#I had a conversation with a jumping spider and it followed my instructions to the letter

[rootandrock]

Have you ever... done a thing with witchy intent that goes in such a specific, precise, predictable, laser-accurate, "Holy shit that actually happened" way that you get the existentials?

[fxllfaiiry]

─ you're the sunflower ੈ✩‧₊˚

✶ pairing: miguel o'hara x fem!reader

✶ synopsis: everyone on the team loves you, expect miguel who seems to hate you more than anyone.

✶ warnings: angst!! major angst. sunshine!reader x grumpy!miguel. reader is nicknamed sunflower, mentions of death.

✶ notes: there's one spanish sentence in this, I'm not good with spanish so if I've made a mistake please tell me so i can fix it! part two is already up!!!

Everyone on the team loved you from the moment you joined, everyone, except Miguel. 

You knew Miguel was cold towards everyone, but he was extra cold with you. Maybe it was because of how different your personalities were. 

You were the embodiment of sunshine, always positive in any situation, putting others before yourself. Hence why everyone calls you sunflower, it fits perfectly, Miles was proud of coming up with it. 

Miguel on the other hand was cold and distant but that didn't stop you from trying to get him to open up. You'd try to have simple conversations with him but nothing, all you would receive in reply was an eye roll or a slight grunt, but you wouldn't give up that easily. 

Like today, you got him some coffee. 

"Morning, boss. Got you some coffee." You said in your usual cheerful tone. 

"Why?" He raised his eyebrows, looking down at you suspiciously. That's the most he's said to you all week. 

"Because I wanted to." You shrugged, placing it down on his desk. 

He steped down walking towards his desk, you couldn't help but stare at him, unfortunately for you, everything about him was so attractive, it's such a shame he hated you. 

"This isn't how I like my coffee." 

"Huh?" You snapped out of your daydream at the sound of his voice. 

"The coffee, it tastes terrible. Get it from another place next time." 

"Well, actually I made it-" But he had already walked away from you not listening to a word you said. "Alright, never mind, I'll just go back to work." You mumbled hurt by his words. 

"Wait, hold on." You looked up, thinking, maybe he'll say something nice after all. 

"Yeah?" 

"Take the coffee with you, I won't be drinking it." 

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

"Girl, why do you look so sad? Did Miguel do something again?" Jess asked with a frown, she did not like seeing you sad. 

"No."

"Sunflower…"

"Okay, yes." Miguel being cold towards you was normal, he never spoke to you unless necessary. Out of everyone here, he probably hated you the most, even more than Miles.  

"Sunflower, I've told you to stop trying." Jess sighed. 

"I know, I know… why does he hate me so much, Jess?" 

"That's just the way he is, don't overthink it. It's his loss, baby." She replied, gently patting your shoulder. 

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

Today was going to be a good day, you were so sure of it. 

But, of course, you were wrong. 

Everything was going great up until a few hours ago. 

Miguel had assigned you on a mission to catch an anomaly, alongside a few other spider-people. His instructions were clear, stick to the plan and catch the anomaly. It was supposed to be simple. 

If only you didn't disobey him. You screwed up badly, and because of that, you could have been killed. 

"Why don't you ever listen?" Miguel shouted. No one had ever seen him this angry. 

"I was just tryin-" 

"¡Ay, por el amor de Dios!" Being yelled at by your boss in front of your coworkers was humiliating, everyone was looking at you with pity. 

"I'm sick of this, why can’t you follow simple instructions? Is it that hard to understand?" He barked, towering over you. 

"It's not a big deal." You tried to keep your composure, you didn't want to humiliate yourself further by bursting into tears. 

"Not a big deal? You could've died! A simple mistake would have ruined the whole mission." 

Don't cry. Don't cry. 

"But we're all fine, aren't we?" You weakly chuckled. That was the wrong thing to say because it only made him angrier. 

"Oh? If that's the attitude you have then you shouldn't even be on the team." Ouch. 

"Miguel, I think that's enough-" Hobie said, quickly jumping in. 

"Not now, Hobie." He growled. 

Never once did you think that you'd be in a situation like this. 

"If you put more focus on trying to be good at your job, rather than impressing me, we wouldn't even be here!" Oh, so he did notice that. 

At this point, tears were streaming freely down your face and you made no attempt to stop them. 

"Yep, you got it, boss." You smiled up at him through your tears. It was pathetic, but you did not care, you just wanted to leave and never come back. 

"Next time make sure this doesn't happen." 

"It won't happen next time." That's because there won't be a next time.

[brick-a-doodle-do]

Hiya! Possible fake title ideas(do whichever ones work for you) :

swing and a miss

Wax and bone

Fall of the century

hope any of these strike up ideas! Love your content btw and remember to rest! :)

hello!! sorry for my late reply 🙃

swing and a miss

tommy is lucky enough that when he accidentally placing his foot wrong and sends himself plummeting down a ravine, the fall is cut short as he collides with a small platform-like piece of stone sticking out from the side of the cliff. his fall was even luckier when he avoided all broken bones and surprisingly was able to walk off the pain in his back. the only thing that lingered was his headache that he knew would only grow stronger until he'd probably die of a brain injury, stranded on this mini-cliff without anything on him. suddenly, tommy is being spoken to. "do you need help?" he looks around, then up, then he hears it and is able to locate it to behind him. there, he quickly spots a small humanoid crouched in a small hole that was eye level to him.

they talk for a bit before, who he recently learned is dream and is a species of "borrower", the offer is being tossed out there again: "can i help you?" (shh dialogue isn't my strong suit it'll definitely be edited if i ever write this) to this tommy nods. dream also nods and disappeared down the tiny hall. moments later he returns with a mountain of what he recognizes as twine, vines, and string from a spider. he questions the borrower, to which dream explains that if he's able to use these materials to cross thing, if he knots and twists them together, it'll make a makeshift rope for him to get out with. dream only asks that tommy takes him with, because despite dream's efforts, he is also stuck down here most of the time and when he is aboveground, he finds he can't survives. tommy agrees and the two fall into conversation that lasts hours long while dream carefully makes his human-sized rope.

when it is finished, tommy is instructed to listen to dream's guidance. he tells tommy where the perfect spots to throw it are, where to put his feet, and how to continue up after that. so, with that in mind, tommy starts his attempts of tossing. there are many missed ones, where the stone hook dream had somehow a managed to make simply fell and slammed into the cliff with a clang that echoed around the ravine.

he gets it after what feels like the tenth attempt and is given praise from the borrower. tommy, following through with his deal, takes dream and sets him gently in his pocket. now, all that remained was...actually jumping.

he sums up the courage eventually and steps off with a running start, feeling the wind whip through his hair until he does exactly as dream told him. he crashes into the stone with his knees then tries to put his feet up onto the area he needed to but he slipped and fell further down the ravine. now he was clueless. he had a plan in his mind and now it was back to square one, waiting for dream's help. the borrower peaks out, questioning his panic until he realizes that tommy's hanging on for dear fucking life and is dire need of help.

in the end dream climbs from tommy's pocket and leaps to the stone, climbing surprisingly well. it's clear dream's done this before. dream guides him through survival and tells him that he's gone off course and probably can't save himself from here, especially not when his arms are growing so weak and his hands definitely have rope burn. so, dream tells him to jump. surprised and not about to do that, he questions dream yet again. the borrower tells him that there's a waterfall down at the bottom of the ravine that leads to a large pool of water. if he can manage to get into the flow of the waterfall and fall into the water, it'd hurt like hell but he might be able to get it. tommy thinks about it and agrees.

tommy takes dream in his hand and pushes himself off of the cliff so he can fall, eyes panicking as he looks for the waterfall. he spots it and tries his hardest to get himself there. in the meantime, dream realizes that tommy is able to survive this with some broken bones, but dream can't. so he pleads for the boy to store him before they reach the water. tommy does, and it's so last minute that dream was certain that that was the end for him.

I'M GOING TO STOP MYSELF RIGHT HERE BEFORE I MAKE THIS ANY LONGER LMFAO IM SO SORRY FOR THAT LONG RESPONSE 😭😭

wax and bone

dream...collects. he has bookshelves stocked with different figurines and plushies, all things of that sort that he finds interesting.

george absolutely loves this little hobby of dream's because it's easy to borrow when there's figurines not much taller than him planted around the house. he can watch dream without worrying about being caught, he can freeze up and act as a figure in the rare occasion where he's looked at. and plus, if he freezes up and acts as a doll somewhere around the house, dream has so many dolls and figures that how could he possibly keep count? he'd just consider it an old find and discard him somewhere else. it was perfect.

in his years of collecting, dream has grown a bit paranoid.

his brain has rewired itself to make him believe his collection is moving when he isn't looking. he swears on his life that they move out of the corner of his eye, sometimes even when he's staring at them.

especially the human-like doll with poor clothes on. he doesn't know where its from but he keep showing up in various positions, and he keeps telling himself he's being an idiot and actually paranoid, but the more he thinks about it, the more he realizes that he's never bought that thing in his life. and he knows it's moving. so, as anyone would do, he sets cameras up.

i had a different idea that involved dream lighting george on fire cause he thought george was a candle but uh i think this one's better....

fall of the century

techno never failed. he never did. he was amazing at what he did, and he was always crowned winner. as a shifter, he's found that fighting is easy. he can duck out of the way by shrinking and overpower someone by growing. call him a cheater, but he prefers to look at it like he's adapting (whoops stole that from tua). so when his reaction time went haywire and he grew instead of shrunk right when a real blade was coming his way, and the knife sliced his cheek and he stumbled down onto the ground, staring up in appall, and for the first time ever, their coached yelled his opponents name instead of his, he couldn't help but go home at a freakishly low height because for some reasons emotions were coming to him and he couldn't gather enough positivity to return to his normal height.

sorry that one is shorttt

[allthatyoulove]

The Perfect Spot

Fred Weasley / Reader

Summary: You get to stay an extra night at Hogwarts with no supervision. So what do you do? Play hide and seek, of course!

Includes: underage drinking, cussing, fluff, making out

Words: 3.8k

A/N: I’m thinking of doing a part two to this, let me know if that’s something you guys would like! Hope you enjoy the story! Feel free to leave any feedback and please let me know of any warnings or errors I missed! Thanks for stopping by :)

---

Tonight’s the night.

All of the professors and staff of Hogwarts have gone to some motel in Hogsmeade, leaving the 5th through 7th years in the school by themselves for the night. It’s tradition for the 5th-7th years to stay the night in the school without supervision after school ends for the summer.

It’s a new tradition, so we were going to make the most of it before some kids ruin the school and it gets disbanded.

Fred and George snuck in a bunch of alcohol, spreading it around the group and trying to keep it lowkey so none of the other kids snitched or, even worse, wanted us to share.

We were all in the corner of the long corridor that the students decided to sleep in for the night. It was exactly like the dining hall, but there were no tables or stage. The windows were the only source of light as the sun began to set. We weren’t sure what time it was, only being able to go off of the moon from inside the corridor, but either way, most of the group was already plastered.

We were sitting in a circle, in the farthest corner of the room, in this order from right to left: Harry, Ron, Hermione, Me, Fred, George, and Ginny. We each had our own pillows behind us, intending for us to all sleep with our feet in the middle and in this circle formation we had created. There was one huge blanket in the middle covering all of us that George had engorgio-d so no one would fight over it.

We were lightly drinking the bottles the twins had brought at the beginning of the night, then Ginny said she had an idea but we all had to be drunk for it to be fun. So we picked up the pace, and now almost everyone was hysterical. Harry and Ron were extremely smiley, laughing at almost everything. Hermione was almost in tears, telling everyone how much she loved and appreciated them. The twins were making jokes, making everyone piss their pants over what they were saying. Ginny was being the loudest, trying to playfully argue with everyone through her laughter. Everyone was feeding off of each other's energy, which made a circle of laughing and whisper-yelling.

“-and then 50 bloody spiders the size of Hagrid started chasing after us!” Ron finished.

“Ron there were like 3 spiders, mate” Harry said, bursting out into laughter. The rest of the group clutched their stomachs in laughter while Ron’s face turned red, soon laughing along with us.

Tears started to leave my eyes from how hard I was laughing at Ron’s attempt to sound brave in front of Hermione. We all knew he was deathly afraid of spiders, so it made it all the more funny.

I was coming down from how hard I was laughing, wiping my eyes when I felt a hand brush the side of my thigh. I looked to my left, at Fred, to see his eyes on George, who was making a comment to Ron about him being a coward. The knuckles of his hand were brushing the outside of my thigh underneath the blanket.

My entire body heated up, the voices of the people around me being tuned out as I focused on his touch.

I have had a crush on Fred since I first came to hogwarts, but in the past year he has flirted with me more than ever before, touching me whenever he gets the chance whether its his knee against mine when we sit next to each other or putting his arm around me while walking through the campus. I’ve noticed it, but didn’t want to get my hopes up or read the situation wrong and make it weird between us.

But with his hand going from brushing my thigh to resting his hand on it, I don’t think it could be read wrong. His hand sat on top of my thigh, with his fingers resting on the inside, lightly moving it back and forth.

He continued to pay attention to the rest of the group, who were engaged heavily in another conversation, darting his gaze to different people and even adding in some things himself. My eyes followed whoever was talking as well, but I couldn’t hear anything they were saying. I was too focused on the way Fred’s hand slowly got closer and closer to the apex of my thighs.

“Okay, listen up you lot. I think we’ve had enough to drink, which means it’s time to share my master plan.”

My eyes shot to Ginny, being snapped out of my trance at the sound of her yelling over the laughter.

The rest of the group followed, immediately snapping out of their laughter to listen and leaning in as if she was going to tell us a secret.

“I was thinking, what if we played…”

She waited a second, as if a drumroll was playing in the background to announce her idea.

“Hide and seek.”

The entire group gasped in shock, frantically looking around at each other and agreeing with how good of an idea it is. Ginny looked proud, nodding her head in confidence as everyone got excited.

“Should we have everyone else play? I think the more people, the better.” Harry said, looking around the group for their opinions.

“Yeah I think if we had a small group of seekers and the res’ were hiders, that’d be better. We could split it evenly so we switch after all the hider’s hv’been found.” I said, getting an adrenaline boost at how fun it was going to be. There were 429 students in the 5th-7th years, but most of them weren’t convinced to stay another day after school had gotten out. So, there were about 150 students in the hall right now that would be playing. It was going to be a good game.

Everyone nodded and agreed in confirmation to what I said, and Ginny got up to yell out the directions and rules to everyone else in the hall.

We all got up, trying to gain our balance after drinking on the floor for so long and giggling when Ron almost pulled George down with him after he started to fall over. We brushed off our pajamas, hiding the bottles underneath the blanket while Ginny was giving her speech.

“Alright I think everyone’s got it. You guys can pick which team you’re on, I think they’re already splitting themselves into groups over there.” Ginny said, coming back to the group as the rest of the corridor broke out into loud conversation. George was the first to speak up.

“I’ll be a seeker with Harry and Ron. You all can be the hiders because you lot can’t even see straight”

Hermione giggled, clutching onto Ginny to stay balanced as Ginny spoke up, pointing at George.

“You’re on, Georgie. I may not be able to see straight, but…”

We waited for her to finish, as she stood there with her finger pointed at him. It was quiet in the group for a couple of seconds before everyone burst into another fit of laughter.

“Let’s just get the game started” Ginny said, turning red and turning around slowly so she didn’t fall over.

We started walking out of the corridor, following the rest of the large group of students that were headed that way as well. Everyone had grabbed their wands to use as light in finding our way around the huge castle.

Fred caught up to me, grabbing my elbow that was holding my wand to get my attention. He leaned down and whispered in my ear, careful to hide what he was saying from the others.

“Have any ideas on where to hide?”

His breath on my ear made me feel fuzzy inside, whether that was magnified by the alcohol or not, and I smiled up at him, knowing that I looked absolutely plastered.

“No clue. What’re you thinking Freddie?”

He smiled his mischievous smile and pointed with his head towards the doors we were about to walk through, leading to the hallway.

“I’ve got the perfect spot. I’ll show you.” He said, rather seductively.

My stomach fluttered as I smiled down at my feet. He rested his hand at the small of my back as we walked through the huge doors together, shuffling into the hallway with the group of kids. They were making a huge half-circle around what we could now see was Ginny, the hallway being lit up by the lanterns hanging on the wall.

“Anything outside of the castle is off limits. No Forbidden Forest or going out to Hagrid’s hut, because no one will find you and the castle is plenty big for everyone to hide. No magic cloaks or spells to see any footprints. The seekers will give you 5 minutes to find a hiding place, so make it good.”

Everyone was quiet, listening to Ginny give surprisingly good and clear instructions with how drunk she seemed to be 2 minutes ago. She was a good leader.

“Those are the only rules. So, let’s do this!”

Everyone gave a quick cheer combined with claps and talk of where they were going to hide. Some kids started to run away right away, squealing in excitement and rushing to get to their hiding places.

Fred, Ginny, Hermione, and I joined with the rest of the group while we waited for the other hiders to clear out.

“You are going down, mr. chosen one!” Ginny yelled at Harry, linking her arms with Hermione and walking off towards the stairs.

Harry blushed a little and laughed, turning in towards Ron and George, who looked like they were already coming up with a plan for attack.

Fred and I looked to each other, smirking. The alcohol definitely did nothing but amplify my attraction towards him. Seeing him in the dim light with his hair slightly ruffled, in a black shirt and plaid pajama pants while I’m drunk was definitely… sinking in. He towered over me and had his arms crossed over his chest, looking down at me with a smirk. If I’m being honest, one word from this man and I would jump into his arms. I had all night to gawk at him, and the low conversation from the people behind us reminded me that the timer was going down and we already spent a good minute just staring at each other.

“So where’s this place you had in mind, Weasley?”

“I thought you’d never ask” he said, grabbing my hand and turning to go down the hall opposite Ginny and Hermione.

We walked until the first turn, turning left and going down another long hallway before coming before a staircase.

“Just up here” He said, guiding me up the flights of stairs.

He broke into a light jog up the stairs and I struggled to keep up, trying to keep my balance. He had taken the same amount of shots I did, but he was also a giant so I’m sure it had less of an effect on him.

We reached the top of the stairs, and Fred looked all around him at the three different hallways in search of something.

“Y’know where you’re going, Fred?”

“Yeah, of course, umm….”

He looked around once more before settling on the hallway to his left, which looked like a last minute decision.

“It’s this way, trust me” He pulled my arm forward so I was now in front of him, wrapping his arm across my back and settling his hand on my waist, using his hand to hold me in place in front of him. I kept walking until he turned me, stopping us in front of a door.

“Go on, open it.”

I reached out and opened the door. It was pitch black inside, and before I could protest against going in, he ushered me inside the small space and closed the door behind us.

“Fred-”

“Lumos.” He whispered. The tip of his wand instantly lit up, brightening up the small room as I looked up at him. He smirked down at me, his gaze wandering over my face.

“Was this your plan all along, Weasley? Get me alone in a dark room?” I flirted, smirking at him as I stood on my tippy toes to look at him closer.

He faked a shocked gasp, “How’d you know, you little minx?”

I smiled at him as I settled back down on my feet, starting to fall back a bit before Fred’s hand instantly shot out to grab me and hold me in place. I didn’t register it in time, instead looking around the space we were in.

The light that Fred’s wand was supplying was rather dim, but perfect for showing the contents of the room.

Filch’s office.

There were a few dressers pressed against the wall, with a desk and chair in the middle. There were small artifacts around the room, but nothing that caught my eye. I gazed over the room, but it was all just a blurry mess to me. I turned back around to Fred, seeing that his eyes never wandered from me. I smiled up at him, looking at his lips and just waiting.

“You’re so beautiful” He said, cupping my cheek with his hand that wasn’t holding his wand.

“Not so bad yourself, Freddie” I said, leaning in.

He smiled at me, meeting me in the middle and pressing his lips to mine. I closed my eyes and leaned as much as I could into the kiss, hearing the faint sound of his back being pressed to the door. I held onto his elbows, deepening the kiss. He leaned his head forward, making me lean back. I stumbled backwards a little, and one hand left my face to wrap around my waist, bringing me in closer to him.

I softly moaned into the kiss, causing him to tighten his hold on me and lift me up completely with the arm around my waist, turning us around so I was against the door. I wrapped my legs around his waist, and both of his hands went to the bottom of my thighs to hold me in place. I heard the faint noise of a student yelling, signalling that they had started to look for everyone now.

Fred pulled away, kissing my neck instead as my hands went to his hair.

“Fred, they’re looking for us now” I said, out of breath, warning him in case he forgot that we were in a game of hide and seek, like I had.

“Mmm” he mumbled into my neck. I could feel him leaving hickeys that I would have to make up an excuse for later. I couldn’t grasp that this was happening, teetering on the line between euphoric and giddy on what I was feeling, what I was doing.

I had waited for this for so long, I couldn’t do anything but feed off his adrenaline and excitement in this moment and meet it with my same feelings.

He picked me up and pulled me away from the door, lifting his head to give me a quick peck on the lips before we were moving. My arms wrapped around his head right away, feeling the room spinning from how drunk and turned on I was right now.

His hand shot to rest across my back, resting on my shoulder as he walked over to the desk in the middle of the room. He sat me down on it, standing in between my legs. It was completely dark in the room again, Fred’s wand being the only thing turned off during this whole interaction.

He reached over and clicked on the lamp that was on the desk, both him and I turning slightly as our eyes adjusted to the dim light that filled the room. I opened my eyes slightly, turning back towards him as he did the same.

He smiled a big smile at me, nodding as if assuring to himself that this was actually happening.

“Wicked.” He breathed out, still smiling from ear to ear.

I let out a breathy laugh, pulling him in by his neck for another quick peck. He pulled away slightly and rested his forehead on mine, looking at me.

“You’ve no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.”

“Oh don’t be daft Freddie, you’re drunk” I giggled at him.

His expression turned moderately serious right away, scaring me that I had said something wrong or ruined the vibe.

“I’m being serious, you git” He joked, smiling at me and pinching my side.

“Ow- okay, okay! I believe you! It took you long enough to show it” I said, smiling back at him.

“Whaddya mean it took me long enough? I just figured out you liked me 2 minutes ago!”

“Who’s the git now? I’ve liked you ever since I came to this bloody school” I said, leaning up slightly to kiss his cheek and smile at him.

He looked at me incredulously, freezing in place.

“You’ve liked me that long? And never said anything?”

“Well, no… I didn’t want to make anything weird if y’didn’t feel the same way”

“You’re insane” is all he said before grabbing my face and leaning in to kiss me again. I smiled into the kiss and pulled the cord to the lamp again, turning it off.

This kiss was even more heated than the last, both of our hands roaming each other's body. My hands were going from his hair to his face, his going from my face all the way down to my waist, groping and pulling whenever he could. He tasted like cherry and alcohol, and I was getting drunk all over again, this time on him.

He pulled away once again, trailing his kisses from my neck down to my chest, exploring it with his tongue.

All at once, I heard 2 or 3 people’s footsteps running from the stairway down the hallway, towards the direction of the room we were in.

“Fred, fred” I whispered, nudging his shoulder to get his attention.

“Hmm?” He hummed, slowing his actions but continuing to place kisses on my collarbones.

“There's people coming this way” I said, using the hand I had in his hair to lightly tug on it, pulling his face up to meet mine.

He pulled out his wand, aiming it at the door.

“Colloportus” he whispered, making a gesture at it before I heard the lock of the door locking into place softly.

I fake-gasped at him before whispering, “You’re cheating!”

“I’ll make it worth your while, darling” He said, smiling, kissing me before bringing his attention back to my chest.

My hand went into his hair as I gasped out his name, encouraging him.

His hand barely dipped into my pajama pants, messing with the band but never going any further. I was ignoring the footsteps of the people outside at this point, not caring about the game.

“Fred, please” I begged, trying to hint at what I wanted from him.

His fingers dipped just below the fabric when suddenly someone from the outside of the door grabbed at and shook the handle.

“Hey! Someone locked the door!”

I grabbed onto Fred’s shoulders, craning my head to look over at the light underneath the door. He did the same, immediately moving his hands around my waist as if they could burst into the room at any minute. We both sat there looking at the shadow underneath the door as they shook the handle a couple more times before stopping. We froze for a second, waiting for something else to happen before we heard them run off.

He turned to me, and my eyes had started to adjust to the dark enough so I could see him looking at me with his lips swollen and his eyes dazed. His hair was ruffled, and he looked more drunk now than he did before we came into the room at all. He looked beautiful.

We both burst into laughter at the same time, burying our faces into each other's necks. I pulled away, pulling his face up to meet mine and fixing his hair as he looked at me with admiration.

“We better get out of here before someone gets your sister and it gets awkward” I said, looking into his eyes.

He huffed in irritation, dropping his face to my shoulder. We stayed like that for a minute as I ran my hands idly down his back, enjoying his presence. I didn’t want to wait too long, though, and have to walk out with hickeys on my neck to a group of more than 100 students.

He must have read my mind, because he straightened and stood up before backing up a step and holding his hand out to help me down from the desk. I took it, doing a little hop off of the desk as I took a second to regain my balance and brush off my pajamas. I took my wand out, casting “Lumos” to look around and make sure we left everything as we found it.

“You’ve got a little something there” Fred said, pointing at my neck.

I looked at him in confusion, following his eyes to brush my neck before I saw him break into a smile and realized what he meant.

“How am I supposed to explain that, bloke? You better hope it’s dark out there!”

He just laughed as I finished my scanning of the room and came to the conclusion that it looked as we found it.

I scanned Fred really quick, letting out a quick laugh before speaking.

“I think you’ve got a little situation too, Freddie”

He raised an eyebrow and followed my eyes down, before shooting his eyes back up at me and using his hands to cover where I was looking.

“Alright, very funny.” He said, suddenly uncomfortable with the way he was standing.

“Aww it’s okay Fred, it’s totally normal”

He turned red, motioning at the door with his head.

“Yeah, yeah, let’s get out of here”

I laughed and turned towards the door, hearing the sound of him messing with his trousers as soon as my back was to him. I turned off the light at the end of my wand, unlocking and opening the door slightly, peeking out and scanning the hallway. It was still dimly lit, with no one in sight.

I beckoned Fred over with my hand as I slowly snuck out into the hallway. He followed me, softly shutting the door behind me. I stood up straight, looking at him as he scanned the hallway as well.

“I guess we better go get found then, yeah?”

“Let’s do it” I smiled at him as he grabbed my hand, intertwining them. We started down the hall and got to the top of the stairs before Ginny and Hermione came around the corner.

“Ha! Gotcha! Finally, we found you! The whole team of seekers were looking for you guys, you were the last ones!”

I laughed as Fred turned to look at me, our eyes meeting.

“I told you I had the perfect spot”

[guardianofrivendell]

Oh Deer (request)

Legolas x reader

Requested: Yes! @lotr-th-nin-meleth​ asked “Hey! Could I get a Legolas x Reader where the reader is caring for an injured baby deer she found in the forest and she's usually really gruff and cold and keeps to herself? So Legolas gets all soft watching her be soft and she asks him for help or something you can choose and he's just all flustered and it's cute. Thank you xxx”

A/N: I switched it up a bit, hope you don’t mind! I also skipped the ‘old’ Westron Legolas usually speaks, to make it easier for me. Because I can do that.

Warnings: one soft curse word, mentions of blood, Legolas in love (yes, that needs its own warning)

“You are remarkably quiet today,” Legolas said to you after almost half an hour of silence.  You didn’t say anything back, eyes scanning the forest around you. Legolas shook his head. There was just no way to distract you, always focused on the task you’d been given. 

You were part of the Guard of Mirkwood. From the very beginning you had proven to be an exceptionally good fighter. Every mission you were sent on turned out succesful and with no casualties, so it didn’t take long for you to be allowed to go on even more dangerous missions.  Even though you had an impressive record, being an Elleth made it extra hard. It didn’t matter how skilled you were and that you’d showed more than once that you were tougher than most of the other guards, they still belittled you for being female. So when you were on duty, you put on a facade: stern expression, cold stare and not a sound unless you were spoken to. 

Despite your gruff facade, the Prince of Mirkwood had taken a liking to you. Not that you noticed; after all, you were too busy proving your worth.  Legolas made sure he was assigned to your group on patrols or vice versa - not that he didn’t have a choice, being Prince and all - and always suggested your name when there was a two-person job. All very subtle of course.

Today had been no different. There had been a sighting of a few Orcs wandering the forest, not that far from the palace. Thranduil instructed him to send a few guards to go and solve the problem. Those ‘few guards’ turned into Legolas and you. 

And now you were making your way through the forest, hunting some Orcs, with Legolas by your side who was desperately trying to make conversation. 

“You are allowed to speak, Y/N. It’s only me.” “Yes, only you... Don’t you think it’s rather strange our King sent only two guards? How many Orcs were seen again?” “Enough to handle ourselves, do not worry.” You scoffed. “I’m not worried, you know damn well that I could take them on my ow-” A sound in the distance made you cut off your sentence. Legolas heard it too, and you signaled him to climb the trees.

You both jumped from one tree to another with ease, until you reached a small clearance. There you could see about a dozen Orcs, most of them taking a rest, a few trying to make a fire to keep the spiders away. You signaled to Legolas to stay put, while you made your way to the other side of the clearance. 

He rolled his eyes at that. Shouldn’t it be him telling you what to do? But he listened anyway and waited for your signal. In his mind he was already planning how to attack the pack, thinking he could easily kill 4 or 5 Orcs from where he was hiding before making his way down the tree. This was almost too easy. 

A screech in the distance made the Orcs jump up and 3 of them disappeared in the woods, running past the tree you were hiding in. It seemed like the pack hadn’t been complete. You waved to Legolas, signaling you would go after them. Before he could protest, you were gone.  Why did you always have to prove yourself? He had no visuals anymore, but he could hear how your feet touched the ground. Your fight had begun. 

In one swift movement he took his bow and notched an arrow, and shot the Orc closest to him. Before he let himself drop down, he killed two more. He smirked to the six remaining Orcs and switched his bow for his two blades.  “Let us begin,” he muttered.

