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mortalfaerie · 4 years ago

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To Fake An Engagement (M.F.)

part 1/?

matthew farichild x (fem) reader

word count: 2118

synopsis: reader has had a crush on matthew for years, but has never acted on it. after a night of drinking at the devil’s tavern, reader and matthew jokingly exchange family rings, a gesture of engagement. at least, she thought it was a joke. no coi spoilers.

If there was one good thing that James and Cordelia’s faux engagement had afforded your friends, it was the ability to stay out as long as you liked, feigning to help with wedding preparations or attending social events with the young couple.

In truth, most of those nights were spent you would have all longed to have spent it anyway: in the rooms above The Devil’s Tavern, idling away the time with cards, experiments, and telling stories. This was how you intended to spend this night, seated at the table in the center of the room, playing poker for hairpins with The Merry Thieves, Cordelia, and Lucie. Not having poker chips on hand, and not equally having enough coins to play for real money, Cordelia had scoffed and begun to pull out the ridiculous amount of hairpins that held up her locks- intended for a night of festivities in society- and placed them on the table.

“Well, that will have to be at least thirty.” She said, nodding at the pile.

“Ah, well, I’ll contribute as well.” Lucie had agreed amiably, and discarded twenty or so pins to the pile. The rest of the group looked to you, your hair still contained in its chingon.

“Oh, well, sure.” You conceded, and discarded your hairpins to the table, and idly ran your fingers through your hair, trying to smooth it out. “But I am sticking you all with the blame if it is horribly knotted by the end of the night.” You stated, jokingly.

From beside you at the table, Matthew gave you an appraising look. “Seems well enough to me.”

You gave an eye roll, as you often did, and let your hair fall over your shoulder between you and conceal the blush. It was fairly common knowledge to at least a few members of the group that you had a crush on Matthew, for better or for worse, since your family had come to London two years ago. Of course, Matthew, who had long been your friend, had appeared to be infatuated at different times, with everyone except you. You had resigned yourself, complaining to Lucie that it was hopeless, but she of course had denied it, not wanting to see you upset. Now, he seemed to be bewitched by Cordelia.

You all knew that Cordelia and James’ marriage was fake. In some ways, you thought it was rather funny. That said, Matthew seemed eternally bittersweet at the thought of it. A marriage was a marriage, was indeed a marriage, whether fake or not.

You played cards and laughed, exchanging drinks at intervals, and nipped a bit of Matthew’s brandy while whispering about Christopher’s strategy and Thomas’ lack of proper poker face. After a game, when unsurprisingly, Lucie took the lot of hairpins, you talked idly with your friends as Lucie gloated.

“So, what will we do once James and Cordelia marry, and we can no longer feign that we have very important wedding business on dull nights?” Thomas asked the group.

“Ah, well, we could create another marriage blanc among the group, y’know?” James laughed, not noticing the slight wince Cordelia gave at the reminder.

Lucie laughed. “Well, I am not volunteering myself as the bride. I have many things I yet need to do before marrying, blanc ou non.”

Matthew, who had been studying his glass of brandy for the past few minutes in an odd quiet, looked up and said humorously “Well, that leaves us with Y/N,” and, turning to you, asked “So do you accept such a nomination?”

You laughed, feeling your cheeks flush rapidly. “Oh, my, well I don’t see anybody proposing to me?” you reasoned, and took a brisk sip of your drink.

“Ah, but you can have your pick!” James said, poking a finger about the table. “You could choose to be Y/N Lightwood,” he gestured to Christopher and Thomas, the latter of the two punching him playfully in the shoulder to dissuade him, but he concluded, “Or you could be Y/N Fairchild!”

The group roared in approval at the suggestion, and though it was all a joke, you couldn’t lie that you enjoyed the sound of it.

“Oh, come now, we still have months before you marry.” You laughed.

“And so months to plan our next deception of the Enclave.” Christopher nodded. He, probably more than the rest, loved the idea of deceiving the Enclave.

“Certainly more time to plan than we had.” Cordelia said, with a half smile.

“Shall you accept petitions of marriage in the meantime?” Lucy asked, a sparkle of mischief in her eyes. “I think it would be most romantic, and surely, the most diplomatic means to decide.”

Mathew, in response, snorted. “Oh, Lucie, you’re beginning to sound like Charles.”

Lucie’s face screwed up in momentary dissatisfaction. “Oh, by the Angel, I should hope not.”

You smiled. “All the same, I rather like the idea of you all presenting why I should marry you, and not the others.”

“Hm, well,” Thomas began, carrying on the ruse you seem to have created at the table. “Well, Lightwood is a good name, and you would never want for comfortable conversation.”

Christopher nodded enthusiastically at Thomas, and added “And Aunt Sophie would love Y/N.”

“Oi! Conjecture!” James said accusingly. “You can’t advocate for someone else.”

Christopher raised his hands in mock surrender. “Alright! I-” he began, but then paused. The group laughed in response. “Uh. Okay, well, you would always be entertained.” he decided, and gave a toothy smile.

You nodded to him obligingly, and then turned to Matthew, expecting him to contribute. He started when you looked at him.

“Hm? Oh! Yes, my petition.” He said, setting down his glass. “Though I am certain to be an eternal bachelor, I could assure that you would always be fashionably dressed,” he said, considering. “Your bed would always be warm, if by me or by Oscar,” he added with a smile. You laughed in response, he knew you loved Oscar. You had always wanted a dog of your own, but your parents would never oblige you. “You would be the Consul’s daughter, I should add, and Fairchild is also a good name,” and he gave you an indulgent smile and thumbed your nose as he concluded, “And I must say, our children would be beautiful indeed.”

