at him, huffing and puffing with anger. the camera man captured this one moment they all knew would be another hit on mainstream. your fights with eddie were certainly a blockbuster for every corroded coffin fan, plus you were hot in it.

“sweetheart, chill! i meant it as a fucking joke, geez—“

another mail was thrown at him, this time he can clearly see the lace of some fan’s panties were peeking out. oh, was he dead. he is popular with the ladies, you were very hyperaware of that and you despised some groupies for getting a lil’ close during concerts or meet-ups, mainly the obsessed ones you couldn’t stand, but they’re not the wife. you are, so in perspective, you won when it comes to them. and you trust eddie, he’s not that stupid.

“baby, what did you expect? they’re fucking crazy.” he snorts, tossing the mail away. you crossed your arms, boobs squishing, eddie gawked at it with no shame.

“you’re laughing at this? i can’t believe you! you’re such an ass—“ you pouted, fuming red in your eyes. eddie shook his head as he grabbed your arm, knowing well you were going to calm down once he gets in you in his lip. you noticed it.

“that’s not gonna fucking work—“

“try me.” he hums, wrapping his arms around your waist as you sat snuggly. leaning your back against his naked chest littered with tattoos, your name tattooed above his heart. your face somehow manage to soften yet still annoyed at how it worked. munson charm. damn him.

“you okay, baby?” he asks kissing your neck, looking to the camera with a wink and a smirk.

“i will strangle you.”

“i thought that was for the bedroom—“

“i will shove this remaining mail up your ass if you open your mouth again.” you warned, pinching his arm. he yelped at how sharp your nails were as you sighed, simmering down now as he placed kisses on your bare shoulder. the expensive scent of your perfume and body wash making him buck his hips up a bit. so addicting. the camera focuses on the sweet moment as you rubbed your forehead, a headache coming in.

“oh, baby. ‘m sorry.” he cooed.

“don’t.” you huffed. “i don’t like this.” you emphasized to the mails on the ground.

“ ‘course baby, i haven’t even fucking opened them yet.” he place a sloppy kiss on your neck. “and i never will. if that makes up for it.”

“thank you, eds.” you sighed in relief. his heart bloomed as he winked to the camera again. mouthing ‘munson charm’.

“gotta remind them, sweetheart, you’re my wife. nothing’s gonna come between that, ey? not even fucking panties.” he reminds you, grasping your chin to look at him. reminding you how many years you two have been together, since highschool, since that incident back in the upside down, being each other’s first experiences and all. you are the love of his life.

his large thumb caressing your bottom crimson lip. you nodded silently, still a little annoyed, his handsome grin widen as he kissed you. tongue and all, still not ashamed he’s showing this intimate moment on camera then probably on television soon. you wriggled, feeling the bulge in his sweatpants form. you hummed on his mouth, liking the sloppiness as you pulled away, all shy now noticing the camera again.

“and stop sending me panties!” he pointed to the camera. “i’m flattered, but i got plenty already.” he joked, earning a smack from you again. the camera man eventually said cut as you both relaxed in each other’s arms.

“today’s film was great, mr. & mrs. munson. thank you so much.” the cameraman smiled nervously as you smiled back widely, still seated on eddie’s lap.

“no problem, lemonade’s downstairs in the kitchen. help yourself!” you kindly offered as eddie placed kisses again on your neck. hot and heavy he is, it was such a turn-on whenever you got mad at him. the door closed shut as eddie finally got a breather. focusing on you now and his ache in his pants.

“so sexy today, baby.” he mumbles, voice low and deep. “getting you all riled up.”

“mhm. if you ever say stupid shit to your fans, munson. i will kick you out.” you hummed tilting your neck to the side as he nipped your soft skin making you let out a quiet whimper.

“hey, they love you getting mad as well, can’t blame ‘em.” he laughs, squeezing your boobs. the fans were crazy for you as much as they are for him. you chuckled remembering the time you got featured on the front page of playboy magazine, everyone went wild. eddie was fuming at that time but he didn’t hide the fact that he bought at least numerous copies of it, supporting your fame. “you’re such a fucking bombshell. ‘m so lucky.”

“i swear, eddie!” you swatted his hands away as he whined.

“i promise!” he laughs heartily as you smiled again. a moment of silence transpires, you two have been together since ‘86, the large mansion was awfully lonely when he’s away on tour, leaving you here sometimes. you love him, really. since the day he clumsily asked you out by the bench in the woods. supporting him throughout, until his band got in with a label. signing them up. being his soulmate, sticking with him until now. something was just missing in the munson household. the thought a important one for you, and you knew clearly what you wanted next. knowing eddie gives you everything.

“what do you think about a little munson running around here, eds?”

｡･:*˚:✧｡

wrote this in one sitting!

I need more <3

Meet Me In The Afterglow - Morpheus x Reader

Hey It’s all me in my head I’m the one who burned us down But it’s not what I meant Sorry that I hurt you I don’t wanna do, I don’t wanna do this to you I don’t wanna lose, I don’t wanna lose this with you I need to say, hey It’s all me, just don’t go Meet me in the afterglow

Summary: You’re having a pleasant time relaxing with your friend away from your duties when Morpheus shows up in your simple and uncomplicated life you’ve built in the mortal world. Morpheus has not changed his mind on his stance to make things right with you but have you changed your mind on giving him a chance to prove himself?

Pairing: Morpheus x Goddess of Hope Reader

Warnings: Toxic Relationship

A/N: Hi everyone! First of all, I have to say thank you so much for your love and support for the Part 1 of this fic  it’s time to go ! I honestly did not expect so many lovely comments and support from everyone, it made me so happy because I had never written Morpheus before and was truly anxious in taking such an iconic character to write! I also wrote the first part as therapy for my personal life, so seeing you guys connect with it and support Hope meant more to me than you can know!

So here is Part 2 of  it’s time to go that you’ve been asking for and I hope you really like it! Thank you so much for the love, it means so much to me - seriously, you are amazing! Let me know if you like it, your feedback means so much to me!

Part 1 - it’s time to go

Your duties provided you great comfort but if someone asked you what have you hope, you would say it was the little family of mortal companions you had found over the years in Morpheus’ absence.

Some died and withered away for they were only mortal but the love you had for them never faded away. The memories you shared with them burned warmly and brightly giving you hope and strength to carry on when times were hard and cruel to you.

And now you were accompanying your friend Ben with his three kids to the park. Ben was a single dad, divorced and struggling to parent his kids amidst his work schedule and his ex wife refusing to take responsibility. He was nice and kind man and a good father to the handful of mischief makers. You had known Ben since he was a child for you were the Goddess of Hope who had taken care of him by giving him hope but you had met him later on. You felt a kinship toward Ben from your personal experience in life. You both had difficult spouses who had emotionally neglected and hurt both of you and you both longed for a family where explosions and grief would never have a place. Soon Ben had become a close friend of yours and you found yourself going out for drinks, babysitting the kids, taking walks in the park and helping him out when he was overworking.

He was telling you about a blind date completely gone wrong and he was devastated while you listened sympathetically while drifting in and out of your thoughts. You wished you could exchange places with him in life at the moment. Experiencing a blind date gone wrong seemed more pleasant to you than being plagued by thoughts of Morpheus’ return and his intentions to fix what was irretrievably broken.

“And it was a disaster!” exclaimed Ben waving his hands energetically that you had to duck down to avoid getting slapped but you were amused. There was never a dull moment in his company. “I’m never going to find love! I’m going to die a classically handsome lonely man while you sob at my bedside and beg me not to leave you.”

You snorted at his dramatic flair but you could feel the growing sense of loneliness and despair radiating from him as you placed your arm gently upon his shoulder and looked at his expression of pain “Ben, look… there is someone out there… with incredibly low standards, a super weird taste for ice cream and they are waiting for you!”

You could feel his loneliness slightly begin to fade as your hope fused through him softly and tenderly but the nagging sense of doubt was still present though he laughed shakily and you strengthened your weaving of threads of hope into him “You are not going to die alone. Trust me, you are going to find someone who is going to love you heart and soul deeply and truly. They will give you the kind, gentle, warm love… the love of a home and family that will make all your dreams come true. You will always be enough for them.”

Your hope had quietly woven into him and was now spreading through him warmly and steadily washing away the nagging doubts, insecurities and fears that only he struggled with and you could feel as its darkness was replaced with golden light. 

He smiled through his tears, a smile of strength and renewed hope “You’re right. You’re always right. How is it you manage to give me hope when I need it the most?”

You smile widely and wink at him “It’s my gift.”

He laughed in amusement thinking you were joking and you laughed glad to see him smile in good spirits again. You wrapped him in a warm embrace as you strengthened and weaved your threads of hope around and through him to protect him against despair. All mortals were important to you but when you saw your friend without hope, that bought something fearful in you that you needed to fix with your own gift. 

He buried his head in the crook of your shoulder “Thanks, mate. For being there for me.”

“Always.”

“How’s your love life?” queried Ben in unhidden curiosity as you broke the hug, his eyes twinkling in mischief as he sighed dramatically “Or am I going to waste my years of life repeatedly watching you fail to get a date?”

“I didn’t fail!” you exclaimed indignantly while he roared in good natured laughter and you were so lost in his outrageous accusation that you momentarily forgot Morpheus “I just -”

“Rejected and refused those who asked you out a dozen times.” completed Ben with a reminiscent mischievous smile and you shook your head at those memories. 

“The circumstances arose giving me compelling insight as to not to pursue romance a wise course of action.” you replied with as much dignity the Goddess of Hope could muster. 

Ben scrunched his nose and then rolled his eyes knowingly at your words “Meaning… you failed.”

“Meaning….” you groaned wishing the thoughts of Morpheus would just bloody leave you alone. His apology. The shame and the regret flashing vividly in his eyes. The tenderness and softness in his voice when he had spoken to you, the desperation to make you stay with him. The firm and steady conviction when he said he intended to fix your marriage. “I’m hopeless!”

Ben shrugged as he nodded his head “We both are.”

“Because I’m alone, let’s face it. No one wants me.” you said quietly but there was an ache of sadness and insecurity in her heart that had never quite disappeared even after all these centuries. The ache of never been good enough put there in her by the very man who promised to fix their broken marriage. 

Morpheus. 

“I mean, we both totally suck.” said Ben with a thoughtful nod “You know what will fix it?”

“What?”

“Ice cream!” 

You laughed cheering up at the thought of ice cream as the kids chanted for ice cream along with their equally childish dad. Ben bought all of them ice - cream and to the delight of his kids, they could have as much as they wanted though you disapproved in amused exasperation knowing the sugar rush would be a menace to deal with later. But the bright smiles on their faces were worth it as they waited in line. 

Ben leaned in whispered “Um - you want to do the thing where we cheat and play dirty?”

You grinned “Sure.”

Ben stepped up to the ice cream cart and his kids watched what would unfold every time they wanted free dessert. He placed the order and when the time came to pay, you had waxed a poetic about how you had got engaged to him while his kids rolled their eyes and hid their mischievous grins “Ben and I met at this very park when he was with his kids and it’s really special to us. We just got engaged and remember this is where our first date was too!”

