I'm Going Through The Most Recent Tumblr Posts On Here In The Ao3 Tag And It's So Funny Because It's

Help Palestinians

Quick explanation: (the go fund me are at the end, scroll down to help)

As it's quite a long conflict, I won't be developing each year but the main idea is there.

Palestine was a territory under British mandat from 1923 to 1948. The large amount of Jews living in Palestine can be explained by the massive deportation of them all over Europe by the Nazis. Palestine can be considered the root of the three big religions (Christianity, Islam, Judaism) since Jesus was born there.

As those religions have their own religious state (Arabi Saudia, Vatican) where they can pray and believe all they want, some Jewish deportation (Shoah) survivors then decided it was necessary for them to have their own Jewish state to protect themselves of antisemitism, following the idea of Theodor Herzl, foundator of zionism.

Palestinians population then got divided following numerous conflits. UN decided of a shared territory which was in favour of Zionist in 1947. One year later, the state of Israel is created causing the Nakba in 1948.

Since then, the Palestinian Territory is in a constant war.

Today, palestinians are still being bombed by Israelis terrorists. The latter always use the poor excuse of attacking Hamas and saving their hostage from them when we know for sure that they do not care about their own hostage and used Hamas as an excuse to kill civilians. (Read here).

Israel is using the 7 October attack as their 9/11 to attack anyone under the pretext of self defense.

Many families are in absolute need of money to escape and survive Gaza. As I receive a lot of messages from different families, I'll post them all here so It's in the same post as the explanation.

And fuck Zionism. Zionism is not Judaism, Zionism is terrorism.

Provide humanitarian aid!

Help Salman!

Help Asala!

Help Ahmed!

Help Huda!

Help Eyad!

Help Faisal!

Help Mosab!

Well I really like your writing ! I'm happy to make you happy 😁

Hello, Stranger

Pairing: Eddie Munson x gn!reader, Eddie Munson x you, Eddie Munson x reader

For @lesservillain’s excellent Strange and Spooky Stories Halloween writing event for the prompt: ‘Stranger’

Summary: A stranger comes in to buy weird stuff at odd times, and as the cashier at the local hardware store you’re not quite sure what to make of it…

CW: 18+ (MDNI), fluff, maybe SFW though caution for mature and dark themes and allusions to crime and violence. Flirting, li’l bit of awkwardness, some swearing. Both Eddie and reader are in their 20s. Reader’s gender and appearance are not described, they can be whatever you want. No use of y/n. Time period is not mentioned, and any inaccuracies/inconsistencies about history, equipment, American schooling (I’m not from around these parts) or science are deliberate and artistic oh yes they are. No smut, I thought I’d better assess whether I could string a semi-coherent story together before attempting to add that 😆

WC: ~6.2k

A/N: I love gore, revenge movies, murder shows, true crime, science/biology/forensics and DIY (sort of), so this prompt seemed like a perfect fit. There are tiny Easter eggs from The Equalizer, Breaking Bad, 80s crime TV, The Blacklist and John Wick in here - let me know if you spot any! This is the first ‘proper’ fic I’ve posted so I’d love to know what you think. Comments, reblogs and feedback are hugely appreciated and very welcome!

(Also this is my first attempt at dividers too, I hope they worked, I literally have no idea what I’m doing!)

Yep, you were ‘that’ weird kid. Your friends in Middle School had called you a freak because you brought squirrel tails and chicken feet to show’n’tell.

“But look! If you pull this tendon it makes the claw close! Isn’t that cool?!”

No, apparently that was not cool. Especially when demonstrated against your teacher’s finger...

You’d visit a friend whose father was a doctor, begging to read his medical and pathology text books, and preferring to look at pictures of dissected and diseased organs and spontaneous human combustion over braiding your friend’s hair or talking about boys.

And, apparently, scoring a class-topping 9.5/10 for your rat dissection also wasn’t the social merit badge you thought it might be, even amongst your science-abreast academic peers.

So what if you had a strong constitution. And a love of anatomy and pathology. And then compounded it with a love of true crime, particularly serial killers and forensic methods. Surely there were worse things to be interested in?

By the time you’d finished High School you’d learned to mask your enthusiasm, covering your (apparently, socially unacceptable) fascination for all things ‘gross’ and ‘murderous’ (your friends’ words) by choosing science majors like human anatomy and pathology, criminal behaviour and forensics.

People just thought you were clever, nerdy, a scientist. You never let on that you were itching to actually experience some of these things for yourself, in real time, with your own hands…

You work the evening shift at the sprawling out-of-town homewares store on the road running out of Indianapolis towards a tiny town you’ve never been to (Hawksville? Hawking?). You work a few evenings a week plus alternate Sundays, currently in the gardening, kitchen and hardware department. It wouldn’t be your chosen section of the store (in the short time you’ve been there you’ve had to amass a lot of knowledge about tools. Also, how to politely deflect the regulars’ offers to share details of their new projects, lest you get drawn in to a half-hour discussion about u-bends or rawl plugs), but the hours suit you and fit around your college classes, and the employee discount comes in handy when things in your shitty apartment break down or your roommate carelessly breaks something, again.

The final few hours of your shifts were usually pretty quiet, barring the occasional domestic plumbing emergency, or a bored Hawkins housewife coming in looking for batteries.

You don’t mind spending your evenings amongst the tools and machinery, it gives you a chance to flick through the latest copy of forensic magazine or True Crime, or work on your college assignments.

One thing that does make the slow evenings more entertaining is the unusual clientele. A nerdy-looking guy with a moustache needing releasable cable ties, cooking oil and a large plastic sheet at 9.30pm must have an interesting backstory, right?

You find yourself concocting fantastical vignettes about the oddballs that pass through, giving them the most amusing or disturbing story you can think of as they glide by in the night.

The guy with the cable ties? Too easy. Clearly he’s got a ‘special friend’ and an interesting evening planned. TBH, that’s probably not even fictional. You call him Salacious Scott.

The friendly, rotund lady who regularly comes in for for buckets and sawdust? You know it’s Mrs Henderson, who is trying to go self-sufficient and has recently installed a composting toilet, but you prefer to imagine she’s actually a madam with a ‘specialist interest’ playroom, who you brand Madame Urolagnia.

The paranoid guy with a beard and thick glasses who won’t tell you his name, buys a lot of vodka from the liquor store nearby and comes in for plastic pipe, cladding and those slot-together foam mats for kids? He tells you he’s into martial arts and these make safe weapon facsimiles for training, but you reckon he’s actually some kind of government agent. Your imaginary name for him is Mysterious Murray.

One oddball in particular has caught your attention, and not just because he’s easily the handsomest customer you’ve had in a while.

Wait, no, you didn’t just admit that; you just find him interesting, that’s all.

It was his speed and demeanour that had struck you first, rushing in, hand atop the bandana on his head, gangly legs in ripped jeans looking like they were trying to run in two different directions at once, large, dark eyes wide as he’d frantically looked around the store.

“Uh, rope, I need rope, where’d you keep the rope?”

You’d blurted some instructions and he’d headed off, not looking in your direction.

His leather jacket and swinging chains certainly commanded attention amongst the flannel and blue denim that was usually in your line of sight, and you’d found your eyes following him, catching sight of him moving between the aisles from your position behind the counter.

He’d moved towards you with a sturdy knife, a shovel and 3 rolls of duct tape that he’d collected on his way to the checkout, arms full (he didn’t pick up a basket), when you’d ventured,

“I’d recommend the next brand up, if you want something stronger with better sticking power? It costs a little more, but it’s better quality, so overall you’ll use less”, (silently thanking Mr Wheeler’s recent diatribe on the merits and pitfalls of various brands of adhesive tape, remembering the detail because he’d gone so far as to demonstrate by sticking small pieces of it to your skin. It was a weird interaction for sure, but also oddly informative).

He’d lifted his head to look at you and your eyes had connected for the first time. Your eyes widened, and you think you spotted a slight twitch of a smile at one side of his mouth.

Oh, he’s actually really cute.

“Uh, okay, if you think that’s best”.

He dropped his eyes from yours and, after unceremoniously dumping everything else onto your counter, he’d exchanged the rolls and returned.

You’d both paused, you don’t know for how long, and you’d wondered how someone buying rope could be so captivating. But the spell was broken as you’d both spoke simultaneously:

“Did you find everything you need?”

“I’m kinda in a rush, so…”

You’d both chuckled nervously, and you’d set about ringing up his purchases, noticing that a small smile definitely now graced those previously harried features.

He’d paid with a handful of old, crumpled bills pulled from his jacket, politely declining your offer of a bag, and then he was gone as quick as he came, hurrying out into the night with the swish of the automatic doors and a breeze of parking lot-scented night air.

You didn’t know why anyone would need rope and a shovel at that time on a weeknight, but with this particular guy, who you dubbed The Stranger, you found yourself thinking that you wouldn’t mind finding out.

You’d unintentionally spent the rest of that evening coming up with fantasies about that particular customer, although, unusually for you, quite a few of them hadn’t actually involved what was on his receipt…

When The Stranger next comes in he’s after heavyweight garbage bags, more tape and a saw, but seems in slightly less of a rush.

He pauses at your counter for a few moments, making polite conversation, asking how long you’d been working here, whether you were working late tonight.

Is he trying to… flirt? Surely not…

“Thanks for the tape recommendation by the way, it was a real lifesaver. That stuff’s really good, I definitely have a new favourite!”, gracing you with a broad grin (oh fuck, that was a sight) before he was on his way again.

Another time he bought shears, tarp and a large quantity of painting coveralls.

The next trip involved wire cutters, buckets and a wet’n’dry vacuum.

You begin to enjoy The Stranger coming in buying random shit at odd hours. You can’t quite make him out. He buys a lot of gardening and decorating-type equipment (plus he’s almost single-handedly keeping the cleaning product aisle in business), but he dresses like neither - always in tight, ripped jeans, shredded band tees and his signature leather jacket. You’ve never seen him covered in leaves or dirt, and his clothes have zero paint on them. Those coveralls must do a really good job…

You build up a rapport of sorts with him. There’s always a polite, verging on friendly greeting between you, and you let him know when there’s special offers on tarp and garbage bags, and what days there are deliveries of latex gloves and those painting coveralls he seems to like so much. (Sometimes you’ll even stash a few of the latter for him under the counter if there’s a holiday weekend coming up, knowing Hawkins’ husbands will be out in force and not wanting him to miss out.)

But the ‘fantasy vignette’ and forensically-inclined parts of your brain begin to overlap, and start to tickle your imagination. It’s almost as if each selection of items he buys could be used to either dispatch someone, or dispose of a body. But that’s crazy, right? He seems way too nice to be a serial killer. And mob activity in this part of Indiana? Nah. That wouldn’t happen around here.

Would it?

It’s a quiet Friday night when you next see The Stranger. He’s picked up bolt cutters, pliers, some metal trays, a sledgehammer, a mop, and, most bizarrely of all because you’ve noticed he’s not usually one for personal safety equipment, ear defenders.

Again, he’s basket-less, barely able to contain the items piled up in his arms. They topple as he arrives at your counter, and some end up partially covering your open magazine.

“Shit, I’m really sorry about that.”

“Oh, no problem, honestly. I probably shouldn’t be reading on the clock anyway”, you say, slightly bashful, as you move the crumpled magazine out from underneath his items, smoothing it down. The Stranger’s eyes are locked on your hands, and as they move across the page they reveal a headline about a recently apprehended serial murderer and some photographs of a variety of grisly-looking, bloody weapons.

“That looks… interesting, watcha reading there?”, he remarks, leaning in.

“Oh, this? It’s about a new guy they’ve just caught over in Europe. He’s fascinating, he used such a variety of tools and methods that at first the police didn’t even think to link the crimes. Ingenious, really, when you think about it. So creative!”

You look up, and The Stranger is regarding you with an unreadable expression. Does he think you’re weird, babbling on about this murderer like you admire him? Or is he actually impressed with your enthusiasm?

