#Harley has already made t-shirts

[azulhood]

Jazz is an Al Ghul.

She should have know something was up when the seventh ninja cosplayer tried to kill her. But with her life it honestly wasn't even a blip on her rader.

Sure, it was odd.

But not as odd as her parents being ghost hunters.

However ninja wannabes were one thing, guy in furry suit showing up on her doorstep saying "I am your father, Luke." Was another.

Jazz could practically smell the trauma wafting off her so called new family members (half of her believes it's fake, she's been tricked before.)

And is having her siblings not die too much to ask for?

[sweetlikehoneystingslikeabee]

This is a weird question but do you have any hcs about what the rogues wear to bed? I can picture what the Gotham City Sirens would wear but not the male rogues.

Does Two-Face have custom pajamas sewn together? Can Black Mask just throw on a t-shirt, or are his pjs as dressy as his regular clothes? Are all of Riddler's pjs green? What the hell would Scarecrow even wear?

The people need to know!

"Pajama Party" Rogue Party

Quick picks!

TW: None

Riddler

They are not all green, but green shows up often even in his out of work clothing. Either as trim or the spare speckles of paint or markers he's used. His pajamas are not free from this.

He likes soft, but also good-looking pajamas (in case of guests). However... does he wear them? On the occasions he actually goes to bed and doesn't just pass out over an invention or plans, yes! Otherwise...

Penguin

Silk. Monogrammed. Paid way too damn much for them but they're also perfectly tailored to his... proportions. He figures it's not that dissimilar to how he has to have his suits customized. The soft feeling of them against his skin is blissful. Makes him feel rich.

Mad Hatter

Has multiple nightshirts in a variety of colors and patterns. He doesn't actually like full two-piece pajamas because they remind him far too much of the scrub-like outfits he was made to wear in Arkham.

You could 100% get him on wearing kigurumi onsies if they were cute enough.

Scarecrow

He has a similar habit to Edward in that he falls asleep working pretty often. When he sets aside to actually go to bed, he wears a lot of old t-shirts with sweatpants. Many of them are from his days of being a professor (bought from the college store) or ones he came across over the years.

Music Meister

Buys cheesy print pajama sets on sale at like Kohl's or target. Multiple have music notes or even musical puns on the shirt. One shirt just says "I wish I lived in a musical" and he answers the door holding a yellow mug with the word "playbill" on it.

Victor Zsasz

Sleeps in whatever he's wearing that night or the nude. Have fun finding out which one when he gets in bed with you. Sometimes has the decency to pull off clothing that's caked with blood. At minimum he won't wear clothes with wet blood on them to bed! The bar is low but it's still a bar, right?

Killer Croc

There's a fair amount of times he sleeps in the nude simply because he already has a harder time finding clothing in his size. If he does wear something out of respect for whatever current company, it's a tank top with the largest sweats he could find. They're still stretched out from being over his thighs.

Harley Quinn

Oversized t-shirt or tank top with pajama shorts. She has a couple cute kigurumi onesies (including a hyena set to match her babies) for in the winter that she adores. Ultimate comfort creature when it comes to bed time.

Poison Ivy

It depends on if she's expecting to "impress" anybody. If she is, it's straight up lingerie that compliments against her green-hued skin. Teddies, corsets, whatever is going to make her target that much more susceptible. If not, it's a light silk robe where shes' still very attractive, it's just for her and not anyone else. Harley bought her a flannel set during a particularly harsh winter that she still pulls out when it gets too cold.

Two-Face

Jokes on you, it's not a pajama set split in the middle! ...It's actually a robe set along with rabbit slippers that are split in the middle. One white rabbit slipper, one pink and several multicolored robes sewn together from pairs. Harvey is kind of boring, he likes either monochrome with no pattern or stripes. Harv's side is leopard print or something else showy.

Black Mask

When he was growing up/a young man before the Incidents, he would wear five-hundred dollar minimum pajamas that had designer names on them. He still owns some of those sets so he does in fact wear them from time to time. However, his are more likely to have a fancier aesthetic than him spending that much money still.

Mr. Freeze

Due to the temperature requirements of his body, there are times he'll sleep in the suit. Is it good for him? Absolutely not, it does murder to his back. Plus the suit is a bit heavy for a mattress... he does have a sleeping chamber set to a low temperature where he'll effectively sleep in trunks on the bed with only a sheet covering him.

Ra's al-Ghul

Usually sleeps shirtless in a loose pair of cotton pants when he's closer to home where it's much warmer. In Gotham, though? In the winter? He'll wear thicker robes that will actually keep him warm.

Bane

He wears boxers to bed. He'll combine it with socks in the winter. It doesn't get more complex than that, honestly.

[octuscle]

Going back in time would be great but I was never into sports like the guys you've already transformed. I was in high school and in college a musician but left this track when I began working for my dad's firm to become the boss one day. I activated Chronivac to change the reality transforming into a young musician never working for my dad

Okay. Also with you: I can't guarantee with changes in your past exactly how you will change. You are 38 years old now, your father is still the absolute patriarch of the company, and when you will ever take the helm of the company is written in the stars.

Is 30 a good new age? And I'll adjust the eight years before that. No life with balance sheets and financial planning. A life of pure rock'n roll!

09:00 a.m. You roll into the company parking lot in your company car. You still don't have a parking space with the directors. You're still parking with the department heads. You curse your old man! But you finally have to free yourself from his dominance. As you walk across the asphalt of the parking lot, your footsteps become louder and heavier. Your penny loafers become heavy biker boots.

In the department head meeting at 10:00 a.m., one of your colleagues asks you how your concert was yesterday in the sports bar. For a year now, you've been performing there occasionally in the evenings with a few pals. You cover old songs from your college days. You answer that it was more crowded than it has been in a long time. You had your fun. And so did the audience, obviously.

When the meeting is over at about 11:00, you run into your father on the way to your office. He can't help but make disparaging remarks about your appearance. Boots, jeans, wallet chain. He says that one could be grateful that your shirt is white, clean and ironed. Otherwise, you would probably be assigned to the janitorial team rather than the management. You ask if he has taken a look at the figures for your department. Since you've finally given your creativity free rein, sales have also been running much better. Your father grumbles that he actually has to admit that, but that he still dislikes your appearance and your strange hobbies.

You have to get out during your lunch break. Sitting in the cafeteria with your colleagues and talking about sales figures would be a punishment for you. You get in your truck and drive to the diner. There you like to meet the other guys from your band and from other musicians who occasionally give concerts in the area. Plus, there's a damn good burger there….

At 2:00 p.m. you have to go back to your old man's company. As a sales representative in the field, you have a free hand as long as your figures are good. And your figures are among the best in the whole group. But your father simply doesn't trust creative people. He would have preferred it if you had started in controlling or production. But labs and offices crush you. You are at home on the stage and on the street. Some of your clients are amazed when they see you for the first time. They wouldn't have expected to see someone in leather pants on a Harley rolling into the yard when they made the appointment with the machine tool representative. But with your open manner, you usually manage to break the ice in no time. And it's usually only a matter of time before the contract is signed.

Your father's secretary grins when you sit down at her desk. She knows that your flirting is just an act. She knows your husband, the drummer in your band, far too well. But you know that it does her good when a real man shows up in her luxurious air-conditioned anteroom. And damn, you look hot in that black company T-shirt and leather pants. You've been trying to enforce sleeveless shirts as clothing. Would show off your hard-earned muscles better. But as tolerant as your father has become in the last six years, he couldn't accept that.

At 16:00 you are out of your father's office again. It makes you proud that he has a poster of one of your concerts framed above his desk. And he respects your career as a musician. Even though you work quite successfully as a sales representative for your father's company, your heart beats for your band. Nevertheless, you now sit down for another hour, write your reports and take care of your correspondence. And at 5:00 p.m. you roll out of the company parking lot.

You are 30 and have been the frontman of your band for eight years. It all started in your parents' garage. And now you are one of the greats of hard rock. Maybe not nationwide. But at least in your state. That's all you can do with the balancing act between your dad's company and the band. But hell, you and your band have fun. And your dad is happy. What more do you want!

Found your pic @dustyraider

[kiestrokes]

goodsoop's couch and ramen recs: BTS

🗝️note: oh look, it's the list I started before manic deactivating back in march. rip to my og rec tag and all those lovely fics. Sadly, this is only new fics from my tbr and not my full collection 🥲 BUT this is for the fluff, slice of life and sfw readers! personally for the acespec babes who sometimes get icked out by smut.

SEOKJIN

my plus one by @btsgotjams27 🍜This is kicking the blankets, cuddled up on the couch, eating snacks with your girlfriends watching a new elite romcom worthy. I love this Jin so very much.

the one with seokjin, soju, and all the stars in the sky by @eoieopda 🍜 "Sojin has entered the chat," - when I tell you I screamed in laughter at this cuteness. You really nailed how a Sagittarius remembers the little things too.

YOONGI

the one with yoongi, netflix and zero chill by @eoieopda 🍜 “cum over?” - JADE 😂 omg, why is the embodiment of every casual relationship I have been in. The way that I felt every awkward and soft moment, deep in the crevice of my bones.

Just Between Us by @herecomesjoon 🍜 “I figured he would be safe with the bookshelf.” - Saturn nooo! You should have seen my look of alarm. We cannot trust Joon to build anything. The gathering of little moments in this is my favorite thing ever!

HOSEOK

And on the seventh day... by @moni-logues 🍜 it’s giving lazy Sundays, cuddled up with our own personal sunshine.

We'll Never Have Sex by @eoieopda 🍜 You were already melting into a puddle under that sunshine in his eyes - how this entire fic and your writing made me feel.

NAMJOON

Hungry (For Your Love) by @minisugakoobies 🍜The way that this gives me reversed Spike x Buffy roles, the setting immediately putting me in Sunnydale and with Namjoon of all people 🫠

just like riding a bike by @effortandmore 🍜 Listen...this is like walking through an OST music video, so colorful and whimsical.

JIMIN

pork belly by @yoongiphoria 🍜I love love love this, it's so realistic and Jimin's personality traits were captured beautifully. Have thought about this many times while I was away.

adonis by @xjoonchildx 🍜 if you love Ana’s provocative humor this is a must read, obviously I came for Jimin but I stayed for Mrs. Yun.

TAEHYUNG

Swoon by @minisugakoobies 🍜I'm pretty sure I blacked out after that description of THE Park Jimin dressed as Harley Quinn, and my jaw on the desk at Tony Stark JJK. Please this is every army x comic nerds wet dream.

Maybe by @leviackermanscleaningbuddy 🍜 Elite F2L, unrealized mutual pining and a little angsty, just how I like it.

JUNGKOOK

T-Shirt by @still-with-koo

🍜 “You trying to make me throw up or something?” - LO I laughed so hard at this that my eyes hurt from them crinkling. Oh, I adore this couple and their witty teasing.

[fallenaphelion]

Discord is my usual plot idea dumping ground, but sometimes I stumble into Tumblr at 3 am in the morning like it’s a Denny’s and I want to talk about my fic ideas but no one is awake to talk to me so I’m just going to ramble to the waiter who does not get paid enough for this and just wants to go back to napping in the break room.

…

ANYWAY!!!

I’ve slowly but surely been sucked back into the Marvel fandom! Hooray!

Specifically, I’ve been revisiting all my favorite time travel fics and my brain has not stopped bombarding me with ideas since.

All that to say that I’ve come to the Marvel fandom with an offering (If y’all are interested);

Summary

Tony Stark dies in Siberia. Perhaps that should’ve been the end of the story. A fitting final act for the villain of the story. The evil former war profiteer billionaire, finally brought down by the righteous Captain America. A man born in fire and blood, drowning in his regrets as the cold seeps through the cracks in the armor he’d been so proud of.

It should’ve been the end.

But it wasn’t.

No, Tony wasn’t getting off that easily. Instead, he wakes up in the cave, before the Civil War, before the Avengers, before Iron Man…

“Fuck this. We’re doing things my way now.”

(Full disclosure: This is going to be a series of works in the same universe. Which means I can split things up to help with pacing and motivation. Unfortunately, it also means my urge to hop around the timeline is a bit harder to control. As it stands, the only thing I have written for this so far is half of chapter 1, and then all 5 chapters of part, like, 7 or something. I wish I was joking)

In any case, if this sounds at all interesting to the fanfic readers of Tumblr, let me know. I would love to hear y’all’s thoughts and suggestions!

Quick note for tags: Somehow, despite planning something entirely different, Winteriron snuck in through the window, assassinated the original planned pairing, and nearly seated itself on the driver’s seat.

