#don’t trust me near salad guys

[azrail-emer]

Was still hungry after soup at Olive Garden, so I took the entire salad bowl.

The waiter gave me a look. 😭

(I think the couple next table watched me. 💀 I’m so sorry for ruining your date.)

-Azz

[mxltifxnd0m]

twitches ⊹ s. winchester

summary: you noticed that sam twitches in his sleep

pairings: established sam winchester x reader, sam winchester x gn! reader

word count: 974

warnings: none really, no use of 'y/n', fluff, mentions of nightmares, teasing, one suggestive comment

a/n: wanted to write a little blurb about sam twitching in his sleep because my headcanon is that he does and i saw a video about it on instagram LOL

enjoy the fic! please like, comment, and reblog! your feedback fuels me <3

𝘴𝘢𝘮 𝘸𝘪��𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵

You exhaled sharply as your eyes snapped open, breathing slightly heavier than usual as you tried to blink away the images that were burned into the back of your eyes. The room was shrouded in darkness; your eyes could barely make out the dresser that was across the room. Your body was wound up tight before the arm that was wrapped around your waist reminded you where you were, and you sank into their arms. 

Sam’s arm tightened around you, his warmth reminding you that you were safe and sound in the shared room with him in the bunker. You took some deep breaths, trying to calm your racing heartbeat. 

You didn’t know the details of the nightmare, the images slowly disappearing from your memory as you calmed down. Drowsiness riddled your mind, and you felt your eyes begin to flutter shut, your mind slowly slipping into unconsciousness. But before you could, you felt Sam’s body jerk against yours, his arm flexing against you, making your eyes open again. 

Your eyebrows furrowed. “Sammy?” You whispered softly into the near-silent room, save for the low whirring coming from the small vent in the ceiling. 

All you got in response was a soft snore that escaped his lips as he continued to sleep. You huffed a small laugh through your nose before shifting closer to him, feeling his chest against your back as you let the comforting embrace of your boyfriend lull you back to sleep. 

Your eyes closed and you could feel yourself teeter on the line of consciousness and sleep, but Sam’s body almost violently twitched against you again, making your eyes open again. You let out a low groan before slowly moving further into Sam’s embrace, shoving your face into his chest, wrapping an arm around him, and nuzzling into him, hoping that his body wouldn’t twitch again. 

Another soft snore left Sam, and his arm unconsciously wrapped around your waist even tighter, bringing you closer to him. Your legs tangled together, not knowing where he started and where you ended. You finally were able to go back to sleep, letting the familiar scent of Sam flood your senses and sleep. 

“You twitch when you sleep.” You told Sam as you stood at the stove cooking lunch for the two of you. 

You could see out of the corner of your eye that Sam was whipping his head from cutting the tomatoes on the cutting board to you. 

“What?” He asked, confused. You could imagine the crease that probably had formed in the middle of his brow, but your eyes were trained on the chicken that was cooking in the pan in front of you. 

You turned off the burner, took the chicken off of the pan, and grabbed another cutting board so you could chop them up for the salad that Sam was prepping for the two of you. 

“Sam, you twitch when you sleep.” You repeated, beginning to cut up the freshly cooked chicken. 

“No I don’t.” 

You chuckled lowly at Sam’s indignant tone. You threw the cut-up chicken in the spare bowl to be tossed into the bigger one that held all of the vegetables with the dressing. You quickly placed the cutting board and knife in the sink before turning to Sam, smiling to yourself when you saw the furrowed brow and pout on his face. 

“Trust me you do.” You gave his ass a light slap as you walked past him to grab the dressing from the fridge. 

You heard a huff and a mumble come from Sam as he continued to chop up the last few tomatoes and threw them in the bowl. The two of you made the salad in silence before you guys sat at the table and began to eat lunch. 

“Do I really twitch when I sleep?” Sam questioned after taking a bite of his salad, breaking the comfortable quiet that had settled between the two of you, save for your forks clinking against the porcelain bowls you were eating out of. 

You looked at Sam, who was sitting across from you. You nodded. “Yeah, I never noticed until last night.” 

“Last night?” 

“Mhm, I woke up last night, and when I tried to go back to sleep you twitched pretty violently against me.” He didn’t do it violently, but you wanted to tease Sam a bit. 

Sam scoffed. “I don’t think I twitched against you violently.” 

“You sure about that? I mean you weren’t the one who felt it.” You raised an eyebrow at him. 

Sam looked at you unamused, making you laugh gently at his expression. 

“Okay, maybe it wasn’t violent, but the matter still stands, you twitch when you sleep.” You tell him as you take a bite of your lunch. 

Sam shook his head. “Whatever.” 

His reaction made you smirk. “ It’s completely normal, I just wanted to tell you that you do since it kept me up last night.” 

“You sure it wasn’t the fact that I had fu-” 

“No! It was after that.” You cut him off, feeling the heat rise on your cheeks at the almost mention of what the two of you were doing before your nightmare woke you up. 

It was Sam’s turn to smirk at your flustered state. “It’s cute when you blush.” 

You pretended that your stomach still fluttered at his compliment and rolled your eyes. “Shut up and eat your lunch.” 

Sam chuckled, and the two of you ate in relative silence. Once you guys were finished eating, you put away the leftovers and worked together to clean the dishes. 

As you were drying your hands, you felt a damp hand on your shoulder before you felt Sam’s lips near your ear. 

“If I twitch in my sleep, then I’ll admit I hear your little moans when you’re having a good dream.”  

[here's my taglist; read rules before sending in an ask]

[briarberrythornedhart]

Pinned down

Wayne Munson didn’t like cooking or baking or putting much effort into eating at all. Wayne would eat a bowl of cereal for every meal if he could.

Except - if the cookery involved open flames. Then, suddenly he transformed from the kinda guy who would push through a Hungryman tv dinner that was cold in the center to a gourmet foodie snob.

“Don’t turn that chicken yet, Sonny-jim, let it get the good grill marks.”

“I thought I was grilling tonight?” Eddie complained. “Go relax in a lawn chair, old man.”

“I thought you were grilling tonight too, but if you don’t focus and stop checking out your friend in the short shorts over there, you’re gonna undercook the sausage and burn the chicken.” Wayne Munson was at ease from two PBR’s on an empty ‘don’t want to ruin my appetite’ stomach and the sass that came standard with the Munson Make/Models was out on display.

“We are more than Friends. And I’m very focused.” Eddie said through gritted teeth.

“Gimme that...” Wayne held out his hand for the tongs and gave them a satisfying click click when Eddie passed them over. “...lemme take over so you can go spend time with your ‘more than friend’ and stop ruining the food. Maybe go lock that down? Hmmm? Before Gentleman Jeff get’s here with his nice new post-braces smile and his excellent table manners?? Or Harrington get’s here with his gravity defying hair and his trust fund?”

Eddie was making an annoyed face when he sidled up to you under the shitty gazebo where you were laying out the deviled eggs, the potato salad and the very special homemade cookies you’d baked because Eddie said he loved peanut butter cookies ONE time and you listened.

“Everything okay?” You asked. “You look kinda put out.”

“Nooo... My Uncle seems to think I don’t have you ‘locked down.”

That made you laugh. But Eddie’s face was stone serious

“I guess we’ve been quieter at night than I thought?” You said all arch and flirty.

“I’ve been quiet.” Eddie asserted, tried to look innocent.

“No you haven't, babe.” You shook your head, offered him a cookie, he declined. Clearly worried about something. Too worried for pre-dinner cookies??

“I think Wayne thinks I should ‘pin’ you.”

“Oh - you do that all the time.” You grinned, lasciviously.

“No, you know what I mean. Make it official. Or give you a.... ring?” Eddie toyed with his warthog ring - looking at you very seriously. “Is it too soon? Are you not sure about me yet?”

“Want me to get ‘Eddie’ tattooed on me - someplace strategically visible?” You were not kidding.

“You’d do that for me?”

You leaned towards Eddie and whispered, like this was secret knowledge. “I’m pretty locked down.”

“You tell me you’re mine at night, but I want everyone to know it.” Eddie licked his upper lip and took off his WASP pin - and when you nodded - he gently pinned it on your t-shirt near the collar. He kissed your cheek and said “Now, you’re mine.”

You took out one of your new dangly Ankh earrings and swapped it with Eddie’s ear stud. You kissed his neck below his earlobe. “Now, you’re mine.” You said.

Eddie undid his chain bracelet and tried to put it on you, but it was a hair too big, he ended up loosening it and putting it on your ankle.

You took off your adjustable silver snake ring and widened it up to fit on his left pinky.

Your friends started to show up to the party. Eddie whispered in your ear “I’ll pin you more later.”

[megan-loves-surveys]

#36.

Your opinion on smoking: It sucks. Don't do it. For one, it's way too expensive. Two, it's harmful to your health. Three, I don't want to inhale your smoke.

Have you ever wanted a wild animal for a pet? If yes, what animal? No.

Do you like group work? It depends. If the group is made up of my friends, then it's great. If it's not, then it can fuck off lol.

Do you have any stickers on your laptop? No.

Does your grass need cut currently? We don't have a lawn.

Are you a godparent? No.

Have you ever gone a full day without interacting with another person? No, cos I always at least talk to my Mum.

How many watches do you own? One, if my FitBit counts lol.

Who was the last person you sincerely thanked? Hmm, prob my Mum.

Have you ever been carded when buying something? Oh god, all the time. Constantly from when I turned 18 up till today.

Can you have more than one best friend? Obviously you can.

What was the last thing you drank? Water.

Do you ever wonder if you will get in a car accident and die? I've been hit by a car already, so that no longer scares me tbh.

One night stand or relationship? Relationship.

Do you honestly have any regrets? Only small ones, like not meeting The Shield as a group in 2013, I let my Mum talk me out of it and I could kick her for it LOL.

Who was the last girl to say something to you? My Mum.

New tats in your near future? Probably not.

How about piercings or re-piercings? No thank you.

Have you ever had a tattoo covered up or added to? No.

Have you ever kissed someone who has previously kissed someone you hated? I don't think so.

Do you have any relatives with red hair? Not naturally, but my cousin used to dye her hair red.

What’s your favorite kind of pasta? Any, pasta is GOAT.

Have you ever had rabies? No.

Do you know anyone who ever had to get a rabies shot? No.

Ever eaten deer? Duck? Squirrel? How about lamb? No to any of those.

Does your car have heated seats? I don't have a car.

Have you ever been tempted to steal? No.

Would you rather travel to Ireland or Japan? Japan, but Ireland would be cool too.

Does tickling turn you on? No xD

What is the age gap between you and your parents? I'm in my mid 30's and they're in their 70's. You do the maths.

How many bathrooms does your house have? Is this enough? One, and yes.

Have you ever dated someone who was emotionally or mentally unstable? Yes.

Be honest: are you clingy? I can be, my boyfriend says he likes it though xD

Have you ever had bronchitis? Not that I know of.

Have you ever had a reptile for a pet? No.

Are you afraid of the dentist? I'm not afraid, but I don't like going lol. Who does?

Did you attend Sunday School as a child? No. My parents never pushed religion on me and I'm thankful.

Your boyfriend/girlfriend isn’t around but their phone is. Do you look through it? No, that's invasion of privacy, and I'd hate if he did that to me. Phones are private. Plus, I trust him.

Have you ever liked anyone that was in a relationship with someone else? Oh, sure.

Do you think your last ex ever thinks about you? I don't know, and I don't care tbh.

Would you rather have salad or french fries for a side dish? Fries, every single time.

Which one of your relationships was the shortest? I went out with a guy when I was a teenager for like a week lol.

Which was the longest? My current relationship, we've been together since June 2022, so 2 years! We had our anniversary last week <3

Have any of your exes told you they regret breaking up with you? No.

Are you going to be getting any new pets soon? No, but I want a cat so badly.

Do you like BBQ sauce? Yes.

What do you like to do when you’re home alone? The same thing as I do when my Mum is home lol.

Should the guy always pay for the date? No, you pay for your own meal lol.

Do you like Frozen? No.

Do you use Instagram often? I don't even have an account lol.

What is one question you don’t like being asked? How old I am sometimes cos they think I'm younger than I am, then they find out my real age and judge me for some reason? It's stupid as fuck.

Who is someone you know who is talkative? My Mum xD

Do you know anyone who plays the violin? No.

Out of all your usernames for websites, which one is your favorite? Do you use it for more than one site? Mox Girl, I use it all over the place these days. I love weatherwarden too though.

Have you ever spent the whole day (or multiple days) just looking up one thing on the internet (e.g., videos of your favorite band, how-to videos, quizzes, etc.)? Yes.

If someone told you that we live in a society that hates women, how would you respond? Well, yes, but they hate men too, so what's your point?

Which of your breakups was the hardest for you to get over? Meh...

What did you have for dinner last night? Potato wedges.

Do you write poetry? If so, what kind of poetry do you write? No.

Have your parents traveled to any countries that you have not been to? Yes - my Dad's been to Mexico, Spain, Italy, France and Ireland. Jealous lol. But I've been to the USA multiple times and he's never been and wants to xD

What’s your favorite type of gemstone? Ruby or diamond.

Would you rather take a class in fencing or archery? Fencing.

Have you ever had a stalker? Not in person, but I had an online stalker - he followed me all over the internet, and signed up to every website I had an account on, kept harassing me on chat programs (I'd block him and he'd make a new name to message me again), read all my posts on forums and that. It was so annoying, he was a pain the ass lol.

What was the last strong scent you smelled? Some spicy food my Mum was making.

When was the last time you changed your outfit? When I got dressed after a shower lol.

What was the last thing you took a picture of? My lunch the other day.

What were the positives and negatives of your last week? Negative was that on Monday at work I was on the phones, that's my least fave part of my job lol. Positives were games night, hanging with my boyfriend, having dinner with Ngawari and Seth Rollins returned on Raw yesterday!

What is one of your wildest dreams or ambitions? Travel the world. I don't have the money lol.

What was the subject of your last phone conversation? It was my boss, confirming my days for work for the next week or so.

What are your plans for tomorrow? How about the weekend? Tomorrow I'm working, then going to the gym after work with Ngawari. I have no plans in particular for the weekend, but David said he might go to the Fale Dojo show, if he does I might go too. Otherwise, I'll prob just hang out with my boyfriend.

What did the last jacket you wore look like? It was likely my leather jacket, it's purple.

The 6 Quiz

if you had to save just 6 people who would they be? My Mum My Dad My boyfriend Ngawari Jon Moxley xD Hmm...

If you had to take 6 things on an island what would they be Laptop Phone A personal chef A bed Snacks My boyfriend xD

if you had to watch 6 shows for the rest of your live what would they be The Simpsons Friends Big Bang Theory WWE in general Shortland St Emmerdale

If you had to listen to just 6 bands/singers/groups for the rest of your life who would they be? Ayumi Hamasaki Blue Five Little Mix Girls Aloud Adam Lambert

The BEST quiz…

whats the best soda? Coke Zero Sugar food? Pasta color? Purple age? 21 tv show? Friends, Simpsons or BBT movie? Dunno (your best) friend? Ngawari class? Computers/IT job? Admin assistant, which is what I do now lol person to marry? Nobody, but my boyfriend if I had to pick :P place to live? NYC color to wear in spring? Any song to listen to when your sad? Dunno song to listen to when your happy? Dunno song to cuddle to? Dunno car? Dodge Viper candy? Gummies and sour stuff book? Weather Warden series Cd player? I just use my phone web site? last.fm, Reddit or YouTube state? NY paper clip color? Silver? place to have seX? Hahah, I love it outdoors xD place to socialize? Wrestling shows place to go when your sad? My room school? My high school college? Eh comedian? Jimmy Carr, I've seen him live twice, he's so funny actor? Johnny Depp actress? Eh singer? Ayumi Hamasaki group? Little Mix, Blue, Five band? ^^^^ rnb group? Eh rapper? Eminem metal group? None season? Summer fast food place? KFC snack? Chips but really anything crunchy and salty thing to do? Watch wrestling game system (n64, ps2, nintendo2 etc)? Nintendo Switch

first job: Data entry. first screen name: I think it was like i_love_ritchie_foreva cos I loved Ritchie from Five xD first self-purchased album: Billie Piper's first album, lol. first pets: A cat, his name was Piglet <3 first big trip: I went to the UK for 10 weeks when I was about 6. last big car ride: Depends what you consider 'big'. last real kiss: Yesterday when I saw my boyfriend. last good cry: Hmm... last movie seen: One of the Resident Evil movies. last movie seen in a theater: Bob's Burgers Movie. last beverage drank: Water. last food consumed: Some Ritz crackers. last phone call: My boss. last TV show watched: A show about dogs with jobs, like police dogs and dogs who sniff out drugs at the airport. I watch it just for the cute dogs xD last shoes worn: I'm wearing ugg boots right now, but before that was my heels for work lol. last CD played: I'm shuffling my playlist, but I think the last full album was one of Ayumi Hamasaki's. last item bought: Popcorn chicken from KFC lol. last cigarette: Years ago. last book read: Reach For The Stars. last time showered: This morning. last words spoken: Not sure. last sleep: Last night. last IM: My boyfriend. last time wanting to die: Never. last time dancing: Haha the other day xD

[miekasa]

Mie, I’m begging for some Jean college au bf hcs - im literally so down bad for this man and the way you write men is just 🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻

Absolutely, not a problem 😌 I saved this ask as a draft a while ago when you sent it, sorry for just now getting to it. Anyway, I love Jean with my whole heart, best boy, best boyfriend <33

King of forehead kisses, and not even just because of his height in comparison to yours; he just likes it. He likes the feeling of pressing his lips against your skin, and making you feel safe.

Brings you tea or coffee however you like it every day without fail. If he can get it to you in the morning before work/school then he’ll do that, if not he’ll meet you some time in the middle of the day to drop it off. Your own personal courier just for drinks.

He… has a thing for long(er) nails. He loves the feeling of them against his skin, even if you’re not scratching to apply pressure—just you holding his hand them grazing his skin is enough for him.

That being said, he will pay for you to get your nails done. Actually, he’ll pay for… almost anything you want, but the nails benefit him as much as they do you so feel free to ball out.

He never blowdries his hair because he doesn’t... know how to do the back of it. You did it for him once and he hasn’t stopped thinking about it since, but he’s also too embarrassed to ask you to do/style it again.

On the subject of hair, he does do his best to style it and take care of it, but he’s a sucker whenever you play with it. Sometimes he feigns like you’re messing up all his hard work, but he’ll literally crane his head into your touch. He loves it. 

The first time he lays on top of you and you run your hands through his hair... top 10 most euphoric moments of his life. He tries to fight off the sleep threatening to take over him, but it’s futile. Give it 15 minutes at most before he’s knocked out like a baby. 

Dogs love him. Anytime you’re in a park or just taking a walk and there’s a dog around, it’ll come up to him and he looks adorable leaning down to pet it. He loves dogs, too! So he’s always happy to stop and pet them. He’d be a 10/10 dog dad. 

Has your name saved in his phone with two hearts at the end. Do not point it out.

Loves taking pictures together and if you guys are on a date, he’ll ask someone to get a picture for him. He just likes having them to look back on (and to send to his mom, later).

He doesn’t mind painting classes or videos or tutorials, but he hates paint by numbers kits. He claims that they have no sense of color theory and that it takes the originality and fun out of painting. Not to mention the quality of the paints isn’t great to begin with; all of which he takes very seriously.

It’s pretty cute actually, to see him get worked up over the paint kits. He claims that painting and drawing isn’t even something he takes “that seriously,” it’s just a hobby for him (one he’s insanely good at); but in moments like these, you can tell that he’s way more into art and art theory and history than he lets on. 

Huge movie guy, from animated movies to martial arts movies, Jean is usually willingly to give anything a watch at least once. When he’s high, he can go on about his favorite directors and art styles and movie details for hours if you don’t stop him. It’s super cute. Just don’t bring up Moana, because he’ll start crying. 

Arm around the shoulder kind of boyfriend for sure. It’s a casual way of keeping you near him and letting everyone know that you guys are together. Plus it allows for him to easily pull you into him for a quick forehead kiss when needed.

Listen. If you hug his arm, he’s on cloud nine. He tries to be nonchalant about it but he’s about three seconds away from his eyes rolling back in his head it feels that good to him. Bonus if you lean your head on his bicep a little—then he’s a goner.

He takes his bagels very seriously and believes that both you and him deserve nothing but the best quality bagels. He’ll grumble if a bakery gives you guys a less than favorable one and make a note that taking the long route to get to his favorite place is much more worth it.

Always makes you walk on the side furthest from the cars. If he notices you’re not, he’ll just shuffle behind you until he’s shouldering the street and you’re on the inside. 

He grew up on a kind of modern ranch situation; not exactly all the way in the countryside, but not isolate from the city, either. Because of this, he knows how to ride horses, take care of smaller farm animals, tend to plants, and yes he knows how to use a lasso. You wouldn’t know any of that though, because he never ever talks about it. The only way you find out is when he takes you to visit his mom’s house for the first time, and she asks him for a hand around the place. 

(He’s got a cowboy hat, too, but refuses to put it on. He got it when he was, like, nine, okay, leave him alone). 

When he thinks you look tired, he’ll wrap his arms around your shoulders to hug you. It’s usually followed up with a kiss to your head, and a promise that you guys will go home soon and get food on the way. 

He’s a really good cook. He just understands and flavors and pairings really well, so he doesn’t need a recipe to make something that tastes good; he just kind of knows what to add to get the balance he’s looking for. 

Naturally, he’ll cook for you. Especially if he finds out that you haven’t eaten all day/in a long time. He doesn’t care if it’s 11pm and it might seem excessive to make steak and potatoes with a side salad at this hour, he’s gonna do it to make sure you eat, and you are going to sit there and watch. 

He also bakes pretty well, though he isn’t as experimental with his baking as he is with his cooking. He usually sticks to what he knows, and it’s not cupcakes and brownies and cakes; he’s better at croissants, and cheesecakes, and canelés. 

Dating Jean means getting along with his friends. If you guys didn’t know each other before you started dating, be prepared to be ambushed by Connie and Sasha (after Jean stops hiding you away and gives them the green light lmfao). Neither of them waste time with the small talk and formalities; straight into mini golfing and beer pong. They make you feel welcome right away.

Sasha always teases that you’re too good for Jean, and that she might just steal you away for herself some day. Sasha is also Jean’s main confidant, so she really knows just how much he loves you, and yeah, she teases him for being lovesick, but really she’s happy for Jean. And proud of him for facing his feelings like this. 

Connie adores you, and you know he trusts you when he starts going to you for advice/help. Could be anything from schoolwork, to what color he should get his new shoes in. He’s also the one who, surprisingly, you have the sentimental talks with about your relationship with Jean. It’s easy to overlook, but Connie loves Jean, and he’s come to love you too; he just wants you both to be happy, so he’s there to listen when you need it. 

Jean waits outside of your classroom after you’ve had a test or presentation, usually with a drink or a snack, or the promise of taking you out as a treat. Always tells you he’s proud of you, and is there to comfort you if you think you didn’t do too well. 

He does not shut up about whatever major you’re in. It could be the same as his; it could be the complete opposite as his. He thinks it’s so sick that you’re doing it, you make it look cooler, you make it look better, and he’s certain you’re the smartest person in your program. 

He’s pretty serious about his studies, too, so he’s always down to study with you in the library whenever you’re both free. More often than not, he shows up after you, usually with food or extra chargers. He greets you with a kiss on the forehead, and asks you how you are while massaging your shoulders gently. If it’s been a while since you took a break, that’s the first item on the list, after that, he gets to work and stays with you until you’re ready to go, even if he doesn’t have as much work to do. 

