#i forgot how fun it is to talk to bartenders about their creations and what them make cool stuff

[pettydisco]

Ahhhh today has been so good!! It's so nice to have a good day sometimes

[idy-ll-ique]

New Plan.

Pairing: Quentin Beck x Reader

Genre: Fluff

Requested: Nope

Summary: Quentin is so close to defeating Tony Stark and Peter Parker— unfortunately for him, he met Y/N at the last moment and fell head over heels for her. His love for her was so strong, he gave up on his evil plans and settled for the next best thing— driving those who had a crush on her up a wall.

Author's Note: Hi guys! Here is the disclaimer. Have fun reading this! (also because I'm stupid and out of ideas they play the American version of antakshari lmfao) Please excuse small grammatical mistakes and typos :)

---

"Alright, guys, be calm!" Y/N shouted at the bus full of excited teenagers. Y/N wasn't a teen, she was here to chaperone a trip. Why was she chosen, you ask? Y/N was a friend of the Avengers, that's why. Peter suggested she come along and she agreed. What was there to lose? "We're going to another country, Ms Y/L/N, this is the best day of my life!" a student, Anita, told her excitedly. Y/N chuckled, she supposed it was a bit exciting. Another half an hour later, their bus full of people reached the airport. The students got down from the bus. 

The group of 15 students, along with 2 teachers and one chaperone, went through the security checks and went to the waiting room. "Aren't you even a little excited, Y/N?" Peter asked, sitting next to the woman. "I guess," she sighed, looking away. "Is anything the matter?" Peter asked, gently turning her face towards him. Both of them heard a wolf whistle and rolled their eyes. "For some reason, I have a bad feeling about this trip. It's so fun, I don't know why I'm tense," Y/N admitted sadly. 

"Aw, it's okay, Y/N, I'm sure nothing can go wrong with this trip! We've defeated the baddest bad there was, I don't think there's any villain left who could ruin our trip. Cheer up, sis." Peter often called Y/N 'sis', for their bond was like that of siblings. Soon, their flight number was announced. The class boarded the flight. Y/N reluctantly sat with the two teachers, even though she wanted to sit with Ned and Peter. Throughout the flight, the teachers, along with Y/N, discussed the rules of the trip. As the flight was about to land, Y/N felt something deep inside her gut. 

And the feeling was bad. 

---

"You know, Beck, you should meet Y/N. You'll like her, she's awesome!" Peter said, grinning at Quentin Beck. Quentin considered for a moment. Y/N, who was that? By name, she sounded interesting. "Can we meet her now?" he asked Peter slowly, stroking his beard. "Sure, we can go back to the hotel!" The two men stood up and left the bar. Peter took Quentin to the hotel where his class was staying. "Wait here, I'll be back with Y/N." Quentin nodded and Peter took off, running up the stairs. 

Quentin smirked, leaning against a wall. For now, he thought of ways he could use this Y/N to manipulate Peter Parker. You see, Mysterio (as Quentin liked to call himself) wasn't good at all, he was an evil, evil man. Here to destroy Spider-Man and Iron Man, his motives were corrupt. First, he needed to have a good look at Y/N. What was her relationship with Peter? Were they friends? Was she his girlfriend? As soon as Beck thought about Y/N being Peter's girlfriend, a shiver ran down his spine. Goosebumps appeared on his skin and he felt uncomfortable, uneasy and nauseous. 

Quentin shook his head, also shaking away the bad feeling. What had just happened? 

"Beck, there you are! Meet Y/N!" Quentin looked up from the floor to see Peter running towards him, a firm hold on Y/N's hand as she followed him, begging him to slow down. They came to a halt in front of Quentin. Quentin, meanwhile, was busy staring at Y/N. His mind had stopped working, he couldn't form a single coherent thought. He forgot all about his evil intentions, his master plan, everything. He was close to forgetting his own name and he would have if Y/N had not interrupted him. 

"Does he talk?" she whispered to Peter, who swatted her shoulder and threw her an incredulous glance. Quentin's hand balled into a fist as soon as he saw Peter hitting Y/N. No one was allowed to hit her. He soon came to his senses and let his hand fall loose, confused. What was wrong with him? What was this effect Y/N had on him? "Quentin, are you okay?" He looked at Peter and Y/N, who stared at him with concerned eyes. "I'm… I'm fine. Y/N, right? I'm Quentin, Quentin Beck." 

He held his hand out but instead, Y/N gave him a tight hug. A bit shocked, he returned the hug, putting his strong arms around her waist. "Thanks for protecting Peter," she mumbled. "My duty," Quentin whispered back, patting her head as she buried her face in the crook of his neck. He threw a panicked glance at Peter but the young man could only shrug. "Go with it," he mouthed, a smirk blooming on his face. What the hell was Parker thinking? 

"Um, Y/N, are you alright?" Quentin asked a few minutes later and Y/N pulled away, sniffling. Quentin suddenly felt cold, he wanted her in his arms again. "I'm fine, I was just worried about Peter. I told him I had a bad feeling about the trip and then… then that horrid creature attacked-" "Y/N! Don't worry, I can handle myself out there, I'm big now. I fought Thanos, for God's sake!" Peter groaned, crossing his arms. "You also died, young man! Do you know how that made me feel? I was depressed for months after your death, after everyone's death!" Quentin stared at the two as they bickered. 

Why did Y/N have that effect on him? He had to call off his entire plan, it seemed worthless now. Sure, he had a grudge on Tony Stark for years now, but for what reason? Just because he didn't give Quentin credit? Called his creation BARF? Silly! He could start all over, make something useful, take full credit. And what about Spider-Man? Spider-Man and Mysterio, two people who had nothing against each other. They hadn't met before, too! That's it, Quentin decided, he had to call his entire plan off. 

