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starcountesswritings · 3 years

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Workplace Romance

Buckle up Buttercups! This is a long one coming in at just over 6,000 words! I had so much fun writing this and I hope you enjoy! Spoiler Alert! It does take place after the events in Spiderman: NWH so if you haven't seen that read at your own discretion!

It had been several months since Otto had been dragged out of this universe and back again and while it was good to be back in his own world he was still getting used to the new way things were. When he had been sent back he had been able, with some help from Spiderman, to stop his machine from going off and had worked with authorities to make amends for what he had done while ‘under the influence’. There had been a trial but seeing as they couldn’t find a prison that was capable of holding him, different terms were settled upon that were beneficial to all. Otto was to remain within the confines of a state furnished lab - living accommodations would be made within it - to carry out his research. He had readily agreed, for one it was a much better sentence than he had expected but after what he had seen in that other universe he was actually excited to get back to his research.

That was where you came in. You donned your lab coat and straightened your shirt one more time in the elevator as it approached the new lab you were assigned to. From what you understood you were the 8th - or was it the 9th? - assistant assigned here just this month in what was apparently a revolving door of lab assistants. Despite this you had already made up your mind that wasn’t going to be the case with you. This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance, working with the brilliant mind of Dr. Otto Octavius, and you’d be damned if you were going to let something as trivial as his previous reputation bother you. Okay, so maybe his time as New York City’s biggest supervillain wasn’t trivial but still, you were determined.

The elevator dinging brought you back to the moment. Whew, right. Okay, you got this. When the doors opened you took a deep breath then a confident step into the lab. The dark lab. You frowned in confusion, checking your watch again to make sure you had the time right before taking a few more cautious steps in.

“Hello?”

No response.

"Dr. Octavius?" Still nothing.

You took a moment to survey the lab, noting the disarray of the workstations and mentally making a checklist of things to start with. It was smaller than you had imagined, or maybe it just seemed so because of the mess of it. Continuing in a pile of papers near one of the computers caught your attention with a prominent sketch of some sort of power source face up on the pile and you shuffled through them, amazed as you read through the calculations and notes scrawled upon them. You knew Dr. Octavius was a renowned scientist but this was top notch.

“You know, skulking around someone else’s desk in the dark isn’t the best first impression to make.”

You jumped and turned toward the voice, hastily setting the papers down. “I’m sorry, I’m new and no one answered me, and I didn’t know where the light…switch…was…” Your apology trailed off as one of the infamous actuators moved from over Dr. Octavius’s shoulder past you, flicking on the very obvious light switch next to the door. You could feel your cheeks flushing but took another deep breath and forced the embarrassment away. Straightening your shoulders you extended your hand in greeting. “I’m (y/n), the new lab assis-”

“Yes, yes, I’m well aware of who you are.” Dr. Octavius waved you off. You’d be gone by the end of the week anyway, just like the rest of them. “As you can see your predecessor was untidy to say the least, you’ll start over there.” He gestured vaguely to the opposite corner of the lab, he usually found that the greater the distance between himself and whoever they sent as an assistant the better.

Otto had been expecting some sort of push back, or at least for you to start telling him you were more qualified than cleaning a workstation, but to his surprise you merely nodded and went straight to work. He watched you for a moment, wondering if he had unintentionally scared you into doing the work before heading off to get the coffee pot started. It didn't matter anyway.

And that was how the week went. While internally it was absolutely killing you to continue cleaning instruments and organizing folders day in and day out you stubbornly refused to complain about it. If this was all his previous assistants had been tasked with doing you couldn’t fathom why any of them would want to quit. The money was good and Dr. Octavius left you alone most of the time, save for telling you what he needed done that day, you would even go as far as saying he was a bit reserved. The actuators took a little bit of getting used to and while it was a bit jarring every time they moved around you by the end of the week you had gotten over flinching and more or less paid them no mind - even if they did seem to be watching you on occasion. Instead you focused on making sure your work was perfect and that he would have nothing to complain about while you figured out a way to show how much more you were capable of.

“Are you sure there’s nothing else that needs to be done today?” You questioned, half-heartedly zipping up your bag for the night.

Otto glanced up from his work, having almost forgotten you were still here. “No, nothing. You’re free to go.” He feigned going back to the papers on his desk but as soon as the elevator door shut behind you he set them down again, pushing his chair back to survey the lab. He had to admit it was the cleanest he'd ever seen, probably even cleaner than when it had been set up. Not only that but it was Friday and you were still here, a bet he would have lost had he been asked on Monday. You had thrown yourself quite readily into the work he gave you this week, menial as it was, and he had to wonder if you actually enjoyed it or if he really had scared you into the work on Monday. It didn’t seem like it; you were quiet, did your work diligently, and had stayed a whole week without a single complaint. Although none of that meant you weren’t scared of him, like all the others had been, he reminded himself. For all he knew you were downstairs talking with HR right now to get reassigned. Not wanting to get his hopes up he threw the thought of you aside and went back to the papers on his desk.

While Otto hadn’t heard anything about a new assistant over the weekend he was still surprised to see you when you stepped into the lab Monday morning. You made eye contact and gave him a small smile as you tucked away your umbrella by the door before heading to one of the workstations. He didn’t say anything back but the small nod of acknowledgement was enough for you and you were glad that he looked away so he didn’t see the blush that crept across your face.

That became the new normal, Otto still surprised every time you walked in the next day and you working your absolute hardest to prove yourself. By the end of week two you both had settled into somewhat of a routine and by week three the atmosphere felt more comfortable and relaxed. You were still doing menial tasks but now that you had worked through most of the lab there was less and less of them to do. As long as you kept busy Dr. Octavius didn’t seem to bother with what you were doing and you found yourself able to sneak looks into some of the papers you had been filing, hoping that something on them would give you an idea of how to show him you could do more.

“I’m going to grab some lunch.” You announced, as you usually did, and Otto waved you off as he usually did - what you had come to accept as his way of acknowledging you - but this time you paused before the elevator. Maybe there was a way to start getting in his good graces. “I’m going over to the coffee shop across the street, do you want me to pick something up for you?”

You bit the inside of your cheek to keep from grinning at the look of surprise that crossed your boss’s face. “Black, two sugars, right?” You quipped before he could say no and smiled when he nodded.

“That would be nice, (y/n). Thank you.”

You nodded back and headed out, grinning ear to ear as soon as the elevator doors closed behind you. When you returned a short while later you were not only carrying two cups of coffee but had decided to grab an assortment of pastries as well, it was Friday after all. You had been given a brief overview of his situation when you were hired but didn’t know the finer details such as living arrangements and meals and thought, based on the food Dr. Octavius had around the lab, it might be nice to have something different.

“Black coffee.” You stated, pulling his cup out of the carrier and setting it on the desktop so you could take yours out of the carrier next. One of the metal arms moved to pick his up and you watched with curiosity and amazement as it gently lifted the cup and brought it to Dr. Octavius. How could something so large and bulky do something so delicately?

“Ah, sorry, habit.” Otto apologized when he noticed you watching, he needed to be more mindful of when he used the arms. While you had certainly outlasted any of your predecessors there was still a fear in the back of his mind that you still might get scared off and the thought of not seeing you again- he pushed thought away, chalking it up to being lonely.

“Oh, no, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to stare. They’re just…so fascinating.”

“They were supposed to be one of the greatest scientific advancements of our time.”

“They are! The amount of scientific genius to design something so advanced is absolutely amazing! I’ve read all your papers about them but it’s still incredible to see them working in person. What’s it like controlling them? Does it get tiring like using your arms or legs too much? Can you feel what they touch?”

Otto’s brow rose in amusement. “Quite a curious mind.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be nosey.” Your face was most assuredly flushing and suddenly the coffee cup in your hands seemed much more interesting than anything else in the room.

“No need to apologize, it’s actually quite nice to have someone to talk to about, well anything really.”

