#poly!reader

When the Los Angeles Firefighter auction was first announced you were kind of excited. Not because you were going to buy a date with anyone, but because your boyfriend of four years, LOVED that auction.

An you? You’re anything but jealous so you genuinely didn’t mind the idea of someone winning a date with him. It’s for charity! Not only that but Evan Buckley was hot. It was a fact, one you’d be blind not to admit. So when Maddie told you the auction was coming up in a few weeks, well you assumed Buck would sign up. You pictured walking into your shared house after shift and finding him probably working out in that backyard like he normally did in the middle of a 48 off.

Only when you got home, Buck wasn’t in the backyard, or the kitchen, or the living room. Nope he was in your bedroom lying under the covers.

“Buck?” You asked softly from the doorway, not wanting to disturb him if he’d been sleeping. He immediately sat up with a look of pure distress on his face so you rushed over to sit on the edge of the bed, reaching for his hand.

“What’s wrong? Is your leg bothering you? Your back still hurting you?” You asked knowing he’d hurt his back a few days ago. He only groaned in frustration.

“God that makes me sound so old.” He practically whined and you couldn’t help but laugh.

“You’re in your 30’s Buck, that’s not old. You are a career long firefighter who got hurt. I think that’s warrants pain from time to time. Even though you refuse to tell me how you hurt your back.” You remind with an amused smirk. He glared at you through his lashes but there was no real heat behind it. Then he sighed relaxing his shoulders as he gently squeezed your hand in his.

“Something else bothering you?” You asked knowingly and he looked at you for a few seconds before laying back down and staring at the ceiling. His hand never leaving yours.

“It’s Eddie.” He admitted his tone soft and hesitant.

“I don’t think he wants to do the auction and I don’t want him to have to go on a date when he doesn’t want to. You know he’s not exactly good with strangers and I-“ Buck continued to talk about Eddie and the probability of a date with a woman for an hour that night.

Then that hour turned into days. Buck complained about Eddie going on a date for the entirety of his 48 hours off shift. His stress for his best friend seemed genuine and honestly half way through you had to admit to yourself that you also weren’t fond of the idea.

Not that Eddie’s never dated before. You’d known him for years, in fact Eddie was the one who introduced you to Buck. The two of you had become fast friends when he worked at dispatch and at the time…

Well you sort of believed Buck and Eddie were dating. They were practically a ready made family and they were co-parenting Eddie’s son. But then Buck asked you out. You remember panicking to Maddie or all people and telling her that you didn’t know what to do. You adored Eddie and you didn’t want to date his boyfriend.

Maddie had assured you that even though she also thought they were dating, they very much were not. So you agreed to go on the date. Then the next, and then the next. And three dates later Buck asked you to be his girlfriend. In truth you sort of had a crush on Eddie at the time, feelings that you thought faded when your feelings for Buck grew.

But apparently they’d just been dormant because now you found yourself fully agreeing with Buck. It felt wrong to be possessive over a man who was A: Not your boyfriend and B: Your boyfriend’s best friend.

So what did you do? You went to Maddie.

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“I honestly don’t know what to do.” You groaned as you both stood in her kitchen holding cups of coffee.

“I’m mean would it be so crazy to have feelings for both of them?” Maddie asked with that knowing look that all big sisters seem to know exactly how to do. The look that makes you want to tell them everything.

“What like, feelings for Eddie? While dating Buck. Maddie I would never cheat on your brother I-“

“I didn’t say you would. Buck is…on his own journey. I’m asking you if you like Eddie. Outside of your relationship. Ignoring how much you love my brother. How do you feel about Eddie?” She asked seriously while resting a hand on your arm.

“I used to. Before Buck asked me out, I used to have, I guess a crush on Eddie. But I had feelings for Buck too. It’s not like I’m dating him because I can’t have Eddie or anything. I genuinely have always liked Buck. So when things got serious for us…I guess I just put it to the side.” You struggled to explain. Even though you knew you didn’t really have to, it was never a question in anyone’s mind how you felt about Buck. The 118 kids literally saw you as an Aunt because of how much you loved Buck. And if this auction didn’t stir up this weird sense of possessiveness over Eddie? You would have ignored those feelings forever, because you were with Buck. Buck who has made you endlessly happy for four years.

“But the auction is bringing it back to the table?” Maddie had said it like a question but there was no denying it. You had feelings for Evan Buckley and Eddie Diaz.

“God, this must make me like a terrible person or something.” You grimaced setting your coffee on the counter.

“It doesn’t. Not even a little bit. We don’t get to choose who we fall in love with. And honestly you could do a lot worse than Buck and Eddie. The question is…what are you gonna do about it?” Maddie smiled reassuringly you studied her expression for a moment before laughing.

“Why do you look like you already have a plan?” You asked amused

“I might.” She laughed.

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“I’m sorry, you want me to what?” You asked standing in the lobby of the auction venue with your phone pressed to your ear.

“Bid on me. I’ll pay the money just…bid on me. If you bid $2,500 I can’t imagine anyone would go higher then I don’t actually have to go on a random date.” Eddie begged and you couldn’t help but laugh. In truth you were sort of planning to bid on Eddie anyway but having him call you in a panic moments before the auction was set to start.

“Why are you asking me?” You couldn’t help but wonder out loud as you looked around you. Waving when you noticed Athena and May walk in.

“Why not you? I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather ask…well except maybe Buck but he probably won’t do it.” Eddie laughed his words putting a warm feeling in your chest.

“Fine, I’ll bid on you.” You agreed

“I owe you my life.” Eddie was quick to reply before hanging up the phone. You couldn’t help but laugh to yourself as you walked into the room and looked around for your table.

Your eyes scanned the wide array of people before landing on Maddie who was waving you over.

“You okay?” She asked once you go to the table and you nodded.

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The auction had begun and you watched as firefighters from all over the city, walked down the runway. Most of them showing off their muscles. A few swung an axe as a prop. Some were shirtless and covered in a glittering sheen of body oil.

It was honestly one big glamour shot but it was working. People were bidding thousands of dollars to go on these dates.

The table was shocked at May’s $1600 bid on Ravi, and amused at Athena’s bid on Harry. But now it was Eddie’s turn.

“I’ll uh, be right back.” You whispered to Maddie who looked at you concerned but let you go anyway.

You walked over to the doorway hidden from view as the bidding started. The jump from $100 to $1000 was almost instantaneous so you quickly dialed the phone number to place anonymous bid.

“I wanna bid 2,500.” You said over the phone and the announcer was quick to share it with the room. You peaked over the edge of the door frame looking around.

“$2,500 dollars from our mystery phone bidder, is anyone willing to bid higher?” He asked looking around. You glared daggers at a woman who stood holding up her paddle.

“3,000!” She yelled

“Would you like to bid higher?” The woman on the phone asked you. You took a second to think about it before mentally cursing yourself. Buck was either gonna really love you at the end of the night or hate that you spent money from your savings for this.

“6,500 please.” You muttered waiting patiently as she told the announcer whose eyes widened.

“Highest bid of the night from our mysterious phone bidder! We have 6,500! Can anyone do higher than that?!” He asked causing Eddie’s eyes to widen in shock while he looked around.

“6,500 going once…going twice…sold! To our mystery bidder!” The man yelled into the microphone. You thanked the woman on the phone before ending the call. You took a moment to calm yourself down as your entire body practically felt like it was on fire. Then you sent a quick text to Eddie.

I just won a bid war for you Diaz. You owe me $2,500 and a ‘date’. You’re welcome ❤️‍🔥🔥🧯

Once the text sent you went back to your seat, smiling reassuringly at Maddie.

“Everything okay?” She asked and you nodded.

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Eddie came to join your table just before it was Buck’s turn to take the stage.

“Highest bid of the night. Congrats Diaz!” Chimney clapped purposely saying the man’s last name wrong.

“Yeah, I’ll send you the money.” Eddie winked at you causing everyone else at the table to turn to you in shock.

“You bid on yourself?” Athena laughed looking at Eddie who shrugged before replying.

“Worth every penny.”

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“He has a multi media presentation? Nobody told me we were allowed to have a multi-media presentation.” Harry complained gesturing to the slideshow that played as Buck pranced down the runway.

You put your fingers in your mouth to whistle when Buck ripped his shirt open. Everyone clapping and cheering for him as the announcer talked about Buck’s baking, him being an uncle, Buck’s slideshow even had a picture of the two of you together. The announcer being sure to mention that even though Buck was in a committed relationship he’d do anything for charity.

You laughed at the wording of the sentence, because anything is probably not the best word to use. But Buck was willing to spend a platonic evening with someone for the sake of charity. In fact the two of you had a lengthy discussion about it and you promised him it was fine.

You cheered catching his shirt when he threw it towards you with a wink.

“That man and his ego.” Maddie laughed looking up at her brother but you just smiled. Buck was hot and he knew it. Hell everyone in this room knew it.

When the bidding started it was insane. People were chomping at the bit to have the highest price.

The table around you was shocked when you stopped after 6,500.

“Look, I’m not made of money here. He comes home to me and that’s all that matters.” You laughed leaning back in your chair and sipping your drink. Watching as the number continued to climb.

“You seem really sure of yourself right now.” Eddie whispered in your ear after moving to sit right next to you.

“Should I not be?” You joked, turning your head to look at him. His brown eyes studying you for a moment as if he was finally letting himself actually look at you for the first time in forever.

“No, I just…confidence looks good on you.” He murmured the two of you stared into each other’s eyes for what felt like forever. The only thing breaking your trance was the announcement of a new auction record.

$8,002

“Holy shit.” You and Eddie whispered in unison before looking over at who won the date. You noticed Eddie’s shoulders seemed to relax in the same way yours did when you saw the table full of five elderly people. The look of recognition on Buck’s face was enough to help you assume they were the people he’d told you about from when a car drove into a book club.

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“Wait, you bid on Eddie?!” Buck asked shocked as he sat up in bed waiting for you to join him.

“Yes. He asked me too. He didn’t want to go on a strange date and well…I kinda didn’t want him to do it either.” You admitted while putting lotion on your legs. Buck didn’t respond for a moment so you looked up to see him just staring off into space. Thinking about something.

“Is it weird that that makes me feel relieved? I mean I know I told him he should get out there and start dating again but…for some reason I don’t think I actually wanted him too.” Buck admitted in a soft whisper. Then his eyes found yours and he suddenly looked panicked.