A lil breakdown of the current arcs

Part 1: Iron Man 1 & 2 (Tony speed runs both of them while avoiding SHIELD like the plague. And, because the outline looked a bit empty, he went and stole Bucky from SHIELD in a valiant attempt to pretend he was even remotely emotionally stable)

Part 2: Avengers (Tony ends up teaming up with Fury’s little boyband in Manhattan, despite adamantly refusing the recruitment pitch. The Avengers are a sad group of depressed PTSD-riddled individuals that are very interested in pulling him into their family. Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt) (Tony also gets to shoot Loki in the face. Not sure if it’s canon that he was mind controlled, but it is here! So he’s free now, helps fight off the Chitauri cuz it’s already too late, and gives Tony the heads up about Thanos. In his weird, cryptic Loki ways, anyway)

Part 3: An Interlude (The Avengers try to pull this sad little billionaire into their club, while Tony tries to resist what he knows will end up becoming a disaster. Also- The Avengers get a SHIELD funded compound this time! Loki also gets stuck on community service duty for New York. And by community service, I mean Avengers duty. Ends with Tony finally attending a team dinner, tho he’s still not all the way there yet)

Part 4: Iron Man 3 (I’m still working out how Tony meets Harley again, because I love him, but shhhh. Anyway, the entire team, minus Thor and Loki who are off doing their Dark World bs, shows up during the Tony vs Killian showdown to help, and Tony is learning to trust again!)

Part 5: Dealing with Shieldra (Bucky’s already been liberated from their care, so no Winter Soldier movie. Instead, Tony has been systematically hunting them down now that he’s decided to place the blame of his parents’ murder firmly on Hydra’s head, not Bucky’s. It’s also made clear that while Bucky remembers his Winter Soldier days, he can’t really recognize the people beyond them being targets. So he doesn’t actually remember killing Howard and Maria Stark, because they’re just two more faces among countless other victims. So he’s free hasn’t realized he killed Tony’s parents, and Tony isn’t keen on bringing it up. It’s not super central to the plot yet, tbh, just something I wanted to note)

Part 6: Age of Ultron (To be clear, I hate the movie. Thus, I will be changing it. Tony didn’t want the scepter anywhere near his tech or JARVIS, sorry Vision, so after ensuring it wasn’t in danger of falling into Hydra hands, he let SHIELD take it. SHIELD, being SHIELD, ended up enlisting Dr. Hank Pym for research. Hank ends up creating a murderbot without Tony’s name on it, and Tony gets the closure that the Ultron fiasco really wasn’t all his fault like everyone else claimed. And then he goes after Ultron, because no way is he letting something capable of killing JARVIS stick around long enough to try. I don’t see how I can possibly work Vision into this tho, so until I do figure it out, he’s unfortunately a non-entity in this AU)

Part 7: Social Media Interlude (Lots of background info from previous parts, like what all Stark Industries was doing. And also Winteriron somehow happened. I have no idea how, don’t ask me. Mostly fluff, tho the footage of the Stark murders gets leaked and Tony gets to be the emotionally mature one in the group finally. Very fond of his lil “I’ve known about the murders since before I met Bucky, don’t harass him, he was the gun, not the shooter, etc etc” rant. He does have to wave away his knowledge with hacking Shieldra, which wouldn’t really work, but no one else knows that so shhhh)

Part 8+: I’ll let you know when I’ve figured out how Tony’s gonna handle outliving his past self in the other timeline. But it’ll go all the way to Infinity War/Endgame, dw

If any of this does interest anyone, please let me know. I love hearing feedback!

[shirtsbargain]

The Growth Of Gildan In The Apparel Industry

Gildan wholesale apparel is for those who seek high-quality, affordable garments for resale, promotions or customization. The brand rose to prominence over the years, becoming a leader in the industry that consistently managed to reshape consumer expectations. 

Origin

Gildan was founded in 1984 in Montreal, Canada by Glenn and Greg Chamandy to make fabric for Harley Inc. - a childrenswear business they already owned. The company soon expanded to sell 100% cotton t-shirts. Soon there was a demand for Gildan t-shirts wholesale by wholesalers and decorators across the United States and Canada. The brand’s growth soon led to the closure of Harley Inc., with the founders choosing to expand Gildan into what we now know as Gildan Activewear.

Success

Gildan’s success is partly due to their commitment to producing basic apparel at extremely budget-friendly prices. They emphasized simplicity and functionality, which resonated with wholesalers who sought reliable clothing for decorations and resale. The company opened factories in low-wage countries, allowing them to offer their products at very low prices, sometimes even below that of Chinese manufacturers. 

Gildan's product line ranges from T-shirts and sweatshirts to tank tops and polo shirts, catering to diverse lifestyles. The brand successfully struck a balance between quality and affordability. Gildan polo shirts wholesale has been the go-to option for many small and medium-sized businesses to outfit their staff, owing to the affordability. 

This balance has not only endeared the brand to small-scale apparel retailers and decorators but has also made it a preferred choice for schools, and organizations looking for cost-effective yet high-quality apparel for bulk orders.

Gildan's rise in the apparel industry is not merely a result of chance but a strategic alignment with consumer preferences. The brand has keenly understood the demand for basics that offer both comfort and style. For a startup retailer, investing in Gildan sweatshirts wholesale is more ideal as the brand’s offerings are great options for beginners in the industry that want to offer affordable, good quality sweatshirts. 

Furthermore, Gildan's commitment to ethical and sustainable practices has further solidified its standing in the industry. The brand is known for responsible sourcing, ethical manufacturing processes, and environmental consciousness, addressing concerns that are increasingly central to modern consumers' purchasing decisions.

In conclusion, the rise of Gildan in the apparel industry is a testament to its ability to navigate the complex landscape of fashion by staying true to its core values. Everything from Gildan hoodies wholesale to Gildan’s signature cotton t-shirts enjoy great demand in the market, setting a benchmark for other brands in the industry. The brand continues to offer a vast collection of clothing in an array of different colors at surprisingly low prices to wholesale buyers.

[the-firebird69]

Watch "Suzuki Jr50 Top Speed!!!" on YouTube

This is a great this little bikes they only have two gears and it sounds like you switch gears but you didn't you just laid off the gas and yeah we knew but the problem is that he's too big it's going like 35 it's pretty fast for one gear and his size and your second gear probably go 55 it's extremely fast and these motors are powerful back then and they tone down the power and hours of that powerful didn't want that many accidents but here's the deal he wants to make the electric dirt bike still and a little bit bigger electric dirt bike and this dirt bike at Harley for kids but it doesn't want the plastic tank he wants the metal tank it's probably a good idea the plastic brakes and he wants to have it look like the Harley dirt bike. And mac daddy says it's nostalgia too and of course he wants to do it we're going to see if we can and we're going to try and put them in stores as our stores we have some and people buy them like mad there's another idea he had and it was for the Hard knock kicker 5150 Randall text Cobb anniversary edition and it's not the year it's just an anniversary edition and you say that and you put what years in the anniversary and I think it was outside 1978 or something when he did it, so anything with an eight and hard knock kicker 5150 we reopened in the 2015 a very small basis Sylvia 2018 and it's all new but you don't put the year it's just real small and he wants golden wings and we get that it's for Randall takes Cobb premier phone and he's missing and they have some military sign for that we're going to put on it small on the emblem and put it in hard knock kicker 5150 wings and he's thinking of making the T-shirt part of the package and his helmet and people like that so we're going to go ahead and do that and he wants to put them in malls and shopping centers... Smack that is starting to get the idea we're pretty quick but not that quick and all sudden everybody's saying you guys are doing it it's starting to become ugly. Now we're going to put these bikes all over the place it's a HK one and they come upgradable but the biggest motor you can put in the HK one is a 125 and we sell it and you can put others but we don't suggest you do that and then you can go like really at 130 lb about 140 or 150 mph and the bank can handle these days and the tires are better it breaks are better famous very sturdy and you'll see that's cool looking and it sounds cool with the 125 or the 49 cc and it's made in the states what we're going to send a whole bunch of these anniversary editions to the United Kingdom and other HK bikes the new ones and we made a few different styles not really we didn't they haven't sold that well and they might people figure it out

I'm getting calls already and it's from the morlawk if they want to see the T-shirt. We're going to post it in a minute and it has the symbol that our son has on his shirt and it's golden wings and it says the year he went missing and people are going to get excited

Thor Freya

Sales are up too it's known as a motorcycle that's really really inexpensive. This particular version the HK one even though it's a special anniversary model is going to sell for $850 plus delivery you have to add delivery usually it's $50 to deliver answer though motorcycle it's just 49 cc's add $200 for the 125 so it's $1,050 + 50 so it's 1100 mostly anywhere in the United States and a little bit more for delivery outside manufacturers elsewhere too so please get online and we're not the old website those are made in China how's it made in the United States so we changed the method and making them cheaper than they are from China you might do that with the Chinese motorcycle company Chinese American because it's going slow and we need to hire and Way chandelin Wellington they're in the way as usual.

We're opening it up and we're going to start making them smiling like a fool when your first we're going to do it he knows these people want to fight and they want to live we need them to and these bikes are like candy to them hard not just like candy but his hands like hard candy and they can't eat it that well cuz it's sad when I say is it's about being a man it's okay it's okay warlock you start out with the Chinese American bike made America congratulations the Hard knock kicker 5150 golden anniversary Randall text Cobb and people probably call it the tough guy like and it's a 40-year anniversary bike but it's really been 45 years so people see that and flock to it until trying to get one out there with Grandma and we're going to do that they designed it together and not this time that much but bja wants to try and ask her stuff

Thor Freya

You approve this message to go out

Olympus

[starkerhowlter]

Princess Parker -- 4

Rating: M Ship: starker (tony stark / peter parker) Tags: Minor Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers, Alternate Universe - College/University, Fashion Designer Peter Parker, Engineer Student Tony Stark, slow burn, stolen moments Summary: Tony Stark’s in love.

This chapter was beta'd by my gorgeous squish: @cozysafechaotic ! Be sure to send em love and thanks! Shout out as well to my sprinting goblins in the Super Starkers Discord for their support as well and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

4 -- Beauty And The Simp

In the cafeteria, Peter is already sitting with his friends at their usual table. His red and black shirt fits perfectly, and his Hugo Boss trousers hug his ass like a gift from the gods. The bouquet has disappeared but the blush on the boy's cheeks hasn't. He smiles gently, winking at the boy before turning back to his friends.

"How did he take to the bouquet?" Bruce asks gently.

"Well. He seemed like he liked it. His friends, not so much," Tony replied.

"I'm guessing Pepper and Natasha weren't fans?" Steve questions.

"Not them..." Tony confesses, looking over his shoulder at the entrance before continuing, "For some reason, Harley Keener was upset by them?"

"Why Harley?" Bucky interjected, "What does that prick want with Peter?"

"I guess I'm not the only one that Peter's caught their eye. I mean, he's beautiful, guys. He's not going to be someone people overlook easily. I just wish I could work up the courage to just talk to him.”

"I thought you said he liked your gifts?" Bucky replies, smiling at Clint as he sits down.

"He did... does. But I'm not a sugar daddy. I don't want to just give him gifts and treasures, I want to be his boyfriend. I want Peter Parker to be mine."

"You really have it bad, T," Steve laughs, "But I can't say anything. I was just as whipped for Bucky when I first saw him."

"Honey, you saw me at a party and from what Tony and Clint have told me, you drank like six shots of vodka before you managed to talk to me."

"I was nervous!" Steve covers.

"Yeah, and then you kissed me, fucked me and asked me to be your boyfriend that same night!"

"It was an intense party!" Steve laments.

"I rest my case." Bucky laughs, leaning over and kissing the blonde, "Oh stop pouting. You know I love you."

"I love you too."

"Gods, you guys are gross." Clint laughs, "Like old men."

Peter glances over at the table again, he's got one of the flowers from Tony in his hair, but his friends keep reminding him that the flowers didn't come from the person he so wants them to be from. The boy sighs, spinning the stem between his fingers as his friends talk around him. He should be listening but instead, his mind is on Tony.

"Peter, are you listening to me?" Gwen asks, clearly annoyed.

"Wha? Oh, yeah. I'm listening." He drops the flower on the table and looks at the girl, mind drifting back to the punk across the room. He wonders what it would be like to lay in his lap, to reach up and brush his fingers over the man's stubble and see the sparkle in his whiskey eyes up close. Harley never made him feel like this. He never felt a wonder at the concept of the man, never wished for him to look in his direction. Then again, was what he had with Harley love?

Tony smiles in the boy's direction, appreciating the sight of him. "Holy hell aren't you gorgeous," He murmurs to no one in particular, "Fucking hell."

"Tony you're doing it again," Clint teases.

"Doing what?" Tony asks, lifting his head off his hand.

"Simping," Clint replies.

"I do not simp. I am just appreciating the beauty that is Peter Parker."

"Mhm, sure," Steve laughs, "Whatever you say." Tony flips the guys off, laughing.

"I just want to see you embarrass yourself in front of Peter at the party this weekend."