You looked up to see him smiling at you. It’s the first time you saw him genuinely smiling and you couldn’t help the flutter of butterflies in your stomach. Clearing your throat you looked back down at your coffee cup and took a sip, not wanting to seem like you had been staring. “How did you create the nanowire link to your cerebellum without compromising your own motor functions? The technicalities of that must have been extremely difficult to execute, the only person that I’ve seen come close was Dr. Fowler but her work was only on lab rats.”

“You’re familiar with Dr. Fowler’s work? Impressive.”

“Of course! Her work then was ahead of her time and highly overlooked, her current work using electrical stimulation to-”

“Reverse brain aging, yes!” Otto chimed in enthusiastically.

“-and if that proves successful the possibilities that would open up could be endless! We could have a future where just the right shock to just the right part of the brain could reverse oh I don’t know, paralysis or even multiple sclerosis, who knows! It’s astounding!”

The corner of Otto’s lips turned up in a half smile as he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “I have to admit, I am impressed, (y/n).”

You very unsuccessfully bit back a grin. “Of course, that kind of future would need enormous amounts of readily accessible energy.” You were baiting him into talking about the work he was doing here, hoping the enthusiasm of the current conversation would keep him going.

“You are correct. Technology is the way of the future, there is no denying that, and I believe we will come to rely very heavily on it. Which is why we need to work now to develop methods of keeping up with it. My, ahem, previous, work trying to create a power source was unfortunately unsuccessful but after spending time…elsewhere, I have other ideas to pursue. Such as…” His sentence trailed off as he pushed his chair over a few feet to his desk and began shuffling through papers.

Elsewhere? You questioned to yourself but didn’t want to push too much, it looked like he was retrieving the papers you saw on your first day there and you were more excited to see more about that than finding out what he meant by ‘elsewhere’.

“This!” Scooting back over he pushed the tray of pastries aside to spread everything out. “This device is only the size of a baseball but the energy it is capable of producing can outmatch an entire field of the best wind turbines or solar panels.”

“Really? How is it able to produce so much? Does it draw from another source or produce its own?”

“In theory, it produces its own.”

“In theory?”

“Yes, well, that is what I am working on here. You see, this Arc Reactor was something I had brief interactions with while I was...away. I was able to recreate here,” he pulled out papers from the middle of the pile, “some of the components but how they managed to have a stable fusion process in such a small device has still eluded me.”

“Have you tried asking ‘them’?”

“That is a complicated story for another time but the short of it is, it’s impossible.”

Mysterious, but you accepted it for now, focusing more on what this meant for you. After all these weeks trying to find a way to show off what you were capable of to now have one land in your lap, you couldn’t help but grin. “Well, two heads are better than one, as the saying goes. What have you looked into so far?”

Dr. Octavius dove right into an explanation, fervently going over the diagrams in front of you while one of the actuators retrieved another file from his desk. This was the kind of work you had only dreamed about doing and you followed along enthusiastically, not even realizing the time until your stomach protested loudly. Dr. Octavius insisted on calling it a day, even though you would have gladly pulled an all-nighter, and sent you home for the weekend with a joking promise that it would all still be there on Monday.

It was like a seal had been cracked and the next weeks flew by in a haze of experiments and spirited scientific discussions. Otto remained impressed by your capabilities, even in topics you were unfamiliar with you were a quick study and generally able to keep up with his often lengthy trains of thought.

He couldn't help but be curious about you and wound up going over your file again, wondering why someone as capable as you had taken a job as a lab assistant in the first place. You had an associate’s degree which was respectable but you were certainly bright enough to go further and clearly seemed interested enough in learning, maybe he could find a way to bring that topic up in conversation at some point. Turning to the next page of your file made him pause as your staff photo was clipped to the top of it. His fingers traced over the soft features of your face - the style of your hair, the arch of your brow over your intelligent eyes, the curve of your lips turned up in a smile. He quickly shut the file, tossing it on his desk as he took a deep breath. You were his assistant for heaven’s sake! He shouldn’t be having these thoughts.

But every time you walked through the door he couldn’t help the swell of happiness rising in his chest; he didn’t have many things to look forward to in his current situation but you were certainly one of them. He genuinely looked forward to the work week and often found excuses to ask you to stay late as he found the lab felt more and more empty every time you left.

“That was the front office, the food just got delivered.”

“Oh! Let me run down then, I hope she tipped them like I asked.” You bustled off to the elevator to retrieve the delivery, coming back some minutes later with an armful of food. “What on Earth did you order? This could feed an army!” You joked as you set everything down.

Dr. Octavius began helping you unpack. “I wanted to do something a bit special, today marks six months of you working here after all.”

You froze half-way through setting a plate down, mentally counting back the weeks. “Has it really been that long already?”

“I suppose I should take that as a compliment?”

“Hmm? Oh, well it certainly wasn’t an insult.” You felt a flush beginning on your cheeks and busied yourself getting glasses and utensils. “It hasn’t felt like 6 months if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Then I shall take it as a compliment.” He accepted the glass of wine you handed him then raised it slightly towards you with a wide smile. “To six productive months.”

You returned the grin and clinked your glass with his before taking a sip. “Have they been productive? It feels like we should have accomplished more in six months than we have.”

Dr. Octavius waved your statement off. “Research takes time, it will happen. But for tonight, why don’t we talk about something other than work for a change?”

“Okay…hmm.” You hummed in thought while you chewed. Six months ago you would have found conversation outside of research awkward but now you were actually surprised you didn’t know more about him than what you knew of his career. “What are some of your hobbies, Dr. Octavius-”

“Please, call me Otto.”

“Alright, Otto, what is something you enjoy outside of lab work and research?” Saying his first name felt wildly intimate to you, even when you found yourself thinking of him outside of the lab you always thought of him as Dr. Ocatvaius.

“I’ve always been quite fond of stargazing, silly I know, and still somewhat scientific. But the beauty of the dark night with the faint twinkle of light from other stars far away from our own…there’s such a perspective to be had on life. I do miss seeing the sky.”

“Careful, you’re starting to sound more like a dreamer than a scientist.” You joked, helping yourself to another glass of wine.

“Who says you can’t have a little of both in your life?”

“Fair enough.” You conceded with a nod of your head.

“And how about yourself? What do you enjoy doing when you’re not here putting up with me? What is something you’re interested in besides research?”

“I read a lot, almost anything really but I have a soft spot for poetry. I enjoy the soft abstractness of it that is so very opposite this field of work.” You gestured vaguely around the room.

“Poetry, huh? Who’s the dreamer now?”

“Well, someone once told me you can have a little of both in your life.”

“That must have been someone very wise.” You both shared a laugh before he continued. “I must commend you though, I was never good with understanding poetry. ‘T.S. Eliot is more complicated than advanced science’ is what I used to tell Rosie…” Otto cleared his throat before taking another long drink from his glass and immediately changed the subject. “Anyway, what about schooling? I saw you have an associates from the college I used to teach at, do you have any intention of furthering your education?”

If you remembered correctly Rosie was his wife that had passed away in an accident but you didn’t know much more than that and you certainly weren’t going to question him on it, especially since the evening had been going so well, so you went with the change of topic. “That is the goal, yes. It’s just that classes are expensive. But! I have been saving everything I can from working here and I’m hoping to take a class or two in the spring semester! So it may take me a bit longer than some but I do hope to eventually get a doctorate.”

“It is a shame that the education system has become so damn bureaucratic and money hungry that it holds back bright people such as yourself from furthering their knowledge.” Otto shook his head in disapproval. “Although, while I may be cooped up here, I still have some connections at-”

“No, no, no. I didn’t mean to sound like a charity case. It will happen, eventually.”

“Alright, to eventually.” He raised his glass in another small toast that had you both chuckling.

While Otto accepted your answer for now, his mind was already turning over with who he might be able to get in touch with to help you out. You were smart, brilliant if he did say so himself, hard-working, and determined. If someone deserved a little help from him he couldn’t think of anyone better.

