lucimaaie

[lucimaaie]

bob’s decision to switch back to brunette was almost immediate. all it took was a few jumpscares in the mirror to realize blonde, in his opinion, wasn’t for him. he didn’t want to go to hairdresser so he came to you.

you were always finding excuses to get your hands in his hair anyway. “it was in your face” or his favorite “i was just fixing it.” you weren’t fooling him. plus, he’d be lying if he said he didn’t like it.

after little convincing, you agreed, running straight to the nearest CVS with the company card. now you were gloved up, standing atop a small box to reach bob’s head.

he snickered at the gown you’d draped over him until he saw how messy your work was.

“stay still.”

“i’m trying.” bob said as he flinched for the millionth time since you started at the nape of his neck. he looked hilarious, hair slicked up in all different directions slathered in brown dye. he wasn’t very impressed at your attempts to create spikes. “you know my neck’s ticklish.”

“you’re ticklish everywhere.” you grinned.

“i am not.” he defended, almost turning around to face you till you pushed his shoulder back forward. “you gotta stop telling everybody that— this stuff stinks, you know that?”

“it’s not that bad.” you said, still brushing the dye across his strands, careful as to not accidentally brush his neck. the smell of chemicals was faint to you, but still there.

“it is. like really bad.” bob’s face frowned in disgust.

usually, you’d press your thumb on the wrinkle between the brows, but the smell was starting to get to you too. you could only imagine how much his senses picked up on it. “you think that means it time to wash it out?”

“i don’t think..” bob turned around, reaching for the box, quickly scanned the instructions. “shit.”

“shit?” you froze. he turned the box around, showing the bold text saying ‘no more than 20 minutes.’ you dropped your brush in the sink and snatched the gown off him. “shitshit—“

thank you for reading!

[lucimaaie]

Bob had been tripping over himself to make sure everything was just right. The courage to ask you out had been a long time coming—almost a year in the making—and he wasn’t about to waste the opportunity.

The restaurant was nothing too fancy, a local soho kinda thing in a quiet part of town. Somewhere you both wouldn’t be noticed. If that was possible.

His outfit was simple a creme colored collar shirt with light-washed jeans. He even threw on a watch, smoothed his hair back just to impress you.

Everything was planned: what he would order, what’d he say, all to be wrapped up with a walk if his cards played out right.

Except Bob’s mind seemed to go blank when you walked in, face seemingly glowing with excitement once you laid your eyes on him. His own excitement was almost eclipsed with a sort of panic. What if he messed things up?

His knee bounced as he watched the server walk off with his mumbled order. A shock of surprise went through him at your hand on top of his.

“You okay?” You asked gently. There you were always checking on him, even wished you’d never noticed. You couldn’t do that. You had the same pull to him as he did to you. He felt like it was a miracle sometimes.

“Hm? Yeah, M’fine. I’m alright.” His answer was quick, casual on the surface.

You stared at him from across the table with a single raised brow. You leaned forward. “Just dandy?”

“Yeah, no, I’m a little nervous. Just a bit.” Bob came clean, meeting you in the middle like it was a secret.

“Don’t be. It’s just me,”

“It’s not just you, y’know. It’s..” How could he illustrate how important this was to him? Without being creepy, of course. You weren’t just anything. “I just wanna do this right.”

“This is right.” You insisted. “This is..perfect.” You leaned back, eyeing him with soft eyes and a barely contained smile. "And besides I don't need a perfect moment, I just need you, B.”

Bob’s eyes, blue and uncertain, flickered between yours, looking for the truth. Whether or not you were just placating him. Lying to him. And all he saw a genuineness that never favored in the time that you knew him. He believed you.

thank you for reading!

[lucimaaie]

save the day ✧.* spiderwoman au

pairings - ellie williams x fem!reader

summary - with you missing and the city in shambles, ellie's pushed to her limits.

warnings - whew, it's been a bit i feel like coryxkenshin, angst but fluff at the end i promise, sort of happy ending, dunno if this makes sense but this is my first time w/ a series this long so bare with me, mostly proofread, r and ellie are apart most of it, but they get together i promise, 6k word count, its the end but not the end hopefully

playlist | spidey masterlist

Being on the other end of the ambiguous waiting game you often experienced wasn’t fun. Ellie had spent half the hour hoping you’d come back at any moment, free of frustration. The other half was spent coming up with the ideas of where you could be instead of here with her. Maybe you stopped by that sub shop you both liked or a random cafe on the way home. None of her ideas seemed to soothe her growing anxiety.. 

But you said you’d come back and Ellie trusted you. That was never the problem.

She had tried to sit still and trust in your return, but five minutes later, she was on her phone, checking your location. No biggie, she was just being a normal–as normal as she could be–concerned girlfriend. 

She let out a sigh of relief, seeing your contact photo right above your apartment. Good, you’d be getting home soon enough to talk this out. She'd wait.

Soon the idea of you coming through the door seemed delusional so she checked again. Still close. What, were you just sitting outside? She opened the window, peeking her head out to look down and..still nothing. Her brows furrowed as she looked back inside like the solution was in the house.

The exhaustion was starting to set in and you still weren't home.

Still, knowing you were out there, angry didn't sit right with her. She tugged on a jacket and flicked all the lights off, getting ready to leave. She was at the door when she scanned the room. Her eyes stopped at the small reflective rectangle. Of course, you'd left without a thought to your phone or anything.

You could probably handle yourself and find your way back, but that fact was nothing to Ellie. She needed to see you and quell the nagging feeling in her gut—that something was wrong. 

The dark had become familiar in the past few hours. That and the circulating ache in your head. You had no idea how long you had been out for but you could tell they had moved you since then. No matter how much craziness New York experienced, it still hadn't become the place for spontaneous kidnappings. Okay, well, at least not done by men with winged-like jetpacks and glowing tails attached on their arms.

It had become hard to move anything with the tight pressure around your wrists and ankles. The rope roughened your skin as you shifted and squirmed to loosen them. It didn't help that they hadn't bothered with a chair. You were bound on some cold industrial floor while they whispered in the corner.

With no success on the restraints, you finally opened your eyes and looked around. The room was a small garage with work desks and lamps packed into the space. Each desk was cluttered with varying sizes of unfinished tech, though almost all had some type of glowing compartment to them. That was the only light source in the garage along with the small amount the far away city provided.

You turned your head to the whispering bodies. Past one of their heads you could see mechanical wings compacted to a jetpack looking size, sitting on an identical workstation holding every other part of his technically intricate costume. The man who was floating in the sky was unmasked, talking to his partner like this was a regular Friday night.

You must've been looking far too long that he noticed. A small gasp escaped you as you shrunk down and took in a shaky breath, trying to find the strength not to panic.

"And she rises." His smug voice made your blood boil. His steps were heavy in the dank, humid garage. You hesitantly craned your head up to get a good look at him. 

The man wasn’t familiar one bit with older, scorned features you’d never seen before. He looked even more villainous with a brown leather jacket and matching gloves. Would he leave you in the river, rid himself of the blame or were you just jumping to conclusions? “What do you want?”

“Golden question, hun.” He squatted down in front of you, shadows clinging to his features.

“Yeah it’d be nice if you answered it,” You squirmed against the wall you were posted up against, the pressure of the rope burning into your wrists. As you realize his eyes were glued to your struggle, you stopped. "Seriously. Money? Attention?" The only response was only dignified with a chuckle.

"You want to know my whole supervillain plan, do you?" He rose to his full height, turning around and waving away his goons. You met each of their curious looks as they all filed out the room on command. Who the hell was this guy? The mystery man braced himself against one of the work desks and focused back on you.

"You seem like the monologue type."

"Funny." He discarded his gloves on the table behind him. "But it's not you I'm concerned about. It's your girlfriend—she cooperates and everything will work out just fine for ya." He said coolly.

He had the wrong girl. He had to be some unknown mob boss that had mistaken you for somebody else. The thought that Ellie's..profession, for lack of a better word, would come back on you wasn't new, but you had figured you had some time to get used to the fact before it actually affected you. At least be able to prepare. You didn't want to walk around New York defenseless with your only plan being calling said superhero.

"My girlfriend?"

The man scoffed, exaggerating his irritation at your playing dumb. "Spiderwoman?" He said. "What, you think I don't know? That I just picked you up for fun?" He pushed off the table and walked towards you in slow steps. "You can calm down. I just want to talk. For now." He reached in his pocket and pulled out a small watch. "Guess we'll have to draw her out. "

Ellie had become worried sick the longer you had taken to get home. You were likely lost and upset, and she had no way to get to you other than hitting the streets and hoping for the best. So, she did just that.

She thought she was organized in the way she checked all your favorite spots, but there was still no sign of you. No one had seen you. She was starting to get a little more than worried, but she couldn't panic. That'd be no help to you, wherever you were. Though, that didn't mean she could stop the nerves working their way through her limbs.

She had tried deep breathing, counting, and it still hadn't gone anywhere. Just when she had started to accept the feeling wouldn't go away till you found you, it got stronger. Stronger in the way that every hair on her body stood up straight. Her ears wouldn't stop hurting due to a thin, high-pitched ringing that let her know something deeper was wrong. Wherever you were, you weren't safe.

Sudden vibration in her pocket made her shoulders hunch before she realized it was her phone. Her heart stuttered in its already abnormal pattern when saw your mom's contact cover her screen. Regardless, she answered within a second. "Hello? Mrs— No, everything's fine, I just wanted to check up on you." She inwardly cringed at her failed attempt to calm your mother. Losing her girlfriend, lying to said girlfriend’s parents–her track record was just getting better and better, wasn’t it?

“She’s not still upset, is she?” 

“Upset?” Ellie’s walking slowed as she waited for a response on the other line. Had you gone to see your parents? Her heart couldn’t help but sink at the thought of running you away this far. 

“Yes, well, we had a bit of a disagreement earlier today.”

“An argument? What about?”

“Just—“ Ellie flinched as a loud boom struck her ears. The whole street scrambled to hide behind blaring cars. Your mother’s worried words became mere mumbles as Ellie laid her eyes on the source. Your apartment building, surrounded in flames coming out of the middle floor. 

“Ellie? Hello? Are you okay—“

“I’m alright, listen I..I gotta go.” She hung up without waiting for a response, something she’d sheepishly apologize for later. The ringing in her ears was almost unbearable as she made her way through the crowds of panicked and nosy bystanders. 

The added vibration in her pocket only overstimulated her more. She hastily declined and broke out into a sprint, quickly turning each corner back to your shared home. She knew you weren’t in there, but..what if you were? What if you’d wandered back home and she’d just missed you? 

She was nearly thinking about crushing her phone when she heard whirring just above her head. It was from a small device, not bigger than a tennis ball yet it was loud. Too loud. Everything was. 

“Ignoring me won’t make me go away.” It spoke?

Ellie scanned the alley. There was no logical source of the sound except this tiny hovering device. She’d never heard the voice before but she could recognize the work. The pulsing glow of blue in the center of the sphere was a familiar indicator.

“You did this.” She said in realization. She hadn’t gone as far as she wished she’d gotten in her investigation, but she could see the signs. Only recently learning about the businessman named Adrian Toomes had before he was shut down by none other than Tony Stark. As far as she was concerned, he had the motive, but then again many wannabes popped out the shadows after alien tech hit the black market. She wasn’t going to point her finger at some random man if she wasn’t sure. Look where second-guessing herself had put her. 

“Surprise surprise, spidey. You just couldn’t leave it alone, could you?”

“You just blew up an apartment building. So, no. No, I couldn’t.” She barely spared the device another glance as she continued in pursuit to the burning building. She couldn’t deal with supervillains, not now. This couldn’t be happening. Not when you were still missing. Eventually, she broke down and suited up–in the privacy of another alley of course– before swinging right into the smoky floor. 