He always sits across from you. This goes for when you’re in the library, or out to eat at a restaurant; Jean loves sitting across from you. He gets to see your face the best that way, and he adores looking into your eyes when you talk. 

He’s not... not a morning person. He’s not up at 6am ready to grind, but he wakes up before noon; let’s say 10am is his happy medium. That being said, if you wake up before him, regardless of the time, there’s a 9/10 chance he’ll lay on your back and tell you to hush so you guys can sleep for 10 more minutes. 

If you’re (close) friends with Eren, Mikasa, and Armin, Jean is... happy you’ve got people to rely on, but, “Of all people on the planet, you put your trust in Jaeger?” He acts so bitter (because he is), but deep down inside, he’s glad you have Eren to rely on if you need to. 

(Also, you have to humble him and remind him that he and Eren aren’t all that different. If you like him, why wouldn’t you get along with Eren, bye). 

Turns out though, that it’s not Eren who threatens to beat him up if he breaks your heart. It’s not even Mikasa, although, her threat goes without saying; it’s Armin he’s terrified of.

The last time Armin hated someone, it was this guy in your program, who happened to share a few mutual classes with him, too. Jean never knew the full story, just that he’s pretty sure that kid dropped out the following semester. 

If you have a job on campus, Jean usually doesn’t show up while you’re working (knowing how embarrassed he would be if you did that to him), unless you work the night shift and it’s dead. Connie, however, does show up; usually in some kind of crisis (“Please help me, I don’t know what the fuck APA formatting is and this is due tonight, please, please, please!!”). Your coworkers actually thought Connie was your boyfriend for a minute. That’s when Jean starts showing up more lmfao.

He makes it a point to go on a scheduled, night out, kind of date at least twice a month. He knows life gets busy with school and work and midterms, but he always makes sure you both set side a time to take a well-deserved break and be with each other. 

He’s the romantic type, so these dates are pretty swoon worthy, too. Drive-in movies, nice dinners, classy art exhibits, Jean plans it all. On that note, he really likes planning dates; he just doesn’t like talking about them with his friends beforehand. 

All in all, very romantic, very precious boyfriend. He’s always thinking about you, what you need, and how he can help you out. You’re one of his main priorities, and he just wants to treat you right. 

[fandomlovingfreak]

It Was Written on Their Wrists in Stars (ch4/?)

Egon Spengler/F!Reader

Ch1. Ch2. Ch3. Ch5. Ch6. Ch7. Ch8. Ch9. Ch10.

Rating: General Audiences

Includes: Soulmate marks, soulmate fic, Socially Drinking, slight Peter Venkman x reader

Word Count: 1382

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Summary: Ever since you were a child, you had dreamed about getting your mark and finding the perfect person. When you finally got your mark, a quarter-sized star on the inside of your wrist, you were delighted! Your fairytale romance was just getting started. Egon didn’t believe in fate. He didn’t believe that a mark on your body meant something just because it matched a mark on someone else’s body. When he woke up one morning and found a star on his wrist, he brushed it off. Moles could be star-shaped, he supposed.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Ghostbusters (sad, I know). This work has not been created for profit or financial compensation, and is a transformative fair use work in accordance with Section 107 of the United States Copyright Act.

Notes: Sorry for the delay in posting. I took a mental health break and then work got busy... and THEN my laptop DIED! The verdict is in on that one too :( It’s a goner. I had to purchase a new one (which TOTALLY sucks because it was only 1 1/2 years old ugh!!!) But I hope you enjoy this chapter! I suppose it’s some Peter/Reader too.... but it’s not endgame so don’t worry!

Enjoy

"So, any big plans this summer?" I lift my fruity drink to my lips, trying not to grimace at the sugary vodka flavor. Tears spring to my eyes in response to the offensive flavor, and I try desperately to blink them away.

"Work mainly," Peter leans back in his chair, "The guys and I might take a road trip out of the city for the fourth. What about you?"

More than excited to talk about my newly acquired internship, I beam at him, "I was selected for the internship with Doctor Leinonen."

"Oh wow, congratulations. So you're the lucky student who gets to work with Spengler this summer."

The smile slips away from my lips. The universe was seriously dead set on making avoiding Egon hard for me.

Out of all the ways to find out who your internship partner was, this has to take the cake. The whole dynamic between myself and these two men has already been challenging. In usual fashion, I was the one who held the truth about the situation. Because of this, I felt strangely guilty to be going out with my match mark's good friend.

"Oh."

Peter smiles, his brow raised and painted with humor, "Does that sound like a bad time?"

I shake my head, "Of course not. Good for him. I know how important these internships can be in determining graduate school."

"Brainiac doesn't need to worry about graduate school, trust me."

I tilt my head, wondering if I heard him correctly, "Is that what you call him? Brainiac?"

Peter smirks, leaning further into his chair. He really plays up the whole nonchalant thing. "On occasion. Fits pretty well, don't you think?"

"Huh--" I try to hide my interest in this new knowledge about Egon by taking another sip of my awful drink. Again, the sweetness coats my tongue, making me want to gag. Hoping to avoid this mistake for the third time, I set the drink down further from my salad plate.

Peter's eyes follow my hand as I move the drink away, "Why do you ask?"

I mean to laugh it off, but it comes out as a nervous sort of titter, "Brainiac is uh-- my nickname. Well, only my roommate really uses it..." No one needs to know that! Especially not the man I'm on a date with, and extra especially when he's just said he teases his friend with the same stupid nickname.

Besides, I probably sound too excited over this odd connection between Egon and me.

"Small world," Peter says before changing the subject, "The internship should be a breeze with Egon as your partner, though. I'd never admit it to him, but he's near-genius. Even if he is an oddball."

I try not to look offended by this comment. Egon wasn't an oddball! Peter may as well have called me an oddball if that's how he really felt about Egon.

It's hard to control the coldness in my voice, "I spent the past week studying with him. He seems very dedicated to his work."

"Oh, I didn't know you knew him."

I try to avoid his eyes by looking down at my lap, "I wouldn't say I know him. I've met him at best."

"Dedicated is a nice way to put it. He's obsessive when it comes to that notebook. Spends his Saturday's shut up in his room with a pizza and whatever he's working on at the moment. You witnessed one of the rare times he's gone out with us for a drink. Not that he had anything but water, but still."

"He doesn't drink?" The question slips out before I can stop it. 

Peter frowns, probably wondering why I'm so interested in Egon. Jesus-- this was such a bad idea.

"Yeah. At least I've never witnessed him drinking."

"Interesting." 

It looks like I've thrown Peter off his game as a long pause of awkward silence comes over us. 

"But, you're friends with Ray, right?" 

"I am," I nod, "I've known him since Sophomore year."

"It's funny how we never crossed paths before, being in the same department and all." Ah, I haven't completely shaken him with my questions.

"It's a rather large department," I smile. 

"Are you ready to order?" Our waiter interrupts. I want to thank the young man. 

Peter gives me a look, probably letting me decide if we were ready to order or not.

"Oh yes. I'll have the grilled chicken sandwich with the garden salad, please."

The waiter scribbles down the order before turning towards Peter, "And you, sir?"

"The cheeseburger with waffle fries." 

My mind wanders for a second back to Egon. I wonder what he would order. It's an odd enough thought to get stuck in; I don't hear the waiter ask for my menu until Peter's saying my name.

"Oh, sorry," I hand the man my menu, avoiding Peter's eye.

He's still watching me long after the waiter leaves.

It makes me nervous the way he's looking at me. Not the good kind of nervousness where your body fills with warm happiness. Peter's doing something closer to analyzing me.

"So," I clear my throat, "What are you planning on doing after graduation?"

"I'm staying right here in Colombia. I imagine you have a similar plan?"

"Uh-- not exactly. I'm hoping for Harvard or Yale."

He whistles, "You got big plans?"

"There are some doctors I'd like to work with professionally at both Universities. Of course, I wouldn't be upset going to Columbia for graduate school."

"No, no. Just admit we're your last choice." There's a sparkle in his eyes.

I love that he can easily make me laugh. "It's nothing against Columbia. I just would like to see what other programs are like." Which is completely true. I never planned on doing graduate school at Columbia. The plans hadn't changed since meeting Egon-- 

There goes my mind again, wandering to Egon.

***

Peter's lips crash against mine, hands firm on my waist. I try not to think about how wrong this whole thing feels. He's too domineering, his hands too rough. 

The uncomfortable sensation that follows kissing someone new, combined with the awkwardness of kissing someone in the middle of a sidewalk, makes the kiss tense.

I try not to flinch as his hands being to descend lower.

Nope, I'm a chicken. I pull away, placing my hands on his chest to keep him at arm's length.

I go for the fake yawn behind the hand trick, "It's late."

Peter reaches for my waist again, "It is."

Politely as possible, I try again, "Thank you for dinner." Maybe some of the girls he went with wanted to sleep with him on the first date, but after that kiss, was he really expecting much?

He seems to get the message, "We should do it again sometime."

I smile, "We should."

Peter steps down the steps. He doesn't look upset, which I'm surprised about. "I'll call you."

Maybe he wasn't as... well, demanding as I initially thought. He's certainly taking this small rejection well, better than most men I've gone out with, "Goodnight, Peter."

"Goodnight, (y/n)."

***

I slide down my bedroom door, feeling like I'm doing something awful. I could admit to myself that I hadn't been present in the kiss, maybe not the entire date. The feeling that I was doing something wrong, not morally per se, but wrong for me, sat in the pit of my stomach the entire night.

Maybe it was a tiny bit wrong. Or maybe I was looking at this from a romantic novel perspective instead of through the view of a romantic comedy. I mean, this is what that is, isn't it? I know my soulmate, and I'm still willingly going out with his friend? I certainly hadn't planned for my "great love story" to veer dramatically towards comedy. 

If I had given up on finding a table that day at the library, I wouldn't be in this mess. I wouldn't care so much that Peter wasn't "prince charming" because there wouldn't be someone to compare him to.

I wouldn't dare explain any of these thoughts to Monica. For one, she didn't have any clue about the star on Egon's wrist, and secondly, she would think I was being ridiculous.

Monica, like Ray, wouldn't understand why I haven't told Egon about the marks.

[luci-in-trenchcoats]

If I Fell For You (Part 5) - Date Night

Summary: The reader and Jensen go on their first fancy date together before attending a nanny happy hour the next night. The reader makes a new friend there to Jensen’s dismay but someone from the past will come along and change things between the new couple...

Masterlist

Pairing: Jensen x nanny!reader

Word Count: 4,200ish

Warnings: language, lying, angst, mention of past child abuse/assault, fluff

A/N: This a rough one, not gonna lie. Enjoy!

________

Friday Night

“Y/N, I’m downstairs when you’re ready,” said Jensen through your closed bedroom door.

“I’ll be there in five,” you said.

“See you in fifteen,” he chuckled before he walked away. You walked back into your bathroom, looking over your hair in a bun. It looked like a freaking messy bun actually. You should have done it down and in big flowy waves instead. You pouted and smoothed out your dress. Of course you were bloated and you’d nicked your leg more than once shaving earlier. 

“It’s Jensen,” you said to yourself, taking a deep breath. “He’s never even seen you in makeup before. You’re fine. He’s not gonna say anything.”

You forced yourself out of the bathroom and slipped on your heels, your clutch in your hand. You wobbled for a step or two on the carpet but did better once you were out in the hardwood hall. Ten seconds later you were downstairs, heading over to the foyer area. 

“All set?” you asked, Jensen spinning around. He smiled as he stared, eyes looking you up and down more than once, not even trying to hide it.

“Y/N, you look pretty,” said Arrow as she rushed in from the family room. 

“Yes she does,” said Jensen. “We’ll be home soon, okay?”

“Okie dokie,” she said, wandering off with a little wave.

Half an hour later you were sat at a table in a very nice restaurant, Jensen tugging on his collar. His cheeks were slightly pink but it wasn’t from the cold outside. 

“So...what’s a good wine?” you asked, sliding the drink list over to him. “I’m not really good with the names.”

“You like red or white?” he asked.

“Normally red,” you said. “You?”

“I like a Merlot,” he said. “You like dry?”

“Sure,” you said. 

“We’re not going dutch tonight you know right. This is all on me.”

“We can go dutch, Jensen.”

“I asked you out and this is fancy, even for me. My treat, okay?” he asked.

“Alright,” you said, looking around the restaurant and over in the distance to the bar. “You know I could go for a lemon drop actually.”

He smirked and set the list down, a waiter coming by. He ordered a gin and tonic for himself while you got your cocktail, Jensen breaking off part of a breadstick from the basket. 

“Bread’s good,” he said with his mouth full.

“So. Ackles,” you said, picking up a piece and tearing off a chunk with your teeth. He stared and started to laugh to himself. “Ah, there’s my sweet guy.”

“Thought you were gonna say boyfriend for a second.”

“This is our second official date,” you said. “So. Boyfriend.”

“Yes girlfriend?” he chuckled.

“What’s an appetizer look like in a place like this? Like a tiny cube of cheese with some dressing they’re gonna charge twenty bucks for or something like that?”

“You’re goofy,” he said, a big smile stuck on his face. “Uh, they probably have something like that. There’s normally some kind of bread olive oil bowl option.”

“Fancy people eat like a starving college student apparently,” you said. He tried to hide his laugh as your waiter brought over the drinks and a pair of menus. “Excuse me but can you recommend an appetizer? We’re both new to town and are wondering what you think is a good choice.”

“You can’t go wrong with our sourdough and seasoned oil dipping sauce,” he said. You glanced at Jensen and smiled. “The artichoke spinach dip and tartar crackers are also quite lovely.”

“Do you have anything with a little more substance? We’re quite starving,” said Jensen.

“The fried calamari and crab cake poppers combo is a great option,” he said.

“What’s calamari?” you asked.

“Squid, miss,” said the waiter.

“We’ll have that combo,” said Jensen.

“Perfect. I’ll put that in and be back shortly to get your dinner orders,” he said. He took off and you made a face at Jensen.

“Squid?” you asked.

“It’s fried. Trust me, it’s pretty good,” he said. “I could go for a good steak. You see a filet on here yet?”

“Uh,” you said, eyes scanning the page and seeing most everything was something you’d never heard of. 

“There it is,” he said. “I’m getting that and scalloped potatoes. See anything you want to try?”

“Uh, why does half of this seem like it’s a foreign language to me?” you asked. Jensen looked at his menu and chuckled.

“That would be because it’s in French. We’re in Canada and this is a french restaurant.”

“Oh. Gotcha,” you said. He got up and leaned over the back of your chair, glancing at the page.

“These are soups and salads,” he said, pointing near the top. “Sandwiches. Pasta. Main dishes down here.”

“Uh, maybe pasta?” you said. He knelt down and read off the dishes to you one by one, your waiter returning by the time he was just finishing.

“Anything I can assist you with?” he asked.

“I’ll have the fettuccine alfredo with chicken please,” you said, handing the menu to him, Jensen returning to his seat.

“Face principale?” he asked. You stared at Jensen and he smiled.

“She doesn’t speak French,” said Jensen.

“My apologies miss. What would you like for your main side dish?” asked the waiter. “Steamed vegetables, scalloped potatoes, lobster bisque-”

“I’ll have the vegetables,” you said. Jensen ordered and the waiter went to get your appetizer, a sad smile on his face.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think twice about the French thing.”

“Kinda hot that you know French,” you said. “I should try to learn it if we’re gonna be up here for a few months.”

“I’m an idiot and I learned it so you’ll do just fine picking it up,” he said. 

“So where’d you learn in the first place?”

“I’m stuffed,” you said, plopping your napkin from your lap onto the table awhile later. Jensen took the last bite of the piece of mouse pie, licking his lips as he finished. “This might have been the best alfredo I’ve ever had.”

“I enjoyed it. Mostly I enjoyed listening to you talk,” he said. You blushed and looked away, Jensen letting out a small hum. “It’s funny. Doesn’t really feel like just a second date, does it.”

“No, not really,” you said. “I guess that’s what happens when you’re friends first.”

“Well I definitely like being friends with you,” he said. 

“Me too, Jensen.” 

“Want to get out of here?” he asked. You smiled and nodded, the two of you outside a few minutes later wrapped up in your coats. Your feet were cold in just your heels, Jensen’s arm wrapping around your waist when you almost slipped more than once. It was slow going back to the car, especially when it started to snow lightly.

“You know, that dress would still look hot with winter boots,” he chuckled. 

“Sorry,” you said.

“No apology necessary. I got freaking dress shoes on and my feet are cold. I can’t imagine how you’re holding up,” he said.

“The perils of being a woman,” you said.

“Well, no need to impress me is all I’m saying. I ain’t looking at your feet anyways,” he said.

“Oh well in that case I’ll wear some nice baggy sweats next date.”

“Please do,” he said. 

“You really don’t care, do you.”

“I think you look beautiful tonight. But I think you look beautiful every night. You did your hair and makeup and this is stunning, don’t get me wrong. But she’s not more beautiful than the girl at home with hair tossed up all messy walking around in oversized shirts and leggings. It’s like flowers. Both are pretty but one isn’t more pretty than the other.”

“Where the fuck did I find you?”

“At my house,” he chuckled. You whacked his arm and leaned your head on his shoulder. “Almost back to the car. I’ll blast the heat for us when we’re in there.”

“Thanks Jensen.”

“Thank you for the date, honey. I mean it. We’ll do it again sometime. Promise.”

Saturday Night

“Your boyfriend seems pissed,” said Brandon. You sipped up the last of your beer, glancing over to the bar where Jensen was tapping his finger. 

“He’s fine,” you said. “So any good parks around the west side of town?”

“Center Grove is always my choice. Good playground, nice area, cops routinely are around. Parking can kinda be a bitch sometimes but it’s worth it in my opinion. My kids love it.”

“You’ve been their nanny for five years you said?”

“Mhm,” he said, knocking back the last of his drink. “Shawn’s mom is their mom’s best friend.”

“Oh. So you had an in already.”

“You know long term gigs are the way to go in this job,” he said. “Not too many American girls come up here. Your accent is cute.”

“Is it, eh?” you chuckled.

“Like I’ve never heard that one before,” he said, Jensen walking back with two beers and a clenched jaw. 

“You okay?” you asked as he sat it down in front of you.

“I’m fine,” he said, taking a long sip. Brandon slid off his seat and made a face. 

“I need a refill anyways. Nice meeting you Y/N. We gotta hang some time,” he said as he walked away.

“For sure,” you said, Jensen rolling his eyes behind his back. “Jensen what’s going on?”

“Nothing,” he said.

“Well you obviously have a problem with Brandon.”

“I don’t have a problem with him. I have a problem with my girlfriend flirting with another guy.”

“I was not flirting. I’m trying to make new friends. It was your idea to come to this thing tonight anyways.”

“Whatever,” he scoffed.

“Excuse me?”

“In case I wasn’t clear, I’m not the kind of guy where I’m okay with you dating multiple people at once. I don’t get that not exclusive shit.”

“I’m with you and only you. I was being nice. Geez, let’s just go,” you said. You got up and pulled your coat on, bumping into a guy on the way out. He turned and apologized, staring at you a little long.

“Y/N?” he asked, a big smile on his face. “My Y/N?”

“Dad?” you said, his face much older looking than you remembered but his eyes still the same.

“Dad?” said Jensen. You brushed past your dad and outside, Jensen hot on your heels. 

“Y/N,” your dad said as he left the bar. 

“Stay away from me,” you said. “Jensen I want to go home right now.”

“What-”

“Right fucking now!”

He held up his hands and you walked around the block to the car, getting inside and Jensen taking off.

“So your dad’s alive huh,” he said. You stared out the dark window with crossed arms. “So is everything I know about you bullshit?”

“What?”

“Is literally anything you’ve ever told me true? Your dad obviously didn’t die when you were a kid. All those late night talks about family and shit, you just like to fuck with people or something?”

“I was not flirting with Brandon you asshole. You didn’t need to know my whole life story the second I meet you.”

“Oh. Okay. Just your fake life story then, huh?” he said. You shook your head as he got stuck at a red light. “If I can’t trust you, I can’t employ you let alone date you.”

“Whatever,” you said. He drove in silence until you were out of the city, going along quieter roads. You were close to the house when he suddenly turned right towards the local park and stopped in the lot, putting the car in park. He touched your arm and you turned, Jensen leaning over and kissing you roughly, far more roughly than you thought he was capable of. You blinked when he pulled back, Jensen looking you up and down. 

“He won’t hurt you.”

“What?”

“Did he walk out on you and your mom?” he asked. “You told him to stay away from you. Sort of shouted it at him. Maybe you lied but maybe...I’m sorry I got jealous of Brandon. I’m still scared and I think you’re still scared too and that’s okay. If you lied about your dad, I’m gonna trust you have a good reason for it. I’m sorry for what I said. I trust you and I don’t want to know what my life is like without you in it.”

“It’s okay,” you said quietly. “I forgive you.”

“You don’t have to tell me what happened,” he said. “We can just go home, okay?”

“Why’d you pull over?”

“Because I knew I didn’t mean it and I knew I overreacted. I said I’d mess up when we started. It’s been a long time since I’ve done this. I’m 42 with three kids. Brandon is thirty and young and stronger than I am and can go out to the bar whenever he wants. You have options. You don’t have to settle for me.”

“If I’d wanted to settle, I’d have married my ex. What I wanted was the guy that forgives me for not telling him the whole story cause I’m not ready to say it. I want the guy that makes me happy and feel like I have a teenage crush but it’s deeper than that. You’re not the settle for option, Jensen. Why don’t you get that?”

“The last time I felt like this, I married the girl,” he said quietly. “That didn’t turn out so well.”

“You didn’t get the time you deserved with her. It doesn’t mean it ended badly. You loved her and she knew it. She wants you to be happy again, whether it’s me or somebody else.”

“See? That’s the shit that tells me...it tells me to keep falling for you. I’m so sorry for how I acted tonight.”

“I lied about my dad and not a little white one either,” you said with a nod. You turned away and felt his hand on your cheek. “So much of what I told you was a lie.”

“You don’t have to tell me the truth right now, Y/N.” He stroked your cheek and you glanced over, meeting his soft green eyes.

“My mom died giving birth to me,” you said, Jensen nodding. “He hated me for it. Hated me. He would hurt me when I was a toddler. When I was four he started doing...other things.”

“Four?” he breathed out.

“I didn’t know it wasn’t normal. Not until I started school. I was scared though so I never said anything. One of my friends mom’s realized what was going on when I was over playing one day. He went away and lost custody. I went into foster care briefly and got adopted when I was eight. Single mom who’d lost her husband young. That’s my mom. She was a kind person. Ray was always good to her and to me. But I asked him not to adopt me after she was gone and he knew it was because I was still scared of a dad again. Being a nanny, I’ve met fathers that look at me and I just know what was going through their head. I reported him and kinda fucked up their family situation but-”

“That was the right thing to do,” he said.

“I know it was. I’ve just...I’ve had more than one guy and even a woman walk in on me changing or into my bathroom and it’s like, she’s just the help, nobody cares. They don’t touch so it’s like...what can I even do? Then my house before this one, the guy tried getting in my shower with me and I shoved him and he broke his arm and I just don’t understand why so many people think I’m just a piece of meat. Even my ex never got why it bothered me so much. They didn’t touch me so what was wrong with it? He just didn’t get it. He would get mad if I wasn’t in the mood for sex. Nobody ever fucking gets it except you who I lied to and pissed off tonight and without a word of an explanation why, you say you won’t let somebody hurt me. Do you get why you’re the opposite of fucking settling Jensen?”