It would be a few weeks before the subject came up again. Otto had followed through with his plan, pulling some strings and offering the college a donation with a promise of taking on lab assistants from their graduate programs and in the end he was able to secure you a full ride scholarship. He had been holding onto the news for a few days, waiting for the right time to let you know while hoping you wouldn’t be mad at him.

"Do you need me to do anything before I head out?" You questioned as you usually did, zipping up your bag and locking the computer screen as you waited for a reply. It was the end of another week, a rather productive one at that, and while you would of course stay if he needed something you were really hoping he'd say no. You were mentally exhausted and looking forward to a weekend of nothing but take out and re-runs.

"Yes actually." Otto opened his top desk drawer and pulled out a slim folder, handing it to you nonchalantly. "Would you mind looking this over real quick and let me know what you think?"

You hoped your expression remained neutral and didn’t betray your disappointment as you crossed to him and took the offered folder. There wasn't much inside, just a couple of sheets stapled together, but when you began reading them over your expression quickly changed to one of confusion.

"This…has my name on it?"

Otto was glad you weren't looking at him as he grinned. "Oh? And what does it say?"

"Dear, (y/n) we are happy to inform you that you have been accepted…Otto what did you do?" You finally looked up at him in shock, the realization of what the letter said finally sinking in.

“Now, listen, I know you said not to but you are far too intelligent to be wasting your time here-”

“This isn’t a waste of time-” You began to protest but he held up a hand to stop you.

“But consider what you’ll be learning. Science is always advancing and just think of what new things they could be teaching now that could help with the work here!” He gave you a warm smile as you continued to look at him with uncertainty.

“This would mean…I’d have to quit working here.”

Otto felt like he watched your heart sink as you looked back down at the folder in your hands. “Look, it’s still months away, we’ll cross that bridge later. For now just be happy. This was meant to be exciting!” On instinct he reached out and placed a hand on your shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“You’re right.” Now that the shock had worn off your mind was running through an array of emotions, from sadness to panic to excitement and back again.

“Of course I am.” Otto smirked, hoping a little levity would lighten the mood.

You rolled your eyes in response. “This is…this is happening. Oh my gosh. I’m going back to school.” Saying it out loud certainly made it feel more real and you looked back down at the papers in your hand to reread the first few lines over again.

“Yes, yes you are.”

“I’m going back to school! Ahh! Thank you, thank you!” You gave into the excitement and on impulse threw your arms around Otto’s neck, giving him a big hug and releasing him before he even had time to process what happened. If you hadn’t been so distracted you might have noticed the blush that immediately spread across his face but as it was, you didn’t.

The atmosphere in the lab changed after that but neither of you were willing to admit it out loud. The work day became less and less productive as the weeks passed and you found yourself more often than not staying late and sharing a meal with Otto. While you would occasionally have days of frantic experiments when one of you had an idea most were instead spent getting to know more about each other. Otto gradually opened up more about his past; his failed experiment, the death of his wife, where the idea for the Arc Reactor came from. You in turn would keep him apprised of the goings on in the city, share stories from your life, or sometimes read poetry together. On the latter occasions you would catch him watching you intently and you had to wonder, or maybe it was hope, if he was just paying attention or if it was something more. On your end it was most assuredly ‘something more’ and as excited as you were to be going back to school you couldn’t deny the sinking feeling in your chest of not getting to see him every day and maybe even never again. You spent quite a few nights wrestling with yourself on whether or not you should tell him how you felt. What if he didn’t feel the same and you wound up ruining a perfectly good working relationship?

The holidays seemed to brighten up the mood in the lab, even though the days were getting cold and dark, but the end of the year approaching meant the end of your time there. Classes opened up in January and with you having off the week between Christmas and New Years it meant that Christmas Eve was your last work day.

You had wanted it to feel special but it felt anything but. You woke up to pouring rain, the coffee shop you usually stopped at was closed, you got splashed by a taxi on your way in, and the security officer for the building was late so you, and the front desk lady, were stuck outside waiting in the cold for him to show up. By the time you got to the lab you were in a less than pleasant mood.

“Ugh, could this day get any worse!” You announced dramatically as you entered the lab but as soon as the words left your mouth you realized how they must have sounded. Maybe this day could get worse. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just…”

Otto looked up to see you gesturing at your rain soaked self. “Don’t trouble yourself with an apology, no offense was taken. Here, allow me.” He stood and crossed to you to help remove your coat, a gesture that had your stomach fluttering.

“Thanks.” You turned your back to him as you shrugged off the drenched garment, acutely aware of how close he was to you. Sure you’ve been working side by side for months but this…you had to fight the urge to lean back against him and wrap his arms around yourself but after a moment he stepped back and the spell was broken.

"So, um…" You began, glancing around your empty workstation - any personal items you had brought into work had been taken back home save for one box in the back of the bottom drawer but that was for later. "Anything you need me to do before I go?"

"Please, (y/n), I'm not going to make you work on your last day." Otto chuckled, shoving his hands in his front pockets. "I'd rather hoped we could just enjoy each other's company for the day."

"I'd like that very much." You agreed with a smile.

While conversation between you was usually easy today it felt forced, like you were tiptoeing around each other to avoid any mention at all that someone else would be working at your desk. When he had dinner delivered you actually found yourself jumping at the chance to get it from downstairs just to take a breather and relax your tense shoulders. It had of course crossed your mind numerous times to just blurt out your feelings and get it over with but there were too many 'what ifs' to ignore. At least dinner served as a distraction and you were able to occupy your mouth with food instead of talking but it soon came to an end and after cleaning up you were at a loss for what else to do. It was getting late, evident by the street lights shining in from the room's front windows. You checked your watch, not that it mattered the time, and decided now was as good a time as any.

"Apologies, it is getting late and I didn't mean to keep you this long." Otto had noticed how uncomfortable you seemed and while he didn't want you to leave, now or ever, it was selfish to keep you.

"Are you kicking me out?" You joked, giving him a sly smile that you hoped looked sincere.

"Of course not. It's just…" Otto sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm just glad we got to work together."

"I am too. Truly, it was an honor to be a part of your research." You met his gaze, holding it for a few long moments before you realized you were and looked away, clearing your throat. "Well, don't think I won't be back! You can't get rid of me that easily!"

"Is that right?"

"Yupp! And…and I expect you to keep me updated on your findings here. And…and how the new assistant is."

"Yes, ma'am." Otto nodded solemnly before you both burst out laughing.

"Well, before I go there is one thing." You bustled back over to your desk and opened the bottom drawer to retrieve the gift-wrapped box you had stashed in there a few days ago. "Here, this is for you."

You were glad to see the surprised expression on his face as you handed it to him.

"(y/n), you shouldn't have-"

"Just open it." You laughed. "It's not much but, well I hope you like it." He gently tore off the bright red paper and opened the plain white box within to reveal a small dark globe on a stand.

"It's a projector of sorts, but oh! wait before you turn it on…" You jogged over to the light switch and flicked it off then over to the front windows to close the blinds so the room would be dark.

He watched you with growing curiosity but waited patiently until you were back to switch it on. The ceiling was instantly lit with hundreds of tiny lights but as he looked closer his eyes went wide with realization. He was looking at a map of the stars.

"I know it's not much but I hope, well I hope it makes you think of me every once and a while."

For once Otto was at a loss for words. "Thank you, (y/n). It's perfect."

"I'm glad you like it!"

You were smiling that perfect smile of yours and for a moment Otto almost forgot he had something for you too. "Ah, I suppose it wouldn't be Christmas if I didn't have something as well." One of the actuators retrieved a package from under his desk and handed it to you. "Merry Christmas, (y/n)." He said softly as you began tearing at the wrapping paper.

"No…" The paper fell away to reveal a framed poem, it's words delicately scrawled out on hand pressed paper. "It's my favorite, you remembered?"

"It's one of the few I actually grasp the meaning of, thanks to you of course."

You smiled at his admission before beginning to read it aloud.