While the mask protected her from the smoke, nothing could prepare her for the heat surrounding her. She could only imagine what your neighbors were feeling if they were still in here, surviving somehow. Please, still be alive. 

Ellie worked quickly, moving past collapsed dressers and cabinets to usher civilians to the safety of the firefighters below. All throughout she held back the urge to make the search for you her first and only priority. She tried not to think of the worst. The absolute worst being..she couldn’t stand to think about it, losing you. 

She searched what was left of your apartment. It was as lonely as she left it, only now your things were charred if not ash. The sight made her surge with fury. Fury that she had ran you away so far she couldn’t find you. That your safe place was a thing of the past, swallowed up by the fire that was no doubt the doing of the man that had already caused so much chaos in your lives. 

None of this was an accident: You going missing, this fire. It was the consequences of digging too deep. She swung onto the side of the building, eyes squinted in the search for that small, speaking device again. “Toomes!” She called out. No response. Now, he wanted to go silent? She pulled herself onto the roof, using the height to her advantage. “You wanted my attention! You got it.”

Her shoulders tensed as that familiar whirring filled the space behind her. She turned around to face him, met with almost a dozen of the devices she had seen before. 

“Took you long enough. Let’s have a civilized talk.”

“Would be nice if you would actually be here to face me instead of hiding behind robots.” She remarked coldly, her firsts clenched. Civilians, helicopters, first responders all became background noise to her as she zeroed in Toomes’ mascots. 

“I know, I know, but I gotta keep your girlfriend company, don’t I?” Ellie only tensed further at the confirmation. Some of her anger had started to give way to the same anxiety from before. 

“Yeah, there you go. It’s all clicking isn’t it?”

“What do you want?” She asked bluntly.

“Well, I want you to drop your little Inspector Gadget investigation, but it doesn’t look like that’s in the cards right now. So, we’ll play a game.” Toomes’ voice became louder as more bots joined the swarm in front of her. 

“I don’t have time for games.” 

“Oh, but if you want your girl back, you do.” 

Ellie couldn’t find it in her to respond with anything, her mind wandering to you. She wondered how long he had you. Where you were, if you were hurt. Maybe it was the smoke, but it started to feel like there was a barrier in her lungs, stopping her from taking any air in at all. It didn’t help that her heart was stuck between almost jumping out of her chest and stopping completely. “You’re sick.” She choked out.

“I’m efficient, there’s a difference. At least my hero complex won’t have me running around New York City.”

Her brows furrowed. “Wha–”

“Whoops, couldn’t wait.” His words were muffled by the sound of simultaneous rumbles around her. She had no idea where to look first. Buildings across the city were groaning with the threat of crumbling. She could barely process the man’s sudden absence–well he was never really here, was he?– before she was forced to jump into action. She could only hope you weren’t in any of these burning buildings. 

The sound of whispers and sparse footsteps had become white noise to you. You were never left alone, accompanied by a duo of men that got switched out every few hours or so for whatever reason. The man in the brown leather jacket had been gone for an hour since his conversation with Ellie.

He let you listen in as if this was some typical business call and not your girlfriend being tested by a sadistic “businessman” as he called himself. You had tried to take the opportunity to let her know you were okay, but your attempts were quickly muffled. Gagged then silenced with duct tape. His goons hadn’t taken another look at you since. 

The dark garage had been occasionally lit by another skyscraper starting its way down. You scooted over, trying to get a glimpse of the damage only to be met with the familiar burn on your wrists. Why’d they have to use rope? Every shift and movement scraped at your skin deeper and deeper, bringing a muffled hiss from your lips. 

The sound must’ve caught one of the men’s attention because now he was squatted next to you, tightening your restraints. “Stop moving.” He grumbled. 

The added pressure only angered you more. Without much thought, you dug your nails into his arm with all the strength you could muster up, hoping for an opening to escape. He pulled back with a hiss and held his arm. “Shit!” He hissed, delivering a swift, hard kick to your stomach, making you double over and let out a strangled cry. 

“What’d she do?” The other man questioned, rushing towards the angered man. Their words became unclear as your stomach pulsed. You had been more focused on trying not to cry than anticipating what would come next. You were sure they were coming up with ways to punish you without Toomes knowing. As soon as you braced yourself for another blow, your head was yanked back by your hair and your vision covered by thick cloth. 

The loss of sight was even more anxiety inducing than the addition of footsteps into the mix of ambient noise. That was until the pressure on your wrist eased and you were pulled up to your feet, deeper into the garage you assumed until the hot air hit your face. It was a brief moment of freedom, ended by being shoved into the back of a truck. The stuffiness did nothing to soothe the pit in your stomach. Each bump and groove in the road was unfamiliar. They could be taking you to the edge of town and you wouldn’t know. Your pride didn’t like it, but Ellie seemed like your only hope at this point.

Ellie was swamped with more rescuing than one woman could handle. The police were doing their best to care for injured and usher civilians away from each hearth, but with so many attacks in one city, it was hard to anticipate. 

Her suit, though protective, had become something of a human incinerator as she swung from floor to floor in each building. Toomes had chosen some of the tallest properties in the city, it seemed. That’s what it seemed like until she was once again surprised and pulled from one major wreck to a smaller incident in the suburbs. She was being dragged around the city, being played with. 

None of this made sense, for him to torment not only her but the city like this. No other explanation other than being evil. Or that she had pushed him too hard. 

She wasn’t the only one stuck in the ruins and worried about her people. She wasn’t the only one distraught, worried sick about you. She couldn’t pinpoint where exactly she saw your dad, but he looked more frazzled than she’d ever seen him. It stung to think about how your mother was handling this. Especially after she stopped answering her phone.

Ellie needed to fix this. Now. 

She nearly collapsed, landing for what seemed like the hundredth time. The little girl in her arms ran to her mother as soon as her feet hit the ground. She hardly caught herself, watching as numerous firefighters tried to wrangle the fire now that civilians were out. Maybe it was a foolish thing to do, but she thought just for a moment, she’d rest before she passed out from exhaustion. 

“Fight’s not over yet.” She flinched at the gruff voice, then she recognized the sound: your father. She had known the man long enough to know this was closest she was getting to a check in. 

“Captain.” Her voice was rough as she pushed off the wall and back onto her feet. She resisted the urge to pull off her mask for fresh air. The last thing she needed in this moment of chaos was for him to know it was her behind the mask.  

“I’m assuming you know somethin’ about why the city’s on fire?” He asked. The remaining officers filed into their cars at the firm command of your father through the walkie. Once they were off the scene he turned his attention to Ellie again. Waiting for another explanation as to why the New York was involved in her and whichever supervillain of the week’s spat.

She cleared her throat in an effort to make it unrecognizable. “I don’t think hearing the answer would make this..any better. Sir.” Great answer.

Her response was met with an unimpressed sigh and deeper furrow in his brows. She was too tired to feel embarrassed. This whole thing was a mess. The only thing she could clearly feel was her stomach—bubbling and stirring, anxiety eating away at her insides. 

Her moment to rest was over as a screech burdened her ears. The feedback from syncing radios and walkies broadcasted the voice of the very man she’d like to drive her fists into. Everyone on the scene tensed with fear for what would happen next. 

“Alright, let’s get this over with, spider. While it has been fun watching you play whack-a-mole, I don’t have all day.” His nonchalance was infuriating. 

“What do you want?” 

“Jesus, be patient, will ya?” His taunting was followed with enough shuffling to make her uneasy. At least more than she already was. “I’ll leave you with one more parting gift.” Echoing footsteps. He was somewhere empty. A warehouse, maybe? “Captain. Spidey. Your girl.” Her brows furrowed, heart jumping like it wanted to crawl out of her chest at the mention of you. 

“Dad?” Your voice was broken, probably from screaming–she hoped not. If he had laid even a finger on you, her morals would have to go out the window. She looked to your father. There was no missing the way his features softened, filled with fear and outrage all at the same time. 

His fingers were quick to grab his radio. “Honey? Are you okay? Can you tell me where you are–”

“Uh-uh. You gotta find her first. That’s half the battle, y’know.” Toomes voice was firmer, less playful than before. There was an unsettling quality to his coldness than the taunts. Unpredictable, she never knew what to expect. What his plans were for you, where he had you locked up. She felt powerless. 

Before your dad could muster up a reply, she grabbed his radio. “Stop playing and tell us where the hell she is.”

“Fine. I’ll be nice and give you a hint. Let’s say she’s back to where it..all started.” He was hardly finished with his words when the sound cut out. Leaving her with nearly enough information to get to you before he inevitably cuts up again. 

“Fuck.” She cursed, pressing her hands on either side of her head. She had to think quickly. Where it all started, where it all started. Her and Toomes? No, he wasn’t the type for some big showdown. He would’ve showed up already, when she least expected it. No, this was about you and her. He already knew who you were, it wasn’t a far fetched idea. He was holding her identity in his pocket. Where it all started..

“Mayfield.” She blurted. Your father was too busy conspiring with his officers to hear her. Ellie bristled. She knew better than anyone where you were. She’d be damned if she lost you because of stubborn, up-their-ass officers. “Mayfield.” She repeated louder, walking closer to the conversing group. 

“What?” Your father questioned. 

“She’s at Mayfield Community College. It’s a few streets over.” Her answer was hasty as she was already shooting a web and swinging away. They’d just have to catch up. 

There hadn’t been much movement since you were left alone. Each turn and shake in the truck scrambled your ideas of where you could be going. You thought maybe a warehouse like the movies but there was no echo where you were. Then, an office came to mind. Somewhere high up where the layers would crumble beneath and on top of you. To say the least none of these thoughts calmed you. 

No sane person could be calm throughout this process. You were shoved around and guided for what seemed like a mile. Then your hands tied together with the same frayed rope before. They’d forgoed the blindfold, which was both a relief and terrifying. That of all places you could be brought to for your possible death, it was this place. It was personal for this guy. Whatever he wanted. 

The silence had started to get worrying. You thought that was the worst part until unexpected bellows sounded. Your senses were flooded with the suffocating smell of smoke and burning plastic and the crackling hiss of fire starting up, just like with the others. 

Of course you hadn’t been waiting to die the whole time. Getting the ropes off your wrists had proved to be not only uncomfortable but useless with the tight knot against your already chafed skin. You had, however, been able to separate yourself from the chair. 

They had left you in one of the lab rooms. The chair was so high you couldn’t help but tumble to the floor, falling face first into smoke. You squirmed to get up quickly, pushing yourself onto your feet. 

Stood up, it was easier to see the orange light in the hallway peeking from the windows and under the door. Shit, that smoke. You rushed to the door, snatching a white coat off the hooks and packing it under the door. That’d have to work for now. 

You scanned the room for anything and found nothing. Windows high to the ceiling. Tables clean of anything you could use. For a moment, it seemed hopeless. It was, if you would let it be. 

No, you had too much to lose. Your ma, pa..Ellie. You weren’t going to lose what you had to some sociopath. Before you could psych yourself out of it, you were dragging a chair over to the counter. It was taller than the counter, still shorter than the window. How the hell were you gonna do this? 

The frustration was quick to set in, making you uselessly kick the chair over. Your chest heaved as you fruitlessly attempted to force the restraints off your wrist. Skin had broken over again, barely healed from before. 

It burned, though not worse than the fire would, a feeling you were supposed to be feeling in a few minutes. You couldn’t let that happen. You couldn’t die, not like this. The last words you ever spoke to your parents and your lover being angry and fed up. 

Okay, another try then. Think, think, think. Anything. 