“It’s not like I don’t want him to find happiness! Because I do! If anyone deserves happiness it’s Eddie…and you! Of course you too. But-“

“Do you often think of me and Eddie in the same way?” You asked. The words falling out of your mouth because you could stop them. Buck’s face showed a rang of emotions as he tried to think of a response. First was annoyance, then fear, then defeat, before his face settled on an expression he normally had when talking about his past relationships.

“I’m not in love with him.” He said before you had the chance to speak. His tone felt almost robotic, as if he’d said this before or maybe he was trying to convince himself.

“I don’t remember saying you are.” You shrugged getting up and moving to crawl into the bed next to him.

“It’s just, this is like the longest relationship I’ve ever had and after I met Eddie, well there was always this point when my exs would get… angry. Like they felt like Eddie was some kind of competition for them or something.” Buck paused as he tried to think of the right words to say.

“Can’t imagine anyone could beat Eddie.” You murmured resting your head on Buck’s shoulder and he tensed for a moment and then relaxed.

“Wait, for me or for you?” Buck suddenly asked and you shrugged.

“I’ve always liked Eddie. He’s a good guy. I can’t imagine there’s a whole lot of people in the world who would come close to him. Well except for you.” You admitted, smiling at the thought.

“Me? Eddie has a silver star!” Buck exclaimed in shock and you laughed.

“I know! You talk about it more than he does.-“

“Oh please, you talk about it way more than I do. Eddie’s got a silver star, Eddie’s a war hero, Eddie is so good with Christopher, oh buck did you see how much Eddie lifts in the gym? Eddie is sooooo hot. Eddie, Eddie, Eddie-“ You laughed covering Bucks mouth with your hand as you flipped over to straddle his waist. He looked up at you pure joy and amusement swimming in his blue eyes. Laughing against your hand as you cut off the horrible attempt at mimicking your voice.

“Okay first of all, I have never said Eddie was hot. I mean he is but I’ve never said it. Also you’re the one that brought up what Eddie lifts and then you guys invited me to go to the gym with you just to prove the point. So really if anyone here is obsessed with Eddie it’s you!” You laughed, letting out a squeal when Buck started tickling your sides. Your hands dropped from his face to grab at his wrists.

“Ok, ok. So maybe we’re both a little insane about our friend but…do you ever think that-“

“Maybe it wouldn’t be so crazy?” You asked finishing Buck’s sentence and he sighed as the two of you shared a look full of love and understanding. You think there’d be more of a shock factor in realizing that you both had feelings for your shared best friend but in truth, it kinda felt like you always knew. Less of a new thought and more something that you already knew. It was just a fact between the two of you. The sky is blue, the 118 is the best firehouse in the city, Eddie Diaz is the hottest man to walk the earth and you’re both in love with him.

“You know I hate it when your sister is right?” You muttered leaning forward to rest all of your weight against Buck, tucking your face into his neck.

“You and me both.” He muttered wrapping his arms around you.

“What are we gonna do?” You asked, Buck was tracing shape against the skin of your lower back as he sighed.

“I have no idea.” He said after a long time.

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It had been three weeks since the auction and it seemed that everyone was starting to notice how weird you and Buck were acting. It was obvious that you guys weren’t fighting because you still came to the station for dinner and Buck still visited you at the call center for lunch. You were both still just as overly affectionate as always. You still loudly said I love you. You still had date nights. The scratch marks on Buck’s back that were visible when he changed in the locker room said that you were still being intimate. Buck still sent texted the 118 family group chat with random facts and you still added tidbits of information like always. Visually nothing was different about the two of you but the energy around you was different. It felt charged, chaotic, strange in a way that was both incredibly present. But also completely invisible. Something was off and no matter who asked you both just said everything was fine.

And that’s how Eddie ended up on your doorstep. He’d dropped Chris off with Hen for the night and he was determined to get to the bottom of the change. Deep down he wanted it to be nothing, he wanted it to just be in his head. But he just couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe it was his fault somehow.

Knocking on the door he then shoved his hands in his pockets as he nervously waited for it to open. He could practically hear his heartbeat in his ears and he debated on turning around and running to his truck. He could change his mind and go back to Hen’s and pretend he was never here.

“Eddie?” Buck asked pulling the man from his thoughts. Eddie was quick to look up from the ground with a shy smile.

“Uh…hey.” Eddie muttered

“Is it Ravi? If it is tell him he can’t come in until he calls May back!” You yelled from somewhere in the house causing Buck to laugh and Eddie to look confused.

“Ravi is ghosting May. Anyway come in.” Buck said stepping back and holding the door open. Eddie was quick to walk inside pulling his jacket off.

“Oh! Hi Eddie, I didn’t know you were coming over tonight. Buck’s making lasagna if you want some.” You offered entering the room. Eddie looked over at you and immediately felt the need to look away. You weren’t wearing anything revealing and honestly Eddie has seen you in similar outfits over the years but something about how effortlessly comfortable you looked made you seem incredibly attractive. It was just an old cropped sweater and a pair of cotton shorts. But god did you look magnificent.

Ok in Eddie’s defense over the last three weeks it is possible that the only reason he noticed something was off…Was because he was finally allowing himself to look. And now that he’s looked once, he couldn’t bring himself to stop.

Looking away from you turned out to be a mistake when his eyes landed on Buck. It was a known fact that Buck looked incredible in his uniform, but out of it? Not naked but dressed in casual clothes. Buck in a cardigan was a sight Eddie needed no craved for it to be tattooed inside his eyelids. That way he could see it all the time and never have to miss the sight for too long.

Buck was currently wearing a plain black t-shirt, the sleeves were just a little tighter than they needed to be and he wore grey sweatpants. And Eddie? Eddie felt like he was in hell. Two people should never be allowed to exist in the same space and be this criminally attractive. Honestly Eddie was starting to lose his mind.

“Uh, sure. I’ll uh, yeah lasagna sounds great.” Eddie agreed hoping neither of them would notice the blush on his cheeks as he kicked off his shoes. Purposefully taking the extra second to line them up with Buck’s. You and Buck shared a look before your focus went back to Eddie.

“Everything okay?” Buck asked softly, resting a hand on Eddie’s shoulder once he stood up. You and Buck watched in shock as his entire body seemed to tense. Buck glanced at you from over Eddie’s shoulder as if silently asking for help.

You slowly moved to stand next to Buck, your hand reaching for Eddie’s to offer him comfort. A move you’d done over a thousand times in your friendship. Only instead of relaxing like he usually did, Eddie took an awkward step back to he was out of reach from both of you.

His eyes frantically moving back and forth from both of your faces.

“Eddie? Seriously you’re starting to freak me out. What’s wrong?” You hesitantly spoke while Buck put his arm around you as a source of comfort.

“Juice.” Eddie said suddenly

“What?” You and Buck asked in unison before rushing to follow Eddie as he made frantic steps towards your kitchen.

“I need juice.” Eddie muttered to himself. Reaching into the cabinet for a glass before opening the fridge. He momentarily debated between the freshly squeezed orange juice with mango or the pitcher or water. Then he sighed grabbing the juice and pouring a glass.

“Is this like a low blood sugar kind of thing? Is that something that happens to you now? Should we be watching for signs?-“ Buck began to ramble but stopped when you put your hand on his chest. He looked down at you but you were just staring at Eddie.

The Diaz man was leaning against the counter holding the glass of juice with two hands. Cradling it like it was more important than just a glass, but he also glared at it like it had personally offended him.

“Eddie?” You tried softly and he slowly looked up at you. His eyes glazed over with tears.

“You wanna talk about it?” You offered and he nodded setting the cup to the side before bringing both his hands to his hair.

“Are you guys like…are you okay?” Eddie started gesturing between you and Buck. Your eyebrows raised in shock at the question.

“Um not that I don’t appreciate it. But surely our relationship can’t have you this upset…” Buck muttered and Eddie just looked at him silently begging him to answer the question.

“We’re fine Eddie. Just as happy and in love as ever. Can we talk about you now?” You countered.

“I just I feel weird, and i have felt this way for weeks. I thought maybe it was me picking up on a shift with you guys but I think it’s just me. Something just suddenly feels off. And I…I don’t know.” Eddie grimaced at his weak explanation. His left hand rubbing circles on his chest while the other was clenched in a fist at his side.

“Weeks like since the auction or before?” You wondered out loud. Eddie hesitantly made eye contact with you.

“The auction.”

The let out a soft hum thinking it over. Then you had an idea.

“Is it because I spent 6,000 dollars on a date with you? Because I told you we don’t actually have to go on a date-“ Your joking tone was cut off by Eddie.

“What if I want that?” He asked so suddenly that the question seemed to suck every once of calm from the room.

“What?” Buck forced out. A small sliver of hope swimming in his blue eyes. Eddie looked between the two of you with a look of fear and for a second you wondered if maybe he misinterpreted Buck’s panic for anger. But this is Eddie, the only person in the world that knew Buck as well as you did if not better than you did.

“Wh-what if I do want to go on a date…” Eddie started to say but paused. He let out a shaky breath and squeezed his eyes shut. You could practically hear your heart trying to beat out of your chest while you looked at him. It was rare that you ever got Buck or Eddie to talk about their feelings without days of not weeks of back and forth. It was even rarer for either of you to get Eddie to actually admit when he wanted something so for him to come to you and talk without prompt. Well you were willing to stand in this kitchen for as long as it takes for him to speak. You felt Buck’s hand slip into yours as you both stood trying your hardest not to push Eddie any further than he was already willing to bend.

“What if I wanted to go on a date but with both of you.” Eddie finally whispered. His voice quieter than you’d ever heard it before, as if he didn’t want you to hear him. His eyes still shut tight both his hands now clenched at his sides.

“Yes.” Buck spoke before you could even fully process Eddie’s words. Eddie’s eyes immediately snapped open as both of you looked over at Buck in shock.

However Buck seemed rather pleased with himself, now leaning against the counter with both his arms crossed over his chest.

“What?” Eddie asked looking between you and Buck. You could tell he wanted you to say something so you did.

“Honestly and don’t take this the wrong way. But it’s kind of all we’ve been able to talk about for the last three weeks.” You admitted causing Buck to gasp

“You weren’t supposed to tell him! Now he probably thinks we’re obsessed with him or something!” Buck exclaimed so you immediately turned to face him.

“Oh please if anyone is obsessed it’s you! I’m just moderately fond of him.” You countered

“Moderately fond?! You spent three hours talking about his arms last night!” Buck pointed out which wasn’t necessarily a lie. You did to that.