“I won’t hurt you.”

“I know you won’t Jensen.”

“How?”

“Because you’re a good person. You’re so gentle and kind. I know you’re strong and tough but I see it everyday. You should never be worried about how your kids will turn out. If they are half as good as you are they’ll be fucking great people. Your daughters aren’t gonna put up with shit and your son is gonna be kind to everyone and say fuck you to the toxic guys out there. I can already tell the kind of person you are through them and it’s a good one. A really good one.”

“I’m not the only good person in their lives,” he said. You sniffled and looked down, Jensen’s hand sliding under your chin and tilting it up. “You don’t have to apologize for not telling me all of that. Never apologize for not telling me that. Okay?”

“I never told anyone about…the other stuff,” you said, wanting to look down but Jensen’s hand holding your chin up.

“You have nothing to be embarrassed about. I’m sorry it took you so long to find people that would protect you.”

“You mean…” He nodded and dropped his hand away, running it over your head. “You’re not gonna like, go back and kick his ass are you?”

“Want me to? I’m very tempted at the moment,” he said.

“I just want to go home. I could use one of those hugs right now.”

“Do you want to stay with me tonight? Just to stay, nothing more.” You nodded and he kissed your forehead, a tiny smile crossing your face. Ten minutes later you were home and the babysitter was gone, Jensen pulling you into his room next to yours. You blew your nose in his bathroom and washed off your face, lifting your head to find a pair of your pajama shorts and one of his shirts on the vanity beside you. He smiled as he ducked out, leaving you to change. You let your hair down and took off your bra before you walked out and saw his blanket on the opposite side of the bed. “Warm enough?”

You spun around as he walked inside and you nodded, Jensen pulling you into a hug. 

“I’m sorry for how I was at the bar,” you said.

“I was the one that overreacted, not you,” he said. You felt goosebumps on your arms and he pulled away to turn up the heat, nodding over to the bed. The covers were flung back and you climbed underneath, Jensen getting in on his side. His arm wrapped over your waist and pulled your chest close to his, face only inches away. “You don’t have to worry about him anymore. No one will hurt you again. I promise.”

You moved closer to him, resting your forehead against his.

“Remember last Saturday when we were on the trampoline and you talked about those safety nets,” you said.

“Yes, I do.”

“You’re a really good net,” you said softly.

“So are you,” he murmured. He kissed the tip of your nose and you shut your eyes. “What’d you want to be when you were little?”

“A princess,” you said. He chuckled and you smiled. “I wanted a prince to come take me away and everything would be just fine.”

“Really?”

“Princesses were always happy at the end of the movie,” you said. “They got the boy and they were happy. Then I grew up and prince charming doesn’t exist.”

“Cause you’re not a damsel in distress. You didn’t need the prince to save you.”

“But the prince would have made life so much easier.”

“I’m partial to badass princesses myself,” he said. You opened your eyes and he was smiling.

“I’ve never noticed your freckles before.”

“They come out more when I spend some time in the sun.” You moved a hand up and traced under his eye, Jensen nuzzling into his pillow. “Make you a deal. If the badass princess saves me, the scared prince will save her too.”

“Okay,” you said. You kissed him lazily, Jensen smiling through it. 

“Do you want to be a nanny forever?”

“Not forever. It’s an easy way to feel like you have a family when you don’t.”

“Now you do,” he said.

“Jensen you don’t know if this will work out.”

“I do and you do and we’ll take it slow anyways,” he said. “Which is why I’m asking do you want to be a nanny forever.”

“Why?”

“Because maybe someday I won’t need one,” he said. 

“I thought about being an elementary school teacher when I was eighteen for a hot second.”

“You did? You’d be amazing.”

“Pay in Texas is crap though. I make more as a nanny.”

“If money wasn’t an issue though, would you want to be a teacher still?”

“Anything at all?” you asked, Jensen nodding, nose brushed against yours. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”

“You okay?” he asked, reluctantly letting you out of bed.

“I’m good. I want to show you something,” you said. You slipped out of the room and down the hall to the playroom, picking up a book. Jensen was sat up in bed when you returned and crawled under the covers. You handed him the book and he smiled.

“I don’t remember buying this,” he said, flipping it over. “There’s no serial code on it.”

“You can’t buy it. I wrote a children’s book and printed a few copies for myself,” you said.

“You wrote a book?” he asked, flipping through it. “Did you draw this?”

“Yeah,” you said, Jensen staring at you. “I don’t know if it’s any good. I never tried publishing it.”

“You want to write children’s books, don’t you?” he said, starting to read the story.

“I have a number of them written out. I would make up the stories for kids at bedtime and decided to write them down. It’s kinda like whinnie the poo, that age group, you know? Same group of characters but different stories,” you said.

“These are adorable,” he said, turning another page. You were quiet while he read through for a few minutes, Jensen smiling when he shut the book. “I’ve never read a children’s book where they deal with the loss of a parent.”

“The kids really like it,” you said.

“You should publish this. Seriously. It’s cute and I’m a grown ass man and it made me feel better about Dee.”

“It’s just a story,” you said, rubbing the back of your neck.

“I make stories for a living. This whole place would fall apart without stories. This is good. You should consider trying to get it published.”

“Maybe if that nanny job doesn’t work out I will,” you said. 

“Do you mind if I keep this?” he asked.

“Not at all. I gave it to JJ in the first place.”

“Thanks. I want to read this to the twins tomorrow,” he said. He set it on the nightstand and slid back down, pulling you with him. “Why’d the mom fox die in the story? I would have expected the dad wolf considering…”

“Wish fulfillment for a nice father,” you said. “Plus I like drawing the wolf.”

“I like him. He’s fluffy,” chuckled Jensen. “Is that why you asked if I carry a picture of my kids when we met?”

“I’m done with asshole parents. If they treat their kids like shit they sure as hell aren’t gonna treat me any better. You seemed like a good guy. Good guys tend to do that kind of thing.”

“I’m not always good.”

“Yeah, you are,” you said. You shut your eyes and nuzzled close to him, Jensen letting out a soft hum. “You okay? With me being here.”

“Very. Feeling better after everything that happened?”

“Mhm,” you said. “I’m still sorry I lied to you.”

“Did you ever lie about your mom?” he asked. “I mean aside from the fact she adopted you, did you lie about her?”

“No.”

“Then you didn’t lie, not really. I’m sorry it came out like that. You should have been able to tell me in your own time.”

“You still would have been angry,” you said. 

“I still would have come to my senses too. I’m not perfect. I never was.”

“I don’t want someone perfect,” you said. Your head rested against his chest and you let out a soft sigh.

“Goodnight, Y/N,” he said. He kissed the top of your head and tucked it under his chin, adjusting the blankets once before he stilled.

“Goodnight, Jensen.”

_______

A/N: Read Part 6 here!

[paperrretro]

charm.

Pairing: Adam Banks x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 2,882 words

Warnings: Mild swearing

Request: Can you do a request for Adam Banks x reader? He tries to propose to the reader a few times but gets interrupted and then he finally finds a way where they don’t and he asks the hockey team to help him out with proposal and it is just fluff and cute and then the reader tells him that she is pregnant?

[A/N: seeing some of the og ducks in game changers made my heart warm. so proud they still got the duck spirit after all these years :’) banksy’s in his senior year of pre-law in this fic !

“You have good taste, Banksy,” Connie insists, exasperated. “She’ll love it. Don’t worry.”

“But what if she doesn’t?” Adam persists, already doubting his purchase. He opens the box and stares down at the lustrous silver ring nestled inside. “I feel like it was too easy.”

The way his dad talked about it, buying an engagement ring should practically be an Olympic sport. The older Banks had spent four months looking for the perfect ring when he wanted to propose to Adam’s mom. He’d even traveled to a different state.

Adam spent three weeks looking and didn’t have to go farther than Minneapolis.

He sighs. Of course, your preferences are a lot different from his mom’s – it’s almost funny to think about you wearing a huge, diamond-encrusted gold ring on your finger – and he did spend a decent amount of money just now. But still –

“I don’t think I spent enough for it.”

The look Connie gives him could probably wither a plant.

“It’s more than enough, Banksy. Believe me.” When Adam opens his mouth to contend, the woman starts ushering him out of the jewelry store. “Look, we’ve both known [Y/n] since forever and we know what she likes. If you don’t trust your own judgement, don’t you at least trust mine?”

“Well, yeah –”

“It’s the perfect ring. And I’m not just saying that,” Connie says. “So let’s go. I have a date with Guy tonight, and I need to get ready.”

Adam looks at her as she raises her eyebrows. Then, with another, more amused sigh, he pockets the dainty box and heads toward his car.

“You’re getting really good at arguing, Connie.”

“I was always good at it,” she replies sweetly. “I’m pre-law for a reason, Banksy.”

Adam rolls his eyes and chuckles.

—

The two of you have been talking about marriage for the past year. To be totally honest, Adam had been thinking about it for much longer that that – ever since he finally started dating you near the end of high school, in fact (you’d never let him live that down if you knew) – but now that you’re both about to finish undergrad, the idea has become less out there and more right here.

“Not to be traditional or anything, but I wouldn’t mind if you were the one to propose,” you had told him one evening, fingers running through his hair. “I’d say yes.”

“Right now?” he’d asked.

You laughed and ruffled his locks. “Yeah, actually.”

That had been the green light. After talking to Charlie and Connie, Adam had resolved to propose to you during winter break. It wouldn’t be too close to the beginning of the semester, nor would it be overshadowed by graduation, and he would already have his law school applications submitted by then. Just right. The proposal would be perfect.

Unfortunately, Adam Banks had drastically overestimated his luck.

—

Attempt One starts out exactly as planned.

It’s a clear Thursday evening, cold in that particular way that you and Adam like, and he takes you out for dinner at one of the higher-end restaurants in Edina. Admittedly, both of you would’ve preferred something a little less snobbish; however, Adam had wanted you and himself to be nicely dressed when he proposed, and this was the only reasonable cover he could think of.

In any case, you look beautiful. But you always do.

“Maybe we should dine and ditch,” you joke over a plate of overpriced salad, keeping your voice low just in case a waiter is nearby. “What do you say, Banksy?”

“As fun as that would be, I’ll have to pass.” He grins at you over the drinks. The box burns a hole in his pocket underneath the table. “Lawyers probably shouldn’t break any laws.”

“Pre-law. You still have some time.”

You wink at him, taking a sip of water. Adam rolls his eyes and huffs out a laugh.

The meal is good – worth the price, thank god, though the company is better. You’re in good spirits by the time he pays the bill and leaves the restaurant with you, coats zipped up over your nice clothes and shoulders pressed close as you walk back to the car. The radio is turned on low while he drives to the park where you often have dates.

“What’re we doing here?” you ask as he parks.

Adam taps his fingers lightly on the steering wheel. “Just thought it’d be nice.”

“You want to kiss me under the streetlight, Banksy?”

“If you want me to.”

You just smile and unbuckle your seatbelt, opening the passenger door and getting out.

This is it. Adam feels for the ring box and takes a deep breath, taking the key out of the ignition and unbuckling his own seatbelt. Under the streetlight. He hurriedly smooths his hair back.

The passenger door suddenly opens again and he nearly has a heart attack.

“—kidding me,” you’re saying. Eyes wide, Adam watches as you settle back into your seat and gesture stiffly with your free hand. “Geez, you know you can’t drive after dark during the winter. Did you – fine, okay. I’ll be there soon. Just stay in the car.”

“What happened?” he questions, hopes already falling as you hang up.

"Dani got stranded on the way home. I have to pick her up.” You sigh deeply, looking over at him. “Sorry, I just – I’m so sorry, Adam. If you could just drop me off back at my place …”

The spark in your eyes from before has faded, replaced with something wearier as you pocket your phone. Adam chews the inside of his cheek at your guilty expression. Then he puts the key back into the ignition.

“Where’d she get stuck? I can drive,” he says.

The look that washes across your face as you tell him is enough for now. He has time.

—

Attempt Two occurs on a Saturday night, and it’s snowing just a little bit.

You had been feeling sick this morning but got better well before the evening. Everything and everybody seem to be in the right place at the right time, so Adam and you set out to the same park where your date had been cut off the week before.

“Come on.”

He skates backwards on the pond, smooth and instinctual, as he calls your name. You finish lacing up your skates and regard him with mock offense.

“Good things come to those who wait, Banksy.”

He skates over and takes your free hand. “And that good thing is you?”

You step onto the pond. “Bingo.”

The pair of you skate around for almost two hours, quickly, slowly, everything in between. The winter air resonates with the sounds of your laughter and his. Adam finds it hard to tear his eyes from you for even a second.

Whenever he and you go skating, he’s transported back in time to when he had first met you – curious and suspicious, just two kids caught up in the drama of peewee hockey, living for the game with not much else on your minds. Oh, it was a disaster. You didn’t get along right away. But with every practice session on the rink, every Ducks game and every misadventure, you and Adam learned more and more about each other; a friendship bloomed there on the ice, and eventually, something more.

And after years of that feeling, the two of you finally realized what it was.

The only sound left is the silky hiss of blades cutting across the ice.

Adam exhales a cloud of breath as the two of you slowly come to a stop, rehearsing the words in his mind. “Are you ready to go? It’s getting pretty late,” he says.

“Well, I guess we should head back before we freeze our asses off.” Your eyes squint impishly above the edge of your scarf.

Always the comedian. Adam chuckles as the two of you leave the center of the pond.

He goes through the motions carefully, hyperaware of your movements. Slow stop. Skates off, boots on. A quick grin as you start crunching through the snow. Hoping that he isn’t being conspicuous, Adam leads you back towards the car but stops at the bench underneath the big tree you always used to climb.

You tilt your head when his hand leaves the small of your back. “Banksy? What’s going on?” you ask.

Discreetly reaching for the pocket where the ring is held, Adam takes in a breath and smiles at you.

“Thanks for going out with me tonight.”

You give him an amused look. “Of course.”

“Seriously. I”—he swallows silently and laughs a little—“being with you is one of the best things that’s ever happened to me –”

CRACK

Adam’s next words escape in a wheeze as you lunge forward and shove him back. The heavy pile of snow from the tree branch that had given way, so precarious a few moments before and now caught in the lower branches, falls straight onto the two of you soon after.

“Sorry …”

“It’s fine …” His back hurts.

Snow is melting on his face, and it burns. He wipes it away and sits up, shaking the fluffy powder from his coat with a chilled sigh.

“Are you okay?” you inquire, offering your hand.

He takes it and stands up with a grimace. “Yeah.” He looks at you. “You got snow everywhere. We should get inside the car.”

You frown slightly. “Are you sure? ‘Cause it seemed like you were going to say something important –”

“Just wanted to say I love you.” Adam manages a smile, brushing the snow off your shoulder. He pats his pocket and relaxes when he still feels the box. “Come on, I don’t want you to get any colder. I’m kinda cold, too.”

You regard him carefully. Then you pull your scarf down and peck his cheek.

“I love you too,” you say, soft.

The two of you hurry back to the car to warm up.

—

Attempt Three requires reinforcements. Seven, to be more specific.

“So, to summarize,” Charlie says, tapping the living room table firmly. “First, dinner. Then the holiday lights thing. Then back to your place, with all of us waiting behind some corner to take pictures. Sound good?”

Adam nods. He should’ve asked for help the first time – what was a proposal between two Ducks without backup from the rest of them? “Thanks for helping me out, guys.”

“Third time’s the charm,” Averman quips with a grin, arm slung over the couch. Connie and Guy nod next to him.

Fulton leans back in the La-Z-Boy, feet dangling over the footrest. “Man.” He sighs. “Still can’t believe you guys are getting married.”

“I can,” says Goldberg.

Jesse scoffs. “I saw it coming from a mile away. Cake Eater was whipped the minute she kicked his ass at the Goodwill Games.”

Everyone laughs. Adam grins, blushing slightly. That had certainly been a practice to remember – one that left him properly sore (and in awe) after taking the brunt of one of your famous checks. You had winked at him before skating away.

(Perhaps that had been the start of it all.)

By Wednesday evening, Adam is ready. He combs his hair, shaves, layers up for the cold, and hides the ring box behind a picture frame in the living room library. After a quick call to Dani to check if you’re ready (he’d figured that the best way to keep her out of trouble was to let her in on the scheme), he hops into his car and heads to your place to pick you up.

The two of you get dinner at one of the hole-in-the-wall restaurants in Minneapolis. It had been a favorite stop for the Ducks over the years, so the owners are familiar and friendly, delighted to see you and Adam on a date – very delighted, apparently, since the waiter also drops off a free dessert at the end. Adam cheats a little on his diet and shares a bite of chocolate cake with you.

Phase One: Success.

At the next stop – the holiday lights – you offer your arm to Adam and the two of you walk through the park. Each display gets a rating out of ten, and he gets someone to take a picture of the two of you underneath a glittering tree, grins wide and matching. It’s pretty cold, but the two of you are used to it. He kisses you at the end of the walk and your lips almost stick together.

Phase Two: Success.

Now for the final phase.

While planning out this whole thing with Charlie and the others, Adam had called and asked if you were okay with having a get-together with some of the Ducks after the date. Since his dad and mom had been in Hawaii since the beginning of December, the Banks residence was open for a night of relative rowdiness. You had unsurprisingly agreed.

After a quick text to Charlie to confirm that everything’s ready, the two of you head to the house.

“First time in a while that a bunch of us will all be together,” you comment as you walk into the house, shedding your coat. “Whoa – hey, you left the fireplace on.”

Crap. One of them must’ve turned it on. “Oh, I did? Good thing the house didn’t burn down.”

“Your parents would have a heart attack.”

Adam hums as you wander into the kitchen, probably to get a snack. He heads to the living room and retrieves the ring box, slipping it into his back pocket.

Bzz.

What now? He flips his phone open and squints at the new message.

Charlie: Remember – angle towards the hallway so I can get a good pic. Good luck man

Good luck. Adam takes in a deep breath and calls your name.

“Yeah?” you say. It sounds like you’re eating something.

“Come over here. I have to show you something.”

Your head pops out from the entrance to the kitchen, blinking curiously as you wipe the corner of your mouth with your thumb. Beckoning you to him and then keeping his hands firmly in his pockets, Adam moves surreptitiously to the middle of the living room rug as you join him.

You tuck your hands behind your back and look at him with gleaming eyes. “What is it, Banksy?” you inquire.

“I love you.” His words are heartfelt.

“I love you too.” So are yours.

The warm, nervous, wonderful feeling is starting to bubble up from his stomach to his chest. Forcing down the lump in his throat, Adam cracks a smile.

“I know,” he murmurs. “So … this has been a long time coming, and hopefully I get it right this time. I love you. A lot. And we’ve been together for a while – I mean, not as long as Connie and Guy, but – ha,”—god, he’s getting choked up—“I just … I wanted to show you just how much you mean to me. Right here.”

The gleam in your eyes is quickly becoming shinier, though your grin is wider than ever. Adam pulls the box out of his pocket and hastily gets down on one knee.

“Will you marry me?”

You tackle him into a hug with a tearful laugh, “yes, yes, yes” muttered against his skin as you bury your face in his neck. He drops the box in the chaos, fumbling to return your embrace and kissing you fiercely.

“WHOO! WAY TO GO, BANKSY AND [Y/N]!”

Just like that, Charlie, Fulton, Connie, Guy, Jesse, Averman, and Goldberg tumble into the living room, charging the two of you like a pack of wolves. You yelp, quickly buried in Ducks and full of hysterical glee. Charlie holds a camera high in the air as he shouts.

“Got it! This one’s for the books,” he tells the two of you, showing you the moment right before you tackled Adam. “Giving Connie and Guy a run for their money, I see.”

“We could have a double wedding,” says Connie teasingly. She hugs you and then Adam.

“On an ice rink. Green and yellow for the colors,” you add.

“Classy. I happen to have just the suit,” Averman says, and the three of you laugh.

When the adrenaline dies down and all the hugs have been exchanged, Adam feels you tap his arm and lean in.

“I have something to tell you too,” you say, still somewhat breathless.

He smiles down at you, cheeks flushed. “What?”

You hold his gaze for a few moments, then glance down at your hand, which is placed gently over your belly. His heart skips in his chest. Adam looks at you with wide eyes, and you nod.

“I’m pregnant.”

It’s like getting hit by a truck. He stares, speechless.

Then in a slightly strangled voice, Adam asks, trying to hide the eagerness in his voice, “You are?”

You pull him into a hug and laugh a bit. “Yep. And I’m keeping it.”

The clamor rises again as Adam presses his lips to yours once more. Charlie’s camera flashes. When the two of you pull away, he joins the hug, then Connie, then everyone else.

It is warm. So, so warm. And Adam feels like the luckiest man alive.

[mehphoobia]

could you do ceo!tom x wife!fem!reader

They cuddle each other in bed on the middle on morning. They’re getting dressed professionally and get back to work separately on their jobs. Few hours later, Reader went home early and start cooking for dinner, waiting for Tom to get home. In the few moments later, Tom came home and see Reader fall asleep as Tom smiled as he carry her to bed. Hope they had good day tomorrow

Your request is my command @laurentrvn.tumblr.com

REQUESTS OPEN | MASTERLIST

____________________________🤍_______________________________

LOOKING FORWARD TO TONIGHT

Pairing- ceo!tom x wife!fem!reader

Warnings- same old domestic fluff

The warm blankets protected you from the cool morning breeze. The sunlight choosing to settle on your skin awoke you. You slowly opened your eyes to a new day. Breathed in the fresh morning air which was even more fragrant because of the fresh herbs on your window. You tossed and turned to have Tom sleep by your side. The sunlight which was on your skin had managed to escape to his face, as if it had done its job waking you up and it was Tom’s turn. But no you wouldn’t let the sunlight steal your job.

“Love?” you whispered as you ran your fingers on his smooth yet firm skin. It was a routine getting up early in the morning allowing Tom to be reactive to your touch. He stirred on the bed waking up the blankets too. Tom reached out for your waist and pulled you closer to his chest and mumbled, “Five more minutes please?” His endearing face made it difficult for you to resist his touch. You finally gave in and rested your face between his neck and shoulder.

The mischievous sunlight managed to wake up the birds too. You slowly slid away from Tom and made your way to the washroom. A splash of water on your face was enough to wash away the residual sleep and lethargy. “Do you need help?” Tom asked still half asleep as you changed into your robe and prepped your bath.

“No, thanks” you said and he chuckled teasingly. He finally got up stretched a bit and immediately made his way to the kitchen to boil the water for his tea. He got chia seeds and your fruits without taking his glance off the water as if he had rehearsed everything the day prior. Well the two years of his married life was enough practice. He returned back to your shared bedroom, yawning and walking in baby steps. He took the towel from your hand as you stepped outside your bath. You closed your eyes as he started patting your hair dry.

“Thank you my love” you kissed his cheeks as you got up from your seat. There it was the pouty face and puppy eyes; you knew exactly what it meant.

“No No babe not today. You can’t bunk work today. Now go brush your teeth.” Your words trailed off as you made your out of the shared bedroom. You turned midway and looked at him make his way into the bathroom. “Maybe you will have something to look forward to tonight” you teasingly said. That puffed walk was replaced by Tom sprinting into the bathroom. You laughed softly.

After donning your outfit for your work, you went to the kitchen to cut your fruits and preparing Tom’s tea and sandwich. After tem minutes or so you heard the bathroom door click open and you asked, “Babe where did you keep the new bunch of tissues?” “Second drawer on your left” he answered back fetching his shirt out of the outfit you already had prepared for him and lay on the bed.