You couldn’t do anything with tied hands. Dragging another chair over to the cabinet, you then rammed it into the glass cabinet you glanced at earlier, and again until it fractured. The piece of glass was small but sharp, cutting into your palm as you sawed back and forth into the weaved material around your wrist. It hurt like hell to a girl that hadn’t even broken a bone, but you kept going. 

Just when an ounce of progress seemed to set in, another thrum sounded off. Louder than the others, closer and it shook the room, making you drop the glass. 

Here you were, an out of breath, helpless bleeding mess trying to save yourself with no plan. Wherever Ellie was, she needed to be here soon. Please hurry, Els.. 

Ellie hadn’t loved college, but there was a devastating quality to seeing it become a blazing disaster. Even worse to think that you were in there somewhere and she had no idea where exactly. 

She had no hesitations on heading into the fire, rushing out civilians–some of them her classmates–onto the sidelines. The crew would be here soon, hopefully. Sighs of relief and thank you’s usually nice to hear fell on deaf ears. She knew she shouldn’t be this one track minded when lives were at stake, but she had cleared building after building and there was no sign of where that psycho had left you. 

All efforts of trying to stay calm were gone. She was getting tired as she stubbornly pushed through fallen debris. The science building has proved to be a challenge, flames fanning much hotter by the combination of gas and who knows how many chemicals there were. It was a ticking time bomb, she knew that. But the theater, the main building–everywhere else was all cleared. 

You were here. You had to be here. She just needed to get you before..Ellie flinched at the feeling of a warm hand on her shoulder. She was half-way ready to take on your father before he revealed himself. 

“It’s just me. It’s me.” He said, voice oddly sincere compared to the stern voice she had grown to remember. Like calming a frightened animal. He was sullen, weighed by the possibility that you were already gone. That this was just beating a dead horse.

She allowed herself a shaky breath, before turning back to the raging inferno at the end of the hall. 

“Everyone’s out.”

“No,” She denied quickly. “She’s..She’s in here somewhere. One of these rooms o-or..” She was too drained to come out with an answer to placate her growing panic. She couldn’t stop. Soon her limbs would give out and the opportunity to find you would be lost. 

“A sweep’s already been done as far as we can go. This place is volatile. We need to go.” His words were cold. Like this was any other case and while she knew it was deeper than he showed, she wasn’t in the right mind to be too considerate right now. She pulled her shoulder from his grip. 

“I said no.” The temporary surge in anger gave her the strength to push past two fallen pillars, moving them to the side. She couldn’t help but fume further. “She’s still in here. I’m finding her.” She said intently.

As if to challenge her stubborn denials, a piece of ceiling came down. She didn’t care, shoving the last piece of the banister to the side. “Agh,” A sharp spasm in her arm made her stop. 

“You’re tired and you’re beat up. You can’t find anyone if you’re already dead.” Your father pulled her back, forcing her to rest even for just ten seconds. “This ain’t something you have to do for me.”

Ellie was too exhausted to fight being guided to the ground. Her limbs screamed for rest as she touched the ground, even while her mind was against it. “Yes! I do. She’s my—“ She cut herself off with a frustrated huff. It was all too much— the secrets, the sneaking around keeping her from you. She had taken her eye off you and her life and hadn’t known she was throwing away everything. “She has to be here.”

“And how do you know that?” Your father sunk down next to her, silencing his radio. 

“I just do.”

“You just happen to know where my daughter might be? When I don’t.” He sounded skeptical.

Ellie pulled her head from the wall. She was exhausted. Of pushing you away. Of lying. Letting what was supposed to be this amazing thing come between you. Either she wasn’t in her right mind or it really was time to tell the truth. She snatched off her mask before she could really decide. Her first whiff of cloudy air made her cough harshly. 

The captain had rushed to her side before he was able to realize the pesky Spiderwoman he was used to seeing, and criticizing, was unmasked. That her auburn strands sticking up in all places were familiar. “No,” He said slowly. He had thought many things of Ellie in order to fill in the blanks—A liar, possibly a fraud. Never a hero. Especially the same one who saved his daughter's life. He had given her much more respect than he did before, but he wasn’t fully for a masked vigilante he knew nothing about. Guess he knew more than he thought.

“I can..” She grunted as she pushed herself up. “explain everything after we find her. After.” She liked the sound of it. The certainty. If she could just hold on to that feeling a little longer.

As her firm features came into view, it became clear to your father that there was no use in convincing her against it. Nor in doubting her. “After.”

Their brief moment of understanding was cut short by a rumble deeper in the hallway. It shook the ground until the destruction, cutting off the path she was previously making. “Shit.”

“Those damn things.” The Captain grumbled. “We need—“

“You have to get out of here.” Ellie was already pulling on her mask. 

“What? No,” The captain pulled out his gun. “It’ll kill her if you end up gone.”

“And it’ll be worse if she loses her dad. Go, sir. Please.” She pleaded hastily. 

She watched the internal fight going on in your dad’s mind, a sigh of slight relief leaving her body when he hesitantly retreated. She turned to the flames in front of her. She really hoped you weren’t in there surrounded by the heat and fear she wasn’t coming for you. Even if it killed her, she’d find you. 

The heat crept under her suit as she scaled the hallway’s safe spots but she endured it. Several labs turned up empty. She pressed herself against the wall, just dodging the jagged edge of a broken light fixture. Or so she thought she did until she felt hot air lick the fresh tear in her suit and her skin. She hollered as her side stung sharply. It was too humid to notice the blood dripping down. She leaned her forehead against the wall as she let out a trembling breath. No stopping, keep pushing. None of the pain will matter when you find her.

The fixture was able to get one more jab in on her arm before she grabbed it and tore it down. This all distracted her from the revelation that she was at the last lab. If you weren’t in there, you weren’t here. And she would be wrong and possibly too late. But she couldn’t be.

She pushed through the door, wood thudding heavily against the floor. Her eyes had little a journey before they landed on you, frantic yet determined to escape the lab cabinet on top of you. The wall it was previously against was wrecked, pieces having already joined the pile of broken beakers. Flames from the other threatened to spread through the opening. 

Ellie rushed over to you. Her heart sank at your flinching before you realized it was her. You’d never done that at her touch. She called your name softly, slipping off her mask. She pushed the cabinet off of you and brushed the shards of glass away from you. 

“Ellie.” You barely made it through your words without jumping into her arms. Damn the ache in your legs. “I didn’t know if you would—“

She held back a pained hiss. “I know, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” The words were breathless, desperate apologies mumbled into your hair. She tried to hold back tears, but everything she was feeling boiling beneath her skin had started coming out, her body quivering against yours. “I’m not letting you out of my sight for a long time.”  She had no idea how tight she was holding you and you sure as hell weren’t going to tell her to lighten up. 

It was a pain pulling back, but you both needed to get out before the place blew. She’d have to hold you longer later. She hastily wiped her face. “We have to go. You okay to walk?”

You nodded before you could attempt to push yourself onto your feet. “It’s okay, I’ve got you, Bug.” She guided you into her arms. “Put this over your nose.” She said, giving you her mask.

The school had becoming a living, breathing inferno every second you spent escaping. Ellie dodged unexpected ceiling fractures and roaring flares all with you in her arms. Once you made sure her mask was back on, she was running to the medics though it was hard to let them wheel you away. That didn’t mean she took her eyes off you. She wouldn’t make that mistake again. 

Weeks went by. 

Cuts sealed and aches faded, making the only reminder being the charred decrepit structures throughout the city and check in’s with doctors. Efforts for reconstruction were well under way along with numerous fundraising events for the city. 

Your old apartment was just another construction site on your way to your parents’ house. They had been quick to offer—practically demand, with you and Ellie’s injuries—and you weren’t in the position to turn them down. Ellie wasn't either.

Rest had been hard to come by for her, even harder considering the bastard responsible had disappeared. The city was still discombobulated and she still hadn’t found the man. He had used the chaos to fly under the radar, used you–the thought had her fuming and unsettled. It took everything in her not to throw herself back into work. She needed to stick around, help the city clean up the mess she dragged it into, be there for you. 

The process was anything but sunshine and rainbows. She came home drained just like the one before, but relieved to see you nonetheless. And your family, they weren't hers, yet the feeling of the full home wasn't nothing. They treated her like her presence was nothing out of the ordinary.

Your father, despite knowing her secret, had come to appreciate her presence. Both as herself and the.. other guy. Girl? Woman? You get the point.

It was nice to have people in her corner again. She just hoped she wouldn't mess it up.

But as she did after every fight, or rather life-threatening experience, she had to return to her roots for a little.

Ellie still wasn't sure she should've brought you here. It was no doubt depressing and you had already had your fair sure of the mood recently. As always you insisted. "You said you'd never let me out of your sight. Your words, verbatim." You said, both genuine and teasing.

So, she let you pick the flowers and here you were placing them carefully in front of Joel's grave. She sighed as she eased down onto the ground, her fingers interlocking with yours as you did the same.

"You didn't have to come with me." She had said the same thing a million times already. She just couldn't help it.

"Ellie, what did I say?" You admonished gently, pressing a kiss to her knuckles.

"If you say it again.."

"I'll say it till you get it." You snickered softly.

God, you had no idea how much she had missed that sound. How she had missed making you smile. She had unintentionally brought this chaos into your life and somehow you still wanted her.

"Seriously, it's not just you anymore.” Yours were as gentle as your touch on her shoulders. 

"I know." She said instinctively.

"Do you?" Her eyes flickered to you almost immediately, eyes widening a little at the callout. She knew she had been acting like a free agent. She neglected you and she knew that. It'd take a long while for the guilt to go away, if it could. “Cause you promised we’d do things together and we ended up apart. I’m not just here for the easy stuff.”

"I know, I swear I do." Her brows furrowed, trying to keep her emotions in check. It was all still there: the anxiety and paranoia, the guilt most of all. "You and me." A firm promise.

She looked to the gravestone before her, her father’s name carved boldly. And it still hurt. She hoped he’d be proud of what she was doing. She hadn’t exactly been content with her losses lately, but she swore she was trying to do the right thing. Her powers had become a tool to help people instead an isolating one used for revenge. 

She looked at you and her ache was dulled and replaced with warmth. 

Her life was a rollercoaster since she was bit by that spider. She had taken on this big responsibility and fell and got up more times than she could count. She had done it alone and she didn’t have to anymore.

“You and me.”

thank you for reading!

[lucimaaie]

left behind ✧.* spiderwoman au

pairings - ellie williams x fem!reader

summary - with ellie preoccupied with the city, your relationship suffers.

warnings - had to put this in that ao3 font just to finish it but i did it, angst no comfort (i'm srry), 3k word count almost 4k, still kinda short tho, was kinda battling writers block so be aware, loosely proofread, very dramatic bc i was bored, r is having a bad day :((

playlist | spidey masterlist

“You didn’t think to tell me you had this?” Ellie was exasperated, leaning against the counter as the orb stared back at her. Taunting her. 

“I..Ellie, this thing came out of you.” You’d hoped the words were enough to settle the conflict you felt brewing. You knew it wasn’t. “Do you really think I wanted to talk about it?”

Ellie scoffed. “You at least could’ve told me,” She picked it up with her gloved fingers. Having no regard for safety like you with your layers of gloves plus the tongs just to put it in the dish sitting in front of you. “Would’ve helped me figure out how a bunch of assholes got their hands on superpowered guns.”

“Well, blame it on me then.” You said through a deep sigh, crossing your arms. You wanted to be mad. To tell her she was being completely unreasonable and stormed off. Yet the droop of her eyes and the tenseness in her arms made it impossible; She looked too tired to argue, to fight back. 

“Not what I meant,” The forceful push of air from her lips almost echoed in the quiet apartment. She used the counter to brace herself, still not taking her eyes off the neon orb. She stared at it like it could move the moment she blinked.