Ben played into the familiar routine as he leaned into your intertwined arm with a smile “Oh yeah. I didn’t know if she was going to say yes but I’m so glad she did!”

“Oh I love how nervous you were, my darling.” you said dramatically with such a happy smile making one of the kids wheeze in laughter and then cough when their dad sent a ‘don’t blow this for us’ glare subtly his way and the rest of the kids shushed him and you kissed him on the cheek to make the act more believable. 

You could feel Ben trying to hold in his laughter too as the ice cream vendor looked visibly touched by this romantic display of affection “You are just the sweetest couple together! You know what, ice cream is on me!”

“It is!? What a totally unexpected thing that we both never expected to happen!” exclaimed Ben in complete feigned shock while you pretended to be surprised as his kids giggled but all of you thanked the kind vendor for the ice cream. 

The kids indulged in their ice cream laughing at the little prank while you watched them with fondness. You never had children with Morpheus. He never wanted children after his loss of his son. He never wanted you. At least, that was the impression that he made upon you. 

But you wanted a family. A large brood of children running around and playing games and creating mischief, children who you could take care of and pour all the love in your heart to and build a happy home with. You dreamed of being wanted, of being important to someone. But your cold husband indulged in his pleasures and vices while you contended to looking at the happy families of the mortal realm in wistful longing wishing for what they had and giving hope and talking to children who were drawn to you during your visits in the Waking World. 

They always cheered you up even during the darkest times in your marriage to Morpheus. You still remembered once you had been adrift and unanchored after a particularly cold conversation where you were merely tolerated and unwanted but a mortal child had come up to you and tugged at your dress asking you what was wrong. You simply spoke in riddles, telling the child that you had lost your friend. The child had simply advised not to think about what was lost and cheered you up with simple and silly anecdotes of what he did when he lost something. 

He had died a long time ago but had lived a good life. You had watched over him, in his darkest times cared for him and given him hope just as he had given you that day. 

Perhaps that’s why you were so fond of humanity. In a way, they were all your children constantly whining for your attention, constantly needed to be taken care of, constantly loving you and finding you important.

You smiled endeared by the innocence of Ben’s children “You spoil them.”

“You are too stern.”

“Untrue. I have a job to keep those shitheads safe and that’s exactly what I plan on doing.” you said seriously eliciting a chuckle from Ben who reprimanded your language hoping that his kids hadn’t heard your colorful vocabulary. “Any parent knows that.”

You spoiled children. You adored them. But if something endangered them, you was very protective of them. You would not let them get hurt. 

Ben looked at his friend who he felt he knew and yet there was so much he didn’t know about her “Are you a parent?”

A flash of sadness passed your face and Ben asked “Do you want to be a parent?”

There was a long silence as you watched the children play carefree and happily in the park and smiled wistfully and longingly “I once had a dream. One day I would have a really big family with six or seven kids and we’d have these really big birthday parties and loud family dinners and bedtime stories for everyone. There would be no anger, no worry, no breaking glass, no screaming. Our home would be safe, warm and gentle and I’d protect them and love them and comfort them.”

“But dreams don’t come true. Not for me.” you sighed as you thought of your cold husband who had returned and bought with him the heaviness of the grief and tension of the past that you had tried so hard to forget. “I can never really have that.”

“What? Because of your ex- boyfriend?” queried Ben who knew about your past relationship but you had not told him of Morpheus and who he really was to you “Has he reached out to you?”

“Kind of. He wants to fix things.”

Ben snorted but he was still concerned “Fuck that guy. He should have treated you well when he had you.”

“I know.” you replied feeling tense as you groaned “Everything was fine… pleasant and simple until he reached out. Now I’m just trying to get him out of my head.”

“Look, I’m not in a position to offer you advice. But I want you to be careful. People like him, people like my wife… they say they want to fix things because they are afraid of losing us.” said Ben quietly and sincerely as he reached out to touch your hand gently “The truth is… they aren’t afraid of losing us. They are afraid of losing something constant, steady in their lives because then who will they be without that constant?”

You had not thought of that way. You had always thought of yourself as useless, forgettable, disposable, unimportant and a waste of time to the Lord of Dreams. It was how he had made you feel all this years… unwanted and important. It was so cruel how a man could make an all powerful goddess feel that you were not important. Even when mortals and your own friends wanted your companionship and thought of you as funny, kind and lovable, the very things you believed yourself not to be, you thought they were lying to you. But with time and patience, they proved you wrong as they showed you that they truly loved you and wanted you around which was a strange sensation to get used to after feeling unwanted and lonely for centuries. It had been hard at first believing yourself to be lovable and opening yourself up but you healed with the unwavering support and understanding of your friends who you was so fond of. 

“I am not going to tell you to go back in. But I want you to have no regrets, Y/N. If he is here with good intentions of definitely fixing the relationship, you should see what he does to prove it. See whether his actions speak louder than words. If he really wants to fix your relationship, he will prove it to you by showing you and fixing his mistakes. But don’t forget. You don’t get to be punished for being angry or for not forgiving. It’s you that must decide what you want.” said Ben wisely and kindly as he squeezed your hand gently with a soft smile. 

Somehow, his advice cleared doubts in your head as you smiled kindly at Ben as you lay your head on his shoulder “Thank you. You have taught me something very important.”

You felt peace as you closed your eyes. You listened to the sounds in the park and opened your eyes as you and Ben watched the kids play and talked and teased each other. You were both laughing loudly at an anecdote of your past when you suddenly felt the strong presence echo within you, around you, surround you. 

The presence of your husband, Morpheus. 

You swore silently as you felt the peace within you fade and become replaced with anger and rage. What part of goodbye did he not understand? You did not want to see him! You didn’t want to hear from him! You didn’t want to listen to his pretty speech of apologies that he didn’t mean and look at you as if he adored you when he clearly never wanted you in the first place. He was the man who had made you hate your reflection and doubt your character as lovable for years and years. 

How dare he impose on your pleasant and simple life in the Waking World, your home of peace and content and bliss that you had carefully built away from him, painfully mending and healing yourself from the very wounds that he had inflicted upon you! 

He had to go. You would make him leave. 

It did not take you very long to locate Morpheus in the park as all traces of smiles and laughter faded from your face seeing him stand out in the park dressed in his dark coat, his dark hair contrasting with his ghostly pale face that wore an expression of quiet solitude and reflective pain. You felt like smacking him as your quiet rage grew when his starlit eyes met yours with sadness and hurt, desperation and shock as he observed you with Ben. 

You could almost hear what he was thinking as you glimpsed the slight betrayal and shock in his eyes that were fixed on both of you. You knew he was thinking that you had broken your vows and betrayed him. You knew he was thinking that you had grown tired of being neglected and lonely in your marriage and found companionship and affection as you had fallen in love and taken the hand and heart of another man. You knew he was feeling numb with desperation and shock wondering what had gone wrong, why you had broken your promise to him. 

You knew exactly how he was feeling because you had felt that way a million times and died every time you felt that way. 

And Morpheus who had broken your heart and bruised you black and blue, had no right to stare at you as if you had broken your vows and betrayed him when he had broken every vow and promise of their marriage and made a mockery of your naivety of believing that he would change but never did. 

You felt anger blazing, so furious and large, it could consume the world if you let it. But you controlled yourself as you tossed on your coat as you muttered “Screw new chances to that stupid fucking ex.” 

“Oh my god, you’re a whole new woman.” teased Ben but he looked slightly concerned at the fuming rage on your face. 

You marched toward Morpheus with determination and fury, well hidden from the rest of the world but he could feel it with every step you took toward him as you snapped “Have you no shame? I have never met a man as brazenly arrogant and presumptuous as you!”

“I only wanted to see you.” said Morpheus softly taken aback by your blazing fury as he felt the full force of your anger in the glare directed at him. He had given you a few days to become accustomed to his return and given you space but he had thought by now you would have calmed down and thought about his proposition for your future together. He had expected a part of you to be cold and detached but to see you unwelcoming and furious even after a few days was a new sensation to him as he felt hopelessness settle within him again. 

He hoped the gift he had bought you would calm you down and make you happy. Make you see that he had no ill - intentions toward you, only feelings of good intentions to fix what he had broken and be the husband that you deserved from the very beginning. 

Morpheus offered you the bouquet of flowers that he gripped tightly in his hands and you looked surprised “These are for you. I thought you might like them.”

You scowled but quietly thought the lilies were lovely. But that did not soften your heart. It would take more than flowers to heal your heart and mend what was broken. 

You saw Morpheus wear an expression of nervousness and anxiety as you eyed the flowers skeptically as if it might turn into a demon the moment you accepted them and he felt skittish as he said “I - do you like them? I didn’t know your favorite flowers. I should have thought of bringing your favorite color but I wasn’t certain which color you’d prefer.”

“That says a lot about our relationship.” you remarked sarcastically and bitterly still not accepting the flowers that felt like a bribe rather than a peace offering to mend this relationship. You were glad that he was uncomfortable and nervous, though it surprised you that he cared about what you thought about the flowers that he had bought for you. “Now, take your Trojan horse and leave.”

“I assure you these flowers are of good intentions.” said Morpheus sincerely as he felt a shadow of heartache lingering as he wanted you to come back to him but he knew his vices and mistakes had pushed you away and filled you with distrust and doubt toward him “I meant every word I said. I wish to make amends between us.”

“Stick it up your ass.” you said fiercely after a long moment of silence as you stared at Morpheus’ sincerity and truth etched on his face but you didn’t want to believe him. You couldn’t let yourself believe him again because believing him again meant becoming the naïve foolish girl who believed in second chances and romance. 

Morpheus looked taken aback by your words and you felt glad. You would not let him break the fierce spirit and strength you had built without him but he said softly “I - I want to court you properly and be the husband you deserved in the first place. I want to be a better man for you.”

You shook your head with determination as you felt a lump of emotion rise up in your throat at the remembrance of all the lonely nights and the days of humiliation and unbearable pain that you had managed to bear “But I can’t believe you. I just can’t. I won’t do it. I won’t let you fool me into believing that you care for me just because you learned humility trapped for over centuries in a cage!”

You turned away trying to hide your tears because you did not want to cry in front of Morpheus, you did not want to appear weak in front of him but his soft and smooth voice addressed you “Is it because you are in love with him?”

In truth, Morpheus was jealous. He knew he had lost the right to be jealous a long time ago but he could not help feeling that he had lost you. He had seen you laughing, happiness and warmth radiating from her very being as you leaned and held onto your mortal companion with such intimacy and affection that your marriage never had but could have had, if he had just tried harder and given his best to you. You looked so happy and light - hearted, something Morpheus had never seen you before. In the course of his marriage to you, he had only seen you smile a few times, but those smiles were strained and sad. There had been no warm laughter or intimate touches or teasing bantering of friendship and respect between them. You had always been haunted by the look of sadness and grief in your heart that would have loved him for a lifetime but with your new mortal companion, you seemed to be happier. 