“Sorry, I’m a true crime buff, it’s a bit of a pet topic of mine. And I’m studying forensics at college, so it’s kind of like schoolwork too.” You chuckle nervously, arms moving in front of your body and shoulders subtly curling in on yourself in embarrassment.

The Stranger seems to sense your discomfort, and shakes his head, making his curls bounce, smiling and chuckling along with you.

“No, yeah, uh, me too with the crime thing, actually. Well, not so much the reading, I’m more of a hear-it-through-the grapevine, hands on kinda guy.”

‘Hands on’? WTF does that mean?

“Oh, cool, coolcoolcool”. Smooth…

As you scan his items your fantasy vignette tickles your brain again.

No, don’t be silly…

You bag everything up this time, insisting it’ll be easier to carry, handing them to him and taking his crumpled bills.

Your curiosity is more than piqued and you can’t hold it in any longer. Feeling bold, you ask, “So, what’s all this for?”

“Huh?”

“The- the stuff. What’re you doin’ with it?”

The Stranger looks at you through his lashes, not speaking.

Shit, you’ve overstepped, he’s gonna leave, find a different store and you’ll never see him again.

“Uh, well, some people I know out near the big city are, er, planning a, uh, party, with a few of their, um, associates, and I think it’s gonna get pretty loud, hence the earphones. I, uh, don’t usually get involved in stuff until later in the evening, y’know, after all the main fun’s over.”

You look a little quizzical.

He thinks for a moment.

“I tidy up, but I sorta make it a bit more fun for everyone. Bring a bit of pizazz to a usually mundane part of the evening. Kinda thing.”

You process for a few moments. The ‘Mob Cleaner’ vignette you’d fantasised about screams loud and long into your cerebrum.

Nerves give way to curiosity, and you brashly ask, “So, what exactly is it that you do?”

“I’m kind of a cleaner, I guess? If someone has a problem that they’ve had dealt with and they wanna make the cleanup more, um, interesting, I’m the guy they call.”

Probing further, you clarify, “So you don’t make the, uh, mess, you just clean it up. Creatively?”

“Yeah, exactly.”

He explains he’s still quite new to the job, and kinda fell into it. His boss and his mentor are both encouraging, saying his USP is truly original (Unique Selling Point, he explains when you look confused), and that he definitely ‘has potential’. He’s learning a lot as he goes, but his enthusiasm seems to be appreciated and he wants to do well.

“All you really need is a strong stomach, imagination and a flair for the dramatic!”

He illustrates his last point by making jazz hands by the sides of his head, offering you a generous smile. Yeah, you can see how that particular part of the job comes easy to him.

“Oh, well, it sounds like fun. I hope you have a very successful evening!”

“Okay, well, thanks again! I’ll see you.”

You watch him leave, noticing in particular how well his jeans fit tonight.

What’s that saying again - I hate to see you go, but I love to watch you leave…?

You shake your head to rid yourself of the lewd - and crazy, yeah, totally crazy - thoughts you’re having about The Stranger and encourage yourself back into work mode.

As you busy yourself and tidy your counter you notice something small and white on the floor in front, about the size of a credit card. It must’ve fallen out of his jacket as he fumbled for cash.

Cash. Always cash. Never credit card, never cheque, never — anything traceable…

You round the counter and pick it up, thinking you’d save it and return it to him the next time he comes in. It’s a business card. The text is unfussy and clear, but glossy, bold and slightly gothic. It’s a company name above some text and a pager number, but it may well be the most intriguing piece of writing that you’ve ever come across:

E.M. Creative Disposal Services, Apprentice to Mr Kaplan & Associates, For dinner reservations call: (555)-666-6969

It’s another quiet night, but there’s already a couple of people at the counter when The Stranger arrives. Mr Sinclair needs a pipe wrench and a plunger (you don’t envy him his evening), and Mrs Wheeler has come in to buy double-As for the second time this month (although this time she also added gardening gloves and secateurs to pad out her basket. Not that you’d judge either way).

You spot The Stranger’s curls before anything else, bobbing in the fluorescent lights as he comes through the entrance doors. He spots the queue and immediately joins it, glancing towards the counter and visibly brightening when he sees you behind it. He’s carrying the sledgehammer he bought last time. As you start to ring up Mrs Wheeler’s batteries you see him examining the head of the hammer. Frowning slightly, he moistens his thumb with his tongue and rubs at one corner, then polishes the same spot on the front of his jeans.

He reaches the counter, receipt retrieved from a bundle pulled from inside his jacket.

You greet each other with a quiet ‘hey’. He continues, “I, uh, wanted to return this. Can I do that?”

“Yeah, sure, lemme ring it through the till. Can I ask why? Company policy,” you shrug, almost apologetically.

“Sure, uh, well you know that phase ‘using a sledgehammer to crack a nut‘? Turns out a sledgehammer does indeed obliterate the, uh, nuts… Let’s just say it wasn’t really suitable for the project I had in mind. I think I need something…”

Lighter? Easier to aim?

“With a little more finesse?” You venture, eyebrows raised, hoping you haven’t completely misread things.

“Yeah, finesse! I like that”. He beams widely at you tilting his head slightly, revealing the most gorgeous dimples you’ve ever seen, and it’s all you can do to hold on to the edge of the counter while your knees gently fail beneath you.

“Umm, you want some help choosing?”

He readily agrees and you direct him to the hammer section, both of you discussing the merits and disadvantages of various models as you choose ones from the display and encourage him to feel their weight and balance. He seems impressed, clearly not expecting you to be so well-versed in the finer aspects of hardware.

“Y’know, you really know your tools!”

You squeak out a bashful, “Thanks.”

You slip into self-deprecating mode and brush off his compliment, saying, “It comes with the territory I guess. I’ve picked up a lot working here. Plus I just sometimes browse the shelves, thinking of nefarious uses for random household objects.” Hurriedly adding, “For school, of course!”

You cringe a bit, thinking this must make you look like some kind of weirdo, but The Stranger takes it easily in his stride, commenting, “You know, you’d be surprised to learn just how much of a marketable skill that can be.”

You chat some more and he eventually chooses a smaller, less unwieldy hammer, and after he pays you part ways again.

You still desperately want to ask him exactly what he used that other hammer for, what ‘Creative Disposal Services’ actually means, and what the hell have dinner reservations got to do with any of this?

The next night you see The Stranger he saunters in at about 8:30. He has a different energy about him this evening, seeming both more relaxed but also somewhat on edge. He’s not in his usual ratty band tee tonight, you notice, and no leather jacket either. Instead he’s wearing a what looks to be a clean, maybe even pressed, electric blue raglan shirt with black half length sleeves. You spot a crimson guitar pick necklace that you’ve not seen before dangling from a twinkling silver ball chain, resting against his sternum and resplendent against the blue.

Observing his forearms for the first time you notice how attractive - and (oh!) tattooed - they are. Toned and veined, their shape and his mix of tattoos are shown off to perfection by that sleeve length, and a leather and chain bracelet that adorns one powerful-looking wrist. The glint of his chunky silver rings accentuates his large hands that peek out of his jeans pockets as he wanders over to you. He’s still in tight black jeans, but they seem a little… neater than usual. And he’s not in a rush. It’s almost like he’s not working, maybe even making an effort.

You feel a frisson of excitement - could it be that he’s come in just to see you?

Exhibit A, m’lud: Scrubbing up well.

He heads straight for your counter, and you greet each other with your characteristic friendliness.

He spies the hefty text books you’ve spread before you, and leans onto the counter to get a closer look.

“Watcha workin’ on tonight, Doctor Quincy?”

You swallow at the cute nickname, voice cracking slightly as you start to tell him about the assignment you’ve got. It’s about evidential tool marks, and how pathologists can identify what’s been used as a weapon or tool of dismemberment.

The Stranger tries to play down his interest, but his demeanour betrays him as he presses for more details, even asking if he could maybe read the finished piece.

That’s weird, right? People don’t read other people’s science essays for fun. Do they?

But you agree, promising to bring him a copy when it’s done.

The conversation lulls, and The Stranger twists the pad of one of his thumbs against the counter, seemingly a little nervous, though you can’t imagine what about.

To break the silence you slip into work mode, but for some reason drop your voice a couple of octaves and murmur,

“So anyway, what is it that can I help you with, sir?”

Wait, is he blushing?

“Um, oh, uh, I actually don’t have a shopping list today, I was, uh, just gonna browse, I guess.”

He backs away from your counter, giving it a few rhythmic slaps with his fingertips before turning away from you and ambling off into the store. He returns a few moments later with a small hatchet and mid-range fold-out knife, plus two rolls of his now-favourite tape.

“You can never have too many of these, amirite?”

He gives you that dimpled smile again, and you feel your stomach do a full (though anatomically impossible) 360° flip.

Observing his lack of focus and comparatively small selection of items, you wonder if he really needs those things, or whether he’s just picking them up as an excuse to come in to the store. Your chest heats up a little at the thought.

Exhibit B: Small, possibly unnecessary purchase. The evidence is mounting up.

Seeing the hatchet, your eyes light up with enthusiasm as you remember something.

“Hey, we just got some new stock in that I think you might like, y’know, if I’m not overstepping or anything.” You finish with a nervous chuckle.

You smile at him nervously through your lashes, skin heating even more in case this is suddenly all a bit too familiar.

He grins, responding, “Sure, go ahead!”

Your smile broadens and relaxes as you turn away from him and walk to the back shelves, crouching down and retrieving something in your arms.

Standing quickly and turning, you notice his eyes widen and immediately flick up to yours, a slightly alarmed expression on his face.

Exhibit C: Was he checking you out when he thought you wouldn’t notice? (Also, is it getting hot in here?)

With a loud thunk you lay two (frankly, terrifying-looking) multi-tools out on the counter in front of him. One looks like an oversized, overspec-ed Swiss Army knife, and the other could easily pass as a prop from an exorcism-themed horror movie. You over-excitedly explain the features of each, saying, “This one has a hammer and an axe, plus screwdrivers, pliers, a saw, wire cutters, a magnesium rod”, you look up at him quickly and ask, “do you ever need to start fires? Plus, it has…”, you wave your hand dramatically over your favourite part of the item, like you were showing it off on a shopping channel, and stretch out the syllables of the final two words for emphasis, “…a bottle opener…”. You raise your eyebrows and grin widely, like this must surely be the deal breaker.

The Stranger laughs, throwing his head back with deep-throated barks from the centre of his chest, and then he chuckles a little, bringing a strand of hair over his cheek and a curled finger to his lips. You’re slightly distracted by that glimpse of his extended neck (god, you want to gnaw at it), and that laugh? You wish you could’ve recorded it somehow.

You quickly compose yourself and continue, switching to the ’horror prop’ product, “And this one has fewer features, but I like it for its simplicity, robustness and practical charm. It’s an axe, hammer, nail puller and pry bar. And it even has a rubber coated handle, so you can still use it safely even if your hands are wet. For, y’know, whatever reason…” you finish, slightly abashed.

“Aw, Pumpkin, this is the kindest thing anyone’s done for me in a while, thank you.”

Pumpkin. PumpkinPumpkinPumpkin. Exhibit D: A term of endearment!

He takes some time to examine both articles, testing out their various features, hefting them in his (large, strong) hands (stop it!).

“I love them. Y’know what, I can’t decide. I’ll take both. What’s the damage?”

You visibly brighten, a squeak of delight that you hope he didn’t hear inadvertently leaving you as you puff up with both his term of endearment and your ever-growing customer service confidence.

You check whether he’d still like the other items he’d brought to the counter, and apart from the duct tape (“You really can’t have too much of this stuff!”), he allows you to reshelve the rest.

He watches, enthralled, as you wrap his new tools in the store-issue brown paper reverently and carefully, as though you were wrapping an expensive gift in a fancy department store, the pair of you sharing bashful looks and half smiles as you work.

As he hands over the now-unsurprising crumpled bills and takes his change his hand drifts closer to yours, glancing his fingers over your palm and lingering for just a moment. There’s a little hitch in your inhale, and you think you see his ears redden a little.

