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ticklishraspberries · 5 years ago

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A Day (Or Six) in the Life

Note: This is from Richie’s POV sorta, so fair warning, there is some vulgar language from time to time. Hope you like it!

Sometimes there’s just too much shit going on in Richie’s head.

And like, don’t get him wrong – he loves the weird crap his brain comes up with. Makes things entertaining, a little spicy, a little zesty. The only problem with it is that he can’t find the damn remote that turns off the six different brands of Looney Tunes going on up there.

(He’d once spent an entire lecture assigning different Voices to the markers his professor used on the whiteboard, to the point that he hadn’t retained a single iota of anything the man actually wrote down.)

Man, that red little minx was pretty sexy though.

He snorts to himself as he comes out of his dozing, shoved back into the real world for the present. He can feel the hot line of Eddie at his back, leg hooked over his hip like a seat belt. His lil jet pack.

Richie reaches blindly for his glasses and pushes them onto his nose, sniffling. It’s still fairly early by his standards, but he doesn’t glance long enough at the digital clock to tell for sure, choosing instead to take one of Eddie’s hand and squeeze like it’s his own personal communications device. “Ground control to major Eds, come in, major Eds?”

No response.

Richie huffs, squeezes harder. “Psht. Major Eds? What’s your mission status, major?”

Maybe Eddie understands what he’s saying, maybe he doesn’t, but Richie receives a huff of hot breath at the back of his neck for his efforts, followed by what feels like a cheek smushed against his head. “S’too early, Rich.”

Flabbergasted, Richie turns over completely to grip a disgruntled, squinting Eddie by the front of his sleep shirt. “It’s never too early in outer space, Eds! Did the academy teach you nothing? I’m ashamed.”

And Richie doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to seeing Eddie so ruffled in the morning. Slow, blinking away sleep from his eyes with those impossibly long lashes, yawning around perfectly white teeth that look like little moon rocks, and - and it definitely seems like there’s a theme going on in his head today, doesn’t it?

“What are you even talking about?” The question sounds irritated, but that’s never stopped Richie before. If anything, it means that he has to go and run his mouth harder, because that’s his default reaction to any indication that someone might be upset with him.

(Except they both know that if Eddie really felt like it, he could just pick up his hot little self and go back to his own bed across the room. Hasn’t happened yet, so. Free game.)

“What am I -? I’m talking about the great race, major!” He pokes Eddie’s side, smiling knowingly at the resulting yip and defensive curl. “Space ain’t some pre teen with a secret collection of skin mags, babe-be, it’s not gonna explore itself.”

Eddie wrinkles his nose but can’t bury his smile in his pillow fast enough for Richie to miss it, sighing a long-suffering breath. “You’re so gross.”

“I try.”

“Where am I going, anyway?”

“Hm?” Richie kinda shifted out of the moment there, it’s gonna take him a second to catch up.

“You know,” Eddie yawns again, gesturing to the ceiling with a limp hand. “Space. Tell me where I’m going.”

“Oh, yeah. Uncharted territory, actually. Forgot to mention that.”

“Mmm…”

A moment of silence passes between them, which is really fortunate for Eddie because it gives Richie an opening for just about the best joke ever.

Gathering him in his arms slowly, he kisses his cheek, nuzzles up to him, and whispers, “To infinity… and your mom!”

Eddie, who had resettled peacefully in the crook of Richie’s arm, stiffens instantly and snaps one angry eye open to glare at him something fierce. Before Richie even so much as smirks, he finds himself pushed down into the squeaky mattress, two hands digging into any spot they can reach.

“Wait- W-wait!” Richie tumbles back with the force of it so hard he thinks he might get whiplash, but it doesn’t matter because he’s laughing around his next breath, tilting his head back and squeezing his eyes shut.

Eddie’s like a freight train when it comes to this, hands jumping from sides to ribs to neck to armpits to stomach - it’s all Richie can do to hold on to his wrists, tickle-weak and letting it happen.

“Yeah, laugh it up, Trash mouth.” Eds hisses, though Richie can see through a few tears that he’s grinning, biting at his tongue in concentration. Richie loves it, loves how Eddie can just reach into his head and jumble his brain until his thoughts whirl around like confetti in a snow globe.

At any rate, those insistent little fingers wring every last one of them out of him by the time he stops, looking down at Richie’s flushed excuse for a face and beaming like he won a prize. Always a competition with him, hoo-wee. “You done yet?”

Richie blinks, drudging through the mud pile that is his brain for a witty retort. “Uh… I…”

Eddie leans down and kisses his nose. “Good. Let’s go get breakfast, I’m starving.”

——————————

“Oh. My. Fuck.” Richie pulls off his hat and tosses it aside the moment he’s through the door. He stops only to kick off his shoes, one landing near the rack and the other hitting the wall. He doesn’t care, though, limping into the living room. After an eight hour shift, he has no fucking business being vertical and wants no part of it, no sir.

He collapses face first into the cushions of their couch and breathes in. It smells like Bill’s cologne. Richie’s back fucking hurts.

“Owchie mama, that’s sore.” He complains out loud as he stretches to the full length of his gangly limbs, feet nudging the arm of the couch. He doesn’t expect his legs to get lifted up though, hello?

“What’s sore?” A voice asks curiously as the couch dips under his weight, Richie’s legs falling back down across a certain someone’s lap.

Mike. A godsend, for sure. “Oh Micycle, is it really you? It’s been decades since I’ve heard that macho voice, I almost forgot what it sounds like.”

“It’s nice to see you too, Rich. How was work?”

How was work? How was work?? Richie’s gonna combust, but he’s too tired to go all out, so he settles for a small tantrum, flailing. “Never mention that word to me again. If you do, we’ll have to get a divorce, and then who would look after the children? The traumatized little lads, fuck.”

“That bad, huh?” Mike chuckles, and it’s deep and fond and warm, and Richie looks over his shoulder just so he can picture it better. Mike’s holding a book in one hand, and the glass sitting on the table means that he was definitely sitting there before Richie got back, but now he’s sharing his seat like the fine friggin Georgia peach that he is, holy shit.

Richie whines. “I thought being a barista would be sexy! Like, a wet dream soccer team of sweaty Brazilians asking me for juice and my number, but instead - pardon my French - I get a bunch of douchebaguettes complaining how I spelled their names wrong. I’m gay and illiterate and I didn’t fucking ask them, did I? Stop laughing at me, Mike n Ike, this is serious business.”

“I’m sorry,” he chuckles again, chest shaking with it. “Douchebaguettes?”

“You’re making fun of me. I’m wounded. Way to kick a man when he’s down, M- ah… never mind, I love you. Keep laughing at me.” He groans outright when a warm hand wraps around his foot and squeezes, eking out the ever-present ache that Richie had gotten used to ignoring.

“I love you, too.” Mike snorts, and Richie doesn’t have to look to know he’s shaking his head. Fine by him, as long as he keeps touching him like that.

“Mm, your hands are the best,” he slurs into the couch. He will abso-fruitly say anything to encourage him at this point, not that Mike seems to want to stop anyway. His palm pushes delicious friction along his arches, pulling satisfied purrs from Richie with each pass until he’s a good and proper puddle. He might actually be drooling, a little bit.

It’s only when his touch lightens that Richie jerks, and the hand pauses. “Is this okay?”

Bless Mikey’s farm boy heart, asking for consent. Richie’s heart’s gonna burst. “Y-yeah, m’good.”

And he is. Mike’s fingers trace, feather-light, and it’s like there’s shivers buried underneath Richie’s skin, waiting for Mike to pull the trigger. It feels good.

It also really, really tickles.

He snags a cushion to bury his smile in, the muscles in his leg going taut every time Mike’s fingertips venture down towards his toes. More than a few times, Richie’s foot twitches away from the tingly zaps before he can stop himself, choked off mirthful noises tightening in his throat until a few burble out.

Each time Mike waits patiently until Richie resettles his foot back in his lap, and then his drifting touch returns, slow like tree sap and unbearably electric. It’s an awful game that forces Richie to expose how much he really wants it, but then again, Mike never plays like that intentionally. He just does what seems right because he’s perfect and a gentleman.

Richie loosens like an uncoiled spring when Mike rubs his thumb over his heel, whining his loss.

And because he’s a fucking gem, Mike picks up on it right away and huffs softly. “Sorry.” He scribbles gently at the arch of Richie’s slender foot in apology, earning him a muffled snicker and scrunching soles.

“Mihihike.”

“Mhm?”

“Tickles.”

“Do you want me to stop?”

Pfft. Richie shakes his head, laughing harder into the cushion when Mike’s fingers drag down to his toes, scritching repeatedly. It’s not fair. He’s still wearing his socks with the pineapples on ‘em, and it’s worse than if he’d gone bare foot. He guesses it’s true that standing around for too long makes them more sensitive, but then, he’s always been this way.

His knees jerk far more often now that Mike’s put some gusto behind it, albeit a very small amount, but Richie thinks he does a damn decent job at keeping his feet from wiggling away, all things considered.

Still, eventually, he hears the sound of the book getting set aside. Mike stops his gentle tapping at his soles, and Richie realizes as he sags back into the couch that he’s… tired. Like, stupid sleepy. He yawns and stretches again, humming his surprise when two strong arms turn him over.

“Well hello, handsome.” Richie grins back at Mike’s amused half-smile, more than happy to be the center of his attention for a while.

“C’mon, Rich. It’s late, time for bed.”

“Don’t gotta tell me twice.”

He doesn’t fight it when Mike uses those absurdly strong arms to lift him up, despite being taller than him, wrapping his legs firmly around Mike’s hips and holding on to his shoulders. “Onward,” he yawns with enthusiasm. “Quick now yungin’, before we die of dysentery. Go on now. Git.”

Mike rolls his eyes and adjusts his grip as they head for the stairs. “Yeehaw.”

——————————

Richie tosses his controller on the couch beside him with a pout, watching the letters ‘game over’ flash across the screen. “Man…”

Behind him, he can hear the sound of the kitchen door opening and closing, and with a furrowed brow he gets up to investigate. “If you’re here to rob us, take Eddie first. He’s the easiest to carry.”

Around the corner, Ben smiles up from where he’s taking off his shoes by the rack (careful, because Stan insists). He’s beaming, actually, and still in his hot little karate outfit that makes him look like a formal dumpling. “You’re so mean to him. What if I wanted to rob you instead?”

“Everybody wants to rob me, Benny boy, get in line,” He hops up onto the counter to watch Ben’s face in the refrigerator light as he goes rummaging for a smoothie. “I’m just saying, if you’re any good at this, you gotta take the valuables first. Bottom shelf.”

Ben chuckles, leans down, and reappears, drink in hand. Richie nudges the door shut with his foot and grins back. “Who says you aren’t valuable?”

“Aw shucks.”

“Besides myself, I mean.”

“Benjamin.”

Ben laughs at him around a sip of his drink, and Richie couldn’t stay fake mad at him even if he wanted to. It’s really nice that the cheeky fuck has some confidence now, since he’s been losing some extra pounds here and there. He’s not afraid to brush past people anymore, doesn’t shift uncomfortably when his thighs touch someone else’s, and he hip-checks them on purpose with a sly look every now and then. He’s not afraid to take up space now, and all of the losers are proud of him for it, including Richie.

(He’s just, like, super jealous that he can’t have that sorta weight transferred over to himself. Just a little bit, so he’s not all jabby angles and pointy bones. Also? He’s going to miss Ben’s love handles.)

“You seem extra bold today. Care to share anything with the class?”

That happy look from a few minutes ago returns like Ben just remembered something important. “Yeah, actually - hold on…” He turns, fishing in his bag for something before turning back, fingers clutching a bundle of blue fabric. “I, uh, I got my blue belt today.”

“Holy shit!” Richie adjusts his glasses, leaning in to run his fingers over it when Ben offers it up. “You’re pullin’ my leg.”

“I’m not.”

“You’re making it up.”

“I’m not!” Ben’s voice just brims with infectious joy, like a little kid excited to show their first ever drawing from art class. He even has the little jump in his step, too.

“Benny, that’s awesome, dude!” He jumps down to punch Ben’s shoulder, smiling wide at the other’s shy but obvious pride. “And you know,” he thumbs at his upper lip and sniffs. “Not to fuck my own ass or anything, but I’m something of a dōjō master myself.”

“Really?” Ben smirks, pushing back when Richie continues to push at his shoulder with his knuckles, bouncing on his heels anime fighter style.

“Really really. Call me Sensei, ‘cause I’ll teach you to mess with me.” He dodges with a surprised bark of laughter when Ben grabs for him, ducking and bringing his hands up to defend himself as they tussle right there in the kitchen, play-wrestling – Richie’s favorite thing.

Well. Almost favorite.

“Oof!” Richie hurumphs when the quick scuffle ends with him caught in a headlock, twisting back and forth fruitlessly. “Oi! Unhand me you fiend! You scoundrel! I’ll have you nicked, I will!”

Ben, not even winded, slaps his hand away. “Admit that I won and I’ll let go.”

“I’d rather bloody perish.”

“You’d rather perish?”

“Aye.” Richie grunts, straining against the hold. It’s like trying to empty a lake with a bucket. It just ain’t happening.

“Okay.”

Ben’s free hand digs into his side and Richie collapses back into him instantly, like a buck learning how to walk, except he’s really fucking bad at it and giggling maniacally. “Ben!”

They crumple to the ground together, though Ben anticipates it, wrapping a solid arm around Richie’s waist as his other hand snakes up under his shirt to scribble at his ribs.

Richie himself is a pale pile of squirming limbs, pushing back into Ben’s chest and squeaking with each sneaky pinch to his side. He tosses his head back against Ben’s shoulder in helpless snickering, tugging at his arm. “Ch-cheater!”

“I don’t hear you complaining!” Ben shoots back, fingers darting to where his shirt rucked up at his stomach to lay ticklish waste there. They move in a constant clawing motion, gentle because Ben is always gentle, but sadistic in the best worst possible way.

Richie convulses with how hard he laughs. He’s trapped in the most backwards tickle hug to exist, socks slipping on the tile of his kitchen floor, getting tortured by the group’s designated teddy bear.

A wayward finger brushes over the curve of Richie’s hip, sending him jolting even farther into Ben’s lap, tittering.

“C’mon, Trash mouth. Fess up.”

If Ben thinks he’ll ever tap out, he is sorely mistaken.

“Never!” Richie cries, and then dissolves into cackling when Ben goes straight for his momentarily unprotected armpit.

Neither of them notice when Stanley steps into the doorway and promptly turns to walk back out, not once looking up from his phone.

——————————

Every now and then, Richie forgets that he might actually come off as attractive to the other losers. He’s always jokingly attractive, obviously. ‘Who wouldn’t want a piece of me?’ or ‘Golly, buy me dinner first!’ Are a few easy phrases to throw around, usually with a suggestive cock of his hip or an over exaggerated flutter of his eyelashes, which gets him a laugh now and then.

But like, for realzies? Richie isn’t hot hot, not like Mike or Bill with their big shoulders and mouth-watering biceps, Jesus Christ on a stick. He doesn’t have that cute allure like Eddie or Ben, either. Richie’s just a scrawny friggin beanpole, lanky, unlike the elegant way that Stan and Beverly manage.

Being so gay is hard sometimes. Everyone looks hotter than you.

“Rich?”

He startles out of his musings and comes firmly back to himself where he’s reclined next to Bill on the trampoline, reminded of how his train of thought had gone that route; they’d been messing around until they weren’t, until Bill had cupped his face and brought him into a kiss, and then a fuzzy little parasite called insecurity reared its fugly head.

Richie squashes it down around a dazed smirk, seemingly quelling the momentary unease on Bill’s face. “Yowza.”

Bill snorts and rolls his eyes, plays with the hem of Richie’s “Support Whale Sex: Use Shampoo” shirt. “I thought you weren’t in the mood, for a second.”

“Vat?” Richie cries incredulously, shifting upwards and straddling Bill’s lap. “Bullsheet. Lies.” As if Richie could ever resist a man with legs like that. Damn.

Bill’s smile is genuine when he pulls Richie back down into another kiss, their lips meeting sparking a whole new wave of something in Richie’s chest, so intense that he’s pulling back within a few seconds, “Ven you look like zat? You lift, yes? Vat kind of –“

A hand covers his mouth, and Rich realizes that Bill is furrowing his brows at him. “Why are you doing a Voice right now?”

“…I’m nervous.” He apologizes, muffled.

Bill snorts again as if to say ‘yeah right,’ but his expression softens when Richie doesn’t say anything else. “Nervous, huh?”

Richie nods, then licks Bill’s palm. He pulls it away with a disgusted chuckle, and then.

Then Richie is suddenly on his back, looking up at two dark, mischievous eyes. “Hoo shit.” He whispers. They are not in Kansas anymore.

“You should be.”

That’s all the warning Richie gets before devilish fingers attack his sides, letting loose a bout of hysterical giggles from somewhere deep in Rich’s stomach. It’s like opening the floodgates every time. A head rush and a half. He squirms immediately, laughing harder when Bill drags him back down and pins him with one forearm against his own.

“Where are you going?” He muses, fond, and Richie’s face blushes ten different shades of crimson.

“B-Bill, please!” He wriggles, fingers clawing uselessly against slick fabric. If he struggles any harder, there’s a good chance the trampoline might start bouncing them for real.

“Please what?” His fingers are skittering up his ribs now, because Bill knows Richie just can’t stand that, and he’s smiling down at him like Richie makes him the happiest he’s ever been, and Richie can’t stand that either.

He squeezes his eyes shut, laughter coming freely the more that Bill tickles up his sides and over his stomach, curling up. Bill doesn’t seem to mind his lack of answer or the way Richie’s knees jerk into his hips, content to pull an endless amount of loud snickering from his partner.

It’s only when Richie arches away with a desperate wheeze that Bill stops what he’s doing, hands rubbing firm circles into the hips he’d just been scritching at - probably a routine he knew well from getting revenge on another particularly bony little shit they knew.

“You’re so - so mean. Gah. I’m taking you out of my will, Billiam.” Richie breathes, reaching up to wipe behind his glasses.

Bill just chuckles at him and leans down, and they share a soft kiss that makes Richie’s heart flutter in his chest all over again.

——————————

Kerplunk, sploosh. Kerplunk, sploosh. Kerplunk –

“Fuck!” Richie jolts with a quiet hiss of surprise, shifting his attention from the lake to the offending pen that had just jabbed his side. Bev, sitting next to him, giggles and points to his textbooks with it.

“Focus.”

Richie sticks out his upper lip, dropping his handful of pebbles in the grass at his feet. It took him, like, a whole twenty seconds to find those. “I was focused.”

“Focus on your homework, ding dong.” She gestures with her pen again, not looking away from her own book, which she holds easily in one hand. Show off.

Richie grumbles and hunches over, scrubbing a hand over his face. He makes it through two paragraphs before he fidgets again, making to reach in his shirt pocket for a smoke before he realizes, oh, yeah, I’m giving those up. Shit.

Sometimes character development is just not worth it.

Bev appears to notice the gesture though, because she gently elbows Richie this time, gesturing to the book. “It’s really not so bad. You’ve already gotten through a few pages.”

“Yeah, with like, a bajillion more to go.” He huffs, flipping through the pages one more time before sitting up straight and slapping the table. “That’s it! I quit college.”

“Mhm.” Beverly is far too nonchalant but she can afford to be, since she’s heard the exact same statement fourteen times since the beginning of the semester. Two weeks in and going strong.

“I’m serious this time! I don’t need a degree to be funny, I’ve got that part in the bag. Also, capitalism? Who needs it.”

“Do you really hate classic mythology that much?”

Richie groans and drops his head against the picnic table. “Yes.” He’d thought that it would be cool! Gods and Goddesses and monsters (oh my), but instead he has to bear through three whole paragraphs of a list of men, all sons of other men, because any of that is just so integral to the understanding of the Trojan war. Everyone knows that Achilles was the only real bitch on that battlefield, okay? Literally nothing else matters.

He jumps again, this time snickering, when Bev scribbles at his side. “Hehehey!”

“Cheer up, Tozier. Your vibes are ruining our study date.”

Richie eyes her up, adjusting his glasses. “Are you saying that my vibes are off, Marsh?”

She nods sagely. “They’re atrocious.”

“I’ll have you know that I’ve never failed a single vibe check in my life.” And that isn’t going to change today, no sir. Just ask Eddie, the last time he tried to pull something.

“You’re gonna fail more than just this vibe check if you don’t do your reading.”

“Not true! I know the stuff, I just… don’t like it.” He’s of the philosophy that memorizing shit just makes it harder to remember. Richie can go over some of the professor’s notes online and be just fine.

Heaving a sigh, Beverly gets up. She pushes at Richie’s back. “Scoot in.”

“If you say so, ma’am.” Though Richie just complies because he wants to see where this is going. When Beverly slides in behind him, legs on either side of his, he can kinda feel her boobs pressing against his back. Nice.

“Oh hello.” Richie grins, feeling free to press back into her. She smells nice - changed her perfume for some reason - and her presence is a welcome warmth, inviting and –

She blows a raspberry against the back of his neck.

– and a fucking trap!

“Bev!” He jerks forward instantly, shoulders hunching. She follows, nuzzling into the space behind his ear, and Richie shivers violently. “O-oho my gawd, why?!”

“I’m just making sure you pay attention.” She teases, weaving her arms around his chest so that her fingertips rest at his sides, making Richie tense. But nothing comes, yet.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Tickling him is definitely not going to make him want to read more. It’s going to make him want to be tickled. It’s like trying to punish an addict with cocain.

Bev snorts, fingertips wriggling briefly enough to get a squeak and a weak squirm out of him. “Just keep reading. If you slack off, I’ll bring you back!”

Ah! So simple! Haha! Wow. Genius.

Richie sighs heavily to indicate how much he turns his nose up at this frankly childish behavior, but reluctantly opens his book back up to where he was before. Admittedly, having Bev close might help his attention span, just slightly. He can feel her cheek resting against his back, ankles brushing his every now and then, and her arms are a soothing weight against his chest. Like the fancy weighted blanket that Eddie uses on his more fidgety days.

That doesn’t stop his attention from drifting occasionally, of course. When he takes a little too long to turn the page, Beverly tweaks his ribs or snuffles at the side of his neck until he lurches forward in a bout of giggles, holding on to the wooden table for support. And sometimes, when his leg starts bouncing of its own free will, she smooths her hand down his thigh and starts squeezing his knee, earning stronger fits of squirming and yelping that even gets her to laugh. What a meanie.

“You have your own stuff to read, you know.” He huffs after a brutal attack to his hips, having nearly torn his page in half. Richie immediately regrets it though, because he doesn’t want her to stop. He silently prays that she doesn’t move, and whoever’s listening grants him a little mercy.

“I know.” She says, nudging his head with hers. Richie reaches for her hand, thinking he might off himself if she doesn’t take his back, but she does, and they sit like that together for a while, listening to nature do its thing.

“Hey, Rich?”

“Yeah?”

She uses her free hand to get at his stomach, and Richie chokes.

“Do your fucking reading.”

——————————

They’re barely three steps through the door before Stan is on Richie like strippers to a pole, pushing him up against the wall and staring him down with so much intensity that Richie doesn’t have enough breath left to ask the obvious question: what the fuck?

He grips his bag with his work outfit inside of it and tries to remember if he did anything particularly annoying on the drive home, but nothing comes to mind other than when he tried to poke Stan’s jaw and he swatted him away. Richie wasn’t actively pursuing anything because that never works with Stan. He’s like a fucking cat that way; if he gets even the slightest bit ruffled, he leaves the room, all indignant and huffy.

Hence, his confusion at this particular stunt.

That doesn’t last long though, because Stan shakes his head slowly and pulls Richie’s hat off his head, tossing it aside without even looking to see where it goes, which is a very unlike-Stan gesture.

“Stan –?“

“Shut up.”

“Shutting up.”

They look at each other, and Richie nearly trips over himself when Stan starts moving them both backwards, towards his room. Normally that might raise some flags, but they’ve been through scenarios like this before. Richie doesn’t really mind getting pushed around (in fact he might even like it a little bit if his first childhood crush is anything to go by) but not knowing the reason is… fishy.

Stan kicks the door closed behind them, still walking Richie backwards, but grabs a hold of his shirt before he can go tumbling back on the bed. “Here’s how this is going to work.”

“Uh –“ Richie’s already on board.

Stan’s grip tightens, and then Richie’s world goes scrambled for three seconds when he gets pushed - fucking pushed, the nerve - onto the bed, Stanley following after him easy as pie and hovering over him, predatory, focused. “I’m going to tickle you.”

Richie can’t hide the way his body almost seems to curve up at that statement. If his body was a temple, it was a temple to some very traitorous limbs. Stan deciding he wants to do anything even close to roughhousing is a special treat, but this one in particular has Richie’s name on it

He realizes after a beat that Stan is waiting for him to say something, and Richie, in true Richie fashion, momentarily forgets the English language. “Uhm - yes?”

“Good. Put your arms up.”

