#character: happy hogan

[roselyn-artist]

🎃 HAPPY HALLOWEEN!! 🎃 I hope you guys have a wonderful day 👻 Enjoy the night with friends telling scary tales or going to themed parties 😈

Commission for @crowhoganswife on Instagram 🤩 This drawing took me an eternity to finish but Im proud of the final result 🙊 This is her cute OC Sisi with Crown Hogan in adorables Halloween costumes, didn't they look AMAZING?! 🙈

[saspas-library-of-craziness]

Anyone interested in a marvel x POI crossover fic? Battle of New York was in 2012, and so is POI :)

👉👈 trying to gauge interest

[benevolenterrancy]

what is your favorite hh hc that you find likely? and whats your favorite crack hh hc?

oooooh, okay, a headcanon that I find likely that always amuses me is that Newkirk speaks exactly enough French to drive Lebeau fucking insane and he weaponizes this. Catch him sing "Frère Jacques" just to watch Lebeau twitch.

If Lebeau goes slow and uses basic words, he can succeed in getting a point across to Newkirk if there's a good reason for them not to be using English, but if it's Newkirk speaking his talents end at listing the present tense conjugations for like, two verbs, counting to ten, and naming some classroom supplies. All with an accent to end all accents.

(he is, however, REALLY good at identifying French swear words, again courtesy of Lebeau. Doesn't know what they all mean, but he can get the gist)

Favourite crack headcanon... anything to do with Felix the mouse. Does Felix actually exist? No, I know it was a silly lie in a single episode. Does he exist and play an important role in my heart? YES. I'm still not over the silly Rescuers au a bunch of us were playing with a while back. I still daydream about it from time to time...

I just think Carter should have a cute lil pet mouse that is slightly uncanny and a bit too smart for its own good

[grid-bee]

[tommykinard6]

I’m going to muse for a second, if you guys don’t mind. I’ve been thinking for a while on the demands to make Ravi and Karen mains.

I don’t think either are undeserving of being mains! I love both of them dearly. But I think most have forgotten the importance of side characters. And I think the phenomenon of instant gratification-never made more attainable than in this day and age-plays a part.

Let me introduce you to two of my all time favorite characters. I never get to rave about them cause no one my age watches these shows, so indulge me for a moment!

Sergeant Olsen from Hogan’s Heroes.

Originally asked to be a main, but the actor wanted to pursue other options. He shows up for four episodes over a 6 season period and guest stars as other characters four other times.

Mike Stoker from Emergency!

Mike Stoker is actually the real name of this actor, who was a irl firefighter and hired both as a consultant and as the engineer for Station 51 in the show. He actually was a main, but showed up largely in the background and sometimes missed episodes due to his commitment to his irl fire department.

These characters were staples of my childhood and I adored them. I was always so sad they didn’t show up more/had bigger roles. So I totally get the desire to have your favorites as mains. These were my favorite characters of both shows.

But neither were there to function as mains. Their role was still important. They were there to play a vital role in whatever storyline was happening at that moment, such as Olsen posing as his commanding officer to protect the team or Mike taking command when his captain was injured, as he was second in command. Those storylines couldn’t have happened without them. They were there to boost the main characters, which there is absolutely nothing wrong with.

I can tell you that every episode with Olsen is my favorite in Hogan’s Heroes. Episodes where Mike takes a key role (or even just speaks) brings me so much joy. These are my comfort episodes of the shows.

Just because a character is a side doesn’t mean they’re not important. In fact, shows and movies CANNOT function without side characters. Not everyone can be a main.

Hogan’s Heroes and Emergency! both had massive main casts, as does 9-1-1. And in 9-1-1, we already struggle with giving each main a prominent storyline each season. Making Ravi and Karen true mains would add more storylines and less opportunities for other characters to have story arcs.

And maybe it’s different interpretations of what main means. For some, maybe it’s boiled down to more frequent sightings or confirmed appearances in most episodes. For me, that’s not a main, but that is a main side character. A main is what the 118 is. Characters with dedicated storylines and appearances in each and every episode. And I’ll be so real, I don’t think we can afford to make anyone else a main.

If we make Tommy a main, Karen should be. I don’t think it’d be right otherwise. And it might be able to work since they’re both very connected with two mains already. But Ravi isn’t dating a main, so he’d fit in with his own separate spot.

It’s not impossible, but again, we’re already having to switch focuses from season to season. I think it’d just be messy.

And going back to instant gratification, I think the feelings on “can’t wait to see them!” have been twisted a little bit into displeasure over rare sightings with a focus on the “rare”, and not so much on the “sightings”. A little too much about what we don’t have rather than what we do.

Is this sounding patronizing? I’m hoping not! I totally see where everyone is coming from. We love Ravi and Karen. A lot of people see themselves represented in them. It’s natural to want to see them. But I think, in this long ass post, my point is that I feel their important roles right now are not being appreciated.

As a kid, my favorite characters were always side characters. To this day, that is true still, but I do love a lot of mains too. So maybe I just accepted the feeling of kicking my feet and giggling the few episodes they appeared in because they were special, and a little less on being grumpy about the episodes they don’t show up in.

There’s just something about the feeling of “look! It’s my blorbo!” and it being special and sought after, rather than expected.

[wormholxtreme]

@ppctts | for something stupid iunno

"Is there a reason you were skulking around the lab at 3am?"

[wildglitch]

Hi! Quick question:

In your zombie au, how do you picture peter in his civilian clothing? Both before and after going to Gotham, all the details you can give too please, I would love to know everything about how you picture him!

Also love your au!

Yes, thank for the nice words. Im glad you like the au!

To answer the question, I see him like hes shown in episode but a lot worse. Cause in the episode he was clean and with his mask off. Here I see him with wilder hair, with rips and stiched parts to the suits. The'res a constant grime and stains covering the suit. I can see him trying to keep his body clean but no amount of water is going to get rid of the bags under his eyes. Long hair he dosent try to cut or brush falling just about the tips of his sholders. I mention this cause I dont see Peter taking off his suit much before Gotham, constantly having his suit on in fear of anything happening.

Though he dosent take his suit off much if at all, he dose have a few clothes he puts over the suit for casual patrols and down time at the base. He actually has a few sets of clothes he switches between which are

-A singuler big shirt (base wear)

-His decatholon Jacket and some goggols (for when hes doing science things)

-A hoddie he stole from happy thats way to big for him (Sleep wear)

-A gas mask, combat pants, a knife staped to his legs, big ass boots, bullet proof vest and a oversized hoddie he has to hide to ugly vest (patrols that leads him closer to the more infected zombie areas) (Bucky thinks its a crime that his suit dosent have any protection and forced him to wear it plus the knife. Hope said she dosent care how enchanced he is, he still need the gasmask for when hes in more toxic areas. Peter think their overreacting but wears them anyways. The hoddie is an act of rebelion)

All of these are worn over the suit, and any and every set that didnt mention pants means there are no pants

For Gotham wear, I think that Peter is just wearing the clothes he brought with him, which are his science pun shirts. But adding to it. I say that Peter never takes off Bucky's jacket that he had with him, always wearing it even when undercover for Loki. He puts small paches and adjustments to it as the months pass and it gets more dameged by the use, but the jacket stays overall the same. His hair has gotten to the point that he could put it up in a small ponytail his curls ever let him

His spidey suit is a sort of amalgamotion of what Hope and Bucky would force him to wear, the Hoddie and vest now replaced with a bulletproof hoddie with his symbol and a gas mask with goggles replacing his mask.