“Only because you brought them up! What was I supposed to do? Not talk about them? Yeah, right!” You yelled to your defense because he did. Buck brought up how Eddie had lifted a heavy wardrobe off of a woman completely unassisted on a call.

“Oh so now it’s a crime to think Eddie is hot? Well call the police-“

“I’m still here!” Eddie called out cutting off whatever insane thing was about to come out of Buck’s mouth. The two of you sheepishly turned back to look at Eddie who was staring at you both with wide eyes.

The three of you stood in silence. Buck still held his arms up as if he was surrendering for an arrest. The two of you looking at Eddie while he looked at you.

“Um…” You started to say but stopped when you realized you didn’t actually know what to say.

Then after 30 seconds of complete silence all three of you burst out in uncontrollable laughter.

“Oh shit the lasagna!” Buck gasped rushing towards the oven. You and Eddie watched as he quickly pulled it out.

“Sooo you guys talk about me a lot?” Eddie smirked and you rolled your eyes grabbing his glass of the counter and shoving it against his chest.

“Just drink your juice, Diaz.” You muttered rolling your eyes.

Yay! Another fic complete, I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Feel free to check out my other fics if you’re interested. Or if you want to see what I have on the way: click here!

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"Are you sure you can’t stay the night?" Steve asked, somehow making his eyes wider and puppier. He tugged your hand to his lips and pressed kisses across your knuckles. "I’m serious, you say you can and I’ll turn this car right back around."

You laughed, letting your thumb brush across his lips as he turned your hand over to kiss the palm as well. "You know I would if I could. I have a job interview tomorrow and I promised to meet Eddie this evening for some school and campaign talk." You paused and glanced over at where your house’s lights were on. "See, looks like he’s already here. I gotta go, you dork."

Steve’s jaw dropped in fake offense at that last comment, before letting out a sigh of defeat. He pressed another kiss to the back of your hand before releasing it, then leaned over to kiss your forehead too. "Fine. Want me to walk you up?" 

You rolled your eyes again, but grinned as you returned the forehead kiss. "The walk up is two steps, Steve. I’ll be okay."

Steve let out another pouty grumble. He moved to put the car in park anyway and got out of the driver’s side, tossing a wink at you over his shoulder as he went. He walked over to your side of the car and popped the door open, holding it as you grabbed your things and stepped out. 

You remembered you were wearing his jacket and moved to take it off. "Oh, here’s this back."

Steve immediately waved his hand at you. "Keep it." He paused as you leaned in to kiss him properly goodnight and met you halfway. When you parted, he murmured sweetly as your noses bumped together, "Have a good night, hm? Promise?"

You snorted and gave him one last peck for the road. "Promise. G’night, handsome."

"Night," he said after you as you made your way to the front door of your place. He stayed where he was, watching, until you unlocked the door, stepped inside with a wave, and shut the door behind you. Peeking through the window, you saw him offer a final wave back before finally strolling back to his side of the car and getting back in to drive into the night.

Inside, you were greeted with low, warm lighting and soft noises coming from the kitchen. You would have maybe been a little concerned, if it weren’t for Eddie’s bag, that he rarely used, and jacket-vest combo tossed on a nearby chair, and his shoes propped sloppily by your door. Thus you took your time putting away your—well, Steve’s—coat and boots, and grabbing your clunky cell phone and a notebook from your own bag. Then you padded to the kitchen, socks muffling the sound of your feet on hard wood and tile flooring.

A familiar mixtape was playing metal at a low volume from the boombox sitting on your dining room table nearby; Eddie must have gone into your bedroom and snagged the electronic from its usual place on your desk. Spread out across the table was a mess of papers a couple of unopened textbooks, what was probably a vague attempt at studying turned into full-on Dungeons & Dragons brainstorming. Across from the island that separated your dining area from the kitchen itself, Eddie was bent over your stove with his back toward you as he messed with something in a pan. Whatever it was, was causing black smoke to plume around him.

"Jesus. Get off the pan then, ya bastard." He coughed a bit a fanned a hand in front of him, seemingly unaware of your presence. 

You grinned and creeped your way over to him. After carefully placing your things on the table, you even added overdramatic creeping T-Rex hands for your own amusement. When you were close enough, Eddie none the wiser, you snuck your arms around his waist and nuzzled your face into his neck.

Well, you thought Eddie had been none the wiser, but he certainly didn’t jump entirely out of his skin like he normally did when he was spooked. Sure, you got a little bit of a bounce, but he quickly adjusted and leaned back into you, keeping busy working at a very burnt grilled cheese with one of your spatulas. 

You pouted a bit at the lack of response before shrugging it off and running a hand through his curly mane. "Hey there, pretty boy. How’s it goin’? Honestly expected more of a reaction."

Eddie finally freed the grilled cheese from its hellish prison and moved it over to the nearby plate where three others were resting, each one a little worse looking than the last. Then he pointed the spatula he holding to the nearby window, where you could see yourselves reflected. Eddie’s eyes caught yours briefly in the reflection before dancing away, his cheeks red. He never quite knew how to handle a compliment, you noticed.

"Damn," you mumbled against his shoulder, "here I was, thinking I was sneaky."

Eddie, moving as little as possible to keep himself in your arms, flicked the stove off and nudged the pan and spatula to a different burner. Then he leaned further back against you, letting his hands tap beats in tune with the music playing against your exposed arms. "Hope you didn't eat yet because I have the world’s shittiest grilled cheeses waiting for you."

You snickered and gave his waist a squeeze before releasing him, much to his visible disappointment. You reached around him to snag the plate of grilled cheeses before pulling away completely and walking toward the dining table. Picking up the second most burned sandwich and tearing a bite off one corner with your teeth, you mumbled, "You know I’m a burnt food lover. This is perfectly made cuisine to me."

You pulled out the nearest chair with a foot and plopped down into it. Eddie followed shortly after with a couple of steaming, chocolate-scented mugs. 

"Ooh, hot chocolate," you purred, pulling out Eddie’s seat next you for him. "How sweet."

Eddie set the mugs down before sitting and throwing out his arms in a flourish. "Dinner of champions. So, how was Stevie-boy?"

"Pouty," you replied, "but he’s alone in that giant house again and getting a little attention-starved, I think. I mean, I get it. Also, no, told Steve I was hanging with you tonight and had to come hungry."

Eddie nodded. He took two of the grilled cheeses, the worst and second-best, for himself before passing the nicest looking one over to you. So attentive. The sweet domesticity of it all was almost enough to make your teeth ache.

Eddie put on a vaguely European accent as he lamented, "Ah, the rich and their gluttony for much land. Other than that?"

You hummed in agreement as you took another bite of your sandwich. "Can't imagine the why of it. Things were good, though. It was nice!" 

"What’d ya do?"

"Well, I helped him format a better resume. He asked if he could let Robin use it, too, and of course, I said sure. Neither of them are really into the movie store scene. Anyway, we also ended up going to a movie. Shit, what was the name…? It had Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson…"

Eddie was as good a listener as he was a talker when he really wanted to be, nodding along while commenting and questioning about your day. He didn’t have too many opportunities for it, being the talky leader of a pack of not super talky younger folks and the only other people involved with him being his quiet uncle, teachers who were none too fond of him, and, well, you. You, talker supreme. You, who matched his energy to a T most of the time and were happy to pick up the reigns whenever he decided to let them loose. He let the reigns go to you quite a lot, especially these days.

You didn’t mind. 

"So," you said when you were done rambling, and gave Eddie’s foot a tap with your own, "what about you? This… does not look like studying to me, Mr. Munson."

Those couple of sentences, and maybe the casual footsie, sent an array of emotions flickering across his face. First, his cheeks turned pink and both his gaze and foot darted away from your attention, quickly followed by a scowl at himself as he tried to play it off cool with a rebuttal nudge to your shin. Then he blushed for a different reason—you had set up study hangouts for the purpose of helping him finish school, which he was continuously neglecting in favor of the hanging out part—before his face finally twisted up into a look of clear and visible disgust at being called "Mr. Munson." That last one made you laugh.

"This whole thing is unfair, and also a cruel and unusual punishment," he said, pointing an accusatory finger at you. "How come you're never doing homework?"

You smirked at him. "Because I graduated when we were supposed to."

Eddie’s outstretched hand clapped back to lay over his heart as he gasped at you. Then, in another accented, incredibly offended tone, he said, "Cruel. Very cruel."

You snorted before, deciding to play along, whipping up a character voice of your own. Putting your sandwich aside and leaning over, you slowly walked your fingers up Eddie’s arm nearest to you. "And, now, see, since you’ve defied me and the rules of the game… you owe me not only the two assignments from the previous study sessions where studying didn't happen, plus all of your catch-up work. So—" You paused, moving your hand to catch his jaw in your hand. "—what are we going to do about that, hm?"

You had Eddie squirming in his seat with the walking fingers shenanigan, but the grip on his jaw turned him rigid and beet-red. After a moment of silence and big, pretty awestruck doe eyes staring back at you, he tried to play off his flustered state again, give some kind of quip back. He practically choked on his tongue instead. 

You took a moment of your own to admire your handiwork. Then you gave his jaw a tender squeeze and he released him to turn back to your food. As you tore a piece off your sandwich and dipped it into your hot cocoa, you heard Eddie wheeze next to you, "Fucking Christ… You're going to kill me."

"Well, if I do, I’d prefer you to be out of high school when I do it." You tossed a cheeky grin over your shoulder at him before popping the chocolatey piece of sandwich in your mouth. You waved your hand over to your notebook and continued once your mouth was free to talk again. "So, here’s what I’m thinkin’. Those two assignments and a chip into the makeup work. That’s it. Tonight, or you don’t get to see my new D&D sketches."

Eddie scoffed and slumped over onto the table with a clattering thud. Initial embarrassment faded, he wailed, "But that’s so much work!"

You gave him a sympathetic pat on the back but continued on anyway. "Ed, it’s honestly a miracle they keep letting you back in the first place, let alone even giving you makeup work. Makeup work is a big win! And you don’t even have to do it well, you just have to do it. You got this."

Eddie huffed and turned his face toward you. It took some fighting with his hair to get it out of his face, but then he turned to you with a defeated pout. You rolled your eyes. Apparently Hawkins was home ground for pouty boys.

Then the pout turned into something more sincere, visible insecurity, and you found your edges softening. "You really think I got it?"

You reached over to brush his hair back with a hand, a touch that made his eyes flutter as he gratefully leaned into it. "Absolutely you got it."