That’s not going to last, but Richie does it, and Stan leans in like the sexy Mr. Rogers that he is and… plucks his glasses off his face, sticking them in his shirt pocket. Friggin thief. When did everyone in this house get so bold? “Hey –“

“Can’t risk breaking them.” Stan answers, fingers already slipping under Richie’s shirt to flutter at his sides. Richie wiggles and his complaint trails off into a snicker. Can’t argue with that anyway he guesses.

Stan tickles him like he does everything else: thoroughly, and with dedication. Quick and nimble fingers drill into the spaces between Richie’s ribs, blunt nails scritching down to his sides, then pulling at his jeans just enough to expose his hips, and Stan’s ducking his head and Richie can fucking see those curls, almost, through his blurry, tear-stained vision, helpless with laughter already, grabbing at the head-board -

– And they pause. Stopping is so much than starting. Richie can feel Stan’s breath against his stomach, where his shirt is rucked up, when he speaks. “When’s the last time you took a shower?”

Through giggle-heavy breath, Richie struggles to answer. “Uhm, like, y-yesterday? Wh- fuhuhUCK!”

He squeals when Stan’s tongue joins the mix, starting at his belly button until he meets the curve of his hip, nibbling along his V-line with so much enthusiasm that Richie thinks he must actually taste like the coffee he smells like. That’s the only explanation for such an assault.

Richie curls in on instinct, hands going for Stan’s hair, but he must anticipate this because he sits up instantly, grabbing Richie’s wrist and glaring at him. Or, he’s probably glaring. He looks like an angry blur at the moment.

It’s…. pretty hot. Not gonna lie.

“I said keep your arms up.” He growls. When Richie slips obediently back into place without question, Stan moves down even further, hoisting Richie’s calve over his shoulder and setting to work again.

The sweeping motion of his fingertips is not as aggressive as before, though it’s probably because they don’t need to be. Even through the denim, that light swishing motion from his thigh to his knee and back again has him cackling, all reserve flying out the window as he scrambles, pulling at the sheets.

Stan pulls at him in response, taking a firm hold of his ankle and scribbling in a relentless, spidery motion at the back of his knee.

Richie 1. Screeches, then 2. Does his best impression of a hula dancer having a seizure.

Apparently breaking the arm-up rule no longer matters at this point, because Richie is just beside himself in the agonizingly sweet, tingly jolts running through his nervous system, spasming on the bed and doing anything within his physical power to get away from it.

Stan doesn’t let go, though, only moves with him, tickling and tickling. Yes, Richie thinks. Please don’t stop. This has to stop. Don’t stop. Don’t let go. Oh god, this is the fucking worst this sucks this is so good, don’t stop, don’t stop –

By the time Stan has thoroughly decimated Richie’s thinking capabilities, having seen to it that both legs have received proper attention, Richie is a curled ball of silent, wheezing laugher in the center of the bed. He takes a deep breath only to let out another fresh peal of laughter, shaking, as Stan lays beside him to rub his shoulder.

“Don’t.” He sighs after a few moments of cool down, as if exasperated, but it sounds fond.

“Oh I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh while you were killing me, I’ll take note of that for next time.” Richie snarks, sniffling and wiping at his eyes.

“No, I mean don’t whine like that.”

Richie whined? “Like what?”

“Like the minute someone stops touching you, it’ll never happen again.” Stan explains patiently, like it’s obvious, twisting one of Richie’s curls around a slender finger and, for now, neglecting to mention how he needs a hair cut.

Oh, that… that – “You don’t know that.” He defends feebly, accepting his glasses when they’re pushed into his palm. Sometimes he forgets how easy it is for Stan to just look at him and see him. It’s unnerving how perceptive he can be, and possibly just as unnerving how much Richie wants to be seen, scary as that might be. He’s had killer clown dreams that terrify him less, and yet.

“I do,” Stan disagrees, making room for Richie to turn over. Neither of them are surprised when Richie ducks his head to hide his face in Stan’s button-up, cheeks burning pink from more than just exertion. “You make it painfully obvious, but it’s a ridiculous fear. There’s six other people in this house. No one’s going to stop touching you unless you ask them to.”

Richie snorts into Stan’s chest. Fat fucking chance.

Still, there’s always that lingering Voice - the one that sounds most like himself - asking him if six people will be enough. Richie Tozier has not one, but six partners and he still wonders if that attention is enough. Talk about high maintenance.

Richie closes his eyes and just enjoys Stan’s hand in his hair, trying not to think about that too much, even as he counts down the seconds to that touch stopping too. “Is it…annoying?”

“That you like tickling? No.” Stan scratches at the base of his neck and Richie hums, pressing closer. “It’s only annoying that you think it’s going to go away.”

Well fuck him, Richie can’t just control how he feels about it, okay? It’s not like he hasn’t tried before. It’s hard, he doesn’t want to think about it, he doesn’t want anything good in his life to ever end, and he especially doesn’t want Stan to stop tracing the curve of his ear like that.

Two fingers tilt his chin up, and Richie blinks back at Stan’s surprisingly soft eyes. “It’s not going to stop.” He murmurs, then kisses Richie’s forehead.

It hits him harder than a baseball bat to the gut. How did Richie Tozier die? It was the curly twink in the bedroom with unconditional love.

That being said, it’s not like he doesn’t appreciate the reassurance, even if it makes him the slightest bit vulnerable. Just a little too open. A little too raw. Tickling allows him to be like that for a short while, and maybe that’s why Richie likes it so much. Instant satisfaction, zero commitment, and it’s fun too. No arcade game or cold shower can scratch an itch for something like that.

He smiles back up at Stan and took his hand so he could kiss the back of it. A moment of mushy, romantic weakness if you will. “Aw, Staniel. You make me blush. If you wanted to woo me so badly you could have put on some judge Judy and those cute little pajama pants, maybe with some ice cream - no, definitely with some ice cream -“

Stan sighs but indulges Richie in his rambling, fingers trailing through his hair all the while. Things have already shifted back into normal territory, but there’s this new, unspoken truce between Richie and this obsession of his - the confirmation that each of his partners knows what he needs, when he needs it, and that they’re not going to drop-kick him out of their lives for asking for it one too many times. It’s nice to have something consistent in his life.

But if those six losers think they don’t have the same exact fate lingering over their heads, they have no idea what force they’re reckoning with. Richie is nothing if not a giver, and he intends to deliver their due retribution.

In full.

#submission #submitted fic #umbrella-babies #I LOVE THIS SO MUCH!!!!! UGH THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS #i love love loved it #everyone check out her blog and give her all the love and attention #fic trade #save #for me #tickle fic #ticklefic #poly!losers #poly losers #polylosers #the losers club #it #it 2017 #it 2019 #it fic

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krissy-kat · 5 years ago

Text

PJOverse Headcanons Pt 4:-

(Sorry my hand slipped)

Peter age 15 Harley 16

• Peter doesn't go back to Camp due being busy patrolling Queens as Spiderman

• Harley is really upset when he hears that Peter won't be coming to Camp, he had finally gathered all his courage and was finally going to ask him out but never gets a chance to

• That year Harley's father came to visit him

• "Why are you here, you abandoned us, didn't even tell us that you were a God"

• "Harley listen I'm sorry but I had to"

• "Then tell me the goddam reason"

• "So do you know about our Roman counterparts and children "

• "Yes, they live in New Rome now along with few Greek demigods and don't talk to me in circles"

• "You know that Greek and Roman demigods have recently found out about each other and before that we weren't allowed to tell you, your sister was daughter of my Roman form Vulcan and if Hera or Juno had found out, I don't what she would have done"

• Harley didn't know what to think about it, he knew his sister was a demigod when he found about his dad being a God but he didn't expect her to be a Roman demigod

• "Ok, but I still haven't forgiven completely "

• "I didn't expect you would, but it's a start right "

• "Maybe"

• Peter would still IMs MJ, no matter how much she'll deny it she considers Peter a friend, she also tells him about the on ongoing fight about how his half siblings says that his superhero persona can't be trusted and how Flash with his whole Cabin will come to defend him

• Some time later Civil War happens, Peter didn't tell Tony about him being a demigod because he thought it wasn't relevant when he comes to recruit him

• Tony takes Peter under his wing and they get close

• Tony is absolutely furious when the events homecoming occur

• "Peter, I thought we were close, why didn't you tell me that you were chasing after a murderous psychopath"

• "But Mr Stark.."

• "A building fell on you, you could have died"

• "But.."

• "I don't want you moonlighting as spiderman for atleast a month"

• "Ok, but what am I supposed to tell Aunt May about the internship"

• "You know what from next week you're going to be my personal intern, real intern this time and I'll able to easily keep a eye on you"

• "Ok, Mr Stark"

• ( Infinity War and Endgame doesn't happen because this is my Au I'll do what I want to)

Peter age 16 , Harley age 17

• Harley decided to tell his mother and sister about being a demigod and his father being a God and going to the Camp since he was 12, a month before summer vacation

• They thought it was an elaborate joke

• Harley looked up and says out loud "If you want me to forgive you, help me out here"

• Hephaestus appears out thin air

• "Aaah! What are you doing here "

• "You asked for my help"

• "It was more along lines of sending a Celestial bronze dog or dragon like Leo's"

• "You know Tony Stark, she would have thought it was a prank "

• "Ok, you're right she would have definitely thought that"

• "She's right here, you both are talking about me like I'm not here. Harley I'll talk to later about hiding this stuff from me. And you, you don't think it would have easier to tell me you were a God when you left, I would have been a lot less of mess than I was "

• "I'm Sorry "

• "I'm sorry doesn't cut it, did what Harley told us about Roman counterpart and Abbie being a roman demigod is true"

• "Yes"

• "Ok, I understand your situation but you aren't forgiven "

• "Understood "

• "Now Harley, you are grounded until your graduation except your summer vacation because of the summer Camp thing"

• "But it will be my senior year next year "

• "No buts and you (pointing at Hepheatus) will you be staying for dinner"

• "Gods don't.."

• Hepheastus steps on Harley's foot

• Harley glares at him

• "Of course "

• "What were you saying Harley"

• "Nothing "

• In Summer vacation Harley goes to Camp Half blood and asks Abbie if she wants come too

• "After the Giant war, many roman demigods come to Camp Half Blood during summer, and I'll be staying first week at Tony's are sure you still want to go to Camp Jupiter "

• "Mom's still angry at him for not telling her I doubt she'll let me stay there, I still think it's miracle she allowing you to and I'm a Roman demigod I'll be fine in Camp designed for Roman demigods"

• "Are you sure, you'll get a tattoo there and it's quite painful from what I have heard"

• "I'll be fine and I'm sure it will look badass"

• "Do you want me to come with you to Camp Jupiter, I'm sure they won't mind"

• "I'm 13 Harley, I can take care of myself besides Mom will be staying in New Rome for the first week"

• Harley was still upset she won't be staying with him at Tony's and going to Camp Half Blood

• Harley always stays the first week of his summer vacation with Tony, so he was looking forward to meeting Spiderman, no matter how much Athena Cabin said you can't trust him

• "Sorry kiddo, he's grounded and I still blame you for the lecture I received from your Mom"

• "What do you mean he's grounded "

• "His Guardian found out he was moonlighting as Spiderman, so she grounded him, he's not even allowed to visit the tower"

• "Wait he's a teenager, now I want to meet him even more"

• "Oh no I know that look, I won't be introducing you two anytime soon, you both will make my hair grey twice as fast as they already are"

• "Aww, you're no fun at all Old Man"

• Meanwhile at Peter's home

• "Please Aunt May, I need to meet Mr Stark's other protege, how else am I supposed to know whether I can be friendly with him or I'll have to compete against him "

• "I told you are grounded so no Tony Stark and Ned for three weeks and no spiderman for a month and it has only been one week so you are still grounded"

• "But he won't be there then"

• "What part of being grounded don't you understand Peter"

• "Why am I not allowed to hang out with Ned anyway"

• "He should have told me when he found out and I know it's as much punishment for him as is it for you and you both know it"

• After his grounding is over Mr Stark hugs him tightly since he missed Peter and he's like a son to him

• Peter shifts to Tower part time because there is a shortage of employees at May's work place and she has to work overtime

• Peter while IMing MJ complains that his last Camp t-shirt was torn and he misses it, three day later he get a package with 2 new t-shirts saying that she couldn't bear Peter complaining anymore

• Rouge Avengers are pardoned soon after and since Tony still hasn't forgiven them completely and doesn't trust them with Spiderman's identity he asks Peter to tell them he's his personal intern when anyone asks why a civilian was with him

• The first time he runs into Captain America he gives him the death glare that MJ taught him, suffice to say Captain America never have been scared so much from a teenager

• Peter was in the kitchen and peacefully eating his cereal when Mr Barton comes in and see him and looks at him in confusion then his face turns into a determined look

• "FRIDAY call Tony into kitchen right now tell him it's a emergency and please make a excuse if anyone tries to come in"

• It was Peter's time to confused

• "Why the hell to call me at this ungodly hour this better be important "

• "Why the hell didn't you me a warning that you adopted another demigod"

• Tony stares dumbfounded at him

• "What to you mean by that?"

• "Come on Tony, he sitting right here eating cereal in Camp T-shirt"

• "Excuse Mr Barton, Mr Stark didn't know that I'm a demigod also he didn't adopt me"

• Tony and Clint didn't know what to say

• Finally Clint broke the silence

• "I think you both need to have a conversation so I'll just leave"

• "Sooo.. you are demigod huh?"

• "I'm literal brain child of my dad and athena, so yeah I'm a demigod"

• "Wait a sec, aren't children of Athena are supposed to scared of spiders"

• "Who said I'm not scared shitless of them, it's just I have spider powers that's why I go around as spiderman"

• Uncomfortable Awkward silence

• "So I was thinking of making you a iron spider suit with nanotechnology "

• They quickly change the conversation and pretend the previous never happened

• Meanwhile at the Camp Harley was thinking how many nicknames can be given to a superhero

• The nicknames used to discuss Spiderman were getting more and more ridiculous because every name is banned as soon as it is has been heard by Chiron

• The names which have been banned till date include Spidey, the web-slinger, the wall-crawler, the arachnid and after this the people stopped feeling creative and thus SM, SpiderM, the Man of Spiders and worst one yet Sipdeydude

• The name they were referring to Spiderman right now was S-Man

• Flash was arguing with Annabeth who has been part of two Great Prophecies but Flash didn't give a dam about it because nobody says something bad about Spiderman and get away with it

• Suddenly a voice breaks the fight apart

• "Annabeth, we should get going if we want to catch the train in time, so stop arguing with my sibling about Spiderman"

• "But Pipes, a person associating themselves with Spiders can't be good, why can't he understand "

• "Yes they can, this is your irrational fear for spiders speaking "

• "I have fought Arachne I assure you it is not irrational "

• "Yes, it is now let's go we don't need to miss the train unless you want to get to New Rome a day late"

• Piper and Annabeth leaves

• The next Chiron asks Harley to do a supply run in Queens and asks him to take any two campers with him

• He was asking MJ to go with him when Flash overhears him then forced Harley to take him too because he was determined that they might able to see Spiderman

• Unfortunately while on supply run they encountered a full grown cyclops so they lured it into an alley to fight it

• Peter was just patrolling in his neighbourhood, he didn't expect to run into demigods fighting a cyclops

• Since he had a tendency to go headfirst into danger, he forgot that it might reveal the fact he's a demigod to them

• It was only after he webbed the cyclops's eye and both his legs together that he sees the demigods fighting the cyclops were MJ, Flash and Harley

• When the cyclops was trying to take web out of his eye he webs his hands to his face

• "I hope you guys will handle this situation from here"

• He swings out of there

• Harley was in a daze, Flash has turned into a overexcited puppy and MJ was suspicious because she was like 67% is was Peter

• I mean come on he could see the monster so either he was a demigod or mortal with the vision and mortals tends to ignore the demigod stuff. Also the fact that he didn't came to Camp last year when Spiderman started appearing and this year he came up with a flimsy excuse

• So after getting back at Camp while Flash and Harley were busy telling about their encounter to everyone MJ slipped out to IM Peter

• Peter was in his room in Stark Tower, and thinking back it was a big neon sign about Peter being Spiderman

• "Hey MJ"

• "You're Spiderman "

• "W-What?"

• "You're Spiderman and you saved Harley, Flash and me from cyclops"

• "Nice one, MJ"

• MJ gave him her stop-the-BS glare

• "Ok, ok, but don't tell anyone "

• "I won't but you are a dumbass who revealed that you are either a demigod or mortal with vision by coming between our fight and now the whole camp knows some one will soon join the dots and find out you are Spiderman"

• "Would it hurt you to be a little positive MJ"

• "Yes and who else knows "

• "Aunt May, Ned, Mr Stark and now you"

• "Good, try to keep that way"

• "Ok, any other questions "

• "Well aren't scared shitless of spiders, how does that work for you "

• "Don't remind me, I still have nightmares from when I was bit by the radioactive spider at OsCorp during our field trip"

• "Interesting way of telling me how you got your power and I should go before someone comes to find me and overhear our conversation "

• "Do you have to scare me about accidentally revealing my identity to everyone, it's hardly been 10 mins since you found out"

• "Yes and bye loser I gotta go"

( I have some more ideas so there definitely will be a Part 5 just don't know when)

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 5

Part 7

Part 6

Part 8

#peter parker #harley keener #parkner #michelle jones #flash thompson #tony stark #irondad #clint barton #captain america #son of athena! peter #son of hephaestus! harley #son of apollo! clint #son of aphrodite! flash #daughter of ares! mj #daughter of ares! michelle #pjoverse au #abbie keener #daughter of vulcan! abbie

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catflowerqueen · 4 years ago

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So, I’ve been rereading the Wayward Children series by Seannan McGuire recently, and I’ve also been looking at some Infinity Train stuff, and I’m wondering what the ramifications would be for both it and the doors to interact with Earth.

Like, I don’t think that they would target the same people. The Infinity Train, for one, does not have any sort of age requirement for who it picks up, while the doors seem to target children/teenagers. The Infinity Train is also set up in such a way that the end goal is for the passengers to eventually leave, even if it could take years, while the doors target people with the intent for them to stay forever, or to at least have the choice to do so, even if that doesn’t always happen. Also, the doors don’t necessarily take species into account—Rini talks about a boy from her world who found a door, and she isn’t exactly human in the same way we might define it, not to mention all the fantastical beings from Lundy’s Goblin Market who might have doors of their own, considering what happened with Moon’s mother (and, yes, I know that she was probably a human, but she was still a native to the Market. And who knows how many debts she’d taken on by the time she left for good, since Lundy proves that those features you gain do indeed stay with you upon leaving, even disregarding the potion she drank that caused her unique condition by the end). Given Lake’s story, however, and what we have seen so far, the train is there specifically for human beings.

That being said, though, I think that there could still be a lot of unique interactions between the doors, Eleanor’s school, and the train. Given that it seems like the train only targets people who would otherwise be in immediate danger given their mental states (Amelia was implied to be about to jump off a roof, Tulip ran away from home and could have gotten in real trouble as the year turned to winter if she was still on the run then), I don’t think that most of the passengers would necessarily be candidates for doors. They aren’t really missing the same aspect that the doors target for, even as the train does allow for growth in the same way that the doors do. And if a child might one day be a door candidate, I think that a visit to the train might provide them with enough tools, lessons, growth, etc. that the doors wouldn’t really consider them good candidates anymore? But given how deep and intrinsic the lessons provided by the doors are, and how it seems to heal/reach much more than even the magic of the train can, I feel like that sort of passenger interaction would be rare.

On the other hand, I can totally see former child passengers being good candidates for Eleanor’s school, or maybe the sister school. Even if former passengers, unlike the students who interacted with doors, don’t really feel the same desire to go back to the train, they still did go somewhere magical with many fantastical elements that would very much be important to them and would probably be extremely complicated to try and explain to their parents. Especially since the train ride apparently happens in real time whereas those who return from the doors might find that while they feel like they have been gone for years, only about an hour or a week has passed on Earth. Or in Kade’s case, they might have physically grown up in the other world and then find themselves back at the same age they left Earth in the first place after their return.

So, while it might be easy enough for the adult passengers to explain their long absence while on the train as them just cutting off contact and then taking off to, like, go on a trip and “find themselves” or something, it would be a lot harder for a child to explain that sort of thing away. And depending on what caused them to be in a state where the train ride was necessary, their parents might not be as understanding or willing to just let it go. And even if their parents are perfectly loving and lovely people, it would still probably be extremely hard to believe their child’s story of a magical therapy train. Not to mention what might happen if the parent had gone through a door as a child and returned, and thinks that what happened to their own child is the same sort of situation. So, I can easily see the parents/guardians looking to Eleanor for help. Or, again, her sister school, since I can see the kids being more concerned with how to just move on and find a “normal” excuse that they can use to explain to everyone else why they were gone for so long and where exactly they went even as they don’t necessarily have the desire either forget or to get back on the train.

Then again, considering what happened with Jesse, and how his bond with Lake was so strong that he actually got picked up by the train again because of it, I can see how some other passengers who had formed strong bonds with the denizens of the trains might be in the same sort of boat as Eleanor’s students when it comes to wanting to return, even if none of them have the same sort of desperation as Jesse had. And I mean—even if it has been the case before that a bond with a denizen has been strong enough to bring a passenger back, I feel like Jesse’s case was unique in that it was, in part, due to the fact that he knew that Lake also wanted off the train, but couldn’t leave. I mean, consider Tulip’s goodbye—yes, she was happy to leave, but she was also sad at how sudden it was after everything was fixed. There was clearly some reluctance there, she left readily enough after Atticus and One-One assured her it was okay, and that they were happy she could go home even as they would miss her, and she didn’t seem to have any negative feelings lingering when we saw her back on earth (though I’ve kind of wondering how she explained the lack of reflection, assuming that also remained true when she returned I know she had to pass a mirror while leaving the house and we didn’t see a reflection there, but I’m not so sure she was actually in front of it enough/we were seeing the correct angle where we would have also seen her reflection. So at least as far as I know, that is still up in the air). So, I feel like other denizens, who are just fine with life on the train, would be able to convince their returning passenger friends that they were okay, that it was fine for them to go back home and leave them on the train just as easily as Atticus and One-One did for Tulip.

Though, speaking of Lake… I feel like that is a situation where the doors might come in handy. Lake and Hazel show that the denizens clearly have lives of their own, with wants and dreams and wishes. Given how big the train is and how many universes it holds, I find it hard to believe that Lake is the only denizen who has ever/will ever want to leave the train—especially considering that it is still healing from the ramifications of Amelia’s decades of management, and who really knows the full consequences of what she did, or what sorts of cars she may have designed. In cases like that… I can see a door maybe opening up for a denizen and taking them to another world. As I said earlier—Rini and Moon, as well as some things Kade have said, prove that the doors do not only open on Earth. So if the train itself could be considered another world—and that isn’t even going into what may or may not be out in the wastelands that we haven’t seen yet—then I think it is at least plausible that a few doors might connect and keep an eye out on the denizen population.

#wayward children series #infinity train

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jbbuckybarnes · 5 years ago

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Distant Connection - 6/11

Pairing: Bucky x Harmonia (OC) Warnings: mentions of wicca/witchcraft, mention of parents death, gossiping about main character Summary: After an unknown group of goons took her mom’s life and tried to get her for the dark magic powers she possesses, this untaught witch is saved by the Avengers and brought to the compound where her new life unfolds.

MASTERLIST || Distant Connection Masterlist

“Book of Shadows” was standing on the little notebook she had taken out of her backpack. She opened it and went through it bit by bit. Astrology, Elements, Crystals, Tarot, Herbs, Spells, Witchcraft. She took a marker and started writing “Dark Magic�� and started documenting all the things she had already figured out and trained. It was late at night and she wasn’t really tired and half of the team was on a mission. The perfect evening for some self-care and journaling. It was raining outside and the rain kept making little sounds against her window every time the winds changed. The compound was silent except for some white noise and a few footsteps here and there.

After writing everything off of her soul and also making a little journal entry, she flipped through her collection of notebooks that she had taken with her when the team rescued her. She packed quickly so there was only some clothing, electronics, and her memory box that she took with her. It was full of little pictures, articles, notebooks, and hard drives. This was what she would save in a fire together with her phone and documents. Griefing the tragic death of her mother became easier with these little things and she cried less than before. She accepted it, she couldn’t change it anymore and wanted to cherish what she still had left of it. “You miss your old life.” A voice came from the entryway and out of panic she created a defense wall in milliseconds but it didn’t have an effect on the person standing there. “Sorry for scaring you, Harmony.” Vision now said understanding he should’ve made himself more audible beforehand. “It’s okay. I’m sorry, I just was so deep into reading that you just…” She tried to explain. “And do you miss it? Your old life?” He asks genuinely interested. “It’s not really the life that I miss. Just my mom.” Her voice was laced with sadness. He sat down beside her trying to show her that he was there for her. “Grief is profound. But it gets better, right? You feel more calm about it than a few weeks ago.” He analyzed the situation. “Yes. It helps to remember the good moments with her or writing about my emotions. Why are you here tho?” She was okay with being open about it but she also was confused as to why he was here now. “I never met someone with your personality. It’s fascinating. And I thought you wouldn’t mind some company because the people close to you are gone right now. Do you want me to leave?” He asked concerned. “No. I just wanted to know your intentions. It’s...I don’t speak to a synthetic person with an infinity stone in their head every day,” she said a little shy. “I don’t understand the interaction of emotions completely all the time but I think I’ve already learned a great deal of what it’s like to be like you. Always happy to talk. Wanda is very similar to you in some ways and I feel like I might be of help sooner or later if you need to talk.” He explained himself further. “I appreciate that. Very empathetic of you to be honest but right now I don’t really have a lot of thoughts building up in my brain that I wanna share. Any other ideas what to do?” She answered honestly. “I like cooking a lot. Should we...make a late-night snack?” His face lit up a bit. “Sure. Pancakes? I just love pancakes a lot,” he answered instantly with a smile.