"Quentin, are you alright? You zoned out, again," Peter said, noticing the hollow look in Quentin's eyes. Peter and Y/N had stopped bickering a long time ago. Peter liked Quentin. Especially the way Quentin had helped him defeat the Elemental, Peter found that very fascinating. "Huh? I'm fine," Quentin muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "You seem tired," Y/N said, placing a hand on Quentin's forearm. Peter smirked as he saw the slight blush that arose on Beck's cheeks. So Quentin had a crush on Y/N! That explained all the zoning out! Peter smiled goofily, Y/N and Quentin would make a rather cute couple. 

A hot one, too, both of them were very attractive. "I am, had a long day," Quentin chuckled, placing his own palm on Y/N's hand. "You should go rest. I hope you have a place, if not, I can book a room in this hotel," Y/N smiled. She had to admit, Quentin Beck was the hottest and the most handsome guy Y/N had ever seen. And she knew Tony Stark. It was a given she had a crush on him. She hoped they would meet again so she could ask him for a date before the trip ended. "So, uh, Y/N, I'm going now."

Y/N snapped out of her thoughts and smiled at Quentin. "Goodnight," she said, gave him a kiss on the cheek and walked back to her room. Peter gave Quentin a huge smirk as Quentin blushed furiously, two pink spots showing up on his cheeks. "Have a crush? Wouldn't blame you, to be honest," Peter shrugged. "What do you mean?" Quentin asked as he walked with Peter out of the hotel. "Steve, Thor, Bucky, Sam, Loki, Dr Strange, heck, even Mr Stark had a crush on Y/N when they first met! She has that effect, Ms Romanoff said it's her 'superpower'," Peter snorted, showing quotation marks with his fingers when he said superpower. Quentin smiled.

On the inside, he boiled of anger. How dare they think that way of Y/N? His, only his. New plan! Exposing Spider-Man was out of the picture now. New Mission: Impressing and wooing Y/N. He would make her his and show those degenerates, those pathetic excuses for Avengers whom Y/N truly belonged to. 

---

"Cancel everything."

"But sir-"

"You heard me. Cancel. Everything."

"We've worked so hard-"

"Did I stutter? Just cancel everything, goddamn it!" Quentin screamed. "Y-Yes, sir," Jean sighed and went to alert his other co-workers. Quentin sat down on his chair, his head in his hands. "Sir, are you alright? Do you want water?" Quentin looked up and stared at Anne. "Sure." She went to get him a glass of water. Quentin felt as if he needed something stronger than water but now that Anne had gone to fetch water for him, he supposed he could wait a few minutes before going to the bar. "Here you go, sir," Anne called out, returning with a glass of water. 

"Thank you," Quentin mumbled, drinking the water. After he was done, he got up. "I'm going outside, tell everyone else," he told Anne, who nodded. Quentin left the place, going to the bar where he, along with Peter, had celebrated their victory over the elemental not even a few hours ago. Quentin walked into the bar. It was nearly midnight; the bar was still crowded, though. He somehow found a chair in front of the bar and sat. "One beer, please," he called out to the bartender, who nodded. Quentin patted his pockets to check if he had his wallet. 

He felt the slight bulge of his wallet and sighed in relief. The bartender placed the glass of beer in front of Quentin and left to serve the other customers. As Quentin raised the glass to have a sip, he heard someone calling his name. At the first call, he thought he misheard someone. The second time he was certain someone was calling him. He turned and smiled to himself as he saw Y/N making her way towards him. "Hi," he said as she sat next to him. "Quentin! I never expected to bump into someone I knew here, right now," Y/N chuckled, running a hand through her hair. "Why are you still awake? you need to sleep."

"Don't tell me what to do," Y/N countered and both of them laughed. Y/N, seeing the glass in front of Quentin, ordered a beer for herself, too. "What are you doing here, if I may ask," Y/N said, smirking at Quentin. "Couldn't sleep," Quentin shrugged. "Me too, to be honest," Y/N sighed. "Why not?" Quentin frowned. His Y/N, not able to sleep? "Bad dreams, you can say," Y/N said, picking up the glass of beer the bartender put in front of her. "I'm sorry," Quentin smiled sadly but she shrugged his apology off. "What were they about?" Quentin blurted out. 

"Peter getting hurt. When we were at the New York airport, Peter asked me why I wasn't excited about this trip. I told him I had a bad feeling about the trip. I've been having nightmares every night ever since we arrived here, in Venice. Next stop is Prague, I hope nothing bad happens there," Y/N explained quietly. "How about I join you on your trip? You'll have a friend by your side, plus, I can look after Peter with you," Quentin offered suddenly and Y/N stared at him. "You'll do that for me? You're the best, Quen," Y/N exclaimed with a broad smile, hugging Quentin tightly. Quentin smiled, hugging her back. 

"Of course. I have nothing else to do now, right? The Elemental, the sole purpose of my visit to this Earth, is defeated. Where do I go from here?" Quentin said, pulling away from Y/N. "You could go back to your own planet, Quentin. Don't the people there miss you, your friends and family?" Y/N suggested, a tad disheartened that Quentin couldn't stay with her. "Everyone on my planet was destroyed by the other three Elementals, Y/N. There's no point in going back there. Also, I've got friends here, right?" Quentin smiled, taking Y/N's hand. 

"Of course you do! We're your friends!" Y/N grinned broadly, clutching Quentin's hand. Quentin sighed in relief, the whole "other planet" story was made up, anyway. Quentin and Y/N quickly finished their beers. Quentin paid for both and the two… ahem… lovebirds walked out of the bar hand in hand. Quentin offered to walk Y/N back to her hotel since it was very late at night. As they walked, Quentin put an arm around Y/N's shoulder to see her reaction. 

If she did not push him away, she trusted him. If she pushed him away, she didn't. To his surprise, Y/N shuffled closer to him, pulling his arm tighter around herself. Quentin smirked, she definitely trusted him. And perhaps, liked him back. That was a start. They reached Y/N's hotel in under 10 minutes. "Do you have a mobile phone?" she asked him. He nodded, taking out his phone. She took it and added her number in his phone. "May I get your number?" she grinned. He nodded again, adding his number in her phone. "Tomorrow we're going for a boat ride across the city, something we couldn't do today because of the elemental. Join us?" Y/N questioned, hoping he would say yes. 