“Yeah, I know.” The words came out mumbled as you approached her, coming up behind her. “I know,” The texture of her suit was surprisingly soft despite its markings. Tickling your fingertips as you squeezed her shoulders. The tension in them was tangible. “What are you thinking?”

Ellie didn’t respond. The stretch of her arm to grab the small dish was the only indication she was still in the moment. Closer inspection didn’t ease the frown off her face or the tension in her shoulders. “I just..need to figure out what this thing is,” 

“Okay,” You whispered. “How about a shower first?” You suggested softly, prying the orb from her hands and setting it down. “Yeah?”

Without her sight, she seemed to have more attention to give you, her face softening as she laid her eyes on you. You were right. Her limbs were weaker than she wanted to admit. Combine that with the adrenaline and confusing mix of irritation and anxiety, and she was a complete and utter mess. “Yeah,” She relented. 

To say you lost Ellie to a tiny blue orb was embarrassing to say the least. And painful, but that was a thought you didn’t want to fully unpack. It was enough to reach out and grip cold sheets each morning for the past few weeks. 

She seemed to be around in small shifts: Awake when you were asleep, away when you were awake. The most you’d laid your eyes on her was when she was suiting up and getting ready to get back on the streets. To make things worse, your parents had started to ask questions and you had no good truth to tell them. 

And you knew you couldn’t complain. That was the worst part. What a bitch you would be to complain about your world-saving girlfriend not being around.

A knock to the door was not what you expected. Seeing your parents was doubly unexpected. You thought your sunny texts and short placating phone calls would be enough. 

“Coming!” You yelled, scrambling to make your living room not look like you’d been camping out in it for the past few hours. They were starting to get impatient as you swept the crumbs off your dining table and gathered handfuls of empty chip bags to throw away. You sighed heavily, looking at the state of your kitchen. Deciding it would just have to be fine, you finally answered the door. 

“Ma, Pa. You didn’t tell me you were coming to visit.” The two practically pushed themselves in, setting plastic containers of food on the counters. The two were too presentable just to be in the dirty kitchen of your small apartment. They shared a look you couldn’t decipher after glancing around the decor of your combined living room and kitchen. Though, they didn’t have to speak for you to feel the judgement. “I’m..sorry for the mess,”

“We would’ve called, but we were..around anyway.” 

You furrowed your brows, knowing that was a bold face lie. This was the first time they’d ever been here since helping you move in and it was clear they were not in love with what you and Ellie did with the place. “Yeah?”

Your mom hummed. You looked to your dad unsurprised to see him going along with your mom’s unbelievable excuse. You knew better to go fishing for the truth so bluntly. 

“Well, I won’t say no to free dinner.” You busied yourself with putting the food up, hopefully avoiding their awkward attempt to avoid what they were really here for.

“So, where’s Ellie?” Your dad asked. 

Ah, the golden question. You wondered that yourself. “She’s at work. The..internship”

It didn’t take a mind reader to know they didn’t believe you. Maybe, two weeks ago, when your excuses were fresh to the ears. 

“At an internship you’d think they’d give her some off days.” Your mom remarked, moving leisurely into the living room. She was careful in sitting her purse down on the coffee table. It was a wonder she’d made no comments about how you could brighten up the room. She was trying at the least. Your dad on the other hand wore his intentions on his sleeve in his firm and pensive expression. 

“She volunteered for as much as possible,” The words fell off your tongue with ease as you filled up a kettle and set it on the front eye of the stove. You opted to stay close to it, instead of checking to see if they took the lie well. “She’s just trying to get ahead of things before graduation.” 

Your parents mumbled their own versions of praise for the absent girl. It soon grew quiet, neither of you having anything useful to say. The awkwardness reminded you of the stern talking to’s you’d been subjected to when you got anything lower than a B on a report card. That was the worst thing you’d done as a kid. What would they say if they knew you were covering for Ellie’s vigilantism?

“Did Ellie ever find her family? At the attack a few weeks ago?” Your dad finally spoke, his deep voice filling the cramped space. His features were firm, almost daring you to lie again. But you weren’t one of his suspects. You wouldn’t crumble. 

You turned around, giving the kettle a break from your stare. “Mhm.” You took slow steps into the living room and sat at the edge of the coffee table. “They were stuck in traffic so far back, they weren’t targeted.”

Another round of “that’s good’s” and the tension was back on. “Listen,” Your dad started, his firm demeanor softening into something almost nervous. The way your mom silently assured him only made you more afraid for his revelation.  “I wanted to reach out to her folks and check on em and..”

“And?”

“They don’t..they’re gone. She has no living family left.” He said gingerly.

Even having known the fact, it still made your heart clench as much as when you first told her. You had been careful to keep your reaction subtle, knowing pity wasn’t what she wanted from you. “She..” You started, the reminder catching you in a lie she mindlessly told. “She was talking about her Aunt and Un—“

They didn’t wait for another one of your lies to speak. “They live in Jackson. Wyoming.” Your father stated matter of factly. 

You sputtered in search of another excuse, but you had nothing left. He knew more than you were hoping he did. He knew nothing of what Ellie had told you in whispers and short confessions, he knew what was documented on paper. “You did a background check,” Your words were mumbled, barely containing your irritation. The betrayal made your blood run hot, mixing with the anger at being left neglected, and making a scolding combination bubble up through your veins. 

Your mom rushed in to desolate the impending argument. “We just want you to be aware, baby.”

“I am.” You snapped, rising to your feet. The temporary difference in height gave you confidence to let your anger loose. “I’m aware enough to know you’re lying about why you’re really here.” Your arms were tightly crossed, your own nails digging into your skin. 

“We’re looking out for you,” Your dad stood, defensiveness triggered by what he perceived was your displaced anger for the loving parents that were trying to protect you. 

“By doing a background check on my girlfriend,” You affirmed, your voice raised on the thin verge of yelling. “What the hell?” 

“Watch it,” Your father said, placing his hands on his hips. That firm warning would’ve been enough to make you eat your words and run up to your room. “By looking at the situation with an open mind.”

You scoffed, walking off to check on the boiling water for tea you barely wanted to offer anymore. You didn’t want them to stay and continue to shit on your relationship. Not when you were feeling insecure about it yourself. “What situation?” 

“How’d she really get shot?” 

“What?” You turned around to face them, face contorted in a mix of confusion and deepening irritation. They were getting more and more outrageous with their assumptions and you were just barely keeping your tone respectful. 

“The story she gave us doesn’t make sense,” Your mom said, her voice firm yet gentle. “You can’t blame us for thinking something’s wrong—“ 

“Not when you’re fishing for something wrong,” You reached over the stove to flick the knob the other way and take the kettle off the scalding eye. “Nothing is wrong, okay? So just trust me on that,” You could barely process what you were doing while you were fuming like this. That was until you felt the overwhelming burn on your palm. “Shit–” 

“Are you okay? Your mom was by your side as you pulled your hand away from the hot metal. Your dad already had the faucet running with lukewarm water. 

The burning softened into an achy feel in the skin that was already starting to blister. You rushed to the sink to drown the burn in water. The pain had your eyes filling with tears. You bit your lip, swallowing down a sob. Now was not the time to break down. “M’fine, just..go.”

They didn’t move. At the sight of tears, the firmness fell from your father’s face. You didn’t want to see it.

“Go,” You said louder. "Please?"

It was deathly quiet as the two made a slow, concerned exit. The sight of your hand blurred as hot tears ran down your face. The ache only gave you another reason to crumble.

The ache in your hand hadn’t stopped even after a few hours. Painkillers dulled the feeling, leaving it up to painful reminders of the injury. 

You had tried to busy yourself with cleaning up the pigsty that was your apartment, but nothing you did calmed you down from the earlier argument with your parents. Fighting was never something you liked doing. The aftermath was even worse. Your stubbornness had come from the very couple you’d argue with and your relationship would most likely be at a stalemate until one side caved. However long that’d take.

Yet another relationship in limbo. 

Preoccupied with your thoughts, you’d barely heard Ellie come in. Even when she hadn't come in ranting you could sense she’d made it home. Now, she hadn’t even gotten a remark about tracking dirt into the house. You didn’t have it in you.

“Hey,” Ellie breathily greeted you as she pulled off her hood and mask and padded into your bedroom to change. 

“Hm? Oh, hi.” You wrung out the dish towel, ignoring the pressure against your scared palm. The splatter of the runoff filled the space between you. “How was..” You turned around, watching Ellie down a glass of water in a set of clean pajamas. 

“Fine,” She scratched her brow. “How was— What happened?” She pushed herself off the counter to turn to grab your hand, inspecting the injury. Her brows furrowed at the sight of your patchy bandage work done with some leftover gauze from her old discharge kit.

“Nothing,” You mumbled. Her concern should’ve been heartwarming considering the growing distance. Though, it only made you tug your hand from hers. You mindlessly began to wipe the counters. 

“Well something did.” Her eyes followed you despite the lack of eye contact from you. The action only made her more suspicious. She couldn’t help it. She had woken up thinking about how much damage superpowered criminals brung onto the city while she rested. It felt like her brain was wired for only that purpose, leaving her barely any time to tend to you. 

“I don’t want to talk about it. Maybe it’s fine,” You mumbled, rounding the island to the sink. 

Ellie frowned. Your passive-aggression wasn’t lost on her nor was the current state of your relationship. She hadn’t been here long enough to see you get up and fix coffee, much less to see how you hurt yourself. She thought she could just..make it up to you once this was all over. Shitty, but she had to think of some way to balance the two. You were having none of that. 

“Then..what do you want to talk about?” She asked quietly, taking tentative steps behind you. Her hands itched to wrap around your waist and press her thumb between your brows to soothe the irritated frown you wore. Instead, she rung her hands together, hoping the pressure would distract her. 

“I don’t know, Ellie.” That was a lie. Other times, you wished for her to come home so you could talk her ear off about nothing in particular. When your parents had gone out the door, you wished she was here to listen. Sometimes you took to your memories, thinking of the times you would pass time debating over things that didn’t really matter. Now? You said a total of 15 words to each other a day. 

You wrung out the towel again, softly grunting at the throbbing in your palm. “You know what? I lied.” You turned around, gripping the counter as tight as your hands would allow. “I’m pissed. Like, beyond pissed and I feel like I’m..crazy for it. I mean, you’re a hero. You’re out helping people every day and I’m pissed I can’t have anything upwards of five minutes with you. Yeah, the city’s important. I get that. Believe me, I do, but aren’t I—?” 

“What? You know you are.” Ellie leaned against the counter, replying exasperatedly. Ironically, now the weight of the day started to be a bother now. She had done enough to make her shoulders ache by just raising her arms. She didn’t want to think about arguing with you. 

“I sure as hell don’t feel like it.” You huffed, starting to clean the sink furiously. “And I don’t like that my parents are starting to have doubts either—“

“What?” Her whole body seemed to perk up at that, tiredness being replaced with dread and uneasiness. Ellie knew she hadn’t exactly been the biggest social butterfly but she thought she’d done okay. Minus the leaving-dinner-to-go crime-fighting part.

“They know you’re not around.” You threw the towel into the sink, flexing your hand to ease the pain. “I guess my excuses weren’t good enough.” You left her alone in the kitchen and sat on the couch. The lack of productivity only seemed to make you more tense granted by the way your leg bounces uncontrollably. You practically lunged for the painkillers and attempted to open it. “Still doesn’t make what they did right— Shit.” You threw the bottle away and rested your head in your palm. 

Ellie watched the scene with conflicted eyes. She wanted to help you. She should’ve been in here in the first place to prevent any of this from happening. She had never wanted to make you so unhappy. She sat next to you gingerly, grabbing the bottle and making two pills fall into her palm. She tentatively held her hand out to you. 