"Shut up, Clint." Tony laughs, looking across the cafeteria longingly at the boy.

--

Thank you so much for reading!! Comments and likes are much appreciated!!

[anxiouspotatorants]

It is time. It is finally time for the new Suicide Squad rant (and spoilers will be plentiful):

As someone who was into DC Comics and comics in the mid to late 2010s and had so much hype for the first Suicide Squad movie only to be let down, I was so nervous for this one. I knew it was going to be a roller coaster, but whether I would come out happy or disappointed was up in the air. Having just seen it I will say this: I have no idea if this was a good movie-movie. It was insane. The comedy. The violence. The high emotion. I’m still trying to take it all in. But one thing I do know is that this is an amazing Suicide Squad movie. Gunn and co took the best parts of the comic concept and went batshit with it and that is how this property should be handled (in my opinion). Screw edgelordisms, we need full on insanity free of aiming for shock-value or sexy brutality we want chaos baby.

Starting the whole movie as they did, with Savant as the POV for a mission (or part of the mission) that just goes to hell immediately and kills off so many before the title arrives is the perfect way to start this movie. Like the second I realized this was how they were doing it I was just smiling from ear to ear, this is the spirit of the property.

Part of me wishes we got more Amanda Waller, but what we had was impeccable. Then again, this is Viola Davis we’re talking about, and if she was born to play any character in a superhero story, it is Amanda Waller.

And points to her tech team, introducing them with the death bets was just a lovely way to show how regular this is and how awful everyone is in this movie.

I’m not going to pretend like Deadshot and Bloodsport didn’t have the exact same character- and plot premises… but I will say that Bloodsport felt better executed.

I love that they kept some of the past members and not just Harley. Rick Flag got to have a full personality and interactions with his team members and to be a true leader and it made me so happy for someone who initially did not give a single shit about his character. The Harley friendship? The Dubois friendship? The friendship with that guerilla leader? Amazing. The one American soldier in fictional media I genuinely like. You go Mr Flag.

The new members were… they were insane in the best way. Gone are the shitty stereotypes and present are some of the wackiest creations to ever grace the mainstream movie-sphere (aka the slightly less normal comic creations): A man who has to shoot out polka dots two times a day so as not to die from a space virus. A giant child murdering weasel. A guy who detaches his limbs and slaps people with said detached limbs. King Shark. The second person to command rats with a fancy gadget. They are all crazy and all weird and all more or less morally repulsive people and I love them.

The amount of times I did a double take over the soundtrack I swear. Jessie Reyez? The Pixies? It was so much fun to pick up on once I did.

Was the depiction of a vague Latin American country stereotypical? Yes. Was the secret American involvement predictable and felt mildly patronizing from a non-American, part Latina point of view? Yep. But damn it if I didn’t have a good time with those stereotypes and laugh my ass off at how well executed some were. I don’t know if it was meant as parody, but that one secretary has me thinking so — and if so I am pleased.

Speaking of Latino dictators Harley’s one day romance with one of the villains was something I never knew I needed. Like it was so perfect for Harley that when it happened I almost hit myself for not realizing that this kind of plot should be a normal thing for Harley. And the end of it? Perfect not only in this standalone movie, but also in conjunction with the first and with BoP.

The Taika Waititi cameo??? Oh my god??? I did not expect that and I love it?? Sir, What We Do in the Shadows is impeccable.

Rick Flag’s death actually surprised me. It shouldn’t as this is Suicide Squad, but I kind of expected him to be on Harley’s level of unkillable (because let’s face it, no one kills Harley). What I will say is that his death was good and his final words and actions made me love him all the more. I hope this spawns more Rick Flag content, or at least inspires me to look at what already exists, if he already is as this movie made him (it’s been ages since I read one of the Suicide Squad reboot comics okay).

Starro. How can a villain be so wacky and so terrifying at the same time? I did not expect a literal alien starfish to have more terrifying powers and a more tragic plot execution than Enchantress. But here we are. And that damn star just wanted to be floating in space, and instead it was stuck getting revenge by killing and puppeteering human corpses. Wow that thing was creepier the more you think about it.

I don’t know what I think about Polka Dot Man. I loved watching him on screen but also damn those mommy-issues were on a new level. Not just in his backstory but how he literally sees her in every person around him that was insane. Very funny but like also the kind that makes you laugh just because you’re uncomfortable and don’t know how else to releive the tension.

When Waller got knocked out by a staff member I immediately thought «oh my god Amanda Waller is going to kill half the staff for this», so I’m mildly surprised and disappointed that I didn’t get to see that happen. But also I should maybe expect something like this in a potential future Suicide Squad movie. We can’t have everything in a movie as packed as this.

Peacemaker was very horrible and worked really well. Don’t really have much to say about him, not because I didn’t enjoy him but because I already feel like the film itself has said it for me. But the planting and payoff for his death? Chef’s. Kiss.

Harley’s wardrobe was beautiful. Ratcatcher 2’s combat outfit felt like a steampunk plague dream. Bloodsport’s mask was supercool. Rick Flag’s t-shirt was amazing. But the best little outfit was the Mafalda-keychain and her red dress, hands down. Oh and King Shark’s fake moustache finger moment.

King Shark is shaped like a friend I don’t care how many people he ate alive on screen he looks so huggable. It feels like wanting to pet a bear. You know it will kill you but damn it look at those paws and those cute eyes!

I really need to give it to not just James Gunn but the entire production team for this movie. The aesthetic was perfect. The story was the right blend of whimsical and violent. The finished product was a literal rollercoaster and I mean that in a good way. If superhero movies have to be like amusement parks, I hope they’re more like this one and BoP.

I’ll finish on the note that while I think this movie was great and hopefully a step in the right direction for the DCU/DCEU (as in stop trying to play Marvel’s game and just do your own thing/ let your creative teams run wild and free), it is not the first step. Cathy Yan, Birds of Prey and the production team for it took a step first, and they deserve due credit and attention. If you loved this Suicide Squad movie and haven’t watched BoP yet, do so. Because they really are in the same ballpark while doing things in slightly different ways. And any good DCEU movie deserves more attention so the studios know that creativity and risks should be rewarded. I want more DC movies like this, not necessarily in genre but in creative risks. I want a Black Canary rock movie. I want Alfred in a reverse heist movie alone in the batcave against Gotham villains. I want Gotham Academy on screen play by play from the comics. I want a fully animated psychedelic-like Khalid Nassour as Dr. Fate movie. I want elevated horror movie Constantine. I want weird ass Lois Lane journalist movies with a heavy side of Superman. And I want DC movies I didn’t even know I wanted.

Support creativity in mainstream comic movies. Help me become a DC fan and happy about it again.

[fandomwriterstuff]

Getaway Car

Another plot-filled Rick Flag fic from me! I might add another chapter if this goes over well so let me know your thoughts!

~2.2k words

Rated T

You're the Suicide Squad's getaway driver and you're got a serious crush on their commanding officer, Rick Flag.

You were what one might call a liability in the operation. You weren’t a soldier under Amanda Waller’s thumb, and you weren’t a prisoner that she could threaten. You were purely there for the thrill at first. But you kept coming back for him. Rick Flag. The commanding officer of your dreams, a real hero. You weren’t sure if you idolized him or wanted to fuck him. Maybe it was a bit of both.

But as you sat in the car and eyed up the team sprinting out of the building, you skipped to your getaway song - Brianstorm by Arctic Monkeys - and revved the engine.

“Punch it, Baby!” Harley cackled as the three prisoners (plus Rick) slammed themselves into your vehicle.

You didn’t need to be told twice.

You thought it over as you narrowly evaded enemy trucks and sped down a dirt road. You were technically working for the law, so they shouldn’t need a getaway car, but they always were getting themselves into tight spots so you supposed it made sense.

It was a few minutes of beating drums, wild guitar solos, and Harley’s cackles as the playlist continued (House of the Rising Sun by the Animals came on just as you dared to slow down). You finally looked over to your right, and raised an eyebrow.

“You doing alright, Colonel?” You took stock of the dark, wet blood covering the left side of his face and the way he was cradling his right fist.

“Never better, darlin,” he offered you a signature smirk and you gave a nod before turning back to the road. You were on a main stretch now, paved and full of other vehicles. You’d likely lost your pursuers but it was your job to get away from them, so you kept an eye on the horizon behind you.

“How you always seem to be in the right place at the right time blows my mind, kid,” Boomer huffed a relieved laugh from the backseat.

“That’s sort of my job,” you replied in kind, smirking into the rearview mirror as you pulled onto the highway that would take you straight back to Belle Reve.

“You don’t talk about your job much though, I noticed,” he pushed and you rolled your eyes. You didn’t talk about yourself, and you didn’t talk about how you got into the getaway business.

“I like to have an air of mystery,” you caught the amused smile Rick tried to hide and brushed your hair back out of your eyes.

“What I’m wonderin,” he continued as if you hadn’t spoken, his accent coming through as he leaned forward through the gap between you and Rick. “Is how a pretty young thing like you got involved with a cold hearted bitch like Amanda Waller.”

You tightened your grip on the wheel (hopefully imperceptibly), and offered a light smile over to him.

“We’ve all got a past, Boomerang Man. Mine didn’t land me in prison, but I’m still here working for you weirdos,” you laughed and signaled your exit towards the Louisiana based metahuman prison.

“I’ll get your story some day, sweet cheeks, you’ll see,” he leaned back as you showed your identification to the guard and pulled into the penitentiary.

After you let the three prisoners off at their dropoff location (like a bunch of kindergarteners going to school), you pulled up to the employee parking area.

“You sure you’re alright?” You were quieter this time, worriedly glancing over at Rick again now that you were alone.

“Don’t you go worrying about me, pretty girl,” he pulled out all the stops with the cute pet name and the thousand megawatt smile, eyes warm and inviting. You were a goner, and you immediately dropped the subject. “I’ll see you in the debrief room,” you sighed after he’d closed the door and pulled the vehicle into your spot.

Another day, another debrief with that fucking psychopath Waller.

You smoothed down your jeans and t-shirt, you might work for the (wo)man, but you weren’t about to dress like a stuck up business person, or like a prison guard. You were too young for that bullshit.

“Baby,” Amanda Waller greeted you as you passed her into the meeting room. You hid your smirk, as you always did, when you took your seat. You’d forged all of your documentation upon taking this job, knowing that you didn’t want this woman knowing anything about your personal life. She didn’t know your real name, hell, she might not even know that Baby was your pseudonym. You sort of felt bad that you hadn’t ever told Rick your name, but you couldn’t risk it.

The debrief was a mess. You’d gotten out with the information the team went in for, but two out of the four of them were injured. Including the Colonel.

“Seems like the only person doing their job here is the fucking chauffer,” Waller spat before turning her eyes on a still-bloodied Rick Flag. “You can do better than this,” she spoke quietly before walking out. The others emptied out, leaving you leaning back in your chair, cotton candy pink Barbie™ t-shirt nearly glowing in the fluorescent lighting.

“I think you’re going to give her an aneurysm. She doesn’t know your identity and you don’t follow the dress code,” Rick had his eyes closed at the end of the long table, but he somehow knew you were alone in there together. You bit your lip. So she knew ‘Baby’ was a pseudonym. Good to know.

“She can’t get rid of me, she needs me,” you shrugged, nonchalant, but this was the wrong answer and you knew it immediately. You’d been working with Rick long enough to see the telltale signs of stress. Tightened shoulders, biceps bulging in his uniform, that vein struggling at his throat.

“You should be out there living your life, Baby,” his eyes shot open, darker than you’d ever seen them. “You shouldn’t be working yourself to death for Amanda Waller. Not like me and these guys. You don’t have a reason to be here,” you looked down, picking at the skull ring on your middle finger. You did have a reason. You were addicted to the feeling of being near Rick. You were obsessed with the way he spoke to you, the way he leaned in close when he was joking around with you, the way his eyes lit up when you made him laugh.

“I’m not about to tell you my life story in an audio and visually recorded meeting room,” you finally spoke, tone harsher than you intended. You stood, turned away from him and towards the door, your voice carrying as you exited. “You’re gonna have to buy me a drink if you want to get anything out of me.”

You didn’t look back to see the slack-jawed look on his face as you sauntered out of the debrief room.

You were in the deep swamp lands of Central Florida this time. Not your favorite place to be. You were blasting the air conditioning in the car as Stick Up by grandson blasted through the car stereo, your favorite angry song to listen to. This wasn’t a job you wanted to be on, but you had a contract and you were making money, and you got to work with Rick again, so it was alright. But it was a new team. Harley was out of jail and Boomer was injured from a prison fight. They were the two people you normally worked with other than Rick.

You had a gut feeling that something was going to go down, but you didn’t know what.

