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still-a-morosexual-help · 3 years ago

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OBEY ME! LESSON 58 DETAILED SUMMARY + DISCUSSIONS/THEORIES

*I wrote this days after the lesson was first posted and never bothered to go back and edit it so meaning there will be me theorizing about the next lesson as well

*I write a small para for each chapter and I write it immediately after finishing that chapter so there’ll be theorizing about the next chapter too

*I swear more than usual here

*Some of the dialogue is heavily plagiarized and a few is lifted directly from the story, the game is to figure which is which.

*Summaries and Discussions/theories for all the other lessons can be found on this blog under #obey me spoilers or #my theories or #my headcanons

This has two locked chapters. So I usually play one chapter and then write a summary for it and then play the next and so on, I don’t come back and edit the summaries or theories I write but this lesson is special enough that I had to come back and write a special intro to it. Hoo BOY! is this something! You think it’s gonna go the usual way with MC solving the problem demon by demon with each of them having some wacky fear and it is like that for a while until it nosedives into TRAUMAtm and ISSUEStm territory and becomes surprisingly dark. And for someone who loves speculating and coming up with theories this whole lesson was a goldmine, Enjoy!

Black mist swirls around the hall, Mammon & Levi shriek and the hall starts rattling until the mist forms pissed off demon Lucifer which makes Asmo yelp (and this is what I mean, the greatest common fear in this group (if you don’t consider Simeon and Lucifer) is probably pissed off demon Lucifer but on their own they’ll probably have different fears.) Levi stutters out that it’s lucifer and real lucifer tells him to calm his tits cause the he is actually with them. MC identifies it as the bogeyman (genius) and it starts shrieking for Mammon and Levi, which leads to Mammon screaming and Levi closing his eyes and chanting ‘no’ as they cling on to Belphie as the entire hall rattles again. Solomon happily tells MC ‘Welp there’s your exam, deal with it.’ Simeon’s slightly more helpful and tells them staying calm is the key. MC says they can do that. Solomon laughs and says that’s the answer he’d expect from his talented apprentice. MC uses a spell “light born of shadow” to repel the spirit, the spell and the spirit makes the wind howl and the hall shake and the spirit growl/groan. To escape the spell it flees into one of the hotel rooms and the hall suddenly becomes eerily quiet. Mammon collapses to his knees and Levi, with his eyes still closed, says he lost 500yrs of his life. Neither of them have still let go off Belphie. Lucifer calls them pathetic for being demons scared of a bogeyman (bro they’re scared of *you* akjdvkdfjjjkdn) Mammon snaps and says he ain’t scared of the bogeyman and Satan asks how he can say that after what they all saw. Levi says it’s not the bogeyman it’s a fully pissed off Lucifer he’s scared of. Mammon still insists he’s not scared. Levi tells him to shut up cause he was so scared he couldn’t stand, Mammon says he just wanted to sit down for a bit. Lucifer calls them pathetic again and Levi protests. Lucifer then says they must find a way to get rid of it for good cause it’ll start to come after each one of them individually. MC says maybe they can admit what they’re all afraid of so that they’ll know what they will be facing ahead of time. Solomon agrees with this plan and tells them to start with the oldest and work their way down, listing their fears. Asmo calls Solomon out on using this as an excuse to find Lucifer’s weaknesses to use later. Solomon smiles and says he’d never do that, Belphie says the look on his face suggests different. Beel says that there’s probably nothing that scares Lucifer and Lucifer says that nothing comes to mind (and this feels like when you’re a child and think your parents are all knowing and invincible only to get a sometimes painful reality check later). Mammon says he doesn’t get scared, Levi calls him a liar and says pissed off demon Lucifer scares him and then he goes on to list fears based off being an otaku (eg: the final ep of a series he loves and etc). Simeon cuts Levi off as his list grows and asks Satan. Satan straight up says “Nothing scares me.” And Simeon smiles and says it takes a lot of confidence to say that (yeah even Lucifer said that in terms of a greatest fear “nothing comes to mind” implying he’s felt fear before and probably had moments of ‘greatest fear’ too. Satan just straight up says nothing at all scares him and I think that shows his age and experience gap compared to Lucifer. Even the way Simeon smiled and said the confidence line felt like he was indulging Satan rather than believing him). Asmo jumps and says being ugly scares him. Beel says he thought about it but he really doesn’t know (with the saddest expression on his face) but he also says a pissed off Satan and Asmo are also pretty scary. Asmo yells at Beel for calling him scary (didn’t Asmo very seriously threaten to rip MC’s heart out in S1? I feel like a lot of people forget this… I’ve seen people say Asmo and Mammon were the only ones who didn’t attack or seriously threaten MC and I’m just like no??? Asmo was definitely ready to kill them and he gets even more pissed if MC says they don’t think he’s the most attractive person. MC doesn’t get the chance to talk back when Asmo threatens them either which makes it seem all the more serious. When Mammon first threatens to eat MC after they first meet he says it in that same over the top way he said he wasn’t scared in this lesson – completely unbelievable. And MC probably catches that too cause they get to talk back and tell him that they literally give no shits about whatever he’s talking about.) Belphie says he used to be afraid of the alarm clock satan gave him which wouldn’t snooze or stop, which he threw away (I feel like they’re greatly underestimating what ‘greatest fear’ means…) Solomon asks MC what scares them the most and the chapter ends. (I HC MC as having heavy abandonment issues, of waking up and finding out this was all a dream and that they’re alone but I doubt OM!’s gonna let them say that)

Asmo’s very excited to find out about MC’s worst fears but Levi says when MC came face to face with the bogeyman and chased it away it didn’t transform which means… Levi smiles and Mammon laughs and goes ‘holy shit you’re scared of Lucifer too!? Asmo points out that Mammon said ‘too’ implying… Mammon vehemently protests. Simeon says that that Luke’s blessing is still active despite it being given some time back and it makes the Bogeyman have no affect on MC. Asmo’s shocked and asks if that isn’t really impressive. Simeon says it is and that Luke’s blessings are so powerful that it even rivals some angels’ higher up in the hierarchy (do you think that’s why Michael has such an interest in Luke despite him having no ranking?) Simeon says Luke himself doesn’t realise how special his power is and MC’s amazed by what a bright future he’ll have. Simeon says he’s looking forward to it. Belphie says once that once Luke grows up he’d be able to banish Mammon with a snap of his fingers (and ansknvjbkdc BELPHIE!? Isn’t this also a self burn you fucking idiot???? Considering Mammon’s the 2nd most powerful and you’re the 7th?????? They really do genuinely forget Mammon’s ranking don’t they?) Mammon asks why Belphie had to pick him to shit on and Levi laughs and says Mammon will totally deserve being banished by an angel. Mammon goes to murder Levi but Lucifer cuts them off saying Barbatos just messaged him saying ‘don’t fucking stand there like fucking idiots kick out the bastard that you lot are responsible for unless you’d rather me come there and rip your fucking innards out you fucking assholes’ MC picks up on a very key fact and says “He’s fucking spying in us!???” Satan says he’s probably watching them at that very moment which creeps Asmo out. Solomon says they should go after it then which has Mammon yelping and Levi protesting. Lucifer says if they all go barging in everything will devolve into chaos and that just a couple should do. Levi laughs about MC being OP cause of Luke’s blessing (love the self awareness) Solomon tells MC to pick who’ll go in with them.

Asmo’s demanding why he got picked and Mammon, smiling happily, says Asmo should consider getting hand-picked by MC an honour, Asmo says they just happened to make eye contact and MC picked him and he can’t help it if MC’s eyes are naturally drawn towards his beauty. (I just realized considering Mammon’s the one MC usually picks for stupid, dangerous adventures so he probably thought he’d get picked and he’s so smiley rn cause he’s relieved). Satan tells Asmo to suck it up and Asmo says it’s easy for them to say since they aren’t been made to go in the room. All sparkly and teary eyed Asmo cries about how his beauty ended up being his undoing. Simeon wishes MC luck and says that should anything go wrong he’ll come in. MC tells Asmo they’ll protect him, Asmo throws himself into their arms and calls them the best. Lucifer tells them to keep their guard up, even with Luke’s blessing. The hotel room looks like someone has used a negative filter on it. Inside Asmo screams and says he can’t take it and that he knows what he’ll see and that an ugly version of himself will be so bad that he’ll have a heart attack and die adding on “I’ll DIE, MC!” at the end for emphasis (wait so bullets won’t kill them but heart attacks are a possibility? Or is this Asmo just being melodramatic?). With tears in his eyes he says he gives up. MC tells him nothing will change how beautiful he is, he agrees but still struggles to argue with it. The black mist then starts forming and Asmo squeaks. With a rumble it shakes the room and transforms. Asmo starts screaming and sobbing about how ugly he looks and how it hurts his eyes. To stop Asmo’s oncoming mental breakdown MC shows him a mirror and he starts cooing over how beautiful he really is but he still says he can’t take it and runs out the room (I like to imagine the bogeyman had to do the bare minimum to make Asmo see a hideous version of himself, like anything less than perfect flawlessness would freak Asmo out.) Back outside Lucifer sounds disappointed that these are some of the most powerful demons in the devildom, Satan calls the whole thing pathetic, and Levi laughs about how they should have known not to trust Asmo with this (..I mean you wouldn’t have done any better either), Mammon mocks Asmo for calling himself a demon, Beel says he’s hungry. Asmo tells them if they’re so much braver than him they should go in. Solomon tells MC to pick the next one. MC happens to make eye contact with Belphie. Without MC even saying a word Belphie realizes what has happened. About Asmo’s fear maybe I’m making it too deep but in S1 and in other places too Asmo talks about how beautiful he was in the Celestial Realm and I always wondered if part of his obsession with his beauty now is because it’s a way to cling on to that, the last thing that he can keep unchanged after his whole world was turned on his head. I think in the very early drafts of OM!, back when the brothers had canonical demonic demon forms as well the writers said Asmo hated his, so it’d make sense after how even his actual form changed he’d cling so desperately onto the human form he shared with his past angelic self.

Belphie asks if they really need him to come, Satan says it’s not like they can let MC go in alone, Belphie says they have Luke’s blessing so they may as well throw them into the sharks (I want to say I really like sharks and am always somewhat upset by the misconception of them as these ruthless killing machines when at most they’re just idiots with bad eyesight) Lucifer says that there’s always the possibility things won’t go as planned, Belphie says then Simeon will just step in (Belphie’s trying so hard guyssss. And like I imagine a majority of it is cause he’s lazy and doesn’t want to deal with this but I also feel like a small part of him knows that something worse than an annoying alarm clock could be waiting in there. I mean your greatest fear can be very personal and for emotionally constipated idiots like this who’ve lived millions of years and fought two wars? I imagine they’d be very private about it.) Simeon says that though that’s the plan it would but an end to MC’s exam. Cause he isn’t part of their additional materials the way the brothers are, says Solomon. Beel begs Belphie to do it for him and that he wants Belphie to keep MC safe. YO! Mammon brings up my point immediately. God I love him. Looking smug, he asks if the truth is that Belphie’s trying so hard to avoid something other than an alarm clock. Belphie looks shocked, then looks to the side and says “No…”. Mammon says then Belphie should be just fine, that it’s an alarm clock and it’s not a big deal (You know and I know that Mammon knows well that it’s not gonna be just an alarm clock, what a shithead picking up on Belphie’s weakness like that and manipulating him when nothing else worked. I love him so much). Belphie agrees to go. Inside the Bogeyman is already forming and a shrill alarm clock starts ringing, until it suddenly stops and everything goes black. Belphie makes a small noise and MC calls his name. He starts asking what’s going on and where MC went, sounding more and more distressed with each question. The wind keeps whistling through. MC says they’re right there. He can’t hear them. He’s now screaming for MC to answer him. Then he starts screaming for MC and Beel. Then for Asmo, Satan, Mammon and Levi. Then for Lucifer. When he gets no reply he says, “This can’t be happening…it can’t be…I…I…” He screams that he can’t take it and that he’s scared, asking where everyone went. MC moves towards his voice and hugs him. He screams for MC and Beel to help him. The chapter ends. This whole scene is haunting. From the bitch black screen, to the whistling wind being the only thing you can hear, to hearing Belphie who’s usually so unaffected start screaming for his family just? How it all started with the shrill screams of the alarm clock which just abruptly stopped. It came outta nowhere. I honestly didn’t think they’d do something like that and I’m shaking imagining what the others might see. I’m 100% sure that Belphie used all his energy to focus on the alarm clock so that the bogeyman wouldn’t pick up on this darker fear and that’s why the alarm clock went off at first. I initially thought Belphie’s real fear will be something directly related to the second war but this makes so much more sense, it makes sense that after losing Lilith his biggest fear would be losing the rest of his family and being alone and just wow I’m??? I love that they did this. It hurt to see but it was desperately needed.

Back outside Asmo and Belphie are both silent and depressed. Beel quietly calls Belphie’s name, saying all the colour has drained from his face and asking if he’s okay. Asmo whines about how Beel only cares about Belphie and hasn’t even checked up on him. Mammon says they both do look pretty awful and Satan says they look like Levi and Mammon did after seeing Lucifer’s pissed demon form. Levi says not to even bring it up. Beel asks what happened inside the room and Belphie says nothing. Beel orders (the key word here is ‘orders’ and it’s so different from his usual self that it was great to see what he becomes when the people he loves are hurt) that MC tell him what happened (and look on one hand it’s important to keep Belphie’s privacy and to not say anything without his consent, on the other hand he will NEVER tell anyone this, something he’s been bottling up for thousands of years, and he really should talk it over with them. Personally I think they should take him aside later and talk it over with him and then if he wants let him approach the others). MC can say “the truth is that…” or “…”. For the first he gets really pissed off and yells at MC to stop. He then takes a step back and apologizes and says he doesn’t want them telling the others anything. For the second Belphie quietly thanks them. He then says it wasn’t a big deal and something happened that he wasn’t expecting. He smiles and tells Beel not to look at him like that. Beel still can’t get over it and still looks furious, saying that he doesn’t know what happened but he knows it really messed Belphie up and he’s not letting it get away with that. He says he’s gonna destroy it and calls MC after him. Inside the room it’s dead quiet. Beel says again he’s not sure what he’s scared of but even if it turns into an angry Asmo or Satan they need to attack it without any hesitation. He says that whatever that thing did to Belphie it terrified him and that they need to make it pay. All of a sudden there’s a flash of light and long groans as the room shakes and the mist forms. Beel tells MC to attack it using his power before it can transform and MC commands him, Beel says his power is theirs to command and everything he does is for them and Belphie. Beel uses a spell to send a bolt of light towards it and for a second it seems to shrink into itself before it comes back stronger and holy shit holy shit holy shit GUYS!!!!! There’s a flash of light and they’re in front of the Celestial Palace except everything is on fire asdjkjdfjcusjosdsjdj FUCK. The bolt Beel had previously sent to the bogeyman instead pierces through the chest of angel!Belphie (FUCK!!?) Beel screams and then screams for Belphie. “Don’t take away my brother too! I can’t bare to lose anyone else…!” MC tries to tell him he hasn’t lost anyone but Beel protests saying he’s attack hit Belphie and now he’s… Beel’s unable to finish that sentence. He then looks at MC and starts pleading with them not to go, again saying that he’s begging them not to go anywhere. They tell him that they’re right here with him. He tells them he’s scared. The chapter ends. AND WTF!!!!????? They really went there huh? I’ve been screaming about the trauma Lilith’s death would have lead to since maybe Mammon & Luke’s train lesson but they really are bringing it up now huh!? I’m just holy shit.

They’re back in the hotel room with the mist swirling around them and at the screams Belphie comes running into the room and tries to span Beel outta it (and isn’t it sweet given how reluctant he was to go in and how shaken up he was after that he’d come tunning in for Beel). Levi comes in next with his eyes closed and stuttering but wanting to be there for Beel, then Asmo with tears in his eyes saying they’re not gonna abandon their “adorable little brother” despite how scared they are. Mammon comes in next, red faced and also with his eyes shut and asking Beel where he is, Lucifer comes in after telling Beel to focus and stay with them. (guys they’re all such good brothers I can’t deal). Beel seems genuinely touched that they all came for him. The Bogeyman flares and seems to grow again and Satan puts himself in between it and the others, angry that it had messed with his brothers and saying it was up against him now and he wasn’t scared of anything. The think groans and the room shakes and they’re in the coliseum like place in the Devildom (the place where Diavolo said he found Lucifer with Lilith after they fell) and everything around them is on fire again. Mammon asks if it’s turning into Lucifer again and Belphie says it looks like it is. It turns in to angel Lucifer (oh boy…I actually stood up and walked away. Satan…….dude….holy shit?). Satan gasps as the reveal and I genuinely think he didn’t know it was coming unlike Belphie. The name reads Lucifer (?) and I’m gonna just directly quote what he says. Also Angel Lucifer surrounded by fire and this pale purple aura with a kinda blank yet pissed off and judgmental expression while tense lowkey creepy music plays is actually kinda scary? I think it’s the fact that he’s supposed to be an angel but he looks genuinely scarier than when it transformed into demon Lucifer… Anyway: “…Satan, you fool. It’s time you learned your place. Because in the end, you’re nothing more than an inferior copy of me. You must already realize that.” Satan growls at him to shut up but he continues, “I know you, I know how you think. Because you were modeled after me. I was the original.” Satan says, “…Stop it.” It laughs and says while smiling, “It seems you don’t want to admit it, do you? You don’t want to but you have no choice. You hate it and you hate yourself. You’re consumed with self-loathing, aren’t you?” Satan screams at it to stop. Screaming that it’s not true and then screaming shut up over and over at an increasing volume. Lucifer, real Lucifer, tries calling Satan’s name, telling him to get ahold of himself. This shocks Satan out of it for a while. Lucifer goes up to him saying, “Satan, I need you to listen to me. You and I are not the same. You’re not me, and I’m not you.” He says his hobby is music while Satan prefers reading and that Satan loves cats but Lucifer would pick dogs. “You’re not a copy of me. No… You’re my brother.” He says he’s the brother to Lucifer, the avatar of pride and that he’s Satan the avatar of wrath. He asks if that isn’t his name. Satan is speechless after that. He turns to MC and asks them to tell him who he is. “You’re Lucifer’s younger brother, Satan.” This makes him laugh. He agrees with them. Saying he’s Satan. “No one else, just Satan.” He tells MC to use their pact. MC uses a spell to lend power to Satan and he uses that for a spell to banish the bogeyman. There’s a bright flash and everything turns white. (Holy shit Satan….the fact that it was angel Lucifer who was his worst fear and not normal Lucifer, that it was angel Lucifer’s judgment he feared? And I think I said this in two of the other summaries too but Satan’s the only brother Lucifer didn’t choose. Lucifer as an angel chose all his siblings and practically adopted them into his growing family. Satan was the only one who just came along and who Lucifer had no choice but to keep. Do you think that could be one of the reasons why it was angel Lucifer he specifically feared? Everyone else was with angel Lucifer in the celestial realm and fought by his side except Satan, Satan was never even an angel. He was always a demon who angels were taught to hate. Do you think it’s possible that he thinks that if angel Lucifer had the choice he wouldn’t have chosen Satan and brought him t the family? And that’s why the fairies thought he needed to meet angel Lucifer and hear him say he wished he had a brother like Satan. Also is it just me but does Satan have imposter syndrome vibes? Like the feeling that everything he achieves is cause he’s a shade of Lucifer and Lucifer’s just naturally perfect so he always has to work even harder to be better than Lucifer to prove he’s his own person.)

They’re back in the hotel room, except now all the colours are back to normal. Mammon asks what happened, Beel asks if it was destroyed and Belphie tells Satan his last spell was really impressive, Asmo tells Satan that he’s amazing and that he made his heart race, Lucifer says it was excellent and says well done. (lowkey disappointed we didn’t see Lucifer’s greatest fear but whatever). Satan dismisses all of it, saying it wasn’t a big deal and trying to move on and turn attention on how he’s gonna convert all the leftover emotion he has after having his vulnerabilities forcefully displayed in front of everyone into anger so he can murder Levi and Mammon. The two yelp and make a break for it. The other 3 also give chase, with even Beel saying he wants to take a bite outta them, while Mammon and Levi scream about how they’re gonna get eaten (…what would the other guests think…). Solomon follows the 6 of them happily to watch the carnage. Simeon asks if Lucifer wasn’t going to chase after them and he says he’d run himself ragged if he chased after them each time they fucked up. The two of them then congratulate MC and they say they couldn’t have done it without a.) Satan. Simeon says it was them who was able to draw such immense power from him and that their talent was impressive. B.) all of them, Lucifer laughs and says that some of them weren’t any help at all. Lucifer’s smile then slips and he tells them to wait a minute and sike that bitch is back! It has barely any strength left and is making one last attempt. Everything flashes white and it transforms into a bright light streaming from the window. The next two are direct quotes. Simeon: …! That light- Lucifer: Simeon, calm down. This one’s “mine”. Lucifer transforms into his demon form, saying something that transforms into your deepest fear is something he could live without. He says, “And here I’m thinking we would never meet again.” And I feel like he’s talking to the ‘light’ and not the bogeyman they thought they killed. He tells MC to use his power. They do and Lucifer uses the same spell as Satan and the bogeyman is finally killed. Simeon is silent and looks upset. Lucifer says they killed the last of it and they should be safe. He says it’s a good thing MC was there next to him or it might have ended very badly. Simeon’s still silent and Lucifer refuses to make eye contact with him. He says he’s going to check on his brothers and says he’ll see them later. Simeon’s silent and now looks thoughtful and MC can ask him a.) If something’s wrong. He apologizes and says he’s fine and then sighs and says “Oh, am I?” b.) they wonder if Lucifer’s okay. Simeon says he’ll be fine because Lucifer is strong and then quietly adds “…unlike me…” C.) they ask what that light was. “Not what.” Says Simeon, “who…”. Okay there’s so much to talk about I think my brain died. 1st – Simeon is stunned when the light first appears and Lucifer has to tell him to calm down that the light was his fear. Which meant Simeon thought the bogeyman was reacting to him and showing him his own fear and that means Simeon and Lucifer’s worst fear is the same thing and Lucifer knew this as well. Now you could say Simeon thought this light was the real deal and not the bogeyman and that’s why he reacted that way and that’s why Lucifer told him it’s just his fear BUT Lucifer said beforehand that the bogeyman had not been killed an they all see the mist forming and the room shaking and the thing groaning before the light is formed so it’d be hard to make that mistake. Plus simeon’s “unlike me” line seals it and pretty much confirms that Simeon and Lucifer share the same greatest fear. And I said earlier that I believed the bogeyman acted on the common fear of everyone it could affect but both Simeon and Lucifer were sure it was their own fear that was taking shape, plus the bogeyman only had enough strength for one last target, so yeah the ‘light’ is definitely both of their individual greatest fears. 2nd – who was it. MC’s being talking with a voice in the light every once in a while and I always assumed it was Michael cause he seems to have the same position in the celestial realm that Diavolo has in the Devildom. But why would Michael be Lucifer’s greatest fear? It’d make more sense for Lucifer’s greatest fear to be his Father but that’d mean MC’s being chatting with God this whole time and that’s absolutely fucking insane and I’m not even gonna consider that further. So Lucifer’s greatest fear is (probably) Michael but why? Because of what he represents? Because of what happened with Lilith and their Fall? Because he could threaten Diavolo’s plans for harmony? Because of some other unknown trauma? 3rd – What happened to Simeon? We know he was a seraphim who was demoted for some reason. We know he stole from Michael and was caught and Michael called him back to face some sort of consequences. We know after this he was stationed semi-permanently in the human world for some unknown reason. We know he’s meeting with angels (probably raphael) here in the human world. But what happened that made the angels or Michael his greatest fear? What did he mean by Lucifer being strong unlike him? Personally I think despite the Celestial Realm saying they cast the brothers out, the brothers actually fled after Lilith was struck. I think Lucifer asked Simeon to come with him and I think Simeon denied him and instead helped them escape and this lead to his demotion. We know from that one devilgram that after meeting Diavolo for the first time Lucifer realizes the Celestial Realm nor his Father particularly care for peace with the Devildom, while Diavolo’s actively seeking it and that demons and the devildom are not like what he believes they are. The more Lucifer meets with Diavolo the more he learns about the Devildom and the rest of the world, as Mammon said about Luke, he learns about the real world, how the angels aren’t always right and how there’s more to everything than the Celestial Realm and so the more disillusioned with the Celestial Realm he becomes. As Simeon was his closest friend he might have relayed this all to him, or at least given a vague idea of what he’s starting to see and Simeon in turn starts seeing things from Lucifer’s perspective or more accurately he starts seeing the whole picture (and this is what Barbatos means when he says Simeon is likeable because he’s different from the other angels) unlike Lucifer though this doesn’t make him angry at or resentful of the celestial realm – it just opens his eyes up to its faults but that doesn’t mean he loves all the good parts of it any less – So when Lucifer offers him the chance to leave (the way Simeon himself sees it) he’s never strong enough to take that leap. Or that’s at least my theory of what happened till the next lessons clear it up.

