#circular saw and some other thing i forgot ab
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webvampzz · 1 month ago
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I WAS SO CLOSE AAAHHHHDJDJEHE
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atsukashii · 3 years ago
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hi! for the event could i request: lana x bakugo katsuki + she/her pronouns + ☀️+ orange
thank you!!
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life goes on like this again
✘ waking up to your boyfriend is one of the best things, although waking up to him cooking shirtless in your kitchen - yeah that takes the cake.
✘ GENRE: fluff
✘ WARNINGS: none
✘ WORD COUNT: 1.6k
✘ A/N: i got your message about changing your character to daichi, so i hope you like it!
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Morning light paints the world behind your eyelids a mixture of shades of pink and orange, and once you open your eyes, the room around you isn’t much different. Early morning light gently slips through the cracks of your open blinds, turning the white walls of your room into a flux of pastel dawn colours. Trying to stay in bed for as long as possible, you turn over, pulling your sheets higher over your shoulder and cocooning yourself deeper into the warmth, more than content to just close your eyes and go back to sleep. However the lack of a presence next to you makes it borderline impossible, and soon enough you find your feet hitting the wooden floors of your apartment before you shuffle out of bed to do your morning routine.
Once you emerge from the bathroom feeling a little bit more awake, you slink down the hallway, not thinking that the noise of sizzling in the kitchen is anything abnormal. However, the second the wafting stench of something burning meets your nose do you wake up completely. With hastened steps, you walk to the kitchen, worried that your boyfriend left something on the stove before he left for work - something that would be uncharacteristic of him. But as you round the wall and step into the kitchen, a soft smile pulls at your lips.
Standing in front of your stove, shirtless, with his broad shoulders tense and looking more bronze in the warm morning light from your kitchen window - stands your boyfriend. Daichi looks like something you’ve plucked out of a dream, and whilst he hasn’t noticed you, simply standing there and appreciating him is what you plan to do; even if he’s currently glaring at whatever he’s trying to cook in the pan.
But Daichi Sawamura has eyes in the back of his head, you’re sure of it. You’re only standing there, staring at his back for only a few seconds before he’s glancing your way, his brown eyes flashing in surprise before a groan tears out of his mouth. You raise your eyebrows at his reaction.
“No no no, go back to bed, they’re not done.” Daichi complains, with pinched brows. He was concentrating really hard on whatever he was cooking, and your curiosity gets the better of you. Ignoring his protests, you smile as you wrap your arms around his toned waist and press a soft kiss between his shoulder blades.
“Are you cooking…” you start, tilting your head to see around his large frame, and into the pan sitting on the stove. The circular and flat thing in the pan gives it away straight away, making butterflies flutter inside your stomach.
“Pancakes?”
“More like cremating them,” he mutters under your breath, and you have to bite your lip to restrain yourself from giggling. You gently tap his abs with your hand and press your cheek to his back, closing your eyes and taking in the warmth that comes from being close to him.
“It’s the thought that counts, right?” You’re one hundred percent sure that your statement would have been far more convincing if your stomach hadn’t chosen that exact moment to growl in protest.
Daichi pivots on his feet, so that his side is pressed against your front and looks down at you frowning. Not at your words, you think, but the whole situation.
“No, it’s not the thought that counts because you can’t eat thoughts to sustain yourself.” Daichi replies with a pointed look. You’re trying really hard not to smile, because you can see how flustered he is about this, so instead you just tilt your head and let a sliver of one slip through.
“Daichi, really it's fine.” You promise, but your words fall on deaf ears as he finally turns to you fully, and you can tell he wants to cross his arms but can't because of your position and the fact he’s got a spatula still in one hand, so instead he just rubs his face. “I’m more surprised that you’re home. It’s a weekday after all.”
The man drops his hand from his face, his hair now a mess from him messing with it, but you think he’s never looked more handsome than in this moment.
“I wanted to take a day off to spend with my girl, and make her breakfast in bed, is that too much to ask?” He asks exasperatedly, waving the spatula around in his other hand.
“Apparently so,” you joke, quickly hip checking him away from the stove, before grabbing the pan and scooping the blackened pancake into the trash. Swiftly washing the pan, you return to the stove once more, turn on the heat and begin to cook the rest of the pancake batter. This time, it's Daichi who is standing behind you, watching over your shoulder as the butter melts in the pan, and you finally pour some batter noto the hot skillet.
“You see, this is why I wanted to cook you breakfast, because you’re always doing the work.” Your boyfriend complains in a groan, resting his forehead against your shoulder as if admitting defeat. A sweet smile pulls at your lips as you take in his gratefulness, because it’s the truth. You’re the one who cooks the meals for you both a lot, but the main reason for that is because you actively enjoy it. A fact he knows well, because he’d never stand for it if you didn’t.
“Yeah but I actually enjoy it. And please, you cook for me sometimes.” You can feel the look he gives you as he raises his head from your shoulder. “Today just isn’t a good example,” You finish, biting your lip to stop you from giggling at his antics.
“I know you enjoy it, I’d never let you cook food for me otherwise.” There ya go. “But I still feel like you do a lot around here, and I'm…” his voice trails off, and you immediately turn around to face him. His voice lacks any of the dominating confidence that he carries without knowing, and that alarms you. You don’t need to look into his eyes to see something is bothering him, but as you mentally make a checklist of his tells, you need to ask.
“Daichi, what’s this actually about?” You ask, your head tilting slightly as his eyes slink away from yours, settling on the small potted herbs resting on your windowsill.
“I was talking to one of the new recruits yesterday, and he made a passing comment after he saw the lunch you made for me.” He explains, and you nod your head encouraging him to continue. You’ve always made him a work lunch from the day you moved in seeing as he had a tendency to get intensely serious in what he was doing, and would often forget to eat. But if you made him food, he’d feel guilty if he forgot to eat it. Had you essentially guilt tripped your boyfriend into being healthy and not forgetting meals, yes, and it was worth it.
“And he mentioned that I was lucky that I have someone that does everything for me, and It made me realise how little i put into this relationship.” Daichi admits and you blink at him for a moment.
And the next, you wack him in the bicep with the plastic spatula in your hand.
“Ow!” he curses, clutching his arm, even though you both know you only tapped him. SO instead, with your free hand, you point right in his face with your index finger, and level him with your most serious glare.
“Now you listen to me Daichi Sawamura, you do not lack effort in this relationship. You are not putting in abysmal amounts. You are the love of my life, and you make me so happy by just simply being in the same room as me, and the fact that you come home to me every day, call me on your break when you're bored, or buy me flowers randomly because you know I'll love them. That is more than enough.” You argue, poking his bare chest with your finger.
“And if anyone tries to tell you that you are anything less than the perfect boyfriend, you’ll have to help me hide a dead body.” Your chest heaves as you finally get all the words out. Daichi is the perfect partner in every sense of the word and the fact that some recruit made him feel less than that really pisses you off.
You’re about to ask for his number so you can beat him with your spatula before warm lips are pressed to yours with a force that almost knocks you back onto the stove. However, strong arms wrap around your waist, stopping the accident before it happens, and you drop the utensil to the floor to slip your hands into Daichi’s short dark hair. Once again you’re gasping for breath when he pulls away, but the smile stretched across his face almost has your head spinning.
“Thank you sunshine, I- I really needed that.” He whispers, placing another kiss to your brow before leaning his forehead against yours. “I love you too,” You close your own eyes, reveling in the peace of the moment, and content that he finally sees what you do.
But the smell of burning interrupts the moment and you immediately curse, turning on your boyfriend and yanking the pan with the now burnt pancake off the heat. Daichi erupts into loud, heart filled laughter from behind you, and you give up, putting the pan in the sink still with the ruined food inside before turning to your boyfriend.
“Want to go out for breakfast?” He asks through his laughter and you nod your head, grinning right along with him. It was the little things like days like today, that made you fall in love with Daichi a little deeper.
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✘ EVENT STATUS : CLOSED ✘
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dyde21 · 4 years ago
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Overnight Trip to Stark Industries 3
Link to the first part HERE (I mean it’s a field trip fic so the set up is the same, but the first two parts are only on AO3 right now xD)
I know I’m new to the fandom, and mostly post over on AO3 but I think I’ll start sharing some more One-shots over here because I freaking adore Spideychelle. Also, anyone who does REALLY needs to check out @premiere-pro They have one of the best writing styles I’ve seen in ages, and they have a series called “super cuts” that retells Iron Man 2, Avengers, and Iron Man 3 currently with Spidey in them and it’s amazing. I’m gonna reread them soon.
Anyway:
XxXxXxXxX
The air was practically vibrating in the elevator as everyone wondered what the first stop of the tour would be. Someone had even turned to their tour guide Ashe in the elevator their half was in. “What is the itinerary for today?”
Ashe looked at them, owlish for a moment. “Did… did your teachers not explain it? I believe it was on the paperwork as well.” Peter heard her voice drop to a whisper. “Did I not explain it?”
The student looked a little sheepish. “There was a lot of paperwork…”
Nodding, Ashe recovered smoothly. “I totally get that. Working here often comes with loads of paperwork. So many NDA’s, it’s easy to lose track of things. I’ll explain once we get to the first stop, just so I don’t have to repeat myself.” She offered with a crowd winning smile.
Peter saw her turn back to him and mouth “oops” and Peter snickered. Ashe was a very good PA, she could handle people better than pretty much anyone else Peter knew, aside from maybe Tony himself. But he also had heard she could be a bit distracted easily, which was why she always had a tablet to double check to keep her tasks organized and on track. Though it wasn’t like Peter could blame her, he forgot stuff constantly and Tony was even worse. It was honestly a miracle that Pepper had come into Stark Industries to help keep everything running smoothly.
Ned turned to Peter. “Do you know what’s happening first?”
Shaking his head, Peter sighed. “Like I said, Ned. I really know nothing about what’s going on this tour. I wasn’t exactly thrilled to go on it, and I kinda spend a lot of time here so I never took it myself. I just know that it’s supposed to be super memorable.”
Ned was still nodding, as if the plain explanation Peter was offering was super secret spoilers. MJ was just leaning against the wall, arms crossed as she watched them all with an amused expression. He was glad at least someone was amused. 
The elevator ended and they stepped out into… a plain hallway. 
Everyone seemed a bit confused. It was clear the expectations had been a bit more… grandeur. Ashe smiled as she made a broad motion, urging the group to gather around. 