You took them, reaching for the water when she grabbed it for you. You snatched it from her despite the immediate guilt bubbling in your gut. This was happening for a reason. You were right to be mad, right? You couldn’t tell. The pills went down easy, though that did nothing to ease the tension in your jaw. “Is this how it’s gonna be?”

She didn’t have to ask to know what you meant. “No.”

“No.” You parroted back as you turned back to look at her. “Really?”

Ellie didn’t meet your eyes, purposefully concerning herself with an insignificant spot on the floor guiltily, shielding herself from your annoyance. “It’s not always gonna be like this. I’m trying, okay? I swear, I’ll be all yours after I figure this out–”

“And I’m just supposed to wait here?” You mumbled, threading your fingers through your hair to the point where they got tangled. 

“Look, this isn’t forever.” Ellie scooted closer to you, clueless as to how to comfort you in this moment. Usually, she knew exactly what to do, how to hold and console whenever you got this stressed, but now she had nothing. Her words of assurance were empty and as tired as she was and her presence only seemed to be aggravating your stress at this point. Was it terrible that she wished someone needed her right now? 

“What if it is?” You blurted, roughly untangling your hair from your fingers and raising your head. 

“It’s not.” Ellie denied quickly, agitated that you were even thinking that. “It’s not.” She said softer this time. Her hand reached out to pry your arms from their crossed state, despite the rising fear of you pushing her away. Surprised you didn't, she quickly acted on the opportunity and took your hand in hers, rubbing patterns on the back of your hand. 

“But what if it is?” You insisted, struggling to keep your ground in the face of the infection. There was a part of you who hated the argument. That thought you should’ve shut up and left it alone, enjoy this time you had with her. The other part couldn’t stand the thought of letting it fester only for it to result in something bigger than just an argument. “Whether I like it or not you’ll always have the city on your back.”  

Ellie took in a long sigh and exhaled audibly. Her grip on your tightened as if you would snatch your hand away at any moment and walk out the door, tired of waiting and tired of being left behind for the strangers of New York. 

“You’re a hero. I know that and I-I love that about you. I just..” You huffed, already regretting the admission on the tip of your tongue. “I didn’t think it would feel so..lonely.”

The words stung. Ellie knew she was being stretched ten different ways across the city in one summer alone. She’d gotten so comfortable with wearing the mask that she hadn’t thought about what she was leaving behind. Her throat was dangerously dry as she fixed her lip to speak. She thought about apologizing, making it up to you with some grand gesture, but that'd only be a patch fix. “So..what do you wanna do?”

“I don’t know.” You stood, grabbing your jacket off the hook near the door and slipping it on. 

Ellie was on her feet before she could process it. The sight of you getting ready to leave had her mind jumping to all kinds of illogical conclusions. She watched your movement with unwavering focus, like a puppy dreading their owner's departure. “Where are you going?” The words came out rushed in spite of her attempts to sound calm. 

“On a walk.” You intoned, twisting the doorknob and slipping out the door. Catching a glance of her disheartened state. She looked a mess, drowning in oversized clothes and sweaty strands that had no regard for where they ended up. She’d thought you were already gone based on how she’d withdrawn, pacing languidly with a pensive expression that told you her mind was already running miles with the worst outcomes. 

“I’m coming back.” You assured her, or tried to at least. 

Her head perked up, relieved to see you still there. She looked down, inwardly reminding herself she was still in the doghouse. “I know.” She whispered, pulling her lips into a thin line. 

With one last look, you closed the door and headed out of the building and out onto the streets. 

You had no idea how long it had been since you left. Desperate to flee the tense scene, you had forgotten your phone and wallet. Though the empty space in your pockets allowed an ample space for your hands to occupy, so you hadn’t complained. You’d get home soon enough, right?

Your mind became too preoccupied with justifying everything said in the past hour to support your directional problem and soon you became lost. It all seemed to add up. First, your parents, then the burn, picking a fight with Ellie, and now you were lost. Everything seemed to come together to make your day as equally as shitty as you felt. It only seemed right to allow yourself the time to sulk. 

The bench beneath you had gone warm with your temperature, leaving the spot next to you as cold as the midnight air. Your sweatpants had become littered with barely dried imprints of teardrops. There was no denying you were a sad sight. 

But you weren’t looking for comfort. Today was just..an irritatingly challenging day. Tomorrow would be normal. 

“Don’t move.” Tomorrow became a past thought as you felt cold metal press to your temple. It didn’t take long to register what it was. Your hands immediately went up despite the impulse to wipe the evidence of vulnerability painted on your face. You knew better. Though you were sure, whoever was behind you could feel your heart beating seemingly outside your body.

 “What do you want?” No response. “What do you want?” You demanded, response coming as a hard whack to the back of your head. The ache was immediate, blurring your vision and only stoking the flames of confusion, panic, and anger all huddled up inside you. Before you could muster up a response, your hair was grabbed, making your head fall back. 

“Look up,” There was a robotic quality in the voice behind you, only confusing you further. It was soon solved as your head was moved to allow a flying creature in the sky into your view. You strained to see him, the ache making it hard to focus on anything. Your eyes widened once it became clear what you were seeing. A regular man surrounded by enough tech to make him hover in the air without a single worry of falling. That was all you were allowed sight of until another blow made everything fade into black.

thank you for reading!

[lucimaaie]

is this yet another instance of me connecting tlou to a normal real life experience completely unprompted? yes. anyway, look at the pretty giraffesss

[lucimaaie]

was just casually on tiktok and found this..

[lucimaaie]

can all five other mcu Joaquin Torres fans stand up, I want to get a headcount of us all

[lucimaaie]

DON’T TALK TO ME. DON’T ENGANGE UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE😭❤️‍🩹

[lucimaaie]

i think i just realized spiderman (men? idk) is like one of my hyperfixations 😳😳 i say that with my spiderman funkos, my painting and fanfic im working on right now and whole spider theme account…

[lucimaaie]

u one of them homosexas

finally, someone noticed 😆

[lucimaaie]

why couldn’t we see dina with a baby bump :(

[lucimaaie]

valentine ✧.* tlou

summary - you convince your girlfriend to celebrate valentine's day with you.

a/n - first time writing abby so bare with me, so maybe ooc abby, like 600 wc for both, was supposed to be a headcanon but turned into whatever this is, fluffiest fluff, actually edited and proofread this time, lemme know if you want me to write more for abby or headcanon-like stuff, anyway enjoy, happy valentine's!

The concept of holidays were obviously nonexistent in the midst of an apocalypse, especially Valentine’s Day. There were remnants of it in run down convenience and grocery stores—Shitty flowers left for dead and chocolate boxes rummaged in a hope for some sustenance— but nobody cared enough to set aside time to acknowledge the old holiday. They were too busy fighting to survive.

So when you brought it up, you weren’t expecting a completely receptive reaction or even a positive one. It was indeed one of those seemingly meaningless  holidays that even then people forgot about. Yet it wormed its way into your mind after recently learning about it. Imagining a day where you could just appreciate your girlfriend was no doubt sappy, but now was the chance to test out your curiosity, right?

“I just don’t get why it’s important,” Abby would say when you brought it up. Her brows furrowed as she pushed the sticks and uneven longs around in the fireplace. The fire was small but much needed to combat the cold air that seeped through the walls come night. 

Your lips pursed as you thought of a way to put it that didn’t make you sound insane. The idea very much was. There were some days when you were worried the cold would freeze your fingers off and draw away all the game, and now you were concerned with celebrating. “It’s about..love and appreciation, but not like the one with the big dinners..uh, thanksgiving? Yeah, it’s different than that.” 

“I do know what Valentine’s day is.” She commented dryly, sitting back next to you at the foot of your shared bed, wrapping her arm around you. 

“How was I supposed to know?” You poked her cheek. 

Abby swatted your hand away playfully, chuckling as she pulled her head back. “I never said I didn’t know about it. I just don’t get it.” She grabbed your hand from her cheek and intertwined your fingers. Her face soon grew serious as she took in the combined warmth of your body and the fire. How nice it felt to have someone to be so close to. “I appreciate you already.” She said genuinely.

Her words made your brain blank and your heart beat faster. Everything about this moment was making you feel like some kind of sap. 

“I don’t need flowers to show you how I feel.” Quite honestly, she wouldn’t know what to do if you presented her with flowers and a bed of rose petals, if you could even find those in the freezing winter. She wouldn’t hate it..but it sounded like too much.

“What if I just wanna give you flowers or not even flowers— If I just wanna do something special?” Your voice was quiet against the crackling of the fire, like it was a secret for just the two of you. It partly was. Only you got this softer side of Abby. You turned to look up at her, taking in the light blush on her cheeks and dilated eyes. “Just something different from every other day.”

“I..won’t stop you.” She mumbled with a bashful smile, not knowing what to do with the attention. She took in the awe in your eyes, inwardly cursing herself for letting you talk her into yet another pre-outbreak tradition “for the sake of normalcy,” Truth be told, this life with you was the closest she’d ever gotten to normalcy, not having a mission or some type of assignment. She’ll admit it drove her crazy at first: That need to commit every day to something other than surviving. But you helped. 

“Good,” You pressed your lips against hers softly, both hands cupping her jaw, smiling as you took in her satisfied hum. “Cause you couldn’t have anyway.” 

“I—shut up. This better be worth your hassling,” She grabbed your jaw when you pulled away, swiping her thumb against the apple of your cheek. Her hair fell over her shoulder and created some type of curtain around your faces. “Ugh, you did it again.” She groaned, glancing down at your lips. “C’mere.”

Bringing it up to Ellie on the other hand send her into an internal frenzy. You’d have talked about it in a feigned off handed manner, laying on the edge of her bed as you watched her doodle mindlessly. “The stupid holiday with the chocolates and cards?” She mumbled, not thinking much of it. You had probably heard about it from Maria or somebody else who was alive before the outbreak.

You chuckled in response, mentally getting ready for the jokes. “Yeah, that.”

“What about it?” Her brows furrowed as she thought about it some more. Why would you be mentioning it– Oh. “You..wanna celebrate it?” Her hand would stop, hovering over the paper as she was pulled out of her focus. How the hell would she find anything to give you in what was mostly ruins? What would you even want? 

“Do you?” You thought you were being subtle in your line of questioning but she caught the deflection.

“I asked first.” She turned around in her chair to face you, dropping her pencil and leaning forward to grab your hand from under your head. “Do you wanna celebrate Valentine’s Day? The whole love letter and rose’s thing?” She ran her fingertips over your knuckles as she spoke, using you to fidget as she often did hoping you’d just pass it off as affection. She could write you a letter--nah, she’s done that before. Or a song? She already had so many. 

“I mean, it’s not realistic, but—“ You sat and scooted off the bed  to take a seat on the edge of her desk. She immediately took to looking up at you as you tried to explain “It’d be sweet.” You blurted. The words still felt inadequate. “We already do birthdays and Christmas, but it’d just be about us. So..maybe I wanna celebrate it in our own way.”

Ellie waited for you to finish before placing a hand on your thigh, assuring you as if she wasn’t troubleshooting ideas in her head right now. It wasn’t— It was stupid, she had to admit, but it was sweet that you wanted to celebrate being together. It had taken her so long just to realize how much she liked you and then to finally tell you. She couldn’t imagine taking you for granted now. She hummed, thinking about it. “Our own way..how?” 

“Anything. We can..go to that cabin we found a few weeks ago..have alone time..I don’t know.” 

“Mm, abandoned cabin. Sounds romantic.” She said dryly, picking up her pencil to resume doodling, but the inspiration didn’t come. She found herself too distracted by ideas. So instead a messy, unorganized list of ideas made it to the paper. She inwardly rolled her eyes at how quickly she subscribed to the idea.