Thats what I think he would be like at least. I hope this answerd your question

[ladypostal]

Summary: It’s been four days since he became an Avenger, four days since Thanos snapped, four days since he and Nebula were left stranded in space, four days since he lost Tony, four days since Earth’s Mightiest Heroes lost.

He wouldn’t consider himself mighty, not then, not now.

Or…

Peter doesn't get blipped, but Tony does. Where does he go from there?

[hoaxwoods]

high res

Warren Tony Doodle day 7: Likewise

Event: Pre-Iron Man 1(Tony's playboy era)

Location: Somewhere in New York

Characters: Tony, Warren

Vibe: oh fuck thats my son

I don't need you to understand me. I need you not to turn away when you don't. - Rachel Wolchin

Baby Warren!!!! He's about, what, 13-14 here? I don't have the time to check the timeline, man! fuck that!

Warren and Tony's meeting is a rather ungraceful one, with Warren breaking into Tony's office on the off chance that Tony is actually there for once.

Of course, this descends into many, many paternity tests, Tony trying to bribe Warren into going back to his mother and not telling anyone about this, and eventually, Warren being put into the hands of nannies and various other help.

Like father, like son, Tony can't help but shun his son, too scared of what it would entail if Warren's existence were to be brought into the public's attention. Lucky for him, Warren wants to stay under the radar, going by a different last name, his school records altered so he's under Happy's guardianship rather than Tony.

Warren's fine with this. How could he not? He's with his father - well... when Tony's actually home, that is. He's in a mansion. He's loved by the staff.

If only it didn't burn so much when Tony looked at him - like he's a ghost attached to the house, an inhuman presence haunting him.

[pandagirl45]

“Yeah, yeah. I was wrong on when a movie came out,” To add to the bet, Rhodey pushed the black coat like jacket. Fixed the western style hat, before taking a seat by Happy, flipping Jennie upside as the younger cackled.

“You should have known! Come on!” Jennie accused a smug look on her face as she looked at her older brother. Rhodey glowered.

Tony laughed more even though James stared confused along with Uliss. Rhodey did a mocking hand signal, “Jennie, I hate that movie. That movie sucks! TONY, he likes that movie!”

“Oh come on! You have to admit, that movie was perfection.”

“NO.” Rhodey threw back finger jutting out, the straight wig waving out, “I swear to god Tony, that movie makes me want to swallow five bullets.”

Another wheeze from the genius, Tony grinned at Rhodey. The philanthropist kissed the baby head as he crawled over flicking on the television, “I think we need to appreciate Snoop Dogg for what he tried to do.”

“NOOOO.” Rhodey covered his face, already dreading what is happening.

Happy snorted texting someone, “Pepper and Mecili are down.”

Tony hissed excitedly. Rhodey groaning in pain covering his face, “Tones, please fucking spare me.”

“Nope.” The curly haired man cackled as the others filled in.

Steve stalled seeing Rhodey dressed like a lone ranger, desperado and… Steve swallowed down seeing James cocking an eye at him before a light smirk started. The ex-assassin mumbled out to Uliss, "Uncle Steve is blushing."

Uliss eyes flickered, a happy "STEEB!"

(LOL, yes. This part of a fanfic I am working on for the Enass AU, and absolutely loving the fact I have Tony and Rhodey being movie buffs.)

[eyes-talks-ocs]

My half of an art trade with @nosetoons !!

Hope you like it, sorry it took me a little longer than I would have liked to finish it~

[yes-i-am-happyaspie]

Every once in a while I get a wild hair to go into one of my old fics and fix all the typos and correct the horrendous mechanics. :)

Stay With Me by happyaspie

Published October 2019 - Part 5 of The Junk Drawer of Spidey Fics

No Archive Warnings Apply || Rated Teen || Word Count: 17,896 || Irondad, injured Tony Stark, Whump, Hurt Comfort

Summary: Tony is injured on a mission and Peter is left trying to cope. Luckily he has His Aunt, Happy, and Pepper there to support him along the way because, at the moment, everything feels unbearable. All he can do is try and trust it when the other adults in his life assure him that Tony will recover.

[Excerpt Below the Cut]

It was Friday afternoon and Peter was sitting at his desk dutifully scratching out the notes his teacher had projected onto the board in front of him. As he did so, his foot was eagerly tapping under his desk. There were only a few hours left in the school day and as soon as it was over he would be swinging himself towards the Avengers Tower to see Tony. 

The man had been gone on a mission for days. When it had first come up it had caused a great deal of tension between the two of them because Tony had been adamant that Peter not come along. It was going to be a long, rough mission and Peter had school. Final exams were coming up soon and the man wanted him to be there to review the material with his class. "I don't care that you think you already know it all! School comes first, kid. You're not coming. Period," Tony had shouted as Peter tried to hold his ground. He was supposed to be an Avenger in training but after having been left out of the last several assignments because of school he was starting to feel less and less like a part of the team and more like some sort of a mascot. Yet no matter how much he pleaded, Tony wouldn't relent. ‘Kid. There will be other missions and as soon as the right one comes up, I'll let you know. This isn't it. It's too risky. Just, just go to school and I'll see you on Friday. I promise to tell you all about it, yeah? ’ All Peter had been able to do was nod his head because he knew he'd already lost that fight. So, rather than continuing to shout, he hugged his mentor good-bye and told him he would be there the second school let out for the weekend.

So that's where he was now, anxiously waiting for the bell to ring so that he could dart out of the building and swing to Tony who would no doubt be waiting for him with a large pizza or maybe some kind of sandwich. All he knew was that there would be something there for him to snack out as Tony regaled him with every exciting detail of everything that had taken place while he'd been away. Just as his mind was starting to drift away from the extensive notes he was meant to be taking he was jolted out of his thoughts by a voice booming over the intercom. "I need Peter Parker to report to the front office please and have him bring his things with him," the tinny voice called out causing all heads to turn towards him.

The teacher waved his hand towards Peter to indicate that he didn't feel the need to repeat the message that they'd all clearly heard and went back to droning on and on about the American Revolution. His mind felt tangled with worry and confusion as he began to rapidly cram all of his items into his bag. He couldn't think of one reason why the office would be calling him, let alone why they would feel he needed to bring all of his things with him. Tony would never pick him up from school early and he didn't know of any appointments that May would be coming to collect him for, leaving him with no other rational ideas.

On his way down the hall, he'd managed to convince himself it was nothing to worry himself over but upon walking into the office Peter's heart dropped down into his stomach. May was standing there and that wouldn't have been so troubling had Happy not been standing a half step behind her. He locked eyes with them immediately and while May tried to offer him a cautious smile, Happy's features remained decidedly pained. Suddenly every casual thought about forgotten appointments or unexpected paperwork flew out of his head and were replaced by mild panic. "Wh-what's going on? What are you doing here?" he asked carefully.

Happy swallowed and turned his head, while May reached out a hand towards him. "Let's not do this here, Sweetie. Come on, the principal said we could use his office," she replied in her most gentle voice. The voice she only used when the news was going to be devastating and all at once dread filled his chest cavity like ice water.