Having humorous conversations with Vision was the last thing she expected but because he knew so much about humanity and media it was actually great to see him get all her jokes and him explaining weird things humans do that don’t make sense to him. “Let’s make some more and put them into the fridge for tomorrow morning. Cold pancakes are so good!” She suggested to him while sitting on the kitchen isle. “Is that the equivalent to cold pizza as breakfast? Cause I find that very weird.” He smiled up at her on the counter while starting to put together a new bowl of pancake batter. “It’s kinda similar now that you say it. It’s the sweet equivalent I guess.” She started to think about it out loud. There was a door opening and a lot of quiet but hectic talking from the hallway all of a sudden which made both of them look up to see the teammates that were just coming back from the mission. “So early?” She asked when she saw Steve. “Was a base but also a dead end,” he answered before leaving into his room. He also was the first one to come back into the room with wet hair and rubbing his hands “What do we have here? Late-night pancakes? Can I have?” He asked with puppy eyes. Vision and Harmony looked at each other for a second before she nodded with a smile and a little motion through his hair. The next person coming in was James, totally done but also happy to see her. Instead of aiming for the food he aimed for a hug from his girlfriend still sitting on the kitchen isle. “Why so sad big boy?” she asked him with her arms around his head. “If I have to hear Sam for one more second I’m gonna lose it!” He grumbled into her shoulder and felt her giggle. There was an “Uh la la.” Coming from behind clearly directed at them and she felt James tense up. “Sam, fuck off. No pancakes for you!” He heard from Harmony in a confident voice. “But it’s pancakes! Everyone else gets to eat!” Sam whined. “Maybe go on his nerves a little less,” she said chuckling. “Can I have one pretty please?” He asked nicely. “What do I get for it?” She started to negotiate and James started smiling into her shoulder. “I’ll make you breakfast tomorrow,” he said after thinking about it for a few seconds. “Deal,” she said and he echoed it back. After James could hear him sit down he looked up from her chest with a boyish smile. “Showing your true colors, huh?” His smile emitted proudness. “Damn, don’t call me out like that,” she said fake shocked. “Damn, get a room you two!” they heard a voice coming from the door. Tony. “Excuse me?” She said ready for a fake bitch fight. “Don’t come at her. She is ready to win today,” Sam said with his mouth full from the dinner table. “A warning from Wilson? Wow. I’m impressed,” Tony answered fake impressed but sat down on the table with a little smirk. James let go and finally grabbed a plate too and got the pancake right out of the pan from Vision. “Thank you V!” He smiled and hopped onto the kitchen isle beside Harmony. Everyone went silent and just sat there eating with their phones and some of them wrote in between. “Is this a weird group chat situation or are you all just on social media?” She chuckled. “You sure you wanna know?” Tony answered. “I can magic it out of you if I want to,” she said with an unfazed smile. “It’s a group chat,” he answered shortly after. Harmony touched James’ leg to give him a little impulse, a message? He was confused for a second but then got it. *They’re probably talking about us.* He shrugged at her before looking back down on his plate with a very subtle smile. Another subtle touch on his knee *What about tomorrow morning? Unless their plan is to leave us alone every time they are finished eating. I’m down to show them how foolish they are.* She saw him nod so slight that it was almost not detectable. He was incredibly good at hiding the fucking implosion the thought of kissing her in front of them gave him. Shortly after he finished his pancakes, put the plate in the sink and went to his room without a word. She could read him well enough to know that this was part of the plan of irritating the others.

After a lot of silence and her looking at her phone every now and then someone broke the silence. “What is it about him?” Tony asked. “I think you can relate pretty well to how it is when someone shares or understands your pain, past, grief, characteristics coming from those past traumatic events. That’s it. He gets it, he doesn’t judge and he makes me feel protected.” she said not facing them. She was still too broken to talk about herself in-depth in front of multiple people. “I think everyone in this room understands.” Vision started trying to comfort her, “Steve and Bucky share their out of time life, Sam shares the experience in of military and Tony the experience of losing your parents and putting too much onto yourself.” He really was very empathetic when it came to the important moments. She totally understood why Wanda had found her peace with him. His words hit the others with truth and pain. She smiled at him with gratitude. “He makes you feel happiness again, right? Like I do that for Wanda or Pepper does that for Tony. Even Wanda for you.” he asked. “You mean a safe place?” He nodded, “Yes. He’s my safe place.” Her voice was sounding breakable like glass. The room was silenced by that. She didn’t speak to half of them until today and hearing her be so honest made them realize some things about themselves. With a touch on V’s shoulder, she jumped from the kitchen isle and left the room with a small “Goodnight.”

The silence of the building was almost unsettling now that everyone was back. Normally she could hear them talk in the kitchen late at night or at least heard some footsteps. Today that wasn’t the case. Vision seemed to have made them think about some things.

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itsnina-bitch · 4 years ago

Text

Podcast part 2

Read the first part first to understand, but a refresher: Bucky and Natasha start a podcast on murder mysteries (CACW and infinity war never happened)

Note: Sorry for any grammar mistakes, English isn’t my first language

Part 1:

https://yagirl-ninaa.tumblr.com/post/623139374579712000/note-i-dont-think-the-revengers-are-a-ripoff-but

“Wanna train?”

Natasha asked

Anyone watching would think they were dancing because of their in sinc

So there they were, dogging each other’s blows

Ducking their kicks, trying to pin each other down

It was about 10 minutes in when Natasha manged to pin the soldier

“I win”

Natasha says while hovering over him, almost touching her

“Let’s see”

Round two, the red head wins again

“What happened Barnes? Forgot your morning coffee?”

After one hour of training, the two of them went their separate ways

But Bucky wasn’t going to let that pass

He will manage to pin her down

I mean how hard can it be?

VERY hard.

I mean extremely hard

But he doesn’t know that yet so shhhh

Though he did win a few times

After a long shower he went on with his daily routine, but this time he couldn’t stop thinking of Natasha Romanoff

Fast forward, he meets with her again to help with the script

��What’s the plan agent?”

Except the slightly above average amount of comments of Sam, Steve, Clint and Tony, they were good

It was around 8 pm when someone knocked on his door

“Bucky, we need to talk”

Said Clint before locking the door

Bucky has no idea what happened or what he was going to say

“It’s about Nat. I can tell you like her”

“Is it that obvious?”

“She still hasn’t figured out, but I’m pretty sure the rest of the avengers ship you guy’s”

“Ship? Like a boat?”

After a while, the both of them were talking about Nat, Clint’s early relationship with Laura and some advice

“But if you hurt her; You. Are. Dead.”

Though Clint doesn’t seem like much of a threat, when it came to Nat it his family he would kill him and everyone else in this planet in the blink of an eye

Bucky quietly nodded, knowing that if he did anything to her, he would never forgive himself

Moments later, Clint was back to give him advice on how to ask her out

“Hey buck, dinner’s ready”

Steve said from behind the door

He would be lying if he said that he wasn’t listening to their conversation

Hell, they are SUPER SPYS and can’t hide a conversations

“How long have you been there?”

“Not long...”

He said as the two avengers stare at him

“Long...”

The blond man admitted

“So you and Nat huh?”

After dinner, James told his best friend the whole story, from the red room and hydra to podcasts

Well, most of it

A few details were too intimate, and others were something he wanted to keep to himself

But he didn’t want Steve to feel guilty he couldn’t save him, so he didn’t talk about the pain, the suffering, the flashbacks that crawl at the back of his head

So he ended up just like Clint; he thought it was only an affair, a one time thing, when in reality, he couldn’t be more wrong

“I just hope you’re happy now, with her”

Later that night, the clock read 3:26 am

James couldn’t sleep, as usual

His PTSD was unbearable, and he had to get some fresh air

As he walked out of the compound and into the small garden Wanda instead they should have, feeling the fresh air, he noticed someone was following him

Stopping midway to see who

“Natalia? What are you doing here”

“Natasha, please. Same thing as you I guess”

The widow said

“You know, I’m having these flashbacks, of hydra, the red room... and you”

You could see the pain in his eyes, the fear, but also the slight happiness, of knowing that someone he loved was there with him

But again, in past tense

“You know, I like you too”

Confessed Natalia, or Natasha

“What?”

“Steve is a horrible liar”

“Punk”

Bucky muttered under his breath

He stepped closer to her, and cupped her cheeks with his flesh hand and wrapped her waist with his metal one

“You know Natalia, I missed you. I missed holding you.”

“I missed you too”

And then she kissed him

Though they haven’t kissed in years, it felt natural, but very passionate

Hungrily kissing each other, their tongues exploring each other, and they dove deep in to the kiss

Pulling apart for a moment to catch some air

“I also missed kissing you”

After a hot making out session, they decided to head back inside, and maybe watch a movie

As they sat down on the couch, Nat asked:

“What do you want to watch, James”

Making sure to say James in a casual way, but enough to turn him on

“I don’t know, Natalia. Come here, I have a blanket”

As she crawled over to cuddle, she was surprised as he grabbed her shoulders and pined her down still on the sofa, and started to kiss her

But after a while they decided to watch the movie

The 2 hour 3 minute helped them finally get some sleep

The downside was that Steve and Sam always had a early morning run at around 6 am everyday

So if they didn’t want to get caught, they had to leave early

**2 months later**

That routine continued for a while

Their secret dating went well, nobody knew

Let’s just say that they did more than just kiss now...

Anyways, their relationship was going well, until one day Bucky is seriously hurt in a mission

He had to stay away for a week, so sleeping goes back to being hard, no Bucky for her to cuddle with

She did stay with him at the hospital a lot, speaking mostly in Russian so that the others don’t understand

But one day Thor showed up

“трудно спать без тебя, надеюсь, ты скоро поправишься” (it’s hard to sleep without you , I hope you get well soon)

“Да, я тоже” (yeah, me too)

“так ты в отношениях”

Thor said, leaning in the doorway

“You understand Russian?”

“Yes I do, by are you courting each oth-“

“Yes but don’t tell anyone”

Natasha sighed

“Your secret is safe with me”

Out of nowhere, Tony apears;

“What secret?”

“I do not know, now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go back to new Asgard”

Luckily, Thor saved them, but they would rather not be teased by their friends, so it’s still a secret

The podcast is still going strong, but tomorrow when Bucky gets out of the hospital they will record an episode and film it live

Meanwhile, Steve and Sam are talking about their new routine: a morning run at 5:30 am twice a week, starting tomorrow

Fast forward to the next day 3:35 am, they decided to watch a 1 hour 58 minute movie

What could go wrong?

“Hey Steve, let’s go.”

“Have you seen my shoes?”

“Check the living room”

When he gets there, he sees Bucky and Nat cuddling, watching the sunrise, with the tv still on

“So you two are together?”

Fuck.

A/N: hey! So I’ll leave this part to your imagination, but my headcanon is that they are now officially together, first they tell the avengers then the podcast. My other headcannon is that the avengers all have sound proof rooms bc it is often for someone to wake up screaming...

This is my second fic so sorry it’s bad! But pls give me suggestions! And personally I prefer the first one but I hope you like this one too! Thanks!

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imagineyourworld-old · 6 years ago

Text

Mischief Managed?

Loki x Reader

Summary: After months of being away on a mission you return just in time for the annual Stark Industries gala, and to meet the newest member of the Avengers, who is... not from this world

NO SPOILERS - SET IN KIND OF AN AU WHERE NEITHER INFINITY WAR NOR ENDGAME EVER HAPPENED AND EVERYONE IS HAPPY

You fell into the soft seat and threw your dirty, sweaty and bloody jacket in the corner.

“Couldn’t you have picked me up like ten minutes earlier? And maybe in a car or something, not a fucking jet!”

Your mission had been tough at first, getting members of various gang to trust you so you could unite them against their common enemy only to have most of them kill each other and arrest the survivors. Sam, Okoye and Maria Hill were supposed to pick them up and deliver them to various authorities. But then Clint and Bucky just had to fly in with their stupid Quinjet minutes before you could hunt the last gang member down and have her brought to justice.

“Sam called and told us you were following one of them and that she had a large knife, you didn’t even have pepperspray!”, Clint defended their decision to pick you up too early rather than too late and in pieces.

You rolled your eyes and watched Bucky turn a few switches before starting the engine and taking off. Meanwhile Clint was going over details for something, they were talking to low for you to understand. Okoye spreading a bright blue creeam on one of Maria’s nastier wounds.

You just sat in your co-pilot seat and stared straight ahead. As if an untrained woman with a knife was reason enough to rush in and save you, a trained spy and assassin. The rescue attempt had lead to her and a few other villains getting away.

“We said we’re sorry. We know you worked long and hard on that mission and had no right to do anything without your consent”, Bucky said with a side glance to you.

You scoffed. He was right, you had asked Sam, Okoye and Maria for help, not the two dorks. But you also knew you had to forgive them eventually, mostly because both Bucky and Clint could annoy you to no end until you gave them what they wanted. But that didn’t mean you couldn’t secretly hold a grudge.

A few hours later you fell into bed. Clean, but exhausted.

You were about to fall asleep when a knock on the door woke you up again.

You mumbled some words, unable to move or even open your eyes.

The door creaked and your matres sunk next to you. A soft hand pushed the hair away from your face. You felt yourself smiling before you knew it.

“Bruce... What is it?”

“Tony wanted me to personally invite you to his Stark Industries gala tonight.”

Slowly you opened your eyes. Much like you, Bruce looked like he hasn’t slept much the past few days.

“And if I refuse?”

He raised an eyebrow and smiled.

“You know Tony, don’t you? The music and gossip and laughter will be so loud, as long as your on the premises you will always feel like your in the middle of the dance floor.”

A sigh escaped your lips. You knew Bruce was right.

“Black tie, I assume?”

Bruce nodded, his unruly curls jumping up and down.

“Natasha took the liberty of choosing a dress and shoes and whatever else for you, it should be in your closet.”

That’s when you really knew there was no way to escape this event. But if you had to attend you might as well sleep for a few hours before getting ready.

“When does it start?”

Five hours later you entered the living room. A buffet was spread over the length of the large room, with a bar at each end and people standing and talking all over the place.

“I’m glad you could make it.”

The familiar voice made you turn around.

“I can’t believe you came all the way from Wakanda for this”, you grinned.

T’Challa shrugged.

“Tony can be very persuasive.”

You nodded and started making your way to the buffet, you hadn’t eaten all day. T’Challa followed you and fixed himself a plate as well.

“How have things been these past few months?”

The king piled salad on his plate, thinking about your question.

“Nothing has changed much. Okoye really admires the way you handled your mission. And Shuri says she misses your fashion advise.”

You smiled at the memory of helping the young princess picking out various new outfits during your short visit to Wakanda last summer.

“I see your still into elaborate dresses.”

T’Challa gestured at your dress.

Natasha really had done a great job choosing a dress you would have brought yourself. It was a simple black dress with a few lace details around the arms, waist and knees. By contrast the shoes and the necklace were both sparkling in silver.

After a few more minutes of conversation and finishing your dinner you excused yourself to catch up with a few other friends.

It was getting darker by the second, so Tony ordered everyone outside to watch a firework show he had designed for this occasion.

That’s where you finally bumped into the host himself and the Norse god beside him.

“The food, the music, the decoration, everything is simply magnificent, Tony.”

With a slight bow he accepted the compliment, but before he could say anything Thor started talking.

“(Y/N), have you met the newest member of our team yet?”

You opened your mouth in shock and glared at your friends.

“You allowed a new member without consulting me? I thought we were a team!”

Tony opened his mouth to reply but once again Thor interrupted him.

“I don’t think you will object because this new member is very special to me, has excellent manners and very useful skills.”

You raised an eyebrow.

Thor turned around and dragged someone in a dark suit towards your small group.

“Excuse me, I was talking to Wanda and-”

“See, great manners”, Thor interrupted the man.

You looked at the blond, deciding not to say anything about his manners, before looking at the other man.

He was tall, long dark hair, pale skin, blue eyes. Incredibly familiar.

“Loki?! You’re an Avenger? They let you be an Avenger?”

Thor just smiled and nodded.

“Isn’t that great? I’ll let the two of you get acquainted.”

With a smile he dragged Tony away with him and left you alone with the god of mischief.

You had many questions, many concerns.

“How?”

Loki looked around at all the other Avengers, business people and everyone else Tony seemed fit to invite.

“Maybe we could talk somewhere more quiet?”

Alarm bells were ringing in your head, this could not be a good idea. But then again, you had survived so much and even if you went somewhere more private there was no way Loki was stupid enough to kill you with all of the Avengers around.

He lead you through the crowds still watching the fireworks towards a bench at the back of the building.

“It’s a long story, but I’m gonna give you a summary: I was king of Asgard, Thor showed up, our sister is evil, we spend some time in space, we fought our sister, lost our home planet and landed on earth. During all that Thor and I started to talk, really talk and we made up. You may not believe me, at first no one did, but I really am trying to be good and do good.”

You looked at Loki and he seemed... sincere. There was something vulnerable in his eyes, a lot of cover hurt and hope.

“You know I have no reason at all to trust you.”

He nodded.

“You tried to rule this planet.”

“That was a long time ago, I wasn’t myself back then.”

“You killed thousands.”

“I am really sorry.”

You opened your mouth but no words would come out.

Loki looked straight into your eyes and carefully took your small hands in his large ones.

The touch send a shiver through your entire body, made your blood boil and freeze at the same time.

“I did terrible, terrible things. I can’t take them back, I can only apologise and try to make up for every mistake I made.”

You were usually good at reading people, but Loki? Another chapter.

“So I’m supposed to believe you left all your mischief behind you? Even though you are, you know, the god of mischief?”

A small smile spread on Loki’s face.

“No, never. I’m not there yet, but I’m trying to focus on pranks, jokes, harmless mischief. At least in the long run. I might hurt people, be mean or cruel, but I’m working on that.”

That, at least, was something you could believe.

Loki squeezed your hands and moved a little closer.

“You know, my mother always said that a clever and pretty woman would one day bring out the best in me.”

He smiled at you. A smile full of innocence, hope, mischief and admiration.

“I take it you know all about me?”

He shrugged.

“I read all the files, but I’m sure there are stories you could still tell me, character traits I could get to know. Things you could teach me.”

He said the last part in a low, husky voice that made you question your sanity.

But you couldn’t deny that he was very handsome and intriguing.

“You know, my mother always said the best way to judge a man’s character is by the way he dances with the woman he fancies.”

Without missing a beat Loki got up from the bench, bowed down a bit and offered you his hand.

“My lady, may I have this dance?”

You couldn’t help laughing at the absurdity of the situation.

“Your brother did say you have good manners.”

You laid your hand in Loki’s and put the other on his shoulder. He pulled you closer.

“There are other things I’m good at”, he whispered in your ear.

You threw your head back laughing.

“You sure are a charmer, but how about you buy me dinner first?”

Loki twirled you around, your hair flying around your head and your necklace catching both the light of the full moon and your partner’s eyes.

“Tomorrow at seven?”

You just smiled.

“Usually I don’t go out with guys who wanted to take over my planet.”

Loki pulled you father away from the bench so the moon would shine directly at your dance.

“I’ve never danced without music before either.”

He just smiled. A smile that reached both his lips and his eyes.

“And I’ve never felt so close to someone I just met before”, you admitted in a whisper.

Suddenly Loki stopped moving, getting you to a halt as well.

He leaned down until you could feel his breath on your lips and his hair on your cheeks. Your eyes looked.

“I never met a human as brilliant as you. I never danced with a woman as beautiful as you. I never believed in love at first sight until I met you.”

Gently he pressed his lips against yours and pulled your body even closer to his own.

Time stopped and moved faster at the same time, you were happy in your own little bubble, away from the noise of the gala, away from missions, away from both good and evil.

You pulled apart to catch your breath, but Loki didn’t hesitate to rest his forehead on yours, once again your lips were only centimetres apart.

“I wanted to be good, for my brother, my newfound friends, to right all my wrongs, but now I feel like I only want to be good for you.”

You smiled and pecked his lips.

“I don’t mind a little mischief every now and then.”

I feel like the part before the reader meets Loki is way too long and the reader just gets over Loki being an Avenger way too fast, but the story just came to me and I wrote it down without really thinking, so I hope that, in a way, it will still seem natural.

Anyway, I hope you at least somewhat enjoyed it, thanks for reading

#loki #loki laufeyson #loki imagine #loki laufeyson imagine #imagine #marvel #avengers #loki x reader #loki x you

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redthreadoffate · 4 years ago

Text

(infinity) days of snow // c. 1 [tom hansen]

a repost, originally posted in my former writing blog

ship: tom hansen x oc

warnings: swearing; edited thrice in a span of…a few minutes so mistakes may be present

notes: i really enjoyed writing this before, super fun

summary: after summer is autumn, .after autumn comes winter. and during winter, there is snow.

(874)

“How’s the job hunting coming along?” Rachel asks. She ties her hair in a ponytail and looks out at the field. It’s the fifteen minute break from soccer practice and she decides to hang out with him instead. “Was working in Highland really giving you a break?”

“I’ve gotten a lot of callbacks,” Tom answers, not taking his eyes off his sketch-pad. “So yes, I’d like to think Highland gave me something. The ones that are accepting me are giving me a time period to think about it, I told them that I had other options and wanted to finish the prospects first. I’m having another interview tomorrow. It’s the last and the most important.”

“Impressive. Sounds like you aren’t even a jobless guy.” Rachel sneaks a peak at what he’s drawing. It’s a girl. “Which firm?”

He takes a deep breath and looks at the younger girl. “Avalanche Corporations.”

*~~*

(858)

Paul puts down his bottle of beer. “You’ve got an interview with Avalanche Corporations?” His jaw drops and his eyes look for any signs of a trick. “That's…huge!”

“That’s why my interview isn’t until two weeks from now. And that’s just me being lucky because someone was too chicken and had to cancel his appointment.”

“Why would anyone want to back out from their appointment in Avalanche?” McKenzie shakes his head. “They’re lucky enough to get an interview.”

Tom shrugs. “Right now, I only care that I’m able to have an interview. Now that I have a chance—”

McKenzie cuts him off, “An interview isn’t a chance.”

“—I might actually be a part of something bigger.”

*~*

(856)

He’d see her on the train sometimes, most of the time she’s looking around, as if she’s hiding from someone. He’d see her in the diner, too, eating regular meals as if they’re the most delicious things in the world. Sometimes at the karaoke bar, he’d find her drinking beer alone. He sees her in the park lots of times, too. But he never gave her much thought. She’s just a very pretty stranger that he regularly sees.

So imagine his surprise when he sees her in the entrance of the theatre talking to strangers who stop to listen but eventually leave her. He sees her sigh with disappointment and put her hands in her pocket. His legs take him to her and he asks, “Are you okay?”

She looks at him and shrugs. “Yeah. Just…,” heaving a breath, “would you like to watch Inception with me? I know you’ve probably seen it already but this theatre does show reruns and I have an extra ticket and I’m not very…I’m not really up to watching it by myself since I was supposed to be with someone and—”

“Sure,” he says, “why not? I was planning on watching that anyway.”

*~*

(858)

“And did you enjoy it?” McKenzie asks.

Tom looks away from the window and to the person in front of him. Paul is waiting for an answer, too. He hesitates and then nods, a small smile forming on his lips. “Yeah, I did.”

*~*

(856)

The night was going greater than he expected. She brings him to Sundae’s Best, an expensive ice cream restaurant, and she orders a treat without even looking at the menu and acting like it’s no big deal. She even asks him to get whatever he desires. “Just get anything,” she urges. And he gets a parfait he has always wanted to try.

He suddenly blurts out to her that had broken up with his girlfriend, Autumn, about a week ago and resigned from his job earlier that morning. She asks him why. “We were both the only candidates for a really big promotion. She’s always wanted it and so I let her have it. Everything was okay but I noticed the changes. I talked to her about it and when I told her she was my girlfriend…she told me that she’s also my boss.”

His companion cringes. “That really stings.”

He agrees. “Broke up with her the next day. My sister liked her but even she noticed that she was too work-oriented.”

“Do you have any job prospects?”

“A lot, but,” he looks out the window and eyes the tower with shining lights that says Avalanche Corps., “I’ve always wanted to work there,” he sees her look at the tower, too, “and I’ve been trying to get an interview but slots are always filled.”

“Will you promise me to try calling again?”

He raises his eyebrows but realizes that there’s nothing he would lose if he did. “Sure, one last time.” He shrugs. “What were you doing alone in the theatre and asking random strangers to watch a movie with you?”