It took a few moments for you to process what Morpheus had said as your eyes followed Morpheus’ gaze toward Ben who was watching the two of you carefully with concern and protectiveness while playing with his children. 

You suddenly understood the depth of what Morpheus implied and stated as you felt the sudden urge to strangle the King of Dreams and Ruler of Nightmares as you whirled around with a gleam of fury in your eyes, the tears completely vanished replaced by absolute anger at being insulted in such a low manner “Oh you fucking, cold hearted piece of shit -”

A few passer by shot shocked looks at you and concerned mothers covered their childrens’ ears as they asked you to mind your language but you couldn’t find yourself to care. 

You poked him in his chest as you scowled angrily “Out of the two of us, I’m the only one who hasn’t broken my word and promises. So my word, is the one we’ll be trusting!”

“I apologize. It was not my intention to upset -”

“Oh really! Because upset is not how I feel right now!” you said fiercely with the sadness and heartbreak, anger and pain swelling up in you that you did not trust yourself not to smack Morpheus in front of everyone “Do you know what I am so sick of you playing games with me! I don’t want to be a quest to clear your guilty conscience. You don’t love me. You’re doing this because you want to feel better about yourself and hold onto the one person in your past. You didn’t think I would leave you, I would run. You thought I would always be here for you but guess what, shithead? I’m not here for you!”

Your voice was significantly rising higher while trembling in pain and anger “You don’t want me, you never did and you never will. You don’t truly understand the damage you did to me. You were unkind, cruel, heartless, cold - no - you know what you were? You were my husband making me feel like a complete idiot for loving you!”

“You’re not a quest. I - I haven’t been able to function these past days without you haunting my thoughts. I think about how I mistreated you, neglected you, made you fear me when all you did was give me all your love.” said Morpheus gently with desperation and pain as he stared at you holding your guard up eyeing him distrustfully but listening to him as he swallowed his pride “I remember how you were always so faithful and caring and all I gave you was pain and heartbreak throughout the decades. I wish I realized what I had when you were mine… I would go back in time and take back all the hurt but I can’t. All I want is to make it all up to you, to show you that I am truly sorry for all the hurt and pain I’ve caused you. For breaking your heart. I won’t stop trying to show you how truly sorry I am even if you do not love me anymore.”

“I’m not certain I love you anymore. But it takes more than even the Ruler of Nightmares to break the Goddess of Hope.” you said with a small smile slightly taken aback at the kind words but then you scowled “Thank you for your apology. But I am not certain of your intentions. I don’t think I’ll ever be certain of anything you say to me.”

“Then let me prove my intentions to you.” pressed Morpheus with such tenderness and sincerity in his eyes that you couldn’t bear to look and with a surge of courage, he reached out his hand to you “Please.”

You flinched because you weren’t used to tenderness and kindness from Morpheus. It was easier to hate him than give him a chance to prove himself. You had every right to refuse his hand. So you did not take his hand out of pride and respect to yourself. You didn’t believe he had earned the right to hold your hand. 

“What kind of husband have I been for you to fear me that you cannot take my hand?”

“I don’t fear you. You have not earned the right to my hand.” you replied haughtily, your pride and arrogance disguising your alarm and surprise at Morpheus offering you his hand and you didn’t know how to respond as you had frozen, your brain short circuiting. Morpheus was never one who was fond of touch. You had tried to reach for his hand at the beginning of your marriage but it had been made clear that he despised your touch. Now here he was begging for you to hold his hand. 

“But I was cruel to subject you to a loveless and hopeless marriage.” said Morpheus, his heart shattered by the refusal but knowing that he deserved every bit of her wrath and spite as he looked at your hand wondering how it would feel in his “I was unkind and unfaithful to you. I did not have to be so. I want to know you. To have the happiness and love we could have shared together if I had been a better man.”

You should make up an excuse about hearing a mortal call out for your help because this was too overwhelming for you “My Lord -”

“Morpheus.” he insisted sadly

You rolled your eyes sassily knowing that you’d rather die than obey him “My Lord -”

But what you were going to say was interrupted by loud cheerful laughter and shrieks “Y/N, Y/N! Help me!”

Max, the youngest of Ben’s children was running from Stacy, the second youngest who was pretending to be a mean dragon while Elle, the oldest was trying to stop Stacy from chasing Max. You grinned as you saw their fun and games forgetting your problem as you jumped into their pretend game of pirates and dragons and princesses and monsters. You slung Max over your shoulder and roared at Stacy while they giggled as you pretended to be the witch who slayed the dragon. Max wrapped his arms around you while you stopped Stacy muttering gibberish dramatically as Elle laughed at your dramatics. 

“You’re safe, Your Highness!” you exclaimed dramatically as you ruffled Max’s hair fondly and playfully as you hugged him “The dragon has been slayed and defeated! Victory is yours!”

“Thank you, my protector of my realm!” exclaimed Max while Stacy whined and stuck out her tongue at Max who you put down “You’re the best!”

Stacy began to bicker with her brother about who was the best and you intervened clapping her hands to get their attention as you solved their argument with the patience of saints of ages when Elle spotted someone behind you and inquired “Hey, who is that creep in black?”

You had been so lost in trying to knock out the competitiveness between Stacy and Max that you had forgotten Morpheus standing behind you. He was staring at you intensely with soft admiration, curious wonder and wistful sadness as he watched you play and bicker and deal with the children wondering whether this had been one of the dreams he had cruelly crushed in the years of their marriage. 

Elle raised her knowing teenage eyebrows at you and then addressed Morpheus directly and fearlessly “Hey! Shithead! Why are you staring at Y/N? Do you know her or something?”

You really should get paid to babysit these three kids as you muttered “Oh my god. Where are you learning those kind of words? Mind your fucking language, Elle.”

Morpheus shot a pointed yet amused look at your hypocrisy and delightfulness when dealing with these children as he understood where this child might have learned such language from. He looked at Elle shrug innocently when you shot her a reprimanding glare but he answered the red - headed girl who was waiting for an answer 

“Yes.”

“How do you know her?” asked Elle in the mean air of a FBI officer who had just caught the suspect and was interrogating the hell out of them. 

“Um - ignore him! We’re just barely acquaintances.” you said diving into patch up this situation and save yourself, save your simple and peaceful life from being disrupted by the presence of Morpheus. “We don’t know each other that well at all.”

You could feel Morpheus’ eyes on you. But had you been lying? Morpheus did not know his wife very well at all. At the time of their marriage, you had put up a fight for it, to make it work but as time went by, you had seen that it was a useless cause and let him indulge in his pleasures and vices that had been cruel to you. Morpheus had never known you as a person nor had he given you a chance to get to know him. He only knew of your power, purpose and function but nothing more, nothing less. 

He never cared to find out the little intimate details that made affection blossom in one’s heart every time one thought of those little sweet and simple details of one’s lover. He never knew and cared to indulge in putting time and effort to get to know your favorite childhood memory, your favorite flower, your favorite food, your dreams and hopes, the books you love, the way you liked to be appreciated and loved. 

Your words cut deep because you were speaking the truth. All those endless years, he had never cared. He had not been an appreciative and loving husband to you. He hadn’t known you, the real you that these mortals knew because you showed it to them freely since you did not fear their unkindness or wrath. The real you that blazed with fury at the very sight of Morpheus being in the place you called home, the way you rolled your eyes every time he said something that you did not believe to be true, the colorful vocabulary you had picked up from the humans that you used very freely which was unusual for a Goddess who was meant to stand above humanity, the way your love for children poured out as you indulged in their silly games freely becoming a child yourself and interacting with the children in a motherly manner. 

Morpheus vowed to change the fact that he did not know his wife at all. Centuries of marriage to you and he knew nothing about those little details he had noticed this afternoon only because he had been paying attention to you. He vowed to pay attention to you and get to know you feeling shame at the fact that it had taken him so long to understand that he didn’t need you… he wanted you in his life. 

“If you’re just barely acquaintances, why does he have flowers for you?” interrogated Elle with the all - powerful chaotic sass that only a teenage girl can possess as she eyed Morpheus with the same defensiveness and distrust that you had making Morpheus feel slightly scared of this mortal child who was mean as you “Are those flowers for her?”

You raised your eyebrows at the protective teenager “Bloody hell, what are you? The Scotland Yard?

Elle smirked at you but directed her challenging gaze at Morpheus, protective of you “Why do you have flowers for her?”

Morpheus was silent for a moment believing that he was not going to answer to this teenager but he saw that you were waiting for his response as well and he cleared his throat “I want to get to know her.” 

“So you want to go out with her? You think flowers will get you a chance with her?” laughed Elle in amusement while you folded your arms amused at this little exchange between Elle who had no idea she was speaking so boldly to the King of Dreams and Nightmares. “I mean, she could do so much better than a brooding emo man in a creepy dark trenchcoat.”

You choked on a laugh feeling so much better as you drank in the expression of disbelief and hurt on Morpheus’ face at been spoken in such a manner by a teenager and you ruffled her hair “Suddenly I find myself no longer mad with you, Elle.”

“I think it’s kind of romantic. You should bring chocolates too. She likes Kit Kat so much that dad says it’s a miracle she hasn’t died of diabetes yet.” blubbered Max completely curious and fascinated by the new suitor for his babysitter.

“Thanks a lot.” you grumbled as you shot Max an exasperated stare because sometimes your duties could be too much and was it really too much to indulge in the sweetness of Kit Kats on a very stressful day? 

“So if you have bought her flowers, do you want to go out with her for dinner and marry her?” asked Stacy, her eyes glimmering with the innocence of romantic notions as she eyed both you and Morpheus. Your jaw dropped with horror at the question and you felt Morpheus’ eyes intensely on you and you didn’t dare to look back on him. “Dad says if a gentleman brings a lady flowers, they want to spend the rest of their lives with them.”

“Your dad is also the man who was almost going to get a pet snake and name it William Snakespeare for the friend he was dating.” you retorted remembering the utter horror you had felt when you had seen that slithering, horrible snake in his arms and had used your collective powers of persuasion and hope to return that scaly creature back because there were many things you could stand but - URGH! You could not stand snakes! You swore you heard Morpheus chuckle softly amidst the children’s roar of laughter “I don’t think he really is the reliable source of advice when it comes to love.”

“I think that would have been awesome.” replied Elle with a mischievous grin, and judging by that glint in her eyes, that had been her idea. 

“But do you want to marry her?” persisted Stacy who was not going to let go of this idea because she was now fascinated by this tall stranger marrying the kind lady in her life. “Do you love her?”

You felt as if you had been struck deeply to the very core of your soul as you stared at the child clenching your fists. You felt nothing but humiliation and horror at the very question, not wanting to look at Morpheus and really wishing that the earth would be swallowed by a supernova. You wanted to scream and cry and throw a tantrum like a little child in this very park at Stacy and Morpheus and everyone for the existence of the very question. You wanted to tear your hair out and stamp your feet because it should be such a simple question for your husband, it shouldn’t even be a question… it should be an answer… a promise that he lived each day of his life truthfully and sincerely. And yet you knew the cruel and bitter truth that he had proved to you for years. 