By the time Happy was closing the office door behind them, Peter had been able to once again find his words. "It's about Tony. Isn't it," he whispered, having already inferred what was going on. It was the only reason that both Happy and May would be there. The only reason why they would look so-scared to talk to him and when they both nodded in the affirmative his mind went to places he'd never imagined they would go. The idea that Tony could die on a mission had never crossed his mind until that moment. "Is, is he-?" he breathed out, unable to get any further. His tongue had gone numb and his head was starting to swim.

[Continue Reading on AO3]

[bouncybongfairy]

Growing Pains: A Morgan Stark FanFic

Summary: Morgan Stark, who is now starting her freshman year of college, was feeling on top of the world. Just posing for the cover of Empire Magazine in a Pink Iron Man suit that she designed and engineered herself. Accepted into the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and living on campus, away from the watchful eyes of her mother and Happy. Like any fresh face to a college campus, she had found stress relief in the frat parties, especially on dollar shot nights. While maintaining the stress of school, mommy issues and a troubling identity complex, she must also confront the grief of her father that she locked away for so long. While doing so, she must deal with the criticism of the tabloids and general public.

Word Count: 4k+

<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3

It was Friday night, and Morgan was walking back to her dorm after her last class. She was looking forward to going out tonight with her roommate, Allison. She was halfway through the second semester of her freshman year and right now; she was feeling a little cocky. She had just posed for Empire Magazine, wearing the Pink Iron-Man suit she started designing at 14. This is part of what got her into MIT, but of course her 4.0 GPA, 4 years on the water polo team, and presidency of STEAM and Chess club didn't look too bad on her application either. There was controversy behind her going to the school that has had a statue of her father in the courtyard over a decade. Claims that her admission could be a conflict of interest but these were all shot down by her stellar academic record. She had laminated a Vogue article that named her the princess on campus and hung it on her vanity. Her mother was calling. She rolled her eyes before answering the call. 

"Hey mom," she said. 

"Hey baby, how was school?" she asked. Morgan would never admit this, but she heard her mother's voice. It brought her a great deal of comfort. 

"It was good. I feeling pretty confident about the English Essay I have due next week, I pretty much done," 

"Oh good, I'm glad to hear that, I just wanted to remind you that tomorrow you have a speaking engagement and it's so-so important to be prepared because you'll be speaking in front of almost every media outlet so please-" her mother began but was interrupted by Morgan. 

"Mother, when have I ever not delivered when it came to publicity or literally anything. I think I proved that I can be trusted with myself," she said. 

"Of course honey I know that, I don't mean to project on to you. I guess I just called because I miss you, I'm always going to bug you about these things, it's my job," she laughed into the phone. 

"I miss you too. Sometimes I wake up and wonder why you haven't barged into my room yet," Morgan laughed while unlocking her door. Allison was getting ready, deciding on what dress to wear. 

"Well, we should go out to dinner after the event. I would never give up the time to be with you. I have to go but please try and jot down some notes for the engagement pretty please?" she asked. 

"Of course, I'll take it easy tonight. I love you mom, okay bye," Morgan said, hanging up and letting her backpack plop down on the ground. 

"Are you really not coming out tonight?" Allison asked as she glued one of her eyelashes on. 

"Fuck no. I didn't go out last weekend and how many times have I pulled through even if I was hungover. Remember that chemistry lab that I threw up halfway through and got extra credit points for finishing," she pointed out while pulling her jeans off before continuing, "not to mention I got up early today and shaved, exfoliated, and washed my hair so I'm coming out," Morgan said. 

"How can I forget, you convinced the professor but the entire classroom could recognize the smell of Pink Whitney from a mile away," she joked, changing into her dress, "too much?" Allison asked. She was wearing a tube top dress that has a hole to show off her belly ring. 

"Not enough," Morgan joked, changing into a denim miniskirt and a white, tightly fitted long sleeve that had the word BITCH bedazzled across the chest. To complete the outfit she added a pair of chunky brown heels. 

It didn't take long for the girls to finish getting dolled up. They didn't have to go far because the party was gonna be at a frat tonight but not just any frat, they were going to Kappa Sigma; this was the biggest frat on campus. Morgan was extremely excited, things were hard mentally but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. The type of anxiety that someone gets on summer break because they aren't used to being free of responsibility. She chalked it up to being away from home for the first time in her life and all the reminders of her dad that were on campus. There were posters, quotes, and of course that statue. She was so young when he died, she didn't really remember him. Of course she had some core memories of him but she was 5 years old. As she got older, they began to become harder to piece together. Her mom made sure to keep her busy throughout her childhood, in an attempt to distract Morgan from the grief. Now that you were away from home and in what everyone referred to as 'her prime' she was questioning if she was really.. okay. Maybe she was just masking her personal issues with school and her social life. They finally reached the lawn of the fraternity, the house music was blasting so loud Morgan could feel the vibration through the ground. She could feel her phone buzz from her purse, she dug through it letting out an irritated groan when her pen dropped on the ground. 

"Hello?" she answered. 

"Morg, I got a notification that you left campus. Your mom told you that you have a speaking engagement tomorrow right?" she immediately recognized Happy's voice and laughed a little. 

"Yes, I'm just hanging out with a couple girlfriends at their sorority and then going right back to my dorm," Morgan explained. 

"Well that's weird considering your location is showing me the Kappa house and I can hear the music in the background," he said. 

"I'm only going to be out for a couple hours and I'll call you if I need help and when I get back to my dorm. I'll be fine just please don't tell my mom I don't want her to freak out on me over something so small, please?" She tried as hard as she could to convey her puppy eyes from over the phone. 

"Promise to call? Just for my peace of mind please, even a text," he agreed.

"I promise, love you Happy," you said smiling. 

"Love you too kid," he said ending the call. 

She really did have every intention of going home after a few drinks but that all changed. They met up with a couple of their friends and were drunkenly dancing with each other. Morgan made her way to the kitchen and poured herself about half a red solo cup of vodka. She poured a fair amount of the cherry kool-aid liquid concentrate into her cup and swirled it until it was decently mixed. She was a bit tipsy by this point which influenced her decision to throw a couple ice cubes into the cup. Her logic was that once the ice melted it would water down her drink. Allison found Morgan and let out a sigh of relief. 

"I've been looking for you, one second we were dancing and the next I was lost," Allison slurred slightly. 

"Just getting another drink is silly," she replied and Allison led them to the dance floor. 

"Soo, one of my friends wanted to go really hard tonight because Monday is a three day weekend. She has Molly and I think we should take some together. I know what you're gonna say but I don't know, I feel like we've gotten so close since we moved into our dorm together. You're constantly working and I feel like you should let loose so you don't like.. combust," she laughed out towards the end. 