You flushed even redder than you had before, and the group whooped at your shock.

Cordelia shook her head. “Matthew, nobody said anything about children. It would be another blanc marriage, after all.”

He sketched a bow to her and answered, “I will not apologize for having a flair for the dramatic.”

“Mm, well then,” James interjected, eyes shining. “Your verdict, Y/N?”

You looked around the table, surprised to see they were all looking expectantly to you. “Oh, well, if I must choose,” you began, and cleared your throat. “I think I would have to take Matthew’s offer.” And apologetically, added for Christopher and Thomas, “I am sorry, I could never say no where Oscar is concerned.”

Matthew winked at you. “And who could blame you? He is most charismatic.” He patted your hand beside him and then said, “It is decided then, after Cordelia and James have wedded, Y/N and I shall become engaged, and you may all fuss over us in turn.”

Surprising all of you, Matthew removed his Fairchild ring and held it out to you. “Shall we?” he asked, still smiling. Your mind raced. He was drunk, of course, and you weren’t much better. Of course, it was a joke. A ruse, and you would probably return rings in the morning after a good laugh. You bit your lip consideringly, and then decided to have fun. You reached for your family ring, and placed it in his hand. He slid the Fairchild ring onto your finger, and placed a kiss to your hand. You giggled, and the group applauded and laughed.

“My bride to be.” He said to the group, gesturing to the ring on your hand.

The next morning, when your family’s maid drew open the curtains of your room, you blocked the light with your hand and was surprised when you recognized that the ring on your hand was not yours, but Matthew’s. You couldn’t remember all of night, but you must have not returned his ring before parting. You made a mental note to return it upon seeing him later, as you were likely to see him at the park, where a picnic- this time, without daylight demons- was planned.

You were enthusiastically listening to Lucie’s latest edition of The Beautiful Cordelia alongside the Lightwoods, Anna included, and Cordelia when the Consul’s carriage arrived, and Matthew and James together exited to join you on the blanket. You had tried to find the time during conversation and food to return the ring, but it evaded you. As the afternoon pulled on, you gathered your coat in a pile and reclined against it, watching the moving clouds. You had closed your eyes a moment when abruptly, the sun disappeared above you. Your eyes flew open in shock as you reached for your dagger, but stopped when your eyes landed on Matthew, standing over you and looking down.

“No demons, only me.” He said with a smile. As always, you rolled your eyes. “Will you take a turn about the path with me?” He asked, and offered a hand to help you up.

You accepted it, and brushed off your skirts. You looped your arm through his and began to walk in silence. After a few minutes, you blurted out, “I expect you’ll want your ring back.”

He shot you an odd look, and answered, “I was about to offer you yours. Though, I admit, I was tempted to keep it.”

“What?” you asked, incredulously.

“Well, it seems to be great fun to pretend to be engaged, don’t you think?” He said, looking straight ahead.

“Oh, I’m sure, but, Matthew,” you sighed, and he stopped to regard you.

“Ah, yes, you would not want to be engaged to me.” He said, looking inexplicably through and past you. “I would not blame you. I accepted a fate as an eternal bachelor long ago.”

“No, Matthew, that’s not-” you began, but he cut you off.

“You would want to be engaged to me?” he asked, brows raised.

“Matthew, please let me finish a sentence!” you exclaimed, and he fell silent.

“Thank you.” you sighed. “I was saying, I am sure it would be great fun to pretend to be engaged, but I would want-” you gestured aimlessly. “A husband who loved me.”

He looked at you earnestly and said quietly, though you were alone, “I could love you, Y/N.”

Your heart wrenched at his words. “I would want you to love me, Matthew, not simply be able to.”

You passed a moment of silence, regarding each other, and then he said, “Will you keep the ring?”

You shook your head in disbelief, and reached to take it off, but he stopped you. “Don’t. Keep it. You can have yours in return, but keep mine. It does me good to see someone else wear it. It’s unlikely to be given to another.” and there was a loneliness to it that hurt you.

“Matthew.” you sighed, and laced your fingers in your own. “I can’t believe I’m saying this,” you began, and he met your eyes. “What if- what if, we had a deal.” you suggested.

“A deal?” he asked. You nodded. “Yes, a deal. What if I kept the ring for… a year?”

He raised an eyebrow. “You will have to explain your reasoning.”

You cleared your throat. “You say, you could love me. If I keep this ring for a year, and at the end of the year, you love me-”

“You’ll accept my offer in earnest?” he supplied. You nodded in response.

His eyes lit up, but he nodded with a schooled expression. “Very well. A year. Keep my ring for a year.”

“I shall.” you replied. You smiled oddly, and regarded your interlaced hands. “I do quite like the Fairchild ring.”

He smiled warmly. “It is quite superior, as far as family crests are concerned.”

You nudged him playfully. “You are biased, Matthew Fairchild.”

“Perhaps I am. Am I the worse for it?” he replied.

“Oh, no more than the rest of us. We shadowhunters are terribly prideful.” you said, and looked up to him. To your surprise, he pressed a kiss to your temple. You squeezed his hand without thinking, and he smiled. “A year. A winter wedding then, or spring?”

All you could do was laugh in response, but your stomach was tied in nervous, hopeful knots.