"Of course I will! A boat ride sounds nice," Quentin grinned. "Cool! Tomorrow, after asking the teachers, I will contact you, sounds good?" Y/N grinned back. "Alright. I'll go now, you need sleep. Goodnight!" Before he could turn, Y/N stopped him, grabbing him by the shoulders. 

She leaned on her tiptoes, and pressed a kiss to Quentin's lips, a perfect goodbye kiss. Though Quentin was beyond surprised, he went with it. They way Y/N fitted in his arms, the way the kiss felt, it was as if Quentin and Y/N were a match made in heaven. "Goodnight," Y/N whispered, pulling away from him. Quentin smiled at her. They waved at each other and Quentin left the hotel. A goofy smile found its way to Quentin's lips as he walked towards his lair. The kiss. The goddamn kiss. 

---

"Whew! That was awesome, wasn't it?" Mr Dell grinned as the 15 students, 2 teachers and 2 chaperones walked to their hotel. They had just finished a beautiful boat ride across the city, but it was still early in the evening. The class had no plans for the rest of the evening. Peter thought that they'd have to get bored at the hotel. "It so was," Mr Harrington agreed. The students looked at each other with huge grins. Y/N glanced at Quentin to see him already looking at her. "Did you enjoy yourself?" Quentin whispered. The two hung around until they were at the end of the group. "I did, what about you?" Y/N whispered back. 

"I did, too."

Both of them gave each other broad smiles. Quentin put his arm around Y/N's shoulder and like the previous day, Y/N shuffled closer to him. "Yo, lovebirds, walk quicker!" MJ called out to them, turning around to flash a quick smirk at them. Quentin and Y/N blushed furiously, quickening their pace. They reached the hotel. "That's it? Nothing else today? It's not even 5!" Flash groaned, stomping his foot. "Well… I suppose you kids can hang out," Mr Dell shrugged. "I have a fun game idea, my cousins and I back in India play this game a lot," Anita piped up. "Which game?" Betty smiled at her.

"It's a song game. One person sings a song and the next person has to sing a song starting from the last letter of the previous song. For instance, if I sang a song and it ended in 'p', then the person after me sings a song beginning with 'p'," Anita explained. The group exchanged glances. "Sounds fun! Where do we play?" "How about my room?" Peter suggested. The two teachers politely declined, claiming they were tired. One other student, James, said he felt nauseous and declined, too. 

The 16 other people went to Peter's room. "Team up! How about 8 teams with two people each?" Anita called out. "Sure! There are exactly 8 girls and 8 boys, how about a guy and a girl?" The teams were, hence, decided. Peter and MJ, Ned and Betty, Flash and Anita, Nikki and Carson, Lily and Kyle, Eric and Miley, Ruth and Jason, Y/N and Quentin. Everyone sat wherever they could find place. Y/N and Quentin were squished together in a small bean bag. Both of them squirming around a lot until Quentin grabbed Y/N by the waist and placed her on his lap. "Making moves on Y/N, huh?" Carson teased as Eric and Jason wolf whistled. Peter smirked at the two of them. 

"There's no place for two people to sit next to each other in this bean bag," Quentin sighed, rolling his eyes. Y/N was blushing like crazy. "Okay, let's start!” Lily and Kyle were the first people to begin with the song. The game went on smoothly, the teams were actually able to come up with songs that started with a specific letter. Soon, it was Quentin and Y/N's turn. The letter they were given was 'L'. Both of them were lost in thoughts until Y/N suddenly came to her senses. "Let's talk about it, gotta get this off my chest," she sang. 

Quentin's eyes widened slightly. Her voice was elysian. "Fall for you, Steve James. Good choice," Nikki applauded, nodding. Y/N continued singing the song as the girls from the other teams sang along. "I fall for you, I fall for you, I fall for you, oh yeah I do, I do," Y/N sang, giggling as Kyle and Carson engaged in a dance off on their seats. Quentin simply stared at Y/N, which made Peter smile to himself. Why couldn’t they just date?

After Y/N was done, the turn landed on Peter and MJ. As they thought about which song to sing, Quentin turned to Y/N. "You have a beautiful voice, Y/N," he told her with a small smile. "Thanks Quen," Y/N smiled, laying her head on his shoulder. He easily put his arms around her waist and they sat there, snuggled into each other's arms. "You guys literally cannot make your relationship any more public," Betty deadpanned humorously. "Shut up," Y/N whispered at Betty's comment, leaning up to give Quentin a small kiss on the lips. She was feeling quite impulsive that day, to be honest. 

She knew Quentin reflected her feelings; the way he was always looking at her everytime she turned towards him, the way he had a smile every time she spoke… Y/N was not an idiot. "Ugh, PDA," Lily groaned and Quentin laughed, pressing his lips to Y/N's forehead. This was not how he imagined one of them would make the first move, but he wasn't denying it. This only made his job easier. His job was done, he could say. He impressed Y/N, he wooed her, that was it. Now he would cherish this beauty for the rest of his life. 

"Alright, we give up, I can't think of any song that starts with 'Z'!" Y/N heard Ned exclaim. What, Peter and MJ's turn was done already? She was so lost in thoughts. The thing she was thinking about was how Quentin and her were finally dating, all thanks to her. And thankfully he didn't make a scene when she kissed him, he went with it, even. 

It was understood. 

---

"May!" Peter exclaimed, running towards the woman who was waiting with her arms open. "Dude forgot his luggage," Y/N blinked and Quentin chuckled. They were returning from Prague. The second half of the vacation was awesome, or so were the thoughts of the students. Y/N and Quentin actually had their first date in Prague. "Y/N! Come here!" May called out and Y/N reluctantly left her boyfriend's side to give the woman a hug. "Who's this gentleman? Your boyfriend?" May whispered in her ear and pulled away. "May! Yes, yes he is. We met in Venice," Y/N whispered, giggling. The two ladies looked at Peter and Quentin, who were struggling to get the luggage into May's car. 