Morgan didn't realize but she drank half of her cup while she was talking. She opened her mouth to respond but before she could, she turned into something else. She looked past Allison and made eye contact with what appears to be her father with a concerned face. Her heart stopped and she could now physically feel the rhythm in her finger lips. She looked at Allison in disbelief before going to point him out. As she arm raised to gesture to him, she realized it wasn't her father at all. Just a guy with dark hair and the same beard pattern. She almost started to freak out but began to talk herself down mentally. The only reason she thought she saw him was because 1: that dude looked incredibly similar. 2: she was drunk and therefore overly emotional. 3: she was projecting her sober stress onto her drunk mindset. Allison looked at her more concerned and asked if she was alright. Morgan at this point was a bit discombobulated, she was just telling herself that she was letting her anxiety get the best of her. She figured maybe a little Molly would give her a mental reset and easy some of her anxiety. To be fair she was pretty drunk by this point. Alli ends up leading Morgan into a bathroom, which she would have protested to in any other case. 

"Oh my god! It's so pretty!" Morgan drunkenly gushed as one of her girlfriends pulled out the clear baggie that contained the pink powder. 

"Right?" Allison remarked. 

She used her fingernail to scoop the molly and bring it to her nose. It burned and made her eyes water a bit. Someone began knocking on the door which forced the girls out of the bathroom. They stumbled their way to the main common area where a huge group of people were dancing to We R Who We R by Ke$ha. Morgan was now dancing with Alli, who was standing behind her as she grinded against her backside. The drugs were really really starting to hit her and at first it really was helping with her anxiety. She was laughing, swaying back and forth to the music. She started laughing to herself about even having anxious feelings in the first place. She really was in her prime, front cover of Empire, full ride to MIT, projected to be valedictorian of her class, and she was hot as hell, on top of that she knew it. She had been told her whole life that she had a gifted mind, that the hurdles she was jumping over were remarkable. She always thought that was what adults told to every kid but it was like she hit an epiphany. She was the heir of the Stark fortune, not only did she inherit money but her fathers mind. She wasn't powerful; she was power. This was the first time she looked at herself from a different perspective. She was so high she felt like her body was buzzing with potential. 

She turned around to find Allison was gone. Feeling a bit lost, she made her way to the bathroom. She grabbed her phone and texted her roomate to see where she was. It was after that she noticed her teeth were chattering slightly. She grabbed her pen from her purse and took a long drag. She turned around and looked into the mirror, at first she was just checking her outfit and makeup but then she got focused on her face. She had never noticed how brown her eyes were, it reminded her of the painting of her father that was in her mothers house; a honey, almost amber brown. She swore she could see specks of color floating around in her eye. She brushed her fingers over her lip, every other time she blinked she could see her father's face. She had to physically put her hands over her face to ensure it was still her. Her heart-rate was through the roof and tears began pooling in her eyes. She swung the bathroom door open again and started looking around for Alli who was nowhere in sight. She began to panic, she didn't want to call her mother or Happy. That would just cause mass amounts of problems, they specifically asked her not to do this. After taking a deep breath, she shoved her phone into her pocket and decided to walk back to her dorm. It wasn't like she was at a club, she was still on campus and a little less than a mile away from her room. Once she stepped outside the cool breeze pushed her hair out of her face. 

It was dark and Morgan's high had started to turn from fun to scary. She could barely see anything around her and she felt like she was going around in circles. Everytime she thought she was finally starting to get close to her dorm, the less familiar she would become with her surroundings. Her feelings of paranoia and anxiety were getting bad, her emotions were heightened and she couldn't stop tears from flowing out of her eyes. She thought for a second she might be having a heart attack or something which terrified her. She was now on her phone debating if she should call Happy. Cats out of the bag if she did though, there was no way Happy wouldn't tell her mom. She could feel her heels sinking into the ground which scared her until she realized it was grass. Morgan looked up from her phone and realized she had walked all the way to the courtyard. Her hands fell to her side and she looked up at the bronze statue of her late father. As she started, she felt like the eyes were watching her.. maybe even judging. She tried to look away but she couldn't. She started walking backwards and accidentally bumped into someone. Once she first noticed that it was a man she got a bit scared but then realized it was Brandon: her highschool sweetheart.

"Brandy.. holy shit how -hiccup- long has it been," she slurred wrapping her arms around his neck. 

"Morgan thank fuck I found you. Allison was throwing up in the kitchen skin and her friend told me you guys took MDMA. So much shit could have happened to- you know it's one thing to do drugs, it's another to wander off alone at night on drugs," he said, supporting her weight. 

"I miss being on the chess team together, do you remember that time at the chess tournament? At that Hampton hotel and we snuck out of our rooms? I miss when times -hiccup- were like.. easy you know? The only thing to worry about was getting caught for dumb things," Morgan's face was flooded with tears and her teeth were chattering as she continued, "do you ever look back at things in your life and realized you might have been really sad without realizing it?" she asked, looking up at him. 

"Let me take you home," he said more gently. 

"Are you mad at me?" she asked. 

"No, I was just worried," he said, taking her by the hand, leading her back to his fraternity. 

"Why were you worried if we're not together, were you missing me?" Morgan giggled. 

"This isn't fucking funny Morgan, it's not some game. You could have gotten abducted or raped. You think I don't notice you at the frat parties? You're drinking constantly and now you're doing drugs? I just don't get it, are you okay like honestly who are you nowadays?" he asked, turning around so that they were face to face. 

"I don't know I- it's just kinda complicated and it's just a mix of all kinds of things. I'm sorry I didn't- please don't be upset with me," she said. 

His face dropped when he saw her face. She looked so vulnerable and it made him feel bad for snapping at her, especially when she was this wasted. He grabbed her face and wiped the mascara stained tears off her cheeks with his thumbs. He was always infatuated with her, ever since he could remember. Even as children he liked the way she always had her nose in the air, especially because it wasn't in a cocky way. Being cocky meant that you were trying to be arrogant, Morgan just knew her worth and it showed in her demeanor; he loved that. They were on and off throughout middle and highschool. The type of couple that would look married walking into school, going through a three year divorce at lunch, and like they were on their honeymoon walking out of school. She was as smart as she was beautiful, athletic and knew where she was going. 

"I adore you," he said, taking his long sleeve shirt off and draping it over her, leaving him in a blank muscle tee. 

"Aren't you gonna be cold?" she asked? 

"Better me than you," he replied. 

They walked back to his room, the party was starting to die down. People passed out sitting up while sleeping against the walls. A couple that were making out on the couch. Brandon got Morgan to his room safely, she plopped down on his bed and took her heels off. He had gone into the bathroom that was attached to his room and came back with a wet towel. As she slid off her skirt he came back and sat on the bed, wiping the makeup off her face. He gave her three tylenols and made her drink an entire water bottle. After he was done, he went to walk out but Morgan begged him to stay. He ended up taking his jeans off and laying with her, he commented about how he was worried. That the pupil of her eyes were so wide and that she shouldn't have taken so much. She convinced him everything was okay, before they drifted off to sleep. 

<3

The next morning, Morgan slowly woke up to the sound of pounding at the door. It was slowly becoming louder and more frequent. At first she buried her face into Brandon's neck but then all of reality hit her at once. She sat up and pulled her long, tangled hair into a bun. She hit Brandon in the thigh a couple times which stirred him awake long enough to hear the banging. Morgan jumped out of bed and grabbed her skirt, sliding it up her legs. She took her phone out of her pocket and saw that it was 3:30 pm and she had about a hundred missed calls from her mom and Happy. She grabbed her purse and sat back down on the bed, slipping on her heels and giving a kiss to Brandon who looked half asleep while sitting up. 