“So I bet you all are wondering what we are doing on this trip. In case some of you did not properly read the itinerary, I thought it would be prudent to review our schedule!”
There was some excited murmur from the group of students. Peter just rolled his eyes. He met her eyes and mouthed “smooth” to her. Ashe turned to the group, but Peter saw her subtly raise a peace sign in his direction. 
“So! As you know, our trip is split into two days. The first day will explore the technology and R&D portion of Stark Industries, and the second day will cover the Avengers and affiliated programs.” Ashe quieted for a moment as a wave of cheers and very loud murmuring broke out. Ned was freaking out, grabbing Peter’s arm and shaking it. Peter barely noticed, because he felt his face pale. He was about to raise his arm, but someone else had gotten the idea first. 
“Yes, you!” Ashe said, pointing. 
“Will we be meeting any Avengers?” Cindy asked eagerly.
Pausing for dramatic effect, a massive grin crept on Ashe’s face. “Yes! You will be meeting multiple Avengers on this trip. While not all trips are afforded this opportunity, this trip has been lucky enough to be part of the September Foundations outreach program to help connect the future generation to both Stark Industries and the Avenger’s initiative, as at the core, the heroes serve the people and outreaches like this help close the gap and build bridges.” Ashe offered in a smooth, practiced flow. 
Another loud wave of cheers rang out from the group and Peter winced, covering his ears slightly. His enhanced senses were NOT as happy as they were at the moment. He felt MJ’s hand rub his back gently. 
“Dude! DUDE!” Ned practically shouted at him, wide eyes. Peter couldn’t help but grin at his friend despite the growing dread in his stomach. He was happy for Ned, even though Ned had met all the Avengers at least once by now. This was a rare chance for all of his friends and he was happy for them. 
But there was no way in hell this tour had been “randomly selected” for this. There was absolutely foul play here and it reeked of nepotism. 
“Lucky, my ass. I think this was Pepper’s idea of ‘helping me out’.” Peter muttered to Ned and MJ.
“GOOD.” Ned said unapologetically.
MJ shrugged. “Technically, they aren’t under any obligation to not choose this trip just because they know you. They have the right to choose whatever groups they want.”
Peter raised an eyebrow. “I thought you were against Nepotism.”
MJ offered him a sly grin. “Technically the entire class benefits from this experience, so you aren’t stealing all the benefit from others. You’re more of… an asset in our appeal to the process. It’s prudent to make use of the advantages we are offered.”
“So I’m an asset.” Peter deadpanned to her. “That’s how you see me.”
MJ shrugged. “You’re my favorite asset.”
“You just like me for my assets.” Peter mocked.
“It is a nice asset.” MJ replied cooley. Peter stared at her for a moment, blinking before his cheeks started to tint red. Did… did she just hit on him?
MJ grinned triumphantly, having won the exchange as the group tuned back into Ashe.
“Our first stop will be a brief history of the company, followed by a tech demonstration. There will be a surprise challenge, followed by lunch and the end of the challenge, then a chance for outreach and interaction with SI representatives to end the day before dinner and some free time. We will leave tomorrow’s plan for tomorrow, so make the most of today while you can!”
Another break where the group was too busy talking to each other for Ashe to have a hope of controlling them, but she didn’t seem particularly surprised or bothered by it, instead answering some question that Mr. Harrington was asking that Peter couldn’t hear over the roar of overly excited teenagers.
“So at least one day before the Avengers ruin my life.” Peter muttered mostly to himself. He winced as he felt MJ gently pinch his back where she had been rubbing it. 
“Stop being so dramatic, nerd. Things will workout fine.” She reassured, glancing towards her other nerd with a small smile as Ned was still freaking out with Abe.
Ashe checked the time on her starkpad before waving her arms a bit to gather attention back on her. “As much as I’m sure you’re having fun talking about how ‘hella cool’ this tour is gonna be, how about we actually start it?”
MJ raised at the expression and Ashe seemed to notice it and smirked in response.
Ashe led her gaggle of students towards a wide set of double doors that really didn’t look like anything special. Peter couldn’t quite place where he had seen them before though. They seemed… different. 
“First stop on our tour will be a brief history of Stark Industries. This is actually a rather brand new installation and vastly upgraded from our older lecture version. I think you all will be pretty pleased by it. Without further ado, let’s begin!” She said, earning a few hoots and cheers from the class as she dramatically pushed open the doors.
Students practically rushed into… a blank room. All the walls were either glass or another blank surface. In the center of the massive room was a circular pedestal with a device on top of it. Everyone looked around confused, and Peter could practically hear their disappointment. 
Ashe, however, was having far too much fun watching their expressions. “Just be patient. Is everyone in? Good! Okay, now everyone I suggest you stand back to start, and do keep in mind the center dias please.” She said before stepping back. After a moment the rest of the class stepped back too as murmurs of concern started to grow a little louder.
Peter, however, remembered <em>exactly</em> what this was and a massive grin crept on his face. He had no idea they had actually fully finished this project, it had been ages since he had helped out other interns with this. He had been involved in the development and the construction of the technology, not as much the final touches and execution of it. 
He gestured for MJ and Ned to step back a little more. “Ned, do your best not to freak out too much.”
Ned nodded a bit too eagerly as he stared at the console, already amazed even though nothing had happened yet. 
MJ seemed a bit skeptical, but scooted a little closer to him and crossed her arms, waiting to see what was in store. 
Ashe knocked her fist on one of the glass panes twice. “Alright, Ty. Start it up!” She said eagerly.
The lights of the room instantly shut off and the murmurs died instantly. Peter could hear the sharp intake of breath as everyone was suddenly waiting very eagerly. 
A voice rang out through the room. 
“Everything is achievable through technology...”
Peter recognized the voice, he had heard it a few times. 
Howard Stark.
Gasps rang out through the room because standing in the center of the room was Howard Stark. Or more accurate, a hologram of him. It stood there, looking around generically, but you couldn't help but feel like he was actually looking at you when his eyes happened to meet yours. 
“Is that a hologram?”
“Isn’t that the founder?”
A bunch more hushed whispers echoed out, followed by an almost equal number of “shhhhh”.
Ned was gaping like a fish as he stared at the man in the old suit who walked forward, continuing to talk. 
“Better living, robust health, and for the first time in human history, the possibility of world peace.”
He stopped and gently shoved his hands into his suit pockets. “I’m Howard Stark, and everything you’ll need in the future can be found right here.” He said with a sweeping motion of his arm. 
As he did though the room <em>changed</em>.
One second they were standing in a dark room with a holographic dead founder talking to them, and the next there was a rush of light of colors from all around and suddenly they were standing in a fairground. Students gasped, talking in hush whispers as they looked around. Peter saw Betty even hesitantly reach out and touch the wall, which was still very much there, but it looked like she was touching an invisible wall in the park. Almost. There was just enough of a discrepancy that you could see the edge without stumbling face first into it accidentally. Peter guessed that had been a lesson learned the hard way, knowing the interns.
There were displays in every direction. There was a general ambiance of futurism, but it was anachronistic with the old visions of the future, incredibly outdated despite their best guesses of the time, being displayed by technology they couldn’t dream of. Displays of imaginary space suits, flying cars, toasters. Everything was in the distance as the world around them began to move across the ground, as if they were on a guided tour.
Everyone was still mostly rooted in place, and as if to lead them, Ashe walked across the room, mumbling a bit about watching out for the center kiosk, but went deliberately to look at a display from the far end of the wall. Peter followed her suit, just to encourage people as he walked across it too. It was a bit disorienting, with the world moving at it’s own pace while you walk. Kind of like those automated walkways at the airport, but not too jarring thankfully. Again, he figured it was probably a product of trial and error and an uncomfortable number of nauseous interns testing it.
Crowds bustled around them, phasing through people as the holograms were interrupted by the actual people in the room, even though Peter saw a student or two from their class hurriedly avoiding them muttering out apologies. Peter couldn’t blame them, it almost looked real.
He knew how disorienting it could be to be surrounded by illusions. Just like… him… whenever.. He fought…
Peter’s attention was snapped back to the present as Howard continued finally.
“From all of us at Stark Industries, I would like to personally thank you for visiting us. For your interest in helping shape the world into a better future.” For a few more moments they continued to float through the imagined space. Old music playing over a staticy sound system, girls in rather revealing outfits dancing and parading themselves around displays, all before it settled near the center of the area where Howard was once again standing there, smiling at them. 
The world faded to black around them once more, and there were some groans of disappointment from the group as their apparent trip through time was cut short. Howard gave one last tip of his hat, before he faded. 
There was a beat of silence.
Two.
Three. 
“I’ve learned a great deal from my father, and clearly humility wasn’t one of them.” Tony Stark’s voice cut in as he suddenly walked forward, emerging from nothing and standing where Howard stood a moment ago. 
Peter was almost tempted to reach out and touch him because it was strange seeing him so clearly there, but not at the same time. Peter knew it was a hologram, but he could have sworn it was real.
He raised his arms and a massive Arc Reactor, the old prototype emerged from the ground, large, and humming with energy. It dwarfed their size, and it felt surreal standing so close to it.
“The Arc Reactor was one of my first successes in his company, outside of our military contracts.” Tony said. He smiled at the group and it looked genuine.
It looked real.
Too real. Like he had seen before. Illusions. But they never stayed pleasant like this. Peter stepped back, bumping his back against the wall. This was dangerous. He couldn’t tell if it was his spider sense or anxiety that was now gripping the lower part of his neck. His heart began to beat much faster.
Too fast. Was he dying? Maybe. Was this real? He kept waiting for it to change like it always did. Tony would pull a gun on him. Or melt into spiders. Or get shot. Maybe the other avengers would show up to die painfully. Or attack him. Or each other. Peter’s fists were clenched tightly at his side and they started to shake. 
Why wouldn’t he hurry the fuck up and kill Tony already. Peter didn’t have time for this. He didn’t want to see his mentor die again. He didn’t want to have to punch it just to make it go away. He just wanted to scream. He could see Tony’s lips moving, probably continuing the talk but Peter’s ears were ringing and he couldn’t hear anything. Why hadn’t the death come, was Myst-
MJ’s eyes filled his vision as she stepped directly in front of him. His eyes snapped to hers, and he felt her hand cup his cheek. It was warm. He swallowed thickly. 