"Wait, boys, let us help."

After everything was done, the four of them- May, Peter, Quentin and Y/N- sat in May's car. May drove, Peter sat in the passenger seat and Quentin and Y/N sat behind. "So, um, what's your name?" May asked Quentin. "I'm Quentin, Quentin Beck. You're Peter's mom, I assume?" Quentin replied, a smile on his face. "No, dear, his aunt. May, May Parker. How did the two of you meet?" May asked, glancing at Y/N. "Long story…" she mumbled. "Long drive home," May reminded her. Peter volunteered to explain how he and Y/N met Quentin and then Y/N told her how she started dating him. Quentin was quiet throughout, a small smile on his face. This is it, this is life. 

Y/N was his, did he want anything else? Actually… yes, he wanted one more thing. To see the faces of the other Avengers as Y/N introduced him to them. Especially the faces of those who had a crush on her. "So, should I drop the two of you off at the Avengers Tower?" May asked. "Sure! Nat, Steve and Tony are waiting," Y/N nodded. "Good!" They reached the Avengers Tower in the next half an hour. Y/N and Quentin got out, collected their luggage and waved goodbye to May and Peter. "Bye guys! We'll see you tomorrow!" May drove away. Quentin and Y/N looked at each other. Together, the two of them had four bags between them. Quentin took two and Y/N took two. They walked inside. 

Tony, Thor, Steve, Natasha, Loki, Bucky, Sam and Wanda were waiting in the lobby. "Y/N!" Steve exclaimed as she walked in. Everyone immediately went silent as Quentin walked in next. "Hello!" Quentin waved enthusiastically. "Uh… Y/N, who's this?" Bucky asked slowly. "Why don't you introduce yourself, baby, I need water," Y/N whispered to him. Quentin nodded and Y/N gave him a quick kiss, leaving to get a glass of water. Natasha and Wanda ran after her. "Y/N! Y/N!" She stopped, turning around to face her best friends. "Hi guys! I missed you!" She hugged the two ladies. "Who's the guy? Your boyfriend?"

"Yes! We met one day in Venice and were an official couple the next day," Y/N gushed, filling up a glass of water. "That was quick. Wouldn't blame you, he's hot," Wanda snorted. "Is he Italian?" Natasha asked. "Nope, American. Long story, come sit." The three ladies sat on the nearby couch and Y/N explained everything about the Elemental to them. Quentin, meanwhile, was being glared at by 6 men. "Did she just call you 'baby'?" Steve asked quietly, his arms crossed. "Well, I mean I'm her boyfriend, it only makes sense…" Quentin chuckled with faux nervousness. "Boyfriend? Y/N's dating you? What's your name?" Sam scoffed. 

"I'm Quentin, Quentin Beck," Quentin introduced, holding his hand out for a handshake. When no one took it, he let it fall to his side awkwardly. "How did you meet and when did you start dating?" Tony asked sharply. "Well… Peter introduced me to her one day and we were officially a couple the next day," Quentin said slowly. "One day? It took you one day to woo her? We've been trying for 5 years!" Thor exclaimed, enraged. "Oh, uh… sorry?" Quentin offered, still maintaining the nervous look on his face. 

Deep inside, though, he was jumping and screaming with joy. This was the exact thing he wanted to witness. "What did she see in you?" Bucky sneered. "I defeated the Elemental, you know," Quentin pointed out. "What the fuck is an Elemental?" Steve asked, scrunching his nose. "Long story. Here to listen?" The 6 men nodded and Quentin explained everything to them. In the end, they were left staring at him in shock. "Also… if you really like Y/N, you wouldn't be so rude to me. If you were friendly with me, that would make Y/N really happy," Quentin pointed out offhandedly. 

"Great point. Alright, goldfish, you're accepted," Tony sighed. Quentin grinned. Oh, how he would love driving the male Avengers up the wall everyday. 

"Boys, we're getting dinner, are you joining?"

"Sure!"

The 7 men walked towards the ladies and together, the 10 of them went to the dining room to get dinner. 

---

A/N: Hi! This is kind of a weird fic, I get it. It is one of my old works, I wrote it like 1 year ago or something. If you do like it, consider leaving a like! It will be much appreciated, thank you!! I love you guys a lot. Please send prompts if you want to read more from me.

[stdm]

“So...how’s Weasley?” “Malfoy stop, you don’t want to hear about my break up with Ron, and I know I certainly don’t want to know about why there’s currently a dent where your wedding ring should be.” A prompt.... this has been running about in my brain for a month and I have no idea what to do with it.

I just saw this sorry anon, don’t know how old this is but here you go! 

Another obligatory ministry function that was so dull Draco was currently staring at his drink watching his ice melt. He hated these types of affairs long before he started working here but attendance was expected. He had made his obligatory rounds and proper appearances already but it was only just over an hour in, still too early to make an exit. So here he sat at the bar staring at the drink and the ring finger on the left hand which held it.

He knew who had approached the bar before she spoke, her signature scent was still the same since their Hogwarts days. “Fire whiskey please, make it a double” he turned to see her tanned hands rubbing her temples. She graciously took the drink from the bartender with a forced smile.

“Cheers Granger” he muttered barely loud enough for her to hear. Hermione turned to him raising a perfectly arched eyebrow. She tilted her glass, “cheers Malfoy” and downed the entire contents of her glass.

Well that was surprising. He raised an eyebrow of his own and she merely shrugged. Draco called for another round from the bartender and got her one as well. He handed her the glass and brought his own to his lips as they sipped in a comfortable silence.

That was often how they were. Hermione had needed Draco’s assistance on cases from time to time the past couple years. They would work together, quietly pouring over documents and reading through records until one of them made a discovery. He wouldn’t call them friends per se, as they never really did anything outside of work and work functions, but they had grown comfortable in each other’s presence.  

“How much longer until Shacklebolt makes his speech you think?” he ventured.