"Call me?" Morgan asked giving him another peck on the cheek, he nodded and laid back down. She flings the door open revealing a pissed Happy; like really pissed. 

"Your moms in the car, she made you wait until she laid her eyes on you. She's gonna hit the damn roof," he said. 

"Happy not right now I don't feel good," Morgan said, pulling a pair of sunglasses out of her purse. 

"Course not, you're hungover," he said. 

"There's worse things to be in this world than being hungover," she said. Once they got to the car, she was kinda scared to face her mother. Morgan took a deep breath before sliding into the backseat. 

"Morgan Stark, where the fuck have you been? I've been calling and calling, you weren't at your dorm. You told me you weren't going out last night and look at you," she was speaking with such intensity. 

"I know I didn't think I was gonna go out I just-" Morgan started. 

"You just disregarded the conversation we had yesterday? I told you that you had a speaking engagement yesterday and you just figured it didn't matter? That I could call and residual? doesn't that sound familiar?" Pepper said. 

"What is that supposed to mean?" Morgan asked.

"I didn't-'' She started to rephrase but was cut off by her daughter. 

"No i'm so sick of that honestly, when it comes to my academics i'm always praised. Told things like 'oh you're just like your father' or 'he would be so proud of you' and then if I show signs of mental illnesses he had that when being like him is a bad thing right? You know other than school you never compare me to him in a positive way. It's always 'oh you're so impulsive just like your dad' or 'oh you won't rest until it's done just like your dad' like what the fuck is that? Now you're making me go speak to a group of students and preach to them how adversity makes you stronger? I'm not a role model, I have my own issues and don't really feel up to playing Hannah Montana for a group of people. You do understand that I'm a full time student and when I have days off I don't want to be carted around and pretend to be something I'm not," Morgan said, sinking back into her seat after she finished. 

"Oh my gosh, where is this coming from?" her mother pried. 

"I'm just tired of you booking events without talking to me about it first. I have a lot on my plate and no offense or anything but publicity stunts are so not my priority right now," Morgan grumbled, her mouth starting to salivate uncontrollably. 

"But getting wasted at a frat house when you know you have obligations the next day is the priority?" Her mother asked rhetorically.

"Why is it that I could literally wipe God's ass and you wouldn't bat an eye but obsess over the one time I went a little overboard at a party. I'm telling you that I don't want to do this and you don't care!" Morgan exclaimed.

"Well getting drunk and being too hungover to attend a public appearance isn't the proper way to tell me you don't want to do it," her mother said. 

Morgan grabbed one of the ice buckets, dumping the contents out before vomiting into it. She could hear Happy and her mother going back and forth but obviously. She was throwing up so hard that she was struggling to breath. Vomit was coming out of her nose which burned horribly.  She secured the bucket on the floor in front of her and reached up to grab a couple napkins. After wiping her mouth she looks up at her mother who has a mixed look of concern and disappointment written across her face. Morgan grabs the bucket again and continues to empty her stomach, even though she could smell the alcohol coming from her throw up. Morgan's anger was building and she couldn't talk herself out of it. She was upset that her mother wasn't understanding how she was feeling. That she wasn't taking her well-being into consideration. She did everything right, her whole life she was like the poster child of being a good daughter. Morgan was tired of feeling like her mistakes and flaws were the only thing being taken into consideration. 

"I just thought you had things more under control and-" her mother started but was interrupted by Morgan. 

"That's just the thing, you think things without knowing what actually knowing what's going on. So maybe you should fix that about yourself before judging anyone else," she said, getting up and getting out of the car which was stopped at a red light despite the protests of her mother. 

Once she got out she started speed walking back to campus. Tears were still streaming down her face, she must have some molly in her system because she was feeling so vulnerable. She turned into a bookstore, not wanting Happy or her mother to pursue her. She called Brandon who picked up after a couple rings. She explained to him the situation and that she needed a ride back to campus which he agreed to. She sat at a small table and wiped her face with her hands. She was mentally and physically exhausted, she was also having a bit of a pity party for herself. She didn't get into fights with her mother often so when she did it always felt like the end of the world. She pulled her pen out of her bag and went to take a hit but remembered she was in a store. Not long after she started waiting outside, Brandon pulled up in his blue Mazda. 

"What are you laughing at," Morgan said while putting her seatbelt on. 

"You're a hot ass mess girl," he said, driving her away from her problems temporarily.

[farfromstrange]

Foreigner's God: Chapter 53

Main Masterlist

Pairing: Matt Murdock x OFC

Chapter Summary: A familiar face knocks on Matt's door, demanding the truth about the past couple of days, but telling the truth would mean endangering him, and neither Matt nor she wants that to happen. She feels bad for lying to Happy, but there is no other way, not when she wants to protect him, so she puts on a mask and pretends she's okay when in reality, she is anything but, and Matt makes sure to take care of her with unconditional devotion.

Warnings: Angst, mention of injury and blood, hurt/comfort

Word Count: 5k

A/n: Fun fact: I wrote this chapter and the previous one as one chapter. Then I separated them because I struggled with the second part which is now this chapter. I completely forgot to post it here, which is why it has already been up on AO3 for a bit, but anyway. This is still pretty mental health heavy and so is the next chapter, so be careful and take care of yourselves!

Tag List: @acharliecoxedfan @gpenguin666 @lina-mar (& if you want to be added too, fill out this form!)

Read Chapter 53: I Will Be Your Remedy here on AO3!

Sometime around halfway into cleaning the kitchen, Matt perked up. Her breathing and heartbeat were calm, sounding their usual rhythm as she slept. He directed his attention toward the front door of the apartment complex. A familiar set of footsteps echoed through the hallway, followed by the stairwell. 

He took a few steps forward, waiting for the person to finalize their decision. A few seconds later, there was a knock on the door. He reached for his glasses on the dining table and quickly made his way to the front door. Another knock sounded out, this time louder than before. Eliza was still fast asleep in the bedroom, but he worried that if he didn’t open the door soon enough, it would be kicked in and then her sleep would be disturbed all over again. She needed the rest. Unexpected visitors were the last thing he wanted her to concern herself with, so perhaps he could find a way to send him away before he could even think about entering. 

Matt opened the door only enough for him to stand in the gap, listening to the rapid heartbeat of the man across from him. He could smell hints of sweat on his skin, his eyes were sunken and he’d probably had one or two coffees too many on his way. He braced himself on the door frame and waited for him to speak; if he told him that he knew very well who was standing in front of him, his cover would be blown, and that was a conversation he wasn’t ready for just yet. 

“Hey,” Happy said, his chest heaving with the lack of oxygen from his sprint up the stairs. 

“Oh. Happy?” Matt asked. “What’re you doing here?”

“I know you’re trying to play dumb, but we both know why I’m here.”

He took a deep breath. “Happy…”

“She hasn’t answered any of my calls. Eliza, she… she hasn’t even read my texts. I mean, I only saw the news long after the trial ended, but man, I tried reaching her as soon as I found out and she still hasn’t shown me a sign of life. I just need to know if she’s okay, Matt. Please.”

He raised his hand wordlessly, trying to calm his rambling down to a minimum. 

Happy’s eyes softened. “Is she here?” he asked. 