“Start the car!” one of the new members shouted and you frowned. The car was on already. But whatever, you shifted into Drive and waited for Rick and Co. to make it to the car. Only it was just the one guy. He hopped into the backseat and stared at you with wide eyes.

“What are you doing, get us out of here!” He was shouting but you aggressively put the car into Park.

“Where’s Rick? Where’s the rest of the team?”

“Dude, get us out of here!” The man was clearly panicking, and you glanced over at the building the team were supposed to infiltrate, biting your lip.

“Baby, why aren’t you moving?” Waller asked in your ear.

“It’s just the circus freak dude, no Rick, and no team members,” you replied calmly. “What are my orders?”

“Get us out!” The circus freak dude in question (you didn’t bother to ask his name), was bemoaning your existence from the backseat and you snapped. You jerked the center console open and pulled out your gun, pointing it back at him.

“Shut your mouth, or I’ll shut you up myself,” you put all of your fear, rage, and contempt into your glare, staring down the psycho prisoner just enough to put the fear of a woman into him, and he backed down.

“Colonel Flag is alive in there, but he’s the last one. Get in there, pick him up, and get out,” you grinned, shark-like at Waller’s voice. You could do that. You revved the engine, put the car into Drive, and hauled ass towards the building. You tuned out the moaning and wailing from the backseat and flicked the switch that activated your enhanced shields. With that in place, you drove straight towards the brick building at full speed. You could do this. You could do this. You hyped yourself up and didn’t flinch when the car made impact with the wall, immediately breaking through and skidding into a large open room. You looked around, assessing the group of men with guns pointing towards a closed door. Rick must be in there. You flipped another switch, this one with a gun sticker above it, and pulled at the steering wheel to aim the guns that came out of the front of the car. When all of the men finally turned towards you, you opened fire on them.

You’d killed for Waller before, usually by hitting people with the car, and while this was thrilling, you’d never had to actually use a gun on someone before. When they were all down, you pulled the car up, trying to ignore the crunching of bodies under the tires and opened the passenger side window.

“Get in the fucking car, Flag,” you screeched, and the door creaked the tiniest bit open. Rick peeked his head out, looked around for a hot second before locking eyes with you, and walked over before putting his ass in the passenger seat.

“I didn’t know the car had a gun in it,” he muttered, scratching at the back of his neck.

“Oh she has several,” the circus dude piped up from the back, and Rick side eyed you before promptly yelling at the other for leaving him behind. You took that as your cue to get the fuck out of there.

“You haven’t said anything in two hours,” Rick finally said as you entered Louisiana. He’d been on the phone with Waller for a while and then writing his debrief up on his phone.

“I’ve never shot anyone before. It’s a tad stressful,” you didn’t let on how nerve-wracking it had been to think you’d lost him, but you especially didn’t let on how freaked out you were about opening fire on a group of over a dozen men. You shrugged and kept your eyes on the road. He nodded in understanding. You didn’t want to talk about it. You appreciated his silence. When you finally dropped the circus dude off you had about six minutes before making it back to Rick’s dropoff.

“Baby?” He asked as you slowed down for a stop sign. You hummed in question, but he put his hand over yours, and you kept your foot on the brake as he shifted the car into park. You looked over at him, a frown on your face until he reached out and cupped your jaw with one calloused palm. His thumb brushed over your bottom lip and it felt like time wasn’t passing anymore.

“Thank you for coming back for me,” he murmured, and damn you thought he might kiss you. He didn’t, though. He tucked a stray piece of hand behind your ear, the feel of his fingertips caressing your neck made you shiver, and he smirked at the sight. It suddenly dawned on you.

He knew exactly what he did to you. He knew exactly how he was making you feel. That turned you the fuck on. He was teasing you.

“I think I’d like to take you out for that drink tonight, darlin. Maybe you’ll give me a good story. Maybe I’ll finally get your name,” he was so close to you, and god but you wanted to kiss him. But as you leaned in, he leaned back with a growing grin.

“Who knows, maybe you’ll get what you want, too,” he whispered before sitting back in his seat. “I’ll grab you after the debrief,” and that was him dismissing your advances until a later time. So, you put the car into Drive and pulled up to his drop off location. Luckily it had taken all day to get back to Belle Reve, so you’d only have to wait for the debrief to be over and it would be around eight at night. You’d finally get a drink with Rick tonight. You smiled to yourself as you pulled the car into your spot. Things would be changing.

[lyssismagical]

Cause I remember the rush when forever was us

parkner. Their future is unbelievably bright but Harley's still having troubles making peace with Peter's superhero gig.

3k words

tw: none? swearing ,,, discussions. Past near-death. Hospitals. Getting Older. Not quite arguments. Past Break-Up. idk lol

There wasn’t much Harley was sure of.

He was never really sure if his dad would come back. His mom never had job security, so their lives were always on the line. They never knew if the rug would be pulled out from under them, if their house would be taken by the bank again, if they’d be able to afford gas or if they’d have to walk the nearly ten miles it takes to get to school.

There was never really anything secure. Nothing Harley could count on.

The one thing Harley did know, the one thing he was absolutely sure of, was that Peter Parker would have wrinkles by the time he was twenty-five.

Peter always made a face when he was thinking too hard. His eyebrows would furrow, eyes squinting a little bit, and his nose would crinkle just enough that his forehead would wrinkle.

And that’s the thing about Peter. He’s always thinking too hard, too much, too seriously.

The only time he wasn’t thinking too much, he was smiling or laughing or talking in that way that he’d get crow’s feet and he has the sweetest little dimples that show.

Peter having wrinkles early in life was inevitable to Harley. He studied Peter’s face enough to know. And trust him, he spent a lot of time studying Peter.

He first comes to this conclusion when they’re seventeen and most of their time is spent when Peter’s studying and Harley’s pretending to. They’re getting closer and closer to graduation day and Peter’s desperate to get his GPA up enough to get a scholarship or two for MIT, he doesn’t need it, Tony’s offered a thousand times over to cover it, but he doesn’t want ‘pity money’ as he calls it. He cuts back on his hours out and stops skipping school as much as he can. He starts doing his homework more frequently and genuinely studying despite everyone knowing he can get easy A’s without studying if he just tried. But he works hard.

Harley doesn’t need to, he’s been an avid studier and he always finished his homework, he’s already on track for a perfect GPA, he doesn’t need to do any extra credit. So his time ‘studying’ with Peter is mostly spent reading or playing video games.

Peter’s face for the entirety of their last year in high school is a constant state of thinking. His brain never stops running.

The next couple years are spent trying to balance a job, university, an internship, his extra curricular, relationships, and trips back home as often as he can. It’s understandable why he’s as stressed as he is and why Harley just gets more and more certain that the wrinkles will come.

After college, Peter decides to go to graduate school, so the stress continues.

Now, mid-summer after Peter’s graduation with his Master’s degree, Harley finds he was right.

Peter, face slack and peaceful as he sleeps in on a Saturday morning, gives Harley the perfect opportunity to study his expression. He’s twenty-four, birthday coming up in just two months, and Harley was right. There’s a distinct wrinkle between his eyebrows and his crow’s feet are prominent even without a smile. Maybe the idea of them aging should freak him out, but it doesn’t. They’ve managed seven, nearly eight, years together, so far, and every day that he gets to watch his partner age is everything he could’ve ever asked for, especially considering the dangers Peter faces in his day-to-day life. The wrinkles are just proof of the life they’ve had the chance to spend hand-in-hand and god isn’t that a wonderful thing. He’s the luckiest person alive.

Peter’s face shifts, just a fraction, and his fingers tighten their hold on Harley’s old t-shirt. “Time’s it?”

“Almost noon.”

“Jeez,” Peter says, eyes blinking slowly before shutting again. “What happened to early morning groceries and breakfast?”

“You deserved to get some rest.”

Peter buries his head into Harley’s side, failing to stifle a yawn. “You fed Freddie?”

Freddie’s their dog, a little corgi. It was their first order of business when they could move out of their shitty apartment near campus. He’s sleeping on his nice bench at the end of the bed.

“He’s been fed and been outside. He’s a perfectly happy pup.”

“Tha’s good.” He already sounds half-asleep again, sleep-warm and smelling like fresh laundry and cinnamon, taking up the space against Harley’s side like he’s always meant to. “You up?”

“Yeah, but you can sleep some more, I don’t mind.”

Peter shakes his head, slowly rolling over onto his back, with a yawn. His hair falls like a halo around his head, sunlight turning his brown curls golden. Freddie perks his head up from the end of the bed before repositioning himself and shutting his eyes.

“I meant it,” Harley says. “You can spend the whole day in bed. God knows you deserve as many lazy days as you wish.”

Peter yawns again, fist coming up to rub his eyes. “Nah, I wanna do domestic things with you like groceries and cleaning and taking Freddie for a walk. Plus, I promised I’d go down to see Morgan tomorrow which leaves only today with you.”

“You sure?”

“I’m sure. Just need a coffee or two first.”

Harley grins. “Lucky for you, I’ve already got a pot of the expensive grounds on.”

“Have I told you I love you?”

“You have.”

“Well I really really love you.”

“Good, I’ll bring you a cup, stay there.”

Harley heads out to the kitchen, Freddie close on his heels. He grabs Peter’s favourite mug, an old, worn mug that says World’s Best Intern on it and Harley’s favourite which is a Spider-Man mug, of course.

Peter’s already mostly asleep by the time Harley returns with the coffees. He stirs when the bed dips with Harley’s weight and he smiles lazily.

“Falling asleep,” Peter says.

“I’ll say it again, you’re fully allowed to sleep through the day, I really don’t mind.”

“No, it’s okay.” He stretches his arms above his head, triceps flexing and shirt lifting deliciously. If Harley’s hands weren’t full, he’d absolutely take full advantage of Peter’s sleep-warm state, but alas. “I’m determined to hang out with you today.”

Peter sits up against the headboard, slumping into Harley’s side, and accepts the offered coffee, breathing in the smell.

Harley presses a kiss to his temple. “If you’re sure, honey.”

Peter sips his coffee and practically moans. “This is so good. Thank you, you’re the best. I love you.”

“Yeah, love you too, baby.”

Peter’s mostly quiet as he drinks his coffee, and Harley admires his boyfriend unashamedly, not like how he used to all those years ago, stealing glances when he thought nobody was looking.

They have plans to get married eventually, of course they do, after eight years dating, but they’re in no rush. The only wishes they have is to get married while their family is around to see them, Macy and May, Abbie and Morgan, Tony and Pepper. Tony offered to walk one of them down the aisle since both of their fathers aren’t around, but May and Macy had already been given those roles for the day, so Tony’s promised to be minister instead.

Peter’s said that he doesn’t care for a big proposal either, and Harley’s still uncomfortable at the idea of doing anything too big in public as two men. He hates that even now, he gets nervous holding Peter’s hand around new people, but it’s the easiest way to stay out of trouble, and Peter’s never complained. Harley’s working on it, especially since they live in a relatively safe city, especially with Spider-Man looking over them, but it’ll take time.

Harley finishes his coffee first and sets his mug on the nightstand and then leans over to smooth his thumb over the wrinkle between Peter’s eyebrows. The superhero huffs in annoyance.

“I don’t know what your obsession is with my wrinkle, but it’s weird. I’ve put up with a lot of weird things you like, but that’s not one I can get behind. I’m old and stressed and it’s not a good thing.”

Harley laughs, a fond smile permanently etched on his face. “Of course I don’t like that you’re stressed, but I love that you’re getting old.”

“I’m twenty-five,” Peter pouts.

“When I met you, I honestly didn’t think we’d get much time together,” Harley admits quietly. “With your Spider-Man gig and showing up at the Tower every other night to be patched up from some potentially life-threatening injury, it made it very hard to believe that we’d get through high school, let alone eight whole years. It’s just, it’s incredible.”

Peter kisses him gently. “You’ve gone soft, Keener.”

“God, I know. Look what you’ve done to me, Parker.”

Peter sets his mug down too, just in time for Freddie to come bounding up onto the bed, begging for kisses and pets, which he, of course, gets because he’s a spoiled baby. Peter talks in adorable baby talk to Freddie, smiling and kissing his head, and getting him to do tricks, until Freddie gets tired and moves back to his bench to lie down.

“And you said I was soft.”

“I never said I wasn’t,” Peter argues. “But, in my defense, Freddie was your idea.”

“You were the one who said you wanted a baby. I was simply deescalating your crazy idea.”

Peter laughs. “I was drunk and it had been the day after Morgan’s birthday, so you can’t blame me.”

“I still can’t believe Ned’s having a baby. It feels like yesterday we were all just kids fucking around in the Academic Decathlon room.”

Peter’s so warm against Harley’s side, and his smile is so unbelievably infectious, and god Harley is so in love.

“Imagine how I feel. I’ve known Ned since he was like three feet tall and couldn’t read to save his life. And now he’s married and having a baby and paying taxes and working a nine-to-five. It’s crazy.”