"since feeling is first

who pays any attention

to the syntax of things

will never wholly kiss you;

wholly to be a fool

while Spring is in the world

my blood approves,

and kisses are a better fate

than wisdom"

You made it about half way before tearing up and tried laughing it off as you swiped at your eyes. It seemed like ages ago you shared that poem by E.E. Cummings with him and you couldn't believe he actually remembered, you didn't think anyone else had ever given you such a thoughtful gift and it was hard to fight against the swell of emotion in your chest. You looked back down at it to continue reading but Otto beat you to it.

"lady i swear by all flowers. Don’t cry

– the best gesture of my brain is less than

your eyelids’ flutter which says

we are for each other; then

laugh, leaning back in my arms

for life’s not a paragraph

And death i think is no parenthesis"

"It's a beautiful poem." Otto concluded softly, wanting nothing more in this moment than to wipe your tears away. To his surprise you set the frame down gently on the desk and took a step closer to him before tiptoeing up to plant a soft kiss on his cheek, but when you lowered back down to your feet you didn't step back.

"Thank you, I love it." Your voice was low and your eyes searched his, hoping you weren't making a huge mistake.

Otto brought a hand up to smooth a strand of your hair behind your ear before gently brushing across your cheek. You looked so beautiful, standing here in the dimly lit room with the twinkle of the star lights reflected in your eyes. "I'm really going to miss having you around every day." Love should never be a secret. Didn't he tell that to someone else once?

When he leaned in you readily accepted, inhaling softly as his lips met yours. The kiss was lingering and needy and full of all the emotions you had both been dancing around for weeks. His hand on your cheek slid back to tangle in your hair while his other arm wrapped around your waist to pull you against him. Both of your arms found their way around his neck and when the two of you came up for air you were grinning like a pair of fools.

"I said you wouldn't be able to get rid of me that easily."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." He chuckled softly before leaning in to kiss you again. You really had turned out to be the best assistant he could have hoped for.

#Doc Ock #doc ock x reader #otto octavius #Doctor Otto Octavius #otto x reader #Doctor Octopus #Doctor Octavius #Doctor ock

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starcountesswritings · 3 years

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SPOILER ALERT: Part of this takes place in Spiderman: No Way Home, if you have not seen the movie read at your own discretion. I hope you enjoy!

You hefted the trash bag into the bin, reaching up onto your tiptoes to reach the lid to close it, not caring that the loud ‘bang’ that followed probably woke up half the neighborhood. It had been a rather long day working your shop out front with your last client running over time and you were really looking forward to a warm shower and bed. As you made it to your back door however, a loud commotion came from the alley you were just in and your head whipped back on instinct. You grabbed the metal pole you kept tucked by the backdoor, this was New York City after all, and started back towards the trash bin hoping it was just a large raccoon or other such animal but when you heard muttering that thought was dashed.

“Hey! This is private property, you better scram before I call the cops!” You called out, hoping you sounded intimidating enough to scare off whoever was lurking back there. In response the muttering stopped and you gripped the pole tighter, taking another cautious step forward. “I mean it!” The silence was replaced by several heavy thumps that sounded almost like footsteps except much louder. Before you had time to question or react something metal shot out from around the corner and slammed into you, pushing you back into the wall of your building and pinning you there.

If the air hadn’t just been knocked from your lungs you might have screamed, you knew before he came into view what, or rather who, the metal appendage belonged to and, if recent news held any kind of truth, you were on the wrong side of it. You struggled against the claw around you as he bent to pick up the metal pipe, eyeing it with what could only be described as amusement, before approaching you with a smirk.

“Looks like someone should have been minding their own business.”

You glanced between his face and the glowing red center of the claw looming over his shoulder, that seemed to be watching you as well, and tried to keep your breathing calm, opting to say nothing and hoping he came just a little closer to arm’s reach. Stay calm, stay calm, just a little closer.

“Hmm, not so brave now? Cat got your tongue?”

Instead of responding you waited another couple moments for him to take a few more steps forward before acting. In a desperately quick motion your hand shot up and touched his temple, using the physical connection to touch his mind. Gotcha.

You called your power “mind calming”, but your friends that had been brave enough to let you use it on them said the feeling was much quicker than ‘calm’ suggested and more of a ‘going completely blank’ as if whatever was going through their mind instantly vanished and was replaced with absolute nothingness. His expression went slack, like everyone’s did, as your power touched the hiss-like voice in his mind and forced it to a stop. The metal claw around your waist relaxed but didn’t let you go; unfortunately your power didn't allow you to control anyone's actions but at least this was a start. You used your free hand to try and pry at the cold metal while making sure to not break contact with your other hand but you were taken by surprise when, through your connection, you felt something else in his mind and his eyes snapped open.

"What is happening? How are you doing that?"

You looked back up at his face, your eyes going wide in shock. You could still feel, for lack of a better word, your connection to the hiss-like voice and it felt exactly like it always did when you used your power. So how in the world was he talking to you?

“How are you doing that?” He questioned again, a little more desperate this time, and you could have sworn you heard a touch of awe in his tone.

“I…” You gaped at him, pressing your fingers a little harder against his temple as if it would make a difference, not really knowing yourself how this was happening let alone explaining it to someone else. “How are you…you’re supposed to be blank. How are there two of you?”

His brows furrowed at your words. “You can hear them, too?”

“Hear, no. It’s not that exactly. More of a feeling but this…this has never happened before.” You swallowed hard, wondering how this was going to play out now, and glanced down at the metal arm still pinning you to the wall. He must have noticed because a moment later the arm pulled back and you fell forward, your hand dropping from his temple as you stumbled.

He quickly grabbed your forearm, his large hand easily circling your wrist, as a desperate look crossed his face. “Is it through touch? If you let go will it come back?”

“...Yes?”

Your answer came out as more of a question than a statement which seemed to frustrate him but instead of lashing out, as you half expected him to, he gently moved your hand to hold in both of his. “Your power, I’m assuming that’s what it is, yes?”

You nodded.

“Good. I'm assuming since you reached out and touched my temple that it works through touch, am I correct again?”

You nodded again.

“And it’s somehow controlling the other voices? Them.” He motioned towards the metal arms.

So that was it? The other voice you had a hold on was the metal arms? That must be awful, having other voices constantly in your mind.

“Am I correct?” He questioned again, bringing you out of your thoughts.

“I…well, no. Not really controlling, I can’t make anyone do anything. Just quieting or turning off, like going to sleep. But yes, I have to be touching someone to use it.” You shifted nervously, still unsure of the sudden change in demeanor and acutely aware of your hand still between his.

“And is it instantly over when you let go?”

“Once the connection is gone, yes, I can’t keep using it. But it depends on the person how long they are still out after. People tell me it’s like waking up fully from a deep sleep but I’ve never experienced this, two people in the same mind-”

“Not people.” He cut you off, his voice low.

“Sorry, not people. Two voices. So I don’t know what will happen.”

He nodded, brows furrowing as he looked down at your hands. You could feel movement through your connection, what you had gathered was most likely him thinking, and you had to fight against the chill that was threatening to run down your spine at the feeling. The silence grew, the sounds of the city around you seeming to get louder as if filling the void - the noise from your neighbor’s tv, the buzz from the streetlight on the nearby corner, the honk of a car a few streets over, police sirens in the distance. The latter seemed to catch his attention as he shook his head and looked back at you with a rueful smile.

“I guess there is only one way to find out.” He released your hand and turned to go but paused and glanced back at the wall. “Apologies. And…thank you for the brief respite.” With that he was gone, leaving you standing by your back door wondering what the hell just happened and how the heck you were going to fix the wall.

If you didn’t believe in ‘frequency illusion’ before you certainly did now. After that night it seemed that everywhere you looked there was some mention of Doc Ock - every time you’d turn on the tv, pass a newsstand, hell even when you’d turn on your car radio. While the reports were usually informing the public of his latest crime you had to wonder how much was really him and how much was the other voice. You also thought that was the first and only time you would ever see him in person but you were wrong.