You were unloved by him. You were unwanted by him. You were unworthy of his love. You were not worthy of being part of his life and you were just in the way of his duties and responsibilities. He considered you a bother to him that he could not get rid of rather than a friend, a lover, a respected equal. He had made you feel this so deeply each and every moment for years that the years that he had been trapped, the peace you had achieved had given you a sense of reflection and gratitude that he was actually gone from your life. 

And now he was back. 

A part of you, the tormented and heartbroken part of you that had suffered his casual cruelty for centuries wished that he had stayed trapped in that cage for years instead of coming to ruin the lovely life of peace and contentment you had here. 

So you were really at your last straw because you wanted to scream at Stacy that no, love didn’t exist, no, you weren’t loved by the one person who was supposed to love you, and romance was dead and everything you believed was a lie! 

But before you could destroy a child’s innocent perception of the beauty of the world with your bitterness and heartbreak, Morpheus spoke quietly with conviction “I care for her deeply. I offer her everything I am and everything I have to give. I wish to court her and show her how truly important she is to me. I only want to prove myself worthy of earning her heart and her hand.”

You were frozen at his declaration of affection to you in front of these children who were very precious to you, who had become your family in a strange sort of way as they stared at Morpheus wide eyed but you were filled with disbelief and speechless shock as you struggled to breathe and process everything. You could not believe that Morpheus who was always cold and distant, who did not explain himself to others had expressed his intentions to these inquiring, nosy, inquisitive children who you loved very much as you stared at him, his eyes locked on you with tenderness and sincerity. You could feel your heart racing in pain and disbelief as you tried to make sense of all of this but it felt bittersweet, new and different as he expressed his true intentions to the people you cherished the most. 

You couldn’t understand what was happening as you tried to find a rationale reason for Morpheus behaving in such a sincere and tender manner toward you because he couldn’t possibly care for you to say such a lovely declaration as you still were short - circuiting through your frozen brain when Ben exclaimed from behind you “Dude! That was some Pride and Prejudice shit!”

You could usually sense anyone but you had been absolutely frozen in shock that your senses had been paralyzed that you had not heard Ben behind you. 

You jumped in shock as you turned around taking out a book in your bigger on the inside pockets in your coat to defend yourself out of instinct but stopped when you realized it was just your mischievous friend grinning at you. 

“For the love of all the Fates! What is wrong with you, Ben?” you snapped as you recovered from your shock as your hand that held the book dropped to your side and your other hand ran through your hair as you took a step back to take a deep breath because you really deserved a break “Seriously! I could have taken you out with this book!”

You ran your hand through your hair wondering why you put up with this chaotic family as Elle replied sassily “Well, it would be Pride and Prejudice if Mr. Darcy looked like a malnourished Victorian Vampire.”

“Alright, that’s enough.” you said slightly protective as you put your book back and folded your arms because you didn’t want Morpheus to remember the trauma of his entrapment. The Endless did not need food to survive and yet you knew enough to understand by taking a look at his hollowed cheeks that his captors had not been kind enough to treat him with the basic needs. 

Ben looked at you with hope in his eyes “Wait if you are Elizabeth, does that mean I am Jane?” 

These were the moments you wondered why Ben and you were friends as you sighed and looked at your best friend “Really? Seriously, that’s what you’re thinking?”

“That means I’m heartbreakingly beautiful and enchant Mr. Bingley who marries me and makes five thousand pounds a year.” said Ben dreamily as his kids giggled while Morpheus looked confused at the dynamic between you and Ben “Can you just imagine?”

You raised your eyebrows allowing him to indulge in his hopeful fantasy as you nodded “Huh. And we both have an extravagant, over the top, joint wedding.”

“Nice!” exclaimed Ben as he high fived you as you both started laughing in amusement and delight at the thought “We both combine our powers of charm and persuasion, seduce rich bachelors and get them to leave their money in their will and they die of mysterious circumstances and bang - we get a beach villa in Bahamas and I get to pay for my kids college tuition.”

“There’s just one problem with that great plan, dad.” said Max with a grin “You both are hopeless at love.”

“Excuse you, young man!” exclaimed Ben in feigned shock and betrayal as he clutched his heart in dramatic flair that you had grown used to “How dare you speak to your father that way?” 

“Just saying, dad. Instead of dating someone richer, why don’t you date someone who actually enjoys being around you?” replied Elle sassily as she rolled her eyes at the two adults who snorted in disbelief at her words. 

“Unrealistic. I think I like our plan better.”

Stacy shook her head at her father as she retorted “You two are fucking shithead idiots when it comes to dating. Your plan is a half - baked disaster.”

“That’s not -” began Ben ready to comeback at Stacy when he realized something “How - wait, where did you learn that word from?”

You flushed red because you might have used that word in exasperation and frustration in front of the kids when Ben was not there and Stacy grinned deviously “Y/N says it a lot. She says a shithead means a nice, talented, good person. I mean, she did say not to tell you she said it in front of us or that we’ll be dead.”

Morpheus grinned liking this little girl more and more each passing moment because his wife looked like you were going to pass out of mortification and snap the child out of existence for tattling on you as you glared at Stacy in betrayal and began “Why you little tattling shit, I never said that a shithead meant -”

You quickly amended your words when you saw Ben glare at her as you schooled your expression into one of innocence “No - well, it was an accident.”

Ben still didn’t move as he glared at you because he wasn’t very fond of you swearing in front of the kids and you surrendered “I’m sorry. It was - I was a bit exhausted and I swore in front of the kids. But I didn’t tell them that a certain word meant something good. I told them not to swear.”

“She did, dad. She was sorry.” said Elle honestly and then glared at her younger siblings “She didn’t tell us good things about swearing. She made us promise not to swear.”

Ben’s eyes softened “Okay. I believe you.”

Elle’s eyes flickered toward Morpheus who was observing these interactions between you and the family that you clearly cherished and loved very much carefully with attention as she waved her hand toward him “Okay, can we please deal with this problem here? Dad, there’s a scrungly weirdo with a ghost ass face here who wants to ask out Y/N! Can we start panicking now?”

Morpheus shot an offended look toward Elle who clearly had wounded his pride as you let out a snort of laughter and Ben wore a pleasant smile but his eyes were hard as he said in a calm voice “Alright, Mr. Darcy. I’m Ben and these are my kids, Elle, Stacy, Max and Y/N.”

Morpheus knew who Ben was. He had been raised in an abusive household where he had taken punches from his father and watched helplessly as his mother had gotten hit but never complained or cried in front of him until one day, she had left her husband taking Ben with him. He had married a charming woman who had manipulated him and emotionally and physically abused him for years until he had taken the decision to stand up against her and take the kids from her as he protected them and began a new life of his own with his kids, divorced from his wife. He was a good father who always valued his children’s happiness and safety and loved them very much from every dream and nightmare and cared about the importance of family. 

You nudged him in exasperation while his kids laughed but he continued with a protective glint in his eyes “I don’t know if you have good intentions in trying to win over my friend again. But I won’t tolerate you messing with her. I have a feeling you won’t be giving up on my best friend but the choice to be with you, to let you in to her life… is hers.”

Ben’s voice was pleasant and cheerful but there was a hint of protectiveness that Morpheus detected as Ben said “Y/N is my family. And I promised her that I will not fail her like our families did to us. I will protect her. So consider this a warning.” 

There was a long moment of silence as you felt terrified for Ben because he was literally threatening the King of Dreams and Ruler of Nightmares as you stared at the two men confronting each other but to your surprise, Morpheus gave a tiny nod “Yes. You’re a good friend.”

Ben glared fiercely at Morpheus while you stared still shocked that a mere mortal had instilled the fear of god into the Lord of Dreams “I know.”

You raised your eyebrows in surprise as Ben nodded at you as he stayed a few  steps ahead giving you and Morpheus some space but you saw Elle scowl as she marched away and you looked at Morpheus “Hey, give me a minute.”

Morpheus nodded as you ran behind Elle as you placed your hand on her shoulder “Hey! Elle, you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“Did something happen?” you inquired protectively in concern. 

“It’s just that I’ve seen my mom hurt my dad.” said Elle quietly and looked at you “I know you aren’t related to me but you’re more of a mom to me than she was. I don’t want you to go out with someone and get hurt… like what happened to dad.”

“Come here.” you said as you hugged Elle tightly and affectionately touched that she cared enough about you to look out for you even though you were a Goddess of Hope. But even powerful and eternal beings needed someone to look after them, look out for them and care for them as you felt tears prick your eyes and fondness and love swell in your heart “You don’t have to worry about me. I wouldn’t want to be with him for all of the universe offered to me.”

Elle laughed in amusement but at that moment, her father called out for her. You looked wistfully and lovingly at their little family when you felt Morpheus beside you. 

“You prefer living among the humans.”

“Yes.” you answered as you dug your hands into your pockets looking out into the park with the crowded families and friends who were walking and having picnics and playing “Well, my life has changed so much. When we were married… there was a time, there were years when I thought I couldn’t live without you.”

You laughed at the naïve and silly girl you had been and you took a deep breath and looked at Morpheus who was entirely captivated by you, listening to you attentively with a quiet sad glint in his dark glimmering starlit eyes as you smiled proud of yourself and nodded toward your friends “But since you disappeared, I’ve built a life. I have people who I care about. A family that is precious to my heart. But now you’re disrupting the peace and contentment that I enjoy among them with all of this. I don’t think I can lose that just because you’re insistent on winning me over.”

“I’m not asking you to give them up.” said Morpheus softly as he realized that his wife had a life apart from him, a life that you was truly happy and did not want to give up because it was a life without him “I only want to know your favorite flower.”

You looked at Morpheus as if he had grown three heads “My favorite flower?”

Morpheus waited for your answer and you clasped your hands as you eyed him skeptically as you finally answered “Orchids. Purple. Jasmine.”

“Why?”

You glared at Morpheus as you snapped “Why? Why do you care?”

“I am curious. I want to know everything about you.” said Morpheus sincerely and softly as he looked at you with a glimpse of shame in his eyes “Everything I failed to know.”

You were silent for a few moments as you fiddled with your sleeve not knowing what to do with the awkward tension brimming among both of you as you finally answered “Purple is my favorite color. Jasmines and orchids. There’s something about it that makes me happy, gives me hope.”

You wish to change the topic as you throw back the ball at him “What about you? Your favorite flower?”

His lips twitch into something that resembles a smile “You believe I have a favorite flower?”

“I don’t know.” you snapped, not in the best of moods because you were still shaken up by the fact that your husband was caring and tender toward you. You hated being shaken up and shocked. You liked steady and calm. You didn’t like it when something you solidly believed in was disrupted. So it was natural for you to be irritable. “I am making conversation.”

“Irises. Blue.” said Morpheus softly as he looked at you admiring your beauty that he had never noticed before. Your eyes blazing fiercely, your soft and smooth skin littered with a few scars, your long lashes and your eyebrows furrowed in thought, the wind in your lovely messy hair. He wondered how he could have been such an ignorant fool to ignore such beauty before him. 

“Why?”

“Does one need a reason to like a flower?”

