Almost - Tumblr Posts
Chris wanted the photo to be cuter, but Brad thought it might make people throw up. This was pretty much the threshold. He could sense people growing cold and clammy in the distance, and it was 83 degrees and sunny outside.
Chris was pretty sure no one saw him wipe out on those damn algae covered rocks. They were slippery and that worm with the trashy friend on Sesame Street.
So gross.
for an art request, maybe smile dog but as a lil puppy?
She has human baby teeth
SALLY MAY CONFIRMED LESBIAN🧡🤍💗
LOONA CONFIRMED BI💗💜💙
OCTAVIA CONFIRMED ACE🖤🤍💜
BARBIE, VEROSIKA, BLITZ, OZZIE, BEE CONFIRMED PAN💗💛💙
STOLAS, ANDREALPHUS, VASSAGO, FIZZ CONFIRMED GAY💙💚🤍💜🏳️🌈
ITS A GOOD DAY TO BE ALIVE Y’ALL
Context: The Party is at a dwarven consulate type place with a mysterious egg they found underground. They've been told to hide it or get rid of it or do whatever they can to get it out of that place...
DM: Uh, who has the egg again?
Me: I think Agaricus does.
DM: Perfect! *goes into a long description of the egg suddenly hatching into a 90-foot tall dragon-esque creature with chains and flesh for scales called The Stonecrusher. It kills many people and tears the place apart.* So what are y'all going to do?
Me: I want to calm it! (I'm an Elf Rogue, btw)
DM: Are you sure? This thing is MASSIVE!
Me: I want to pet the big puppy!
DM: Roll for Animal Handling.
Me: *rolls a 16*
DM: Roll 2 more for me, please
Me: *rolls a 21 and a 14* I-is that good?
DM: Roll a single survival check with advantage
Me: *rolls a 3 and a 15* I shall take the 15!
DM: *rolls a d100 and gets a 14* I don't believe this.
Me: I MADE A NEW FRIEND?!
DM: You only had a 15% chance of this working, and I rolled a 14. You needed above a 14 on all 3 checks to even get that far. You wanted to try and calm it down, and you succeeded. However, taming it is a whole other thing, and if you somehow manage to do THAT, I'm calling the game won at that point. If you roll a nat 20 then it will be your pet.
Me: *rolls a 19* NO! I'M GONNA CRY!
DM: I would have cried if you got it.
Gunther- "Ah, Prince Marth, welcome. I have been chosen to show you around our castle, but first, let me introduce you to my wife, Corrin. And my wife, Corrin. And my wives, Corrin, Corrin, and Corrine." Ryouma- "...this madness must end... WHY ARE YOU MARRIED TO HER IN EVERY GODS DAMNED TIMELINE?!" Saizou- "Calm yourself, Ryouma-sama. One day, we will return to our homeland, where insanity does not reign." Niles- "Not me. I'm liking where this is going..."
This is what happens when you keep summoning blue units for a beautiful beach dragon, but get normal dragons instead...
One day, this will be my arena team...
Guess stop teasing me 😭 but thank you guys so much for almost 1k followers :))
This means so much to me you really don't know. I remember when I first started the blog and I was shy and nervous because the only fics I've written were cringe Wattpad stories. But as I've written I've grown confident in my skills and I've progressed. I'm super happy I have gotten this far and I don't what I would do without y'all 😭💞
I remember when I posted my first fic and was super nervous. I had all these drafts and I decided to post one and I'm glad I did because I would have never gotten to where I did. I also wanna thank @leiksx & @raven-the-cryptid for supporting me 🫶🏻 They have been some of the closet people who have supported my blog and work.
Honestly shout-out to everyone who has supported me along the journey. Especially those people who like my posts immediately when they come out 😘. I am slow with requests and I'm sorry about that but I want to let you know that they always brighten my day. When I see someone has requested something I immediately click to see what the wanted and y'all have me giggling. Some requests had me dying laughing and some had me blushing and it just makes my day. No request is ignored unless it crosses my boundaries and I promise to write every request in my inbox but it will be at my own pace.
Once I reach 1k followers I will do something special. I don't know what but if you have an idea let me know!! Have a wonderful day/night and take care🫶🏻🫶🏻💞💞
I'M ALMOST ME AGAIN
SHE'S ALMOST YOU.