He gathers up his purchases in his arms carefully and gently, and he backs away from your counter slowly.

“I guess I’ll head out then. Uh, I’ll see you around.”

“Yeah, I guess you will, uhh-”

“Eddie. My name’s Eddie.”

“Okay, I guess so, Eddie.” You say his name slowly, like you’re testing out the syllables in your mouth.

You continue speaking, offering your name in reciprocation.

“Yeah, yeah I know your name, it’s kinda on your little badge there.” A tiny nod indicates the plastic rectangle pinned on your apron strap near your left shoulder.

Your cheeks heat again. “Right, of course. Ha!” You inwardly cringe. Well, that could’ve gone better.

He’s still backing away, getting dangerously close to an intricately balanced display of colourful children’s watering cans. You’re about to say something, but he turns just in time, ambling towards the illuminated exit with a mumbled, “Okay, bye then. Thanks again for these…” lifting the packages in his arms, and turning to look over his shoulder a couple more times before he finally reaches the door and disappears into the parking lot.

“Hey, d’you know anything about wood chippers?”

It’s been a week since you’ve seen The Stranger Eddie, and you turn abruptly to find him walking towards your counter.

His question throws you out of your stocktaking zone (you’d been focussing on ordering enough plastic pumpkin-shaped buckets for all of Hawkins’ kids this Halloween), but you quickly slip into customer service mode and ask for more details.

Eddie explains, using mostly his arms, that he needs one that, “throws everything everywhere”. You finally work out that he means the type where you feed stuff into a hopper on one side and the shredded debris is forced out of a raised chute on the other (as opposed to the more gravity-based ones where stuff is fed into the top and simply falls out the bottom).

He’s passing it off as being involved in some avant garde student art project, a performance piece involving feeding a load of wood and, uh, paint, yeah, paint into a wood chipper and having it spray out the other side. He blusters that the students are trying to make a point about climate change, or maybe it’s deforestation, he can’t seem to decide.

He explains that the piece is to be performed indoors, that there’ll be quite a few people present, and that he also needs a large quantity of tarp and coveralls because it was likely to make a huge mess.

This is the clincher. You’re absolutely convinced there is no art project, and what’s go through that chipper is more likely to be a human body. Or, given the amount of effort being gone to, and Eddie’s flair for theatrics, probably more than one.

“What size branches?”

He looks at you, confused. “Huh?”

“The, uh, limbs. What size will you be shredding? Some of the smaller models won’t cope with thick trunks.”

He swallows. His eyes meet yours, and he licks his lips. You can’t help but stare at those full, pink… Look away! Just look away!!

He subtly smirks, slowly moves his hands across the counter, and, gently taking hold of one of your hands in his, loops his other finger and thumb around your wrist.

“Um, definitely thicker than this…” - he extends your arm towards him, and moves his other hand slowly up your skin until he gets to your upper arm - “…and maybe a little thicker than this, too.”

You hope he can’t feel the burning sensation that’s erupted up your arm. You know he can’t possibly hear your racing heartbeat or detect the adrenaline that’s coursing through your veins, but you’re acutely aware of both just the same. You briefly ponder whether you’ll need to get a fire extinguisher from aisle 7.

“Umm, how about I show you what we’ve got?”

Composing yourself, barely, you take him to the large garden implements section, explaining that for larger trunks and limbs he may need something towable.

Under the guise of working out whether various models would be suitable, you take the opportunity to dig a little and find out what kind of vehicle he drives. It’s a van, so roomy, practical for carrying a lot of equipment that needs to be kept out of sight. Well, this all tracks.

Also, your brain helpfully suggests, it could potentially be romantic, a private little hideaway where you and he could… No! Stay on topic, you’re at work for god’s sake!

As you debate the various choices you find you’re occasionally leaning into each other, shoulders and elbows lightly bumping, you stealing glances at his chiselled jawline when you think he isn’t looking.

Eddie eventually decides on a mid-size towable model, and as you arrange for it to be delivered to the collection bay he bids you goodnight and disappears out to his van.

‘Art project’, huh? I don’t think so…

You don’t see Eddie for a couple of weeks after that, and you begin to wonder whether he doesn’t like you. Maybe you went too far, did you bore him? Did you frighten him off? Did he feel pressured into buying those gadgets or the expensive wood chipper?

Maybe he’s finally realised you’re a weirdo, like everyone at school eventually did?

Trying to get out of your funk you steel yourself and ask your department manager, Keith, whether he’d seen an odd, metal-looking guy in the store at all.

“Nah, not recently, but someone like that did come in a few weeks back, asking about when you’d be working. Something about your product knowledge helping him with a job, or whatever. I told him your schedule, I hope that’s ok.”

So you haven’t missed him, and maybe he’s not avoiding you. Good, that’s good. Exhibit E: He’s been asking about you?? Oh fu-

You’re startled out of your reverie by the sound of someone slapping two plastic packets down onto the counter.

“Oh, hi Mrs Wheeler, let me ring those up for you…”

On his next visit it’s clear Eddie is restocking his cleaning supplies, and he’s even deigned to use a small trolley this time to transport the heavy and bulky items.

As well as multi-surface cleaner, mops, cloths and some heavy duty gloves, you notice his trolley also contains numerous bottles of chlorine bleach.

“Big clean-up job tonight, huh?”

“What? Oh, yeah, I guess so. I need to leave the place without any trace of the, uh, performance this time.”

“Depends what you need to clean up, I guess. Y’know, chlorine bleach doesn’t necessarily get rid of everything.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah, it’s fascinating, common misconception by the way. Chlorine bleach gets rid of visible stains, so that’s great if your main concern is aesthetics. But you can still detect haemoglobin, if you have access to the right tools and solutions.”

Eddie looks bath engaged and confused.

“A-heema-whatnow?”

You snicker.

“Haemo-, y’know what, never mind. Blood, basically. So actually, oxygen bleach is your best bet if your biggest concern removing all traces of, let’s say, blood and DNA. Whilst it doesn’t necessarily remove all the marks, it does degrade everything biological to the point where it’s undetectable. At least, with the tests we currently have.”

Eddie leans his elbows on the counter, giving you his full attention, resting his cheeks on his knuckles and pushing his dimpled grin up even further. Emboldened, you talk at length about haemoglobin, DNA degradation, specialist chemical solutions and alternative light sources.

He stays there, rapt, until you come to a natural stop. Just before he straightens up he quietly mumbles, still smiling, “Fucking incredible”.

With a deep breath he returns to the aisles to procure both types of bleach, pays and heads out into the night with a cheery, “Wish me luck!”

The cleanup must’ve gone well, because Eddie’s back a few days later and is making conversation.

“Hey, um, I remember reading once about some guy in England, years ago, who, like, melted people. You ever heard of that?”

You contemplate for a moment.

“Oh, d’you mean the Acid Bath Murderer, John Haigh?”

“Acid bath? Yeah, that sounds familiar.”

“Y’know, that’s actually one of my favourite case studies! It was one of the stories that first got me interested in true crime. 1940s England, dude thought he could get away with it if there was no body. Nope, sorry! When I first heard about it I thought it was really inventive, though he actually took the idea from a French guy who’d already done similar. Makes you wonder how many undiscovered dissolved bodies there might’ve been before and since, huh?”

You wax lyrical for a little while on the relative merits and disadvantages of the dissolving of human bodies in acid, even relating an anecdote about how your lab partner once chose the wrong combination of acid and beaker type, finishing with, “Hoo-boy, that was a mess!”

You become a little awkward, aware of how long you’ve been talking and the possibly-disturbingly-creepy level of detail you’ve gone into, though Eddie doesn’t seem to mind and presents somewhat like he’s paying attention in a chem class. Regardless, you decide to change the subject.

“I meant to ask last time, how did that wood chipping project go?”

“Oh, uh, yeah, really good, thanks. Y’know that advice you gave me about the chipper came in real handy. It was quite the show!” He looks gleefully at you, flashing that brilliant smile. A few small fireworks quietly explode in your innards.

“I’m so glad! Did the client like it?”

“Oh yeah, baby, they were thrilled!”

Baby. That’s new. You like it, and you add it to your growing mental filing system labelled ‘Evidence that Eddie might like me’. You can’t even remember what letter you’re up to now, you’re just enjoying stuffing it fuller every time he graces you with another morsel.

“They even gave me a nice bonus, for my ‘theatricality’.” He begins to lift his arms, but stops himself, resisting doing the jazz hands things again, reasoning there’s only so many times he can do an impersonation of a court jester before it puts someone off. “Said they’re gonna recommend me to their buddies too.”

More softly, and a little bashful, looking through his lashes he adds, “Kinda wish you could’ve been there, actually.”

Oh my, is he blushing again?

“Yeah, me too. I’d love to see you work sometime…”

“You would?”

Okay, he’s definitely blushing.

He leans in over your counter, close, so he can say in a low voice,

“Uh, just so we’re on the same page, you know what I do has nothing to do with art projects, right?”

Holding his gaze, and with your voice surprisingly steady, you swallow before confirming, “Yes, Eddie. I know.”

He huffs out a stuttering breath, and the air between you seems to heat.

He lifts one hand and rubs the back of his neck nervously.

“Hey listen, uh, I dunno if this is a little too forward, or weird, or y’know, whatever,” He’s rambling now. It’s adorable.

“I was kinda gonna ask you if you wanted to get milkshakes sometime, but, uh, maybe you’d actually wanna come out on a job with me? I’ve got one coming up on Sunday that I could really use an extra pair of hands on. I could pay you of course, y’know, for your time.”

You want to blurt out that, for him, you’d willingly burn the world and everyone in it for free. Instead, you smile wide, and settle for,

“Well, my tutors are always encouraging us to get real world experience…”

“Great, so I’ll pick you up at the end of your shift?”

“Sure, Eddie. I’ll look forward to it.”

You’re both grinning, stuttering messes.

“Great! Great. Uh, okay then, I guess I’ll see you Sunday?”

As he turns to leave, you stop him with one final question.

“Just one more thing Eddie. Should I bring my own coveralls..?”

If you got this far, thanks so much for reading!!

Comments and reblogs make my world spin, do let me know what you think.

That's so cute ???

one of the things you'd never understand was how goddamn silent bakugou katsuki could be.

he was huge, for one thing, all six-foot-something of iron muscle and sharp angles. the training he had undergone in the past and continued doing to this day made him bulk up—particularly around his upper torso. a small waist led up to thick pecs and wide shoulders with just as wide biceps. he could crush you so easily with one hand alone, his palm big enough to cover nearly your entire face.

he was also so fucking loud at times. that was his entire hero persona—dynamight with the loud explosions that could temporarily deafen anyone who was close enough to them. his entire hero costume was a deadly configuration of grenades and other heavy gear too—things that cluttered and banged together whenever he moved around too much.

you'd seen him stomping around his agency before in his heavyset boots, so you knew he was the type to be big and bold with literally anything he did. he was always barking out orders with that raspy voice of his or yelling at his co-workers whenever they appeared at his agency to bug him for one reason or the other.

katsuki's very presence, personality, was just so. loud. thunderous.

so you didn't fucking understand why he kept sneaking up on you so easily.

it happened more often than you liked to admit. you'd be in the agency's breakroom, grabbing a cup of coffee to help you stay awake for the day when you'd turn around and he'd just—be there. standing silently behind you.

it made you jump every time, a yelp escaping your lips as you'd clutch a hand at your heart and glare up at him as he'd look down at you with a raised eyebrow.

"jeez! don't do that!" you'd scold him, scooting away slightly to put more space between the two of you. that was another thing—he just always seemed to be invading your personal space, intentional or not. "scared the hell out of me."

"'s not my fault y'don't pay attention," he'd grumble before reaching past you to grab one of the protein bars from a cabinet. you'd roll your eyes and walk away with your coffee cradled in your hand, not wanting to put up with him so early in the morning.

sometimes he'd get you while you were tinkering away in his agency's support lab.

in your defense, you tended to get absorbed in your work a lot, your hands fiddling with materials and tools that could be pretty loud or distracting. you didn't always hear when people would enter the lab, but they usually left you alone.

not katsuki, though.

you'd turn around with the intention of reaching for an item on the table behind you only to get startled when your face would come into contact with a broad chest.

fuck him and his steely pecs. nearly broke your goddamn nose.