“R-real?” He asked shakily.
MJ’s eyes were focused, and God were they beautiful. 
“Real.” She confirmed. “I’m right here, Tiger.” She whispered gently. She leaned in briefly, kissing him. 
It was the strangest sensation, it was like he dropped from the sky back into his body. Everything snapped into place at the feeling of her lips briskly on his. 
He could feel the pressure of her knee on the inside of his, one of her feet pressed against the inside heel of one of his as she had leaned into him. Her other hand gently holding his clenched fist as he forced it to relax and thread his fingers through hers. The sounds of Tony’s voice again.
“Under our new CEO, Pepper Potts, Stark Industries have moved on from our wartorn past and once again begun the long process of bringing tomorrow just a little bit closer.” Then the familiar sounds of “Shoot to Thrill” by ACDC started to echo throughout the room.
Peter’s eyes glanced around and saw most of the students now looking around as a new wide arrange of displays showed around them. Cindy had noticed him and had seemed a bit concerned, but saw MJ was handling him and went back to looking at the sights after a small smile. Ned also seemed worried, but Peter offered him a reassuring smile and a moment later Ned was next to Betty as they pointed at some Iron Man suits flying high above them.
Ashe had closed half the distance towards them, concern painting her features but he gave her a shaky thumbs up and she slowly nodded, stepping off to the side but clearly keeping an eye on him. 
His eyes fell back on MJ’s, finding them still locked on his patiently, a warm, if not slightly concerned smile on her face. 
“You’re okay. I’m right here.” She said softly, reaching up to move his hand under her neck to her pulse point, as he felt the steady throb of it. Life. Peter took a deep breath and slowly the panicked sensation in the back of his neck faded. 
“T-thank you.” He said.
MJ still examined his face, no doubt reading past anything he could ever try to hide from her in the moment before she seemed satisfied and smiled. Giving him the briefest peck on the lips before stepping next to him again. 
She dropped his hand, but reached over and slid hers under the back of his shirt,resting it directly on the base of his spine, her thumb making gentle strokes over it. A steady, warm, grounding presence. She was right here, and very <em>very</em> real.
Peter wrapped his now free arm around her waist and held her close as he took in the sights around them.
Now that all traces of his illusionist villain had been banished to the dark recesses of his mind, he had to admit it was pretty fucking awesome.
ACDC was blaring through the speakers, and everywhere you looked seemed like a technological dream. 
High up in the sky various suits of Iron Man armor were flying everywhere, both in formations and freely, firing at targets as they were thrown up and blasting them into pieces that fell into glitter before vanishing. 
Off to the side near Ned and Betty Peter saw a person waving at them, their entire arm made of a prosthesis that seemed to respond almost perfectly to their mind as it picked up and played with a coin dexterously. 
On the other side there was a clean energy generator that powered a trail of lights before they erupted into a massive city streat, all being powered by the small glowing blue generator. Peter wasn’t sure if it was a bit of an exaggeration, but it accomplished its intended effect based on Abe's and Cindy’s reaction.
Tony was still standing in the center, looking impossibly smug as he looked around a bit randomly to catch eyes potentially.
Glancing over at MJ, he saw her attention had finally moved from him and he saw her mouth opened ever so slightly in awe as she looked at the scene closest to them. The sleek fairground around them that had been housing most of the other displays crumbled to dirt as they were suddenly staring out over a large patch of ground, surrounded by forests that seemed to stretch off for miles. 
In the center of the clearing were a few robots that were transplanting sapling trees and some further down that were planting seeds. 
There was some floating text giving statistics on successfully replanted trees and reforesting that had happened over the past ten years.
Peter looked back at MJ, her face being illuminated by the green as he saw the faintest traces of wonder in her eyes. An emotion he knew she felt as much as everyone else did, but hid from the world to keep herself safe. But seeing that look in her eyes, the smallest smile on her face, the way her eyes shifted to his and her smile grew even more, made his chest feel warm. He realized, there was nothing in this world he wouldn’t do for her. Nothing he wouldn’t do to see that smile every day for as long as he lived. He would move mountains for her if she asked.
He rested his forehead against hers for a moment, a serene oasis in the loud ACDC played. Eventually the music started to quiet down and everyone looked back to where Tony was still standing. Behind him an Iron Man suit landed in the hero pose, before it stood up and opened up, encasing Tony in it. 
“Stark Industries is leading the world to the future. Try to keep up.” He said with one last smirk, before the helmet closed and he blasted off into the sky. 
A second later and the regular lights slowly turned on as they were gradually reintroduced to the plain chamber as all the holograms powered down.
Everyone just sort of stood still, letting out a few deep breaths. 
“Dude…” Abe said.
“That was…” Betty started.
“SO FUCKING AWESOME.” Jason said excitedly.
“Lonello!” Harrington snapped at the language, but seemed just as starstruck. 
There was a loud eruption of conversations as people started gushing about the experience. 
Ashe clearly leaned back, an almost maternal smile as she saw the excitement through the class and gave them a moment to process things. 
Peter glanced over to MJ, and Ned and Betty who had joined them. 
“Dude, that was insane!” Ned started out, practically shaking with how excited he was. 
“I can’t even imagine how they did that.” Betty offered. 
MJ smiled. “Yeah… that was pretty cool.” Everyone seemed a bit shocked by her honest confession, but no one was going to call her out on it. They knew she was working on being more open with others and the last thing they wanted to do was discourage her from it.
“Yeah, I’ve never seen this before. I knew they were working on it, even helped a bit, but it was nowhere near that… immersive.” He offered, hearing his own slight amazement and thankfully not  much of the fear that crept in. 
He felt a slight increase of the pressure on his back. MJ’s face portrayed nothing, but it was a clear reminder. 
<em>Im right here.</em>
He just squeezed her a little closer from his arm around her side.
“You worked on that?” Betty said, a little too loud of surprise.
The class looked over at Peter both surprised and a little skeptical. 
He raised his free hand in a sort of peace gesture. “Not like… the actual holograms. They must have… God, I don’t even know the level of artists and programmers that took. I just meant more of the basic technology.”
MJ snorted. “Basic. Sure.”
Peter rolled his eyes, tickling her side ever so slightly making her squirm before she kicked his shin in retaliation. “You know what I mean. I worked with the other interns on the back end.” He offered. He didn’t want to go into detail about working directly with Tony on it, or how it worked because he <em>really</em> didn’t wanna spoil the magic of something so fantastical. 
“Sure you did, Parker.” Flash said in disbelief. Before he could chime in with any more eloquent comments, Ashe clapped her hands together once. 
“Well then! You seem to have remembered which way is up, so how about we move on to the rest of the tour? I promise you there’s still plenty to be amazed by.” She said as she ushered them to the opposite of where they entered where there were more flush doors in the wall. 
She seemed to do a head count, before checking her tablet to verify that she did indeed not forget the number of people she was responsible, before she smiled and moved open the doors. 
Once again, the students burst into an excited murmur. 
There was a rather tall young man, sleeves rolled up on a simple blue dress shirt and jeans as he leaned against a little kiosk. He had shaggy black hair, and a calm smile as he watched the students.
But none of them were watching him because behind him it looked like an arcade from the future. It was a series of rooms, all displaying various holograms above the tables. Other machines littered the walls and the room was darker to allow the lights emitting from the machines to draw your eyes in even more. People stumbled forward a bit more, but none of them were willing to go past the man without permission. 
Peter glanced over at Ashe as she was staring at the guy in surprise. 
“Ashelyn.” He said simply, an almost smug look on his face as he raised an eyebrow.
“Tyler.” She replied professionally, but Peter could see the barely constrained snickers that both of them were trying to keep hidden.
MJ glanced between the two young adults before looking at Peter.
Peter just rolled his eyes. “You’ll see.”
The two young adults had locked eyes long enough and seemed to be having a silent discussion long enough for the incredibly impatient teenagers who were desperate to see the technological wonderland just out of their reach to feel a little awkward.
Peter cleared his throat a bit loudly and both Ashe and Tyler seemed to snap back to reality, the faintest hint of a blush on both of their cheeks. 
“Welcome…”
“Midtown.” Ashe supplied helpfully.
Tyler shot her a grateful look. “Welcome, Midtown. I hope you enjoyed our little introduction. A bit of a step up from our old lecture, I would say?” He asked, waiting for a chorus of replies.
“Yes!”
“Incredible!”
“Fucking amazing!”
“Lonello...” Harrington’s voice sounded more tired this time.
Tyler just smiled at them. “I’m glad you enjoyed it. It has been the product of months of hard labor, and many technological breakthroughs from all across Stark Industries to achieve. My name is Tyler, and I am one of the floor managers of the R&D department, with a specialty in audio development, though my floor covers a bit broader range as well. I have volunteered to serve as your specialist to answer any tech related questions you may have, if any happen to be beyond Ashe’s understanding.”
Ashe snorted out a laugh at that. “I appreciate the confidence Fros- Tyler but you know I leave the technology to you labrats down here. I appreciate the new headphones you guys released last month, but the most I know about them is I’m pretty sure they have a speaker in them somewhere.”
There were a few laughs from the group at that and the lovestruck look Tyler gave her made Peter wonder if he was that obvious when he looked at MJ.
(He was.)
Cindy raised her hand. 
“Yes?” Tyler asked, pointing at her patiently. 
“Are the tours usually led by floor managers? You seem a bit… important. Not that we aren’t incredibly grateful!” She added quickly, embarrassment creeping in after her brain caught up to her curiosity.
Tyler shrugged, not bothered by the question. “Usually no, we have mid level interns give these tours to gain experience in presenting their work though we are always available to help them when needed. This is more of an… exception.” He offered, his eyes flickering over to Ashe  who was hiding her laugher behind her fist as she tried to suppress her giggles. 
Peter laughed at that, apparently loud enough for Tyler’s eyes to lock onto his. He tilted his head slightly and Peter blushed. Oops. Busted.
“Pet-”
“Okay! How about we get started!” Ashe cut him off, giving him a look that apparently he understood to mean just follow her lead. 
“Right! So, there are three rooms behind us, and you’re free to interact with any of the displays there. Unfortunately we do have to ask you to not use your phones in these areas. While you will be free to discuss anything you see here, some of the technology is new and patent pending, and we would prefer visuals of it not be released ahead of our schedule. I must insist that this rule is rather strictly enforced, and FRIDAY will be keeping a close eye out.” He said, his voice calm and even. “Right Fri?”
