#i have to spend the whole day in lab for the next few day Saturday included

[gomzdrawfr]

Need to lock tf in for these few weeks for my research except im an idiot and didn’t monitor my stats

[sweetimpurity]

I Think I'll Keep You 5

a/n: Thank you again for your patience! I hope you guys enjoy and the next chapter is already underway and will come very soon! And some more art and bots coming out as well so look out for that!

w.c.: 10.2k NSFW MINORS DNI

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4

Chapter 5

“...accurate and efficient methods of decoding… further aiding us in understanding… um… complicated genetic codes… pushing preservation and conservation. Uhh… yeah.” Miguel sighs, sitting up in his seat and peering over your arm as you type away on his laptop. Sitting at a table in the middle of the library during tutoring hours. Your fingers typing for him as he speaks what he wants written. He can’t type. Not with his right hand totally out of commission. So he’s come to your open tutoring hours. And now you have a student to work on so you can get paid and he can get help with his work. It’s Saturday and the two of you have been practically connected at the hip for the past two days.

You woke up beside him yesterday afternoon after that late night emergency room run. Lazily, sleepily taking the rest of the day slowly. Walking across campus to get food since all you both ate the whole night was a few pieces of candy. Smiling and talking, shoes splashing in shallow puddles along the concrete. A refreshing feeling having moved on from the mess of the last few weeks. The bubble has popped. That bubble of sex and ignorance that felt so great for the both of you. Sitting in the dining hall, among the hardwood and tall, ancient windows of your old university; looking over the school grounds turned fall shades and the autumn breeze blowing in through the window. Trying to talk about anything that won’t add any more stress or tension. No talk of friends, or family, not even school. Really just talking about whatever comes into your mind. And the conversation is just so easy. It’s different to spend time with him outside of the dorm room. It didn’t happen very often before. A lot of your conversations were pillowtalk. It’s different talking about the other parts of your life that don’t take place right after doing the deed. Miguel is funny. And he’s a good listener when his mind is clear and he’s focused on you. Only you. 

Feels like things are going back to normal. Well not how it was before. A new normal. 

“I think it sounds good… it’s a little awkward in the intro still but we can fix it up later…” You assure him, fixing a few typos and reading it over. The library is nice and quiet as always. You didn’t have any other students come this afternoon so you have time to focus on this and help Miguel since you know he can’t really do it himself right now.

“I don’t know… feels like I’m missing something. I’m gonna include the research but it doesn't feel like enough.” He sighs, leaning his elbows on the table, pushing his frames further up the bridge of his nose and looking over the notes in his hand. His knee is bouncing under the table and you can feel the vibrations of it in your seat. He’s applying to the Alchemax grant program. A huge grant with a long essay to go with it, multiple letters of recommendation and a personal profile piece. Tens of thousands of dollars for his research project. And he’d basically be an intern there. Able to use their facilities and labs to complete the job and create a brand new study of his own. It would start right after graduation and almost definitely lead to a great job at Alchemax Industries. He sighs, leaning back in his seat, draping his arm over the back of your chair. 

“You okay?” You hum, observing his clearly distressed behavior. His knee bouncing, his brow furrowed, the sighs. He looks over at you, in your eyes. Don’t lie. “Yeah I’m fine… just… want to get this right.” 

You nod. Knowing that’s not all there is to it. But accepting it for now. “Well, maybe you should include some of your… personality…traits…” You suggest with a small smile, knowing that it will be like pulling teeth with him, clasping your hands in your lap and looking over at him next to you. 

“Like what. I mean… Tyler knows me. He’s the one that told me to apply.” [Tyler Stone. President and Ceo of Alchemax Industries.] He sighs, pushing his glasses up on his head, his dark curls becoming a little messy with the metal pushed through them, and rubbing the sides of his nose with his fingers. The ache of wearing his glasses for a while when he usually doesn’t like wearing them at all. But he’s worn them more often the past few days. He can see you more clearly now.  

“Yeah but he’s not the only one who’s gonna be working with you or deciding if you get the job or not. You want people to know who you are… know the kind of person you are. More often than not, that’s more important than the research when it comes to something like this. I mean, you’re not just applying for a grant, you’re applying for a job…” You explain kindly. He looks up, in your eyes, his eyes raking over your pretty face. He loves feeling like he can be close to you again. He loves feeling like he knows what’s going on in your head. Or maybe that’s just his need for control seeping in. Like venom in warm blood. Just sitting next to you like this. Even if he hasn’t so much as kissed you since everything went down. It’s only been nearly two weeks but it feels like an eternity. He wants to so badly. But he reminds himself that this is how things are right now. He messed up and he’s getting a second chance. He won’t take your forgiveness for granted. “Yeah, you’re right.” He admits, dropping the graphs and charts on the table.