“We’re all grown up, huh?”

Peter’s expression manages to soften even more. “Yeah, I guess we are.”

“It’s not a bad thing.”

“No…” Peter still doesn’t sound so certain. “I just can’t imagine everything changing more than they already have. I’m- It’s unbelievable how lucky I’ve gotten, everything I have, how happy I am, and I don’t want things to change from how they are now.”

“Is change really such a bad thing? Our future, a wedding one day, kids maybe, helping Morgan through high school and college, Ned’s baby, Flash’s foster daughter, who knows what else.”

Peter shakes his head. “I’m excited about all that, of course I am, but May’s past sixty. Tony’s going on seventy. I can’t imagine losing them.”

“Oh, honey, I didn’t mean…”

“No, I know, it’s just been a background thought for a little while now. With May’s birthday coming up and Tony and Pepper’s anniversary, it’s just, it’s a lot, you know. The idea of losing either of them.”

Harley tightens his grip on his boyfriend. “You still have plenty of years with both of them. You have time to prepare yourself, and when it does happen, it’ll be their time, and that’s okay.”

Peter nods and goes quiet, curling into Harley’s side.

They stay like that for a while, simply basking in each other. It’s easy, being with Peter is, it wasn’t always so simple, it wasn’t always so daydreamy. There were times when Harley couldn’t get past the idea of losing him, times when he’d convince himself it would be better to cut Peter out himself than to lose him to his side-gig. There were times when Harley hated Spider-Man, hated that Peter prioritized it over him and them, hated going to bed alone, hated waking up to messages from Tony saying that Peter would be spending the night in the Medbay, hated the nights he’d help patch Peter up in their bathroom, hated the days spent holding Peter’s too-cold hands in that damn hospital bed.

There’s a part of Harley that still hates Spider-Man, hates that his heart chose the route that would end in the most pain.

Thinking about the future, it’s a reminder of how invested he is in all of this. He can’t imagine a future without Peter, he doesn’t know what he’d do if he lost him, and that chance is always so much higher whenever Peter slips on the suit and ducks out to fight crime.

“What are you thinking about?” Peter asks, sitting up to look at him properly, doe brown eyes filled to the brim with love just for Harley.

“You. Us.” Harley’s surprised to find his voice wavering and thick with emotion. It breaks when he says, “I just really love you.” And tears flood his eyes.

“God, Harley, I know I called you soft, but this is pushing even my emotion tolerance,” Peter jokes. It makes Harley laugh which sends a few tears over the edge.

Harley shakes his head when Peter looks genuinely concerned and laces their fingers together. “Can you believe that nineteen-year-old us made it here?”

Peter laughs a little, drawing Harley’s hand up to his face to kiss his knuckles. “We were dumb kids back then.”

“I was stupid.”

“Sure, but I wasn’t exactly easy to deal with.”

“It’s not…” He trails off, knowing Peter’s past the insecurities with their relationship. It’s a joke, easy to deal with, it’s not a worry. “It was never about you, it was about trying to protect me.”

“I know, Harley. That was six years ago. I’ve long since forgiven you, I hope you know that.”

Harley shakes his head again. When they were nineteen, Harley had broken up with Peter, moved out of their shared apartment just outside of MIT’s campus, had isolated himself from Peter as much as he could. It was a hard four months for both of them, but it wasn’t long until Harley was begging for another shot.

“You’d been in that damn hospital bed for three days,” Harley says, more nostalgia than anything. When he’d been sitting there, back aching and feet asleep, he’d gone through pretty much every emotion under the sun, but he’s had a long time to heal. “I was told that you might not make it.”

“What?” Peter lets go of his hand and sits up straight. His eyebrow furrows and his wrinkle deepens. “You never told me that.”

Harley swallows audibly, cards a hand through his hair. “It was the first time they’d ever told me that. It was always he’s strong, he’ll pull through, nobody had ever pulled me aside to tell me that hope might hurt.”

“God, honey, I’m so sorry.”

“Tony threw a chair when he was told,” Harley says with a beat of laughter. “Told the doctors he’d pay them any number they wanted if it meant you’d be okay. Course that’s not how it works, but you know Tony.”

Peter’s face is still in shock and sympathy, hands covering Harley’s shaking ones.

“I prayed,” Harley says, voice thick. He refuses to meet Peter’s gaze. “I’d sit at your bedside and whenever I was alone, I’d pray to a god I don’t think exists. I almost lost you, I believed I had, I couldn’t keep going with us when that was always going to be a possibility, that there would be a time when it wasn’t an almost or a close-call or a he’s lucky. It thought it would be easier to turn my back.”

Peter’s grip tightens. “Why are you telling me this?”

“There is no my future, it’s only ever ours, and I- I thought I had made my peace with Spider-Man, but…”

“Harley, you know I can’t hang up the suit, we tried that, remember? And I can’t do it.”

“I’m not asking you to, love, I just…” Harley swallows again. “We both grew up without our dads. If we decide on kids, if we… I can’t do this without you. I don’t care how soft or codependent or desperate it sounds, there is no me without you. You’re scared of losing May, I’m scared of losing you.”

Peter’s shoulders slump and for a moment he’s quiet, both of them looking down at their hands, folded over each other’s.

“I can’t make any promises, Harley. I’m more careful out there now than I ever have been. You’re not that stupid nineteen-year-old, but I’m not that reckless kid either.”

“I can’t lose you.” Harley finally meets Peter’s eyes, surprised to find wet eyelashes and red cheeks. He presses their foreheads together. “I want you forever. I want to be ugly and wrinkled and ninety in some old folks home with you. I want all the nurses to hate us for being so sappy and soft. I want our grandkids to come visit and to tell them stories about my husband who’s the greatest hero known to New York. I want forever.”

Peter grins, stupidly in love. “I’m careful, Harley. I’m safe. I’ll do everything in my power to give you that future, but I can’t hang up the suit, not right now, not yet.”

“I’d never ask you to, for the record.”

Peter lets out a sigh, pulling away just a fraction. “You’re more important to me than anyone, anything. I’ll always come home to you.”

Harley nods, sniffles, wipes his sweater sleeves over his eyes. “I didn’t want to-”

“Don’t apologize for having this kind of discussion with me. I’m glad we talked. I don’t want you to have all these feelings stuck inside because you don’t want to bother the peace. I want to know every thought that passes through that big head of yours.”

“Every thought?” Harley says, grinning mischievously.

Peter rolls his eyes, but nods nonetheless.

“We should make pancakes for breakfast. I want to kiss you. I love your wrinkle. Let’s get married. We need to pick up tissues. Morgan’s graduation’s coming up and we should get matching suits and find the best way to embarrass her. I-”

“Slow down, Keener. Let’s start with pancakes and then we’ll discuss.”

“I love you.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Pancakes. Let’s go. Get your butt out of bed and please tell me we still have flour.”

There wasn’t much Harley was sure of.

But this?

No question. He’d live the rest of his life with Peter at his side.

taglist: @littlemissagrafina @spideyspeaches @romeoandjulietyouwish @c-artara @shadedrose01 @likeaphoenix13 @misskirkstark @you-get-killed-walk-it-off @kitkatwinchester @emo-girl10 @hold-our-destiny @imalivebecauseirondad @spiderman-peterman @dykeragee @maryserrao @heeeyitskay @parknerandirondad @lilacsandlilies4 @loveliestdisappointment @joyful-soul-collector @genderfluid-and-confuzled @fallenstar07 @gyurolls @sdottkrames @you-did-it-sir @not-today-thx @fandomstuffff {Let me know if you wanna be added or removed}

Ko-Fi

Commissions: $2 per 1k words

[marauderundercover]

Taking Chances Ch. 18: Girl’s Night (Heroes/Villains)

AO3

Prev

First

Teleporting back into her room in Gotham, Marinette flops onto her bed. Passing Kaalki sugar cubes and Tikki a cookie, she suppresses the urge to scream into her pillow. She was sick and tired of Hawkmoth. Sick and tired of being the one who has to fix everything. She just wanted one week with no Hawkmoth, no akuma attacks. But no. Of course not. Of course he just had to send out a stupid akuma every single day. Because why not. How’re people supposed to know he’s still being the main villain of Paris if he takes a freaking day off? Once she finds out who he is, she’s going to punch him in his stupid face. A knock on her door pulls her from her plotting ways to get back at Hawkmoth. 

“Come in.” She sighs, sitting up and forcing a tired smile on her face. 

“Marinette, your father wanted-” Selina starts, pausing as she looks her over. “Come on kitten, we’re having a girls day.” She says. Marinette raises an eyebrow. Sure she’d met Selina before, but they hadn’t really hung out yet. 

“What?” She asks. 

“You look exhausted and angry, sweetheart. Spending too much time with these boys isn’t going to help. So you’re gonna grab anything you need for an overnight trip and we’re going to go watch movies and eat junk food til we’re sick.” Selina instructs. Marinette grins, jumping up and shoving stuff into her backpack. She puts Kaalki’s glasses into her purse and lets her and Tikki fly in before she turns to Selina. 

“Ready!” She says, practically bouncing up and down in excitement. It’d been ages since she’d had a girls day with anyone. She was so ready to just take a break and be silly. 

“Well come on then. Harley and Ivy are going to adore you.” Selina says, slinging her arm around Marinette’s shoulders. Somehow, they manage to not see anyone on the way to Selina’s car. Which is weird, but it is a weekday so everyone probably had something to do besides sit around the manor. Pulling away from the manor, Selina flips on the radio, the new Jagged Stone song blasting full volume.

“Nice taste in music.” Marinette says with a wide grin. Selina smirks. 

“I have to like the man at least a little, his designer is one of my kids after all.” She says. Marinette smiles, a warm feeling flooding through her. Selina didn’t have to accept her with open arms, she didn’t have to treat her like she was her own daughter. But she did, and Marinette was so thankful for that. Thankful that even so far away from her Maman, she still had a Mom there for her. The two nod along to the music, scream singing the chorus together as the car pulls to a stop in front of an apartment building. Marinette glances at the building, suddenly nervous. Would Harley and Ivy like her? Or would they just tolerate her for Selina. 

“Don’t make yourself nervous, sweetheart. Harley and Ivy are two of the sweetest people I know. They’re gonna love you.” Selina says reassuringly, reaching over and squeezing Marinette’s shoulder. Marinette lets out a breath before nodding. 

“Okay, let’s go.” She says, grabbing her bag and jumping out of the car. She follows closely behind Selina, not wanting to give anyone the chance to get between them. You could never be too careful in Gotham. They walk into the building and go straight into the elevator, Selina pushing the button and leaning up against the wall while they wait. Marinette bounces on the balls of her feet, excitement and nerves bundling together. The second the elevator stops, Marinette’s out, following Selina down the hall. She pulls out a key, winking at Marinette before turning and unlocking the door. 

“Honey, I’m home!” She calls, and Marinette’s jaw drops. The apartment was quite literally covered in plants and vines. They were beautiful. She grins as one of the vines near her leans towards her, a small flower blooming at the end of it. 

“And who did you bring with you?” A tall woman with red hair asks, walking into the room. The designer inside of Marinette instantly has a million questions about the woman’s outfit. It seemed to be made entirely of plants, but she could also tell that they were still alive. She had no idea how the woman had managed that, but she guessed that it was something that couldn’t be replicated for someone else. 

“I’m Marinette. Nice to meet you!” She says with a wide smile. The woman, who Marinette assumes is Ivy, grins back. 

“Nice to meet you, Flower. I see you’ve already made a friend.” She says, gesturing to the vine which was now wrapped around Marinette’s wrist. Marinette giggles. 

“Well, I was hoping they liked me and that’s what this was. I have a garden back in Paris, and I’d hate to find out plants actually hate me.” She says. Ivy shakes her head. 

“No worries there. They adore you, it’s a little odd if I’m honest.” Ivy says, dodging Selina who tries to flick her. 

“Did I hear Selina?” Another voice asks, a short blonde woman walking into the room. Her hair was short and choppy, the small pigtails at the top of her head dyed pink. Marinette grinned at the woman’s outfit- a Gotham Amusement Pier t-shirt, Batman pajama pants, and hot pink fuzzy socks. She wondered if her dad knows that Harley Quinn has Batman pj pants….probably not. 

“Yes, with a guest.” Selina says, plopping onto the couch and gesturing over to Marinette, who was still standing by her new vine friend. 

“Hi! I’m Marinette, it’s nice to meet you.” She says, smiling and waving with her free hand. Ivy whispers something and the vine squeezes a bit before letting go, letting her move away from the door. 

“Well aren’t ya just the cutest!” Harley squeals, running forward and giving her a big hug. “Didjya finally join your boytoy’s adopting habits?” Harley adds, still clutching onto Marinette. Selina snorts. 