Simeon is still silent and looking upset and then he laughs and apologizes because he can’t seem to stop trembling (and okay first wtf? Also so the theory about Lucifer and Simeon sharing a greatest fear was right. But also what the fuck did Michael do that’s made Simeon tremble? Though the first time the brothers spoke of Michael Mammon said he still shook thinking about his punishments… But would Michael do anything like that to someone who used to be a fellow Seraphim? Was that light really Michael or was it the Big Guytm cause that’ll be terrifying I don’t want to deal with that…). MC asks him if he’s okay. He says he appreciates their concern ands says it’s just that the light was just a sight he hadn’t seen in a long time AND WAIT!? SO IT WASN’T MICHAEL!!??? IT ACTUALLY WAS GOD!!!??? I’M WHEEZING AND NOT IN THE LAUGHING WAY WTFFFF HOLY SHIT SERIOUSLY!!!??? AND WAIT SO MC’S TALKED TO A VOICE IN A LIGHT ABOUT THRICE NOW??? WHO THE FUCK WAS THAT!??? PLS TELL ME AT LEAST THAT WAS MICHAEL!? I’D LOSE MY SHIT IF IT TURNS OUT MC’S BEING COMMUNICATING WITH GOD HELP- I’m okay. I’m good. I took a walk. Simeon’s still trembling and MC hugs him. Simeon blushes and says humans have a strange warmth to them. He says that sometimes he wonders if MC would make a better angel than him (which supports my ‘not strong enough’ theory in the previous paragraph). He holds them back tightly. He says there’s something he wants to tell them and says I- before Asmo screaming for MC to come watch them torture Levi & Mammon cuts him off (would he confess to them again? He did it before and it seemed done when they rejected him and he backed off. I guess emotions are more complex than that). He looks upset at the interruption but covers it with a smile and says it seems like they’re wanted. He asks them to drop by the café later and says they can continue the discussion then. The two of them are hung up upside down, Mammon’s screaming to be let down and Levi’s sobbing and screaming at Mammon not to throw a temper tantrum right next to him. Diavolo says they make an interesting chandelier but that they don’t fit with their interior design. Mammon screams at him to then fucking let them down. Barbatos suggests a muzzle. Satan suggest shutting them up with their fists and Belphie says it’s too much work and that they’ll juest wear themselves out. Beel says there’s a style of cooking in the human world like this. Lucifer says these two don’t look appetizing and that he’d rather have actual churrasco. Solomon welcomes MC back and gives them the star of humility. He says they are now officially a sorcerer. Diavolo and Barbatos both congratulate them. Asmo says they’re amazing and that he’s even more smitten with them. Belphie says he’s really impressed and says good for them. Beel says he’s really happy for them and says nice going. Satan says “MC the Sorcerer” has a nice ring to it. Lucifer says well done. MC thanks them all. Solomon says nothing makes him happier than seeing his apprentice become a full-fledged sorcerer. Mammon yells that he wants to be part of the celebration too and to let him down, Levi says he’s going to be sick. And the chapter and the entire lesson ends.

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childishfluff · 4 years ago

Note

(im gonna be sending a few seperate asks since theyre seperate thoughts/ideas, sorry for any sort of inbox spam!!) ur pet regressor tommy fic led me into a whole wormhole of many different ideas.. esp abt who else is a pet regressor!!

- wilbur (cat regressor!! also very relaxed, he *will* just sleep on phil or techno's lap for hours on end. mostly nonverbal, but will meow every now nd again. mostly communicates through actions. he can purr. doesn't drop often, but when he does, it's due to extreme stress- meaning he can be pretty sensitive while he's in catspace.)

- tubbo (puppy regressor, but definitely more of a relaxed dog aside from the amnt he communicates, especially through barking, whimpering, and soft "awooo!!"'s. loves snuggles. sometimes, he's scared to come of as annoying, so he's hesitant to slip into pupspace, normally needing someone to help him along and tell him that it's ok for him to be a puppy, nd that he's a very very good boy.)

- karl (kitten regressor!!!! he's either really sleepy or really playful/energetic, and he has no in between on that. he meows.. so much.. all he kno is meow meow!! *very* sensitive while dropped, and as such, he needs a lot of validation and love. will get extremely upset with himself if he notices that anyone is even *slightly* mad/irritated by him.)

- nick (sapnap) (PUPPY REGRESSOR 100000%!!! he's very very loud and extremely playful!!! he can be entertained for *hours* w literally anything, especially toys like chew bones. doesn't really drop too often, but when he does, he drops very very far. something that can trigger his drops is when people compare his traits/actions to those of a dog because he just goes yes!! yes me!!!! dog!!! me!!!! also he loves karl *so* much because karl absolutely spoils him rotten when he's in pupspace.)

- ranboo (kitty regressor!! similar to karl, he can be really sensitive while he's dropped. entirely nonverbal, opting for actions instead. he's a mix of both playful and sleepy. when he sleeps, he curls his entire body up into a circle nd kneads at whatever he's sleeping on until he falls asleep.)

- dream (cat regressor!! sleeps a lot when he's dropped, hes just vv tired. mimics patches, and loves to follow her around/act like she does. even bases his catgear around patches, with tabby-colored cat ears and an outfit based off of similar colors. drops very easily, mostly voluntarily.)

those r the ones i can think of now.. id love to know ypur opinions/interpretations of them!! -🌻

OKAY I’M GONNA GO THROUGH THESE ONE BY ONE, AND SHARE MY THOUGHTS+OTHER POSSIBLE HCS/FIC SCENARIOS, SO LONG POST WARNING Y’ALL

1. Cat Regressor! Wilbur

yes yes yes, I wouldn’t of thought of it myself but the idea is absolutely adorable! I’d totally write that, with like handler/cg!niki in addition to those you listed. And the idea of him using it for stress and therefore being sensitive in catspace? like, that’s amazing.

I could imagine a fic where someone pushes him to regress for fun for once, but he feels like it’s stupid to purposely act like a cat when he doesn’t need it? They don’t pressure him, or anything, but he ends up slipping because he feels safe. and he realizes not only does it help with stress, but it just makes him more happy!

also imagine him slipping around tommy for whatever reason, and just wanting to sleep while Tommy’s trying to do something fun. So he’s dragging around a sleepy kitten and waking him up every two seconds, and it’s really soft and adorable and ends up with Wilbur sleeping somewhat on Tommy so that he can’t get up and he’s like ‘you’re so lucky I love you, dude.’ awww I need to write a fic- no promises but y’know

2.Puppy Regressor!Tubbo

someone actually requested a puppy regressors!tubbo and tommy fic that I’m having trouble writing, like it sounds cute but it’s kinda hard bc I’ve never written puppyspace before. I actually decided to start over but I’ma keep trying on that.

anyways, imagine like, Ranboo or Tommy helping him slip over a discord call! Needing help to regress is something that I understand (I age regress, but I haven’t in a while due to this issue), so I could probably write Tubbo in that position well. Needing to be coaxed and told that it’s okay to be a cute lil puppy, like that’s adorable!

3. Kitten Regressor!Karl

tbh I tried to write kitten!karl but I was half asleep and gave up, I need to get back to that hjsiksja. Like I specialize in writing sensitive regressors w/anxiety over someone being mad at them, so I could definitely pull this off.

and the idea of him being a talkative kitty is sooo cute! Like I can imagine something along the lines of this conversation between him and a handler/cg:

“What do you want?”

“Meowww”

“I don’t know what that means!”

“Meow?” (little head tilt and innocent cute eyes)

“Do you want cuddles?”

*excited meows! and he goes and cuddles up in their lap bc yay, they understood him!*

and imagine kitten!karl playing w/Quackity! very very adorable concept

4. Puppy Regressor! Sapnap

okay okay so I don’t watch sapnap really but this is still adorable! Like the whole ‘me, puppy? yes.’ thing is soooo cute! Imagine George or Dream just forgetting that’s a trigger and making a joke about how one of his mannerisms reminds them of a puppy and suddenly! There’s a puppy to take care of!

and karl spoiling him sounds like something he’d do hjsiksjsa. I can’t really add much on here bc idk much about him/his content past the smp but this is so cute! Maybe I’ll watch a few of his videos and attempt writing him bc I keep getting requests for him

5. Kitten Regressor! Ranboo

yes, I was already thinking about this tbh! Like I’ve written him as a little and it’s kinda similar, he’s sensitive, and he’s less verbal the littler he gets. As a kitten, I can easily picture him just being quiet.

I imagine that he’s really pouty because of this, because he doesn’t know how to communicate otherwise, so this might confuse anyone who may take care of him.

“Why are you pouting? Do you want cuddles? Food? Do you wanna play?”

and he just doesn’t reply bc he’s a kitten and he can’t talk so it’s an endless cycle of guess and check until they reach the right answer, and it’s really funny to watch. I can also imagine that he giggles a lot. Like he’s not verbal or anything, and he doesn’t giggle a lot but sometimes it happens! and if you make him giggle while in kittenspace then you did something right!

it makes everyone happy when he giggles and it’s really soft and cute! I definitely think I’ll write a fic with kitten!ranboo in it, at some point eventually, I think!

6. Cat Regressor! Dream

awwwww- I didn’t even consider the possibility of this but awwww. Imagine Wilbur and Dream in catspace together, just sleeping and cuddling while basically all the other kittens are playing and being hyper. And everyone’s trying to get them to play but they’re sleepy! (ofc they end up playing anyways bc their friends are adorable and convincing but y’know)

and I really like the idea of him mimicking patches! I’ve seen a few pet regresors say that they mimick/copy their pets so it kinda feels realistic and likely! and plus, it’s really cute.

and since his regression is voluntary, I can imagine him like one minute, just chillin w/george and sapnap and going ‘what if- what if I just went *cat mode*’ and he tries to hint to his friends that he wants to slip but they’re not getting it so it’s kinda frustrating for him but funny for the readers to see play out bc George and Sapnap are being completely oblivious to everything. Hjsiksja that’d be funny

Thank you for sending this it, like seriously! It was really fun to go through and talk about these, I might make additional headcannon lists once I’m actually awake tomorrow bc I shouldn’t be up rn but yeah, I just wanted to go through and respond to this! <3

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piraticalarchive · 3 years ago

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okay so for everyone who hates big corporations and management who takes advantage of their employees.. this one’s for you. it’s long but .... i find it completely hilarious.

so a brief recap: amy got fired back in march from a huge international retailer, yes? when things first started like they were going south, i worked on really re establishing a relationship with my brother who is like one level below C-suite (cfo, ceo, etc etc) of that same company because i had an idea in mind. March rolls around, amy gets fired .. and I’m like .. okay. time to put this in motion. but stress and depression obviously took the motivation away from me, but i continued to keep that line of communication up with my brother. we started talking weekly, sometimes twice a week via an actual call. well, i’m finally feeling better .. so this week i finally put my plan in motion. here’s how it went

stage 1: i sent a text to my brother asking if i applied to the store in my area if i could use him as a reference. he said, of course but every store is hiring so i’d look at any store besides that one. (which is already fucking hilarious but i digress) ... so i call the store and one of the managers who sat in on amy’s firing answers when i ask to speak to someone involved in hiring (oh lucky day). I start off with “hi! I’m sorry to bother you, but I’ve been looking for a job thats a bit of a change of scenery and my brother is the *insert position name* and works in *insert headquarters location* and he recommended i give the company a try despite that I had a less than stellar experience last time”. And this manager FALLS OVER telling me they are hiring for so many positions blah blah blah and then at the end when i’m like “thanks for the information! I’m definitely going to apply!” she’s like “of course! I’ll give our hiring manager your information so she can pull it immediately. Whats your name?” and i give my name and suddenly its just dead fucking silent... because they know who I am and they know that I’m in a relationship with amy and that i know what they did. But she recovers and is like ‘can’t wait to see your application!’ .. so.. okay. stage 1 was a success. but then, enter...

unexpected event: the store manager himself calls me. Starts off with some small talk, finally gets around to saying ‘so I hear you’d like to come back and work for us? I was looking at your previous application and I didn’t see any mention of the relation you talked about when you called”. And I’m like “oh, yeah... I don’t like using stuff like that because I’d prefer to get in on my own merit and skills and not by a family member’s position. Plus its like that show undercover boss, you know? I get to see what the place is like before they know. BUT given with what happened to amy, I was unsure if I’d even be considered without a reference like that” and he laughs nervously and is like “i totally get it. So did anyone know that you had a brother in that position?” and I’m like “oh i mentioned it once in passing to [amy’s manger] but I just said my brother was in corporate and there are a lot of levels so i think he just left it at that” and the store manager is like ‘haha yeah different levels but thats like ... its own level...” and we talk a little bit and he’s like “what made you want to come back?” and I’m like “like i mentioned before, the amy thing really threw me off. I was angry and the good thing about siblings is you don’t have to sugarcoat stuff. So I went to my brother and was like this is how you treat people?? are you kidding?? what about job security?? and i sent him the picture amy had snapped of her discharge papers where it listed the reason and he told me that, and everything else I yelled at him about, wasn’t the company’s way and that the store had seriously violated something. So for one, I now know that isn’t actually something that should have happened and two, i inadvertently brought this store to corporate’s attention and there are a lot of good people who work here, and they don’t deserve the consequences of that, so I want to help make it right” and he’s fucking sweating yall, I can hear it over the phone. and he’s like “fill out your application and put whatever you want down and we’ll call you and talk about positions and we can find a way to give you what you want” and I’m like “oh, don’t tell me that nick because your chair is looking awfully good right now” and he did a nervous laugh. SO, unexpected event made my plan even better. Then we get to:

Stage 2: I apply. I check literally every management position, including the one they fired amy from and also some hourly positions and put down ridiculous hours. I pass the manager test with flying colors and when it asks why i said i want to be a team trainer i wrote down ‘thanks to knowing the home office, i know how things should work and I want to help this store raise its position in the district and I know what policies aren’t being followed to help make that raise smoother.” I submitted the application, called the first manager I had spoken to and told her I had done so and she was like “I’m sure we’ll give you a call tomorrow!” ‘Tomorrow’ came and by 7 that night, they hadn’t contacted me. So I went to the ‘we’re hiring’ image they had posted on their facebook page like an hour previously and tagged my brother and was like ‘dude this is one of the positions at my store i was telling you about. think i could pull it off?” AND BAM ! they sent me a request for a phone interview at 8am the next morning. I scheduled my interview for later that afternoon at 2:45 and we enter Stage 3.

Stage 3: Amy and I go to the store to pick up a few things. It’s suddenly fucking spotless. There are no gaps in the shelves, the floor has been cleaned since the last time we were there (monday night and i called them tuesday and it is now white and shiny as hell) and they have the lights turned up all the way so you can actually see. EVERY FUCKING AISLE is perfect. Cat food? perfect. Funko pops? stacked and lined up perfectly. Video games? Filled. Clearance aisle? Perfect order. Like its super obvious they did a mad dash and tried to get the store in shape. So amy and I walk down every single aisle and point things out and kind of put our heads together and talk and I take out my phone and act like i’m texting etc .. basically we’re just fucking with people’s heads because the managers are nearby and they can see what we’re doing.

Stage 4: So later we’re home and 2:45 comes and goes with NO word. No phone call, no email, no hey can we reschedule. they FORGOT about the interview. I’m dying because they’re making it even better and even easier to fuck with them. So I text my brother (who KNOWS my mental health has been in the trash) and I’m like “I filled out an application just to see and they set up an interview and blew me off. You were right .. not a great help when it comes to the blues” and he was like “yep...i’d look at literally any other store” and talked to me a bit more about it. He was irritated that they’d do that and kept saying they were on thin ice. Finally at 5 they text me and they’re like “hey, this is the [insert store] and we’re sorry we missed your interview. I wanna apologize. Can we reschedule?” And I wait like an hour and a half (i was napping, i’ll admit it) but I respond with “I apologize for the late response, I had a prior commitment I had to take care of. Unfortunately, I reached out to someone [they know who it is. they know] in the off chance I had misunderstood the process since I hadn’t heard from you guys and I was encouraged to pursue opportunities at other branches in the area. Thank you for the original consideration and I hope you have a great day!” and they waited until 11am the next day to reply back which I’m assuming is because they were waiting for the higher up management to return to the store.

Come to find out the managers are still basically pissing themselves and freaking out because not only did they a) fire someone against company policy and now know the people at the top know and b) drop the ball and forget to interview a family member of said people at the top ... I got to add salt in the wound one more time by mentioning that my brother dropped in a lot (he doesn’t) and that I’d love to show off the store since it’s such a huge part of the community and it was looking better than I’d ever seen it look. And that it would be nice because he’d get the real experience since it wasn’t a formal, announced visit .... but, of course, that he’s salary .. so the policy is that he’s always ‘at work’ and obligated to take note of things.

so basically, i feel justified. Six and a half months of careful planning and maneuvering was totally justified. 10/10, I’d do it again. Let this be a lesson that patience in planning vengeance is completely worth having and I hope I helped make the store better for employees who aren’t management by putting the fear of god into them with the idea that my brother or anyone else from his office can just drop the fuck in whenever they want with a totally casual visit that could still fuck the management over completely. This is a good week, mates .. a very good week. Am I petty? yes. Do i hate their guts and feel like it was an entertainment that was totally worth it given what they did to the love of my life? also yes.

#also if they checked - i'm facebook friends with their international corporate lawyer. my brother obviously and the cfo who i didn't realize #at first was him bc he goes by a different name via facebook. like last name is the same but i think he uses his middle name as his first #i love it. i love it so much.#i planning on doing more stuff but i gotta take a breather and plan it carefully but #god i am L IVING #fuck that place #we laugh because i'm known here for messing with companies that fuck with people #and i did my best one like 3 years ago but amy was just like 'this is 10 miles beyond that'#long post //#i'm sorry for this but i just want to let everyone know the major reason for my incredible mood this week

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chidoroki · 4 years ago

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Emma - 63194

So, it’s August 22nd, otherwise known as the best day of the month because we get to celebrate Emma's birthday! I feel like she doesn't get enough credit, especially as a shōnen protagonist, probably because she's just a normal kid compared to others with overwhelming powers/magic/quirks/etc, but I think that just makes her feats all the more interesting and amazing. So, here I am, ready to praise the hell out of everything she's done, what she's capable of, and who she is on her special day.

(spoilers for the entirety of The Promised Neverland, so if you haven't read/completed the manga yet, consider this your first warning, because I'm literally going from start to finish with this.)

This is gonna be one hell of a long post, so here we go.

- She's one of the smartest kids at Grace Field, alongside Norman and Ray, who all get full scores on the house's daily tests, which is by no means a simple task.

- This is thanks to her ability to learn things quickly, which she puts to the absolute best use throughout the entire story.

- She's undoubtedly the most athletic out of the full-score trio, as she can pull off a leap like this with no issue!

- I gotta give her voice actor credit here because her scream at the end of EP1 is simply fantastic.

- She noticed the windows in the house were screwed shut, which reinforced the idea that the kids were merely raised like cattle. (Ray was also aware of this, of course.)

- Suspects the use of tracking devices. (The anime had Norman voicing this realization, so whoever you want to give the credit for this is up to you.)

- Believe me when I say that her acting skills are top-notch.

- She's so good that she was able to control her emotions enough and even regulated her pulse to fool Isabella.

- This! Just all of this. Her crazy ideals, her never-give-up mentality, her ability to stay optimistic and strong despite everything they're up against.. just amazing.

- She always thinks of her family first. (she honestly rarely cries too, now that I think about it.)

- By using what she overheard from the demons at the gate and the “blood tests” Isabella once told her about, Emma was able to figure out where the tracking devices were located on her own. (Yeah, Ray knew of this too, but he kept that info to himself.)

- She then created a situation that allowed her to confirm this and that yes, Isabella is indeed always checking their trackers.

- It was Emma's idea to train the other children by playing tag. Not only did this help them during the escape, but afterwards as well.

- Takes advantage of every opportunity to learn. (also, the strength she has!)

- Amazing learning ability x2 (I'm aware the manga says 10 instead, but still! I bet she could memorize 100 too!)

- She believes in everyone and makes Norman realize that no one in their family is truly bad and that leaving anyone behind, even the “traitor,” could cost them their life.

- She called Ray out on his bluff about him actually being willing to help everyone escape.

- Then confronted Ray about the possibility of him experimenting on the tracking devices of their siblings, thus resulting in their early shipments, which is something Norman didn't even realize, if his surprised expression is anything to go by. (Emma scolds him and hides her anger well, though she only stays mad for like, a minute.)

- She, along with Gilda, notice Isabella disappear every night after 8pm, leading them to assume the house might contain a secret room. They eventually pinpoint where it's located. (Ray suspects such a room must have existed, but wasn't certain.)

- Introduces the boys to William Minerva's books and the morse code bookplates they held, which the trio all know how to decode and understand. (I know Phil pointed them out to her originally and manga Ray was also aware of them, surprise, but..) the hunch she had about the two special books being important guides for them turned out to be true later on after the escape.

- Accepts her mistakes and is quick to apologize when she's wrong.

- Thank you anime for giving us these wonderful lines.

- Has her leg broken and yet she doesn't shed one damn tear. (the horrific sound still haunts me.) Ah, might as well also mention this now, but her theme, 63194, is one of the best songs on the soundtrack.

- Once again caring about others more than herself, as she was ready to destroy her leg/foot even more if it allowed Norman a chance to escape.