It was a week later and you were in the back of your little shop finishing up the closing paperwork for the day when you heard the bell, you hadn’t gotten to locking it yet.

“I’m sorry, we’re closed!” You called out, intending on finishing the last line of what you were writing but a crash from the shop had you running up front and when you rounded the corner you stopped dead in your tracks; Doc Ock was leaning heavily against a now broken counter looking haggard with two of the mechanical arms supporting him on the floor while the other two snapped in your direction from over his shoulder.

“Please…” Otto said through gritted teeth. “Do it again.”

To say you hesitated would be an understatement. Every warning bell in your body was going off and telling you to run for the back door but some shred of pity in your mind wouldn’t let you. You took in a deep breath and stepped forward cautiously, flinching when one of the claws snapped forward at you. It’s not him. You reminded yourself, but before you could move forward he straightened up and backed away from you, knocking into a shelf behind him and sending its contents to the ground.

“Stay back from us.” He, or rather the arms speaking through him you assumed, growled at you.

A flare of anger rose in your chest as more of your merchandise hit the floor. He may be the city’s biggest criminal right now but he had come here for your help and dammit you were not going to let him destroy everything you’d worked so hard for. Clenching your jaw you quickly crossed to him and planted your hand on the exposed skin of his chest, using your power immediately. Just like before the arms lowered and a few seconds later his eyes met yours.

“You’re going to pay me back for all this.” You said firmly, raising your brow as if daring him to challenge you.

“Of course.”

“Good.” You nodded firmly, not expecting him to agree so easily. As your anger cooled it was replaced with a growing feeling of awkwardness as the two of you stood there in silence, your hand pressed against his bare chest as he closed his eyes and tilted his head back looking relaxed. Just how long did he expect you to stand here and do this for him? You had been on your feet all day and had been looking forward to sitting down.

“I’m sorry for imposing on you. Sometimes they just get to be too much."

The sadness in his tone sent a pang of pity through you. "I'm sure it isn't easy."

"You have no idea."

"You're right, I don't. But...I also don't know what you want from me. Why did you come back? I can't possibly follow you around everywhere-"

"I know."

"Then what-"

"Please. This is enough." He caught the frown on your face. "If it's not too much trouble."

You took a long moment to answer as you decided how much trouble you really wanted to invite into your life right now. Pity won out, damn your compassionate side. "It's not. But next time could you not break half my shop?"

Otto's brows rose in surprise. He couldn't say he hadn't been hoping you were open to the idea but for you to offer it freely caught him off guard. “I can try but they don’t exactly like what you do to them.”

“I get that but I have a living to make here and if you want me to help you those are the rules.”

Otto conceded with a nod, he’d sort out later if he’d even be able to get here again. There was no denying he wanted to come back, not only was this power of yours amazing you weren’t treating him like most did - with fear or using him. But coming back could also put you in danger, just how desperate was he for a fleeting moment of feeling normal?

“So, how long are you…”

Your question brought Otto out of his thoughts. “Apologies for imposing. I should be on my way.”

“I’m not trying to kick you out but standing here after a long day of work is a bit of an imposition. So next time-" You grabbed a business card and pen from behind the register while glancing around for a place to write on with one hand since most of the counter was splintered. You settled on holding the business card with your occupied hand against his chest so you could skribble your cellphone number on the back. "Just text first, even if it's just ‘SOS’ that way I know you're coming."

Otto tucked the card into a pocket with a small nod. He still wasn’t sure if there would be a next time but it was nice to know you were willing if it came to it.

As it turned out there was a next time, after all he did have to pay you back for damaging your shop - although you had to promise not to ask where the money came from. Next time turned into two more times then three until you knew to expect a message from him almost every evening, which might have been annoying if you hadn’t found yourself growing fond of him. Sure, a bit of pity for his circumstance drove you in the beginning but as you got to know him better you couldn’t help the tug on your heartstrings every time he came by. When he was in his own mind Otto was charming, you’d even go as far as saying he was a bit of a romantic from the way he spoke, although clearly still processing the death of his wife. He didn’t talk much about what had happened, and you didn’t press, instead asking questions about your life - how you found out about your gift, why you started your own business, what did you want out of life. It was a nice change of pace from guys you usually talked to, most never interested in anything other than hearing their own voice. Not that you were talking with him like THAT. You reminded yourself on more than one occasion. He was here for a service, this was business, nothing more.

But that was hard to remember on evenings like this, the two of you seated on your couch with you holding his forearm - holding his hand seemed too intimate - watching ‘Friends’ reruns, it felt like you were an old married couple. Hell, you’d even cooked dinner for two on occasion. You glanced over at him as something Joey did on the show made him laugh and you couldn’t help but smile as well. It would be a lie to say you didn’t find him attractive; the way he smiled, his warm brown eyes- you quickly looked back at the tv as he looked over at you, hoping your face didn’t betray your thoughts and soon made an excuse about being tired and ending your ‘session’ for the night.

That had been a few days ago and you hadn’t seen him since. You were worried. You shouldn’t be, but you were. You hadn’t even gotten so much as a text from him since then and while you weren’t really concerned about his well being - he could take care of himself - a part of you was worried that maybe he had caught on to your feelings and was choosing to stay away. When two days turned into three, then three into a week you had given up on the thought of him returning and totally didn’t eat your feelings away with a tub of ice cream that weekend. Nope, never happened. After that weekend you were determined to not pay him another thought.

“Sorry, we’re closed!” You swept the last little pile of dust into the pan, waiting for the door to chime again to indicate whoever had left but it never happened. Sighing, you set the broom down to head up front while pushing down the bubble of hope rising in your chest.

“Hi, sorry we’re-”

“Even for me?” Otto quipped, smiling at you from the counter. He looked haggard but not in the usual ways and despite it being a clear night he was soaked head to toe.

Several emotions ran through your mind but a flare of anger won out. How dare he just show up without warning after disappearing. What did he think you were some kind of fallback plan? Whatever he thought you weren’t having it. “I don’t have time tonight, sorry.” You stated bluntly while motioning towards the front door. “I have to close up.”

“You seem upset.”

Of course you were but like hell were you going to admit that to him. “I said I don’t have time.” You refused to make eye contact instead stalking past him with the intention of opening the door for him to leave by, but instead he caught your arm.

“Please, (y/n). Just…for a moment.”

The amusement in his voice did nothing to help your mood but if one moment got him out of your hair for the night better to get it over with. “Fine. One minute and not a second longer.” You covered his hand with yours and focused on your power. The effect was immediate but something was different; the hiss-like voice you had become so used to wasn’t there. You pulled your hand back immediately to break the connection and waited the few moments for him to open his eyes again before speaking.

“It’s…gone?”

“Yes.” Otto grinned back at you.

“You’re…fixed?”

“It’s a long story, but yes.”

“That’s amazing! You're free!” The anger from moments ago evaporated.

“As free as one can be in their own mind.”

Your elation was short lived as the realization of what that meant started sinking in. “I see. So I guess you don’t need me anymore, huh?”

“No, (y/n). That’s not at all-”

“It’s fine.” You smiled ruefully, your mind jumping to conclusions about why he’d been out of touch for over a week. “I’m glad I could help when I-”

Your sentence was cut short as Otto pressed his lips to yours. You stiffened in shock for a moment and before you could respond he pulled back. “I’m sorry I shouldn't have assumed-”

“Shut up and kiss me, you big goof.” You grinned back at him and he readily complied, sliding his human arms around your waist to pull you to him while one of the metal ones moved to lock the front door. You had said you needed to close up after all.

Hope you enjoyed! I was a bit hesitant with the story idea and trying to keep it to a one-shot length was difficult but I really wanted to write one where the reader ends up with him! :) Thanks to @thedevilsruby for giving me the push to post it!

#Doc Ock #Doctor Octavius #otto octavius #Doctor Otto Octavius #doc ock x reader #one shot doc ock #Doctor Octopus #Doctor ock #otto x reader

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starcountesswritings · 3 years

Text

A Familiar Home

SPOILER ALERT: This takes place in Spiderman: No Way Home, if you have not seen the movie read at your own discretion. If you have seen the movie there is an obvious gap with Doc Ock that I had an idea to fill. Enjoy!