Not fair :(
Flirted with a guy today and wanted to ask him for a fuck, then found out he was 17, still in high school :(
He looked way older, at least 21 and so hot. And now I feel dirty, not in a good way :/
One Last Dance
Pairing: Bangchan x (f) Reader
Warning: angst, suggestive
Royalty au
DO NOT STEAL MY WORK. REBLOGS ARE APPRECIATED.
masterlist
Autumn's sighs- little soft thoughts about our favourite boys
The clock will hit twelve and it will be back to yesterday, no more magic veiling the reality. No more what-ifs. No more holding his hand and gliding across the floor like the danseur and danseuse performing a well-rehearsed pas de deux. But still, minutes before the clock strikes, he stops her from leaving. Pulling her hand and bringing her back to his arms, his hand on her back pushing her towards his chest till there is not even air between them. “Once more, please I beg of you”, he says, eyes filled with desperation, “One last dance”. She feels it, he is burning with passion. And she feels the same fire engulfing her as he brings her even closer. She lets him take control as she never could control the fire herself. But at this moment, it seems like he is wavering too. He is losing himself too.
It was bound to happen. One cannot suppress the fire of passion by common means. Even the times relented to this moment. The times, that have been so cruel to them both. The times, that will continue its play as if this moment never happened. And when the clock strikes, their backs will be facing each other with their people’s worries burdening them. They will go back to as it was, to the never-ending war between their nations. They will pretend to have forgotten their one moment of victory against the times because if they don’t, they will seek more and be selfish. They will want to be victorious forever. But they cannot win against the times.
But still, they dance. Because they will not waste their moment of victory by thinking of what comes after. He sees his desperate image in her eyes and her the same. They are grasping at what is left of the night, every gasp, every sigh, not daring to miss any of it. “Chris”, she whimpers at the last second and he closes the distance between their lips. He knows the moment he will move away and open his eyes he will see his image in hers but it will not be the same one. It will be the helpless, broken lord with his hands tied. The Lord who has a thousand things to think of but none about himself. So he kisses her till he can’t breathe, sealing their moment of passion in his mind. And feeling her warmth before she goes back to being someone she is not. Someone whom the times rule while keeping her blinded, only listening to what the people have to say. She can never look in the mirror nor will she be able to see the speck of passion left in his eyes that reflects her. They are from the same world yet so far away. And the times are not yet done cursing them.
I have sent troops in the form of 1, 5, 21, 44, 53 and 64 to fight back after the blowing up of my ask box >:)
Holly molly Sadie, you weren't joking OwO
(thanks goddness I already answered 64 bc holly shit, you did get your revenge)
"1. Do you ever doubt the existence of others than you?"
Sometimes. Specially when I find people that say things so messed up I wouldn't believe possible for anyone to really believe it, what kind of dystopian reality simulation did my brain put me into????
"5. If you were a type of tree, what would you be?"
Probably a weeping willow. They look tired and sleepy all the time just like me
"21. If you were the opposite sex for one day, what would you look like and what would you do?"
Probably with shorter hair (or not. Too lazy to cut it sounds pretty possible XD), of course way less curvy, no breasts, no back pain, and my face would be a little more broader. I hope I would be a little taller at least.
I always dress in jeans and sweatshirts, so I'd wear the same kind of clothes. Maybe less people would complain then??
I'm pretty sure I would do the same things I do now, aka. draw, complain that I'm tired 24/7, watch cartoons and scroll through Tumblr instead of sleeping.
"44. What do you want to be when you graduate?"
I??? don't know??? I'm studying to get a Biology degree right now (still a 1st year. 3 more to go QwQ) but I'm not sure if that's what I wanna do with my life. I also wanted to study character design/animation/ something like that, but quoting my mother "you don't need an art degree to work in those jobs, so I'm not letting you do that. Study that Biology degree you wanted just in case and practise drawing in your own"
That might have satisfied my 16 year-old-self, but now I'm angry af because I realized I can't work in anything related to art if I don't have the frigging skills, time nor patience to actually get better. So yeah, my mom tricked me... again *pretends to be shocked*
"53. What has been you worst haircut/style?"