- This absolutely amazing moment right here! Easily one of the best panels of her by far!

- Used what she heard from Krone and spent two months hiding her emotions and plans from Isabella. Learning ability & best actress x10.

- Isabella actually believes this. Seriously, someone give Emma an award. Best actress x50.

- Do y'all know how strong physically, mentally and emotionally this girl must be to cut off her own ear? I know she was in a rush to escape while Isabella was busy with the fire, like she literally had about ten seconds (anime) to remove her tracker, but damn! Not once does she ever cry over it either. May I remind you she's only 11!

- Stops Ray's suicide attempt by catching the match, thus burning her palms.

- It was her idea to let the other kids know of the escape, which helped in proceeding with the preparations behind Isabella's back.

- I love Ray x fire jokes as much as the next person, but we all know who the real pyro is. More props to her voice actor again for the scream that follows!

- Successfully carried out Norman's plan and escaped Grace Field with 14 other children.

(post-season one spoilers beyond this point)

- Keeps her cool in dangerous situations, which helps calm down the younger children. Also fairly knowledgeable of the books from Grace Field's library, such as “The Adventures of Ugo,” which came in handy in the demon forest.

- Remains positive and completely hopeful after learning the truth about the demon world they're living in from Sonju.

- It only took three days for her to become proficient enough in archery in order to hunt successfully. She apparently also knows how to use a harpoon (ch49) (but I don't think we ever see that, sadly). Learning ability x20.

- She also didn't panic when she was held at gunpoint. She stayed reasonably calm and forced her way free instead.

- Didn't even flinch when Yuugo's bullet grazed her cheek.

- Can she just get a round of applause, please?

- Emma is just so fearless. Gun to the head? Knife in her face? Doesn't matter. She'll threaten you right back.

- Kudos to her learning ability yet again x50.

- Her quick reflexes and accuracy are phenomenal.

- Of course, cue the talk-no-jutsu skills that every shonen protagonist is undoubtedly skilled with.

- Even Lewis knows at a first glance that our girl is good. Takes a lot to receive praise from this demon.

- Offers herself up as bait to lure the poachers away from the other children.

- Literally cares for anyone, as she helped countless kids she didn't even know during her first hunt at Goldy Pond by keeping them safe.

- Thanks again to her knowledge of the “The Adventures of Ugo” novel, she was able to locate the memory chip for the pen that contains information about Minerva's supporters, the paths to cross over to the human world, Goldy Pond, The Seven Walls and Project Lambda 7214.

- The damn skill she has in handling guns in the matter of two weeks is astonishing.. and she's still only 11.

- Informed the Goldy Pond kids on how to accurately aim for the demon’s center eye, which greatly helped them take out the poacher Nouma.

- She has the audacity to taunt Lewis right back and I love her for it. She also offered to stay behind in order stall Lewis on her own, despite knowing he's the most dangerous of the poachers.

- When the talk-no-jutsu towards the crazy demon fails, she summons a wide array of guns against him, because why the hell not, right?

- She once admitted that she was no good at reading an opponent's moves, but after watching many people in her life who are skilled in such a way (Norman, Ray, Isabella, Krone) and thanks to the knowledge she recently leanred about Goldy Pond, she manages to catch Lewis off guard and electrocute him. Her level of adaptability is wonderful. Learning ability x100.

- Can we all just take a moment to obsess over Emma's Goldy Pond outfit because it is fucking fantastic! She just looks so damn good! (I owe Demizu my life for this.)

- Actually manages to get Yuugo to call her by her real name after he was so adamant to no learn them or get attached to the kids.

- This bright smile adds five years onto my life.

- She’s the first to notice the disadvantage demons have with regeneration, which ultimately leads to their winning strategy against Lewis.

- She somehow survives this. (plot-armor, I know, but goddamn!)

- Now presenting, the exact moment I fell in love with Emma, because holy fucking shit! Not only does she survive getting stabbed like that, but she gets back up and continues fighting! Can I get a big ol' HELL YEAH!!

- She busts out the pistol with the trick shots she's kept hidden this entire time until the very right moment, effectively taking Lewis by surprise and granting Yuugo a clear shot to his middle eye as the demon stands defenseless against the shower of bullets.

- Emma's influence over everyone else is so powerful. We see it many times throughout the story, but because of her, they all accept that the impossible is possible, everyone is worth saving, and to never give up. This is especially amazing to witness in scenarios with Ray, since Krone once said that his weakness was that he's "a little quick to give up. He makes a decision fast but abandons other just as quickly."

- Because of everyone's assistance, they were able to destroy Gold Pond and rescue over 60+ kids, which probably wouldn't have happened if it weren't for Emma presence at the hunting ground in the first place.

- Not to discredit Ray, because I'm sure he did a fine job of cauterizing Emma's wounds, but she did survive a day and a half with a low blood count. (She was unconscious, sure, but her body didn't give up either.)

- Finally wakes up from her coma a month later and the first thing she's concerned with is the safety of everyone else.

- I swear, this girl has a heart of gold, but we knew that already.

- Doesn't let her missing ear hinder her at all, just adjusts how it would function normally in her daily life.

- Memorized the many maps found in the shelter's reference room alongside her siblings. Learning ability x125.

- She's capable of taking out three wild demons in the matter of seconds. Accuracy and speed on point still on point.

(Ah post-timeskip, just a little over halfway done now.) - Will not hesitate to jump in and save someone, regardless of the danger to herself.

- No 13 year-old should have this amount of pressure on their shoulders, but I'll be damned, she handles this and so much more well.

- She pushes aside her own anxieties over losing the shelter, those two boys and possibly Yuugo and Lucas and decides to lift the spirits of everyone else instead.

- Y'all see this demon? Do you think she cares? Not one bit! All that matters is her family's safety and she'll do anything to preserve that. We stan one reckless girl.

- Doesn't cry over the deaths of Yuugo and Lucas (at least, I don't think she does? She appears more frustrated here than upset.)

- She can pick up on how others are feeling, even if they're trying to hide it. (also does so several times to Norman (ch30, 128,153) and even to Yuugo (ch64))

- Is the first to volunteer to sneak into the mass production farm guarded by demons in order to retrieve the medicine Chris needs.

- Honey, how are you not screaming for you life right now?

- Official translation has Hayato saying “The Boss is saying he wants to meet you,” but I feel like this unofficial one here conveys the exchange between Emma and Oliver better. Their large family has children who are older and more experienced as a leader than Emma, but they all choose to follow her.

- Just a casual reminder of how strong our girl is. (She even beats out Ray and Don in terms of strength too.)

- I probably only find this impressive because I love my sleep, but she wakes up at 6 in the morning. Always. Without fail. For thirteen years. Then panics the one time she actually oversleeps.

- She knows every life is precious, no matter who or what they are. Also doesn’t want to follow Norman's civil war plan, which is good, because damn that's a bit extreme. Doing so would only create more fear and hatred.

- Say it louder.

- LOUDER!

- Agrees to go and find out more about The Seven Walls in hopes to stop Norman's plan, despite the many risks. Can she really arrive at TSW? What's actually there? Could she even make a new promise? Will she be able to return afterwards? There's a bunch of unknowns, but that won't stop her. (“Simple?” “It is simple.” That line kills me every time.)

- TSW proved to be very mentally exhausting but she and Ray did survive all the craziness they faced while trapped there.

- Due to her unique way of thinking, she managed to remain sane and was able to figure out how TSW worked, which is something even Ray couldn't quite comprehend.

- Because of that, she was then able to finally meet the bastard demon god.

- Thus allowing her to..successfully.. make a new promise. (Ahhh)

- Best actress x500 (damn damn damn!)

- Honestly, have they practiced this before or is her athleticism just that superior? Either way, she never fails to surprise me.

- Isn't afraid to speak the truth and put one of her best friends in their place.

- But manages to (somehow) forgive him, after his plan successfully killed the queen, the demon royals and poisoned the capital city, which forced the nearby demons to degenerate.

- Her optimism knows no bounds.

- She & everyone else were able to infiltrate Grace Field which is not only guarded by demons but the Ratri clan as well.

- Just how? I know your athletic but wow!

- The woman who shipped out so many of Emma's siblings and broke her leg now holds a gun to her face and yet our girl doesn't look panicked in the slightest. Girl, how are you so brave?! Holy shit. There's no fear in those eyes, only anger.

- AND she ends up forgiving her! After learning Isabella betrayed Peter and realizing that all the mothers and sisters are also fighting for their freedom, Emma gladly accepts Isabella's assistance. (Best mother daughter moment I've ever seen.)

- The entire talk-no-jutsu she pulls on Peter in ch172. She's angry, even downright hates the Ratri, but she refuses to get revenge for all the trouble they've caused to her family and friends by killing Peter. She admits the clan's actions can never be forgiven, but she still shows sympathy because she knows they were also suffering due to the world and roles they were born into.

- We find out that Emma worded the promise perfectly which allows every human raised as food to cross over into the human world. Truly thinking of everyone as per usual.

- She kept her promise to Phil and came back for him and the rest of the children she had originally left behind at Grace Field.

- Again, showing no hesitation to save someone she barely knows, even when unarmed.

- Pretty sure I was in literal tears at this point of the chapter, so kudos to her for making me bawl my eyes out. Aahh, she's just so forgiving and her heart is so big.

- Best actress x9999 (*screaming internally*)

- SHE LITERALLY SACRIFICES HER OWN HAPPINESS SO EVERYONE IMPORTANT TO HER CAN LIVE IN PEACE AND BE HAPPY!!

- She loves her family so deeply that even without her memories, her heart still remembers them. (it makes me cry too, hun, it's okay.)

- She has a heart literally made of solid gold. Of course she can't refuse the bastard's reward, but still accepts it with a smile on her face knowing that all humans and demons, of the present and future, can now live freely without any fear. She completely ended the tragedy that persisted the last 1,000+ years and changed the world like she set out to do back in ch4. Sweetheart please, you're anything but selfish.

- She has the most precious family on the planet. Her influence was so strong that they searched endlessly for two years just to see her again, by never giving up or doubting her words back in ch178. They're beyond happy when they do finally find her and are a bunch of sweethearts who accept her no matter what.

- Ahh, I just really love Emma okay? She's honestly one of the few protagonists I actually enjoy. Happy Birthday again to this all-around amazing girl and I can't wait to see her in action in future anime seasons!!

(congrats, you've made it to the end. i apologize if i missed any other moment worth mentioning, but yeah, i think this is enough for now.)

#the promised neverland #tpn emma #tpn manga #tpn anime #emma #chidoroki used chatter

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the-juniors · 4 years ago

Note

1. hope it’s alright that i added on to your zombie AU hcs (i LOVE your hcs & couldn’t help myself, & might do it again w/ other of your hcs in the future if it’s okay with you) and 2. how do the parents react to the juniors’s coffee shop? 0-0

1) it is totally alright don’t even worry abt it i loved it, and i would love to see u adding to some of my posts, as long as it’s okay if i add to some of urs bc i love ur hcs

2) thank you for asking cause i’ve been dying to talk abt this one for a minute—

jc, while skeptical at first, is so proud of his son nephew

ling had approached him when they (the quartet) were in the stage of “oh shit, wait we’re actually doing this, okay” to ask for advice

aka ling burst into jc’s office, shoved all his notes into his dad’s jiujiu’s hands nd started explaining everything (rambling is a better word for it)

“what the fuck, a-ling?”

“i don’t know, it’s just kinda, happening?”

a heavy sigh, “okay, so here’s what you guys are missing—“

and he, being the head of Yunmeng Jiang Corp., gives him the rundown on how to own and operate a business and how difficult it rlly is

he’s basically the reality check for the rest of the quartet who don’t know shit abt business nd helps coach them through the process

(they all start calling him uncle during this, but they’ll never call him that to his face)

every step of the way, ling always double checked with jc just to be safe jiujiu, i can’t fuck this up!!!

(jc loves that jl is asking him for advice on this, that he can still rely on him that jl isn’t gonna push him away now that he’s an adult)

so when jc actually walks into the cafe opening day, the pride radiating from him is insurmountable as the quartet greet him at the counter

this got long, so more under the cut

jingyi has extremely absentee parents who would regularly promise to be at things for him and would always last minute cancel

this time is no different

he basically accepted that his parents weren’t gonna show up that day, but when they just never came, part of him was crushed bc in the past at least they would text him

and he feels stupid for hoping that they would come when they never did in the past and really he shouldn’t’ve even though to hope bc why would they change now when there has been countless opening nights, performances, even graduation that they never went to why would they suddenly change for this—

however, with having grown up with sizhui, wwx, lwj, nd wn (that’s right, wangningxian rights in this au) are used to filling the parental role for jingyi and this time is no different

(god, i might have to make a separate post abt the family dynamics in this au, even though this is technically part of my modern au but not really? i’ll worry abt that later)

wwx was practically bouncing off the walls when they were getting ready to head over and was vibrating in his seat, excitedly chatting the entire ride over

wen ning, head baker at a super popular bakery in the city, was excited to try jingyi’s food after countless late-night phone calls finalizing recipes nd giving him advice on how to run a kitchen

lan wangji was more,,,,,concerned abt this whole venture bc they’re barely out of college, only one of them rlly knows a lot abt business, and bc jingyi nd sizhui are going into performance-based careers they’re not going to be able to be around to help all the time nd even emwhen they are there, they can’t do a lot for the business bc of their main careers

nd when the three of them walk into the coffee shop and are greeted by jingyi’s voice singing over the speakers, sizhui taking another customer’s order, and zizhen lighting up when he spots them over the coffee machine, they all just know that they’ll frequent here more than they originally planned

(they become the most regular customers)

side note: zizhen is also in charge of hiring on new employees nd wangji helps guide him through what to look for, what to be wary of, how to conduct an interview, all that

while zizhen is already fairly organized, wangji gives him little tips on what to take note of and always resupplies zizhen with notebooks whenever he fills one up (zizhen bullet journals nd has a separate journal for the coffee shop nd he fills so many journals)

zizhen is rlly receptive to wangji’s nd jiang cheng’s help bc his father does not support this whole coffee shop thing, and makes sure that zizhen is aware of the fact

whenever zizhen would bring up the subject, he’d scoff with a “you still haven’t let that go? we pay for your college tuition, we let you do your journalism thing, and this is how you repay us? by starting a business all on your own that is sure to fall through not two weeks after opening with your roommates that in five years you’ll probably have forgotten about? unbelievable”

opening day, he come to the shop, give a cursory sweeping glance of the shop, scoffs, and leaves

zizhen is both crestfallen and infuriated nd vents to jin ling his entire lunch break because he didn’t even try the coffee a-ling, didn’t even place a goddamn order, if he’s so pressed abt this business going down in two weeks, why not, you know, order smth to make sure that doesn’t fucking happen—

so after those first two weeks of being open (nd the shop decidedly not going out of business, thank you very much) jin ling emails a copy of their stats that clearly show how successful their shop is as well as a link to an article written by a local newspaper about their shop and how they were quickly growing to be an incredibly popular spot, with the email title being, “We Are Not Going Out of Business” —there is no other message attached

(protectively petty jin ling ftw)

he still doesn’t approve, but now he no longer says anything against it

zizhen’s mom on the other hand is a completely different story

she did have her reservations at first bc opening a business of any kind was no small feat a-zhen, but when she saw how excited for this zizhen was, how seriously the four of them were taking this, and the help they were getting from jiang cheng, her concerns were mostly assuaged

zizhen goes to her to vent and rant bc there’s just smth abt verbalizing all ur thoughts to someone willing to listen that just makes them easier to process, you know?

mama ouyang kinda becomes his common sense filter for when he starts to overthink nd helps sort out and organize the verbal spitballing, offering suggestions here nd there to solve the problems he was stressing over, or to prevent further issues from coming up and zizhen has never felt more grateful to have such an amazing mother

#the untamed #junior quartet #lan jingyi #lan sizhui #jin ling #ouyang zizhen #au asks #my post #sorry for this taking a while to be answered #i found out that i have no idea how to write lwj which just kinda. stopped production for a bit

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lousimusician · 5 years ago

Text

I Want You Back (Part 8)

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

Summary: Peter was too blind to realize that you were slipping through his fingers