“I was supposed to be watching with my dad but he…um…had a last minute business call and had to go back to work.” She smiles and takes the last bite of her ice cream cake. “I never asked you your name.”

“Tom. Tom Hansen.” He smiles at her. “I just spent a night with a total stranger. I’m just lucky she’s cute,” he flirts and notices her blush. “What’s your name?”

*~*

(858)

Paul raises his eyebrows and leans forward. “Well? What’s her name?”

“What’s her name, man?” McKenzie joins. “Don’t tell me you didn’t get it.”

“Did you get her number?”

“Are you going to see her again?”

“Tell us you’re going to see her again.”

“Can you at least show us how she looks like?”

“Yeah, surely she has a social networking site.”

“How many beautiful girls do you see and compare them to what that girl did to you.”

“Dude, you’ve got to go and get her.”

“Forget about Autumn! Didn’t you tell us that you expected something like that would happen?”

“She’s a career-oriented woman.”

“And they are not your type.”

Tom blinks and nods. “Right, her name. It's…”

*~*

(856)

“Snow.” She grins. “Snow Lanché.”

After taking that in for a few seconds, he grabs his jacket beside him and leaves right away, ignoring her when she asks what’s wrong. “Tom!”

*~*

Back to day (1)

(1)

He isn’t fully over Autumn. But he got the job at Avalanche and is now starting his first day. Rachel, who had wanted to wish him good luck on one of the most nerve-wracking days of his life, smiles at him. “You got this.”

*~*

(456)

He’s been working for Avalanche for a year and a few months and he loves it. He’s made friends, he’s gone out with a few women and has even become friends with his boss. “I like you, Tom,” he said once, “your ideas are different and I like that.” Mr. Lanché had been consulting with him personally since then. “I think you and my daughter, Ava, would be good friends.”

The only thing that sucks is that he hasn’t seen Snow. Not on the train. Not in the diner. Not in the karaoke bar. Not in the movie theatre. Not in Sundae’s Best. Not in the park.

During his free time he would draw her. However, there’s always something wrong with it, always wondering what he’s missing. So he’d flip onto another page or grab a new, clean sheet and start drawing again. When Paul and McKenzie noticed, they think that the excuse he gives them, “It’s not perfect,” he would say, is a lie.

*~*

(489)

With his headphones on and his bag stuffed with all he needs and a little too early for his liking, Tom is ready to go up to his desk and finish his endeavors for the day. When he reaches the building, he’s not entirely surprised that the elevator quickly opens and no one else is waiting but him. He goes in, punches his floor and waits for the doors to close as he tucks his headphones down. Already closed halfway, someone calls for the elevator to be put on hold. He does so and waits for the lady to come in.

She arrives, her head bent low as she’s rummaging inside her bag. “Sorry,” she says and then thanks him. “Usually I’m alone and I don’t normally care about getting the first ride I see, but I have to go upstairs and—” she looks up, “oh. Hello.”

He blinks. It’s the same pale face, her brown locks being held up in a bun, her brown eyes staring intently at him. It’s the lips, the smile, he can never perfect. “Hi.”

“You got the job,” she says, smiling. “I’m glad.”

“Do you work here, too?”

She laughs a little although it sounds as if there are undertones of irritation. “Well, of course. I don’t want to but—” she stops herself, “because I’m just…I’m the…I’m…a trainee! Yeah. I’m a trainee in the…um…research department.”

“Oh,” he nods, trying to search his mind for any news about new recruits, “you’re early.”

“I…left some files and I need to get them for my…report tomorrow…thought I’d sneak in and get them before anybody notices.”

“You haven’t pressed your floor,” he tells her.

She looks at the buttons and takes her time before pressing twelve. “You didn’t press close yet, either.” She presses the button a few floors below him and up they go.

*~*

(489)

“Is the company hiring again?” he asks Butch, one of his co-workers.

Butch shakes his head. “We’re a full house. You’re still the latest addition. Why?”

“I met someone in the elevator this morning. I kinda know her. She said she’s a trainee in the research department.” He cocks his head. “Was she lying?”

“Probably,” the other guy raises his eyebrows, “but you said you know her.”

“Yeah, we went on a sort of date once. She’s the reason why I called the company, actually,” he tells him. “She’s why I’m here.”

“Interesting.” Butch moves forward. “And how does she look like? I might have seen her around.”

Tom begins to describe her but something else catches his eyes. By the door, is the woman he had gone with to see Inception. “Like her.” He gestures.

Sasha, another of his co-workers who he’s a little close to despite his distaste of her eavesdropping habit, suddenly appears in between them. “Her? A trainee in the research department? That’s crazy, Tom. Are you sure?” She takes another look. “Are you very sure?”

“I’m very sure, Sasha,” he replies. He tries to catch her eye but she’s talking to the boss. When they finally make eye contact, her eyes widen and she turns around, talking once again to Mr. Lanché, he nods and immediately turns away. “She’s already close to the boss?”

“She’s a Daddy’s girl, Tom,” Butch says. “That’s Ava Lanché, dear boy. The Ava Lanché. Heiress to this very company. Daddy has a daughter and can’t resist naming her Ava.” He chuckles. “What were you saying about her being a trainee in the research department?”

“She said her name’s Snow,” is his reply. Lanché, he didn’t make the connection.

“That’s her nickname. She’s pale faced, beautiful and sweet. Like Snow. When she was younger she was a little on the chubby side and everyone made fun of her, with her name being something destructive and all, you know, avalanche, and there’s a resemblance on the physical side, you can imagine all the teasing. One day, during the start of a new academic year, she came to school looking all brand-new and became the ice princess. Cold. Like Snow.”

“She’s…the president’s…daughter,” he says quietly.

*~*

(490)

The sun wasn’t even up yet when he started getting ready. He was outside before the building was even open. He’s been waiting for about an hour now. The security guard and April Marie, the keeper of the front keys, greet him “good morning”. While opening the door, April Marie says, “You’re early, Tom.”

“I’m waiting for someone.”

And it all pays off. After she gets in an elevator, he rushes inside and waits for the machine to close before putting it in an emergency stop. “Did you have anything to do with this?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she says without looking at him.

“Did you ask your father to hire me? The position I have now? My relationship with your father? Did you have anything to do with any of this? Be honest, Ava.”

“I only asked him to give you a chance, that he’d tell his secretary that if anyone named Thomas or Tom Hansen called for an interview, she should set up a schedule. It was just a coincidence that someone backed out and you got the slot. But I have nothing to do with all the other accusations. I swear. I didn’t even ask him to hire you. That was his choice.” She pauses. “And I don’t want you to call me Ava.”

They remain silent for the rest of the time until security and IT experts open the elevator. “Miss Lanché,” one of the men calls out to her, “we saw you in the camera footage, we thought you were stuck and—”

“My colleague and I were having a discussion, emergency stop,” she tells them.

“Oh,” they say. “Do you want us to close the doors again?”

Tom raises an eyebrow. Snow smiles a little. “No, it’s fine. We’re done talking.” She presses the last floor, just a floor above Tom’s, and thanks the workers. “We are done…aren’t we?”

He doesn’t reply, instead, he watches the numbers go by the elevator. When it dings and opens for him, he walks out but stops when Snow calls his name. “Do you wanna go out for coffee later? I’ll pick you up at around five?”

He turns around and sees her smiling hopefully. “Sure. Why not?”

*~*

(490-855)

The two had become very good friends. Tom looked past what had happened and they started anew (he did ask her how she managed to dodge him for a year, she replied that she memorized the building and could use her all-access ID to enter shortcuts). He never once called her Snow and continues to call her Ava. She had asked why once and he told her the reason, including why he ran out of the restaurant during their first meeting; she understood.

She explained to him why she didn’t want to take over the company and would rather be a teacher.

He brought her to the karaoke bar and helped her have fun; he even got her to sing a lot. And they go to his favorite spot in the park frequently.

They talk all day, constantly IM-ing each other during work hours and texting or calling when they’re free. Once she convinced her father that she could go home by herself during certain days, he never fails to bring her home and she insists he calls once he gets back to his own apartment. On weekends, despite having work to do—Tom with clients that he has to help and Snow with her father’s orders—they’re on the phone all night and would meet up during the day; sometimes, they’d abandon their work and have fun.

At one point, Snow had confessed to him her feelings, and although his feelings for her have also started to grow, he wasn’t prepared for another relationship and he didn’t want to ruin their friendship. “I’m sorry, I don’t…feel the same way.” She smiled and nodded, understanding. It hasn’t affected them at all. Until Zachary Williams.

#500 days of summer #tom hansen x oc #tom hansen #misc: cherish writes

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escapingreality1992 · 4 years ago

Text

Secret Pen Pals Ch. 12

Keira’s POV

I spent the next two weeks working hard, taking in three puppies and watching over them. Their names were Bella, Sam and Aslan; One Australian Shepherd and two labs - one black and one yellow. I missed Steve and spent as much time as possible texting him or calling him. We were both eager to see each other again, but my job kept me from going over to the compound. I didn’t think they needed dogs over to halt meetings and training. I also worried I would show up and they wouldn’t be there because of a mission. Apparently, I’d been wrong about that when one day Wanda showed up at my door.

“Let’s go. Steve’s been dying to see you. He’s about to drive us crazy with all the training we’re doing,” she said. She grabbed my purse and coat while taking my wrist in her other hand.

“Wait, I can’t leave the dogs. It’s my client’s rule for this week,” I struggled to pull my wrist from her grasp. She eyed them over her shoulder and took the leashes off the hooks. At this all three ran around in circles, waiting for us to take them on a walk.

“Bring them. We’ve got a huge lawn they can play in. Besides, it’ll give us an excuse to take a break from the meetings. I’m officially over working today,” she commented.

“Are you sure? Tony won’t mind?”

“Of course not. Bring whatever toys they like. We shouldn’t be cooped up inside on this beautiful day. Let’s have some fun,” I smiled and packed a tote bag full of tennis balls and poop bags just in case. I also packed baggies of dog food and water bowls. I hooked up the dogs to their leashes, handing Bella, the Australian Shepherd, to Wanda, Sam and Aslan, I held myself. We exited the apartment and she helped me pile them in her red Range Rover to drive to the compound.

“You know you’re welcome to stop by any time you want. Even if you have some furry companions. Is that the only reason you pushed back the dates?” Wanda said, pulling up to the entrance of the compound.

“I didn’t think you would want me to interrupt important meetings or training. I don’t have the schedule for those things, and I’d be afraid of being an inconvenience. The other problem would be showing up and you would be going on a mission,” I told her.

“Steve would text you if we were going on a mission. Sometimes not all of us go on them though. He could stay here while another group went. It depends on what skillsets are needed. You wouldn’t be any inconvenience. We’d love to have you around. Have slumber parties. We have training early in the mornings, occasionally around 4 in the afternoon when we don’t get a chance to train early or we need to double up on it. Meetings typically take place Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Just so you know weekends are absolutely free,” she explained. We got out and opened the back doors to let the dogs out.

“I’ll have to remember that for next time. I’m so used to spending time alone, I guess I didn’t realize I could come see you guys,”

“What about your other friends? Do you spend time with them? The nurse and the three others,” Wanda said.

“I do. They stay busy, though. Our schedules – their schedules – don’t sync most of the time. We constantly have to pencil in time to spend with each other. Though, those plans could change as well. The only exceptions are big events, like galas or benefits, and holidays. I thought birthdays too, but they cancelled on mine this year,” I explained.

“Hmm. Are you always alone?”

“Not always. My parents come up to visit every now and then. Up until the letters, I stayed home unless I wanted to pick up books and I have to get groceries each week. Now, I’m starting to get to know you guys. But I still don’t want to be a burden to anyone,” I said. Wanda tilted her head, studying me.

“What? Is there something on my face? My clothes?” I asked.

“No. It’s just-,”

“Keira! You’re here!” Steve’s voice cut her off. He sprinted over to me and lifted me into his arms; Wanda had to take the other two leashes while he spun me around. He put me down to kiss me, turning his attention to the dogs.

“You brought friends. Come on, let’s take them out back. There’s a pool and everything. I’ll tell the others to come down and take the rest of the day off,” Steve said.

“Thank me for kidnaping her for the day. Good suggestion. We need a break from work,” Wanda chimed in, handing Sam and Aslan back to me. Bella, the Australian Shepherd had taken a liking to her, walking in step with petite woman. Steve draped an arm over my shoulders, thanking her, and brought us through the entrance; we passed by the conference room to get to the back door, which led out to a huge infinity pool and a fenced in yard that seemed to stretch for miles.

Steve disappeared inside while Wanda helped me set up the bowls, filling them with water. I unpacked the food bowls and fed them lunch while Wanda and I talked waiting for Steve to return with the other Avengers.

“Bella likes you. She’s super protective of her owner and doesn’t really take too kindly to others, except me. And now you,” I told her, noting the way Bella had curled up at Wanda’s feet when she was done eating. She blushed and reached down to stroke Bella’s black and white fur.

“I’ve always liked animals. I thought that maybe with this power that I wouldn’t be good with them anymore. I thought maybe they would fear me,”

“You’ve got good energy. Even I can sense that about you. Animals can sense the same. You’re able to draw them in just like I am,” She grinned, coming over to hug me.

“We’re all in trouble of falling in love with you. Especially Steve. I think he’s falling deeper in love every day. He’ll probably marry you by the time this year is over. You’re already becoming part of this family,” she told me.

“Letter girl. Come here and give me a hug,” someone said. We let go to spot Bucky standing outside, his arms outstretched. I indulged him and gave him one of my best.

“Okay. I could get used to this. Are you hungry? We made sandwiches. Only ham and cheese, but we could make something else if you want,” he said. He released me as Tony brought out a platter full of sandwiches.

“I don’t mind ham and cheese,” I said, taking one. Steve came up and pulled me to one of the pool chairs. He sat down, helping me to sit in his lap; he wrapped an arm securely around my waist, leaning back. Water bottles were passed around and we chatted while we ate.

After lunch, I got up and pulled out the tennis balls, luring Bella, Sam and Aslan out to the yard. I threw all of them, watching as they sprinted to get them.

“Damn, you’ve got an arm on you, Keira. Those went pretty far,” Tony said.

“I used to play softball. Not on a high school team. More like a minor team. I managed to get people out on occasion,” I said, throwing the balls again as the dogs brought them back.

“Remind me to invite you when we play for charity again. You could help us out,” he said. He took the chance to throw a ball when they brought them back to us. We spent the afternoon playing with the dogs, throwing balls and playing tug of war with the other toys I brought, running them until they relaxed by the pool.

“I’m calling in pizza. Keira, you’re staying for dinner, right?” Tony said.

“If you don’t mind. I wouldn’t want to wear out my welcome,” I said, hesitating.

“Nonsense. Stay. What kind of pizza do you like?”

“Pepperoni,” Tony gave me a thumbs up, placing the order. Steve sidled up next to me, capturing my lips in a kiss.

“Want to go swimming? It’s heated so we don’t freeze,” he suggested.

“I didn’t bring a swimsuit. I didn’t expect to stay this late. Too busy having fun, I guess,”

“Do you want to swing by your apartment while we wait for the pizza? You can grab what you need. I’d like you to spend the night,” he said. He held me close, heat radiating off his body; his hands rubbed my arms creating instant goosebumps. Heat coursed itself through my body at his touch. I found myself nodding and he told everyone we’d be right back. Wanda assured me the dogs would be cared for while we were gone.

Steve and I got on his motorcycle, riding back to my apartment. I let him to pack a bag of clothes, slipping in a swimsuit and pajamas. I put in a couple of blankets for my furry companions and grabbed toiletries and chargers that I needed to spend the night. I met Steve back in the living room to return to the compound. The pizza had arrived when we got back, and I changed into my swimsuit before grabbing a slice.

Everyone wanted to do something different – Tony wanted to back to the lab, Wanda and Nat wanted time alone, the others going to sleep or a hobby – leaving Steve and me alone at the pool. The dogs were out there with us as well, content to lay on the concrete while we swam. At one point, I ended up in his arms, my legs wrapped around his waist. He leaned in to kiss me, my hands snagging in his wet hair. We drifted until my back hit a section of the pool wall. Steve’s hands slid up and under my bikini top, his thumbs skimming over my nipples. I gasped, allowing him to slip his tongue inside my mouth.

He pulled on my nipples and kneaded my breasts, eliciting moans from me. He pulled back, both of us breathing hard.

“Is this okay?” he asked.

“It’s okay,” I answered. He kissed me again, moving from my lips to my neck. My hands slipped under the waistband of his swim trunks to squeeze his ass. I wanted to keep going, to have sex in the pool with him; we were interrupted by a wet nose and a bark from one of the dogs. He sighed, pulling back to let me take them out to use the bathroom. I came back and he draped a towel around my shoulders.

“Let’s go up to my room. You can take a shower first,” he said. We brought Bella, Sam and Aslan inside with us and set up their beds to sleep on. I went into his bathroom to take a shower to get the chlorine out of my hair. As I cleaned off, my thoughts roamed to what almost happened in the pool.

Steve’s POV

In the pool, things got a bit heated between Keira and me. I felt the sexual tension building up between us earlier. I craved her touch and I wanted to be able to touch her. I let instinct take over, making sure to ask her permission to do so. I wasn’t sure if we were moving too fast and forced myself to take a step back just in case.

We could’ve done more in the pool than just touching, but at the sound of a dog barking, we stopped. I wanted the first time to be special and allowed my cravings die down. I changed into sweatpants, leaving my shirt off, while I waited for her to get out of the shower; I laid back to clear my head, starting at the soft touch of Keira’s hand on my chest.

“Your turn,” she said, tracing a line down to the waistband of my sweatpants. She paused as I inhaled sharply. I swallowed hard when she slid her fingers up again. The featherlight touch had my head spinning. I found it hard to focus, my breath becoming shallow. She drifted those digits over my shoulders and down my arms and back across my chest. She pushed back to where I was lying flat on the duvet, moving to straddle my hips.

“Keira…”

“Shh. Relax,” Her fingers moved slowly, tracing over every curve of my chest, my arms. She leaned up to trace my face; I closed my eyes, succumbing to her. I felt her lips cover mine, the press of the towel covering her breasts against my chest. My hands came up to hold her against my body. They slipped around to the front to loosen the towel, which fell over my sides. I moved my hands to her bare back, stroking her soft skin. I didn’t dare go any farther than that, restraining myself.

I rolled Keira over, ridding her of the towel, tossing it to the floor.

“I won’t do anything you don’t want me to alright,” I told her. She nodded and I kissed her, tracing over the swells of her breasts. She shivered but made no sign of having me stop. I continued my path, pausing when I reached her pubic mound.

“Should I stop? Or do you want me to keep going?” I asked.

“Keep going. I don’t want you to stop,” she answered. I used my knee to spread her legs apart, slipping a hand between them to stroke her folds. Keira arched into me, a low moan escaping her lips. She drenched my fingers and I slipped a finger inside her. I pumped in and out slow, adding another finger to play with her.

Her hands gripped my arms, her hips bucking against my palm; she was panting, moaning urging me on. I kept up the pace until her walls clenched around my fingers and she came, calling out my name. I removed them and licked them off, tasting her. I kissed Keira, lifting her to get under the sheets. I held her close, stroking her side.

“I love you,” I told her.

“I love you too,” she said, burying her head in the crook of my neck. Her steady breathing helped me drift off to sleep

awaiting a new day.

The next morning, I woke to Keira sprawled against my chest, her long hair fanned across her arm. Carefully, I shifted her off me to take a shower. When I came back in, she was sitting up in bed, the duvet wrapped around her.

“Morning,” I greeted her.

“Good morning. I woke up and I didn’t know where you were. Then I heard the shower running,” she said. I leaned over to kiss her. She carded a hand through my hair, tugging me closer. She reached down with her other hand and pulled off my towel around my waist. I moaned as she wrapped her hand around my cock. She stroked it, passing her thumb over the tip. She switched speeds, my cock becoming erect with each stroke. Faster she went until I called out her name and came over the edge.

“You didn’t have to do that,” I panted.

“I know. I wanted to,” she said, kissing me. I slid in beside her, turning her head to face me. We kissed for a while and then her phone rang. She reached over to answer it.

“Hello. Yes, Ms. Hutchins. Of course. I’ll see you then. Thanks. Bye,” she said. She hung up and kissed me one last time, getting out of the bed.

“Is everything okay?” I asked.

“Yeah, but I’ve got to go. My client is coming home early. She’s meeting me at my apartment at three. I’ve got to get the dogs back to the apartment,” she said.

“It’s only noon. You don’t have to leave right away,”

“I know. I thought we could grab lunch. Only an hour though. I’ve got to grab groceries too,” she said. She dressed in jeans and a gray tank top, a multi-colored cardigan on top. I nodded and got ready. We took the dogs out for a walk and rode down to a pet friendly café to eat lunch; I got a veggie calzone and Keira got a soup and an Italian panini. I dropped her off at her apartment, helping her get the dogs to her door.

“Can I see you tonight? Dinner?” I asked.

“Sure. Is seven, okay?”

“Seven is perfect. We’ll grab steak. Have some wine,” I told her. We shared a kiss and I returned to the compound.

Keira’s POV

My client, Miss Eliza Hutchins, came home early from a vacation due to food poisoning. She planned on picking up Bella, Sam, and Aslan at three and I had to get them back to the apartment. I didn’t want to leave Steve and the Avengers, but I had to do my job. Returning home gave me time to wind down from yesterday and this morning. Steve and I became physical but restrained from having sex. It didn’t mean we didn’t want to, the sexual tension between us thick with desire. I think we wanted it to be special when we were ready to take that step.

I’d see him again tonight for dinner, a long-awaited date. We didn’t imagine we’d be interrupted. Right at three, I heard a knock at the door, alerting me to Ms. Hutchins’ arrival.

“Hey, Ms. Hutchins. They’re ready to go,” I greeted her.

“Eliza, please. Did they have fun? They didn’t give you too much trouble did, they?”

“No. Of course not. We had a great time. Lots of play time,” I said.

“Great. I’m sorry to have to cut it short. Let me give you extra money since it’s three days earlier than agreed upon,” she said.

“That’s kind of you, but you don’t have to,”

“No, I insist. I’ll call you again when I need you,” she said, writing out 2,000 more than my normal price. She took her dogs home, giving me time to pick up groceries and deposit the check. I got back to get ready for tonight.

At seven, a knock sounded at my door. I opened it to see Steve standing outside in a nice jacket, black pants and a white shirt.

“You look lovely,” he told me. He kissed me and cupped the back of my head. I had chosen a simple pink dress paired with black heels.

“Thank you. You look handsome yourself,” I told him. His lips curved into a smile as he offered me his arm. He led me out to a blue sedan and drove down to a steakhouse. He had made reservations and we were seated in the back next to the windows that peered out onto the city.

We ordered a bottle of chardonnay and bruschetta as an appetizer while we decided on what we wanted an entrée. I decided on a filet and Steve picked a New York strip. We both got a potato, but I wanted asparagus instead of broccoli like Steve. We held hands and talked while waiting on our food.

“Has Wanda and Natasha decided on a date yet?” I asked.

“Not yet. I have a feeling it’ll be a fall wedding. Wanda loves the leaves changing colors. You know, I wouldn’t past them if they ask you to be the maid of honor,” he answered. I choked on my wine.

“Really? I wouldn’t trust myself to be able to plan an exciting bachelorette party. They don’t know me well enough. What if I mess it up?” Steve smiled, rubbing his thumb over my hand.

“They already love you. They’re excited for girls’ night next month. They know you enough to trust you with it. If the wedding is in fall, you might be closer than you think. Would you say no if they asked?”

“No. I wouldn’t. I just worry that I couldn’t come up with something really intriguing,” I said.

“You’ll do fine. I think they would be fine with what you decide to do. I have another question for you,” he said.

“What is it?”

“If given the opportunity, would you move in with me? Or would you prefer I move in with you? I’m not rushing anything, but I’m curious about your answer,”

Ah, that question, I thought. I’d already thought about it, even though we had been dating for a few weeks. Call me crazy, but I felt complete with Steve. Like I could settle down with him, if he asked me.

“I could move in with you. Though, I’d want to move out of the compound at some point. Build a cabin somewhere. Not too far away. I wouldn’t want to take you away from your family,” I answered. He opened his mouth to comment, the ringing of a phone stopping him. He mouthed ‘sorry’ and slipped his phone out of his pocket, answering it.

“Hey. Slow down. What happened?” I watched as his brows furrowed in anger. “Are you sure? I’m on a date with Keira. Okay. Stark, I said okay. I know. I’ll be there shortly,” he said. He sighed, hanging up.

“You’ve got to go, don’t you? The world needs saving,” I said. He nodded, meeting my eyes.

“I’m sorry. I wanted to continue our date,” he said.

“It’s okay. I understand. Go. I’ll be waiting for you when you get back,” I told him, squeezing his hand.

“I’ll take you home. The mission will take a week to complete. Dinner next Saturday?” he stated.

“Yes. I’ll cook for you this time,” Steve got up and took my hand; we paid and left the restaurant. He drove me home, kissing me good night.

“I love you,” he said.