“You know what I mean,” 

“I’m messing with you. If you want, we can do it.” She insisted with a nonchalant downturn of her lips. The bounce of her leg gave away her true emotions: the weird mix of nervousness and excitement the thought had given her. Her mind being both her gift and curse was already ripping through the possibilities of your reactions based on what she did for you. 

“Really?” You perked up, back straightening almost comically. Ellie had tried not to laugh and the best she could do was a small smile. “You don't think I’m being sappy?”

“I absolutely think you’re being sappy.” She teased, scooting so that she was closer to you. She wrapped her arms around your waist, fidgeting fingers now preoccupied with the stray strings of your hoodie. “But I’ll go along with it because I love doing stupid things with you.” She admitted earnestly, pulling you to be closer. 

“That’s the sappiest thing you’ve ever said to me.” You wrapped your arms around her neck, fingers messing with the baby hairs at the nape of her neck. “And I love it,”

“Nope. It’s all you, you’re rubbing off on me.” 

thank you for reading!

[lucimaaie]

danger ✧.* spiderwoman au

pairings - ellie williams x fem!reader

summary - the thought of ellie running into danger causes you do something stupid yourself.

warnings - mix of fluff and angst, actually moving the plot along a bit, 4k word count, mostly proofread

playlist | spidey masterlist

You didn’t know how you ended up on the streets of Queens. It was as if you hadn’t gotten in the car, put it in gear and drove there on pure adrenaline mixed with anxiety. It was different when you were at home watching a stranger in a suit risk their life for other strangers. Now, that stranger was your girlfriend heading right into the eye of danger and you’d just given her permission to do so.

You were starting to feel the ache in your heels after running the distance your car didn’t cover in the midst of traffic. The ache in your feet was the last of your worries as you took in the chaotic scene in front of you. It wasn’t exactly armageddon or some alien invasion from years ago, but it was a nightmare considering Ellie and your dad were deeply involved with the intent to stop it altogether. 

Beams of blue light lit up the street and set fire to whatever they hit: cars, trashcans, and nearly people just trying to get to safety. Many stayed in their cars too paralyzed with fear to try to fight for their life against men with superpowered guns. Police were way out of their depth trying to round up the assailants with handguns and authority no one cared for. 

“Are you crazy?” A woman yelled behind you, grabbing your shoulder and pulling you down to where she was crouched. The impact of your back to the brick wall was enough to pull you out of your haze. You turned your head to see the woman just as scared as you were, curled up and ducked low in hopes she wouldn’t get hit. 

You were itching to get up and find Ellie and your dad, but what good would that do? Both were too stubborn to leave everyone else to their own devices and both believed the city depended on them. And neither of them were bulletproof, or immune to whatever was coming out of those guns. 

“S-stay here,” You shot up to your feet, crouching down behind a line of cars parked against the sidewalk. You clung onto the cars for dear life, the mix of adrenaline and anxiety making your limbs feel like jelly. Like there was too much energy for your body to hold. 

The sound of terror was strangely familiar to the city of New York and even more to you. Once again you were in the middle of danger and Ellie made it her mission to resolve it. The messed up sense of deja vu knocked you back on your bum, leaving you to push yourself back up with shaky hands. 

The sound of a trash can being rattled and snatched made you straighten your back in the slightest, just to see. There she was, Spiderwoman, sweeping the group of attacking men with the object just to get them off their feet. She released a spray of numerous webs, leaving them stuck to the ground before she looked around for more. 

You couldn’t see her under the mask, but her shoulders tensing was enough of an indication that she wasn’t happy to see you, not here. Her breath seemed to get heavier as she stared back at you, not hearing the screams of her name. It wasn’t until you stood up, throwing yourself out in the open to kick one of the guns far from the hands of the restrained men on the ground that she realized her inaction wasn’t helping. She turned to the source of the sounds, a mix of your father and a couple trying to get out of their blazing car, and headed towards them but not without a second glance at you. 

You looked around, assessing the damage like there was something you could do to fix it yourself. The men were everywhere, too focused on terrorizing each other than to be remorseful about the damage they were causing. They were hellbent on destroying each other and for what? Without thinking, you picked up the gun you had kicked closer to you and ran to the nearest pair, hitting one of them in the back of their knees. 

As soon as he had gone down, the other was on you. You had attempted to hit him the same, but he just knocked the gun away like it was a pesky fly. The action gave you time to look at the glowing attachment on his arm. It was strange: connected to his skin and pulsing an amber hue every time he moved. He was strong. Strong enough to send the man on the floor flying into a car with one kick. You didn’t wanna know what he was going to do to you. 

You stepped back and mentally began bracing yourself for impact. When your back hit the wall, you assumed that was it, until he was yanked back from you within a few seconds. You had never been happier to see Ellie, except for the time you had been dangling from scaly hands. You leaned against the wall in relief as the man was webbed to a random car.

Ellie landed right next to you. “That was stupid. Incredibly stupid–” 

“I know. You don’t think I know that?” You slid down to sit on the pavement, legs giving out from stress. Breaths came out interrupted by wheeze-like coughs, as you pushed your back against the wall, wishing to be back home where it was safe. Awkward, but safe. “Is it over?”

“The police should have the rest.” She crouched down to your curled up form, gloved hand grabbing your hand firmly. The texture was grounding as you felt it going over each of your knuckles. “Let’s go home.”

Ellie discarded her hood and mask as she crawled through the window after you. She spared her usual glance around to see if anyone saw and immediately closed the window behind her, blocking out the noises of the streets below. The quiet hum of your shared apartment should’ve been comforting after hearing a mix of screams, horns, and the crackle of flames. Instead it only intensified the tense feeling between you.

“Why’d you come?” Ellie decided to face it head on, plopping onto the couch before remembering how particular you were about furniture and standing on her feet. She’d take off the suit later. 

“Why wouldn’t I?” The words sounded strangled and confused coming from your scratchy vocal cords irritated from smoke. You had peeled off your jacket and shoes, convinced removing all your extra layers would suddenly make your limbs more stable. When that didn’t work, you leaned against the counter for support. “You and dad ran off..right into the fire and I was supposed to stay back?” 

“Would’ve saved me the stress.” Ellie’s eyes were glued to your back, wishing she could absorb all of the nerves from your body and replace it with that same optimism you left the house with. She stepped behind you slowly, hand gently rubbing your back in big circles. 

It took everything in you not to leap into her arms and bury your face into her neck and scold her for scaring you like that. Again and surely not for the last time. You stuck with gripping the counter for dear life and leaning back into her hand, sucking in a shaky breath in an attempt to finally calm down. “Hey, I was fine.” Her voice fell into a soft whisper. “I’m fine now,”

“But you weren’t.” You blurted.

Ellie’s whole body tensed, now confronted with the elephant in the room you’d both been ignoring. Her hand had stopped its motion at how choked up your voice sounded. She once again felt like there wasn’t enough she could say to take that fear from you, and that feeling was killing her. “I’m fine now. I-I’m okay, I promise.” She inwardly cringed at how encouraging she tried to sound when she couldn’t even subscribe to the thought herself. The truth was every time she put on that suit she had a chance of not coming back. And you both knew that. 

“You were passed out in that..A-and I didn’t know what to do.” You turned around, glancing at her in said suit. She had been a hero tonight, saving innocent families from getting hurt due to some careless villain of the week. Not only tonight but for years. The first time you’d seen her, relief had snuck up on you like a bad cold. She had saved your life before you even loved her. “Shit,”

She said your name in that same whispery tone before, as if speaking louder would send you into shock. Her fingers had a mind of their own, digging into her palm with the same amount of pressure she felt in her chest. She never wanted it to come down to choosing between the mask and you. She couldn’t and you’d never ask her to do that. Right? 

“I can’t stop you, can I?”

Ellie furrowed her brows at your response. This wasn’t going how she wanted it to. “Look, I-” She ran her hand through her hair, letting out a frustrated sigh. Of course, she just had to be bad at words in a moment like this.  “You gotta know I wouldn’t leave you behind for anything. I wouldn’t risk it without a good reason–”

“I’d say saving the city is a hell of a reason.” You pushed yourself off the counter, feeling stable enough to walk without the possibility of tripping, and over to her. The wrinkle in her brows softened as you pulled her hand from her hair and intertwined your fingers. Your other hand came to cup her face, thumb rubbing a dark spot of smoke on her freckled skin. 

“Yeah, but you sound like you’re breaking up with me.” She mumbled, pathetically leaning into your hand. She had already been through this once with Dina. Though, she wasn't a hero. She was just a girl looking to avenge her dad and it changed her. By the time she pulled herself out of that and decided to use her abilities for good, it was too late. She knew the mask complicated things, even if it was unintentional. 

“I’m not saying that,” You said quickly, like the notion was completely absurd. 

Ellie’s heart jumped in relief. Her eyes flicked between yours, looking for any signs you were just placating her. She still couldn’t believe it when she hadn’t found any. It would have to catch up to her one day, it always did. “Then what are you saying?”

“Honestly? I don’t know. But I’m not breaking up with you because you’re..” Your eyes trailed down to her suit, the webbed patterns distinct in the dim light of the kitchen. The logo on her chest could still be seen through the splotches of smoke and soot that stuck from the fire. It wasn’t exactly a bat symbol that shined in the sky, but you could see it on anyone: kids who wanted to look like their favorite superhero, people who wanted to show their appreciation for the person who had their back should they run into trouble, anyone. “A hero. Doesn’t mean I’m not gonna worry like hell.”

Ellie was hoping you hadn’t noticed how she started to tear up. She hated crying, much less in front of someone else. “Shit.” She brought her hand up to cover yours. “I might need you to say that again,” She chuckled.  

“You’re crazy if you think I’d leave you right now,” Or ever, you wanted to say. Your hands were gentle in cupping her face ready to wipe the tears that threatened to drop. You swiped your thumbs over her freckled skin, enjoying the feeling of knowing she was here and okay. 

Ellie soaked in the affection and leaned her forehead onto yours. She breathed in the scent of you mixed with the smell of burning. It didn't matter, you were still here. Her hands dropped to your waist to bring you closer to her as if being any closer was possible. “Please don’t.” 

“So how does this work?” You laid back against Ellie’s chest in the fresh clothes and newly cleaned skin. The bedroom was dim with the light of the city shining through the window next to the bed. Just enough light for you to see her eyes focused on studying your hair. 

“How does what work?” Her voice was quiet, like she was on the precipice of falling asleep at any moment. You wouldn’t blame her, between meeting your parents and saving families, today had been a lot for one woman. Even a super-powered one.

“Spider-womaning. Heroing. Whatever you wanna call saving people.” You tilted your head up to look at her. 

“Well. Sometimes I listen to police radios. Other times, I just get this..feeling, I don’t know how to describe it.” She looked up as she tried to find the words to make it clear. Truth be told she’d been doing this so long, she hadn’t even needed to think before getting out in the field. Years of experience had instilled a silent confidence in her when it came to this. Not that she didn’t have her doubts. 

“Which explains how you and Dad always end up in the same place.”

“Well, I don’t mean to be a pain in his ass all the time.” A sleepy smile came to her face briefly before something more serious came around. “I just hope I redeemed myself.” She mumbled, absentmindedly chewing on her lip. She had worked hard just to get your dad not to arrest her much less work with her and now he was under the impression she had just given up. That wouldn’t do. 

“Of course you did. You’re back.” You reached up to pull her bottom lip from her teeth and press a quick kiss to her lips to soothe the skin. “And I won’t hold you back anymore.” You murmured against her lips. 

Ellie frowned. “I don’t want you to think of it that way.” You were never holding her back. In fact, the opposite. She was aware it was quite a stereotypical thing to say, but you really did make her life better. “I, honestly, don’t blame you for not wanting me to go out there. It’s–”

“Admirably stupid and heroic?” You finished for her, scooting back down to lay on her stomach and press kisses there to make up for your blunt tease. You were careful to around her scar, still wary of hurting her no matter how fast she’d healed. 