Word Count: 6,002

Warning: Angst, mentions of death and trauma

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Every street you walk on I leave tearstains on the ground~ Following the girl I didn’t even want around~

~~~~~~~~~~~

It was one of the longest and most painful weeks of Peter's life.

Peter had grown up experiencing a lot of heart ache but this, this hurt in an entirely new way and he had no idea what to do with himself. He's lost a lot of loved one's throughout his life, but he's never lost anyone that he's had to see again every. single. day.

He couldn't bring himself to do anything anymore. Eating, showering, he couldn't sleep, let alone patrolling. It had even popped up in the Daily Bugle about Spider-Man's absence this last week, but he just didn't care anymore.

If it wasn't for May, Ned, and MJ, he would've just been rotting away in his bedroom in that maroon hoodie of yours.

Peter regretted asking if you wanted to get back together, why in the world did he think it would've been that easy. He grew up with you and if there was one thing about you it was that you were stubborn when you put your mind to something.

He had ended up stalking both you and Brad on Instagram. He felt himself die a little every time you posted about the other, but what felt even worse was the realization that you had deleted every post Peter was in, that night he spent two hours straight just crying.

But what felt so backwards to him was that now that it was Saturday night and it was the first time all week that he didn't get to see you in person, instead of that making him feel better at all, all he wanted to do was go and see you, even if it did hurt.

He just really missed you.

And when he saw his suit hanging in the closet... he couldn't resist.

He fought every thing in his head that screamed how bad of an idea this was and in the first time in a week, he put on his suit. But instead of going out to fight crime, he went to go see you instead.

Peter glanced at his reflection in the mirror in his bedroom after having just slipped on the suit, mask in hand. He looked like a wreck but he couldn't care less, and with a sigh he tugged on his mask, the eyes suddenly adjusting for him.

"Hello Peter." Karen's voice greeted. "It's been a while, is everything okay?"

"Not really." He responded, heading over to his window and beginning to climb out. "I'll tell you later." He mumbled, making his way on top of the fire escape.

"Okay. There's a robbery currently two blocks away."

"Oh.. Are the police on their way?"

"They are half a block away from the crime."

"Then they can handle it themselves tonight." He said, shooting a web at the building across from him. "We're gonna visit (Y/N)." And with that he swung on the web. Karen fell silent on the swing there, which wasn't too long, you only lived a few buildings away.

Once Peter had reached the building next to yours, he climbed up to the roof. Before the two of you dated and you found out he was Spider-Man in Sophomore year, he would sometimes swing by to check in on you after he went patrolling, something about fighting crime then going to see you safe nd sound always comforted him, and he found that the roof of the building next to yours, as creepy as it sounds, had the perfect view into your window. And viewing you from the roof was much more inconspicuous than hanging out on your fire escape.

"Why are we visiting (Y/N)?" Karen asked, once Peter reached the roof. "I thought you said she broke up with you?"

"She did." He answered sadly. Peter walked to the edge of the roof, your bedroom window coming into view. "I just wanted to see her." He crouched down on the ledge so he was sitting on his haunches.

"Peter?"

"Hm." He hummed.

"Do you miss (Y/N)?"

"..Yeah I do... a lot actually." He mumbled.

The curtains of your bedroom window were pulled open, he couldn't see you but the light was on and he could see the familiar bedroom that he's been in a countless amount of times.

"Have you tried asking her out again?"

Peter let out a short sarcastic laugh. "Yeah but it's not that easy, she's with someone else now... and she hates me."

Just then your bedroom door swung open, making Peter immediately tense as he watched as you walked in, running a hand through your hair and shutting the door behind you. Peter held his breath as he watched you move about your room.

Was this an invasion of your privacy? Yes. Did Peter understand that? Of course. But right now all he wanted to do was see you. He wanted to remember what you looked like when all of your attention wasn't on Brad, he wanted to remember what it was like, not to see you with a scowl every time he was near you.

Right now all he wanted was to bask in the peacefulness as you went about your night.

He watched as you walked over to the bookshelf in your bedroom that only held your comic books and he watched as you picked one out.

You grabbed the comic book and made your way over to your desk, which happened to be right in front of the window.

And it was the first time that week that Peter finally felt relaxed as he just observed the quiet scene. He watched as you flipped the page every few seconds, the way you bit your lip, when you pushed back a strand of hair away from your face. It was all so simple and mundane but it was you. And Peter would kill to be laying on your bed right now and watching you read from there, like he usually did, instead of now having to watch you from the rooftop of a building, but this was all he had of you now.

All he had were the few things you left at his place, the pictures and the videos, one shared class, and this moment. And he had come to face the fact that he had actually lost you now, and so he was prepared to draw this moment out as long as possible.

But unfortunately, all good things come to an end, and once he saw you flip the comic shut and stand up to close your curtains, he knew it was time to go.

So with a heavy heart, he swung back to his place, having to face the fact, yet again, that he broke your heart and now you didn't want anything to do with him.

Nightly visits became a regular.

Every night at 8, Peter would swing by your place and just watch. He knew it was wrong, but he couldn't help himself as it became a guilty pleasure his. Some nights he'd end up crying the whole time, others he wouldn't say a word. And he knew he should try to move on but he still didn't want to, he was terrified of forgetting you.

He was also able to slowly get back into patrolling, but only for a short while. His spider sense hadn't been working properly and he ended up getting hurt often, even showing up to school with a black eye one day.

Eventually two weeks had passed and Peter hadn't felt any better, the only things that did improve was that he had started to eat again and he wasn't crying as much as he was before. But he still couldn't sleep very well and he was still constantly depressed about the whole break up which had been starting to affect his grades in school.

Currently Peter was in lunch, sitting with Ned. MJ had decided to sit with you and Brad, and right now he couldn't take his eyes off the two of you as he glared daggers into Brad as he watched him play with your hair while you talked to MJ.

"-ter..Peter." Ned said, pulling Peter out of his thoughts.

"W-what?" He asked in surprise.

Ned sighed. "I've been trying to get your attention for like two minutes."

"Oh sorry, what were you saying?" He asked, glancing over at the two of you again.

Ned shook his head. "Doesn't matter... Do you want to switch seats or at least sit on this side, so you don't have to see them?" He asked, referring to you and Brad.

"No, I'm fine..." He trailed off, his eyebrows furrowing when he saw Brad moving closer to you, and press a kiss to your temple, making Peter snap the fork in his hand in two. Ned looked at it in surprise as Peter looked down at the now broken utensil. "Oh...oops." He said, dropping the piece that was still in his hand.

"Are you sure you don't wanna switch?" Ned tried again.

"No, seriously, I'm fine." He said shaking his head, looking back down at the lunch tray in front of him.

Ned sighed again. "Y'know I don't mean to sound pushy but- when are you going to get over her? It's been over a month since you two broke up and you're a mess- you never even showed up to see Star Wars with me."

"Right..I'm sorry Ned, it's still in theaters, we can go this weekend...." Which was a promise he did keep, because if he didn't at least make an effort with his friends, he'd just be as bad as before. "I just, I don't think I can move on."

"She's moving on though and you're just gonna hurt yourself more if you don't start to try. She already told you she didn't want to get back together." He said referring to the conversation that you and Peter had in the prop room, Peter had told him and MJ about it the next day at lunch.

Peter pushed his lunch tray away and put his arms on the table, resting his chin on top of them as he looked up at Ned now. He shrugged. "But what if she changes her mind." He mumbled.

"But what if she doesn't?"

Peter fell silent, and instead asked another question. "Do you know when she stopped calling me pretty boy?" That had been one of the questions that were gnawing at the back of his mind, but most of all he wanted to know why he didn't notice.

Ned frowned, "I don't know... just that it was a long time ago." Peter fell silent again, making Ned decide to change the subject. "C'mon let's go to the computer room and play some games." He said. Peter nodded, and the two of them left the cafeteria, with Peter throwing another glance at you.

Peter got through the rest of the day, feeling out of it as usual. He was thankful when the last bell of the day rang and he was finally able to go home. He was at Ned's locker, he rarely stopped by his own anymore due to awkward encounters with you, when his plans for the night suddenly changed.

He saw you and Brad walking down the hallway, hand in hand, as you both headed towards the exit. Usually the two of you never left together, since you took different ways home, and now out of sheer curiosity about what the two of you were up to, he wanted to follow.

"I'll see you tomorrow Ned." He quickly rushed out as he made his way down the hallway, hearing Ned mutter something back in response.

Peter kept a lot of distance between you guys as he followed you outside, and once the three of you made it farther away from the school and it was clear that the two of you were headed towards your apartment, he quickly ran into an alleyway and changed into his suit, leaving his backpack webbed beind a dumpster. And with that, he was quickly swinging towards your apartment.

Again, he knew how wrong this was but all the common sense in the world right couldn't stop him from wanting to know how Brad treated you when it was just the two of you.

Peter only had to wait about 15 minutes before he saw your bedroom door being pushed open, through your window, from where he layed on the edge of the roof. "Wait- Karen, they're here!" Peter whisper-yelled, interrupting the conversation he was having with his A.I. Peter quickly sat up and leaned forward, the eyes on his mask narrowing.

You walked in, Brad following close behind and closing the door once you were both inside. He dropped his backpack off by the door, while you out it by your desk where you usually left your bag. Brad walked over to your bed and fell on top of it in a starfish pose, while you sat down at your desk. The space between the two of you put his pounding heart at ease and helped him swallow back some of his jealousy. It was clear the two of you were speaking to one another but he couldn't make out the words the two of you were saying.

"Karen can you activate reconnaissance- whatever?"

"Activating enhanced reconnaissance mode." She said, and suddenly he could hear both your and Brad's voices loud and clear, and your giggles suddenly floated through his ears.

"I think you have a couple fans." You giggled, looking at Brad from your spot at your desk.

Brad raised an eyebrow at you. "Care to explain what you mean?"

"A couple of freshmen girl's came up to me today and started asking questions about you."

Brad started laughing along with you. "Really? Like what?"

"They asked if you were nice, and I told them yes. Then they asked how smart you were, and I told them very." You smirked at him. "Then they decided to get a little personal and asked if you were a good kisser."

Brad smirked back at your flirty tone. "And what did you tell them?"

"I told the-"

"Karen deactivate reconnaissance mode!" Peter shrieked.

"Deactivating enhanced reconnaissance mode." And suddenly your voices cut out, and Peter let out a sigh of relief, falling back onto the rooftop.

Peter groaned. "That was awful."

"Is that Brad?" Karen asked.

"Wha- oh yeah... That's Brad." He grumbled, sitting back up and daring to look back over the ledge, to see what you were doing. He breathed another sigh of relief when he saw the two of you getting up to grab your backpacks, probably about to start on homework

"She seems very happy with him."

Peter rolled his eyes. "I bet she was happier when she was with me."

"I thought she broke up with you because she wasn't happy."

"Well before the blip." He sighed for the umpteenth time. "God the blip ruined everything... But anyway, I don't trust Brad."

"Why's that?"

"Because- Because it's Brad!" He yelped. "What kind of guy asks out a girl who just got out of a three year relationship. And he also just seems very controlling, he's always dragging her by the hand places and just the way he talks to her sounds like he's trying to manipulate her or something, I don't know. And also he hadn't seen her for five years with the blip, you'd think he'd move on during that. I don't trust him." He sighed. "...I just wish I knew why I pushed her away, if that didn't happen, we'd still be together."

Everything fell quiet as Peter went back to observing the two of you, but it turned out to be pretty boring, which actually ended up being something he was grateful for. He didn't know what he would do if the two of you were all touchy behind closed doors.

About two hours passed before Karen spoke up again. Peter was laying back down on the ledge, just gazing at your face through your window.

"You know Peter, I could psychoanalyze you if you want." She suddenly piped up.

Peter furrowed his eyebrows. "Why would I want to do that?"

"Well, you've stated multiple times that you don't quite understand why you pushed (Y/N) away, except for that it had something to do with the blip. So if you want I can psychoanalyze you to see what the cause was."

Peter hummed. "That actually doesn't sound like a bad idea. Okay you can do it." He gave permission.

Karen was silent for a moment, processing whatever it was she needed to process before starting again. "It seems to me that after the blip and having to come to the realization that the world was in shambles and dealing with the stress from everyone expecting you to be the next Iron Man, you overworked yourself as Spider-Man to live up to these expectations and tried to at least attempt to fix the world. And also after the blip, you had to face the fact that the Avengers are practically non-existent now, along with the fact that Tony Stark is dead and instead of dealing with your grief properly you pushed it to the back of your mind and started to unconsciously push (Y/N) away, because you felt that Mr. Stark along with the other Avengers had sacrificed a lot to save the world so you sacrificed one of the only things that made you truly happy as a way to justify not being able to sacrifice as much as the Avengers had."

Peter fell silent, the gravity of what she said, feeling like both a weight had been placed and lifted off his chest at the same time. "Karen?"

"Yes Peter?"

"What's wrong with me?"

"I'm sorry, I don't quite understan-"

He quickly, sat up. "Seriously what's wrong with me, I hurt this amazing girl all because I didn't know how to grieve! How the hell do I not know how to grieve, I feel like that's all I've been doing my entire life!" He shouted. "I will be the first one to admit that I fucked up, and I fucked up bad. And if I could re-do the whole thing, I would've just talked to her or aunt May about how I felt, even if I didn't understand it! And I feel like with everything you just said it's still no excuse for what I did to her, she didn't deserve anything I put her through. And god! What the fuck am I doing right now, I've been spying on my ex girlfriend when she deserves to finally move on and be happy for once, even if it is with Brad." He was panting now. "And also what the fuck was I thinking when I asked her if she'd go out with me again, am I insane, of course she wasn't going to agree to that, not even to mention how selfish and insensitive that was of me to even think about asking her that!... Why am I so fucking stupid." He sighed, shaking his head in defeat. In that moment he turned his head to look at the two of you.... and how Brad was now getting awfully close to you... spinning you around in your chair.....and leaning down to kiss you....

"Whoah! Whoah! Whoah!" Peter yelped, "Karen they're kissing!"

"Isn't that what couples do?"

"Yeah, but that's my girlfriend!"

"You just said she's your ex- girlfriend." She corrected, making Peter groan.

"That's what I meant- I need to stop them! Look they're going to her bed now!" He shrieked as the two of you stumbled backwards to your bed, Brad sitting down as you placed yourself on his lap. "Shit! Karen what do I do!?" He couldn't shoot a web- if you saw one of his webs you'd know that he was there.

He looked down at the roof noticing a piece of rubble that broke off of the ledge and in sheer panic he picked it up and threw it at your window. But unfortunately he miscalculated how hard he threw it and suddenly the sound of shattering glass filled his ears, as well as your and Brad's ears as the two of you snapped your heads towards the window. Peter's eyes widened and he dropped flat on the roof, the risen ledge blocking him from view.

"What the-?" Your voice now rang through the air due to the broken window.

Peter slightly peeked his head out from behind the ledge, seeing how the two of you stared at the broken window in surprise and confusion. "I think we should get your parents." Brad said, looking at the mess, the broken glass scattered all over your desk.

"Yeah- c'mon." You said, the two of you shuffling out of the bedroom to find your parents.

Peter sighed in relief and sat up, looking back over the ledge and your now shattered window. "Oops..." He muttered, and the realization of what he just did sunk. ".... I think I need help, I can't keep doing this." He sighed.

"If you're sorry and still in love with her, why don't you try winning her back?" Karen suddenly asked.

"What?" Peter asked incredulously. "Because that's crazy, and I already told you it's not that easy."

"No one said it was going to be easy."

"Yeah but... she hates me. I screwed everything up." He said sadly.

"Everyone deserves a second chance Peter."

Peter let out a short self-deprecating laugh. "I've already tried apologizing, she doesn't want to hear it.''

"Try again."

"I ca-"

"Then again." She cut him off.

"Kar-"

"And again." She cut him off again. "Until you get it right."

Peter fell silent, soaking in what Karen just told him. "But... what if I annoy her? What if it just makes her hate me more?"

"You'd be fighting for her Peter."

He fell silent again in thought, the hopeless romantic in him feeling a bit of hope at the thought of fighting for the girl he loved. It would be hard, and it wasn't something that would work overnight but if it won you back... then it'd be worth it. It was true he fucked up, and no one knew that better than him right now, but he also knew if he had a second chance he'd do everything right this time. Losing you had been one of the worst experiences he's gone through. He was still deeply in love with you, and if it didn't work...he would respect your decision, and finally move on. But if it did, then everything could go back to the way it was before the blip.

"Alright." Peter jumped to his feet. "I'm gonna fight for her. Do you mind if I bounce some ideas off you?" He asked.

"Not at all."

"Thanks... I need to clear my mind though, so we're gonna go for a swing around the city.... and who knows maybe stop some crimes." He said, now in a slightly better mood, even feeling a little bit of excitement as he started to come up with ideas and plans on how to win you back.

And with that, he shot a web and began swinging, planning on staying out for a few more hours.

You ran a hand through your hair, watching as your mom was cleaning up the glass from your desk. You were sat beside Brad on top of your bed.

"So how did it break again?" Your dad asked as he stood behind your mom, trying to get a look of the window frame.

You shrugged. "There's a piece of concrete on the fire escape, I think someone threw it at the window."

Your dad frowned. "That's weird."

"At least neither of us got hurt." Brad said, making your dad purse his lips, not responding.

You placed a hand on his knee and gave him an apologetic smile.

Neither of your parents were fans of Brad. They clearly preferred and trusted Peter more and having this sudden change of you bringing home a different boy. But then again they didn't really know what the last few months with Peter had been like.

Your dad sighed, "I guess I'll call someone and have them replace the window while your in school."

You hummed. "Alright."

You hadn't noticed Brad staring at something in your room, until he tapped you and asked. "What's that?" You looked in the direction he was pointing in and spotted the box labeled 'Peter' in the corner of your room.

"Oh, that's just all of Peter's things." You shrugged. "Took me a while to find everything he's left, I need to give it back sometime." You huffed, it's been over a month since the two of you broke up, but it still weighed heavy on your heart.

"Oh Peter." Your mom suddenly said. "I miss him." She said sadly, and you could see Brad was beginning to feel awakward again.

"Yeah." Your dad agreed. "Good kid."

You rolled your eyes. "Whatever." You groaned.

Brad's phone suddenly vibrated and he quickly picked up, finding it as something to distract him from the situation. He let out a quiet groan, "I gotta get home. My mom just texted me."

You pouted, "All right, I'll see you tomorrow." You said, leaning up to kiss his cheek before he got up.

"Bye." He hummed back. "Um have a good night Mrs and Mr (Y/L/N)." He said, earning a grunt from your dad and an absentminded 'bye' from your mom.

Once Brad had left you flopped back on your bed. "Do you guys have to be so curt with him." You groaned.

"We just don't know him very well yet." You mom said. "And we miss Peter, he's such a sweetheart."

You groaned again. "Yeah but now he's my ex so can we please stop talking about him already."

"Fine." Your dad agreed. "We'll try to be nicer to Brad and forget about Peter, then. But I still don't trust him, something just seems off with him, and I know you don't like Peter anymore but he was a good kid. Besides you're the one who can't let go of his things."

You shot up in youd bed, "What!?" You yelled afronted.

He gestured to the box you had been talking about just minutes before. "You found all of his things weeks ago and yet they're still here." He said in amusement, clearly finding your frustration entertaining. There was no malicious intent behind his words, your dad just liked to tease you.

"Fine." You said. "I'll take them back to him now." You said in a challenging voice.

"Alright then, go. Be back for dinner." He grinned.

"Fine, I will." You stood up from your bed and headed over to the box, picking it up. "I'll see you guys in like 45 minutes then." You said before leaving your bedroom and heading for your front door.

"Try and make up while your there!" Your dad shouted out.

"Shut up!" You called back over your shoulder, hearing him laugh shortly after.

You rolled your eyes and slammed the door shut behind you as you started walking down the hallway.

But gradually began to slow down until you came to a full stop as you realized what you were going out to do.

You looked down at the box in your hands and bit your lip.

Giving Peter back his things and going to his place to take back yours really made the break up feel final. Sure, you haven't spoken to him in what felt like forever, but... you still had his things and as long as you had his things, he'd still be somewhat apart of your life.

You were a better actress than what people gave you credit for. Yes, you looked and felt much happier after the break up, but it was a lie if people thought you were moving on smoothly. And the fact that Peter tried to apologize and that he kept staring at you in class and at lunch. It pissed you off how he started to care again, and that was probably why you felt like you had taken two steps back. But when it came right down to it, Peter hurt you but Brad made you happy. You liked Brad, you really did... which is why this was good.

You'd go to Peter's give his stuff back and get your own things and then you'll continue to move on.

And with that thought you were walking down the hallway again, beginning the 15 minute walk to his apartment.

By the time Peter had reached his apartment, after deciding to call it a night, he was in a much better mood.

His talk with Karen helped lifted his spirits tremendously and now Peter felt more determined than ever, because now he was forming a plan. And that determination was a much better feeling than the hopelessness he had been feeling after you lashed out at him in the prop room.

Peter was on the side of his building as he climbed up the wall to his window. "I think it could work." Peter said to Karen. "It'll be a lot of trial and error, but-" He pushed his window open and began to climb in. "I think it could..work...." He trailed off, his eyes widening immediately in shock, because the moment he climbed through the window was the moment May had walked into the bedroom with you close behind, box in hand. "(Y-Y/N)?"

May inwardly groaned, she had been expecting Peter to be out longer and to be honest, she was a little nervous to see the two of you interact after the state Peter's been in all week. Especially after Peter's failed attempt to fix things, which he had told her all about.

You were tense, seeing May was.... awkward, but now you went completely rigid as you saw Peter climb in through his window as Spider-Man. "Hi.." You greeted lamely.

In a few seconds Peter finished climbing in through the window and now stood fully in his bedroom. He tugged his mask off, "W-what're you doing here?" And just like that, the better mood he had been in was extinguished.

You held the box in your hands a little higher, "I have a bunch of your things you left at my place, and I wanted to pick up my things too."

Peter felt like he was caving in on himself with your words. "Oh..." He muttered.

May cleared her throat awkwardly, "Okay, I guess you two will sort everything out yourselves..and I need to go and finish dinner." She said before shuffling out of the room, leaving you two by yourselves.

"Um.." You start, "I only have the one box... and I kinda need it to bring my stuff home, so..." You trailed off, ignoring that desperate gaze in his eyes, which seemed to be the only way he could look at you now.

"Oh, s-sure." He stuttered, coming over to pull the box out of your hands, quickly placing it on his bed, before rifling through it, using it as a distraction.

You looked around the room for the first time since the break up. It was much smaller than his room in his old apartment, since he had to move after the blip. You quickly noticed the chair in the corner of his room, stacked with a bunch of your belongings.

"Oh are those my things?" You asked as you wandered over to the chair.

Peter looked back at you, "Oh y-yeah..." He felt a tug on his heart, realizing that you were really taking your stuff back, and it hurt him more than he thought it would've.

"Where's my blanket?" You asked, looking through your stuff.

Peter's eyes suddenly widened as a blush over took his cheeks. He looked down at his bed, seeing the familiar pink fabric tangled with his own blankets. "Um..." He started, noticing you had spotted the blanket on his bed, with obvious signs that he had slept with it. "Uh... It got cold last night...." He said in an attempt to cover up his embarrassment. "Sorry.." He grabbed the blanket and reluctantly handed it to you.

"It's fine." You said, fighting off your own embarrassment. "And uh... my hoodie?" You ask, placing the blanket with the rest of your things.

Peter stiffens, 'Shit' he thinks to himself, because currently, said hoodie was in his backpack (he started taking it with him to school) and said backpack was still webbed behind a trashcan in some random alleyway.

"Oh I- I don't have it." He blushes furiously.

You furrow your eyebrows. "What? What do you mean you don't have it?"

"I... I don't know where it is...Got lost." He says, clumsily making up an excuse.

"Okayyy?" You drag out the word, suspicion laced on your tongue. "Guess I'll have to get a new one then."

Peter sighs in relief for two reasons, 1) you didn't press on the matter of him "losing" it and 2)....He'd get to keep the hoodie.

"If that's everything, I guess I'll head out now." You walked over to Peter and pulled the now empty box in front of him, with you and over to the chair.

Peter bounced back and forth on the balls of his feet, watching as you put your things away. It was awkward, of course it was. But somehow that same question that had reared it's head in lunch was back on the tip of his tongue.

"Okay, I'm gonna go now, so uh bye." You said, box now filled with all your things as you started heading for his bedroom door.

"When did you stop calling me pretty boy?" He suddenly blurted.

You stopped, letting the question sink in before looking back at him. "... When you stopped calling me princess." You answered simply.

Peter frowned and stared at the ground. ".... For what it's worth... I really am sorry."

You sighed. "I know you are.... I just wish you figured things out sooner." You said before continuing to walk out and all Peter could do was watch, his world feeling shaken as he might be watching you leave his bedroom for the last time, and he really couldn't handle that thought.

He sat down on his bed, already missing your blanket and he knew he'd have to go get your hoodie before bed, the only way he could sleep now was if he was enveloped in your scent.

He couldn't stand not doing anything anymore, his plan suddenly coming to mind again.

That determination from earlier slowly started making it's way back in.

He blinked away the tears. He was tired of crying. He needed to stop feeling sorry for himself and listen to Karen.

Peter was going to fight for you, and he was going to do it right. And hopefully by the end of it you would be his girlfriend again but if it came down to it he would settle with just being friends...

Because Peter didn't want to live a life that you were no longer apart of.

But right now, he needed to talk. Peter didn't want to start anything new with you just to screw up again, and the only way he was going to be able to work through his grief and emotions after the blip was to talk about it.

So later that night, he asked May if he could talk to her, and of course she said yes.

He was determined to get better for you, and prove that he wasn't the Peter that pushed you away anymore.

So....

Peter talked...

And May listened.

~~~~~~~~~~

A/N [IMPORTANT]: I will be on vacation these next two weeks so I will be missing the next three updates!!! (Sucky timing, I know, we only had two more parts to go)

Part 9 will be up on Saturday the 17th at 12AM EST!!!

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#peter parker x reader

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forasecondtherewedwon · 5 years ago

Text

Slow Mover

Pairing: Peter Parker x Michelle Jones (Spideychelle) Rating: E/NSFW Word count: 12k

Summary:

When Ned backed out on rooming with Peter during their first year of college, MJ felt like it was no big deal to take his place. Now that she's about to lose it, she's confronting the fact that she may have grown attached... and not to the apartment.

Monday, February 1st

I’m gonna pack my things and leave you behind/This feeing’s old and I know/That I’ve made up my mind ― “I Love You So” (The Walters)

MJ’s been thinking about moving out for awhile. As far as roommates go, Peter’s a slob, not that she has a frame of reference since they’re only in their first year of college and she declined student residence in favour of splitting a lease with her Academic Decathlon underling.

If the term ‘underling’ seems harsh, it’s not. Peter’s earned her disdain in more ways than there are Disney Dalmatians. He mashes down the nibs of her Faber-Castell markers making hasty grocery lists on the post-its that inevitably breeze off their fridge door. He falls through the window almost every time he gets in late from Spidey-patrol and the thud wakes her up. He has socks everywhere. She has never seen so many. Fucking. Socks.

This was supposed to be him and Ned, she knows―his actual best friend, not the friend reluctantly given the designation because... why, again? How she won Peter’s friendship isn’t immediately clear. Except Ned decided to commute from home in a last-minute fit of separation anxiety. This was after Peter signed a lease but before the online application for student residence opened. MJ shrugged and said she’d help them out because the little walk-up is close to campus and about on par with what the college charges for housing. For Peter, the draw is the privacy to sneak in and out in his superhero getup. For MJ, it’s the quiet of not sleeping within the same four walls as a noisy roommate, on a floor packed with students, in a building of eighteen-year-olds who’ve just left the nest and are ready to party.

But, like she’s noted, Peter’s the worst.

It’s the first of February, with only two full months plus exams left in the term, and she’s still telling herself she might just cut and run. Very likely, she and Peter have the last good landlord in New York City (or the woman knows how fast she could rent their apartment with so many students, tourists, and other career transients coming and going) because they were told upfront that they could move out at either the end of the month or right in the middle, provided they gave two weeks of notice. When the 1st and the 15th of every month roll around, MJ re-evaluates. Obviously, she hasn’t dropped Peter on his ass yet, but she could. She has options. She’s met a handful of people in her figure drawing and art history classes who are living together on two floors of a ramshackle historic house somewhere that’s basically turned into an artist’s colony and one more person would be nothing to them. MJ could absolutely move in. The socializing demands would be an adjustment, but it’s a short sprint to exam season and she’ll be burrowing into a library study room at that point anyway.

Today’s another first of the month, another chance to announce she’s jumping ship. After considering everything during her walk back to the apartment from her afternoon class, MJ’s decided she’ll probably stay. She never records the factors that inform her decision, preferring to leave no trace. Put it down to her love of mystery and conspiracy, or her five solid months of rooming with a guy who leads a double life. Either way, her vast internal ordering system that leaves no physical sign drives Peter nuts. That’s why she continues to use it.

“Hey, loser, I’m home!” she shouts, twisting her key out of the lock and closing the door behind her.

MJ doesn’t see him right away, but she knows he’s here. His class schedule is as familiar as her own and she knows he’s just as hesitant as she is to engage with people―even people he’s friendly with in class―outside of school. He’ll be here. No need to rush the encounter.

She kicks off her slushy boots, hangs her coat, shoves her hat down the sleeve, and heads to her room. A living space and kitchen that are practically one and the same was evidently the trade-off the boys were willing to make for two bedrooms when they chose this apartment. Whatever. MJ isn’t dying for any meal that requires more than a foot and a half of counter space. And the bedroom all to herself is nice. Peter got the one with the window for his nefarious late-night purposes (saving people and shit), so her room’s away from exterior walls and beside the bathroom. She nearly always gets to the shower first and when she doesn’t... at least being a slow showerer isn’t one of Peter’s faults.

Hefting her textbooks and notebooks from her bag one by one, MJ assesses which she’ll need for homework tonight. Yikes, maybe it should be an exclusively laptop evening; she has a midterm paper coming up and the task of assembling citable articles from scholarly journals beckons in a voice that’s been shredded through a cheese grater. Mmm, cheese. She touches her stomach. Snack first?