*

It was over in less than ten minutes. They didn’t even put up a real fight, Legolas thought.  Probably too exhausted from wandering through the forest for so long. He looked around but couldn’t see any sign of you, not even with his Elven eyes. Suppressing the slight rush of panic he felt, he began to look for you. You were tough. There was no way you couldn’t handle a handful of exhausted Orcs by yourself, he kept repeating in an attempt to reassure himself.

He ran through the forest, fighting the urge to call out your name. The last thing he wanted was to alert anything else of his presence.  “Legolas!” He halted immediately, frantically looking around him in an attempt to locate you. This was not a good sign, he thought. You knew how dangerous it was to draw attention to you this deep in the forest. It could only mean one thing... “LEGOLAS!” He tried to ignore the despair in your voice, and ran as fast as he could in the direction of your scream.  After a few agonizing minutes he found you hunched over on your knees. “Y/N?”

When you turned around, his heart stopped. Your hands were covered in blood. Red, not black, he realized.   He fell to his knees at your side, his eyes searching your body for injuries. “Where are you hurt?” Your tunic was no longer a lighter green, but stained with a dark red. He tried to remain calm for your sake, on the inside he was definitely freaking out. You didn’t answer him, and burst into tears instead.  “You’re going to be okay,” he said, more to himself than to you. “Everything is going to be okay.” He put an arm under your knees and around your waist and lifted you up with the utmost care, but you stopped him.  “Y/N, I have to get you back home. Just... please, let me take care of you.” “It’s not mine,” you said in between sobs, pointing to your drenched clothes.  “What happened?” Legolas asked, completely lost by now. He sat down on his knees with you still in his arms. If he wasn’t feeling so helpless at the moment, he would enjoy holding you this close. It felt nice. “I-...” You tried to take a long breath to calm down so you could tell him what was going on, but it only made it worse. Legolas rubbed your back softly until you found your voice again, relieved it seemed to help a little. “I-... I didn’t mean to hurt him!”

Legolas looked at you questioningly. Him? He scanned your surroundings but couldn’t see anyone.  You got up from his lap and took a few steps away from him, motioning him to follow you. He had to keep himself from taking your hand.  You took another ten steps and crouched down. Legolas heard you sniffling again.  What he saw in front of your feet, was probably the last thing he expected to see. A small deer, probably still a baby, lay on the ground. A large gap in his side, clearly your work. 

“Oh,” he sighed, finally understanding why you were so upset. The deer had definitely been in the wrong place at the wrong time. A laugh escaped his throat. You narrowed your eyes at him. Was he really laughing at you?  When he saw you were annoyed at him, he shook his head.

“Y/N you really are curious. Slaying Orcs, killing off spiders, you don’t bat an eye. Doesn’t affect you in the slightest. But an injured deer got you all upset?”  You felt the blood rise in your cheeks. Was it your fault you just really loved the forest animals? Someone had to take care of them, so why not you? You noticed him staring at you, a certain emotion in his eyes you could not seem to read. “What?” you asked him. “You’re cute... I mean-,” Legolas corrected himself too late. “It’s cute, the deer... is cute.”

You didn’t say anything back and Legolas cursed himself.  “You know what, let’s take it with us to the palace. I’m sure our Healers could do something for him,” he suggested. He wasn’t entirely sure they could do that, but if it would make you feel better...  “Are you sure we can do that?” “Of course we can, I’m the Prince.” He winked at you, and lifted the deer into his arms. You rolled your eyes at his cockiness. He was nothing like his father. 

“Thank you,” you said sincerely.  “Anything for you...”

A/N: Aaaaaah, I’m so bad at endings 🙈 I wanted something smart or funny, maybe I’ll change it later on if I can think of something. Sorry!

A/N part 2: It’s at times like these that I curse myself for not being a native English speaker. So sorry that my writing feels a little forced sometimes, but that’s mostly because of my lack of English vocabulary or because I can’t think of another way to say things and Google Translate can only do so much. So why not write in my own language you ask? Well... I don’t think there are a lot of Flemish (or Dutch) speaking Tumblr users waiting for Flemish lotr fics :)

[shyficwriter]

Temporary Home: Chapter 8

Guardians of the Galaxy fanfic | Reader x Guardians (With Yondu and Kraglin!)

Summary: Prank war engaged, who will win? Also, Yondu helps you with a little problem, Peter wants to watch another movie, and Rocket finally gets a surprise. Lots of fluff.

Previous Chapter here | Next Chapter Here Or click here to: Start From Beginning

Author’s Note: Slight sadness because I wrote out the whole Rocket seeing a real raccoon scene, then realized it didn't fit with the direction of this chapter, and now I have to save it for a future one. Poo. Also, for my records, this is day 10 of the Guardians living with reader. Also, Also: I love all the little replies you guys leave for me on this fic! This is a sideblog, so I can't reply to them in the notes, but I just want to let you guys know I love and appreciate them so much!!!!

Word Count: 5,561

You woke up a little nervous, Yondu's warning having gotten to you a bit. You couldn't remember the last time you pulled a prank, and now he's told you that you might have accidentally started a war with Kraglin and Peter? Just what you needed. Great.

The first thing you did, aside from seeing that Mantis was still asleep, was check yourself and your bed over to make sure they hadn't left any surprise pranks for you in your sleep. You even checked your reflection in your phone just in case one of them could have managed to draw on your face while you were sleeping, even though you knew that would be ridiculous... or was it?

Okay, so maybe you were more than a little nervous.

It didn't take long for you to scold yourself. Why should you be nervous? This was your home, you had the advantage. You weren't going to hide like some scared child from some pranks. As you got dressed you told yourself that you'd prepare yourself for anything they had coming your way. Shut it down. Nip it in the bud. Besides, what if Yondu was wrong? Maybe they wouldn't even to anything at all.

You'd barely finished that thought when Peter jump-scared you the second you opened your bedroom door, causing you to reflexively punch him in the face.

"Ow! Dude!" he complained, hands up to his nose and checking it for blood. Luckily there wasn't any.

You cover your mouth, both in horror and trying to mask your humor at the belated karmic justice for the door incident. "I- I really want to say sorry... but I suppose you had that coming..." you say, swallowing your laughter and making your way around him to escape into the bathroom.

Well, that confirmed Yondu was right... You should probably start thinking of some ways to either prank back or defend yourself. If they wanted a war, you'd be ready.

***

You fancied toast again for breakfast and that's when Kraglin struck, using your previous night's admission against you. He spidered his fingers over your sides while your back was turned. You didn't even know he had been in the kitchen, but you sure as hell felt the tickly sparks of electricity that jolted through your body and made you drop the knife as you spasmed under his attack with an embarrassing squeal.

He stopped almost as quickly as he started, doubled over and slapping his knee in laughter. "Oh! That's just too good!" he teased.

You look at him with narrowed eyes, noticing Peter standing not too far off, looking pleased. "So that's how it's going to be, huh?" you say, more of a statement that a question.

The guys only ginned in response and you turned back to your toast.

"I see," you say cooly.

War it was.

***

After you ate you thought you'd make a trip to the attic. You knew you might have an asset or two up there that would prove useful. One such being, a big old rubber spider, another being a whoopie cushion.

You pocketed the whoopie cushion for now, but, seeing as you were the only one upstairs at the moment, you took your opportunity to slip into the room Peter and Gamora shared and leave the spider under Peter's blanket. You hadn't been in that room since it became Peter and Gamora's, but you were able to suss out which bed was his easy enough. You had a feeling it was the one that was only half-assed made-up. Also, his jacket was laying on top of it.

You made your way out as quietly as you had entered and made your way downstairs, but not before grabbing a bath towel from the bathroom closet.

Once downstairs, you searched for Gamora, finding her washing up a dish she used for breakfast.

"Hey," you say, "Can I ask you a favor."

Gamora dried the dish, saying, "As a general rule I don't get involved in any mischief Peter gets up to." She knew Peter was wont to get into prank wars and after last night it honestly didn't surprise her that he might have chosen to start one against you out of boredom. Naturally, she just assumed you were coming to her to make him back off.

"Oh, no. It's nothing like that," you clarify, then quieter, "I was hoping I could ask if you would be willing to keep Rocket busy and downstairs for a bit?"

Gamora looked at you with a raised eyebrow. How unexpected. Why would you need that?

You realized this would go better if you told her the reason. "Here, I'll show you something," you say, inviting her to follow you out to the shed.

Once inside you revealed to her what you had been working on, but she only looked at you in confusion, probably because the bed frame hadn't been assembled yet. You had planned to wrap the pieces in the towel for transport and assemble the frame in the room, and you told Gamora as such.

"I made Rocket a bed frame. You know, since he keeps complaining about the crib," you say, not wanting to sound too much like you cared.

Gamora now added surprise to the confusion on her face, "But why do you need me to keep him busy?" If this was a peace offering, like she assumed it was, then why would you not just tell Rocket about it? She knew that he would surely be grateful to get out of that crib he was always complaining about.

"So I can get these pieces upstairs and put the frame together in his room," you say, stacking the pieces onto the towel.

Understanding came over Gamora's face. "Oh. You want to surprise him." She sounded a bit surprised, which was understandable considering how you and Rocket clearly didn't get along.

You paused, giving her an apprehensive look. "Not exactly."

She tilted her head slightly, an eyebrow raised.

"I'm just going to put it together... and uh... leave it."

Gamora stared you down for a bit before a slight smirk formed on her lips. "You do realize he'll likely ask where it came from, right?"

You make a face and return to rolling the bed pieces in the towel. "Not my problem. So will you keep him busy?" You finish and turn to look at her. "Please? It shouldn't take long, I just need maybe ten minutes, fifteen tops."

Gamora smiled and shook her head, beginning to wonder if Peter might actually be right that you were a bit shy. "Sure, I'll see what I can do," Gamora said with a smile.

Together you walk back towards the house, and you reach the door just in time to see it open as Rocket and Kraglin walked outside.

You freeze for just a second. This wasn't part of the plan, but maybe you could work with it. Outside was even better than just downstairs, right?

"What you got there?" Rocket asked suspiciously.

Kraglin also looked suspiciously at the bundle in your arms, although for a different reason, wondering if it could possibly be something used for a revenge prank.

You kept your face calm and collected, and simply said, "Nothing." with a shrug as you went to walk through the door, exchanging a brief look with Gamora, signaling that she should make sure he stayed outside until you could finish. She seemed to understand.

Rocket and Kraglin also shared a look, and next thing you knew Kraglin was following after and offering to help you carry the bundle and Gamora was making up something she wanted to discuss with Rocket to keep him outside.

"I don't need any help," you say nonchalantly as Kraglin shut the door behind the two of you.

"I bet. Wouldn't want me ruining any revenge pranks... would ya?" he smirked.

You look at him unamused. "This isn't anything like that. Go mind your own business." You start to turn to leave the kitchen and Kraglin takes the opportunity with your arms being occupied to wiggle a finger in your ribs.

You jerk, nearly drop your bundle, and glare at him, hissing, "Don't you dare!"

Kraglin chuckled and folded his arms. "Then why don't you show me what ya got wrapped up in that-there bundle?"

You roll your eyes. "You're such a child." you scold, before nodding toward the door and telling him to follow you if he wants to know so bad. You could have opened the bundle on the table, but you needed to be quick. You couldn't dilly-dally with showing him there and now.

You led your unwanted sidekick up the stairs and to the room Rocket slept in and knelt to lay the bundle on the floor to unwrap it. You turn back to him and say, "It's a bed frame- and we didn't have this conversation."

"Ya made the rat a bed?" Kraglin said, with just as much surprise as Gamora had when she was told. He ignored the oddity of you instructing him to forget the conversation, for now. "Thought ya two hated each other?"

You break his gaze. "I got bored. Don't read too much into it," you say, starting to fit the frame pieces to the headboard. "I just have to put the pieces together real quick, and now that you seen what it is, you can leave me alone to get it done, 'kay? Good." You were grateful you had done a test fit and all the screw-holes were now pre-drilled as you quickly spun them into place with the screwdriver you pulled from your pocket.

Kraglin didn't leave. He just stared at you putting the pieces together for a bit. Those bed pieces didn't look like they were thrown together last minute in a fit of boredom- it all actually looked decently made. He had a feeling that this must have been what you'd been running off to do in that shed over the past few days. "Ya know, I'm startin' to think ya don't actually dislike us as much as you let on."

You paused to give him a look briefly before turning back to work. "That would be reading too much into it," you say, attaching the frame to the footboard.

A chuckle could be heard in Kraglin's voice as he said, "Whatever ya say, ma'am."

You ignore him, turning the last twist on the final screw and placing the bed slats to hold the mattress. You stood with the intent to transfer the crib mattress over when you paused to look around. There was the double bed, where you assumed Drax slept, and the crib, where you knew Rocket slept. Where did Groot sleep if there was only two beds?

You turn to Kraglin, who for some reason still hadn't left you be yet, and asked him. "There was only two beds in here, where does the little one sleep?"

Kraglin shrugged. "I dunno. I think he just curls up with one of the others 'cause he's so little.

You nod thoughtfully. Your intent had been to transfer the mattress and put the crib back away in the attic to get it out of the way, but now you reconsidered. Might as well give the kid the option to his own bed... but that would require another mattress...

"I'll be back." You tell Kraglin, briskly walking past him towards your own room. If you remembered correctly, there was a spare in the attic. An old one that never got thrown out due to mostly laziness and forgetfulness. You retrieved it, knowing exactly which corner you'd find it in, and while you were there, decided to grab a small folded blanket and a sheet for good measure.

You rolled all this tightly together for the trip down the stairs and returned to a confused Kraglin. You threw everything on the frame, the mattress expanding back to life once you released it. You quickly fitted the sheet and shook the blanket open, floating it over the bed. You then retrieved the towel and your screwdriver from the floor, looked to Kraglin and said. "Done." and began to walk towards the door, shooing Kraglin on your way out. You hadn't thought to look for another pillow while you were in the attic, but the raccoon could survive without one for now. After all, there hadn't been one in the crib so he wouldn't be missing much. Not that you super cared or anything.

Kraglin kept looking at you strangely. "So, ya gonna go tell him now?" he asked, walking backwards for a bit while you made your way towards the end of the hall.

"Nope," you say, ditching the towel in the bathroom and then heading for the stairs. You were going to go find Gamora so she'd know she no longer needed to keep Rocket distracted.

"Is it a surprise?" he asked.

"Nope."

Kraglin followed you down the stairs. "Then why aren't ya-"

You stop on the stairs and look at him sharply. "You ask too many questions. Don't make it a bigger deal than it is, 'kay?"

Kraglin frowned, but stopped bothering you as you made your way downstairs. You ditched him in the hall and made your way to the back door. You open it just long enough to catch Gamora's eye and signal to her that her services were no longer needed. You close the door back up and turn around, jumping out of your skin to find that you had indeed, not ditched Kraglin in the hall.

"The hell, man!"

Kraglin laughed, apparently delighted with startling you, and excused himself around you to head outside.

You frown at his retreating form and decided it'd be better to not hover around the door yourself, thinking you might give the house a good dusting to occupy yourself.

***

After cleaning the house and a quick lunch you decided your garden could use a good tending, so you grabbed your earbuds and made your way to the back door.

You weren't exactly sure what made you look up, probably Yondu's warning about that the guys might boobytrap your doorways with water buckets, but when you looked up you spotted the biggest spider resting right above the doorframe and you froze.

You weren't scared or anything... spiders, at least giant ass ones like the one above the door, just tended to freak you out a little... Ok, maybe more than a little. The irony wasn't lost on you either that you had just hidden a rubber spider in Peter's bed that morning.

Yondu, who you hadn't spotted at the table when you walked in as you were preoccupied with finding a song title, saw you freeze and tilted his head. He then saw you take a hesitant step back from the door and decided to ask, "Whatcha doing?"

You startled at the unexpected voice and turned to him. Slightly blushing you said, "Um, nothing. Just-uh, thought I'd go tend the garden." You considered going to use the front door instead but worried it might look a bit odd.

Yondu took a sip from his water and set his glass down. "Ya know, pretty sure you'll get outside quicker if ya walk towards the door. Not sure how far you'll get backin' away from it."

You blushed a bit harder. "Yeah- uh right." Your eyes flitted back to the spider and you visibly jumped a step back as it scurried quickly about 20cm up the wall.

"What was that?" Yondu asked, "What ya look so nervous for?" He started to stand from the table. Was there something outside? Was there someone outside? If so, why not say it?

You could feel the blush creep down your neck and you let out a nervous chuckle. "Um- it's nothing. Really." You couldn't help but glance back at the spider, and regretted it.

Yondu followed your gaze as he walked over and chuckled, relieved it was only a creepy crawly and not that they had all been discovered. He wasn't in the mood to fight a bunch of assholes today. He was, however, always in the mood to tease. "Ya scared of that little thing?"

"No! I- uh.. just wasn't expecting... it."

Putting his hands on his hips, Yondu grinned and shook his head. "My mistake then. Wouldn't wanna keep you from your garden." He clapped you on the back and looked at you expectantly, a hint of humor in his eyes as he nodded towards the door.

"Yeah..." you say, however you hesitated, looking up at the spider.

After a moment Yondu speaks up, laughter in his voice. "Can't do it, can ya?"

You give him a sharp look. "I can!"

"Alright then. Enjoy the fresh air. It's behind that door in case ya forgot." The mirth in his eyes told you he was enjoying this.

You look back up to the spider. You could do this. You start to take a step closer to the door when suddenly Yondu cries out, "Watch out! I think it jumped!" while mimicking a running spider with his hand over the top of your head, making you jump right out of your skin and smack at his hand (which you totally knew wasn't the spider...) with a shrill squeak.

Yondu starts laughing at your reaction and you cover your face in embarrassment. When his laughter dies down you give him a mournful look.

"Jackass." you mutter, arms crossed over your chest and face red from embarrassment.

Yondu rolls his eyes, mirth still present on his face, and he whistles.

It happened so quick you weren't sure you had really seen it.

A whistle. A flash of red. The sound of something cracking into the plaster. Another whistle. He caught an object in his hand; the arrow you'd see strapped to his leg all the time for no discernible reason. He wiped the tip against the rubbish bin before placing it back in its holster.

You blinked. "What the hell was that?" Did he just- move that arrow... with his mind?? Or was it with that metal mohawk thing? It had streaks of red light glowing through it for a moment there.

Yondu just grinned. "Took care of yer little problem so ya could stop yer scared fidgeting and get out the door," he said with a laugh, not really answering your question.

You blushed again but before you could protest he looked to where the spider had been and winced. "Hmm. Might have overestimated the toughness of yer wall there though..."

You follow his gaze to see that his arrow had left a small crack and a chip in the old plaster where he had killed the spider. You turn back to him. "I think that could be forgiven, if you can agree there's no reason to mention it again..."

Mirth crinkled his eyes as he got the hint. You didn't want to advertise that you were scared of the 'creepy crawly.' Was almost cute if he was honest. Reminded him of Peter when the boy was younger. "I'll take that as a 'thank you,'" he said with a cheeky wink as he walked out of the kitchen and left you to your business.

You mumbled out a, "Hmm... yeah," and rubbed the back of your head as you made your way out the door.

***

Later that day Peter came to you and asked if you wanted to join the others to watch another movie. He had found another movie from when he was a kid, The Princess Bride, and he was excited to watch it.

You curbed your suspicion that he might be setting up for a prank and agreed to watch the movie, having nothing else to do.

You walked into the sitting room while Peter walked off to find the others and found Mantis already in there waiting, sitting on the floor in front of the sofa with Groot. Gamora and Yondu were also waiting, but they hadn't sat down yet, instead they were standing by the TV looking at the DVD case and discussing how they hadn't expected Peter to be into this type of movie, clearly assuming it was a fairytale love story rather than the comedy that it also was. Looking about and seeing that Kraglin and Peter didn't seem to be coming back yet, you thought this might be a decent time to break out that whoopee cushion.

You pull it out of your pocket and with a quick breath blew it up, garnering the attention of Gamora and Yondu, who gave you funny looks. You quickly stuff the whoopee cushion under the sofa cushion furthest left and take a seat next to Mantis on the floor, furthest to the right. You look up to them nonchalantly, your expression saying, 'What? I didn't see anything. Didn't do anything either.'

A faint smirk played over Yondu's lips but neither of them said anything. Gamora, because she wasn't going to involve herself, and Yondu, because he ain't a narc. Mantis and Groot, however, gave you confused looks, but you just put your fingers to you lips in a 'shush' gesture and Mantis's eyes lit up, correctly assuming you were playing a practical joke, and she loved practical jokes.

Soon after the rest filed in. You were asked by Peter why you were on the floor when there was room on the couch, and you flippantly answered, "Didn't feel like being pestered like last time," giving him a pointed look.

He almost looked guilty but then just waved you off and sat next to Gamora. More room on the couch then. No skin off his nose.

Like last time, Yondu and Drax took the armchairs, and Rocket settled in on the other side of Mantis. Kraglin was the last to sit and you bit your tongue to keep a straight face and look uninterested as you side-eyed to watch him sit.

It went off just as you expected. A loud fart noise as he sat on the far end of the couch, earning loud laughter from Drax, Rocket, and Peter. Mantis and Groot giggled adorably while Yondu snickered and Gamora only reacted in mild surprise, likely having not realized what the object you placed below the cushion would do.

Kraglin tried to deny it, but Peter only laughed harder and said, "Yeah right! The hole you just ripped in the couch says otherwise!"

Drax then spoke through his laughter that you weren't going to be happy that Kraglin damaged the couch, only for Peter to tell him that it was just an expression.

You start to shake your head at Kraglin, give him an unimpressed look to sell your innocence, when you were startled by the blue tint to his face.

"Uh..." you say, moving to a kneeling position, "Are you alright?"

"Hah. Very funny." Kraglin said, looking annoyed and standing and pulling the whoopee cushion from beneath the sofa cushion. "Ya really think I don't know what these are? Pete had like a million of these."

"No, really. You're starting to turn blue, are you having any trouble breathing or anything?" you ask. He was acting fine, but you knew turning blue couldn't be good.

Peter, seeing you were genuinely concerned, decided to fill you in. "Oh, don't worry about him. He's just embarrassed he still fell for that." He laughed and punched a grumpy looking Kraglin in the arm.

You raised an eyebrow.

Peter clarified, "His blood is blue, not red like ours. He's fine."

"Alright then..." you say, hesitantly sitting back down. You hear Kraglin state he's keeping the whoopee cushion and you roll your eyes at him as Peter finally started the movie.

You hadn't seen this one in a long time, and you honestly barely remembered anything aside from a few funny quotes and the fact that you knew you had enjoyed it. The last thing you expected was for the movie to make you feel things.

You were doing pretty good until the man in black and Princess Buttercup began to talk about her lost love, and you kept it together until the line, "Death cannot stop true love, it can only delay it awhile."

Then you got up to leave the room.

"Want us to pause it for you?" asked Peter.

"Nope," came your answer.

No one thought anything of it, until they heard you go upstairs and you didn't return.

After about 15 minutes Yondu got the sense you weren't coming back, and he briefly wondered why before his sleepy eyes closed, falling asleep during this movie as well.

He had been waiting up the past few nights to try and catch you sneaking out at night, but each night he never heard or saw you leave, because you didn't. Needless to say this made him a little sleepy, but at least with no crew to manage or ship to run he was free to take naps, even if Peter did tease him that he was getting old for falling asleep through the movie.

Rocket, however, was cursing himself. And you. He had just been about to slip out when you beat him to it. He wasn't enjoying the movie that much, and he had realized that this might be the first chance in three days to sneak up to the attic when everyone was occupied, and you just had to go and ruin it by flaking out on the movie partway through. Rude.

They finished the movie without you and you mostly stayed in your room the rest of the night aside for a bit when you came down to grab something quick for a late supper.

You were in the kitchen having just finished the sandwich you had made when Peter came in for a snack.

"Hey," he greeted.

"Hey," you say back, pulling down a small glass for some juice.

"Saw you didn't come back to the movie earlier."

"Yeah?" You didn't meet his gaze as he opened a packet of that space food and sat down. "Seen it."

Peter nearly chuckled, "Well, yeah. I'd think so, it was yours."

You shrug. "Just didn't feel like finishing it."

"Hmmm..." came Peter's response. His tone annoyed you, like he was about to suggest there was an ulterior reason for you skipping out on the movie without a word. Just because he would have been right didn't mean you liked it.

You walk to the fridge to pour some juice and have the thought that you might spruce it up with a splash of vodka, which you kept in the freezer. You pull the bottle and gesture it to Peter, asking if he'd like some. He shook his head and you just poured some into your own glass and went to return the bottle to the freezer. When you did you spotted a small forgotten bag of ice you must have purchased awhile back. It was open, and you got an idea. Sneaking one of the chunks you hid it in your hand and closed the freezer.

You leaned against the counter and sipped your, now alcoholic, juice.

"Nice one with the whoopee cushion today. Good to see you have a sense of humor." Peter smiled.

You shrug. You kept the hand with the ice folded across your body and tucked under the elbow of the arm holding your juice, trying to keep it natural looking.

"If you want, maybe you and I could call a truce, and combine our efforts against Kraglin."

You smirk behind your glass. Either this was a trap, or he wasn't very loyal to his friend. You placed your bets on the former. "I think you're just afraid I might accidentally punch you in the face again if you keep it up."

Peter rubbed the back of his head and laughed, "Well, there may be that... but I do think if we combined our efforts..."

He didn't get to finish that sentence. You had downed the last bit of your juice and started to walk his way while he talked. As you passed behind him you quickly dropped the chunk of ice down the back of his shirt and then even more quickly scurried away as he seized up and gasped from the cold.

You snickered as you heard him squeak, "Ah! Cold! Cold!" on your way out and only spared a glance back at the door to see him abandon contorting his arms behind him to try and grab the offending ice in favor of resorting to hopping out of the chair and doing a funny little dance to shake the ice out.

Once he was free of the ice he caught your gaze and an evil grin passed over his lips as he bend down to grab the ice from the floor.

Your eyes widened and you fled up the stairs, hearing him call out, "Get back here!"

You made it to your room just in time to shut the door and flick the lock before he could have his revenge. You could hear laughter in his voice as he said, "And to think I offered a truce!"

"You didn't mean it!" you called back through the door.

Peter laughed and said, "Well I definitely don't mean it now!" You were right. He hadn't meant it. He was going to try and convince you to pull a prank on Kraglin that they would then turn back on you, but clearly you weren't going to fall for that. He heard you laugh at his statement and shook his head before walking back down the stairs.

At least he had made you laugh.

***

After an hour you decided it was probably safe to leave your room to shower for bed. Also, Mantis was knocking at the door and you had to let her in anyway.

You had just finished your shower and were heading back to your room when a high shriek could be heard from Peter and Gamora's room. The others peeked out from their respective bedrooms to see what the commotion was. Rocket came up the stairs saying, "Thought I heard Quill screaming like a girl, what happened?"

On cue the door to Peter and Gamora's room opened and out came Peter holding the rubber spider by one leg.

The two of you lock eyes across the landing. Your eyes widen slightly and you flatten your lips.

"Any idea how this ended up in my bed?" he asked, looking pointedly at you and waving the toy back and forth.

Shaking your head, you say, "Nope. No idea."

Peter narrowed his eyes but smirked. "Oh really?"

You began walking toward the safety of your room. "Not a clue. Total mystery. Night."

You could hear snickers behind you as open the door, and hear Peter shout after you, "I'm keeping this!" as you shut your bedroom door behind you.

***

Rocket had a surprise waiting for him when he decided to go to bed that night, having walked into the bedroom with little Groot asleep on his shoulder.

He looked at the new bed in confusion. He wanted to ask Drax where it came from, but the big guy was already asleep, and he knew better than to wake him if he didn't want accidentally punched in Drax's startled waking.

He hopped up to the crib and laid Groot down to sleep before inspecting the new bed, sniffing it and checking under the sheets. He didn't really know what he was looking for, but looking couldn't hurt.

Eventually, when he could find nothing wrong with it, he decided to settle in. Better than sleeping in a crib. He could ask where it came from in the morning.

***

The house was dark and quiet, and Yondu was considering giving up on trying to catch you sneaking out again, at least for tonight. After all, you hadn't in several days, what's the chance you would tonight? Might as well sleep.

Then he heard it. The tiniest creak of a door. Then barely audible steps down the stairs.

He stood from his bed as quietly as he could, and made his way over to the door he had left cracked in hopes of being better able to hear when you'd leave.

He peered out, but only just saw the top of your head dip below the floor as you descended.

He waited a moment, wanting to give a little space so as to not risk you hearing him follow. Opening the bedroom door slowly, he made his way out into the hall and to the stairs. He could see in the dark better than a Terran, but still moved carefully as he quietly made his way down the steps.

He stopped less than halfway down, having barely caught sight of you sitting on the hall bench to pull your boots on, and there he waited, out of sight in the dark, until you stood and grabbed a jacket.

He made his way quickly and quietly down the rest of the stairs and just caught you as you were opening the back door.

He stood in the kitchen doorway, arms crossed over his chest with a triumphant grin at having finally caught you before you could leave. He tilted his chin up and asked;

"So where ya sneaking off to?"

[joaquinwhorres]

Blank Out - Ch. 2 (Bucky Barnes x Reader)

[ Masterlist ]

SUMMARY ››››› Bucky Barnes has a list of names–amends he needs to make. When he gets to yours, he finds the amends process a bit more…difficult than it should be.

WORD COUNT ››››› 3,550-ish

WARNINGS ››››› language

A/N ››››› I’ve decided that this story calls for alternating perspectives. Also, lemme know what you think about how this explores post-End Game life.

"You know Bucky Barnes?!"

Rocio was upon you before you had even fully entered the dining room. Despite the fact that it was probably cutting off her circulation, the eight year old was still proudly wearing her "Soldier Arm". You were surprised she could even put it on anymore, a thought that brought on the bittersweet feeling of nostalgia. When the two of you had constructed the costume four years ago, you had needed to roll the ends of the glove up and then safety pin it to the top of Rocio's sleeve to keep it from sliding off. Now it didn't even reach her shoulder anymore.

"I never mentioned that?" you asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No!" Rocio exclaimed

"Oh," you shrugged, rounding the table and passing by a wiggling Ravi in his booster seat.

Rocio fell into step behind you letting out an indignant and frustrated sound. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

She had an amazing and irritating talent for both shouting and whining at the same time. You breathed out your annoyance through her nose.