Both of you finished your breakfast and picked up your respective bags and stepped outside the house. Tom was near his car when you pulled up and said, “Do you need a ride, mister?” “No thanks” he mimicked you at what you said earlier. You gasped and both of you had a heart laugh. He came over to your side and planted a kiss on your forehead and said, “Love you” you smiled and said, “Love you more.” He stepped back as you drove past him. He admired the lady you were independent yet supportive someone he could lean on and trust, something that was lost in his line of work and life. He drove swiftly to his work, hoping for a good day.

Luckily your boss had a personal event to attend, so all the employees were given an early off. What more could you have asked for? You drove back home and parked your car in the garage. You changed into your comfy clothes and went straight to the kitchen to cook dinner. After thirty minutes or so dinner was cooked and you looked for pepper as you had to sprinkle some on your salad. You looked around the kitchen and found a yellow post it.

“Pepper’s on the third shelf” it said in Tom’s handwriting. You smiled as you found the pepper on sprinkled on the salad. You packed everything up and put it in the fridge to have it reheated later when its dinner time.

You decided to watch your favorite show on Netflix. But your comfy clothes were too comfortable. Too comfortable to sit and watch Netflix so you decided for a quick nap on the couch.

Tom’s set of keys made a click sound as he dropped them while entering the house. He had already found your car in the garage so he expected you to be home. He was about to yell that he was home but he saw you sleeping on the couch. In his attempt to compress his yell he choked on air and coughed.

He hunched down to your sleeping figure and smiled, “this I was definitely looking forward to.” He carried you, trying not to disturb your sleep as he slowly put you on the bed. He changed into his pajamas and lay right beside you. He caressed your hair as he slowly drifted off to sleep.

Both of you fit together like a puzzle, made for each other. There are days when things get hard because of your professional lives but it was turns out okay. As long as Tom is with you, nothing could go wrong.

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A/N- Guys I don’t have a boyfriend and you all are raising my standards af. Another amazing Fic requested by laurentrvn.tumblr.com. I loved writing this one too. Thank you so much for requesting this one and I hope I have satisfied your plot. Let me know what you think about this fic down in the comments.

As always the REQUESTS OPEN so go ahead and put in your requests.

Love yourself..you are worth it ❣❣

[dreamwritesimagines]

OOF THE TITLE–i have a hunch what’s coming but AAAH let’s do this. (future me here: lmao okay, it got lengthy at the end bc I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS)

“Did I get trampled by a horse while sleeping?” you reap what you sow Cherie, you reap what you sow. “No, because I am dying—” // “Don’t joke about that.” oh no :// Anthony still has those nightmares sometimes doesn’t he? gosh i feel like he needs to talk to Cherie whenever he gets those. make him feel safer.

“I will never drink again.” // “You know, I’ve heard your brother say that multiple times and you’re both liars.” LMAO Anthony has experience taking care of both siblings being hungover now. “Cecily doesn’t need the stress of thinking her sister has been in a carriage accident, Y/N.” good point Anthony, always the logical one alskalsk Cherie has all the dramatics taken care of. “Raw eggs and garlic.” the perfect mixture of salmonella LMAO. but no, Anthony taking care of Cherie while hungover is just the cutest and sweetest thing in the world.

“Remind me again why we’re doing this?” meanwhile in the other house, Percy is already complaining why they invited Anthony too when it should have been fine if it was just Cherie LMAO. i can hear him grumbling from miles away. “You can say that at my funeral after I get poisoned at tonight’s dinner and leave you a widow.” LMAAAAAAAAAAAO i can definitely see Percy already paying Aunt Lavinia and begging her to do something about this alskalks. like this whole scene with Anthony and Cherie i am so so sooo sure the mirror of it in the Avon house is Percy complaining to Aunty L. it’s just too funny to picture it like that lol.

ah we’re still at the boy or girl debate i see lmao. i can’t wait for them to find out it’s both. “Nah, you should probably save that list for yourself for the near future.” KENNETH LMAO NOT IN FRONT OF PERCY’S SALAD. he’s not helping Anthony’s case here alkslaks that chaotic energy i love. “Well, you told me to dance with him—” // “You’re the architect of this union when you think about it.” BWAHAH ELIAS. YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW MY GUY. is that a theme here alskalsk i feel like that’s the theme of this chapter lmao. “None of this would’ve been possible without you.” LMAO I LOVE THIS. Elias is just rethinking his life choices now ALSKALSK he planted the seed, now he’s eating the fruit, or in his perspective, the weed lmao. dear lord this dinner alksdsdbdlaj the chaos. “We all know that’s a lie Ken.” BWAHAH WAIT DOES CECE KNOW?? pls i loveeeee. i need more of Cece teasing Hugh and Kenneth every single chance she gets. but lmao, Cece has such a good point everyone in this family does fall in love head first and so so fast. the evidence is astounding like. it’s in their blood LMAO “Don’t worry, you can ask Benedict about what I was like when I was so much as in the same room with you.” i wonder how many times Benedict has rolled his eyes during those times. world record if you ask me.

“Oh my, I hope I’m not interrupting.” WHAT THE FUCK IS HE, THE FUCK?? WHY WOULD HE JUST BARGE IN??? he’s already getting on my nerves UGH. “a look that you could only describe as anger crossing his face” HE HAS NO RIGHT TO BE ANGRY FUCK YOU. god he’s such a FUCKING ASSHOLE UGH. why is he so fucking smug about this??? he’s taunting them and he’s fucking enjoying it. this fucking vile, poor excuse of a human. can someone pass me that knife, i won’t do anything bad i promise.

“grabbing the knife on the table” OMG ALSKALSK GO CHERIE. LMAO i actually didn’t expect to predict that lmao. “I’ll carve your fucking heart!” OOF!!!! i’m pretty sure in that era, that F-bomb is more than just a bomb, it’s more a nuclear explosion especially when it’s Cherie saying that lmao. i mean look at their reactions. my god this is intense.

“What do I care what you want?” sigh….she’s misplacing her anger here and ugh. trust me, i get her. and i’m all for it, she has every single right to be angry and i would’ve been all for it if she got just a tinyyyyy stab there. BUT, she’s aiming it at the wrong direction now. and sadly, this is not going to end well if she keeps going. as much as i have faith in Anthony’s patience, i honestly am not sure how long he’ll be able to take being Cherie’s punching bag if ever she gets like this again. bc that’s not okay, even if she’s angry, and even is she’s hurt and all, it still won’t excuse it If And When™️ (bc i have a bad feelings it’s bound to happen) she says something bad and hurtful all fueled by anger. i’m sure Anthony will be able to understand the situation or why she’d snapped at him but, i mean, Anthony has a lil bit of a temper and stubbornness of his own. we’re all human after all, we can only take so much and control our emotions to a point. everyone has limits. and just bc the words are said due to intense emotions, that doesn’t mean they won’t hurt.

“It’s not your place to give me orders. Nor will it ever be. Keep that in mind the next time you have the audacity to assume otherwise.” ….Sigh™️ i’m back at it again with my sighing LMAO. AND AND i’m pretty sure i’m going to bring back the whole Communication Is Key™️ again bc let’s be real, it’s will solve all their problems since chapter 1 lmao.

okay, thoughts have be thunk. i’ll be honest, i didn’t interpret what Anthony said as ‘giving her orders’ bc i mostly saw it as him telling her she can’t go back bc she will do something she will regret. in a way, yeah, i understand why Cherie saw it that way but honestly, what was Anthony supposed to do? i feel like either choice he made, he’d lose. it’s another case of choosing the lesser evil, which in this case had been obvious enough and actually has a VERY big difference in consequences.

stopping her and taking her out of the room led to them having this argument, their first fight. which could’ve been handled better i’m sure but everyone’s shocked, everyone’s frustrated and angry. Cherie is full of so many emotions all at once, i mean this is the man who ruined her and her mother’s life. and then we have Anthony getting frustrated bc he honestly can’t see why she’s now angry at him when he technically didn’t do anything wrong. and i can’t blame him for that either bc i will get to that in a sec. so now she’s angry at him, and everything is tense between them. but it’s much more manageable and fixable once they sit down, all calm and clear headed and have a conversation like Mature Adults™️

but the other way, say Anthony let her hurt that man, get her (earned) revenge. one: it would NOT make her feel better and she will realize that once it’s too late. two: Anthony will take the blame of the whole ‘why didn’t you stop her’ not only from himself, but everyone else around them. granted, Cherie isn’t his to control nor is she his responsibility in a way, but at the end of the day, he is her husband.

i mean, Percy himself turned to Anthony for help to get her away. hell, he called him Anthony no Lord Bridgerton or formalities whatsoever. idk about you but i don’t think Percy would’ve done that and dropped his pride or that boundary so so sooo quickly if Cherie’s safety wasn’t a concern. and if what they say that Cherie truly had Cassie’s temper, i’m sure Percy would’ve been the one person who at least had an idea how to deal with it. bc i’m sure he’s seen it before, multiples times at least and have probably been the receiving end of it. and i’m sure, after everything that happened, he’s spent years contemplating on what the better ways he could’ve gone about it every time he and Cassie got into an argument.

and oh my god wait, i just realized something too. in between Anthony’s nightmares, and then him saying earlier in the chapter about her not to joke about dying. i can only imagine that that flashed before Anthony’s eyes for split second. i mean, him saying about her getting hanged if she murdered someone. but what if, what if, Fuckwad™️ manages to get the upper hand? what would happen if he hurt Cherie badly? played it off as an act of defense? with how fucking insane and vile this man is, i honestly do not doubt him going that far, in midst of his anger AND hatred for Cherie, do we really think he’s above hurting her? Anthony is already so so scared to lose Cherie to something completely out of his control, and even then, he will stillblame himself for it. what more if it was something he could’ve stopped? especially if he was right therei mean, he was sitting right beside her.

not to mention, they’re not the only ones in the room. and i’m not talking about the staff and everything and gossip and what not. i’m talking about the safety. we’ve got to remember, Cece is pregnant here. not only will it cause stress and shock, but what if in midst of the chaos if Anthony hadn’t stopped Cherie, the table topples over Cece by accident? or she gets hit by something, like some glass breaks, or other cutlery gets in the way? what if it’ll end up hurting someone else? Aunt Lavinia, Iona, someone could’ve gotten hurt in the middle of it. what if Anthony’s reflexes hadn’t been great, miscalculated it and instead of stopping Cherie from lunging at Fuckwad™️, he ends up getting hurt himself while he tries to stop her? what if that knife had hit him instead? what would Cherie feel after the dust settles and she sees what she’s done?

so Anthony dragging her out of the room, i honestly can’t see a better way he could’ve done or approached that. desperate times, desperate measures. he had to think quick or else it would’ve been so so soo much worse.

i’m honestly not one for taking sides bc both had a few lapses in their judgement and i see where both of them are coming from but, i will say, Cherie was more blinded than Anthony. bc the difference is that, Anthony really didn’t have much of a choice and acted accordingly especially with how fast everything happened. whereas Cherie, especially her words, is being run by intense emotions and being clouded with said emotions after the case when they’d already reached the backyard.

and honestly, yeah, Anthony could have given her comfort, but with how angry she was, i’m afraid she’ll probably take it the wrong way. and boy, if he told her to calm down i swear that would’ve been a bad choice too. i honestly can’t see any other way Anthony could’ve done. maybe he could’ve been gentler and tried to sweet talk her to calm her down and provided comfort but with how stubborn and angry Cherie was? i doubt that would’ve worked either. idk. i think she needs a reminder that Anthony isn’t against her here. he’s on her side and he will always be on her side. he didn’t stop her for some selfish reason, he did it for her, and her safety and her sanity bc i honestly can’t imagine what it would do to her once all that anger dies down and the adrenaline has fizzled and all she’ll see is the blood on her hands.

honestly, i’m so glad Elias was at least calm about this, the best he way he could. i mean, we’ve seen it before when Cherie got angry at him few chapters back, he really isn’t one to blow up. kinda like how Percy is in this situation too. it’s like they’re father and son huh LMAO. but no, i’m glad bc not only will it make it worse if he had a temper, Cece would’ve been so so concerned and stressed and i’m pretty sure that’s not good for the baby. i’m sure that crossed Elias’ mind too.

goooood, i know the next chapter is going to be just as intense. especially since since this is their first big fight. but i’m sure they’ll work through it. they just need to, come on say it with me, Communicate™️ but aaah we’re closer to the end, and i know it’s going to be bittersweet but i can’t wait for the next one! this was intense but i loved it nonetheless.

– TM Anon™️

TM ANON OH MY GOD-

Honey I want to print this analysis out and pin it on my wall THIS IS AMAZING AND YOU’RE AMAZING AND I’M TOTALLY FANGIRLING OVER YOU❤🥰

AAAAAAA I’M SO EXCITED-

I didn’t think anyone ever read the title names, this took me by surprise in such a lovely way! ❤

Anthony definitely has those nightmares where she dies 💔 He has them very often! 💔

Lolll I feel like Cherie and Elias are somehow similar when they’re hungover, they’re both extremely grumpy and dramatic 😂 And Anthony has some experience with that, because of Elias 😂

“Remind me again why we’re doing this?” meanwhile in the other house, Percy is already complaining why they invited Anthony too when it should have been fine if it was just Cherie LMAO. Ooooh I love this mental image so much! 😂 And that is so true, Percy was no doubt complaining about how they didn’t need to invite Anthony, and how Cherie didn’t have to bring him with her 😂 Meanwhile Lavinia was facepalming and reminding him that Cherie and Anthony are married 😂

Kenneth pretends to be above all the drama but he deep down loves it, that’s why he messes with Anthony right in front of Percy and Elias 😂 And Anthony and Cherie are so going to remind Elias that he’s essentially the reason why they’re together now 😂 If it weren’t for him, I doubt they would have met or get that close ❤

Cece knoooows 😏❤ She totally knows and she talked to Hugh about Ken already❤

Oh Benedict probably rolled his eyes like millions of times whenever Anthony was in the same room with Cherie before they got together because Anthony is not subtle at allll😈

i’m pretty sure in that era, that F-bomb is more than just a bomb, it’s more a nuclear explosion especially when it’s Cherie saying that lmao. EXACTLY!

Cursing in public was a big no no, like especially in front of ladies, and a lady wasn’t even supposed to know that word let alone use it like that 😂 It flew over Iona and Cece’s heads but all the men at the table were SHOCKED 😂

She is directing her anger at the wrong direction, I agree! ❤ And that will lead to some real tense moments, because as you said, Anthony is patient but he has his own temper and stubbornness 😈

They need to work on their communication! ❤

in a way, yeah, i understand why Cherie saw it that way but honestly, what was Anthony supposed to do? i feel like either choice he made, he’d lose. it’s another case of choosing the lesser evil, which in this case had been obvious enough and actually has a VERY big difference in consequences. I agree with this so much! ❤ He did what was right, and even if Cherie can’t see that right at that second, things could’ve gone so much worse than a lover’s quarrel in the backyard if Anthony didn’t do what he did ❤

i mean, Percy himself turned to Anthony for help to get her away. hell, he called him Anthony no Lord Bridgerton or formalities whatsoever. idk about you but i don’t think Percy would've done that and dropped his pride or that boundary so so sooo quickly if Cherie’s safety wasn’t a concern.

I AM SCREAMING-

You noticed that tiny detail! 😱😍 Omg you expressed it in a much better way than I could, yesssss! Both Percy and Anthony could see things in a very clear way the moment she lunged for the knife and Anthony pulled her back, and this first priorities were;

1)    Get Cherie out

2)    Keep her safe and away from there

And that could only happen if Anthony got her out of that room! And Percy knew he could trust Anthony with Cherie’s safety, no matter how “annoyed” he pretends to be by him, Anthony is the one person who Percy trusts completely with Cherie ❤

and if what they say that Cherie truly had Cassie’s temper, i’m sure Percy would’ve been the one person who at least had an idea how to deal with it. bc i’m sure he’s seen it before, multiples times at least and have probably been the receiving end of it. YESSSS!

Percy has seen it before for sure, with Cassie! And considering Cherie’s temper is like a reflection of Cassie’s, he knew the best bet was to get her out and give her time to calm down ❤

in between Anthony’s nightmares, and then him saying earlier in the chapter about her not to joke about dying. i can only imagine that that flashed before Anthony’s eyes for split second. i mean, him saying about her getting hanged if she murdered someone. but what if, what if, Fuckwad™️ manages to get the upper hand? what would happen if he hurt Cherie badly? played it off as an act of defense?

Ooooh this is a genius idea, I haven’t thought about this before BUT IT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE! 😍 Like, Anthony already had nightmares about her dying when everything was going absolutely great, and now that there’s an actual danger of that happening? It probably did flash before his eyes! ❤

Yessss, her trying to attack Frederick was already incredibly dangerous for her own well being but also for the others as well! ❤ Like, for example Elias wanted to attack him too, I’m sure he did, but one touch from Cece was enough to make him remember that protecting Cece (and his family) was above taking revenge right there and then ❤ It could’ve gone so badly, thankfully it didn’t! ❤

so Anthony dragging her out of the room, i honestly can’t see a better way he could’ve done or approached that. desperate times, desperate measures. he had to think quick or else it would’ve been so so soo much worse. THIS IS SO TRUE!

That was the right call on his part, for everyone in that room❤

and honestly, yeah, Anthony could have given her comfort, but with how angry she was, i’m afraid she’ll probably take it the wrong way. and boy, if he told her to calm down i swear that would’ve been a bad choice too. i honestly can’t see any other way Anthony could’ve done. maybe he could’ve been gentler and tried to sweet talk her to calm her down and provided comfort but with how stubborn and angry Cherie was? i doubt that would’ve worked either

Exactly, and the way Anthony sees it, making sure she’s physically alright was the first priority there! Like, in his perspective, calming her down could wait until he was sure she was unharmed, or that she wouldn’t do anything that could possibly lead to her getting harmed❤ He was being pretty logical about the situation, and that’s also why they clashed that badly because Cherie is led by her emotions at that point while Anthony is using his logic❤ That fight was inevitable, because not only do they not understand each other, they also didn’t listen to each other❤

i think she needs a reminder that Anthony isn’t against her here. he’s on her side and he will always be on her side. This is a great point! ❤ Anthony and Cherie are in love but they still aren’t used to “working as a team” yet, and that will be something they’re going to have to learn in the next chapters, and it will improve their relationship for so much better ❤

Elias and Cherie are absolute opposites when it comes to expressing their anger 😁 Elias took after Percy on that, while Cherie took after Cassie🥰

Oh I have loooots of ideas for the next chapter and I’m so excited! I hope you’ll like it! ❤

DARLIIING THIS WAS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! I love your analyses so much, and it makes me see the chapter from such a different and new perspective, I can’t thank you enough for this! ❤❤ Love you! ❤❤❤

[mxchellesworld]

Helping Hand

Spencer Reid x Reader

*tw below* please read the info before the fic and proceed with caution

Request; Hey Ik that this may be super dark and feel free to skip it if you want but I was wondering if you could do a BAU! Reader where she has an eating disorder and Spencer realizes it and tries to help her through it while not alerting the team per her request. I’m not trying to romanticize eating disorders at all and I totally get it if it’s to hard

Warnings; eating disorders, mentions of throwing up, starving

a/n; this request hit me hard because these are things that i struggle with to this day. over the summer i dove into a really bad pit so many of the instances mentioned are based off of things i have done. i feel like this really helped me put something negative into a place of comfort. please know i am not trying to romanticize eating disorders or invalidate any other aspects i didn’t mention. 

if you need help please reach out to someone you trust or a professional, its not easy but i promise people are there to help :)

You didn’t know what triggered it.

That was a lie, you did. You just chose not to acknowledge it and act like everything was fine. Why place the blame on someone or something else when it was just your fault. 

Maybe it was when you noticed how much easier the girls got into dresses whenever you went shopping. JJ was easily a size 0, looking as stunning and glowing as ever in the little dresses you guys would pick out for her to try on. How she could so swiftly slide in, never having to ask to a size up or help with getting the zipper up past her back. 

Maybe it was when you did that yoga class you saw how good everyone looked. Even after the intense class the other participants came out glistening and smiling in their matching sports sets. While you on the other hand had sweat stains trailing on the neck of your old gym shirt. Why had a workout made you feel worse about yourself than you did when you started?

Then it was like every little instance was adding up. Pushing and pushing you back into old habits you thought you had outgrown. At first you got the excitement of seeing the quick progress. Within two weeks you could see the small changes. But that was mostly your mind tricking you. As the months went on then you knew the progress you were making was in more than just your head.

It felt so good walking into work and hearing the hoots of

“wow you look so good!”

“that top looks so nice on you”

“you look different now, but its a good different”

That just fueled the need to keep going. You didn’t think anyone would notice because whenever anyone would ask what your secret was you’d say “Oh I’ve been trying fasting.” or “I just workout more often.” Which wasn’t a lie but of course you couldn’t tell them to what extreme. 

You couldn’t mention how 16 hour fasts soon turned into 20 then a whole day surviving off coffee and gum. How those workouts were never for your enjoyment. How you would rack up as many sit ups as you could just to burn off any extra calories possible. 

Or how you couldn’t eat a meal normally anymore. If you weren’t counting the calories you would make that trip into the bathroom and try to get rid of the contents of your stomach.

However someone did notice - Spencer. He was your best friend and you guys used to spend everyday together. So when you started to pull away it caught him off guard. He thought that maybe he had done something to offend you. Then when he had asked you about it and you shrugged it off he was thrown for a loop. 

Then he really saw it. After your talk you started hanging out with him again but he noticed you always refused any outings where food was involved. Even then he noticed that you would pick around your food, never fully finishing the meals you used to one love. 

Or at work instead of going down to the food truck for lunch, you would decline saying you weren’t hungry or that you had a big breakfast. 

How during cases you would get dizzy spells and be tired more often. He used to have to keep up with you and Morgan always having bursts of energy out there but now he was keeping an eye out to make sure you didn’t pass out on the field. 

He knew he had to say something when he noticed the tears in your eyes while out at dinner with the team. You had picked out a small salad, tossing the green leaves around the plate and taking minimal bites. Then desert came and you shared a few bites of chocolate cake with Emily. Shortly after you had excused yourself to the restroom, coming back a few minutes later with your lipstick gone and watery eyes. He knew what you did in there. 

At first he was upset with himself for not noticing sooner. He knew what it was like to go through a tough time without support and he didn’t want his best friend to have to deal with something on their own. He would do anything he could to try and help. 

When walking out of the restaurant he came up to you, “Hey Y/n, do you want me to take you home so you don’t have to get on the metro?”

“Yeah Spence that’d be great thank you,” you said smiling at him and walking to his car. 

The ride to your house was spent listening to music. He let you play with the radio, seeing how you perked up to the music, emitting a happiness he hadn’t seen on you in a while. 

Arriving at your apartment you invited him in to watch a movie and catch up. You handed him some sweatpants and a t-shirt he had left from past sleep overs which he took into the bathroom to change. You met back in the living room. You had on a big sweatshirt, sweatpants, and fuzzy socks. 

“Y/n you look like it’s gonna start snowing in here,” he said with a laugh trying to lighten the mood. 

“Damn near. I’ve been so cold recently.”

He tried to stop the fact from coming up but his brain wouldn’t let him keep it down, “feeling cold is one of the leading symptoms of an eating disorder including fatigue, sleeping issues, and irregular menstrual cycles.” 