“I love you too. Be safe. Come back to me,” I told him. Then he was gone.

1 Week Later

Late Friday night, I was startled awake by knocking on my door. I threw on my robe and answered it, thinking something terrible had occurred. Steve stood outside, still in his combat suit. He smelled of smoke and looked as if he’d been buried in rubble; there were cuts and bruises marking his skin.

“Steve. Did you just get back?” I greeted him. He nodded and pulled me flush against his body. He kissed me hungrily and walked us into the apartment. He kicked the door closed, pausing to lock it. He took off my robe and lifted me on his hips to cover my mouth with his. I pushed the cap off his head, my hands gripping his hair. He carried me to the bedroom, laying me on my back.

He removed his suit, leaving him in only an athletic shirt and boxers. I pulled the t-shirt off him, running my hands over his chest, circling to his back. I felt his muscles, rippling as he lay over me.

“I’ve missed you, Keira,” he told me. He kissed me, tracing every inch of my body with his hands. He dipped one hand into the waistband of my pajama pants and rubbed my clit through my underwear. I let out a moan and he pulled both off me, stroking my folds, inserting two fingers inside me. His other hand slipped under my tank top to pull my nipples. He worked me until I came crying out his name.

“I need a shower. Join me,” he said, pulling me up. We waited until the water got hot, getting in. We didn’t go past touching each other and kissing, the tension releasing from his muscles. I lathered him up and cleansed his body of all the dirt and debris from his mission. We dried off and climbed in bed, his head on my chest while I stroked his hair. Within minutes he was asleep, and I let myself drift off with him.

I woke first and noticed 1. I had somehow ended up on top of Steve and 2. We were holding hands. I released his to glide mine over his features. It stirred him and he opened his eyes to meet my gaze.

“Good morning, Steve,” I greeted him.

“Good morning. What time is it?” I glanced at my phone to check.

“11. Want brunch?” I answered.

“That sounds great. What do you want?” he said. He made to get out of bed, but I kept him from moving.

“Leave it to me. How about pancakes, eggs and bacon?” I said.

“My mouth is watering thinking about it,”

“Stay here. We’ll have brunch in bed,” I said, sliding off him. I found my discarded clothes from last night and dressed, setting out for my task. I fired up the coffee and got to work on making the food, bringing it to him when I was done. We ate and spent most of the afternoon in bed cuddling or making out.

“I’m still staying for dinner. Hopefully, there won’t be any interruptions this time,” Steve said, linking a hand with mine. He kissed it, before kissing my lips. We could only hope as right when he said it, his phone pinged.

“Nothing to worry about. Only Natasha checking in,” he said. He texted back and pulled me against his chest, stroking my hair. He was quiet, like something was bothering him.

“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked. He shook his head and kissed the top of my head. I didn’t push, only enjoying his touch. After a few moments, he spoke.

“The enemy hit us with a powder that caused hallucinations. They were different for everyone. Wanda saw herself losing control and killing everyone. Tony saw only blood and dust, as if the world had been completely destroyed. Natasha saw the Red Room again, only she had to be forced to kill Wanda. For me, it was you…dead,” his voice broke and he held me tighter. “It was my fault. I dodged a bullet, but it hit you. You died in my arms,” he said.

“Steve…”

“I can’t lose you, Keira. It would kill me if you died. I felt empty when I thought the life had drained from your body. We only escaped when Strange intervened and drenched everything in water. The powder dissolved instantly. He told us he would take care of everything else. I had to come see you. To see if you were okay,” he continued. I turned to face him and saw he was crying.

“Hey. It’s okay. I’m right here. I’m fine. You haven’t lost me. You won’t lose me. I promise,” I said. I did my best to comfort him, letting him hold me as long as it took for him to calm down.

“I love you. I need you to know that. I’m in love with you and I want my life with you in it. I want to be with only you,” he told me.

“I love you too. I want you. For eternity,” Steve kissed me, releasing me so I could fix dinner. I went with chicken paprikash, lighting up Steve’s taste buds.

“Wanda is going to want some of that. It’s delicious,” he told me.

“I’ll be sure to pack her some up. If you think this is delicious, wait until you see what’s for dessert,” I said. I planned to make a lava cake, having the chocolate in the middle pool out. At that, my phone rang. I glanced at it to see it was Jana.

“Hey, can I call you-,”

“I need you to come down to the banquet at the hospital. We’re getting a huge award. The rest of the girls are here. Maybe you can meet someone,” She cut me off.

“Jana, I’m busy. I can’t,” I said.

“Come on, please. What are you doing? There are plenty of hot men down here. Please, come. For me,” she begged.

“I’m on a date right now. I’m not interested in meeting anyone else,”

“You’re on a date? Bring him then. Please, please, please,”

“I-,” I looked over at Steve who was waving at me. He mouthed ‘Let’s go’ at me.

“Okay. We’re coming. You’re still at New York Hospital, right?” Jana confirmed it, squealing when I said I’d come. I hung up and we cleaned our plates and I changed into a silky purple dress and silver heels. We stopped by the compound along the way so Steve could drop off his uniform and change into something more formal. I gave Wanda and Natasha some affection while I waited, both women leaning on my shoulders. Steve came down and we left to go to the banquet.

“Jana works at the same hospital Strange used to?” Steve asked, pulling into a parking spot.

“Yeah. I guess it’s getting the award for the best hospital in New York. Oh, by the way, Jana’s the same one that flirted with you at the benefit before Christmas,” I told him.

“Think she’ll try it again tonight?”

“She doesn’t know you’re dating me, so yes. I think she might,” I answered. He led me inside the hospital, and we asked where the banquet was being held. We took the elevator to the seventh floor where a large conference room had music blaring from it. I told the guard my name and he let us in. I texted Jana we had arrived and a few minutes later, she found us; she gave me a huge hug, focusing on Steve next.

“I remember you, cutie. Change your mind about taking me home?” she greeted him, sliding her hand against his arm. A twinge of jealousy surged through me, but I pushed it away, trusting Steve.

“Actually, Jana…”

“Where’s your date? I thought you said you were bringing him,” she stated.

“I did,” I said. I motioned to Steve right as Charlotte and Lena walked up to us.

“What? You don’t mean…Captain America is your date?” Jana asked, removing her hand.

“Steve Rogers. I’m actually Keira’s boyfriend. She’s told me all about you. Jana, Charlotte, and Lena, right?” Steve said. All three girls’ jaws dropped open.

“You’re dating Captain America? An Avenger?” Charlotte managed to say.

“Yes, Steve and I are dating. Have been for a couple of weeks now,” I answered. He draped an arm over my shoulders, a smile curving his lips.

“How? Where did you meet? What circles are you in where you know an Avenger?” Lena asked.

“Pen pal event,” we said at the same time.

“You…but I thought…oh my god…” Jana stumbled, trying to find the right words.

“Great banquet. I wonder if Tony is here. He likes to celebrate awards like these,” Steve said. Sure enough, we spotted Tony by the makeshift bar, holding hands with a blonde woman I didn’t recognize.

“I believe that Stephen Strange is here too. He used to work here. I doubt he’d miss an award for it,” Jana said. They were still in shock and I managed to stifle a giggle.

“Wonderful. Another Avenger I’d like you to meet. Excuse us,” Steve said. He pulled us through the crowd, leaving my friends staring at us. We stopped in front of a table where a tall man with black hair with silver streaks in it stood. He also had a beard that resembled Tony’s.

“Strange. Did everything go okay at the end?” Steve greeted him.

“Captain Rogers. Yes, I took care of everything. What brings you here? Who’s your lovely friend?” he said. His blue eyes shined like crystals.

“Keira Macpherson. She’s my girlfriend. She has a friend who works here, and she invited us to come join the banquet. Keira, this is Dr. Stephen Strange. The wizard I was telling you about,” Steve answered him.

“Master of the Mystic Arts is the real title. So, you’re the girl from the letters. Tony may have mentioned you. It’s a pleasure,” Stephen said.

“Nice to meet you,” I said. We were soon joined by Tony and he introduced me to his wife, Pepper Potts. My friends found us again and we spent the rest of the night dancing or talking to each other. The banquet lasted until midnight, Steve returning with me to my apartment to spend the night. We climbed in bed and curled up in each other’s arms; our bond had grown two-fold and I desired to be his forevermore.

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cynicallystiles · 6 years ago

Text

And A Day...

Disclaimer: Gif originally posted by me.

Author: @cynicallystiles

Warning: Hella long, MEGA ANGST, IW, an allusion to sex, swearing and minor fluff

Notes: So, no one asked for a super angsty Infinity War Peter fic but you’re gonna get one because I need somewhere to put all my emotions after the Endgame trailer. Italics are flashbacks. Also, the last flashback takes place before the third flashback. I just wrote them in weird. Enjoy sharing my pain! Please COMMENT/REBLOG if you enjoy. (Ignore my shitty gif making)

Pairing: Peter Parker/Spider-Man x Reader

Masterlist in Bio

Words: 12,511

You sat comfortably despite the jostling of the school bus. The comfort came from Peter's left arm slung over your shoulders warmly. He held that hand open, palm-down so you could trace the lines on his palm mindlessly with your fingertips. He whispers something so utterly him about the coming field trip to MoMA and leaves his forehead on your temple as you giggle.

All was normal. Usually, life was hectic being with Peter. He had responsibilities, and you did your best to be his support system because you knew it took its toll on him. You always make sure to appreciate these moments, never knowing when they'll be ripped away by chaos. As if on cue, you feel his skin bristle under your touch. If you didn't know any better, you'd think it was just goosebumps. But, you did know better.

"Peter Benjamin Parker!" You groaned the name of your best friend into your phone as you sat with your feet dangling off of your fire escape. The cold wind flutters the skirt of your dress around your knees as you swing your feet. "You promised you would be here by now!”

Peter's voice cut you off from the other end of the line. "Ah, ah, ah!" He says urgently. "I specifically never promised that just in case I got held up!" He grunts and pants in between his words and you really wondered what the hell he was doing.

"Okay, yeah! You didn't use the 'p' word, but you strongly suggested that you would be here," you remind him as the level of your voice decreases with your anger. Your eyes close and you rest your head against the rail sadly. "I'm sorry, y/n! But, there's this job-" his sentence abruptly cuts out before you hear a crashing sound. A minute or so later, he continues speaking more evenly. "You know I would be there if this wasn't important."

You scoff, frustrated tears beginning to brim in your eyes against the wind. "Wow," you breathe out. "What could be more important than my birthday? You're fifteen, you don't have a job! I'm not that stupid, Peter-"

"Woah, woah, woah!" He interrupts again. "Y/n...I would never, ever think you're stupid!"

As you blink, a couple of tears spill from your eyes and you quickly wipe them away with your other hand. "Well, you would have to in order for you to think that I would believe all your lame excuses for ditching me lately."

"Y/n, I'm sorry..." his voice cracks on the other end. "I-I can make it up to you. Just wait up for me. I'm on my-"

This time, it's you who cuts him off. "No, Peter. Don't even bother," you say with a trembling voice, "My birthday is already ruined." Breathing in a calming breath, you speak with more control in your voice. "Goodnight, Peter. I'll see you at school."

"No, no, no, no. Y/n, wait-" Peter stares at your contact picture on his phone. He really screwed up this time. But, how is he supposed to balance being the perfect best friend with his new duties as a superhero? Peter couldn't just tell you about it, either. Then, you'd always be in danger. He tucks his phone away safely before swinging back home on his webs.

After you hung up the phone, you went back inside to the party that your mom had worked so hard to throw for you. You tried to perk up for the remainder of it; Peter had already missed cake, presents, and the ceremonial game of Just Dance.

You sit at the kitchen island, sipping some soda as you watch Michelle and Ned facing off, his hat barely staying on his head. Not too long later, it's time for everyone to go home. It is a school night after all. You stand at the door, bidding everyone goodbye before helping your mom clean up the mess.

"Goodnight, sweetheart," she calls as you head to your room. "And happy birthday!" You thank her before closing the door and changing into your pajamas.

You flick on your desk lamp before turning off your overhead light. Pulling your homework from your book bag, you spread it out on your desk to finish it before bed. As you pored over your homework, a dreadful feeling caused your stomach to sink. Once your homework was finished, you turned off your lamp. Before settling into your bed, you touch the rectangular lamp in your windowsill. It lights up a gradient green and across the street, you look into Peter's window to see that his rectangle has lit up a gradient purple. A tiny smile peeks at the corner of your lips. Of course, he would set it as your favorite color.

Disappointment floods through your veins making it hard to fall asleep. You really can't believe that Peter would miss your fifteenth birthday. More and more lately, it seemed like Peter was getting tired of you and your friendship. The thought made your heart ache unimaginably.

Though you couldn't say why. Peter was just your best friend. Sometimes, best friends grow out of each other and you find new ones. It's no big deal. Maybe sometimes you looked at Peter and saw him as more than your best friend. You shouldn't, but you can't help it. It's Peter.

The more you thought about how much you really liked him, the sadder you got. You couldn't help the silent tears from slipping down your face and onto your pillow. When your lip begins to tremble, you close your eyes tight to try and fight the cries that want to come.

Peter lands on the wall just beside his bedroom window. As he goes to creep into his room, he notices a light that wasn't on before he left. Once inside, he gently drops down onto the floor and takes off his mask. He looks at the lamp on his windowsill, lit up with your favorite color.

A heaviness settles into his chest and he reaches out to touch his lamp. As he rests his palm on the lamp, he looks across the street to watch yours change colors. It changes from green to blue, his favorite color. Your lamp changing colors in your windowsill causes you to open your eyes. Sniffling in order to try and breathe through your nose, you stand up and go to your window. You look across the way and barely see a figure illuminated by the dim light of the lamp.

Peter continues to stare as he sees you appear in the window. He makes eye contact with you, though you don't know it, while you slowly lean to the side of the window. At first, he doesn't know what you're doing. But abruptly, the light from both of your lamps goes out and you disappear from the window.

You unplug the lamp slowly and watch the light in Peter's room go out. At least you knew he was home safe. That's all you wanted to know. Now, you could go back to crying your eyes out because your best friend was tired of being your best friend.

A lump forms in his throat as he stares at the empty window. Surely, you weren't this mad at him? Peter's mind races and he tries to think of any way he could possibly win back your friendship. He hangs his head as he realizes that only one thing could fix this. So, he pulls his mask back on and swings across the way to your apartment building.

You leaned against your headboard with your knees pulled to your chest as you cried. Why did this hurt so much? It's just Peter. There were a million boys in the world, it wasn't like he was anything special. Except, he is special...because he's Peter.

A light tap on your window pulls you out of your thoughts. You look in the direction of the window, unsure if you actually heard something. As you wait for several long seconds, two more taps sound on your window. You slowly get up, pulling your jo staff from under your bed in case it was some weirdo who had climbed the fire escape.

Clutching it in both hands, you approach the window and look out onto the fire escape. You see no one, so you get as close as you can to the glass to try and see the walls of the building. A blur of color fills your vision as something drops from above and you jump back, pointing your jo staff at the window.

The strangely dressed person holds their hands in front of them, waving them frantically. You squint your eyes, wondering if you had cried yourself to sleep and this was some bizarre dream. "Can you open the window, please?" The muffled voice asks rather politely.

"Why?"

He drops his hands to his hips as he steps back. "I need to talk to you...it's important," he pleads. You relax your grip on your staff and you get close to the window again.

"Don't try anything! I'm trained to use this thing," you threaten and the guy nods, holding his hands up innocently. Slowly, you unlock your window and slide it up so that the cold air is pouring into your room.

The guy steps closer to the window. "Thanks."

"Mhm," you respond suspiciously. "You're, uh...you're Spider-Man. From YouTube, right?" He nods as he wrings his hands in front of him. "Why are you at my window in the middle of the night?"

He scratches the mask on his head as his robotic eyes squint. "That-that's a good question. Um..." he drags out the word as he looks around. Something tugs at the back of your mind from the sound of his voice. You can't quite place it. "Listen...can I come in? It's a little cold out here," he chuckles nervously.

"You think I'm just gonna let a stranger into my apartment?" You scoff. "Tell me why you, a famous superhero from YouTube, need to talk to me, a fifteen-year-old nobody from Queens."

"Aw c'mon, y/n. You're not a nobody," he says sincerely.

You tilt your head to the side. "What did you just say?" Your throat constricts and it suddenly hits you as to why he sounds familiar.

"I said 'you're not a nobody'. I mean, you have to be somebody to be a pro at using a jo staff at fifteen," he marvels.

Stepping away from the window, you gesture inside with your staff. He cautiously crawls through the window as you point it at him again. "How did you know my name?"

"W-what?" He croaks out.

You close the window and step back toward him. "Just a minute ago, you said my name. How do you know it?" Your mouth presses into a flat line while you kneel down and put your staff back under your bed. Crossing your arms as you sit on the edge of your bed, you wait.

He hangs his head as he wanders over to sit on the floor in front of you. Inhaling a deep breath that causes his shoulders to rise and fall, he looks up at you. "The same way I know where you live...what your favorite color is...and that you have a black belt in martial arts but also a gold medal in gymnastics...that it was your birthday today..."

Silently, you get up and plug your lamp back in. You tap it so that Peter's is lit up as well before sitting down with your knees touching his. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you were stalking me, Spider-Man." A cheeky grin splits your lips and you hear him chuckle.

"No! It's not like that," he tries to explain frantically. "R-really, I-"

You reach out and grab his hand, causing his words to cease. "If I didn't know any better..." you repeat as you look at your intertwined fingers. "But, I already told you once today...I'm not that stupid."

"Wait, what?" His head whips up from looking at your hands to your face. A small giggle falls from your lips and you reach out to shove his shoulder. "Ah! What was that for?!"

"That was for missing my birthday party, Peter Benjamin Parker!!" You laugh as you playfully throw his hand in his lap. "I can't believe you kept this from me," you breathe out as you shake your head.

He rips his mask off, leaving his hair wild and all over the place. "I'm so so sorry! It's only been a few months and I feel terrible for not telling you," he rambles.

"Does Ned know?" You mumble as you play with the plush carpet of your bedroom floor.

"No," he breathes out. "You're the first person I've told." You look up to meet his eyes. For the first time since the lamp has been on, Peter is getting a good look at your face. "Y/n, have you been crying?"

Concern laces every syllable and you feel silly for having cried so much. So, you just shake your head as you wipe under your eyes to make sure they're dry. "No, I'm just tired," you lie unconvincingly.

"Was it-were you crying because of me?" Peter whispers sadly. You raise one of your shoulders casually and let it fall. "Y/n, I had no idea missing your birthday was gonna make you cry! There was a mugging with a couple of guys and I-"

You shake your head as you cut him off. "It wasn't because you missed my birthday, Peter." Looking at the ceiling you realize how paranoid you were being and you don't want to tell him what you realized tonight.

"Then, what was it?" You avoid his eyes and he reaches out to take your hand. "Y/n?"

Sighing, you finally look at him. "It's stupid...but I thou-I don't know. It just seemed like you were tired of having me as a best friend..."

"Y/n, I could never get tired of you." He squeezes your hand and the gesture causes your heart to flutter.

You breathe deeply, trying to settle the jittery feeling in your body. "So, what kind of powers do you have?" You ask excitedly.

"Well, there's a few..." he begins before looking at you mischievously. "But, there's this one where the hairs on my arm stand up...I've been calling it my Spider-Sense...”

Less than a second after, his head whips toward the window. You follow suit and are horrified by what you see. Before you can ask what it is, Peter's arm is gone from you, and he's patting Ned's face who's seated in front of you.

"I need you to create a distraction!" He repeats frantically. Ned catches on quickly as he looks out the window and sees the ring-shaped craft hovering over the New York City skyline. Immediately, he begins screaming, "We're all gonna die!" He gets up and leads everyone to the back of the bus to gawk.

Peter springs into action as he digs in his bag. You know that it's urgent. You know that you don't have time to steal with him. "Peter..." you whisper sadly. Despite trying to be strong for him, your eyes sting with coming tears. In your gut, you could feel that this mission was different. That it was going to be more dangerous.

He looks at you with concern in his eyes and also guilt that he didn't have time to comfort you. He slaps his web device on his wrist and slings his bag over his shoulder. "Hey. Shh...babe," he coos as his hands find your cheeks, and his long fingers brush the hair from around your ears. You swallow the tears as best you can and look at his loving eyes. You nod, letting him know that you'll be okay. He moves to leave, but you grip his bare wrist to stop him

As he's halfway out of the seat, he looks at you. Your eyes search his as you say what you always say when he leaves like this, "Come back to me?" His heart almost breaks as he, too, can feel that this time is different.

"Always, babe," he says with a reassuring smile, "you're my web." The words bring a smile to your lips and you know he's not done.

"Peter Benjamin Parker," you say through clenched teeth, "if you don't stop hanging over me like that I'm gonna sabotage this modification on purpose." He was currently hanging upside down over your head from the ceiling of your bedroom while you were working on his suit.

He sighs heavily and you hear a soft thud as he lands on the floor. "Geez," he says as he opts to sit on the edge of your desk instead. "Sorry. I just can't wait to try it out!"

You inhale to calm your irritation. "You're sitting in my workspace, Peter," you warn him. Rolling his eyes, he quickly hops up and paces around your room. Your tongue peeks out from your lips as you use a pair of tweezers to insert the tiny chip where it needs to go. "And...done."

"Haha! Yes!" Peter exclaims as he immediately yanks the suit from your desk to put it on. You rub your temples while you swivel in your chair to face him.

It's been a few months since he told you he was Spider-Man and you've been helping him make modifications to his suit so it wasn't as ridiculous. Lately, he's been off the wall and so worked up about fighting crime. You were really beginning to worry about his safety.

"What'd you put in it this time?" He asks as he puts on the homemade suit.

"Tracker," you state simply.

Peter pauses to stare at you. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, I mean..." you trail off, not having the right words exactly. "That way if you need directions, you can call me and I'll help."

He contemplates your words before nodding. "Good thinking, y/n." He smiles as he goes back to putting on the suit. That smile made your heart soar and you knew there was another reason for the tracker.

"But, like, worst-case scenario..." you begin cautiously and he seems to be in his own world. "It's there just in case something bad happens and I don't hear from you for a long time," you whisper the words and your stomach sinks. What he does is really dangerous. Powers or not.

His head whirls in your direction and you realize that he was paying attention to you. "Nothing bad is gonna happen, y/n," he assures you as he walks over and squats in front of you. "Can you promise that?" You look into his warm brown eyes intensely and wait for his answer. You know he's particular about when he uses the 'p' word.

Peter sighs and lets his head hang. "No...I can't," he murmurs honestly.

"That's what I thought." You stand up and open your window before crossing your arms. "Go swing to somewhere that I don't know about so I can test the tracker," you instruct with a nod.

He grips his mask in his hand before looking at you sadly. Slipping it on his head he leaves out of the window and you hear the 'thwip' of his webs as he gets further away. You close your window and head back to your desk to clean up the mess.

After clearing all the tech into a box that you keep under your bed, you sit at your desk and open up your laptop. You type in a few things before reaching into a drawer to pull out your headset and put it on. The tiny blip on the grid you've pulled up keeps moving further and further away. You pull open your main drawer before feeling along the edges of it. Once your fingers feel the small grip, you lift up the false bottom to retrieve your notebook.

You close the drawer and open the notebook up to flip through it. When Peter told you about his secret, you decided to keep a sort of journal about everything. The notebook has everything from a list of his powers and abilities to schematics of his suit. You have the formula for how to make his web fluid and basically, everything else that Peter would need in an emergency.

After you fill out a page about the tracker you just did, you flip through the rest of the empty pages to the back. On the very last couple of pages, you have a ton of random facts about spiders. You don't know why, but you decided to research them to learn more. Your phone rings on your desk, causing you to jump.

When you look at the screen, the blip has stopped. You connect it to your headset and answer. "Go for Spider-Man," you say professionally.

"I'm at the destination," he replies simply.

You squint at the grid and roll your eyes. "I told you to go somewhere I didn't know, Spider-Man."

"I did!" He protests and you laugh.

"I know about the Empire State Building you dweeb!" You type a little bit more on your laptop and manage to get into a low-tech security camera near-by. After swiveling it around you can make out the grainy and blurry image of him high up on the building. "Stop doing flips for people!"

The image on the screen trips before catching himself. "I'm not!"

"Spider-Man, I can see you."

On the screen, he looks around confused. "How are you doing that?"

"I may have...hacked into a security camera. It's not a very good one though," you grumble.

You hear him sigh on the other end and you watch him sit down. "Y/n, you know how I feel about you breaking the law!"

"Fine! I'll get off of it!" You quickly exit out of the camera and lean back in your chair. "It's starting to get dark, you can head back now."

"Don't be like that!" He knows you all too well. "Why don't you give me a few more facts while I'm on my way?"

You perk up a little bit. It made you happy that he actually liked hearing the useless research you did on spiders. "Okay, okay," you cave easily and you hear the wind from the headset you installed in his mask. "Where did we leave off?"

"I think the last one was twenty-seven," he reminds you.

Your finger traces the page as you go to find number twenty-eight. "Okay, got it. You ready?"