“I was gonna say dangerous. Wow, bug, tell me how you really feel.” Ellie chuckled from your words and the kisses on her slightly (very) ticklish stomach. Her hand cupped your head, thumb swiping over your cheek a few times before taking place under your chin. 

“Aren’t I such a good girlfriend?” You came back up to face her, placing those same kisses all over her face until she was laughing uncontrollably. The sound of her genuine laughter made up for the fear you’d been put through earlier tonight, or yesterday you should say. 

“Yeah, yeah the best. Get down here, you.” Her voice was rough from laughing her guts out. 

“We can’t go to bed yet, I have questions.”

“Tomorrow, please.”

Ten hours later you woke up drowning in covers and stirring, trying to convince your body to get up. It was harder when you started to shiver at the cold air of the house the moment you kicked off the covers. Though the spot next to you wasn’t any warmer. The cool feel of the spot next to you made you sit up faster than you intended. 

Sleepy eyes were no help in searching for Ellie, so you rolled out of bed and carefully padded your way into the living room. You could guarantee she was on her computer, hunched over the and knee-deep into the rabbithole she’d been going down for who knows how long. 

Unsurprisingly, there she was sprawled out on the couch eyes laser focused on the bright screen. So much so that she didn’t seem to notice you until you sat next to her.

“No, good morning, hey, hello?" You grumbled, still trying to wipe the sleep out your eyes.

Ellie snapped out of her trance and wrapped her arms around you, placing a kiss on your temple. “Good morning, grumps.” She smelled sweet, probably from your lotion she absentmindedly grabbed all the time. In her defense, the scent reminded her of you. Plus, she needed all the fragrance she could get to get the smell of smoke out her nose.

“Morning, spidey.” You leaned into her arms. Your yawn came out muffled against her chest. So did her fake annoyed groan against your head.

“Oh, here we go.” She moved her computer off her lap, letting you replace the weight.

“What? I can call you that now. Speaking of, I still have questions.” You pulled back, making Ellie let out what you could describe as a whine. “Hey,” You grabbed her chin, trying to school the amusement on your face. “It’s tomorrow.”

“So?” She sounded like a petulant child, pulling away from your hand and hiding her face in the warmth of your neck. It was funny to think there was ever a time when things were awkward and new between you. 

“You have to answer my spidey questions.” 

“It’s too early,” Ellie half grumbled, half whined into your skin. 

“Ellie,” You mimicked her tone, pulling a few giggles out of yourself. 

“Fine, hit me.” Ellie came up for air, resting her chin on your chest to look at you. Her eyes were dark in the room dimmed by thick curtains, but still you could see the awe in them, the full attention she was giving you. 

“How long have you been spidey?” You fingers distracted themselves in her messy hair she hadn’t bothered to come out before bed last night. She’d barely done anything but shower and ease her aching muscles into the bed. This morning the opposite. 

"If you call me that again, I'll web you to this wall–”

“Kinky.” You teased.

“Ew.” Her features turned up into a disgusted frown as if she was a prude. Far from it, but you’d keep that thought in your mind. She laughed with you until she decided to really take in your question. She hadn’t thought about the whole span of her career before. It was a day to day thing that took a toll on her, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t worth it. "Since I was…15, actually. Wow,” Her voice grew soft. 

“That long?” You tried to picture a 15 year old Ellie risking her life to safe people when she was just figuring out how to live hers. It was scary, admirable, but scary as hell to think about. “Did your dad know?” You asked delicately. 

Her muscles tensed at the mention. She had done her fair share of work to try to heal from the experience of not being able to save Joel. That didn’t make it any easier to talk about him, but she tried to focus on the good things, all the memories she had of him taking care of her. Him being here. That didn’t stop her brain from coming up with things she could’ve and should’ve done that night. “I’m not sure. Think he just thought something was wrong,” Ellie messed with a random string from your shirt, choosing to focus on that. “Kinda wish I would’ve told him.” Might’ve saved him, she chose not to say. 

Seeing the shift in her mood wasn’t unexpected no matter how delicately you had tried to bring it up, but it still made your heart clench. “15..that’s young.”

“Being bit by a spider literally changed my life. Sounds like some fucked up origin story,” She couldn’t help but chuckle at the sound of it. She wasn’t looking to be a hero when she got bit, she was just snooping around where she shouldn’t have been.

“That’s how it happened?” You pulled back to look if she was just teasing you, but there was no signs of it. In fact, she was making fun of herself. “I thought— Well, I dunno what I thought but wow,”

“You thought I was born with webs coming out of my wrists?” She looked at you with a raised brow.

“They come out of you?” You blurted. 

“Yeah, what’d you think?” Ellie said nonchalantly as you grabbed her wrists and inspected them. She had done the same the moment she figured out she could do it, only the wonder on your face was the opposite of her reaction. 

“That you had machines in your suit or something.” You flipped her wrists over palm facing up and still you didn’t see anything different. “Are you, like, part spider?”

Ellie leaned back on the couch, very amused with your fascination. “No! Maybe. I don’t know—“ She was interrupted by the sudden pressure on a sensitive spot within her veins. Her cheek reddened at the surprised stutter that fell from her mouth. "O-okay, that's enough of that."

You stopped, eyes widening. “Does that hurt?” 

“Uh, nope.” She cleared her throat in an attempt to hide the spreading blush across her cheeks. Her lips were folded into a thin line and you swore she started to smile. “Doesn’t exactly hurt.”

“Oh?” You raised a brow, pinning your bottom under your teeth in an attempt not to smile. An attempt that went out the window the longer you looked at each other and the moment Ellie pinched your side. “Ow!” The exaggerated sound came out in a loud giggle that drowned out Ellie’s light scolding of your earlier teasing. It was only when it died down that you could both hear the constant beeping coming from her computer. 

While the sound only brought confusion to your face, Ellie’s features hardened into a focused, determined expression. She patted your leg in a signal for you to get off her lap. Intrigued by the whole display, you obliged. She replaced your warmth with the cold, beeping laptop and clicked a few keys until a soundwave bar popped up. The audio was loud and yet scratchy as you both tried to listen. Most of the cop speak meant nothing to you, but it had Ellie scrambling for her suit. “What? What is it?” You blurted. 

“Those guys from last night, they’re back. Or, other guys? Doesn’t matter, they’re stirring shit up again. People are gonna get hurt.” She was quick to shimmy into the suit, the red and blue fabric sticking to her skin. She was about to slip on her mask when you reached up to smooth hair down. The hardened determination softened as she laid her eyes on you. “I won’t be long,” She squeezed her mask in her hands.

“I know.” The words were simple, but it took a great deal to say. To trust that she’d come back exactly how she was leaving. But the yelling coming from her computer was a hell of a motivator. “I trust you.” You said, giving her a brief kiss. 

Ellie ached to pull you back towards her, but she knew now wasn’t the time. So, she took one last look at you before pulling her mask over her head and opening the window behind her. There was ease in the way she jumped off the fire escape and swung away. You just hoped she was as careful as she promised. 

Itching to do something you’d begun to distract yourself with cleaning around the house. The activity was only physically taxing on your sore muscles, not your brain. Your ears still perked up at the constant updates coming from the news channel you’d quickly turned on soon after Ellie left. The thought of what she was doing now never left your mind even as you surrounded yourself with the clutter of a being a few months moved in. 

A call to your mom had you pacing for a total of 20 minutes until the woman was pulled from you by work. There weren’t nearly enough dishes in the kitchen to keep you busy long enough and your shared bedroom was only burdened by the clothes from last night, both tasks that were done very early on in this cleaning purge, leaving you on option: The closet you’d stuffed with everything you didn’t want to deal with at the time. 

There was just one problem. You knew what was in there besides old sweaters and boxes of comics Ellie had been too attached to discard of. It had rolled out the small space when you tried to ignore it and it had ended up in the hands of determined gangsters when you refused to acknowledge it further. It sure as hell wouldn’t go away any time soon. 

So you pulled on some gloves and took in a deep sigh to prepare yourself. It was only an orb the size of a marble and yet it had the power to melt the metal of care upon contact. Wasn’t deadly at all. Couldn’t possibly be. 

The delusion almost had you laughing until you laid your eyes on the little blue thing. Should you even still have this? What if it blew you and your apartment into pieces the moment you touched it? This orb had been in Ellie. That was the scariest part. 

Still, you’d set it carefully in a small sauce dish and stared at it until you heard the window open and close. A stranger could’ve walked in and your focus still would’ve been on the tiny sphere. 

“Babe,” Ellie greeted you breathily. She pulled off her mask and kissed you on the cheek, sliding her hands around your waist to bring you closer to her. She was eager to feel you after being in the middle of chaos for the last hour and a half. So much so that she didn’t notice your inattention until she pulled back to look at you. “Hey,” She grabbed your chin to make you look at her. “What’s wrong—“ She followed your line of sight and froze.

“What the hell is that doing here?”

thank you for reading!

[lucimaaie]

so i might be shadowbanned on c ai, so ima ask a question

[lucimaaie]

calling ✧.* spiderwoman au

pairings - ellie williams x fem!reader

summary - you finally take ellie to meet your parents.

warnings - "your mom" gets used a lot, awkward ellie cause i love her that way, 3k word count, a bit of angst

playlist | spidey masterlist

With Ellie feeling better, things had gotten to be a new sort of normal. As normal as they could be considering. Yeah, you still woke up at night haunted by the sinister reminders of her getting hurt and she still snuck off in the wee hours of the morning to do ‘research.’ Neither of you wanted to talk about it. Other than that, your relationship was as good as can be. 

So good that you had decided to call up your parents again and set a date to have dinner with them at the end of the week, along with Ellie of course. Insert minor anxiety that climbed its way into your mind and spread like a bad virus. How would they react to her? Would they ask about the injury? You could imagine the embarrassment when your dad shamelessly went into his passionate rant about how high the crime rates were these days. 

Despite your anticipated unease, you had laid out your and Ellie’s clothes days before, bought at least something to not come up empty handed, and ran down your list of no-no topics at least twice. You knew your constant reminders were starting to annoy Ellie, but you wanted everything to be perfect. If not perfect, at least peaceful. 

"The air's gonna be blasting. You're gonna thank me for this." You were knee deep in the front closet you'd stacked up boxes neither of you wanted to deal with. That was including puffy ass jackets that caused you overheat even in winter and others you have no what demon compelled you to buy. 

"Who wears a jacket inside in the summer?" Ellie yelled from the kitchen. 

"People who have lived in a glorified icebox all their life..so me!" You yelled, thoughtlessly ripping through boxes to rummage through them in seconds. Nothing came up. You groaned, pushing them back to as much a neat state as you could, when the sound of a heavy clatter made your head snap in the direction of it. 

The luminescent blue made your limbs stiff as you started to remember where you’d seen it before. That glow that lit up the whole hallway in spite of its small size made your stomach churn in recognition. You didn’t want to think about that night, so you hastily reached for the orb and threw it into the first open box you saw, shutting the closet door behind you. 

“Bad news.” You came around the corner in what you hoped was a composed stroll.  “You might have to freeze your ass off.”

"Oh no, how will we survive in 70 degree weather?" Ellie murmured from the other side of the living room, using the window’s reflection to button up her shirt all the way up to the collar. She gnawed on her lip, brows furrowed in concentration, allowing you to sneak up on her. Or at least try. She always seemed to have a sense around these things. 