You both sat there with wide eyes. Neither of you knowing what to say. You looked down and started picking at your nails, chewing on the inside of your lip. 

“When did you know,” you asked still not looking up. 

“A little while ago but I didn’t know how to bring it up,” he started, “I- I didn’t want to say anything to upset you. I just want to be here for you Y/n in any way I can.”

You looked up to meet his eyes which were also getting glossy, “The shine in your eyes is gone. You don’t eat the pasta Rossi brings or Penelope’s cupcakes anymore. You’re hurting yourself Y/n and I couldn’t live with myself if anything bad was to happen.”

You shifted in your seat on the couch to get yourself in his embrace. You sighed as Spencer wrapped his arms around you, letting out the sob you felt was stuck in your throat for months. 

“I’m sorry Spencer,” you choked out, “I don’t know whats wrong with me.”

He shushed you and rubbed his hands on your back, letting you cry on his chest. It broke him to see you in pain, knowing he could only do so much to help. 

“You’re going to be ok. I’m right here and I’ll always be here to help you if you want me to be,” he said into your hair. 

You pulled away and he wiped your tears off with this thumb, “Please don’t tell the team a-about this,” you hiccuped, “I just don’t wanna worry them, and I know Hotch will make me take time off.”

“Hey hey I won’t tell them, I promise. But if you feel like it’s getting worse then you need to at least talk to Hotch. I’ll take time with you and make sure to be with you every step of the way.” 

“I don’t know what I’d do without you Spencer. I love and appreciate you so much. Thank you for being you,” you said leaning into his palm.

“I love you too y/n. But don’t thank me, I don’t know how to be anyone else.”

You went back to your previous position of having your head on his chest where he continued to rub your back and whisper reassuring phrases in your ear. You didn’t know when you ended up falling asleep but you knew that whenever you woke up you’d be ready to get help knowing you had Spencer in your corner. 

[drmmyrs]

The Way I Loved You (Poppy x MC) Part 2

I want to make this a slow burn type of fic so I’ll just be giving crumbs for now 😅 I swear tho there’ll be more plot and action in the later parts.

tag list: @whackawriting @samanthadalton @crazzyplays @uselesslesbianfr @baexpoppy @alexroyard @alexlabhont @veenast @cloakanddaggerthings​ (If you wanna be added or removed or just prefer a certain ship just let me know ❤️)

Read Part 1

Word Count: 1700

Warning: none

"I'm sorry, Ms. Min-Sinclair, we only have one more room available for tonight."

Bea watched as the expression on Poppy's face went from horrified to anger. "Check again, please."

"I'm really sorry, but unfortunately, all our other rooms are already booked since we had several guests come in because of the storm," the receptionist said apologetically.

The look Poppy gave the receptionist must have been pretty damn scary, given that his hand was now visibly shaking.

Poppy's voice was beginning to rise. "Listen to me you–"

Bea clasped her hand around Poppy's wrist and dragged her away from the poor guy before she could make a scene. Kind and sweet Poppy was gone entirely. Instead, standing before her was the self-absorbed, shrieking harpy Bea very much knew and hated.

"Calm down, Poppy. The receptionist was just doing his job."

"Calm down?! There's not a chance in hell that I–"

"You know what? If you want to sleep outside in the storm, go ahead because I certainly won't be stopping you," Bea snapped.

Poppy was seething but didn't say anything else.

"I'll be in our room. Feel free to join me once you actually figure out how to act like an adult."

Without waiting for Poppy's response, Bea made her way to the receptionist to finish the transaction, all the while apologizing for Poppy's behavior. Once she got the key, she went straight to the room.

Bea had hoped there were two beds at least, but the way their luck was going, it only made sense that a single queen-sized bed stood at the center of the room. The room itself was average with bland white walls and a window with a city view that was currently shrouded by heavy rain and mist. It certainly wasn't nearly like her room back in Belvoire, but it wasn't like she had any other choice.

After setting down what little things Bea had brought with her–obviously not expecting to spend the night there, and definitely not with Poppy–Bea collapsed on the bed, exhausted. A few minutes later, the door opened, and Poppy walked in, evidently calmer than before. She stood near the doorway, scanning the entire room with a frown. Bea fully expected her to complain about, well, everything, but she just trodded to the side of the bed and glared at her.

"Move."

Bea moved obediently to the other side of the bed, too exhausted to argue. Poppy gracefully slid into bed and took her phone out.

"Stay at your side of the bed, and don't talk to me."

Bea frowned. "I didn't even–"

Poppy scowled at Bea, and Bea made the gesture of zipping her lips. The only sound that followed was the heavy downpour of rain that reverberated across the room. After an hour, Bea got up from bed and started to walk towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Poppy called out, almost sounding... worried.

Bea raised her eyebrow. "I'll come back if that's what you're worried about."

Poppy rolled her eyes, but Bea could see a slight flush on her cheeks. "As if. Get lost in the storm for all I care."

Bea laughed. "I'm just gonna check out the boutique I saw near the lobby. Don't really wanna sleep in these clothes." Bea hesitated. "Do you... want to come with?"

Without answering, Poppy rose from the bed and strode out of the room. Bea followed soon after, and for someone so short, Poppy sure walked incredibly fast that Bea had a hard time keeping up with her.

"Do you even know where it is?" Bea asked.

Probably realizing she didn't, Poppy slowed down until they were walking alongside each other. When they reached the boutique, Poppy immediately frowned in disgust at the clothing selection.

"Ugh, what even is this?" Poppy remarked, looking at a shirt with an unflattering shade of pink.

"Are you saying you can't pull that off?" Bea challenged.

"No, I'm saying that I have standards. Obviously, something you know nothing about." Poppy made her way through the selection, sneering all the while. "I'm not wearing these."

Bea rolled her eyes. "Get off your high horse. If you want to sleep in your sweaty clothes, at least do me a favor and not, like, sleep next to me."

Poppy let out a scornful laugh. "Oh sweety, I'll still smell better than whatever pigsty your perfume came from. But maybe... I'll just wear nothing then."

Despite herself, an image of Poppy naked sprung to Bea's head, sending heat all over her body. She slightly faced away from Poppy.

Noticing Bea's sudden silence, Poppy curiously looked at her. "My, my, Farmsville, don't tell me you're already imagining me naked," Poppy said with a smirk.

Mustering her most dismissive tone, Bea said, "Please, you're not even that hot." A blatant lie, of course. Poppy is a lot of things, and 'hot' is definitely one of those. Thankfully, Poppy moved on after seeing a dress that, Bea agreed, 'should be burned.'

After a painstakingly long search, Poppy was finally able to find something 'tolerable.' They made their purchases and went back to their room. When they arrived, Poppy was the first to get in the shower, and when she came out, she was wearing a tight-fitting tank top and bike shorts that hugged and accentuated all her curves. The room suddenly got so much hotter as Bea tried her absolute best not to stare at her, and even so, she knew it was a losing battle which is why she jumped to the shower the first chance she got. After showering, Bea realized that in her hurry, she forgot to take her clothes with her. She wrapped a towel and walked out to the bedroom to get her clothes. When her back was turned to Poppy, Bea glanced at a mirror nearby and was surprised to see Poppy staring at her with her mouth parted slightly. But when she casually turned around, Poppy had already averted her gaze.

Later that night, the storm got worse as thunders started to rumble outside. At first, Bea thought it was just a trick of the light, but after a few more claps of thunder, she could see Poppy flinch at every roar with her eyes clenched shut.

Is Poppy... actually scared of thunderstorms?  

As if to answer her question, Poppy started to heave heavily, with traces of sweat forming on her forehead. And as much as Bea despised Poppy–or at least that's what she kept telling herself–she actually felt sorry for her. And against her better judgment, Bea reluctantly placed her hand over Poppy's and gave it a soft squeeze. Poppy tensed for a moment at the gesture before she relaxed and gripped Bea's hand tighter. In response, Bea started tracing soothing circles on the back of her hand, and they fell asleep through the thunderstorm, hand-in-hand.

When Bea woke up, most of the storm had already passed, with light to moderate rain falling intermittently. She scanned the room and saw Poppy eating at the desk.

"Your food's getting cold," Poppy said without looking at her.

"You... got me food?"

"I figured since we didn't have dinner yesterday." Poppy turned to face Bea. "Why do you sound so surprised."

Bea furrowed her brows. "Because that's actually nice. And as far as I'm concerned, you're not."

"Well, I don't particularly care about you. And trust me, no one will be happier than me with you gone. But, unfortunately, I do have to keep you alive at least until after the party. Grades and all."

Bea got up and went to the desk to get her food. Poppy got her an English-style breakfast while she was eating... a teensy salad.

Poppy saw Bea looking at her food. "Did you also want a salad?"

"Uh, no. It just doesn't look... filling."

"It's not. But it's not like I have a choice. Their vegetarian selection is awful."

And just when Bea thought Poppy couldn't surprise her anymore.

"Wait, you're... vegetarian?" Bea asked in undisguised surprise.

"Yes." Poppy narrowed her eyes at Bea. "You know, you have to stop assuming you know everything about me. In fact, you know nothing about me."

"Yeah, I'm starting to get that."

Bea went back to bed and started to eat her food, her mind going back to the foster home, how Poppy's entire personality changed around the people there. Before, Bea was so convinced that she had Poppy pegged, just a basic bitch who thought too highly of herself with no regard for others at all. But Poppy was right; Bea barely knew her... and she wanted to know more.

"Why?" Bea turned to face Poppy. "Why are you a vegetarian, I mean. If you don't mind me asking."

Poppy made an annoyed expression. "I do mind, actually."

A grin spread on Bea's face. "Oh my god, you totally care about the animals."

When Poppy didn't respond, Bea continued. "First kids and now animals? My, my, Poppy, what will people say if they knew that their favorite she-devil is actually a big softie."

Poppy stopped eating and turned to give Bea a menacing glare. "If you tell anyone about this, you're dead."

After they finished eating, Bea and Poppy started planning for the party the next day. So naturally, more than a few shouts, insults, and curses were thrown around until they finally, finally, agreed on all the details. Since Poppy was the one with all the connections, she had to call for all the services needed. And when her trusty photographer told her he wasn't available, Poppy cursed in frustration.

"The party, it's not just about your GPA, is it. This is really important to you."

Poppy didn't answer and instead went back to make a few more phone calls.

When everything was settled, the storm had fully passed, and it was already safe to drive home. So imagine Bea's surprise when Poppy said that they were staying there for another night.

"I thought you hated this place."

"I do. But I'm not going to drive an hour home just to go back early tomorrow. Besides, we'll get things done much faster if we stay here."

Bea smiled. "Would you like some champagne?"

[dragonotaku-justineverything]

(Pokémon AU) How did Jaune meet his adorable little Eevee, Caramel? And what was his first interactions with Aerial and her own Eevee Mocha like?

Well... I got a bit carried away again. I just love this AU and I'm really getting into Pokemon again recently, so sorry for the long post ahead.

But I hope you all enjoy it nonetheless!

It was a beautiful day outside Beacon Academy. The sun was shining brightly and hardly any clouds were visible. Multiple flocks of Wingull, Starly, Pidgey and other bird-like Pokémon soared freely in the sky around Beacon. A few letting out some faint cries sporadically. The Wooloos were happily grazing and rolling around in their paddock. Many students and visiting trainers alike were outside, just enjoying the nice weather with their Pokémon. This nice weather gave both Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc the idea to enjoy the day with a nice picnic outside with their friends.

On several blankets spread out in a grassy portion of the academy's lavish courtyard near a tree, the group of eight friends were all eating and chatting away. All of their Pokémon were out of their pokeballs and gathered around them.

Some were just lazing about, such as Ren's Greninja sitting cross legged while dozing off with his head tilted down or Weiss's snow white Vulpix snoozing in Weiss's lap while she sat in the shade of the tree. Others were chowing down, like Nora's Shinx or Blake's Litleo, eating berries/Poké food in their own little food bowls. Or in the case of Pyrrha's Aron, he was eating some screws, nuts, bolts, and other small pieces of scrap metal. Yang was busy brushing her Growlithe's fur, and watched her Combuskin running around with Ruby's Zorua.

Jaune was happily munching on a sandwich. He put the sandwich down and moved his hand to lightly scratch Hera's head, who was laying down next to his left thigh. Normally she'd be laying in his lap, but that space was currently taken. A small glass container was resting in a space between his legs. Inside it was a Pokémon egg he'd "won" two months ago wrapped in a blanket, so Hera had settled for laying right next to him instead. She was adapting pretty well to the new circumstances with said egg. Though Jaune was still wondering how she'd react when it finally hatched

His nails lightly scratched just around the base of the tuft of white fur on her head, just where she really liked it. "Shoo-, mmm *swallow*, sorry. So Pyrrha, you're Metang actually evolved on live TV?"

Pyrrha lowered her fork with the next bit of her chicken and strawberry salad to respond with a smile. "Yes indeed. It happened during the final match of my second tournament at Sanctum. It was quite an astonishing sight."

Jaune smiled and leaned back a bit. "I bet! Man, watching a Pokémon evolve in person must be amazing."

Yang looked up from her Growlithe over at him. "You've never seen a Pokémon evolve?"

Jaune chuckled a bit. "W-well I mean I've seen it on video and stuff, just not in person."

Nora shamelessly jumped in and added her two cents. "Neither have I! It must be soooo cool!"

Pyrrha giggled happily and looked over to her Metang, who was actually on the ground for a change instead of floating, with Cubone resting on its head. "Well, watching my Beldum evolve into Metang was definitely a sight I'll never forget."

They group continued to converse, laugh, and just enjoy themselves. Their Pokémon did as well, all of them getting along pretty well. They were all so engrossed in their merriment, none of them noticed another member slowly walking towards their misshapen circle.

That was until she made her move.

Jaune felt a small tug at his hoodie but ignored it, thinking it was just Hera rolling around in her sleep. It was a pointed finger and a question from Ren that actually made him look. "Uuuh Jaune... do you know who... that is?"

"Huh?" Jaune looked down to where his friend was pointing, which was by his stomach. There, in his hoodie's pocket near his stomach, was a small little brown Pokémon with a small, furry body and a big fluffy brown tail.

And half of its body was buried inside his hoodie pocket, rummaging around in it.

"WAH!??" Jaune nearly jumped up in surprise, but he managed to stay pretty still for the most part, trying not to jostle the egg between his legs. However, he still shot back an inch or two when he threw his hands up above him and fell back, his head lightly landing on the blanket.

Hera, startled by her Papa's sudden jolt, sprang up to her feet and spun to look at him. She lowered her stance, ready to defend him if she needed to! That's when she saw the little brown Pokémon as well, now standing on top of her Papa's stomach while he was laying back, but its top half was still stuffed in her Papa's pocket! What was it doing? Was it trying to attack him?! She wouldn't let it!

"Growl! ROW! GRO-!" She had just started barking at it when someone else's yelling stopped her.

"Eevee! Stop that! That's very rude!"

The brown Pokémon stopped moving finally, and stood still for a moment on Jaune's stomach, then slowly started walking backwards. It took a little tugging, but it finally pulled itself out of Jaune's pocket. As it got free, everyone around got a good look at its top half.

The first thing they all noticed was a large collar of fluffy, cream colored fur. Then two long, thin ears on top of its head. Finally its small, soft, squarish face with two big dark eyes and a happy smile. As well as a small plastic candy wrapper hanging from said smile.

Weiss, Ruby, Yang, and Nora all let out a coo of "Awwwwww" at the same time.

"Eevee no!" The group again heard the voice call out again, and almost all at once, they looked away from the 'Eevee' and towards where it was coming from.

There they saw a young girl, running up to their group with her arms waving above her. She was quite slender, had dark hair pulled back in a ponytail. She had a light blue jacket on, open in the front to show she had on a black halter top underneath it. A pair of tight black and blue pants with heeled fur boots matching in color. A simple black choker around her neck finished her outfit nicely.

Then the group noticed that a Pokémon that was just like the one on top of Jaune right now was also running alongside the girl. One this one had a small band of flowers around the base of one of its ears. It was hopping/skipping along right by her feet as they both ran towards them, its whole body arcing into the air as it followed her.

Within just a few seconds, she was right next to them, her arms still frantically waving. "Eevee you can't just jump on people you don't know like that! That's very rude! And give that candy back! You can't go stealing from peo-" The girl abruptly stopped her admonishment of the Pokémon as she finally looked at who Eevee was still standing on top of. "...JAUNE!?"

Jaune, still laying on his back, turned his head to look at the new girl that screamed his name, and quickly shot back up to a sitting position when he saw her. "Aerial!?"

The two looked at each other for a moment, then both smiled widely and started to laugh. Aerial started talking first. "Hey! What are the odds of running into you like this!"

"Me? What are you doing here haha?!"

Aerial leaned over a bit, smiling down at him. "Aunt Juniper said you'd gone off to Beacon, but I wasn't expecting to see you so soon!"

Jaune, still sitting, smiled brightly back up at her. "Yeah hahaha, it's always been my dream to go to a professional Pokémon academy after all haha. Hera's here too!" As Jaune finished, he pointed towards the Fire-Type.

Aerial shifted her gaze to her and her eyes brightened even more. She got down on her knees and hunched forward, getting close to Hera's height. "Heeeera~ hi! It's been such a long time! How are you?"

Hera's earlier confidence seemed to wane a bit as she started to look a little nervous. Papa seemed to know this woman and was happy to see her, so she shouldn't be worried, but she still pulled back a bit from Aerial. She seemed a little familiar to her as well, but she wasn't sure...

Jaune chuckled. "She might not remember you, Aerial. It was a couple years ago now."

Aerial pouted childishly and straightened her back, "Awwww that's a shame. I definitely remember her!"

"I don't doubt that. You loved her as a kid."

"Uuuummm... hello?"

Jaune and Aerial turned their heads in unison to look at who spoke.

Yang was holding a hand up, like she was waiting to get noticed or called upon. "Uuuh yeah, we're still here. Mind uuuuh, filling us in on what's happening Jaune?"

Jaune sweatdropped a little, slightly embarrassed that he'd completely forgotten about the others present for a minute there. "He he, sorry guys." With one hand, he gestured to Aerial. "Everyone, this is my cousin, Aerial Yeager. She's from Atlas actually, so that's why I was so surprised to see her."

Aerial waved at the group, still with a smile on her lips. "Hi everyone! I trust Jaune's been good to all of you."

A lot of them nodded at that, and many of their Pokémon had stopped in their activities and gathered around as well, looking at the new arrival.

Aerial's eyes scanned over all of them and began to sparkle. "Awwww you all have such amazing Pokémon!"

"Speeeeaking of which... Aerial, are these Pokémon yours?"

Aerial turned away from the group and back to Jaune. He was pointing down right beside him. There, the Eevee from earlier that jumped on Jaune was licking away at the now unwrapped candy that it got from his pocket, looking completely carefree. Meanwhile, it looked like the Eevee with flowers that ran up with Aerial around its ears was admonishing it.

"Y-yeah, they are. H-hey Eevee what did I say! That isn't yours!" Eevee stopped licking and looked up at her with a head tilt, then just went back to licking the candy happily. "Hooooh." Aerial sighed and bowed her head, feeling defeated at being ignored.

"Hey it's no big deal Aerial, I have plenty of these caramel candies. I was just caught off guard when Eevee just appeared out of nowhere."

"Yeah sorry about her. She's kind of a handful sometimes. She likes doing what she likes when she likes. Oh, everyone," Aerial gestured in front of her towards the two small Eevees. "This is Mocha and Eevee, their sisters."

Blake was the first to catch what she said. "Mocha?"

"Ah yeah, that's what I call my Eevee, the one with the flowers. The other Eevee... Well, no matter what name I try, she doesn't respond to it. Coca, Ginger, Toffee, Hazel... she doesn't seem to like anything I pick out for her."

The group all turned to the Eevee still licking away at the candy, not noticing or caring about all the eyes on her. Mocha seemed a little annoyed at her sister's actions still, but had stopped reprimanding her as she didn't seem to care too much.

Jaune looked down at the Eevee right next to him, then slowly reached a hand over and gently rubbed his index finger on its head. "You sure do like that candy huh? Did you smell it and that's why you came over to me?"

Eevee didn't seem to mind the light petting. In fact she seemed to like it as she enjoyed her treat. She stopped her licking for just a moment and looked up at the person petting her. "Vee vee vi!"

Jaune chuckled at its happy cries.

"Grooow!"

A very familiar voice on his other side made Jaune turn his head to see a begging Hera standing next to him. "Oh sorry Hera, you probably want some pets too." Jaune reached his free hand over and gently began petting Hera's white floof on top of her head. That immediately put a smile on the Growlithe's face and she happily nuzzled Jaune's hand back.

Aerial shook her head in slight disbelief. "Same old Jaune. Always a whizz with Pokémon."

Now that the excitement had fully died down, the group went back to lounging about like they were, now with an extra member as Aerial sat down and joined them at Jaune's invitation.

They all talked and got to know each other more. Aerial explained how she was indeed from Atlas, but had come with a few friends on a trip to Vale and Beacon to explore what kinds of Pokémon were here. Aerial told them about her friends, her school, and of course also her Pokémon. They were all surprised by how many she already had. A Braviary, a Ludicolo, and a Munchlax. Plus her two Eevee's as her companions, that made five Pokémon in total! There were teachers at Beacon that didn't have that many!

After about another two to three hours of talking, laughing, bonding, and snacking (Jaune offered some of his food to Aerial which she gratefully accepted), the sun was beginning to set and Aerial said she had to go. She stood up; brushed some crumbs off of her pants; said her goodbyes to everyone, giving Jaune her scroll number and promising that they'd talk again soon; and called for Mocha and Eevee to come along. Only that's not what they did.

Mocha stood up with her no problem and was ready to go, but Eevee didn't. She just kept laying down next to Jaune where she'd been for the past hour getting pets and even , licking a second caramel candy that Jaune had given her. She didn't move at all at Aerial's call.

"Eevee? Come on, it's time for us to go."

Again, Eevee didn't move.

"Eevee." This time Aerial's voice was a little more stern. "We need to go. Now come on." Aerial walked over to the Eevee and bent over to pick her up. Before she even touched her, Eevee had snatched up her treat and jumped into Jaune's lap, getting a surprised "Ooph!" from him. She set her treat down and turned to look at Aerial. Then for the first time all day, it let out a cry. "Eev! Ve ve Eevee!"

Aerial pulled back. She was surprised to hear Eevee talk back directly to her. Sure she didn't listen sometimes, but never out right talked back at her. "Eevee! What's gotten into you?"

Eevee didn't respond this time, just curled up in Jaune's lap and hunkered down.

Everyone watched this unfold, but only Ren spoke up. "I think Eevee is trying to say that she'd like to stay with Jaune."

Aerial looked over at the stoic boy, wide eyed. "W-wha? Wait really?" Aerial looked back at the tiny curled up Pokémon in Jaune's lap, happily laying down with her eyes closed, her treat finished in a hurried bite. "B-but... Eevee really? Y-you wanna stay with Jaune?"

Eevee looked up to Aerial, smiled easily, and nodded. "Ve ve!" It definitely seemed to be happy.

Aerial kept looking down at Eevee, and Eevee kept looking up at her. After a few seconds, Aerial's expression shifted from being slightly sad, to understanding. "Okay. Well then, let's see what Jaune thinks." Aerial looked down to cousin, his confused face making her almost giggle. "Jaune, it looks like Eevee has taken a liking to you. Would you like to keep her around with you? I know you'd take amazing care of her, so I'd be comfortable with you taking her with you if you want."