#matthew fairchild #the mortal instruments #the infernal devices #the last hours #the dark artifices #matthew fairchild x reader

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un-piorthos-et-tous-pour-un · 4 years ago

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The thrilling adventures of a PA - Chapter Four : A funny thing happened on the way to Ray’s stand up (Adam Sackler x Reader)

A week as passed since that night at the bar and astonishingly, you’ve managed to stick to your resolution and everything’s back to normal on set. Even Shirley’s cutting you some slack with her quest but that’s because she thinks you’re going out soon with one of the guys you’ve talked with at the bar. A little white lie that you gave her but at least, it worked. Today will be a long day when it comes to waiting ‘cause there’ll be many scenes to shoot, meaning the cast & the crew will move around a lot & wait for everything to be set before actually doing anything. But you got it covered. You managed to install an improvised fitness corner near the trailers park to distract Adam and a couple of other actors between takes. Being idle was a problem around here so you tried to come up with something that would be time consumming but yet easy to make happen and there it was. A few mats on the ground and half a dozen machines moved from a warehouse where they were stored and voilà ! “Anything that makes everyone’s life easier” you remember Delilah’s words on your first day & thought to be just a phrase. Turned out to be all you had to say to the studio’s crew to make it happen.

You’re halfway throught the day when the actor finds you in the parking lot, where you’re talking on the phone with your best friend. He waits awkwardky for you to end the call before he finally says something. - “Are you doing anything tonight ?”, he asks running a hand in his hair as he watches you put your phone away. “I’ve got a friend who’s doing stand up, it’s his first time & I promised him I’ll come by for support. I thought it could be more bearable for me to have someone to suffer with so, if you’re free you could come with. It could be fun...”, he adds rushingly, not letting you say a word, almost as if he tries to avoid you saying no to his invitation. - “I’d love to go, I like stand up, where’s the place ?”, you answer simply, making him frown as he was not expecting you to say that, you could tell. - Uh, it’s in Echo Park I think, I don’t remember the exact address but you can come with me ? You’re off when I am so we can get there together, it’ll be easier for us both, don’t you think ?”, he remarks as you nod in agreement. - “Ok, we’ll meet at your trailer before leaving then, that way we can share a cab”, you reply smiling faintly. Adam nods too now, also smiling & you guess he’s relieved to have somebody coming along for the occasion, not because he was going with you. “Anything else ? Oh, the package will be delivered to your place tomorrow, I’ve checked”, you add, remembering he asked you to take care of that for him a couple of days ago. - “Hm, no, thanks. Great, now I just have to figure out a way to convince my sister to accept the gift”, he replies, setting his hands on his hips, thoughtful. - “I’m sure you’ll come up with something”, you let out as you smile back at him, standing up from your seat. “Let’s get you to the make up trailer now, you’re expected on stage 6 in 30 minutes”, you point out as you’re leading the way already, without making sure he’s following. Because you know he is, you can hear his footsteps for one, but it’s the little grunt he makes as you set off that lets you know his position quite easily. The rest of the day goes by without any other hitch and when Adam’s shot his last scene, he tells you he’ll meet you in a few minutes outisde after he took a quick shower. As usual, he was worked up all the time while filming and indeed, the shower’s not superfluous if you’re about to head out to a closed space for a couple of hours side by side. While he’s showering, you make a stop to your locker, changing to something a bit less casual but nothing too fancy either. A watery green blouse over a pair of jeans, you’ve let your hair down again. You’re on your phone texting whe he comes out of his trailer, also changed and it’s hard for you not to look so you keep your eyes on the screen for a few seconds more. - “The cab should be here in 5 minutes, just when we’ll get to the entrance”, you let him know before you put your phone back in your purse. - “You’ve cleaned up nicely too I see”, he replies as you both start to walk side by side to exit the studios. - “Thank you for that sweet compliment”, you retort half sassing him out for it as you reach the gates, waving Al goodnight and catching the cab in the corner of your eyes. You hail it & both get in together, silence falling immediately between you two. You’re sticking to your plan, not engaging with him if it can be avoided. Not an easy task for you since you’re usually someone warm and talkative but it’s what needs to be done if you want to distance yourself from him. Even if right now he’s sitting next to you, only a few inches away, close enough for you to smell the perfectly recognizable scent of his soap. Pine wood. You loved that smell and it was fitting for a man built like an oak tree. You exchange small talk during the ride & it feels weird. Like you both just met or something and you hate it but you gotta stick to your plan. When you get out of the cab, you walk for a few meters and see there’s a line to get in so you join the queue, still in silence. The air is a bit friskier than you thought but you expect to get in quickly so you don’t say anything. It was your choice not to take a jacket with you so you suck it up like a big girl. - “So it’s his first time doing this ? I thought he was managing a coffee shop”, you finally say as you move up the line a little. - “He still owns the spot yeah, but he wanted to try it out. He thought of it a long time ago & I’ve told him to start with improv but he didn’t like it so he tried stand up instead and here we are”, he replies as he puts back some of his hair, still partially wet from his shower. - “I see”, you nod a bit amused by the tale. “You’re a good friend, showing up for his big night. Even if you dragged me into it too”, you kid but you’re sincere. It’s a nice gesture coming from him, especially since you know Adam’s not that great when it comes to nurture that kind of friendships & how it links him to his ex in a strange way. - “I like spending time with you, that’s nothing new”, he retorts with that damned smile you hate so much because it makes you weak in the knees in less than a second. “I can behave when I want to”, he adds