“Maybe talk about family… inspirations… personal goals. People like that kind of stuff. People also want to know that you can be a part of something bigger than yourself…” You say, fingers brushing over the keys and ready to type what he says. “Uh…” He sighs, running a hand through his hair, trying to pull this out of his brain. He doesn’t really want to talk about his family. Doesn’t want to give them the satisfaction of being considered inspiration. But his upbringing and his parents’ names alone have opened a lot of doors for him in the past. His fingers fidget on the back of your chair, catching a few strands of your hair, playing with it so softly that you don’t even feel it. And he watches the side of your face to make sure you don’t notice, your eyes focused on the computer screen. Curling the strands around his finger and getting lost in touching you. Hanging on desperately to this morsel of touch. Knowing he probably shouldn’t but he just can’t help himself.

“I guess… we could say I grew up watching my parents with their business. But that’s more… financial services. When I was born, OLI was just taking off and now… I’ve watched them build it into what it is today.” He explains. You keep typing, writing it down in the notes to keep it straight. You can hear the sigh in his voice like he hates to be talking about it. You don’t know why. Mostly because he’s never spoken about this before. But if he’s applying for such a big opportunity then it’s important to include.

“OLI, I’ve heard of that, I think…” You look over at him, unsure what that stands for but you know you’ve heard that acronym before, or maybe you’ve seen it somewhere? 

“O’hara Legacy Investments.” He says with a nod and sigh, a level of disdain in his tone. He leans forward, his mind still on this essay. On beefing it up with info that might secure him this grant. Even though he’s confident his connections will get him in. There’s always a chance things might not go his way. He wants to prepare for every possible outcome. He hates to feel out of control. You stop typing. That sounds like investment banking. Like the kind of thing that makes people billionaires. 

“Is that the… that tall building downtown?” You ask, looking over at him and he nods, a blank stare in his eyes as he’s looking down at the research notes. “Your family runs that?”

“Yep.” He sighs, not offering more information so you don’t ask for more.

“Okay sooo… how would that influence your work at Alchemax?” You prompt, trying to veer back on course. You can tell he’s losing steam, you’ve been at this a while. 

“So I guess it’s not really the same as what I would be doing at Alchemax but… Watching how that runs… how many people it takes to keep something running like that. I guess something about leading teams of people working towards a goal…” He keeps thinking out loud and you keep typing, interpreting his words into organized notes and ideas. “So.. maybe about you as a leader? You think you can be a good leader…” 

“Yeah. I think so… and soccer, we could include that too.” He says, perking up and sitting up a bit straighter. Although the topic of soccer does bring his anxiety levels up a bit. Watching you type while playing with a piece of frayed material on his cast. “Yeah, captain of the soccer team, sports is always something they want to hear. If you’re a leader… organizer. And coming from SU especially, they love to see it.” You agree, typing and compiling the thoughts that come to mind. “And to know you can work in a team…” 

Miguel nods. Feeling relieved that you’re able to help him with this. He did all the more technical notes for it over the past few weeks. Organized lots of thoughts and data to start the writing process. Then he broke his fingers and that put a wrench in the process. It’s due next week and without you he’d be screwed. But it works out sort of perfectly, and a little selfishly, that now he’s spending more time with you because of that. “I think also…” 

He starts. You look over, ready to type whatever he suggests. “I’m an older brother too… that’s… I don’t know…” He mumbles. You find yourself smiling. “I feel like… maybe being a leader in that way is different.” 

“It’s very different, yes…” You nod, looking back at the laptop screen, a smile dancing on your lips. “Maybe something about… protecting… looking out for those that are important to me. Or being a good role model I guess…” He sighs. Thinking. About Gabriel. About you. Pretty much the two most important people in his life. I guess I haven’t been a very good role model as of late. 

“Loyalty… role model…” You say and nod. Typing those words in the compilation of notes you’re making in the margins. His knee is still bouncing.

“I also think you’re very passionate…” You say. He looks over at you, the side of your face, watching you type more things in the notes. Trying to create a section of his essay that can portray him as not just another applicant. “I think I’m just generally angry… I don’t really think before I do things…” He scoffs, shaking his head and leaning forward, his arms on the table, his head resting down on his forearms, looking at your pretty face from this angle. You grin and nod, giving him a look. “Yeah but we don’t have to include that… passion works…” 

He laughs through his nose, blinking softly and admiring your face. Watching your pretty eyes, the light of the computer screen reflecting in them, making them especially sparkly. It’s quiet for a moment, just the clicks of keys and fingertips. He thinks, reflecting on all that’s happened in the past few weeks. That thing with Dana keeps coming to mind. That was really a moment of lost control. Is that the passion you’re talking about? That he loses control and can’t get it back until it’s almost too late? He worries about that. Not remembering most of it because he was so angry. It sort of feels like a dream. Especially since he fought with you right after that and then everything went right to shit. 