Matt was hesitant to answer. His expression seemed sheerly unreadable, and with each silent second passed between them, Happy grew more and more agitated, and his worry exceeded new limits. The desperation in his voice grew into a clear sound that could have been counted as begging. He was pleading with Matt for the answers he couldn’t find before, and the more he stared at his blank face, the more he began to suspect the worst. He was wired that way. 

“Please,” his voice sounded barely above a whisper. “I don’t ask for much, I just need to know what happened, and I need to see for myself that she’s alive and well. This is killing me here. You remember the last time she went MIA? Yeah, she almost died then and I thought I’d lost her, so I really need to know history isn’t repeating itself right now.”

He tried giving her space. It wasn’t the first time Eliza had disappeared off of the face of the earth without a word, and it wouldn’t be the last, but the context in which she disappeared was enough to shoot his anxiety levels through the roof. 

The news didn’t offer much information on the shooting, and he doubted the police even knew what was going on. He saw her on the video, replayed it a million times with Tony by his side. He remembered going pale in the face and excusing himself to call her, but Eliza didn’t pick up. He lost count of how many times he tried to reach her or coax a reaction out of her that would show him she was okay. She didn’t even read the countless text messages, and that was the most unlike her. 

His thoughts were all over the place, most of them incapable of being sorted, and the categories his mind found for certain horror scenarios were sickening. Happy felt nauseous, even more so while looking into his own reflection in the red glass that covered Matt’s unfocused eyes. His lip twitched, but he didn’t smile, he didn’t cry, he looked like a mere robot waiting for confirmation to act. He hated the anticipation, it drove his blood pressure to a point that would earn him a glare or two from Tony once he checked the stats of his new watch, but there was not much calmness to be found in his heart when it came to the troublemaker that Eliza was. And some of the trouble she got into wasn’t even her fault, her life just happened to work that way, and somehow that drilled the knife even deeper into the already weeping wound. 

Much to his surprise, Matt took a step back. He lowered his head, let out a weary sigh, and waved softly. “Come in,” he said. 

“Wait, really?” 

“Yeah. I was just about to make some coffee.”

Happy scattered his thoughts as quickly as they had fallen and followed after him into the apartment. He looked around, catching sight of some of Eliza’s clothing carelessly thrown over the back of the couch. He could smell her perfume and the remains of her favorite sandwich in the air. Her coat hung on the rack next to the door and her bag had found home over one of the chairs at the dining table. It looked nothing like the compound had looked back when she was still living there. The sight of Matt’s apartment was the perfect picture of domesticity, and he seemed to navigate well around the ordinary mess that came with the relationship. Pieces of him mixed with pieces of her and it formed a sanctuary they were both more than happy to be living with him. 

Matt was her safe place, he realized. She loved living with him. She was comfortable and felt at home, and she had quickly made his four walls into her own too. Even at the compound, Eliza kept a packed bag under her bed, ready to leave and run if the need arose. With Matt, it seemed entirely different; she had finally found a home, and it seemed as if she was nowhere close to running. 

Happy’s chest filled with pride yet a sense of sadness when he thought about what could have been, and how her life still managed to put stones in her way even after she had decided that staying was worth the fight. 

“Where is she?” he asked. 

Matt shushed the loud tone of his voice and pointed toward the milky glass of the bedroom door. “She’s resting,” he said. “She’s had a rough couple of days, that’s also why she hasn’t answered your texts. I think. She hasn’t been on her phone much. But she’s okay, Happy, I can assure you that. She’s always safe with me.”

“She’s okay?”

“Yeah, she is.” He mustered a small smile. 

Happy lowered himself down on one of the empty chairs. “Oh, thank God!” 

He didn’t mention her stay at the hospital, the countless breakdowns, or the events of the previous night. It wasn’t Matt’s story to tell, it was hers, and he knew Eliza wanted nothing more than to keep her family safe. If he had told Happy the truth, what little safety the unknown offered him would have been gone. He couldn’t make such a decision on his own, and it wasn’t fair to her, either. 

He stayed quiet, instead brewing the coffee he had intended to make. He focused on her presence in the other room, noting how her chest continued to rise and fall calmly. How long she would be able to sleep, he wasn’t sure, but for now, she was still safe and sound in her resting state. 

Matt poured the coffee into two mugs, a bit more relaxed now. “Milk or sugar?” he questioned. 

“Both,” said Happy. 

He nodded and added the last few finishing touches to their drinks before carrying them over to the table. 

“Thank you.”

“Yeah, sure.”

“I have to ask,” Happy couldn’t help himself but disrupt the growing silence before it could even settle in, “You were there. What happened?”

Matt sighed. “It’s a long story.”

“I have time.”

There was a fine line between saying too little and saying too much, and he wasn’t sure how long he could walk that line in the green zone before slipping. 

"The preliminary hearing... it was intense," Matt began, his words coming out in slow puffs of air, carefully choosing his every word. "With that I mean, emotionally draining for all of us. But Eliza, especially. The judge ruled in our favor, so we thought things would work out... When we left the courthouse, we thought we could move on, you know?" 

Happy nodded, his eyes glued to his lips as he hung on every word. 

"Well, needless to say, that also didn't work out. Viktor was talking to the cops and his lawyer was there and it was just... it was messy. And you know how she is; when Eliza wants something, you can't pull that woman back, no matter how hard you try. And I tried, but she still went to confront him."

His brows furrowed. "Confronted him?" he asked. “While he was talking to the press that already hates her? Is she crazy? You know what, that was a stupid question. Ignore that. Of course, she’s crazy. She’s never been short of that.”

Matt shrugged, his head nodding slightly. It was true; Eliza had a strong tendency to go crazy and get what she wanted whenever she wanted just by defying the odds and all possible rules. But that was exactly why he loved her so much. 

“Yeah,” he said. “Can’t argue with that. But she... she wanted answers, she wanted closure. I don’t blame her, I really don’t. You weren’t in that courtroom, so you wouldn’t know, but she went through hell and back in such a short amount of time. Seeing him get a platform to speak made him snap and I did consider letting her do what she wanted to do, believe me.”

“Well,” Happy found himself agreeing, “I’m not saying he deserved it, but…”

“He did deserve it. That bastard… he hurt her and he deserved a lot more than just being killed. He deserved the cruelest punishment known to men and I just hope that wherever he is, he gets fucking punished.” His eyes were absolutely wild behind his glasses. 

Happy matched the tone of his voice when he agreed once again. He wasn’t a religious man, but in this case, he hoped hell would make the man who did this to her suffer. Death was too kind for him, but there was also pain in death and he prayed to a God he didn’t believe him that he would meet his fate with the same pain he had caused Eliza and still continued causing her even beyond the grave. 

Matt took a deep breath. “But I did try to stop her because I knew she wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she seriously hurt another person again,” he said, “but before I knew it, chaos erupted and then everything went to shit.” He took another sip from his coffee, angry, almost, wishing it were a bottle of beer or something stronger. “Shots were fired, people were screaming, it was so loud, and Eliza was right behind him when it happened. I mean, right there. From what I heard, she had blood all over her. I shielded her, of course, but other than the three shots that killed Viktor, there weren't any more fired that day."

Dread filled Happy's eyes. "Is she... is she okay?"