still smiling like an idiot and you shake your head, rolling your eyes in the process. - “See, that’s where I know you’re a great actor, I almost believed you for a second when you said that”, you fight back with a grin. There it was again. The easy banter, the little game you missed so much lately but you have to be careful as you’re getting dangerously close to him again. - “Touché”, he says putting his right hand over his heart, trying to get a perfect french accent & you can’t help but chuckle at the scene. Why is that tall idiot so adorable ? You start to shiver a bit, the waiting line hasn’t moved for some time now and Adam notices. - “Are you cold ? Do you want my jacket ?”, he asks but he’s already taking it off before you say anything. He lands the jacket (a good size too big for you) on your shoulders and the corner of his lips raises a bit. “There kid, don’t you freeze out on me, I need you in there,” he says scanning your face as you look at him. He’s only a few inches away from you, not moving away, his hands still on your shoulders. - “So you’re being chivalrous just for your own interest, huh ? How knightly of you”, you tease him as you look over at the entrance for a second, to see if the line’s about to move. You look up again, seeing he still focused on you. “What ?”, you ask as you’re getting nervous from all that attention on yourself. You’re about to say something else to break the heavy silence but he doesn’t let you do it. Instead, his lips land on yours within a second and you’re stunned. From the surprise mostly. Was this really happening, for real ? But it was. The pressure of those plump lips letting you know it wasn’t just some vivid fantasy. And it that moment, you throw all your resolve to the gutter and kiss him back. It’s the bouncer’s cough that makes you part ways as he announces you two can finally get in. You’re almost out of breath, licking your lips in a reflex motion and floatting in a haze but you manage to blink a few times, seeing the actor smiling at you as his hand lands on the small of your back, guiding you inside. His large stature makes it easy to navigate among the crowd and you both settle at a table near the back, close to the platform serving as the stage tonight. He asks you what drink you want and leaves you when you’ve answered him. A most welcomed pause for you to take in what just happened two minutes ago. Adam just kissed you. Out of the blue. Without any warning. Not that you mind anyway but did it really happened and what was it suppose to mean. That’s what is really a mystery to you right now (& you don’t know it yet but it’ll be something you’ll be asking yourself for the upcoming days). You’re lost in your thoughts, the noise surrounding you helping to let your mind race in every direction, trying to comprehend that whole ordeal. Why did he do that ? Why now ? Why didn’t he say anything after ? Why did you let him kiss you ? Well for that last question, the answer is pretty obvious but doesn’t help you in any way. Still completely lost in your contemplations when he comes back with your drinks, you just nod to thank him & when you’re about to ask him a question, the lights go off announcing the beginning of the set so you bottle up that storm raging in your head for now. You try to enjoy the different sketches, to be a good cheer for those people trying to make you laugh but you’re not really paying attention. It’s selfish but you can’t help it. All you can think of is that kiss. You’ve dreamt about it so many times, almost since you’d met Adam. Many scenarios went through your mind over the time, some rougher than some others but you never pictured it like it actually went down. Simply because those were ideal situations and that reality rarely is. You should have known he wouldn’t say anything, most of men aren’t talkers, especially in these instances. But you’re dying to know, to have your doubts appeased. You don’t want to start imagining things if this is just some game he’s playing with you because he can. Stew warned you about that aspect of the job, but you really hope you’ve read Adam correctly to know he wouldn’t abuse his position over you like that. Talking about him, the last aspiring comic is out of the stage and he’s standing up as Ray’s coming to your table. He introduces you and you all begin to chat a little, rating Ray’s performance (which was quite good from what you’ve heard when you paid enough attention to it). Ray seems to be someone interesting from what you’ve gathered from what Adam told you about him & what you can tell yourself now. He proposes to buy you two a drink but weirdly, it’s Adam who goes to the bar in the end & now you’re sure he’s avoiding the moment when you’ll be alone with him. It hurts, you’re not gonna lie but in a way, you get it. The place is very loud, he’s here for Ray initially but still, at one point or another, you expect some explanation from him. So for now, you play along, get to know Ray a little more and pretend not to think about what happened. When you’re finally taking your leave, you’re pleased you’ve met Ray and leanred more on the actor (his fault entirely, he left you with his friend and you simply asked how the two of them met so off course you got gossip out of said unsuspecting friend quite easily). But you’re still frustrated as hell about that whole situation. Adam insists on walking you home so you think it’s a good sign, that at some point he’ll mention the kiss but no. You chat about tonight, what or who made you laugh during the show case but nothing about what he did in the waiting line. You still don’t push it, not wanting to appear too clingy or desperate even if it has been eating at you for hours. And foolishly, you hope that now that you’re at your place it will give a better setting for him to say something but nothing. He takes back his jacket, wishes you goodnight and sets off in the night, leaving you speechless and even more lost. No need to say that you can’t find sleep once you’re in your bed, the evening’s events roaming in your head constantly. The alarm the next morning is painful for you, since you hardly had any sleep but you get up somehow, motivated to show up earlier at his trailer so you can ask him what’s been burning your brain for the last 12 hours or so. You knock at his door, coffee & bagels still warm, hear him calling you in and feel a little spike in your heartbeat but quickly it comes down whe you realize he’s still acting like nothing happened. It meant nothing. Nothing at all. Just like Stew said it would be. But at least now you know where you’re standing. it doesn’t make it easier, how could it but it’ll teach you a lesson. Never trust someone who’s job is to fake being someone else.