Jaune's mind nearly exploded from hearing that! His cousin was asking him if he'd like to have another Pokémon!? For real?! Jaune felt his lips twitch upwards before he even said anything. He looked down at the Eevee in his lap. She seemed very happy there, and she'd wanted to stay with him first. Jaune looked back up to Aerial and nodded once. "I'd love to. And I promise that I'll give her the best care that I possibly can!"

Aerial knew he'd say that. He loved Pokémon, so being offered one by a family member was probably like a dream for him. "Well alright then. I have to say... I-I'm sad to see you go, Eevee." Eevee looked up at Aerial when she said her name. "But... if this is what you want, then I can accept it. I know Jaune will take great care of you, and I can call to see you anytime I want. So... you take care of yourself and Jaune alright? Your sister and I will see you again, sometime real soon, I promise."

Eevee smiled and leaped out of Jaune's lap, landing close to Aerial's feet. The little Pokémon nuzzled her head against Aerial's leg and let out faint coos. Aerial quickly dropped down and scooped Eevee into a tight hug. She held it for at least 10 seconds before she let her go, setting her softly back down on the grass. When she did, Mocha bounced over to her sister and they started talking by themselves, most likely saying their own goodbyes while Aerial stood back up. "Okay, I guess this is goodbye for now Eevee. Jaune, I'll definitely be expecting some video calls from you now. Oh, and maybe you'll be able to think of a good name for her too."

Jaune, now no longer having a Pokemon in his lap, stood up. He was careful not to bump the container with the egg in front of him as he did so. He stood up straight, showing off just how much taller he was than his cousin. "You got it Aerial. I hope we meet again sometime soon as well. This was fun." He took a step forward and embraced her in a hug, which she returned.

When they separated, Aerial stepped back. "Okay, well... we really have to head out now. My friends are all probably waiting for me back in Vale and I need to catch a Bullhead before they stop for the night. It was nice meeting you all! I hope to meet you all again someday!" Aerial started to leave, and Mocha, having finished her goodbye to her sister with a loving nuzzle, followed her.

Eevee watched as they left. Eevee suddenly bounced forward a few feet in their direction and let out a loud "Eeeeveeeee! Eeeeeveee!", saying goodbye for now to her family.

Aerial stopped and turned her head back to look at her after her cry. She smiled back at her and waved before continuing. As the pair got farther and farther away, Eevee returned back to the group, stopping in front of Jaune.

Jaune smiled and knelt down to be closer to her. "Eevee, I'm touched that you wanted to stay with me. I promise that we'll have some amazing adventures together! Oh, there's someone that I want you to officially meet now! This is Hera." As Jaune said her name, the red Growlithe walked up next to her Papa and stood next to him proudly. "She's my best friend and has been with me since I was a kid. I hope you two can be friends."

Hera padded forward and stopped right in front of Eevee. She looked down at the smaller Pokemon with a big smile. She leant forward and gave Eevee a big lick on her head, which Eevee started to laugh at. The two then began to talk to each other in their out cries, and Jaune could already tell they'd get along fine.

"Well... that was sure something huh?" Jaune looked behind him and saw Nora holding her Shinx in her arms, and all his other friends smiling at him.

"Haha yeah, I guess so. Aerial's always been super trusting of family, but this shocked even me."

Yang walked forward and lightly punched his arm in a friendly way. "So... got any names for your new friend Vomit Boy?"

Jaune, while he was rubbing his now sore arm, looked down at Eevee again. As he did, he noticed a wrapper from the caramel candies he'd given to the Eevee earlier. "Huh..." Jaune knelt down and picked up the wrapper, then looked at it in his hand. "Maybe I do. Hey Eevee?"

The Pokemon stopped speaking with Hera and looked over to the kneeling Jaune. She quickly skipped over to sit right in front of him. "I was thinking, since Aerial couldn't think of a name you liked, yet you liked these candies so much, how about I just call you Caramel?"

Eevee looked up to him curiously with her big doughy eyes. Slowly those eyes began to shine with joy and she jumped up at him. Thankfully Jaune was used to this sort of thing thanks to Hera, so he caught her easily since she was a lot lighter.

"Whoa haha! Okay then, I guess that's a winner huh? Well, welcome to the team Caramel!"

AND! FINALLY! DONE!

Aerial Yeager is an OC created by my good friend @jace-the-writer-guy, who is also Jaune's cousin on her mom's side. I owe him a big thanks for helping me write this because I constantly was asking for specific info on his OC and him giving me ideas for stuff.

I'd been planning this out bit by bit for so long, so I sincerely hope that you all enjoyed this origins ask for Caramel, Jaune's Eevee!

[parkerpeter24]

for fake’s sake

Pairing ➳ peter parker x reader

Word count ➳ 5.2k words of pain and agony

Warnings ➳ angst, fluff, fake dating, this is a revenge to @halfblood-princess-505​

Summary ➳ Y/n and Peter were just acquaintances and nothing else, but one day out of nowhere Peter asks her to be his “girlfriend.” What are the chances that they would start liking each other? Would Peter ask Liz to homecoming or would he break the deal? Read to find out!

Peter Parker. The name that caused butterflies to swarm inside your stomach, the very same boy was now standing right in front of you, asking you to be his date to homecoming. It was a dream come true if you put it in your words, but you were contemplating on whether to say ‘yes’ and trust him or not, what if it was still a show? A fake relationship that caused the downfall in your actual acquaintanceship. You looked around the hallway to see any signs of ‘her’ but you found nothing despite the doe-eyed brunette in front of you.

“Peter?” May snapped her finger in front of her nephew who seemed to be lost in his own world. His eyes seemed dull like they had been for the past few days, the bags under them visible and eyelids droopy, and she cursed Tony Stark for doing this to the sweet boy. He seemed to snap out of his long-lost daze and looked her straight in the eyes, “Where have you been?” The lady asked, propping her elbow on the table in a questioning way.

“Here, with you.” He passed her a tight-lipped– an exceptionally unconvincing– smile, but she knew him well. She could tell that he was hiding something from her, but what, she couldn’t quite join the dots, but she was sure that it was definitely something related to the Stark Internship.

“That’s not what I mean.” She shook her head in disapproval. At this point, Peter was simply playing with the food on his plate. May found it hard to recall the last time she had seen him actually eat something, “What is up with you Peter?!” She let out a little louder than she expected, then ducking her head in embarrassment when a few heads turned their way. She huffed, placing her hand on the top of his nephew’s, “You know that I just want you to be happy, right?”

His gaze softened even more than before as he nodded, “I know, May.” Then they settled once again. May’s mind was constantly thinking of an idea while Peter finally took a few bites of his larb salad.

“You know what?” May suddenly gasped making Peter take a sharp gulp before looking at her, “You need a break,” she nodded before continuing, “with someone you love.”

Peter felt his throat dry at his aunt’s words. He coughed out, taking a few swigs of water from his glass, “what’re you- what’re you suggesting?”

“That you get a girlfriend.”

“What?!” Peter choked on his water, then laughed, “I don't- I don’t need a girlfriend.”

“So a boyfriend?” May suggested, “I’m okay with anyone, you just need someone who you love and can spend time with.”

“But May, we spend time together,” Peter pouted like a kid, “and, I love you.” May laughed at her nephew before shaking her head.

“Pete that’s not what I mean!” She insisted. Peter stared into her brown eyes for a moment, seeing the way they were pleading for him to stop and live a little. He wanted to, too, but what if another criminal went down and tried to- “For me?”

Peter sighed knowing that he won’t be able to win at this, “There is this one girl in AP Chem.” May smiled victoriously as Peter started.

----------

“You know what I mean?” You laughed as Ned slowly nudged your side. Another day at high school when you noticed something was off with Peter. You saw him at lunch, but he was staring at Liz, like always. You rolled your eyes at the thought, the boy was hopelessly falling for the most beautiful girl.

The next time you saw him that day was in the gym period, you talked a little about your day and whatever you were going to do for your next chemistry project. Your and Peter’s relationship was confined to AP Chemistry. You hadn’t let it go beyond that, and probably wouldn’t, ever. You would joke with each other occasionally. It was all games and fun, or so you thought.

“So, how about cationic hydrolysis of Diazonium Sulphate?” You asked. He nodded, but you could tell he was not really listening.

“Yeah, yeah sounds good.” You followed his gaze to look at what he was staring at, and to your prediction, it was no one else other than Liz. You laughed at the love-struck gaze of your friend/acquaintance as Ned joined the two of you.

Peter was different, very different than other guys and you wondered how every girl in Midtown wasn’t swooning over him. You thought he was good, cute even. You found him staring at Liz with such an adoring gaze like no one has ever done to you, and somewhere deep inside, you knew you wanted it to be you that he was staring at. It wasn’t Peter, you just craved attention, or that’s what you told yourself.

It was almost ironic. You told yourself that Peter would be nothing more than a friend, a good friend, or a best friend. ‘Friend’, you kept reminding yourself day by day. And yet you said yes to the stupid, yet tempting offer. You couldn’t even say no to him, a simple word, ‘no’, but you had to go all helpful for him.

“(Y/n)!” You heard your name being called out as soon as you left the gym room. You turned around on your heel to face a very out of breath Peter Parker. You put on a smile on your face as he neared you and finally came to a halt.

“Hey, Peter.”

“Hey,” He replied in a breathy voice, “I-I just-” It was as if he had lost all his confidence suddenly and all he did was open his mouth and closed it repeatedly like a fish. You waited for him, not like you were in a hurry, he was the one who always seemed to be in a hurry, like right now, you could tell he had to reach somewhere, “I needed to ask you something.” He finally said, making you nod.

“I could tell.” You smiled softly. Your thoughts wandered to the project you were discussing earlier that day, not like Peter interacted with you much. The few visits to each other’s house were limited to study sessions and making weird tech that would surprise the others. Peter was phenomenally genius, and his ideas never failed to woo the teachers. You were sure he would be the valedictorian next year.

You were getting curious as to what he had to say but before you could as much as say anything Peter ran his eyes around the corners of the hall to make sure if there was anybody besides you both, then as carefully as he could, said,

“Would you be my girlfriend?”

The question sure caught you off guard. The nerdy boy who only talked about three things, science, Star Wars and most importantly, Liz. Why would he ask you to be his girlfriend?! The question tugged at your mind but soon Peter started gushing out everything that had happened in the past days.

He wanted to make it reasonable, but couldn’t. He said that Liz would like him if she saw you were with him, –which you found stupid– that he just wanted to keep the act up until he could gather the courage to ask Liz out to Homecoming. And with those big, brown eyes, you couldn’t help but accept his request.

And from that moment on you would be his “girlfriend”, inverted commas included.

Now you were at a party, being the good girlfriend you were while your boyfriend was saving the city, not that you knew. You were never the one to party and when Peter left you alone there, you couldn’t help but feel disappointed. Not like you were his responsibility, and you stuck by MJ who was in your Math class and you actually enjoyed your time with her there.

The next day you saw Peter by your locker, a coffee cup in his hands. You smiled when you reached up to him, “What’re you doing here?” You asked, opening your locker to take out your books for the day.

“I’m really sorry for leaving you alone at the party, I will make it up to you.”

You laughed at him as he said this. “I wasn’t alone. I mean, I had Ned and MJ.” You lazily lifted one of your shoulders in a shrug. He chuckled, passing you your coffee. You took it gratefully as a small blush rose to your cheeks, he remembered your favourite coffee from the one time you went to a cafe with him after a long study session.

“But I will make it up to you because that’s what good boyfriends do” He teased as you started walking towards your class.

Peter Parker was taking this dating thing too seriously.

----------

The next week you were in the library when Peter came inside with a stack of books and sat in front of you. You eyed him weirdly, he’d never sat around you in the library. He continued to scramble the books onto the table carefully before finally looking up at you with a warm smile. His hand grazed yours which was placed on the table and the realization hit you. As if that wasn’t enough, he cleared his throat, “Hey, babe.”

This had become a regular thing in the past week, the hand-holding in front of everyone, the bear hugs, the cafeteria dates, and the short glances in gym class, and you were afraid that you were getting too habitual of all of this.

Yet you tried to forget it, and when you finally did, sitting peacefully in the library, reading your journal, Peter Parker came stumbling back to you with his beautiful face and perfect smile to remind you that you were his “girlfriend.”

This would all be over before homecoming, you reminded yourself.

It was safe to say that you had a deal with Peter Parker, and after that, you would go back to just being lab partners, back to being ‘friends’. But would you be able to see him just as a friend anymore? You were pretty sure you wouldn’t be. Not that you like him or anything, you just wanted attention, right?

But again, Peter Parker had the same effect on you that a flame has to a moth. You knew you would burn if you touch it, but you were more than willing to burn. He pulled you out of your thoughts by clearing his throat, a thing he did when he was nervous and wanted to ask you something?

“What is it?” You asked moving your hand further closer to his.

“Um, it’s just that- uh, May wants me to invite you to dinner.” He started, you waited until he continued, “You really don’t have to come, though. I could just tell her that you are busy or-”

“Peter I would love to.” You reassured. The boy often used to get nervous and ramble on for a long time. Not that you minded it, you found him cute when he did that.

Just friends.

“I will message you the timings.” He nodded. You smiled at him and he took your already linked hands to intertwine your fingers. You felt a little warm every time he did that, which was not very often so you tried to savour this. You just need attention, you told yourself again, this is all fake.

----------

You smoothed your dress before knocking on the door. Peter’s aunt, May, opened the door. You had known her from the very few times that you had been to the small apartment. According to you, she was the very sweet lady with a superpower of never getting old. She was basically still twenty-five from the looks of it.

Peter was standing behind her, in a very formal shirt which made you giggle as you entered the place, a sweet smell, that you identified of an apple pie, filled your nose and you let out a small sigh.

Peter was watching you. He had seen you, more times than enough, especially during these past few days, and he couldn’t help but feel that you were different. Different than the other girls, different than Liz.

Liz, he hasn’t even thought about her in the past four days. He liked Liz, and before this, he thought about her, even during his patrol. He remembered the day before he asked you to be his girlfriend, he was simply swinging around the city like he had been doing for the past month or so and he ran into a hoarding because all he could think was the way Liz looked back at him in the hallway. He smiled at the memory, but it seemed forced. Something in him said that it wasn’t the same, it was not the genuine smile he found on his lips before every time he saw Liz.

He snapped out of his daze to look at you smiling back at him apologetically. Turns out he was looking in your direction the whole time and even worse was the fact that you thought he was forcing a smile your way. He felt himself cringe at the thought of staring at you like some creep.

“Are you just gonna stand there or come eat, Peter?” May called and Peter just gave her a tight-lipped smile while you chuckled. You could tell he was feeling uncomfortable. Something inside you twisted at the thought of him being sad because it was you instead of Liz at the dinner and he, of course, didn’t want you here, “He’s been like that all month.” May complained, this time looking towards you.

“Yeah, it’s because of that Stark Internship!” You started. Peter silently sat on the table looking at you as you made a fluent conversation with May. He felt his heart beat faster when you talked about him with such concern.

“Gotta tell you, not a big fan of that Tony Stark,” May said and you laughed. Peter looked at you, mesmerized by that sound. He wanted you to do that again, or at least smile his way when your eyes wrinkled the slightest. Throughout the dinner, he sat silently, proudly looking at the two of you. It was the first time in a long time that he felt happy, actually happy, it had been forever since he saw May that happy. It was the first time in forever that his family felt somewhat complete.

After the dinner was over and May went into the kitchen to get the dessert, you stopped behind to talk to Peter. He had barely talked throughout the dinner and by now you were pretty sure that he wanted you to leave, “Did I do something wrong?” Peter heard your voice from beside him and he looked at you, confused. You looked a little sad.

Peter didn’t like that, he didn’t want you to be sad. He wanted to hear your contagious laugh that made him all warm, “Not at all.” He replied simply before adding, “You are the perfect girlfriend.”

----------

You were going up. There were a lot of people in the lift but the one you really wanted to be there had to be the only one who was missing. You were very worried about Peter and you were pretty sure that he was hiding something from you, and from everybody as well.

You felt a little claustrophobic and decided to stand in the farthest corner of the lift so no one would really see you or bother you for that matter.

But the universe had other plans.

A bright purple coloured light arose from somewhere in between the lift and it went straight through the ceiling, almost cutting the lift in half, making the people scramble off to the corners. You felt yourself breathing thick air and your heart was beating very rapidly in your chest. This was it.

You kept your grip on the side-railing of the lift tight as ever as tears brimmed your eyes. Then in a swoosh, you all were going down, along with the lift, but it came to a sudden halt when you saw a white substance stick to the floor, keeping the lift up. The masked hero slowly started pulling the lift towards him where a team of paramedics was already standing to take care of the students.

One by one, everyone started filtering out of the lift. Everyone except you.

Peter knew that you were claustrophobic. He could tell that you were trying to block out the voices calling for you and trying to focus on your breathing.

Almost everyone was out, you being the last one. As soon as you let go of the railing, the lift lurched down and a yelp escaped your mouth but before you could think of anything else, Spider-man extended his arm forward and you halted in mid-air.

The half let out yelp died down as he pulled you up and placed you on the marble floor of the Washington monument. He seemed to stay like that for a moment like he was contemplating or holding back from doing something. But he suddenly went down when the small piece of metal holding him up fell from its place.

----------

“This is your chance Peter, kiss her.” Karen’s robotic voice rang in Peter’s ears as soon as he placed you on the marble floor of the Washington monument. Was this how he’ll kiss you? He was sure as hell was thinking about kissing you, but he didn’t know why. He had eventually spent most of his night talking to the suit lady but as soon as he got to know that Ned had been carrying a bomb with him, all he could think about was how he put his friends in danger, he put you in danger.

Peter looked for your face in the sea of students and he eventually found you standing in a corner, phone in hand and your face was turned into a frown. You looked like you could cry any moment now. He ran towards you and wrapped his arms around you. You flinched but once you realised that it was him, you completely broke down into fits of sobs. He didn’t like seeing you like that and he held you there until you calmed down.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered into your ear, “I’m so sorry (y/n). I shouldn’t have left you like that.”

You silently nodded, “I was worried for you.”

“I’m sorry for that too.” you smiled through the tears, burying your head deeper into his chest. Might as well make most of these moments until they last because the next second you heard someone clear their throat from behind you. Surely, it was your mom and she looked worried. Peter gave you one last squeeze before finally looking into your eyes and giving your temple a soft kiss. You smiled at him.

Just friends.

In the last two weeks, you both have forgotten that you were not actually dating. Small notes would be stuck to your locker when you got there, nothing exceptional, just cute little thoughts, but they were enough to make your heart flutter. Library dates turned into a regular thing, holding hands, giving each other bear hugs, it all became normal, and you were afraid that you were getting way into the habit with all this because it’d all be gone after a day. Peter would ask Liz to be his homecoming date and you both would go back to being lab partners and everything would be back to normal, but you knew that nothing would remain normal after this.

It would become even harder to not think of him in that way because he did such cute little things. He always winked at you when he teased you, and you would just get flustered.

You were sitting in the library, reading a novel and Peter was sitting beside you, once in a while his hand would touch yours, distracting you every time and you had to go over the same paragraph multiple times. But you couldn’t deny the fact that you were loving it.

He suddenly moved closer to look at the other side of the table, pointing his finger at a book, “Hey, babe, can you pass me that book?”

You nodded, grabbing the book and giving it to him. He lifted his hand up to your cheek and and poked it, “Ouch,” You mocked hurt, “A thank you would’ve been better.” You giggled and he suddenly caught you off guard when he leaned forward and placed a delicate kiss on your cheek as a ‘thank you.’

----------

Your cheeks still burned from the sweet kiss that Peter planted there. You realised that it was the first time he had actually kissed you since you started ‘dating’ and the thought made you even more flustered. In the whole three weeks, you had been together, this was the moment he got to show the sign of affection and it made your heart go wild. It was so simple, but it was probably the last sign of affection you would share with him.

Peter, whereas, had managed to walk away from you and into his next class but he didn’t want to. His mind kept wandering in one direction, you. Questions were going off in the back of his head, ‘Should I still ask Liz to homecoming?’, ‘Do I still like Liz?’ He hadn’t thought about her like he used to do in the weeks you had been with him, most of the time he recalled the way you smiled at him when he brought your favourite coffee for you, or the way you giggled when he cracked a lame joke and the way he felt comfortable around you, ‘Of course you like Liz, Peter, what’re you even thinking?! It’s not like (y/n)’s your actual girlfriend.’ he thought. His head hurt, he just wanted this to be over, the mixed feelings were causing him pain, mentally as well as physically, and he just wanted to get rid of it. So he decided what seemed best.

He would tell Liz about his feelings and ask her to be his date to homecoming the next time he saw her.

The next time he saw Liz was when he was walking down the hallway with this huge hall pass in his hand, so he approached her. He stood still for some time as an awkward silence surrounded them before Liz cleared her throat, “You wanna say something, Pete?”

Peter found himself short of words, he didn’t want to ask her directly like that, it seemed rude and perverted. He started, “Um, I’m- I’m really sorry about decathlon.”

Liz smiled at him, “Well, a week ago, the decathlon was the most important thing to me, but then I almost died.” She shrugged. Peter’s eyes grew wide and he gulped.

“T-that’s not what I-”

“I know.” She laughed at the dork, “I’m just really happy that no one got hurt.” There she was, the humblest girl Peter had a huge crush on. The prettiest, smartest, and the most caring girl he had known. He had felt butterflies every time she said or did something like this.

Had. Everything was so different now that he didn’t feel a single thing. His heart didn’t flutter, his stomach didn’t swarm with the infamous butterflies, and a hopeless smile didn’t come onto his face. He tried! Tried to smile at her, tried to see her with the heart eyes, but nothing worked. A weird feeling settled in his stomach. And he realized.

He didn’t like Liz.

He liked you.

Realization dawned upon his face and he coughed uncomfortably just to excuse himself from Liz. He ran through the corridors of the school to find you, but he never did. His mind was rushing, he had this urge to tell you about his feelings. He didn’t have much time left anyway.

Peter Parker liked you. Oh, how he mentally kicked himself for not figuring it out earlier.

He finally found you at your locker, just casually picking out the books for your next class, which was AP Chemistry. He realized that he could’ve easily found you in class and smiled at his stupidity.

“Hey (y/n),” He called out.

You looked at him from your locker and smiled. There it was, the hopeless smile on his face, the flutter of the heart and the butterflies, “What’s up Peter? Did you ask Liz to homecoming?” You asked hesitantly. He frowned at your question but shook his head.

“I’m not going to.” He claimed a little too fast. You looked at him confused wanting him to explain but not wanting to pressurize him into it. He cleared his throat and stuttered out, “(Y/n), c-can we t-talk?”

You stopped walking and nodded at him, “Sure. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good.” He assured and, again finding himself at a loss of words, sighed, “(Y-y/n) will you be my date to homecoming?” He asked fidgeting with the pass that was still in his hands.

You were taken aback at this. Were you dreaming? You must’ve misheard him at least. Peter Parker. The name that caused butterflies to swarm inside your stomach, the very same boy was now standing right in front of you, asking you to be his date to homecoming. It was a dream come true if you put it in your words, but you were contemplating on whether to say ‘yes’ and trust him or not, what if it was still a show? A fake relationship that caused the downfall in your actual acquaintanceship. You looked around the hallway to see any signs of her but you found nothing despite the doe-eyed brunette in front of you.

“...” You couldn’t think of anything to say to him so you just stood dumbfounded staring at him. Could he be kidding? “Why?” You finally asked, feeling your throat dry. He just sighed and looked you in the eyes.