"Always!" He replies with a chuckle and you hear him grunt, probably in the midst of another swing.

After reading it in your head once, you reword it. "So, cobwebs are actually webs that spiders have abandoned."

"Abandoned? I thought spiders lived in those webs," Peter muses.

You swivel your chair from side to side lazily as you answer. "Well, turns out most spiders make a new web every day. Some eat the old ones and reuse them. I guess cobwebs are the ones that don't get reused," you explain as you look over your notes.

"What did you mean when you said most spiders make a new web?" He questions.

As you sit up to lean over your notes, you search for the next fact. "Well...exactly what I said. Most spiders make a new web. But, there are a few...I think...that make webs that last several years. I know at least one does and that's the banana spider," you inform him.

"Woah. Really? Are those the ones th-" A loud crashing sound cuts off Peter's words.

You press your headset closer to your ears as if it would help you hear him but all you can make out is sirens weirdly crackling. "Spider-Man! What just happened??"

No words come from the other end and you look at the blip on the screen to see it moving in a circle around a building. Your fingers quickly tap the keys as you try to find a camera close by that you could hack. Surprisingly, you manage to weasel your way into one from a bank nearby.

For the life of you, you couldn't figure out why you could hear the commotion but not Peter. If his comm was working then he should be able to hear you and respond. You control the camera to figure out what's happening and your heart sinks into your stomach. There's a building on fire.

You're about to search the scene for Peter when your mom comes into your room without knocking. You slam the laptop closed. "Mom! Could you knock??"

"Sweetheart, you have to come look at this on the news." She immediately exits your room and your furrow your brows as you follow her.

As you round into the living room you begin to question her, "What's so urgent-" Your voice gets caught in your throat and you see the building engulfed in flames. "Oh my god...do they know what happened?"

"They're saying it was some kind of gas leak..." your mom whispers in horror while you rest your hands on the back of the couch. "I'm surprised you didn't hear it happen from your room."

Your throat goes dry. "What do you mean?"

"Honey." she turns around to look at you. "That's an apartment building a few blocks down from us."

Without another word you turn and run to your room. You rush over to your window and slide it up harshly, shaking the glass. Crawling out onto the fire escape, you lean against the rail and look around. Fire trucks speed past on the street below and your eyes follow them.

You look on in that direction and see the billowing smoke coming from the building. You hear your mom's voice yell from the living room, "Hey, that Spider-Guy from YouTube is there!! He's getting people out-"

Her words disappear from earshot as you scramble to climb down the seven flights of the fire escape. The metal is slick from slight drizzling rain and you didn't stop to put on shoes so your socks are sliding everywhere. Your feet finally hit the ground with a splash and you almost trip before taking off at a sprint.

Your heart thunders in your chest and the heavy trickle of guilt sweeps into your veins because you didn't realize that the comm had been knocked out. You were literally hearing the commotion from your window and not your headset. The closer you get, the more the air darkens and is thick with smoke.

A crowd as gathered on the other side of police barriers at a safe distance from the building. Some people filming the whole ordeal. Your throat burns from the rapid breaths you were taking and you slow to a stop amongst them.

"Has anyone seen Spider-Man?" You ask casually.

A guy beside you turns his head slightly as he answers. "He just went in again a couple of minutes ago. I think there's a family trapped on the fifth floor."

You slowly creep along the police barrier to a section where no one is standing. It hurts to breathe as you stare up at the building for any sign that he was okay. A commotion grabs your attention and people begin cheering as Spider-Man emerges through the front door with a little girl.

He hands her over to a nearby EMT. You watch with relief before you hear a fireman speak quietly to his partner near you. "We need to get these people further back. I think there's gonna be a second blow." The other one nods and heads over to the other end of the barrier to scoot them back.

"Polly is still up there!!" You hear a little girl cry as they try to take her to the ambulance. "Mr. Spider-Man my puppy is still in my room!" She cries.

You shake your head as you see Peter look between the little girl and the quickly deteriorating building. "No," you whisper to yourself. "Don't you dare do it."

Peter's head suddenly turns in your direction and you forgot that he can hear really well. You can see the tension he holds in his body as the fireman returns to move your barrier back. "We have to move these back more for the safety of the public, ma'am," he explains.

"Yeah," you breathe out as you let him move it back. While you're scooting back with the barrier you glance up and see Peter running back into the building. "SPIDER-MAN, NO!!" You scream and try to lurch over the barrier before the fireman stops you. "He just went in there!!"

The fireman looks back at the building and you back away from the barrier, shaking your head. It feels like hours pass as you wait, hand cupped over your mouth while you cry. A deafening boom sounds, accompanied by glass spraying all over the streets below the building. Everyone crouches as they shield their head with their arms.

Your clothes are soaked as the drizzle has picked up to a heavy rain. Water drips down your cheeks, and it could be rain, it could be your tears. You wander down the street a little bit, away from the building. Your hands run through your hair to get it out of your face as you sit on a curb near an alley.

"Polly!!" You lift your head up quickly to see a dog trotting toward the little girl. Looking around, you see no sign of Peter anywhere. You release staggered breaths as you stand up, ready to go tell May what happened.

The sound of a trashcan knocking over draws your attention to the alley behind you. "Psst." You quickly jog down the alley toward the noise. As you pass the dumpster, you hear a 'thwip' sound and you're tugged by your wrist behind it.

"Peter, oh my god!" You almost scream as you throw your weight into him, your arms hugging him around his abdomen tightly. His arms circle around your shoulders, pulling you to him almost too strongly. Your ear presses against his chest, allowing you to hear how rapidly his heart is beating.

Peter tangles his fingers in your wet hair repeatedly. "Y/n, what are you doing here?" You untangle yourself from him and slam both of your palms into his shoulders. "Ow!! What was that for?!"

"For making me think you died!!" You yell. "What the hell was that?" You gesture vaguely in the direction of the building.

He looks around quickly before removing his mask. His curls are instantly drenched in water, plastering them to his head. "There was a dog still in there! I couldn't let her die!"

"Peter, you could have died!" Your voice cracks and his face instantly crumbles. He pulls you into another hug by your waist and rubs up and down your back soothingly.

"I didn't, though," he says slowly. "I promise you, y/n. I promise I will always come back to you."

You pull back to meet his gaze. "You what?"

"I realized something when I saw you before I went back in the last time y/n." His grip tightens slightly and you realize that he's shaking. "You're my best friend, and you're my web. I don't mean like a cobweb either because I will never abandon you. I mean like the web of a banana spider that lasts for years and years-"

A giggle bubbles up in your throat as you listen to his rambling. "Peter Parker, what are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about this." Peter suddenly leans down and plants his lips on your softly, causing you to let out a surprise hum. You circle your arms around his shoulders and one of your hands tangles in his hair as he deepens the kiss. His lips slant against yours perfectly and you're certain you forget to inhale because your lungs are burning.

Just when it feels like you're about to pass out from being so light-headed, Peter slowly leans back. "Peter-"

"You're my web, y/n." He rests his forehead on yours. "And I promise I will always come back to you...for years and years." His eyes search yours and you don't really believe what's happening. Inside, he begins to panic because you've been quiet for so long.

"Kiss me again, Spider-Man."

"Will you leave the light on?" he asks, a twinge of sadness in his voice even though he knows the answer.

You don't hesitate as you reply, "Of course."

He cocks his head to the side with a cheeky yet solemn grin. "Forever?"

You nod with a similar smile as you assure him, "And a day..."

He reaches one hand out to pull your face to his. You meet him halfway and your lips connect hastily with his soft ones. A million things run through your mind. Memories and little moments with him you adored. When he pulls away, you immediately feel cold. Maybe not cold per se. But, an absence of warmth. An absence of him. One last look between you and he's out the emergency window.

The rest of the day was awful. You walked around with knots in your stomach. You couldn't eat even though you were desperately hungry. The fear of throwing up overruled the hunger. Eventually, you made your way home to the apartment building across from Peter's.

The ring had disappeared from the atmosphere about 20 minutes after Peter left you on the bus. You'd expected to have heard from him by now. Your anxiety was skyrocketing. You half-expected him to be in your room when you got home, hung from the ceiling to surprise you. Of course, he wasn't. You were disappointed even though you knew the chance was minuscule.

After unpacking your school bag, you slump down on your bed. You look at the ceiling and see dirty footprints. The corner of your lips turn up sadly as you think about the boy you were completely gone for. You take a deep breath and rise from the bed to cross the room to your window. Looking outside, you could tell that it was a few hours from being dark. To give yourself some sort of comfort, you take the box sitting in the windowsill and toggle it on.

"Peter Benjamin Parker!!" You giggle from the floor after he had gently tripped you. "That's cheating and you know it! I demand a rematch," you say as you get up and dust yourself off.

Peter scoffs and it turns into a laugh. "Wha-" He looks around the room for support and finds none. "How is it my fault that you're uncoordinated?" He teases you.

"I'm a gold medal gymnast...I think I'm plenty coordinated," you challenge as you saunter toward him until you're nose to nose. "Just not when people stick their feet in between my ankles!"

He rolls his eyes and turns around to walk away, but you quickly jump onto his back. "Woah, woah, woah! This has got to be a party foul!" He chuckles as he swings around in a circle.

You both fall into a fit of laughter as he plops onto the couch, essentially squishing you. Ned and MJ take their turn at the Just Dance game while you nuzzle your nose into Peter's neck. Your arms wrap around his abdomen to hug him from behind and he places his hands over yours.

"Thank you for being here," you murmur so only he can hear you before placing a quick kiss on his jaw. "I know that you had to skip the Internship to make it and I know it's important, so thank you."

He turns his head and you lean back so he can see you. "It's not a big deal," he whispers back and your features soften. "I promised I'd make it this time and I've never broken a promise to you so..."

You can't help but smile as he brushes his nose against yours. He leans forward and his lips ghost over yours before pressing against them softly. "I love you," you whisper against his lips.

"And I love you," he replies before kissing you again. The kiss breaks as a pillow comes down over your heads.

"Can you two stop making out for five seconds?" Ned laughs and walks around the couch to the kitchen. "It's time for presents."

Peter stands up and turns around, offering his hands to help you up. "C'mon, Ned," he whines.

Once you're standing, he wraps his arms around your waist from behind. This causes the two of you to waddle like penguins to the kitchen and you sit down at the head of the table. Peter rests his hands on the chair behind you.

You go through and open everyone's gifts, thanking them as you went along. Discarded wrapping paper and gift bags litter the floor. "Where's Peter's gift?" MJ questions.

"Oh, we agreed that since my birthday is so close to Valentine's day we'd just count that gift for both," you explain with a smile as Peter gently squeezes your shoulders.

An hour or so later, the party ends and your friends go home. You and Peter help your mom clean up before heading to your room. "Remember it's a school night! Peter has to go home at some point," your mom calls before closing her bedroom door.

You laugh as you sit on the edge of your bed and lay back. Peter wanders in, leaving the door open behind him. It was adorable how respectful he was when it came to being in your room now. When he used to come over before you were dating, you would close the door and he'd spend the night without asking. Now, he leaves the door open without your mom even asking him to because that's how May raised him.

It was funny because the two of you had already had sex a couple of times. But, he still respected the unspoken rules as if you hadn't. He lays down next to you and the two of you stare at your ceiling.

"Peter, you need to stop crawling on my ceiling," you chuckle. "I mean, how the hell am I supposed to clean up there?" You gesture your hand toward the dirty footprints creating patterns on your ceiling.

He laughs and the sound warms you from head to toe. "I'm sorry. I'll wipe my feet on the welcome mat next time," he retorts sarcastically.

"Ha, ha." You reach down and interlace your fingers with his between you two. Squeezing his hand, you sit up. "You can go if you want. I bet you could get in a few hours of patrolling and still get enough sleep for school," you suggest.

Peter sits up next to you and bumps your shoulder with his. "I've got something for you first." He grins mischievously and goes out onto your fire escape to retrieve something.

"I thought we said one present was enough!" You remind him. When you suggested it, you had really done so because you knew that he couldn't afford to do so many present so close together. And he had already gotten you the most wonderful Christmas gift. You really didn't need anything else.

He appears back through your window and closes it. You see the carefully wrapped box in his hand as he approaches. "Y/n, I know you made that rule because of the money," he sighs and sits next to you.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel like-" Shaking his head, he kisses your cheek. "You don't need to apologize. I love that you want to make it easier on me and May." He holds up the box to you. "Which is why this is made and not bought."

You take it from him slowly. After setting it in your lap, you gently remove the lid with the bow and peer inside. Your eyebrows quirk together and you glance at Peter before reaching in.

It takes both hands to lift it up because the cube is the width of both of your palms next to each other. You expected it to be heavy because it looks like it's made of metal, but it's surprisingly light. Two opposite sides of the cube are a shiny black. While the other four sides alternate between red and blue, the color of his suit.

"Peter, what is this?" You chuckle nervously. As you examine it, you notice a small toggle switch on one of the black sides. You reach out and nudge it to the other side.

Suddenly, a bright red light shines out of the other black side. You quickly hold the box at a distance as you close your eyes, not wanting to be blinded. When you open them again, you follow where the light is shining to the ceiling. You're amazed by what you see.

"Oh my gosh..." you marvel at the high-tech Spider-Man beacon displayed across your ceiling. It's the same one that Peter can display from his new suit from Mr. Stark. "How did you make this?"

He takes it from you and walks over to your window. "Well...Mr. Stark helped me, actually," he admits as he sets the box on its side and the beacon shines on the wall across from your window. "I made it 'cause I know your mom got tired of our lamps running up your electric bill."

"Won't this do the same thing?" You ask as you cross the room to him.

Peter pulls you into him by your waist and rests his hands on the small of your back. "No, it won't...because this doesn't plug into anything." He reaches down and toggles it off before replacing his hand on your back.

"What if it runs out of batteries?"

"It doesn't run on batteries," he explains. "The sides double as solar panels. So you just leave it here all the time and it'll always be charged." He grins at you and you slide your hands up to rest on the back of his neck.

You lean toward him and his lips meet yours halfway as you pull him down to you gently. His lips slant against yours slowly, and carefully as if he wanted to make the moment last. "This is perfect! Now I can leave the light on for you every time you're out on a mission!" You whisper after you pull away for a breath.

"Do patrols count as missions?" He questions and rubs his nose against yours. You scrunch your lips to one side as you think. Looking back into his eyes, you nod with a small hum. "Babe," Peter chuckles, "you'll literally have that thing on all the time."

"So." You shrug and the two of you have started to sway a bit. "I'd leave it on forever if it meant you knowing that I'd wait for you."

His grip on you tightens as he pulls you further into his embrace. The warmth he radiates seeps into your skin. "Oh, you'd leave it on forever?" He asks skeptically.

"Yeah," you assure him. "And a day," you add quickly.

One of his hands leaves your back to cup your jaw. "Why the extra day?" He chuckles.

"'Cause." You pull your bottom lip between your teeth for a second. "It'll give me a whole day to make sure that you're back for real and for good. Ya know, an extra day past forever is just for good measure."

"That's smart," he mumbles as he brings his lips closer to yours. "You're the smartest person I've ever met, y/n."

You smile against his lips. "You clearly haven't met yourself, Peter."

"No," he laughs before kissing your cheek. "It's not just book smart. You're, like, everything smart. And you're strong...and talented...and beautiful..." In between each thing, Peter places a kiss on your forehead, your other cheek, and even your neck. But, they're soft kisses. Not like he wants anything to happen. "I love you so much."

Your lips find his again and they glide across them lovingly. "I love you just as much, Peter Parker." You let your lips sink into his for a few minutes more before he leaves to patrol the neighborhood. Your fingers trace your lips as the taste of him lingers. Reaching down, you toggle on your new beacon box before getting ready for bed.

Meticulously, you position it so that the Spider-Man beacon shines clearly on the opposite wall from your window. It didn't do much for comfort as you still had the awful feeling of a pit in your stomach. So, you distracted yourself with homework.

You spent hours and hours doing homework even though your mind was elsewhere. You were pretty sure that you weren't learning anything and that all your answers were wrong but you continued. Well into the night you tried to focus on something, anything other than the fact that the boy you loved had gone up into space in some floating alien craft.

When you ran out of homework, you forced yourself to go to the kitchen and eat. It was hard considering you didn't have an appetite. Sure, you hadn't eaten anything since breakfast but with every bite, you felt more nauseous. But, you were determined to put something in your stomach to give you the strength and energy to wait up for Peter. He will come back.

At some time after one a.m., you sat on the edge of your bed waiting. Just staring at the light shining from the beacon box that Peter made you. You can't sleep well unless it's completely dark. But, sleep was less important than Peter knowing that you were waiting. So, you picked up your phone and dialed Ned.

After anxiously waiting through several rings, you were sure he wouldn't pick up because he was asleep. Like a normal person. Then, he did. "Y/n? Is everything okay? Have you heard from Peter?" His groggy voice became more clear with every question and your heart sunk.

"No...I, uh," you stutter as you tried to choke down the sob that wanted to emerge from your throat. "I was hoping that maybe you had," you whimper.

You hear a deep sigh on the other line. "I'm sorry, y/n. He always goes to you first...I just figured..." he lets his sentence trail off and you finally feel tears leaving warm trails on your cheeks.

"Tell me he's gonna come back, Ned. Please, tell me that," you beg as you release a staggered breath.

"I know that he's gonna do his best. He would never leave you on purpose," he answers. You nod as you roll your lips together, tasting your tears. Ned would never lie to you and so he gave you the best response that he could while still being truthful. But, that just lets you know that even he believes that Peter might not come back this time.

You stay on the phone with Ned until you hear his snores through the line. Your body begged you to sleep, but your heart was too heavy to comply. Every minute was like an eternity as you laid in the dark with only the red hue of the Spider-Man beacon on your wall to focus on. Your eyelids drooped slightly and maybe you drifted off to sleep for a few minutes. Or a couple of hours. It didn't matter how much sleep you got because when you woke, it felt as though you'd been awake for weeks.

The day went on as it usually did. Except it didn't. Peter didn't meet you on the sidewalk outside of your building to walk to the subway together. He wasn't leaning against your locker in between every class, just waiting for you so he could kiss your cheek. Peter wasn't there to hand you an extra pencil when yours broke from pressing it to the paper so hard because you were anxious. His spot next to you at the lunch table was empty, and he wasn't there to tease you about the way you separate your food before eating it. You and Ned sat in silence without Peter there to hatch mischievous plans with.

You were cold. All day you were cold because you weren't used to not having his body next to yours wherever you go. Your hands lived in your pockets because you didn't have his hands to hold. The sweater you had stolen from him was the only comfort you had because it smelled like him. But, it wasn't him.

After school, you went over to his apartment and knocked on the door. It opened quickly and May's face dropped from hope to sadness. One look at you and she opened her arms. You fell into them as your face crumpled with your guilt. Garbled apologies fell from your lips and you tried to take the blame for letting him go, but May was having none of that. The two of you collapsed to your knees in the doorway as she rocked you and sobs escaped your throat.

Once you finally cried yourself out, you asked if you could just sit in Peter's room until he got back. She nodded solemnly and said she'd make some cookies for you to snack on. You smiled slightly, wondering if she'd have to go out and buy some or if she's getting any better at cooking.

You softly push open the door to his room and the tears come quickly again as you look around. It's in complete disarray, just as he left it yesterday morning. His bed is unmade, and clothes are strewn around his hamper as if he tossed them close to but not quite in it. Open books and crumpled papers lay on his desk along with stray pencils everywhere. Your fingertips trace the wooden frame around a picture of the two of you at homecoming on his bedside table. Your foreheads were pressed together as you both smiled contently, eyes closed, and arms wrapped around each other as if you didn't want to let go.

Your legs fold and you sink to the floor in the center of his room. You lie back and let your eyes wander along the ceiling as you follow the dirty footprints. As your head falls to the side, you notice all the extra pillows and sheets shoved under his bed. You pull them out and a soft grin forms on your lips. Of course, he would stockpile pillows and sheets. He remembers everything you say and does his best to make sure you know it.

"Peter Benjamin Parker!!" You squeal as the cold from the snow he just pelted you with seeps through some of your layers. He laughs loudly and almost slips as he turns to run the other way. "Oh no, you don't!" You threaten as you quickly lean down and scoop up a handful of snow.

Chasing after him, you tried to aim at him. But, you were at a disadvantage because you could tell he was using his powers to evade you. With a groan of frustration, you stand in place and drop the snow. He stops and turns around to look at you. "You're not even gonna try and get me back?"

"I would, but it's kind of useless when you're cheating," you pout as you cross your arms. Peter jogs back to stand in front of you. Placing his hands on your hips, he pulls you in for a kiss. You turn your head so that his lips meet your cheek. "No kisses for cheaters."

He pulls back with a surprised scoff. "But, babe," he whines playfully. You stick your nose up in the air, refusing to look at him. "I'm sorry...I won't cheat next time," he mumbles as he leans forward and brushes his lips across your exposed neck.

"That's cheating..." you whisper breathlessly as a shiver runs through you.

Peter tilts his head and places another kiss just below your ear. "I don't know what you mean." You roll your eyes because you could practically hear the smirk in his voice. He works his lips up to your jaw and you groan. "Forgive me yet?"

Reluctantly, you uncross your arms and grip his sweater-covered biceps. "Maybe a little bit." You take your bottom lip between your teeth as he lifts his head up to gaze at you.

"I can work with that," he chuckles as he leans in for a kiss. Just as your lips are about to touch, you shove with all your might. Peter is taken surprise as he loses his balance and falls backward into a snowbank.

You laugh loudly as he flails trying to get up. "And now I got you back!" He finally manages to sit up and grins ruefully at you.

"Oh, that was cold. Literally." He brushes the snow off of himself as he stands up.

Your shoulders shrug lazily. "I had to distract you so your Spider-Sense wouldn't give me away," you inform him.

"You're sneaky." He nods before lurching forward and wrapping his arms around you. You squeal as he picks you up and spins you around. The two of you fall into laughter as he sets you down. "Let's get you home," he says while rubbing up and down your arms to generate heat. You beam up at him and sling your arm around his waist as you head home.

Soon, the two of you are in your living room floor surrounded by wrapping paper as your mom takes pictures. You clasp your hands in front of your lips as you wait in anticipation for Peter to open up his last gift from you.

"What on earth is this, y/n?" He chuckles as he tries to tear away your expertly wrapped paper and tape.

You pull up your shoulders and don't say anything as he finally gets down to the box. The grin on your lips is so big that your cheeks are starting to hurt. "Merry Christmas!!" You say excitedly.

"Wha-" he breathes out as he pulls it out of the box. "Y/n, this is amazing. I...How did you afford this?" He marvels before slipping the strap over his head to rest on his neck.

"It wasn't expensive," you tell him as you nibble on your lip.

Peter holds it up to his face and aims it at you. "There's no way this wasn't expensive! It's a really nice camera," he mumbles softly.

"I promise it wasn't. It was at a flea market and I fixed it up." You look up from your lap and a flash blinds you. "Wow! That's bright." You blink several times to get your vision back.

He lowers the camera and reaches out one hand to rest on the back of your neck. "Thank you so much! I love....it." His lips pull into a grin before you're pulled to him and he kisses you sweetly. "I should go so May doesn't send out a search party."

"She wouldn't have to send them far," you tease and the two of you stand up. You walk him to the door out of your mom's earshot.

Peter turns and kisses your cheek before whispering in your ear. "I actually have a couple more presents for you, but I have to go set them up in my room. I'll let you know when they're ready." He places a soft peck to your lips and you watch with curious eyes as he leaves.

Sometime after you've helped clean up and take all your presents to your room, you're laying on your bed. As you wait for Peter to text you, your body fills with butterflies while thinking of him. You were excited for this surprise but also a little bit nervous because you had no idea what it would be.

Just then, your phone chimes from its place on your desk. You hop up quickly and open up the message from Peter. It reads:

PBP: Everything is all set up! Come in through the window ❤️

You scoffed out loud as you went to your window and saw him standing there waiting for you. Quickly typing out a response, you hit send and wait for him to get it.

You: You expect me to climb 7 flights of a fire escape and crawl through your window in late December?

Peter's shoulders shake as he snickers at your message. You watch as he types again and then looks up at you. Your phone chimes in your hand.

PBP: Just use one of the old web-shooters and swing over here!

Rolling your eyes, you go to the locked box under your bed to retrieve one of them. Peter had been teaching you how to use them for fun, but mostly lower to the ground. Closing your window behind you, you secure it on your dominant wrist.

He's opened his window and is leaning out of it waiting for you. "I'm not sure I can do this!" You call across the open space to him.

"You'll do great! Just get over here!" He chuckles back so you can hear. Upon seeing your panic, he continues, "I'll catch you! I promise!"

Just like that, your nerves were gone. When Peter uses the 'p' word, you know he's serious. And you trust him with everything you have in you. So if he says he'll catch you, he will. You carefully climb over the railing of the fire escape and lean your back against it as you look at Peter.

He nods encouragingly. With a shaking hand, you aim the web-shooter at the top ledge of the building so you should swing right to his window. You take a deep breath and jump. As soon as you feel gravity pulling at you, you bring your fingers down on the shooter. You hear the familiar 'thwip' of the web as it latches onto its exact target.