“I would say it’s unlikely you can sneak out until a quarter past,” she stated flatly.

She knew him well enough. He looked at the watch on his left wrist and let out a sigh - another 45 minutes. “Well it may be less of a sneak and more of stumble if I try and keep up with you.” Making it clear he saw how quickly her second drink was disappearing.

She shrugged, “You hate these things as much as I do so I am surprised you’re not already sloshed.”

“Why would you hate these affairs Granger? You are always being fawned over and getting to deal with the press, and I know how much you enjoy both,” a smirk crept up his face. “Should I search you purse for a trapped fly or have you learned new tricks of controlling journalists who ask stupid questions?”

Hermione’s mouth dropped open before she snapped it shut again. Yes, that was a fun bit of information he had learned a couple years back; clever witch.

“I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. I have been the picture of innocence tonight, despite the myriad of far too personal questions from reporters.” A smirk of her own now plastered on her lovely face.

“That is, until you started heavily drinking with questionable company”

She smiled at him, finally sitting down on the barstool next to him.

He took another sip, letting the liquid give him courage to return the smile then ask the question he knew had been long off limits.

“So...how’s Weasley?”

“Malfoy stop, you don’t want to hear about my break up with Ron, and I know I certainly don’t want to know about why there’s currently a dent where your wedding ring should be.”

He followed her gaze to bare hand sitting on the bar between them shaking his head. Taking another sip, daring to be vulnerable.

“All the papers were finalized today, I am sure there will be an announcement in the Prophet come Monday. For the best, and all that.” He said it as if the news was as mundane as the weather.

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly reverting back to the defeated look she had before her first shot. That wouldn’t do.

“I wasn’t being sarcastic Granger; truly is for the best. We were bloody miserable, both stuck in a marriage of our parents’ creation rather than a real relationship. I respect her immensely for bucking up the courage to tell her parents to ‘fuck off’ so she could finally be happy. Forced me to do the same actually.”

“And how did you dear father take that”

“As he is already furious that I am not interested in the family businesses, he didn’t really react. Although, somehow my mother was shocked I wasn’t happy with Astoria and demanded I start the divorce paperwork immediately so I could get on with a ‘more joyful life’ for myself.”

Hermione nearly spit out her drink with a laugh. “Had she never seen you two together? I’m sorry but if that’s what happy looks like to her she may need an intervention of her own. You two had no chemistry whatsoever and-”

“Don’t hold back Granger.”

Her hand shot over her mouth. “Oh sorry, that was terribly rude. I am so sorry. I’ll just..” She was blushing profusely and edging back in her seat as if to make a quick exit. Draco grabbed her hand bringing her attention back to him and her eyes softened as she saw the playful smirk resting on his lips.

“Honestly, you’re not wrong. We had nothing in common and, while I think she is a lovely girl, we couldn’t force it any longer. Truly wish her the best, but it had been over since the start.”

She gave him a sincere smile and squeezed his hand for extra reassurance before taking another sip. They sat in another comfortable silence while Hermione’s thoughts raced. He saw her mind work; she wore her thoughts and emotions on her face clear as day since school.   “Spit it out Granger,” he said with mild amusement.

Her gaze dropped back to her now empty glass. “I think I know exactly what you mean. Forced and over from the start.” Hermione sighed deeply “I was just tired. We were friends for so long that once the butterflies and adrenaline faded we would fight each other about who let them fade first. We were both bored and knew how to cut to the core after a decade of knowing each other so intimately. Our fights got uglier and the make ups got shorter until it felt like all we did was fight. Ron has always had a temper and I have long been vindictive as you and that fly know.” She actually turned to wink at him.

Draco had been listening intently but took a moment to look in her eyes and smirk. “That we do” The bartender came by just then to ask about another round.

She nodded, taking a beat to gather her words. “I was going through some old things nearly a month ago and found a photo of us as teens. We were so happy, laughing with each other without a care. Those two kids didn’t even feel like us. Too much had happened and that ease had faded and I realized I missed my friend. I long ago ran out of tears but I took the photo and dropped it on his lap, and we talked. There wasn’t any fight left in us that day, so we finally talked and ended things. While the press found out just a week ago and I am not at your level of acceptance just yet, I feel lighter and I know it was for the best. I don’t know if we can ever be best friends again, but I do want him to be happy.”

She took the drink that was placed before her with a smile and took a sip. She was clearly avoiding Draco’s eyes after exposing her so much of her personal life for the first time.

“And what of your own happiness Granger?”

She could feel his intense gaze but she shrugged. People had started to gather near the stage as speeches from various ministry officials began before the Minister’s address. She began to turn in her seat, planning on getting up and joining the crowd when a firm hand grabbed her knee and turned her to fully face him. Their legs were brushing each other, and she immediately felt the heat radiate through her whole body. She wouldn’t lift her eyes, too worried he would see the mass of emotions hidden in her amber orbs. Her Gryffindor courage often seemed to leave her when Draco was near, so she kept her stare fixed on the hand still resting on her knee. She pulled in a sharp breath as his other hand touched her chin and lifted her head so he could meet her stare. Hermione was burning up under his intensity, despite the fire whiskey now a forgot part of the room. There was nothing here but her and Draco.

He asked her again, “and your happiness?”

His gaze conveyed all the emotions she was feeling, so she forced herself to close her eyes. She knew many of her happiest moments over the past years had been with this man. Watching him logic his way through problems, work alongside him, and celebrating their work triumphs all brought her such joy.  These moments of reprieve from the galas, fundraisers and the like, together at a bar were a solace. She had caught herself imagining a happy life with him long before it was appropriate. A life of being challenged and growing, of the blissful comfortable silences she only really shared with him. The idea had always made her smile but felt out of reach. This was all too real now. If his eyes were to be believed in this moment, he had imagined that too.

“You are overthinking again Granger” Her eye shot open as she both heard and felt the whisper over her lips.