"Physically, yes. But it was a shock for her, and she's been struggling to process everything. It's been... yeah, it's been a journey." Matt pinched his nose, fighting off the fatigue that started to settle in. "And she hasn't had it easy these past two days, so..."

“That’s why she hasn’t answered?”

He nodded. 

“Jesus Christ.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, “but you have to believe me when I say that I’ve done everything so far to protect her and I’m going to make sure she comes out of this alright. She just… Eliza needs time, Happy. Plain and simple. And you need to give those trying to find whoever did this time too. It was hard for me to accept at first too, but there’s no other way. She wasn’t the initial target, and she’s still alive. We have to hold onto that, you know?”

“Of course, I know that,” Happy said. His eyes stared emptily at the mug in front of him. “But-”

The sound of the bedroom door sliding open cut through their conversation. 

Matt had been so focused on picking the right version of the story that he lost focus on Eliza’s sleeping form. He missed the sound of the bed creaking and her heartbeat changing speed. As soon as the door started to open, he rose to his feet, his head tilted in her direction. 

“Sweetheart,” he said softly. 

She rubbed her eyes and looked at him, then Happy sitting at the dining table. 

“You okay? You shouldn’t be up. You should be in bed. I told you if you needed something, all you had to do was call for me.”

Meeting his worried eyes, she raised her hand and waved him off. “I’m fine,” she said. “Happy-” she turned to him. “I’m so sorry.” The nervous quiver in her voice moved to her hands as she fidgeted with them. They were hidden far in the sleeves of one of Matt’s sweaters. It was too hot outside to even be wearing wool, but she was expertly trying to hide the bandages on her knuckles, and her nervous ticks played along. It made it easier for her to keep up the facade. 

He stared at her, his eyes wide. The relief finally settled in fully, filling his heart to the brim. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t answer your calls or your texts. I didn’t pay attention to my phone and I just saw the messages you all left me in the past two days and I’m… I’m so sorry. I never meant to worry any of you.”

Happy rose from his chair and approached her. The circles under his eyes looked dark and evident as the sun hit them just right. He opened his arms, pulling her into a bone-crushing hug that she didn’t anticipate. 

He cursed under his breath. “Don’t ever do this to me again,” he told her, “you scared the living crap out of me. Oh, Jesus Christ.” 

He held her even closer, not wanting to let her go. He was scared that if he did, she would slip away or that he would lose her, and it was a fear that gradually paralyzed him and tuned out the initial relief he’d felt. 

From the moment she woke up from her nap and heard his voice in the living room, her body was on high alert. She realized she had abandoned that part of her life while she was so focused on herself. Tony left countless voicemails on her phone that still lay on the bedside table untouched, Happy did too. She skimmed over the messages and they were all pretty convinced she was dead.

The exhaustion was nothing like she had felt before. Her body ached, her muscles straining with every move, and she had battled with herself about whether or not to get out of bed and face him. She didn’t mean to, but she hurt him. She hurt him, Tony and Pepper, and everyone else who was so worried about her. She pushed away everyone and almost did the same to Matt, but he was persistent. He kept her alive, and she forgot about the world around them because right there, in the cozy apartment they shared, nothing existed but the two of them. She forgot what living felt like. Her existence didn’t feel all too real, so hearing Happy’s voice next door had been like a harsh slap to the face. 

She tried not to cry when he finally hugged her. “I’m okay,” she whispered, her voice muffled even more through his chest. 

“You need to be a lot more responsible with your phone.”

“I know.”

“You can’t keep doing that.”

“I know.”

“You almost gave me a heart attack.”

“I didn’t mean to,” she cut him off. “I was just so caught up, I didn’t think. My mind’s been all over the place lately. I had to take a break from life to sort this shit out and I’m sorry for not telling you guys I’m okay, but I’m here now and as you can tell, I’m fine, Happy. I’m okay.”

He took a step back to look at her. “You look exhausted,” he said. 

“I’m just tired, that’s all. Matt has been taking good care of me.”

“Good,” he glanced at the man next to them, “He better.”

“He has. He always does.”

“I appreciate that you have someone looking out for you, but please, the next time something like this happens, make sure you don’t disappear without a trace for two days. We’ve been worried sick. Tony, too, by the way.”

“That’s… unusual.”

“It just means that we care about you,” Happy corrected her. 

“I know and I’m sorry,” she said.

“I know you are, pumpkin. Just-” He hugged her again. “Don’t give me another heart attack. My blood pressure is already high and Tony is gonna kill me when he sees that my stats have changed for the worse.”

“I promise, I won’t.”

Happy's grip on her tightened briefly before he released her, giving her a gentle pat on the cheek. "We care about you, Liz, and we want to make sure you're safe. That's what family does, you know? We have each other's backs."

"Yeah, we do. Thank you."

Matt chose to step away and silently busied himself with the leftover dishes in the kitchen, still listening intently to their conversation. Eliza's heartbeat carried proof of how she truly felt, though, on the outside, she tried to shine brighter than the sun. She smiled at him, albeit a fake smile but Happy seemed to buy it. She made her voice sound more cheery than hoarse, and her body language spoke as openly as she could make it look even though open was the last word Matt would have used to describe her. He was worried, but he understood. He was the master of keeping secrets and sometimes you have to protect the people you love, which was exactly what she did. She protected Happy by not telling him the truth, and by not showing him how entirely hopeless and empty she felt inside, how much she was truly struggling, she eased his conscience. He was far too innocent to be dragged into their mess.

“You know, if you need anything,” Happy began then, “Tony and I are more than willing to help.”

“I’m fine,” she reassured him. “I have a roof over my head, a nice boyfriend and I have a job. What more could I possibly need?”

Mental stability would be a start. But that is something you can’t acquire on the market. 

“You’re right, I’m just worried about you. So if there’s anything you need, I want you to call me, okay?”

“I think I can manage that.”

“Thank you.”

As she led him to the door, she promised to call Tony back and explain, and she promised she would come around the compound soon. After talking to him at her father’s grave, they didn’t speak much other than the occasional conversation during the preparations for the preliminary hearing. He failed to do damage control when it came to the press, so he retreated. Tony Stark hated failure. He wasn’t used to it. 

Their foundation used to be strong, but it began to swindle one day and things weren’t the same as they once were. The circumstances changed. Her life changed. Tony changed. He wasn’t like a father to her anymore, just a man she occasionally spoke to because he hurt her in ways he couldn’t make up for. She forgave him, but the scars ran deep. She pushed all thoughts about him away and decided to move on, but he was still part of her life and whether she liked it or not, they were family. If her time as an Avenger taught her anything it was to appreciate what she had because it could be gone sooner rather than later. 

She had been so caught up in everything, she neglected what she had left of her family. She had Matt, Foggy, and Karen and they were her new family now, but the bond with the people she had once lived with was still there. She wanted to nurture it while at the same time, she was struggling to get over the events of the past and their role in it. She screwed up, her friends screwed up, and she had truly thought she would end up alone. Thankfully, she didn’t, but it had been incredibly close. 

Her head dropped to the door as it closed behind Happy. She took a deep breath. Anger boiled up in her veins. It glowed red hot and reminded her of a red towel held in front of the eyes of a bull. 