All he knows is that Dana made it back to his dorm. He knows for a fact nothing happened. He wouldn’t have wanted it anyway because he despises her and she was drunk off her ass. But she did lie on his bed. Her perfume was all over him. And he remembers standing over her and wanting to make her hate him. Just so that she would leave him alone. That’s a level of anger he never wants you to witness, or anyone really for that matter. It scares him a bit now to think of it. All he knows is that if you think he’s loyal, he’ll be loyal as a dog. If you think he’s passionate, he’ll be a raging, burning fire to keep you warm. You think he’s anything, he’ll be that. If you want him to be. 

He fidgets with the fray on his cast. Coming off the blue material. His gaze caught on the little cursive “mine” you wrote. That night in the drug store. When you were both so deliriously tired, sitting in the middle of the floor. Having this on his arm is like a reminder. Or a promise. That maybe you’ll be his or he’ll be yours again. He’ll just have to be patient. His thumb brushes over the word, like making sure the letters won’t fall off, making sure they’re stained into the blue permanently. Do you even remember writing this? He thinks. Or were you so tired it feels like a dream? His bouncing knee still vibrates against your chair. 

“Anything else for today? We did a lot…” You ask, looking over at him. Bringing him out of his thoughts. “No, I think that’s good, thank you… but maybe next week we can finalize things and you can help me edit it?” He asks hopefully. “Yeah definitely, I’ll block out some time for you…” 

He nods, sighing and pulling his glasses off his head. Folding them up in his hand and collecting his papers. You just save the document, debating in your head the words on your tongue. Closing the laptop so he can pack it up in his bag. 

“So… you wanna tell me what’s stressing you out?” You ask, turning in your seat to face him and leaning your elbow on the table, head in your hand. He stops what he’s doing, putting down the stack of notebooks. “You can read my mind…” He smiles. 

“No, you’ve just been bouncing your knee against my chair for the past hour.” You sigh, smiling soft but sympathetic at him. His shoulders slump. “Oh sorry…” He shakes his head, feeling embarrassed for being so obvious, pinching the bridge of his nose in his fingers. 

“It’s okay… Is it the grant? I think your essay will be good enough…” You hum. Noticing all of his distress and not wanting him to be freaking out over something he’s already spent so long working on. “No it’s not… I… I’m really glad you can help me with it. Thank you… I’m just worried about the game tomorrow…” He nods. And it dawns on you. “Ohh…”

“I actually should get going… have a meeting with the coach. Figure out how we’re gonna pull this off…” He sighs, getting up from his seat to gather his things. He’s been wracked with anxiety about the game ever since putting two and two together that he’s out for the next few weeks. It’s against the rules for someone to play with a plaster cast on and he’s nowhere near getting that removed. So the team will have to supplement him. 

“You’re not gonna play are you? You shouldn’t… not with your hand like that.” You insist, watching him get up, pulling on his jacket precariously with his one working hand. He can hear the concern in your voice. “I can’t. It's an instant disqualification… so I have to talk to Coach and maybe I’ll just assistant coach tomorrow, I don’t know…” He sighs, knowing it’ll be a struggle for the team to play without him. And they very well might not win. This is a university proud of its win streak so far. 

“If it hurts, let Coach know… you don’t have to do anything that’s uncomfortable.” You advise softly. Wanting him to be comfortable. Always. That look of care on your face makes him feel a little warm. Making him feel a little soft and fuzzy inside. He can’t remember ever being worried over like that. He clears his throat, trying not to let that feeling get to him too much, shoving his laptop in his bag and zipping it up. “I will… don’t worry about me…” 

He says it but he doesn’t really mean it. Although he doesn't want you to be anxious; he definitely doesn’t need to inflict any more emotional pain on you, he’s done more than enough of that over the past few weeks… he does want you to care. Or it’s more like… once he realized you actually do care, now he doesn’t want to lose that. 

“Just be careful… I know you’ll do well and the team will be fine…” You smile gently. Clicking your pen and watching him getting ready to leave. His bag slung over his shoulder. “Thank you… yeah I just need to chill.” He sighs, moving his hurt hand around absentmindedly to soothe the ache. “Well… the feeling you’re having just means you care. It’s a good feeling, even though it’s scary…” 

He looks in your eyes, down at where you’re still sitting. Feeling struck by your words. You’ve always been so good at that. You always know exactly what to say when he needs to hear it. He hopes to do the same for you one day. If only he can figure out how you manage to do it every time. He just nods in thanks, a renewed sense of relief inside. 