Otto stumbled as he rounded the corner, catching himself with both a mechanical and human arm on the side of the building as he paused to catch his breath. He couldn’t deny that this was unfamiliar, fleeing over rooftops and through dark alleys to outrun the police, but this time it felt different. Wrong even. But with the events of the last few hours he didn’t feel like he had a choice. This was not his world.

He limped forward, most of his body aching from the fight moments ago he was running from. Which again felt wrong but he was hurt and it had been a long time since he had to think this hard about controlling the actuators, they felt unwieldy and clumsy. Not that he wasn’t grateful for what Peter did, he thought as he brought a hand up to rub over the smooth new device on the back of his neck, he just needed some time. Time to process what had happened, time to get used to himself again.

Raising himself up on two of the arms he started walking, letting them do all the work to give his body a break. He didn’t have a destination in mind, instead just wandering down familiar yet oddly unfamiliar streets. The buildings look the same, the street names were right, it was him that was out of place here. Brought here by a spell. He shook his head, still in disbelief of the whole thing, this whole world. Magic here was real, and the technology here was more advanced than he could have dreamed of. That…what had Peter called it? An Arc Reactor? Such a tiny thing held all the energy he had been trying to produce in his failed experiment. If only Rosie could see him now.

The familiar sting of losing her hit him. She would not have approved of what he had become, but hopefully this would be a new chance for him to fix things. It still sent a chill through him to think that he had been mere moments away from death before being pulled here.

Reaching another corner Otto glanced up at the street sign to get some sort of bearing and was shocked to read the name of his street, or rather the street he lived on in his world. He couldn’t quite remember how he got here, maybe it was just muscle memory, but he found himself turning up the block anyway. A brief jolt of hope rose in his chest as he approached his brownstone, letting himself wonder if Rosie was still alive in this world, but he quickly pushed the thought away. If he didn’t exist here surely she didn’t. He still found himself pausing in front of the familiar building as a wave of regret washed over him. With a tired sigh he lowered himself to the steps, sinking down on them and resting for the first time since being thrown out the window of Peter’s apartment. It was as if all the aches and pains he had been ignoring decided to remind him about them all at the same time, he needed to find somewhere to get patched up and sleep it off.

“Um…are you okay?”

A soft voice made him look up, his eyes landing on you - keys dangling from one hand and a leash in the other. The German shepherd on the other end of the leash sat obediently next to you, its head tilting to the side as if assessing whether or not he was a threat. “Ah yes, sorry. I’m fine.” Dammit, he hadn’t expected anyone to be around this time of night, but it was New York City so he probably should have.

“Are you sure, you look like you’re bleeding.”

“Hmm?” Otto’s brows furrowed and he brought his hand to his head where you were motioning, surprised when the tips of his fingers came back tinged red. That would explain the headache. “It’s nothing, really.” He stood, the metal arms clinking behind him and assisting.

A shocked gasp escaped your lips as he stood and you took an involuntary step backwards. “You’re…from the tv…you were…the bridge.” You had seen the news clip at least a dozen times, anything Spiderman was hot news nowadays.

Otto felt his heart sink, of course you would be frightened. Another consequence of his former actions he would have to make up for later. He muttered an apology, stepping off the stairs with a limp to leave but a sharp pain in his side caused him to collapse against the rail with a hiss.

There was some instinct in the back of your mind telling you that you should probably run but the man in front of you didn’t seem at all like the news had portrayed him, which with how the news was really wasn’t all that surprising - the whole Spiderman versus Mysterio fight was being reported completely skewed to one side and it wouldn't surprise you at all if the footage from the bridge had been as well. You chewed at your bottom lip as your conscious tugged at you, if he had wanted to harm you he could have easily done so already and besides he didn’t look like he was in any shape to hurt even a mouse. Taking a deep breath you glanced down at your dog for backup, he hadn’t gone lunging at this man’s throat yet so that was a good sign.

“Wait, why don’t you sit back down and let me get you something from inside to clean that up? And maybe some Advil…”

Otto looked back at you with a mixture of surprise and confusion for a moment before waving you off. “Thank you but I’m fine. Don’t trouble yourself.”

"You're clearly not. And if it were trouble I wouldn't have offered. Just...wait. I'll be right back down, okay?" You tugged on your dog's leash and moved up the stairs but as you got to the door the leash went taught and you looked back to see him sitting on the top step, whining and pawing at the stone as the man sat back down.

"C'mon boy." You tugged at the leash but instead of a response from your dog, the man quickly turned to you with an incredulous look and you felt your face flush. "I meant the dog... not you …" You muttered, embarrassment keeping your face warm as you took a couple of steps back. To your surprise your dog took advantage of the extra leash length to happily trot back to the man, sniffing over one of the metal arms before moving onto the hand he held out.

"May I?"

It took you a moment to answer. "Uh...yeah, sure. If he'll…let…" The rest of your sentence trailed off as your dog happily accepted scratches behind his ear.

"What's his name?"

"Richard...because, well he's usually a dick to everyone but me…" This earned you a hearty laugh from him as he continued to scratch behind Richard's ears.

"Alright, um...I guess he can just...and I'll just..." You awkwardly motioned to the front door, beginning to take a step towards it but remembered the leash and turned. "Oh, right, can you take…" One of the metal arms rose and gently plucked the end of the leash from your hand. This was definitely climbing the ranks of the weirdest things that had ever happened to you.

At the front door you paused, hand on the doorknob like a cliche, as you looked back at the steps. No, don't be dumb. You thought, turning back to the door and gripping the handle harder. He's probably dangerous. Right? Your hand stubbornly refused to turn the knob and you found yourself looking back to them once more as Richard flopped onto his back for belly scratches. Ugh, okay fine. You gave in. Besides, it was cold and you really didn’t feel like coming back outside again.

"On second thought, why don't you come up. It would probably be much easier."

"What?" He looked at you in surprise for the second time that night. "No, no, no, absolutely not."

"Oh come on." You put a hand on your hip. "It would be much easier for you to just come up instead of me running up two flights of stairs and back down with whatever. And what if you need something else, then I'd have to do it over."

"I appreciate it but you don't have to go through all that trouble-"

"That's the point, it would be a lot less trouble for you to just come inside. C'mon bud, back me up." You gave Richard a look and he happily let out a short yelp, wagging his tail as his head swiveled between the two of you. "See, even he agrees."

Otto floundered for words but when he finally met your eyes he stopped. There was a kindness there that he hadn't seen in a long time, for a brief moment it reminded him of Rosie. "Alright." He agreed reluctantly, the aches in his body urging him on. "For a moment."

A few minutes later and you were pacing in your small kitchen, waiting for your cup of coffee to brew as you continued questioning what the hell you were doing. Otto, as you had just learned, had squeezed into the bathroom with what you hoped had been enough medical supplies to actually help him.

"What?" You questioned as Richard lay just outside the door, unsure if he should be watching you or the bathroom. "I know, I know, you like him. Don't know what made you make up your mind so quickly." All you got in response was a head tilt, tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth as he watched you happily.

The sudden sound of the bathroom door opening had you both turn. It was almost comical watching him shuffle through the narrow hallway, everything looked so small next to him - he was a large man to begin with and the metal arms only made that more apparent.

“Was there enough? Supplies, I mean.” You spotted a bandage over one eye where he had been bleeding earlier and he had an obvious limp. It must have been one hell of a night.

“Ah, yes. Thank you. All patched up. Well the same can’t be said for the shirt though.” He chuckled as he came into the kitchen, motioning toward the black turtleneck he had been wearing that was now draped over his arm. The trenchcoat he was wearing still covered most of him but your eyes immediately dropped to his bare torso. You noticed what looked like a bruise forming across his broad chest but the large metal apparatus around his waist drew more of your attention. You assumed that it had something to do with the metal arms but it looked painful, there was obvious scarring and you wondered what would make someone do that to themselves. At some point you realised you must have been staring and quickly averted your gaze, glad the coffee maker finally dinged to give you a distraction.