Once she’s let her hair down to straggle around her shoulders and swapped her jeans for pj bottoms, MJ plods back into communal territory. She can hear Peter talking in his room through his door, probably on the phone. Part of her wants to knock and tell him to say hi to his aunt for her. The more persuasive part of her wants cheese. She shuffles onward.

He comes sliding into the kitchen like a young Tom Cruise, but with pants―god, the mental comparison is so embarrassingly bad that it’s making her start to blush―as MJ’s arranging a slice of cheddar on a cracker. The fact that Peter so clearly wants to tell her something encourages her to bite down and, mouth full of crunching food, cut him off with, “’Sup?”

“I just got off the phone with Ned,” he informs her. His arms are dramatically apart like this news is in any way important or unusual.

Treating him with heavily sarcastic seriousness, she plants an elbow on the counter and leans towards him like she’s fascinated.

“And Lego’s teaming up with Tesla to build a driveable, electric Millennium Falcon that roars like Chewbacca when you hit the gas,” she predicts.

Peter’s mouth hangs open for a moment and it’s adora―it’s amusing. Like, she wants to laugh at him. Because he looks like a dork. This nerd is so easy to bait.

“Oh my god, I wish. Get out of my fantasies.”

Her elbow almost slips off the counter. She finishes chewing, chastened by how she could’ve just bit her tongue in a grisly household accident.

“Spit it out then,” she suggests, because now Peter’s grinning, waiting for her to ask. “I don’t have another guess.”

Her roommate takes a deep breath to ready himself for something and she narrows her eyes.

“Well, you know how you keep talking about those people you know and their big house and how they maybe have a room or part of a room or something?”

MJ rolls her eyes.

“I mentioned it once, Parker.”

“Oh, well, I remember you saying that. I―well,” he interrupts himself, “Ned and I wondered if that was something you were still considering.”

She has no idea where he’s going with this.

“I have no idea where you’re going with this.”

Peter comes close to vibrating for a minute before he just blurts it out.

“Ned’s moving in! Or, he could be, if you were moving out. Shit,” he mutters, expression falling. “We’re not trying to force you out. It’s just that you said you might want to, and Ned’s been thinking about moving closer to campus for exams and―”

“Yeah, that makes sense,” MJ agrees, nodding quickly. “You guys are idiots for not thinking of that sooner.”

Are they? Was it them being idiots that kept Ned at home? No, that was anxiety. Was it them being idiots that made Peter wholeheartedly welcome MJ as a roommate? No, that was... Ok, she doesn’t have an answer for that one, but she’s already said her thing about idiots, so she scoops her plate of cheese and crackers off the counter and slips past the confused face of her roommate, muttering about peer-reviewed academic sources.

It’s infuriating and unfair, as MJ numbly abandons her snack on her desk and sinks to the floor of her bedroom with her head in her hands, that the instant she agreed to move out was the same instant she noticed how cute her soon-to-be ex-roommate looks in sock-feet.

Tuesday, February 2nd

Is there more to this urge that lies in me/’Cause it feels like there’s something I can’t see/But I don’t know what it means ― “Patience” (Hollow Coves)

“You have your key, right?” Peter checks. It’s twenty after seven in the morning and MJ’s hustling him out their apartment door ahead of her. Honestly, she’s trying to kick the back of his shoes to speed him up, but Spider-Roommate’s a little too agile.

“Right here,” she assures him, flashing him the key ring in her hand.

“I just didn’t want you to be―”

“I know, loser.”

She observes as he hefts his backpack onto his shoulder and reaches past her to pull the door shut after them. He locks up and drops his key into his backpack. The solo key. Right in there, with all the other crap Peter keeps crammed inside. Half the time, when he has class and she doesn’t, she hears him arrive home and gets up to let him in. (Has she been listening for him? Not consciously.) Otherwise, he’s fumbling through his bag for ages for that key. Hilarious that he thinks he needs to take care of her like this, when she’s the one who’s been doing that for him.

Caring in a loose sense. Not actual caring. Just, making something more convenient.

They walk down the stairs. MJ’s instinct is always to hang back―like she’s trailing him or trying not to be seen with him―but Peter always slows down to her pace, never making it a thing. By this point in the year, their steps are in sync. The rhythmic thumps are an excuse not to speak. For her, anyway.

It’s early and MJ doesn’t have class until tonight. The explanation she’s been going with since this little morning ritual started is that it gives her more time to get shit done and keeps her established sleep schedule from getting fucked up on days that she has to be on campus before noon. The number of steps they descend together has grown familiar beneath the soles of her sneakers, she knows every little gouge in the wall. With Ned moving in, the number of days left for MJ to do this is suddenly pretty small. She’s nervous about it; she’s never been one for countdowns. Pulling her wool cardigan closed, she crosses her arms over her chest like she’s holding herself in and tucks her hands into her armpits.

“Have a good morning,” Peter says, moving quickly across the cramped lobby to push the outer door open. “See ya.”

She feels him glance back at her, but she doesn’t return the look.

“Yep.”

Alone, MJ turns to their shared mailbox. Another benefit of a key ring: carrying multiple keys at one time without the risk of losing any of them. She opens it up, extracts their measly haul, and flips through as she climbs the stairs back to the apartment. The journey feels a lot farther when she’s heading up―could be the roommate that makes the difference, or only gravity.

Halfway up, she has to pause. It’s just junk mail, addressed to Peter, but she realizes she’s going to miss getting mail with his name on it.

Wednesday, February 3rd

Maybe you and I could live together if we ever learn to ease the tension ― “You & I” (Colony House)

Ned’s over when MJ gets home. Today’s the longest day of her week―six hours of class back-to-back, followed by an hour and a half of the work study she signed up for because her scholarship doesn’t cover rent outside of student residence. It’s just papering bulletin boards with student council notices, and the mundanity of the work is nice, but she’s reached her quota for expending effort today; she accepts Ned’s high-five as she drags her feet past the couch and heads to her room, lying face-down on her bed until it feels like she’s whole again.

Gradually (very gradually), she rolls onto her side and grabs her warped copy of Moll Flanders off the bedside table. Something about a woman living an extremely precarious life calms her. MJ’s breathing becomes slow and silent, but she stops herself after 15 pages. If she keeps reading, she’ll fall asleep. Instead, she sits up and trades her socks for the cozier version wedged under her mattress. She has a secret fear that Peter will steal them. He’s gotten a covetous look in the past, so she’s taking precautions.

She pulls her laptop to her instead of going to her laptop and tidies up the Works Cited page on her in-progress paper. This task of thoughtless precision is the only school-related thing she feels like tackling for the rest of the day. All of today’s classes are either of the Monday-Wednesday variety or once a week, so MJ isn’t in a rush to get the readings done. She stops to think, pulling up the digital copy of her planner, and stares at the test she has marked down for next week. Hmm. It’s before her paper’s due, meaning studying for it won’t be taking priority, but the test format is a mix of multiple choice and short answer. The class―a sociology course―is graded on a curve and she’s in there with a bunch of students from non-writing programs who are consistently shit at short answer questions. As long as she refreshes her memory about the material being tested, the grading curve will push her competent written answers to the head of the class. It’s all about working the system.

During her time alone in the apartment yesterday, MJ hammered out a thesis and introductory paragraph. Now, she approaches them ruthlessly to see if she can streamline. This is the most critical part; actually writing the paper is just her hands flying across the keyboard, tossing in quotations like air-dropped care packages to her primary source-obsessed professor.

No, no, her brain is rejecting it. She’s done enough today. She doesn’t exactly want to socialize, but Peter and Ned are generally good about letting her quietly stew in their company without expecting much from her. MJ heads to the bathroom to wake herself up by washing her face, then out into the living room.

“What are you nerds doing?”

Half of the reason for her question is just to scare them (not that that’ll actually work on Mr. Super-senses over there) because she can see they’re about to put a movie on. Peter spins around to look at her while Ned rises from the couch. Privately, MJ thinks it’s kind of nice how Ned feels so at home here, where Peter is. Then again, it is about to become his home. Fuck, she needs to talk to the art people about that room.

“We were just gonna watch Alien,” Peter offers.

“Again? Didn’t you tell me you guys did an Alien marathon over winter break?”

He smiles like he’s been caught and it’s cu―funny.

“Yeah, and Ned’s making hot chocolate.”

“Oh yeah?” MJ watches Ned stride purposefully into their tiny kitchen. “Finally making yourself useful?”

He waves a dismissive hand at her and she snorts a laugh. They’ve gotten to this good friendship place of brotherly/sisterly teasing.

“You wanna watch?” Peter asks, calling her attention back to him. She weighs her looming essay against the full day behind her.

“Ok.”

“Hot chocolate, MJ?” Ned immediately asks.

“Well, since you’re determined to be such a good host.”

Ned grins and turns back to the kitchen. MJ leans against the wall, watching Peter put the movie in―not watching, just, like, observing―then glances at Ned. He hasn’t made much progress with their drinks. A mismatched trio of mugs is on the counter and... that’s it.

“You need a hand?” she asks, pushing off the wall.

“Where’s the kettle? Didn’t it used to be in this drawer?”

Ned points into the sliding drawer at their heap of assorted pots and pans.

“It did,” MJ explains. “But that one broke, so we bought a new one. A new one, WHICH WE’RE HOPING NOT TO BREAK BY DROPPING IT INTO THE DRAWER THIS TIME, RIGHT, PETER?”

Her roommate gives a sheepish laugh.

“Our new one’s tucked behind the toaster,” she tells Ned, directing him with a jerk of her chin.

“You guys are buying appliances together,” Ned chuckles. “That’s adorable.”

It’s a somnambulant walk to the couch, where MJ huddles in the corner and zones out for most of the movie.

Thursday, February 4th

You burn through my mind, again and again, again/And again and again ― “Luna” (Bombay Bicycle Club)

Feeling a burst of resolve before the weekend, possibly in rebellion against Wednesday evening’s confusing feelings, MJ decides to text one of her art classmates re: the spare room. Somehow, what she ends up texting is a question about their prof’s office hours. Which MJ already knows the answer to.

Another thing she does is read the same page of her art history textbook over and over and over and over.

Friday, February 5th

You’re the only one worth seeing/The only place worth being ― “Cold Cold Man” (Saint Motel)

Peter’s class finishes an hour before MJ’s, yet he always dithers with his packing, so they end up leaving the apartment for their trip back to Queens (courtesy of public transit) at the same time. Traveling with him is one of the less flawed aspects of a friendship with Peter Parker. He won’t glare manspreaders out of their prime seats like MJ would, but he knows the shortest routes and, while train and bus timetables never line up well for her, Peter’s memorized and mastered the schedule. They never wait around.

Also, there’s, like, a bubble of chill around him. No one in their vicinity behaves like a violent asshole―not verbally, not physically. Is it some kind of Spider-Man thing? Is Peter’s skin emitting a sedative to keep the other passengers relaxed? MJ isn’t relaxed. She sways into him multiple times, their overstuffed backpacks knocking together, and he smiles at her, unbothered, as her heart revs ineffectually like a remote-control car someone’s trying to urge up a steep slope.

They walk the last two blocks to the spot where their paths diverge. There’s enough sunshine that the light snow that fell overnight has already been transformed into the slimy grit crunched beneath their boots. Her bag’s beyond heavy at this point, but she knows, at any sign of lag, he’ll offer to carry it for her and she just can’t deal with that shit right now. ‘That shit’ being Peter’s thoughtfulness. MJ just... she needs a day, two days, to remember that she knows how to live without Peter always in the next room. Without joint ownership of a fucking kettle.

“So, text me when you wanna head back on Sunday and we’ll go together?”

MJ frowns. It isn’t clear if the question is the timing for the return trip or if they’ll be making it as a party of two. She shrugs.

“If that works for you.”

“Ok, awesome.”

She nods though it doesn’t feel like a situation where the word ‘awesome’ is called for.

“Later, nerd,” MJ says, aiming for her mom’s as she marches away.

“Hey, MJ?”

She glances back. Peter’s still standing there, plaintive look on his face, hands clutching the straps of his backpack. He never wears gloves. She keeps telling him to wear gloves. Is she supposed to be responsible for Spider-Man’s frostbite? What a pain in the ass this guy is.

Her attention’s enough to get him to continue.

“It’s ok, right? It’s ok about Ned moving in? It’s just, you were kind of quiet during the movie the other night and we didn’t talk much yesterday either...”

With a deep breath, MJ walks back to him.

“I’m just busy,” she says, meeting his eye, then letting her gaze drift off. “Big essay coming up.”

“...And about Ned?”

“Oh yeah, that makes sense, like I said. Did you forget?” It’s maybe the shittiest attempt at teasing someone ever made, but MJ doesn’t really tease Peter.

“But it’s not, like, bothering you or anything, is it? I mean, you don’t regret agreeing?”

Do you? she wants to ask and doesn’t.

“I’m fine, Parker, stop worrying about it,” she says instead. “If you bring this up again after Ned moves in with you, I’m going to have to come back to the apartment and booby-trap it, Home Alone-style.”

He smiles.

“Harsh.”

“Alright,” MJ concedes, “Parent Trap-style, like they did to the cabin. No swinging paint cans, just buckets of molasses.”

“Deal. Consider my silence bought.”

“I didn’t buy your silence, nerd, I ensured it through coercion. Aren’t you supposed to have experience dealing with bad guys? Yikes.”

Peter starts laughing and, incredibly, she does too, the two of them stalled on the corner.

“Ned’ll keep me out of trouble.”

“Yeah, well, he better,” she says easily. Too easily. Jesus, what the hell is she saying? “Because, uh, I need you alive long enough to pull off the Parent Trap thing.”

Shit, she made an offhanded reference to the possibility of his being murdered. Nice. Really great stuff. He won’t want her out on the 15th now―he’ll never want her back in the apartment with him again.

“Of course.”

Peter glances down, but when his face tilts back up, he’s smiling at her. Why the fuck does it feel like they’re saying goodbye forever? MJ nods an awkward farewell to end this strangeness. That’s when Peter moves towards her and she freezes. What’s he doing? They don’t have a secret handshake like he and Ned do. He catches himself when his arms start to lift and looks horrified.

“Sorry,” Peter blurts. “I don’t know what... I was going to hug you.” He laughs self-consciously. “That’d be weird, right?”

“And it’s managing to get weirder without even happening.”

He takes a step back, but MJ surges forward impulsively. She tucks her chin over his shoulder, her hands squeezing his sides because the backpack makes a full embrace impossible―Peter’s backpack is helping her make wiser choices than her own brain.

“Bye,” she says, soft and fast, and turns, jogging to catch the light.

Saturday, February 6th

The longing never ends/Letting go of ways that we changed, still I pretend ― “Fire Flower” (Summer Salt)

Her gram comes over for dinner. Or, more like MJ and her mom pick her gram up from the apartment she shares with her sister and bring her back for dinner. Ever since Gram’s wife (they never made it official, but that doesn’t change who these women were to each other) died, she’s been living with her sister, but MJ’s great-aunt, 79 years old as she is, has a hot date tonight, so Gram has made time for them in her busy schedule. She’s a real jokester about that in the car, about how she’s missing Westworld for them. When MJ shoots back that she can and has watched Westworld any time she wants (she’s pretty sure Gram’s on her third rewatch of season one), her mom shoots her a look from the driver’s seat. When she adds that Gram only watches because she has a crush on Thandie Newton, they have to roll down the windows to let a little of the laughter out.

Her mom won’t let her wash dishes during her first visit home for over a month, but she has nothing against MJ drying them. As they work, Gram sits at the kitchen table and asks her all about school. Asks if she’s still drawing naked people (yes, Gram, the figure-drawing class runs all year), asks if Financial Aid’s trying to snatch her scholarship back (no, Gram, but I’ll call you if they try anything).

“And are you still living with that boy?”

Normally, MJ would laugh this question off, same as the others. Normally. Her hands still, holding a mug wrapped in a dampening tea towel.

“What’d you say, honey?”

Gram’s a little deaf and not used to MJ not firing an answer back immediately. She assumed she didn’t hear the response, not that MJ didn’t give one. MJ thinks for a second. Probably better not to alarm her gram with news of her upcoming change of living situation. She doesn’t want to be worried about and, technically, she is still living with ‘that boy’ for another eight days.

“Yes, Gram. Peter.”

“His name is not one of the things I need to know about him. I just need to know that he’s not getting in the way of your ascent to greatness.”

MJ smiles and finishes drying the mug.

“Nobody’s going to do that.”

“Good girl. And you feel safe there?”

“Gram, he’s an Avenger.”

Yeah, maybe that’s top-secret information. Whatever. Who’s her gram going to tell?

“I don’t mean do you think he’d pull you out if the building fell down―”

“Nice image, Mom,” MJ’s mother contributes with a roll of her eyes.

“―I mean how are you handling sharing a space with a boy who’s in love with you?”

MJ’s drying a fistful of silverware and it spills out of her grip, scattering across the counter. A lone spoon plops back into the sink’s soapy water. She clears her throat and reaches for the cutlery. Reaches even farther for her composure.

“He’s not, and what would that have to do with safety?”

“Let me tell you, he most certainly is.” Apparently, Gram’s rejecting the question. She never wastes her own time on words she can’t be bothered to speak.

“A boy and a girl can room together without there being... feelings,” MJ points out. It’s irritation that’s making her blush. Irritation at herself for being wrong-footed by her gram over Peter freaking Parker.

“Yes, they can, but I’m not talking about ‘a boy and a girl,’ I’m talking about Peter and yourself.”

“I think getting a Netflix account has made you suspicious,” MJ gently accuses. “What’ve you been watching on there?”

“None of your business.”

Gram changes the subject, letting her off the hook, but the next time MJ turns to look at her, Gram gives her a wink.

Well, she can think what she likes, even theorize aloud. Doesn’t make her right. If it’s between Peter and MJ, her own feelings are the ones that make her feel unsafe, unbalanced, unprepared. Maybe he’s considerate with her, maybe he’s kind to the point of being sweet (when she lets him be), but that’s Peter. That’s just Peter.

Sunday, February 7th

You know I like you a lot, but/It still hits me like a rock ― “Hits Me Like a Rock” (CSS)

MJ’s breaking her promise to stay for lunch, bailing right after breakfast. She tells her mom she’d rather get back into school mode. Plus, she’ll be home for the week-long study break before midterms; only a week away. What she won’t think about is the possibility that she’ll be using her studying time for learning-to-cope-without-Peter-in-the-next-room time instead.

She doesn’t text him, by the way. Why cut his weekend short? True, escorting her home isn’t his responsibility, but he’d find some way to feel obligated. Definitely a Spider-Man thing. If only his overdeveloped sense of responsibility carried over into the putting his socks away department. Which is what she comes home to: Peter’s socks just inside the door of their apartment. On the floor, peeking out of every pair of his shoes like a grubby Beatrix Potter scene. MJ has no memory of things looking so dire when she left (they left―together). Must’ve been distracted by trying to remember if she had her transit pass, or whether her mom had asked her to bring anything home for dinner.

The sidewalks have become slushy again and, based on the wet spot near the toe of her left sock, she needs to re-waterproof her boots. For now, she troops straight to her bedroom, holding her dripping boots in one hand and a paper towel beneath them with her other. MJ settles them over the heat vent in her room. As she switches to dry socks, she eyes the boots like they should’ve known better.

It’s a cozy, forgetful few hours of solitude. Her paper’s due Thursday and the body of it isn’t exactly taking shape; she’s straining against the traditional essay format and finding it messy going, even though it feels like she’s on the right track. High school has underprepared her for this and overprepared her for things like... robotics. It’s amazing how few people give a fuck about robotics when she’s sitting in a lecture on the Dutch masters.

Peter never remembers to shut his bedroom door and, without trying to look, MJ gets a glimpse from the hall, right through his room and out the window, of snow lazily starting to fall when she rises to get a glass of water. The call of hot water is strong, but she showered his morning before breakfast. The best she can do is snuggle into bed and languidly run a highlighter over some readings for Tuesday.

MJ finds out she fell asleep when she wakes up to Peter’s disbelieving shriek. The sound isn’t loud, but it has her up and fighting her way out of her blankets to stumble into the hallway at the same time her roommate comes sliding into it from the kitchen. He sighs in relief. Spins, clutching his hair. That’s a little much, she thinks. What a fucking dork.

“What’s wrong with you?” she asks, ignoring how good it feels to see him again. Again? They were apart a day.

“You never texted me and then, and then―” He gestures behind him. “―your boots weren’t at the door.”

“They were soaked,” MJ explains slowly. “They’re drying in my room.”

Peter’s still getting over... whatever this is that’s happening to him.

“Your boots are always at the door.”

She looks at him carefully, surprised to discover he seems to be coming down from genuine panic.

“Are you ok?”

He does an odd shrugging motion and approaches her.

“I’m ok.”

“Do you need a―”

Peter claps his arms around her and MJ goes immobile.

“Yeah, I did,” he agrees.

She’s trying to figure out when she should tell him she planned to end that sentence with ‘doctor.’ Or something else, even. Something that would calm him. Only... he does seem calm. Feel calm. His hands are spread on her back. His body’s sturdy enough to pull her in and push her back out again with his every breath when he’s hugging her like this, but at least they’re slow breaths. It’s actually kind of ok. Nice. Warm. Confusing.

Before MJ can wrap her arms around his neck, caught up in this intermission from the Parker and Jones: Roommates and Nothing More sitcom, Peter puts his hands firmly on her waist and steps away from her. Then glances down to see where his hands are and drops them.

“S-sorry. I... I was... I overreacted.”

“I’m fine,” she says with what’s supposed to be a shrug but manifests as a twitch. “I’m good. Nobody murdered me on my way home. So...” Idiotically, MJ chucks him on the shoulder in a mortifyingly fatherly manner. “Thanks for keeping the streets safe, Spider-Man.”

“Uh, yeah, you’re welcome. Glad you’re safe.”

Peter’s red-faced, swinging his arms, looking at her and then not looking at her, as she retreats back into her room and closes the door.

Not safe. MJ is not safe.

Monday, February 8th

I’ll speak a little louder, I’ll even shout/You know that I’m proud and I can’t get the words out ― “Everywhere” (Fleetwood Mac)

She’s wasting the one-hour gap she has between classes. It’s supposed to be for eating lunch and, these days, either studying for tomorrow’s test or adding something brilliant to her paper. It isn’t supposed to be for eating lunch with a couple of nerds who’ve braved the art building to join her. Ned’s awe of the building makes MJ start to smile before he changes topics to the reason he and Peter are actually barging into her schedule―discussion of Ned’s move-in.

Based on their landlord’s 1st and 15th rule, Ned will be an official renter seven days from now. To the boys, it therefore makes sense for Ned to be taking over that day. And to MJ too, of course. It totally makes sense to MJ. The 15th is also the first day of their break week, so there won’t be classes to plan around. Nothing could be more straightforward! MJ can get her stuff packed up this weekend (the 13th-14th) and have her mom pick her up in the car the next day to relocate her to her new living space. Which―fuck―she’s definitely going to text her classmate about. When asked about her living plans directly, she smiles and spoons hot soup into her mouth.