"bakugou!" you'd screech, jumping back as you'd rub your nose with your eyes scrunched together. you had to force yourself to not tear up with how much it'd stung. "stop doing that!!"

"doin' what?" he'd say as though he wasn't fucking creeping up on you on purpose. and maybe he wasn't, but the amount of times he'd done it was no coincidence. "need my bracers. goin' out on patrol."

"fine, fine," you'd mutter, giving him a suspicious look before you'd stomp away to grab his stuff for him. you didn't like the way he stared at you, with his eyebrows raised as though you were the one acting crazy and not him for silently standing behind you.

but you knew, you fucking knew, that he was experiencing some sick, twisted amusement at seeing your reactions. you just knew. there were a few times where you'd catch him with a smug smirk on his smooth face as you'd leap away from him. the bastard thought it was funny seeing you all jumpy. and it irritated you more than you'd like to admit. but he'd just pretend he wasn't doing it deliberately. asshole.

at one point, you'd considered doing the same to him. but you'd brushed the idea away pretty quickly. his hero senses were honed—he'd be able to tell you were coming from a mile away. and even if you did manage to sneak up on him, you knew he was a pretty tense guy—he'd blow your face up before you could even raise your own brow at him.

so you just decided to do your best to ignore him. which was hard, considering the fact that he was practically everywhere. it made sense, considering it was his own agency, but still. you'd walk into a room sometimes, and he'd just be there. or you'd turn around and he'd be behind you again. it was frustrating!

but what you didn't know... was that katsuki had been trying to work up the courage to ask you to dinner all this time.

for all the villains he fought and strength he had, he just couldn't muster up the words. he'd make it all the way up to you, standing behind you as he tried to get himself to clear his throat and just fucking say the words he needed to say. but he couldn't. and you'd turn around, get startled, then get irritated at him that he just couldn't ask you out.

so for now, he was simply stuck in this endless cycle, hoping that one day, he'd be able to break out of it.

Where to Buy Anime Merch

A random post on my part, but I am an avid collector of anime merch and I’m always itching to get new releases. So I’ve had my fair share of taking chances with different sites!

I’m sure a lot of you are also collectors or are looking to get into collecting — so I wanted to make a post with some trusted websites!

Starting off with some basics

• I typically prefer ordering directly from Japan

Not only do they release their merch sometimes MONTHS ahead of everyone else

They are also a lot cheaper

For example: a figure that is retailing $25-$30 in the US, is sometimes only about $10 retail in Japan

Like I used to pay $60-70 for nendoroids, in Japan they are only $35-40 😮‍💨

The only con to buying directly from Japan is the occasional high shipping prices

I’ve literally spent $150 before just to ship my package — but that was a one time mistake, never again 💀

For me, I live on the east coast of the US, so a good price range for shipping in my mind is anywhere between $15 and $40 USD

Japanese Websites I Trust

AmiAmi

My go to for everything — especially preorders

AmiAmi ships directly from Japan

They do not charge you for preorders until they are ready to ship out to you

They have many payment options — for me I use PayPal because they can make me a Pi4 plan

Their shipping costs are amazing, I’ve shipped 7 figures at once and it only costed me about $25 in shipping fees

Selection wise — they have just about everything you could want

However, there are some products I like to collect that AmiAmi doesn’t offer on their website. So it isn’t a one stop shop for me. Though they typically ALWAYS have what I’m looking for.

Ninoma

I took my chance with this site last week and I just received my package today!

Ninoma has everything I can’t find on AmiAmi

And nearly all of it is only 2,000 yen (so like $15 USD)

They also have reasonable shipping prices!

They have payment options — and once again is supported by PayPal and Pi4

Selection wise — they don’t have nearly as much as AmiAmi. But, as I said, they manage to fill in the gaps that AmiAmi leaves. At least for what I’m looking for!

Meccha Japan

This site seems trustworthy — my package is currently on the way to me so we may or may not be updating this in a few days LOL

I found this website and was amazed by the prices

Tbh it almost seemed to good to be true

But they offered PayPal & payment services so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to try

This website has really good deals imo, and shipping is also reasonable

The only downside is the fact that they seem to have a rarity scale for some items that will raise their prices

For example: I ordered my Mitsuri perching figure from Ninoma for 2,000 yen ($15) — meanwhile Meccha also had her but she was listed as “rare” so she was like $35 on their site?

Selection wise: it’s a bit meh compared to the other two I’ve listed. But you can certainly find a lot of items you want for a good price. Even tho I would say the selection can be a bit “meh” I still found some items neither AmiAmi or Ninoma had

Favor GK

This is not your typical merch website LMAO — Favor GK is a scale figure & resin work site.

All figures advertised are LARGE & EXPENSIVE 

I figured I would add it tho — since a lot of people struggle to find good websites to purchase scale figures!

I made my very first purchase for a Tengen Scale figure and I’m so fucking excited but absolutely terrified to see how much the shipping is going to be — he’s nearly 3 feet tall 😮‍💨😳

Websites outside of Japan

Most of these should ship world wide — all are based in the US

Box Lunch & Hot Topic

They surprisingly can have really good selections for anime figures & merch !! Sometimes I’ll even find figures on there released way earlier than other US websites

Sometimes their selection is great — other times it’s meh

They always have sales going on

And don’t forget about hot topic cash / box lunch money

Shipping is obviously pretty cheap ($6-8) or you get free shipping if you spend a certain amount

GameStop

I was super surprised by this discovery two years ago lol

GameStop has a TON

The only downside in my eyes is that the release dates are usually a few months AFTER Japan

If you don’t mind waiting, GameStop is great for preorders since you don’t get charged till it ships

I’ll usually use them for funkos :D

Big Bad Toy Store

This one was the go to before I learned of AmiAmi

Huge selection!!

Flat rate $4 shipping!!

Won’t charge for preorders until they ship

The only downside again is the later release dates

Also they do not offer Pi4 — you will be charged for the full amount

They say they send an email warning you of the upcoming charge before shipping — they don’t 😐

CrunchyRoll Store

This one is still a go to sometimes lol

Large selection

Exclusives!

$8 shipping fee

Things can go pretty quickly on there

Also has the option to receive emails when items come in stock!

Some honorable mentions are

Amazon

Tokyo Otaku Mode

Kozuguru

FYE

Feel free to leave any questions! Though I’m sure these posts have been made a hundred times

hello danonation, tonights a fine night to talk about parasocial relationships, internet etiquette, and just common fucking decency???

do: take inspiration from dano and kazan, watch their movies, take screenshots, write fanfiction about their CHARACTERS, maladaptive daydream about them literally fucking whatever okay go wild within reason.

dont: dont stalk them. dont leak their private, intimate photos online. dont repost said intimate photos. think fucking critically when you see a picture that seems off or a little too private. dont publicly post deranged shit about dano on social media where theres a chance he or his relatives (his DAUGHTER someday?!) could see it. dont do this shit to ANY person, celebrity or otherwise! how would you feel? this is common sense people i cant believe i have to tell you this…

i cannot expect people to censor themselves in private conversations, in diaries, in sketchbooks, on writing software, but i urge you all to keep these things PRIVATE. have some fucking decorum if you must do any weird shit. celebrities are human beings just like us. if you wouldnt say it to their face, or to your neighbour, then you should keep your mouth shut period.

Make this bitch go ooga booga

Shitty Headcannon for SDJ, this dude would be the fuckin best person to do Halloween with. Just throw a sheet on him (assuming he is similar in physical properties to a ghost/it being implied he can control his forms somewhat).

Bro even better yet, just give him a cat to carry. Mf can just be a floating cat for Halloween!

Pushing It (Eddie Munson x Reader)

Masterlist   Part 2

Eddie Munson x Reader (She/Her)

Warnings: None

Synopsis: Eddie is surprised when popular cheerleader Y/N comes up to him with a favour to ask; pretend to be her boyfriend

Y/N notes: shorter than Eddie

Got a quiet reader request from an anon so I came up with this!

DM me if you wanna be on the Eddie tag list!:)

Afficher davantage

Morning routine ☀️

Do I read my own fics? Yes and I’m not ashamed to admit it. I am a very talented writer

The Freak’s Secret Admirer

Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader

Summary: Reader wants to express her feelings for Eddie, except they’ve never spoken.

Content Warnings: fem!Reader, adult language, Jason Carver being a prick, sticky sweet fluff, and so much PDA.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

It started in the middle of the first semester.

She stood at her locker, her chest tight in anticipation. She repeated her cycle of glancing nervously at his locker a few down from her own and back to the small slip of paper she held out of sight behind her door.

It was a simple piece of folded up notebook paper, ‘Eddie’ was written across the front in her prettiest script, followed by a pink heart sticker, hoping that would be enough to let him know it was from an actual person. She worried he would crumple it up immediately, given all of the cruelties he’d endured in his time at Hawkins High.

Y/n had been watching the Munson boy ever since she first saw him; his personality and theatrics captivating her immediately. Soon enough she found herself looking for his face in every hallway she turned down. She noticed the way her heart felt when she’d hear his bold laughter in the cafeteria, and she absolutely adored that his locker was three down from hers.

She loved seeing him when he was alone, his beauty really shining when he wasn’t doing anything at all.

In her mind, he had no idea she existed, but that was far from the truth.

She spent a good part of her time wishing he would spare a glance in her direction, but he never did. Y/n told herself it was because she wasn’t noticeable, and that she couldn’t blame him, but she didn’t know the panic he felt in his chest when he saw her figure in his peripherals.

‘Ignore it and it’ll go away.’ he’d think, the thought of another unrequited crush absolutely unbearable.

At the beginning of the second semester when they were at their lockers, pretending to not notice one another, it happened. They both shared the thought of sneaking a glance at the same time and when they made eye contact, she smiled at him. Eddie couldn’t help but return it, which made the pounding in her chest intensify.

‘Okay, okay, that’s enough, freak.’ The unfriendly voice echoed in his head. He snatched his attention back to the inside of his locker with a shy grimace and shut his door to hurry to Spanish class.

Her heart sank as she watched him withdrawal, wondering if it was her fault. That’s when she got her brilliant idea.

Which brings us back to this morning.

She hadn't seen any sign of Eddie yet and knew this would be her prime chance to deposit her note through the slot of his locker.

‘Every second that goes by is a second closer he gets to showing up.’ She reminded herself.

Y/n took a breath and looked over both shoulders before stepping over. She knew it was his immediately by the etched ‘FREAK’ below the number at the top, which made the corner of her mouth tug downward in a disappointed frown. She quickly slid the note through and jumped away, checking her surroundings again.

She sighed in relief at the sight of the still empty hallway, students still trickling in from the arriving buses.

“Absolutely not, Emerson, how could you possibly think that of me?!” Eddie’s voice echoed in feigned offense down the hall from a short distance. Y/n debated on fleeing or sticking around to see how he reacted to the note and prayed to the powers that be that he’d be alone when he read it.

Before she could make a run for it, Eddie rounded the corner with his friend Gareth, shooting the shit and laughing the whole trip down the hall, the sight made Y/n weak in the knees.

“Save me a seat?” Eddie asked Gareth as he departed from their route to their first class. Gareth shot him a thumbs up and disappeared through the door at the end of the hall.

Eddie spared Y/n a glance as he stepped up to his locker, admiring the way she chose to style her hair with accent braids. It made him think of Lord of the Rings and the elves he’s imagined from DnD, he thought of this as he dialed his combination in the lock and swung his locker open, his thoughts interrupted as he was greeted with a fluttering note landing with a thump down by his feet.

He didn’t think anything of it at first, receiving notes about meeting up for sales after school was a normal thing, but notes of business never had his name written with a heart beside it. The sight made his stomach plummet into his ass and his heart rise into his throat. This could either be good or bad.