“No I suppose not.” you said thinking back to why it made sense that there were blue irises in Fiddler’s Green “One doesn’t need a reason to like something sometimes. Perhaps you like it because it is the way it is.”

There was a long moment of silence between the two of you as you walked along the park and you queried to break the painful silence “Have you - are you alright? Have you been getting rest?”

“I thank you for your concern, wife - Y/N but I do not need rest.” replied Morpheus flinching at the memory of his entrapment at the hands of an amateur magician, his pride wounded but he hid it for he had work to do, vengeance to enact “I need to find the rest of my tools and restore the Dreaming to it’s rightful state.”

You noticed that he had grown stronger than you had seen him last time. Last time, he was weaker but now he felt stronger to you. Which one of his tools had he recovered? You wanted to ask but then you decided to bite your tongue. 

Literally because you bit your tongue hard making yourself flinch. 

You internally groaned as Morpheus asked in quiet intrigue “Favorite food?”

“I like spicy food. And - well -” you said wishing this painful awkwardness wasn’t this painful but then saw a man drinking a cup of coffee wishing you could snatch it and drink to eliminate your oncoming headache “And mangoes. And waffles. And a pot of hot, black coffee. Preferably all three together.”

Morpheus’ forehead crinkled at this new information as he then handed over a cup of hot coffee to you. You looked at the cup of coffee distrustfully but decided to take it because you needed the energy to get through a conversation with your stupid husband who had clearly lost his mind because he had decided to be a better husband to you by courting you once again. You ignored the little skip of your heart at this gesture because of this rare moment that makes you think that you could love him once again but you the memory of humiliation and neglect comes back at you, crashing over you at a tidal wave and the smile that you had been wearing disappears as quickly as it came and is replaced with a scowl. 

Still, you decide to keep the hot coffee with you instead of dumping it on him because you needed to revive yourself and survive this bloody conversation without strangling your husband in front of everyone. 

You scowled at him conveying that this changed nothing but took a sip of the coffee feeling its bitter taste pleasant but tossed the question back to your husband “What about you, My Lord?”

You mocked his title knowing that he wanted to be called by his name by you but you drew great satisfaction at rubbing it in his face that he would never have that pleasure and privilege as you raised your eyebrows at him innocently and he replied “I have no preference.”

“That does not surprise me.”

Morpheus glanced at you nervously “Perhaps you can change that.”

You raised your eyebrows quizzically wondering what the hell he was talking about when he nervously proposed “Perhaps you could dine with me and change my mind about having a preference?”

You spat out your coffee that you had just taken a sip of as you stared at Morpheus in disbelief “Are you fucking joking?”

“No.”

“Thought not. Well, I’ll have to check my calendar.” you said graciously as you pretended to think very deeply to a nervous Morpheus who was uncertain whether you were playing with him or simply thinking about whether to accept his invitation. You smiled kindly at him cunningly raising his hopes in his heart that soared with gladness “Well, come to think of it, I might be free…”

“Goo -” began Morpheus gladdened that you had accepted his invitation but then you cut across.

“Unless I am the Goddess of Hope who has so many appointments to keep, duties and responsibilities to attend in my realm, people to visit and places to go.” you replied with a sassy smile as you raised your cup of coffee enjoying giving hope to Morpheus for a brief moment and then relishing taking it away so quickly in such a casual and cruel manner. “And I have more important priorities to attend to than a simple dinner.”

It was what he did to you all those years ago, so many countless times. You felt nothing but happy satisfaction at the little harmless revenge you took on your husband as you watched the gladdened light in his eyes dim into an understanding and disbelieving one and felt glad as your carefully calculated words took their toll on him. He should understand what you suffered, what it felt like for you all those years ago. It was just giving him a taste of his own medicine. 

“I’m afraid you are much too late to ask me for dinner, My Lord.” you replied lightly striking the final blow. 

A part of you whispered that you were going too far but the other part wanted this, had waited so long to hurt him as much as he had hurt you. Did he think it would be so easy to win you over? That you would forget, forgive and move on? Did he think dinner would make the pain go away? 

“I see.” said Morpheus quietly and you swore you heard a hint of disappointment in his voice as a shadow of sadness passed his face. 

You reveled in it but his sadness wasn’t as satisfying as you thought it would be. He actually sounded disappointed and sad at the prospect of not being able to spend time with you and get to know you better. You wished that he didn’t truly and sincerely sound sad. You took another gulp of your coffee to get your head right. Why did you care anyway about your stupid, heartless moron of a husband’s emotions? He never cared about yours!

The silence elapsed into a painful agony as you suddenly felt cruel and cold. You prided yourself on not being like Morpheus but you felt your actions mirrored Morpheus’ own. Unkind, cruel, cold. Not giving a chance for an explanation. You tried to shake that feeling of painful agony and awkwardness as you clutched your cup of coffee tightly and maybe your husband sensed your pain because he spoke breaking the silence “I intend to travel to Hell.”

“Oh, that’s nice.” you spoke eagerly, too quickly not processing the words that Morpheus had said to you and it wasn’t until Morpheus quirked his brow at you, you realized what he said “What? Are you insane? What business do you have with Lucifer Morningstar?”

“One of his demons has my helm. I am journeying to retrieve it.”

Jesus, you needed more coffee. 

You felt concerned at the thought of Morpheus journeying to Hell alone unaccompanied by anyone. Nobody ever visited Hell unless they were desperate or insane or had a death wish. There were many who entered Hell but only less number came out alive but zero came out traumatized. You knew Morpheus was despised by Lucifer but Lucifer Morningstar had a soft spot for you. 

You had known Lucifer since you were a child and they had always looked out for you when your parents neglected you or when you visited their realm. When everyone else saw the cruel Devil, you had only seen the fallen angel who had a soft spot for you, whose realm felt like your second home though it was destructive, taught you tricks and mischief and who told you stories of lands and realms far away. They were your friend, a parent and you were always welcome at his realm. Even after your marriage to Morpheus, Lucifer never held Morpheus’ against you, only seeing your unhappiness in your marriage to the Dream Lord. It was Lucifer you had spent the neglected anniversaries and all the birthdays that Morpheus had forgotten as they had reminded you that these occasions were supposed to be fun, not streaked with tears and hiding pain. They respected you as a personal representative of your realm, summoning you to their realm and welcoming you as an honored friend. 

Morpheus did not know your past with Lucifer Morningstar. Morpheus did not know of your relationship to Lucifer Morningstar where you visited them for dinner and they ranted about your dickhead of a husband and you kept them from waging a war against the Dreaming. Morpheus didn’t know about how you were Lucifer’s pride and joy, their sweet child who they were devoted to and you cared for Lucifer as a parent and a friend. In fact, Morpheus knew nothing about you at all. 

But you knew Lucifer. You knew that they despised Morpheus for everything they symbolized and the power they held. But Lucifer loathed Morpheus for breaking your heart and subjecting you to a lifetime of unhappiness and heartbreak, misery and pain. And this would be their chance to destroy him and take a slow, cruel revenge on Morpheus for everything. 

You had every right to let Lucifer do that. After all, you wanted Morpheus to suffer the way you had. Unspeakable pain and torturous torment was Lucifer’s forte and you had great faith that they would execute it to perfection on Morpheus. 

But you suddenly found that the idea of Morpheus suffering such unspeakable cruelty and pain under Lucifer’s hands was loathsome and terrifying to you. 

“I’ll come with you.” you volunteered knowing that Lucifer would not dare hurt Morpheus if you were there and if the situation came close to exploding, you could diffuse it with your charm and diplomatic tact that always put Lucifer at ease. 

Just for precaution, you should take your famous chocolate cake that Lucifer loved and adored. And besides, you had not heard any summons for Morpheus from Hell, so you suspected him of entering Hell as an uninvited guest. 

Yes. Perhaps you should get started on that chocolate cake. And the lemon pie that calms down Lucifer when they are in a particularly bad mood. 

“Do not be afraid, Y/N.” said Morpheus as he looked over at you and you had the sinking feeling that he was staring at you tenderly and desperately all at once, drinking you in desperately for the last time “I am not asking you to accompany me. This is something I must do alone.”

“You are going to Hell alone? You can’t survive Lucifer alone!”

“You need me to survive Lucifer. And possibly my sweet baked goods!” you wanted to scream but your hands were shaking at the thought of Morpheus at Lucifer’s mercy. 

Perhaps you should have dinner with him. Together. 

You shove that horrible, sinking sensation of a thought that whispers he is saying goodbye to you as you shake your head hoping that taunting his honor and ego would keep him from going to Hell alone “I knew you were lying. Your promises of fixing our marriage. I knew it but your promise only lasted… a week.”

“I intend on keeping my promise to you.” Morpheus reminds you gently and you hate that you are the one who has to be comforted like a wounded animal, a crying child because you wanted to be strong and yet you were afraid for him. You didn’t want him to die. You knew there was no chance of Morpheus ever emerging out of Hell if he entered it now. “When I come back -”

“If you come back.” you spat as you drank the rest of your coffee in one go and gulped it as you glared at him “We both know you are walking into a trap where the outcome is your inevitable Death.”

Somehow you sense Morpheus’ inner frustration and annoyance as his fingers twitch and you are always warned to leave before you tempt it into fury and anger and he growls “I will come back.”

You snapped smartly “Isn’t that what you told Lucienne before you disappeared for over a century?”

You infuriate him and make him angrier. Morpheus knows he is unworthy of you. Morpheus knows he is unworthy of the second chance you might bestow upon him. You make him doubt his capability and worthiness for you. Deep down, he knows he is not worthy of you, a person of such hope, strength and goodness. He came back weaker than he was before, his arrogance and pride had been his cold cruelty that treated you to a lifetime of misery and heartbreak. Morpheus knew all this. You didn’t have to rub it in his face. 

“You forget your place, wife.” growled Morpheus in anger. It isn’t lost on both of you how easily Morpheus reverts to calling you his wife instead of your name.

“See this is why you should abandon all your intentions of fixing our marriage!” you snapped because he was playing with fire “You don’t listen to me and you do not value my counsel.”

Morpheus rubbed his temple as he shot back angry that his wife could not see the obvious picture, that he was scared of losing you to Lucifer’s twisted games “And do you believe you will accompany me? Hope does not persevere in Hell!”

You laughed at the amusing hilarity of his words but the depth of the meaning sank into you like a knife sinking deeper and deeper into your heart as you gazed at him daringly for you had experienced a deep understanding of something in your marriage “What am I to you? Certainly not a wife because you have never been a husband to me! You see me as a weak, fragile, powerless, useless little girl -”

“No, you are more than that -” began Morpheus as he ran his hand through his hair in exasperation at himself for messing everything up so spectacularly as he looked at his wife whose eyes were glimmering with tears. 

“Yes, yes I am more than that. I am more than an alliance between our two realms. Or a wife to you. You might be the Endless but I am the Goddess of Hope, powerful in my own right. I am my own person with my own life, a woman in my own right and after giving you the best I had, I’ve realized that I am utterly alone in this union.” you said fiercely and sincerely with complete sadness and sincerity, understanding and acceptance as you looked at Morpheus sharply “But when I look at you, I feel that I am better for it.”