She’s good with it. Ned’s good with it. Peter’s... holding things up. He claims he’s only wondering if they need more time before Ned moves in because he doesn’t want anyone’s boxes to get mixed up. Ned pipes up with information on his thorough labelling technique. MJ just watches Peter. His eyes flick to her more than once, like she’s going to protest, maybe? She wouldn’t. She doesn’t want to screw this up for them. Rooming together is what these two losers wanted from the start. The only thing she has to do is step aside. Fine, she can manage that.

“And we’ll just... see each other around,” Peter says as the three of them are finishing lunch.

But he doesn’t say it to Ned, obviously. Not to Ned, who will be living across the narrow hallway from him in a week. He’s looking right at MJ. Damn his gentle, baby-animal eyes. She hadn’t really thought about this. When would she see Peter? They’re in different programs with classes in different buildings. Their schedules overlap in a way that was convenient for eating dinner together most nights, not in a way that means they’ll bump into each other on campus during their downtime. They’re overachievers who haven’t been able to sustain friendships outside of school. Except for with Ned. Except for with each other.

When Peter does this incomprehensible motion that, in another universe, might look like he was reaching for her hand, MJ nods in agreement. Then, as her eyes start to well without her permission, pretends to have burnt the roof of her mouth on her final spoonful of soup.

It’s been cold for half an hour.

Tuesday, February 9th

Bless your body, bless your soul/Pray for peace and self-control ― “The World We Live In” (The Killers)

MJ isn’t sweating because she’s retroactively stressed about the test. The test went fine. She prepared; in fact, she overprepared―devoting her entire morning and too much of the afternoon to revision when she should’ve been working on her fucking paper. That’s why she hurried back. That’s why she’s sweaty and ready for a hot shower. It’ll refresh and refocus her and she’ll bang out a few paragraphs of the paper tonight, a few tomorrow (even though it’s the longest day of her week; she’s putting the nightmarish reality out of her mind for now), and have time to proofread the whole thing Thursday morning before she turns it in.

It’s a plan and she loves it. MJ heads to her room, vaguely noticing that Peter’s bedroom door is shut. Huh, maybe he’s hunkered down to do some studying of his own. She dumps her backpack and flings off her sweatshirt and, you know what, her t-shirt too when it wants to cling to the sweatshirt and be removed at the same time. The bathroom’s right next to her room.

MJ darts over in her bra and the sweatpants she wore to take her test and opens the door.

Just as Peter flips the bathroom light on.

She twists away and slams her back into the hallway wall. Jesus Christ. Blinking won’t wipe away the sight of Peter standing there with a towel tucked around his hips. Just the towel. Just that one towel. Fuck, she has to handle this somehow. The situation, that is.

“Sorry,” MJ blurts. “The light was off and, and I didn’t think and―”

“I like to shower in the dark. It kinda lets my senses rest and―”

“I finished my test early so you probably weren’t expecting me home and―”

“―then I needed the light on to shave because I cut myself enough with it on to have zero desire to attempt shaving my face in the dark and―”

Her heart’s pounding so loudly that between that sound and her own words, she’s barely catching any of what Peter’s saying.

“Such an invasion of privacy,” she sighs out in conclusion. He falls silent too. The bathroom door’s still open and a warm radiance stretches the width of the hall; MJ wants to reach her fingertips out and let them glow.

“So,” Peter says, urgency draining into timidity, “your test went well?”

“Yeah.” Looking down at her bare feet on the carpet of the hallway they still share, MJ smiles. “You cut yourself shaving?”

“You can laugh if you want.”

His tone isn’t offended and she knows he wouldn’t mind if she did laugh. Probably wouldn’t be surprised. She isn’t... she isn’t soft with him.

“I was just wondering why I’ve never noticed.”

“Oh, well, the cuts heal up pretty fast. They’re small cuts. I’m not that bad at shaving.” Peter clears his throat and she’s standing there yet, listening. “Plus, we don’t get close.”

A terrible, awkward, one-note laugh rips out of MJ.

“True.”

But her roommate doesn’t join in.

“We’re never close,” he says quietly. She shivers.

MJ’s back in her bedroom with the door shut―leaning against it―in a second. Maybe Peter started to move when she moved. Maybe he stepped out into the hallway with his raggedy towel and his squeaky-clean skin and the flush on his face from the steam because he heard her and thought she might be coming his way instead of hiding like a coward. She can’t know without witnessing it. His footsteps never make a sound.

Wednesday, February 10th

It’s hard to know which way to go/Come and find me, come and find me ― “Between Days” (Far Caspian)

Clearly, despite her best intentions, MJ is giving off a vibe. Not her regular approach with caution vibe. No, no. She doesn’t know where that withering aura of distance has gone, but she’s lost it and the atmosphere around her has changed as smoothly as the colours in a mood ring. It must have, because Peter hugs her for the second time this week, pulling her into an abrupt embrace before she heads off to campus in the morning.

This is supposed to be the thing about roommates, right? Always invading your space. Only, through the decaying brick wall of her denial, she sees that this isn’t the same thing. He’s not rummaging through her search history or eating her groceries (besides―fuck―they’re kind of their groceries, like the whole kettle situation); he’s initiating moments of physical affection. MJ knows the hugs are affectionate and not perfunctory. If it were otherwise, if they were the kind of automatic hugs that happen in less established friendships upon every meeting and farewell, Peter and MJ would always have done them and it wouldn’t feel so momentous that, suddenly, he’s electing to hold her.

He doesn’t try it when she gets home. That’s a good thing. She’s tired and not so much cooking dinner as microwaving an assortment of shit from the fridge for the sloppy meal that will sustain her through wrapping up the final section of her midterm paper and writing the conclusion. Peter’s sitting on the couch with a textbook in his lap when she gives him a sharp wave and goes to her bedroom, closing the door firmly behind her.

The final section is an uphill (if the hill’s a ski slope slicked over by ice rain―and also there’s an avalanche rumbling down from the submit) battle that takes until nearly 10pm to complete. MJ’s focus is hanging by a thread and she’s rerouting all of her energy to keeping her brain on task. That means no getting up to hunt up a chocolate bar or make a cup of coffee. She can do this. She just has to force herself through to the end. It’s one more paragraph, or maybe a big one and a small final final one of a line or two, to bring home her argument with a little more flair.

MJ pushes ahead, but apparently, the scale of her determination hasn’t left enough space for her memory to function, because she’s mixing up the order of her sub-points, and she’s missing the first part of her thesis entirely. She keeps scrolling―up-down, up-down―to refer to the part she’s already written. It’s coherent, and that should be helping her now, but fucking stress or something is making her concentration worse the harder she tries.

She lives lightly in the apartment. She’s tidy and contained and quiet. The sound of frustration she makes as it feels like this whole assignment is unraveling (has she fucked it up from the beginning? Should she start over completely? Oh god, it’s eleven o’clock! How is it eleven?!) is hellish. MJ’s head slumps to her desk and she starts weeping. Why is this so hard? She’s tired.

It’s possible that she doesn’t hear his knock, but Peter barges into her room. She gets herself to sit up and wipe her fingers under her eyes, her palms over her wet cheeks.

“It’s not―” Coming together, she wants to say. Fair, she wants to say.

“I know,” Peter interrupts, walking over to her chair. “How ‘bout you step away from that for a minute?”

He puts his hand out to her and MJ sniffles as she stares at it. She slaps her palm to his and he holds on, pulling her up. Probably to guide her towards the TV or the kitchen for a hot drink, but MJ steps into him instead, her head on his shoulder, her nose against his neck.

It’s the smell she’s smelt when she hangs her coat on the hook next to his, when she sits on the couch and can tell he’s recently sat in the same spot. Normally, this is a following smell―the scent of coming upon him after he’s gone. Shock that it’s become a now smell makes MJ jerk back, realizing what she’s doing. She’s never practiced friendly hugs. She doesn’t know how to do them. Peter, on the other hand, hugs people all the time―mainly Ned and his aunt―and yet his failings are equal to hers. There’s nothing pal-like in how he puts his hands on her or flexes his arms around her or gently gathers her closer. When he lets her step back, she sort of wishes he hadn’t. But she’s not thinking. Fucking paper.

MJ swivels and sits on the edge of her mattress.

“I can’t end it,” she tells him bluntly.

Peter’s eyebrows raise... hopefully?

“No?”

She shakes her head.

“My introduction’s solid, but I’m getting lost somewhere in the middle trying to recap it.”

“Oh. Oh. Well, you could maybe― Is it ok if I sit down?” She nods. He continues, glancing sideways at her, a foot of space between them. “You could read it out loud? To me?”

“The whole essay?”

“If that’s what you need.”

MJ narrows her eyes at him.

“Parker, don’t you have your own work to do?”

He shrugs.

“I handed in a report today and I have a quiz on Friday. The grading for that class is, like, fifty percent quizzes. Pretty sure my prof just didn’t want to have to make up an exam.”

“Then my real question is, why do you want to do this?”

Why is she pushing him? MJ doesn’t know. Honestly, she’d prefer if it she shut up right about now and quit trying to get rid of her roommate. Her handsome, academically-capable roommate, sitting next to her on her bed. The only other time he’s touched her bed was when he helped her move it in here in September.

“Because it’s too soon to rewatch Alien?” She catches Peter’s eye and grants him a smirk as he laughs at his own joke. “Go,” he encourages, nodding towards her laptop. “Read it.”

With an indulgent sign, MJ lifts her computer from her desk to her lap. She mumbles a little at first; even if it’s a stupid paper rather than creative writing, they’re her words and she’s speaking them aloud for him to hear. But three paragraphs in, she glances over and Peter’s leaning back on his hands with his eyes closed. MJ almost snaps at him for not listening―incredible how fast the stress will flare up and demand an outlet―until she realizes he’s concentrating, eyebrows pulling together as she continues. Immediately after that, she stumbles over a full fucking sentence, but she comes out the other side with a steadier, louder voice.

When she reaches the end of what she has written, Peter nods and opens his eyes.

“I think―” he starts, but MJ shushes him.

Frantically, her hands trip and clack across her keyboard. The conclusion pours out, word after word after word. One big paragraph and a small final final one for flair. The second she’s done typing, MJ saves the document, puts her laptop back on her desk, and falls backwards onto her bed.

She takes three deep breaths, then says, “Now I just have to edit it.”

“Don’t I get to hear your conclusion?”

“In a minute.”

Peter drops onto his back beside her and sighs like he’s being denied something he really wanted. She rolls her eyes at him. What a nerd.

Their arms brush. He bounces his foot. Her back cracks when she pushes her shoulder into the mattress. She looks at him and gets the feeling that she just missed him looking at her.

“I’m waiting,” he whispers, and MJ laughs.

“Let it breathe, Parker. I just finished it.”

“Can you pass me that blanket then? I’m getting cold.”

“It’s like a hundred degrees in here,” she argues, but she thumps the blanket folded across her bed onto her roommate’s stomach.

After a minute of watching him get cozy, MJ’s jealous.

“Give me some of that.”

He lets her tug it over. The blanket’s big (Gram made it that way), but she’s pretty sure Peter moves closer with it.

She tucks her legs up and catches site of his watch as she arranges herself. A bit after midnight. Quarter-after. At quarter-after, she’ll get up, evict the dork from her room, and edit. MJ closes her eyes.

Thursday, February 11th

I had a dream that I kissed your lips and it felt so true/Then I woke up as a nervous wreck and I fell for you ― “Fell for You” (Green Day)

They’ve made up for three years of nearly hug-less friendship in one night; MJ wakes up slowly to find her arms around Peter, and his around her. She keeps her eyes half-open. Evidently, they clung in their sleep, facing each other, and she’s never been so comfortable. But things are going to get uncomfortable any second when Peter stirs. She almost doesn’t want him to. Then, he shifts and she feels his erection against her thigh where it’s slotted between his. MJ tries to cautiously extract her leg―heart pounding in her ears―and Peter lifts his bowed head. His bleary brown eyes meet hers.

“Hi.” His voice is like rug burn.

“I have to edit my paper,” she remembers.

She’s waking up more now, noticing the light in her room. Not the lamp she left on last night, but the morning light that generally brightens the space, coming from Peter’s window across the hall. She puts her hand down to push herself up to a sitting position and it lands on his upper arm. In a blink, his hand’s gripping her arm, preventing a topple. Wow, those reflexes are something. MJ glances shyly down into her roommate’s face.

“Paper,” she says again.

“Right.”

He sits up quickly beside her―hair all sticking up at the back of his head―and she pretends not to notice him notice his erection.

“I’ll, uh, maybe I’ll see you for breakfast?”

MJ nods without looking at him and hears Peter stumble backwards out of her room, kicking away the blanket that’s tangled around his foot. He closes the door behind him and she does not see him at breakfast. The awkward energy from the situation that she doesn’t really take time to process sends her headlong into edits. When she does make it to the kitchen, it’s with her paper tucked inside a presentation folder and her hand snatching a store-bought muffin off the counter. She can hear the shower running and is grateful that she won’t have to face Peter yet.

No, that doesn’t happen until she’s on campus, between classes; she’s handed in her assignment without incident and it’s a huge relief. Not only does Peter know her schedule as well she knows his, apparently, but he also knows exactly where she’ll be on her break. She almost bumps into him coming around the corner of a building.

It feels like she’s seeing a one-night stand in the light of day―except they didn’t sleep together and MJ already saw him in the light of day. It’s just such a contrast between this morning and now. For one thing, they’re upright. For another, they’re both fully awake.

She offers an uncertain, close-lipped smile as they exchange ‘hi’s.

“Um,” MJ starts, “what’re you doing here, Peter?”

“Oh, I just wanted to find out how it went. With your essay.”

“Well, I turned it in and I can’t really tell you more than that until I get it back.”

They stare at each other for a minute before Peter goes, “Right. Right, right, right.”

“You wanna... walk with me?”

“Sure. I have class in twenty minutes, and I have to get over to the other end of campus, but―”

“Go!”

“You sure?”

“Yes! Go, you moron. What are you doing here?”

“I was gonna bring you...” He pats his pockets and she knows it’ll be fruitless before he tells her. If whatever Peter needs isn’t already in his hand, he’s forgotten it somewhere. This is a Rule of Peter. “A chocolate bar. I forgot it.”

She smiles.

“That’s ok.”

“I thought you might need the energy since it was a pretty late night.”

The girl walking past them darts an interested glance in their direction. MJ glares at her, but Peter really could’ve phrased that to sound more innocent. Because it was innocent. Wasn’t it? A couple of students collapse from the exhaustion of midterm assignments. That’s not a clever romantic setup, it’s overwork thanks to a system designed to crank them through the academia factory and spit them out at the end with a degree.

“Yeah. Um, I’ll survive,” she promises. “You better get to class.”

Peter takes a few steps and turns back like he’s struggling with something, wanting to speak.

“Seriously, Parker,” MJ insists. “If you’re late, I’ll almost feel bad.”

This is supposed to be the part where he laughs, but her roommate just looks conflicted as he walks away from her.

He almost brought her a chocolate bar. God, she is so fucked.

Friday, February 12th

That’s not just friendship, that’s romance too/You like music we can dance to ― “I’ll Try Anything Once” (The Strokes)

“Have you been waiting long?” MJ asks when she leaves class and Peter’s standing right outside, hands in his pockets.

He scrunches his face up and turns to fall into step with her as they leave the building, then campus.

“It sounds better if I say, ‘no,’ right?”

She laughs and looks over at him.

“If you do, I’m going to assume that, on top of finishing class an hour before I do, you were also let out early.”

“It’s that obvious I’m trying that hard?” he asks with a sheepish smile.

What. MJ can’t respond.

After a minute, Peter sighs.

“I might as well tell you that my prof said we didn’t have to come today.”

“You didn’t actually have to be on campus at all?”

“No.”

“So, you’re just here...”

He nods at her implied ‘for me.’

“We’re on break now,” Peter reminds her. “Let me walk home with my roommate.”

“Might as well. Last chance.”

She feels him staring at her, but MJ does her best to look straight ahead as they walk back to their apartment.

He’s on the phone with Ned later, sitting on the arm of the couch in their living room. MJ starts putting her things together, neat piles of books and folded clothes that’ll be easier to pack tomorrow and Sunday. She leaves her door open. It used to annoy her (or she lied to herself that it did), how often Peter and Ned talk on the phone―don’t they know their generation isn’t supposed to do that anymore?―and the fact that her roommate’s soft voice carries so well through their apartment. Ok, fine, it doesn’t carry that well, she just listens for it. She can admit it now, in her bedroom, standing near the doorway to hear his happy voice.

Peter’s flopped backwards, off the arm and onto the couch and still talking animatedly to his best friend, when MJ emerges from her room. She walks directly to the couch and drops her balled-up cozy socks onto his stomach, fleeing before he can attempt to catch her eye.

Saturday, February 13th

This is not a test, welcome to the party/I’ve been on my best behaviour, but I think it’s time/ You saw the other side ― “Best of Me” (Amanda Marshall)

MJ ruthlessly scours the apartment for every article of her clothing that could possibly be dirty. It’s not a tough job; unlike Peter, she mostly keeps her stuff in her bedroom. She has a sack for carrying her laundry to their building’s first-floor machines (because an actual laundry basket takes up too much space with its defined corners) and she stuffs it, lugging everything down there before breakfast. Waiting around is kind of nice because none of the other tenants have shown up yet. Plus, like always, MJ has a book. She transfers her load from the washer to the dryer and leans back against the wall, flipping through a yellowed, soft-paged copy of The Joy Luck Club.

Since she’s been doing laundry down here all year (except for when she goes home for the weekends and winter break), MJ knows the ways of these machines. Which is why it’s so disturbing when the dryer halts five minutes before its cycle should be ending. Unwatched, she jabs at the settings, but the machine’s completely crapped out, so MJ starts hauling her laundry back into the sack. The small stuff―socks, underwear, t-shirts―has dried, but her sweatshirts are still damp. Unfortunately, with the stress of assignments, the sweatshirts are what she’s primarily lived in the past few weeks, meaning all four of them were in there at once, and all four of them are too damp to put on.

She laughs bitterly at herself; at the last second, she’d even taken off the sweatshirt she had on over her tank top.

To stay warm and keep herself from running into anyone, MJ pounds up the stairs and slips into her apartment. She can pack up the dry clothes and hang the sweatshirts off her doorframe, her chair, wherever else seems suitable, until they dry. She’s flinging one over the shower rod when Peter comes walking down the hall and pokes his head in.

“The dryer...” she starts to explain, positioning her sweatshirt, but Peter disappears. MJ rolls her eyes.

In a minute, though, he’s back. When she turns to leave the bathroom, her roommate thrusts one of his own sweatshirts at her.

“Peter,” she sighs, “stop trying to take care of me.”

“Ok, I will after this.” He shakes the sweatshirt at her. “Put it on.”

“What are you trying to do, nerd? Mark me as your territory? Quit being such a Neanderthal.”

With a smirk, MJ brushes by him, but Peter tries to lay the sweatshirt over her shoulder. She shrieks a laugh, ducking to escape it, and suddenly her roommate has his arms around her waist, picking her up with her back to his chest.

“You’re gonna be cold,” he huffs, leaning backward as she squirms.

“I’ll get a blanket!”

“A blanket will get in the way while you’re packing!”

“I’ll cope! Let me go pack!”

“Just wear! My! Sweatshirt!”

She goes limp and he sets her on her feet.

“I surrender,” MJ declares.

“Good.”

Peter bends to pick up the sweatshirt she’s shaken off with all their goofing around, breaking his hold on her, and she bolts for the living room yelling, “Sike!”

Logically, she’s aware that she can’t outrun Spider-Man, but a giddy mania pushes her to attempt it. He tackles her into the back of their couch before she can clamber over. Well, it’s sort of a tackle. Actually, Peter’s barely touching her, but he’s behind her with his hands gripping the back of the couch to either side of her hips.

“There,” she says, feeling him at her back, “you saved me from being cold.” MJ turns with a prepared smile; as the silliness fades away, the way his exhalations hit her back felt too much like tension. She meets his eye, straightening up because he’s so close. What did he say? They’re never close? “I’ll just jog up and down the hall every so―”

Peter kisses her mouth.

Just as she begins to lean into it, brain swirling and spiking with confusion, he steps back. Then again. Again, again, again. He spins at the hall and goes right to his bedroom.

MJ doesn’t know what to do, so she stands there a few minutes, face working its way through a series of expressions dictated by the imaginary conversation she and her roommate are having in her head. The one they have because he stays put two goddamn seconds after planting one on her. His sweatshirt’s on the floor near the kitchen. MJ walks over and yanks it on, feeling vulnerable and bewildered.

Eventually, she plods back to her room.

It’s a shock when Peter knocks on her door a while later. She left it open, which was terrifying. She just figured, with this being the end, truly the end, she would allow whatever was going to happen to happen. If the kiss was an awkward misunderstanding, MJ will be leaving that behind with all the rest of her conflicted feelings two days from now.

“What’s up, Parker?” she asks, not turning around to face him. She’s packing up her printer, stuffing it back into the box it came in and taping it closed.

“Do you need any help?”

“Not really. You can help carry my mattress out of here when my mom comes on Monday though.”

She’s anticipating a quip rather than an evasion. Peter Parker is the kind of friend who will voluntarily carry your shit when you move. But he doesn’t give her either.

“You’re really going.”

Slightly annoyed, MJ turns to stare at him.

“Yeah, I’m really going. Hence the packing. It was your idea, remember?”

“It was easier when I thought you didn’t want to be here.”

She laughs the fakest laugh of her life.

“I don’t want to be here. You make loud phone calls and, and you come in late at night and you have socks everywhere. I think you might actually own every sock every human being has ever lost.”

He frowns at her.

“You never mentioned any of that. In the five months we’ve lived together, you never asked me to speak more quietly or put more effort into containing my clothes to my room.”

“Well,” MJ shoots back in exasperation, “now you know!”

“Are you mad at me for offering your room to Ned?”

“Peter...” She gives him a desperate look. It’s too late for this. Doesn’t he fucking get that? MJ exhales a sharp breath. “Peter, I’m moving out on Monday.”

“What if you didn’t?”

He’s being such an idiot. Everything is arranged. She can’t stay now that Ned’s about to come bounding in with his Lego and his best-friendship to be a better match for Peter’s roommate that she ever was.

“I texted my classmate on Monday about the room. It’s mine. I’m moving out of here, Ned’s moving in. Everything’s settled.”

“Could we unsettle it?”

Peter walks into her room, right up to her. His eyes are pleading and she doesn’t want him to see that this little trick of his works just as well on her as on anyone else. That she’s susceptible to him. That’s not who they are to each other; she’s made a very good career of being his sarcastic, distant friend.

“You just don’t like change,” MJ tells him. “You didn’t mean it.” The kiss. “It was just a misguided attempt to keep me here. Nothing more.” She crosses her arms.

“You’re gonna hate hearing this, but you’re wrong.”

“Maybe I’m right and you haven’t figured it out yet.”

Peter shakes his head.

“It can’t be just me who’s felt different since I told you Ned’s moving in. Something’s changed.”

She rolls her eyes.

“You think you’re an expert on my feelings because you saw me cry in a moment of stress.”

“And you saw me half-naked!”

MJ glances away in frustration and because she doesn’t want him to see her reliving that memory.