“That is correct, Tyler. Upon the exit of the third room in the back, you will be able to use your devices again. Feel free to silence any devices or respond before you pass the ropes up ahead, but we ask you not to attempt to film the area from here either.”
A couple of students pulled out their phone and silenced them just to prevent any temptation. Peter actually did that himself, because while he was pretty sure he was actually an exception to the rule, since he knew way more sensitive technology than this, he wasn’t exactly looking to prove a point and he had a habit of forgetting. 
MJ, Ned, and Betty seemed to trust him and followed his lead. 
“Now that the lame rules are out of the way, let me explain a bit more. Feel free to explore any of the machines up ahead. All of the holographic displays are interactable, and feel free to engage with them to your heart's content. Common sense rules apply here too. Don’t steal anything. Don’t break anything. Don’t run around.” He offered, raising an eyebrow. “Midtown is a reputable school, so behave but beyond that have fun and find me or Ashe if you have any questions.”
With that, he stepped aside and the students rushed in, spreading out to all corners of the first room as they started looking around and fiddling with things. 
Ned and Betty went to the nearest display table and as Peter was about to lead MJ in, he felt a hand on his shoulder.
Turning, he saw Ashe looking at him with a concerned expression.
“Are you okay? I saw your reaction in the holodeck. I know it can be disorienting.”
Peter nodded, smiling as he felt MJ increase the pressure again. “Just… caught me off guard.”
Ashe nodded, fidgeting slightly. “I… wasn’t sure if I should have cut it off. I was about to head over and ask you…” 
Peter shook his head quickly. “No! I’m glad you didn’t. It was incredible. I was fine.” He offered, even though the last bit was clearly a lie.
“It’s okay, that’s what I’m here for.” MJ chimed in, making Ashe laugh. 
“Yeah, you did distract him pretty well. I must say.” A teasing lilt in Ashe’s tone. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen two people make out when surrounded by cutting edge hologram tech.”
Peter’s face flushed red and he buried his face into MJ’s shoulder. MJ just shrugged, hoping to hide her own embarrassment. 
“Really? Cause I distinctly remember something similar.” Tyler’s voice chimed in, making everyone look at him as he reached out and squeezed Ashe’s hand.
Ashe flushed red and slapped his chest. 
“Frosty! Shut up.” She muttered, glancing around. 
MJ glanced at Peter, then the two. 
Peter was just laughing at the sweet revenge. “They uh… know each other.” He offered, not sure how much to reveal about their personal life.
Ashe rolled her eyes, and held up her hand where there was an engagement ring on it.
“I see.” MJ said, smirking. “Explains why Peter’s boss is crashing our tour group.”
Tyler shrugged. ”Ashe normally works so far away.” He whined uncharacteristically for the calm man, earning an eye roll from Ashe. “Plus I’m not Peter’s boss. Kinda. Technically?”
Peter and Tyler both looked at each other, confused.
“I… don’t know.” Peter confessed as both boys seemed to ponder the problem. 
“A well run organization, I see. Very cutting edge.” MJ offered and Ashe snorted a laugh at that. 
Peter nudged her side. “I mean I work for Tony directly. But I also spend time helping out the other interns where I’m needed, or wherever Tony gets the impulse to send me that day. So some days he is? But like, Tony is his boss so I don’t know.”
Tyler just shrugged. “I listen to Tony, and you listen to me while you’re here, but I think that’s just because you’re nice. So as long as nothing gets messed up we can all just agree Pepper is the boss of all of us.”
Peter nodded. “Probably the safest bet.”
Ashe and MJ both shared a look. “Are all tech nerds this much of a mess?” MJ deadpanned.
Ashe just nodded. “Our sample size seems to suggest so. At least they’re cute.” She offered, kissing Tyler on the cheek. 
MJ snickered. “True.” And squeezed Peter’s hand. 
“You’re taking a field trip to your job?” Tyler asked Peter, an amused expression on his face.
Peter let out a sigh that made him feel years older. “Yeah. Cause my life is a joke. Don’t make it worse?” He asked hopefully.
Tyler nodded. “Trust me, I get it. I still tell people I just work in the labs in SI. Attention sucks.”
Ashe sighed but wrapped an arm around him. “Even if you deserve it.”
Tyler sighed with a small smile and stepped away. “I guess I should do my job and not keep flirting with you. That’s why they banned you from my Lab. They kept saying I get nothing done.” He said without a single regret in his tone. He turned and disappeared farther in. 
Ashe just let out a dreamy sigh after him before her attention snapped back to Peter and MJ who were both judging her and snickering. She ushered them in. “Go be nerds.” 
Peter let out a laugh and dragged MJ by the hand over to Ned and Betty as they fumbled with the controls to the holo display. Ned was waving his hands around it and made a display of the latest Stark Phone expand and shrink. 
“Okay, that’s pretty cool.” MJ confessed as she hesitantly reached a hand out. Both Ned and Betty stepped back to let her interact with it for a moment. 
Peter was surprised as MJ seemed to be a bit of a natural at interacting with it. Her intuition let her pick up the general motion controls as she was able to move it around naturally, and soon started to separate it into pieces. There weren’t specifics to protect trade secrets, but you could see the general parts. She paused to tie her hair up, because it kept getting in her face when she would move for a larger movement.
Eventually MJ noticed Peter staring at her with a strange smile and she paused, having disassembled and enlarged the camera part she was playing with. “What?” She asked, a hint of self consciousness leaking into her tone.
Peter just gave her a shy smile. “You’re in a lab, playing with tech like this. It’s uh… really hot.” He confessed in a quiet tone.
MJ felt her own face flush. “Oh my God, Peter. You’re such a nerd.” She mumbled out, but also filed that fact safely away for potential future use.
“Aww.” Ned said dramatically as he looked between them. 
“That’s cute, but we really don’t need to know about your feti-” Betty was cut off as MJ interrupted, loudly. 
“Okay! So what else is there?” She said, turning away from the table, the same time Peter, bright red spoke too. 
“It’s not like that!” Peter looked about 30 seconds from running out of the room. 
Ned and Betty shared a look, but let the subject drop. For now.
They wandered over to a nearby machine that wasn’t occupied by the classmates. “What is this?” MJ asked, walking up behind Peter and resting her chin on his shoulder. 
Peter leaned his head against hers for a moment. “Surprisingly one of the most tame things here. It’s just a 3D printer. Just a lot faster and has more materials it can work with.
“But what can it print here?” Ned asked, brow furrowed.
Peter’s smile grew wider. “Oh, anything. You’re gonna love this.” He said before leading them to a nearby table. Clicking to the right program, MJ raised an eyebrow. “Is that photoshop?”
Peter shrugged, already deep in work mode. “Kinda. It’s a 3D modelling software we developed. But it’s a bit more interactive.”
Peter reached out towards and area of the holographic display and a clump of a material digitally appeared in his hand. He began to squash and stretch it, occasionally adding more. 
“See, you can copy and paste if you make this motion…” he mumbled out to them as they stepped back and watched him work with a fascination. A few other of his classmates even wandered over, starting to watch Peter work. Peter however, was too deep in thought as he worked on bringing the thought he had to life and MJ and Ned knew better than to try and snap him out of his zone. 
“You can change the material here. The program is also smart, so if you’re trying to select a part of it it will generally help you get what you need.” He said as he enlarged the form and with two fingers held together started to select the top part of it, before cycling through a few different materials and dragging it onto it as the form changed into a clear plastic.
“Dude… is that?” Ned asked as Peter just grinned.
“You are <em>such</em> a nerd.” MJ repeated, overly fond as she watched Peter put on some minor details. 
Shrinking it down a bit, Peter swiped his hand as the whole form began rotating a few times, showing off the final result. 
“It’s just a quick mockup to show you what you can do here. I didn’t really dig into details but I could have taken off the glass and added the seats to it. I also could have made the form hollow if I wanted to include some kind of engine in this, but I really only have a few minutes. But I know the X-wing is your favorite Ned so I thought I’d just…”
Peter trailed off as he owlishly blinked at the group of students who were all staring at his floating model of the X-Wing from star wars that he had just sculpted out roughly. “Uh… hi guys.” He muttered out. “When did…”
“Dude, you’ve been in your own world for like 10 minutes.” Ned said, nudging him, but still staring at the X-Wing.
“Peter, how do you know how to do this so well?” Cindy asked, tilting her head as she watched the model rotate slowly still. 
Peter shrugged, a blush creeping up on his face. “I told you, I intern here. We uh… use this to help make mock-ups. It’s good for playing with visuals.”
“It’s true.” Tyler’s cool voice cut in, making the class turn to see him standing there, hands in pockets as he smiled. “Peter is correct. It’s often useful to have a visual model handy when either pitching an idea, or to help generate ideas because keeping things purely theoretical can get in the way of finding obvious solutions sometimes.”
The class nodded with murmurs of agreement. 
“Peter, the machine is fully stocked so feel free to print it off. Does anyone else want to try as well?” A bunch of hands shot up and Tyler nodded, glancing around. One of the displays of the Stark Tablet was pretty much empty so he walked over, typing in a password and switched the program to be another display of the modelling program to allow more people to mess around with it at once. 
“I’ll set it up over here as well. You will need to take turns with the printer, but feel free to print off a model if you want. Please be reasonable about the size though, due to time and costs.”
Peter quickly sent the print request to the machine as he stepped back, saving his project with a quick override for later use just in case, then brought up some blank models for people to try out. His cheeks were still flushed as he went over and collected the model, handing it to Ned as he watched Betty starting to sculpt a sort of old fashioned camera. 
“Dude! That’s incredible!” Ned marveled as he held up the mini ship, flying it through the air.
“That was pretty cool, Peter.” Cindy confirmed as Peter could only nod, flustering under the praise.
Tyler bounced between the people at the nearby tables, answering questions and helping them get comfortable with the program and soon most people had printed off little figurines. He saw MJ waiting on something, but she had told him to leave when he tried to see what she was working on, saying it was a surprise so he had settled for showing Ned and Betty some of the other nearby machines, various displays and robotics. It took all of his will power not to peak at whatever MJ had been working on.