“Dinner later?” He inquires, brow raising as he’s starting to walk away. Walking backwards away from the table, his eyes on you the entire time. 

“Sure, I’ll meet you there…” You rest your head on your hand, watching him go from where you’re sitting. Watching that look on his face. A sort of satisfaction in that he’s leaving but already thinking about when he gets to see you next. He nods. Turning towards the library doors and smiling to himself, making his way out. Sneakers tapping on the hardwood floors of the academic building, sparing you one last glance. Finding your eyes still on him. A stupid sort of giddy feeling in his chest. Lopsided grin on his lips as he leaves the library.

“O’hara! Dude.” Peter’s voice brings him out of his flurry of thoughts. Watching his friend march down the rest of the hall to him. “Where you been? You disappeared again…” Peter chuckles.

“Oh yeah I‘ve just been… busy in the lab and stuff… and my application.” He lies. While it’s true he has been working on his application and piles of homework, he’s also been actively avoiding all of his friends ever since your fight. Unable to handle even the slightest of social interaction. His mind set on you and only you. But he won’t tell Peter that. 

“Dana said you were being crazy or something…” Peter huffs, his brow quirked in disbelief. Miguel’s heart starts to beat a little harder at that. Did Dana tell everyone what happened? Or her version of what happened? “What did she say?”

“Well… she’s kinda implying that you two hooked up after the party last week…” Miguel’s eyes widen at that news. It’s just not true. But that seems to be the story everyone believes so far. “MJ thinks she’s full of shit bu-"

“She is full of shit.” Miguel sighs. Pinching the bridge of his nose. Or trying to with his cast. It was a foolish thing to give into his anger and take Dana back to his dorm. But he didn’t sleep with her. He’s not surprised though that she’s spreading that rumor around. It wouldn’t be the first time. 

“Shit, what happened?!” Peter flips, looking down at the cast engulfing Miguel’s forearm to the tips of his fingers. Looking at the seemingly broken hand, his eyes scanning over Miguel as a whole. Feeling like he has no idea what’s going on with someone who’s supposed to be his closest friend. “I broke my wrist but it’s fine, doctor says it’ll be fine even without surgery.”

“It’s fine?! What about the game?” Peter asks in panic, running a hand through his previously neat light brown locks. It’s against policy rules to play with a hard plaster cast for the safety of the other players and teammates. But Miguel’s the captain, their top offense and shooter. 

“I’ll be on the sidelines and Miller and Durante can take care of it.”

“It’s Princeton, Miguel. We’re gonna get fuckin’ smoked out there…” Peter huffs, going on and on but Miguel just shakes his head, feeling that anxiety rising again. The anxiety you were able to dampen only moments ago. “I know it sucks… I know. But those new drills have been helping… I’m gonna talk to coach.” 

“Alright… but Marco and Santiago need to get their asses in order before tomorrow. I’m not playing defense because they can’t pay attention to the fucking ball.” 

“I know, I know…” Miguel sighs and nods. Knowing this is all bad timing. They’ve been preparing for this game for a while now and it’s a pretty big spectacle. The stands will undoubtedly be full to the brim. It makes him tense and anxious to think about.

“Okay…” Peter huffs, running a hand through his hair. “Well, text me what Coach says…” He sighs, lifting his fist. Their knuckles colliding as he’s starting to walk off to where he’s going. “No more disappearing…” Peter chuckles, looking back as he starts walking down the hall, pointing a finger at his friend. “Yeah, yeah…”

“Alright, I’ll see you later.” Peter says with a nod, his hands in his pockets as he rounds the corner, walking into the library. Miguel sighs, feeling that tension, that tomorrow might not go well and it’ll be all his fault. Because he can’t do more to help the team he’s supposed to be leading.

He jogs down the stairs, down another hallway and outside. The fall breeze and smell of the trees and crisp autumn air flows past his cheeks, blowing back the little curls by his ears. Hunching his shoulders up when the brisk air cools his neck, pulling his collar up and walking across the commons to get to the athletic building on the other side of campus. To meet with Coach about the game plan for tomorrow. 

“Come on guys, one more time!” Miguel calls out to the team. Dressed in his uniform, dark blue and silver stripes, school colors with the Sterling University crest on his arm, a C on his chest. Number 99 on his back. Cleats and his cast to match. It does suck he has to miss out on actually playing but he does a lot of assistant coaching as captain anyway so it’s nothing he’s not used to. Coach Dean is talking with the referees anyway. Schmoozing on the sidelines, convinced it’ll earn them less whistles through the game. 