“Being first year roommates,” she starts after a long pause, “is a condition. It’s a state of being that’s meant to change.”

“Good! I want to change it! I want us to be more than roommates. MJ, why can’t this be easy?”

“Because you noticed me last week and I’ve had a crush on you since we were fifteen!” she blurts out. “And don’t goddamn ask me why I didn’t say anything because not everyone’s brave like you, Peter. Ok? Not everyone’s Spider-Man. Some of us are just the roommate across the hall. Let me fucking get over this in peace!”

“Sure,” he says, looking down. “Got it.”

Peter nods definitively and twists away. Reaching her doorway, he turns his head slightly.

“Just so you know, you only have me beat by a year.”

Sunday, February 14th

By tomorrow I’ll be leaving/By tomorrow I’ll be gone/If you want to tell me something/You had better make it strong ― “Coming Down” (Dum Dum Girls)

On one hand, her mind knows the late-night assignment-finishing sessions are over for a while. On the other, it won’t let her sleep. MJ tosses and turns until almost four in the morning before she gets out of bed. In the dark, the only thing she can find to throw on over her pajama top is Peter’s sweatshirt, so she does.

Her thoughts felt so clear while she was lying down, but now that she’s up, things are hazy again. Did Peter really confess that he’s been interested in her since they were sixteen? Does that piece of information make her feel as mixed-up and, somehow, cheated as it did when he said it? Two morons in one apartment. Ned’s got a lot to live up to.

MJ leaves her room and crosses the hall to where Peter’s door is ajar, letting out a sliver of blue-white light. He’s probably sleeping. He won’t hear her coming if he’s sleeping. If he’s sleeping, she bargains with herself, she’ll turn right around and go back to bed. She eases the door open. Peter’s bedding rustles as he rolls over to face her.

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” she mumbles. Fuck. Worst possible icebreaker in this situation.

“If I invite you in,” he wonders, voice groggy with insomnia, “are you going to push me away again?”

“No.”

“So do you believe what I said?”

MJ sighs.

“I’m trying to.”

Peter waits a minute, then pushes himself up in bed to sit with his back against the wall.

“You can come over here if you want.”

She hesitates for less time than her reluctant nature wants her to. Putting her hand out low, MJ feels for the end of the bed and sits down. It’s miles from him. We’re never close, he said.

“You’re wearing my sweatshirt,” he notes when she doesn’t say anything.

“Don’t start with that again,” she warns, but it’s light. This time, he waits her out until MJ’s compelled to speak into their silence. She begins at a whisper. “Caring about you is really hard. When we were in high school, I sort of felt my role was the unnecessary third wheel to you and Ned, and it still feels like that. Like, I think about you and I worry when I don’t hear you come home at night and, yeah, Peter, I was hurt when you sprung the Ned’s-moving-in thing on me.”

“To be fair,” Peter chimes in, “I never thought there was a reason that shouldn’t happen. I thought this whole living together thing was just a favour you were doing me. So, when Ned brought it up, I thought, finally, I can give MJ a way out.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“Yeah, well, so are you.”

MJ smiles down at her lap.

“I have to tell you all of it, ok?” Peter asks softly.

Her heart’s pounding too hard. The light in the room isn’t moonlight, just the glow of someone in the next build over’s TV through the curtains. MJ only looks at him when the mattress shifts; he’s getting out of bed, wearing a dorky shirt and plaid bottoms.

“Tell me all of it,” she prompts when he stops in front of her, looking like he’s forgotten his lines.

“MJ, I love you.”

It sounds so right, but at the same time, she’s so scared. It’s a painful thing, looking up at Peter’s face. One half aglow.

“So, that’s all of it,” she says, trying to digest his confession without being too distracted by the depth of his expression.

He laughs shortly at himself.

“Not quite.”

And he kneels.

“What the fuck, Peter,” she gasps, jolting backwards.

“I don’t have a ring because I really haven’t thought this part out,” Peter says. MJ can’t say anything. Her throat, tongue, and lips are all broken. “I just know that I can’t let you go. You promised your new roommates you were coming, and I promised Ned he was moving in here, and that’s fine. It doesn’t matter where you’re living, I’m going to love you. I can wait to get married, or even engaged for real, but I couldn’t wait any longer for you to know how I feel. That’s all of it.”

She’s stunned. He looks exposed and terrified, like he’s holding his skin open, waiting for her to snap his ribs one by one before ripping his heart out. It takes long seconds, many of them, for MJ to shift forward until she slides off the bed to sit in front of her roommate. She takes his hand.

“We are engaged for real.”

With a relieved burst of laughter, Peter grabs the back of her head and kisses her hard. Oh, she’ll put stipulations on later―no ring before graduation, no wedding until they’re both employed full-time―but right now, she’s following Spider-Man’s example and reacting on instinct.

“Oh, and I love you too,” she adds between kisses.

His hands slide down her back. Everything about the way he’s touching her says: finally. Maybe they’re skipping a step, the one where one of them asks the other out and they go on dates and meet each other’s families. But they kind of have done those things. They’ve been living together since the fall, eating dinner together most nights, easing each other’s tiny stresses most days. They know each other’s secrets and coffee orders. They know, period.

MJ loops her arms behind his neck to hold him against her while they kiss, but when they start to lean sideways, it’s Peter who mutters, “bed.”

He repeats it as a question and she nods, hands clasped in his as they help each other to their feet. It’s so simple, this part. Peter draws back the covers and they tumble and rearrange. Murmured admissions of inexperience and the way he blushes when she asks about protection―not because he hasn’t bought any, but because he has.

“You know we’re fucked if this part’s no good, right?” she checks. She’s only partly joking. “We’ve staked everything on this.”

“This is just you and me,” he replies. “Same as everything else.”

MJ has this vague plan to leave his sweatshirt on if he doesn’t say anything about it, but by the time they’ve shimmied each other out of their pajama bottoms, she’s ten thousand degrees. So she wriggles free of the sweatshirt and the t-shirt she sleeps in and Peter hugs her tight to him. He can’t be real. She puts her arms tentatively around his back, expecting her hands to pass right through him. But he’s solid and warm and on top of her, shaking slightly when MJ runs her fingers through his hair.

She keeps it up, smoothing his hair and stroking the back of his neck, as Peter’s mouth finds her collarbone, as his hand runs down her stomach to tuck between her legs. The hitch in her breathing makes him groan and bite down on her nipple. When she lifts her hips, he rubs her more fiercely. She orgasms digging her fingers into his chest―the other hand clammy against his hair line, maybe from her palm, maybe from his skin.

Chest heaving, he tells her they don’t have to do any more if she doesn’t want to. MJ reaches between their panting bodies and takes hold of his erection. Looks into his eyes as she moves her grip up and down. Convinced, Peter rolls off of her to bang open the drawer of his bedside table. She stacks his pillows, shuffling up higher, and when he returns to her, she raises her knees to cage him in. They both watch his hands put the condom on.

The next few minutes are measured in the evolving rhythms of their breathing. Peter works himself in and out of her incrementally, so much tension in his arms and back where her needy hands grasp. She needs him―it’s a miraculous revelation. That he’s been an essential part of her life, piece of her existence, and that it’s ok for her to need him, not just dispassionately or critically observe the best and worst of him. She holds him tighter and he clutches her thigh, pushing in all the way. This feeling is as much of a stranger to her as she’s been to herself.

Peter’s still for a minute. Quietly, he says, “We actually did this.”

“Yeah,” MJ agrees, tracing his spine.

Suddenly moving together takes priority over the disbelieving laughter they began to volley back and forth. She rocks her hips with and against his thrusts and it’s like they’re fighting to push the same swing from opposite sides―the movements don’t match up at first, but eventually, an instinctive force takes over and the swing swings. Peter breathes hard into her neck; MJ hooks her legs up around his hips. Single-mindedly, they grope for just the right speed, just the right pressure. He kisses her neck and her eyes roll back as she holds his face there.

When he drags against her, catching her clit, MJ uses her legs to make sure those electrifying passes continue. But Peter can tell from the sounds she’s making too, she thinks. Though brief and disconnected, her cries are climbing in pitch. He picks up the pace when she asks him to. Soon, soon, soon, there. MJ pulls him down to her, arms around his neck, and climaxes with her forehead pressed to his shoulder. Her roommate, boyfriend, fiancé, swears and speeds up even more; it’s a few seconds of a sensation that buzzes more than thumps or thrums and then he’s curling his arms under her, grabbing the back of her neck.

Peter shifts off of her and, when she doesn’t immediately come with him, gathers her to him. Of course, then he remembers about the condom and gets up anyway. MJ snuggles into the warmth he leaves. After a minute, he pulls back the covers to join her again and they share a shy reintroduction, slipping back into their pajamas. It’s when he reaches first for her hand that she realizes she’s safe.

Across the street, someone shuts off the TV. Peter’s room goes dark. They fall asleep.

Monday, February 15th

Seven miles below me/I can see the world and it ain’t so big at all ― “This Time Tomorrow” (The Kinks)

“I’m seeing you for lunch tomorrow,” MJ reminds Peter, tugging her hand out of his. The final box of her possessions is in her arms. Downstairs, her mom’s car is at the curb.

He groans in complaint and follows her down the hall, past the kitchen, to the front door. Ned should be here within the hour; they staggered her move-out and his move-in to prevent collisions. And to give Peter more time with her. He admitted to that motive this morning, cooking them an omelette while MJ leaned her forehead against his back, smiling into his t-shirt.

“Ned’s key,” she says at the threshold. She holds it out to Peter and he pockets it.

“Thanks.”

MJ takes backward steps, moving away from him. He looks like he’s barely keeping himself from springing after her. She sighs.

“Come on,” she says, smiling. “Walk me down.”

53 notes · View notes

evohealed · 5 years ago

Text

◀ LITTLE TALKS ▶

(( here’s an old mini fic i thought i should post. rex goes to the rebooted zagrs because it has his mother’s voice, and it’s … comforting, in a strange way. it’s the closest confidant he has. enjoy – it’s under the cut. I may write more like this in the future. ))

Rex doesn’t know what to do. He’s feeling so pushed over the edge, and off his shit’s that he doesn’t have a single coherent thought running through his mind, and he’s really, really fucked up. He’s bloody and broken, and even though Providence tried their best to patch him up and his nanites usually helped him heal faster … not everything could go away in an instant. He’ll be fine soon enough, he’s just … scared, and so alone. They wouldn’t even let him leave the building to get some fresh air after the horrific EVO attack he’d just had to deal with occurred – something had totally let some from the petting zoo’s isolation chamber free, and, well … he doesn’t wanna talk about the injuries he sustained from it. He’s got his phone out, and through tear-glazed eyes and a shaky hand, he types out a message to Noah. But … he just can’t find it in him to hit send.

He’s typed, retyped, deleted, typed, retyped, deleted, typed, retyped, deleted … but no matter how many times he does this, no matter how much he wash, rinse, and repeats, he just can’t send it to Noah. Wouldn’t he come off like a total baby? Doesn’t he have better stuff to deal with? Wouldn’t he just be wasting Noah’s time? There’s nothing on his mind but Noah, and how Noah could make him feel better, and how he wants to just hear him … so, while he’s totally out of it, the thumb that’d been hovering nervously over the call button presses down. It’s barely even ringing before Noah picks up, and he’s saying hey, and asking him what’s up. But when Rex doesn’t immediately respond, and all you can hear is him clearly sniffling like he’s gonna cry, Noah starts to ask what’s wrong.

He doesn’t really answer, and it’s not til Noah’s trying to beg him to talk because he can hear Rex crying ( which must be … alarming, because he knows Noah’s never seen or heard him cry before, and he’d always wanted to keep it that way ) that he really realizes Noah’s on the other end. Oh, god he’d heard him sobbing. He can’t bring himself to say anything but a quick somewhat muddled sorry and hangs up the phone, trying to keep back his sobs until he can stop fumbling with his phone enough to hang up, and … when Noah calls back, he just rejects it. He can’t stand rejecting his phone over and over again, and he just wants it to stop. Why did he do that? That was so stupid of him! Sure, he wants Noah around more than anything right now, and he really, really wants to be consoled by his blonde friend, but … he feels too guilty for making Noah worried.

He feels guilty for showing any kind of feelings when he KNOWS better than to do that. He’s just a weapon, he shouldn’t be burdening anyone else with his issues! There’s nobody he should even be talking to about this. So it’s with a bitter sniffle that he turns off his phone to avoid the calls and texts from Noah, and just … sits there, alone in his dark room, alone with his thoughts, and suffers silently. Nothing new to the tall teen, unfortunately – it’s what Providence has ingrained into him, after all.

Honestly … what was he thinking? He couldn’t even go and see Noah, and Noah wouldn’t want to see him like this anyways .. not when Providence was scolding him for how much of a baby he was being, and how he should have done better in handling the attack than he did. They expected him to heal fast, because he usually heals fast, but he’s really fucked up, and he just… can’t! He’s injured way too much and the injuries are way too extensive to even let him function right for a few days, and sure, Providence had great pain meds and medical access, but nothing the med-bay could offer could stop this … painful feeling he had all over his body. There’s no scars or anything ( okay, well. no BAD ones ) but some things were DEFINITELY broken, and .. well. They hadn’t been treated ASAP, so it’s no wonder that everything in his body hurt so fucking badly.

And on top of this all, he’s got a distinct sense of being a burden, and he just knows it has to be true. If it wasn’t true, then … why would they be treating him like this? He knows he should have been better, he knows he should’ve fought better, he knows he shouldn’t have called Noah no matter HOW distressed he got … and yet he did. So … where was he gonna go? What was he gonna do about this? He doesn’t know, so he’s curled up on his bed and looking like a kicked puppy. He buries his face in his knees, just staying in a ball, and … that’s how he stays, for hours on end. He’s sure he’s fallen asleep and cried himself out at one point, because suddenly, he’s waking up, and … Bobo is already asleep. All the lights in Providence are turned off ( well, except the night light rotations .. those are dimmer lights turned on by nine PM so people can sleep here ) and .. well, if those are on, then there’s a good chance that means Cesar is out of his lab. Or, at the very least, asleep – that man sleeps like a rock, so if he was in there, and was still asleep? It wouldn’t matter, he wouldn’t wake him up. So,

Rex, still feeling miserable as ever, decided to get himself up and out of there. He needs something to talk to, something like a parental figure to tell him everything will be okay – but Holiday had already gone to bed for the night, and he’s not about to wake her up. And .. Six was. Six. He wasn’t a very good dad figure at all. And he hated being woken up for anything pertaining to emotions … says he should just get over them. Okay … what does he do, then? Well … he’s decided in an instant, something that just clicks and makes him feel absolutely at peace.

He’s going to talk to ZAGrs.

Honestly, Rex couldn’t say he’d expected the revelation that ZAGrs used his mother’s voice, but … it made a whole lot of sense. The voice, it’d sounded so … eerily familiar from the get go, and now Rex knows why. Cesar had managed to kill her self-aware programming and reboot her since the last time they’d dealt with her, and … well, while Rex certainly felt silly he hadn’t even recognized his own mother’s voice, everything made so much more sense. Now, he knows that it’s not really his mom talking to him, and that she’s not really self aware anymore, but … it’s as close as he’s gonna get to his mom. I mean, it has her voice, doesn’t it?

So … it might as well be the same thing as talking to his real mom. He doesn’t think he’s weird for what he’s about to do with this information and thought process, but he wants someone to speak to, and ZAGrs is as close as he can get to having a parental figure at the moment. ( it’s wack logic, but he’s going to choose to run with it anyways. ) Slowly peeking his head through the door, he checks around for any signs of Cesar in the room. He sees his brother passed out at his desk, drooling everywhere over his papers ( gross, he thinks, but mood ) and the computer turned off. He slips into the room as quietly as he can, if he feels like he can barely move without causing a mess through the room ( seriously, he’s bumping into everything… he really shouldn’t be walking ). And, once he’s in, he takes another look around ( yup, Cesar’s still asleep ) before he puts his hand to the monitor and turns it on with his nanite abilities. ZAGrs ( or … er, computer? isn’t that just what she’s called now? ) is alive and well and functioning, and it greets him.

“Hello, REX. SALAZAR. What is your query?”

Rex, miserable as he is, tenses up, and then … relaxes. He has to remind himself that he’s not gonna be killed by this thing anymore, it can’t try to murder him or genocide all the world’s Nanites … so, he decides to finally try and speak. “Um … Computer, can I … talk to you?”

“Of course you can talk to me, REX. I have many commands you can execute.”

“… Right, um .. I actually wanted to talk to you about .. my feelings. Is that .. okay?” He sheepishly rubs his neck, offering a little forced grin. Wow, okay, he feels like a fool for doing this, and that motion alone hurts to do, but .. he’s still gonna keep it up. So, with a deep breath, a side glance, and pulling a spare chair out, he sits down, and asks his question.

“Computer … Have you … ever felt like you don’t actually matter much?”

“QUERY not recognized.”

“I mean, it’s just … I know I’m not totally worthless, but … it’s hard not to feel that way when you’re someone like me.”

“Your body will likely have value on the black market, if that is what you are inquiring.” “What’s a black market? I don’t – you know what? Whatever, okay. Um.. I just – I’ll just talk about what I came here to. Just .. listen, okay?”

“OK.”

“Okay, w-well .. god, everything hurts, for starters.” He complains, melting into the seat he’s found and leaning back. He lets a pause hang in the air before he continues, only the sounds of the computer’s whirring filling the background, and then he breathes in deeply. He’s just gotta … take a second to breathe. His body still aches, and his head and thoughts are still foggy and he’s still very sleepy, but … he’s gonna continue anyways. “But … really, um .. I’m …” He struggles to find his words, and for a second he really does believe all is lost, and then, all at once, the words start pouring out.

“I … messed up. I know I’m supposed to be a machine. I’m supposed to be a good weapon, a-and I’m supposed to not feel anything. But .. sometimes, the stress can get to me, you know? I don’t know, I know I should be keeping my biometrics up, but … I d-don’t know how much longer I can keep doing this. I mean, I wanna help people, and I w-wanna help save the earth and stop EVOs from hurting each other, and cure everyone I can, but … b-but I’m not .. good enough! I can’t be a good weapon, but I’m n-not even a normal person, either. And if I’m not a good w-weapon, and I’m useless as a human, then … who am I? What am I? It’s not – I just don’t understand. I know Providence tells me – that Six tells me – that I’m not s'pposed to have emotions, I’m not supposed to get upset like this, and I should just focus on doing m-my job … but I can’t help feeling like I’m a failure because … I am feeling! I have emotions! No matter w-what I try, I just can’t get rid of them! I’m trying my hardest not to, but they’re here, and they’re… I can’t just ignore them!”

He forces himself to pause – he’s back to silently sobbing again, trying his damndest to keep his tears as quiet and hidden as he could. It’s … the first time he can remember crying in a long time – he can usually shove it all down, but now it’s all bubbling to the top. This whole situation just sucks, he just wants to be a normal kid, but Providence wants him to be a pure weapon! Why does he have to have emotions if he was meant to be a weapon? If he has emotions, why is he a weapon? Weapons shouldn’t feel, and humans shouldn’t be able to do … this! “… People tell me I’m a freak. Everyone at Providence is always yelling at me that I’m a weapon, everyone I try to help tells me I’m a freak. I’m getting mixed signals and I – I don’t know what to make of it. I just want to be normal, I wanna be able to talk m-my emotions out, but … But who would I even talk to? Bobo?” He lets out a bitter laugh before continuing, his voice little more than a whisper as he talks to himself.

“I love him, but … He doesn’t take that stuff seriously, he’s not an emotions guy. A-and Holiday can only afford to waste so much time on me, plus I don’t wanna look LAME for her. Six is outta the question, he says I shouldn’t even have emotions. A-and … Noah, he’s … I know he says I can talk to him, but I know I don’t do anything but stress him out. I don’t w-want to ruin anything by telling him everything I’m upset about, I’m probably just being a baby about it. I just –” he pauses, and then … when he sees his brother finally stirring, his words speed up.

“I’m t-tired of being hurt. I don’t w-want to be, but … it feels like nobody cares if I get hurt. ‘Cept maybe Holiday. I heal quickly anyways, m-my nanites will fix it … and if anyone even notices, obviously they don’t care. It’s always about gettin’ back to work as soon as I can. I just wanna... I wanna feel appreciated, I--” He hiccupped again, taking a moment to calm down his sobbing and letting the tears all run out, and then … A pause. He was totally silent for a good few minutes. He gets an idea. It’s not really his mom, but again, it’s … close, right? Maybe hearing her say this would help him feel better.

“Computer … ?”

“Yes, REX?”

He’s cautious as he speaks his next words, “Can you .. say, ‘Rex, I love you’?”

“REX, I love you.”

And that … robotic as it may be, as aware as he is that it’s not really his mom, and that it’s not really anyone real.. it placates him greatly. It’s enough to get him to stop his crying entirely, and it’s not long before he’s taking deep breaths to calm himself down. When he’s finally not crying anymore, he wipes at his eyes with the heel of his palms, and he smiles.

“.. Thank you, Computer.”

“You’re welcome, REX.”

He uses his nanite powers to shut off the computer, and with that, he leaves the room. And, hell, he’s still in immense pain, but honestly? He’s cried himself beyond the point of caring. He simply walks out of the room, and starts to head back to his. His hands are in his pockets, and he looks like absolute shit because of how tired he is and how sleepy that crying made him, so he just kind of planned to go to bed, so he made a beeline for his room. However, just inches away from the door, he heard his name be called out – and he looked around, confused, but saw Noah standing in the hall. Why was his crush friend here?

He doesn’t know, but before he can even say a single word, Noah’s charging at him and tackling him in a hug. He’s surprisingly got enough force to tackle him to the ground – if only probably because Rex was in such horrible shape, and he was clearly beaten up pretty bad, so he winces hardcore when he hits the ground. But Noah’s still clinging on his midriff, saying that he scared him, and clearly, he’s been crying – asking what’s wrong, and why did he hang up? Was he mad? Rex just kind of forced an awkward chuckle as he threaded his fingers through Noah’s hair, and then sighed. “It’s … nothing. I’m fine.” He says, unconvincingly. Noah’s trying to ask something, but Rex just waves it off, smile growing strained.

“Dude, I promise, I’ll be fine. Now, did you … bike all the way here? At like … eleven pm?” A pause, and a very red-faced Noah nods, and then … Rex laughs. He can’t believe the blonde did that, all for him! He feels a little bad about it, but he still ushers Noah into his room, and then … the night isn’t so shitty after that. Noah really helps, but knowing he could talk to Computer and that it couldn’t wouldn’t judge helped even more.

Maybe everything will be fine after all.