Eventually though he saw Flash had taken her place and she was standing near the printer, waiting for the result. He wandered over while Ned and Betty were taking photos with a camera that hovered in place
“What did you make?” Peter asked, his tone a little more whinier than he had planned. He couldn’t help it though, the curiosity was killing him. 
She just rolled her eyes and patted his head patronizingly. “Soon.” 
Peter harrumphed and crossed his arms. 
“Hey, Penis!” Flash called out, and letting out a sigh, Peter turned slowly. 
“Really, Flash?” He asked, glancing over at Ashe who was frowning at Flash and whispering something to Tyler. Welp, that probably wasn’t good.
“Just wanted to show you what an actual good design looks like, unlike your stupid spaceship.” He said smugly as he enlarged his design and spun it around. It was… a suit of Iron Man armor. Kinda. Almost.
The proportions were way off, and it was almost aggressively lumpy despite the many smoothing tools available. Still, Peter figured it wasn’t the <em>worst</em> he’s seen.
“Real cool, Flash.” He offered, his tone dripping with sarcasm. 
Flash just sent him a smile as if he had been genuine. “You should pass it to Mr. Stark.” His voice said almost impressively condescending. “I made some cool changes I think he’d like.”
Peter glanced over it and grimaced slightly. He thought it would be cool to have a sort of back panel that looked kinda cool, but also dramatically limited the motion of the arms, which was not something Tony could do without. It also had enough solid panels wrapping around the body to prevent any easy access in and out of the suit. 
“Sure, I’ll do that.” Peter muttered as Flash highfived with his friends, as if he had put Peter in his place. 
His eyes flickered over to Ashe, who was not looking happy and even Tyler had a frown on his face now. 
“I gotta print this.” Flash said as he went to print it, only to see the queue. Frowning, he moved his to the top, cancelling the print in progress, which also deleted it. 
“Flash! What the fuck!” Cindy said, whirling around, fists clenched. 
“Oh shit.” Flash muttered, not realizing he had canceled it. 
“What happened?” Tyler asked as he approached, Harrington showing up as well.
“He canceled my print and now it��s gone!” Cindy said, a layer of hurt under her anger. 
Tyler’s brow furrowed. “Is this true?”
Flash looked a bit pale. “I was just trying to make sure mine got printed before we ran out of stuff.”
Cindy was trying to navigate the holotable. “I can’t find it… My spider.” She said, her voice dropping into a hint of heartbreak. 
“Flash, that is not okay.” Mr. Harrington started to scold Flash who only looked mildly bothered by it. 
MJ and Betty moved over to Cindy, consoling her as she pouted and glared at Flash.
Peter locked eyes with Tyler as they approached the table. “I think it got deleted as more people started working on their projects.” Tyler said as he searched all open files. 
Peter frowned, crossing his arms. He glanced over at Cindy as she looked at him with hopeful eyes, as if he could save her. MJ gave him a look expectantly. Like she had absolute faith in him to solve this problem. He felt a warmth in his chest and turned back. 
“Tyler, do these still have the same programs we use? Just in a display mode or something?”
Tyler nodded. “Yeah, these weren’t made specifically for this, we just locked out access to some of the features since the public would be using it. Why?” He asked, trying to figure out what Peter had realized.
Peter nodded. “Which means, they would have the same protocols, right?”
Tyler’s eyes widened, catching up. “It would.” He paused. “But this isn’t technically my department. I’m kinda crashing here to help out. I don’t know if I have access.”
Peter frowned, that was a good point. Depending on who set the restrictions, they could either out rank Tyler, or be at the same level. Still, there was someone above them all. 
“Hey, Fri?” Peter asked.
“Yes, Peter. How can I help?” The voice came from the table in front of them, making some of the nearby students jump. 
“This table still has all the normal protocols active, even if locked off, right?”
“That is correct.”
“Can you run one for us, please?”
“I’d need to override the access.”
“Ask Mr. Stark for permission, please.”
There was a moment of silence. 
“Do you seriously think you can just ask favors from Iron man, Peter? Just because you intern here?” Flash asked, as if he was embarrassed for Peter and looked apologetically to Tyler and Ashe. The audacity of him. 
“Please check your phone, Peter.” Fri chimed in after a moment. 
Peter looked to Tyler, and Tyler just shrugged. They both knew he actually had permission too, but he was trying to make it less of a show about wielding his privilege around here.
Pulling out his phone, he saw a text from Tony. 
<em>Fri requested an override. Pretty sure you can do that on your own. Everything OK?</em>
Peter responded quickly.
<em>Yeah. Just need to run a protocol to help a classmate. Trying not to be obvious about what I can do.
Lame, if you got it, flaunt it. 
So is that a yes?
Yeah, just try not to give away company secrets or something.</em>
Peter snorted out a laugh, earning an amused look from MJ. He passed her his phone while he turned back to the table. 
“What Protocol would you like to run, Peter?” Fri asked.
“Run ‘Shit, I should probably sleep’ please.”
Everyone except for Tyler looked at him confused. 
“Pulling up temporary back-ups now.” A few people understood and laughed. 
Tyler just grinned. “This isn’t the first time we’ve had to try and recover unsaved work. Thankfully we keep a temporary back-up of everything now.”
“That’s because your department is held together by caffeine, stubbornness, and concerned loved ones who are the only reason you guys ever eat and sleep.” Ashe chimed in happily.
Tyler rolled his eyes but didn’t offer any protest. Peter really couldn’t say anything either. Tony might be the worst of them all, but that didn’t mean the rest were particularly great at holding back when they felt inspired. Overtime wasn’t encouraged and actually discouraged because of that.
“Can you find a spider model from the past hour?”
“Right away.” Fri offered as the screen displayed various files being scanned through quickly.
Eventually a model popped up. “Is this it, Cindy?” Peter asked.
“Yes!” Cindy said, throwing her arms around Peter in a quick hug. Peter just grinned and returned the hug quickly, glancing at MJ who was giving him a proud smile. 
Flash was holding the model he printed out as if it was worth it’s weight in gold. Peter quickly moved Cindy’s order to the top of the list and it began printing. 
“Thank you Fri.” Peter offered as the program went back to its default state.
“My pleasure, Peter. Glad to be of help.”
There were some murmurs and people looking at Peter. He started to squirm a bit, not a huge fan of the attention he just drew to himself, but the look on Cindy’s face was worth it. He knew how devastating it was to lose something you worked on and were excited about, even if it was a smaller project.
MJ, sensing his distress, grabbed his hand and led him towards the second room of the area. “Come on, let’s explore more.” She offered and Peter just let her drag him along.
The next area was a bit similar to the last one. More tables with displays, but no printing machines around. Instead there were rough displays of a bunch of Avenger’s tech everywhere. No specifics were available, but there were a bunch of costumes you could look at different parts of, pull apart, mix and match.
Ned promptly freaked the fuck out and ran over to one of the tables with the shortest line. Betty, MJ, and him followed shortly behind. Peter watched him swipe through a bunch of different armors quickly, gasping with each one.
Peter turned to MJ, seeing her watching Cindy hold up the spider proudly. 
“You’re a nice guy.” MJ said, finally looking back at Peter. 
Peter shrugged. “I know how much it sucks to lose a project.”
MJ rolled her eyes. “That’s not what I mean. You wanted to avoid drawing any attention to yourself during this trip, but the second a classmate lost a project they worked on for a couple of minutes, you contacted Tony to ask for his help.” 
Peter was lost in her smile for a moment. “I mean… I could have used my override, but I was trying to act like just an intern.”
MJ nodded. “And if Tony ignored the request you would override it yourself. I know you would have.”
She was right. Peter just shrugged. “What did you make anyway?”
MJ pursed her lips, as if debating telling him. “I was gonna keep it a surprise till later but you deserve a treat for that.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small figure. It was a cartoonish looking spiderman, complete with him posing in his thwip motion. It was tiny, about the size of a keychain, but surprisingly well made and accurate to this usual suit.
MJ felt her heart fluttered as she saw his expression. His brown eyes had gone wide as she held up the dumb little figure she made. His eyes kept flicking between hers and the figure as he practically glowed with happiness. It was really unfair that such a little gesture could make her boyfriend look so adorable. 
MJ knew Spider-man meant the world to him, and that he was always afraid she’d hate it because of the drama it brought into their lives. But MJ was so proud of him, and while she wasn’t one to overly brag, heaven forbid he get Tony’s arrogance, she did think the world of him for doing it.
So if she could make his day by making a little trinket, she’d make them for the rest of her life.
Peter just leaned forward and kissed her quickly, knowing they had probably already shown more PDA than they usually would but he couldn’t help it. “You’re incredible.”
MJ scoffed. “It’s not that well done. It was quick.”
Shaking his head, Peter still met her eyes. “That’s not what I meant. I meant you. All of you. That too, but you.”
MJ blushed and turned her head, unable to handle the compliments. She just pocketed the figurine for safety before taking his hand and turned them back to where Betty was examining Black Widow’s outfit. 
“These Widow Bites are pretty sweet.”
Peter nodded. “They’re terrifying.”
MJ laughed. “Spider-man should get some then. Maybe she’d lend him one then, they have to spider pals or something.” She offered a teasing glance at Peter. 
Peter knew MJ knew he was friends with Natasha. She also knew Nat would never let him try them out, because that was a horrible idea that would end up with probably at least two different people hurt.
Betty stepped back and Peter thought for a moment. “What, like spider fangs?” Then he paused. “Actually…” He suddenly pulled up both the suits for Spider-man and Black Widow. The suits were old and out of date, but he just wanted to test an idea so it didn’t matter.
He quickly grabbed a widow bite and enlarged it, tossing away most of the arm mount, and flicking away different launchers from it till only a few remained. 
“Now pull up the web shooters.” Peter asked the holotable as they flicked up. He tossed away some of the other features on the suit. “Actually, bring up a repulsor too.” He muttered as he started stripping away parts from it to just have the glove.
MJ watched in admiration as she saw Peter in his natural habitat. Even more so than when he was sculpting, this was him at his best. She saw how tall he stood, his eyes focused but his face in a bright smile. She could practically hear the hum of the gears in his head as he gracefully navigated the menu, pulling apart holograms and attaching them with ease to form something new. He looked confident and in his element and she felt her face flush.
“I kinda get why he found it hot now.” MJ muttered to Betty quietly. 
Betty laughed and just patted her shoulder. “You two were made for each other.”