Miguel sighs, anxious, shaking his head and directing his attention to the mobs of people filling the stands. The sun is setting, the field lights coming on and a slight chill filling the air. A buzz with that too. College soccer fans here as well as lots of students from both universities. People are excited. The team is excited as well as anxious without Miguel playing beside them. Knowing they’ll have to supplement him being out. Miguel huffs, stretching his arms and wincing slightly at the remnants of ache in his wrist, his breath fogging in the cold air.

“Come on… si yeah! ¡Mantén la posesión!" He shouts from the sides, watching the team warming up with the drills and keeping order, following them up and down their half of the field. “Marco!¡Sigue presionando! Call for it!" A mix of Spanish and English naturally leave his lips. Dark eyes follow their form and technique. Keeping everyone in order. They’re doing really well as always. But Miguel would prefer perfection. “Good! Alright break!” He shouts.

The team all relaxes, sighing in relief and collecting on the sidelines near the bench. Some passing the ball back and forth. The goalie is doing some technique in the practice nets with Durante and Miller. Others glancing at the opposing team warming up on their side of the field. “Marco, you’re gonna break you’re fuckin’ ankle doing that. Keep it light, it doesn’t have to be so fast. Slow down and go through the steps, alright?” Miguel instructs calmly, grabbing a ball and demonstrating on the turf by the benches. Marco nods, wiping his brow with the edge of his jersey. 

“Just like that… keep it loose and look at Miller, he’s the one you’re paying attention to. Don’t look at Durante, he’s gonna be looking at Miller for that pass down the field. But that was still good, keep it up..” 

“There’s a lot of people here…” Peter comments, squirting some water into his mouth, catching his breath. Miguel walks over from helping Marco, standing beside his friend and looking out at the people in the stands. It’s a little more than they’re used to. Little intimidating considering this stadium seats thousands of people.

“It’s a big game…” Miguel huffs, grabbing his water bottle. Wish I could fucking play… he thinks. Glancing at Coach, still talking to the refs near the midline. They have a little while before everything starts.

It’s the end of the first half and it’s been a good game so far. Princeton is good but so is Sterling. They’d be better if Miguel was on the field to help them. He finds himself getting frustrated on the sidelines, disagreeing with the refs calls and calling out to his teammates, trying to lead and instruct. The whistle blows and the team finally relaxes. Panting and walking over to the sidelines. 

“They’re fast…” Marco pants, plopping down on the bench to catch his breath. “We have to be faster… but we’re holding our own…” Miguel says, hands on his hips and looking over the team, trying to keep the edge from his tone. He’s here to lead, not berate.

“You good?” He sees Peter covered in grass stains. Peter’s the one that’s been scoring pretty much all the goals so far. Princeton’s defense is good. It’s one of those games where no one’s going to score very many goals, it’s all about making sure the other team doesn’t get too close. “That was really good, keep doing that. And if it works better for Marco to go up the right side, then do that.” Miguel says. 

“I will… they’re so fuckin fast…” Peter pants, grabbing his water bottle and squirting some in his mouth. Breathing heavy through his nose. The team takes a few minutes at halftime to refuel and plan for the second half. Peter and Marco will have to be smart about the next plays. They’re down by two and the other team just keeps getting closer and closer. 

“I got a girl in the stands…” Peter says with a lopsided smile, still out of breath, spraying some more water into his mouth. “Yeah?” Miguel’s brow quirks at that information. He knows Peter has a lot of girls around him and friends that are girls. Makes sense, he’s very smart, an athlete, loud and the life of the party. Everyone always trying to get a piece of him. Not a foreign concept to Miguel himself. Miguel grabs his water bottle too, raising it to his mouth. “Who is she?” 

“Her name’s y/n…” 

What?

“...yeah you should meet her… she’s really pretty and smart and funny...” 

What?

Peter keeps talking, tossing a ball to someone else across the bench. Not even registering the look on Miguel’s face. Like shock and something else. Something Miguel himself can’t put a finger on. And Miguel can only half listen to Peter’s words. “She’s head of the tutoring club… did I tell you I started doing that? Dude, I’m getting paid to do some freshman’s homework and get course credit. It's like the easiest shit in the world…” Peter laughs, talking on and on. 

Miguel doesn’t understand. It’s like his brain can’t process this. Staring at Peter silently and waiting for him to say it’s a joke. But how could it be a joke?

“She’s riiiiight… there-” Peter turns, pointing at the stands. Turning stiffly, Miguel looks out to where he’s pointing. His dark eyes searching the stands and looking for your face. Hoping to see some stranger who happens to have the same name as you. But no. It’s you. 