Squeezing your eyes shut, you feel the wind whipping through your hair as you swing over the gap. Just as quickly as you jumped, a pair of firm hands was catching you and maneuvering your legs into the window. You open your eyes and wait until you're firmly planted on his floor to release the web.

"That...was...crazy!!" You whisper-yell as you jump up and down excitedly. As Peter closes the window, you turn and see what he's been working on. Your mouth falls open in awe. "Peter..."

He gently takes your hand and pulls you to your knees with him. "Merry Christmas!" He laughs at your shocked expression as you continue to marvel at it. Sheets hang from precarious positions and colorful spots of light filter through them.

"You made me a pillow fort???" You quickly crawl into the center and find some pillows stacked for the two of you to lay on. He follows closely behind you and pulls his laptop out from under a pillow.

He nods as you lay back to stare at the lights. "Do you like it? We didn't have just white Christmas lights so I had to use the color-"

"Babe, it's perfect," you interrupt as you reach out and squeeze his hand. "Well...you couldn't go wrong with a few more pillows and sheets. Just to make it seem like we're in our own world."

"I'm always in my own world when I'm with you," he murmurs as he lays down next to you, shoulder to shoulder. You turn your head and give him a lingering kiss on the cheek.

Cuddling into his side, you wrap an arm over his abdomen. "What movie are we watching?"

"Whatever you want, babe." He wraps his arm around your shoulder and kisses the top of your head.

You prop yourself up onto your elbow and look down at him. "What if I said I didn't want to watch a movie?"

"Well," he drags the word out as he repositions his head to look at you. "I would have to ask what you'd rather do." His hand reaches out to brush the hair from your face and caress your cheek.

Your pulse begins to quicken as you look down at him. He looks so soft and sweet, illuminated by the colorful lights he worked so hard to string up. Quietly, you lean down as your lips are drawn to his. Your lips move against his slowly, but earnestly. After a few moments of the warmth building up in you, you pull away.

"I think I'd rather keep doing that," you whisper breathlessly as you look between his eyes and his lips. He looks at you a little bit confused and you continue. "And maybe a little bit more..."

Peter visibly gulps. "R-really?" You nod shyly, pink creeping onto your cheeks. His eyes flicker up and down the length of your body before meeting your eyes again. One corner of his lips tugs upward into the most insanely adorable smile.

Slowly, he lets both of his hands roam up and down your sides before pulling you back down onto him by your hips. You grin as your lips connect with his and the two of you get lost in each other.

A little bit later, you're curled into Peter's side with the covers pulled up to your chin. He has his arm around you and he's lazily playing with your hair. Your fingers are tracing soft trails along the lines of his surprisingly toned ab muscles.

You swallow thickly before breaking the silence. "Was it-was I any good?" A nervous chuckle falls escapes your throat.

"What??" Peter laughs loudly and you're surprised by his reaction. "Were you any good?? Y/n! That was like the most incredible thing I've ever experienced in my life and I've jumped off of the Empire State Building!"

You laughed and the anxiety slowly faded from your body. "You are the most dramatic person I've ever met in my life, Peter Parker," you giggle. He may have been telling the truth about it being good, but he always had a knack for exaggerating things. You nuzzle back into his chest as your giggles died down. "I love you," you sigh.

"Y-you what?" He says suddenly serious.

Every muscle in your body freezes. You didn't realize what you had said until he asked. "Um.." you slowly sat up, holding the blanket over your chest.

"Wait, wait," Peter says quickly before sitting up and feeling around under the covers and pillows for something. "Okay...here," he says as a flourish of his hands reveals a small box.

You reach out and take it from him with slightly nervous fingers. As you open the box, the slightly irrational part of you hopes this isn't a ring. Your hopes a granted and you release a relieved breath as you see a necklace.

"This is beautiful," you murmur as you take it out the get a better look. It's a silver chain, and on it hangs the frame of a silver heart. But inside the frame of the heart, you swear it looks like... "Is this your web fluid?" You question and look up at him.

He grins from ear to ear as he nods. "Yeah, it sure is." Peter reaches out and takes the necklace from you. Carefully, he unclasps it and places it around your neck before re-clasping it under your hair.

"But, won't it dissolve in a few hours?" You pick the heart up in your fingers and look at it some more.

"No. I, uh..." he clears his throat weirdly. "I made a special one that'll last." You smile happily as you let it rest back on your sternum. "It's special, ya know?"

You cock your head to one side. "Is that so?"

"Mhm." He nods and scoots closer to you. "See, as long as you're wearing this...you'll always know if I'm okay or not."

Rolling your lips together, you lean forward and connect your lips with his briefly. "Then, I will never take it off," you promise. Peter leans forward and kisses you softly.

"I love you, y/n," he whispers as he rests his forehead against yours. You bite your lip to contain your excited giggles. He looks deep into your eyes seriously. "I think I always have." Then, he reconnects his lips with yours to kiss you much more urgently than he ever has as the two of you fall back onto the pillows.

By the time you've finished making a fort out of the sheets and pillows, May has finished with the cookies. She knocks on the door and lets it swing open. You poke your head out and look up at her. "I hope you don't mind..."

"Of course not, sweetie," she smiles warmly down at you. "Got any more room in there?" She chuckles slightly. You nod, holding the sheet open so she can carefully crawl inside with the plate of cookies.

You take one and sit back against the pile of pillows as you take a bite. "Mm," you hum, swallowing the chewy bite. "You're getting good at these."

She kisses your head gently and the two of you snack on the cookies in content silence. For the first time since yesterday, your stomach isn't in knots, and your heart doesn't feel heavy. It's almost like a regular day and Peter is gonna come home at any minute and join the two of you.

"Can I...can I stay in here tonight?" You whisper after a few minutes of silence and realizing that it's not a regular day.

Your eyes are trained on your lap and May squeezes your shoulder reassuringly. "You can stay as long as you want." After a while of sitting together, she leaves you alone in Peter's room.

While making the fort, you had positioned the sheets so you could still see out the window. You could see perfectly into your room across the street, and the beacon still shines brightly on your wall. Your fingers grip the cold silver of your necklace as you breathe deeply. Peter will come back.

Peter always comes back. With some sort of semblance of comfort, you're able to fall asleep much more easily than last night. When someone wakes you up, your eyelids are so heavy that you have to pry them open and wipe the sleep from your eyes. You sit up in the floor of the fort and look around.

"Peter?" Your voice is sleepy but it cracks with hope. As your eyes focus, you find May kneeling next to you. "Oh..." You finally remember that Peter is missing. Not missing. Gone. Gone up into space.

She tilts her head slightly as she rubs soothing circles on your back. "You okay, sweetie?" You furrow your eyebrows and tuck your hair behind your ears.

"Fine, I guess...why?" You eyes bare into hers, worried that something happened while you were out

"Well, you were crying," she informs you. Your hand goes to your cheeks and you feel the wet residue from tears.

You wipe your eyes and clear your throat. "I guess I'm just tired." Your fingertips instinctively go to your necklace. An uneasy feeling takes place in your stomach as you trace the silver frame of a heart. "No..."

"What's wrong?" May asks as she watches you unclasp the necklace and hold it up to the light.

The web that once made up the inside of the heart has dissolved or disappeared. You didn't know which, but you knew it was gone. Frantically, you search the sheets around you. But, you can't find any evidence of the small section of web anywhere.

"No," you croak out as your face contorts in pain and tears flow freely down your cheeks. May pulls you into her, unsure of what's happening. Sobs wrack your body because you know what this means. "Peter...he-"

Peter said that as long as you wore the necklace, you'd know if he was okay. You don't know how he did it, but you know this means something bad. You know this means that he's gone. You know it means he's not coming back.

May holds onto you tightly, finally understanding what was happening. She begins to cry too. You hold each other as the streets outside bring the noise of honking horns and cars crashing. Something bad happened. Maybe not just to Peter.

Suddenly, an ear-splitting whine sounds from across the street. You jolt out of May's arms and to the window. As you look around the city below, you see the chaos happening. Your head swivels toward the source of the whine and it's your room. The Spider-Man beacon flashes rapidly on your bedroom wall as if it's a ticking bomb.

Without a word, you sprint out of Peter's room and down the stairs of the building. You tear out onto the street and narrowly avoid a speeding car as your feet carry you to your building and up to your room. As you burst through your front door, you see your mom standing oddly still in the kitchen.

"Mom?" You cautiously approach her.

She turns slowly and her features are etched in worry. You reach out to her and just before your fingers brush her hand, it crumples into ash. Your mouth falls open in shock as the rest of her crumbles away into ash and the ash is blown away by some invisible wind. A guttural scream escapes your throat and you fall to your knees.

What the hell is happening? The whine suddenly starts up again and you clutch your ears at the frequency. Swallowing your tears you barely manage to scramble to your feet and stumble into your room. It's louder than anywhere else as you approach it, frantically looking for how to make it stop.

You pick it up in both of your hands and collapse to your knees as you turn it over and over. "Goddamn it!!" You cry as you bang your palms against the side of it repeatedly. Frustrated, you raise it up and throw it at the floor.

It bounces to the center of the room with the beacon now displayed across your ceiling, and you hear something click. The whine stops and is replaced by a beeping sound. Your bottom lip quivers as you crawl across the floor and to the other side of the box. A panel has opened up, with an indentation inside of it.

Your fingers trace the shape and your heart constricts when you realize what goes there. With shaking fingers, you reach up and unclasp your necklace, letting the heart slide off of the chain. Your throat tightens as you press the heart pendant into the empty indentation in the box.

At first, nothing happens. You wipe your nose with the back of your hand as you wait. You're about to get up and leave when the box starts whirring. The Spider-Man beacon goes dark and the box begins clicking meticulously. Panels on the top open up as it expands, a small projector rising up from the middle.

You fall back into a sitting position as a 3D projection materializes above the box. It looks like a person, but one you've never seen before. You peer closer when suddenly, their eyes open.

"Hello." You jump back in surprise, almost falling completely onto your back. "My name is KAREN. In the event of a disaster, I have been programmed to display a message from Peter Parker for y/n y/l/n. Voice identification required."

She blinks, seemingly waiting for something. Your mouth opens and closes several times. In the event of a disaster... You're not sure you want to open whatever message this is because if you do...then that makes it real.

"Voice identification required," she repeats robotically. You blink as your breathing becomes shallow. With a trembling hand, you reach out and remove the heart from the open panel. KAREN immediately disappears as the box returns to normal and the Spider-Man beacon displays across your ceiling once again. You scrunch your eyes tight to try to contain the tears and you hold the heart firmly to your chest. Peter isn't gone. He's going to come back to you. He promised you that he'd always come back to you.

~10 minutes earlier on Titan~

Peter stands around on the deserted planet with Tony, the wizard, and the supposed Guardians of the Galaxy. Thanos has the Time Stone and he's just gone to Earth to get the Mind Stone.

One by one, the Guardians start disintegrating. Peter feels the trickle of something bad go through his veins. His Spider-Sense has kicked into high alert as the wizard disappears next. Immediately, the rest of Peter feels wrong.

"Mr. Stark," he chokes out. He can feel it happening to him too. Everything in him is fighting what's happening. He can't go like this. He has to stay. Tony catches Peter as he collapses, no longer being able to stand. Peter cries as Tony lowers him to the ground. He just keeps repeating, "I don't wanna go..."

Most of Peter has turned to ash by now but somehow, he's still able to speak his last words. He looks at Tony with a look in his eyes that Tony never wanted to see. Guilt floods what's left of his heart and agony that he'll never see y/n again. "I'm sorry..." he whispers before his face falls blank and his remains blow away in a phantom wind.

As long as he's alive, Tony will think that Peter was apologizing to him. For stowing away on the spaceship, or for having his death be put on Tony's conscience. For being the reason that Tony loses another important person in his life. But, he wasn't. That apology was meant for one person who was planets away.

Peter didn't know if you would be gone in the snap too, but he didn't care. Even though you wouldn't be able to hear him say he's sorry in this moment, he needed to say it. He made sure to have contingencies in place months ago so that you'd still get to hear him say goodbye. So, he was sorry. He was sorry because that was the first and last time in his entire life that he broke a promise he made to you.

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my-love-peterp · 6 years ago

Text

Mistaken Chapter Three

Word Count: 2807 THERE ARE NO ENDGAME SPOILERS, THIS IS A DELAYED UPLOAD FROM AO3

Fic Summary: Peter Parker has been given the responsibility of bringing in a new recruit. Now, as an adult, he realizes that none of the trashy YA novels he read in high school could have prepared him for this. There was a storm on the horizon, and all they could do from the Tower is watch.

Chapter Summary: So we’ve got a little of Peter’s point of view to start the chapter off, might be a little OOC but I figure he’s probably changed a lot, post-Infinity War. Also more smut, but not the healthy or fluffy kind, just two broken people being broken. ALSO after this chapter, it’s going to start diverging from my AO3 fic because now I can introduce Carol Danvers.

Warnings: language, underage (barely) drinking, smutty smut, mentions of the snappening, again NO ENDGAME SPOILERS

Chapter One Chapter Two

Peter had never seen anything like her.

Over the past week, he’d been in the room for every moment of Kaida’s introduction to the team and her new life.

On that first day, after seeing her all but naked and needing to quickly run for a quick shower before training started, he’d gotten to see her in action.

There was no taking it easy or soft starts for new Avengers. They started with a brisk 10k, after which it didn’t even look like she had broken a sweat.

Then she’d been pushed in his direction. This was a routine Peter had become accustomed to by now, with a few new recruits filling up the roster, primarily temporary placements by SHIELD as they recruited enhanced individuals. Peter was the first line of hand to hand combat examination because while he wasn’t overly skilled, he was obviously extremely agile and very strong.

Kaida cocked her head at him and cracked her knuckles. “Give it all you’ve got Bug Boy, I’m not holding back.”

She and Peter had circled each other for a few seconds before she lunged, aiming a blow at his face that, unfortunately for him, was a ruse to get him to block upward, leaving his sides unprotected. With a quick jab to his kidneys, he grunted and instinctively bent over, nearly face planting with a strangled screech as Kaida then swept his legs out from under him.

He rolled over and she was immediately on top of him, pinning him down. “Easy as pie,” she crowed in his face, taunting him with a wink. Angry that he’d been made a fool of so easily by this girl, he channeled all his strength into flipping over her over and pinning her down on the mat. She grunted and struggled, but Peter’s hands were like iron, easily encircling both wrists and caging her hips in with his knees. His grasp was inescapable. But Peter, it seemed, could only make mistakes around this girl.

Fire flaring in his eyes, he bent his head to whisper in her ear, “It doesn’t pay to be cocky Kai, now who’s big and bad?”

Her breath caught for a second as she tensed below him, and a moment later Peter was tossed into the air, screaming as Kai had managed to open her palm and blast him up and away from her.

“Not cool, Kai. You know that powers are off limits,” Peter croaked indignantly. The other, observing Avengers cackled at Pete’s distress, even Natasha looked slightly impressed.

“Still me, it would seem,” she said, answering his goaded remarks and popping right to her feet and turning on her heel and walking towards the rest of the team that had decided to come in and spectate that morning.

Perhaps not so strangely, Peter noted, only Mr. Stark was missing.

It was then unanimously decided that her next test would be facing Natasha in hand to hand combat. He thought he couldn’t be more impressed or dumbfounded by this woman, but as the day progressed, Peter almost had to pinch himself. She matched Natasha jab for jab, move for move like it was as easy as breathing to her. “Holy shit,” he heard Clint mutter next to him.

“Wait, you mean we didn’t know she could… well, do that?” Peter gestured helplessly towards the Master Assassin and the twenty-year-old runaway who was proving to be her match in every way.

“No kid, we had no idea. We don’t know shit about her. Not even Fury does, despite our digging and searching. She’s essentially a ghost. But we figured… Well, after she stopped that school building from collapsing a few weeks ago until all the kids got out, we figured she couldn’t really be a threat. After all, it put her on our radar in a big way. An enemy operative would have known better, acted differently…”

Clint’s explanation petered off into silent awe as he saw Natasha, the Black Widow tap out, calling a cease-fire, if not surrender. No one had ever seen that. No one had ever done that without extensive training over the years. But this spitfire who ran away with a suitcase full of books and apparently sleeps with billionaires… She could.

“If you all are done staring,” Nat snapped them all out of their shocked stupor, “I believe we all have the training to do. Kaida, Banner wants you in the lab next. F.R.I.D.A.Y. will show you the way.

“Actually, Nat, I’m supposed to head up to the lab anyway, we’re working on testing the exact trigger to my Spidey senses, so I can just show her the way.” Natasha just inclined her head in an obvious dismissal so he took off jogging after the rapidly disappearing figure.

He skidded to a halt next to her. “Who are you?” He asked without hesitation.

“That seems to be the question of the day, isn’t it Peter. But I came here under the agreement that my past didn’t matter and I don’t intend to hash that out with anyone, least of all you,” she huffed and just kept walking.

“But, how did you get your abilities? Like, I was bitten by a radioactive spider. Wanda was experimented on with the Mind Stone and well… everyone knows Captain’s story…” Peter again trailed off after he realized, belatedly, that she had frozen and begun panting and trembling like a leaf.

Peter recognized this, understood what the clenched jaw and wildly roaming eyes meant. Something he said had triggered a panic attack, but he just wasn’t sure what. But then, as though it wasn’t a big deal, her mask of calm indifference slipped back over her features and she resumed walking.

“Just shut up Buggy. And if you mentioned what just happened to anyone, I will not hesitate to relentlessly humiliate you with all the weird shit you keep in your room and write in your diaries.”

“Ex-excuse me?!” Peter cried out. “Who the fuck let you into my rooms?”

“No one, Peter. Unless you count me. Good luck getting your friend Ned laid though, it sounds like it’s been an exhaustive search so far. You’re a good friend. When you’re not being a huge idiot.”

Peter didn’t know what to say to that so he just kept leading her to the lab.

A few hours later in the lab with Bruce and Tony.

“How did you say you came to have powers again?” Dr. Bruce Banner spluttered as he reread the data from his most recent blood and DNA tests.

“Uh… I didn’t but, I’ve always had them, at least for as long as I can remember. My parents never mentioned anything. My sister wasn’t gifted either. Which would make one think we weren’t really sisters, but we’re identical twins so it’s hard to miss the relation, but you know how it is these days-.”

“Excuse me, what did you just say?” I jerked in surprise as I heard none other than Tony Stark speak from the doorway which was directly behind me.

“Uh, I was just going to comment on the state of truth and relevance in modern-day America… something tells me that’s not what you’re talking about though. My twin sister, Nadia, she never had any gifts. At least, none that were overtly obvious. But we did have this strange connection, mentally. We could feel each other.

Thoughts and emotions, even pain sometimes.”

“And where is she now, your sister,” Bruce asked after a moment of stunned silence. My expression must have told them everything they needed to know because no one pressed it further.

“Let me see the charts, Banner. What do you see in there?” Wordlessly Banner handed Tony the papers he held in his hand, which Tony grudgingly accepted, despite his disgust at being handed literally anything.

“Well kid,” he said after a moment, “It doesn’t appear that you’re entirely… human. I’m not sure what you are but it’s absolutely not solely human.

Instead of the spluttering and probably generally overexcited reactions that he had anticipated from me, I just looked up and into his eyes before smirking and remarking that “you certainly weren’t calling me ‘kid’ last night.”

Bruce choked on his coffee, again, receiving what I could only imagine to be a terrifying death glare from Tony. He then shortly excused himself.

“So Stark, how’s it feel to know you’ve fucked an alien?” My eyes raked up and down his form, decidedly provocative.

“Didn’t your mother ever teach you it’s not a good idea to poke the bear in the room,” he asked, hardly looking up from her chart. He was treating her flippantly, almost distantly. And that simply wouldn’t stand.

“You know, Mr. Stark, I could think of some other… ‘endurance tests’, if you will, that we could perform right here. In the name of science, of course,” I purred as I slipped down on to my knees in front of him.

He certainly didn’t stop me as I peeled down the waistband of his sweatpants and boxers, half-hard cock coming back to life.

I could tell when he was getting close, but instead of letting me finish him off and cumming down my throat, he pulled me up and bent me over the cold, metal work table and set to work taking off my leggings before slipping up and inside of me without any resistance.

“God Kaida, so tight and wet. And all for me.” It wasn’t but I wasn’t about to correct him as he pounded into me from behind, grabbing me by the hair and yanking my head back so he could lean forward and kiss along my neck. The tiny sensation of pain sent bolts of pleasure through my core and seconds later I was coming undone. But Tony, it seemed, was far from finished with me. He picked me up and pressed my back into one of the support pillars in the lab.

Unfortunately for him, the lab door was still open, which we both had been too oblivious to rectify. A slight shriek and a clatter had Tony looking up and over my shoulder as I twisted around to see the commotion. Rhodey, Steve and Peter were standing in the doorway, holding five coffees between the three of them. Six if you counted the one now spilled all over the floor.

Rhodey looked exasperated but not surprised, Peter looked like a nun who had mistakenly found herself in an adult toy store. Steve, well, Steve was unreadable to me. The stoic faced super soldier never dropped his gaze and gave nothing away.

Instead of pulling away or, I don’t know, stopping anything that he was doing, Tony continued to shallowly thrust into me and circle my clit with his thumb as he winked before glancing back towards the doorway.

“Boys, if you could give us a moment, we have a bit of an… well a test of endurance of sorts and we’d hate for the evidence to be skewed by outside forces,” he jested before commanding F.R.I.D.A.Y. to close the door to the lab and tint all windows to shutter us in privacy again.

“I can’t believe Steve-fucking-Rogers just saw me getting fucked,” I muttered as Tony repositioned himself and began to languidly stroke in and out of me.

“I can’t believe he looked like he wanted to join.”

My heart stuttered and was heard on the monitor. Tony simply took that as a cue to blow my back out.

As I came around him for the third time in the lab, he simply leaned down and whispered something along the lines of him being the only one who could fuck me like I needed to be fucked.

I was too tired and limp from pleasure to argue with him.

“So, uh, not to sound ungrateful but what exactly am I even doing here?” I asked Tony as he fastened his belt buckle as I reclined on the hospital-esque bed the doctor had used when drawing my blood and taking tissue samples.

“Recalibrating after being worked over by an expert, I’d imagine,” came Stark’s snarky reply. I, honestly, don’t know why I expected a serious answer.

“You sure like to stroke your own ego, old man,” I fired right back, bringing my arms behind my head to lounge while he typed away and entered various data points onto his monitor. “No, seriously, why am I here doing all this,” I gestured to the room and testing sites but really meaning my entire presence amongst internationally-known superheroes. “How’d you even find me in the first place? It’s not like I was stopping buses or crashing planes like Bug Boy. I just…”

“You and me both, kid. But as for finding you, social media is a terrible curse and a blessing in disguise. You’ve gained quite a reputation just from your small deeds, but really what set it off was the sch-.“

“The school,” I finished with a groan, letting my head bounce back as I covered my face with my hands, massaging my temple. “You try to do one good thing and then all of a sudden, you’re expected to continually prevent everyday tragedies. All I wanted to do was go home after my shift at work.”

“Yeah explain that one to me, bucko. You’re just heading to fuck off when you hear sirens and kids screaming and decide for the first time, to actually really use your powers. Why?”

The answer was simple, actually. The kids I could hear were the same age as my nephew would be wherever he was now. So I’d tossed up my hood and prevented a burning building from collapsing on top of a bunch of innocent kids. And of course, the press had a field day with that.

But I wasn’t about to tell Tony any of that. Ever.

“Fine, don’t say anything. But that’s why. You showed you had the capacity for good in a big way. And to be honest, we wanted to snatch you up before SHIELD or worse could come creeping in and saddle you up with them.”

More silence. Then, a timid knock on the door. F.R.I.D.A.Y. announced that it was Captain Rogers who waited on the other side of the door and Tony muttered his command to open the doors up.

He didn’t even lower his gaze or blush as he took both Tony and I in. Instead, he stared me down, eyes boring into mine until I was forced to look down and examine his thin, gray cotton tee that hugged his pecs so tight it left nothing to the imagination. I felt blood rush to my face and the tips of my ears burn.

So much for the prim, proper and prude Captain the media marketed him as. I suppose recent events forced everyone to change. There was no such thing as innocence anymore. Not really.

Cap’s burning gaze finally left mine, turning on Tony instead. Walking to my side, he handed me a cup full of the richest Americano I’d ever smelled. It was exactly what I needed at that moment.

Without turning to glance back at me as he handed Tony his own cup, he murmured, “mind giving us some time alone, Kaida? There are a few things we’ve been needing to discuss.

I just nodded and slid off the bed, sweatpants bunching up around my waist. I had no intention of actually leaving though.

As I walked through the door and a few steps down the hall, I waited two seconds before becoming a shadowy puddle and gliding along the side of the hallway that held the still open door to the lab. Moments later, Steve poked his head out and around, checking to make sure the floor was clear before pulling the door closed behind him. Like doors had ever stopped me before.

“So Cap, what’s got your Star Spangled panties in a twist this time?” Tony jabbed without hesitation.