Once I stayed so long without cutting my hair/taking enough care of it that it became unbelievably damaged and my mom brought me to the hairdresser against my will (I really wanted to have long hair and I knew it would be extremely difficult to get on that situation).
Turns out they didn't know shit about how curly hair worked. So they said "I'm just gonna cut the ends don't worry" and proceeded to cut the equivalent of four fingers in curls. Of course, the remaining lenght proceeded to curl even more, to the point that my ears stood out in a ridiculous way. Plus, they didn't even got to make it so the final result would look somewhat nice or leveled. Lock of hair pointed in different lenghts in every possible direction.My granny had to cut it again at home because none of us could stand looking at that mess.
Derek Morgan couldn't help but feel just a little bit sorry as he glanced across the track field at two kids, both who looked so miserable and ready to disappear that it wasn't funny. He knew them both, rather one through the other, which was odd considering he wouldn't usually be caught dead with their type of crowd anywhere on or near school grounds.
When you think you meeting a real person. And then boom. She wants a game card for her son. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
The Shroud bros own my heart
Robin’s always had a soft spot for Eddie Munson, but up until recently it had been in a distant kind of way; she appreciated his class clown act, the way it had a domino effect of keeping the heat off the band kids, how he hogged the spotlight for any passing douchebag’s attention.
But then they both literally dive into The Upside Down, and her appreciation reaches a whole new level.
They’re in the Wheeler’s garage, thanking their lucky stars that four bikes exist in 1983 (and yeah, Robin’s sure that if she thinks about the whole time thing for half a second more her brain will promptly melt, so she doesn’t).
Each of them are pushing their chosen bike down the driveway, in a dazed sort of silence—the high of the Lite-Brite worn off in the face of another grim journey through The Upside Down.
Steve is flagging, Robin can hear it: his breathing’s growing laboured as he walks, an occasional unsteadiness to him that’s setting her anxiety off all over again, because what if they were wrong, what if it’s really rabies, and it’s too late, it’s coursing through his veins, and he’s—they’re gonna lose him—
“Hey, Harrington,” Eddie says, swinging a leg over his saddle, “wanna race?”
“… Hmm? Sorry, what?” Steve says.
There’s not even that long of a delay in him speaking, but the pause still has Robin’s heart in her throat.
Eddie’s got one foot on a pedal now, ready to set off. He looks back at them with a shaky grin—like he’s terrified, but he’s still gonna have some fun anyway.
“I’m throwing down the gauntlet, King Steve. Bet I’ll be faster than you.”
Steve scoffs, stands up a little straighter before he mirrors Eddie, balancing on the bike with one foot on the pedal.
“How much are we betting?”
Eddie huffs. “Oh, no money involved,” he says nonchalantly. He raises an eyebrow in challenge. “This is just for the glory.”
And God, there’s that spark back in Steve’s eyes; it’s like Robin can physically see his competitive streak giving him strength.
Eddie Munson, you beautiful soul, she thinks, I could kiss you.
“Faster than me? Yeah, maybe in your dreams, Munson,” Steve says.
But Eddie’s already speeding off with a comical whoop; Steve curses as he hurriedly tries to catch up, yelling, “You dick, that’s cheating!”
“Not in my rulebook!” Eddie says with a cackle.
And for a little while, that’s enough to put Robin’s mind at ease: watching the pair of them taunt each other like kids—hearing Nancy laugh at the spectacle as she bikes alongside her.
But then she falls through the Gate, Eddie close behind her, and they freeze when Steve screams Nancy’s name with such fear.
Robin’s plunged back into a mind-numbing panic; she’s sure that her heart doesn’t even begin to slow until they’ve left the trailer park, until Steve’s control of the RV switches from ‘holy shit, we’re on the run, what have our lives become?’ to something more normal—the reliable, measured driving she’s familiar with, taking her to and from school or work.
Finally, she has time to, um… take stock. Of… things.
She wobbles her way over to Eddie, grabbing onto his elbow as Steve takes a turning.
Eddie instantly holds her up, a steadying hand around her waist. “Oh, hi. I’ve gotcha—” “Your music isn’t actually shit,” Robin says in one breath. “I know, um, on balance, it’s probably not the worst thing I could’ve said, but the delivery was—but, you know, considering I thought Nance was literally about to die, I’d say it was, like, kinda calm all things considered, but—”
Eddie’s chuckling. “Yeah, on balance,” he echoes teasingly, “you were pretty damn funny, actually. Uh, sorry for. Um. Screaming at you? Basically?”