You turned around to leave only seeing Morpheus’ face fall in pain at your words but before you can leave with no destination in mind, a hand encloses around your wrist and you realize Morpheus is holding your hand to comfort you and pull you close to him and your eyes widen at his touch, the soft sensation unfamiliar. 

Your blood boils as your slap his hand away from your wrist not wanting to be touched as your temper rises at being touched by the very man who had neglected you but now dares to touch your very skin. 

You surprised him as you dragged him to the corner of the park where a shrubbery of trees shrouded you from the sight of people. You cornered him against a tree surprising him. You could feel the loud beating of his heart against his ribcage as he gazed at you wide eyed in surprise. To any passer by, you would have looked like a couple who was about to kiss. Morpheus had never been this close to you, to his own wife as he felt heat rise up his cheeks as he felt the brush of your breath on his cheek, her fierce gaze burn into his own eyes as she looked at him intensely and it felt too hot all at once. His knees felt weak as his eyes flickered toward his wife’s lips that were red and then at your eyes that were looking at him with such intensity that his mind was lost and unanchored, when he suddenly felt something sharp against his neck. 

He found the silver glint of a beautiful sharp bejewelled knife against his neck “I like it when men beg. But now is not the time, Morpheus.”

He glared at her but something of a strangled groan escaped his throat mortifying him and it humiliated him more when you smiled deviously. 

Were you not Hope? Were you not supposed to be kind and tender? Why were you so… devious? 

You glared at him as you growled dangerously “You are in the way of my life, My Lord. If I see you again, I will not hesitate to eliminate you.”

Hope was revered by humans as kind and tender. Hope was thought of as good and beautiful that poems were written and songs were sung about you. 

But they didn’t fully understand that Hope was cruel and dangerous and powerful too. 

Morpheus managed to reply as he mustered all the dignity he could “A knife against the Lord of Dreams, my Lady?”

You merely smirked and pressed your knife against his throat lightly and suddenly he couldn’t breath as he fell into a haze of memories of being trapped in Roderick Burgess’ basement for over a century. He could feel the hopelessness and despair of his own mind that he had felt all that century taunting him as he tried to find a way out but he couldn’t as he watched himself trapped in the basement alone. He was silent but he was screaming for help. He wanted to be helped, he wanted to be free but no one would let him out! Why wouldn’t they let him out? 

He felt the despair and hopelessness grow stronger until the screams grew deafening in his mind and suddenly everything grew hazy once more as he realized he was once again back at the park. 

He breathed heavily as he looked at your hardened and cold expression “One chance. One chance is all you got, husband.”

He holds onto your hand like a lifeline to make certain this is real, because he isn’t certain of what just happened. What did you do to him? What power did that knife wield? 

Morpheus whispered in a equally silky voice “You’re bluffing. You would not kill me.”

“Deep down, I know you still care about me.” he wanted to say as he looked into your eyes that had a hidden glint of concern at how heavily he was breathing, that held onto his hand even though you could have let go. He wanted to believe that you cared about him. 

“Remember all those cold and miserable years of how you mistreated me. Then look into my eyes and tell me I’m bluffing.” you said calmly as your eyes grew cold and dangerous and for the first time, Morpheus was not certain of your emotions and intentions as he looked into your eyes that blazed with dangerous fury and cold power and you took away your knife pocketing it back and stepped away with a warning “Do not test my power and do not tempt my fury.”

Morpheus stood there shocked by the display of fury and power that you had never displayed before. You felt good about yourself but then felt anxiety settling in the pit of your stomach. Maybe you would never see him again. Lucifer would kill him. 

Well, good riddance, goodbye and good luck to your moron of a husband who decided that going to Hell alone would be a good idea. 

You felt his eyes on you as you walked away but the unsettling pit of anxiety still buzzed even though you tried to ignore it. But you would ignore it. You would not try to find a reason to stay with him or care about him again. 

You groaned at your inward struggle between good and dangerous but you turned around as you waved nonchalantly at him leaving him with one last cautionary warning, a bright smile and a dangerous smirk all combined into one. 

“Send Lucifer Morningstar my best regards.”

Morpheus watched his wife walk away proudly and freely to your new family that you had found and nurtured all on your own and protected at all costs. A family that you did not want him interfering in and ruining. A family that she had perhaps always dreamt of having. 

Morpheus felt his heart ache with anger against himself and deep sorrow for breaking the constant and faithful companion who had stayed by his side for centuries and had lost now because of his thoughtlessness and selfishness. He had come here confess so many things that swirled in his mind and tortured his heart. He watched your silhouette take a step far away from him and he wanted to reach out to you and beg you not to go. He wanted to beg you to salvage whatever broken pieces of their relationship and give a chance to fight for a new kind of love they could share again. Instead he had blown it out of proportion, fighting with you and saying things that he didn’t truly mean, attacking you without reason and hurting your feelings excruciatingly. He had lived so long like an island in the course of their marriage, punishing you with silence and heartbreak but now you were once again punished with aching pain with the bitter sting of his thoughtless words. 

Morpheus knew that he was the one who had burned their relationship down with his cold unkindness and selfish thoughtlessness but he wanted a new beginning with you. He could envision a new future with you by his side and suddenly, his heart grew heavy and cold at the thought of losing you once again. 

Morpheus was truly ashamed of his actions and incredibly sorry for hurting you. He had meant to say it, to show it, to let you know how sorry he was but instead somehow the evening had gone in an unexpected manner where you had threatened to eliminate him out of your life if you ever saw him again. 

The blazing fury in your eyes was a sincere promise of your words, he was still recovering from the shock of the truthfulness of the pure loathing and hatred that you held toward him. He did not expect Hope of all Goddesses to coddle grudges but centuries had given you enough time to feed and nurture your flaring hatred against him very well. 

All Morpheus wanted was to meet you in the afterglow of your broken past and hopefulness of new beginning. 

But could his dream ever come true?

Taglist 

@cheshiresthoughts

@mwdhwtter

@kittiowolf210  @wintersire @xxxmuxxx @theficsiveread

@the-number7 @viiv-westwood

@peary-smol

@justmasblack

@wishing-to-be-a-fictional-chara

@sidekickforlife

@ryethebrokengae

@asexualaromasafezone

@cleverzonkwombatsludge

@laraackerman​

@pearlstiare​

Platonic Vance Hopper x Steve Harrington HCs

Vance didn’t want to go to that goddamn house so he decided he will wait till midnight to go home

He decided to wait on the curb of some dumb street light

He just got away from getting arrested for beating a guy for messing with his game

He didn’t want to hear that man that is in the law his “father” right now. Not his nagging, not his glaring eyes of hate for something he didn’t do.

He couldn’t help but be away from that man.

If he could he would strangle him till his life ended in his hands but he would much rather not be in cuffs 

They hurt his wrists and would rather not experience them again

Vance sat on the curb with bloody knuckles, from his the guy’s teeth he punched out and the knife that he tried to stab Vance with

He still had the knife in his pocket 

As he sat down on the curb a man walked up to him, he looked young maybe in his early 20s or so

“Hey, you okay kid?”

“It’s none of your goddamn business.”

“You’re bleeding, come on let me help you with that at least”

Vance struggled before he inevitably let the dude wrap his knuckles in bandages and then help with the slight scarring on his wrists from the cuffs

The man eventually introduced himself as Steve Harrington and Vance after a “little” bit of convincing introduced himself as Vance Hopper

Steve helped Vance up and took him to some grocery store to get this kid a chocolate bar

After a lot of run-ins with each other Vance finally softened a bit

Steve bought Vance food most of the time and they would eat together 

Steve and Vance found a spot in the woods that was a no man’s land and was perfect

It was an unused railroad that ran above a river that wasn’t too far from the river but a perfect place to jump off from and not feel like you got hit in the stomach when jumping in face first 

The bridge wasn’t connected to any railroads so it was safe to just hang out on it

Steve and Vance would hang out with some candles to warm up and blankets and just listen to music and tell stories 

Vance told Steve about how he was kidnapped and stored in some basement with other kids but in the end, there were only 6 victims 

Steve was horrified to see how calm Vance was about the situation and tried to comfort or at least help him realize it was not just some inconvenience 

“Well I wouldn’t say being kidnapped was the best thing in the world but it was just better than life kinda, it’s hard to explain but it was like life had stopped and kinda peaceful. When I say this I mean like when I wasn’t beaten or… other times.”

Steve teared up and hugged Vance who didn’t really get it and didn’t hug back but definitely didn’t push him off

Steve will admit he had been spending a bit more time with Vance than the other and he will admit that it’s unfair 

But he was so traumatized about this kid's life story, it’s not with the upside down where it sort of only happens in Hawkins but this wasn’t some demo bullshit it was real life where anybody could be kidnapped and it’s a regular occurrence that it’s scary. To know he’s gone through that so he sort of implanted himself as mother hen in Vance’s life

He had no one but himself to blame

Vance discovered that without his pinball machine that he fidgets a lot and even fidget with Steve’s hand before Steve gave him some gadgets to distract himself 

Vance lets Steve braid his hair and it’s a really cute moment where Vance is sipping tea that Steve made and Steve trying to get the angle right so the Bobby pins and such stay and look good

Once the others noticed how Steve seemed to be a bit more busy than usual they follow him a bit and discover Vance

“Hey hippety Hopper! I got you some snacks” Steve had a pep in his step as he almost skipped over the bridge 

“Call me that again and I will stab you Steve, don’t forget about my sociopathic tendencies.” Vance glared at Steve with a playful yet serious statement like he could do that but not to Steve 

“Right right now tell me you wanted to talk about your friends? Or the kids with you in the basement” Steve sat down next to Vance opening the bag in his hands 

“Yeah… well, we sort of had a click since we were all kidnapped and stuff so we sort of just stayed together. I think I remember you saying that it’s a trauma response can’t remember, anyway. There’s this boy whose name is Griffin, he’s a few years younger than me and he was one of the ones with me… he’s a small kid and he doesn’t have any friends and I feel bad. I don’t know why but it’s irritating not knowing and it’s got me angry why I feel bad even though I’m sure he doesn’t have a bad home life or anything so it just makes me angry that I feel this way.” Vance talked with pauses as if thinking about how to talk he spoke about his feelings and also fidgeted with Steve’s hand a lot more 

“It’s okay to feel that way so what do you do in this group? Hang out or something?” Steve leaned back to lay on the wooden bridge and Vance soon accompanied him 

“I guess we sort of just hang out in the abandoned house down the road. It used to be the high schoolers hang out before we showed up, I’m pretty sure it's because of me” Vance didn’t seem upset actually kinda proud of himself which reminded Steve of a certain someone he once knew

Vance continued to talk about the others and how they were called the Casper crew for looking like ghosts but it stuck and they take pride in it

Vance talked about being injured and helping the kid who killed their kidnapper and how he had to be carried by another injured guy (Robin) 

Steve when he heard the name Robin immediately went to his coworker robin and told stories about her

Vance listened attentively as Steve ranted 

Max was surprised at how fucking identical Vance was to billy and how his style resembled Eddie, it made some cry while others were completely shocked. 