"Rocio," you said, flatly. "Do you really think I know Bucky Barnes and kept it a secret from you?"

The little girl pouted for a second as she thought it over before slowly shaking her head. "You're not very good at keeping secrets."

"Hey," you pointed a finger at her.  "I never told anyone about your crush on Spider-Man did I?"

"I was six!"

"And yet, old enough to propose," you grinned, remembering finding the letter Rocio had addressed to Spider-Man with haphazardly spaced and sized letters. It had taken a few attempts to decipher some of the spelling, but it had proven excellent material to tease Rocio about for the past two years.

Your niece scowled at you and marched back to the table, dramatically throwing herself back into her chair.

You turned back to the stove and the probably cold eggs, smiling to yourself in victory. It was a brief moment of peace as you dished eggs onto three plates because the moment you popped the first one in the microwave, the interrogation started back up.

"Well, if you don't know him, why was he here?"

"He wanted to talk to me and your mom," you said, watching the eggs spin round and round.

"About what?"

"The weather."

"Y/N!" Rocio hit her hand against the table, causing Ravi to jump in his seat and stare at his sister with wide eyes.

You whirled on your niece. "Rocio Ishani, you know better."

"Sorry," Rocio mumbled, casting her eyes down to the table--one of her tells of genuine embarrassment and regret. The microwave beeped, and you sighed, switching the plate out for another one.

"I don't know what he wants to have a conversation about. He was here for three minutes and you did most of the talking. And even if I did know," you added on, stopping Rocio before words could come out of the little girl's open mouth. "I don't think it's a child friendly conversation. Which means when he comes, you're going to your room."

"He's coming back?"

You nodded. "When your mom comes to pick you up," you said, stopping the eggs with six seconds left on the clock. You took the two plates to the table, setting the hot one down in front of your seat and the warm one in front of Rocio. You raised your eyebrows at your niece, gesturing with your head to the kitchen before turning back to get Ravi's plate. Rocio trailed you in, pulling out the silverware drawer to get forks for the three of you and tearing off three paper towels as napkins. She still hadn't quite grasped that Ravi wouldn't be using a napkin however much he needed one. Instead, she ripped one half sheet into a quarter, as if that would convince him to use it in the same way that the small bright green fork convinced him to be somewhat civilized in his eating instead of using his hands.

It was a few more minutes before you were all at the table, ready to eat.

"Your arm, please," you said, gesturing to Rocio's glove. The little girl put up no fight, shimmying out of it and lightly laying it on the empty chair next to her, signature side up so she could admire it all of breakfast.

While the interrogation seemed to be over, talk of the Avengers was not. Most of the breakfast conversation revolved around ranking the Avengers from most powerful to least powerful, and most helpful to least helpful, and the ever ambiguous "best" to "worst." And then, as it did with young kids, talk bounced from subject  to subject--connected only by the vaguest semblance of eight year old logic. It ended with a request to watch Wild Kratts after breakfast.

You did.

You did a lot of other things after breakfast too.

You made and played with play dough and stopped when you noticed Ravi was alternating between building with his and eating it.

You each drew pictures for Lilly with varying degrees of realism, had a fashion show turned impromptu dance party, and played hide and seek during Ravi's nap. (Rocio was such a good hider that you hadn't found her until after Ravi woke up, and you were definitely looking very hard and not reading a book.)

You painted each other's nails, and built an epic race car track for Ravi and made individual pizzas.

You raked leaves outside and picked a few favorites to press in books and even found time to fit in a small hurt self/strong self activity before Lilly arrived.

You were in the middle of deconstructing eating your creations when the front door opened.

"Where is my family?"

You looked up with a smile and gestured towards the door, but Rocio remained put. "We're in here!" she shouted, fingers sticky with peanut butter and fluff.

Lilly sauntered into the room, her emerald green suit still pressed and wrinkleless despite a day on the job. She arched her perfectly threaded eyebrows as she looked at you and daughter and the table all covered in graham cracker crumbs. "Looks like you three had a good day."

"Yep!" Rocio chirped, and Lilly clicked forward and into the corner of the room where Ravi was playing with his two cars on a section of the track.

"How is it my two year old is the least messy of the three of you?" she asked, bending over to press a kiss to Ravi's head. He squirmed away, continuing to move his cars along the track.

You laughed as Rocio licked a finger clean of peanut butter. "Because Ravi takes after you, and Rocio takes after me," you said, grinning at Rocio. Lilly frowned and crossed back over to the girls. "Don't worry though, I think we're all adventured out, so tomorrow we're just going to sit and stare at the walls."

"No!" Rocio shouted, and Lilly hushed her.

You tilted your head as if thinking. "I guess we could wash my car," you said, tapping your chin with a finger. "And the baseboards do need some dusting."

Rocio let out a dramatic groan, and you laughed, picking up a napkin to rub away at the spot of marshmallow fluff on her chin.

"Well, if you're not going to clean my house, you can at least clean your hands."

Rocio gave you a look of exasperation that she should have been much too young to even think about giving. Nevertheless, she slid out of her chair and headed to the sink, Lilly stopping her en route so she could press a kiss to the top of her daughter's head.

"How was work?" you asked as Lilly sunk into Rocio's vacated chair.

"People are idiots," Lilly rolled her eyes, giving a sigh.

"Says the literal genius," you returned, and Lilly snorted, shaking her head.

"It doesn't take a genius to follow simple instructions. I'll lay everything out for them, and even with pictures, they can't complete a single build without running into some potentially catastrophic error."

"That's not what you want to hear from the lead engineer at Stark Energy."

Rocio skipped back to the table, and Lilly scooched out her chair, gesturing for Rocio to come sit on her lap. The little girl veered off early though, instead attempting to climb into your lap. You shook her head, casting a quick glance at your sister who dropped her open arms.

"Your mom's missed you," you said, gesturing with her head across the table.

"I live with her," Rocio whined.

"And?" Lilly asked, moving her chair back up to the table. "I still miss you when I work."

"Really?" Rocio asked, walking over to the chair next to Lilly, and claiming it.

"Really," Lilly assured, placing an arm on the back of Rocio's chair, gently combing through her daughter's hair with her fingers. She looked up at you offering a small, weak smile before looking back down at her daughter. Her brow creased. "What are you sitting on?" she asked, tugging at something underneath Rocio. The little girl joined her mom in looking down, her eyes lighting up as she recognized the object.

"My Soldier Arm! Oh yeah! Guess who we met today!"

"Who?" Lilly asked.

"No, guess!"

You would have to teach your niece about the art of not playing a guessing game after making the answer so obvious. Then again, it still seemed so surreal that Bucky Barnes would turn up at your doorstep, that even with the "Soldier Arm", you doubted that Lilly would guess.

Lilly pursed her lips, putting on a show of thought. "Was it--"

There was a knock at the front door interrupting Lilly's guess. Rocio practically launched herself from the chair, already halfway out of the room by the time she could scream "I'll get it!"

"No!" Ravi shouted. His usual reaction when Rocio was too loud, too energetic, too Rocio.

Lilly exhaled a laugh at her son before turning back to you. "This was too much sugar," she said, circling a finger around Rocio's half-eaten creation. You laughed and Lilly smiled, and it felt nice for things to be normal between you--easy. Even if it was just for a moment.

A moment that was brought to a screeching halt by Rocio dragging Bucky Barnes into the combined kitchen and dining room by the hand.

"We met Bucky Barnes!" she chirped.

Lilly's face went slack, only managing to get out a small "Holy shit." Your eyes didn't linger long on your sister though. Instead your gaze was drawn to Bucky Barnes who looked vaguely amused at Rocio.

"Rocio, release your captive," you prompted, and reluctantly, Rocio released his hand, taking a few steps back towards her mother to give him some space.

"Is this--are you--what is happening here?" Lilly asked, looking between Bucky and you and Rocio, as if one of you had a reasonable explanation for this.You had only ever seen your sister this flustered twice before. Both of the previous occasions had been heartbreaking and traumatic, and you'd never quite gotten to experience how funny flustered Lilly was.

"He wants to talk to you and Y/N about something!" Rocio filled in.

Lilly's head whipped to you. "You know him?" she whispered, as if this was some secret conversation for your ears only.

You shook her head. "No, he just came by this morning and asked to speak with us."

"About what?" Lilly asked, furrowing her eyebrows and looking back to Bucky.

"I don't know."

For all of the differences between Lilly and Rocio--and there were many--their brain processing was eerily similar.

Bucky cleared his throat, drawing your attention back to him. "I um--I don't know if you want--" he gestured to Rocio. "Here for this."

"Rocio, go to your ro--the playroom," you corrected.

"I promise I'll be quiet if you let me--" Rocio started, and Lilly cut her off.

"Rocio, take your brother and go up to the playroom please,"

"But--" Rocio's face melted into the start of a complaint, but there a sharp cut of her mother's eyes stopped her dead. You remembered being on the receiving end of that look quite a few times while she was growing up. If anything it'd grown in power.

Rocio stomped forward, taking Ravi by the hand who whined and complained until she let him pick up a few cars to take with him, and the two exited the room, heavy footsteps echoing up the staircase.

You turned back to Bucky who was staring over Lilly's head, at the wall of family pictures.

The idea had hit you four years ago after Rocio woke up crying from a nightmare. Together, you spent the night going through old photo albums and Facebook albums, searching for the best pictures of the family. You ended the night with about forty pictures that needed to be framed, and the whole project took about a week to finish.

Every time the two of you ate lunch together over the past four years, Rocio would choose a picture, and you would tell her the story behind the picture. Your eyes flitted amongst them now.

There was the first time Lilly held you as a baby which was also the first time you smiled. Lilly's high school graduation--one of the few pictures with both of your parents in it, hovering on either side of Lilly as a six year old you sat on her hip. Lilly and Hector's beautiful wedding day. Lilly and Hector at your high school graduation. Lilly and you at the baby shower for Rocio, and Lilly and Hector at the shower for Ravi. There was one of Rocio's grandparents meeting her for the first time, and a good number of photos documenting your visits out to the family. Before the blip.

During your four years together, you and Rocio had also taken pictures of memories the family couldn't be there for and hung them on the wall; reminders of stories to tell should they ever return.

Rocio and you moving into a new house.

Rocio's first day of Kindergarten, first, and second grade.

The two of you and Rocio's ill-fated hamster, Churro.

Birthday parties and day trips that the rest of the family should have attended.

Bucky stared at the pictures, his frown deepening.

"Would you like to sit?" Lilly invited, allowing her collected professional persona to seep into her voice and straighten her spine.

The super soldier nodded, choosing the chair at the end of the table, closest to the door. He wet his lips, his eyes drawn from the pictures and down to the wooden table. It was strange seeing an Avenger--someone who had fought Thanos--seem so nervous in the company of two ordinary women.

He reminded you of the fourth graders who entered your office.

The fourth graders were always so hesitant to work with you--terrified of opening up and showing even a glimpse of vulnerability. It took three sessions just to get them to admit that they weren't fine and a few more before they lost the skittish look in their eyes. You doubted Bucky would be pried open by bags of chips or any of her fidgets, but figured you could at least try.

"Can I get you something to drink?" you asked, and Bucky shook his head.

"I don't want to take up too much of your time."

You nodded, and Lilly cocked her head. "So what brings an Avenger to my sister's house?"

He wet his lips and then looked up at the pair of you. "You're part of my efforts to make amends." Bucky made an attempt at a smile.

Across the table, Lilly's chest constricted with barely suppressed laughter, and the corners of your lips twitched in and out of a smile. Whoever had advised him to smile, surely hadn't meant for him to smile like that.

"What are you here to make amends for?" Lilly asked, her voice steady and betraying none of her amusement.

"I…" his eyes drifted back to the wall of pictures looming beside the group. "I'm the one responsible for your parents death."

You felt the world stop.

Or maybe it wasn't the world, maybe you stopped. Maybe every single atom within you stilled for a moment. Maybe your brain shut down and heart paused its beating, keeping you from thinking or feeling anything other than the numbness of shock. Because as surprising as it was for Bucky Barnes to show up on your doorstep at ten in the morning, you never expected he was responsible for changing your entire life.

"I know there's nothing, I could ever do to truly make amends--"

"You don't need to make amends."

Everything seemed to restart then. Your heart picked up its beating and brain whirred into action, sifting through memories and thoughts you'd long ago pushed to the back of your mind and locked there to remain untouched even by years of therapy.

Your skin prickled with flashes of images. The dark figure at the top of the staircase, the glint of metal you'd assumed was a gun in his hand, the cold blankness of his stare as his eyes bore into yours. And then the horror and sick relief of finding your parents in the moments after his disappearance.

"They were horrible people, and I'm glad they're dead. Thank you for salvaging my childhood"

"Y/N," Lilly gasped, horrified.

"You hated them too," you argued back. "Don't pretend you're not glad that Rocio and Ravi never have to meet them."

"Our relationship with our parents aside, they were still our parents. The least we can do is not thank the man who murdered them in their sleep."

Bucky for his part looked completely bewildered as his eyes darted between the two arguing sisters.

You shook your head. "You were more of a parent to me than they ever were."

"And it's because of that that I remember you waking up screaming every night for three years. So if you're not going to ask for amends for our parents' murder, at least ask for amends for what you had to go through because of him."

"My nightmares aren't because of him," you dismissed. Lilly would never believe--let alone understand--the reason behind your nightmares.

Seeing the argument was fruitless, Lilly tsked and dismissed you with a flip of her hair, turning instead to address Bucky. "Why?"

"Why…" Bucky stumbled along, confused by the conversational whiplash or the vague question.

"Why did you kill our parents?" Lilly demanded.

"Does it matter?" you asked.

"It matters to me."

You stared at your sister for a solid thirty seconds before, and shutting your eyes and bowing your head in surrender. Lilly didn't understand. If you had it your way, Lilly would never understand. You would never burden your sister like that.

Bucky swallowed hard. "I wasn't told the specifics of every...assignment. All I know is that your parents were working on something HYDRA wanted, and when they were offered a chance to join the cause, they declined. I was tasked with eliyoution and retrieval."

"Retrieval?" Lilly pressed

"Of their research."

Lilly gave him a single nod before looking down at the table in front of her. "I didn't even know they were conducting their own research."

You felt her skin prickle, an icy hot sensation shooting through your veins. Carefully calm, you reached across the table, palms open for your sister's hands. Lilly placed her hands into yours. "They never let us get to know them," you said gently, squeezing Lilly's hands. "That's why I'm angry and you're hurt."

Even as you said this, you could feel Bucky's gaze on you, intently studying your motions and facial expressions.

You looked back at him. "Thank you for coming to tell us. I'm sure it wasn't easy."

He nodded, his brow still slightly creased as he looked at her. And then his gaze flicked to Lilly, and you released a breath.

"I know it doesn't mean much--it doesn't change anything, but I'm not the person who did that anymore. I am no longer the Winter Soldier. I am James "Bucky" Barnes."

Lilly nodded, releasing your hands and looking Bucky square in the face. Her own expression was completely neutral, not a trace of a tear or any of the hurt she'd voiced.

"If you want to make amends, you should come here for Thanksgiving."

Neither you nor Bucky had been expecting that. Your instinctive reaction was to snort out a laugh as if it were a joke, and Bucky looked like the very dictionary definition of confusion: brow knitted together, eyes narrowed, mouth hanging open.

"It would mean the world to my daughter. You can think about it as replacing a memory of my daughter meeting her grandparents. you's right, this will probably be a happier memory anyway."

"You have to come!" Rocio rushed into the room, you and Lilly shouting her name in a mixture of surprise, horror, and reprimand. The eight year old made no excuses or explanations. Instead she stood by Bucky's chair, peering up at him with a bright intensity only a child could muster. "Please."

Bucky looked away from Rocio to Lilly and then you. "Ok."

[writtenbynightlock]

Hi! Idk of request are open rn.. but could you do a hinata x reader angst? Where hinata walks in on kageyama and y/n in a position where it looks like they were cheating. But in reality it was nothing like that at all! So hinata gets very mad and says really hurtful things to them. Then word gets around school and people start to bully y/n and kags. However hinata doesn’t care. He never stood up for y/n. Then due to bullying going to far y/n loves school. That’s when y/ns best friend yams goes up to hinata and shows him the video where in fact they were not cheating. But it’s too late. Hinat already lost her. Sorry if the request is too long btw!!

Misunderstanding | Hinata Shouyou x Reader

Note: Requests are open 💌 Please be informed here

Masterlist

Warning: Timeskip spoilers

Tagging: @shoyosbitchh (thanks for the request love)

“Do I really have to do this?”

“Yes” you answer as you fix Kageyama’s jersey jacket. 

“What am I gonna do again?” 

“All you have to do is answer my questions. After this segment, I will film you in action with Shoyo. Are we ready, Yama-kun?”

You ask your classmate and the captain of the Karasuno Men’s Volleyball Team, Yamaguchi Tadashi, waiting for his go signal as he was in charge of the camera. You were in your third year in Karasuno High. You are an active member of the journalism club and your specialty is sports writing. You and Hinata have been together since your second year. It all started when you’ve done a coverage of the Karasuno High Men’s Volleyball team ever since the crows were finally taking flight in the Nationals. Pretty much to say you are close with your batchmates involved with the sport which made your job a bit easier. 

You were currently working on a special ad for the team that will be on air in the campus as a way to show support and acknowledgement to the seniors who will be having one last fight --- Yamaguchi Tadashi, Tsukishima Kei, Kageyama Tobio and Hinata Shoyou. In thanks to the manager, you will be also adding a special segment to the woman who’s always been there with the crows, Yachi Hitoka.  

“Camera is rolling in 3..2..1..”

As Yamaguchi gestures for you to start, you have him a small nod and put on your game face on. 

“Hello Karasuno High! The much anticipated Spring Interhigh tournament is fast approaching and our crows will be taking flight once again. With the excitement to the world of volleyball, our players have quite gained quite a few fans. Here I am with the famous King of the Court, the Karasuno Men’s Volleyball Setter, Kageyama Tobio.” 

During the interview segment, things went smoothly due to Kageyama being straightforward with his questions much to your relief. You were glad Yamaguchi was also there to help you. Usually, Yachi is the one who helps you with your journalism when it comes to the team but she had a meeting with Takeda sensei, explaining her absence. 

After the interview, it was time for you to do the final segment which was  getting to film the iconic duo in action. You told Kageyama to change into his volleyball uniform, with the setter obediently following your instruction. 

“Thank you so much for helping me, Yama-kun. Your segment yesterday with Tsukki is great too! I’m very excited to edit it.”

Yamaguchi blushed at your compliment, making him scratch the back of his head in a shy manner. 

“You’re really making it hard for us to graduate, (Y/N)-san. This will be your last feature too, is it not?” 

“Yup” 

Yamaguchi smiles as he saw the gleeful expression on your face. He admired your determination in making the video possible as a tribute to them. Yamaguchi’s sense of determination in leading the team to Nationals has boosted but there was one question bugging in his head.

“(Y/N)-kun, you are a sports writer, right? I don’t recall them doing this extent.”

You stopped what you were doing and looked at Yamaguchi, giving him a sincere smile --- your mind instantly filled with the ray of sunshine that is currently in your life. 

“You don’t know how proud I am on how far you all have come. You five were part of the flightless crows who worked hard to spread its wings again. You were there when people would underestimate the team but you all proved them wrong, along with our seniors who graduated also. We all keep moving forward and now, you are your juniors senpais, helping them keeping the crows to keep flying. Not only that, I am so proud of Shoyo. He’s one of the main reasons why I’m motivated to do this. I’m always here to support Shoyo and to all of you --- no matter where we go after we graduate.”

After your speech, your eyes widened as you Yamaguchi’s eyes were watery and he was sniffling, making you panic a little.

“Y-Yams, are you okay?”

“Don’t look at me, (Y/N)-kun! That was so beautiful- wait I’ll be right back!” says Yamaguchi as he hurriedly went to the nearest bathroom --- not wanting for you to see him bawl his eyes out. With a soft chuckle, you turned around to see Kageyema already in his attire and was now setting up the net. Deciding to help, you went to him and gave him a hand.

“What do you need?”

“Could you hand me that screw over there?”

With a nod, you went to the tool box, grabbing the screws Kageyama.

“Do you think Shoyo will go far with volleyball?”

You ask out of the blue, avoiding eye contact with Kageyama as you just stared at the net. It’s not that you doubt Shoyo’s skills but it is a scary world out there. There will be people who will look down on him for different reasons. You just worry. You care for him so much. You admired how Hinata was able to use the mean comments against him as his motivation for him to improve his skills. His positivity and bubbly personality is contagious. He never fails to make you smile when you’re feeling down. 

As Kageyama finished the net, he gave you a smirk. 

“If that dumbass doesn’t slack, he will. If he does, I’m definitely getting ahead of him.”

A grin made its way on your face. What more could you expect from Hinata’s partner in the court?

As the two of you waited for Hinata and Yamaguchi to come, you and Kageyama had talked a bit about college plans. As the two of you converse, you suddenly noticed something crawling on Kageyama’s jersey shirt. 

“Kageyama-kun, there’s something on your shoulder” you say, pointing at it. At first Kageyama was confused to what you meant but when he finally took a look at it, it was spider --- making his eyes widen and panic, letting out a manly shriek. 

Kageyama was all over the place, jumping and swatting it away --- to the point where he tried to take the shirt off. 

“Kageyama, calm down!”

“It’s on your head!”

“It’s back on your shirt!”

Kageyama felt chills, the hairs on his skin rising as he felt it crawling the back of his neck. The next thing you knew, with Kageyama’s head covered with the shirt that was taken off midway his arms, the setter stumbled onto you, making the both of you fall on the ground with Kageyama on top. Your eyes widen at how close your and Kageyama’s faces are, the setter not able to take in what just happened. 

“Get off!”

“Can you help me put my shirt back on? I-if you don’t mind. My hands are sort of restricted” says Kageyama, pointing out that his arms were trapped in the sleeve holes. You sigh and grabbed the hem of his jersey shirt, attempting to pull it down back but the both of you suddenly heard the gym doors open.

“(Y/N)?!” 

Hearing an all too familiar voice, you quickly shove Kageyama off of you, sitting up from your spot to see Hinata who froze by the gym doors as he stares at you and Kageyama with wide eyes, his heart beating so fast in his chest.

“W-were you cheating on me?!”

“No baby! It was just an accident-”

“An accident?! It looked like you were taking off his shirt! I can’t believe you’re cheating on me with Bakageyama!”

“No, Shoyo! It definitely doesn’t look what it looks like at all!”

“I trusted you, (Y/N)!”

Tears were starting to form in your eyes, getting a bit angry and frustrated that Hinata wasn’t letting you explain your side. Kageyama noticed this and decided to step in --- defending the both of you.

“Boke, Hinata, boke! Why would I even do that to your girlfriend?! Let us explain what happen-”

“No! I’m so hurt, (Y/N)-chan! You’re the first girl ever that made me really happy but this is how you treat me? Is it because I’m not tall enough?! Is this how you repay my loyalty to you? You’re so heartless! You seem so faithful to me but behind my back, you’re a different person.”

“S-Shoyo-”

“Don’t call me that anymore. I don’t want to see you anymore. We’re done.” 

With that, Hinata left the gym, leaving you and Kageyama all alone. You wanted to run after him but you lost your strength and collapsed on the floor, your gaze lingering at the gym doors, tears rolling down your cheeks. 

Kageyama panicked a little, not knowing how to comfort you but he just stood beside you and patted your head as you were hugging your figure, too hurt by Hinata’s words. 

“That dumbass doesn’t know how to listen.”

“What am I gonna do, Kageyama-kun?”

Kageyama glances at you, a frown on his face. He knows how much you care for Hinata. He can’t help but feel frustrated also being in your position. He also felt bad to what just happened. 

“I’m sorry-”

“Don’t apologize, Kageyama. You did nothing wrong. Hinata just misunderstood.” 

“That runt will regret for letting you go. I mean, who else could keep up with him?”

As you wiped your tears, you stood up and grabbed your things, heading towards the gym doors.

“I think we’ll call it a day. I’ll message Yams that our filming is finished. I’ll just ask another sports writer to cover you and Hinata’s segment. I don’t think I can face him for awhile.”

Kageyama frowns as he saw your eyes tearing up again but he just nodded, not wanting to press any buttons even further.

“Okay. Get home safely.”

With a sigh, you left the gym heading home, feeling all too drained and hurt. You can’t believe Hinata was able to say those hurtful words to you. In attempts on calling him while walking home, you let out a frustrated groan as he already blocked your number. 

“Oh Shoyo. It was all just a misunderstanding.” 

Days had passed ever since the incident and break up with Hinata. Word got around fast. You and Kageyama had been the talk of the town as cheaters, making you lose your appetite. People were sending you dirty stares for even daring to cheat on such a pure soul. 

There was one time when you ate at the school cafeteria with Yamaguchi and Tsukishima and a group of girls suddenly went to your table, snickering at you and called you a slut. Between Yamaguchi and Tsukishima, it was Yamaguchi who was full on beast mode, defending you. 

“Don’t waste your time with these fools, Yamaguchi. They just don’t know how to mind their own business” says Tsukishima as he shakes his head in annoyance. You told Yachi, Yamaguchi and Tsukishima the whole thing. Yachi felt really bad at what happened. She was the one also who keeps comforting Hinata. Tsukishima was in charge of breaking apart Kageyama and Hinata whenever the two started to argue, much to his dismay but he just wants the team to be peaceful and focus on their practices and official games. 

Not wanting to eat anymore, you grab your bag and stood up, making Yamaguchi and Tsukishima look at you with worry. 

“Where are you going, (Y/N)-san?” 

“I’m just gonna go get a breather. I’m not that hungry anyway. See you later” you say with a solemn look on your face then left the cafeteria. 

“What are we gonna do, Tsukki?”

“I don’t know. Don’t involve me in their quarrels. It’s tiring.”

Yamaguchi sighs but then he remembers that he left his camera in the gyms while he was in the bathroom. When he returned to the gym, his camera was already battery drained. In hopes to resolve this mess, Yamaguchi checks the contents to see of the camera was still rolling. Much to his relief, it apparently recorded the whole thing. He immediately showed this to Hinata, finally clearing all the misunderstanding.   

Hinata regretted on how he acted. He felt his heart breaking even more. He needs to apologize for his wrong doings but it was too late. The twinkle in your eyes as you see him weren’t there anymore. His words really hurt you and you’ll have a difficult time in trusting him again. The bullying around the school made you feel even more damaged.

You told Hinata its best to cool off from the relationship. You needed space. You need to focus on yourself now. You just wanted to forget the words that come out from his mouth.

It was over.

Hinata Shoyo. You were my sunshine, my only sunshine. You made me happy when skies are gray --- but now, the skies weep with me.

[ttylfedora]

The Rookiest Rookie that ever Rookied- Part Two

Oh god I feel so bad for Cole!!

Characters belong to the completely wonderful @lumosinlove

Cw, food

Enjoy!! 💚

“Right, mon fils, you remember the plan?” Pascal had sat Louis and Marc down at the dining room table and had his serious dad face on. The boys knew this face meant business and sat up straighter, as though they were in a proper business meeting.

“Oui, papa.” Louis answered. Marc nodded in agreement, both of them determined not to let their father down. After all, this was the difference between whether or not they could go out for ice cream at the weekend. All of the shots were riding on this!

“Repeat it back to me.” Dumo instructed.

“Which part?” Marc questioned, still getting his little brain around all of the instructions his father had given him.

“All of it, this is serious business. The two of you are embarking on a journey that can only be ruled as the greatest journey known to man. You two have a legacy to fill, mon fils, a legacy!” Dumo exclaimed dramatically, his arms out as though he was introducing a show on the West End.

“Ce n'est pas si dramatique, papa.” Louis rolled his eyes, and his father gasped.

“Say that again and you are grounded.” Pascal locked his eyes on Louis’. The famous Dumais pranks were a serious business and should be treated as such.

“There is a lot riding on this,” Dumo reasoned, “do you want ice cream or not?”

“I guess.” Louis huffed. “Alright, so we only answer to each other’s names.”

“Make sure all the clocks show a different time.” Marc continued “Can you help us get the higher clocks?” he asked his dad. Dumo nodded.

“Make sure the robot spider is under the couch.” Louis chimed in.

“Ask him where babies come from.” Marc giggled. “Where do they come from papa?” he asked curiously.

“Non, non, ask Cole. He’ll tell you.” Dumo wiggled his finger in front of his younger son's face.

“Okay, okay.”

“Parfait, right, he’ll be back in,” he checked his watch,”half an hour from hanging out with Leo. Let’s get this started, shall we mes fils?” Dumo rubbed his hands together and giggled, leading his children into the kitchen to get started on the clocks.

--

“Right, we shouldn’t be gone for long but if anything goes wrong, just call us straight away. We’ll be back by dinner time.” Celeste fussed. Her husband was already out in the car with Adele and Katie, ready to take them both to basketball practice.

“I will, promise.” Cole smiled. It was the first time they trusted him to look after any of their kids so he can understand why they were airing on the side of caution. “We’ll have lots of fun.” He smiled over to the two boys who were currently sat watching something on the television. Celeste thanked him again and left, shutting the door softly behind her.

Babysitting was a piece of cake. He could do this.

“Right boys, what’s the plan for today.” He clapped his hands and rubbed them together, sitting down on the couch that was adjacent to the two brothers. Marc’s eyes lit up.

“Can we make a cake?” he asked, practically jumping up from his spot on the couch.

“We certainly can, what flavour?”

Marc thought for a moment. “Chocolate.” he smiled.

“Sounds good to me, buddy, lead the way.” He reached over and grabbed the remote off of the coffee table in the centre of the room and switched the television off, following them into the kitchen.

“Right, let me see what we have here,” Cole started, going through all of the cupboards to round up the ingredients for the cake.

“Louis, can you grab me the eggs please.” He said over his shoulder as he went to retrieve the milk and butter from the fridge.

“No, no, no, Marc wait-“ Cole was cut off by the eggs Marc was attempting to hold in one hand dropping to the floor and smashing everywhere. He froze with his arms out mid step, and just sighed, laughing slightly. “Oh dear.” Marc looked up at him.