“Basically,” Robin agrees. “Yeah, you were like impressively loud. Not quite eardrum-rupturing level, but y’know, I don’t actually know anyone who’s really had that happen to them; Amanda Wallis said she ruptured hers at the pep rally ‘cause she was standing too close to us—the band, I mean, but—”
Eddie rolls his eyes. “Oh, that’s bull, there’s no way that’d be loud enough to—”
“—I think she just had a grudge ‘cause David C on mellophone got literally the tiniest bit of spit on her, and he was only—”
“Yeah, well, everyone knows you sit in the splash zone at your own risk.”
“Exactly! She’s had plenty of time to learn marching band protocol.”
“Uh-huh, protocol,” Eddie echoes again, with a giggle.
He’s got a nice kind of laugh, Robin thinks: one where she’s never in doubt that he’s laughing with her rather than at her.
“That stuff you do’s pretty cool,” he says; with his free hand, he actually imitates her mime of playing a trumpet. “You must have good, uh…” She can see the exact moment that he’s having second thoughts about saying it, but he forges ahead anyway, with a hilariously uncertain, “Good… lungs?”
“Fascinating attempt at a compliment,” Robin says. “Luckily for you, I accept insults as, like, equal tokens of friendship.”
Eddie does a double take. He doesn’t go so far as letting out a questioning, “We’re friends?”, but he might as well have said it anyway: his eyes widen for a moment, like someone who’s just been unexpectedly asked out to prom.
Steve takes another turning; he does it smoothly enough, but even he can’t stop the RV from moving with it, and Robin stumbles again, very nearly ends up repeating how she toppled right onto Eddie in The Upside Down.
“Woah there, you’re good,” Eddie says, “just gotta find your, uh, what’s it called? Your equilibrium.”
“I don’t have any,” Robin says, all theatrical devastation, and Eddie snorts.
“Sure you do, Buckley. Look, just take my—yeah, that’s it, then just kinda straighten up… yeah, you’ve got it.”
And yes, after a minute or so, Robin’s footing does feel more certain, but she still keeps a stubborn grip on Eddie’s elbow, just in case.
“God, d’you know what I’m gonna do when all this is over?” Eddie says.
“Pray tell.”
“I’m gonna make a list. What was it you said, Madonna, Blondie…? Whatever, I’m getting all of them, m’never getting caught out like that again.”
“I’m hoping that needing music to evade the clutches of a serial killer from an alternate dimension is, um, strictly a one-time thing.”
“Don’t care,” Eddie says. “Still buying those tapes. Just in case.”
And yeah, it’s said partly in jest, but Robin can hear that he means it. Still, it’s the most optimistic that she’s heard him be so far: making plans for after, like he can really see a way through this. Like maybe he finally knows that they’ll help him get there.
“Need a list of tapes from you too, Buckley. You and Harrington.”
Robin smiles. Her first thought is of singing Total Eclipse of the Heart from the dirt-ridden floor of a mall bathroom, but then she thinks of every car ride with Steve, every time they’ve turned up the radio to belt along, and she knows that there are way too many songs to count.
“Forget a list,” Robin says, “I could fill a book. Same for big boy over there.”
Eddie blinks, like he’s suddenly taking stock, too. “Oh yeah,” he says, laughing lightly, “I did say that, huh?”
“Sure did. I was doubting my ears, too.”
Robin had been hoping they’d long since reached the point of being able to joke around with one another. But while Eddie does laugh again, he also starts biting at his thumbnail, glancing over at Steve in the driver’s seat.
“Um, hey.” Robin manages to keep her balance, briefly pressing her knee against his leg. “I didn’t mean anything by it, Eddie.”
“No, I know.” Eddie huffs self-effacingly. “I’ve kinda got permanent foot-in-mouth disease, my report cards would tell you that.”
Well, if he wants to pass it off as sometimes I just say the darnedest things, Robin would be a hypocrite to deny him.