Steve tensed his shoulders, letting out a rough, almost anxious sigh. “When are you going to own up to your grief and stop being such a slut, Tony? It’s been almost a year now since Pepper died. You’re compromising yourself, you know this. You know, it is so like you to start banging the first new female recruit we’ve had in years. Is that why you pushed so hard to bring her in? Just to chase some new tail?!”

Honestly, I wouldn’t have been surprised if the answer was ‘yes’. Seemed like a Stark thing to do. And in a weird, twisted way, I got it. Sort of.

“You know what, this conversation is over. Just because you haven’t been laid in over 70 years doesn’t mean you get to pull the morality card. No, Capsicle, I think we’re done here. F.R.I.D.A.Y. lock up the lab after Rogers and I. I’m going out.”

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natashasbanner · 6 years ago

Text

Spies In Training

@esteicy-blog asked: For the prompt: After all the drama Infinity War was can I request something prettier? Like an AUHS, just Bruce and Nat being two dorks, fluff please I need it xD

Also on AO3

It was early, far too early for Peter to be walking toward the entrance of school. But he and Ned had a project due that afternoon and got special permission to come in early to work on it. He cut through the football field and instantly regretted it when he realized how wet the turf still was.

“Come on,” he muttered, stopping on the other side to brush the pieces of fake grass from his shoes and pant leg.

He shook his head and bypassed the front entrance that would be locked until school officially started, but the back door was open for faculty and students arriving early like him. Peter skidded to a stop when he rounded the building, noticing the car that just pulled into the staff parking lot. The parking lot was already half full, but that was normal. What wasn’t normal was the two teachers getting out of the silver Prius.

Dr. Banner, the school’s best science teacher, stepped out of the driver’s seat. That wasn’t unusual, Peter knew it was it was his car, had seen him a few times early in the morning before. But he’d never seen Dr. Banner run around his car to open the passenger door and Miss Romanoff, the Latin teacher, step out.

Peter brought his hand up to cover his mouth, afraid to draw attention to himself, but on the inside he was freaking out. This was huge. Dr. Banner and Ms. Romanoff walked the short distance from his car all smiles and quiet laughs. Dr. Banner held the door for her and they disappeared into the school.

Peter took a few deep breaths to calm himself down before hurrying up the same stairs the two teachers used and into the building. He couldn’t wait to tell Ned what he saw.

“So.”

That’s all Ned had to say and a tired shrug to go with it.

“That’s it?” Peter asked, pacing in front of the desk where Ned sat. “That’s all you have to say?”

Ned sighed and looked up at him. “What else do you want me to say?”

“I don’t know, but this is huge,” Peter said earnestly, stopping in front of Ned’s desk. “Don’t you remember when everyone found out about Ms. Miller and Miss Nolan, that’s all anybody talked about for weeks.”

Ned looked up with narrowed eyes. “Dude, they’re married. It wasn’t a secret.”

“Okay, but there’s something going on there. I know it. Wouldn’t it be cool to find out before everyone else this time around?”

Ned shook his head and went back to scribbling notes in his notebook. Peter held his breath and waited, knowing his friend well enough to know this wasn’t over. And as if on cue, Ned’s pencil stopped and he looked back up at Peter.

“It would be cool to know before the rest of the school.” Ned said, his expression softening into a goofy grin.

Peter clapped his hands together and took his seat across from Ned again. He felt a giddy excitement bubble up in his chest and he couldn’t help the laugh that escaped his lips.

“This is gonna be awesome.”

“Only if there is something going on,” Ned reminded him. “And just because you saw them this morning doesn’t mean anything. Teachers carpool all the time.”

Peter sighed, but nodded his head in agreement. “You’re right, we need more. Have you seen anything else that might help support our case?”

Ned brought his hand up to rub his thumb, over his chin in thought for a moment before shaking his head.

“I haven’t paid that much attention,” he answered honestly. “They’re teachers.”

Peter sighed and rolled his eyes. “Fair enough, let’s just agree to be more observant going forward.”

“Whatever you say,” Ned said, sounding unenthused. “Can we please get back to our actual homework now?”

“Yeah, sure,” Peter agreed, but on the inside he was already planning the rest of their day.

When the morning bell rang Peter and Ned went their separate ways. Ned had English first period, while Peter had Dr. Banner.

Like every morning, Dr. Banner stood at his door greeting each student as they entered the class room. He had the attendance roster on a clipboard in his hand, his glasses perched on the end of his nose.

“Morning, Mr. Parker,” he said when Peter walked past.

“Good morning,” Peter muttered, automatically heading for his desk. Suddenly an idea struck him to help jump start he and Ned’s little investigation.

“Hey, Dr. B?” he questioned as Dr. Banner closed the classroom behind the last student.

“Yes?”

“Me and Ned have this huge test last period that we forgot to study for, so we could come here during lunch?”

Dr. Banner eyed him for a moment and Peter wondered if he saw right through his lame excuse. Maybe he was taking this a little too serious, but his curiosity had gotten the best of him and there was no turning back now. It’d be a shame if Dr. Banner was on to him already.

“Remind me to write you a pass before you leave,” Dr. B finally answered.

“Thank you, Dr. B.”

Peter rocked back on his heels and hurried to his seat. While Dr. Banner got settled and dealt a couple stragglers, Peter pulled his phone out to text Ned about their new lunch plans. The response he got was less than thrilled, but he was sure Ned would be on board once he saw the evidence with his own eyes.

The day dragged on until it was finally lunch time. Peter met up with Ned in the hall and they hurried through the crowds of other students finding their friends and tables to be the first ones in line for food. They got through pretty quickly and headed out of the cafeteria toward Dr. Banner’s classroom.

“This better be worth it,” Ned said once they were far enough away from the cafeteria to hear themselves think. “I don’t want to spend forty minutes pretending to study Spanish. The test isn’t even until next week.”

“Just trust me,” Peter said turning the walk backwards so he was facing Ned.

“We were supposed to start my Lego Death Star today.”

“We’ll do it tomorrow, I swear,” Peter promised, putting his hand over his heart.

“Okay,” Ned conceded and Peter couldn’t help his pleased little smile.

But it didn’t last long. A door opening into the hall and before Peter could react he crashed into whoever stepped into the hallway. He heard books hit the floor behind him was more focused on not spilling his lunch all over the floor.

“I’m so sorry,” he said once his tray was balanced in his hands again.

He turned around to see Michelle staking up her books. Of course it had to be her, Peter thought feeling his face warm involuntarily and his heart beat a little faster. He was pretty sure Michelle hated him, so it only made sense that he made an absolute fool of himself whenever she was around.

“Where are you guys going?” she asked with a raised eyebrow, standing back up.

She was taller than both him and Ned and it only added to her whole intimidating demeanor.

Ned, who wasn’t nearly as affected by Michelle as Peter, answered.

“We’re going to eat lunch in Dr. B’s room and pretend to study so Peter can spy on him and Miss Romanoff.”

“Dude,” Peter sighed and looked down at the slice of pizza on his tray to avoid the judgemental look he could feel coming from Michelle.

“It’s not as bad as it sounds,” he said.

“You guys are weird,” was all Michelle had to say.

Peter looked up to see her turn around and start down the hallway, away from the cafeteria.

“Why aren’t you going to lunch?” he asked suddenly realizing that they weren’t the only ones wandering the halls.

“The library’s quieter,” Michelle answered without turning around.

Peter and Ned exchanged a look, confused as always by Michelle and followed her to the end of the hall. Before they reached the end where it split into to side hallways, Michelle stopped and looked at them over her shoulder.

“Banner and Miss Romanoff are married,” she said matter of factly before hurrying out of sight.

Peter furrowed his brow and looked at Ned. Ned raised his eyebrows but Peter shook his head.

“She’s lying,” he decided. “Just to screw with us.”

“Totally.”

Dr. Banner’s door was open when they finally reached his classroom and Ned knocked on the doorframe before they walked in. Dr. B was sitting at his desk in the back of the room, focused on his computer screen.

“I was starting to think you two weren’t coming,” he said as they set their stuff down on a table near the front of the room.

“The lunch line was long,” Ned told him and Dr. B nodded dully.

“Well you know the rules,” he started. “Treat this as a study hall and clean up after yourselves.”

“Of course,” Peter said, pulling out his Spanish textbook while Ned did the same.

They quickly settled into their usual routine by practicing the flashcards Peter made at the beginning of the chapter, though only half heartedly. Between bites of pizza, Peter couldn’t help but glance over at Dr. Banner. He wasn’t doing much outside entering grades into his computer, but every couple minutes his phone would vibrate against his desk. A few times Peter caught him smiling at his screen and knew it had to be Miss Romanoff.

He pointed it out to Ned, but he wasn’t as easily convinced.

“That doesn’t prove anything,” Ned whispered, glancing over to Dr. B whose thumbs were flying over his phone keyboard.

The bell rang and Peter quickly looked back down at his textbook when Dr. Banner looked over at them. Technically their lunch was over, but lunch periods were half periods so they still had twenty five minutes to get the solid proof they needed.

“I assume you’ll be staying through study hall?” he asked.

“If you don’t mind?” Peter asked.

“Stay as long as you need.”

They went back to their “studying”, but Peter was starting to get bored. Maybe Ned was right, maybe he was reading too much into this for the sake of good gossip. He usually didn’t care, but Dr. B was one of his favorite teachers and Miss Romanoff was pretty awesome too. There had to be an interesting story behind those two getting together and he was invested in seeing this through.

His patience was rewarded, however, not long after the warning bell sounded. None other than Miss Romanoff waltzed into Dr. B’s open door with a take out bag and cup carrier in hand.

“The line was ridiculous, but they gave me an extra order of fries,” she calls out as she enters the room, eye cast downward into the bag.

Peter held his breath, eyes wide as she walked right past him and Ned. He watched her set the bag down in front of Dr. Banner and start to lean down to him, but Dr. B cleared his throat nodded toward them.

Peter and Ned both turned quickly, with no subtlety at all and started flipping through flashcards at random.

“Does that mean you won’t eat all of mine?” He heard Dr. B tease quietly and glanced over to watch them.

There was an easy familiarity between them that Peter hadn’t been expecting and he was starting to think Michelle hadn’t been lying completely. He felt like they were intruding on their personal time together, but it was too late to turn back now. They were stuck until the bell rang again.

Peter watched them out of the corner of his eye. Miss Romanoff rolled her eyes at Dr. Banner and grabbed a chair from one of the tables and sat by the end of his desk. Her back was to Peter, but he saw her look over her shoulder at him and Ned before muttering something to Dr. B in another language. It wasn’t Latin, because that would be too easy. If he had to guess, Peter thought it sounded like Russian and Dr. B joined in with her. They both laughed and acted like Peter and Ned weren’t there.

“This feels weird,” Ned whispered after a few minutes.

“I know,” Peter whispered back, looking over at the teachers who were too wrapped up in their own conversation to pay them any mind. “But do you believe me now?”

“I guess,” Ned conceded, eyeing them himself. “What do we do now?

They were laughing again, Miss Romanoff’s hand over Dr. B’s on the desk.

Peter shrugged. “I didn’t think that far ahead.”

Ned just laughs a little under his breath and Peter can’t help but laugh with him. This whole thing was starting to feel silly, but it was fun to pretend to be spies.

They finished up their “studying” and cleaned up their trays. Five minutes before the bell was set to ring, they headed for the door.

“Thanks Dr. B,” Ned said on their way out.

“Any time boys,” he said standing from his desk to clear his and Miss Romanoff’s mess. “Good luck on your test.”

Peter bit the inside of his lip to keep from laughing.

“Thanks,” he muttered and ducked out of the room quickly.

“I can’t believe we just got away with that,” Ned breathed out with a sigh of relief once they were down the hall, away from Dr. B’s door.

“We could totally be spies or something,” Peter laughed, bumping his shoulder against Ned’s.

Ned stopped suddenly and turned back toward the classroom. “I think I left my book in there.”

Peter followed closely behind him and they both stopped dead in their tracks at the door.

“Dude,” Ned whispered at the sight in front of them.

Dr. B sat on the desk and Miss Romanoff stood in front of him. Her hands were on his shoulders while his were wrapped loosely around her waist. Peter watched in shock as they kissed, gentle and loving, oblivious to the rest of the world.

Peter regained his senses quickly and smacked Ned’s arm and they backed out of the room, nearly sprinting down the hall and around the corner. The bell rang, but they didn’t stop until they reached the cafeteria. They got a few looks from the other students they passed, but ignored them.

“Holy shit,” Ned said, gasping for breath as they returned their trays to the window with the rest of the dishes.

“I know.”

“Holy shit.”

“I know.”

They followed the hoard of students leaving the cafeteria and parted ways until the last period of the day. They met at the end of the languages hall, still a bit shell shocked from their lunch time revelation.

Their Spanish class was at the end of the long hall and they had to walk past Miss Romanoff’s room in order to get to it. Like most teachers, she was standing outside her door handing out worksheets as students entered. Peter pointedly watched his feet, picking up the pace a little, hoping she wouldn’t notice them. They were almost in the clear but were stopped by her calling out Ned’s name.

“Dr. Banner said you’d be down this way today,” she said, holding up a finger and going into her classroom to grab something on her desk.

She stepped back out with Ned’s textbook in her hand.

“You left this in his classroom.”

“Oh, uh, thank you,” Ned stuttered out, reaching for the book.

She held it back and gave them a look that had Peter shaking in his boots.

“Just so we’re clear,” she started, her tone ice cold. “What you saw during lunch, doesn’t leave that room.”

“We didn’t see anything,” Peter lied, nervous under her steely gaze.

“Am I understood?” she asked again, her eyebrows raised at them.

The warning bell went off over head and Peter and Ned nodded, unable to speak.

Miss Romanoff handed over Ned’s book and nodded down the hall.

They took the hint and scurried off to Spanish.

“I’ve never been more terrified in my life, man.” Ned said once they were sitting at their shared table in the back of the classroom.

Peter nodded with wide eyes. “Let’s agree to never do that again.”

“Agreed.”

#brucenat #hulkwidow #brutasha #fic #please enjoy :D

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bernadineisreborn · 7 years ago

Text

Pulled (Part 2)

Summary: You, a normal teenager who has been in and out of foster care, woke up in the Avenger’s Tower this morning. Awesome, right? Except, the Avengers aren’t real and you keep fainting. (More details to come because I am writing this as I think of things and I literally have no idea why I am going to do next ha ha ha !!!)

Warnings: Swearing, possible mention/spoilers of Infinity War, hospitals (ish?)

Pairings: Peter Parker x reader, Avengers x reader

Word Count: 1.7k yay (that rhymed)

A/N: Hi again! Thank you so so much to everyone who has liked/commented on Pulled Part 1!!! It means so much to me! I am sorry that Part 2 has taken so long. I go through really bad dry spells with creativity, plus I moved out of my dorm room last week and I have been busy unpacking. Okay, excuses over. I hope you guys like Part 2, let me know what you think :) (Also, italics are things happening in the reader’s head)

---

Previously on Pulled (Part 1): “Wait… Y/N?” exclaimed the blonde man as he doubled back. “You’re back! I’ve missed you, kid,” and with that he gave you a bone crushing hug.

---

When he noticed that his hug was not being reciprocated, the blonde man pulled away. You cautiously eyed him, staring at his odd running shoes that looked as if they could be 60 years old. You made your way to his face, which was handsome and it was the face of... Captain America?

“I’ve finally done it. I have finally gone crazy,” you exclaim, dumbfounded. You feel your heart pounding with excitement and you look around the room again. The kitchen is probably the nicest, cleanest, most modern looking space you have ever seen, and out the window is... the New York City skyline. Great. Amazing. Where did suburbia go?

Meanwhile Captain America, no, Chris Evans, no, this was not Chris Evans. Somehow you knew that this was Captain America, and not Chris Evans, even though the two were one in the same, seems confused by your reaction.

“What’s wrong, Y/N?” he asks, genuinely concerned. Concerned as if he knows and cares about you, concerned as if he expects you to act a different way, concerned as if...

“How do you know my name? I’m sorry. Where... How... You're...” you look him up and down again and blink three times. Then, you smack yourself in the face. He is still there. Why is he still there? Oh, God. I’m hallucinating.

Captain America grabs your hand before you can smack yourself again. “What do you mean, Y/N? What’s wrong?” Again, you hear the parental concern in his voice. He’s super hot, but for some reason, you get the feeling that making out with him would be like kissing your grandpa.

Accepting your fate as a madwoman, you decide to roll with the absurdity of your current situation. “Well, for starters, you’re not real. And you somehow know me, like, on some sort of personal level. And who made these pancakes? How did I know they would be here? I have never even been to New York City, but suddenly I wake up and...” You get up and slowly walk to the window. The view is incredible, and you smile to yourself at the ant-like people dozens of floors below you. You feel an odd connection between yourself and the little people. The pancakes, the muscle memory, and the overall familiarity of this place doesn’t make you feel anxious like it should, it makes you feel calm and nostalgic. You turn around slowly, “and I’m right where I feel like I should be.”

Captain America (Steve?) looks at you warily, somehow even more perplexed and worried than before. You notice the pancakes, still waiting to be eaten, and remember how exhausted you felt when you woke up. The tiredness creeps back in and you feel yourself falling in slow motion to the ground, before Steve’s strong arms wrap around you once again.

---

If you had ever questioned how bright lights could get before, which you hadn’t, then you would have found your answer above you, right now.

Before even opening your eyes, you felt the intensity of the white light burning into your skull. You were laying down, not quite as comfortably as you had in the bed you had woken up in earlier, but ridiculously comfier than any of the beds in your many foster homes. You became aware of a faint beeping noise, and something pressing into your forearm. You opened you eyes and looked around the room. A hospital,a heart monitor, an I.V. Oh, good. I must have done something to hurt myself and then I had that weird dream-

Your thoughts were interrupted by a shortish man with dark, curly hair walking into the room. He was looking at a tablet, and did not notice that your eyes were open, until you spoke up.

“Hello?” you called.

His head shot up, he looked at you, and he said, “F.R.I.D.A.Y., tell him she’s awake.” You recognized his face. Bruce Banner, legendary comic book scientist and the Hulk, was your doctor. No idea who Friday is, you thought. Unless... No, nope. No idea where I am. No idea why my eyes are telling my brain that Bruce Banner is my doctor. No idea why I am trapped in this nightmare that also feels like a dream, while also feeling like the realest thing I have ever known. Still, you weren’t anxious. You and Bruce were having a peaceful stare-down, as he seemed to be at a loss for words.

“What’s wrong with me?” you question, trusting that the genius man knows the answer.

“You have a strong case of amnesia, Y/N,” he responded shortly. Hmm. That kind of made sense. Phil had asked you about your childhood, and all you had been able to muster was a short “it was tragic” before returning your thoughts to his sideburns, which you thought made him only half as attractive and twice as douchey. Anyway. At the time, you hadn’t even considered why the mention of your childhood brought the feeling of sadness, but no memories. Now, you realized that you didn’t really remember anything before a year or so ago. That’s slightly unsettling. The memories of living with foster parents felt like something you had been trained to believe happened and you couldn’t pull up any details on them, besides the Marrey’s.

“You know who I am?”

“We all know who you are, Y/N,” responded an new voice. Tony Stark walked strode in the room wearing an AC/DC t-shirt and worn jeans. He carried an air of brilliance, and well, extreme wealth with him. The movies really hit these people on the head. Assuming this is real and not a dream.

“This is real,” said Tony. “What movie?”

Wait did I say that out loud? No way I said that out loud. Classic, though, talking out loud and not in my head.

“The, um, the fourth Avengers movie,” you said sheepishly.

“Oh, another one of those. Wow. Long series.” He walked closer to you and you nodded slightly in agreement. Bruce joined him, the pair stopping at your bedside. You sat up as much as you could, trying to make yourself feel a little less tiny in the presence of the geniuses in front of you.

“Yeah... I’m sorry, but can one of you please explain what’s happening to me?” you almost pleaded, catching your voice from breaking at the last second.

“Um, yeah, sorry,” Bruce responded, kicking into doctor mode and out of sentimental mode. “What is the most recent event you remember?”

“Um, fainting into... Captain America?” you squeak.

“Okay, good,” Bruce gave Tony a pointed look, “What is the oldest memory you have?”

You thought, hard. You were smart, and usually had no problem answering the questions of your teachers and foster parents, so you wanted to show Bruce and Tony that you were more than capable of answering a simple, easy question like that. But nothing came to you. Seconds passed. A minute passed.

You rifled through your memories of the past year, reaching back as far as you could. Then you felt it, the rest of your life, tucked away but impossibly out of reach. You reached, but as soon as you tried, the feeling was gone and you were left only with the past year’s worth of memory.

“I-I guess I don’t know,” you resigned. “I remember waking up and going to my first day of school last year.. But everything before that is... different.”

“Different how?” interjects Tony. He is giving you an intense look and you want nothing more than to give him an answer that satisfies him.

“Different like.. Different as if it’s boxed away and I can’t even see it to reach for it. Or like it happened somewhere that I can’t remember exists.” Somewhere like here.

Tony and Bruce glanced at each other again, their faces still grim. They seemed to be sharing an idea, communicating without words.

Tony turned back to you, “Y/N, we can help you. But it’s going to take a while and it’s not going to be shits and giggles,” he deadpanned.

Your mouth turned up slightly at the phrase he combined with the expression, and you got the feeling that this type of humor was common with him.

“I’m ready for anything, Iron Man,” you said with a brave face. Immediately, you felt stupid for calling Tony Stark the Iron Man to his face when he was only dressed as Tony Stark.

The two men gave you sad smiles. “You always were,” Tony responded.

---

An hour later, you had been hooked up to at least three bags of fluid and your blood had been drawn. Tony and Bruce were making polite conversation with you, asking about how you had been and your life in the last year, but they refused to tell you how you had ended up here, or why they knew you so well.

“We don’t want to overwhelm you with information, Y/N” Bruce had explained. But, You had the sinking suspicion that they knew less about what was happening to you than they let on.

Jokingly, you responded, “Feel overwhelmed by the fictional Avengers who are actually the real Avengers fixing my confused, forgetful brain? Psh, noooo.” You often used humor to deflect tension, and you were beginning to feel frustrated to say the least.

Then, the doors opened to reveal a beautiful auburn-haired woman you recognized as Wanda Maximoff. She gracefully walked to your bedside and smiled at you.

“Hello, Y/N, we have all missed you,” she says lightly accented voice.

“Wanda Maximoff. There’s no way this is real. Captain America, Iron Man, the Hulk, maybe... I thought that science could maybe make that happen. But telekinesis? Nope. No way. Please tell me that I’m dreaming,” you pleaded. Somehow, the words you had just spoken felt extremely ironic, and almost as if they went against everything you were. They also felt... rehearsed. You reached again for the road block in your head, and were met with nothing but normal memories from the last year. Your brain was getting tired again. There was just a lot to take in all at once. “So much information... too much information, and I can’t reach it.”

Tony frowned at your revelation. “Sorry, kid. We didn’t want to bring another one of us in, but she can help with the mind stuff,” he explained.

You looked at the trio in awe, still not believing your eyes. They looked back at you, expectant and guarded. Then, they started to get blurry.

“Do I faint a lot?” you asked tiredly before you slumped back onto the hospital bed, unconscious.

---

You did not expect to wake up in the Avengers’s Tower another time. You really had thought, rather, you had hoped this was all a dream that you had while in a coma or something normal like that. But you awoke to Wanda carefully placing her fingers on your temples and giving you a gentle smile. Bruce and Tony were whispering in the corner. Tony looked very serious, so serious that he almost looked mad. Bruce looked determined.

“The two smartest men in the world, confused by a small girl. Only shows your true power, Y/N,” Wanda commented, as if she was reading your thoughts- oh, wait.

“I am sorry, I am not trying to listen to your current thoughts, just access your old ones,” came her Sokovian voice into your mind.

“No problem... Whatever helps,” you responded. You somehow knew how to communicate with her through your mind, and she smiled at the ease with which you remembered how to function in this world.

“It is not as new as it may seem, Y/N. You remember more than you know, it will not be long before-” She was interrupted by a skinny person clad in a red and blue catsuit barging in through the doors. The room immediately changed, and you somehow felt the energy of Spider-Man affect you. What. Is. Going. On.

“Mr. Stark, where...” Spider-Man trailed off when his large, masked eyes met your confused, frightened ones. He pulled off his mask to reveal the handsome, tender face of a boy trying very hard to be a man. The range of emotions I am feeling today could give any soap opera a run for it’s money.

He raced across the room, ignoring Tony’s calls that “She will be overwhelmed, Peter” and giving in to the magnetic pull that almost had you jumping up from the bed, if it weren’t for the damn hospital tubes. Peter. He stopped in his tracks and you heard his voice in your head.

“Y/N.”

“Third time’s a charm,” you said outwardly as you felt the now familiar, overwhelming rush of sleepiness.

And then you fainted. Again.

---

Next in Pulled (Part 3): The next time you regained consciousness in the infirmary of the Avengers Tower, you were less confused, less blinded, and more… relaxed.

---

Tag List: @ahnabellasmith @tchallaholla (let me know if you want to be added!)

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