MJ rolled her eyes, but Peter was waving her over. He had the hologram in his hands, but made her stick her arm out. He moved it so now the hologram was floating around her arm. It was a simple gauntlet, with the web shooters underneath but two widowbites on top as he rambled about the possibility of webbing someone up then being to launch a taser at them without electrifying the whole web necessarily. 
“It’d look cooler if it was black with red highlights…” She offered and soon they were going back and forth as she posted with the holo weapon while Peter tweaked it to her suggestions. 
“Hey Fri, take some pictures please.” Ashe said as she leaned against the wall near Ned and Betty. 
MJ and Peter were too busy laughing with each other and playing around to notice.
“Are they always this adorable?” Ashe asked.
Ned nodded. “Yeah it’s kinda gross.” He said fondly. 
Betty sighed. “It’s better since they actually asked each other out. They danced around each other for ages, it was torture to watch. We were about to lock them in the broom closet until they got together. We had made plans for it too.”
Ashe laughed and watched them fondly. She had met Peter a few times through Pepper, and seen him in the lab with Tony whenever she had been sent over there with some work for him. Peter seemed like a good kid and reminded her of her fiance when he was younger. She was glad Peter had found someone that brought out a smile like that from him. He was always smiling, but that one was different. Warmer, somehow.
Eventually the two teens seemed to realize they were getting carried away and they stepped back from the holotable to let others have a chance.
“What?” Peter asked, tilting his head. 
Ashe just pulled out her phone and showed them a picture Friday had sent her.
MJ had her hand outstretched with a faint blue glow around it as the weapon hovered over her arm, Peter attaching another widow bite to it. They were looking at each other, Peter grinning while MJ had a deep warm smile.
Both of the teens blushed and didn’t say anything, but held each other’s hands. 
“Fri, send that to Peter. That deserves to be printed out.”
Peter blushed more, but nodded. It was an amazing photo. 
“Right away, Ashe.” Fri said. “I have cleared it of any sensitive information as well, so might I recommend adding it to your social media.”
“Thanks Fri.” Peter mumbled, blushing even more. 
MJ just laughed and squeezed his hand tighter. “I needed a new screensaver anyway.”
Eventually the group made their way to the third room and everyone’s jaw dropped except for Peter. “I was waiting for this.”
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parkhabits · 5 years ago
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Stress Relief {M}
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GOT7 JB x Reader Genre: Fluff / Smut Warning: Oral (giving), mature explicit content and JB ( I don’t write about him often enough okay so just lemme do this)
Summary: Comeback season is always a stressful time for your idol boyfriend. That’s why you just want to help him unwind. 
When the clock hit 8pm you sighed. Blowing out the remainder of the candles you lit for dinner on the table. It wasn’t his fault. With comeback season just around the corner and the last half of the tour just finishing you knew your boyfriend’s schedule was packed. Yet it didn’t stop the small pit of disappointment as you packed up his favorite meal you prepared in tupperwares. Hopefully he had time to eat while his schedule of the day ran late. You tried to go over it in your head, was it dance practice or MV shooting today? Regardless, you knew your boyfriend was working hard. It worried you. He’d come home late hours at night and leave in the wee hours of the morning. Yet despite how busy he was, he never forgot the little things. You’d wake in the morning with a flower on the kitchen table or a sticky note on the bathroom mirror when you woke telling you to have a good day. Even when he came home late he snuggled you, kissing you on the cheek before pulling you close and passing out in exhaustion. It was only in those few hours between dusk and dawn where you could be together. 
You had been excited about tonight. In another sticky note that he left for you in the morning he said he’d be home early for once. That the schedule wasn’t going to run late today and he’d be home by dinner. That’s why you went out shopping, prepared his favorite meal and went as far as lighting candles. Having dinner at home with your boyfriend around this time was rare. As funny as it sounds, that’s what you get for dating an idol. Yet as dinner got cold and the wax of the candles melted, you knew it was too good to be true. With another sigh you grab the bottle of wine off the table, filling a glass more than half way before moving to the couch and settling on some tv show for background noise. With wine in your system and the dull show in the background it isn’t long before you doze off. 
You felt the shift of the couch, followed by the gentle caress on your cheek. With eyelids heavy you open them and see your boyfriend’s face. 
“Hey,” you smile. 
“I’m sorry,” He sighs. “They kept changing the choreography and then go back to the old one then change it again,” he rambles, letting out another sigh as he picks up your wine glass from the side table and downs the rest of the contents. “I should’ve texted you to let you know I wasn’t going to make it to dinner,” 
You sit up. Noting the exhaustion in his eyes and slight shadowing under them. You reach up to stroke his cheek. “It’s okay, did you eat?” 
Jaebum reaches up and grabs your hand, bringing it to his lips as he kisses your inner wrist. “Not yet,” 
“I’ll heat up the food,” You say already starting to get up. 
Jaebum pulls you back down to sit, “It’s okay. I’m too tired. I’ll probably just shower and then go to bed,” He smiles at you, tucking your hair behind your ear before leaning down to kiss you. Softly, sweetly and a little to short for your liking as he pulls away.  
When he gets up from the couch you follow him to the bathroom, leaning against the doorway as you watch him pull his shirt over his head. Revealing the strong planes of his back. Broad shoulders and narrow torso. Even with jam packed schedules he was able to keep fit. Yet as you watch him through the mirror you can’t get over the exhaustion on his face. Even though Jaebum tried to hide it from you, it didn’t go unmissed. You take a step forward, wrapping your arms around him from behind. Resting your cheek against him. 
“I went shopping today,” your murmur.
Jaebum chuckles turning around as he wraps his arm around you, leaning against the bathroom counter. “Buy anything good?” 
You nod, looking up at him. “I bought this stress relieving body scrub. It’s got eucalyptus and other essential oils that apparently help uplift the mind and rejuvenate the body,” you quote the label. 
Jaebum just nods, a glaze in his eyes as you talk about your purchase. “I can exfoliate you in the shower, help you unwind a little,” you suggest. 
That grabs his attention, yet not in an interested way as he frowns at the thought. “I’ll pass. I was just hoping for a quick, manly shower,” 
“How about just your back?” You lay a quick kiss on bare chest, “Your big, strong… manly back,” you say with amusement. Knowing your boyfriend, the thought of a body scrub was like kryptonite to his so-called “manliness”. 
“No.” 
You look at him and pout, “That’s a shame,” You run a finger down his torso towards the edge of jeans. “I was hoping that if the scrub did work and…” you tip up to brush your tongue  against his lower lip “Rejuvenate your body,” you finish kissing him. When you feel him reciprocate you pull away barely a few inches, “Then maybe I could show you the little, emphasis on little, something I bought from my favorite lingerie store,” 
His eyes narrow, brow cocking in curiosity. “How little?”
You grin triumphantly, “Miniscule.” 
“Just the back?” Jaebum gives. 
“For a start,” you grin, “Now strip while I go get the scrub,” you say running out of the bathroom. 
“How sexy,” Jaebum mutters to himself yet he listens as he undos the buttons of his jeans. 
When you get back Jaebum is naked, leaning against the counter with little amusement on his face. As he sees the body scrub in your hand you can see the hesitancy in his eyes. You set the scrub on the shower shelf. Turning on the water. 
You pull your own shirt over your head. At the sight of you the hesitancy you saw on Jaebum’s face shifts. You laugh, swiping his hand away when he reaches out. “Nuh uh, shower first,” You instruct. 
With a sigh Jaebum listens to you, stepping under the hot spray. You stepped in after him, feeling the warmth of the water. You made a circle with your finger, Jaebum turns around exposing his back to you. 
Opening the jar and taking a scoop out of it you begin to rub it over his back in slow, steady circles with gentle pressure. The aroma already filling the shower.
“Mmm, I can already feel myself getting more relaxed just by the smell. How does it feel?” You caress. 
“Fine, I think it’s enough,”  Jaebum tries to turn and reach for you again. 
“Uh-uh,” you giggle pushing him, “Hands on the wall mister,” To ease him a bit you lean in. Letting your breasts ride over his back as you continued to massage. “Just relax,” you coax. Then your hand runs along his sides, over his hips, quickly but meticulously over his body. The rough texture tingled over skin, then sluiced away by the spray of the water. Where your hands had explored now your lips began to cover, your tongue tasting the fresh surface. The need within Jaebum boiled, his hands fists against the wall as he let you continue. The crisp scent of eucalyptus mixing with the steam arousing more senses. 
“Y/N.”
“Just a little more,” you murmur, trying to conceal your grin. “I haven’t even started on the front yet. Everything needs to be...rejuvenated,” You turn him to face you. 
You begin to kneel in front of him, the water gleaming off your skin. Water sleeking back your hair. “I’ll start down here then work my way up,” you say.  
“I’m feeling more than “rejuvenated,” Jaebum sighs frustratedly, “You better not put that stuff on my-” His sentence is cut off as your tongue skims over what you assumed was the end of his sentence. Instead Jaebum bites back a moan. Head leaning back. This time you let his hands reach out, fist in your hair as you take him into your mouth. You breath slowly, relaxing your jaw while you take him deeper. Hands resting against his thighs. Your head bobs, mouth moving up and down his shaft, moving down to his base then back up. Jaebum juts his hips forward, the grip in your hair tightening. Your tongue curls the underside, then moves in a circular motion. Mixing between sucks and long strokes with your mouth. 
When his abdomen shuddered you pulled away. Your lips slicked over his abs, up his chest, till they met his returning lips. Your hand moved to stroke. 
“The waters getting cold,” you murmur against his lips, “How are you feeling?” 
Jaebum backs you up to the cold, wet wall. “Rejuvenated,” he answers. His lips crushing against yours. This time you let him take, let him touch. Your breath hitches and shudders out as his hand slides between your legs.
“Wider.” 
You obey, opening for him. Propping your leg up along the tub edge and his thumb presses against your clit. You gripped his shoulders for support, bracing yourself as two fingers plunged into you. Curling and hitting your spot. Repeatedly. The other massaging your breast, grazing over your nipple. His mouth hungrily kissing your neck, your collarbone, while you clench around his fingers.His fingers continued to pump into you. With every movement your hips bucked against it. He brings you over the edge, a white hot pinnacle that makes you forget the cold water. He doesn’t give any time for the heat to subside before he drives himself into you. Hard, ruthless, Jaebum thrusts into you. Your moans echoing the sound of wet skin meeting each other. Your leg wrapped around his waist, holding him close as you moved together. 