It fascinates her in a sad sort of way though, how he veers between joking and nervousness—like he’s worried he’s intruding on their group, of overstepping somehow.
She wants to tell him: Look, we all got dragged into this, but we chose to stick around, and you’re no different.
But she no longer has the aftermath of Russian drugs to help bypass her own nerves, to kickstart her sincerity.
“Hey, you’re awfully quiet back there,” Steve calls, and Eddie startles.
Robin shakes her head. “Not us, that’s his—”
“Hello? Henderson, I’m talking to you.”
“We’re not even doing anything!” Dustin shouts back in exaggerated affront.
He’s sat on the backseat of the RV, peering out the window along with Lucas, Erica and Max. Robin stifles a chuckle at the sight; they look like they’re on a field trip—the cool kids at the back of the bus.
“Yeah, well, just checking,” Steve says, amused. “For all I know, you coulda been building a gigantic radio again on, like, the roof of this thing.”
“Cerebro,” Dustin says, just as Eddie lets out a baffled, “Uh, again?”
But then they’re pulling into The War Zone’s parking lot, and any chatter abruptly dies.
Afterwards, Steve gets off the road to park in a reassuringly deserted field. They don’t head outside right away (Robin’s not exactly looking forward to prepping Molotov cocktails), instead staying in the RV to eat junk food they’d grabbed beforehand.
Robin discovers that Dustin’s somehow bought five more cans of Pringles and snorts, declaring, “You’ve got a problem.”
At some point, Steve tries to sneak off to the bathroom so he can change his dressings—“And use actual proper bandages!” Robin calls to him; no offence to Nancy’s resourcefulness, but the torn shirt strips only do so much good.
It becomes a more comical than horrifying event, although she’s sure that’s down to Steve deliberately making it so, like a sleight of hand trick: playing it down as he keeps talking to the kids throughout, never wincing even once.
He ends up having to keep the bathroom door open to continue an argument with Erica over which Scoops Ahoy sundae was the best of all time—then figures that he might as well just step out into the open anyway.
At least the wounds have stopped bleeding—although the sight of Steve cleaning around them with bottled water is one that Robin could personally do without.
The kids are entirely unfazed. They flock to Steve, peering at the glimpses he lets them see like he’s just got a cool tattoo. Robin supposes that after El and whatever nightmare wormy thing was in her leg, they’ve seen everything.
Eddie, however, is another matter. He keeps quiet about it, not obvious at all, but Robin watches his face grow paler and paler before Steve wraps the new bandages around his stomach.
Dustin, bless his precocious little heart, must also notice, because he quickly starts up a seemingly impromptu game of charades, meaning that Eddie is soon distracted by his ridiculously over the top gestures.
“No, Steve, how are you not getting this?”
“I thought the whole appeal of this game was that you’re not meant to talk, Henderson. Dude, watch it, you nearly took Max’s eye out with… whatever the hell that was.”
“Oh my god, it’s Back to the Future, obviously! Ow, Max, I didn’t mean to—uh, yeah, the mime needs to be that big, how else am I gonna project what—”
“Dustin, I swear to god, I’m about to project you out the window,” Steve drawls.
Eddie laughs, hides it behind his hand.
But Steve must catch it, because he glances over at Eddie and winks before he’s dragged back into guessing another movie title.
And Robin’s obviously seen Steve wink before—he does it all the time, so much so that she’s become quite adept at reading when it’s a friendly one for her, or if he’s sharing some kind of in-joke with one of the kids.
She’s also seen his attempts at a ‘smooth’ wink towards some girls at work—and look, he’s Steve Harrington, it’s not like he’s going to be bad at it.
But if you ask Robin, it’s never looked quite right, like he’s always performing to an audience he’s unsure of.
But this wink doesn’t look like it belongs to either of those categories. Well, it’s got something in common with the first: that it looks entirely natural, as if he’s doing it almost without thinking. Like it just feels right.
They go through some more rounds of charades—Dustin’s gestures, if possible, getting even more dramatic—and Eddie gradually goes from contributing a few guesses to none at all, curling up on the backseat. He looks utterly wiped out.
Robin tries to catch Nancy’s eye, and after a few attempts, she gets the message, stands up with a nod.
“Okay, let’s take this outside, guys.”
“Spoken like a true camp counsellor,” Max says.