“Sorry Cole.”

“It’s okay buddy, how about you go and change your trousers and socks so that you’re not walking around all day with egg on them and we’ll throw them in the wash. It’s no big deal.” he smiled, grabbing a wet paper towel to start to clean the egg yolk off of the floor. Marc nodded and ran to his room. As he cleaned up, Louis gathered all of the ingredients onto the side, and grabbed more eggs from the basket.

By the time the floor was clean, Marc had come back down in a fresh pair of jeans and socks and popped his dirty ones into the washing machine for his mother to deal with later.

“Perfect, right, Marc, you’re in charge of weighing things, okay?” He looked at Marc but Louis nodded, sitting up on the bar stool in front of the weighing scales.

“Okay.” Louis smiled. Cole widened his eyes slightly but shook it off. Maybe he misspoke?

“Marc, you’re going to help me mix everything up, okay?”

“But I thought I was weighing the ingredients?” Louis asked, confused.

“Yeah, I was talking to your brother?” Cole said, though it came out more of a question. He placed his hand on his hip and scratched his head.

The boys just shrug and carry on anyway, allowing Cole to guide them through the recipe, one his mother swears by back at home. He was hoping it lived up to Celeste’s baking but he doubted his skills were that good. It was the least he could offer her for all the amazing meals she had cooked for him so far. She insisted that it was nothing but when one is so far away from home, having another mother cook a full homemade meal brought immense amounts of comfort to him.

They carried on working around each other, occasionally turning up the radio when a good song comes on, laughing and throwing flour and sugar over each other. Cole was an only child, but if he wasn’t, this is how he would want to spend his weekends with them. He supposed he wasn’t any more; his chosen family adding to the numbers ten-fold and he was beyond grateful for it.

Once all of the ingredients had been mixed, he asked Louis, well who he was sure was Louis, to help him pour the cake mix into the cake moulds. He started doubting himself as Marc, well who he was sure was Marc, came to help him. Once he had placed the moulds into the oven, which he noted had the wrong time displayed, he sent the kids through to the sitting room as he set the timer on his phone. His thumb hovered over the message app icon, wondering whether or not admitting defeat was wise. He quickly changed his mind as he thought up a better idea, opened the app and clocked on Leo’s name instead.

‘Hey man, I have a really embarrassing question but you CANNOT tell Dumo, okay?’

‘Oh god, this is gonna be good.’

‘Leo, PROMISE ME.’

‘Jeez man, okay, i promise!!’

‘Which of Dumo’s boys are older? Louis or Marc? Because i think ive been calling them by the wrong names.’

‘OH MY GOD HAHAHAHAHAHA COLE!!!!!!!!! PLEASE TELL ME YOURE JOKING’

‘Leo…’

‘Oh my god you arent joking.’

‘Please?’

‘Marc is the older one. Oh my god that is actually hilarious. Logan’s wetting himself.’

‘I’m never hearing the end of this.’

Cole put his phone away in his pocket, feeling incredibly embarrassed. Had he been calling these kids by the wrong name for the past month? It would seem so. He filled himself a glass of water and walked into the sitting room, sitting down on the couch next to Marc, no, Louis, the younger one.

“How long until the cake’s ready?” the older one asked.

“About twenty minutes now buddy. What are we watching?” he asked, gesturing to the television.

“Minecraft videos,” the youngest answered, smiling. Cole shook his head, clearly realising he had lost his touch with kids. Wasn’t Minecraft big, what, four years ago now? He pulled his phone out of his pocket and started aimlessly scrolling through Instagram, liking and commenting on a few of the posts until the youngest sibling piped up again.

“Cole?” he asked, an inquisitive look on his face.

“Mhm?” Cole replied, taking a sip of his water.

“Where do babies come from?”

Cole promptly spat his water back out looking at the youngest with wide eyes, stuttering slightly in shock. How was he meant to answer that?!

“I- well- have you not asked your dad this?” he stuttered, this was not what he expected to be answering today, to a nine year old nonetheless.

“Non, I just thought of it” the younger one shook his head.

“Oh, well, I mean, when two adults want to have a baby, they do a special hug, I guess?” Cole replied cautiously.

“So maman, and papa did a special hug for me, Louis, Katie and Adele?”

Cole just stared at him, mouth trying and failing to come up with a response to that. The last thing he even wanted to think about was Dumo’s sex life, no matter how many times the Lions’ sex lives were brought up in the locker room.

Thankfully, the timer for the cake went off, giving him the perfect excuse to exit the conversation. He set the cake on the side to cool, making a start on the icing. The boys decided to stay in the sitting room, engrossed in the video they were watching. He glanced up at the clock on the wall. Surely it wasn’t still early afternoon? He checked the time on the oven and it matched, as did the one on the radio, and the fridge, and everything else in the kitchen apart from his phone.

“Boys, what time is it?” he shouted through to them.

“The tv says it’s 3pm!” Marc, Louis, the older one shouted back. He ran his hands over his face and checked his phone, noting that the time read ‘17:30’. He just rested his head in his hands with his elbows against the counter; he evidently did not get enough sleep last night. He quickly decorated the cake to return his thought process to something concrete and set it aside, joining the boys in front of the television quickly after.

He couldn’t have been sat down for more than five minutes when the biggest fuck off spider he had ever seen crawled out from under the couch, right next to his foot. Like any normal, self-respecting 19 year old man, he screamed and jumped up onto the couch.

Both boys were in hysterics.

“Cole, we got you so good!” The younger of the two was currently beside himself on the other couch, tears streaming from his eyes as he held up a little remote; evidently the remote for the spider.

“You two are taking after your father it seems.” Cole laughed nervously. He was well aware of the notorious Pascal Dumais prank streak and it seemed. They pressed play on the tv until Celeste, Dumo, Adele and Katie came home. He was grateful only in the sense that he was completely and utterly exhausted from today.

“Aaahhhh, you boys made a cake!” Celeste mused, walking into the kitchen to have a look at it, “it will be perfect for after dinner.”

“Did you have a good day, mes garçons?” he asked. Both boys nodded, understanding that their father was asking if they did everything he asked of them.

“It seems your boys take after you, Dumo. Got me pretty good with a spider under the couch there.” Cole laughed from his position on the couch.

Dumo let out one of the biggest dad laughs known to man. “Incroyable! I’m proud of you both!” Both of his sons looked at him and began laughing with him, but followed their mother and sisters into the kitchen.

“I hope they weren’t too much trouble?” Dumo asked, hanging his coat up and turning to Cole.

“No, not at all. It was a fun day, a long day but a fun one. Really set me through my paces there. For a hot second i thought it was one of your tasks.” he laughed as he stood up.

Dumo froze.

“My children are a task to you?” he looked Cole straight in the eyes and cocked an eyebrow. Cole stared at him wide eyed and started stuttering, attempting to form and answer. Pascal laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. “I’m only joking, kid. You should have seen your face!”

“Haha, yeah, I’m just going to run to the toilet real quick and I’ll join you for dinner. Won’t be long!” He left, looking quite flustered as PAscal made his way into the kitchen. His wife was leant against the counter with her arms crossed and a slightly amused expression on her face.

“You are a cruel man, mon roi. A cruel cruel man.” she shook her head and turned back around as she continued to prepare dinner.

He stalked over and placed a kiss on her head.

“It’s called character building, ma reine.” he smiled. “And I am nowhere near done just yet.”

[fischerfrey]

Chapter 2: Apprentice Curse-Breakers

Summary: The new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher has some extracurricular activities in mind, and Ben struggles with the events of last year.

Pairings: Eventual OC/Merula Snyde

Word count: 3k

Warnings: Mild swearing, canon typical mean Merula

Previous / Next

Chapter 2: Apprentice Curse-Breakers

Their first class of the year was DADA, and that made Verna extremely nervous. Rowan had made it clear they didn’t think Rakepick could be trusted. In their words, she had been shifty at best and suspicious at worst last year when she had worked with Verna. Rowan was not happy about Rakepick’s appointment as a professor and that made Verna uneasy too. She had always known Rowan had far better judgement than her, and most days Charlie and Ben agreed with that sentiment. So, after breakfast, when the Gryffindors were filing into the DADA classroom, the mood between the four friends was not over the moon. Rakepick was already in the classroom, writing something at her desk. The class went through some major decorative changes each year when a new teacher took it over. It had become routine by now. For Rakepick, the theme seemed to be artifacts of various sizes and ages, that were spread all over the room on pedestals and tables, cabinets and other surfaces.

“Cursed items,” Rowan noted, when they took their seats.

“A niffler,” Verna replied, pointing out Sickleworth, Rakepick’s niffler whom she had had an unlikely partnership with last year, while investigating the Sleepwalking curse.

That was when Professor Rakepick got up from her seat, cleared her throat and snapped her wand, closing the classroom door and making writing appear on the blackboard in front of the class.

“Welcome to Defence Against the Dark Arts,” she announced, in a tone that implied not a small amount of unimpressedness. “I realize I am your fifth instructor in as many years, and that most of your other teachers’ methods were as questionable as their characters.”

Next to Verna, Rowan balled their hands into fists. They obviously had a thing or two to say about that.

“This year, I am not only going to teach you how to defend yourselves, but how to attack the Dark Arts,” Rakepick continued. “You will receive the finest instruction from someone who has actually faced the worst the Dark Arts have to offer.”

Something about the speech did make Verna listen. She couldn’t deny being interested in learning combat spells, the more the better, because she was sure to need them. From the corner of her eye, she also saw Merula listening intently. This year was gonna be another one spent trying to beat Merula to the top of their class. DADA was pretty much the only subject where she had any chance at all. Usually, it was Rowan and Merula vying for the title, but Verna wasn’t hopeless when it came to duelling and martial magic.

“They say this position is cursed,” Rakepick was saying now. “But breaking curses is what I do best. Now let’s get started, take out your books.”

~

After a whole class spent on how to deal with Ghouls, Verna was feeling much better about DADA. Maybe Rakepick wasn’t going to be so bad. Rowan didn’t feel the same way.

“She might know what she’s talking about, but she has no teaching experience, and I still don’t trust her after the way she dealt with you last year Verna,” they were saying, a little heated. “I think you should be careful if she decides to ask something from you, or… something…”

“Don’t you think you’re maybe overreacting a little bit?” asked Charlie.

“I agree with Rowan,” Ben inserted. “I don’t like her either.”

“We’ll be careful,” Verna assured her friends. “But Dumbledore must’ve had a reason hiring her.”

“Yeah, that’s true… I don’t know, I just don’t like this…” Rowan said and slowly the conversation turned to more casual matters, such as Barnaby Lee’s new pet crup puppy. The general consensus seemed to be that it was extremely cute.

~

After the day’s classes Verna was officially introduced to one Percy Weasley in the library. She and Charlie headed there to get started on charting out how much cramming they’d have to do for their O.W.L.s, only to find Bill and Percy already there, both noses buried deep in books, a scrappy-looking rat sitting on the table next to their study-material.

“Oh, hi Verna,” Bill said with a smile. “Did you two come to actually study?” The surprise in his voice was neither flattering nor unexpected.

“We came to plan on studying,” Verna told Bill, as she and Charlie sat down.

“Well, that’s better than nothing,” Bill chuckled and then patted Percy on the shoulder. “Percy, this is Verna.”

“I know,” Percy said in a manner that seemed much too adult-like for an 11-year-old. “She gave us a rather short introduction of Gryffindor common room last night, but I haven’t had a chance to properly introduce myself, I’m Percy Weasley, future prefect, Head Boy, and Minister for Magic.”

“It’s really nice to meet you, Percy, sounds like you have your future pretty well planned out,” Verna said and emulated her tone and smile to Beatrice from the previous night, with wildly different results. It appeared Percy was not a fan of hers.

“If you let him, he’ll plan your life for you, too,” Bill said, amused.

“This is my loyal rat, Scabbers,” Percy continued.

“Loyal?” asked Charlie. “It runs off every chance it gets.”

“There’s something off about that rat, yeah…” Bill agreed.

“Ron likes him!” Percy defended his pet.

“Ron’s eight, he likes everything except for spiders,” Charlie complained. Both of the older Weasleys seemed to have such a weird aversion for poor Scabbers that Verna felt bad for it.

“I have a rat too; his name is Hamish. He actually belonged to my brother, but I’ve been taking care of it in his absence.”

This seemed to appeal to Percy, whose tone towards Verna changed a little, when he said: “That’s really kind of you, to take care of your brother’s pet.”

Verna considered this a victory.

~

Their study session was cut short, when Professor Rakepick approached their table something like thirty minutes into Verna and Charlie trying to figure out what exactly to focus most on.

“Mr. Weasley,” she started, and all three of the Weasleys replied with an immediate ‘yes?’.

Verna stifled a laugh.

“William Weasley,” Rakepick specified. “Come with me. You too Miss Malinda, we have work to do.”

Exchanging a glance with Charlie, and Rowan’s misgivings about Rakepick running on a loop in her head, Verna followed Bill and the professor out of the library.

“What is this about?” she whispered to Bill.

“No idea, I guess we’ll find out soon, though…”

 ~

Rakepick took them up to her classroom, where Merula Snyde was already sitting on one of the desks, preoccupied with changing the colour of her painted nails to pay much attention to Verna and the others entering. Verna wasn’t happy to see her. Whatever Rakepick had in mind seemed to involve Merula, and that was never good news.

“Cease your activities Miss Snyde, we have important matters to discuss,” Rakepick commanded, and Merula immediately jumped down from the desk and stood straight. Verna and Bill walked up next to her as Rakepick went on to stand beside the teacher’s desk. She was tall and had a bearing of someone accustomed to commanding respect. Verna found it quite easy to believe she was capable of handling anything that was thrown at her. That’s how I want to be, she thought briefly.

“Congratulations you three. Of all the students at Hogwarts, I’ve chosen you to be my apprentice curse-breakers. Mr Weasley for his bravery and determination, Miss Snyde for her ambition and strength, and Miss Malinda for her natural talent, and obvious connection to the cursed vaults.”

“Why is Merula here?” Verna asked without missing a beat. She was not about to compromise her chances of rescuing her brother for the sake of Merula’s ambitions. She knew by now that Merula would never sacrifice her chances of getting whatever power and knowledge the vaults could give her, not for Jacob’s sake, not for anyone’s.

“Because she is a powerful witch and you’d be a fool not to accept her help, after all, I had to save you from Mr Copper’s attack just months ago.”

Merula remained quiet but gave Verna a smug grin.

“Enough. We need each other’s help to find the next vault and end its curse before anyone gets hurt,” Rakepick said. “I’m going to train you so that you can be more of a help than a hindrance to me, starting with the Incarcerous spell. Wands out!”

 ~

The three of them spent the next three hours attempting to learn the Binding spell with Rakepick’s instruction. She was a good teacher. Strict, demanding, but very clear in the way she instructed them, not leaning on any extra flash, just taking the simplest route to the desired outcome. Unsurprisingly, Bill was the first one to nail the spell. He had two years’ worth more experience and had always been talented. When Verna finally managed to cast the spell on Merula, she felt a sense of accomplishment far greater than if they had used training dummies. The spell conjured ropes that wound tightly around Merula, trapping her arms and binding her legs together. She wobbled for a while and then stumbled to the floor with a grunt. Verna couldn’t help but grin.

“Verna, I don’t think she can breathe…” Bill interrupted her victorious train of thought.

“Oh, shit,” Verna cursed. “Finite Incantatem!” she pointed her wand towards Merula and the ropes around her unbound. “Are you alright?” she asked despite herself.

“Of course, Malinda, mind your own business,” Merula spat, looking more hurt by the audacity of Verna asking her if she was okay. She got up and dusted off her ropes, avoiding looking at any of them.

Rakepick cleared her throat and said: “This is a valuable lesson; we are a team now. A family. No matter what happens, we must protect one another. Do you understand?”

With a sideways glance at Merula, Verna nodded. She hadn’t had this good of a chance to finding any of the previous vaults. Rakepick was an accomplished curse-breaker and now it started to make sense why she had singled out Verna the previous year. Maybe she had already known she’d work here this year and need Verna’s expertise with stopping another curse roaming the halls of Hogwarts. That was something good to tell Rowan, at least, to put their mind on ease.

“And the rest of you?” asked Rakepick with impatience.

“Of course,” Bill said immediately.

Merula eyed both of them with nothing short of disgust and then said: “Fine.”

“Good, then that’s all for tonight, you can go.”

 ~

Rakepick ushered them out of her class, and the three of them were left standing in the empty, darkening corridor. Verna had no idea about the time, but she guessed it was quite late and that they most definitely had missed dinner.

“So that was kind of… strange,” Bill said, but he sounded more excited than anything.

“Finally, someone is doing something in this school,” scoffed Merula.

“And I don’t want you or your megalomania getting in the way of saving my brother,” Verna exclaimed.

“Don’t worry Malinda, you finally have capable people helping so there’s a chance you won’t fuck this up.”

“Fuck off Merula.”

The shorter girl laughed, but there was nothing humorous about the sound. “You like to pretend you’re above the rest of us with your little mission to save your brother, but let’s face it; you’re just scared to admit you like feeling special. You want what’s inside those vaults just as much as me.”

“Shut your mouth about my brother,” Verna snarled. “I’m nothing like you.”

“Of course you’re not, cause I’m not pathetic.”

Verna instinctively reached for her wand and Merula did the same, taking a threatening step closer.

“Verna, we should… probably go… now,” Bill interrupted and placed himself between the two girls. He then proceeded to practically drag her towards the Gryffindor common room by the arm.

~

“I had it under control,” Verna said once they were out of earshot.

“Maybe, but I’d rather not take either one of you to the hospital wing in several different pieces.”

“Fine, yeah, you’re right or whatever… She just gets on my nerves.”

Bill gave her a curious look Verna couldn’t quite place, and then said: “Yeah, I know. You shouldn’t let her get to you that much, it’s what she wants.”

“I know, it’s infuriating.”

“You’re gonna have to be able to work together somehow, though.”

Verna frowned. “I’m not risking my brother’s, or anyone else’s life because of some school rivalry, don’t worry.”

“Good,” Bill said and then stopped. “Is that… Ben?” he asked and pointed to an alcove not far from where they were standing. It was dark so he was partly concealed in shadows, but when he heard his name, he looked towards them.

“Oh, hi Verna, Bill…”

“What are you sitting out here for?” Verna asked and went to her friend. Ben looked rough, like he hadn’t slept.

“I wanted to be alone and there’s always someone in the common room or the dorm…”

“Oh, sorry, I can go- “

“No, actually, can I talk to you for a second, Verna… I…” he trailed off and looked at Bill apologetically.

“I’ll go on ahead, don’t stay out long though,” Bill said reassuringly. Then he walked off to the direction of the Gryffindor tower.

“What did you want to talk about?” asked Verna and sat on the bench in the alcove next to Ben.

For a moment, Ben didn’t look like he was going to answer. Verna had the sudden urge to hug him, but she didn’t move, fearing that Ben would change his mind and leave like last night. Finally, he cleared his throat and stammered: “I’m scared that someone’s gonna take control of me again, and make me do something worse, or that I already have but I just can’t remember.”

He really was in a state. Gently, Verna laid a careful hand on his shoulder.

“We’ll work this out, you don’t have to deal with all this shit on your own, Ben, I’m the reason you’re in this mess in the first place.”

“I still don’t remember what really happened before I attacked you… Do you… do you really believe me? That I was controlled?”

“I promise you that I do, please at least stop worrying about that,” Verna assured him. Ben huffed out a breath and his shoulders relaxed a bit.

“Thank you, Verna, I don’t know if I’d be as understanding if I was in your shoes…”

Verna bit her lip. It wasn’t a pleasant thing to hear, but she couldn’t exactly blame Ben. Everything had gotten so messed up last year with Rowan and Ben arguing and Verna feeling like she was losing touch with them both. They used to all be so close and now every single interaction was laced with something like doubt. An uncertainty Verna wanted so badly to get rid of.

“We should head back to the common room before Filch finds us here, c’mon,” Verna said and got up.

Ben stood to follow and they were about to head after Bill, when suddenly Ben grabbed Verna’s arm and pulled her behind him.

“Look out!” he yelled and took out his wand but before he could so much as utter an incantation, a purple light hit him and knocked him to the side. Verna looked frantically for the source of the spell, and had her wand out in seconds, but she wasn’t fast enough either. Suddenly she felt her entire body stiffen up, as she was hit with what must’ve been the full body-bind curse. As she hit the ground quite painfully, she saw a hooded figure approach them from the shadows of the corridor. Desperately she tried to move, knowing full well it was not going to work. Her breathing came in shallow gasps as she lay there, helpless to do anything. The red-clad figure walked closer and kicked Verna’s wand out of her reach, as if it would’ve been any use for her in this state anyway.

“I told you death was coming to Hogwarts, Verna Malinda,” the figure said in a voice that was impossible to place or describe. It was modified with magic. “We still need you alive, but before this year ends, one of your friends has to die…”

Verna tried to focus on getting her fingers to move, to do something, anything. Her thoughts were a flurry of desperation and anger. The hooded figure leaned over Verna. She couldn’t make out a face or anything that could be used to recognize the attacker. Verna braced herself for something worse, but nothing happened. Instead, the figure stalked off, back into the shadows.

~

Verna was still trying to force her uncooperative muscles to move, when she saw Ben move in the corner of her eye. The boy sat up and Verna lost sight of him. She heard his footsteps and a muttered spell, and then felt her body able to move again. Without a second glance at Ben, Verna shot up like a lightning bolt, chasing into the direction the hooded person had disappeared to. She had to catch them, she had to. Her ears rang and when she looked down to her wand hand, it was shaking. She wasn’t sure if it was anger, fear, or both.

“Verna, wait!” she heard Ben’s voice, and footsteps echoing after her.

Of course, there was nothing and no one to find. Verna was getting sick of this. She balled her hands into fists so hard her nails dug into her palms. How could she have let the wizard incapacitate her like that? Ben caught up to her and Verna took notice of him now that she could think a little more clearly. He seemed fine, just a little rattled.

“Verna, hey, it’s okay,” Ben tried to reassure her, but it wasn’t okay. Someone had threatened to kill one of her friends. The thought made her chest feel like it was filled with water. The ease with witch this stranger had knocked both of them out of the game made Verna feel sick all over.

“This is bullshit.”

“Verna-“

She took a deep breath. “Are you alright?” she then asked Ben.

“Yeah, you?”

Verna nodded. “Do you think that was someone we know being used against us?”

“I don’t know to be honest… but we should head back now, before someone else attacks us…” Ben said and there was nothing to it, he was right. Verna knew she wasn’t going to find anything but trouble if she stayed here, so she followed Ben back to the Gryffindor common room.

[spidernerdsblog]

Homecoming

A/N : What if will be my personal take on Spiderman movies. This is an oneshot on Spiderman: Homecoming showcasing a platonic relationship between Peter Parker and Stark reader. Their relationship will evolve as per the sequels. Most of the original scenes from the movie is included. Trying something new hope you like this. Feedback and suggestions are always welcome.

Pairing : Peter Parker x Stark reader ( platonic)

Summary : After the events of Civil War the Avengers have broken Tony Stark is busy being a mentor to his new recruit Peter Parker aka Spiderman  who wants to prove that he is worthy to be a part of the Avengers. Things get interesting when he crosses path with none other than the heiress of Stark Industries Y/N Stark aka Ironheart. What does the future hold for them?

Warnings : mild language, suggestive themes.

“What?! I have to go to Midtown High!” You couldn’t believe your ears. 

“Whyyy?! What’s the problem with my present school?" 

"It’s my decision and it’s final.” Tony said firmly. 

“Mooom! You agreed to this?” you turned to Pepper with a puppy face. 

“Don’t look at me, it was your father’s decision." 

"But you are literally the CEO of Stark Industries, you are the one to decide.” You whined. 

“Uh uh little miss I still own Stark Industries and being your father I’m the CEO of your life. So Y/N H. Stark you are going to Midtown High to complete your studies.” “Besides Parker will be there you’ll be fine." 

"You mean the spider boy, your new recruit?" 

"Your dad thinks Peter will be a good influence on you. Taken for your ever growing rebellious behaviour." 

"He’s a nerd and how are you so sure that your pretty little daughter won’t corrupt your young apprentice.” You smirked, raising an eyebrow. 

“He’s a nice kid Y/N you’ll like him. And one more thing you are not allowed to carry your suit or any of the Stark tech during school hours." 

"You gotta be shitting me! This is so not done!" 

"Uh uh language young lady" 

"Now you also don’t start like Cap." 

Peter had resumed his studies at the Midtown School of Science and Technology after Tony Stark told him he is not yet ready to become a full Avenger. He made it a daily routine to report everything he does the whole day ` to Happy. 

Happy scoffs at the numerous incoming messages. 

"Who is it?” you wiggled your brows sitting at the backseat of your posh car. 

“Ain’t that lucky kiddo. As usual our Spiderling." 

"He’s quite dedicated I see."  You chuckle. 

Your car pulls over in front of your new school. Happy opens the door for you as you step out of the car and let out a deep breath in anticipation of the new life ahead. Happy followed you as you walked inside. You felt a little embarrassed and stopped him. 

"Happy you don’t need to escort me inside the school. I’m not a 5 year old. You can leave, I’ll be fine.” You assured him. 

You walked past the hallways you could feel all eyes were on you students whispering to themselves to see none other than Y/N Stark in their school. You kinda felt overwhelmed with the attention you got.

You walked a little when you caught sight of that familiar mop of brown hair. You never met Peter in person but you have seen him quite a few times in the compound you went and placed your hand on Peter’s shoulder. 

“Hey underoos!” Peter jumped back as he turned to look who called him by this name. And he was dumbfounded to see you. He had seen you in magazine covers and ofcourse in your social media handles but you were breathtakingly beautiful in real life even in just a simple sweatshirt paired with jeans and sneakers. Your hair let loose cascading down your shoulders. 

“Hey- hi you.. You must be Miss Stark. I’m Peter.. Peter Parker.” He fumbled 

“I know and it’s Y/N no need to be formal as we are gonna be classmates. Anyways how are you by the way after that whole…” He cut you off 

“Yea.. Yeah I’m fine. The Stark summit was really hectic but I got through it” He widened his eyes and nodded his head sideways. You got the hint and played along. 

“Great! Hey I was hoping you could show me around your school?" 

"It will be my pleasure to give you a tour of our school.” Flash dropped in between your conversation from nowhere pushing Peter aside. 

“Who the hell are you?” you looked at him sceptically. 

“Oh sorry where are my manners, Flash - Flash Thompson.” he said with a smug face. 

“Oh! nice to meet you but I’m not currently into flashy things so if you would excuse us.” You shut him up. 

“Shall we?” you turned to Peter. 

“Yeah - yeah sure.” Peter stuttered. 

“You are Ned Leeds right? Nice to meet you too.” You gave a smile and walked past them. 

“Oh she knows my name.” Ned freaked out. 

**************************************

“Students I would like to introduce you to your new classmate Miss Y/N Howard Stark.” Ms Warren introduced you.

“Hello everyone would really appreciate it if you call me by my name.” You said coyly and then went back to your seat. Ms Warren carried on with the class. 

“An object is thrown vertically with a velocity of v. What is its velocity at the highest point…" 

"0m/s.” You answered casually while taking notes in your notebook even before Ms Warren could finish her question. The whole class stared at you for your lightning speed answer. You felt intimidated with their stare. 

“Umm when examining vertical motion, the vertical velocity will always be zero at the highest point. At this point, the acceleration from gravity is working to change the motion of the ball from positive to negative. This change is represented by the x-axis on a velocity versus time graph. As the object changes direction, its velocity crosses the x-axis, momentarily becoming zero.” You explained your answer. You were indeed beauty with brains. 

“Thank you Y/N" 

"So let’s move on to the next question, how do we calculate linear acceleration between points A and B? Flash raised his hand. 

"Flash”

“Uh it’s the product of the sine of the angle and the gravity divided by the mass.”

“Nope”

“Peter you still with us?” He was busy looking at his own spiderman footage. 

“Umm yeah, yeah" 

"Uh mass cancels out so it’s gravity times sine”

“See flash being the fastest is not always the best, if you’re wrong. The whole class burst into laughter. 

During recess Peter kept staring at Liz with lovestruck eyes who was busy organising for the homecoming. 

"Did Liz get a new top?” he asked Ned. 

“Oh no you have seen it before but not with that skirt." 

"Probably we should stop staring before it gets creepy though." 

"Too late.You guys are losers.” MJ quipped. 

“Then why do you sit with us?" 

"Because I don’t have any friends." 

"Hey who said you don’t have friends. Mind if I sit?” you chirped. 

“No not at all." 

"It’s Y/N by the way Y/N Stark." 

"Michelle Jones, call me MJ." 

"And you creepos are really hopeless. Just go and tell her what you feel.” You snickered. 

“No I’m fine.” Peter got up abruptly flustered.

************************************** 

The school decathlon team was practicing in the hall whilst Peter tried to make Mr Harrington understand that he would be unable to participate. 

“Peter, it’s nationals. Is there no way you could take one weekend off?" 

"I can’t go to Washington because if Mr Stark needs me then I have to make sure that I am here." 

"You have never been in the same room with Tony Stark.” Flash jabbed. 

“Wait, what’s happening?” Cindy asked. 

“Peter’s not going to Nationals." 

"No, no, no.” Cindy said

“Why not?” Abraham smacks the bell.

“Really, right before Nationals?” Liz scowled. 

“He already quit marching band and robotics lab.” MJ pointed out as all the students stared at her. 

“I’m not obsessed with him, I’m just very observant!” MJ clarified. 

“Flash you’re in for Peter." 

"Pfff…. I don’t know, I gotta check my calendar first. I gotta hot date with black widow coming up.”

“That is false!” Abraham smacks the bell again. 

“What did I tell you about using the bell for comedic purposes? Mr Harrington warned him. 

You mistakenly stumbled into the room where the practise was going on, everyone’s attention shifted towards you. 

"Oh! sorry I was just looking for the robotics lab.” You apologized. 

“Hey Y/N can join us too.” Flash suggested. 

“Join you where?” you frowned. 

“Our academic decathlon team as Parker has chickened out." 