Your back pressed against the cold porcelain, breasts against his chest. His name leaves your lips on a moan and Jaebum swallows it greedily. His body shielding you from the cold sprays of the shower. Though you felt like you needed it as everywhere he touched was set aflame. With his arm around your waist you were thankful for the support, legs shaking. Jaebum’s face buried in your wet hair, the south of his breathing rugged as he continues driving you up with long hard strokes. 
When you cum, his mouth covers your moans. His pace slows as you shudder and clench around him. Stoking your release and filling you with his own. His kiss sweet, lips soft. For a moment you stayed unified as one, basking in the warmth of each other’s embrace. Your head falling limp against his shoulder. 
“So what do you think of the body scrub?” 
“I’m buying a bucket of it.” Jaebum says as he reaches behind him to shut the water off. 
You laugh, kissing his shoulder as you shiver. Jaebum reaches out and grabs the towel from the rack. He quickly runs it through his thick black hair before using it to tousle your hair then wrap you up. As he tightens it around you he kisses your forehead. 
“I’m sorry I missed dinner,” he apologizes again. 
“It’s packed up in tupperwares, are you feeling hungry now?”
Jaebum tilts your chin up and kisses you, “Starved,” he answers against your lips. 
Maybe the body scrub worked after all. He managed to finish all the leftovers and had you feeling better knowing he had the energy to eat. Then, after another round of lovemaking, you fell asleep snuggled against him with the scent of eucalyptus filling the sheets. 
All Rights Reserved © parkhabits
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ch4nb4ng · 6 years ago
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Idol Buddies
Request: bang chan smut wherein they're fuck buddies in and both are idols
Another day, another music show. Coming to the end of your promotions, you were sad. Performances were coming to an end, as well the opportunity to see fans and fan signs. But those weren’t the only things that were coming to an end.
You sat with your members in the waiting room, the final stage approaching. You became startled once you heard your phone ding on the table, disrupting the silence in the room. Picking your phone up, an involuntary smile crept onto your face once his name flashed across the screen.
Chris: Come to the cafeteria. I’ve been thinking about u all day <3
Your thighs automatically clenched together at his words. Memories of your, time, with him beginning to flood your brain. You couldn’t date, so this kind of ‘offer’ was too good to refuse. Getting up off your chair, you looked around, making sure no one noticed you. Being in the clear, you quickly snuck out, making your way to the desired destination.
Your heart began to race at the sudden thought of the events to come. Pressing down the handle that led you to the cafeteria, you pushed the door slightly ajar, noticing him already staring at you. Subtlety digging your nails into your palms, you began to walk over. Quickly bowing to rest of the members, you placed yourself next to Chris. You sighed at the familiar grip of his hand wrapped around your inner thigh. The feeling of his slender digits could get you off alone. A dull ache began to form at your core the longer he left his hand there. Deciding to have some fun, you placed a hand on his thigh, slowly reaching across, firmly placing it against his already hard on.
A stifled groan left his lips at your subtle, yet very distracting touch.
“Hi boys,” you smiled, “how did your performance go?”
Another small groan escaped his lips.
“It was really good,” Jisung, “did you see our choreography?”
All the boys, including Chris looked up at you. Smirks splashed across their faces, they looked at you eagerly, anticipating your opinion on a certain someone’s shirt being lifted up.
“It was good?” you replied nonchalantly, not catching on to the sudden change in atmosphere.
Chris threw his head back and rolled his eyes. Now moving his hand over to your centre, he pushed the edge of your skirt up, he snaked his fingers to your centre.
“You guys always such good choreo.”
Pushing a finger very gently across your clit, your breath slightly hitched, enough for Changbin, who was sitting on the opposite side of you, to notice.
“Y/n are you okay?”
Turning around to face Changbin, you smiled with little for him to be convinced by.
“Yes,” you replied, simultaneously taking your hand from over Chris’s pants and slipping them in his pants, feeling the warmth of his hard cock now pressed up against your hand, “I’m fine!”
A large bang came from the opposite side of you, causing nearly the rest of the room to stare at him.
Turning back to face Chris, you pouted,
“Are you okay Chris? Why’d you bang the table?”
You smirked at him, seeing his eyebrows slightly furrow as you brought your hand up to his tip, letting your thumb move along his pulsating slit.
“Yeah I’m f-fine.”
He took his hand away from you, the control he had over himself was rapidly slipping away. Both hands moved to the seat. Looking down at them, you began to giggle, notching the colour of his knuckles become whiter the stronger his grip on the chair became.
“Are you sure Chan,” Felix asked with concern, “you look a little pale.”
“Felix don’t worry about me,” he awkwardly chuckled, “I’m fine seriously.”
The conversation becoming mute, the boys looked down at their plates, aimlessly eating their food and relaxing. Not so subtly as he thought, Chris pushed his fork onto the floor, making it land right behind your chair. He began to move down and pick it up, but realised he was unable due your hand slowly sinking deeper and deeper into his pants, reaching his balls. Bending down, he managed to pick up the fork, as well as lean over towards you. A smile forced across his face, he gritted through his teeth,
“You’re making a m-mistake y/n. You’re gonna regret this.”
You huffed in response, barely giving him the time of day as you pressed against his sack, gently massaging it.
The dull ache coming from your core made your impatience grow. It was taking every part of your body to not let him just throw you on top of the table and fuck you right then and there, everyone watching. The tension was escalating to grow the longer you kept your hands on him.
“Y/n, what are you doing?”
You almost fell off your seat when you heard Changbin whisper again to you.
“Wha-”
You paused once you saw his eyes travel to your hand. Red began to flush your face once you quickly took your hand away
“Changbin I-”
“Don’t worry y/n,” he smiled, placing a hand on your shoulder, “your secret is safe with me. Just go now would you, I’ll make up something for him to follow.”
You nodded, giving him a thankful glance, before bowing and saying goodbye to the rest of the boys. Turning around, you walked away from them. That idiotic smile creeping up on your face. Before you could even leave the cafeteria, you heard your phone ding once more:
Chris: You drive me crazy. Meet me in the usual spot, god do I fucking need you.
Looking up, you turned once more, noticing him already looking up at you with a cheeky grin, before letting you proceed to where you two had been meeting for the past 4 weeks. Nothing could replace the look of excitement as the adrenalin of the thought of Chris’ hands tangled on your body as he roughly thrusted into you. Proceeding to the hall, you walked in a calm fashion to your destination. That was, until you gasped when you felt a pair of all too familiar arms wrap around your waist.
“Chris, what are you doing people could se-”
“Shut up.”
Completely cutting you off, he pressed you up against the cool brick wall. Letting a hand run from your knee to the most inner part of your thigh, small huff escaping as you bit down on your bottom lip, preventing you from making anymore sound.
“I really couldn’t give two fucks if people saw. It’s our last week here, why not make the most of it?”
Not really knowing what to say in response with words, you wrapped hands around his neck, pushing his face closer to smash your lips together. You completely forgot where you were as your his lips glossed over yours, absolutely devouring you. He began to pull away, until you took his bottom lip in between yours, harshly sucking on it. One hand now pressed against his chest, you could feel the vibration coming from his body as he chuckled at your delightful gesture. Slowly letting go of his bottom lip, you bit down on yours, lifting your leg up for him to grip as his lips made their way down yo your neck and along your collarbone, leaving a trail of soft kisses.
“God,” he pants, “you don’t know how bad I wanna leave marks on you.”
“Do it,” you panted harder, “I’ve already recorded. Make me black and blue.”
Looking up at you, a sense of intimidation swam over as you saw the hunger and lust shade his eyes.
“Say no more.”
You moaned slightly at the feeling of his teeth slightly sinking into your skin. The touch of his cool tongue soothing the slight pain of the sucking he was doing. The hand pressed against his chest now snaking down underneath his shirt, moving past his way too defined abs back into his sweet spot. He moaned against you at the feeling of your thumb once again over his slit.
“If,” he panted, “we don’t move from here, I’m gonna have to rip your clothes off and fuck you in front of” he paused, “e-everyone.”
Giggling against him you lifted both of your legs up, tightly wrapping them around his torso. Supporting your back with his hands, Chris pushed the closet door, no hesitation and he found the closet table, gently laying you down against it, the coolness of the plastic table hitting your back and you arched into him, feeling his hard chest press against your stomach.
Hovering over you, he gazed, eyes full of lust as he looked down at your lips, slow and sensually reconnecting them together.
Lips sloppily pressed against the corner of yours, he mumbled into you,
“Arch your back for me princess.”
You did so, letting him unzip your crop top, your chest shining against the reflection of the near window. Chris moved back to your neck, delicately kissing over the already visible marks before making his way down to your now exposed chest.
No time and impatience growing, you took your breasts out of your bra cups, leaving him to gasp in awe at you.
Now on his knees, his face was level with your chest.
He whispered, “fuck me you are so beautiful,” before diving into you, flicking your left nipple fast while massaging the other, already leaving you in a moaning mess. Using his free hand, he pushed it down your torso, leaving a straight trail with his index finger down the centre of your stomach, before lifting up your skirt. Your hips automatically bucked into him as you felt two fingers trace over your clothed clit in circular motions, pressing into at different strengths in different spots with each moment.
“Wow such a good boy,” you moaned, lifting your hands and tracing them repetitively through his locks, “that feels so good Chris.”
Chuckling against you, his fingers left your panties. Playing with the waistband for a small moment, he slipped his fingers inside, proceeding straight to your entrance.
You moaned louder as you felt the rough texture of his fingers move in and out deeply, lips still attached to your nipples, you were already close. Head thrown back, eyes screwed shut, you heard him speak,
“Just like that,” he moaned, completely turned on, “say my name, tell me how good I make you feel.”
“Chris,” you moaned breathlessly, “you fingers feel so good, but,” you opened your eyes, looking down at him, “I need more.”
Lips falling into a smirk, he had no hesitation and he quickly ripped his shirt off, unbuckling and pulling down his pants he grabbed your hips, bringing you closer before lining himself up and slowly plunging into you.
“F-fuck,” he whispered, letting you adjust to his rather thick length. Slowly, he began to thrust, his cock barely moving inside of you, yet hitting all the right places.