Draco was so close now; she found all her courage and finally met his eyes. She poured every bit of feeling into her stare hoping to meet his intensity. “I have thought about my happiness quite a bit” she whispered back, hoping he would understand her. His hand moved to the back of her neck, never breaking their eye contact. “I have thought about your happiness quite a bit as well.”

Hermione thought she saw the start of his signature smirk before he leaned in and kissed her. She returned the kiss deepening it with a flurry of passion that had long been pent up.

When they finally pulled back their magic was thick around them.

“I’d like to make you happy Hermione”

Her first name on his lips would have made her legs buckle if she was not sitting down.

“You already do Draco”

The blonde kissed her again, pulling her up from their seats and walking to the exit. He was not going to wait another minute to be happy with this amazing witch. And that started with a proper date this instant.

[ohwereusingourmadeupnames]

“ how the hell did this happen? ” - starker

Fire, Burning Me Up

Pairing: Peter Parker/Tony Stark (Starker) Rating: Mature (M) Notes: For some reason, my brain went to this - hope you don’t mind!  Word Count: ~2k Summary:

Peter is transfixed by the man at the bar - a firefighter with a trimmed goatee and the most gorgeous eyes. What he expects to be something fun turns into something that could easily turn into forever. 

do the thing, send in all the prompts

The first time Peter saw him, he was out for drinks with Ned and MJ – they’d been balls deep in thesis research for the last ten days, getting out of the dimly lit lab and behind the wood of a bar absolutely needed to happen. He just didn’t expect that night to change the rest of his life like it did.

Peter liked to let the image of the man he’d come to know as Tony sit in the front of his mind, like a picture in a wallet or sitting on his desk in a frame. The NYFD on the back of his shirt was the first thing to draw him in. In all of his adult life, Peter hadn’t encountered a firefighter before. May’s cooking was dismal, and the local Queens department knew her by name, but he hadn’t had any unfortunate accidents like that since moving out and starting his schooling at TISCH; and that was 6 years ago.

He was sitting next to a beefy blonde man who was in the same shirt – the firehouse numbers on the side of their sleeves matched, too. There were a couple of empty stools next to them, but drinks rested in front of them waiting for their owners to return. Peter watched the two men closely, the obvious familiarity between them much like him and the two goons getting sloppy at their table. His breath caught when Tony turned to look at him. He could’ve gotten lost in the cognac color of his eyes; they were warm and staring at him intently.

Already too deep into the staring contest to look away, Peter flashed him a smile. In the times they’d talked about it since then, Tony told him it looked shy on his end, but he remembered feeling confident, happy to have caught his attention. Tony didn’t hesitate to smile back, either. The side of his mouth crinkled when he did, the well taken care of goatee framing the look on his face spectacularly. He mouthed ‘hi’ at Peter and shook his own beer bottle, his eyebrows raising.

Looking down at the last sip of his beer, Peter picked it up and downed it. He watched Tony chuckle and turn to flag down the bartender. For a few seconds, Peter forgot he was with his friends – MJ’s voice stopped him as he got out of his chair with the clear determination to head across the bar. “Where you off to, Petey?” He caught her eye and saw the sarcasm swimming there – in all the time he’d known her, MJ lived to give him shit.

“There’s a firefighter at the bar that’s making eyes at me. I’m going to go see what all the fuss is about.” Nodding his head at her, Peter turned back around, his long legs carrying him over to the bar dizzyingly quick. The seat next to Tony was vacant, the tall blonde now hovering over by the pool tables across the room.

It probably should’ve felt weird, sitting down next to a total stranger – but it didn’t. Tony turned towards him with a smile, his eyes gleaming in the fluorescent light. “Hey – I’m Tony.” It was simple and wholesome and the hand that Peter grasped a second later was rough and fit so nicely against his palm.

Peter switched to something a little lighter so he could absorb everything about Tony – they spent the rest of the night talking about his Interactive Telecommunications degree and where he wanted to take it after graduation in a couple of months. Tony told him about the fire station that he manned as the acting chief – he kept a smile on his face the entire time he recalled the men that worked with him and the adventures they’d been on. 

Some of them made Peter cringe with a terrible sort of discomfort – but, they were interesting and made Tony even more badass than he initially thought.

The biggest shocker of the night came when Tony mentioned a 5-year-old daughter. He’d been married briefly before deciding that hiding in the closest wasn’t worth all the heartache he’d caused. His ex-wife kept Amelia during Tony’s nights on shift, and the rest of the time was spent with Tony, learning and getting into as much trouble as possible. 

A piece of his mind was jumping up and down, trying to signal the need to get out while he still could. Peter wasn’t keen on that, though – Tony caught his attention; that was so much more than anyone else in his life over the last few years.

Over another 3 drinks, Peter got to know more and more about the fire engine driver turned team lead – he had a degree in Mechanical Engineering and originally got into firefighting just to work on the trucks. Every new piece of him made Peter wanted to know more, so when Tony asked him for his number a couple of hours later, he didn’t hesitate to give it to him.

They had a date planned before Peter walked back to his apartment with the friends he eventually caught up to. The smile on his face gave him away – he spent the rest of the early morning telling MJ about Tony; she grinned at him the entire time he talked.

“You’ve got it bad, Cupcake,” MJ stated plainly, her arm wrapping around his shoulder when he didn’t deny it. The blush on his face was answer enough, anyway.

Actually dating Tony Stark was even more interesting the man himself. He kept the weirdest hours, because of the many chaotic days he was used to at the station. It took a while for Peter to adjust to the requests to meet Tony in the weirdest places, but he did for the sake of the precious human who wanted his attention. The very first time he met Amelia, Tony texted him to meet him at the grocery store – he had a few hours to spare and wanted to have Peter there for them.

The little girl didn’t bat and eye – she held out her hand the same way her father did when Peter first sat down next to him. “I’m Amelia,” she said simply, the 5-year-old way more articulate than Peter was at that age.

“Hey Amelia, I’m Peter.” He gave her small hand the briefest of squeezes before letting go, a beaming smile slipping across his face. She looked so much like Tony; it was kind of eerie.