#it's old as fuck but you know what? take it.#rex has a breakdown #you can't tell me that the shit that providence forces him to do #i.e. shoving his emotions down the way they do #isn't damaging #angst with a fluffy ending perhaps #◀ Well my heart is gold and my hands are cold ▶ ( character study )

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astronomyparkers · 6 years ago

Text

The Princes and The Pauper {II}

Warnings: None

Pairing: Tom Holland x reader x Harrison Osterfield

Word Count: 4.6k

A/N: I feel like I’m always saying this, but I’m so sorry this update took so long!! I really do have a hectic schedule and I don’t get much time to write, and when I do have time, I’m never motivated?? I’m the worst tbh. Also, before we move on to the story, I just wanted to do a bit of housekeeping. I DO NOT HAVE A TAGS LIST!!!!!!!!! Please stop sending me messages asking to be added, as I will not respond!! The reason why is in my FAQ (which I ask people to check before sending an ask but...no one ever does?) and I hate that I’m probably coming off rude right now, but I try to respond to everyone, and I have to sort through so many messages asking about things I’ve already taken the time to address. I appreciate you all like my story so much, but I am Very Tired. Please. I beg you. Don’t do it. Now that that’s out of the way...I hope you enjoy! also side note: I can’t find any good gifs of Tom and Harrison looking fancy together. I have a couple pics??? But I like to use gifs for the beginning of my posts :(

{masterlist}

“His pen was monogrammed? Seriously?” Jade snorted before she took a bite of her croissant. “Where do you even buy a monogrammed pen?”

“A pen store?” Penelope suggested, licking some icing from her donut off her finger. “They have those, right?”

“But why would you need a monogrammed pen? Seems like it’s kind of niche market, don’t you think?”

“I don’t know…it gets the message across.”

“What message?”

“The ‘I’m a pretentious douche who could buy out your entire life in an instant’ message.”

“Guys.” You rolled your eyes. “Can we drop it with the monogrammed pen thing? Was that really all you took away from my story?”

“It’s distracting!” Jade insisted. “Like, under what circumstance would you need your pen to be monogrammed? Where in the world is—is pen thievery so bad that you need a pen that is embossed with your name?”

“I told you,” Penelope cut in as you opened your mouth. “It’s for him to sign his important rich guy name on important rich guy documents for his important rich guy company, in the most pretentious way possible.”

“You know what?” You finished your danish and crumpled up the wrapper before throwing it in the trash. “That’s it. This conversation is over. We’re done discussing this.”

“Okay, okay, we’re sorry.” Jade laughed, laying her head on your shoulder affectionately. “Please continue to tell us about Rich and Richer.”

“Their names are Tom and Harrison, and you know that.” You shook your head. “And that’s pretty much the end of the story, anyways. I haven’t seen them or heard from them since the gala.”

“But that was three days ago!” Penelope frowned. “They haven’t called? Don’t they know we only have three more weeks in New York?”

“I didn’t exactly have time to give them the full itinerary of our trip when I was running from security, Penelope.” You turned the corner and glanced up at the different skyscrapers around you, wondering if one of them was the office they had mentioned they had.

“I know, but still…” Penelope shrugged. “It sounds like they were pretty into you. I thought they would’ve called by now, to find out why you ran at the very least.”

And the truth was, so had you. By the time the three of you had made it back to your AirBnB rental, you were a little saddened to see that there was no text from a new number. And when you woke up the next day, with no new messages to display, you were surprised. Even if Tom and Harrison weren’t as interested in you as you thought they were, didn’t they at least want to know why three security guards chased you through the MET? Even with the circles they ran in, you didn’t think that a girl running away from guards in heels would be a common occurrence. Didn’t they want to know the full story?

“It doesn’t matter.” You shook your head and sighed. “They’re not calling, and I refuse to spend my time in New York waiting for that call to not come. So let’s just…drop it. Okay?”

“Okay.” Jade and Penelope both nodded.

You pushed Tom and Harrison to the back of your mind as you continued walking down the New York street. Despite wondering why they never called, you really did want to put the whole thing behind you. You only had so much time in New York, and you were determined to make the most of it. So what if two incredibly attractive socialites spent a whole evening flirting with you and then never called? That had never been in the New York plan anyways, and it didn’t belong there now. You didn’t need a phone call or text from Tom or Harrison. You didn’t.

You did such a good job convincing yourself of that, that when your phone rang that night and displayed an unknown number with a New York area code on the screen, you didn’t even think that it could be them.

Penelope, Jade, and you were bustling around the kitchen, trying to decide what to do for the night as you made dinner. Jade wanted to go out to a club, while Penelope wanted to visit Times Square again, and you were the deciding vote. While the three of you cooking in a confined space together usually resulted in a mess, the kitchen was practically a war zone as your friends both argued their sides.

“C’mon, Y/N,” Jade pleaded as she grabbed cheese from the fridge. “We’ve already gone to Times Square, but we haven’t gone to this club yet!”

“The last time you dragged us to an event, we almost got arrested.” Penelope rolled her eyes before resuming whisking the sauce beginning to bubble on the stove. “And besides, we went to Times Square during the day! Night time is completely different!”

“What do you mean, ‘completely different’?” Jade made air quotes with a kitchen knife still in her hand. “Lots of people, giant billboards, knock off superheroes to take pictures with…you’ve gone to Times Square once, you’ve gone a million times!”

“That’s not true! Y/N, tell her!”

“Y/N is on my side! Right?”

“Oh my God, can you guys be quiet for one minute?” You asked, rubbing your temples gently, ignoring the flour you got on your face as you did so. “I swear, you’re driving me insane.”

“Just tell us which one you pick so we can go!”

“God. Fine.” You sighed deeply as you continued to mix ingredients together. “I choose—”

Your phone interrupted your sentence, ringing loudly from the kitchen counter.

“Jade, can you grab that? I’m a little busy.”

“It’s not a number from your contacts…917…?” Jade frowned in confusion. “Whose number is this?”

“I don’t know.” You shrugged, blowing a stray strand of hair from your face. “Answer it and find out.”

Jade did as you asked, turning on the speaker phone option and setting it back down on the counter before beginning to grate cheese.

“Hello?” You said loudly, as Jade and Penelope had resumed bickering quietly in the background.

“Hello,” A British voice played through your phone’s speaker. “Sorry, is this Y/N? Y/N Y/L/N?”

“Speaking.” You responded absentmindedly, dusting flour off your hands.

“Hey, Y/N. This is Harrison Osterfield. From the MET.”

For a split second, you, Jade, and Penelope all froze, just staring at each other in shock. Then you all dove for the phone simultaneously, trying desperately to grab it before anyone else could. Elbows were thrown, arms were scratched, and you were pretty sure Penelope pulled your hair, but you emerged with the phone in hand. Before your friends could stop you, you took the phone off speaker mode and raised it to your ear.

You pushed back your friends, raising a finger to your lips to silence them. “Sorry, um, what was that?”

“I said, is everything okay? I heard yelling…”

“Y-yeah! Yeah, it’s fine.” You cleared your throat and tried to sound calm (and not like the small fight with your friends had winded you). “So…what’s up?”

“You gave us your number. Didn’t you want us to call?” Harrison’s voice was a little muffled, and you began to realize that you were on speaker and Tom was most likely listening.

“Technically, I gave Tom my number.” You cleared some plates from the counter and pulled yourself up onto it, crossing your ankles as you spoke. “And three days is a little late to call, don’t you think?”

You heard Tom’s laughter quietly in the background, confirming your suspicions that he was there.

“We’ve been busy, love.” Harrison replied, amusement apparent in his tone. “We do work, believe it or not.”

“Really? I was under the impression that you just partied.”

“And we were under the impression that you belonged at that gala, but you ended up being chased out by security.” You could practically see Harrison’s smirk. “Care to explain?”

“Would you believe I was lost?”

“Not for a second.” Harrison laughed.

“Yeah, well…” You smiled sheepishly, even though Harrison couldn’t see you. “That’s wise of you.”

“But Tom and I would still like to know.” Harrison said. “Would you like to come over tonight? Tom and I were going to have a little movie night at our penthouse, and we could use a third.”

Your eyes widened. “You—tonight?”

Penelope poked your arm. “What is he saying?”

Jade mimicked her movement. “What about tonight?”

“The car will be there in a half hour.” Harrison continued, ignoring your interjection. “You’re in that apartment off 42nd and 12th, right?”

“Yeah, I—how did you know that?” You questioned in confusion.

“I have my ways.”

“That sounds vaguely serial killer-like.”

“I’m much too attractive to be a serial killer.”

“Yeah…I really don’t think that’s how that works.”

“Nevertheless, the car will be there in a half hour. We’re sending our best driver, Johnson. He’ll buzz your apartment when he arrives.”

You cleared your throat. “Look, Harrison, it’s a nice offer but…my friends and I have plans tonight and—”

“I’m sure they won’t mind if we steal you for one evening.”

“Actually—”

Penelope hit your stomach. “What are you doing?”

“Say yes, you idiot!” Jade hissed.

“But we—”

Penelope grabbed your phone from your hand. “She’d be delighted, Harrison! She’ll be ready to go in half an hour!”

Your eyes widened and you reached for the phone, but Jade grabbed your arms and held them tight.

“Hey! I didn’t say yes to—”

“Uh huh. Nice talking to you, too. Bye now!” Penelope hung up your phone with a smile.

“Penelope, what the fuck was that?” You asked, eyes wide as you snatched your phone from her hands.

“That was me getting you a personal invite to two hot, rich, English guys’ penthouse.” Penelope grinned. “You’re welcome.”

“No! I’m not welcome! I didn’t say thank you!” You exclaimed hotly. “I don’t want to—what the fuck am I supposed to do tonight?”

Jade said “Watch a movie,” as Penelope answered “Suck their dicks!”

“Penelope!”

“What?”

“That’s not happening.” You shook your head adamantly. “I’m not being hired out like some prostitute!”

“Who said anything about prostitution? That implies money changing hands.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

“No, I’m not.”

“I’m not going.”

“Yes, you are!”

“No, I’m not!”

Yet, somehow, twenty-seven minutes later, you were being led to a town car by a middle aged man with salt and pepper hair, who was dressed in a stereotypical chauffeur outfit and had introduced himself as Johnson. Penelope and Jade had watched you drive off from the steps of the apartment building, amusement written all over their faces. The emotion you felt, however, was in direct contrast to theirs, as your stomach tossed and turned with nerves for the entirety of the drive.

Johnson took you into the heart of Manhattan, pulling up outside a giant skyscraper that had gold lettering reading OH TOWER on the front of it.

“OH. Is that for—?”

“Osterfield-Holland.” Johnson confirmed before getting out and opening your door for you. “The Tower is owned by Holland Enterprises and Osterfield Incorporated, as part of their shared business ventures. They have towers all over the world, but their New York location is the most grand.”

“That’s…nice.” You answered, your voice faint as you stared up at the Tower.

Johnson extended a hand and helped you out of the car. “Just introduce yourself to the doorman. He’ll take you up to Mr. Holland and Mr. Osterfield’s penthouse suite.”

“The penthouse…right.” You got out of the car. “Um, thanks.”

“My pleasure. Goodnight, Miss Y/L/N.”

You bid Johnson goodnight and walked to the door. The doorman seemed to be waiting for you, and greeted you with a smile.

“Can I help you?”

“I’m Y/N Y/L/N…I think I—”

“Ah, yes.” The doorman smiled again before opening the door for you. “Mr. Holland and Mr. Osterfield are expecting you.”

“I—yes. Yes, they are.”

“Excellent. Let’s head up, shall we?” The doorman motioned for you to head inside and followed you after you did so

You walked unsteadily into the lobby, unsure of what you may find, but the sight in front of you didn’t disappoint.

The lobby of the Tower was just as grand as Johnson had promised. High archways, marvelous stone columns, and accents of golf against the white marble…every inch of the entrance way dripped with stature. The people you saw milling about moved with purpose and status, the same way Tom and Harrison had at the gala. Straightening your posture in an attempt to feel less out of place, you headed for the elevator.

The doorman pressed the button and allowed you to enter the elevator before he did. Even the elevator was grand, with mirrors and gold trim everywhere you looked. The button panel confused you, however, as there were only fifty buttons, despite it being clear that the Tower was much larger than that. The only other thing on the panel was a small blank screen

“Are Tom and Harrison on floor fifty?” You asked.

“Oh, no, miss. They’re on floor ninety-eight, the top floor.” The doorman answered as he pulled a key card from his pocket. “The higher floors have more restricted access, and require a key card to gain entrance.”

He held the card to the small screen, and a beep sounded from the panel. The elevator began moving without warning, and ascended smoothly to the top floor.

Once there, the elevator doors opened with a ding, revealing a short hallway and a door.

You followed the doorman off the elevator and to the door, where he knocked on the door.

The door opened and revealed Tom. He had the same easy going smile he had at the gala a few nights before, but instead of the tux he had been wearing, he was dressed in some sort of royal blue, silk pajama…thing.

“Hello, darling.” Tom greeted you. “It’s so nice to see you again. Lester, thank you for bringing her up.”

Tom passed the doorman—Lester—a small stack of bills. You could see that the outside bill was a fifty.

“My pleasure, Mr. Holland. Please let me know if I can get you anything else.”

“I will. Tell your daughters I say hi. They’re in the fifth grade now, if my memory serves correct?” Tom leaned against the door frame with a grin.

Lester smiled in response. “They are. I’ll send them your best.”

“I appreciate it.” Tom turned his attention to you. “Come on in, Y/N. Let me show you around.”

You nodded wordlessly and allowed Tom to take your hand and pull you inside. Your eyes widened as you took in the sight of the front hall of the penthouse.

You had been imagining what the home of the likes of Tom and Harrison would look like, but you could have never imagined the grandeur in front of you. And yet, now that you had seen it, you couldn’t imagine anything else. Of course every outside wall was a window, giving a spectacular view of the New York skyline. Of course there was gold banisters, crystal chandeliers, and expensive artwork adorning the walls. It looked like every mansion you had ever seen on reality TV shows about the 1%, all rolled into one.

“Do you like it, love?” Tom asked, squeezing your hand as you looked around.

“It’s…yeah. It’s unbelievable.”

“It is, isn’t it? Everything here was handpicked and designed for Harrison and I.” Tom said as he ran a hand over a marble side table. “We just put the finishing touches on it last year.”

You nodded again as you mimicked Tom and gently touched the marble side table.

“Come on.” Tom tugged on your hand and gave you a soft smile. “Haz is waiting for us in the theatre.”

“Theatre?”

“Well, it’s not quite the size of a standard movie theatre.” Tom shrugged as he led you to a double door. “This is a New York City penthouse, after all.”

Tom pressed a button outside the doors and they opened, revealing a mirrored and gold elevator. Your eyes widened as he led you inside before pushing a button with a 2 on it.

“Would you care to explain why your penthouse has five floors?” You asked, eyeing the button panel as the doors slid shut.

“Our entrance, kitchen, and living room is on the first floor, all of our entertainment spaces are on the second, extra space, guest rooms, and other miscellaneous things are on the third, Haz and I’s bedroom suites are on the fourth,” Tom counted off on his fingers before frowning. “What am I—oh! Yes. The fifth floor is the roof, where we have an outdoor patio, pool, and hot tub. It’s very well organized.”

You tried not to let your jaw fall open. “Wow. So you really are the 1%, huh?”

“I have no idea what you mean.” Tom smirked as the elevator came to a stop. “Come, darling. It’s not nice of us to keep Harrison waiting.”

You did your best to keep your expression neutral as you passed through what Tom had called the entertainment space. If you had a dime for everything that you passed that cost more than your university tuition, you probably could have afforded the rent on an apartment like this. You had no idea why anyone would need a small, private aquarium wall in their apartment, but you passed three before reaching a set of large double doors.

Tom opened the door for you, motioning you inside.

“Ladies first.” He said with a grin.

You walked inside, only to be greeted with the scent of freshly popped popcorn, sticky sweet caramel, and the faint air of expensive cologne. You looked around at the movie theatre style seats and large projection screen before turning to look at the back of the room, where the scents were coming from.

There was a concession stand, featuring a popcorn machine and a tray of various candies and chocolates. Next to that was a small bar, which Harrison was behind. He had his back turned to you as he grabbed bottles of alcohol, before turning back around and greeting you with a grin.

“Y/N, love!” He said as he began mixing a drink. “I’m so glad you were able to make it. Are you thirsty?”

“I—sure?” You answered nervously as you and Tom approached the bar.

Harrison poured out a pink concoction into a martini glass and handed it to you. “Try that. It’s my own recipe.”

“Harrison and I picked up a bit of mixology in Milan a couple years ago.” Tom explained as he watched you take a sip.

“It’s really good.” You said, licking your lips as you looked at Harrison. “You made this? Really?”

“I picked up mixology much quicker than Tom did.” Harrison said, a smirk playing on his lips as he busied himself making another drink.

“Yes, but I was the one who closed the deal with Orwell that trip.” Tom rolled his eyes as Harrison handed him a glass of something red and orange. “So don’t get cocky.”

“Why? It’s what I do best.” Harrison made a drink for himself before stepping out from behind the bar. “Did Tom give you the grand tour yet, love?”

You opened your mouth to reply, but Tom answered for you.

“An explanation, but not a tour. I wanted to ease her into it.”

“Such a gentleman.” Harrison rolled his eyes and sipped his drink. “Is it overwhelming for you, Y/N?”

“A little, yeah.” You shrugged as the boys led you to a seat. “It’s just…I can’t even fathom having this much money to just…spend?”

“Well, that’s what money is made for.” Tom sat own next to you, a small smile on his lips. “Letting it sit around in a bank is no fun.”

“But can’t you think of more useful things to spend it on than…an in-home theatre with its own bar and concession stand?” You asked, raising an eyebrow as Harrison went to fiddle with the projector towards the back of the room. “I think having your own cotton candy machine is a bit much.”

“We do spend it on useful things. Business, traveling, education…” Harrison took a seat on the other side of you and reclined back, moving your chair so yours would fall back also. “And every month Osterfield Inc. gives 1.5% of its income to charity.”

“As does Holland Enterprises.” Tom absentmindedly stroked your hand.

“1.5%?” You took a sip of your drink as you looked between the two boys.

“It equals roughly £499, 500.” Harrison answered nonchalantly. “Give or take £50, 000, depending on the month.”

You choked on your drink and coughed loudly, leaning forward in your chair. Instantly, both boys were concerned, rubbing your back as they furrowed their brows.

“Love? Are you okay?”

“£500, 000 is only 1.5% of your company’s income? Per month?” You said incredulously. “Jesus fucking Christ.”

“What? Why is that—oh, right.” Tom shook his head. “You’re probably not used to that.”

“No. I’m not.” You sighed as the movie started. “It’s just…seeing all your wealth casually like this? It’s strange. It’s weird.”

“As weird as you crashing that gala at the MET?” Harrison asked.

“Weirder. And for the record, that was Jade’s idea. We’re only in New York for a month. May as well make the most of it.”

“You’re only here for a month?” Tom asked, frowning. “Why a month?”

“Because that’s when our apartment rental ends? And our flight is booked for then? And we have our actual lives to get back to?”

“So we only have a month with you.”

“Technically, it’s three weeks now.” You smiled a bit, turning your attention back to the movie.

“Three weeks. That’s it?” Harrison’s voice was tinged with disbelief. “That’s no good at all.”

“Why not?”

“Three weeks is barely anything!”

Tom pulled out his phone and started flipping through it. “We’ll have to postpone the overnight trip to LA, then. And maybe push dinner at—”

“What trip to LA?” You asked in confusion.

Harrison made an annoyed sound. “Tom, you div, that was supposed to be a surprise—”

“What trip to LA?” You interrupted again, looking between both boys.

“It was just going to be a quick dinner, love.” Tom replied, not looking up from his phone. “We’d leave in the afternoon, be back by the next. There’s a small restaurant downtown that we—”

“We can’t—I’m not going to LA!”

“Well, not now, obviously.” Tom laughed a little bit. “If we only have three weeks in New York, why would we fly somewhere else? No, we can save that for a different time. Maybe make it a full weekend.”

“Oh, that would be fun!” Harrison agreed. “You start university again, what, at the beginning of September? It could be a nice weekend retreat before you get caught up with classes.”

“I don’t think the two of you are getting this.” You inhaled deeply, pressing a hand to your forehead. “I am not going to LA with you, at any time.”

“And why not?”

“Why—? Because we barely know each other!” You exclaimed incredulously. You struggled to form a clear, coherent sentence as your thoughts raced. “I can’t accept a trip from two strangers I—you’re probably not used to hearing no, but—look, I’m just not comfortable with—” You took another deep breath. “Coming here tonight was a mistake. I should go.”

You stood up, only to be pulled back down by two sets of hands.

“No, love, don’t go.” Harrison pleaded. “We didn’t mean to upset you.”

“We’re truly sorry, Y/N.” Tom added, giving you puppy dog eyes. “I know we can be a bit…presumptuous—”

“The word I would use is arrogant, actually.”

“That too.” Tom smiled slightly. “We’re just not quite used to making plans with someone who isn’t in the same life as we are. Like I said earlier…we forget that this is all new to you.”

“You’ve both been really nice, seriously, but…” You bit your lip. “I don’t want to be your charity project, you know? Talking with you is fun, sure, but you can’t just throw around plans about trips across the country and dinners at famous restaurants like it’s nothing. That’s not nothing to me.”

“We know. We’re sorry.” Harrison rubbed your back soothingly. “No trip to LA. At least, not yet. We’ll talk it over with you first, so you’re comfortable.”

Tom nodded. “We don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“This whole thing makes me a little uncomfortable.” You admitted as Harrison handed you your drink again. You took a sip before continuing. “I feel a bit…bought?”

“What do you mean?” Harrison asked, his brow furrowed.

You shrugged as Tom turned down the volume of the movie that none of you were paying attention to. “I don’t know…I feel like the two of you are trying to…impress me?”

“Of course we are.” Tom replied, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “Is that bad?”

“With the way you’re doing it? Yes.”

Tom and Harrison both looked a little shocked. You could tell that no girl had ever objected to their affections like you had before.

“Why? I’m a little lost.” Harrison admitted as he sipped his drink.

“I liked spending time with you at the gala. It was fun, and I had a good time. And I think you’re both good people that I want to be friends with. But I can’t get to know you two if you’re constantly trying to buy my attention. All of this may be pocket change to you, but it means something to me, okay?” You tucked some hair behind your ear. “To me, a movie night is ordering in cheap pizza, mixing together vodka and Coke, and watching a cheesy, so-bad-it’s-almost-good-movie on my friend’s bed. Not sitting in a private, in-home theatre, drinking fancy cocktails, and watching…what even are we watching? Is that Jeff Goldblum?”

“It’s his new movie. Technically, it’s not out until the end of the summer, but we have connections.”

“See! That’s weird! You have a Jeff Goldblum guy?”

Tom and Harrison both laughed at your facial expression before pausing the movie.

“Okay. We’ll be normal. Or try to be, at least.” Tom said, finishing off his cocktail. “You mentioned…cheap pizza? And bad movies?”

You nodded as Tom pulled out his phone again.

“We’ll have it delivered. Why don’t you and Harrison head to his bedroom and—”

“Nope. No way. I don’t trust either of you in your bedrooms.” You shook your head and crossed your arms.

Harrison laughed. “Fine. What about a guest room? Is that better? I’m sure we can find a cheesy movie that’s to your liking in there.”

You shrugged. “Okay. I guess that works.”

Tom smiled. “Good. I’ll meet the two of you there.”

Harrison stood up and offered you a hand, helping you out of your seat and towards the door.

As you walked down the hallway and to the elevator, Harrison began to chuckle.

“What’s so funny?” You asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Nothing.” He said, shaking his head. “I just think these next few weeks are going to be…very interesting.”

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