“Okay, good, I probably have a needle and thread around here somewhere I could sew it up with, too. And coffee, I just made coffee if you like, it’s not decaf but I have that too, or tea, I can make tea.” You were definitely rambling as you reached for the mug, something you did when you got flustered.

“No, but thank you. You’ve done more than enough already. I should be going.”

“Are you sure? Cause, no offense, but you look like you could use some…”

Otto opened his mouth to decline again but promptly shut it as the fresh scent wafted over to him. Accepting the mug with a small nod he took a long sip, savoring the warmth trying to remember the last time he had a cup. He took a moment to give you a once over as you bustled about getting another cup down, the homey feeling of the moment catching him off guard as you again reminded him of Rosie. Pushing the thought aside he took another sip to distract himself. "Are you always this welcoming to strangers?"

"Oh believe me, I've been asking myself that too." You chuckled. "But if he ," you motioned with your head at your dog. "Is okay with you then I am too." Damn, that sounded better in your head.

An awkward silence followed, one you found yourself increasingly uncomfortable in. “So, um…are they…do they…how do they work?”

Otto tapped the back of his neck. “With this chip. Nano wires feed directly into my cerebellum allowing me to control them.”

“Wow, that actually works? Well, of course it does, obviously. It’s just, that’s…amazing.”

“One would assume it is.” Otto’s voice sounded tired and he let out a heavy sigh.

“Oh?”

“Let’s just say mistakes were made.”

“...something to do with the fight on the bridge? It was all over the news, but anything to do with Spiderman or Peter Parker is these days.”

“Another regrettable mistake.”

“I guess mistakes landed you on my front stairs?” You chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.

“Yes, well in another world they were my front stairs.” Otto smiled ruefully as he brought one of the metal arms up to take the now empty mug and place it gently on the counter.

“Oh, you used to live here?”

“That, my dear, is a long story you would likely find hard to believe.”

“Try me.” Your smile turned into a laugh as Otto raised a brow at you. “What! I have coffee and a couch. Unless you have someone else’s steps to go brood on in the middle of the night?”

Otto gazed at you for a long moment. He didn’t have anywhere else to go, not that you knew that, and while this wasn’t his home the space was familiar enough to be comforting after the events of the day. “Alright, but we’re going to need more coffee.”

“I can do that.” You grinned.

You listened intently as Otto explained about the house in another universe, his experiment, how he ended up here, how Peter helped fix him. He had been right, most of what he was telling you was hard to believe. Maybe if this had been a few years ago before the Avengers and aliens attacks and the blip happened you might not have believed him, but as it was an alternate universe wasn’t that hard of a stretch to accept. There were a few points you could tell he was glazing over but they seemed sad or painful to talk about so you didn’t push. You couldn’t deny you felt sorry for him, any question of letting him into your apartment was gone, and you wished there was more you could do but you were just you. Normal you. Although when you said as much he assured you again that you had been more than accommodating but as you got up to put the mugs in the sink you still felt a little useless.

Otto watched you walk off, knowing he was probably overstaying his welcome but his body felt heavy and his eyes felt tired despite the coffee. He relaxed into the cushion, the metal arms adjusting accordingly around him, and leaned his head back. He could hear dishes clinking around from the kitchen so he figured he had a few moments to close his eyes before he got up to go. You had been so nice to him, more than he deserved, and had listened so sweetly as he had talked to you. He wouldn’t have guessed beforehand that it would feel so nice to get it all off his chest and talk to someone about it. And you had been so nice…just like Rosie…

When you walked back in, Otto was fast asleep with Richard comfortably curled up on the couch next to him. You couldn’t say you were surprised, sleep tugged at the corners of your eyes as well, but your mind was still reeling with everything he had just told you and even if you laid down you probably weren’t going to be able to sleep just yet. Grabbing a blanket from nearby you quietly crossed over to him and laid it over him, hoping he wouldn’t wake while you did so. You paused for a moment to give your traitorous dog some scratches before taking his torn turtleneck off a metal arm and heading to your bedroom, might as well fix it while you still had some energy.

The sound of running water woke Otto and he started, looking around at his surroundings in mild panic before he remembered what happened last night. If he was still here then it meant he dozed off last night and judging by the light coming in it was close to noon. Well shit.

“Morning!” Your bright voice made him turn as you came out from the kitchen, towel over your shoulder. “Well, afternoon really. Good thing I had today off.”

“Apologies, I did not mean to...um…” He gestured to the couch as a sudden wave of embarrassment came over him.

“Not a problem, really. And I mean, after what you told me last night it’s not like you had anywhere else to go.”

“No, but I shouldn’t have imposed on you without-”

“Please.” You raised your hand to cut him off. “Don’t worry about it. But if you want to do something to make it up you can take the dog out. I’m sure he’d love that, he spent the whole night on the couch with you, the traitor.”

“I think I can manage that.” Otto chuckled.

“Great, the leash is by the door, I’m going to start some food cause I don’t know about you but I’m starving. Oh, and I fixed your shirt, might want to throw that on before you go out. Okay, thanks!” You disappeared back into the kitchen before he could protest or apologize about anything else. A few minutes later you heard the front door open and you took a deep breath. This definitely wasn’t what you thought your day off was going to be like but at least it was interesting and had officially topped your chart of weirdest things that had ever happened to you.

The food was already done when Otto returned, you had actually started to wonder if he had decided to make off with your dog, and you ate in relative silence, both of you still tired and neither quite sure what to talk about anyway. To give the two of you some background noise you turned the TV on and were immediately assaulted by the loud voice of J. Jonah Jameson reporting. You rolled your eyes and were just about to change the channel when Otto put a hand on your arm.

“...well go on Peter, tell us!”

The video cut to what appeared to be a facetime call with Peter Parker, mask off but the rest of him was decked out in his Spiderman attire.

“...I brought them here…” Peter went on with an apology then to both yours and Otto’s surprise, an offer. From your conversation last night you knew the box Peter was waving around was what would take Otto, and the others, back to their universe and found it strange he was taunting them with it.

“Oh my stars! Is that the Statue of Liberty?!” You cried out, shocked. Otto didn’t seem to notice your reaction, or at least didn’t acknowledge it, but instead rose from his seat.

“I have to go.”

You looked between him and the TV for a moment before switching it off, your expression melting to one of concern. “For the box, right?”

“Yes, and I believe young Peter is getting himself in over his head. He doesn’t know Norman like I do.”

“I…understand.” You rose as well, trying to ignore the sudden shift of mood in the room. You had only met him last night but a knot of worry was forming in your stomach that you had to fight down.

“Thank you, for everything. Your kindness isn’t often found in the world.” Otto felt like he should say more but words escaped him. A part of him wanted to stay here, to get to know this incredible world better. You better. But this was not his world, and he had mistakes to make up for in his own.

“No worries.” You smiled thinly. “Just glad I could help.”

Otto nodded and turned to leave but before he got to the door you caught up, grabbing his upper arm to stop him. “Wait!” Suddenly realizing what you had done you lowered your hand. “Just…be careful, okay?”

He wasn’t sure what came over him at that moment. Maybe it was the compassion you had shown him, or the way your brows were knitted that reminded him of how Rosie used to worry, or knowing that what he was about to go do was going to be extremely dangerous. Whatever it was when you looked back up at him he grabbed your upper arms and pulled you to him to press his lips to yours in one swift motion. He felt you stiffen against him for a brief moment but then your lips were moving against his and your hands were on the front of his coat pulling him to you.

It lasted only seconds before Otto broke away, quickly turning to the door and leaving without another word. You knew it was for the best - after what he had told you last night you knew you were probably never going to see him again but it was that very reason that made your heart ache a bit. With a heavy sigh you turned back to the kitchen, those dishes weren’t going to wash themselves after all.