“No, he beat me to her. But she’s definitely mine, too.” She says, making Marinette’s face turn red. Harley coos at her, ruffling her hair before stepping back. 

“So what brings ya here? Get annoyed with Bats already?” Harley asks. Marinette blinks in shock. Harley knows? She thinks about it for a minute, and realizes it just makes sense. They’d been fighting long enough and then he started his relationship with Selina, who was one of Harley’s best friends. It just made sense that Harley (who was extremely smart) would put two and two together. 

“No, just thought that Mari could use a girl’s day. She’s been stuck with just the boys for over a week.” Selina explains. Harley gasps. 

“The horror!” She says, making Marinette giggle. “Come on pumpkin, I’ve got the comfiest jammies ever. Oooo, and we can paint our nails! Ivy, find the movies, Selina, you’re on snacks. This is gonna be so much fun!” Harley orders, grabbing Marinette’s hand and tugging her along to one of the bedrooms, Selina’s laugh echoing throughout the apartment. 

“I did bring pjs, ma’am.” Marinette says, once Harley stops tugging her and starts searching through a drawer. 

“Bet that can’t be comfier than the ones I’ve got for ya! And call me Harley kiddo, or Auntie Harley if ya wanna.” She says, looking up from the drawer to smile widely. She looks back and cheers in victory, pulling out a pair of bright red pajama pants. Marinette snorts when she notices the logo all over the pants. 

“Really?” She asks, giggling. Harley smirks. 

“We’ll have to take a picture of us and send it to your old man. Really get ‘im riled up.” She says. Marinette nods excitedly, taking the Robin pants from Harley. This was gonna be awesome. 

---

Bruce sighs, looking at the news report from Paris from earlier. The damned butterflies were hard to track. He was used to figuring out problems quickly, and this one was taking too long for comfort. It wouldn’t bother him as much if it was anywhere else, but it was directly impacting his daughter. She was being hurt daily, and she’d even died and now she was plagued with nightmares. All because of a man with some magic jewelry. God, he hated magic. A knock on the study door stirs him from his thoughts. 

“Come in.” He says.

“Hey B, have you seen Mari? I was gonna ask her if she wanted to go get ice cream with me and Little D.” Dick asks, leaning against the door frame, Damian standing next to him with his arms crossed.

“Not since breakfast. There was another akuma attack earlier, but it wasn’t a bad one. She wasn’t injured.” He says, remembering the completely strange battle from earlier. It was some man with pigeons, and apparently this was the 34th time the man had been akumatized over pigeons. 

“Did you not check her room after the battle?” Damian asks, eyebrow quirked. Bruce sighs. 

“It was the pigeon one again. I assumed that she’d want to take a nap, if anything. She still hasn’t been sleeping well. Tim said she’s awake every morning when he comes up for coffee, whether it’s three or five, she’s up.” Bruce explains, frowning at the thought of his youngest daughter’s sleep habits. He certainly didn’t need another sleep deprived coffee addict like Tim. It wasn’t healthy. 

“Well I already checked her room. She wasn’t there.” Dick says, and Bruce frowns, pulling out his phone to send a text to Tim and call Jason. One of them had to have seen her. She never left the house without telling one of the family, unless it was for a battle. 

“What.” Jason says gruffly, Bruce is just grateful he answered. Up until a couple of months ago, Jason would have rather thrown his phone in the river than answer one of Bruce’s calls. 

“Have you seen Marinette?” He asks, getting straight to the point.

“No? Why? What’s wrong?” Jason asks, and Bruce hears shuffling as Jason rushes around wherever it is he is. 

“Nothing. I’ll call you back.” He says, hanging up. He glances down at his texts and notices Tim hasn’t seen her either. He frowns, but doesn’t panic yet. Pulling out his computer, he pulls up the tracker that was on each of his children’s phones. He scans the map, frowning when he sees that her phone is still in the manor. In her room. He stands and swiftly moves past his sons to get to his daughter’s room. He knocks, waiting for an answer. None. 

“Marinette?” He calls, knocking again. “I’m opening the door.” He warns, pushing it open. He frowns at the empty room, nothing appearing out of place. 

“Do you think she had to pop back to Paris for something?” Dick asks, coming up behind him. Bruce shakes his head. 

“No, she would have told us. Suit up, she has to be somewhere in-” He stops as his phone chimes. He looks at it and feels all of the tension leave his shoulders. 

Took our youngest daughter for a girl’s day, back tomorrow XO. Of course Selina had her. 

“She’s with the Sirens. She’ll be back tomorrow.” Bruce says, suppressing a smile at the annoyed look on his youngest’s face. She was safe, and that’s what matters. Even if he was certain he’d have to listen to Damian complain for the entirety of patrol. 

---

“Make all the boy moose go WAAAAAAAAA!” Harley says with the movie, laughing loudly. Marinette chuckles, passing Tikki a cookie in her purse before sticking another spoonful of ice cream in her mouth. 

“I still like the first one more.” Selina says, taking a sip of her wine. Harley sticks her tongue out at her before turning her attention back to the movie. 

“Do you think Mia is secretly a superhero?” Marinette asks, frowning in thought. 

“What on earth are you talking about?” Ivy asks, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Even Harley pauses the movie to turn and stare at her. 

“Stan Lee.” Marinette says with a shrug. 

“Is that s’posed to mean something to me, kid? Cause I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about.” Harley says, obviously confused. Marinette huffs. 

“Stan Lee makes a cameo in this movie. And Stan Lee is the creator of Marvel, right? He’s made a cameo in like, every single Marvel movie. So is Mia secretly a superhero? Is that why he’s in the movie?” Marinette rambles, almost flinging ice cream at Selina as she gestures crazily. 

“Sweetie, how much sleep have you had in the past three days?” Selina asks after a few moments of silence. 

“Not important. Is Amelia Mignonette Thermopolis Renaldi, Princess of Genovia, also a superhero? Does she secretly work for SHIELD? Or is she more like Iron Man, like a freelance superhero? Was she a hero in San Francisco too? Or did she take over a hero's mantle when she moved to Genovia? Cause she was really clumsy in the first movie and also super awkward, but now she’s less clumsy and she seems to be more put together, but are heroes really put together? I don’t think so. I think sometimes heroes pretend that they’re put together to make everyone else feel better when in all reality they’re seconds away from a breakdown themselves. Is Stan Lee coming to recruit her for SHIELD? Is that why he’s in Genovia? Does SHIELD have any jurisdiction there? Is there a Genovian branch of SHIELD?” Marinette rambles, suddenly stuck on the topic. Seriously, why is Stan Lee in Princess Diaries 2 if Mia isn’t a hero? Why would he-

“Kitten, take a breath.” Selina says, her hands on Marinette’s shoulders helping her to ground herself. Marinette takes in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. She blinks a few times, instantly feeling bad. 

“I’m so sorry.” She says, frowning. 

“What for?” Harley asks, looking confused. 

“For ruining girl’s night.” She says quietly. Selina pulls her into a tight hug and Marinette sinks into it. 

“Sweetheart, you didn’t ruin anything. I don’t know everything that’s going on. But what I do know, is that you rambling out a conspiracy theory about the movie we’re watching is not ruining girl’s night. Trust me. One time, we invited your brother Dick, and he ate all of the cookies by himself.” Selina says, Marinette snorts. Of course he did. “Now that’s a way to ruin girl’s night.” She adds, squeezing her once more before leaning back.

“Let's watch something that we can just get lost in and not have to think at all.” Ivy suggests, looking through the stack of dvd’s. Marinette glances over, eyes instantly catching one of her favorite movies. 

“Legally Blonde?” She suggests, Harley squeals. 

“That’s it, you’re officially ours. Brucie can fight me.” She says, putting in the dvd. Marinette laughs, laying her head on Selina’s shoulder, grabbing a handful of popcorn. She could get used to nights like these.

Next Chapter

Bonus chapter: Harley Vs Bruce

Drawing of Harley and Mari’s pajamas

Tag list: @maribat-bdbwm @vixen-uchiha @stainedglassm @liquid-luck-00 @jayjayspixiepop @jjmjjktth @mizzy-pop @trippingovermyfeet @queenz-z @thepaceperson @iloontjeboontje @waiting247 @laurcad123 @toodaloo-kangaroo @ritacrow-blog @deathssilentapproach-blog @kittenmywaythrulife @nerd-nowandforever @tazanna-blythe @jaybird-and-co @jumpingjoy82 

[swartzsword]

Gotham Night | Part 2

Harely Quinn X Reader

Warning: Violence, Language, Sensuality, Peril

Rating: PG-13

Word Count: 890

A/N: Thank you for all the love on my first post! I am trying to post a new part daily, so If you have any requests or questions let me know! This is an original FanFic, and a continuation of my last post.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The chill October Gotham evening air fills your lungs as Harley stares at you, her blue eyes almost glowing in the evening sunlight. She looks as beautiful as ever, her pale skin emitting a soft glow as she smiles, you see her mouth the words,

"I love you."

Her sillouette stands out against the Gotham skyline. She is wearing a marveouls bright red dress, a modest, yet seductive article, that fits her body as if it was made for her. Two thick shoulder staps that pull up her breasts with just a small amount of clevlege, form fitting her hourglass waist before frilling out at just halfway down her thigh. Exposing her toned legs before her knee high black boots leave the rest to imagination. The setting Gotham sun causes the skyscraper shadows to spread across the rooftop, brining a chill to the air.

Harley steps towards you, as if in slow motion, batting her long black eyelashes in your direction. Her pigtails blowing softly in the evening breeze. With each step, it seems to get darker and darker. Butterflies fill your stomach, your eyes fixated on the goddess in front of you. The sunlight is gone now, causing the air to grow cold.

A silouette emerges from the darkness from behind Harley, its blue eyes glowing in the darkness. Harely doesn't seem to notice, still moving towards you. You try to let out a noise, but it seems as though your body is frozen. Terror fills your stomach as the sillouette expands, as if it has wings...almost like...

"Wakey Wakey!"

Your eyes shoot open as Harley plops herself onto the bed, causing the springs to whine with strain. "Come on sleepy head, we got some stuff to do!"

Relief washes over you as you realize it was all just a dream. "Good morning Harles." You smile as you wipe the sleep from your eyes. Harley gives you a small peck on the forehead before standing up and walking towards the window. She is already dressed, wearing small black denim shorts, an old "Gotham Knights" baseball T-Shirt that she slopply cut into a tank top, and converse (one red, and one blue). You climb out of the bed, pulling on your T-shirt and jeans. Harley spins around to face you. "Sweetums, I got some good and bad news, which one do you want first?" She gives you no time to respond. "The bad news," She says immediately, "is that Mr. J is not very happy about me running off with you...and the little party we had with his henchy men last night." She frowns. "The good news is that Gotham is a big place, but Mr. J and Batsy know all about it, so we gotta take a little vacation."

"Where are we gonna go?" You ask with confusion. You have lived in Gotham your whole life, and were kinda nervous about leaving. You didn't have much in the city, but you had Harley, and that was enough for you. "I dunno," she responds, "but we will figure that out, but first, let's go get some yummy egg sandwi-" Harley's eyes widen, staring at the air vent that is right above the bed. "Harles?" You turn around to look at the vent with her. Faintly, you see a small red light, blinking between the iron grates covering the hole.

Suddenly, Harley grabs your hand, and sprints towards the window leading out to the fire escape. She pushes you out the window, frantically climbing after you. "Shit!" she exclaims, looking over the railing. 20 feet below, you see a dumpster, filled with garbage from the local deli that serves the delicious egg sandwhices that Harley adores. Climbing onto the railing, she looks at you, "Baby, we gotta ju-"

BOOM!!!

The blast sends Harley and you flying over the railing, off the fire escape and down towards the dumpster. With the wold spinning above you, you hear Harley grunt as she lands on the pile of garbage filling the grimey dumpster. You land immediately after, safely, onto the bags. Harley looks at you, smiles, leans foward, and plants a sloppy, lipstick filled kiss onto your lips.

You both climb out of the dumpster, and sprint down the alley, taking a left and out into the sunny Gotham streets. You have no idea where you are going, but Harley seems to. After running for blocks, Harley pulls you into an alley. Winded, she looks at you. "Welp," she says between breaths, "so much for egg sandwhiches, huh?" It causes you to crack a smile, before asking, "What do we do now?" Harley furrows her brow. "Hmm, I dunno puddin', let me think."

Your stomach drops. Harley has never called you puddin' before, she has usually preserved that name for the Joker, back when she was with him, that is. Harley is now pacing the alley. "That mean old Mr.J!" she mutters under her breath, stomping her foot, "how dare he try to hurt my Puddin'! Can't he see I don't want him anymore!" "Baby," you say, walking up to her, "don't worry, I'm okay." Harley's big blue eyes look up at you, her pouty lips full and red. You can't help it but hug her.