You placed your head on her shoulder, taking in the scent of her. Her natural smell was easy to pick out even under the sweet, citrusy lotion she had stolen from you. You took in a dramatic whiff and nosed at her ticklish neck just to hear her try to hold herself back from laughing. As expected, Ellie’s shoulder came up to shut your head out.  “Alright, alright.” You leaned your head on her back instead, wrapping your arms around her waist. 

“You ready to go?” 

“Ready is generous.” She talked through a deep sigh, swatting off imaginary dirt off her shirt in an attempt to make herself look presentable. She could fuss with her shirt for hours if you let her. If you had been tossing and turning, she had been grinding her teeth in and out of her sleep. 

Your hands came up to grab her wrists. “I don’t think choking one a button on is gonna get you outta this.” Your hands on her shoulders turned around to face you. A grin came to your lips as you undid a button or two, adjusting her collar so that it looked natural. One look at her confirmed she was indeed ready to meet the tough pair you’d been raised by. “You’re ready.” Before she could protest, you subdued her with a peck and keys in her hand. 

Ellie opened her mouth, starting to come up with a reply to your blind confidence in her, but she came up with nothing. She’d let you have your way this time. 

The modest stature of your childhood home gave no justice to the bustling energy on the inside. Ellie’s eyes searched the exterior, taking in all the signs that a family had been here: a worn porch swing, a wreath with artificial bright yellow flowers, cracked paint on the door, light shining through every window. 

The scrambling behind the door at your knock kickstarted a wave of anxiety through her body. She hadn’t even realized it was that noticeable until you squeezed her hand and began drawing tiny circles on the inside of her wrist. Before she could squeeze back the door opened, revealing your mom.

“Hi, Ma.” She’d never seen the woman, but she could feel the quiet grace ruminating from her serious face. The moment she laid her eyes on you, her features softened into a smile that resembled yours. She dragged the two of you in before wrapping her arms around you tight. “God, I was wondering if I’d have to get you a police escort to make you come down here.”

“It hasn’t been that long.” You were sheepish as you set down a container of rolls. They were store bought rolls and weren’t fooling anybody, but you were taught to never come up empty handed and you’d rather save yourself a mountain of questions from your mom. 

Your strong willed energy being nerfed by your mother almost made Ellie snort until the attention was placed on her. “And this is Ellie.” Your mom’s voice was filled with awe and interest Ellie didn’t know what to do with. She let herself be pulled into a hug as tight as the one she shared with you. “And how are you, Ellie? With the injury and everything?” Your mom dragged her to the living room, probably to seat her and start the interrogation. 

“Uh, I’m alright. I’m healing.” Ellie glanced between the fireplace and the woman’s warm eyes. It’s not that she hated it, the opposite actually, she just had no idea how she should feel. She hoped the wringing of her hands was subtle. 

“That’s good. I actually have something that might help—“

“You don’t have to—“ Your hand on her shoulder cut her off. She resisted the urge to sigh in relief at your presence, though she was glad you hadn’t left her to the wolves. And glad she hadn’t said that out loud. 

“It’s better if you just let her get it.” You sat next to her handing her a glass of water, leaning back against the couch with ease. 

“Get what?” The hairs on Ellie’s neck seemed to stand up when she recognized the deep, stern voice of your father who had appeared from the hallway like he was gunning to catch her doing something she shouldn’t. While she felt she should straighten up and put some respectful space between you, you hadn’t moved an inch. 

Intimidation was nowhere near your face as the man wrapped his arms around you and placed a kiss on your forehead. “Hi Dad,” You mumbled into his arm, unaware of your girlfriend’s internal debate just feet from you. 

Her eyes widened when his focus was now centered on her. Her mind was chaotic deciding what she should do in his presence. Should she stand up? Hug him? God, no. What was she even supposed to talk about, work? She was pulled from her thoughts as he held out his hand. She quickly took it and returned both his firm grip and eye contact.  “Alive and well,” 

“That’s me.” She pressed her lips together in an attempt to look like she wasn’t shitting her pants trying to figure out how to impress your parents. She relaxed when he sat down and followed suit. 

There was a lull in conversation as Ellie sat there, not quite sure what to talk about for the millionth time this evening. She looked as stiff as a board, trying not to touch you (for once.) You’d have busted out laughing if she wasn’t so nervous. Instead, you slipped your arm around hers and filled the silence before your dad’s attention was gone to the TV.  “So, dad’s what’s for dinner?”

“Let’s see,” He leaned forward, grabbing the towel that was about to fall off his shoulder. “Mashed potatoes, broccoli rice casserole, baked chicken–” And just like you got him talking. About food, but still it was progress. You knew that quietness was only to save himself the air he needed to drill questions at Ellie later. “Actually, lemme go check on the casserole.”

“How’d I do?” Ellie whispered as soon as he left the room. 

In the interest of making her feel better–and not spitting out your water– you held in the urge to laugh at her paranoid behavior. “Just fine, hun.” You intertwined your fingers with hers, something you’d probably be doing the whole night just to get her not to run, and kissed her knuckles. “They’re not serial killers, I promise,”

“Your dad’s probably checking for the gun right now.” She mumbled, tracing the natural lines in your palm. For a while, you stayed like that and it wasn’t bad at all. Ellie had been looking around in search of signs you grew up here and each one made her want to squeeze you and never let go. 

“Dinner’s ready.” Your mom appeared from the kitchen, ushering the both of you to the dining room. The table was small, only having the space for the four of you and maybe one other person if you had a sibling or a friend. Four steaming plates were set around a small bowl of pinecones that were inexplicably never out of season in your house. 

Ellie had been sure to make some effort to eat throughout the dinner, but the lingering anxiety sitting in her stomach hadn’t exactly gifted her with an appetite. Her focus stayed on your hands linked under the table and endless amounts of questions from your parents. One part was gentle on your mom’s part and the other firm though your dad tried to bring it down a notch by you and your mother’s instruction. Both of them wanted to know her life story up until the moment she met you which was sweet and slightly if not very overwhelming.

Somehow she had gotten wrapped into a conversation about the job industry just from a question about what she wanted to do when she graduated. “And now they’ve got this AI stuff they’re using and that’s only the start. Soon enough-” Ellie was trying her best to keep up with your dad’s passionate rants about the future of the job industry and all, but she started to zone out.

“Dad, I think we’ll be okay for now.” Your attempts to calm him wouldn’t get him off his high horse. Once he started talking, it could be an hour long lecture. You had been on the receiving end of them enough to know. 

“But you use it for homework, don’t you?” He wiped his mouth with a napkin, having finished his food a long time ago. 

“You’d get a call from Dean if I did.” 

“Enough of the AI talk, I think we all get the point, babe.” Your mom came to the rescue. “Why don’t you tell Ellie about your job instead of why you might lose it–which you won’t.”

Your dad leaned back in his chair, stomach practically poking out from all the seconds he’d had between his rants. “Alright,” He wiped his hands once more and then leaned forward as if he was giving a statement on TV. She glanced at you for help that she very well may need later if your dad got as passionate about his job too. “I’m the police captain, which essentially means I’ve worked this precinct enough years to boss anyone around.”

“Which means you don’t do any work.” You mumbled as you tore apart your third roll in the past hour, grinning at the deadpan look you’d earned from your father. 

“I’m gonna pretend you didn’t say that.” He turned his attention back to Ellie. “That’s what happens when you stick it out in one job long enough. You get to make some of the decisions. You keep that in mind when you graduate.” 

“Uh, I will.” Ellie cleared her throat, squeezing your hand. She had become somewhat comfortable during dinner, but she was still on guard with the amount of part of lectures your dad had administered throughout the night. That didn’t stop her from sharing a few snickerd with you when he wasn’t looking. 

“I think you’ve imparted enough advice on us for the year.” 

“I gotta deal with bug theme vigilantes, but at least I’m getting paid for it.” 

“You mean the, uh..what’s her name? Spider..Spiderwoman. That’s her name.” Ellie seemed to perk up at the mention of her alter ego. She hadn’t even needed to glance at you to know this was one of the topics you hoped wouldn’t come up. 

“Yeah, that’s her.” Your dad’s voice was full of disdain. The same disdain you had to listen to whenever you called home and simply asked about work or the news. It stopped when they had developed something of a working relationship now destroyed by Ellie’s absence these past few weeks. “The great hero of New York. Where is she now?” He grumbled. 

Tenseness swept over half of the table at the mention, the topic a soft spot in both you and Ellie. No one knew how much she yearned to wear the suit again, how restless she was starting to feel without the very thing she had devoted herself to for more than half a decade. 

Ellie had tried to be subtle in her exit, making up some excuse about needing a refill in her cup. Your parents pointed her to the direction of the kitchen without another thought about it. Though you couldn’t read her mind, it was obvious the spontaneous mention shook her. You grabbed your plate, about to excuse yourself until your dad took the plate from your hands and stacked it on his. There goes your excuse. 

Ellie had been zoning out a while, lost in her head when your dad walked in and set the plates in the sink. She found herself on edge, readying herself for another rant about how much of a coward she was. To her surprise, that wasn’t his intention at all. 

“I was told not to give you a talk, so I’ll keep this short.”

Her eyes flicked up to your father, then to the tile for a few seconds just to return to him again. She hadn’t seemed to process what he said until he tilted his head, searching for something. She had no idea what he was looking for and it only made her more nervous, if that was possible. She seemed to be nothing more than a big ball of nerves tonight. Your parents were nice people and she was grateful you allowed them to meet her, but she couldn’t ignore the big red and blue elephant in the room. You knew. They didn’t. 

“You know, she was worried sick when we came. We could barely get her to take a nap or eat.” It didn’t take a genius to know what he was referring to. The fact that he brought it up was making her feel any better either. 

“I know.” Ellie shifted on her feet, pulling her arms over her torso. She couldn’t focus on finding the right balance of eye contact or not looking how she felt. Her mind was working overtime to try to find what to say. It was enough to struggle to get you to trust she was safe, she hadn’t thought about your parents. Though an apology felt inadequate at this moment. 

“What I’m trying to say is she cares for you. A lot.” Your dad wrung out the towel and placed it over the counter, turning around to mirror Ellie’s position against the counter. “I mean, you’re the first one she’s brought home.” Something of a smile crossed your dad’s face. It shouldn’t have been such a strange thing to notice. No matter how tough he made himself out to be, at the end of the day, he was nothing but a dad protective of his daughter. She could never be mad at that. There’s nothing she wouldn’t give to experience that again. 

“Don’t mess it up.” His sternness came back to snap her out of her mind. 

She pushed herself off the counter. I’ll try my best, she thought. No, that wasn’t good enough for you. “I won’t.” 

“I will be holding you to that–”

“Dad! Ellie!” Your voice boomed from the living room. The confused pair moved fast past the abandoned dining table to the TV. The set up of panels from the news were familiar save for the live feed of the demon masked assailants wreaking havoc on a traffic-infested road in the middle of the city. And just to add to the chaos, a significant prison transfer was taking place on the same road. 

Ellie had been too focused on the screen to realize your dad had already grabbed his gun and his car keys on the way to the door. He was the police captain, of course he was on his way to the danger. Her only problem was working up the excuse to get there herself. Her eyes came to yours, somewhat asking for permission. Her heart ached at the visible stress in your body, the way you squeezed your hands together. 

“I’m gonna go–” 

“Ellie’s gotta run to the lab,” You blurted, surprised yourself by the words that came out your mouth. There was no amount of regret that could take the acceptance back. Why would you when there were people in those cars, praying they don’t lose their life to today’s batch superpowered criminals? That’d be selfish, would it? Thought that justification did nothing to soothe your worries. 

“I’m coming back, I promise.”

thank you for reading!

[lucimaaie]

[lucimaaie]

i wanna go home 😭😭

JJ BEING CANONICALLY REFERRED TO AS ELLIE’S SON WHAT IF I THROW UP