Eddie sighed, but at least the sound didn't come off defeated this time. Maybe a bit harrowed. Brooding worked for Eddie, though, as little as you saw him act that way. He let the mood sit and settle before sitting back up and pushing his hair back, once again in a dramatic nature. Dropping his head to the side and looking at you, a bit more determined this time, he said, "Fine. Let’s do it, baby."

You threw up a devil horns symbol in celebration as you grinned at him; a smile of his own slowly formed in response. "Woop! Let’s do it, baby!"

~~~~~

After dinner and cleanup, the two of you moved to your living room to properly spread out and work, the kitchen left designated for D&D talk later. A few different textbooks were cracked open and set up in a haphazard semicircle on your living room floor, Eddie stretched out on the carpet in front of them. Also surrounding him were an array of barely used notebooks, uncrumpled pieces of loose paper—both notes and homework printouts—some much more well-kept folders and notecards courtesy of you, and various writing utensils. Currently, Eddie was lying on his back, one foot using his history textbook as a footrest, and tossing your empty notecard holder into the air with one hand to catch it with the other. He was waiting for you while you sat on the couch chewing on the end of a red pen as you graded his work. 

"Shit, Eddie," you mumbled with a growing smile as you nudged the paper to the side, "I knew you could do this shit." 

Eddie, mid-toss, shot up into a sitting position. The little holder he was throwing came down at the same time, colliding with his forehead and getting flung across the room. You both stared after it, dumbfounded, before Eddie turned to you with eyebrows raised up into his forehead. The movement made him wince and reach up to poke at the reddening spot on his skin. "Seriously?"

You grinned and handed the paper over to him, which he looked over with increasing curiosity. "Seriously! It’s not perfect, obviously, but definitely not an F! Not even a D! I mean, one of your biggest hobbies includes insane amounts of math and writing, it’s really not a surprise. You just needed to find a way to make it stick. And… probably not be in a classroom where people are assholes all the time."

"Well," Eddie murmured, running a hand through his rumpled hair, "it, uh, helps having a good-looking teacher that does their job, too."

You chuckled, watching the way his gaze danced away from yours as you tried to meet his eyes. You would never get tired of flustered Eddie. 

"Maybe so," you agreed. You capped your pen and slipped to the floor, picking up another of Eddie’s assignments and a notecard with a fantastical map sketched out on it. Looking over both, you hummed in approval and slid the card over to Eddie. "It helps having the time and space to do things your way, too."

Eddie ran his fingers across the card, over the detailed sketch you did in just a few minutes with red and black pen. You had basically built a campaign around his schoolwork. It actually seemed to be working. 

"I don’t know, sometimes I just think it’s you."

It was your turn to blush this evening, but you waved the compliment aside. You weren’t going to let Eddie take his work for granted. "Sweet. Very, very sweet. But everything on these pages is that big, beautiful brain of yours at work, Ed. It just needed a little extra time and a push."

A sound rumbled in Eddie’s chest, a strange mix between a sigh and a groan. He still wasn’t sure about that fact, and you knew it, but he had no chance winning such an argument with you. So he flicked the notecard with a little smile and leaned back on his hands. "Well, how far did we make it? Make up for my indiscretions yet?"

You hummed again, this time thoughtfully and to the tune of the boombox now sitting on the coffee table nearby. You gathered up the assignments scattered around the floor and flicked through them, going through your mental checklist. "It looks like… two assignments that are currently due—check, and O’Donnell can suck it both times—and, damn, at least one makeup assignment for each class. Not bad! If we can knock out some those heavier extra credit ones over the weekend, you might be sitting pretty by Monday, Eds."

Eddie groaned and flopped over. You went to correct yourself, thinking he misunderstood, but stopped when he then threw two fists into the air. A few triumphant air punches followed, then a full-body shake as he half-whooped, half-yelled in celebration, before collapsing completely onto the floor once more. 

You watched him and laughed. When he was done with his fit of excitement, you leaned over and clapped a congratulatory hand on his shin. "Nice job, m’love. Told you that you could do it."

Eddie released another grumbly sound. "We did it."

You rolled your eyes and but smiled at the sentiment regardless. Sitting back up proper and starting organize the mess around you, you said, "Yeah, we did it."

There was a comfortable lull in the conversation, the only sounds being the rustling of the papers and the boombox switching over to the next song. Eddie, tapping a toe to the beat of the music, basked in the afterglow of finally doing something academically right while you chipped away at cleaning up. His finished assignments that needed to be turned in went into a highlighter yellow folder that the two of you had agreed upon as something that would be hard to lose and too ugly to forget about. The rest of the notes and chaos got a little less care, being organized into general piles by subject and moved over to their respective textbooks for later use or better pickup in the future, depending on what Eddie decided to do. You had a feeling he would pick the latter, having done his fair share of work for the day.

After a while, Eddie’s voice sounded, loud in the otherwise quiet of your home. "I like we."

You snickered and leaned back against the couch, happy with your cleanup for the time being. "I like we too."

Eddie didn't respond right away but you could see his restlessness kick up in the quicker bouncing of his leg and the way he started fiddling with his rings. You watched him with a quirked brow, curious but wanting to give him his moment. 

He piped up again after a bit. "Can I ask you kind of a weird question?"

You nodded even though the way he was laying wouldn’t allow him to see it; it obstructed you from seeing his face as well. "Of course. You can ask me anything, Eddie."

"Why…?" Eddie started, then faltered with a thoughtful hm. He swapped his rings to different fingers before trying again. "So, you don’t owe me anything. Obviously. Just putting it out there. That’s not what this is about. I don’t feel, like, entitled to you or anything like that. I’m just… confused, I guess? Wondering. Seriously. It’s just pure interest. Anyway. You date Steve, and that’s cool. And then you’ve got that girl in… New… York? Jersey? Right?"

You answered slowly. "Yeah. Sure. Why?"

"So—" Eddie cut himself off again, this time to clear his throat. Both legs were jiggling anxiously now, and he had played musical chairs with his rings enough times to make you forget which one was originally on which finger. He apparently got bored of that finally, too, because he switched to tugging on the fraying hem of his long-sleeved band tee. Then he moved to pushing up his sleeves.

Finally, he took a quick, deep breath, and on the exhale, blurted out, "So why not me?"

You blinked at him. "Why not you? Why not you what?"

You watched Eddie raise his arms from his position lying on the floor and wave them around as if it would help conduct the flow of his words. "Like, what’s so different between me and, say, Steve? Or anyone you date? I mean, besides the obvious. Now, again, it’s fine that you don’t pick me. I get it. We’re best friends, that’s weird, whatever, it’s cool. I’m just wondering what… flicks that switch, I guess. Why not me, y’know?"

Eddie sat up suddenly and got to witness the incredulousness blooming across your face, brows furrowed in confused fascination and a little smile playing on your lips. Aside from a slight raise of his own eyebrow, he didn’t comment on it, and instead waved an anxious hand you. "You get what I mean, right?"

"No, Eddie," you said, your smile still slowly growing, "I actually, really, don’t think I do."

Eddie huffed out a breath, getting more flustered the more he rambled on. "Why don’t you pick me?"

"Eddie, I did pick you."

Eddie’s hair fluffed out around him as he shook his head and waved his hands in a you're not getting it manner. "No, no, I don’t mean like— I mean—"

You were fully grinning now. "Eddie, we’ve been on like three dates now."

That statement stopped Eddie in his tracks, quite literally freezing him in place with his hands still mid-wave; it was a full freeze frame in real life. He blinked, bug-eyed, as he looked at you, and it took several tries of opening and closing his mouth before words came out again. "What’s that now?"

You threw your head back in a laugh, the action so fast it caused your head to smack against the couch with a sharp thud. You choked out a gasp and grabbed at your head, but the giggles continued as you then crumpled to the floor. It was a long, loud, deep laughing fit that left you curled up on the carpet, your lungs begging for breath and your stomach muscles burning by the end of it. As the snickers eventually died down, you rolled over onto your back, breathless and wiping tears from your eyes, to see that Eddie had crawled over and was now looking down at you. His eyes were still wide and doe-like, and he was pink from neck to ear tips.

One last giggle escaped you as you reached up to brush his curtain of hair back. You slowly made your way back into a sitting position and Eddie followed your lead, moving back from leaning over you to sit back on his heels. His hands rested awkwardly, restlessly in his lap, back to fiddling with his rings.

"Eddie," you finally breathed, "I asked you out on a date."

Eddie just blinked at you and said in an embarrassingly strained voice, "When?"

Your grin was killing your jaw. Even if you wanted it to, it wasn’t disappearing any time soon. "Last month? I asked you out to dinner at that cute new diner."

Eddie blinked again. His brain was short circuiting. 

You went on, equally disbelieving of the situation, "I picked you up? Paid for everything? I told you to dress up nice. Eddie goddamned Munson, I know you knew that I was stressed out the entire time. I bought flowers for the table. There was a candle."

"Wh… when was the second one?" Eddie wheezed out. He had fallen almost entirely still. 

"Well, I thought it was when you returned the favor when you took me to the arcade," you admitted. You scratched your cheek as Eddie’s blush became contagious. "You picked me up—"

"I always do that."

"You paid for everything—"

"I was returning the favor!"

You barked another laugh. "You kept trying to win my favorite prize for me! You called it a date! Like twice!"

The blinks of pure shock kept coming. At least you could finally see the gears behind his eyes start turning again as he raised a hand and dragged it through his mane. 

Mostly under his breath, he muttered, "Oh my god…"

"And— And then I took you to the record store— Your birthday— I bought you— Eddie. Eddie, I made you a mixtape."

He waved a hand weakly at you. "I’ve… done that for you?"

"It consisted of love songs of the rock variety." Your entire being was a mix of embarrassment-induced pain and general elation from being able to witness Eddie’s realization firsthand. You leaned forward and grabbed Eddie’s face in your hands, forcing his dancy-glance to look at you. "Eddie. I call you my love and tell you I love you all the time. You get baby and pretty eyes and pretty boy and puppyface— Do you think I’m going around calling everybody that? Steve could tell you we’re dating. We’ve cuddled damn near naked more than a couple times, and have definitely showered together at least once. Quick question, Ed, are those things you're doing with just your friends? Does Gareth come around hugging you from behind and digging their hands under your shirt to play with the happy trail you got hidden down there? Just curious."