She sighs and smiles, wiping a single tear away from her eye, and says,

"Let's get out of here puddin'."

[storiesforallfandoms]

man’s world ~ harley quinn;birds of prey

word count: 1965

request?: no

description: every bad guy in town is after harley quinn after the announcement of her breakup with the joker, but harley is about to make a very powerful friend to have on her side

pairing: harley quinn x female!reader

warnings: swearing, violence, mentions of murder

masterlist

There was no need in counting the money given to me. I could tell by the size of the tack that it wasn’t enough. “You stiffed me again.”

Roman rolled his eyes at me. “I told you I’d pay for a clean kill, that wasn’t a clean kill. You’re lucky I paid you at all.”

“What do you mean? How can a kill be any cleaner than arsenic poisoning? I even framed that chemist guy that had a grudge against the target, it’ll never be traced back to you.”

“Sorry, did I say clean? I meant I wanted a messy murder. Your plan was smart, but I love the theatrics of it all. Next time, I want a show.”

I rolled my eyes and started to walk away. I really wished I could find a new employer. Roma was the absolute worst boss. He was an asshole misogynist that overworked and underpaid me. But he had a lot of leverage on me, what with me being his hitwoman and all, so until I could find a new employer, I was basically bound to Roman.

“Wait!” Roman said. I sighed and turned back to look at him. “I do have a pretty big job for you. If you do this, I promise you I will pay you in full. A large sum, too.”

“I’ve heard that before, Roman,” I said and turned to walk away again.

He stood from his desk and quickly approached me, grabbing my arm to stop me. I raised an eyebrow and yanked my arm away. Most people were too afraid of Roman to behave like this around him. However, most people weren’t his hitwoman, meaning they didn’t have the dirt on him that I did.

It was a balanced relationship we had, whether Roman wanted to admit it or not.

“I mean it, (Y/N),” he said. “This is a big job. If you do this, I will pay you double, no triple the original price of this hit.”

I should’ve walked away, I could’ve walked away. Roman wouldn’t stop me if I did. But I couldn’t lie, the money sounded good - if Roman actually gave me what he was promising this time.

I sighed and motioned with a hand for Roman to go on. He smiled like a kid on Christmas morning.