#Doc Ock #doc ock x reader #one shot doc ock #Doctor Octopus #Doctor Otto Octavius #otto octavius #Doctor Octavius #Doctor ock

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starcountesswritings · 3 years

Text

Fear of Heights

Author’s note: Okay I just saw Spiderman NWH again today and it has really reignited my love for Doc Ock from 2004. This is just a little one shot idea of how things might go if (reader) is kidnapped but afraid of heights. Hope you enjoy!

You knew before you even got to your office that it was going to be a busy day at work, several customers were already lined up to see a teller and another couple were filling out slips on the side counter. You sighed as you headed over to your office, smiling at your coworker behind the counter as you passed. At least the day would go by fast, you thought as you typed your password into your computer and began checking through your emails, hoping to respond to a couple before your first appointment of the day. You were interrupted by a quiet ‘excuse me’ and you looked up to see an elderly woman smiling down at you, it seemed your first client was there and early.

“Hi Peggy!” You greeted her with a cheery smile, motioning for her to sit. Well then, down to business.

“All set.” You smiled at Peggy a short while later, handing her a small book of starter checks to go with her new account. “You should receive your full booklet in the mail within five to seven business days…” You began your closing spiel but before you could get further a loud crash sounded from the front entrance followed closely by screams of freight.

“What’s happening?” Peggy asked, clutching her purse in her lap.

“I’m not sure.” While your office had glass doors, the way it sat meant you could only see directly out of it, not what was going on at the front of the bank. You rounded your desk but before you made it to your door a large mechanical arm smashed into the tiles in front of your office, the force of it shaking your glass doors enough to shatter. With a cry you instinctively covered your head and turned your back as the glass broke, your heart beginning to pound in your chest. You didn’t need to turn around to know what, or rather, who that was but you did anyway. Standing with his back to you was none other than Doctor Octavius, or Doc Ock as the news had been calling him. You watched as one of his metal arms shot out, reaching over the counter to none too gently rip the register draw out and dump its contents into a bag another one of the arms was holding. He continued down the line and you could hear an occasional yelp from behind the counter each time an arm grabbed another drawer, your coworkers were probably trapped back there but he didn’t seem to be paying them any mind. Or you for that matter but how long would that last? You glanced back at the woman you were helping earlier who was still cowering in the chair. Dammit.

“Quick, behind the desk!” You hissed at Peggy who stared at you wide eyed. “Come on, now!” Taking her by the arm you pulled her up and around it, ducking behind its bulk to shield you. Every crash had you both flinching, just how long did it take to empty out a bank?

“Hey Doc! Catch!”

That voice! You and Peggy made hopeful eye contact. Stealing a glance over the top of your desk you watched as none other than Spiderman webbed a loose cash drawer and flung it at Doc Ock who easily batted it away with a metal arm. Whatever happened next was blocked from view as they moved away from your office.

“Too slow Doc!” If Spiderman was here that had to mean the cops weren’t far behind, right? Maybe this would be over soon.

Your thought was cut short as a chunk of floor smashed into your office, causing Peggy to shriek, and to your horror a metal claw sank itself into your desk and pulled it away, presumably to throw at the webbed hero but you were otherwise occupied by the second metal claw that was swaying in front of you both. If you didn’t know any better you could have sworn it was looking at you with curiosity.

“I tire of your games, boy.” You knew who was speaking and he sounded close but you kept your eyes glued to the claw. Out of the corner of your eye you saw Peggy scramble up and your heart leapt to your throat as the claw in front of you turned towards her.

“No!” You cried and shot up, adrenaline pumping through your veins as you moved between the claw and Peggy. Just beyond what had been your office door Doc Ock turned to you, eying you curiously for a long moment. A moment that seemed to drag on forever and you found your face flushing under his scrutiny.

“Hey, over here!” Spiderman called out and you saw something flying in your direction and flinched backwards but without even turning a metal claw caught it and threw it back. Instead you saw the corner of Doc Ock’s lips turn up and the metal arm shot out and circled around your waist, pulling you off your feet and to him, in a much gentler motion than you would have expected, that left you tucked into the side of his chest facing him.

“Well, Spiderman. What are you going to do now?” His voice oozed with mockery.

“Let her go.”

“Hmm, don’t think I will.” The metal arm tightened around your waist making you gasp, fighting the urge to try and yank the metal around you as you knew there was no point. This was not how you expected your day to go, essentially being a human shield for New York City’s biggest criminal. You looked up at him, even with your feet several inches off the ground you still had to look up, and he tilted his head to the side but with the dark sunglasses obscuring his eyes you couldn’t tell if he was looking at you or his foe.

“Come on, Doc, she’s innocent.”

“Then I guess you better not follow me.” With that you felt him begin moving, quickly making his way, or was it your way?, out of the smashed bank entrance and onto the street.

In seconds you were rounding the corner onto a sidestreet and you wondered how far exactly he was going to take you with him but your thought was immediately cut short as one of the metal claws crashed into the stone building next to you, followed by a second, and the two of you begin ascending it. All thoughts about being kidnapped flew from your mind as the ground beneath you got smaller. Your breath caught in your throat as panic set in and your hands came up to grab onto the front of his leather trench coat.

“You know, this is a hostage situation…” Doc Ock smirked. “You’re not supposed to be enjoying…” His sentence trailed off as he looked down at you, spotting the look of what was surely terror on your face. The climbing stopped and you managed to tear your eyes away from the ground and back up to him.

“Heights?” He questioned, brows furrowing behind his glasses. You manage a small nod, swallowing hard against the fear, before inhaling sharply as the metal arm around you moved. Your grip tightened on his coat and you’re half expecting to go falling but to your surprise his human arm slides between them and wraps firmly around your waist, pulling you even closer against him. He started climbing again but this time much quicker. Instead of looking down you buried your face into his chest, inhaling the scent of leather as you tried to concentrate on anything but the feeling of free air whipping around you.

After what was probably not even a minute, but to you had felt like eternity, he was hoisting the two of you onto the roof of the building, gently setting you onto your feet. The metal arm retracted but his arm stayed around your waist until your shaky legs found balance.

“Apologies my dear, it was not my intention to scare you.”

You nod again, realizing you were still clinging to his coat. Letting go you took a step back, smoothing out your shirt that now had dark marks where the metal arms had been, and doing anything to avoid looking back at him. “I’m sorry.” You found yourself muttering as you finally glanced up at him, but as soon as the words left your mouth you questioned yourself. He had kidnapped you, why in the world did you just say you were sorry? He must have had a similar thought as he let out a short laugh. You felt your face flush and you looked down in embarrassment.

“No need to apologize, I'm the one who should be for the heights… as well as your shirt it would seem.”

You saw the tops of his shoes come into view but you stubbornly refused to look back up. What were you even supposed to do now? You supposed if he were going to kill you he could have done it already so what was he doing with you?

“You seemed unafraid in the bank while everyone else ran or hid.”

Clearly he hadn’t seen you hiding behind your desk but you weren’t about to correct him. “I…” You found yourself unsure of what to say as you looked back up at him, his expression unreadable behind his glasses. For the first time since this had started you found yourself really looking over the man in front of you and you had to admit he cut an attractive, if somewhat intimidating, figure. “Well...um…I…” You began again but the wail of sirens below made you both turn.

“Ah. Well it would seem that is my cue to leave.” A metal arm nudged your hand upwards and he took it in one of his own, bringing it to his lips and kissing the back of it much to your surprise. If you weren’t already blushing you certainly were now, catching your first look at his warm brown eyes as he watched your reaction from overtop the rims of his glasses. He smirked and pulled back with a wink before taking off towards the other side of the building. Pausing briefly in front of the roof access door he yanked it off its hinges, sending it clattering to the ground, before disappearing over the edge of the roof leaving you there alone wondering what just happened and how you were going to explain it when you got back to the ground.

#doctor octopus #doc ock #doc ock x reader #doctor otto octavius #otto octavius #one shot doc ock #doctor ock #doctor octavius

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