#fanfic #adam sackler x reader #the thrilling adventures of a PA #yes the title is a nod to Marvel's one shot w/ Coulson #but it fits so well for that chapter so...#sorry but not sorry #as usual feedbacks are welcome

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disruptedvice · 6 years ago

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Lead the way (Modern setting/NASA interns AU)

Summary: “I think my parents had a little something different in mind when they named me than doing math with my life.”

Or Thor and Valkyrie are both NASA interns pulling an all nighter on the project they're working on together, and bonding and flirting happens (not necessarily in that order)

Also, Valkyrie’s a mechanical engineer who picked Thor as her partner cause boy’s got some drawing skills for these plans they’re drafting up, so if that sounds like something you’d be into...

AO3 Link

___________

Lead the way ___________

“I didn't know they let design students in this program,” she said, looking over at him, no judgement in her tone, just… something like a idle curiosity. It was late. Seriously late. There was something about being so utterly exhausted that made her more open to conversation that she normally would have avoided.

Usually she avoided small talk with the other interns, much preferring to focus on the task at hand than bonding over student loan debt and shared misery of a grueling, intensive program. At least it was a paid internship. And she had to work her ass off to become a better applicant than the hundreds, if not thousands of applications the program received. The NASA internship was highly competitive, but now she was here.

And fucking exhausted.

There was something so cool about being in the observatory this late at night though. That's probably what had her in such a good mood. She was tired as hell, much more tired than cramming for even the most intensive finals, but she was exhausted and satisfied.

The was almost something otherworldly about the atmosphere, being alone this late at night, this whole section absolutely deserted, like maybe it was haunted or something, which was fucking awesome. There was something so creepy about being in this building in the middle of the night when no one was around that made her want to go explore all the other dark rooms and twists and turns and halls she had never been down before. It totally had that haunted vibe at night. Even the observatory here, the single lamp illuminating the table, casting shadows on the walls around them. Totally spooky atmosphere.

Maybe that was just the sleep deprivation talking. Valkyrie made a mental note to look up if anyone had been murdered in the near vicinity, or any conspiracy theories about the facility after she was done for the night.

“Double major,” her sleepy cohort explained, blearily blinking before rubbing his eyes like that would wake him up or something.

She raised a curious eyebrow at him.

Thor was… well, he was something.

Valkyrie still didn't know the interns as much as they seemed to know each other (she wasn't exactly ‘social’, despite the camaraderie of them all being tired interns). She didn't take the time to get to know them, preferring to eat her lunch alone than making small talk with the rest of them.

Thor was definitely the only intern she was even slightly familiar with. Over the past couple weeks they had built up a report and a mutual friendly sorta rivalry that was filled with sarcastic barbs and lots of eye rolls and genuine smiles.

He was surprisingly funny, and had a different way of thinking about things- solutions to problems that made her lower her brows in puzzlement because could that actually work, and then her inevitably being impressed because his work around solution that was just weird and out there in a befuddling sort of way actually did work.

She actually buddied up with him on this project because she had seen his art skills, and if they had to draw up drafts for this new- machine they were making, she definitely wanted him on her team.

As a mechanical engineer, Valkyrie could sketch out a rough plan well enough, but that's where her artistic ability began and ended.

This was the most they'd talked to each other in one sitting. They still didn't know each other all that well. Their relationship was more built upon sharing a similar sense of humor and trading quips throughout the day than sitting down and actually getting to know each other.

She looked down at the cup in her hands- he knew her well enough to know how she preferred to take her caffeine, brought her this huge cup of tea for this all nighter they were pulling. Maybe they actually were friends.

But, as he adjusted the plans with the modifications they were brainstorming a couple of moments ago, she had the bizarre urge to actually ask him a personal question. And she actually followed through on it.

He'd answered that he was a design student when she inquired to his artistic ability (he was clearly talented, and his rough sketches were always next level compared to the other interns), but that actually confused her even more.

She didn't know they let non-STEM field applicants in this program. But double major, that explained it.

“Overachiever,” Valkyrie scoffed with a teasing smile, and Thor chuckled.

“Yeah, maybe a bit,” he conceded, still smiling as he worked.

And that smile of his was a little too cute. How had she never noticed that before? She definitely noticed how his teasing smile was infuriatingly attractive, and how he had a nice, full, resounding laugh, that she liked the way his eyes twinkled when she made a sarcastic comment or quip. And he had a stupid hot smirk that he wore during their verbal sparring matches with each other.

But she'd never noticed how cute his smile was until now. Maybe it was because she'd never seen this one on him before.

With his exhaustion written all over him, the small smile that matched his sleepy expression, somehow he seemed more unguarded than she's ever seen him too- more bare, vulnerable. And this soft, sleepy smile of his was definitely cute.

“So,” she shot him an expectant look (and gave him a light little elbow to his arm). “You not gonna tell me what you’re an actual overachiever in?”

Thor looked confused for a moment, like he didn’t realize he just left her hanging without revealing what his second major was. Left her curious, actually interested in what his answer would be, not just trying to make dreaded small talk with a fellow intern.

“Oh, oh yeah,” he said, seeming a bit sheepish. She couldn’t blame him for forgetting the unspoken rules of human interaction like you don’t just tell your NASA project partner you’re a design major and a something else major and just leave it at that. If exhausted intern was a competition, he might be winning right now.

“Yeah,” Thor mumbled, dragging his hand over his face, like his tired brain still needed time to process the statement. “Yeah, uh, design and astronomy. Astronomy. That’s the second one. Design wasn’t just an art thing though- we did a lot of like, aerodynamics stuff in some of those classes. Like this,” he tapped the plans they had sketched out in front of them, for this projectile that they would theoretically be sending into space.

Valkyrie smiled. “Nerd.”

“Hey!” He whined, like it was something to actually get offended about. “You can’t call me a nerd! You’re a nerd too!”

“Yeah, I know,” she raised her eyebrows, genuinely amused, still waiting for him to get she was being facetious. “It’s called a joke. People do that sometimes.”

Thor’s eyes widened, actually blushing at the realization cause yeah, duh. Then buried his face in his hands, groaning in embarrassment. “Sorry. I am way too damn tired right now.”

“I can tell,” she chuckled. When he still didn’t look up, she nudged him, once and then again. “Don’t worry about it. It’s just fun messing with you right now. We’ll both be lucky if these plans actually make sense in the morning.”