He watches your gaze snap onto them, seeming surprised to have both their attention now. How did he not notice? You’ve been here this whole time, sitting nearly 15 rows behind him and he didn’t know? But Peter knew?

He can’t help that his immediate reaction to seeing you is relief. Seeing you up there and he just wants to smile. Wants to disappear with you and forget this stressful game. You’re like… his best friend in the whole world. But then that relief is quickly quelled when he realizes Peter is the one who invited you, he’s the reason you’re here. 

Miguel huffs. Nearly getting hit in the face when Peter starts waving at you. Stepping back and trying to make sense of this. There you are, waving back their way. What is this? He wonders. Unable to help the scowl that appears on his face as he observes Peter waving. What is this happening that he doesn’t know about or had no idea could even happen? Another bubble has popped and he didn’t even know it. 

He looks back up at you. Your eyes looking his way. But are you looking at him or are you looking at Peter? He hates that he can’t even tell. He hopes it’s him but it’s too much distance to know for sure. He just holds up a hand weakly. Waving at you. Feeling like an idiot, a total fool. And here Peter is waving at you, thinking Miguel doesn’t even know who you are. Fuck.

“Alright boys! Let’s huddle up!” Coach yells, coming over to the bench and motioning for everyone to come over. Peter moves to head over, gently kicking a ball on his way. And Miguel can’t help but keep glancing at you. Feeling self conscious. You’ve been watching him and witnessing all of this, this entire time? He didn’t even know you were here and half of the game had already been played. And all he’s done is stand on the sidelines while Peter played big shot scorer. 

Your hands wave at him, mouthing something he can’t make out. His brow knitting together as you try to communicate something to him before Coach snaps again. 

“O’hara!” 

His eyes snap to the team huddled by the bench. Taking long strides to get over there. But his mind is a mess. He didn’t even know you knew each other. 

The second half, the rest of the game, it’s hard for Miguel to focus on coaching. He’s watching the team play but it’s like a delayed reaction in his mind. Like his body is here but his brain is trying to tap into some invisible signal stretching from you to him. Peter scores again and Miguel flinches at the sound of the stands erupting. Cheering and echoing through his head. Pounding the sides of his skull.

He can’t help but glance your way every chance he gets. But every time he’s able to spot you in the sea of colors and foreign faces, you’re looking at the ball on the field. Which is always in Peter’s possession. And he can’t focus on anything except what he doesn’t know. What he can’t control. 

…

“Wooooo!” Marco hollers, the team gathering in a huddle on the field and celebrating their close victory. They won, but it was a tough game. Miguel stares almost blankly as the team all slaps hands and says good game. And by the time he snaps out of it, turning to find you, the stands are already emptying out and you’re gone from your seat. 

“O’hara!” The team shouts, bringing him out of the mess of thoughts. The players crowding him in celebration on the sidelines. Cheers and loud voices. Talking about moments in the game, highlights, certain techniques that had Princeton on their toes. All in all it was an exciting match and Peter was definitely the savior, scoring more goals than anyone and making the game. And Peter is all smiles. 

The team heads back to the locker room. Showering and warming down from the game. Miguel stands at his locker. His new locker since the punched in door wouldn’t close properly on his old one. Pulling off his jersey carefully with one hand and hanging it up. Wiping down his broad chest with a towel and hearing Peter with some of the boys walking in from the showers. His movements slow, brow furrowing, grabbing his change of clothes and pulling a tank top on, the black material bunching down his toned abdomen against his deep skin. Listening to Peter’s voice. 

His mind races. Since when did you two become such good friends? And why wouldn’t I know you were coming to the game when I saw you all day yesterday? Does Peter know that? Does Peter know we spend countless hours together? Does Peter know we have this deep connection that I’m actually working really hard to repair? He ought to. 

He listens to Peter’s conversation, as if waiting for him to say your name to confirm he’s talking about you. But he can’t make it out all the way. Something about a party, something about his car, something about the game. He watches the rest of the guys leave the locker room. Peter walks by with the guys and he just subtly, silently glares as they pass, not noticing him. pulling his hoodie on and shutting his locker gently. Pulling his phone off the charger and slinging his sports bag over his shoulder, walking out. 

He slumps down the concrete steps, the hallway leading to the exit doors, opening out to the athletic parking lot. Raking a hand through his hair, his mind a mess. He’s not used to feeling so beaten down after a game. They won, he should be happy. He should be glad. But he just feels indifferent. Or he just really needs to see you. 