Y/n watched on, Eddie too focused on her note to feel her stare. He unfolded it with a hard swallow and deep breath.

‘Before you throw this out, I wanted you to know that your antics are the highlight of my day. I kinda have a crush on you... I hope you have a good one ❤️‘

Eddie stood with his mouth ajar, absolutely dumbstruck at the three sentences in front of him.

‘Is this English? I’m reading this right, right??’ He wondered, bringing the note closer and then farther away, flipping it over in his hands a few times before folding it back up to view his name again.

No sender, of course. He rolled his eyes in annoyance. The note itself seemed genuine, the feeling it caused in his stomach was evident of the way it flattered him. But he so deeply feared that it was too good to be true.

It wouldn’t have been the first time he received a fake love note before, but it had been a while. Maybe he was due for another. Defeated, he sighed and shoved the note in his back pocket as he shut his locker and rushed to class. Y/n noticed the stiff expression he wore behind his blushing cheeks.

She felt a sense of accomplishment along with the nagging sensation that she was going to have to send a few more notes before he took her seriously.

The next morning, Eddie got to his locker before Y/n was able to, which made her job harder. Eddie would be lying if he said he wasn’t bummed that he wasn’t met by another note when he arrived, but he shrugged it off, knowing it was too good to be true.

Y/n kept her head down as she spun the green combination dial, not bothering to look up until she heard the sounds of Eddie’s friends at the other end of the hall. “Ed! Dude, you gotta come see this, the new freshman drew my tiefling!”

Eddie perked up at this, shutting his locker and running to catch up with the group that stepped just out of sight. Y/n rushed to open her notebook to a clean page and snatch up a pink pen from her cup in her door.

She jotted the short sentiment down, ripping out the page and folding it as she had the day before, printing his name and heart on the front.

The Hellfire Club’s antics were audible, some of the boys visible from around the corner. She kept her eyes on the doorway, preparing for the sight of his curly hair or white reeboks catching her in the act, or one of his faithful freshman pointing her out.

But what was the point of the notes if she didn’t want to be known? She couldn’t answer that question. She did want him to know it was her, but she feared rejection almost as badly as he did.

She shoved the note into the slot quickly and promptly turned on her heel to go the opposite direction, but not before Mike Wheeler caught a glimpse of dainty hands flying away from Eddie’s locker, and a head of hair whipping back around to disappear within the chaos of students.

The Wheeler boy chalked it up to another business transaction and dropped the matter immediately, though something felt off. “Wheeler, tell your boy Byers to come sit with Hellfire at lunch today, we’ve gotta greet our new member properly!” Eddie said pointedly as he clutched the paper depicting the horned creature of Gareth’s imagination. Mike lit up at this, taking the paper back from Eddie’s grasp as he went back to his locker.

Eddie wore a small content smile as he opened his locker again, but the note falling down in front of him wiped it from his face instantly. Again, he looked around him for any suspects that could be watching from a distances for shits and giggles.

To his delight, he didn’t spot anyone looking on in amusement, which allowed him to inspect the note closer. He flipped it over in his hands, spotting the similar style his name was scribbled in. He gave a quiet snort, the rushed handwriting tugged at his heart strings.

He dragged his index finger across the letters that made up his name, stopping at the pink heart beside it. Maybe it wasn’t too good to be true.

He unfolded it slowly, holding it inside of his locker to prevent any basketball douchebags from snatching it and using it against him.

‘Good morning, cutie! I hope Hawkins High is kind to you today. ❤️‘

This note had a bit more of an effect on him than the first one did, this one feeling more… real. He fought the urge to smile into his blush and press his lips to the heart she left him on the page, settling for keeping it in his pocket until he could slip it into his wallet unseen later.

The note kept grabbing his attention throughout the day, making concentrating on his work a smidge harder than usual. When he’d slip away to the bathroom now and then he’d find himself getting the note back out to read it again.

‘I hope Hawkins High is kind to you today.’ Made his heart do tricks he didn’t know it could do. He wanted to find the culprit, but he couldn’t say he was in a rush to do so.

He wanted this feeling to last as long as it could.

Y/n walked down the hall during a bathroom break when she noticed Eddie leaving the boys room, the note she wrote him curled in his hand as he stared down at it.

‘He likes it, he likes my note.’ She celebrated internally. Eddie’s gaze met hers, quickly shoving away the note in his pocket with a blank expression falling across his features and hurrying past.

Y/n smiled to herself as she entered the bathroom, excited to write him more.

The next day, Eddie planned to get to school as early as he could. Before bed he sat with the notes he’d received thus far, a soft smile plastered on his lips as he traced the creases in the paper from how many times he opened and refolded them.

He ran his finger over the indentions of the letters the pen left when the sender wrote his name. He folded them back up and stuck them under his pillow, hoping to find another note in the morning.

Sadly, Eddie’s plans to make it to school early were foiled from the moment he opened his eyes. Instead of his alarm going off, he was met with a stream of water hitting him in the face. He bolted upright in his bed, taking notice of the two other leaks in his room and the lack of power.

“Shit!” He realized the electricity cut off was today and he forgot to mail the check to the electric company last week. Eddie ran to the kitchen, seeking the seal tape for events such as these.

After temporarily fixing the problem, he only had 15 minutes to get ready and to the school. “Jesus H Fucking Christ.” He mumbled to himself.

He tried his best to not speed, praying he wouldn’t catch a fine for trying to get to school. Luckily, he made it unscathed, having time to catch the closing door of his first hour class.

Eddie was eager to get to his locker before the second period of the day, dialing his combination with his fingers quaking.

Y/n took the route to class that passed her locker and noticed Eddie in a rush to open his. She noticed the lack of his presence that morning and worried he may not show.

Eddie’s locker door flew open, and before Y/n was all the way past him, she swore she saw him grin at the note he caught with an expectant hand.

‘I’m persistent, what can I say? 🥰 I hope something good happens to you today.

P.S. I think you’re cute 🦋’

Eddie felt the fluttering in his chest and suddenly felt warmer. He quickly folded the note and placed it in his pocket, shutting his locker with a satisfied smile on his lips.

Y/n loved how she felt when she saw Eddie get happy from the notes she sent. She knew it wasn’t the same as if he knew who was sending them but knowing she made his day a little brighter made hers brighter too.

Y/n anxiously stood by her locker, looking around for any sign of the boy she admired. She sighed, relieved and opened her notebook to write him a new note.

‘Should I get more flirty? Can I be flirty?’ She wondered, shifting from one foot to the other and flipping the pen around her middle and index fingers.

‘Good morning ❤️ Did you know you make me laugh almost every day? Well you do. You also do a great job of making my heart beat faster every time I see you. Maybe sometime I’ll have that same effect on you.

I hope you have a good one ⭐️‘

She smiled as she placed the star sticker at the end of the sentence and ripped the page from the book. She folded it once before a familiar sleeved arm had shot over her shoulder to hit his hand against the locker beside her with a slam, “Bah!” He exclaimed, making her jump and turn around. While she was stunned, Jason took the opportunity to snatch the paper.

“Jason, please give it back,” Y/n quietly pleaded, her hand outstretched. Eddie stood at the edge of the scene, as a few other students gathered to look on, which made Y/n want to puke.

Eddie watched as her face began to turn red with panic and humiliation, knowing exactly how it felt to be in her shoes. Everything in him wanted to get involved except for the small part that still feared getting his ass beat by Jason and his friends yet again—but this time it would be in front of his crush.

“Aww, please give it back!” Andy shrilled mockingly. Y/n’s chest began to quiver with her shaking breaths. She tried to remember if she wrote his name in the note anywhere or if she wrote his name right on top.

“I-It’s my homework for—“

“That’s sweet but homework doesn’t have cute little stickers on it,” Jason began unfolding the paper and only glanced down at it before Chrissy’s enraged hand snatched it from him and handed it to back Y/n.

“Jason, what the hell is wrong with you? Like truly, how many times do you have to be reminded to not be an asshole? We’re done, for good.” She charged through the crowded hallway, putting distance between her and her now ex boyfriend before he could cry, “Chrissy wait, just hear me out, baby.” and take off after her.

Eddie’s eyes stayed on Y/n, who crumpled the paper in her hand and willed the tears in her eyes to go away. She slammed her locker closed and slung her bag over her shoulder, dropping the now ruined note into the trash can at the end of the hall on her way past, which Eddie was determined to retrieve.

‘Cute little stickers, huh?’ He wondered.

After a few moments, Eddie walked at an easy pace to seem nonchalant, when on the inside he wanted to sprint to the bin and dump it out to ravage through its contents.

When he reached the end of the hall, he looked over his shoulder to see how many people were about to watch the freak go through the trash, and luckily no one was paying him any mind.

The wadded paper sat on top unharmed, which made him want to pump his fist in celebration already. He reached in and snatched the note swiftly, walking towards his next class and flattening the note.

His heart about exploded when he saw the familiar roundness of her letters, but most of all, the stickers. He ducked into the bathroom to mull it all over privately.

‘Did you know you make me laugh almost every day? Well you do.’ He laughed softly and lovingly ran his fingers over the page, as if it were a physical extension of herself.

‘You also do a great job of making my heart beat faster every time I see you. Maybe sometime I’ll have that same effect on you.’ His breath caught in his throat, “Oh, sweetheart, you already do.” He mumbled.

‘I hope you have a good one ⭐️‘ He finished softly, sighing contently. Eddie cut his class; using the time to figure out how and when exactly he’d confess his love, and maybe smoke a joint, but he did know for one thing for certain; he wanted at least one more note.

Y/n did her best to forget about the incident with Jason, convincing herself that Chrissy intervened early enough before any real damage could be done.

She sat in the library for study hall with a few others in her class. Each person had a table to themselves, others—like Gareth, perused the aisles looking for something interesting to read.

After she finished her chemistry paper, she set about writing a new note. She took her sticker sheet out from her notebook pocket and found a clean page.

She began writing and unbeknownst to her, Gareth could see her sticker sheet through the gap in the books from the other side of the shelf. He gasped, recognizing the stars and hearts that graced the notes Eddie received for the last week or so. He knew of his friends crush on the girl, and knew how ecstatic Eddie would be if she ended up being his admirer, which lead him to try to get a look at her paper.

He tried his best to see what she wrote or at least what her handwriting looked like, though he couldn’t because she ended up leaning her head over on her hand, blocking his view entirely.

The boy sighed and ran a hand through his fluffy hair, deciding he needed to come up with a better strategy.

Was this idea better? No.

Was it effective? Yes, absolutely.

Was it also creepy? Completely.

Gareth decided to follow Y/n the best he could after she left study hall, hoping she’d choose to drop the note in Eddie’s locker soon so he could stop feeling so weird.

His prayers were answered when he saw her walk past her locker, which made him hang back around the corner for a second before she could look back at him. He peeked his head around and saw her reaching up to slide it in through the slot. He approached her hastily, wanting to catch her as discreetly as possible.

“What are you doing?” Gareth asked from behind her. Y/n jerked her hand away from the locker before she could deposit the paper and turned to face him. “Nothing, what are you doing?”

Gareth rolled his eyes and nodded at her hidden hands. “What’s that?” He asked.

“Oh, I just wanted to…buy drugs.”

“Liar.”

“Why’s that so hard to believe?”

“Because people who buy drugs don’t tell people they’re buying drugs.” Gareth shook his head in amusement.

‘Fuck.’

"You're the one sending the love notes, I already figured it out, you can stop trying to lie, really, it's sad." Gareth said with amused pity.

“Okay, you can’t say anything to him, not yet at least. I wanna send more before he figures out it’s me. I’m not sure how he’ll react.” She said.

“What? They’re the best part of his day, he’d be thrilled to find out who you are.”

“He barely even knows I exist, and I don’t even know what my end goal is with all of this, okay? I just—not right now, please.” She grabbed Gareth’s arm before he could walk away.

Gareth looked back at the girl, taking a deep breath and surveyed her eyes that pleaded for his cooperation. “Do you really like him?” He clarified, Y/n looked at her shoes and nodded reluctantly, “I really really do.”