“Do you know who Harley Quinn is?”

~~~~~~

It didn’t take long to find where Harley Quinn decided to live after the Joker kicked her to the curb. It was severely under protected, unless you classified a sweet Asian man as “protection”.

He tried to stop me as I made my way to Harley’s apartment. “Who are you?”

“I’m an old friend of Harley’s from Arkham Asylum,” I responded. “I wanted to surprise her, I just got out.”

“She’s not home right now.”

“Even better! It’ll be a big surprise!”

I hurried away before he said anything else. I knew he’d be suspicious, but I trusted him to not tell Harley I was there.

I picked her lock and let myself in. The moment I stepped into her apartment, her pet hyena sat up at attention, assessing the stranger that had just entered his home. I pulled the hamburger I had bought from the bag in my hand and offered it to the hyena. He raced over and excitedly gobbled down the food.

I knelt down to pet his coarse fur. “Good boy. I’ll take you in when I finish with this job.”

Luckily, I didn’t have to wait for her long. Shortly after my arrival, the sound of the doorknob turning alerted myself and her hyena that she was back. I pointed the gun as the door swung open. Her eyes widened when she saw me.

“Hello Harleen.”

Roman’s words - “I want a messy kill” - echoed through my head as I pulled the trigger. Harley quickly jumped to the side, just narrowly avoiding my bullet. She dove behind her couch and I continued to shoot bullets into it, causing feathers and fluff to fly into the air. Harley’s hyena let out a laugh-like bark that was drowned out by my gunshots. When my clip was empty, I quickly changed it to a full one.

Knowing that the gunshots would’ve alerted Harley’s landlord, I quickly crossed the room to her open door and closed it, locking the door and even breaking the knob a little for good measures. I wasn’t going to let this job bust, not with so much money on the line.

“Look, whatever Mista J did to you, I’m sorry!” Harley called from somewhere in the room. “Haven’t ya done your research? He brainwashed me! I only did what he said cause I thought I loved him!”

“Joker never did anything to me,” I told her. “I’m just here on someone else’s behalf.”

“That’s a long list to narrow down,” she responded. “Mind giving me a hint? Maybe an initial?”

I traced her voice to a desk that was turned to face me. This wouldn’t have normally been suspicious, if it weren’t for the fact that the desk was pushed right up against a wall, rendering it technically useless. In the small slit between the bottom of the desk and the floor, I could see Harley’s colorful shoes peaking out.

“Actually, I have a message from him,” I said. “Roman says ‘Good Riddence.”

She must’ve known I had found her, as, just before I pulled the trigger, Harley jumped up from under the desk, successfully launching it at me. The sudden movement startled me enough that my shot lodged itself in the ceiling instead of in her head.

“Oh, Romy!” Harley exclaimed. “Couldn’t even be bothered to come kill me himself? What hurts!”

She dove behind another plush chair as I took another shot at her. I exclaimed in frustration and went to approach the chair. Before getting close enough, Harley raised her hand, which was now holding the white t-shirt she had arrived in.

“Truce!” she called. “Just for one minute, give me a truce. And then you can decide if you want to continue with your killing. I won’t stop you, you ain’t the first to try and off me today.”

Against my better judgement, I sighed and shoved my gun back into the waistband of my pants. “You have five minutes to say your piece, Quinn. I have a lot of money on the line here.”

She popped up from behind the chair like a Whack-A-Mole. She was now in a plush, pink sports bra, her suspenders pulled over it now instead of the white t-shirt she was holding in her hand.

“I can’t blame you for wanting to cash in on a good paycheck,” she said. “I wanted to get a look at ya for a minute. You know, without the bullets and whatnot obstructing my view. I wanted to see if I recognized ya.”

“Why would you recognize me?”

“I frequent Romy’s club a lot. I think he only tolerated me because of Mista J, which would explain why he sent a hitwoman after me when I announced our breakup,” she explained. “You do look familiar. Do you frequent the club, too?”

“I don’t tend to talk with Roman about business in public. It’s not exactly the smartest move.”

“I suppose not, but I’m sure I’ve seen your face there before.” She thought for a moment before snapping her fingers. “Oh! I know! You were there the last time I was! I broke a dude’s legs and you were talking to Romy at the time!”

Oh wait, she’s right. I was there that night.

I could remember well: I had just finished a job. Roman had called me to his club for my payment. I guess he knew I wouldn’t lash out in front of all those witnesses when he stiffed me again. I was furious when he handed me less than half of what he had promised. That job had almost gotten me killed, but he viewed that as a failure. He told me he was debating not paying me at all, but knew I’d walk if that was the case.

His smug as smile as he walked away still infuriated me to that day. I wished I had punched him right in his stupid fucking face, made a scene in his club and announced to the world that Roman Sionis had hired a killer to take down the people he didn’t like. I’d go to prison if it meant Roman went with me.

“Man, you were angry,” Harley said, leaning her arms against the chair and resting her head in one of her hands. “What were ya talking about? Did a hit go wrong or something?”

“Nearly,” I responded, looking away from Harley so she wouldn’t see my anger again. “Listen, I gave you five minutes and they’re almost up, so maybe you should - ”

“He stiffed ya, didn’t he?” Harley cut me off. “I bet he does that a lot. He doesn’t exactly treat his female employees all that nicely. You heard the stories from that singer he has? The Canary? I can’t believe she quit working for him and made it out alive.”

She almost hadn’t. I had to save her ass from Roman that night. It was the night I almost walked out, too. The first time, anyways.

“He’s a misogynistic prick,” Harley hissed. “Thinks women are objects that should be beneath him. I don’t know why you let him treat you like dirt when you do all the dirty work for him. You should be the one stiffin’ him for cash!”

“It doesn’t work like that,” I told her. “Being the killer for hire for Roman Sionis, he has too much dirt on me. If I tried to leave, or if I did anything he didn’t like, he could ruin my life in a second. I’m stuck with him until I can know for sure that I’m safe.”

“How do you know you wouldn’t be safe with me?”

I scoffed at her question. “You’re wanted by everybody - every villain, every hero, and every regular pedestrian. You don’t have the Joker to protect you right now. You’re a walking target, being with you is the unsafest place to be.”

“Safer than with Roman Sionis,” she said. “Sure, I can’t pay you top dollar for killin’, but I like to get my hands bloody myself. I ain’t here for this hitman/hitwoman shit. You and I, we could do some serious damage together.”

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like her proposal. Even if it would land me in a world of danger, working with Harley Quinn was a lot better than having to work for Roman Sionis anymore.

“The two of us alone, no matter how powerful or how...psychotic, are not enough to go up against Roman,” I told her.

Harley smiled brightly, knowing that what I was saying was technically an acceptance to her invitation. “Way ahead of you sister! I’ve already recruited Romy’s ex-Canary, and that legendary Crossbow Killer. We’re puttin’ together our own little girl gang.”

I raised an eyebrow at her. “Sounds like you were prepared for this.”

“Let’s just say, you’re not the first person Romy has sent after me.”

I had a feeling there was a reason Roman didn’t warn me about the first person sent after Harley Quinn.

She approached me and threw an arm over my shoulder, as if we were magically best friends. I looked at her close proximity before looking back up at her smiling face. “I could kill you right now, you know.”

“I know, but you won’t,” she said. “We’re best friends now, and we’re gonna take down Roman Sionis together.”

I couldn’t help but smile at her as she said this.

[miraculous-trinity-leo]

Whacky Gotham, Goofy New York, and Chaotic Paris.

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6) (Part 7) (Part 8)

Chapter 6: Evade The Bats, and Beat The Crows

•—–—–·†·–—–—•

The girls are in the old living room setting up clues (that are absolutely... useless) around Gotham. One being a picture Harley and Multimouse took earlier that day.

"They might think to look here after they realize the clues are fake." - Steph

"Then where else would they not think to look?" - Maria

"W.E, I can get you and Harley in without them knowing easily." - Barbara said with a confident smile.

"But they'll have to go incognito... especially you Harley, no offense, but your outfit stands out just a tad." - Steph

"Ehhh, none taken, I'm sure I can tink of somthin' else tuh wear." - Harley

"I can help with that, but I'll need some clothes and some sewing supplies." - Maria said already thinking of what she could make.

Cass gave a nod and headed out of the room, after a few minutes she came back with t-shirts, jackets, sweaters, shorts, jeans, etc. and droped the pile of clothes infront of the group. She then handed Maria a sewing set she got from Alfred.

"Thanks Cass. I'll get to work on making our costumes." - Maria

"Let me help yuh wit' dat hun." - Harley said as she picked up most of the clothes for Maria

"Thanks." Maria

•—–·Let's see the Chaos shall we·–—•

"You never told us she could use magic!" - Red Hood looking under the table

"I wonder if she can infuse magic with coffee..." - Red Robin said looking in the cabinets for the third time.

"Stop looking for coffee!" - Red Hood

"She could've hidden in here." - Red Robin said while crabbing a mug

"I haven't had enough sleep to deal with this." - Selina then walked over and flopped herself on the couch and proceeded to fall asleep on impact.

"Maria get your tiny self back here right now or else!" - Tony

"Or else what? She Knows MAGIC! What else does she know that you haven't told us?!" - Red Hood

"... I never told you becuase it's meant to be a secret!" - Tony

"Oh, so now you agree with keeping things a secret?" - Red Robin grabbing the coffee

"What else can she do Tony." - Batman

"Well... she's great with tech, can kick butt in a LOT of different ways, has magic, and if she wants to, she can find and know where everyone or anyone is, but I think she gets massive headaches from a wide search like that." - Tony

"Anything else?" - Batman

(Tony thinkng of all the tiny gods she has in jewelery, and that she keeps Paris/friends and family safe on a daily basis, and that she is the well known designer MDC...)"No..." - Tony

As ivy was listening to them talk, she continued to search her garden, until one of her plants had a message fo her.

"Hello Ms. Ivy, please don't help Batman and Iron Man find us, we promise we'll be careful." - Maria

"Where are you?" - Ivy asked whispering into the plant.

After a few minutes Ivy got a detailed plan that Maria, Harley and the girls came up with to evade The IronBat group (Maria thought that would be better than ManMan group 'But it's Bat MAN and Iron MAN, so it has tuh be The ManMan group.' was Harleys defence, but Maria won that one.) and Ivy agreed to help as best she could.

•—–· Over to the Miraculous gang ·–—•

Plagg is cackling like there's no tomorrow.

"Guys something must be wrong, Plagg won't stop cackling, he won't even touch the cheese I gave him!!!" - Adrien

"There's no time for that, we need to find out where the hell Maria is!!" - Chloé

"Hahahaha, Ti- heheh Tikk- pffhaaaaaaahaha!!!" - Plagg

"He's trying to form words!" Adrien cradling Plagg in his hands "What is it my friend? Don't do this, you're to young...*sniff * you're to beautiful!"

"Hehehehe Shhhh- hahaha, she- she- haha...heheh- I'm so p-hehe-Proud wahahaha " - Plagg

"Proud?! She?! Where?! Who, is it Maria?!" - Chloé

"Hhhhhhhhahhaaaaaaaaaa" - Plagg

"Oh God he's wheezing!" - Adrien

"Hey guys, Peter and I got the snacks, found out where Maria might- oh kwami." - Alix walking into the room to a zombie looking Chloé, a panicked Adrien and the Kwami of death/bad luck/chaos laughing himself to death.

"Has he finally lost it?" - Peter

"She has become a true cat! hahahahahaaaaa heheheheeeeeee." - Plagg

Everyone in the room but Plagg "Oh fu-"

•—–· Over to the Batfam ·–—•

So everyone is panicking because for the past hour none of them could find Multimouse. Robin is sitting on the couch next to a now fully awake Selina, Red Hood and Nightwing are once again feeding each other the worst possible situation she could be in, Tony may or may not be hyperventilating, Red Robin is drinking coffee, and Batman is as stoic as ever... well on the outside anyway, on the inside, it's a warzone. Ivy is drinking her tea, slightly worried, but also hiding a small smile.

"What if we ask Oracle to try and help us find her?" - Red Robin

"... Right... Yes, ok let's do that... Bats you do it, I need to sit down." - Tony

•—–· Back to the girls ·–—•

The girls moved everything to the Bat-cave so they could set the route they would take, then the Bat-Computer started ringing.

"Hide!" - Steph

"Where, dere's nuttin' tuh hide behind!" - Harley

"Quick under the Bat-Computer." - Barbara

As soon as Harley and Maria hid under the Bat-Computer, Batman and the rest of the Batfam was on video call.

"Hey guys, what do you need?" - Barbara acting like nothing happened

"We need you to search for Maria, she's in a dark gray suit with pink accents, and she's with Harley." - Batman

"Ok, no prob, I'll contact you when I've found something." - and with that Barbara exited the call.

"Should we start heading out?" - Maria

"Yup, and here are your ID badges, don't lose them. I'll give our Batfam fake sightings, and lead them far away, then once you reach W.E I'll slowly start leading them closer to you." - Barbara

"Thanks, keep in touch if they decide to split up." - Maria

"Roger that." - Steph said giving a solute

•—–·–—•

Soon Multimouse and Harley are running over roof tops again, doing tricks, and stopping petty crimes, Barbara is leading the Batfam all over Gotham, and then they got to W.E, after Maria transformed back, they entered the building. Thanks to Babs, they entered without any problems and had free roam for the entire building, with some exceptions like new weapons designs, or the roof. They were hiding in the building for about an hour on the 7th floor when Barbara called in.

"Hey girls, you might want to be careful, I spotted some of Scarecrows goons a few blocks away, they seem to be heading in your direction, I'd say about 6mins tops until they reach W.E. Best to find a good room to stay in, or get out of there." - Barbara

"Thanks fawh de heads up Babs." - Harley

"Ok, we'll try to get out, let us know if we should turn back or not." - Maria

"Got it, and be careful." - Barbara

Maria and Harley then made their way back down, they were taking the stairs, because they figured it would be quicker, once they were on the second floor, they started to calmly make their way through the doors of the stairwell. That's when Scarecrows goons busted in, shouting for everyone to get down, Harley made sure to stay as close to Maria as possible as the goons gathered everyone to a wall. They were told to not move, talk, or do anything to anger them, once everyone was up against the wall, that's when Scarecrow came in. As he entered the room some of the employees started to look very scared, when Maria looked over to Harley, she saw her mouth 'it's ok', afterwards the goons had them all tied up and on the floor sitting down. Scarecrow scanned them before speaking.

"One of you will be testing my newest and most potent fear toxin as of yet. We can do this one out of two ways." He said lifting up two of his needle syringed fingers. "1. You can be a hero, and let yourself be my newest test subject, aka the boring way or 2. I pick whoever I want, aka the slightly less boring way. Now, who wants to go first?"

•—–· Over to Batman ·–—•

The Batfam was running around the other side of Gotham, now without Tony, because someone ( ehem Thor, ehem) was making a giant mess at Avengers Tower, and was fighting Loki... again. It was when they decided to call Oracle that things took another turn.

"Oracle have you foun- " - Batman

"They're at W.E. and Scarecrows there, I can't get in contact with them, and I can't get into the cameras at the moment, I need you to get your butts over there now!" - Oracle

"Wait you were in contact with them?!" - Red Hood

"Not the time! Just get over there before someone gets hurt!" - Oracle

"We're on our way." - Batman

They all then kicked it into high gear and were running to W.E, and out of everyone, Damian seemed to be the most visibly panicked, if him running twice as fast as everyone was any indication. At the speed they were going, they would be there in 20mins or less... hopefully.

•—–· Back to Maria and Harley ·–—•

So while Scarecrow was giving his little speech, Maria whispered into a plant to let Ivy know their situation, she wasn't able to get an answer before she and Harley were pulled away from the crowd.

"And what do we have here? Harley Quinn and a child. How interesting, well then, which one of you would like to test my new fear toxin?" - Scarecrow

"Eh, do me, I bet I got a lot o' trauma and fears from my time wit' Mistuh J. dat yuh would just love tuh see." - Harley

"... As tempting as that sounds I think I'll test it on your little friend here, after all, I know better than to mess with one of the Sirens." - As Scarecrow said that, one of the goons dragged Maria over to him. She didn't panic, she was actually really calm, which worried Harley even more because, remember all that emotional trauma she saw Maria had? Yeah, not the best match for the fear toxin.

As Scarecrow grabbed Maria, she locked eyes with Harley, and gave a brief smile before she felt a sharp jabbing pain in the side of her neck. Her vision went hazy, and from Harleys' point of view, she went a little limp from it.

As Maria started to see again she could hear screams, car alarms going off, and explosion in the distance, when she looked up, she saw them, her friends, her team... her family, they were all there lying infront of her... none of them moving, all of them were lifeless, looking as though turned into a gray husk of what they once were, and beside them were all the Kwamis, and their respective Jewelery, broken and shattered. She felt the tears fall as she looked around. Paris, the once beautiful city of lights, was now a wasteland, everything had a gray tone to it, people, animals, everything that had life... was dead.

And then she heard laughing, a sick disturbing laugh that was all to familiar... Lila. When she turned and saw Vulpina, she felt sick just looking at her.

"You have failed Maria, everyone you knew and loved is gone, all because you weren't here." - Lila

All she felt in that moment... was pure anger, she began to struggle, but somthing was holding her. She kept hearing that stupid laugh, and kept struggling harder and harder.

"You were never good enough, you were meant to always be our everyday Ladybug, but you never were, you never cared for us, and that's why, they're all gone, because you weren't good enough." - Lila

The last four words kept playing over and over in her head, until something clicked, she wasn't in Paris, so how did she get there? The last place she was at... was with Harley, she was in the W.E. building, and had fear toxin injected into her. As she came to that realization, she could hear the laughing fade just a bit, she closed her eyes and focused on finding everyone's souls, when she did, she saw that Scarecrow was right infront of her, a goon next to Harley, and a goon behind her, the other goons had left and were on the first floor. She snapped back when she heard Lilas' voice again.

"You always were stubborn and never accepted the real truth, as class president aren't you supposed to just roll over and do as you're told." - Lila

Maria was done listening to her, and decided to kick Lila in the face (since someone didn't think to tie up her ankles.)

"Just go rott in hell already you lieing fox!" - Maria

Maria didn't get any answer, all she knew was that she hit whatever was really infront of her hard. Maria then heard Lilas' voice morph into a heavier, more distorted voice.

"That's a first, guess I'll have to increase the dosage." - Scarecrow

She then felt another jabbing pain in her neck, all she could do was scream from the pain, her head was spinning, and all she could hear was laughing, sickening laughter that came from both Lila, and now Hawkmoth. One thing Scarecrow didn't account for, was the deep hatred Maria held for both individuals he made her see. Because soon after he gave her more fear toxin she got her footing, pushing back into the goon behind her before using the goons' grib on her to do a half backflip into kicking the guys face in, quickly knocking the goon out, when she stood back up she only saw Hawkmoth, surrounded by her lifeless team and family, she only saw red, and charge right at him. She kept punching and roundhouse kicking him, giving one final charge, ramming into Hawkmoth before she felt weightless. She never heard the panicked scream Harley let out, she never heard the shouts that came from the Batfam just reaching the second floor, before she hit something... something rapped around her holding her from falling any further, causing her to start thrashing around thinking it was Hawkmoth, before seeing he was also grabbed by something. She struggled ignoring the slight pain that went through her harms and legs. She slowly calmed down as she felt her feet touch the ground again, she then saw another Hawkmoth that was now mixed with Lila hug her, she tried to break free, but realized that it wasn't Lila or Hawkmoth... It was calming, and her voice was gentle, it was Ivy. She only heard a few words, that's when she felt something blow on her face, and after a few seconds, she lost conscientiousness.

Harley came sprinting down and was by Ivys' side in less than a minute. Ivy could tell Harley was worried and joined her in hugging a now sleeping Maria.

"I'm sawhry Ives, It all just happened so fast, and she was so awesome at kickin' Cranes @ss, I din't get her out of dere quick enough." - Harley said as she looked Ivy in the eyes, with tears threatening to escape.

"It's alright Harley, none of this is your fault." - Ivy replied comfortingly to Harley

As the two hugged Maria Batman came over.

"We'll take it from here." - Batman

"Hell no. We ain't leavin' her side." - Harley

Batman just let out a sigh, after he dealt with Scarecrow and his goons, Batman, along with his sons, Ivy and Harley, all headed back to the Bat-cave where the other girls and Alfred were waiting.

If anyone noticed Robin looking over to Maria with a concerned look, they just ignored it, and continued their way back home.

•—–·†·–—•

Chapter 6 complete! Hope you'll liked it, and are havin' a fantabulous day, stay safe and rock all those positive vibes. !BUG-OUT! 🐞💮🐞

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[thejollyroger-writer]

writers month - day 2

word: chance | setting: dancer AU 2

To him, this was the best part of the performance, hands down. Since the first time he watched her take the stage, his finger poised above the scene to figure out timing for the lights, he has been enthralled by her, the fluid movements and perfect spins. Two weeks ago, grumbling, he entered the building, the only light tech available to help with the rehearsals and performances of the visiting ballet. Two weeks ago, he brought his laptop and was planning to work on things he deemed “important” at the time — certainly more important than the work he was here to do. Two weeks ago, the only pictures he had in his head when he heard the word “ballet” was from when his little sister took lessons and he had to sit through them with his mom. But this? This is ballet like he has never seen it before. Tonight is their first performance, which brings about a wave of adrenaline of its own — but seeing her take the stage, this time in front of a full audience, literally pulls the air from his lungs. Thankfully, the part of his brain that remembers when to change the lighting scene does not seem to be connected to the piece of his heart that stopped beating when the lights came up around her. He has seen her perform this piece before, but always in rehearsal; tonight, it is beautiful in ways he cannot explain, his heart — his whole body — feeling lighter as he watches her move gracefully across the worn black boards of the stage. He hums along with the soft sound of the piano flowing through the auditorium’s speakers, a lighthearted cover of a popular song that he has heard dozens of times over the last two weeks (Scene 3 change), his eyes fixed on her as she slides, jumps, glides. He finds himself completely enthralled by her, able to simply watch for a while before the next scene. He is thankful for the few moments he has seen her without the whole auditorium between them, earlier that day as he held the door to the performers’ entrance. Even then, he was taken aback by her beauty, her dark hair already pulled high into a perfect bun, but otherwise nothing like the perfectly put-together dancer on the stage — jeans and a worn Harley Davidson t-shirt in place of her leotard and tutu that he was used to seeing. “Thank you,” she said, already sounding breathless, most likely due to the intense humidity that made the air around hard to move through. “Of course,” he hummed, thankful for the burst of cold air that came from the venue. “You’re out sound tech, right?” she asked, traces of an accent that he can’t quite place floating around the edges of her words. He almost just agreed, his heart pounding at the idea of just speaking with her, until he realized her mistake. “Lights, actually, but… yeah.” “Thank you for your help with our show,” she said, her perfectly-manicured hand resting on his forearm for just a moment. “We appreciate you, truly.” Even as she disappeared through the double swinging doors, he found himself rooted on the spot, staring down at his arm, swearing at himself for being so affected by her. Remembering that moment, he looks down at the same spot on his arm, pointer finger still resting lightly on the SCENE CHANGE button, and lets out a breath. Good God, he needs to talk to her. Before its too late.