She took another sip from her drink, the one he had so graciously brought her, saying he didn't really do caffeine when she asked him why he only came in carrying one, with nothing nothing sugary or caffeinated to carry him through this all nighter.

She looked at the cup in her hand, how Valkyrie was spelled out in black scribbled sharpie beside her order, and thought it was kinda nice. Even though she’d gotten the same order for herself from the same local coffee shop with the same cups and the same cardboard handle, this was the first time she had seen Valkyrie on one of her cups of tea before. She always just gave her last name for coffee orders. People didn’t ask her if she was ‘making that up’ when she said Thompson when prompted for her name. Didn’t get weird looks like Valkyrie would garner with her chai latte.

It was almost a novel sight, seeing her first name scrawled on the cup Thor brought her this evening. Not an unwelcome one, though. It was kinda nice.

“You want some tea?” She offered, holding it out to him. “I know you said you don’t do caffeine, but it really does make all nighters a bit more bearable.”

Thor eyed her cup, like he was weighing his options, with a calculating and almost suspicious look that made her certain he was doing a cost benefit analysis of whatever pros caffeine had to offer versus whatever reason he avoided it for. He apparently decided just screw it, swiping the precious caffeine from her, and Valkyrie grinned like caffeine was something to be a corrupting influence about.

After taking a drink, Thor suddenly looked down, staring at her cup like it was a wonder. “Man, I have really been missing out,” he murmured. “That is delicious.”

She laughed. “I know. ‘S why I like it so much.”

Thor turned the cup over in his hands, pursing his lips something thoughtful in his focus. “I’ve been meaning to ask you about that,” he said suddenly, still focused on her cup. “Your name, I mean. Valkyrie. Did you pick that, or was it given to you?” He had an oddly sincere look on his face as he fiddled with the cardboard holder, spinning it around the warm drink, and she realized that’s what he was focused on. Those eight letters scrawled out on the side in black ink.

“I mean,” he started again, licking his lips almost nervously, “don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I’m one to talk,” Thor chuckled a bit at his self deprecating jab, since the plight of uncommon names was something they shared. “And your name is so much cooler than mine- I was just wondering if you chose a superhero name for yourself as like a personal decision or like… is there a story behind it?”

“It’s the one on my birth certificate,” she shrugged. “Think my parents expected me to be doing something a bit different with my life than math.”

Her parents were supportive when she took a statistics class and found herself much more interested in calculating test statistics from population parameters and sample means, and from there it was a quick slide into math centered courses and then landing in her university’s mechanical engineering program. She thought she hated math since 5th grade, but found out that wasn’t the case in college, much more interested and engaged in it than any humanities subject she had ever taken or anything her high school math teachers had put before her.

Still, math and engineering were a pretty far cry from mythological warrior maidens

She had a stage in middle school where she tried going by a normal name, just the average identity crisis that all kids with uncommon names went through at some point, especially kids named after mythological figures. But that was when she was 12 years old.

Now she was an adult, and she quite liked her name. She didn’t care to go through the hassle of having to explain it to a barista and answer all their questions every time she ordered a cup of coffee (she was more the get in get out kind of person), but she did like her name. She agreed with his assessment. Valkyrie was a pretty cool name.

She had expected him to laugh at her little math joke, since he was obviously familiar with the historical origins of Valkyrie to call it a superhero name, and all the calculus they had to do in this program was a pretty far cry from a warrior figure. But he didn’t.

“What? You’re literally leading human exploration into space,” he said, pointing down at the project they’ve been working on for the past couple hours. “Celestial bodies and into the cosmos. Don’t think you can get more Valkyrie than that.”

Valkyrie just stared at him for a second. Maybe a couple of seconds.

“What?” Thor asked carefully, like he might have said something wrong, but he wasn’t sure.

She felt the heat rise to her face, and she quickly looked away, focusing on the table instead of the absolutely earnest look in his eyes when he was saying stuff like that.

“Nothing. I just… that’s a nice way of thinking of it,” she mumbled, really having no better way of describing the pleased feeling rising in her chest at his words. ____

Maybe it's the sleep deprivation. Maybe it's the sound of his voice. Maybe it's his smile that's so cute it's doing stuff to her head. Maybe it's how open he is. Maybe it's how there's something entrancing about the way his pencil glides across the paper as he draws out all the modifications according to her specs. Maybe it's how many times she's laughed in the past half hour. Maybe it's the way he looks at her, how it's 3 AM and they're both exhausted, and he's too tired to even attempt to hide how he lights up when she says his name, too tired to not look absolutely taken with her as she talks about thermodynamics and gets really passionate defending how the only B she ever got in her whole college career was from a complete asshole who failed her final project for not following instructions because she found a quicker, more efficient loophole that technically wasn't following the project guidelines.

Maybe it's how he keeps chiming in and making her laugh, how his eyes are so intense it makes her heart flutter, how some of their tired banter has drifted much closer to flirtatious than it ever has before, how she's felt the heat creep up her neck from something he said in a way that wasn't bad at all, how they're both tired out of their mind and just have their guards completely down, just talking and not trying to hide anything, unable to hide anything, and having a genuinely good time together.

Maybe it's a lot of things.

Probably the tired thing. Like 98% of it is being utterly exhausted, because normally she preferred to keep anything with a peer from classes or someone she works with to a strictly platonic level, and would always steer a conversation away from exactly what this felt like it was going to if it even started hinting at this.

Maybe it's because she likes him. She really, really likes him.

Whatever the reason, she broke her informal rule of never so much as entertaining the idea of striking something up with a professional colleague, wouldn't risk it.

Yeah, she's pretty sure it's the tiredness that makes it seem so doable right now, breaking that equilibrium. But she's feeling confident, and he's cute, and she maybe actually really likes Thor, and is pretty sure the feeling is mutual. So she takes the dive.