Nancy acts like she’s offended, but her lips keep twitching into a smile. “Max, never say that to me again.”
“There’s more space outside,” Erica says, “so we can duck out the way of Dustin’s windmilling arms.”
“Hey!”
“I’m bored of charades,” Lucas says. “We could do another competition? Like, I dunno, cartwheels or handstands or something?”
“Oh sure, so I can show you up?” Max returns, grinning.
Steve scoffs. “Uh, if you’re doing a cartwheel competition, I would win.”
“Since when?” Dustin says, an obvious taunt that Steve predictably rises to, flipping him off.
“Save your athletics for Vecna, please,” Nancy cuts in dryly.
“It wouldn’t be a fair fight.” Lucas gestures to Steve’s stomach, a little uncertainly. “You know, considering…”
Steve rolls his eyes. “Whatever. Under normal circumstances, I would kick all your asses.”
“Sure,” Robin says brightly, “but Steve, if you do literally anything more strenuous than sitting down right now, I’m gonna—”
“Uh, Steve would kick your asses, actually,” Eddie says slowly. His voice is muffled from the way his hand’s holding up his chin, partly covering his mouth. “He did gymnastics.”
Robin, surprised, looks to Steve; he’s doing that thing where he scratches at his cheek unconsciously, seems to be a mixture of embarrassed and pleased.
“How’d you know that?” he asks.
Eddie shrugs. “We didn’t have a cover for gym one time, remember? There was a whole group of us slacking off but you just kept doing, y’know,” he twirls his fingers, “tricks on that box thingy.”
“Vaulting box,” Steve corrects like he can’t stop himself. He’s sporting an almost abashed little smile that Robin’s never seen before.
Eddie shrugs again. “S’all Greek to me,” he says, interrupts himself halfway through with a deep yawn.
Steve’s eyes soften. And then he’s ushering the kids outside, “C’mon, you can do whatever competition you want for thirty minutes before we get to work.”
“Got it, coach.”
“Shut up, Mayfield.”
“I’ll be your stopwatch if you’re doing handstands,” Nancy chips in, bringing up the rear—she catches Robin’s eye again, subtly tilts her head in Eddie’s direction and mouths Stay?
Robin nods.
“Uh, that won’t be accurate at all,” comes Dustin’s rebuttal—he’s outside now, but his voice still carries. “Unless you can like accurately keep time in your head down to the second—”
“Oh my god, Dustin, you’re such a shithead.”
“Nancy Wheeler, I’m heartbroken.”
Steve’s chuckle floats through the open door. “She said it, dude, not me.”
“You say it all the goddamn time!”
And then the voices fade away until all Robin can hear is distant laughs and joyful screams. It’s relaxing, in its own way.
“No gymnastics for you, Buckley?” Eddie says.
“Nope, not since 7th grade. Managed two cartwheels before I broke my wrist.”
Eddie winces in sympathy. He’s slumping a bit more; Robin makes herself comfy in the opposite corner of the backseat, gives him the most space.
She feels a weird lump at her back, behind one of the cushions. A quick investigation reveals an issue of TV Guide Magazine.
“Ooh, we can find out what we missed while on the run,” she says, waggling it in front of Eddie.
He smiles with a small huff. “Doubt it. Says 1981 on the front.”
“What’s a little more time travel?”
Robin flicks through to the crossword. She’s all too aware that Eddie’s still sat more stiffly than anything else. With Steve, it would be so easy; she could prod him in the thigh with her toe, light touches until he took the hint and relaxed.
But even before they’d really become friends, they were tactile: a tap on the shoulder to grab attention, bumping hips to move each other out of the way whenever they were scooping ice-cream at the same time. It’d been done so unconsciously, like they were already learning to read each other’s minds.
With Eddie, it’s clear that a different approach is needed.
Robin had caught onto that after her misstep at the boathouse, a pit in her stomach at the sight of Eddie’s hands shaking.
But her instinct to reach out, to soothe, made her unthinkingly try again; as they walked in the woods, she’d heard his breathing quicken, and her hand lightly brushed his back. She drew back as he instantly flinched at her touch.
“Sorry, sorry,” she said hurriedly. “Just—just checking you were okay. Sorry.”