Eliza grabbed the nearest object she could find, which just happened to be Matt’s keys, and threw them against the wall with a loud, pained groan. Her hands were no longer covered by her sleeves, revealing the bandages underneath; they were close to getting soaked again, and Matt could smell the disinfectant mixing with her blood as it hit the sterile fabric around the wounds. 

He listened to her erratic heartbeat, but he knew better than to jump in. She had to channel her emotions, and as long as she didn’t channel them into hurting herself, he didn’t mind if she tossed his keys or the entire drawer across the room. 

Only when she raised her hand to land her fist on the wall did he reach out and pull her away. “That’s enough,” he said. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back into him. “You’re okay. You did so good, I’m proud of you.”

Her grunt turned into a weak whimper. “I hate lying to him,” she said. She was tired of the tears, but she wasn’t strong enough to fight them. 

“I know, I’m sorry.” 

“I just wish everything wasn’t so shitty…”

He shushed her as he rubbed her back, cradling her head with the other hand. She nuzzled into his chest. As he held her close, his hand wandered to her forehead. With her heartbeat still erratic and the sudden heat that seemed to erupt from her body, he couldn’t resist. He used his palm first, then used the back of his hand to confirm what he had already suspected. 

“You’re burning up,” he said. 

“I’m fine,” Eliza insisted. 

“Well, you have a fever, so I think you’re not fine.”

“What are you, a thermometer?”

“Technically, yes.”

“I can handle it. I’ve had worse.”

“I know that. I just think your knuckles might have gotten infected.”

She huffed. “It’ll go away.”

“Just admit you’re not feeling well,” Matt grabbed her face, “I just want to help you. Let me take care of you,” he said. 

Her muscles ached with the fatigue of the fever, and her skin was sticky with sweat. She hadn’t before realized how bad it got. 

Weakly, Eliza mustered a nod. He was grateful that he didn’t have to push her. He guided her to the couch, her limbs heavy as she walked. She sat down, waiting for him to join her, but he disappeared. The dishes in the kitchen clanged. She heard the tap run, the sound turning dull as it hit something soft. She even counted the seconds until he came back, her body locked up from the heat that burned her alive and the anxiety that she would be forever alone even though she wasn’t, and she hated feeling like her life wasn’t hers to control but belonged to the monsters in her head. 

Matt returned with a cold, wet towel and another cup of tea for her. She took it gladly, even took a sip of water as he draped the towel over her forehead. There wasn’t much else he could do. 

“Matt?” she asked weakly into the silence that had settled between them. 

He lifted his head with a soft smile. “Yes?”

“Can you… hold me?”

He nodded and sat down on the couch, his back turned to the armrest. She climbed into his lap, her back pressed flush against his chest. He held her close, his grip carrying enough strength to keep her from falling and making sure the badly glued pieces of her heart wouldn’t crack again. 

She leaned her head back against his shoulder and allowed herself to close her eyes. As the heat in her body rose, the exhaustion burned into her nerves. She clung to Matt, her one and only, her lifeline. He took that as a hint and tightened his hold around her, his arms wrapping around her frame completely. She was hot against him, but she needed him and he didn’t mind a little heat. He just wanted her to be okay, which she wasn’t, and that was something he desperately wanted to change. Being helpless was the worst feeling and he loathed it, especially when it came to the people he loved, and he had never loved someone as dearly as he loved the woman in his arms.

She relaxed as much as that was possible in her state, her lips parting slightly to let out a contented sigh. “Thank you,” she murmured, and he wasn’t sure if the slurring of her voice was due to tiredness or her being delirious. 

He whispered back into her ear, “Anything for you.”

But no matter how hard she tried, Eliza couldn’t find a way to restful sleep. She stayed awake in his arms, her mind consumed by thoughts. They were nowhere near close to finding the man who seemed to be putting Matt’s work to shame. He terrified the underworld of the city. He killed Viktor. And his alias suggested that killing criminals to enforce his twisted views of justice was simply his thing, and that turned into an even more terrifying realization because, in the end, Eliza was a criminal too. Perhaps that was why he visited her in the hospital, in the hopes she wouldn’t see him, and then left when she woke up. Perhaps the Punisher came to the hospital to silently tell her to count her days, that she was on his list of targets next, and that he would do anything in his power to make her join Viktor in hell, which Viktor had told her would happen soon enough. 

She didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of dying like him and then being forced to live with the thought that she failed to serve justice for all the other girls he hurt and whose deaths he was responsible for. 

Matt noticed she wasn’t asleep. He tried running his finger through her hair, but she still hadn’t found rest, so he chose to ask, “What’s on your mind?”

“Everything,” she admitted. 

In the solace of the dawning night, she was trapped in a spiral of what could have been, would have been, or should have been. She was trapped in the fears of the past and those of the future, and whenever she closed her eyes, she saw the faces of her victims and the faces of the men who ruined her life. She saw the childhood she had missed pass before her eyes. She was turned into a weapon and she never had a choice. And even now her past came back to haunt her every time she was happy, leaving her with no choice but to succumb to their painful claws of death. 

“What’s everything?” asked Matt. 

Eliza shrugged. “Just everything.”

“That’s quite a lot to think about.”

“Yeah.”

He paused. “What can I do to help you rest?”

“Unless you can shut my brain off, there is not much you can do.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. Just hold me a little longer.”

“I’ll always hold you.”

“I know, and that’s why I love you.”

Matt smiled, pulling her even closer, almost impossibly so, and pressed his lip to where he could reach her temple. She reached out to hold his cheek, her eyes closing again. She stroked over his stubble and the slight flush on his cheeks from feeling her touch so gently on his sensitive skin. 

“I love you too,” he said then. 

She mustered a smile just for him and craned her neck so she could kiss his lips, her hand never wavering when it came to stroke his cheek. 

“We’ll find a way to get through this, sweetheart, I promise you.”

“You really promise?” she asked, her eyes glossing over with unshed tears. They glistened in the soft yellow light of the ceiling lamp that mixed with the colors of the ads that played on the billboard as clear as day. 

He nodded, using what little space he had left to return the gesture and stroke her cheekbone with his thumb. The calloused tip felt good against her heated skin and she sighed again. 

“I promise,” he said. 

She had to hold on to that promise. He promised they would find a way and she chose to believe it because if she didn’t, the fear would eat her alive. 

Tag List: @acharliecoxedfan @gpenguin666 @lina-mar (& if you want to be added too, fill out this form!)

[robertsbarbie]

there is a list of actors, be it their actual acting ability or overpowering star power, that i have where no matter what i see them in i’ll never be able to suspend my belief because they are just the actor no matter the character they try to play

[movie-characters]

Happy Hogan Kimdir?

Happy Hogan, Marvel Comics'te Iron Man olarak bilinen Tony Stark için çalışan kurgusal bir karakterdi

Happy Hogan, Marvel Comics’te Iron Man olarak bilinen Tony Stark için çalışan kurgusal bir karakterdir. Jon Favreau tarafından canlandırılır. Aynı zamanda çizgi romanlarda bazı ilginç özelliklere sahiptir: Eski Boxer: Happy Hogan aslında bir boksör olarak karşımıza çıkar. Ancak pek başarılı olmadığı ve genellikle kaybettiği söylenir. Tony Stark’ın Sağ Kolu: Boks kariyerinden sonra Happy Hogan,…