“Would you tell me if you had been flirting with me this whole time?” Valkyrie asked suddenly.

Thor blinked, still staring down at the table as his face flushed, even the tips of his ears turning red.

“Uh… maybe not this whole time,” he answered, endearingly awkward. He still wasn't looking up, still wasn’t looking at her. “Would you- be okay with that?”

Valkyrie had to bite her tongue and clench her fists to hold back the snort of laughter because that would've been so mean, to laugh at him, but he was just so cute, and did he seriously just ask for permission to flirt with her?

Though she was pretty sure she knew what he was actually asking. If it was… reciprocated, if any advances more overt than subtle flirting would be welcomed on her part. Still, the way he phrased it just made it sound like he was asking her permission to flirt with her which was downright adorable.

Valkyrie took a sip of her chai latte, hiding her smile behind the brim of the cup.

“Yeah, think I'd be pretty okay with you flirting with me a lot more often,” she informed him, a silly sorta happiness on her face that she really wasn't used to letting show. She more went for the brooding looks, tried to put out a don't talk to me vibe because she hated most people and would really like her life to have a lot less human interaction in it than it did. She tried to put out the brooding don't bother me vibe, she wasn't used to making a silly little smile like this in the presence of another person. She found she was pretty okay with that too.

Thor looked up, saw the twinkle of amusement in her eye, just the general- warmth about her, and oh that smile. Yeah, she was definitely okay with him smiling at her like that a hell of a lot more often.

“Duly noted,” he said with a barely suppressed grin, and she actually did snort at that. She couldn't help laughing, and when he laughed too, she didn't really want to help it.

They'd kinda devolved into smiling these ridiculously dorky smiles at each other, but Valkyrie had the presence of mind to remember they still had a project to finish.

“Okay, pretty boy, back to work. We still got a long night ahead of us.”

Thor gasped, “Would you tell me if you were flirting with me the whole time?”

Despite how much he brightened, she had to shoot him down, because no, she had not been flirting with him the whole time.

“Nope, I’m much more overt than that when I’m hitting on someone. Say stuff like ‘pretty boy’,” she smirked, and there was that laugh from him again. That full laugh from the very center of his being that filled her bones with warmth.

Maybe in the morning she’d repay him for the tea and introduce him to all the other caffeinated drinks he’d been missing out on.

____

~Fin~ ____

Author's note: so I was browsing @shittyaus last night and saw their prompt “I, an astronomy major, and you, an engineering major, are working together to design a new type of spaceship in our free time” and then I was up all night writing this

PS. America’s accomplishments in the space race never would’ve happened without the women and women of color working at NASA in the 60s. You know what they called the female mathematicians they employed at NASA? Human computers. Because all the calculations had to be done by hand, and guess who was doing the computations for NASA? I haven’t seen the biopic yet, but I’ve heard it’s good, and you can always read the book Hidden Figures is based off of if you want a good nonfiction read about the black female engineers and mathematicians at NASA from the 1930s-1960s

#thorkyrie #thorkyrie fic #valkyrie #thor #brunnhilde #thor ragnarok #AU #fanfic #MCU fanfiction #tessa thompson #thor x valkyrie #my thor fics #my fic

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writtenwordsoffic · 7 years ago

Text

The Inquisitive Snake - Jughead x Reader

Masterlist

@idle-lanes @sgarrett49 @murderyoursoul @moonlight53

There is a request of an Archie x Reader on my inbox that I will hopefully post before the end of the weekend - I just haven’t figured out the ending in my head.

This however came to me today so let me know if you guys like it. As always thanks for reading.

Plot:

A few months have passed since Jughead Jones joined the Southside Serpents as well as becoming a student at Southside High.

His friendships still exist within Riverdale - but his new found friends at school have made it difficult to keep his life in Riverdale the same - including Betty.

I was done with the day already - I didn’t want to go to the trivial classes where I seemed to already know the answers. I didn’t want to ditch with my new friends yet either though. As much as they had accepted me as one of their own, they still didn’t know me - and I’m not one to let people in.

Part of me always liked schools - even when I lived in one. Hallways going from an intensive loud rush to a quiet and somber retreat. Classrooms that could remain silent and kept secrets hushed behind their doors. Something about a school, felt more like a home than my actual one.

So when I decided to ditch class by my lonesome - I decided to investigate the new school that seemed to have some secrets of its own.

I walked around for a bit - avoiding the random person in the hall - until I heard some faint music.

My feet went in tow of the sound.

As I peered through the small glass window of the door, I saw a girl slightly move to the music with a paintbrush in hand. Her brush ever so lightly tapping her palette for more paint - and then her body would stop in motion - using all of her concentration to make her next stroke on the canvas. She would pause, step back and start the process all over again. I watched her do this a number of times. It was then when the song changed to “Hello Operator”, that she began to sing - waving her hair to the music without a worry in her movements.

Until she turned.

She didn’t give a gasp in fear or even a look of being scared - instead she just gently rolled her eyes.

“Well are you coming in or are ya just going to keep staring?”, her voice had a slight natural rasp to it - as if her soul was darkened.

I gave a small smile and entered in the room, placing my bag down by the door. I looked around and saw that the room was empty besides her and the music.

Since I had become a Serpent - I had a newfound confidence in myself. While I usually had a quick retort to anyone and anything - now I felt more comfortable in my skin. Not worried about what the others thought of my family or how I didn’t fit in. So with that in mind, I grabbed a stool and sat close to where she was standing, leaning over on my elbows.

“Is it always empty in here?”.