“Alright, your secret’s safe with me,” Gareth whispered earnestly.

“Really?” She asked.

“But you’re gonna have to tell him someday. You can’t live in secrecy forever, it isn’t fair to either one of you.” Gareth said, shrugging his shoulders. He nodded at the locker, “You better put it in before the bell rings, I’ll keep watch.”

Y/n turned with a nod in agreement, ridding herself of the note quickly as if she were sending it in the mail. “Thank you, Gareth.” She said.

He smiled at her and shrugged his shoulders, “Thanks for making him feel special and shit. He won’t admit it but I know he’s kept them all.” He flashed another smile and left for good this time, leaving Y/n with a renewed sense of hope.

‘Maybe my chances with Eddie Munson aren’t so slim after all.’

Eddie huffed as he picked up the lock that hung from his the latch of his locker. He dialed the combination, ignoring some shoves on his back from passing assholes like Jason Carver. Eddie swung the door open, the note he’d been expecting this morning falling down. His heart leapt from his chest when he heard the familiar thump on the ground.

‘She wrote me a new note even after this morning.’ He beamed as he reached down quickly to snatch it from the floor.

‘🦋I love seeing how happy you get when you’re with your friends, your smile is my favorite💗’

He smiled at the compliment, bringing his fingers to his mouth to trace his lips. He read the note three more times. ‘your smile is my favorite’ lingered in his mind.

He sighed, pressing a kiss to the paper and shoving it into his back pocket to open his own notebook, and decided he would drop her a note himself, excited to play her at her own game.

The next day, during her third hour study hall, Y/n worked on her love notes in the library. She had her sticker sheet out and her colorful pens scattered across the table, hoping to make them all look like they weren’t written in one sitting.

‘Me again! I hope these don’t get annoying. Anyway, you know the drill. I think you’re the cutest boy in Hawkins ❤️ Have a good day!‘

‘I had a dream about you the other night, and if I’m being honest, I didn’t want to wake up. Maybe I could show you how it went sometime 💗’

She shook her head at herself for that one. She worried he’d think she’s some sort of deviant, but she was hoping it would excite him.

‘Have you figured me out yet? Or am I just that good?’

‘Thinking of you way more than I should be. ❤️‘

‘I hope you see something beautiful today🤍⭐️‘

She shoved the rest of the notes in her back pack pocket, using the last 15 minutes in the library to sneak out and deliver a note before the class change.

Little did Y/n know, Eddie had the same idea.

He held his slip of paper tight in his hand as he walked down the hallway a few minutes before the bell rang. He’d never spent this much time perfecting something he wrote, except maybe a song.

Before he could arrive at her locker, Eddie saw Y/n walking from the opposite direction, looking at her feet the whole trip. Eddie ducked into the bathroom, the zippers and contents of his bag jingling with every stride.

Y/n didn’t hesitate when dropping the new note into his locker. She loved the familiar warmth spreading through her chest at the prospect of making him smile.

The bell rang and she walked further down the hall, intending to look like she just showed up when she would eventually come around the other way while he needed to change his books.

Eddie walked out of the bathroom, noticing her absence and went ahead and opened his locker, his heart leapt at the sound of the note falling down for him. He didn’t even bother controlling his wide grin as he unfolded it hastily and read.

‘I hope you see something beautiful today🤍⭐️‘

Eddie’s heart melted yet further solidified his need to make her feel the same way she’s made him feel. As the hall emptied of students, he took his opportunity to open up the note he’d written for her to add something in at the bottom:

‘I hope you know you have been the most beautiful part of my day for a while now, the notes just made it better.’

He hurriedly folded the note back the way he had it and stuffed it in the slot before she could turn the corner. By the time she had made it back to her locker, Eddie was switching books out of his bag.

He saw Y/n begin to unlock her own from the corner of his eye. When he heard her door swing open, and the familiar sound of a folded note hitting the ground, he looked to her face to gauge her reaction.

Y/n’s heart lurched into her throat and her body felt rigid at the sight of the paper on the floor in front of her. Eddie bit his lip and shut his locker door, turning to confront his feelings.

She looked to him, her heart stopping at his full attention set on her for the first time.

“Go on, open it.” He uttered, anticipation in his eyes. Y/n nodded and cautiously picked up the note, turning it over in her hands to view her name with a heart drawn beside it. The sight made the corners of her mouth turn up, though she suppressed it out of habit.

Eddie took a hesitant step closer to her, unable to contain himself. She took a grounding breath and unfolded it.

‘There’s nothing I’ve wanted more than for you to notice me, let alone make a grand gesture of your affection like you have. No one has ever made me feel so special before. I’ve wanted to know you since I saw you on your first day wearing a Sabbath shirt and flowery skirt. Every day since then I’ve liked seeing what you wear and how you do your hair, especially with braids.’

Y/n tried to pace her breathing, the whole situation feeling too good to be true.

‘I’ve thought you were the cutest girl in Hawkins ever since’ Her heart dropped at the callback to one of her previous notes.

‘I hope you know you have been the most beautiful part of my day for a while now, the notes just made it better.’ Y/n couldn’t help her gaping and dumbstruck smile. Her eyes were locked on the paper in front of her, almost forgetting about the boy standing a short distance away.

He wore a smug smile at her wide eyes and heaving chest as he stepped closer in the empty hall, messing with his lips nervously.

“Hey, there.” He smiled, unable to look away from her. “Hi.” She whispered, unabashedly looking into his deep brown eyes. “You, uh, you got my note, huh?” He asked.

Y/n looked to the note in her hands and then back at him, “Mhm, I have.” She mumbled, a smile working its way onto her face.

Eddie nodded, his eyes glimmering for her. “Uh, nice handwriting by the way,” He held up her note in his fingers ,”And the stickers? They really are cute.” He said, pressing it to his heart as he looked her over.

“I-I thought you’d like them. I hoped you would, anyway.” She shrugged and quickly looked back to the ground as she felt her neck heating up. “Y’know you’ve really made me feel like the cutest boy in Hawkins?” He smiled, a light pink dusted his cheeks at the sentiment she’d written him.

The color drained from her face, suddenly embarrassed. “Oh, god,” she let out a nervous giggle as she hid her eyes behind her hands.

“No, no, no, come back!” Eddie teased quietly, reaching out and gently bringing her hands away from her face. “I mean it! Can I, uh, can I give—you know what, c’mere.” He said as he pulled her in for a tight hug, his head resting comfortably against hers. Y/n felt as if her heart could burst taking in his woodsy scent mixed with cigarettes and cologne.

“You’ve gotta know I’m pretty crazy about you, like, you being the sender only felt possible in my dreams—for a while it felt like a prank, but it’s really happening, you’re right here and it’s crazy… Thank you, sweetheart, truly.” He trailed off and kissed her on top of the head after a moment.

“I-I had no idea, I didn’t think you noticed me until last week, Eddie.” She said in a daze, her arms in loose embrace around him as she struggled to stay standing.

“You said my name, holy shit.“ He shook his head, an attempt at focusing on the current topic. “Sorry, sorry, you really thought I didn’t notice you? Seriously?! You’re gorgeous, babe, really, how could anyone go without noticing you?” He held her at arms length, gesturing to her entire being when he spoke of her.

Y/n’s eyes glossed as he gushed over her like it was second nature, and to Eddie it really was. Except now, he was allowed to spill his thoughts to the object of his desires instead of his friends. “Come with me, please?” Eddie pleaded as he shut her locker door and picked up her bag.

Y/n’s cheeks heated up at the prospect of ditching class. “C’mon, you’re always where you’re supposed to be, you won’t miss a lot today, I promise! Scout's honor.” Eddie held his hand up sacredly, knowing damn well his father never signed him up to be a scout of any variety.

“How could I say no to the cutest boy in Hawkins?” She smiled and followed after him to the parking lot. “That’s what I like to hear, sweet thing.” Eddie said lovingly, feeling as though she’d been his forever.

The nicknames and attention brought Y/n’s heartbeat up much higher than she ever thought possible, yet she’d never felt lighter. Eddie lead her to his van, quickly unlocking the back doors and guiding her inside. “Here you are, m’lady.” He said with an accent and a helping hand awaiting her.

Y/n shook her head as she stepped inside, Eddie quickly following after. “Make yourself at home.” he encouraged, getting comfy stretched out on his side. Y/n sat next to his upper half and held her focus on hands in her lap with her back against the wall.

There was silence, though Y/n couldn’t tell if it was uncomfortable or not. Before she could find anything to say, Eddie spoke first.

“I hope you know I meant it. When I said your notes have been the best part of my day since the first one, but, uh, seeing you in between classes… I‘ve looked forward to those moments every day for a long time… I can fit all of my books in my bag if I want to, you know? I just grab one or two at a time to up my chances of seeing you. Is that weird?” He asked as if he hadn’t already lured her into his van. Y/n shook her head vehemently, her eyes wide with need.

Eddie softened at her understanding and gently took her hand in his, “I just can’t believe you saw me.” He whispered, playing with her fingers as he spoke so vulnerably to the girl he’d spoken to for only the first time.

Y/n’s heart pounded in her ears as her internal monologue screamed at her to be daring, that she has the green light, that the boy she’s so down bad for has had feelings for her, so she should shoot her shot and make her move!

To test the waters she pressed his hand to her cheek, the warmth and plush of his palm was inviting and the perfect cradle for her face. He drew loving circles with his thumb on her cheekbone, hoping his next move wasn’t too forward.

Eddie leaned in slowly, giving her the opportunity to back away or say something, but instead she leaned into him, placing her other hand at the nape of his neck to pull him close.

The pair let out moans of relief as their lips crashed together. They moved against each other hungrily, not bothering to hold back any longer. Eddie found his way up to his knees, using both of his hands to hold her jaw.

When they’d pull away it was a mixture of moans, gasps, and short exchanges.

“You’re so soft,”

“I love your hands, want them everywhere,”

“Is this okay?”

Eddie had pulled Y/n over his lap and looked up at her before resuming. She caught her breath and pushed a couple loose strands away from his face before smiling down at him and nodding. “Things feel so easy with you, can’t believe I didn’t talk to you sooner.” She shook her head in disbelief before brushing her nose against his, which gave him butterflies.

“Can I take you out? I wanna do this right, I wanna take you everywhere, anywhere! Anywhere you wanna go, whatever you wanna do, I’ll make it happen. What do you say, sweetheart?” Eddie whispered, looking back down at her lips hungrily.

“Oh, I’ll go out with you, that’s not even up for discussion, Munson,” She teased, her smile tugging on his heart strings. “But as for location…” She leaned up, seemingly in thought while Eddie anxiously awaited her answer.

“You could take me to the nearest gas station and buy a bag of chips and a can of coke to split and I’d call it the best first date I’ve ever been on because you’re so special, Eddie.” She said softly. Eddie chuckled in disbelief.

“No, really. Out of all the guys in Hawkins I knew I’d feel the safest with you, yet, every time I thought about talking to you I felt like I was going to throw up. But now that I have it’s, like, the easiest thing ever.” Eddie felt a swell of emotions over take him. He couldn’t believe he was here in the arms of the girl he so deeply admired, listening to her call him special and safe.

Before he had the chance to say anything to try to match how wonderful she made him feel, she leaned down and engulfed his lips in a slow and passionate kiss. Her hands slid back into his hair, barely tugging at the roots of his unruly curls.

She could feel him smile into the kiss, his hands sliding from her back down to her thighs, stealing a quiet gasp from her when he paused to softly squeeze her ass on his way.

He stroked her thighs up and down, the denim separating him from the soft flesh he desperately wished to touch and squeeze. He adored the sounds their lips made together, and he craved to hear the other pretty sounds she made.

Eddie pulled away only enough to graze his lips down her jaw and neck, stopping where her neck meets her shoulder. He nipped at the skin softly, not hard enough to leave a mark but enough to send a burst of surprise to her tummy. “Oh…” she quietly reveled in the tingling sensation he sent through her with his teeth and tongue.