She nodded her head at him, her own lips tilting up into a grin. “I know. Daddy spent the last half an hour telling me all about you. You do cool things with art, right?” Tony looked at her with narrowed eyes when she threw him under the bus – she laughed and shrugged; the man’s own gesture being used against him. “Well, it’s true.”

Peter wanted to throw his arms around the two of them – he didn’t know that he could like Tony any more than he already did, but he was constantly being proven wrong. He looked between them before answering, his arms seriously itching for a group hug. “I’m not mad about that. It’s kind of cute,” he said, looking up at Tony with a quick wink. “That is me, though. I’m currently doing research with Virtual Reality creation and usage.”

How quickly he bonded with Amelia amazed him – it was even more seamless than his connection with Tony. The girl was smart and curious; she asked why constantly and wanted to know how everything worked. Sometimes, Peter would head over to the Stark household just to hang out with Amelia; Tony’s schedule was perfect for random drop-ins that turned into hours watching the girl while his boyfriend ran into work because of some crisis or another.

During one of the many times that happened, Amelia had the idea to make cupcakes. She talked him into downloading the Pintrest app and searching for the most complex ones that she could find. The smile that passed across her lips when she realized he would be helping her making rainbow unicorn cupcakes made it worth it – no matter how much he would wholeheartedly deny it.

Tony didn’t do a lot of cooking, so they had to wait for a grocery delivery to get to the house. While they did, Amelia told him about all of the unicorns they would be making and the names she picked out for each of them. Peter sincerely hoped they’d be able to make something at least edible – the thought of her crippling disappointment almost enough to make him back out at the last minute.

Always one to keep his promise, Peter shook his head and found some resolve – they were cupcakes, how bad could it really be? When the doorbell rang, Peter set Amelia up with some crayons at the table and went to grab the bags from the delivery guy. He gave him a good tip for all of the help and carried their loot back to the kitchen.

Luckily, Amelia was still young enough to not know the difference between from scratch and out of the box – Peter poured the white cake mix into the bowl before she could even question it. They cracked a couple of eggs and added the oil and water – she used both hands on the whisk to combine the mixture. Peter might’ve got a video of it, but he knew better than to tell her that. When she deemed it mixed enough, they separated it into a couple of Ziploc bags and added the different shades of food coloring to try and mimic the colors from the recipe.

They weren’t quite the same, but she didn’t seem to mind to much.

Distracted by the need to get the frosting out and into a bowl so they could get it ready to get it on the cupcakes, Peter set the oven way hotter than necessary. It didn’t even occur to him to check – Amelia was demanding that they get the colors spot on this time around.

By the time that Peter noticed the fire, the oven was steaming black smoke and the detectors in the house whirred with loud pitched sounds. Amelia covered her ears and ran to the pantry. She threw open the door and started gesturing wildly. 

Knowing that’s where they kept the fire extinguisher, Peter ran over and grabbed it. “Get out of the kitchen, Ames. Go call your dad and tell him I’m an idiot.” She quirked a brow at him but was quick to comply. Being the child of a fire chief meant that she knew how to get ahold of her father and 911.

It wasn’t nearly as bad as he figured by the billowing smoke flying out of the oven as he sprayed the foam over it. All of the cupcakes were totally charred, but the entire oven wasn’t up in flames – so he counted that as a win. When he could think clearly, he called out to Amelia – her feet on the tile floor sounding immediately, the little girl flying into his arms before he knew it. “Are you okay?”

She nodded, her arms around his neck. “I’m fine – Dad sounded a little grumpy on the phone. He’s on his way, though.” Her lips grazed his cheek, like the consolation of her affection would be enough to smooth the entire situation over. He kept her in his arms until Tony walked in the back door, a panicked look on his face.

Amelia got down and ran over to Tony – he leaned over to grab her without a second thought. “How the hell did this happen?” Tony questioned; his eyes wide as he took in the mess of the oven. “If you were trying to burn the cupcakes, you totally succeeded.” The words were meant to soothe the blow, his attempt at a smile making Peter laugh.

“We were trying to make rainbow unicorn cupcakes. I got so caught up on making the icing perfect that I… forgot them. The smoke was black, so they were really burnt. I’m sorry,” Peter muttered, his hand coming up to rub at the back of his neck. He’d been pretty stupid, putting someone else’s daughter in danger the way he did.

Yet, when Tony and Amelia’s arms came around him, he was enveloped in the sort of hug that suggested relief for his sake as well. “I’m glad you’re okay,” Tony whispered, his lips pressing against Peter’s ear.

The gagging sound Amelia made had Peter pressing in, giving her a sloppy kiss right in the middle of her forehead.

Peter didn’t expect a family to come out of chatting with a cute guy at a bar, but now that he had it, he sure as fuck wasn’t letting it go.

[mistyandmatt]

Friends (Insert the Friends theme song here)

We’ve shared a lot of our specific activities we have done while on this trip, as well as all the lovely landscape we’ve got to experience, but I want to take a quick minute to talk about a few things that have really made this trip much more meaningful for me. See, one of the many reasons I found a love in traveling (and let’s be honest entertaining strangers in my home who are also travelers) is because I’m really an introverted social person. I love knowing who people are, where they came from, the things that bring them happiness and joy, what their life experiences have been, and what truly makes them the individuals they are. It’s the innate social worker in me, I suppose. I can’t help it, nor would I change it, because it’s given me the chance to create amazing friendships and truly notable acquaintances over the years. This trip has given us the opportunity to not only meet new people everywhere we go, but for us to reconnect with our friends, many of which Matt or I have had the chance to spend time with in at least two to five years. I introduced you all to my friend Josh, the heavy-pour bartender who enabled us to miss our first flight to Hawaii, I’d now like you all to get aquatinted with Rene. Rene and I had the opportunity to work together in the Oklahoma County juvenile court system since 2008. We first bonded over our crazy work experiences, but second was our love for animals. Rene’s spirit and energy is contagious, her laugh so very lovable, and her feistiness is like none other. A few years ago she decided to move back to Kauai (she’s from here) to lead a more simpler, present-moment life. So, as Matt and I were coming into town, we contacted her to meet up and catch up on her life happenings. On Sunday, Rene gladly served as our local tour guide taking us from the Lihue/Kapaa area all the way west to the Waimea Canyon. We stopped to see several waterfalls, we did a rum tasting at the Koloa rum shop, we toured the coffee plantation at the Kauai Coffee Company, and hiked up to see the best views of the Waimea Canyon (noted as the Grand Canyon of the pacific). We got to see all the great spots, including lunch at a fantastic little side-of-the-road shrimp stand that was absolutely phenomenal. She was able to give us all the history of the area and all the fun insider details of truly being a local. A huge thank you to her for taking her day to do this for and with us, we had a great time and loved getting to catch up with one another. This was our last day in Kauai and quite frankly I was terribly sad to leave. I fell in love with this island and can see us coming back here many times in the future.