“Because I like you.”

Peter as well as you were surprised at this new-found confidence. You furrowed your eyebrows, still not believing him. You were sure you wanted him to ask you to be his date to homecoming, but it was never on the itinerary, so why would he like you, “Why?” You asked again, the question was playing in the back of your head like a broken record.

“B-because you’re- you’re perfect.” Peter stated returning to his old stuttery self, “(Y/n) I liked Liz before we started pretending to date but then I-I just realized that-”

“No.” you stopped him, harshly pointing your finger at him, “I don’t, I don’t need that speech.” Your voice wavered and you scolded yourself for having no command over it. You were keen on not crying in front of him, “I don’t like you.” You shook your head repeatedly, finally finding your voice firm and the limp in your throat smaller than before. You walked a few steps back before turning on your heel and just left him like that, confused and hurt.

You decided to spend most of your day sulking in the restrooms. Frustrated tears ran down your cheeks, ‘You’re so stupid!’ You told yourself.

It was a week after the incident that you finally met Peter. You had seen him around the halls and during lunch and his eyes were always on you. The brown eyes that once were so bright now appeared dull and had bags under them. Peter looked like he could fall in a deep slumber any moment, but you resisted yourself from looking at him for too long then.

You were in the library for a long time that day, going through your journal, and you lost track of time. You had spent more than enough time so now you were walking fast through the dark lanes of queens when you felt someone’s arm drape around your waist and you were lifted up in the air. You screamed for help but it was worthless. You didn’t even realize when your feet touched the ground and you were on the top of a tall building. You stumbled in the dark, away from your kidnapper, finally giving him a glance, scared of finding something that you didn’t want to, but to your surprise, you found a superhero clad in red and blue. At any other moment, you might’ve been excited to see the friendly neighbourhood Spider-man, but now squinting your eyes, you pointed to him, “What the fuck?!”

He took a step forward, making you take one backward yourself. Seeing his efforts go in vain, Peter sighed, “(Y/n), I just want to talk to you, please!”

You raised your eyebrow at him. His voice sounded way too familiar and you couldn’t help but ask, “H-how do you know my name?” Peter had no other option so he reached up and pulled off his mask, and the moment he did so your eyes grew wider, almost falling backwards over the roof, “Peter? Y-you are- you are Spider-man.” You stated

He nodded and asked, “Can we talk? Please?”

You closed your eyes, sighing deeply in the night air, “I don’t want to talk.” You would’ve walked out, away from him, and he must’ve sensed that as just the next moment a web attached to your upper arm and you were pulled into Peter Parker. You looked into his eyes and sighed, “What do you want to talk about?! You want me to admit that I like you? Okay, I like you! I told myself that we were just colleagues, friends at most, but you- you didn’t want it that way! Peter, are you even sure that your feelings are real, and not fake like everything in this relationship?” You laughed bitterly, seeing the tears in his eyes, and a part of you wanted to go over and wipe them from there.

So you did. You reached over, as your own tears fell on your cheeks, and wiped his cheeks with the pad of your fingers, “I’m sorry I made you do all this. You really didn’t have to.” He sighed, “I didn’t ask you to be my girlfriend because I wanted to make Liz jealous.” He justified. Your eyebrows furrowed, hand still placed on his cheek.

“What?”

He looked at his feet, then looking back up at you, said, “I- May thought that I was depressed. And I knew that she would freak out if I told her the truth about Spider-man, and when she freaks out, I freak out, a-and I didn’t want her to be worried about me. So when she asked me about having a girlfriend, the first name that came to my mind was yours.” By the time he had finished, your face had undergone many expressions. Your eyes softened as he rubbed his neck sheepishly, “And I’m glad it was.”

You sighed softly, moving closer to him, “I’m sorry too.”

You both stood on the rooftop in the night sky, staring at each other under the soft glow of moonlight. Moving closer inch by inch until there was none left. Peter’s lips were soft, moulding into yours and it was better than you had ever felt. Peter smiled softly into the kiss, making you blush softly.

You and Peter finally found your happy ending. For fake’s sake.

⋆✧—— ✧ *⋆* ✧ * ⋆* ✧ * ⋆* ✧——⋆✧

Permanent taglist: @parkershoodie​ @aidiastyles​ @spideygirl2003​ @tommysparker​ @smilexcaptainx​ @god-knows-what-am-i-doing​ @allegra-soleil​ @rubberducky-jrr​ @purefluff​ @clara-licht​ @anjali750​ @drunklili​ @in-a-lot-of-fandoms-tbh​ @the-crazy-fanfictionist​ @fanficparker​ @halfblood-princess-505​ @chaoticpete​ @hollandsamor​ @t-monosapiens-h​ @tom-holland-is-spiderman​ @stareyedplanet​ @sunflowerhollands​ @averyfosterthoughts​ @katiejupiter​

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[wiypt-writes]

Stark Spangled Banner

Ch24: Like The Old Man Said…Together Part 1- I Wouldn’t Call It A Comfort

Summary: The Avengers track Ultron and it’s a race against time before the AI can put his plan into action.

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

Warnings: Bad language, Smut (NSFW) violence and crazy assed robots. Oh and “Something dramatic, I hope!”

A/N: This chapter now contains additional content which is why It has been split into two parts.

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

A/N: Another massive big up for @angrybirdcr​ for her edits xx

Chapter 23 Part 2

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

“I’ve put the boys to work.” Laura gestured out of the window as Katie chewed on her grilled cheese. She’d had a good four hours sleep and was feeling much better after a scalding hot shower. She glanced across the lawn area to where Steve and Tony were positioned at the side of the house, both holding an axe, stood by a stack of large logs and two piles of smaller logs.

“You got Tony doing manual labour?” Katie grinned at her. “Well played.”

Laura chuckled and then began to chat to about her plans for dinner. “Clint suggested comfort food. fried chicken and Mac and Cheese to be specific”

“You’ll win Steve over instantly.” Katie leaned against the counter. “I’m happy to help, lot of people to feed, not to mention Stevie eats enough for three.”  

“You wanna take her up on that.” Clint walked into the kitchen and opened a drawer near the door.“She’s a damned good cook is Nova. Obviously, not as good as you, babe.” He added as a quick afterthought. “Smooth Barton…” Katie laughed as Laura threw a tea towel at his head. Easily catching it ant tossing it back, he pulled a tape measure from the drawer and left through the backdoor, still laughing, the kids trailing behind him.

Katie stared at the back door as it shut, the normality of the scene suddenly hitting her. He had a wife, two children, and still managed to hold down the ridiculous lifestyle the Avengers and SHIELD demanded.

“How do you do it?” She blurted out. The woman placed the last plate on the sink to drain and straightened up. “I mean this, it’s so ordinary.” she turned, once more looking out of the window. She watched Steve swing his axe, his light blue Under Armour skin top clinging to every part of his torso.

“It’s possible…” Laura mused, standing behind her as she followed the younger woman’s gaze. You know, to have a domestic life…well, a variation on one, away from the mess.”

“Problem is the pair of us are tangled in the mess.” Katie muttered, not taking her eyes off Steve.

“Well then, you should understand each other more.” Laura pointed out, before she changed the subject. “Here, they could probably use a drink. You wanna take ‘em that jug of ice tea for me?”

“Sure.”

A minute or so later Katie crossed the lawn with a tray sporting a full jug and two glasses towards where both men where stood by the decreasing mound of large logs and the two increasing mounds of smaller ones.  Steve’s pile of cut logs was significantly bigger than Tony’s, which was hardly surprising.

And the pair of them were bickering which was also not surprising.

“Is that a problem?” Steve asked, picking the two halves he had just cut up and throwing them onto his pile, bristling slightly at the fact Tony was digging into why he wasn’t as affected by the Maximoff’s visions as everyone else. Truth be told he had been affected, big time, but since he and Katie had talked it through he felt better. But he wasn’t about to tell anyone that, frankly it was no ones’ business what any of them had seen bar their own.

“I don’t trust a guy without a dark side. Call me old fashioned.” Tony shrugged

“Well let’s just say you haven’t seen it yet.” Steve glowered at him, his temper starting to rise. He couldn’t help but feel pissed at Tony, because if it wasn’t for him they wouldn’t even be in this mess.

“You know this is what he’s trying to do right?” A soft voice spoke and Steve turned to see Katie setting a tray of drinks down behind them. They both turned to look at her “Ultron is trying to tear us apart.”

“Well I guess he’d know.” Steve jerked his head in Tony’s direction “Whether he tells us is a bit of a question”

“Banner and I were doing research-”

“That would affect the team” Steve picked up another log. His voice was gaining momentum, and Katie let out a groan, she knew he was getting angry.

“That would end the team” Tony said simply, “Isn’t that the mission? Isn’t that the “why” we fight, so we can end the fight, so we get to go home?”

Without so much as a huff of noise, Steve ripped the log he was holding apart with his bare hands in a fit of temper that aroused Katie far more than it should have done. Tony raised his eyebrows slightly and Steve’s chest heaved as he regained his composure. He turned to look at Tony and spoke, his voice calm and measured.

“Every time someone tries to win a war before it starts, innocent people die. Every time.” He spoke softly but sternly, trying to make his point. Loki, Hydra, SHIELD with Insight.. now this.

“I’m sorry. Mr. Stark,” Laura headed across the lawn towards them all. “Uh, Clint said you wouldn’t mind, but, our tractor, it doesn’t seem to want to start at all. I thought maybe you might…

“Yeah, I’ll give her a kick.” Tony smiled at Laura then as he turned to leave he looked back at Steve delivering his next line with the air of a petulant child “Don’t take from my pile.”

“You know if he wasn’t your bother…” Steve reached for a glass of tea, draining it in one and leaving his sentence hanging. Katie took a deep breath and stood up.

“Cut him a bit of slack yeah?” Her eyes flashed. “The Maximoff girl. She got to him too.”

Steve looked down at her and frowned, that was news to him. “But I thought…”

“It was the day we found the sceptre.” Katie said. “She got to him in Strucker’s lab only he didn’t know what it was at the time. And you wanna know what he saw?” her voice wasn’t angry but she levelled Steve with a look that left him with no uncertain terms she was defending her brother “He saw us all dead because he hadn’t tried hard enough.” Steve inwardly groaned as she finished. “That’s what Ultron is about, that’s why he started it again.”

“Sorry, I didn’t know.” Steve shook his head, gently

“Well now you do.” Katie shrugged and decided to change the subject, “Oh, and by the way, what you did with that log back then-” she mimed pulling something apart. “-kinda turned me on a hell of a lot more than it should.”

He grinned and stepped towards her, closing the short distance they were apart “Well, if we go back inside I can…”

“Nice try, you have wood.” Katie pointed the logs

“Yes and I’d kinda like to do something about it!”

“Steve!” Katie spluttered out through her laugh, as she hit him in the chest, mentally making a note toe have words with Sam for teaching him innuendoes and street slang

He stepped back, laughing and rubbing at the spot where her hand had connected with him. He cocked his head playfully to the right, and was about to say something else about the fact he was feeling pretty horny on account of it being a few days since they’d last enjoyed one another seeing as his plans for her and that tight blue dress had been interrupted post the party, but Katie’s attention was taken by something else.

“Lucky!” She grinned crouching down to pet the dog who was jumping all over her, giving out little barks. “Man you got big!” Steve looked down at his girl and the sandy coloured dog, frowning as he noticed it only had one eye.

“Is this the pizza eating puppy you talked about?” he asked, bending down to pet the dog. “Sure is.” Katie grinned standing up as the dog ran off back to Barton after he whistled. “Not so much of a puppy now though.”

She smiled and made her way back over to the house. Steve looked at the pile of logs, then her, then back and picked up his axe again.

Inside, Katie started to help Laura with the dinner, the pair of them working together easily. Steve and Clint joined them in the kitchen not long after, both men sitting at the table with a beer as Lila scrambled up onto Steve’s knee, Steve waving away Clint’s instruction for her to leave him alone, he didn’t mind one bit. Katie had noticed the small girl sat there, talking to Steve and she’d smiled and turned back to her cooking. She was just rinsing off the salad when she looked up out of the window, seeing something that she really wasn’t expecting.

“I don’t believe it.” She whispered as she watched Tony and the tall, bald headed man with the trench coat and the eye patch walking up the path towards them. She turned to Clint and Steve “We got company, boys.” Both men stood up as the door opened, Lila jumping of Steve’s knee. The soldier’s hands went to his hips, his mouth forming a thin line as his eyes fell onto the man in front of him.

“At ease Soldier…” Fury said, a smile creeping across his face as Tony walked into the room behind him muttering about traitors, Maria Hill and ‘Goth Pirates’

****

“Ultron took you folks out of play to buy himself time.” Fury said glass of water in his hand as he leaned against the kitchen counter. “My contacts all say he’s building something. The amount of Vibranium he made off with, I don’t think it’s just one thing.”

“What about Ultron himself?” Steve asked, he was stood in the doorway to the kitchen, leaning against the door frame, arms folded.

“Ah. He’s easy to track, he’s everywhere. Guy’s multiplying faster than a Catholic rabbit. Still doesn’t help us get an angle on any of his plans though.”

Tony shoved the last piece of the chicken he had been eating in his mouth and walked to the sink to pick up a towel to wipe his hands. “He still going after launch codes? “

“Yes, he is, but he’s not making any headway.”

Katie frowned from her seat at the table, opposite Natasha. “Well that doesn’t make sense. Tony cracked the Pentagon’s firewall in high school for a dare”.

Tony smiled fondly at the memory. That had earned him an ass whooping and a half from his dad.

“Yeah, well, I contacted our friends at the NEXUS about that”. Fury continued

“NEXUS?” Steve questioned.

“It’s the world internet hub in Oslo” Banner explained, he was stood behind Natasha leaning against the sideboard. “Every byte of data flows through there, fastest access on earth.”

At that point Lila ran into the room, a piece of paper in her hand.

“So what’d they say?” Clint asked, turning 3 darts over in his hand from his stance a few feet away from Fury.

Lila handed the piece of paper to Natasha, who looked at her, then the paper, grinning and gave the little girl a one armed hug. She placed the paper down on the table and Katie noticed that it was a watercolour paint picture of a butterfly.

“He’s fixated on the missiles.” Fury drained his glass of water. “But the codes are constantly being changed.

“By whom?” Tony questioned. At that point Clint threw the darts straight past Tony, about an inch or so away from his ear straight into the bullseye of the dart board. Tony spun round to glare at him, Clint shrugged apologetically, grinning at the same time. Hawkeye by name, Hawkeye by nature.

“Parties unknown.” Fury said, a puzzled tone to his voice

“Do we have an ally?” Katie asked.

“Ultron’s got an enemy, that’s not the same thing.” Fury looked at her “Still, I’d pay folding money to know who it is”

“I might need to visit Oslo, find our unknown.” Tony pondered, to no one in particular.

“Well, this is good times, boss, but I was kind of hoping when I saw you, you’d have more than that.” Natasha sighed, leaning back in her chair.

“I do.” Nick looked round the room. “I have you.”

Everyone shared a look round the room at one another. None of them were feeling particularly useful if truth be told.

“Back in the day, I had eyes everywhere, ears everywhere else.” Fury continued “Yet here we all are, back on Earth, with nothing but our wit, and our will to save the world. So stand. Outwit the platinum bastard.”

“Steve doesn’t like that kind of talk.” Natasha looked at him.

“You know what, Romanoff? “ Steve’s tone was dead pan. She smiled mischievously.

“So what does he want? “ Fury continued.

“To become better. Better than us.” Katie looked around.

“Right, he keeps building bodies.” Steve agreed

“Person bodies. The human form is inefficient, biologically speaking, we’re outmoded.” Tony mused “But he keeps coming back to it” 

“Yeah, when you two programmed him to protect the human race, you amazingly failed” Katie sighed, looking over at Tony then to Bruce, who was looking at Lila’s drawing over Nat’s shoulder, his arms folded, a thoughtful look on his face.

“They don’t need to be protected, they need to evolve.” The Doctor said, not looking up. “Ultron’s going to evolve.”

“How?” Fury asked.

“Has anyone been in contact with Helen Cho?” Bruce glanced around the room.

There was a pause, and then all at once there was a flurry of activity. Tony whipped his phone out and began to dial, Nat and Katie both stood up, Clint hurried out of the kitchen and Fury was also talking to someone as Steve and Bruce began discussing the intricacies of what Ultron was likely to want Helen for, which centred around the regeneration cradle, a larger version of the technology that had healed Clint after he had been shot when retrieving the sceptre.  

“If Ultron is really building a body…” Steve trailed off as they all prepared to leave,  his voice dropping

“He’ll be more powerful than any of us. Maybe all of us.” Katie sighed.

“An android designed by a robot” Tony finished.

“You know I really miss the days when the weirdest thing science ever created was me.” Steve raised his eyebrows. Katie and Tony both smiled gently.

“I’ll drop Banner off at the tower. Do you mind if I borrow Ms. Hill?” Fury said, pulling on his trench coat.

“She’s all yours, apparently.” Tony shrugged “What are you gonna do? “

“I don’t know. Something dramatic, I hope.”

Katie found herself slightly concerned that the threat of Fury doing something dramatic didn’t worry her half as much as facing Ultron.

*****

Clint expertly piloted the Quinn Jet low enough for Steve to drop onto the roof of the U-GU-Gin Genetic Research Lab roof.

“Two minutes. Stay close.” Steve instructed as the jet roe again to hover above the building away from any eyes.

A few moments passed and then the crew on the jet heard Steve shout “Dr Cho…are you hurt?”  There was a bit of a conversation which they didn’t hear, but then Helen’s voice came over the comms loud and clear, if a little strained.

“The gem, its power is uncontainable. You can’t just blow it up. You have to get the Cradle to Stark.”

There was another pause before Steve’s voice spoke clearly ”Did you guys copy that?

“We did.” Clint said.

“I got a private jet taking off, across town, no manifest.” Katie read the details on the computer screen in front of her. “That could be him.”

“There!” Clint said loudly, pointing out of the front window of the jet. Both Natasha and Katie moved so they could follow his gaze. “It’s the truck from the lab. Right above you, Cap. On the loop by the bridge.”

The jet scanned the truck, confirming their suspicions with the imaging that they all saw on the monitor.

“It’s them.” Clint continued. “I got three with the Cradle, one in the cab. I could take out the driver”

“No.” Katie instructed. “If what Helen is saying is right, that truck crashes, the gem could level the city.”

“We need to draw out Ultron” Steve spoke on the coms. They all waited for a further update and, thirty seconds or so later, there was a loud bang and he followed up his commentary. ”Well, he’s definitely unhappy! I’m gonna try and keep him that way.”

Katie looked down to see Steve was clinging onto the back of the truck and her heart skipped a beat. Making a decision she strode to wing space of the jet and pressed her palm to the pad besides the large locker that contained her suit.

“You’re not a match for him Cap…” Clint said

“Thanks Barton!” Steve replied, sarcastically.

“We need to get down there, give him some back up…”  Katie called, turning round to look at Nat as she stepped backwards, allowing her suit to form around her.

“Ok.” Clint said, nodding “I’ll give you the cover up top.”

Nat took off her headset and joined Katie in the equipment store, pushing a small coms piece into her ear. She headed to the back of the ship, straddling the motorbike that was propped up at the side.

“He’s lost his shield. I’m gonna drop you as close to it as I can.” Clint advised as he flipped a few controls.

“Roger.” Katie continued with the final checks to her suit, without JARVIS she was flying this thing herself, just as she had been at Klaus’ base so she needed to make sure everything was right. Clint steered them down towards the road.

“We got a window. Four, three…give ‘em hell.” Clint said, pushing the button for the ramp. Natasha sped the bike off and dropped down with a squeal of tyres before taking the jet higher.

“Us girls are always picking up after you boys.” She said gently and Katie headed to the back of the ramp, her scans watching as Natasha picked up Steve’s shield, following Clint’s commentary.

“They’re heading under the overpass, I’ve got no shot”

“Which way? “ Nat asked.

“Hard right… Now.” Clint instructed. Natasha did as she was told. As Clint hovered over the top of them Katie shot out from the back of the jet and swooped down just as Natasha threw the shield up to Steve. Steve caught it and instantly flung it, sent the AI flying backwards. Ultron wasn’t down for long, jumping up and resuming the fight as Katie landed behind the Robot as he sent a blast of power at Steve, who instantly held his shield up as he was catapulted backwards onto the bonnet of the car behind. She fired a repulsor at the AI, causing him to turn his attention to her as he wheeled round and shot back. She flew out of the way as the shot hit the car behind, the screeches of brakes and grinding of metal hit her ears as cars collided on the road.

“You Starks are like insects.” Ultron hissed out. “Annoying and irritating.”

“Yeah well, some insects pact a bit of a sting.” Katie shot out a static pulse from the shoulder of her suit. It immobilised Ultron for a good few seconds, which was long enough for Steve to climb back onto the top of the truck, hitting him once more with his shield. As Ultron fell forward towards Katie she jumped up, kicking out with her boot, pushing him down into the metal of the truck before landing.  Ultron regained control of his functions and the three of them began to fight, Steve and Katie dodging the rays of power as they flew at them, Ultron easily deflecting the beams the Supernova suit sent his way.

“Clint can you draw out the guards?”  Nat’s voice came over the comms.

“Let’s find out.”  Clint replied simply.

Katie fired another static pulse towards Ultron, but he easily deflected it and shot once more at her as she spiralled away.

“You think I’d let you get me with that again?” he growled.

“No but, made you look.”  She grinned, and at that point Clint shot the jet downwards and it fired off a few shots at Ultron, deliberately missing the delicate package the truck contained. It worked and as Katie watched 4 Ultron Sentries fly out and follow the jet upwards. Ultron turned and flew at Steve who spun, slamming him into a concrete pillar by the side of the road. Katie swooped in, firing again but Ultron was ready and caught her with a beam causing her to spin blindly through the air.  With no JAVIS to help, it took her a while to regain control but eventually she righted herself just in time to see Ultron spear at Steve, the two of them crashing into a nearby moving train. She shot forward, putting all her power into her thrusters, speeding up to catch it.

"Heading back towards you, whatever you’re gonna’ do. Do it now.” Clint informed over the coms as Katie dropped down so I was level with the train, looking into the windows.

“I’m going in, guys can you keep him occupied?” Natasha questioned as Katie finally caught up with the right carriage to see Ultron sending Steve flying again, landing hard against a metal door.

“What do you think we’ve been doing!”  Steve grit out, shaking his head, as once again he stood up, and resumed his fight with the AI as Katie shot a beam through the window, catching the robot unawares and causing him to fly out of the side of the train.

As she flew in through the window, the AI came crashing through one a bit further up and the two of them shot at one another, the beams hitting in mid-air and deflecting off one another, blowing a hole in the roof of the train.

“The package is airborne.” Clint informed us, “I have a clean shot.”

“Negative I am still in the truck.” Natasha said.

“What the hell are you doing?” Katie yelled, as Ultron sent a bench of seats towards her, which she blasted out of the way.

“Just be ready, I’m sending the package to you, Clint!”

“How do you want me to take it?” Clint asked sarcastically as Katie looked up through the hole in the roof to see the truck way above them.

“Uh, you might wish you hadn’t asked that.”

At that point Katie was floored as Steve landed heavily on top of her, having been blasted off his feet by Ultron.

“Ow…” he muttered, rolling over and off the top of her. Katie groaned as her head bounced off the inside of her metal helmet and hadn’t even had chance to right herself when suddenly she was lifted off her feet as Ultron’s hand crushed at the neck of her suit.