“Eddie… shit… w-we gotta stop.” She said dejectedly. Eddie ripped his lips from her with a wet smack, his eyes wide in panic. Had he done something wrong? Did she change her mind?

“Oh, no, honey, I don’t wanna stop, believe me,” She said when she noticed his worry. “But I can’t let myself go any further until we go get that bag of chips. We could continue this after, though, if—you know, the gas station run goes well.” She fiddled with his collar as she spoke, her last addition making him throw his head back and laugh, taking her hand in his and pressing a kiss to the back before looking back up at her lovingly.

“I’ll do anything for you, angel. But I won’t split a bag of chips with you, not on the first date at least, that’s something we’ll save for when we’re out of the honeymoon phase and broke. Today, my girl will be dining on the finest pizza in all of Hawkins, Indiana!” Eddie proclaimed as if he wasn’t referring to dominos.

But to Y/n it was the best pizzeria, and no other pepperoni pizza would be able to top the one he bought for her on that chilly spring day, huddled close under a blanket with the back doors open to face the lovely misty views of the quarry and wildflower fields.

Eddie couldn’t help but admire her as they ate in comfortable silence, the radio buzzing in the background as they chewed. A bit of sauce sat at the edge of his mouth, to which she reached out and wiped with her finger.

He turned his head to her instantly as she took her hand away and licked it from her thumb. “Sorry, I should’ve—,” she began to apologize, but before she could, he silenced her with a tender kiss to her lips. “Never apologize for touching me, ever.” He pulled back to whisper with a chuff smile on his lips.

Y/n nodded, the embarrassment melting from her body as he pressed kisses to her cheeks, forehead, nose, anywhere besides her lips. Giggles spilled from her mouth and Eddie discovered quickly it was his new favorite sound. While she was off guard, he pulled her into his lap.

“Y’know, being with a guy like me isn’t easy.” He said ominously, yet both joking and serious. “Oh is that so?” Y/n quipped as she settled between his legs, against his chest and picked up his hand to hold.

Eddie nodded, a permanent soft smile plastered to his face no matter how many times he tried to relax from his cheeks hurting. “Oh yeah, aside from the shit people will talk, I’m a needy guy, baby.” He shrugged his shoulders and looked back down at her adoring gaze waiting for him with her head tilted back against his shoulder.

“Try me, Munson.” She giggled as he kissed her head and picked up her slice to hand back to her.

“Let’s see… I like holding hands. And thighs, god, I love ‘em,” he paused to reach down and squeeze the underside of her leg and bury his face in the crook of her neck.

“Eddie!” She yelled through uncontrollable giggles. He took mercy on her and continued his list, counting off on his fingers. “I’m talking belly rubs, back rubs, head pats and scratches, and please feel free to play with my hair at your own discretion, you don’t ever have to ask. I like kisses, any and all are acceptable, really, please don’t be shy, sweet girl. I love— shit, I just love touch, but no one else needs to know that, capice?” Eddie emphasized his words by pressing his nose into the side of her cheek and leaving a chaste kiss there. Y/n nodded, “Your secrets safe with me, I swear!”

“And I’m just gonna go ahead and say now that if I’m...too much…you can tell me, I won’t get upset, I just know that not everyone wants that all the time, and I would never wanna—“

She tossed the pizza to the box with a flop, turning around to face him, sincerity written in her eyes. Eddies face lit up at the sight and was still taken off guard as she pushed her lips against his. She sat as she did earlier, straddling his waist. Eddie melted at her touch when she buried her fingers in his roots on one side and traced his chin and jaw with her other.

She pulled away to to look at him, though still kept him close with her embrace. “Thank you for saying that...I’m usually one of those people, and can’t take a lot of touch, but, I don’t know… you just..make me feel so comfortable.. I can’t, I've never wanted to touch someone so bad,” she averted her eyes sheepishly but Eddie only leaned into her touch to encourage her to continue. “But if I ever need space I promise to let you know as kindly as possible. My personal space issues aren’t your problem. You aren’t too much, Eddie. Ever.” She nodded and he returned it in confirmation.

“Tell me more about these standards,” she leaned back and grabbed him a drink, “Do you like being the big spoon or the little spoon?” She asked as she opened the cold can of coke and handed it to him.

Eddie blushed at the small action and took a sip, “I like both, I don’t discriminate! I love to hold and be held, you know?” He set the can down and circled his arms around her until they were flush against one another. Y/n only smiled and wrapped her arms around him in response.

Eddie took this opportunity to tilt his head down to be greeted with a face full of her cleavage, his nose and lips grazing the soft skin and breathing in her scent. He resisted the urge to shove his face in between them and revel, until Y/n set an encouraging hand against the back of his head easing him exactly where he wanted to be.

Eddie let out a sigh of relief only squeezing her tighter in his arms as slowly shook his head side to side and left a couple soft kisses across her chest, keeping the hot and heavy stuff for another time.

Right now he knew he had limited time. Eddie looked back up at her warm smile, flushed cheeks, and wide eyes.

“I wanna make you happy.” He whispered seriously, the smile finally fading from his face at the thought of his perfect day ending. Y/n scrunched her brow at the sudden shift in demeanor.

“Eddie...” She started, playing with his hair to soothe him. “You’ve brought me… joy ever since I saw you walking on the lunch table to yell at Andy Bauman in the cafeteria my first day of school. And then every day since just by being you. I’m not hard to please, I don’t need things from you, but I do need your respect, attention, and honesty, do you think I can have that?” She whispered tentatively.

Eddies heart melted further at her openness and nodded eagerly. “I want to do this right. I don’t want games. I want something real. With you.” She whispered, leaning her forehead against his to soak in the moment. Eddie slid his hand up to the back of her neck to tangle his fingers in her hair, using his other hand to move the rest away from her face on the other side.

He looked over every detail he possibly could, wanting to remember exactly how her skin felt, how the air smelled, the lovesick way she looked at him; the same way he looked at her.

“I can absolutely give you those things. And more. I can give you my trust, my admiration, my devotion, my...” His eyes searched for an answer in the air before a troublemaking smile crossed his lips, “body?” He smirked as she laughed at his answer.

“Those are all perfect, and you can expect the same from me, okay?” She asked sweetly. “Ooh, the same?” He joked, raising his eyebrows teasingly.

Y/n giggled and rolled her eyes even though her answer was “the same.” With a nod of finality.

Eddie took no hesitation and pressed the first of a million kisses to come to her lips.

Eddie and Y/n stayed out til the moon was high and full in the sky, the two feeling inseparable. When he eventually took her home, they lingered in the van parked by the curb.

“When I say this, I want you to know I really mean it,” Eddie said quietly with her hands in his. He focused on her bare nails as he ran his thumb over her knuckles. Y/n urged him to continue with a small nod, her eyes intently locked on his.

“Today was the best day of my life.” He smiled sheepishly.

“Mine too, Eddie.” She said. He smiled, letting go of one of her hands to reach for her cheek, bringing her in for what was supposed to be one more quick kiss.

One turned into two and then three more, smiles unmoving from their faces. “Walk with me?” She asked, her eyes flickering to the porch light. Eddie smiled and nodded, hurriedly getting out of his side to rush around the car in time to help her out, which made her chuckle.

“Y’know, you remind me of a puppy.” Y/n said as he swung their hands between them. Eddie sported an incredulous smile at the comparison. “A puppy, huh? How so?” He asked.

“Hmm,” she examined his face in thought, coming to a stop at her stoop. “I look at you and feel similar to how I feel when I see a cute puppy, you know? You’re playful, and sweet, you bite to show affection… You even said it yourself, you like belly rubs! Head pats? And those eyes?? C’mon, you’re the human embodiment of a puppy!” Y/n increasingly gets more excited as she comes up with more reasons to back up her claim.

“If this is your way of asking me to be your puppy, I’m so down.” he joked, giving her hand a squeeze.

Y/n couldn't help but smile before she checked her watch, 2 minutes to curfew. “I gotta get in there, but I’ll see you at school, yeah?” She said quietly. Eddie continued to beam at her as he nodded, bringing her in for one last tender kiss.

She stepped back to open the front door, turning to say, “Goodnight, puppy.” before she closed the door, leaving an awestruck Eddie stuck on her porch.

Y/n and Eddie tried to get to school as quickly as possible, but also took their time in getting ready to see one another.

Y/n added a couple of braids in her hair, letting the rest go in loose curls. She spent more time on her makeup than usual, used her favorite perfume, and wore a similar outfit to the one Eddie described in his note, though this skirt was shorter and tighter.

Eddie stayed in front of the mirror longer than he should’ve, trying to make his hair look effortlessly tousled without too much frizz, which he accomplished but not without losing an extra ten minutes he could’ve already used to be at school.

Eddie arrived first, a triumphant smile on his face when he fished out his note book from his bag and ripped out a new page. He grabbed his one blue ink pen and ripped the cap off with his teeth.

Eddie pressed the page against his locker, trying his best to make the writing legible.

He folded the note with haste, taking care to write her name and add both a heart and butterfly doodles around it before shoving it in her locker.

Eddie spun around and side stepped to his locker to do his usual routine of waiting around until she showed up.

In no time, there she was, a vision in a mini skirt and doc martens. His heart started pounding when he saw her grin appear as she made eye contact with him.

Eddies eyes grew wide in excitement, holding his arms outstretched for her to run into them. Y/n noticed his waiting embrace and sped up to an eager jog. When she met him, she reached up on her tip toes to throw her arms around his neck and pull him close as he did her.

“Good morning, gorgeous.” He mumbled into her hair, breathing in the sweet and alluring scent of her perfume that she sometimes wore. Eddie had smelled this on her before but only from a distance, today he got to bury his face into it and revel.

Y/n laughed as he nuzzled his nose into that spot he loved on her neck. She reached up to stroke the back of his head with her fingernails. “See? Total puppy.”

Eddie blushed and pulled back, taking one of her hands in his so he could get a good look at her outfit of the day. He let out an impressed whistle as he raised their hands for her to twirl under. “You look absolutely divine this morning. Really, sweetheart, are you trying to kill me?” He placed a hand over his heart as she looked to her shoes with a blush.

Eddie loved the effect he had on her, making her blush was always a win in his book. He wanted to flatter her until she was a cherry tomato. Y/n took off her back pack, moving to set it on the ground in front of her when Eddie picked it up to hold for her as she exchanged books. “Well aren’t you sweet?” She said quietly as she tried to remember her combination.

Eddies fingers anxiously drummed on the handle of her bag he held. When the door swung open, she almost missed the sound of the note hitting her foot. Y/n’s eyes snapped to his, observing the guilty and mischievous glint in his eye as he shrugged his shoulders. “Go, on open it.” He said, nodding to the note with a pleased smirk. Y/n tried to keep her breath steady as she unfolded the last note.

‘Can I call you my girlfriend?💙

Yes or No’

Y/n kept a good poker face as she stared at the note, wanting to make Eddie sweat a bit. “Hmm,” She asked, pressing the note to her chest as if it were private, fumbling with the pen cup on the locker door that separates them.

Eddie tried to keep his cool but when she looked so serious in front of him and took seconds longer than she should’ve needed to circle an answer, he started to fidget. Y/n sat back with an amused smile twitching at her lips.

Eddie took a subtle but deep breath, suddenly nervous as if the whole day together hadn’t been of any encouragement. He watched on as she scribbled something on the paper and circled an answer, folding it back up and promptly handing it back to him.

Eddie swallowed hard and unfolded the note as she waited patiently. He looked down at the answer section of the note, chuckling when he saw she wrote ‘Hell’ above ‘Yes’, a bold heart around the two.

Eddie’s eyes darted back up to her, his smile almost maniacal as he dropped her bag and shut her door to press wet kisses to her lips and face as she giggled the whole time and tried to keep up. “Eddie! That tickles!” She squeaked though the laughter Eddie delighted in so much.

“I’m so sorry,” He said before resuming his kisses sporadically, backing her up against the locker. “It’s just,” he placed another kiss on her cheek, pushing her hair away from her face and burying his fingers in it behind her neck to keep her close, her fingers stroked his wrists adoringly.