"Oh my god," Eddie repeated, the puzzle pieces finished clicking into place. You watched, between too much blinking, as the realization—quickly followed by excitement—caused his eyes to light up. He was still blushing and his chest rose and fell like he was out of breath, but a borderline childish grin was crawling its way onto his face. There was suddenly far too much energy wound up in his body again, causing him to shift restlessly in his seated position as he finally reached out to touch you. It was to grasp at your arms, gentle despite everything, as he leaned his face into your cheek and laughed out, "Holy shit, I am… so fuckin’ stupid."

You laughed with him as you relaxed into him, letting your face nuzzle against his. Your hands dropped from his face to drape around his shoulders. As much as you could with Eddie still clinging to them anyway. "Not sure about that but apparently I haven’t been very good with my communication skills. Although… not sure what else I can do outside of asking you to go on a date with me… which I did in fact already do."

Eddie nodded against your face, his flushed skin warm against yours. He used one hand to poke a finger against the side of his head. "No, I am actually a dumbass. Seriously, there might be something wrong with my brain."

You shushed him, Eddie gulping so big you actually heard it, with a light smooch to his temple. "Quiet. I like your brain."

Eddie did quiet, opting to just sit and absorb your attention instead. Eddie had never necessarily shied away from you—he would lean into most of your affections, and even if your handsiness made him flustered, he would play into it; he would even try to fluster you back sometimes, if he was feeling bold—but you noticed the shift in this moment immediately. It was like a total and complete surrender, his lean body curling into and around yours, without a lick of tension, as your fingers dragged through his hair. Keeping your lips pressed into his skin, you suddenly realized you had been silly before. This, this is what it was supposed to feel like.

"So…" Eddie’s voice pulled you out of your thoughts, and he slowly pulled himself back from you. His trailed down your arms to catch your hands in a much shyer action than you were used to when it came to holding hands with him. It was a very strange conflict between that and the half-lidded, mischievous look in his eye as he unabashedly eyed your lips.

You felt your cheeks burn and you looked away. "Here we go again…"

Eddie’s dimpled grin reappeared. You could hear it in his voice, see it shining in your peripherals. "So. We hold hands and cuddle, stuff like that. I guess we’ve been out on a few dates. We really are kinda couple-y, huh?"

"Mhm," you hummed. "So?"

"So—" Eddie suddenly leaned in close enough to let his nose bump against your cheek. "—why haven’t ya kissed me?"

You scoffed. The flush pulled its way up to your ears. "Did I not just kiss you?"

"You know what I mean," Eddie lilted.

Still not looking at him, you quipped back, "Well, why haven’t you kissed me?"

Eddie’s lips moved against your jaw as he grumbled in playful frustration, "Because I just found out we’re dating."

You snorted and pulled farther back from him. Chancing a look his way, it must’ve been your turn to look all soft and flustered, because you watched in real time as Eddie’s brain fogged over momentarily. Pupils blown wide and exhaling all the air in his lungs, Eddie’s lips parted in a silent, wordless Whoa as he stared back. All there was to him, in that moment, was you.

The initial blushing was now gone, replaced by a full-body tingling heat of… embarrassment? Shyness? You weren’t sure. Eddie shooting longing glances or looking at you in a way that you thought was lovingly—perhaps a misunderstanding on your end, at least at the time—was nothing new. The pure, unfaltering look of adoration and infatuation that he gave you now, however, blew any other previous look out of the water. It was like basking in the heat of the sun. Staring directly into it. You had to look away, chewing on your lip.

"Dunno," you said after a bit. You shrugged and slipped one of your hands from his to pull at the suddenly too-tight collar of your shirt. "Thought of kissing you… Kind of intimidating, I guess."

"Me? Me. I’m intimidating." Eddie’s voice was dumbfounded.

You looked at him again from under your lashes as he slumped against the nearby couch, his expression matching his voice as he continued staring back. You smiled a bit and nodded, and his eyes nearly popped out of his head in reaction.

"Not every day you realize you’ve fallen in love with your best friend and kinda wanna kiss ‘em on the mouth. Dunno, it’s just…" You trailed off, waving a hand at his general presence. "I mean, it’s you. It’s… different."

Eddie didn't seem to be taking in any air at this point. Just wheezing out breathless huffs. 

Being polyamorous was an interesting thing. Every crush and relationship was a little bit different. With Steve, it was easy. The most natural thing in the world. You had pined after him in high school—because who didn't at one point or another—but only ever really met and became friends after the summer of bouncing around part-time jobs in the mall. He, surprisingly, remembered you from school, and the two of you lamented over having a poor time keeping a job and not being able to get deal with college. Your crush rekindled, he apparently picked one up. He asked you out on single date and was wildly surprised when you asked him out for a second, and a third, and a fourth. It was about a month in when he realized you were serious about him and, more importantly, realized that he was just as serious about you. The rest was history.

Your girlfriend, Jackie, was a little bit trickier. Directly out of high school, you had tried the college route and ended up in Iowa—not New York or New Jersey, but you weren’t going to give Eddie flack for that. You went for half of a semester, had a breakdown, dropped out, and moved back to Hawkins. During this time, though, you met a girl named Jackie, who, despite all this, thought you were cute and wanted to keep in touch. She asked you out mid-panic attack one day, which was so surprising that it actually snapped you out of said attack. A couple weeks and two dates later, you told her that you were moving back home, and the two of you agreed to try out a long-distance thing. Your relationship with Jackie was considerably more low-key and casual, but it was filled with love letters and postcards and gifts and holiday visits. Perfect in its own way.

Eddie was your friend from childhood turned best friend during high school. You had stuck it out and helped him through scraped knees and black eyes and bad parenting until he was eventually turned over to his uncle Wayne’s care in eighth grade. Eddie supported and encouraged you through all your self-exploration, bad ideas, and advancing your art skills when you were at the point of believing they weren’t worth anything. You defended Eddie’s love for Dungeons & Dragons and blossoming metalhead nature with tooth and nail, and Eddie—darling Eddie, "would never hurt a fly" Eddie—went to war with the entire Hawkins sports culture when rumors of slut and whore and fag started spreading around about you in high school, headed by cheer and wrestling captains alike. 

There had never been a time where you didn’t love Eddie Munson, and you would continue to love him regardless of whether it was in a platonic or romantic fashion. You were simply each other’s forever and always. It just had happened as a slow shift over the past year or so that your feelings shifted to be more romantically-inclined, and you got lucky that Eddie was feeling the same way these days. Even if the two of you had been a bit clueless about it thus far.

So there you were, a couple of awkward, blushing kids in your early twenties, sitting on your living room floor. 

"You do wanna kiss me, though?" The question came out in another exhale. He must be breathing.

"I mean… yeah," you mumbled back. It was the first time you were admitting it aloud, you realized. "I’ve think I’ve kinda always wanted to kiss you. To be fair, though, I think everyone who has ever lived wants to kiss you. Don't see how anyone couldn’t."

Eddie snorted a laugh and rolled his eyes, but you could tell he appreciated the compliment. At this point he was playing with a strand of his hair and eyeing you under his own long, pretty lashes. He was looking bashful in a way that new to you and you were honestly surprised that you hadn’t already completely melted under his gaze.

"I think there’s plenty of people would disagree with you there. Don't really care about them anyway, so…" He continued to eye you, then gave you a little nod as the  small smile tugging at his lips pulled a little wider. "Why don’t you then? Kiss me?"

You blinked at him. "… Like now?"

"Yeah."

"Well… why don’t you kiss me?" 

Eddie simply shook his head at you. He pushed the hair that he had been playing with back, showing off his full, cheesy grin, as he shuffled closer to you again. Not nearly close enough— He just pushed away from the couch and kneed his way closer until your legs were barely brushing against his own. 

You felt the need to yank him the rest of the way to you but something stopped you. One part curiosity and two parts that trouble-making hint to Eddie’s smile. So you let the electric tension vibrate between your bodies for a bit longer. "Why not?"

"I don’t want to kiss you," Eddie answered simply. "I want you to do it. Missed your first move once. Don't wanna again."

You huffed a flustered breath and turned to look away, feeling prickly under his gaze. Your jaw, however, was caught by a ringed hand and maneuvered back to keep you in place, eyes on him. 

"It belongs to you, you know," Eddie went on. His voice dropped lower, still playful but also incredibly sincere, as his thumb ever so gently traced a line against your cheek. "Has for a long time."

You raised your eyebrows at him, a bit surprised. "How long?"

Eddie’s restlessness got the better of him again finally, and he shimmied forward. His knees and thighs slotted perfectly into place between yours, and he leaned forward. The movement was a little too excited, causing your noses to knock together in a way that shot a dull pang of pain through you, but it barely registered as Eddie’s hot, chocolate-tinted breath landed on your lips. "Forever, I think. So take it from me. Whatever you what. It all belongs to you."

The sound you made was, simply put, inhuman. You pushed the rest of the way forward and captured Eddie’s lips with your own. 

The first touch of contact was an electric pulse. The first chord of a guitar playing into the silence before the rest of song kicks in. It was slow motion, a moment quivering alone in time and space. Then your lips started to move and the dam cracked, shattered, collapsed completely.

Steve’s kisses were usually calm and sweet, sometimes a bit silly and awkward. Jackie's were excited welcome-homes, lipstick marks on postcards, and blowing kisses and you boarded busses and cars. Eddie’s was that of a man starved and waiting for who knows how long.

Not that you were any better. Maybe you should have been a little embarrassed about how hard you threw yourself at him but… oh, well. It was like a shaken champagne bottle finally bursting open, overflowing with light, excited bubbles. Liquid emotions—joy, excitement, want, adoration, love, things you weren’t even sure how to name yet—frothing and mixing together.

If Eddie was bothered by it—hard to believe; you didn’t think there was anything you could do to anger him at this point in your lives—he didn’t show it. Quite the opposite, actually. 

Eddie moved with you like a surfer following a wave, a singer’s riff dancing with the notes of their bandmates. When you gripped at his face, awkwardly and shaky in your excitement, fingers scratching cheeks and tangling in the strands of hair framing his face, he just laughed against your mouth and caught handfuls of your waist with ringed fingers that caught on your shirt. His giggly exhales travelled down your throat like oxygen while you traded him giddy gasps and pants in return. His lips followed yours, slotting perfectly into place when flustered teeth weren’t getting in the way, and his tongue chased after yours whenever it tried to dance away, creating a playful push and pull as they flirted from his mouth to yours. When one of you finally had to pull away for a breath, the other retreated like a tide pulling back—only to crash back over the other as soon as an inhale was taken. 