Vance decided to go a bit early to go to his friend's house so they had their goodbyes early 

Once Steve noticed the party he yelled at them for being so late in the night

Expensive Things

Synopsis - When you start secretly dating Bruce Wayne, Gordon starts worrying about where you got all these new expensive things

Warnings - mentions of blood, injury, and gordon thinking the reader has a sugar daddy lmao

Masterlist 🧚🏻‍♀️

Bruce Wayne Masterlist 🌻

Bruce Wayne.

How could you describe him?

Self-centered? Loner? Smart? A bit Over the top? Shy? Handsome?

The last one made your heart leap in your chest when you thought about it. But you didn't think he liked you this way. No, to him you were most likely just his good only friend from high school, the only friend who he had somehow managed to keep for so long.

You weren't part of the high society of Gotham and had a tad of a passion for investigations. Sometimes you even thought your talent for quick conclusions spooked Bruce, causing him to push you away lately.

But then you met The Batman, and he left you and your little heart to be torn in pieces.

Your passion to play detective had landed you a good job as James Gordon's assistant, making you his right-hand woman when handling Batman-related things.

And of course, what you felt like Bruce didn't see in you, you felt like Batman did. When Bruce would often put you aside when things got rough, when you tried to help with your detective skills. Well, Batman seeked your help. He trusted you. He didn’t push you away from a mission, or didn’t push you away when things got rough.

And now you felt yourself list all the ways you could describe him.

Smart? Loner? A bit over the top? Trusting? Handsome?

Now you had to take a minute to rethink. Handsome? You had never seen the top of his face.

But your mind travelled to the times when he made eye contact with you. When his piercing grey eyes made your heart do flips and turn your stomach upside down. Your mind travelling to how his voice brought shivers down your shoulders. How his jaw line contrasted with the black of his cowl.

Fuck.

You had a crush on both Batman and Bruce Wayne. Batman had torn your heart in two, leaving you to doubt your feelings and being a mess in front of both.

The worst part was, that Batman flirted with you all the time. Even to the extent that Gordon would ask him to stop and to ask you out already, or simply stop for his own sake.

But everything became less confusing when Batman came tumbling down your window, all bloody and bruised up.

You panicked, the sudden noise making you jump awake and aware. You had been dosing off while writing a report and his sudden arrival made you wide awake. You grabbed the knife you always kept under your desk and quickly turned around, your face dropping at the sight.

Batman had fallen onto your white carpet in a pool of his own blood.

"Holy shit" You dropped your knife and came near him, crouching to get a better sight.

You placed a hand on his shoulder, slowly turning him around to see the half of his face that wasn't covered by the mask.

"Y/n-" He mumbled.

"Bats what happened?" You frowned, trying to calm your own panic down before scanning his body to see his hand clutching his side. The pannels of his suit had been destroyed to reveal black fabric soaked in blood. The side of his face was badly bruised and blood was smeared on his chin.

"Bad guys" He groaned trying to keep his eyes open.

"I'll be right back." You frowned again before standing up and making a mental list of what you had to grab; towels, warm water, your first aid kit, bandages...

You thought that maybe you should call Gordon, or a Doctor? No. You couldn't bring him to the hospital...

You breathed. You could do this.

You came back to him, your heart beating like lighting as you saw him sprawled in a starfish position, still in the same spot beneath your window. He was muttering something under his breath that you tried to understand but couldn't seem to make out, maybe trying to keep himself from passing out.

"Are you ok to move, bats?" You asked carefully and he tried to nod. "I at least need you to sit up against my bed, ok?"

He listened, and with your help he was sat up, his head resting against the bed as you held his shoulders. You analyzed him carefully until you spotted the bloody area.

"I'll probably have to take your shirt off, bats. Is that ok?" You touched the side of his armor and looked at him. His bright eyes looked back at you and he nodded before closing them back again.

"Never thought you'd be the one to undress me first."

"Shut up and let me work." You bit back a smile, the flirty comment reassuring you that he would be fine. You frowned again when he winced at your touch.

Each piece of armor was carefully dropped against your already stained carpet until only the thin black shirt was revealed to you. It was already torn into pieces from the fight, making the removal easier.

"I hope you own more black shirts."

"You'd be surprised." He attempted a smile but gave out a big 'oof' instead as you started patching him up, the gash on his side too distracting to make you blush at the sight of his toned body or even think about who was under the suit just by how his abs looked.

You had one mission; save him so he didn't die on your bedroom floor.

"I'm sorry." He broke the silence.

"For?" You didn't look up from the wound as you replied.

"Coming here, like this..."

"Bats, you know it's alright-"

"You're the only one I trust, Y/n/n" He cut you off, the nickname rolling off his lips as if he had been saying it all his life, making you lift your gaze up to meet his. You didn't know what was different about this, maybe the way he used your nickname for the first time, or the haze in his voice. But you felt your blood rush to your cheeks more than it already had.

Maybe it was a tiny bit more than a crush...

"What about Gordon?" You attempted.

"He doesn't know me like you do." Your hands stopped moving and your eyes kept focus on his face, trying to figure out what he meant.

That was a lie. Gordon had started to work with Batman even before you had arrived in the G.C.P.D.

You didn't seem to know what to reply, and the eye contact was getting longer by the second.

Batman grunted as he leaned on one arm to scoot closer to you, his other hand attempting to reach yours. He tried to focus all his strength on sitting up without resting against the bed - making you grab the side of his arm so he wouldn't fall over.

"I'm sorry about being so distant lately." He whispered, and if you weren't so close you might have not been able to hear him.

His words might have confused you, but something about the change in his voice felt so familiar, so comfortable - as if you had known him your entire life...

Before you could think of something to say or wonder what he meant, his lips were on yours.

Your eyes went wide open until you registered what was going on. Your eyelashes brushed his face as you closed your eyes, gripping his arm to deepen the kiss.

Your other hand wrapped around his neck as his held your waist. You subconsciously reached to place a hand in his hair but were quickly stopped by the edge of his cowl, making you come back to earth.

You didn't know who you were kissing...

But damm it felt nice.

As if he had read your mind, he pulled away - eyes scanning your face for any reaction, but all he could see was your hesitation to kiss him again.

With a small sigh, he kissed your cheek and slowly brought his hands to his cowl.

"Wait-" you took his wrist in yours. "Are you sure you want to do this? I mean-" He shut you up with a kiss.

"Yes." He mumbled, squeezing one of your wrists.

He took one of your hands in his making you reach for the edge of his mask. The fabric felt smooth and almost cold under your skin, contrasting with the warmth of his hand on top of yours.

He closed his eyes and took a breath, you blinked slowly - the moment almost feeling like slow motion as he made your hand hook with the back edge of the cowl and slowly slipping it off.

It was a staring contest as it slowly moved away from his face.

Your breath caught in your throat.

The same grey eyes that you had been staring at your entire life were staring back at you.

"Bruce." You whispered and he leaned against you, faces inches apart. Your breath was caught in your throat, and all you could do was keep your gaze on his.

Somehow it made sense. The way Bruce had been more distant. The little times you saw him he seemed more sleep deprived than usual and less talkative. More reserved.

Batman, on the other hand, he was everything Bruce had been during your childhood. Cheeky jokes and sarcastic comments with more flirting and a good extra dose of charm.

"I wanted to tell you" he stopped to sigh "for so long."

Your brain moved faster than you could comprehend and your lips were on his again. Shushing him with a kiss, trying to tell him it was ok, that you loved him, but also trying to convince yourself that he felt for you just as much.

You pulled away, and smacked his chest with the back of your hand.

"Ow!" He whined, "what was that for?"

"Not telling me sooner" before he could reply you kissed him again, but the kiss was broken by your growing smiles.

"So I take it you like me as well?" He raised an eyebrow and your eyes went wide.

"Like you as well? Bruce, I’ve been head over heels for you since high school"

And the rest was history.

It would be a lie to say that Gordon didn’t notice a change. You started coming to work with a grin and a small step to the way you walked. You seemed happier, more at peace.

It didn’t take him long to figure out.

And it only took a month for you to actually say it.

You were planning a mission with Batman, and like always: his flirting was annoying Gordon, but today in particular he didn’t seem in the mood to take it anymore.

Gordon's head was bowed over the map while you looked at it, trying to figure out where to put the little figurines of you and Batman to show where you would position yourselves to spy on your next mission. You smiled a little to yourself as you remembered going into the toy store and finding a little Batman stocked in the corner of a shelf.

Batman was collecting information via his computer, trying to focus on the little information you gad until a light smirk covered his lips when you slightly bent over the table to place the toy in your hand on the map.

"You look good in those jeans." He smirked.

You felt heat come to your cheeks and eyed him with a furious look. His flirts were only growing bolder since the two of you were together, and you 1. didn't want Gordon thinking something was going on between you two and 2. getting embarrassed in front of your boss.

Gordon who had way pass enough his tolerable dose of flirts for the night lightly slammed his hand on the table and glared daggers at Batman.

"Can you please cut the flirting, please" Your boyfriend raised his hands up in defeat.

"Yeah." You chimed in. "I should warn you, my boyfriend wouldn't like it" You gave him a cheeky smile and eye contact only he could decipher.

"I'm sure I could take your boyfriend down easily"

"You think so?" You teased.

Boyfriend

Gordon wasn't wrong, you had someone.

"I didn't know you had a boyfriend." Gordon thought at loud, his curiosity breaking the coded bickers between you and Batman.

"Oh yeah, I forgot haven't told you." You look back down at the map in a poor attempt to change the subject.

"How long have you two been together?"

"About a month." You nodded.

"What does he do for a living?"

"What is this? An interogation?" You looked up at Gordon who looked like he had been caught in the middle of a heist.

"I just want to know who you're dealing with-" You wanted to laugh at his choice of words and side-eyed Bruce who was trying his best to keep himself out of the conversation.

"My relationship is not a criminal case, Gordon. He's a great guy that I really like, and can you accept the fact that maybe I don't want to tell who he is just yet?"

"Why?"

"Because if you knew you would make a full case file on him. And don’t act like I didn’t see files of my ex opened on your computer after I told you his name back when we started dating."

"You did that?" Batman chimed in with a light chuckle.

"You're not in this conversation." Gordon snapped.

"Just please, trust me."

And even though you knew he didn’t, at least he stopped asking questions.

Until four months later where his worries increased.

And who’s fault was that?

Your dear boyfriend who kept showering you with gifts and expensive things.

"Bruce, you have to stop" you made a desperate face as your thumb glided over the fabric of the Versace heels he had just gifted you.

"I saw you eyeing them when I was getting a new suit" he gave you a light smirk as he watched you bit your lip. Your words might have told him the contrary but he knew you were fan girling over these shoes and couldn't wait to wear them.

"I love them but, babe, you have to stop." You whined as you put the shoes back in their box and went to peck his lips.