"No, no Flash there has been strict instructions from Mr Stark that Miss Stark should not be engaged in any kind of extracurricular which requires her to go out of the school premises for safety reasons.” You cringed internally.

“Umm first of all Mr Harrington with all due respect please call me by my name I am just a normal student of yours like others over here. And secondly screw my old man I’m in only if you are okay with that." 

"We will be glad to have a genius like you, welcome to the team Y/N." 

Peter was just waiting for the school bell to ring. As soon as the bell rang he ran out of school jumping off the gate. 

"Nice jump.” You appeared from the side startling him. 

“Sorry didn’t mean to startle you again." 

"Uh it’s OK. You didn’t go home?" 

"Nah my dad is on a trip to India so no one there to watch over me. And I’m not going to miss this opportunity so thought of exploring Queens today as I’m new here." 

"And this place will be my second home till I graduate but first I need to grab something to eat I’m starving." 

"I know a place that has the best sandwiches in Queens.”

“Great! Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go.” You chirped. 

You followed Peter as he led you to the place. 

“What’s up Mr. Delmar?” Peter greeted him as you entered the store. 

“Hey Mr Parker, no. 5 right?" 

"Yeah and with pickles can you squish it down real flat? Thanks.”

“And who is this pretty lady?" 

"She is Y/N Stark, our new classmate." 

"You got lucky kid.” Mr Delmar smirked. 

“Oh no it’s.. It’s nothing like that.” Peter got nervous. 

“Yeah I’m new here he is just showing me around.” You backed him up. 

“How’s your aunt?" 

"Yeah she’s alright." 

"La tía de este, es una italiana que está buenísima.” Mr Delmar says to his co-worker. 

“¿Cómo está tu hija?” Peter stuck out his tongue a little. 

“Damn!"you giggle, smacking Peter’s arm slightly shocked and impressed by his comeback. 

”$16" Mr Delmar demanded. 

“It’s $8" 

"For that comment $16”

“Hey C'mon I was joking, I was joking. Here $8." 

"So how’s school?" 

"Ah you know boring got better things  to do." 

"Stay at school kid, stay at school otherwise you’re gonna end up like me.”

“wow this is great!" 

"Best sandwiches in Queens!" 

You turned to leave as Peter got the sandwiches. 

"She’s beautiful,” Mr Delmar mouthed to Peter. 

Peter raised his hands dismissively and mouthed “no”. 

Peter handed you the sandwich after coming out of the shop. 

“Thanks I owe you a sandwich.Okay then see you at school tomorrow." 

"You can go on your own right?” Peter asked before leaving. 

“Yeah Peter I’m Ironheart I can take care of myself." 

"Then I better go." 

"Yeah bye goodluck with your spidermaning." 

That very night you saw the news of Spiderman preventing criminals from robbing an ATM with their advanced weapons. On the other hand as Peter tries to sneak into his apartment after stopping the robbery, Ned discovers his secret identity. 

Ned was so excited to know that his best friend is an avenger he bombarded him with questions the next day. During gym class Ned and Peter overhear Liz’s conversation with Betty about her crush on spiderman. Ned tries to help Peter. 

"Peter knows Spiderman!” Ned blurted out garnering everyone’s attention towards them. 

“Uh - no I don’t no I - I mean.” Peter stammered. 

“They are friends.” Ned added. 

“Yeah like coach Wilson and Captain America are friends.” Flash made fun of him. 

“I - I met him yeah a couple of times but it’s a- through the Stark internship. 

Yeah well I’m really not supposed to talk about it.” He glared at Ned. 

“That’s awesome! hey why you know what may be you should invite him to liz’s party right?" 

” Yeah I’m having people over tonight more than welcome to come.“

"You’re having a party?" 

"Yeah it’s gonna be dope you should totally invite your personal friend spiderman.”

“Umm”

“It’s okay I know Peter is way busy for parties anyways so”

“Oh c'mon he’ll be there right Parker?" 

You were standing beside MJ irritated with Peter and Ned’s childish behavior witnessing the whole drama unfold. When Flash tried to woo you again. 

"Hey Y/N you are very much welcome too. I know these are not your kind of parties but I’ll make sure you’re comfortable.”

“Thanks Flash will give it a thought.” you gave a tight lipped smile. 

“What are you doing?"  Peter snapped at Ned. 

"Helping you out. Did you not hear that? Liz has a crush on you!” Peter opened his mouth to say something stopping midway realising Ned was right. 

“Dude you’re an avenger if anyone of us has a chance with a senior girl it’s you." 

As everyone was leaving you briskly walked towards Peter pulling him aside. 

"What the fuck was that?!” You muttered in his ears. You were about to say more but you stopped seeing Ned coming near. 

“He knows.” Peter pointed towards Ned. 

“Okay so what the fuck was that?! You said out loud this time to both of them. 

"We are not supposed to swear in school.” Ned interrupted you. 

“Ned better not make me open my dictionary.” You glowered at him. 

“You do know right what my dad is capable of doing if he comes to know that you are using your superhero identity as a trick to woo some girl?” you snapped at Peter. 

“But- but I didn’t say anything. It was Ned.”

“C'mon Y/N don’t be a buzzkill Peter really likes Liz this is his only chance.” You huffed rolling your eyes. 

“Do whatever you please but being a girl myself I can assure you that this won’t work you dumbasses." 

******************************************

Though you didn’t want to come to this party because this is nothing to the parties you are used to attending but you gave in for MJ. You two sort of have become really close friends so you couldn’t say no to her. 

” Oh my god hi guys, cool hat Ned.“

’‘Hi liz” Ned and Peter both greet her.

“I’m so happy you guys came." 

"There’s pizza and drinks. Help yourself.”

“It’s a great party” Peter complimented.

“Thanks. Have fun.” Liz goes to attend other guests.

“Dude what are you doing? she’s here spider it up" 

"No, no, no I can’t - I cannot do this”

“Y/N was right, spiderman is not a party trick." 

"Look I’m gonna be myself" 

"Peter nobody wants that” Ned said bluntly

“Dude!” Peter seemed offended. 

“Penis Parker what’s up?” Flash quipped. 

“Where’s your pal spider man? Let me guess in Canada with your imaginary girlfriend." 

Flash as usual started bullying him, you felt like punching him right at his face but then you thought Peter brought it upon himself and why are you even feeling sorry for a boy you have known for just a few days. Peter went off to the terrace to change into his spiderman suit. He didn’t feel right about what he was doing. Just then he saw an explosion far away and he went off to see what’s the matter. After sometime you noticed Peter was nowhere to be found. 

Later in the night when you came back home you got to know about Peter and how he came across a gang of criminals selling high tech weapons. He went to save the guy who was buying the weapons and got caught in a fight with a vulture guy who dropped him in a lake, he nearly drowned after becoming tangled in the parachute built into his suit for his safety. Thanks to your dad, who was monitoring the Spider-Man suit sent a rescue bot to save him.

Next day at school Peter was trying to dismantle the weapon as he repeatedly hit it with a hammer to separate the glowing core and study it. 

"Hey thanks for bailing on me.” Ned grimaced. 

“yeah well something came up.” Peter muttered showing Ned the glowing core he retrieved from the crime scene. 

“Woah! what is that?" 

"I don’t know, some guy tried to vaporize me with it.”

“Seriously? awesome!” Peter frowned. 

“I mean not awesome, totally uncool, that guy so scary." 

"I think it’s a power source" 

"Yeah but it’s connected with these microprocessors that’s an inductive charging plate that’s what I use to charge my toothbrush.” Ned explained. 

“Whoever is making these weapons is obviously combining the alien tech with ours." 

"It’s literally the coolest sentence anyone has ever said. I just wanna thank you for letting me be part of your journey into this amazing." 

"Hey I heard you were dunked into the lake by some flying vulture guy. How are you now?” you suddenly walked in. 

Peter jumped out of his skin in fear as he and Ned scrambled to hide the glowing object from you. 

“Yea..yeah I’m..I’m fine.” he said nervously. 

“What’s the matter?” you frowned looking at their horrified expressions. 

“Uh- nothing" 

"Why do I have a feeling that you guys are hiding something from me?” you eyed him sceptically. 

“Hiding, wha…what will I be hiding from you?” he stuttered. You narrowed your eyes in suspicion. 

“It’s boys stuff girls can’t know.” Ned backed him up. 

“Huh! Okay.. Whatever…” you scoffed rolling your eyes.

“Anyways the reason I came to you is Dad is back from his trip and he asked me to tell you to stop by the compound today after school." 

"What!? Really??Any new mission?” His face lit up in excitement. 

“Oh no, no he has something to do with you in the lab." 

"Oh okay.”

Later in the day after school you were in the lab engrossed in working on some new upgrades for your suit. 

“Hey” Peter said timidly. You turned. 

“Oh hi there, was waiting for you only." 

"You said Mr Stark had some work with me." 

"Yeah he has but an urgent meeting came up so he told me to do the work instead.He’s probably making some new upgrades for your suit and told me to take a body scan of yours." 

"Oh that’s cool." 

"Okay now take off your clothes."  you turned and continued working on the control panel.

"What?!" 

"FRIDAY needs to scan your body so hurry up we don’t have the whole day” you reasoned. 

“Bu..But” he stammered. 

“Oh C'mon don’t be so confident about yourself I won’t swoon over seeing you in just your boxers.” You scoffed. 

“Umm okay.” Peter turned around and started taking off his clothes hesitantly. 

You turned around and instantly regretted because the sight for you was to behold. You actually thought you would swoon over seeing his chiselled back muscles. He is definitely over dressed to give away what’s underneath. You were grateful Peter wasn’t facing you to see you all flustered.

“Okay Peter you stand on that platform.” You instructed. 

He turned around facing you and now you could see his toned abs in full glory. 

“Fuck!” you cursed under your breath. For a moment you felt the air was knocked out of your lungs. You felt your chest tighten as you gasped for air, a heat rising in your body. You cleared your throat trying to ease the tension. 

“Man you are ripped why don’t you wear a little less clothing at school maybe it can help Liz to notice you.” Peter blushed at your comment. 

You tapped some buttons on the panel as FRIDAY did the scan. 

“So what upgrades is Mr Stark working on?” Peter asked, putting back his clothes on.”

“I don’t know, he said he’s working on something and I’m least interested in things which aren’t related to me." 

"Okay then see you later.” Peter pursed his lips smiling. 

“yeah bye” you got busy with your work. Peter turned to leave as he stopped in his tracks and turned back. 

“Y/N" 

"Yeah?" 

"Best of luck for the decathlon.” he smiled softly. 

“Oh thanks.”

“Okay then bye.”

“Hmm bye.” You smiled. 

*****************************************

Back at Peter’s apartment, he and Ned were tracking the homing beacon that Peter attached to the arms dealer. The tracking device on Schultz leads to Maryland which was not far away from D.C., which makes Peter reconsider his decision to join the decathlon team. 

Next day when the team was about to leave for D.C. Peter showed up. 

“Hey it’s Peter.” Cindy exclaimed

“Peter?” Liz frowned.

“Hey I was hoping if I could rejoin the team.”

“No, no way you can’t just quit on us and stroll up and be welcomed back by everyone” Flash protested.

“Hey Peter! welcome back! Flash you are back to first alternate." 

"What?!”

“He’s taking your place.” Abraham laughed. 

“Uh excuse me, can we go already? I was hoping to catch in some protesting in front of some embassy before dinner .” MJ quipped. 

“Protesting is patriotic. Let’s get on the bus." 

Flash was furious as he took off his blazer and threw it at Peter. 

You became suspicious with Peter’s sudden change in plans and kept an eye on Peter the whole bus ride. 

At the hotel room after a lot of pleading Ned agreed in helping Peter disable the tracker your dad  implanted in the Spider-Man suit, and unlock its advanced features. Peter sneaks out of the hotel room but is stopped by Liz who asks him to loosen up a bit and have fun with everyone near the swimming pool. He was first tempted in spending time with his crush but his duties as spiderman stopped him from doing so and he also wanted to prove his worth to his mentor Tony Stark. 

With a heavy heart he swings off to stop Toomes from stealing weapons from a D.O.D.C. truck, but instead gets trapped inside, causing him to miss the decathlon tournament. When he discovers that the power core is an unstable Chitauri grenade, Peter races to the Washington Monument. 

Midtown High won the competition and Mr Harrington took you all for a visit to the Washington Monument. Peter tries to warn Ned about the explosive he’s been carrying around but it goes in vain. The Chitauri core gets unstable as it gets exposed to radiation in the x-ray scanner during security check in. You all boarded the elevator whilst the tour guide gave you the details about the Monument.  

Ned threw his bag away as he felt some vibrations coming from it. The core detonated causing a massive explosion shaking the whole building as a crack developed on the roof of the elevator. Everyone cried out in panic as you all got trapped inside it. You immediately put on your AI powered glasses that you snuck off from the lab incase of emergency. 

"FRIDAY??” you asked for the status report. 

“The emergency exit is blocked by debris of rubble Miss Stark.” FRIDAY informed. 

“So I need to blast off the blocked exit.” You activated your custom wrist watch which just like your dad’s watch turned into your Ironheart gauntlet giving access to your suit’s repulsor.

“Everybody duck down and cover your heads.” You commanded aiming your repulsor to the blocked exit and blasting it off. 

The door was cleared and slowly the rescue team started pulling you all out of the elevator one by one. But you knew very well the commotion had reduced the impact time for the elevator to fall. You really wished you had your suit with you. The cables snapped as the elevator started falling with Ned, Liz and Mr Harrington in it. Fortunately Spiderman was right on time as he webbed it up and pulled the elevator up eventually saving everyone. 

The news of the whole incident was everywhere as you all were escorted out of the building by the security officials. MJ came running and hugged you. 

“Oh! Y/N I was so scared. You okay?" 

"Yeah fortunately.”

A few minutes later Happy arrived at the place, he hurriedly came to you. 

“Oh God Y/N you alright?" 

"Yes Happy I’m fine see not a single scratch.”

“Save that for your dad he is so mad at us for letting you come here alone." 

"I’ll handle him, don’t worry. Let’s go home then?" 

*******************************

Back at the compound you were about to go to your room but was stopped by your dad he looked angry. 

"Where do you think you are going young lady? Don’t you think you have got some explanation to do?" 

"For what?” you asked bluntly. 

“For participating in a school event and carrying the stark tech with you which I had forbidden." 

"Tony I don’t think it’s the right time, we should be glad she came home safe and sound from that horrifying accident, let her rest. We can do this later and I was the one who gave her permission. It wasn’t even her fault." 

"Uh uh Pepper don’t guard her. Let her speak because this wouldn’t have happened if she didn’t defy my orders in the first place.”

“Dad, what is the use of going to school if I don’t participate in the co curricular activities? It’s better you homeschool me if you have got so much problem." 

"Because unlike others your life is always under mortal danger because of your father’s job. And he is always trying hard to protect the only two precious things in his life. But you have made it a motto of your life to defy each and everything I say." 

"Oh yeah and if I hadn’t carried my repulsors with me then your precious daughter would have been dead by now.” You jabbed. 

“You are not using that tone with me little miss you are grounded for two weeks." 

"What! That’s outrageous!” you protested. 

“You heard me now go back to your room.”

“Why did you even bring me back? I was better off at my boarding school." 

"Because your father cares about your safety." 

"The only thing you care about is your reputation. That is why the avengers broke up in the first place. That is why Cap is not with us nor is Nat." 

"Now you are crossing your limit girl.”

“You never saw me as your daughter dad, admit it you just see me as your heiress. It has always been about you and your goddamn ego!!” your face reddened with anger. 

“That’s it I had enough of your reckless behaviour go to your room now!” Tony lost his temper. 

“As long as you are under my roof you are bound to follow whatever I say!" 

"Fine then I’m leaving!!” tears spilled out your eyes. 

“Where do you think you are going at this hour?" 

"Wherever my eyes lead me to!!” You yelled. 

“Y/N! Wait!” Pepper called you back but you ran off rubbing your eyes. 

Tony collapsed on the couch holding his head. Pepper sat beside him rubbing his shoulder. 

“Was I hard on her?” he asked weakly. 

“I think you might have gone a little overboard with her Tony." 

"It was for her good only.’' 

"I know Tony you were just trying to protect her.”

“I think I failed to be a good father.”

“No Tony you have tried your best but she’s growing up now you have to understand that you can’t always keep her away from danger. You have to let her go, she has to learn to deal with the world on her own. Just have a little faith in her.”

“I mean if it wasn’t for Y/N carrying the repulsors with her they would have been trapped in the elevator for how long god only knows.” Pepper made him understand. 

“I know and I’m really proud of her." 

"Then show her that you are, everything she does is just to get a little appreciation from her dad.”

“Yeah you’re right maybe I have been a little cold towards her. I should go find her.”

“Don’t worry she’ll come back once she cools down. She is a Stark with the brains; she has inherited your stubbornness too, gotta deal with that.” Pepper chuckled trying to lighten the mood. 

“Didn’t know parenting will be so hard.” He chuckled. 

“Think about my condition then, I have to take care of a headstrong teenager as well as a man child." 

You had your earphones on as you walked briskly down the busy road. You weren’t paying much attention to your surroundings so you couldn’t hear the honking of the truck behind you but before it could hit you, you were swooped from the ground. You found yourself in the arms of none other than spiderman. 

"Peter if you drop me I swear I’m gonna blast your ass off.” You wriggled in his arms. 

“Just stop moving will you? Or else we both will fall.”

“Oh! my god I’m not looking anymore.” You buried your face in the crook of his neck panicking. 

He finally put you down on the terrace of a building and took his mask off. 

“What were you thinking?” He frowned. 

“What was I thinking!? Why the hell are you even here?!” you huffed 

“I just saved your life and you are yelling at me!”

“Nobody asked you to but thank you spiderman. Happy now?! “ You jabbed. 

"You could have got hurt Y/N” Peter said softly. 

“Why do you even care?!" 

"We are friends Y/N and that’s what friends do, they care." 

"Nobody cares about me Peter! Nobody!” you screamed. 

“Hey everything alright?” He asked with concern placing his hands on your shoulders. You soften a little bit as tears brimmed your eyes. Peter pulled you closer embracing you in a hug. You cried your heart out. 

“Hey it’s gonna be okay you can tell me.” He said caressing the back of your head. 

“I’m sorry I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that. Was in a bad mood, had a fight with dad.” You sniffled pulling yourself back from him. 

“Yeah I understood." 

"Care to tell why?" 

"You know my dad how control freak he can be. He was mad at me for carrying my repulsors and participating in the decathlon. So had an argument, things got heated and I ran out of the house." 

You both sat on the edge of the terrace. You took out two beer cans from your bag and handed one to him. 

"Here take" 

"I don’t drink plus it’s illegal" 

"Jeez you are really the embodiment of a perfect good boy just like my mom said.”

“Mom?”

“Yeah I know people get confused that why do I call Pepper mom but she is the best.”

“You are really close to her aren’t you?”

“That’s true.. Umm where to start actually. First of all I’m a product of one of my dad’s crazy night escapades which pretty sure didn’t go well because I’m here in front of you.” You chuckled. 

“My mom I mean my biological mother left me at his doorstep in a casket when I was around nine months as per I was told with a note." 

She’s yours. I can’t take her responsibility. 

"My dad initially was shocked and worried about his image and reputation in public after they would get to know about his secret daughter. He was up for giving me for adoption but then Pepper I mean my mom stepped in. She was ready to take up my responsibility while working for my dad. My dad agreed eventually. And since that day I have known her as my mother. My biological mother wouldn’t have done half of the things she has done for me all these years.”

“You and I are on the same page then. After my parents’ disappearance aunt May and uncle Ben looked after me as their own son. For me they will always be my parents.”

“At least you don’t have daddy issues, you didn’t have to wake up one fine day to know your dad has been kidnapped by the ten rings set up by Stane and then in no time the world knows him as the Ironman. Then he shipped me off to a boarding school citing my safety. Which I initially thought he didn’t want me around him but then our house got blown by the Mandarin and then I realized he maybe is worried about me. And then Avengers broke up and you came into our lives. Dad never praised me or even said that he liked me and I hated it when he praised you like non stop Peter is this, Peter is that. Can you imagine I was transferred to Midtown High because he wanted me to be with you so I could learn something from you.”

“I would say that’s an exaggeration. 

But now I get it why is he so fond of you. You are really a good guy Peter.”

“Thanks I guess.” Peter blushed. 

“Okay enough of my sob story. Now can you enlighten me spidey why was Ned carrying an explosive Chitauri core in his bag?" 

"Uh explosive.. What explosive??” Peter stammered. 

“Did anyone ever tell you that you are a terrible liar? Plus I had the place scanned by FRIDAY, now tell me the truth." 

"You can’t tell Mr Stark about this okay. I have come across a gang of criminals who are making illegal and deadly weapons with alien tech. I told Mr Stark about this but he despised me for getting involved in this." 

"Holy shit!! Dude you are sneaking behind my dad’s back. And he thinks you’re the purest soul on earth. So how much have you progressed with this?” you asked excitedly. 

“Not much actually.”

“Okay then best of luck detective Parker. By the way it was nice talking to you.”

“Anytime” Peter smiled

“One thing I can say Mr Stark loves you a lot Y/N that is why he’s so protective about you. Trust me I know sometimes it might feel a little annoying but when that person is gone from your life forever then you get to understand his worth. Don’t do anything that you might have to regret later.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Okay then let’s get you home shall we?”

“Yup need to apologise to my old man." 

You hold on to Peter tightly as you swinged across the city back to the compound. You tiptoed to the lab to find your dad working. 

"Hey Dad” you called out softly. Tony turned to see you standing at the door he got up and rushed to you hugging you tightly, heaving a sigh of relief. 

“Oh! Y/N you’re back! I’m so sorry for yelling at you like that.”

“I’m sorry too I should have listened to you.”

“No honey you did the right thing you saved so many lives and I’m proud of you.”

“Really?!” you were overwhelmed and shocked to hear that, this was the first time your father actually praised you. 

“Of course dear I’m so lucky to have a daughter like you. I know I have become a sort of overprotective father but can you forgive your old man? He just fears that you don’t turn out like him." 

"Hey I will be glad if I become just like you. You are the best.” You snuggled into him. 

***************************************

Spiderman became a hot topic in the whole school . Peter was overwhelmed with how everyone was talking about him. But to his luck the Principal sent him to detention for ditching the team. But Peter decided to sneak off from there to catch the bad guys. At home with the help of Karen he came to know about Aaron Davis the buyer he saved the other day. He went to confiscate him and persuaded Davis to reveal Toomes’ whereabouts that they were having a deal at the Staten Island Ferry at 11 am. He reached spot to catch them red handed. 

“Incoming call from Tony Stark.” Karen notified. 

“No, no, no. Don’t answer!” Peter panicked. 

“Mr. Parker, got a sec?" 

"Uh, I’m actually at school." 

"No, you’re not!” Karen said

“Nice work in DC, my dad never really gave me a lot of support and I’m just trying to break the cycle…" 

 "I’m kinda in the middle of something right now." 

"Don’t cut me off when I’m complimenting you. Anyway, great things are about to happen." 

The Staten Island Ferry horn goes off

"What is that?" 

"Uh, I’m at band practice." 

"That’s odd. Happy told me you quit the band six weeks ago. What’s up?" 

"I gotta go. End call!” Peter abruptly ended the call. 

“Hey!…”

Aboard the Staten Island Ferry, Parker captures Toomes’ new buyer Mac Gargan, but Toomes escapes when the FBI reaches the scene and interrupts Peter’s plans. A malfunctioning weapon explodes, tearing the ferry in half. Peter desperately tried to keep the ferry from falling apart by webbing them up but it went to vain as it wasn’t strong enough to hold the two halves. He held onto the ends of his webs in a last attempt to save the passengers in the ferry. Just then he felt the tension easing as a man shouted. 

“Yeah it’s Ironman and Ironheart!”

“Hi spiderman band practise was it?” Tony quipped. 

As soon as you got the news you and your dad came to the rescue. You both flew to the opposite sides and pushed the two halves of the ferry to join them together. Your dad then welded the joints with lasers to prevent them from falling apart again. 

“Mr Stark!”

“Hey Mr Stark! Can I do anything? What do you want me to do?” Peter asked. 

“I think you have done enough.”

“You can handle it from here right?” Tony asked you. 

“Yeah dad.” you assured him. 

“Talk to the feds and call in the Stark Relief Foundation.” he instructed. 

“Okay dad.”

“Let me go and have a word with our young rebel. Gosh you teenagers!” Tony scoffed and then flew to the high rise building where Peter was sitting sadness clouding his features. 

“Previously on Peter Screws the Pooch, I tell you to stay away from this. Instead, you hacked a multi-million dollar suit so you could sneak around behind my back doing the one thing I told you not to do." 

"Is everyone okay?” Peter asked weakly

“No thanks to you." 

"No thanks to me? Those weapons were out there, and I tried to tell you about it, but you didn’t listen. None of this would’ve happened if you’d just listened to me! If you even cared, you’d actually be here.” Peter ranted out. Tony  steps out of his suit to reveal that he is actually there

“ I did listen, kid. Who do you think called the FBI, huh? Did you know that I was the only one who believed in you? Everyone else said I was crazy to recruit a 14-year-old kid.”

“I’m 15." 

"No, this is where you ZIP IT, all right? The adult is talking! What if somebody had died tonight? Different story, right? 'Cause that’s on you. And if you died, I feel like that’s on me. I don’t need that on my conscience." 

"Yes sir. I’m sorry." 

"Sorry” doesn’t cut it.“

"I understand. I just wanted to be like you.”

“And I wanted you to be better. Okay, it’s not working out. I’m gonna need the suit back." 

"For how long?" 

"Forever." 

"No! No, no, no! Please, please, please.” Peter begged. 

“Let’s have it.” Tony was adamant. 

“You don’t understand. This is all I have. I’m nothing without this suit.” Peter said desperately 

 "If you’re nothing without this suit, then you shouldn’t have it, okay? God, I sound like my dad” Tony scoffed. 

"I don’t have any other clothes.” Peter said quietly. 

“Okay, we’ll sort that out." 

Peter went home all exhausted. Aunt May was hell worried about him. Peter finally broke down in front of her revealing that he lost the internship. May consoled him and asked him not to worry. Peter was sent to detention, MJ used to accompany him to cheer him up. 

You were talking to MJ as you saw Peter across the hall all gloomy. You excused yourself and went up to him. 

***********************************

"Hey you’re not going to talk to me also?" 

"Why no- why would I do that?" 

"I heard about what my dad did so I thought maybe you are angry about it. I swear I didn’t tell him anything." 

"Hey I’m not blaming you for anything Y/N instead you saved so many lives and you’re my best friend. I trust you the most." 

"Best friend?” you were slightly taken aback by the new tag he gave to your relationship. 

“Umm sorry I thought maybe after that night we are good friends now.”

“Hey no it’s fine I actually never had a best friend or even actual friends so it’s kind of overwhelming for me.”

“I just thought maybe he told you to stay away from me." 

"What? No! And even if he did, when have I ever listened to him?" 

"I think he is right. I really put him down." 

"Hey it’s gonna be fine you didn’t mean any harm. I know my dad you’ll get back your suit. He’s just a little upset that his young apprentice would turn out to be such a rebel.” You tried to cheer up his mood. 

“So what about homecoming? Did you ask Liz yet?" 

"No not yet.” he said meekly. 

“Then go and ask her out before it’s too late.” Peter eventually asks Liz to go to the homecoming dance with him. On the night of the dance, Peter discovers that Toomes is Liz’s dad. Deducing his secret identity from Liz’s account about him, Toomes threatens retaliation if he continues to interfere with his plans. During the dance, Peter realizes Toomes is planning to hijack a D.O.D.C. plane transporting weapons from Avengers Tower to the team’s new headquarters he leaves Liz alone during the dance to stop him. You see Peter running away and decide to go after him. Peter dons his old homemade Spider-Man suit. Though he is ambushed by Schultz, he defeats him with Ned’s help. 

You catch sight of Ned in the hallway. 

“Hey where’s Peter?" 

"Oh Y/N!” Ned sighed a relief seeing you. He explained to you the whole situation. 

“Wait let me call Happy.” You tried calling him but every time it went unanswered. 

“Happy for God’s sake pick up the damn phone!” You groaned in frustration. 

“Maybe we can hack in the mainframe.” Ned suggested. 

“Good idea Ned I’ll help you with the codes.”

In the meantime Peter stole Flash’s car and asked you to track his phone he left in Toomes car. Ned provided him the location. 

Suddenly Ms Warren barged in, you quickly hid under the table. She saw Ned and asked

“What are you doing here? There’s a dance" 

"I’m looking at porn.” He replied awkwardly 

You slapped your forehead listening to his lame excuse. 

At the lair Peter confronts Toomes, but he destroys the building’s support beams and leaves Peter to die. Peter escapes the rubble and intercepts the plane, steering it to crash on the beach near Coney Island. He and Toomes continue fighting, ending with Peter saving Toomes’ life after the damaged Vulture suit explodes, and leaving him for the police along with the plane’s cargo.

You were back in the compound pacing back and forth in your room when you heard a knock on your window. 

“Oh god! Peter!” you sighed a relief as you ran to open the window and let him in. 

“Oh my god! you are hurt very badly" 

"Oh it’s nothing, I’m used to this.” he winced limping on his feet. 

“Okay tough guy sit down now let me bring the first aid and clean your wounds." 

You sat in front of him as you dabbed a cotton ball in the disinfectant solution and gently cleaned his wounds. Peter winced at the stinging sensation. 

"Sorry but it will sting a little.” You started smiling while cleaning his wounds. 

“What is the matter?" 

"Nothing just thinking about the luck you have got. The girl you liked, her father, turned out to be a criminal doing business with stolen high tech weapons.” You let out an airy laugh. 

“Oh no this is bad.” Peter tensed up.

“Why? you did a good job in catching him red handed.”

“No but in a way I ruined Liz’s life. She would be so devastated after knowing about her father.” Peter said with remorse. 

“Peter it wasn’t your fault she needs to know about the real face of her father.” Peter got up and started pacing in your room. 

“No Y/N it isn’t her fault that her father is a criminal. I really feel sorry for what I did, she doesn’t deserve this. I have to apologise to her tomorrow." 