For the second time that evening, you felt the fleeting feeling of silliness. How have you been going months thinking you and Eddie were already together when this—whatever this was; power? Passion?—had been missing until now. You couldn’t even remember what things had felt like before. Nothing between you two would ever feel that way again. 

Eddie tugged on you. You followed the pull and the two of you tumbled over in a heap on the carpet, entangled in each other. Eventually, the initial exhilaration lessened into something more comfortable and slow as you and Eddie fell into rhythm in movement and kiss. You basked in each other’s touch, Eddie’s fingers leaving tingly trails down your sides and back—and occasionally, almost hesitantly, over the slope of your backside and thighs. When your fingers weren’t playing in his hair, they were taking languid strolls along his jaw, the length of his neck, the exposed parts of his neck and shoulders thanks to the worn out, ill-fitting fabric of his shirt.

The makeout ended with a kiss that was sweet and lingering. Followed by another, quicker smooch. Followed by one more for good measure, edged with a returning giddiness as the moment to speak again was quickly approaching.

When your eyes finally fluttered back open, Eddie was already staring at you with irises of melted copper and pupils twice their natural size. His expression was that of dreamy surprise, a smile of shifting intensities playing on his lips as he tried to figure out whether what had happened was actually real or if he was just in a really fantastic dream. 

You leaned in and pressed another kiss against his smile, hopefully proving reality to him.

One of Eddie’s hands moved up to gently caress your cheek and jaw. You snagged it with a hand of your own and entangled your fingers with his, which he welcomed with a squeeze. He continued watching you, starstruck, as you pushed a smooch against the back of his hand too.

Then he finally inhaled, held it a moment, and breathed out, "Go out with me?"

You laughed softly against the skin of his hand before nodding. "Mhm. Where?"

"Movie or somethin’?" 

"M‘kay. Sounds fun."

The least tangled of Eddie’s fingers reached up to run along your bottom lip. You caught it in your teeth and gave a gentle bite. 

Eddie chuckled, partially to cover the low sound that rumbled in his chest, one that you certainly didn’t miss. "Love you."

You let your combined hands fall to rest on the carpet and you leaned forward to rest your forehead against his. He was pliant underneath you, completely content to simply let his eyes follow you as you did whatever you pleased with him. Right then, all you wanted to do was lay there and watch him back, noses and foreheads nuzzled together.

"Love you too," you softly replied. Eddie’s eyes crinkled at edges, indicating a grin just out of sight. You smiled back. 

Confrontation was never a strong point for her, the idea of accidentally starting a conflict made her cautious with her words. Nibbling at her lower lip she adds the final dish to the washer before closing it. Turning it on she leans against the counter with folded arms. Many times has this feeling of loneliness crossed her mind. Whenever they were gone it was a constant reminder of the fear she felt. She always found herself holding back the words. But it was as if a dam finally broke and she couldn’t help but let them spill.

Making her way into the living room she wraps her arms around herself. It was a first defense similar to showing a dog that you’re not a threat. Her eyes fall onto the two men she loved with all of her being. They sat together with the television on but it was clear they weren’t entirely focused on it. They spoke in rushed tones as if forgetting the rule of leaving work at work. It wasn’t much but it was enough to ensure they wouldn’t dwell on work-related stuff.

Clearing her throat she realized just how hard it was to speak up. It was an odd feeling as she usually found herself talking without much of an issue. When they turned to look at her the words felt stuck, unable to claw their way out of her throat. “We need to talk,” she finally uttered. The words felt hard and cold when she said them.

John was the first to speak though the way his eyebrows creased seemed to verify his confusion. “About what, sweetheart?”

The gruffness of his voice was enough to make her hold the subject off. To instead crawl into his lap and give him a kiss or two. But she knew that wouldn’t solve anything let alone reassure her.

Simon on the other hand said nothing but his eyes were focused on her. And that was enough, it was always the simple things with him. His attention was always undivided, “well..I’ve been thinking a lot while you were both deployed. I just feel alone, you know? It terrifies me knowing you’re both out there and not knowing if that’s the mission that will end with me living my life without you. I—I’ve spent so many nights worried about how or if you’ll make it back to me. Maybe I’m just thinking too much on this but I can’t help but think that way. It’s like my brain won’t allow me to think positively. Like there’s this sense of impending doom when nothing bad is really happening,” she explained.

It was silent for a moment that is until Simon scoffed, the sound seemed to echo in her mind. “And you think it’s any easier on our end having to leave you here? It’s not a friendly thought knowing we’re miles away while you’re here by yourself,” his tone was defensive. It was as if he assumed her words were to evoke a change or start an argument.

“I’m not denying that Simon, I just get so worried that-”

“We understand that you get worried sweetheart, but we can’t change our profession. We spend just as many nights worrying about whether we’ll make it back or not. We have to live through that not you,” John spoke up.

Whether he meant to or not his words seemed to cut her deeper. It was as if her attempt at getting through to them was blocked off by their defense. “I know I don’t have to live through that, but it still worries me when you leave this house. I feel so helpless for lack of a better word when I know you’re miles away and I can’t help.”

Simon shook his head, “how would you even help? You can’t help, you can barely help yourself.”

His words were sharp like that of a knife willingly piercing her heart. Maybe that’s why it hurts more hearing words like that from someone you love.

“I’m not trying to argue with either of you, I wanted to get my point across,” she said simply.

“Then why even bring this up, you always dance around what you’re feeling. We’re not mind readers, there is only so much we can do when you won’t even say what you feel. It’s exhausting,” The words left John's mouth without much of a thought.

Opening her mouth she closes it, her eyes flashing with hurt from their words. “I know you’re both probably just tired from your mission and that’s why you’re acting like this. Just forget I said anything,” she tells them.

She had walked away quicker than she meant to not wanting to say another word to them. She knew deep down if she had she would have started crying.

Placing her hands on her chest she holds back the tears that are brimming in her eyes. She holds off until she makes it into their guest room upstairs. The second she closes the door she lets out a low sob. Sitting down on the bed she wraps her arms back around herself. It was a horrible feeling as if she’d been yelled at. Having people you love downplay your emotions when you finally speak upon them.

Lying down on the bed she curls up her arms still wrapped around her. It was as if she was protecting herself from what was already done. Sobs racking her body as she found no use in calming down.

It wasn’t until they made their way upstairs later into the night that they realized. Simon assumed she would be in bed, their bed. Yet the absence of her presence in the room was like a punch to the gut. His eyes found John’s in the darkness as they stood in the space.

They didn’t have to think before they made their way towards the guest room. The door ajar allowing John to slowly push it open. There she was in the middle of the guest bed curled up. She looked smaller than she should have as if closing in on herself.

John to a step forward which turned into a few then a few more before he was sitting on the bed beside her. His hand cupping her cheek, wet with tears, “Sweetheart..” The utterances of the pet name seemed to work as her eyes opened slowly. Groggy from crying so much as well as sleep she stared at him. It was easy to tell that was what she was doing in the darkness. The tears not yet split made that easy to notice.

With crossed arms, Simon makes his way over to him, “We shouldn’t have—I should have said those things to you.”

She seemed to perk up, it was a first for Simon to say something like that. Not that she expected him to do so often but it was refreshing. “It’s fi-“

“It’s not fine, the things we said to you were uncalled for. You didn’t deserve any of that especially when all you wanted to do was express your feelings. We took our frustration from the mission out on you,” John told her. His thumb caressed her cheek a touch she leaned into without hesitation.

“You do so much for us even when you don’t think you do. Most don’t expect to be greeted at home with a smile and a warm meal. You do everything you can to make sure we’re okay. It’s time we do the same,” Simon says.

Sitting up a bit she looks between the two men with a puzzled look. She didn’t catch on until she had John’s lips on her own. The smell of tobacco and pinewood was strong as she wrapped her arms around his neck. It was comforting yet sensual as she felt Ghost behind her. His lips feverishly trailing kisses along her neck and shoulders.

Her mind seemed to move slower than her actions which was evident when she found herself naked between them. Her hands rested on John’s chest as he lined himself up with her sopping-wet hole. Eager wouldn’t describe what she was feeling especially when he finally thrusted into her. He was always attentive and careful at first, “how’s that feel, sweetheart?”

The words didn’t come but a simple nod followed by a moan was enough for him. Resting his hands on her hips he set a slow and steady pace. One that seemed to draw on the moans leaving her body. “Still so tight for me,” he grunted against her warm skin.

The gentle touch along her spine was enough to remind her of Simon’s presence. The way he was looking down at her caused her to squeeze around John’s cock. A swear left the older man’s lips due to the feeling. Keeping her eyes on Simon she spoke up, “want to feel you both..”

It was new territory something she hadn’t done before. But she wanted to be closer to them in a way soft touches wouldn’t do. “Are you sure, lovie?”

She nodded her head right away at Simon’s words as he seemed to be silently communicating with John. Looking between them she waited for an answer as John continued to thrust in and out of her.

“Okay.”

That was all Simon needed to say before she leaned against John. Her arms were around his neck while her fingers curled around the hair at the base of his neck. Simon held her hip as he pumped himself in his hand before lining himself up with her stuffed hole. It was already a tight fit with John’s cock inside. Willing himself forward he groaned when his cock began to slide inside of her pussy.

Digging her nails into John’s back she muffled her noises on his shoulder. “That’s it sweetheart, such a good girl wanting to take both of us.”

John’s words seemed to calm her down as she felt him pull out some to allow Simon room to fit. She wasn’t fully prepared when she felt both of them inside of her. Neither of them moved, letting her adjust to the new feeling. Resting her hand on her stomach she moved it a bit lower feeling the bulge there. The subtle reminder of just how big John was in girth.

“Oh—please move..” her voice was a gasp barely above a whisper. She had never felt so full before, but oh did it feel perfectly right. Moving his hands up to cup her breasts Simon thrusted into her. At the same time, John pulled out before slamming himself back in.

Groaning from the feeling of John’s cock rubbing against his own as her pussy squeezed them tightly left Simon on edge. “Feels so good,” he breathed the words out.

Her mouth opened letting out a flurry of moans as their paces varied. While John was moving steadily, Simon’s pace was almost erratic. “Fuck—just like that,” she begged no one in particular.