The next day we headed to the airport for our last Hawaiian island flight to make the quick trip over to Oahu for the next two days. We managed to get to the airport, get our boarding passes, and then headed towards security. Well, this is where things once again at an airport went south. Matt always tells me I’m not friendly enough with the airline people and that he is just going to “handle” the check in processes since he thinks he can use his brilliant personality to get what he wants (read: Matt thinks he is awesome and he has endless skills…) just wait. So, I took him up on the offer. He was handling check in this time. Matt always carries this specific knife with him everywhere, and he’s usually really good about remembering to take it out and put it in his checked luggage. Well, since you know we can’t get anywhere on time with him, we are cutting it close to boarding time as we are going through security. Well, “Brilliant Personality” forgot to put his knife in his checked luggage (probably because I wasn’t asking him 800 questions about do you have this, have you done that, etc.) and TSA obviously wouldn’t let him take it through. He decided to go over to the baggage check area to see if they would pull his bag and put it in there, but it had already gone out to get on the plane. At this point, they are calling our names on the intercom that they were going to shut the doors to the plane in two minutes and here he is, still not back through security for the second time. I literally ran to the gate (I’m too fat and out of shape for that kind of activity) and begged the ladies to wait so that he could get on the plane (I shouldn’t have, maybe he would have learned his lesson). Luckily, they did for his sake. Matt had to end his 12 year relationship with this specific knife at the baggage counter of Hawaiian Airlines because of his poor planning and “handling the check in process.” I’ll bet he’ll relinquish that decision back over to me again fairly quickly, since episode one of his new approach didn’t work so well. Twenty years later, some things just never change.

We were only going to be in Oahu for two days before catching our flight for the next leg of the journey, so we tried to hit a few highlights while we were there. We went to the USS Arizona (Pearl Harbor) memorial and museum as soon as we left the airport. The government was still technically shut down at that point and it was going to be the last day they were going to be open for visitors if a resolution had not been established. We stayed in Waikiki Beach that night and found ourselves making new friends in the hotel bar. At this point, we were about 11 days into this trip (which around 10 days historically is when I start to get cranky, want to sleep in my own bed, and become terribly impatient and intolerant of just about anything), we decide to go down for one drink and then we will go watch the sunset and go to bed early. Well, one drink turned into several, new friends were made, no sunset was seen, and no dinner was had. Four hours later we finally got to bed, so much for resting I suppose.

I’m pretty sure we wear ourselves totally out on these trips because we just have this drive to see and do as much as we can on our time off. With high expectations from both Matt and I, and a bucket list that seems endless, some days I just really want to rest and do absolutely nothing. No rest for the weary here, by 9:00 am the next day we were headed to the North Shore of Oahu to catch the locals surfing on what we were told were some pretty spectacular waves. January-March is the season for the 20-30 foot waves in this area that the crazy locals seem to love. After a few hours of watching the surfers (see attached photos), we also got to see a full on, out-of-the-water breaching humpback whale. Unfortunately, since nature isn’t “on demand” Matt wasn’t ready with the camera for it, but the image is permanently burned into my memory and I’ll take that, it was spectacular. We then spent the afternoon at the Dole Plantation learning all about the history of pineapples in Hawaii and of course, trying the famous Dole Whip. The tour around the gardens was interesting, as was the beautiful landscape they keep absolutely pristine. Who knew it takes 2 full years to grow a single pineapple? You learn something new everyday! The real highlight of the day was finding the mecca of all Target stores in the U.S. I needed to get a few things before we start the next phase of this trip (and lets be honest, I just really needed to get away from Matt for like one hour and mosey around looking at all the things I don’t need). With some hawaiian potato chips (they didn’t have any popcorn at this Target) and a fresh Diet Coke in hand, the three story Target store was just what I needed at that time. Next adventure: Dinner with Matt’s longtime friend, Philip and his wife, Andrea.

Back to the earlier conversation about meeting up with long-time friends, Matt and Philip have been friends since 2001. They were students at OU at the time and also worked together. Matt also became good friends with Philips brother, Ed, who served many years as our resident guinea pig on trying Matt’s random BBQ/cooking creations while he was in medical school. It’s been about 2-3 years since we’ve last seen each other, so getting together for dinner was on the agenda. We ate dinner at the Side Street Inn restaurant, which is known as a place for “local comfort food.” We followed up with hours of conversation at their house after their two sweet kiddos went to bed. As I’ve been missing sweet JuJu cat, I was able to get my kitty fix here, as the Nguyen’s recently became a kitten nursery, as their human kids let in a stray momma cat who was pregnant. Those little kitties were just so sweet and cuddly, exactly what I needed. At about 2:00 am we finally returned to our hotel to catch about three to four hours of sleep before we had to pack and be back at the airport to begin the international leg of this trip. It’s going to be a long day…..

Hawaii has been a wonderful experience and we’ve enjoyed every minute of it. Can’t wait to come back! Up next: Tokyo, Japan, off to meet all of Matt’s extended relatives for the first time ever. I can’t wait to see how this goes…..