He continued rambling, you were getting frustrated with him blaming himself for doing the right thing. And you did the unexpected to stop him. You grabbed his face and kissed him, catching him off guard. Peter’s eyes went wide in shock, his heart racing a million miles per hour. After you pulled away, his heart was still pounding at an alarming rate. 

"That shut you up.” You said casually as if the kiss wasn’t a big deal for you, you wiped your lips with the back of your hand and scrunched your face with the taste on your lips. 

“Strawberry lip balm? What are you a little girl?” you quipped, finally noticing the mortified look on his face as he stood there like a statue, eyes blown wide still recovering from what just happened. You narrowed your eyes. 

“Wait, was this your first kiss?” Peter was snapped out of the daze as his face turned red. 

“Umm..” he was at a loss of words. Your mouth went wide as you realized it was indeed his first kiss. 

“Oh I’m so sorry Peter! I ruined your first kiss!” you apologized. 

“No it’s OK it was.. It was.” Should he say it was good? Because for an unknown reason he really felt good. But how can he say that to you. You’re Y/N Stark, the Tony Stark’s daughter. Why would you like a nerd like him? 

“I know it was awkward. I know you didn’t imagine your first kiss to be like this, that too someone you don’t have any feelings for, sorry for ruining it. Just forget something like this happened okay." 

"And don’t tell my dad if your life is dear to you.” you warned. 

“Umm okay I should get going then.”

“yeah.” he swung out of the window. 

“Be careful!” you cautioned and then turned around flattening yourself against the wall of your room letting out an exasperated sigh. The casual attitude you were putting up in front of him was all fake. You were bothered, your cheeks started getting heated up for a reason that you can’t put a pin on it. This wasn’t to happen; you have had your share of fun with boys at your previous school without any feelings involved but why did kissing Peter give butterflies in your stomach? You are Y/N Stark, you can’t fall for a nerd like Peter or did you? 

**********************************************

After her father’s arrest, Liz and her mother decided to move to California. Peter apologizes to Liz before she leaves. MJ is appointed as the new captain of the decathlon team. You skipped school today because your dad asked you to stay for a press meet and of course you wanted to get over your lingering feelings for Peter. 

Tony sent Happy to bring Peter to the compound. Peter was in awe when he arrived at the Avengers facility. Tony went and patted Peter’s back like a proud dad. 

“Sorry I took your suit. I mean, you had it coming. Actually, it turns out it was the perfect sort of tough love moment that you needed, right? To urge you on, right? Wouldn’t you think? Don’t you think?" 

"I– I guess.” Peter said nervously. 

“Let’s just say it was." 

"Mr. Stark, I really" 

"You screwed the pooch hard. Big time. But then, you did the right thing. Took the dog to the free clinic, you raised the hybrid puppies. Alright, not my best analogy– I was wrong about you. I think, with a little more mentoring, you could be a real asset to the team." 

"To the– To the– To the team?” Peter couldn’t believe his ears. 

“Yeah, anyway. There’s about 50 reporters behind that door. Real ones, not bloggers. When you’re ready– Tony reveals the Iron Spider suit. 

"Why don’t you try that on? and I’ll introduce the world to the newest official member of the Avengers: Spider-Man." 

Peter was at loss of words seeing the new suit Tony made for him. He couldn’t be any happier but something clicked in his brain. 

"Thank you Mr Stark but I’m - I’m good." 

"You good? How are you good?" 

"Umm I would rather stay on the ground for a while just being a friendly neighbourhood spiderman somebody got to look for the little guy." 

"You are turning me down? You better think about this, look at that, look at me last chance yes or no?" 

"No”

“Okay.”

“Where’s the kid?”

“He left”

“Everybody’s waiting”

“You know what he actually made a really mature choice." 

"He told the kid to go wait in the car." 

"Are you kidding me?" 

"Did you guys screw this up?" 

"What’s the matter? Everyone’s waiting there” you came out of the room too. 

“These two had one job and they failed miserably." 

"Let me guess Peter declined your offer. Good for him only” You smirked. 

“And now I’ve a room full of people waiting for some big announcement what am I going to tell them?”

“Think about something,” Tony said. 

“What about your engagement? That’s been long due.” You suggested. 

“What?!" 

"Great idea! Happy still got the ring?" 

"I got the ring? Yeaah, I have been carrying it since 2008.” Pepper gave a weird look.

“Okay" 

"I think I can come up with something better than that." 

"Well it would buy us little time” Tony kisses pepper. 

“Like we need time.” Tony mumbled with a smirk. 

“Jeez! get a room you guys.” You gagged. 

“And maybe give me a sibling it’s really boring over here being all by myself.” You added. 

Pepper cleared her throat and strides back to the room muttering. 

“I can’t believe you had it in your pocket." 

"Why aren’t you having fun with Peter?” your dad asked you out of nowhere. You choked on your spit as the memories from last night flashed back. 

“We rarely see each other after school he is mostly busy with his neighbourhood patrolling plus he’s no fun." 

"But I think you have started to like him.” Tony smirked. You understood his reference. 

“What! no way! And- and he’s not even my type.”

“Good I’m not even allowing you to date anybody before you turn 50.”

“Huh! As if I need your permission in this matter.” You gave a sly grin. 

“What is that supposed to mean?” Tony frowned. 

“Dad, you are 'The’ genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist Tony Stark and I’m your daughter. Is it that hard to figure it out?” Tony’s eyes widened as a sudden realization dawned upon him. 

“Wait on a damn second! Which weasley scumbag defiled you? Tell me his name! I’m gonna blast his weener off!”

“Uhh…I think mom is calling me, let me go and check.Okay bye!” You ran inside. 

“You come back right now! We are not done yet young lady!” your dad yelled from behind. 

[worldserasingandcreatinginmymind]

The Intern | Part Six

Summary: You move to New York to focus on your art but end up working as an intern at Stark Enterprises

Chapter Summary: time to meet the Avengers

Pairing: Tony Stark x Reader, Peter Parker x Reader (friendship)

Word Count: 2880

A/N: for the purposes of this story Stark Enterprise is set out like an office building in New York and the story does not follow the same timeline as the movies. Reader has just found out Peter is Spiderman. Also, spelling and grammar is not my strongest skill so please be kind :)

Part Five | Masterlist

- - - - - 

You wake up on a hospital bed in a medical lab. Your eyes flutter open and you look around, taking in your surroundings. There’s some sort of medical monitor attached to your finger and some pads stuck to your chest with wires that lead to a machine which is bleeping in sync with your heart rate. You sit up slowly, looking around you for some idea of where you are. There’s a man sitting at a desk with his back to you, studying something through a microscope. He hasn’t noticed that you’re awake.

“Where am I?” You ask quietly and the man jumps up from his chair to look at you, knocking something over on the desk as he does. 

“Somewhere safe” he replies nervously, holding his hands up to show he’s not a threat “FRIDAY? Could you Tony she’s awake please?” 

You look at him confused. 

“Already alerted him, he’s on his way” a voice replies from somewhere, you look around trying to figure out where. Tony comes running into the room, sees you and looks relieved. He comes up close to you and takes your hand in his.

“y/n, you’re okay!” You can hear the relief in his voice. 

“What happened to me? It felt like my body was on fire...” you trail off reliving the pain in your memory.

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out” says the man who had finished picking up the bits he’d knocked over and was now walking over to you and Tony. He handed Tony some papers but you can't see what is on them. 

“y/n, this is Dr Bruce Banner. He’s helping me work out exactly what was injected into you last night and what affect it has had in your body.” Tony explains, looking at the papers and handing them back to the man. 

“We already know it has caused you to heal quicker-“ Dr Banner says causally, as he’s removing the medical monitors that are attached to you. 

“What?” You interrupt him, you need more explanation than that.

“When I found you, you were covered in cuts and bruises from fighting. But now...” Tony lifts up your arm to show you it’s now completely bare from any marks. Even the cut on your hand you’d accidentally got a few days ago while cooking is suddenly gone. You stare at the place where it was in disbelief. 

“Who were they? Why would they do this to me?” You shake your head. 

“They were working for Professor Randall” Tony says and your eyes shoot up to to him. “He’s been developing a serum that could create advanced humans. Superheroes. That’s why he’s been harassing me, ever since the Avengers first assembled he believed he could help me make more. But I wanted no part in it. I told him, we don’t get to decide these things. We don’t get to play God!” He shouts as he turns away and runs his hand through his hair. He looks back at you with a sadness in his eyes. “That’s why he’s been following you. He wanted to prove to me that he could turn someone normal into...” he trails off, taking a deep breath to calm down.

“A superhero” you finish his sentence and he nods. You take a shaky breath. “Why me?”

“Because you’re the one who chased him, back at the office. When you did that you caught his attention. Thats when he chose you.”

Then you realise. He’d been planning this for weeks, watching you and planning to experiment on you. You’re just a guinea pig to him. Then you realise something else and your eyes fill up with tears. 

“That’s why you promoted me? You were keeping me close?” 

Dr Banner looks awkward and decides to quietly leave the room to give you both some space.

Tony drops his head sadly, looking at the floor for a moment before looking back at you. 

“Yes” 

You squeeze your eyes shut as a tear rolls down your cheek.

“That was part of the reason, but y/n everything else I said to you that day was true. I have never met anyone like you, and you have proved to everyone that that job was supposed to be yours.”

You open your eyes to look at him. 

“And the kiss?” You almost whisper.

“100% real” he puts his hands on your cheeks, looking deep into your eyes. “Y/N, it was all real” 

You take a deep breath. There’s a lot to process right now, you need some time to think. 

“So what happens now?” You ask.

“Dr Banner still has some tests to run. We found the needle and thankfully they didn’t inject the whole amount into you so we have plenty to study. And whatever effects this stuff has had should be less powerful without the full dose. In the mean time, you’ll stay here at the Avengers compound. It’s the safest place for you right now.” 

You nod at him. 

“I’ve had a room prepared for you. I’ll take you there now and you can have some time to relax before dinner.” 

He gives you his hand to help you down from the bed you’ve been sitting on and walks you out the door, down the corridor and into a lift. You travel up a few floors before the doors open and your lead to your room. He opens the door for you and you both step inside. 

It’s a nice room. Plain basic decor, but there’s a big window with views across the training fields outside. You sit down on the double bed and Tony stays stood at the door. 

“There’s clothes in the closet if you want to change. If you need me or anything at all just ask FRIDAY” 

You stare at him blankly and he realises you don’t know what he’s talking about. He explains what FRIDAY is and what to do and you silently nod at him. 

“I’ll come and get you when dinner is ready” He says smiling sadly at you. You can see he feels guilty and upset so you give him a small reassuring smile back. As he’s shutting the door you hear Peter running down the corridor. 

“Mr Stark! Is she okay? Can I see her?” He’s shouting. 

“She’s okay, but she needs to rest”

“No! let him in” you say jumping up off the bed and Tony looks to you raising an eyebrow. “I want to see him”

Tony opens the door wider and Peter awkwardly steps in, looking sheepishly at you. 

“Don’t stress her out” Tony warns Peter before looking at you “don’t let him stress you out” he says then leaves, shutting the door behind him. Peter stays stood looking at you until you gesture for him to take a seat. He walks over to sit on the chair that is in front of the window, facing the bed. You sit back on the bed with your legs crossed. You can tell he feels awkward and doesn’t really know how to have this conversation with you. You decide to make the first move. 

“So, you’re Spider-Man?” 

“I am so sorry I didn’t tell you y/n. I really wanted to but I just didn’t know how to say it or how you’d react and I guess I was scared that you wouldn’t want to be my friend...” he stops rambling and looks down sadly at the floor “But I understand if you don’t want to be my friend now anyway”

“Why wouldn’t I want to be your friend?” You say smiling at him “what, because you’re a superhero?” you laugh “Peter this changes absolutely nothing, other than the fact that I know now you’re a total badass!”

Peter looks relieved “you’re not mad?” He sounds surprised 

“Of course not, no, I get why you’d want keep this a secret. You deserve to be able to live a normal life when you’re not in the suit. Plus you saved me from those guys last night.”

“Not quick enough, they still got to you” he shakes his head 

“Yes but you stopped them, that’s the important thing. Who knows what would have happened to me if they had given me the whole dose!” You stop suddenly as a thought comes into your head “hey, how did you even know I was in trouble?” You ask. 

“After that guy approached you in the coffee shop, Mr Stark asked me to keep an eye on your place whenever I could. I’ve been swinging by to check up on you every night since then”

“You’ve been watching my house? All night?” You ask in disbelief.

“Only before Mr Stark made that watch alarm for you. After that he said I didn’t have to anymore, but I still did. Not all night, just occasionally checked you were safe” he looks awkward, like he thinks you’re going to see this as some sort of invasion of privacy. Instead you stand up off the bed and go over to him, throwing your arms around him in a hug.

“thank you” you whisper.

“Just doing my duty as the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man” he says, you release him and sit back on the end of the bed. 

“So, tell me everything... how did it go with MJ at the ball?” You ask, deciding to change the subjects and Peter instantly blushes. 

— — — —

You spend the next half an hour chatting normally with your best friend as if nothing weird had happened lately until FRIDAY interrupts and tells you Tony has instructed Peter to let you rest. You roll your eyes as Peter follows orders and leaves you alone. You spend some time looking out of the window at the scenery, wishing you had your sketchbook so you could draw. After a while you start to feel tired and decide to lie down on your bed. You must have drifted off because when Tony knocks the door you jump awake. He tells you it’s time for dinner and you follow him down to the main living area where some of the Avengers are sitting waiting. 

Captain Rogers stands up as you enter, pulling out a chair for you to sit at the dining table. You thank him and he sits back in his seat opposite you. Tony takes the seat next to you and you look around the room at the other people sitting at the large dining table. You make eye contact with a woman dressed all in black and she smiles at you. 

“Dinner is served” come a posh British voice and you see a red man come walking over followed by another woman who you recognise off the news as the Scarlet Witch. Both are carrying trays of food which they place down on the table. 

“Help yourselves” the red man says. 

“Where’s Bruce?” Tony asks looking around “FRIDAY please tell Dr Banner-“ he interrupted as Bruce comes running in.

“Sorry, sorry! I was working” he says taking a seat next to Tony. “I need to talk to you” you hear him say to Tony and the two of them quietly talk to each other. You cant hear what they are saying but it sounds serious. 

“Don’t be shy, we’re all friendly” Steve says, handing you a plate of food. 

“Yeah you gotta be quick when the food comes out or these walking trash cans will eat it all” the woman who smiled at you earlier says, pointing at two other men sat further down the table. 

“Rude” says one man with a smirk.

“We came all this way for a family meeting and this is how you treat us” says the other. The woman winks at him. “Speaking of, why did you call us all here?” He asks directed at Tony, stands up. 

“Right. As you can see, we have a new face with us. This is y/n” he puts his hand on your shoulder “y/n this is Vision, Wanda, Sam, Clint, Natasha, and of course you’ve met Bruce and Captain Rogers” 

You nod and give them all a smile

“Y/N has been working with me at Stark Enterprise and she is wonderful, you're gonna love her. But right now she needs somewhere safe, that’s where you all come in. Some of you may remember Professor Randall. Unfortunately he has decided y/n would be the perfect subject to test his serum on and last night he sent men to break into her apartment. Peter was able to stop them before they did too much damage, but the men got away. It’s our job now to stop them and the Professor from getting to y/n or anyone else.”

“You will be safe here y/n, you’re part of our family now” Steve says and there are mumbled of agreement from around the table. You smile shyly at everyone. 

“I’ll speak to you individually about specific tasks but for now, let’s eat and welcome y/n to the family!” 

You all tuck in to the food cooked by Vision and Wanda, and the group tell you stories about things they’ve gotten up to in the past. Steve explains to you about how he and Peter first met. About how he’d stolen Captain America’s shield and you can’t believe they’re talking about the same Peter who was so afraid to speak to a MJ. 

“Hey where is the kid? Shouldn’t he be here?” Steve asks.

“He had to head home to his aunt, she doesn’t know about the whole Spider-Man thing” Tony explains.

You don’t know how Peter has managed to keep such a massive secret from everyone, especially his Aunt May! You feel sad for him having to tell so many lies but you completely understand why he does. 

— — — —

After dinner the group splits off to do their own things and one by one you see Tony go round speaking to them. You’re in the kitchen washing dishes when Natasha joins you, picking up a towel to dry the dishes. 

“This all must be really weird for you right” she says smiling at you.

“Just a bit” you smile back.

“How are you doing? Honestly.” She asks.

“Honestly?” You pause “I’m terrified. This guy was following me for weeks, planning to use me as his guinea pig. And I had no idea. When I think about what could have happened if Peter hadn’t arrived when he did, or if they had over powered him..” 

“You have to let go of the ‘what ifs’” Natasha says “if you spend your life focusing on what could happen, you’ll get so paralysed by fear that never do anything. That’s no life.” 

“Glad to see you two are getting to know each other” Tony says coming over to stand on the other side of you. “Romanoff, I have a job for you.”

“There’s a surprise” she responds sarcastically, smirking at you 

“You’re going to be training y/n, every day. Teach her to fight and most importantly to defend herself. We need to be prepared for all circumstances”

Natasha nods. Tony picks up a dirty plate.

“you know we have a dishwasher right?” He says and you sigh, flicking water at him. Natasha bursts out laughing. Tony gives her a look and she nods before walking off to join Clint on the sofa. 

“Come with me” he says taking your hand. He leads you out onto a balcony away from everyone else. You look up at the sky, you can see how full of stars it is now you’re not in the city. It’s beautiful. 

“I have something for you” he hands you a bag, which you open and immediately recognise the item inside. 

“My sketchbook!” You gasp in delight “how did you-?”

“I went back to your apartment this afternoon to see if I could find anything about the men who broke in, and I found that under the sofa. Don’t worry, I didn’t show Steve what’s inside.”

You roll your eyes and shake your head, laughing.

“Are you ever going to stop teasing me about that?”

“I’ll think about it” he laughs, “maybe if you put my face in that book of yours..?” 

You stare up at him, studying his face. 

“I don’t think I could” 

Tony looks confused. 

“See I draw Steve’s face because it’s basically perfect” 

“Oh thanks” Tony interrupts, sarcastically offended.

“No, I mean because that makes it easy to capture him. But you...” You put your hand on his cheek, staring into his eyes “There’s something about your face, I can’t quite put my finger on it.”

“im old” Tony jokes.

“no! Theres a look in your eyes, I don’t know if I could get it right.”

He smiles slightly and you lean in and kiss him softly. 

When you pull away Tony smirks at you. 

“So what you’re saying is my face is too beautiful?” He jokingly asks and you laugh, using your sketchbook to hit him on the arm. 

“Ow! Hey save that for your training with Nat tomorrow. Speaking of, you better get yourself to bed, she likes to train early.” Tony says, walking with you back inside the building. You nod. 

“Thanks Tony. For everything, not just the sketchbook.”

“Goodnight y/n” 

He watches as you start walking down a corridor. 

“You’re going the wrong way” he shouts and you turn around, walking the other way.

“I’m new here! Give me a break!” 

Part Seven

Taglist: @brownbuble, @star-trek-is-my-lifesource, @shookie-shookie​, @thebuckysoldier​, @chai--chae​

[stellar-alley]

Spider Spaghetti

•Chapter 1•

Next Chapter >>

(Summary: Eddie is just a normal teen who followed his crush out into an abandoned building and got bit by a spider.)

Shout out to my Beta, go find her on Tumblr @scoobydoo-ghoulschool and on ao3 @ theblacklagoon   

Also, don't forget to check out my Instagram Stellar.Cosplays if you want to see more of me and what goes on in my life!

~

“Dude if I get caught I’m gonna be in deep shit,” Eddie groaned from where he walked three steps behind the taller boy.

“Jeez dude take a chill pill. I’ve been doing this shit for like two years now and I haven’t gotten caught yet so I think we’ll be okay,” Richie turned on his heels, converses squeaking on the pavement as he began walking backwards to face Eddie. He took a step towards Eddie and swung an arm around his shoulder, pulled his head in and ruffled his hair. “Oh come on Eddie Spaghetti! Lighten up a bit” He mused.

Eddie yelped, he shimmed out from under Richie’s grasp and pushed the curly haired teen away, “Don’t do that!” He groaned, “And don’t call me Eddie Spaghetti I hate it when you do that!” Eddie shook his shoulders as if he could possibly rid himself of any germs Richie could’ve left on him. But nonetheless Eddie still followed Richie down the street, through a dark alleyway and down a small hill and towards what looked like a half demolished building.

“What the fuck is this? Some type of death trap? Do you have a death wish Richie? Cause I sure don’t! And I don’t wanna go into some crack house and have it collapse and fucking kill me,” Eddie ranted as his hands went on their own tangent, chopping the air infront of him as he tried to get his point across.

“Please,” Richie dragged out the E, “I've been here tens of times before.” He turned around to face Eddie once again, “And it’s only collapsed like- once,” he smirked deviously before turning back around. Richie picked up his pace from walking to a quick jog towards the building.

Eddie sighed but sped up to join him. Although after a couple of long strides his lungs started to burn due to his lack of exercise but he kept going nonetheless. Eddie caught up to him by the time Richie reached the entrance. He made a show of waving his hand towards Richie to stop him so Eddie could take a moment to catch his breath.

“Is it your asthma acting up again?” Richie tilted his head in concern.

“M-Maybe,” Eddie choked on his own breath and began coughing frantically.

“Shit,” Richie jumped into action, dropping the bag from his shoulders and reaching into the front pocket. He produced a small blue device Eddie had grown very used to seeing in times like these, his inhaler. Richie shook it like he’d seen Eddie do countless times before and reached out to cup the back of Eddie’s head.

“Breath in on three alright?” He instructed as Eddie frantically nodded his head. “1, 2, 3!” Richie counted down before pressing down on the trigger. He heard Eddie sharply inhale and watched the breath go from his mouth down his throat. “Again?” He questioned.

Eddie shook his head slowly. “No, I’m good,” he sounded a little out of breath but better than previously.

“Are you okay?” Richie's eyes shined with worry as he let go of the inhaler and let Eddie hold it, but he kept his other hand behind Eddie’s head for a beat.

“I’m okay. Wait- Do you always have that on you?” Eddie quirked an eyebrow.

“Yeah! Just for emergencies, right?” Richie beamed and removed his hand from the back of Eddie's head. “Come on let’s get started!” Richie snatched his bag and kept going.

“Right…” Eddie let his voice drift off as he watched Richie go ahead of him, his hair bouncing as he stikkped off towards the nearest wall. Eddie got the sudden curiosity of what it might feel like to run his hands through Richie's dark brown curls. He quickly shook it off, as he did with most of his other thoughts that were about richie in that context. He had been getting these thoughts for just over a year now. Eddie tried so desperately to avoid them, and Richie in total. But that was deemed very hard as Richie is Eddie’s best friend. So Eddie just had to learn to live with the fact that he is in love with his best friend.

“Gotcha,” Richie’s words broke Eddie out of his thoughts.

He looked up to find Richie a couple yards away, admiring one of the only walls that still had some space that was free of art and vandalism. Richie tossed his bag aside. He reached down, grabbed a bottle of white spray paint, popped the cap off and began rapidly shaking it.

Eddie watched as Richie’s eyes scanned the wall before he went in and started spraying. As he sprayed various lines and shapes Eddie could see the gears turning behind his eyes as he planned out what and where he was going to do.

These were the moments when Richie’s motor mouth comments stayed in his head (which was rare). He needed to focus on the task at hand, his art, and as he would still stop every now and then to say some backhand comment or dirty joke, all of his focus went into the art he was creating.

Once Richie was done with the white base he took a step back and admired his big white blob like painting. “Can you grab my the black? I need to fix up this corner,” Richie instructed as he shook his can and went back in to fix one of his little mistacts.

Eddie glanced over at Richie’s open bag and spotted the bottle of black spray paint. Gotcha, Eddie smirked as he kneeled down, reaching inside and grabbing the bottle. For a second he simply held it in his hands and overserved the sticker Richie had slapped on the side when he noticed something scurry across the cap. Eddie immediately dropped the bottle and let it clatter against the cement floor as he gasped.

“Eddie? You okay?” Richie turned his neck to stare at Eddie with concern.

Eddie rapidly whipped off his hands and arms, finally he stopped and examined his forearms, “Nothing… It was just a-” Then he spotted it on his wrist, “SPIDER!” He shrieked. He was momentarily too shocked to move, but the sharp pain that corrupted out of his wrist snapped him back into reality.

Richie rushed to his side. He spotted the spider immediately and swatted it off of Eddie.

Eddie waved his hands around as if that would stop the pain that was slowly disappearing, “IT BIT ME! IT BIT ME!” Eddie frantically repeated.

“Woah, woah calm down.” Richie’s eyes darted between Eddie’s waving hands and his scared facial features. He waited a second before snatching Eddie's hands, halting their moving and holding them in his. He turned his wrist over to see the inside of his arm. On Eddie’s right arm he noticed the smallest red dot. “Jeez Eds you’re so overdramatic, look! You probably just scratched yourself on the way here. No need to worry,” Richie forced calmness into his voice as he slowly let go of Eddie’s wrists and gestured to the dot.

Eddie held his wrist up to his eyes and examined it, “Really? You think so?” He questioned.

“I know so! I’ve gotten so many scratches from this place, and look at me, I’m A okay” Richie shot Eddie his iconic smile.

Eddie’s ears turned red when he realized Richie had been holding his hands. “Yeah… It’s probably nothing.” He shook it off then reached down and picked up the can once again, holding it out to Richie. “Keep on keeping on.” He advised which got a smile out of Richie as he slid the can out of Eddie’s hand, their fingers touching for the smallest second. It still made Eddie’s heart skip a beat.

For the next hour or so, Eddie stood by Richie’s side as the taller boy painted his masterpiece in that warehouse. Lately Eddie had been trying to do more things like that, calm his nerves, go to abnormal places, not let the dirt bug him as much, just enjoy life more. And he always enjoyed life when he was with Richie.

~

Eddie woke up the next morning to a small headache, he couldn’t exactly pinpoint the main source of the pain, but when he evaluated the pain, he realized that everything slightly ached. Then he recalled the night before and how he stayed out much later than normal. Fuck, this is what I get for getting 5 hours of sleep. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and swung his legs over the side of his bed. For the first time since, well, ever, Eddie’s feet didn’t dangle in the air like a child’s, this time they landed on the floor with an unfamiliar *Thump*. He shuffled them around a little and got used to the feeling of the floor that was suddenly under his feet. Weird.

Although, that wasn't the only weird thing that occurred to Eddie Kaspbrak that morning. As usual, he woke up before his mother and went into the kitchen to start on breakfast and he got a mug and started making a fresh pot of coffee (Which he always told Sonia was for her, but he secretly drank behind her back as she’d say it’d ‘stunt his growth’). But when he turned to grab his mug he had forgotten where he placed it and accidentally knocked it off the counter behind him with his elbow. Then with ninja like speed he grabbed it a foot before it smashed against the tile floor. His breaths were quick as he needed a moment to replay the moment that had just happened in his head.

What the fuck? How did I catch that? Eddie recalled various memories that prove the point that he has terrible reflexes. The time in gym when they played dodgeball and he got hit in the face, or when he’d tried to kill bugs and was too slow to swat at them, and of course the countless times Richie had thrown things at him, that he had been hit by, but never caught.

And when he went to go make his usual sunny side up eggs. The yolks that usually turn out yellow and cooked fully, had finally been cooked right, so they were still a little liquidy and soft. Which was also very weird as Eddie has never, ever, been able to time one egg’s cook time, let alone the two he made that day.

So yeah, so far that morning was definitely weird.

~

Things didn’t get any better at school. Sure, Eddie could call these a bunch of coincidences but the moment his cheap ass, impossible to open, lock, on his locker, opened on the first try, he knew something was definitely up.

Then in his homeroom class, English, he just got a feeling that he should look over this one specific fact in case his teacher called on him. What are the odds that his teacher, Mr. Brock, called on him almost immediately.

OH! AND I literally turned around right when Richie turned the corner beside my locker. THAT NEVER HAPPENS!

~

“Yo Spaghetti man, everything alright?” Richie’s question made Eddie get stiff as a board.

“Huh? What? What do you mean? Why wouldn’t I be alright?” Eddie shot back.

Richie shuffled uncomfortably from where he sat beside Eddie at the cafeteria table where they waited for the rest of the Losers who were currently in line to buy their lunches. “Uhh- nothing… You’ve just been kinda on edge today,” Richie pointed out.

“It’s nothing,” Eddie shrugged as he attempted to wip the anxiety from his facial features which he realized was much harder said than done.

“Oh come on, we both know something is up. You know you can always talk to me, right?” Richie nudged him with his elbow.

“I know, I know…” Eddie glanced away so he wouldn’t have to keep staring into Richie’s sincere eyes. It killed him to do this, Richie knew almost everything about him, so why should he have to hide this? Eddie wasn't completely sure, but he had a feeling in his gut (Which he’d been getting a lot more often now), that this was just the beginning of something much larger than anything Eddie had ever seen before.

And Eddie was correct, after a week of small yet odd coincidences, something else occurred. During Gym class once they had finished up a game of dodgeball, the teacher had requested that Eddie help him bring the dodgeballs back into the storage room. Eddie agreed. So he grabbed two and headed into the storage room.

Like most school storage rooms it had cement walls with that cool smell to it, and of course, an obscure amount of sports supplies, most hadn't been used in years. But when Eddie went to drop the balls into their designated basket, they didn’t leave his grasp. Instead they stayed, stuck, to his hands.

“What the fuck?” Eddie whispered in shock as he examined his hands for some type of sticky glue or something. He then began waving his hands wildly around in hopes of shaking them off, but to no avail.

What’s happening to me?

Eddie’s eyes grew wide with shock and worry as nothing worked to get the dodge balls off.

His posture only stiffened when he heard the all too familiar voice of his best friend as he called out to him from the entrance.

“Yo Eds, what’s taking so long?” Richie asked as he leaned against the door.

Eddie froze, “That’s not my name,” he snapped, but quickly turned to face Richie, keeping his hands behind his back to hide what was stuck to them.

He watched as Richie rolled his eyes then proceeded to continue, if he noticed Eddie’s tone, he didn’t mention it. “Got any plans tonight?” Richie inquired.