Yet her words seemed to set both men off as they moved in tandem. Their pace seeming to match both went faster pistoning their cocks in and out of her. “So good for us lovie, always so good for us.”

The words of affection caused her to whimper before she felt his lips on hers. The kiss was dragged out and slow only fueled by John’s lips on her throat. The light prickles of his beard on her skin were comforting in a way. “You’re so beautiful, sweetheart. Always so caring and sweet for the both of us,” John’s voice vibrated against her soft skin.

She knew she wouldn’t last long from their affectionate words to their unyielding thrusts. Breaking the kiss between herself and Simon she whines, “So close, please.”

“Please what, lovie?”

The teasing tone he took on made her clench around their cocks. The action caused both men to groan as their cocks rubbed against her gummy walls. “Please let me cum, I’ll be good..”

“You’re always good, sweetheart,” John assured.

“Go ahead, lovie.”

She didn’t need to hear more as her eyes screwed shut. Her mind felt fuzzy as the warmth in her lower stomach began to spread. Gripping John’s shoulders she let out a cry as she came around their cocks with a tremble. However, they didn’t stop not yet at least as they were chasing their highs. To her, it felt like minutes but it only took seconds before they reached their own. Gripping her hips firmly John thrusted his hips up before releasing inside of her. Simon wasn’t too far behind as his cum mixed with that of John’s and hers.

Sighing breathlessly she shifted her eyes to the bulge in her stomach she had forgotten about. She could still see the outline of John’s cock against her lower stomach. But it didn’t last long as she felt both men pull out of her. Leaning back on Simon she watched as John left the room. Her eyes were concentrated on his back before they trailed to Simon.

“Lovie I-“

Shaking her head she leans up her lips pressed against his shoulder. “I’m fine, I guess I just worry a lot when you’re both not here. It’s scary to think something can happen on a mission and I wouldn’t know for a while until the mission ends.”

Simon noticed how shaky her voice was as if the thought of them getting hurt lingered in her mind. Placing his hands on her cheeks he leaned forward until his nose was touching hers. “It is scary, I couldn’t imagine having to stay home and wait for us to return. But I can promise you this, with everything in us we will always try our hardest to get back home to you. That’s how much you mean to us,” his words melted into her mind.

Keeping her eyes focused on his own she nodded her head, “I know you guys will. You always do and I’m grateful for that.”

“And we’re grateful for you,” John chimed in as he walked back into the room. He went straight to her using the towel in his hand to clean her up before pressing a kiss to her stomach. “We will always be grateful for you, I couldn’t picture myself loving anyone else besides the two of you.”

It was comforting to hear words like that from the men she loved. “I love you,” she said her words directed to both men. Pulling her close Simon kisses her forehead as he lays behind her. In front of her was John who also delivered a kiss to her forehead. “I love you too, sweetheart. Don’t be afraid to tell us when you’re worried or scared. We promise to think before we speak,” John’s words reassured her.

The same way that Simon’s touch did as his thumb rubbed her hip. “I love you, now get some sleep it’s almost four in the morning.”

That was all it took before she was closing her eyes allowing the feeling of both men beside her to lull her to sleep. She felt safe and protected between them, no longer as fearful as she was before.

That was the day you found Emmett, you can recall the bloodlust with a perfect clarity, until you saw the way Rosalie looked at him. Even in that moment, even knowing the song his blood sang—you were content in waiting back.

Watching as her gentle fingers brushed his curls and whispered comforts as she carried him. Now as you watch them, you smile fondly at the pair—embracing the chaos of their many personalities left you whole in ways you did not understand.

Ways you felt you did not deserve.

"Y/N!" Emmett makes grabby hands in your direction, the way Rose was tucked in his chest already as he lounged across the bed.

You smile, notating the way he seemed to brighten with the gesture. The way his blood once sang, now it was simply him. Rosalie, she was your lover, a mate, and Emmett was your singer. A connection that could hardly be matched, except by a mate. It seemed perfect when you all connected, falling into rhythm like a symphony.

.

.

.

"So Y/N can't talk?" Bella asked Edward, as he explained his family dynamic—one of the elder Cullens, you didn't go to school like the rest despite being similar in age.

"More like doesn't. Y/N wasn't changed by Carlisle and only joined him a few months after he left the Volturi—a lot of their human memories are fuzzy, but they were maimed in an experimental procedure." Bella's eyebrows furrowed, trying to imagine why you wouldn't speak—you seemed so sweet, but never spoke a word.

"Ho-?" The word didn't even finish before Edward interrupted her.

"Someone crudely removed their vocal cords among other things, so when they turned. They healed, but—" Edward inhales, glancing over at Bella in the passenger seat.

"But they never quite recovered. Y/N is roughly 200, but only found Rosalie in 1933 and Emmett 2 years later. She spent her first 100 years alone and unheard, Rose helped her find a voice again." Bella notes his smile at his adopted siblings.

"They still don't talk?" He shakes his head.

"But they sing."

Rosalie could hear the velvety sound of your voice, it seemed to carry warmth and comfort. Every word echoes off the walls of the cottage as the rain patters on top of the porch roof—you spoke next to nothing, but your voice seemed to bury itself in song.

There were no reservations, the piano seemed to harmonize with the rain. Rosalie leaned her head onto the doorframe, just listening as everything poured out of your soul.

You never let Rosalie walk alone, every strain and stress was your burden to share. Your love was never questionable to her, held no strings or stipulations—she never had to earn it.

She felt Emmett’s presence, close, but too close. His eyes shimmering a brilliant red, you were quick to bring him here. The little getaway cabin where you spent many years with Rosalie, enjoying her without the shame. “Have they always talked?”

He couldn’t remember ever hearing you say a word, but he remembered your face with perfect detail. The way you smiled. How Rosalie gravitated to you.

“It’s complicated.” She smiles softly, never looking away. “They’ll sing everything you’ll ever need to hear.” You use ASL mostly, Rosalie had taken it upon herself to learn years ago, but you kept to yourself.

Emmett had found this new life complicated, it felt intricate and challenging, but these two women. You and Rose. It didn’t seem impossible.

“It’s about you isn’t it?” She hmmms, you smile through the lyrics—playing out the notes. Emmett gestures, “The song. It’s about you.” Rosalie’s expression is soft as she looks at you.

“Maybe it’s about you too.”

Looking back, you’re almost certain that was the moment Emmett realized he would never be alone again. That he would always have someone on his side, no matter what.

Introspectively, you knew from the first minute, he was simply meant to be in your life. The same with Rosalie, she had been changed with the intent of being for Edward (a perverted thought that bothered you even now), but once you saw her. Heard those screams—not even Carlisle could deny it.

You didn’t move for three days as she begged you for death, and the silence that followed her change. “I’m so sorry he did this to you.” she recalls the whisper as she met your eye, “I never would have wanted this for you.”

It was the first and only time you ever spoke to her, your voice was soft and tender—it felt broken, she could feel the broken in your tone. Now she understands you more, loves you deeper than then.

“Rose?” Emmett looks up at her, before glancing at you across the room. There’s something so curious about quiet need held within his eyes. “Y/N?” You look back, practically coming to them instantly—you bent to their needs at all hours.

Emmett folded your hand in his and then hers, the dynamic felt natural as he summoned some courage. “I want to go with the others to school, with you Rose.” You smile, not feeling at all bothered that he felt ready to explore himself more. To venture away from the home the three of you built—in these four walls, it was just the three of you.

You nod, folding your other hand over his with eagerness—you place it over your heart, knowing you wouldn’t join them.

“I don’t want you to feel left—” You don’t even let him finish as you shake your head, moving your joined hands over his own heart. “But—” You lean up to give him a quick kiss, “Thank you. For always loving me.”

You feel Rosalie snake her arm around you, enjoying the way she leans down to kiss the top of your head. Was Emmett always this sentimental, no, but he always meant it.

••SMUT BELOW••

Rosalie laid out beneath you, lips hovering above her clit as your tongue rolled across the sensitive point. Your thumbs rolled circles in her thighs as your face buried itself in between, the soft pull of her fingers in your hair encouraged you. Her back arches as her body shivers beneath your mouth, she tasted like perfection.

The soft moans you elicited from her etch into your brain, as you pull away—her legs draped across shoulders and grin as you lick your lips. Even without needing breath, her chest heaves—the soft mounds of flesh grabbing your attention as they rise and fall in perfect harmony.

"Do you like what you see?" It felt like a dare, and she swears your eyes seem to come alight as you drop her legs and drag yourself upwards between them. Your bare stomach pressed against hers as you hover above: "Cmon love, I'm not going to break." You lower yourself, keeping your eyes locked on her—memorizing the face she makes as your lips lock over her nipple, tongue flicking as you grasp the other. Her eyes close, lips parting to let out another moan.

Letting go of her breast, you let your fingers drag across her soft skin—not an imperfection in sight. Without a second to breathe, you palm her mound with your hand—resting your middle finger just above the clit. Giving it just enough of a touch, to remind her exactly what it means to be yours. "Please..." You comply with the plea, sliding your finger downwards to touch her entrance before sliding inside.

Rosalie didn't shy away from moaning your name as you work her entrance, pacing yourself as you begin to kiss the other breast before bringing your lips up to kiss. Hoping she can taste herself on you.

You start slow with only a single finger, only entering half an inch before removing. After a minute, you place a second finger—driving it deeper as her lips part. Sweet noises bringing your closer as you increase your pace, working your thumb along her clit as you drive three fingers into her.

Large hands reach around your chest as the mattress shifts under Emmett's added weight. He palms your breasts in his hands, thumb and forefingers rolling your nipples. "I go out hunting, and almost miss all the fun." His tone is light as you smile at him, retracting your fingers and bringing them to his lips. He wraps his mouth around them, before smiling—looking down at Rosalie who was still breathless. "Oh Rose, you taste wonderful." He leans down to place a kiss between her thighs, never breaking eye contact as she bends to them both.

They were safe. They were warm and good, and everything icy about her melted beneath their fingertips.

Emmett wraps his hand around yours as he brings it back to her pussy, "I love when you do that.”

Your legs on either side of her thighs, one hand bracing while the other works Rosalie. You feel Emmett lay down on the end of the bed before his lips kiss your entrance. You shiver in anticipation, feeling him grasp your hips and pull you lower as his tongue moves through your folds and onto your clit with precision.

Rosalie came quickly again, her insides quivering as kisses you deeply enjoying the way your moans feel against her lips. She could feel your pleasure in every hesitation when his tongue hit the right spot. You felt warm like the world was on fire, as you remove your fingers from Rosalie and bury them in her hair.