“when it comes to my girlfriend,” he pressed a kiss to her nose and then rubbed it with his own, back and forth, before continuing, “I can’t help myself, especially when she looks this pretty on a daily basis.” He gazed adoringly into her eyes.

“Wow, she sounds great.” She quipped, which made Eddie roll his eyes. “She is..She’s such a dream. Funny, smart, reads good books, cunning, and irresistible, like when she looks at me the way she is right now...” His voice dropped to an earnest whisper, watching as she looked from his eyes to his lips.

Y/n ran her tongue over her bottom lip before diving in and kissing him softly, smiling when he hummed contently into it, the whole world falling away.

“Holy shit!” A familiar voice halted their affection, the couple turned quickly in their embrace to see who was speaking. Mike Wheeler stood with his mouth hanging open.

Gareth rounded the corner and spotted Mike first, following his gaze to Eddie and Y/n with their arms around each other, the girl leaning into Eddie’s body as if he were a giant teddy bear.

“You did it!” Gareth said to Y/n, a bright smile lighting up his face as he gave her a congratulatory pat on the back. Eddie short circuited for a moment and shook his head between the two of them.

"Wait, you knew? How—" Eddie questioned, too happy in his current position to be actually angry.

"He caught me once, I swore him to secrecy."

"Relax man, she practically threatened to kill me if I told you." Gareth held his hands up in surrender as Mike was joined by Dustin and Lucas.

"Eddie, I didn't know you had a girlfriend!" Dustin said in surprise, Lucas wearing a matching expression.

"Breaking news, Hawkins! My girl's the prettiest in all the land!" Eddie announced, catching the attention of the entire hallway, tossing the note with a flick of his wrist in Dustin's direction, the boy scrambling to catch it.

Eddie turned to his girl and pulled her in close to plant one more kiss on her lips before the bell rang. "Get ready to tell me absolutely everything about yourself later, I'm thinking burgers and the stars, maybe?"

"That sounds fantastic. But only if you're prepared to do the same, I'm gonna need all your deepest darkest secrets." She shot him a foreboding look that had him suppressing a giggle.

Dustin handed the note to Eddie, who shoved it in his wallet with the others where bills would typically go. The sight made Y/n's heart flutter.

"They're all yours, sweetheart." He pressed a kiss to her forehead before walking down the hall with her towards his first class. "I'll see ya, later, girlfriend." He smirked, not quite ready to let go of her hand until she was too far.

"Lookin' forward to it, boyfriend." She rolled her eyes through a blushing smile and walked to class with more pep in her step than ever.

They never stopped writing each other notes, only getting more mushy and lovey as time went on.

When Y/n would eventually make Eddie lunches for work, she'd make sure to write him a special note to find at the bottom 'For the cutest boy in Hawkins' she'd tease, doodling hearts and stars all around the edges.

Eddie saved all of them. He decided he should keep track of how many notes he was behind on and needed to catch up, sending notes every day to his love in different ways.

Notes in her locker, her pockets, hand delivered (sometimes during class) by a member of Hellfire if it wasn't himself, under her pillow, in the seat of the car, sometimes he'd replace her bookmark with a note of his to greet her the next time she decided to read her book before bed.

Later they left notes for each other all over the house, until they decided to save on paper and get a marker board.

It was supposed to be for phone messages, important upcoming events, and to keep track of bills, but Eddie always wrote her a note before he left for work.

'I already cant wait to see you. Enjoy your morning'

'Eddie loves Y/n'

'Make today your bitch xoxo'

Y/n felt discouraged for a little bit because she wanted to figure out a new special way to wish him a good day, too. It wasn't until she walked into the bathroom to brush her teeth that evening that she realized she could write on the mirror for him the night before.

After writing cute sweet things like 'Good morning to the cutest boy in Hawkins' or 'the best boy deserves the best day' for a while, she decided she wanted to shake things up a little.

One evening, before he got home she left him a message on the mirror to see when he went to wash the day off from his job at the garage in town.

"Hey, baby!" He called when he entered the apartment he stayed at most of the time, tossing his keys on the counter and stripping off his jacket from over his blue work jumpsuit, stained with grease and dust.

"Where's my best girl at?" He asked as he scrubbed the majority of the oil from his hands at the sink, checking out the dinner simmering on the stove. He gave it a couple stirs until Y/n could take back over.

Y/n came out of the bathroom from putting a towel and clothes out for him to change into, noticing his messy ponytail and smiling at how cute he always looked doing things when no one was watching.

"Hi, pup." She said quietly approaching him, wrapping her arms around his middle, which he indulged in lightly and then pushed her hands back to her side as he turned around to lean close by her ear, knowing exactly how giggly she gets when he does this. "'m gross, sweetheart," he said sweet as honey, and pressing a kiss on her neck below her ear, "I gotta get out of these clothes before I love all over you, I would hate to leave greasy handprints on the front of that cute little shirt you have on." He mumbled in her ear followed by a wink as he walked to the bathroom.

Y/n blushed and stirred the pasta, then bent down to check the garlic bread in the oven, when she heard his laughter echo in the small apartment.

Eddie had flipped on the light and turned on the shower, when he brought his attention to the mirror as he undressed, noticing a new note waiting for him.

'Nice ass. (:'

He couldn't help but come apart at the seams. He was about to walk back out to the kitchen to ruin her white tshirt, when he then noticed the fresh towel and comfy clothes laid on the toilet for him.

He paused, staring for a moment. He'd never get used to his lunches being packed, not to mention his clothes laid out for him, this was a first. In this moment, every act of service Y/n had done for him in the last two years rushes through his head.

All the times she'd offer to wash his hair after a long day, the countless meals, the nights she insisted on being the big spoon, the times he'd come home to the trailer after hellfire and she'd have the dishes or laundry done, or his bed made with new sheets even if she wasn't spending the night.

Eddie tried to make it clear she didn't have to take care of him, that it wasn't her job or expected of her just because she was his girlfriend. Y/n only met his concern with a soft smile and a shake of the head, "I know Eddie, that's why I want to." she'd say.

But something about the neatly folded pajamas that sat on top of the towel with some fresh socks and briefs sent him over the edge.

He knew in his heart it was time to make things even more permanent.

Eddie took his girl on a drive for their 3 year anniversary in the spring. Y/n did her best to coax the destination out of him during the weeks prior to their weekend, but Eddie kept this secret locked up tight.

Eddie followed the familiar winding path through the back roads of Hawkins, spying the newly bloomed wildflowers in the fields surrounding the quarry.

They backed into their spot by the shore, one they hadn't visited since they'd graduated.

"Aw, puppy, it's been so long!" She said, her breath taken. "I know, that's why I thought it'd be great if we picnic'd here." He smiled at her as he got out of the van to pull the back doors open. Y/n kept her eyes on the scene before her, until Eddie cleared his throat to show her the extravagant pallet he'd prepared for them, much different to the set up they'd enjoyed the first time they came around here.

"Eddie! Baby, it's so pretty!" She gushed and climbed in, his satisfied smile never leaving her. "Yeah? You think so?" He said, hopping up next to her.

"Eddie, you never stop impressing me." She said as she made herself cozy. Eddie blushed and averted his gaze. "You flatter me, babe. You always have." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders to give a kiss to her forehead.

"You're just really special to me, what can I say?" She hummed and kisses the back of his hand that rested in her interlocked fingers.

"Baby, could you grab the picnic basket over there?" Eddie nodded to her side of the van, the basket sat in the corner on top of their picnic blanket.

Y/n nodded eagerly before retrieving the blanket and basket, and handing it to Eddie. He started setting out a couple dishes and forks, then sprinkled a couple handfuls of rose petals around the area.

"Is this sufficient, your grace?" Eddie said in an exaggerated and posh accent. Y/n followed with a sigh, "It'll do, I suppose." She giggled and gave him a kiss.

Eddie reached back in the basket, bringing out the cake he bought that morning, the both of them digging in immediately.

After they'd devoured half the cake, Eddie couldn't wait any longer. "I, um, I made you a present." Eddie laughed nervously, reaching to the bottom of the basket and pulling out a photo album. "Nancy helped me with a lot of it, since she's good with this stuff, but, uh, yeah."

Y/n sat with a mouth full of cake and no words to say. "I've added to it for a while, but I mostly put it all together the last week at lunch. You should take a look." He held it out to her. Y/n quickly swallowed and dusted off her hands before the hefty book was dropped in her lap.

Eddie scooted close next to her so they could look together. Y/n flipped to the first page and was met with their very first picture, captioned with the note he sent asking her to be his girlfriend.

"Ed—" she couldn't finish because of the tears welling up in her eyes, deciding to turn to the next page.

Eddie had displayed their notes along with their pictures and memorabilia from their years together, including lucky pennies, pressed flowers, concert tickets, song lyrics written on a paper napkin. Y/n sat silently as she turned each page looking at the times gone by.

They giggled at a picture of themselves in the front seat of the van, looking stoned as hell with heavy lidded eyes, smiling widely and sticking out their tongues to touch between them. "Have we ever known personal space?" She asked, Eddie only licking her ear in response.

Another they came across was one Steve took of them at Lovers Lake during their first summer together, they both stood by the shore, completely soaked. Eddie stood behind Y/n wrapping his towel around the both of them as they laughed.

Eddie was eager for her to see the photo strip they thought was long lost from New Years. They spent the night at some bar in Indianapolis with their friends, getting absolutely plastered and following the drinks up with a high. Eddie and Y/n found themselves in a photo booth with props and went ham.

At first they didn't use anything, too inebriated to notice their options. In the first picture, they're leaned against each other, smiling with almost closed eyes. In the next frame, they've realized they can dress up, Eddie's arm reaching out from behind Y/n, her eyes wide with excitement.

Eddie wrapped a feathery boa around them as Y/n placed a Happy New Year headband on his head, and then let him set giant glasses on her face.

After they posed with wide smiles and discarded their props, Eddie knew he wanted to use the last one to pull her in for a wet kiss right at midnight.

“Oh my god, I can’t believe you found this!” She said eagerly pointing to the strip and fawning over the nostalgia it provided.

She saw the Polaroid she took of Eddie when he spent the night at her apartment for the first time, a shot of him making a silly face as he chopped vegetables for their dinner.

She saw a few of herself she hadn’t seen before. There were some of her sleeping, getting ready for bed of an evening, or folding laundry and holding up a pair of his underwear to be funny, captioned with some of the stickers she used to always have on hand in school, pieces cut from poetry books, and the notes he wrote about her.

She didn't notice the tears spilling over, or the butterflies tingling in her chest when she turned to the last page that had only one note, one that looked newer compared to the crinkled and yellowed pages of the past. It only said:

'Can I call you my wife? 💙

Yes or No'

Y/n only sniffled and looked to Eddie, who had matching tear tracks running down his cheeks. He shot her a warm smile and pulled the ring box out of his pocket. "What do you say?" He whispered, grasping her left hand in his, the air heavy with anticipation.

"Eddie.." she whispered, looking down at the open box on his knee. It contained a thin silver band, perfect for her finger until he could afford something more grand and ornate, though he knew she'd be thrilled with anything he presented to her.

"Hell yes." Her voice broke as she sniffled and laughed, Eddie's smile doubled in size as he slid the ring onto her finger with quaking hands.

Time stood still as they looked at one another. "You realize what this means?" Eddie asked, taking her face in his hands. She gave him a skeptical look. "You're mine and I'm yours and there's no getting rid of me... unless you wanna pay a bunch of money in court, cause I'll fight that shit hard, honey." He smarted off as more stray tears escaped and she laughed at his antics.

"But really, you've made me the happiest guy ever. You make me feel like the most important person on the planet, from your first note. I never want to stop trying to make you feel the same way— I wanna keep doing life with you, I wanna experience the world with you. You make me want things I've never thought about wanting. I never thought love could be like this, Y/n. You're everything to me; the greatest person inside and out and I can't wait to see what we do." He grinned and kissed her lips before she could say anything else.

And they lived happily ever after