Eddie could feel the tips of his ears burning as his tense stance relaxed slightly. He loved hanging out with his friends, The Losers, but his favourite moments were when it was just him and Richie, when their fingers accidentally brushed together, when they laid in bed, so closer that he could feel Richie’s breaths.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of the dodge ball falling to the ground behind him. Eddie snapped his head to see the ball that had once been stuck to his hand sat lifeless on the concrete floor. Weird.

“You good?” Richie tilted his head in confusion.

Eddie replied quickly, “Yep, yep! Better than ever. What were you saying before? Tonight? ME? Free? Hell yeah, what were you thinking?”

Richie let out a short nervous laugh, “I found this cool abandoned bridge I thought we could check out! Might be a possible new place to tag,” he explained.

“Does everything with you involve something abandoned and haunted?”

“You know it baby,” Richie said in his best (worst) Austin Powers impression and shot Eddie finger guns.

Baby, the nickname made Eddie want to melt into the floor.

~

“This place is a fucking death trap,” Eddie said to Richie from where he stood on the egde of the concrete, right before it turned into bridge. Honestly Eddie didn’t even consider this thing a bridge, it was a hazard that’s what this is. It hadn't been used in well over 10 years so half of the guard rail had fallen into the stream 20 feet below, as well as some of the wooden boards and train tracks.

“Come on Eddieeeeeee,” Richie dragged out the E. “I’ve gotta invest in some of those chill pills to calm your damn nerves!” Richie called out.

“If you mean weed then I’m gonna have to politely decline,” Eddie stated, watching Richie tightrope his way back to Eddie.

Now Richie stood before Eddie, he reached his hands out to the other’s which were crossed over his chest. “Please? I promise I won’t let you fall,” Richie dropped the joking tone as his voice filled with sincerity.

Eddie couldn’t resist the urge to hold Richie’s hands, even if it was platonic. He hesitantly reached out and allowed Richie to take his hands. Eddie didn’t protest as he let Richie slowly lead him onto the bridge. They took it one step at a time, Richie let go of one of Eddie’s hands so he could face forward and carefully plan each step which was soon followed by Eddie.

They were half way across the bridge when Richie stopped to look at the view they had. He looked out into the forest that surrounded them and the stream down below. The sun wasn't quite setting yet but that didn’t stop the sky from turning light shades of orange and purple.

“It’s really pretty,” Richie said, mesmerized by the pastel colours.

Not as pretty as you, Eddie thought. “Yeah it really is,” he said instead.

Eddie tore his gaze away from Richie’s face and glanced at his watch, desperate for something, anything, to take his mind off of how much he wanted Richie to know what he was really thinking. Instead of his heart stopping because of his physical contact with Richie, his heart stopped because he realized it was 7:45, and Eddie needed to be home by 8:00. (Because he hadn't gone home after school, usually he’s allowed out till 10-11)

“Shit,” Eddie squeezed his eyes shut, even just imagining what his mother might say made his stomach turn.

“Crap, I’m sorry Eds i should’ve been looking at the-“

“No, No. It’s not your fault, I should’ve been more aware of the time. Just uh- please take me home. last thing we need is me getting grounded,” he sighed.

Richie simply nodded understanding that Eddie needed to go home. So he took a step forward, towards the way they originally came, but Richie wasn't thinking when he placed his foot in a new spot that had a loose board. Richie’s foot landed on the board and immediately broke through, his foot going down, dragging him with it.

The next moments went by in slow motion. Eddie heard the snap as the board broke beneath Richie’s weight and watched as he lurched forward, unconsciously releasing Eddie’s hand in the process. Eddie did something he had never done before, but it seemed oddly natural. With the hand that had once been holding Richie’s, his middle and ring finger pressed down into his palm while the three other fingers stuck out. Then as if he’d pulled some sort of trigger, a long, white, sticky rope like fluid shot from his wrist, grabbed the hand Eddie had been holding not only a moment before. It halted Richie’s descent, the white rope fluid had stopped Richie from falling, he was literally holding on by a thread.

Richie was frozen in shock, he was still facing the ground beneath them so Eddie used that to his advantage. To make sure Richie didn’t see whatever shit just shot from Eddie, he swung his other hand over and grabbed the hand with the sticky stuff. He kinda pulled it off of his and Richie’s hands. Then he must’ve used some inner strength of his cause he was able to pull Richie back up to the bridge with him. Which seemed pretty impossible considering last time Eddie checked he was the definition of a spaghetti noodle. (He hadn't checked since the spider bite).

He yanked Richie up to his feet. Of course, Richie being Richie, he stumbled forward and the two ended up practically chest to chest.

“Holy shit,” Richie’s eyes were wide and hazed, obviously in shock.

“A-Are you okay?” Eddie stuttered, intimidated by how close they were.

Richie exhaled slowly then responded with, “I will be once we get off this death trap.”

Eddie laced his hand together with Richie’s again, just to be safe- not because of the whole crush thing, of course. When they finally reached the other end, Richie turned towards Eddie and wrapped his lanky arms around Eddie’s shoulders. He let one of his hands go up into Eddie’s hair, while the other gripped Eddie’s shirt, grounding himself. “Thank you,” he said into Eddie’s hair.

Eddie didn’t need a sign to tell him what to do. When Richie gripped him tight, Eddie lifted his arms and squeezed Richie’s torso. “It’s okay, it was no problem,” Eddie responded. He felt a little colder when Richie let go and took a step back.

“No seriously Eddie, you practicalyl saved my fucking life, so thank you,” Richie sounded genuine, something that was pretty rare in his book.

So instead of just responding, Eddie opened his arms back up and pulled Richie into another hug. “Anytime Trashmouth,” he smiled. Usually when the two hugged, Eddie's face would be against Richie’s chest, but now he was almost able to rest his chin on the other’s shoulder. He recalled how that morning his feet hit the ground without him having to reach, also how his clothes seemed a bit more snug then usual.

Richie pulled away, this time his face was filled with a happy confusion, “When did you get so tall?” He smirked down at the not so much shorter boy.

Little did Eddie know his height wouldn’t be one of the only things that would change.

That night the teen laid awake in bed. He couldn’t help but replay the day he just lived in his head. The sudden growth spurt, the weird dodgeball trick, the rope stuff, the strength? He felt like he was living in one of the comic books that he adored reading so much.

His eyes drifted to the corner of his room. Across the room was a window which let in light from one of the lamps on the street in front of the house. The light shown in and illuminated one corner, in that corner was a spider. It hung on a thin thread that connected to its intricately woven web.

Then, something clicked, and it all made sense.

~

•One Year Later•

He surveyed the city below him with great intensity. Keeping an eye out for anything suspicious, or out of the ordinary. After some time he let his eyes close and allowed his secondary senses to kick in. Then something exploded, not in his mind or anything mental like that. Like literally something blew up down the street.

He pulled his mask on over his face, made sure it was secure then sucked in a breath before diving off the roof of the building. he free fell for about 3 seconds before he shot his right hand up into the air, put his middle finger and his right finger to his palm and shot off a web that connected with one of the nearby buildings. He stopped falling and started swinging. When he reached the end of the line he shot his left hand out, held the two fingers down and shot off another web while he released the other one.

When he reached the place of the explosion he sent a web up to the building overhead so instead of swinging her just lowered down to the front of the building. His feet hit the ground and he immediately started scanning the building for the damage. The first thing he noticed was that the door of the building had been blown right off of its hinges. He also noticed how the building he was standing in front of was in fact, a bank.

Of course. He rolled his eyes from behind the mask before he entered the building. As he stepped over the threshold he noticed how the temperature intensely increased, and continued to as he made his way through the bank in an attempt to find the culprit of the break in.

He scanned the main lobby and the room with the ATMs, then proceeded into the back room which was where he saw the door that led to the vault room. That’s when the heat became nearly insufferable.

Tilting his head behind the corner he looked into the vault room and found the source of the immense heat. He watched as someone in a black outfit stood before the heavy metal vault door. They were obviously using their powers in an attempt to melt the door to steal whatever money they could fit inside the duffel bag that sat by their feet.

This wasn't the first time he had dealt with super powered individuals and he knew it wouldn’t be the last. For over four decades now, people have been developing powers and special abilities. Some could control water, others could control minds, and some got bit by radioactive spiders and learned to climb walls and shoot webs, to teach your own. But not all of these people became heroes, some failed to avoid the temptation of the dark side and became villains.

The hero stuck his hand out, shooting a web onto the back of the villain which wrapped around their arms like a straight jacket. Then with another web shot at the ceiling he was able to stick them up to the ceiling.

“Hey how’s it hanging?” He giggled at his own joke. “Sorry that was too good to pass up.” He waved his hand around to dismiss his comment.

He approached the semi melted door. The flames had gone out once the villain was apprehended, which really just showed him how in control the other was of their powers, which wasn't a lot.

He shrugged, happy he wasn't in charge of damage control. “Well the cops will be here soon so-” he stopped when he smelled something he was only a little familiar with. The strong scent of his webs burning assaulted his heightened senses. He nearly gagged at the smell when he looked up and saw that the villain's skin was nearly glowing, as if their skin had been lit on fire from the inside.

“Shit,” He murmured as the villian fell from his place on the ceiling as he melted the webs. The hero swung over the villain and over to the door, worried about what might happen next. His senses were giving him bad vibes, so he took a step back, and another, then another. His senses felt even worse so he booked it out of the bank just before one final explosion blew up the bank.

“What the fuck,” he gasped as he looked at the now in flames bank that stood before him.

He turned around when the sound of the police sirens rang out from behind him.

“Spiderman!” One of the cops called out to him. “What happened here man?” He asked as he approached the jeep.

“I-uh. sorry I don’t exactly know officer. This dude just kinda, went off-” He said as he realized how tense he was.

“Are you okay?” The officer asked.

“Yep, all good here! Just uh- have a good night,” he gave the cop a thumbs up before shooting a web up and swinging onto one of the closest buildings.

Once he was out of the public eye Spiderman ripped his mask off and Eddie Kaspbrak practically started gasping for fresh air. His breathing was laboured, heart pounding in his chest. He ran a gloved hand through his hair as he looked around at the rooftop he stood on. His knees felt like they were going to give out from underneath him so he kneeled down and took a seat on the rooftop of some random building.

“What the fuck just happened?” Eddie breathed as he leaned back, laying down and looking at the stars above him.

How did this shit even start? Eddie backtracked and recalled the day he went with Richie to that abandoned warehouse and when he got bit. Then the day he actually started developing his powers, at the bridge, when he saved Richie. From that day forward Eddie started testing his new abilities, his powers. He recalled what he did on the bridge and mimicked that hand motion, realizing that that was what activated his spider webs. From there he discovered his sticky-ness and how he can use that to his advantage, scaling walls and hiding on ceilings. Also how he needed to really relax to stop himself from sticking (He was relaxed around Richie that’s why the dodge balls unstuck previously). A little later on he picked up on his heightened senses, how he was suddenly able to catch every throw and dodge incoming blows. Eddie didn’t entirely know what they were, aside from just heightened senses, that was also a mouthful, so he called them his spidey senses.

After a couple run-ins with some low level thugs, Eddie considered becoming a real time super hero. Then once he saved a lady from a lethal mugging, he realized how saving people made him feel so in control. Like he had finally shed the ‘delicate’ title that his mom had given him as a child. He was powerful, and he loved it. So he invested in a proper suit, and donned the mantle Spiderman.

So for just under a year now Eddie has been saving New York and dealing with normal teenage bullshit like the rest of the teens nowadays.

Best of both worlds am I right

Eddie has fought countless villains. Their powers varied. But nothing like this. Never had he ever killed a villain himself. So this had shaken him.

And people noticed.

“Eddie are you okay?” Richie's voice echoed from Eddie's phone while he hastily undressed out of his super suit.

Almost right when Eddie got home he called Richie to talk and bring him back to earth. “Yeah, fine. I uh- just saw this bank catch on fire when I was out getting something,” he lied as he tossed his suit under his bed.

“What the fuck were you picking up at 2 am?” oh yeah- Eddie was out pretty late and woke Richie up, just to talk to him.

“I was hungry, and you know we have shitty snack foods here.”

“Well you aren't wrong, but you're okay right? You didn’t get hurt?” Richie worried as his morning voice slowly faded into his normal tone.

Eddie exhaled a shaky breath, “I-I think. I just don’t think I’m ready to be alone yet”.

He could hear Richie’s lips curl into a faint smile as he spoke, “Yeah. Whatever you say Tiger.”

“Shut up Richard,” Eddie sighed, his lips reflecting Richie’s.

Even just talking to him made Eddie relax almost completely.

“Just tell me about your day. Just talk to me, alright?” Eddie slowly laid down onto his bed. Releasing an exasperated sigh as his head hit the pillow. He pulled the covers over his body, all he had on were his boxers so the soft fabric made it easy for his body to relax. His special weighted blanket lay overtop of his comforter, warming Eddie’s body almost immediately and making him feel safe under that amount of weight.

On Richie’s end, his eyes went wide. He immediately clasped his hands together and held them up as if he were about to pray. “Dear god, I apologize for doubting you. Today you made a miracle happen, Eddie Kaspbrak actually wants me to talk. So thank you. Now if only you could get me a date with Mrs. K then maybe-”

“You never stop do you!” Eddie whisper shouted into his phone. He kept his voice low in hopes of not waking his mom.

Richie laughed, creating butterflies in Eddie’s stomach. “Can’t stop won’t stop baby!”

~

“That was a big explosion, are you sure you’re alright?” Stan pointed his fork at Eddie after the hidden hero told the Losers, his best friends, about his near death experience last night when he was out for food.

“Yeah I’m okay. It was just scary, ya know? We’ve never seen a villain’s powers just fucking go off like that. I mean yeah we’ve seen people who can make things explode but they never like, kill them right? It’s crazy. There’s gotta be more to this shit that we aren’t seeing.” Eddie ranted as he did a mini karate chop in the air with his hand. He noticed richie who let out a little amused huff of air through his nose as he happily shook his head.

“Y-You worry to-too much. Leave the fuh-fighting to the villains,” Bill refrained from rolling his eyes since he knows how much Eddie cared about these things.

Eddie sighed, stood up and packed his stuff into his bag, “Whatever I’m gonna be late for science. You coming Rich?” he nodded towards Richie who quickly swallowed whatever he had in his mouth.

“Yes sir! Right behind you Eds,” Richie said in one of his voices as he grabbed his bag and stood up beside Eddie.

“Shut your Trashmouth,” Eddie groaned and began to walk with Richie close behind.

“No can do Boss Man!” Richie hollered, placing an arm over Eddie’s shoulder. Which Richie was still getting used to being so high up, even if it had been over a year since Eddie’s weird growth spurt.

~

When the two students walked into their science class, they were greeted by their science teacher, Mr. Carter, who awaited them at the door.

“Mr. Kaspbrak, how are you boys doing today?” He smiled warmly at his students as they passed him. “Mr Tozier, glad to see you early for once,” he smirked.

“Yeah sorry your mom was busy last night so I had a lot of free time,” Richie turned, smirked deviously and walked backwards as he faced Carter.

“Hey Watch if Tozier, I’m still your teacher,” Mr Carter smirked as he pointed a finger at the student.

“How could I forget!” Richie sighed dramatically before he plopped down onto his seat beside Eddie’s.

A couple minutes after, once all of the students had filed into the class and taken their seats, their teacher commenced the lesson.

“So today we will be studying the science behind super powers,” The class all gasped, excitement filled the air.

“Yes, yes this is all very new and cool. So let’s dive right in,” Mr Carter turned on the projector.

The image that was displayed on the board had Eddie do a double take. It was a picture that looked like it was a screencap of the security camera footage from the bank’s vault where Spiderman fought that fire villain the previous night.

Eddie immediately felt overwhelmed. His stomach twisted with some dark feeling that had him clutching his abdomen, his head began to pound and his palms started sweating.

“So can anyone tell me what they think this fire bender might have wanted to achieve from their failed heist?” Mr. Carter's voice boomed in Eddie’s head. His senses increased his voice, causing him to shrink back into his seat.

Someone in the class raised their hand and responded once they were called on, “They were trying to melt the outer hinges of the vault as they wanted to make a quick and easy robbery,” someone said a matter-of-factly.

Carter chuckled, “But their plan did not work out as they would have hoped, correct? Does anyone here know why?” He asked the class.

Someone else raised their hand. “Spiderman trapped the villain in their webbing, which acted like a bottle cap, causing the villain's power’s to overflow and explode. Causing the villain to die.”

die

Die

D i e

D I E

Eddie’s hands were visibly shaking. He felt a bead of sweat roll down his forehead. He lifted his eyes up and they met Mr. Carter’s which were filled with concern.

“Are you alright Mr Kaspbrak-”

Eddie abruptly stood up, nearly tripping over his own feet as he moved towards the door. “I-I need some air,” he stuttered as he opened the door and left the classroom.

Die.Die.Die.Die.Die.DIE

Eddie walked, and he kept walking. His head started to run a mile a minute, so he ran too. He ran through the halls and the main atrium. He didn’t stop until he burst out the main doors of the school and ran into the fresh fall air. Eddie might have been overwhelmed but he still managed to feel his hair stand up on the back of his neck just moments before-

“Eddie?”.

Eddie turned on his heels, spinning around to see Richie standing before him. His shoulders were slouched and his head was tilted down as if he were trying to get done on Eddie’s level. (Which used to be a lot harder when Eddie was shorter before the whole spider thing). Richie took a slow step forward, carefully reaching a hand out to rest on Eddie’s shoulder.

“Are you okay?” He asked. A cool breeze swept by them which blew through Richie’s messy curls and helped lower Eddie’s increasing body temperature.

Eddie couldn’t keep looking at Richie and his big brown eyes- so he dropped his gaze to his hands, which were visibly shaking, and that only made him more distraught. He tilted his head back up to face Richie’s, but it was different now. Eddie could feel his lower lip trembling and his eyes began to well up with tears because it was all too much.

Richie’s stance physically softened. “Oh… Eddie,” he stepped forward, opened his arms and wrapped him up in a close hug. He wrapped his arms around Eddie’s shoulders. One hand on his back and the other one gently found a spot on the back of Eddie’s neck, just below his hairline. Richie held Eddie’s head close so he’d know that this was okay.

Eddie wrapped his arms around Richie’s back/torso area. He held the (slightly) taller boy tight and close, burying his face in the crook of Richie’s neck.

“I-I…” Eddie’s voice trailed off, unsure of where he should start, if he should start at all. When he exhaled, it was long and shaky. “Th-The-They’re dead,” he cried, the walls opened up and the tears flowed out. Rolling down Eddie’s cheeks and embedding into Richie’s denim jacket.

“Oh Eddie,” Richie let out a sad sigh, “You know that’s not your fault right?” He whispered softly and quietly. Sure he might’ve not known exactly who Eddie was talking about but he had a feeling asking would’ve only made it worse.

Eddie pressed his lips into a tight line. BUT IT IS MY FAULT- He wanted to scream, but he didn’t. The number one thing he promised he’d never do is reveal his secret identity. Even to Richie, his best friend. He simply couldn’t take that risk of the people he cared about most being in the line of fire.

“Hey… It’s okay,” Richie cooed, rubbing Eddie’s back to comfort him.

Eddie’s tears didn’t stop for a while. But Richie didn’t leave or lighten up, he just held Eddie close. He waited until Eddie confirmed he would be okay before he loosened his grip, but he still held his shoulders as they still shook lightly.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Richie tilted his head to the side, as if looking at Eddie from a new angle would help him piece together the puzzle that was his crush.

“Not one bit,” Eddie breathed. From where his hand had been placed on Richie’s upper back, it inched its way up to the back of Richie’s head. His fingers got lost in Richie’s thick hair. He slowly tilted Richie’s head down to the point where he could lean his head up and rest his forehead against his own. Eddie’s skin was warm against Richie’s. The touch sent shivers going down both their spines.

“...Okay,” Richie nodded which bobbed Eddie’s head too. That made all of them laugh a little. Richie glanced down and saw Eddie’s lips, once trembling in sadness were now curled into his small, delicate beautiful smile. But he knew Eddie’s smile was the only thing delicate about him. He was strong, and brave. things Richie always aspired to be.

Now it was Richie’s turn to bury his face into Eddie’s shoulder. “You wanna head back to class?” His voice was slightly muffled by Eddie’s shirt.

“Not really but do we have a choice?” Eddie whispered from where his chin sat on Richie’s shoulder.

So for a while, they just held each other.

~

Spiderman sat on the edge of one of the tallest buildings in New York . He sat in a kneeling position, one knee bent against the cool roof, the other slightly less bent. One hand leaned on the higher knee while the other was placed on the roof with his mask tightly in his grasp.

The wind swept through his hair for the second time that day. This time it was cooler, the sun had set about an hour ago which brought the city’s temperature down a couple degrees. If he held his breath long enough before he exhaled he could almost see his breath in the evening autumn air.

But the breeze began to pick up, Eddie’s hair swooped and swept to the side. He raised a hand up in hopes of righting it again but the wind continued, blowing it the wrong way again. Now Eddie physically shivered with the lowering temperature that the wind brought.

Spiderman turned his head and his hair followed, blowing behind him as if he were in one of those cheesy superhero fan fics that was written by a 17 year old confused bisexuel. (If you’re wondering what I’m confused about, then congrats cause same)

He let out a sigh before yanking his mask over his flowy hair. After he took a moment to try and locate where this was coming from. When nothing came up, he simply decided to follow the wind. Any way the wind blows am I right? With that he put his hand out, shot a web onto the nearest building and jumped.

The wind led Spiderman to a fairly old and empty park. The grass was still green which was surprising for the time of year, but that didn’t mean it still wasn't cluttered with leaves of all different warm colours. Eddie sat perched in one of the near evergreen trees on one of the lower branches, in a place where he could have a full view of the land but still stay out of sight.

The hair on the back of his neck stood up again before another, bigger, gust of wind came. This one nearly knocked Eddie out of the damn tree!

“Woah,” Eddie wobbled, his hands immediately grasping the branch he sat on in hopes of stabilizing his balance.

When he was pretty sure he was stable again, he looked back up at the park and his eyes found the culprit of this abnormal wind.

The being stood up on top of the play structure, on one of the platforms before the part with the slide. They held their hands out by their side which were emitting the wind.

“You know the wind is usually stronger on the other side of town right? So this is probably gonna seem really fucking suspicious to a lot of people” He called out as he hopped down, off of the tree branch and began walking towards the structer.

“Who are you?” The wind being croaked. His voice was rough and deep.

Eddie placed a hand on his chest as he introduced himself, “I’m just your local neighbourhood Spiderman, but I’m more curious about who you are” he pointed at the wind villain.

“You, you can call me Twister,” he bellowed, pushing another gust of wind at Spiderman.

This one was significantly stronger than any of the others that Eddie had felt. His feet started to slide from beneath him. He acted fast, shooting out a quick web that latched onto one of the nearby trees to hold him in place.

He held on for a couple moments but the winds picked up and he knew that he wouldn’t be able to keep this up. He could practically hear his web tearing under all the pressure.

With a quick flick of his wrist he shot a web up and hit the villain, Twister? He was an easy shot, immediately he got shot down, fell back on impact and off the play structure. He let out a loud grunt when his back hit the ground.

The wind stopped, so Eddie leaped up onto his feet then ran and jumped up onto the top of the play structure. “Yeah sorry dude Gone With The Wind is actually playing next week so you’ll have to- wait…” Eddie stopped mid pun when he noticed something seemed wrong with this guy.

Sure the main gust of wind had stopped but now Twister was emitting bursts of wind, every few seconds, not really from his hands but from his being. It was like an increasing heart beat. And this guy, his figure seemed to almost ripel with each burst.

Eddie hopped down off of the structure and held his hands out in defense as he slowly approached the villain. “H-Hey uh- Are you okay dude?” He stuttered, unsure of what was happening.

“He suh-said this was safe! Get him…”. The man let out another grunt as a wave rolled off of him. He arched his back up to the sky and screwed his eyes shut. “G-Get h-h-im” He stuttered in pain. “G-GET HIM!” He repeated, louder this time.

Eddie tensed at the pain in his voice. But his brow furrowed when he noticed that this guy was almost losing colour in his face. With each gust of wind he was losing more of the colour in his being.

“Who?” Eddie asked in a panic, his voice getting higher.

“Carter…” He hissed. Twister’s voice drifted off before he let out one last, big gust of wind. This one send a crack through his being.

Eddie couldn’t believe what he was watching. The man seemed to almost fade away. Then within the blink of an eye he was just… Gone with the wind.

~

Eddie did not sleep that night.

Right after his encounter with Twister, he swung his way home and snuck in through his bedroom window which he always keeps open. Finally in the safety of his own room, he stripped down to his boxers, hid his suit under his bed with the rest of his Spidey tech. He pulled on one of Richie’s old T-shirts that he’d outgrown and gave to Eddie. They used to be massive on Eddie but after the spider incident they’re just a little too big, but Eddie didn’t mind, just the scent of Richie on that shirt calmed his nerves a whole lot. After he retrieved his heavy, big ass, fluffy as fuck blanket and made himself a human burriot. Eddie curled up on his bed, his knees up to his chest, the blanket covered every square inch of his bdy, he even pulled it up and over his head with only a small crack to allow air in. Any little breeze or cold air currently put him on edge, after that.

Once he found a good position he shuffled for his phone, turned it on, nearly blinded himself by the light. But after his eyes adjusted he clicked on Spotify, lowered the volume to maybe 1 or 2 clicks and played A Trip To Nowhere, a playlist made by Richie for Eddie.

He fell asleep to the soft sounds of Something In The Air by Winnetka Bowling League.

Word Count: 7858

WELCOME TO MY NEW FAN FIC! AH GUYSSSS I'm so happy I finally get to share this with y'all! So during this pandemic I've started babysitting my cousin and he loves spiderman so I've been watching a lot of the spiderman movies recently which I'm A okay with cause I love superheroes and all. And watching all of that actually inspired me to write this fan fic! It probably won't be that long, maybe just like 4 chapters but it's still gonna have a kickass storyline so get ready!

Don’t forget to comment, like and reblog! It shows you guys like my stuff and it inspires me to write more! This will update every monday so get ready! Finally a reason to l o v e mondays.

ah! Anyways don't forget to comment your favourite part down below and leave a like! It inspires me to write more.

That's all for me, until next Monday 

So Long and Goodnight!

~

[Taglist]

@richietoaster @s-onora @that-weird-girl-blog @beproudtozier @ghostnebula @gen-s-stuff @bellarosewrites @s-s-georgie @lermanslogan @iamcupcakefrosting @madidraw @gazebobullshit @thoughtfullyyoungduck @aangzukos @ambitiousskychild @reddieonwheels @breadheadscorpius

Let me know if you wanna be added to the tag list!

[wollymalfoy]

Hogwarts is my home... (pt 2)

(Pt1)

Description: Y/N snape and the twins prank the Slytherins.

Writers note: I’m sorry I had to make the reader a Slytherin for the story to flow :/ I hope you all enjoy this I had a lot of fun writing this and I’m so excited to write the rest!

‘Y/N, please be careful in hogsmead’ your father said as he stocked the supply cupboard, ‘and don’t be hanging with those Weasleys, they get you into trouble’ he furrowed his eyebrows. ‘You know that isn’t going to happen’ you said laughing but your father didn’t look amused. ‘Come on they aren’t that bad, if you just got to know them....’ you said trying to persuade him into liking your best friends, Fred and George Weasley but decided to stop. He seemed to be in a foul mood, worse than usual. He ignored you. You sighed and said your farewells and went off to find your friends.

You was now in your third year which meant you was able to go to hogsmead with all the students from 3rd year and up. You had of course been there before but never alone, you had always been with your father, Severus snape. He had seemed off since the papers came out saying Sirius Black had escaped, you understood he was probably on edge and thinking about your safety but it still annoyed the hell out of you. You ran outside and saw a group of students leaving the gates of the grounds. With your permission slip in hand you ran to Professor McGonagall and handed it to her. ‘Good morning professor’ you said. ‘Good morning, Y/N’ she looked down to you, you where very small for your age, ‘now, you be careful out there dear.’ ‘I will’ you smiled and turned to see your friends, Fred, George and lee. ‘Y/N! looking good!’ said Fred with his hands in his pockets. ‘Shut it’ you said giving him a light punch on the shoulder, ‘what’s the plan?’ ‘Well we was thinking, go to the three broomsticks for butter beer’ said Fred. ‘And then in there we’ll explain the plan’ George finished smirking. ��It better be good even I don’t know’ Lee said walking backwards. As you walked down the path you saw a large pile of leaves, you had a suspicion that one of the boys would try and throw you into it, so you decided to make the first move. Although you was small you gave Fred a hard push and he fell onto his stomach into the pile of leaves. The leaves blew everywhere and one flew into Lee’s mouth as he began to laugh. He began to spit and cough to remove the leaf. All four of you began laughing so hard that tears began to form in your eyes. George and you couldn’t contain your laughter and collapsed to the floor. ‘It’s not even that funny’ you said through laughs. Fred has managed to get out of the pile of leaves and made his way over to the 3 of you. After you had all calmed down you walked down to the three broomsticks, George’s arm over your shoulder.