Skin to skin, and you still attempted to bring her closer. Her breasts against yours, you felt high as you came. Breathing heavily as Emmett enjoyed every drop of your climax, loving your taste as he slid out from under you.

The mattress shifts as he lays beside you both, spooning your forms as Rosalie moves to lay inbetween. Her facing Emmett as you spoon her from behind—you can think of no better place than behind Rosalie Hale.

“Remember our first?” The memory lights up your mind as you recall your first time with the pair. You’d been with Rosalie before, but with them both, everything felt like it clicked into place.

Emmett was gentle with his touch, hesitant to get close to either of you knowing your past. But he wasn’t them, and as you guided his hands to grip onto Rosalie’s hips—you felt his confidence growing.

You smile up at him, sitting up with your head resting against your fist. Giving a soft nod, Emmett cannot explain how it feels to love you both.

It felt like a warm spring after a cold winter. A soft autumn breeze to cool the summer sun. It was the lull of water against the sand, or the roar of the falls against the rocks.

The stage was dressed in its usual motif: black velvet, candelabras dripping with crimson wax, props artfully arranged, and a projection screen prepared to drop. Yet tonight, something new stood center stage- a series of three hand-carved poles, with square tops increasing in height and distance but the bases were only wide enough for a single foot, not even. 

Armand stood in the wings, his sharp gaze fixed on the Rusalka as she prepared. She was clad in a dark fabric that clung to her form, with gems that catch the light at each turn. Her hair was braided in a crown around her neck with a matching ribbon woven through. He paused, then leaned closer. “If you falter-” 

“I won’t.” Her words cut like a knife through his doubt.

The crowd fell silent as the spotlight illuminated the screen, casting its white face into forefront. Then a shadow moved behind it- her own. The Rusalka stepped into place, the outline of her body elongated and eerie, an unnatural curvrture to her limbs and joints.

The music began, a low, and slow melody that crept beneath the audience. As she moved, her shadow stepped out from behind the screen then bending and twisting ionto the first set of canes in a pseudo-handstand. Her arms elongated, her spine curved backward and her legs folded over her head in fluid, hypnotic motions before moving to the next set of canes. 

The projector came to life, casting images behind her water ripples, blooming flowers and an animation of a young woman with a braided crown of hair collecting water blossoms. The film began to show a young man, creeping behind the woman- as she turned in shock the Rusalka dropped. The music rose ominously, her body turning limp, a planned fall before impossibly catching herself, synchronised gasps left the audience. 

As the rhythm of the piano righted itself so did she, the video want on the young man a farmer, set to marry the girl for as the drawing turned it showed just barely was her belly swollen with child. Moving to the next set of canes, even higher above the stage to any typical person a fall from this height would surely result in a broken clavicle at the very least. Each twist and fold of her body seemed to tell a story of peace and despair. The boy reaced behing himself as he grabbed the young woman’s hand, her eyes filled with fear as it was brought up to his lips. And suddenly. The music rises and the river roars behind the pair- the lights sway and the man reaches behind himself grabbing a pitchfork, it takes all but a second for it to be speared into her stomach. 

The lights and projector go dark- the theater is silent. 

As the projection slowly starts again it illuminates the rusalka once more, in the darkness she made it to the last set of canes she and the animated woman now both face the audience. The young girl steps back a look of anguish as she falls back…and into the roaring river. As the last of her is taken under so is the Rusalka falling down into the stage. The audience screams! The Rusalka is gone into a hidden entryway in the stage floor, the last of the show is the dwindling projection showing the river run from rageful to a lull of tides. The man throws the pitch fork into the river and runs. THE END.

A series of applause breaks out, from his seat in the front row, Santiago smirks, “She has a flair for drama,” he murmured to Louis, who sat stiff and silent beside him. Louis’s expression remained stoic, but his gaze never left the stage. In the shadows of the wings, Claudia watched with fascination. Her small hands gripped the edge of the curtain, her knuckles wrapped around the fabric with tension. 

—-

Her show the second to last of the night was a triumph, after the vampires ‘dinner’. Santiago claps a hand on Armands forearm “Well” Santiago drawled, breaking the tension, “she certainly knows how to put on a show.”

Claudia with her eyes turned down to the floor says, “She’s more than a performer,” she said softly. “She’s a mystery.”

“And mysteries,” Armand said, his voice low, “are dangerous things.”

The Rusalka tilted her head, a sarcastic quirk of her her lips. “Then you should tread carefully. I might decide this stage isn’t big enough for all of us… If that’s everything I’ll be returning home for the evening I have class in the morning while you all laze about.” She winked at Claudia before offering a two-finger salute to the rest of the coven and waltzing her way out of the theater. 

—

The Rusalka moved through the darkened streets of Paris fluidily, her heels clicking softly against the cobblestones. Applause still echoed faintly in her ears, though it had long since faded behind her. Paris at night was a labyrinth of whispers and flickering lamplight, and she navigated it with ease, her mind preoccupied with thoughts of her performance.

From alleys behind, Louis and Armand followed her in silence, their figures barely discernible against the dark of night.

“She is fascinating,” Louis murmured, his voice a soft note in the stillness.

“Fascinating doesn’t mean trustworthy,” Armand replied, his gaze fixed on the Rusalka below.

Their conversation halted as she turned a corner, her stride purposeful. The faint sound of a scuffle reached their ears, followed by a muffled cry.

Louis and Armand exchanged a deep glance before following.

As they approached the narrow alley, they saw her. A man loomed over a woman pinned against the wall, his hand clasped tightly over her mouth. The woman’s wide, tear-filled eyes met the Rusalka’s, silently pleading.

“Unhand her,” the Rusalka said, her voice a low.

The man turned, snorting. “Mind ‘our own busi’ness, whore—”

Before he finished, she was pinning him. Her movements were a blur—predatory. In one swift motion, she tore him away from the woman sending him to the ground.

“Run,” she said to the woman, who hesitated for a moment before fleeing into the night.

The man stumbled his way back up, but she was faster. She grabbed him by the throat, her grip unforgiving. His protests turned to gurgles as she bared her teeth, her features twisting into a feral thing.

Louis and Armand arrived just as she sank her maw into the man’s jugular, draining him until his struggles ceased.

When she finished, she dropped his body to the ground a chunk ripped from his neck with a sneer. Her chest heaving as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

“You could have intervened sooner,” she said, her voice flat.

“You seem to have it under control,” Armand replied coolly.

She bent, grabbing the dead-man and dragging him toward the shadows. “It’s rude to linger,” she said.

Louis’s voice was soft. “Why did you save her?”

The Rusalka paused, glancing at him over her shoulder. “Because no one saved me,” she said simply.

Armand raised an eyebrow. “And the performance? Personal, yes?”

She stopped entirely, her expression darkening. “It wasn’t a performance. It was my life.”

Louis and Armand exchanged a glance, the weight of her words settling heavily between them.

She leaned against the wall, her arms crossed, her gaze distant. “I was nineteen,” she began. “A circus girl in a tiny village. My neighbor—his name was Artem—was older. Stronger. One night, he followed me back home. I didn’t see him until it was too late.” Her voice wavered, but she pressed on. “When it was over, he told me no one would believe me. And he was right. When I had no choice but to tell the elders, they planned to make us marry.”

Her laughter was bitter. “He didn’t want me, though. Not really. He wanted the fun. And when he found out I was pregnant…” She trailed off, her hand unconsciously resting on her stomach.

“He killed you,” Louis said softly.

She nodded. “He tried. Stabbed me. Left me bleeding by the river. I thought it was the end. I hoped it was. But hours later, I woke up. Cold. Alone. And…” Her voice broke. “I knew…there was no way- the child...”

She met their eyes, burning with rage, “I don’t know how I survived, how I became this, but I did. And I found Artem. I made him pay.” And he was delicious. Silence stretched between them, heavy and oppressive.

“I don’t want your pity,” she said finally, her tone sharp. “You won’t get it,” Armand replied, though his voice was softer than usual.

Louis stepped closer, his expression gentle. “What you endured is unimaginable. But you don’t have to live it alone.”

She scoffed. “I’ve done fine on my own.”

Even so,” Armand said, his eyes dark and unreadable, “you’re welcome to come it with us.”

Her gaze flicked between them, wary. “Why, I’ve made my feelings on the coven dynamic clear?”

“It’s not just the coven,” Louis said simply, “It’s us. Wouldn’t it be nice to not spend the rest of your days running, looking over your shoulder?” 

For a moment, she said nothing. Then shifted to walk parallel to the two vampires.

As they walked together into the night, the tension between them eased, just slightly. The Rusalka glanced at Louis, her expression softening. “You really don’t have to be so earnest, you know.”

“And you don’t have to be so guarded,” he replied.

She smiled faintly. “Hypocrite.”

Behind them, Armand watched in silence, his mind already calculating the implications of her story—and her presence among them.

***

Dubai: Modern Day

The sprawling penthouse was silent, save for the faint hum of the city beyond the glass. Daniel leaned forward in his seat, the recorder on his laptop.

Across from him, the Rusalka sat cross-legged on the leather couch, her posture regal, her face shrouded in a calm that felt unnatural. As her body rested comfortable against the skin of the vampires. One at each of her sides, the dim light softened the sharp edges of her features, but her eyes—those unsettling, liquid like eyes—seemed to pierce right through him.

“I know you didn’t come all this way for pleasantries,” she said, finally breaking the silence. 

Daniel cleared his throat. “No, I didn’t. I want to know more—about your time in Paris, with them. About...what you are to Louis, what all this means.”

“Paris,” she began, her tone flat, “was a game of survival, every moment, every word, every gesture—it was all part of a farce. One wrong step, and every university would shut their doors to me, I’d have no reason to stay in the city at all then. The entire petense for me making ‘nice’ with the coven.” Daniel nodded, his pen scratching across the legal pad in his lap. “And with them? With Louis and Armand… Claudia?”

She paused, her eyes narrowing slightly. “With them...things felt different. Arrogant and self-centered, yes, but also something more. They were broken things, trying to piece themselves together. Armand’s need for control just barely masking his desperation to relinquish it, Louis with his redemption, the guilt,  and Claudia...Claudia was just trying to find her place in a world that seemed to have no place for her.”

“And you wanted to give her one?” He supplied.

“I wanted her to be given the choice- she deserved the opportunity to make her own path. Unfortunately future events came to…well we will get to that point in the story later won’t we? Louis tells it the best and after all you’re here for him.” 

“So then whats the point of you and “Rashid” having been here at all.”