"My closet is becoming fuller and fuller of designer clothes and people around me are starting to notice" you squeezed his shoulder a bit. "I even feel like Gordon is starting to get suspicious"

"Then don’t go to work in the things I gift you"

"Bruce, it has taken over my entire closet"

And exactly a week later, your predictions came true.

"Y/n, Im worried about you." Gordon stopped you as you were heading out of the building.

"Umm ok?" You blinked, holding onto your phone a bit tighter in your hand. It was late, you had a diner reservation and Bruce's car was parked a block away, waiting for you.

"Well…" Gordon shifted his weight from feet to feet, sighing before digging both his hands in his pockets and looking at you. "I’m not going to deny that you look… happier."

You raised an eyebrow as you tried to guess where he was going with his statement.

"But, this man you’re dating, he’s been giving you an awful lot of fancy gifts" he pointed to your brand new Burberry coat and the expensive heels you were wearing. Not to mention that he didn’t spot the thousand dollar dress you were wearing under the beige fabric. You were speechless, almost instantly knowing where he was going with this. "And.. I can see that he makes you happy I just- I’m worried that- and of course I trust you, I know you don’t let yourself be seduced by fancy things- but” He took a breath for courage. "I’m worried he’s got a grip on you with gifts- and-"

"Are you worried that I have a sugar daddy?" You tried to hold a laugh.

"Well- I wouldn’t-"

"Gordon." You put a hand up to his shoulder. "Please do not worry" you let you a short laugh at his antics. "He’s my age. And I’ve known him forever" you bit your lip so another laugh wouldn’t escape you.

Gordon’s eyes seem to soften as you explained.

"Trust me, I ask him not to get me all this" you pointed down to your clothes. "But that’s just who he is, I guess" you smiled a bit as you thought to the little meaningless fight you’d have over gifts. "So no, I am not a sugar baby" you chuckled as the words left your lips.

"That’s good." A tight lip smile fell across his features and a short silence lingered, you knew he wanted a name, to put a face on the one who would make you late for work, make you mindlessly smile when you thought of him, the one that bought you all these new things you kept changing into after work.

"I know you want his name" you broke the silence. "But not yet." You shook your head. "I promise you’ll find out and can make your police report on him to make sure he’s a good guy for me or whatever-"

"I wasn’t-"

"Gordon we both know-"

"Fine but-"

"Please trust me on this one. As I’ve said, I’ve known him forever. He’s a good guy, but I just can’t tell you yet." Your phone buzzed as you said that, a red heart filling the space for the name.

"He’s waiting for me." You smiled as you showed him your phone, Gordon sighed before moving and letting you through to the front door. "I’ll see you tomorrow."

~

Your 6 months anniversary was supposed to be perfect.

Perfect.

And apart from the rain that was pouring out onto Gotham, nothing could stop this moment from being amazing.

You were both sitting at a restaurant that gave out a beautiful view of the city. Its skyline almost looked even more beautiful with the rain hitting the river and making the street lights flicker.

You were deep into conversation, half of your appetizers already gone as you let the night take its course.

Those big grey eyes were looking back at you as you smiled, it was almost intoxicating how much you were falling more and more in love with him by the second. Everything about the way he was with you was warm and brought you comfort. He somehow felt like home, a home that you could find refuge to forever. Even with the over-exaggerated amount of gifts that you knew you couldn't level up with.

Everything was quiet, you could barely hear the chatter from the other guests, your table being too far and too hidden from the rest of the big room, to hidden for anyone to even notice the prince of Gotham was there.

You were about to break the short loving silence that had slithered itself into the evening. About to express the burning feeling in your heart-

but of course your work phone cut you.

"You can’t be serious?" you sighed and a short ugh sound left your lips as you threw your head back in desperation, Bruce frowned.

You had specifically told Gordon not to call you in case it was a big, batman level emergency.

He melted a bit in his seat at the thought of this night getting cut off by some Batman business, he started picking at the W engraved cufflink as he watched your face for a reaction to the call.

"Hello?" You heard muffled noises. Sounded like car tyres and an engine, maybe even the heavy rain ringing in the distance.

"Y/n-" the sound became less muffled, and suddenly you heard gunshots. Bruce watched as your face twisted with horror.

"I need you to meet me at the bat-signal, now. Light it up, I’ll be there when I can."

"Gordon what is happening? Are you ok?"

"Yes, I will be. I have to go-" more confusing sounds came from the other side of the line until it was cut by silence, and Bruce’s voice.

"What happened?"

"I- I don’t know- I heard guns, he was in a car- he- he told me to meet him at the bat signal, light it up. It sounded really bad"

He had that calm collected look he always did when he was trying analyse the situation and his next moves.

"Alright let’s go."

He took your hand as you walked back to the counter. You chewed on your bottom lip in anxiety as you tried to figure out what could have possibly happen to Gordon while Bruce figured out the entire paying and getting his jacket and your bag back from the coat check. You barely heard him ask for his car keys instead of someone bringing his car to him, something about being in a hurry.

But now you had other worries.

Spring had called to you being dressed in a long sleeveless dress and shiny heels, not only will you be meeting Gordon like this but your shoulders were barely covered for the rain.

And of course, the parking had to be in another building, leaving you to walk a block in the rain. You heard Bruce mumble a complaint about how this fancy restaurant could at least have a parking in the same building.

The second you were met with the flooding rain he shrugged his jacket off and laid it on your shoulders despite your resistance.

The leather of the car ended up getting soaked, so did your dress and Bruce's jacket that was now securely wrapped around your shoulders. Bruce was soaked just as much as you, his hair was unevenly poking around like the back of a hedgehog.

The two of you would have probably laughed at the situation if this had been different, but right now his eyes were focused on the road and yours on trying to get news from Gordon.

The bag signal lit up in the sky as your answer. He probably was already there, safe and away from who ever was chasing him before.

"What an anniversary."

"Tell me about it."

He parked right in front of the abandoned building, watching you as you slipped the sleeves of his jacket on, an attempt at shielding yourself from the storm that was waiting for you outside of his sports car.

"I’ll see you in a few minutes" you leaned your forehead against his.

"I love you" he mumbled before kissing your lips and reluctantly letting you go. He made sure you were inside before firing up his engine.

Gordon looked pissed.

The side of his jacket was ripped out, his glasses were crooked, he was dripping with rain just like you, and he was pacing around like a maniac, mumbling things as he did.

The sound of your heels came before your voice.

“What in the world happened?"

His wide eyes scanned your figure for a second and you realised he had noticed your outfit.

Of course he would

“I didn’t have time to change, I was at a restaurant.” You defended, bringing Bruce’s vest a little closer to your body as a shiver passed down your spine from the accumulated rain.

“I’m sorry I cut your evening” he sounded really desperate, not mad at you or frustrated that you came into work dressed in clothes more expensive than 3 months worth of both your paychecks united and heels that would definitely made you unable to run in case of emergencies.

"It’s alright, I just want to know." You pleaded again, taking a step closer to him.

"I found them, the base we have been searching for. I found half of their crew trying to smuggle something- I don’t know what yet, but it’s at least another clue. I know where they’re hiding now. But as I made my way out one of their guys spotted me-" he continued explaining the goose chase that had been going on while you were at diner. You carefully took in the information, trying to piece out the puzzle of this case.

You thought that maybe this would lead you to the Joker, or some other villain trying to put any version of your boyfriend’s head on a spike as well as rule Gotham’s darkest corners.

As he finished up his story, there he was, Batman. The shadow you had fallen in love with, a different version of him from the one you had been with barely 10 minutes ago.

"Nice fit" he looked at you up and down, not bothering to cover the way he was checking every piece of you out - and if you weren't dating the man behind the suit you would have probably wished you could disappear into a puddle with the rain.

"What are we here for?" He asked as if he hadn't known the danger Gordon had been in 20 minutes prior.

"Found them, they chased me around, I need you to bring us back to the station, I had to crash my car so they would stop following me" He winced at the memory. "We need to figure out what they want and what they're dealing so we can attack again. " He removed a usb plug from his pocket.

"What's that?" you frowned.

"clues"

You had forgotten how being in the Bat mobile felt. It was almost like a race car but everything was ten times more intense. You thought it might have even been similar to how formula one drivers felt. A swarm of buttons covered the dash, and when the inside of the car lit up, you remembered you'd have to be in the cramped back seat. Half of the space had been taken by version engines. You didn't even know if you could call this a seat.

"Sorry, princess," Batman mumbled as he opened his door and moved his seat forward so you could climb in the back. "Promise I'll give you a better ride next time." He winked and you wanted to hit him in the ribs to stop, but you quickly realized that it would be really dumb to do when he had his suit on.

That's when Gordon noticed the shiny button of Bruce's jacket that you still wore. Your hand was placed on top of the car as you made a movement to get in, the street light was reflecting on it.

His eyes focused on the engraved letter on the button.

W

He closed his eyes as he realized.

How could he have been so blind?

'I've known him forever' your words came back to him.

You were dating Bruce Wayne.

Of course, you were.

The gifts, the fancy dates, the wishing to keep the relationship a secret.

He snapped out of his realization and slid into the passenger seat of the batmobile, a smirk lighting up his features.

~

"You need a ride?" Batman offered as you yawned. You smiled as you put a file back in a cupboard. It was 3 am, you were finally satisfied with what you had come up with: a small plan that consisted of the three of you kidnapping the main boss and getting the information out of him.

Gordon looked up from his glasses before you could answer.

"I need to talk to her alone before, I'll give her a ride. Sorry Bats." He gave him a tight slip smile and you could see Bruce trying to keep his expression neutral.

"That's alright" He nodded, giving you a 'i'll be waiting for you at your place' look "I'll see you guys around."

"Bye bats"

Before he was even out the door you opened your phone to text him.

"One second I'm just texting my-"

"Bruce Wayne?" He took the words out of your mouth.

"What?" You froze.

How did he figure it out? was all your mind could play as you tried to find words to get out of this.

"Your boyfriend, Bruce Wayne." He folded his arms.

"Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Don't change the subject, Y/n" You swallowed as you knew there was no good way out of this.

"No?" It sounded like more of a question. "I'm not dating Bruce Wayne- he's- he's my friend."

"Right the friend who you went to diner with and came back with his jacket" He pointed to the vest you were still wearing.

Your eyes went wide and you noticed the W buttons.

Great.

"I promise I was going to tell you- I was just waiting-"

"Y/n, it's alright."

"What?"

"I get why you haven't told me, and I promise you that this time I won't make a file on him" He smiled a bit.

"You're not mad?"

"No?"

"Why are you smiling you usually hate my boyfriends"

"Y/n. You're a family friend, I've known you since you were a kid. But you forget I've known him since he was a kid." He pointed out. "The two of you weirdly fit together, Bruce is a good guy, I approve"

"You do?" You stayed baffled for a few seconds. 'Well that went better than expected'

"So you will stop asking me questions about my relationship?"

"Yes"

"Oh thank god."

"But just one condition, you ask Batman to cut off with the flirting or else I'm calling your boyfriend to tell him what's happening when he isn't around." That made you smile.

"Alright, I will"

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