When the door swings from someone else leaving, he catches a glimpse of you through the opening. The bright lights from outside assault his eyes as the door swings again. Seeing you for just a moment. Just a split second. Talking with Peter against the fence. He stops. What is he walking into? What’s about to change? You’re gonna be there right when he goes through that door. He stands in the dim concrete tunnel, feeling his heart race. He doesn’t like this feeling. This is the loss of control.

“Miguel!” Peter smiles, making you turn to look back. And there he is, walking out the door. You want to just run into his arms and tell him how great he was. Even though he didn't get to play he still coached very well and played his part in the victory. But Peter is talkative and gets in there before you can. And you don't really want to interrupt when he's talking with his friends. Since this is the first time you've been around his friends with him. 

“We’re gonna get drinks, you have to come” Peter says, ushering Miguel over to where you’re standing. “This is y/n… y/n this is Miguel” 

“Yeah we know each other.” Miguel says immediately. Not a hint of a smile on his face. He’s annoyed with Peter. Annoyed that it’s not a known thing. He wants it to be known that you two are an item. Or… that there’s something going on… he’s not even sure of at the moment. At least that Peter should know to back off. “Oh cool, so drinks?” 

Miguel’s a little astonished with how easily Peter just brushed that off. Eyes flicking between you two and hoping to god you don’t accept the drink invite. But he bites his tongue. Friends. Really good… friends. 

“Uh… I don’t know, I’m kinda tired…” You sigh. Part of you not wanting to go since it’s not your normal scene but a bigger part needing to go so you can feel like you’re really one of Miguel’s friends. Not someone he has to hide. That you can get along with them and be a part of his life. That’s all you want to prove to him. 

“Come on… please?” Peter pouts. And Miguel wants to scream. Trying to tell you with his eyes that he doesn’t want to do this. Not right now. Maybe later when he’s had time to mentally prepare himself. It doesn’t help that you look adorable right now. In your Sterling Uni hoodie with a scarf to keep warm. He doesn’t want to do this. He’d rather just go to dinner. Like always. Talk for hours and maybe even fall asleep talking in your dorm like always. Not this. Please not this. 

His eyes burning a hole right through you, trying to communicate it without using the words since he can’t right now, not with Peter standing right there. Part of him wants you to come and show you off. The other part of him wants you all to himself, not wanting to share you with anyone. But he’s trying to be better. Trying to control himself rather than try to control everything else around him. 

“It would be fun, right Miguel?” Peter asks, bringing him out of his thoughts. He wants to say no. Wants to say fuck no and disappear, taking you with him. But he can’t do that now. So he just nods stiffly, forcing a smile. Almost painfully. “Yeah… come…” 

Your eyes light up and Miguel knows he’s done for. “Oh great!” You smile and Peter is instantly excited too. Talking about how great it’s going to be and how many people will be there. Miguel’s heart is pounding, seeing how easily Peter was able to get you to come. How Peter is smiling and looking at you. A sense of dread filling his chest.

It’s the usual bar. The college bar around the corner from campus where the sports teams usually congregate after a game. Or the general student body on a Friday night. Loud music and conversation, the place is packed. Football and UFC playing on the multitude of TVs hanging in the place. The team filters in all acting like they own this place. Playing pool and getting drinks, talking to girls in corners and at the bar. It’s a crazy night at least for you. Miguel’s seen nights like this before, but this time you’re here. And he won’t let you out of his sight. Even as people talk to him, trying to strike up conversation and catch up. Since everyone knows who he is and knows his name. He still keeps his attention focused on you. He doesn’t care about anyone else in this bar tonight. 

Drinks flow the second everyone is in there, laughter and loud voices, trying to be heard over the music. Miguel keeps his arm barred at your side to help get you through the density of people. Like a shield to make sure no one bumps into you. Not wanting you to be too claustrophobic or crowded. Staying nearby until you find two seats at the bar miraculously. As you sit down, Miguel quickly scans the room. Looking for one face in particular. No sign of Dana and he can relax a tiny bit. Sliding into his stool seat beside you. 

He sits down, watching how you observe the place, looking a little out of your element here. It’s clear you’re not a party girl. You’re a smart, intelligent tutor and it shows. It would almost be comical if Miguel didn’t have a fierce determination to protect you in this place. 

He leans over, getting closer to your ear to be heard over the noise. The smell of your shampoo mixed with your perfume, so close and familiar, filling his senses and almost making him dizzy. His mind flashing with moments of you in his bed. Your body under his and his face buried in your soft sweet smelling hair. He’s the only one in this bar that knows what you sound like when you come.