“Well shockingly there isn’t a big budget for this school which also means there isn’t many art classes anymore. It’s a rather neglected room now…”, her hand went back to being steady - her eyes in the painting in front of her.

“So you ditched class as well?”, I pulled out a toothpick - a newer habit I had adorned - rolling it slightly with my tongue.

“Who says this isn’t my class?”, she quipped. She turned and gave me a smirk. My eyes went to the smock she wore that had paint covered all over it. “Lets just say I have a lot of free periods and this place…well it kind of feels like…”, her voice finally became unsteady in her choice of words.

“Home?”, I cut her off.

She gave a sigh and then a small chuckle. Then went back to her painting as I started to dive into questions - the mystery that surrounded her perked my interest.

“What’s the laugh for?”.

“Well most Serpents wouldn’t call this a home, let alone think of calling it such”, her brush went back to the canvas.

“Well maybe I’m not most Serpents. Can’t judge a book by it’s cover ya know”. I leaned back a little, now playing with the toothpick in between my teeth.

“Don’t worry - I’m not one to judge”, her words came out while leaning downwards to fill a spot. She once again took a step back - and looked at her work. “So, did you want to work on something in here or did you just want to escape a class?”

“I’ve never really tried out anything artistic besides writing…”

“A writer huh? Well at least that means the creativity is there”. She gave a smile while she turned, drawing attention to the sink behind me as she began to wash a brush.

“Come on”, she had a rag to clean her hands while her head tilted to the other side of the room.

She went to a metal cabinet of drawers and pulled some paper out. She leaned down to the side of the cabinet- grabbing two wooden sketch boards.

She reached for some empty bottles that were on top of another cabinet, put them in a group on the middle of a table and sat down. “Well…sit. I could use the company and critique anyway”.

“Won’t someone mind?”, I slowly made my way to the table in front of me, taking off my jacket and placing it on a stool.

She reached for the pocket on her smock and pulled out a keyring that had a good 10 keys on it. “Nope”, she gave a smirk. She then took a sheet of paper for each board and clipped it down. Passing one to me.

She then pulled out some pencils from her smock and put them on the table in between us. “So these are drawing pencils. A little different from your regular No.2. These will make darker strokes”, she pointed to a couple, “and these will make lighter ones”. She then scooted her stool closer to me. She gently leaned over - as I could smell the lavender scent coming from her hair - she started to point with the pencil to the bottles in front of us. “Okay, so you want to start out with basic shapes. See how the bottle looks like a long cube and then has a cylinder on top?”. I nodded. “That’s where you want to start with your sketch, after that - you want to add line, shadow, texture…whatever you see the bottles as. Alright?”. Her eyes finally stared back at mine but unlike the small blush that was presumably on my face - hers just looked solemn. As if this was an everyday thing for her - hell maybe it was.

“Oh!”, she paused a second and pulled a gray ball out of her smock. “This is for erasing. It works better if you tap it down, not like a pink eraser”.

“Why is it round?”, I touched what seemed to feel like putty.

She gave a small giggle. “It’s a kneadable eraser. I formed it into the ball though”. She scooted back her chair to the spot she had before and began to sketch - as did I.

A good half an hour went by - and with exception to the music that was still on - we sat there drawing in silence. The only subtle noises being our pencils hitting the paper as well as my attempt at using the odd eraser.

A bell rung and caught both of our attentions. “So are you going to your next class?” She picked up her board and put it in the area where it sat before. Making sure the paper she was using laid on the table.

“Well…I actually like English”. I got up from the stool.

She gave a soft chuckle. “Fair enough then. Can I see?” She pointed towards my board.

“Uh…sure…it’s not very good though”.

“Nonesense. Did you draw what you see the bottles as?”. I nodded.

“Then it’s great”, she gave a reasurring smile and then looked at it for a bit. “Looks like you just started on the shading”.

“Yeah, I didn’t get very far…”.

“It’s alright. Takes a bit for your hands to gain a type of muscle memory with this stuff”.

I took the paper off and put the board back like she did before. She went to put her smock away. “Can I see yours?”

“Sure”, she nodded and eyed it from where she was standing.

“Wow that is really cool. The shading is really different”.

“It’s called crosshatching…and it’s alright”, it was as if she realized she didn’t take the compliment. “Uh…thanks though”. She grabbed her bag and I followed suit in retrieving my own stuff. We made our way to the hallway while she locked the door after me. “I’ve got History but let me know if you want in there again. There’s only like 3 classes a week in there now”.

“How do you have keys?”, curiosity got the better of me as I was also eyeing some of the Serpents that were at the end of the hall.

She gave a smirk, “I have my ways”. “Well see ya…”, she realized we hadn’t caught each other’s names.

“Jughead”, I finished it for her.

She gave a nod and a smile. “Y/N”. She gave a soft wave and made her way down a hall.

Ricky - one of my new found friends - approached me with an inquisitive look. “Whatcha doing hanging out with weirdo?”

“What makes her weird? Also isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black there Rick?”, I gave a slight nudge to his shoulder.

“Haha funny Jones. No she’s just well…she does help us out every once in a while…she’s just someone who has a rather odd reputation. Even for us Southsiders. I wouldn’t waste your time…”

“In what, being friends with her?”, my curiosity perked once again. Honestly she seemed more of someone who belonged in Riverdale- with the exception of the key thing.

He gave a chuckle, “if that’s your only interest in her then that’s fine”.

“How does she “help” us out”?

Once again, a small laugh fell from Ricky’s mouth. “You’ll see Jones”.

#jughead x reader #jughead jones #jughead jones imagine #jughead imagine #riverdale #riverdale imagines #demisexual #demisexual reader

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