‘I’ll get the drinks’ lee said and you each passed him the money for your drinks. You found a table and was about to sit down when a platinum blonde haired boy caught your eye. ‘Give me a minute’ you said to the twins and made your way over to Draco. The twins shared a look of betrayal. ‘Hey’ he said putting his coat over the back of his chair, ‘hello, how’s your day?’ You asked him. ‘Better now’ he smirked and winked at you. You couldn’t help but blush at this. ‘Why don’t you sit with us’ he gestured his hand to Crabbe, Goyle, Zabini and Parkinson who looked very red in the face. ‘Thanks for offering but I’m here with the twins and Lee’ you said looking from pansy to draco. ‘Come on Y/N/N, come sit with some civilised people’ said Zabini looking as smug as ever. ‘Don’t be a prat’ you said giving him a sour look, ‘they’re my friends you arse’. ‘I guess I’ll see you in the common room’ Draco said placing a hand on your shoulder. You nodded and turned around, your stomach seemed to leap when Draco touched you but you ignored the feeling and shoved the feelings deep down. ‘Just ask her out mate’ you heard Lee say to George. ‘Ask who out?’ You said curious wiggling your eyebrows. Fred laughed. ‘We don’t talk about crushes in front of girls, they go blabbing’ George joked but his face was flushed redder than his hair. You stuck your tongue out at him. ‘Are you gonna tell us the plan or what then!’ Lee exclaimed after a while of silent drinking. ‘Okay, calm of Lee’ George said holding his hands up as If to surrender. ‘Y/N, you my dearest are the main character in this’ Fred said smirking. ‘So what is it!’ Lee said impatiently. ‘Lee will you be patient!’ George snapped. ‘So, Y/N here will give out these to the Slytherins as they leave the common room to go to dinner this evening’ he said holding up an orange sweet. ‘What is it exactly?’ You pondered. ‘This is a nosebleed nougat’ Fred said proudly. ‘Didn’t you say they wasn’t ready?’ The twins must of heard the uncertainty in their voice and told you that it wouldn’t matter because they’re ‘only slytherins.’ ‘Excuse me’ you said angrily, ‘I’m a Slytherin.’ ‘Ye well your different aren’t you’ George said but you remained sat there arms folded angrily.

The boys didn’t mention the plan for the rest of the day they knew pushing you would only make you not want to do it more. However on the walk back you agreed and the boys lifted you up into the air just as they would have done to Harry Potter if he had won the quidditch match.

That evening you did as the boys had instructed and stood by the archway of the common room door and handed out the orange sweets. You couldn’t help but feel guilty as each student took this unknown sweet. Blaise Zabini began coming up the marble steps and gave you a wink. ‘Would you like a sweet Blaise?’ You asked putting on your sweetest voice. He laughed, ‘I’ve learned not to trust you in the unknown things you give out. I still remember the box from first year’ you laughed but you had to admit he was being smart. The box Blaise was talking about was made by you in a way to impress the twins. It contained bats and spiders that would pounce out when opened. The twins thought it was ‘brilliant’ ‘I might have to steal this idea’ Fred had said after poor Zabini had been pranked. Blaise strutted off for dinner and after the common room was empty you followed in his suit. As you entered the great hall you searched for the red headed boys but the only red headed boy there was Ron. He smiled as he saw your standing in the entrance. ‘Boo!’ A voice called behind you, you jumped at the sound and span quickly. The two red headed boys stood laughing at you and you couldn’t help but smile at their handsome faces. ‘Did you do ittttt’ George said joyfully. ‘Of course’ you said ‘however no ones eaten them yet I thought I’d tell them to eat them just before dessert so that we’d have more victims, you know since they can’t warm each other’ you added. ‘You’re brilliant you are’ they said in unison. ‘Come on boys you’re blocking the way!’ Said professor sprout, ‘and girls’ she smiled as she noticed you when the boys had parted letting her through. You and the twins separated to each side of the room to your house tables. Draco was sat in deep conversation with Crabbe. Pansy staring contently at his face, you always though her crush for him was a little weird. Obsessive maybe. You sat down across from her and she turned her head to smile at you. ‘I can’t wait to try these sweets Y/N’ she said enthusiastically, ‘did you make them yourself?’ ‘I erm... yeah, yeah I did’ you managed to say. You knew that if you had told her the Weasleys had made it no one would eat it, rather in fear of being pranked or disgust that the sweet was made by a ‘blood traitor.’ The feast commenced, foods of all kinds appeared on the table. You took a helping of Y/F/F and began to eat. ‘So Y/N, I’m looking for a tutor, I was wondering since you know... you excel in everything’ he paused and searched your face for a sign of protest, ‘I thought you could be it?’ Pansy choked on her drink, the though of draco and you alone mustn’t have settled with her. ‘Sure, yeah no problem,’ you answered. ‘Great, I knew I could count on you’ he said with a wide smile, that rarely made an appearance on the handsome boys face.

After the main course, it was time for dessert a moment the twins and lee (he was told by the twins) were excitedly waiting for. You however where very anxious. As soon as the plates cleared from the main food to desserts of all kinds your heart began to beat fast and hard. ‘WAIT!’ Pantry cried you thought she had suspected something and your heart sank. ‘We need to eat the sweets remember’ she said, ‘lovely Y/N made these herself.’ The hall was quiet from Pansy’s screech and you could hear some sniggering from the other side of the room which you knew so well. You couldn’t help but smile at this. One by one the Slytherins ate the sweet and as quick as you could say quidditch blood flooded out of the unlucky slytherins noses. ‘I KNEW IT!’ Blaise shouted and laughed uncontrollably. Slytherins got up out of their seats clutching at their bloody noses. You stood up too unconsciously staring at the slytherins as they ran out of the hall with a mixture of amazement and fear on your face. You glanced over to the three boys who where laughing and smacking the table in amusement. ‘Y/N SNAPE!’ Your father said in a stern, authoritative voice. ‘Well shit’ you muttered to yourself.

Thanks for reading :)

If you’d like to be tagged in the next parts let me know :)

[slutforgoodliterature]

Something Wicked - Part 2

Chapter Two - Dead Poets Society 

Warnings: angst, descriptions of extreme violence, swearing

A/N: thanks for all the love on part one! I had actually finished writing this second part last week but then I accidentally pressed Control-T and the whole thing deleted so... don’t press Control-T basically 🙃

Also, this is what I imagine Natalie to look like! I always like having a visual, ignore this picture if you don’t want her to look this way I guess ahaha (Rose Salazar for anyone who’s wondering)

The drive to the police precinct is super uncomfortable. Spencer’s leg is pressed against mine the whole way, and because I’m stuck in the middle there’s nothing I can do to avoid it. He seems like he’s trying to position himself as far from me as possible as well, but the freaking spider has too-long legs that barely fit in the back of this SUV.

When we arrive, Immediately  put as much space between him and I as possible and seek out Chief Willoughby.

“Hi, Natalie Hart, public liaison for the Behavioural Analysis Unit. This is my…” I sense Spencer hovering over my shoulder, “colleague, Special Agent Spencer Reid.” I hold out my hand for the chief of police to shake.

He ignores my hand and instead scans me head to toe, staying silent.

“We’re here to assist you with the recent string of home invasions and murders?” I raise a brow at him.

Willoughby huffs. “Well, I can tell you it wasn’t my choice to get you guys to come on down here, but my second in command seems to have a lot of faith in your mind-reading mumbo jumbo.”

I drop my hand. This will be fun.

“Actually, Chief Willoughby, the job of the BAU is not to do any mind reading. We instead study cues and behaviour and use these skills in situations such as these to give insight into the people who commit these crimes. From there, we create a profile that aids your people to narrow down a suspect pool-“

Spencer is cut off by an aggressive cough from Willoughby.

“Yes okay, okay. It’s good you’re here. I got one of the officers to clear out an office for you, just that door there.” He points and we start to head over. Before I shut the door behind us, I look back at him and give him my best glare.

“I can only help as much as you let me, Chief. We want to stop this just as much as you do.” He stares back at me, eyes narrowed. “Don’t let your ego get in the way.” He nods once and turns on his heel.

“What did you say to him?” Spencer asks as I enter the office. He’s already got a map tacked to the wall and is circling specific points, I’m assuming where the murders happened.

“Does it matter?” I sigh, already at my wits end from dealing with one asshole. I don’t need another one on my back.

“We need to be courteous to these people, Natalie. If they ask us to leave because you snapped at him, then-“ He begins to berate me but I whirl around and point a finger up at him, seeing as he’s at least a head taller than me.

“Thanks for the lecture, John Lennon. Funnily enough, as a public liaison, I know how to deal with people. He needed to know we would take it seriously, and men like him never respect women who don’t stand up for themselves.” His eyes widen as I almost yell at him.

Before he can respond, the ringing of a phone breaks us out of our glaring contest. He picks it up quickly and exchanges a few words with whoever is on the other end before finally saying “We’ll be there in 10.”

He avoids my eyes and slings his back over his shoulder. “There’s been another family discovered. Same killer, Hotch wants us there ASAP.”

I nod wordlessly.

The second we arrive, journalists and TV crews flock the car.

“I’ll deal with them, meet you inside in a minute.” I wave Spencer off.

“You sure you can-“ he starts but I cut him off.

“Stop doubting me for one second and get your ass inside before I become your next unsub.” I smile sweetly at him, but he must see the rage in my eyes because he hurries away.

As the press clamours for information, I stand stoically in front of the cameras and answer their questions in the limited way I can.

“Yes, the FBI is here to assist in the investigation into the current string of murders. Yes, we are doing all we can to apprehend whoever is behind this. No, I will not be discussing the details of the case.”

One question in particular catches me off guard.

“Can you comment on the rumour he’s leaving written messages at the crime scene?” I search the crowd for whoever said that, but whoever did has faded into the crowd.

“As I said, I will not be discussing the case. Nothing more to be said at this point in time.” I turn on my heels, ignoring the yelling behind me, and disappear into the house.

I find the others in the living room and I’m confronted by blood. So much blood. The bodies of the family are strewn across the floor. I balk and cover my mouth in a fist, knowing I’d let out and embarrassing sound. I turn to face the doorway, avoiding the gore.

On the wall across from me are bright red words that send a chill down my spine.

Written in blood reads: I will drain him dry as hay

“You handled the press well. Hotch was impressed.” Rossi sneaks up behind me and I jump slightly at the sudden voice.

“Just doing my job.” I mutter. He pats me on the shoulder knowingly and turns back to the group.

I tune out their conversation as they discuss the bodies before them. I don’t need those images in my head. The bodies haphazardly covered by sheets is enough for me.

“The quote is another one from Shakespeare. Same play as the last one.” Spencer states, studying the wall.

“Yeah, Macbeth. Like Natalie said.” Emily smiled at me warmly. Spencer swallows thickly and shoots me a short, cold look.

“Exactly. Both quotes are actually from the three witches, who basically curse Macbeth for becoming so power hungry. In fact, Macbeth himself is the ‘something wicked’ that the first quote references.” He continues.

“So the unsub is attacking people he thinks are power hungry and successful?” Derek asks the room.

“I think that’s highly likely. So far, all the victims have been relatively wealthy families.” Hotch says without emotion.

“But if the unsub is targeting the man of the house, how come they’re the only ones that aren’t beaten.” Emily says. “They seem to get the most merciful death. The mothers, on the other hand…” everyone turns to look at the brutalised woman on the ground.

“In the play, Lady Macbeth is actually seen as the one controlling Macbeth and pushing him to be so ruthless.” I add quietly. Every head swivels to me.

“That’s a good point Natalie.” Hotch nods thoughtfully. Spencer even looks impressed with my observation. “The unsub might be targeting the women he believes are pushing their husbands to be successful.”

“Maybe a wife of his own left him because he didn’t achieve her standards? That could be the motive.” Derek says.

“And a stressor.” Emily sighs.

“So what, we just search up every guy in Memphis who’s recently been through a divorce?” Rossi scoffs. “That’ll take days. We need to narrow it down more.”

“Shakespeare seems to have a significant meaning to this unsub. I suggest we take that into account.” Spencer offers and I find myself nodding in agreement.

Derek pulls out a phone and dials quickly.

“You’ve reached the goddess of all things tech. How can I help you?” Garcia’s voice crackles through the speaker.

“Babygirl, we need a list of all antique book dealers and shops that sell old books. Pay special attention to those that deal a lot with Shakespeare.” Derek instructs. The sound of rapid typing then a beep follows.

“Ok, I’ve got around 78 bookstores and dealers that match that description. Anyway I can narrow that down for you?”

“Look at the men who have recently gone through divorce or have fallen on financial problems recently.” Rossi says into the phone.

More typing, then: “Ok, I’ve got three. A Joel Macpherson who runs an antique bookshop, Carl Thompson who specialises in  selling first-edition Shakespeare and to complete this triad of potential mass murders is Leopold van der Fell. His shop is on the other side of town and he runs a book club that exclusively reads Shakespeare."

“Send us the addresses please, baby girl.” Derek says and Garcia scoffs.

“Oh, yee have little faith. They’re already on your phones.” On more thank you and Hotch scans us.

“Rossi, you and Derek speak to Joel Macpherson. Reid, take Natalie and see Leopold. Emily and I will visit Carl Thompson.” Without a second word, everyone begins filing out of the room and into their respective cars.

Spencer looks at me and sighs. “Let’s get this over with.”

I roll my eyes and make my way to the car, hopping into the drivers seat.

“You sure you’re okay to drive?” Spencer asks as he gets in the passenger side.

“My god! Can I not do anything without you questioning me?” I cry, turning in my seat to face him. He stares at his hands.

“I meant that seeing that inside probably shook you up. I don’t want you driving if your head is elsewhere.”

I’m taken aback by his thoughtfulness. I swallow loudly and put the car in park, backing out of the driveway.

“I could use the distraction.” I answer after a stretch of silence.

I see him nod out of the corner of my eyes. “Okay, I get it.”

I allow myself to relax in my seat. “Thanks.” I mutter.

“But if you crash because you’re distracted, don’t say I didn’t want you.” He adds.

“There’s the asshole I know and love.” I turn the radio on and drown out his response. “Now, shut up and give me directions.”

[joaquinwhorres]

Mind Over Matter - Ch. 2 (Bucky Barnes x OC)

[ Masterlist ]

SUMMARY ››››› Bucky Barnes has a list of names–amends he needs to make. When he gets to M. & L. Kaminski, he finds the amends process a bit more…difficult than it should be.

WORD COUNT ››››› 3,550-ish

WARNINGS ››››› language

A/N ››››› I’ve decided that this story calls for alternating perspectives. Also, lemme know what you think about how this explores post-End Game life.

"You know Bucky Barnes?!"

Rocio was upon her before Mina had even fully entered the dining room. Despite the fact that it was probably cutting off her circulation, the eight year old was still proudly wearing her "Soldier Arm". Mina was surprised she could even put it on anymore, a thought that brought on the bittersweet feeling of nostalgia. When the two of them had constructed the costume four years ago, Mina had needed to roll the ends of the glove up and then safety pin it to the top of Rocio's sleeve to keep it from sliding off. Now it didn't even reach her shoulder anymore.

"I never mentioned that?" Mina asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No!" Rocio exclaimed

"Oh," Mina shrugged, rounding the table and passing by a wiggling Ravi in his booster seat.

Rocio fell into step behind Mina letting out an indignant and frustrated sound. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

She had an amazing and irritating talent for both shouting and whining at the same time. Mina breathed out her annoyance through her nose.

"Rocio," she said, flatly. "Do you really think I know Bucky Barnes and kept it a secret from you?"

The little girl pouted for a second as she thought it over before slowly shaking her head. "You're not very good at keeping secrets."

"Hey," Mina pointed a finger at her.  "I never told anyone about your crush on Spider-Man did I?"

"I was six!"

"And yet, old enough to propose," Mina grinned, remembering finding the letter Rocio had addressed to Spider-Man with haphazardly spaced and sized letters. It had taken a few attempts to decipher some of the spelling, but it had proven excellent material to tease Rocio about for the past two years.

Her niece scowled at her and marched back to the table, dramatically throwing herself back into her chair.

Mina turned back to the stove and the probably cold eggs, smiling to herself in victory. It was a brief moment of peace as she dished eggs onto three plates because the moment she popped the first one in the microwave, the interrogation started back up.

"Well, if you don't know him, why was he here?"

"He wanted to talk to me and your mom," Mina said, watching the eggs spin round and round.

"About what?"

"The weather."

"Mema!" Rocio hit her hand against the table, causing Ravi to jump in his seat and stare at his sister with wide eyes.

Mina whirled on her niece. "Rocio Ishani, you know better."

"Sorry," Rocio mumbled, casting her eyes down to the table--one of her tells of genuine embarrassment and regret. The microwave beeped, and Mina sighed, switching the plate out for another one.

"I don't know what he wants to have a conversation about. He was here for three minutes and you did most of the talking. And even if I did know," she added on, stopping Rocio before words could come out of the little girl's open mouth. "I don't think it's a child friendly conversation. Which means when he comes, you're going to your room."

"He's coming back?"

Mina nodded. "When your mom comes to pick you up," she said, stopping the eggs with six seconds left on the clock. She took the two plates to the table, setting the hot one down in front of her and the warm one in front of Rocio. She raised her eyebrows at her niece, gesturing with her head to the kitchen before turning back to get Ravi's plate. Rocio trailed her in, pulling out the silverware drawer to get forks for the three of them, and tearing off three paper towels as napkins. She still hadn't quite grasped that Ravi wouldn't be using a napkin however much he needed one. Instead, she ripped one half sheet into a quarter, as if that would convince him to use it in the same way that the small bright green fork convinced him to be somewhat civilized in his eating instead of using his hands.

It was a few more minutes before they were all at the table, ready to eat.

"Your arm, please," Mina said, gesturing to Rocio's glove. The little girl put up no fight, shimmying out of it and lightly laying it on the empty chair next to her, signature side up so she could admire it all of breakfast.

While the interrogation seemed to be over, talk of the Avengers was not. Most of the breakfast conversation revolved around ranking the Avengers from most powerful to least powerful, and most helpful to least helpful, and the ever ambiguous "best" to "worst." And then, as it did with young kids, talk bounced from subject  to subject--connected only by the vaguest semblance of eight year old logic. It ended with a request to watch Wild Kratts after breakfast.

They did.

They did a lot of other things after breakfast too.

They made and played with play dough and stopped when they noticed Ravi was alternating between building with his and eating it.

They each drew pictures for Leela with varying degrees of realism, had a fashion show turned impromptu dance party, and played hide and seek during Ravi's nap. (Rocio was such a good hider that Mina hadn't found her until after Ravi woke up, and she was definitely looking very hard and not reading a book.)

They painted each other's nails, and built an epic race car track for Ravi and made individual pizzas.

They raked leaves outside and picked a few favorites to press in books and even found time to fit in a small hurt self/strong self activity before Leela arrived.

They were in the middle of deconstructing eating their creations when the front door opened.

"Where is my family?"

Mina looked up with a smile and gestured towards the door, but Rocio remained put. "We're in here!" she shouted, fingers sticky with peanut butter and fluff.

Leela sauntered into the room, her emerald green suit still pressed and wrinkleless despite a day on the job. She arched her perfectly threaded eyebrows as she looked at her younger sister and daughter and the table all covered in graham cracker crumbs. "Looks like you three had a good day."

"Yep!" Rocio chirped, and Leela clicked forward and into the corner of the room where Ravi was playing with his two cars on a section of the track.

"How is it my two year old is the least messy of the three of you?" she asked, bending over to press a kiss to Ravi's head. He squirmed away, continuing to move his cars along the track.

Mina laughed as Rocio licked a finger clean of peanut butter. "Because Ravi takes after you, and Rocio takes after me," she said, grinning at Rocio. Leela frowned and crossed back over to the girls. "Don't worry though, I think we're all adventured out, so tomorrow we're just going to sit and stare at the walls."

"No!" Rocio shouted, and Leela hushed her.

Mina tilted her head as if thinking. "I guess we could wash my car," she said, tapping her chin with a finger. "And the baseboards do need some dusting."

Rocio let out a dramatic groan, and Mina laughed, picking up a napkin to rub away at the spot of marshmallow fluff on her chin.

"Well, if you're not going to clean my house, you can at least clean your hands."

Rocio gave her a look of exasperation that she should have been much too young to even think about giving. Nevertheless, she slid out of her chair and headed to the sink, Leela stopping her en route so she could press a kiss to the top of her daughter's head.

"How was work?" Mina asked as Leela sunk into Rocio's vacated chair.

"People are idiots," Leela rolled her eyes, giving a sigh.

"Says the literal genius," Mina returned, and Leela snorted, shaking her head.

"It doesn't take a genius to follow simple instructions. I'll lay everything out for them, and even with pictures, they can't complete a single build without running into some potentially catastrophic error."

"That's not what you want to hear from the lead engineer at Stark Energy."

Rocio skipped back to the table, and Leela scooched out her chair, gesturing for Rocio to come sit on her lap. The little girl veered off early though, instead attempting to climb into Mina's lap. Mina shook her head, casting a quick glance at her sister who dropped her open arms.

"Your mom's missed you," Mina said, gesturing with her head across the table.

"I live with her," Rocio whined.

"And?" Leela asked, moving her chair back up to the table. "I still miss you when I work."

"Really?" Rocio asked, walking over to the chair next to Leela, and claiming it.

"Really," Leela assured, placing an arm on the back of Rocio's chair, gently combing through her daughter's hair with her fingers. She looked up at Mina offering a small, weak smile before looking back down at her daughter. Her brow creased. "What are you sitting on?" she asked, tugging at something underneath Rocio. The little girl joined her mom in looking down, her eyes lighting up as she recognized the object.

"My Soldier Arm! Oh yeah! Guess who we met today!"

"Who?" Leela asked.

"No, guess!"

Mina would have to teach her niece about the art of not playing a guessing game after making the answer so obvious. Then again, it still seemed so surreal that Bucky Barnes would turn up at her doorstep, that even with the "Soldier Arm", she doubted that Leela would guess.

Leela pursed her lips, putting on a show of thought. "Was it--"

There was a knock at the front door interrupting Leela's guess. Rocio practically launched herself from the chair, already halfway out of the room by the time she could scream "I'll get it!"

"No!" Ravi shouted. His usual reaction when Rocio was too loud, too energetic, too Rocio.

Leela exhaled a laugh at her son before turning back to her sister. "This was too much sugar," she said, circling a finger around Rocio's half-eaten creation. Mina laughed, and Leela smiled, and it felt nice for things to be normal between them--easy. Even if it was just for a moment.

A moment that was brought to a screeching halt by Rocio dragging Bucky Barnes into the combined kitchen and dining room by the hand.

"We met Bucky Barnes!" she chirped.

Leela's face went slack, only managing to get out a small "Holy shit." Mina's eyes didn't linger long on her sister though. Instead her gaze was drawn to Bucky Barnes who looked vaguely amused.

"Rocio, release your captive," Mina prompted, and reluctantly, Rocio released his hand, taking a few steps back towards her mother to give him some space.

"Is this--are you--what is happening here?" Leela asked, looking between Bucky and Mina and Rocio, as if one of them had a reasonable explanation for this. Mina had only ever seen her sister this flustered twice before. Both of the previous occasions had been heartbreaking and traumatic and she'd never quite gotten to experience how funny flustered Leela was.

"He wants to talk to you and Mema about something!" Rocio filled in.

Leela's head whipped to Mina. "You know him?" she whispered in Hindi, as if this was some secret conversation for Mina's ears only.

Mina shook her head. "No, he just came by this morning and asked to speak with us."

"About what?" Leela asked, furrowing her eyebrows and looking back to Bucky.

"I don't know."

For all of the differences between Leela and Rocio--and there were many--their brain processing was eerily similar.

Bucky cleared his throat, drawing the sisters' attention back to him. "I um--I don't know if you want--" he gestured to Rocio. "Here for this."

"Rocio, go to your ro--the playroom," Mina corrected.

"I promise I'll be quiet if you let me--" Rocio started, and Leela cut her off.

"Rocio, take your brother and go up to the playroom please,"

"But--" Rocio's face melted into the start of a complaint, but there a sharp cut of her mother's eyes stopped her dead. Mina remembered being on the receiving end of that look quite a few times while she was growing up. If anything it'd grown in power.

Rocio stomped forward, taking Ravi by the hand who whined and complained until she let him pick up a few cars to take with him, and the two exited the room, heavy footsteps echoing up the staircase.

Mina turned back to Bucky who was staring over Leela's head, at the wall of family pictures.

The idea had hit Mina four years ago after Rocio woke up crying from a nightmare. Together, they spent the night going through old photo albums and Facebook albums, searching for the best pictures of the family. They ended the night with about forty pictures that needed to be framed or professionally printed, and the whole project took about a week to finish.

Every time they ate lunch together over the past four years, Rocio would choose a picture, and Mina would tell her the story behind the picture. Mina's eyes flitted amongst the pictures now.

There was the first time Leela held Mina as a baby which was also the first time Mina smiled. Leela's high school graduation--one of the few pictures with both of their parents in it, hovering on either side of Leela as six year old Mina sat on her hip. Leela and Hector's beautiful wedding day. Leela and Hector at Mina's high school graduation. Leela and Mina at the baby shower for Rocio, and Leela and Hector at the shower for Ravi. There was one of Rocio's grandparents meeting her for the first time, and a good number of photos documenting Mina's visits out to the family. Before the blip.

During their four years together, Mina and Rocio had also taken pictures of memories the family couldn't be there for and hung them on the wall, reminders of stories to tell should they ever return.

Rocio and Mina moving into a new house.

Rocio's first day of Kindergarten, first, and second grade.

The two of them and Rocio's ill-fated hamster, Churro.

Birthday parties and day trips that the rest of the family should have attended.

Bucky stared at the pictures, his frown deepening.

"Would you like to sit?" Leela invited, allowing her collected professional persona to seep into her voice and straighten her spine.

The super soldier nodded, choosing the chair at the end of the table, closest to the door. He wet his lips, his eyes drawn from the pictures and down to the wooden table. It was strange seeing an Avenger--someone who had fought Thanos--seem so nervous in the company of two ordinary women.

He reminded Mina of the fourth graders who entered her office.

The fourth graders were always so hesitant to work with her--terrified of opening up and showing even a glimpse of vulnerability. It took three sessions just to get them to admit that they weren't fine and a few more before they lost the skittish look in their eyes. She doubted Bucky would be pried open by bags of chips or any of her fidgets, but she figured she'd at least try.

"Can I get you something to drink?" Mina asked, and Bucky shook his head.

"I don't want to take up too much of your time."

Mina nodded, and Leela cocked her head. "So what brings an Avenger to my sister's house?"

He wet his lips and then looked up at the pair. "You're part of my efforts to make amends." Bucky made an attempt at a smile.

Across the table, Leela's chest constricted with barely suppressed laughter, and the corners of Mina's lips twitched in and out of a smile. Whoever had advised him to smile, surely hadn't meant for him to smile like that.

"What are you here to make amends for?" Leela asked, her voice steady and betraying none of her amusement.

"I…" his eyes drifted back to the wall of pictures looming beside them. "I'm the one responsible for your parents death."

Mina felt the world stop.

Or maybe it wasn't the world, maybe she stopped. Maybe every single atom within her stilled for a moment. Maybe her brain shut down and heart paused its beating, keeping her from thinking or feeling anything other than the numbness of shock. Because as surprising as it was for Bucky Barnes to show up on her doorstep at ten in the morning, she never expected he was responsible for changing her entire life.

"I know there's nothing, I could ever do to truly make amends--"

"You don't need to make amends."

Everything seemed to restart then. Her heart picked up its beating, and brain whirred into action, sifting through memories and thoughts she'd long ago pushed to the back of her mind and locked there to remain untouched even by  years of therapy.

Her skin prickled with flashes of images. The dark figure at the top of the staircase, the glint of metal she'd assumed was a gun in his hand, the cold blankness of his stare as his eyes bore into hers. And then the horror and sick relief of finding her parents in the moments after his disappearance.

"They were horrible people, and I'm glad they're dead. Thank you for salvaging my childhood"

"Mina," Leela gasped, horrified.

"You hated them too," Mina argued back. "Don't pretend you're not glad that Rocio and Ravi never have to meet them."

"Our relationship with our parents aside, they were still our parents. The least we can do is not thank the man who murdered them in their sleep."

Bucky for his part looked completely bewildered as his eyes darted between the two arguing sisters.

Mina shook her head. "You were more of a parent to me than they ever were."

"And it's because of that that I remember you waking up screaming every night for three years. So if you're not going to ask for amends for our parents' murder, at least ask for amends for what you had to go through because of him."

"My nightmares aren't because of him," Mina dismissed. Leela would never believe--let alone understand--the reason behind Mina's nightmares.

Seeing the argument was fruitless, Leela tsked and dismissed Mina with a flip of her hair, turning instead to address Bucky. "Why?"

"Why…" Bucky stumbled along, confused by the conversational whiplash or the vague question.

"Why did you kill our parents?" Leela demanded.

"Does it matter?" Mina asked.

"It matters to me."

The sisters stared at each other, and Mina shut her eyes, bowing her head in surrender. Leela didn't understand. If Mina had it her way, Leela would never understand. She would never burden her sister like that.

Bucky swallowed hard. "I wasn't told the specifics of every...assignment. All I know is that your parents were working on something HYDRA wanted, and when they were offered a chance to join the cause, they declined. I was tasked with elimination and retrieval."

"Retrieval?" Leela pressed

"Of their research."

Leela gave him a single nod before looking down at the table in front of her. "I didn't even know they were conducting their own research."

Mina felt her skin prickle, an icy hot sensation shooting through her veins. Carefully calm, she reached across the table, palms open for her sister's hands. Leela placed her hands in her younger sister's. "They never let us get to know them," Mina said gently, squeezing Leela's hands. "That's why I'm angry and you're hurt."

Even as she said this, she could feel Bucky's gaze on her, intently studying her motions and facial expressions.

She looked back at him. "Thank you for coming to tell us. I'm sure it wasn't easy."

He nodded, his brow still slightly creased as he looked at her. And then his gaze flicked to Leela, and Mina released her breath.

"I know it doesn't mean much--it doesn't change anything, but I'm not the person who did that anymore. I am no longer the Winter Soldier. I am James "Bucky" Barnes."

Leela nodded, releasing her sister's hands and looking Bucky square in the face. Her own expression was completely neutral, not a trace of a tear or any of the hurt she'd voiced.

"If you want to make amends, you should come here for Thanksgiving."

Neither Mina nor Bucky had been expecting that. Mina's instinctive reaction was to snort out a laugh as if it were a joke, and Bucky looked like the very dictionary definition of confusion: brow knitted together, eyes narrowed, mouth hanging open.

"It would mean the world to my daughter. You can think about it as replacing a memory of my daughter meeting her grandparents. Mina's right, this will probably be a happier memory anyway."

"You have to come!" Rocio rushed into the room, both of the women shouting her name in a mixture of surprise, horror, and reprimand. The eight year old made no excuses or explanations. Instead she stood by Bucky's chair, peering up at him with a bright intensity only a child could muster. "Please."

Bucky looked away from Rocio to Leela and then Mina. "Ok."