Leaning up, you wrapped your arms around his neck, slightly adjusting to let more of him inside.
“Wait,” you panicked, making him completely freeze, “when do you finish promotions?”
“We started at the same time, why?”
“Just incase I scratch your back or something.”
Dramatically picking up his pace, your nails already beginning to dig into his shoulders, he moved close to your ear, hot breath, “ don’t worry baby,” he whispered, “I’ll fuck you so good that it will be the only way you’ll hold on.”
Smiling, you playfully smacked him as he continued to roll his hips, quickly changing your facial expression from smiling to your eyes tightly shut, nails raking into his back as he sunk his teeth into his bottom lip, immersed in the satisfying pleasure he was feeling.
“Oh yeah,” Chris groaned, knowing that he would end soon, “you’re so fucking tight y/n.”
“Just for you baby,” you whispered, the strength in your throat, like the rest of your body, dissipating with each moment. Leaning closer into you, he pressed his forehead against yours. The sticky feeling of the light layer of sweat that covered both of you sticking together.
Seeing the hand rising for the corner of your eyes, you grabbed him by the wrist, forcing him to push his long digits into your mouth. The smirk on his lips now becoming evident as you lapped your tongue against his middle and index finger, eye closed as you took them whole.
“Mmm,” you hummed against his fingertips completely losing yourself before he withdrew them and placed the directly on your clit.
Your eyes opened at their full capacity once your felt him rub you. Your jaw dropped as you clung onto him, muscle close to reaching their full tension at a speed of lightning pace.
“Fucking hell Christopher,” you whined, “I’m so close.”
“Yeah I bet you fucking are,” Chris spat, “cum for me princess.”
One more thrust and it was all over for you. You bit down on his bare shoulder. A muffled moan of exhaustion and release escaping your lips as he pushed into you hard. Hot liquid filling you as his body collapsed against you, head falling into your chest.
Looking down at him, you brought your hands to his hair once more, slowly pushing the subtle wet hair off his face, exposing his lightly glowing forehead. Looking up at you, he smiled.
“That was fun,” he chuckled, causing a small giggle to erupt from your chest.
“I agree,” you replied was smile, but was quickly replaced with a sigh, “too bad promotions will be over after today.”
Seeing the downcast look across your face, he brought himself up to your face, pressing a small, yet sensual kiss to your lips,
“Just because promotions are over, doesn’t mean this has to be too.”
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caspian-skye · 6 years ago
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I wrote a little thing from Alexandra’s point of view. It’s the morning after she joins Twilight Crusade, written in a diary a week later. Is this fluff? I don’t think I’ve ever written fluff, everything I write is angsty as hell with some comedy sprinkled in it.
August 23rd
It’s been a week since I joined Twilight Crusade.
I don’t know why I did it. Scratch that, actually. I joined them because I’m tired of being alone, tired of wondering when I wake up on any given day if it’ll be my last. But still, I agreed to live with, and work with, 8 people I had no idea existed just a few days earlier. Something inside me told me to do it, but I’m not sure what.
I’m getting used to these guys. Azure, Dustyn, Rusty, and Ezelia are all super friendly, but they get weirder in that order. Not a bad weird. They’re honestly fun to be around. Raven isn’t stuck up like I thought, she’s just too shy to talk to me. If I initiate conversation, and if Rusty’s there too, she breaks out of her shell a bit, and she’s actually really nice as well. Greyson is interesting. He’s probably a nice person just like (most of) his friends, but he’s a little scary. I know he was the one who invited me to Twilight Crusade after I scared them all half to death, but he always has that pissed off look on his face, and barely talks unless it’s to Azure or about Twilight Crusade things. I’ve decided to keep away from Ember for now. She scares me, and though I don’t think she dislikes me, she’s been pretty cold and curt all the times I’ve talked to her. How is she such good friends with Raven, of all people?
And of course, that leaves Kita. I can’t let anyone, especially her, find out that I already have a huge crush on her.
The morning after I joined Twilight Crusade, I woke up at the brink of dawn. I took the liberty of checking Raven’s scroll to see the time, and it was just after 6 in the morning. The tent was unbearably hot and stuffy from the 4 people who crammed into it for the night, so I quietly climbed over them to get outside. Six is about the time of day I wake up in late Summer anyway. It’s bright outside, but not searing hot just yet. It’s the perfect time to move and find a town, or someplace with water.
On my way to the camp bathrooms, I noticed Kita was already awake as well. She paid me little notice apart from a side-eyed glance, as she was deep in what looked to be sword training. She slowly performed a series of several strikes, then reset and repeated them faster as I passed.
When I returned, I hadn’t the slightest clue of what to do. I knew Twilight Crusade wasn’t used to a nomadic life in the desert, so they probably wouldn’t be up for a while. I could’ve explored the campgrounds we currently live in, and I considered it for several moments as I sat at the table, twirling a surprisingly flexible twig from one of the campground’s trees in my fingers.
I noticed Kita beginning to approach, but I didn’t dare grant her much more than a quick glance and polite smile. Of course she seemed nice enough when we first met (she called my eyes BEAUTIFUL!), but since, she hadn’t said a single word. She’s always just... there. In the shadows barely beyond where you can see. And when you can see her, she has that blank, intense-as-hell stare.
That’s exactly why my heart skipped a couple of beats when, after a quick stop at the cooler, she took a seat at the table across from me.
“Good morning, Alexandra,” Kita said, bowing her head slightly.
My voice caught in my throat and I forgot how to speak. I think I managed to bid her good morning too.
“Do you feel as if you are settling in well?” Kita inquired.
“Well, kind of...” I admitted. “It’s all just a bit nerve wracking, you know? Like I’m a total outsider, and you guys have known each other for... well, however long you’ve known each other.”
I should take this time to note something. At this point, I was a bit self-conscious about the way I spoke to Kita. She’s so well-spoken. She has a noticeable accent, that even borders on heavy at times (I later found this accent to be from remote Mistral), but she speaks so clearly and calmly that I can always tell what she’s saying. It’s honestly relaxing, hearing her talk to me. Until I have to talk back. That part gets me.
“I understand how you feel,” Kita said. “I have only known them for a handful of moons-- forgive me. Months, I mean.”
“Really?” I asked. “You mentioned the Shrouded Fox yesterday. Were you with them?”
Kita cocked her head, as if considering her reply. “It is complicated,” she began. “I was a member of the tribe, until I was exiled. I joined Greyson after he helped save my people from a prophesied grimm attack which would have brought calamity to my people.”
“Whoa.”
Kita took a sip from the water bottle that sat before her. Her movement brought several things to my attention. First, her muscles. I really, really hope I don’t come across as creepy, but she’s so buff. She’s not built like a bodybuilder or anything, but what mass she does have looks to be entirely rock-hard, toned muscle. Her shoulders are broad, only when compared to her waist. The muscles under her skin rippled with her movement, and for a bit, my train of thought completely derailed.
This is definitely gonna come across as creepy, and I’m sorry. But I’ve seen her abs since this conversation and... wow.
Anyway, the second thing I noticed was her scars. The largest of countless knicks and slashes documented on her skin is on the center of her chest, and it’s about three inches across. It’s perfectly circular, with some strange symbol I’m not even close to recognizing. It looks like a burn. A brand, maybe? God, that must have hurt. The second scar I see is an oblong section of darkened, disfigured skin nearly an inch across on both sides of her forearm. Was that arm shot straight THROUGH?! This girl is a badass!
“I am actually quite curious about this world,” Kita noted. “If it does not bring any unpleasant memories, would you mind sharing a bit about your tribe?”
“Well, Raven actually explained us pretty well yesterday,” I recalled with a nervous laugh. “We of the Inyan were a nomadic tribe, and many of us were dust wielders. We took refuge wherever could support us, and would go into desert towns to sell dust, fabrics, and anything else we could find. All of it was destroyed the night my people were slain. All I could do to support myself, other than hunting for food and finding water, was sell stone sculptures. As you can imagine, they didn’t pay as well as dust and quality fabric.”
Kita cocked her head curiously. “Did you visit villages often?” she asked.
“The Inyan would visit once a week, every week,” I replied. “I visited less than that though. One person takes less feeding than an entire tribe.”
“I cannot imagine what it must have been like, to survive alone for many years,” Kita sympathized. “It was difficult enough to survive my exilation, which lasted nearly a moon. I had far more food and water available than you.”
“It’s not like there were people that would have killed me on sight though, I could go wherever I wanted,” I replied, perhaps a bit too flippantly. “Anyway, if you don’t mind me asking, what was your tribe like?”
“We were completely isolated from society, deep in the mountains of Northern Mistral,” Kita answered. “From a young age, all I knew was war, and worship of the Great Shrouded Fox. We were quite traditional, as well. We had set celebrations for the birth of a child, and ceremonies for those who joined the stars, among many other rituals.”
“You guys were completely isolated?” I questioned curiously.
Kita nodded. “The only times I had ever seen someone not of my tribe, outside of combat, were when outsiders came to investigate us,” she explained. “Raven was one such outsider. I aided her in slaying creatures of grimm. One of my tribemates saw, and I was exiled. Contact with those from the outside is forbidden, as it is thought to be dangerous.”
“Aren’t you even the slightest bit bitter about that? Toward anyone?” I asked.
Kita shook her head gently. “It was purely my choice, and I understood the consequences. Raven had been mistreated by those she called allies, and so I do not fault her either,” she said. “Yet still, it was quite the fall from grace. My family was second most revered, only to the village elder’s bloodline. I was to marry his son when I was of age.”
My blood ran cold. Up until this point I had fooled myself, thinking that I might actually have a chance with this girl. Now, I remembered. She’s straight. Definitely straight.
“Oh, I’m... sorry,” I offered. “I know-- I mean, I can imagine how it would feel to be pulled away from someone you loved.”
Kita cocked her head. “I do not know if I truly loved him,” she admitted. “The Shrouded Fox marries for strength, so our union made sense. I was the strongest unmarried woman of my tribe. Yet he was more than ten years my senior.”
“Do you feel love?” I asked. I covered my mouth, eyes widening as I looked to the ground. What. The. HELL did I just ask? It’s like I asked if she was a robot or something. Which, I mean, she seems like one until you actually talk to her. It’s kind of endearing.
Kita pinched her scarf between thumb and index finger, raising it above her nose to conceal her cheeks.
“Yes. I believe I do.”
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