“Like I said, insect.”  He growled, his grip tightening as she raised both her palms to fire, blasting them both backwards, in opposite directions as Katie crashed into the carriage behind. She sat up and shifted the debris and shot forward, as Ultron came again but he was sent backwards as a blur knocked him off balance- the male Maximoff twin. Ultron took a menacing step forwards and the metal guards shifted red and bent in front of us in a protective manor. The female, Wanda, stood behind Ultron, hands outstretched and glowing red. Ultron turned towards her.

"Please, don’t do this.” Ultron pleaded with her.

“What choice do we have?” Wanda countered.

Ultron turned back around and fired in Steve’s direction. Katie was quicker though, pulling him out of the way as the front of the train blew out. The AI then blasted out the side door and escaped.

“We lost him!” Katie said into her coms, face plate sliding back as Steve made his way to the front of the train, reaching over the driver. “Clint, Nat He’s headed back towards you.”

“Nat we gotta go!”  Clint said.

Steve turned back to Katie, shaking his head, he could find no pulse. The driver was dead and the train was out of control heading straight for the end of the line.

“Nat… NAT? Cap you guys see Nat?” Clint questioned worriedly.

"If you have the package, get it to Stark! Go!” Steve commanded, looking up instinctively as Katie reached his side.

“Do you have eyes on Nat?" Clint questioned once again.

"Go!” Steve ordered once again and it seemed Clint obeyed because there was silence on the other side of the coms. Katie looked at him, both of them worried about our friend but equally knowing they had to tackle the problem in hand. The train crashed through the stoppers at the end of the line and carried on, heading straight through the narrow streets.

“There are civilians in our path.” Steve turned to Pietro, once more resuming command. He nodded and sped off in a blur.

“Can you stop this thing?” Katie asked Wanda. She looked unsure but nodded and blasted red tendrils down into the underlining of the train.

It began to slow, but nowhere near enough for them to avoid the building they were heading straight at. Katie slid her face plate back and Steve held his shield out in front of them, protecting them from the impact, and they felt the train starting to slow down, before it eventually came to a steady stop a moment or so later in a street lined with small trading stalls and shops.

As the passengers scrambled to get off the train Steve and Katie remained where they were for a second, Katie’s face plate once more retracting.

“You’re bleeding.” Steve said gently, wiping at her brow.

“Least I’m still here.” She shook her head. “What about Nat?”

“We’ll find her.” He took a deep breath, looking her in the eyes. “I promise.”

He slung his shield onto his back and the pair of them exited the train. Katie spotted Wanda stood next to her brother who was resting against a wall breathing heavily, hunched over with his hands on his knees. As they approached he looked up at Wanda, waving her away

“I’m fine, I just need a minute.” He assured her.

“I’m very tempted not to give you one.” Steve snapped, giving the twins a hard look. The two Maximoffs shared an uneasy glance

“The cradle? Did you get it?” Wanda asked.

“Stark will take care of it.” Steve told her, his tone still clipped.

“No he won’t.” Wanda said incredulously.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Katie glared at the girl

“He will do anything to make things right.” Wanda implored.

Steve turned and gave Katie a questioning look before he spoke into the coms.

“Stark come in. Stark? Anyone on coms?” The only response Steve got was silence. He looked at Katie who tried as well, getting nothing but static. She then tried to route through her phone, but there was nothing there either.

“Ultron can’t tell the difference between saving the world and destroying it.” Wanda pressed “Where do you think he got that from?”

Katie took a moment to look around, squinting against the sunlight. People were gathering, chattering in Korean and pointing at the train stretched down the middle of the road.

“I saw into his head.” Wanda implored. “I saw what he has planned. It’s not what he said, not what he told us he wanted.”

“Oh and what did he say he wanted?” Katie asked, turning back to her, her arms folding across her chest.

“He said he wanted peace” the boy, Pietro spoke.

“Oh, well…” Katie snapped, looking round nodding and clapping her gauntlet clad hands together sarcastically “Good job”

“Look…” Steve stepped forward a little before his girl lost her temper, his hands grasping the buckle on his utility belt. “This isn’t about sides, or what’s happened before. It’s about how we shut Ultron down.”

“So, what happens now?” Pietro asked.

“That depends on you.” Steve answered, putting his shield on his back, keeping his stance non-confrontational. “You’ve worked with Ultron; you know how he thinks. We could use the help stopping him.”

Wanda snarled, lips curling back over her teeth. “We won’t work with Stark.”

“Well, you kinda have two options.” Steve retorted immediately, before Katie had chance to. The authority emanating from him was immense, his eyes steady. “You work with us, or work with Ultron. Your choice.”

Katie looked up at Steve as the twins both exchanged glances. Eventually she got fed up and sighed.

“I’m going back to check on Dr Cho.” she looked at Steve “And then I’m going home to figure out how we find Nat…”

“Katie… wait…” He started towards her as she turned, making to walk off up the narrow street

“I’m done waiting Steve.” She snapped, turning to look at him. “And seeing as you don’t seem to want to give things a second’s thought, why should I?” “What’s that supposed to mean?” He frowned, running to catch up with her.

“You work with us?” She imitated his voice. “How do you know that she isn’t in our minds, right now, and this isn’t some elaborate scam to get us right where Ultron wants?”

A breeze whipped her hair slightly, and Pietro stood at Steve’s side, Wanda in his arms.

“You move too slow.” the young man taunted looking at them. “We’ll meet you at Cho’s office.”

Katie let out a loud groan of annoyance and walked and out onto the main road, looking around. Steve took a deep breath, she was angry, he knew that. His girl held a grudge, far better than he ever could and he had a feeling that Wanda Maximoff wasn’t going to get round her with a simple apology. But they didn’t have time for that, they needed to get home, find Nat and figure out Ultron’s next steps. And the Maximoffs would be helpful.

Sirens were now flooding his ears and the Emergency services were all over the place, freeing people from the cars, crashed buses, you name it.

“Could use a ride.” Steve turned to her, raising an eyebrow. She glared at him for a moment, before sliding her face plate back down. Without saying a word she gripped his harness at the top above where it held his shield and propelled them both into the air.

Dr Cho was going to be ok. Thankfully. The Scientist kindly offered them the use of her QuinJet, which technically belonged to Tony anyway, but they were grateful nonetheless. As Katie thanked the man who had led them to it, Steve turned to the Maximoff twins.

“Go on.”

Katie felt her mouth drop open as Wanda hesitated and looked to her brother who simply nodded and the two of them boarded.  Katie watched them incredulously before she rounded on Steve and he winced, awaiting the barrage which hit him full pelt.

“I can’t believe you seriously want to take them back to base.” She hissed at him.

“I told you before, they can help.” He replied calmly.

“You’re out of your mind!” Katie shook her head, the petulant child in her well and truly rearing its head “You know what actually, if they’re going, then I’m staying here.”

“For God’s sake Katie…” Steve groaned exasperatedly, running his hand through his hair, his helmet hanging in his left hand “You’re being unreasonable…”  

“I’m being unreasonable?” She rounded on him, her cheeks flushing with anger. “You’re the one who wants to take them right into the middle of our base, give them access to all our technology, when we don’t know if they’re still working for Ultron or not!”

“Katie, just get on the fucking jet now.” Steve’s voice was low, but he was angry.  He didn’t have time for this shit, he was tired, worried, and just wanted to get them all together so they could find Nat and end this and she was behaving like a total brat.

Katie looked at him, his eyes were flashing and he had a look on his face she couldn’t ever recall him using on her before. It was enough to shock her into compliance, but only after she shot him the dirtiest glare she could, before she stormed onto the jet.

Two hours later and Katie still hadn’t spoken a word to Steve or anyone else for that matter, she was fuming. Pietro and Wanda had been mostly silent up until that point, exchanging the odd bit of chatter between themselves in Sokovian, but neither approaching either of the other two until Pietro came to the cockpit.

“Miss Stark, I’m sorry, but please, do you have a spare jacket? My sister is cold.”

Katie glared at him, then looked to the back of the jet where Wanda was sat on one of the chairs, her knees pulled up to her chin. Damned it, despite everything Katie felt a small pang of pity for her.

“Sure, just give me a second.” She answered, a little gruffly but less angrily as she stood up out of her seat.

Steve had to smile, despite everything she wasn’t callous, and she knew what it was like to be cold and frightened. Katie glanced down and caught the look he was giving her and she glared at him.

“I will slap that smirk right off your face.” She threatened. Immediately he held his hands up, palms facing her in an “I’m sorry” motion and she walked over to the back of the jet and started looking in a few of the cupboards. Eventually she found a black fleece jacket, emblazoned with U-Gen logo, along with a blanket. In one of the other cupboards she found bottles of water supplies along with some snack bars and bags of chips.

“Here.” She walked over to Wanda and handed her the jacket and fleece.

“Thank you.” The teenager pulled the fleece around her.

“You hungry or need a drink?” Katie offered.

They looked at one another.

“I’m not going to poison you.” She rolled her eyes.

Wanda nodded and Katie handed her a bottle of water and Pietro took a granola bar from her and a bag of chips. Katie glanced at the twins and then suddenly had to ask the question that was on the tip of her tongue.

“Why do you hate us so much, the Avengers?” She blurted out. Steve turned his head slightly so he could listen in.

“I don’t hate the avengers. I hate you and your brother. Well I did. I don’t know maybe I still do.”

“But why?” Katie said, puzzled “You don’t know us?”

“Our home was bombed.” Wanda said, looking at her hands “It hit 2 floors below and blew a hole in our floor. Our parents fell but Pietro grabbed me and we rolled under the bed.” “The second one hits.” Pietro continued gently “But it doesn’t explode. It just sits there, three feet from our faces. And on the side of the shell is painted two words…” “Stark Industries” Katie swallowed, suddenly understanding. “You know we shut the arms side of the business down once we both realised the damage it was doing. I know that doesn’t absolve us of any guilt but…my brother is a good man, maybe he doesn’t always get it right but he tries.”

“But that is my point.” Wanda pressed “Ultron…he wants world peace, but he thinks the way to do that is to kill people, innocent people.”

“That’s not what Tony wants” Katie pressed

“But he created Ultron.” Pietro joined the conversation

“Yes, because of you!” Katie implored.

“Sorry, because of us?” “You made him see something, in Strucker’s lab. A vision, a vision that showed all of the Avengers dead, the world ending and Tony was left alone because he didn’t try hard enough to stop it.” At that point Wanda and Pietro exchanged glances as she continued “You made him believe he needed to do something, something more and Ultron was the result. He was supposed to be the thing that Tony thinks we need, something to bring peace…”

“You know, maybe we aren’t that different to Stark after all.” Pietro broke the moment or so silence that had descended. “I mean, we volunteered for HYDRA.”

“They said that they would make us super-human, like your Captain America over there.” Wanda sipped her water and Steve’s eyes flickered over the back of the jet for a moment before he turned back to the front. “Then we could fight…”

“They didn’t say what it would cost.” Pietro spat. “The experiments. The constant pain.”

“Guess we all made bad decisions for what we thought were the right reasons.” Katie shrugged “What matters now is how we fix this mess.”

With that she left them to it, taking her drink and one for Steve to the front of the jet.

“Thanks.” he said gently

“I assume you heard all that.”

“Super sensitive hearing, Doll, what can I say?” He smiled. She rolled her eyes. “You still pissed at me?” She raised her eyebrow at him, and with a teasing note chastised him. “Language.”

Steve smiled, reached over for her hand and drew it up to his face, pressing a soft kiss to her knuckles before he let go and took a drink of water, before he glanced back out of the front window of the jet.

An hour or so later they managed to get through to Clint on the coms.

“Any news on Nat?” Katie asked him.

“I’m trying the old fashioned way. That should avoid Ultron. I’ll find her”

“I don’t doubt it Hawkeye.” She smiled.

“What about Stark and the cradle?” Steve asked.

“In the lab with Banner, why you ask?”

Katie glanced at Steve, his jaw set tightly but that was the sum total of the reaction from him. He didn’t want to voice what was on his mind and risk pissing her off even more. Instead he chose his words carefully.

“Just… well, the twins told us what’s in that Cradle and Ultron’s plans for it. I’m worried Tony could start something he doesn’t understand.”  “Twins? The Maximoffs?” Clint asked and then he let out a groan “You’re bringing them here aren’t you?”

“You gotta trust me on this one, Clint.” Steve sighed “They’ve seen Ultron’s end game. They want to help us fight him.” “Yeah well I’ll make my own mind up on that one, I’ll see you when you get back.” “Great…” Katie sighed “Now he’s pissed as well.”

**** “I’m gonna say this once!” Steve’s voice was loud

“How about "nonce”?” Tony shot back.

“Shut it down!” Steve pointed at the cradle.

“Nope, not gonna happen.”  Tony shook his head.

There had been a bit of a fight in the lab, shields being flung, repulsors fired, and then Thor had turned up, supercharged the cradle, and it had gotten even stranger when a red man, an android had emerged.

“I’m sorry,” he said sincerely, in JARVIS’ voice “That was, odd. Thank you.” He added nodding respectfully to Thor, before his unnervingly human-looking eyes trailed over Thor thoughtfully. Then he rolled his shoulders and a cape of his own appeared and flowed down his back.

“Thor, you helped create this?” Steve asked

“I’ve had a vision, the world, where it starts, all hope and life and at its centre, is that.” Thor responded pointing to the gold stone in the middle of the man’s forehead.

“What the gem?” Banner asked in confusion. Thor nodded.

“It’s the mindstone,” He explained. “One of the six infinity stones, the greatest power in the universe and it is unparalleled in its destructive capabilities.”

“Then why would you bring it to life?” Katie asked, taking a deep breath, folding her arms.

“Because Stark is right.” Thor said.

“Oh, it’s definitely the end of times.” Bruce sarcastically to Tony’s shocked but proud expression.

“The Avengers cannot defeat Ultron.” Thor continued and the red man politely cut in.

“Not alone.”

“Why does your vision sound like JARVIS?” Katie questioned still cautious of this new being.

“We reconfigured Jarvis’ matrix, to create something new.” Tony walked up towards his masterpiece and examined him.

“I think I’ve had my fill of new.” Steve replied sarcastically.

“You think I am a child of Ultron.” The red man stated rather than asked.

“You’re not?” Steve replied suspiciously still glaring.

“I am not Ultron.” He answered simply. “I am not JARVIS. I am…” He looked down at his hands as if they would hold the answer.

“I looked in your head,” Wanda stated stepping towards him. “I saw annihilation.”

“Look again.” Vision responded in the same simple tone.

“Ha, her seal of approval means jack to me.” Clint snorted, Katie found herself inclined to agree.

“Their powers, the horrors in our heads, Ultron himself, they all came from the mindstone.” Thor said, looking round “And that is nothing compared to what it could unleash, but with it on our side-”

“Is it?” Steve cut Thor off then turned aiming his next question at him towards the red man, needing to hear confirmation “Are you, on our side?”

“I don’t think it’s that simple.” Vision answered truthfully.

“Well it better get real simple real soon.” Clint said seriously.

“I am on the side of life,” Vision continued, “Ultron isn’t, he will end it all.”

“What’s he waiting for?” Tony asked.

“You.” He stated easily, looking around at us all.

“Where?” Katie pressed.

“Sokovia.” Clint supplied helpfully. “Yeah, he’s got Nat there too.”

Katie looked at Clint who raised his eyebrow slightly and he shrugged. He’d found her, just like he said.

“If we’re wrong about you,” Bruce said approaching the man. “If you’re the monster Ultron created you to be…”

“What will you do?” The red man asked and Bruce stayed silent.

“I don’t want to kill Ultron, he is unique, and he’s in pain,” Vision paced slowly around the room, “but that pain will roll over the earth, so he must be destroyed. Every form he’s built, every trace and presence of him. We have to act now. And not one of us can do it without the other.”

He turned back to look at everyone in the room individually, then he did something completely unexpected as he picked up Thor’s hammer from the table. Steve felt his eyebrows raise in shock whereas Katie was looking at Thor, her mouth open, the god was wearing a look of utter confusion.

“There may be no way to make you trust me, but we need to go.” Vision finished holding out the hammer for Thor to take. Thor took his weapon back and the man walked away.

There was a moment of silence before Thor coughed.

“Right, well done.” he said awkwardly patting Tony on the shoulder and followed the red man out of the room.

“Three minutes, get what you need.” Steve announced.

**** Chapter 24 Part 2

[bookbomburisunderrated]

“UUUGHHHHH why does everyone mischaracterize bombur as the helpless fat guy who is hopelessly obsessed with fooooooooooooooooooooood?

"Now we are all here!" said Gandalf, looking at the row of thirteen hoods-the best detachable party hoods-and his own hat hanging on the pegs. "Quite a merry gathering! I hope there is something left for the late-comers to eat and drink! What's that? Tea! No thank you! A little red wine, I think for me." "And for me," said Thorin. "And raspberry jam and apple-tart," said Bifur. "And mince-pies and cheese," said Bofur. "And pork-pie and salad," said Bombur.

- The Hobbit Ch 1

there is no undue obsession here

“Now for some music!" said Thorin. "Bring out the instruments!” Kili and Fili rushed for their bags and brought back little fiddles; Dori, Nori, and Ori brought out flutes from somewhere inside their coats; Bombur produced a drum from the hall; Bifur and Bofur went out too, and came back with clarinets that they had left among the walking-sticks. Dwalin and Balin said: "Excuse me, I left mine in the porch!" "Just bring mine in with you!" said Thorin. They came back with viols as big as themselves, and with Thorin's harp wrapped in a green cloth. It was a beautiful golden harp, and when Thorin struck it the music began all at once, so sudden and sweet that Bilbo forgot everything else, and was swept away into dark lands under strange moons, far over The Water and very far from his hobbit-hole under The Hill.

- The Hobbit Ch 1

my people, drums are heavy. 

Thereupon the twelve dwarves-not Thorin, he was too important, and stayed talking to Gandalf-jumped to their feet, and made tall piles of all the things. Off they went, not waiting for trays, balancing columns of plates, each with a bottle on the top, with one hand, while the hobbit ran after them almost squeaking with fright: "please be careful!" and "please, don't trouble! I can manage." But the dwarves only started to sing:

- Ch 1

see, Bombur working with the others-he pulls his weight. Thorin is being lazy here. 

Just when a wizard would have been most useful, too," groaned Dori and Nori (who shared the hobbit's views about regular meals, plenty and often).

- Ch 1

(Notice a distinct lack of Bombur’s mention, here!)

With sacks in their hands, that they used for carrying off mutton and other plunder, they waited in the shadows. As each dwarf came up and looked at the fire, and the spilled jugs, and the gnawed mutton, in surprise, pop! went a nasty smelly sack over his head, and he was down. Soon Dwalin lay by Balin, and Fili and Kili together, and Dori and Nori and Ori all in a heap, and Oin and Gloin and Bifur and Bofur and Bombur piled uncomfortably near the fire. "That'll teach 'em," said Tom; for Bifur and Bombur had given a lot of trouble, and fought like mad, as dwarves will when cornered.

Ch 2

Oh! Why look there. Bombur actually, along with Bifur, was teh best fighter? Do tell! 

Still goblins go faster than dwarves, and these goblins knew the way better (they had made the paths themselves), and were madly angry; so that do what they could the dwarves heard the cries and howls getting closer and closer. Soon they could hear even the flap of the goblin feet, many many feet which seemed only just round the last corner. The blink of red torches could be seen behind them in the tunnel they were following; and they were getting deadly tired. "Why, O why did I ever leave my hobbit-hole!" said poor Mr. Baggins bumping up and down on Bombur's back. "Why, O why did I ever bring a wretched little hobbit on a treasure hunt!" said poor Bombur, who was fat, and staggered along with the sweat dripping down his nose in his heat and terror.

- Ch 4

Don’t let Bombur’s exhaustion distract you, Bombur is actually being entrusted with doing the carrying (notice he doesn’t shirk in carrying Bilbo or go on a full blown rant of resenting Bilbo needing him.) They are ALL deadly tired! THEY!

“They found them as quick as ever they could, you can guess; and up they went as high as ever they could trust the branches. You would have laughed (from a safe distance), if you had seen the dwarves sitting up in the trees with their beards dangling down, like old gentlemen gone cracked and playing at being boys. Fili and Kili were at the top of a tall larch like an enormous Christmas tree. Dori, Nori, Ori, Oin, and Gloin were more comfortable in a huge pine with regular branches sticking out at intervals like the spokes of a wheel. Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, and Thorin were in another.” - Ch 6

Bombur has no trouble climbing a tree.

“ In came Bifur and Bofur. "And me!" gasped Bombur puffing up behind.”

- Ch 7  Keep in mind that it’s a five minute speed walk between beorn and the dwarve’s waiting spot.

It was only too true. Bombur had only one foot on the land when the hart bore down on him, and sprang over him. He had stumbled, thrusting the boat away from the bank, and then toppled back into the dark water, his hands slipping off the slimy roots at the edge, while the boat span slowly off and disappeared.

- Ch 8

As you can see, contrary to PJ’s depiction this is not Bombur’s remotest fault, it’s a Deer Ex Machina. 

Also, Bombur is clearly fighting the current and the enchantment.

“They could still see his hood above the water when they ran to the bank. Quickly, they flung a rope with a hook towards him. His hand caught it, and they pulled him to the shore. He was drenched from hair to boots, of course, but that was not the worst. When they laid him on the bank he was already fast asleep, with one hand clutching the rope so tight that they could not get it from his grasp; and fast asleep he remained in spite of all they could do.”

- Ch 8

No matter what any one tells you, Tolkien is being crystal clear here. The fall was the result of a deer ex machina and Bombur did everything he could.

AND THE POINT OF WHAT HAPPENED AFTERWARDS WAS THAT BOMBUR WAS TREATED LIKE FRACKING GARBAGE

He woke up suddenly and sat up scratching his head. He could not make out where he was at all, nor why he felt so hungry; (hasn’t eaten in a weak, may explain all of the intense distress)  for he had forgotten everything that had happened since they started their journey that May morning long ago. The last thing that he remembered was the party at the hobbit's house, and they had great difficulty in making him believe their tale of all the many adventures they had had since. When he heard that there was nothing to eat, he sat down and wept, for he felt very weak and wobbly in the legs. (hasn’t had anything to eat for a week) "Why ever did I wake up!" he cried. "I was having such beautiful dreams. I dreamed I was walking in a forest rather like this one, only lit with torches on the trees and lamps swinging from the branches and fires burning on the ground; and there was a great feast going on, going on for ever. A woodland king was there with a crown of leaves, and there was a merry singing, and I could not count or describe the things there were to eat and drink." "You need not try," said Thorin. "In fact if you can't talk about something else, you had better be silent. We are quite annoyed enough with you as it is. If you hadn't waked up, we should have left you to your idiotic dreams in the forest; you are no joke to carry even after weeks of short commons."

This they did all that day, going very slowly and wearily; while Bombur kept on wailing that his legs would not carry him (we have no good reason not to believe him) and that he wanted to lie down and sleep. (poor chap) "No you don't!" they said. "Let your legs take their share, we have carried you far enough." A) What the **** B) What the **** C) What the **** D) Bombur is not the bad guy here don’t try and make them out to be l All the same he suddenly refused to go a step further and flung himself on the ground. "Go on, if you must," he said. "I'm just going to lie here and sleep and dream of food, if I can't get it any other way. I hope I never wake up again."  

AND THEY NEVER SAID THEY WERE SORRY!