Eddie just stared at her before nodding hesitantly.
And Robin wanted to tell him that it wasn’t by chance, that he had people who cared about him; that she did, and it wasn’t a fluke or an accident—she was choosing it.
She keeps her eyes on the magazine, jots down a few crossword answers. It reminds her of summer days spent reading on her grandparents’ porch, not wanting to startle a cat her grandpa had rescued as it approached her. It was always so spooked.
“You’ve just gotta let him come to you, sweet pea,” her grandma would say.
After a couple minutes, she hears Eddie breathe out, the creak of the seat as he lies down. He rests his head right next to her thigh.
“S’good?” he asks, pointing at the magazine.
“It’s pretty easy.” One of the crossword clues is ‘The Lion, the Witch, and the?’ which isn’t exactly taxing. “I’m used to doing the cryptic ones.”
Eddie laughs. He kinda sounds fond. “Of course you are.”
“They’re not that hard, once you know how to read ‘em.”
“Hmm, I doubt that. Lay one on me, Buckley.”
She purses her lips in thought. “Oh, I got this one last week. Condition of Wyoming, five letters.”
Eddie lifts his head ever so slightly to give her a blank look. “Not a fucking clue.”
“State. Get it? ‘Cause ‘condition’ is the definition, and Wyoming is literally—”
“God, I’m surrounded by geniuses.”
“Well, I’ve got the advantage of a summer of code-breaking.”
Robin slowly raises her hand as she speaks—makes sure to do it in Eddie’s line of vision, spots that he doesn’t pull back, that he even gives the tiniest half-nod. She pats his head twice.
Eddie scrunches up his nose. “Sorry, my hair’s gross.”
“It’s not that bad,” Robin says honestly. “Y’know for being on the run, it’s holding up pretty well. I’m getting whatever shampoo you use.”
Eddie smiles. “Sure.”
“Yours is looking way better than mine did after, like, one day getting wrapped up in all this.” Again, without really thinking, Robin adds, “I had all this sweat and blood and puke in it.”
Eddie’s eyes are closed now. He makes an unhappy sound, prods gently at her knee. “You’ve all gotta work on telling me horrific shit. That should not be casual for you, Buckley.”
He sounds emphatic—protective, even. Robin feels unexpectedly emotional.
“Yeah, sorry. Bad habit.”
Silence falls, and by the time Steve enters the RV, Robin has filled in the whole crossword, Eddie dozing by her side.
Steve’s getting another bottle of water—actually drinking it this time. He’s got grass stains on his knees, and he’s sweating slightly, like the ‘stay still’ advice hasn’t once been taken.
His eyes soften again when he sees Eddie sleeping—he doesn’t need to linger, but he does.
Robin watches.
We need more time, Steve, she thinks suddenly. For you to keep looking at him like that—for him to be awake to see it.
Steve tears his eyes away. Lands on her.
She smiles, mouthing What?
Steve rolls his eyes. He imitates her ‘what?’ mockingly, but then he smiles back and taps at his wrist, mimes winding a watch on. It’s what they do whenever they’re slammed at work, wanting to talk, but only able to briefly catch each other’s eyes in the rush. Later.
She taps her wrist. Later, she promises.
He gives her a double thumbs up—what a dork—before heading back outside.
Robin quietly puts the magazine away. Ever so carefully, she lightly strokes Eddie’s hair, feels her heart swell and break at the same time when he sighs contentedly in his sleep.
You’d better look after yourself, Eddie Munson, she thinks. You’ve got people here. People who really want you to stick around.
Hey guys! STORY TIME. ALMOST GOT SHOT. MAYBE NEXT TIME!
so my cousins and i were in the woods, we were earlier too and my aunts boyfriend brought his oldest son over and his daughter and youngest son was already here. so before the oldest son was there. my aunt brought my two cousins and youngest children of her bf, into the woods and we went on a huge adventure and found an area full of trash and tires and stuff. so once we got back and the oldest boy got here we told him about it and he wanted to go so my aunt forced me to bring him and my two cousins and there. we got lost and couldn't find the trash and then some guy was shooting a gun and the boy wanted to keep going but i was like no way i'm not getting shot today and my 5 year old cousin was crying and getting scared. so that's my story of almost getting shot