“Drink… Do you want a drink?” He asks, trying to be heard over the noise, his cheek brushing against yours. Pulling back to hear your response. “Yeah! Whatever is fine…” You smile, trying to speak over the chaos of people and stimulation. A bit out of your element but doing fine. Excited to be here with him and feel like you’re fitting into his world. 

He gets the bartender's attention, ordering you just a beer in a bottle. He doesn’t know if you’d want anything fruity, not that this crappy bar would have anything that good anyway. He’s never drunk with you before. He slides it over to you, watching you take a gulp and smile. You’re so out of your element here. He sighs. A swell in his chest. 

Even though he would normally be drinking a couple beers himself, he just has water in front of him. He wants to stay relatively sober. Enough to keep watch over you and make sure no one else talks to you. “Oh, I thought you were gonna get the same thing…” You chuckle, leaning your elbows on the bar and watching him sipping his water from a plastic cup. 

“Someone needs to be responsible for all these people right?” He chuckles. As captain of the team he actually does feel that responsibility. To keep people in line since he knows they’ll listen to him. “And I need to be sober if I’m carrying you out of this place drunk off your ass…” He jokes, teasing you. 

“I’m not getting drunk tonight, no way. No thank you…” You sigh, shaking your head. Looking down at the label on the bottle in your hand. Then your eyes dart around the crowded room a few times. He just looks at your face. You’re so pretty. Especially pretty in this low light. 

“Well how is the beer at least? I know it’s not something sweet but it’s probably the best thing they have here.” He huffs, keeping his eyes on you, studying you. He’d love to just be all over you and show people that you’re his. But you’re not right now. You’re his friend and that’s the boundary you both set. He’s trying his best to uphold that after his mistakes. “It’s fine… I don’t ever drink much anyway so I’m not picky…” 

He nods. Learning more about you all the time. The two of you have never been out to a bar or club before so this is all brand new. He can see how you’re a little nervous in this place. It’s not your usual hangout spot and he can tell. “Yeah, this place is pretty chaotic tonight…” He comments, looking around then back at you. “You’re okay though, right?” 

“Yeah I’m fine…” You smile. Clasping your hands in your lap. He’s attentive, more recently than ever. It’s true that he’s become like your best friend over the last month and a half. Even though it hasn’t been that long, it’s felt like a lifetime. And with how much time you spend together, it still feels like he separates you from a lot of the other parts of his life. Friends, family, everything else. You spot Peter across the way standing with some people. The only other person you even know in this place. 

Miguel follows your gaze over towards where Peter is and he can't help but wonder why you're looking at Peter or what you're thinking. He looks at the group of people around him, recognizing teammates and classmates, but notices Peter in particular.He tries to remain cool, looking back at you. "He's a great friend… isn't he… "

He says it with a little bit of annoyance in his voice, thinking about how you two have gotten really close as friends and he didn't even know it.

"Yeah he's really sweet," You smile, not really noticing his expression. You want Miguel to know that you can get along with his friends too and you can be a part of his life. "He's funny…"

His brow twitches just a bit. He doesn't know how to feel about the fact that you two are friends in and out of the tutoring club. And that you’re calling him sweet. And funny. He knows how charismatic and charming Peter is, knowing he could get any girl he wants. "He always gets the girls…  he's quite the flirt…" He mumbles.

"Oh really?" You smile and scrunch your nose up, looking back at Peter and seeing that yes, there are many girls around him right now. And he must be very popular with the girls, you think. You hadn't really noticed that Peter was a flirt but you think he's charming. Maybe you're just so focused on being his friend to prove to Miguel you can be part of his friend group.

Miguel can feel his patience slipping. How you seem so oblivious to the fact that Peter is a huge flirt and that Peter was flirting with you earlier when he invited you to the bar. But he's been Peter's friend for years, of course he knows the girls flock around him. It just annoys him that you’re completely oblivious to it. He watches you watching Peter across the room, trying not to let it show on his face how frustrated he is.

"How's your hand?" You ask, taking a sip from your bottle. Gesturing towards his cast in his lap. Trying to talk over the noise in the room. The topic change gives him some relief. Grateful to think about something other than the image of Peter taking you home tonight. He lifts his hand, flexing a few fingers. "It's fine. Doesn't really hurt much right now. It's a good reminder to not lose my cool again… "

"Yeah, that locker room hates to see you comin’…" You joke with a smile. Shaking your head. Punched his locker like some guy in a movie.

Miguel can't help but smile, knowing you’re referring to him punching the front of his locker like a crazy person. He sighs, knowing it was stupid and a loss of control. "That locker had it coming though…"

You laugh at his words, his eyes lighting up watching your head throw back a bit. The fluttering sound of your laughter carrying slightly over the noise in the room and hitting his ears. He wants to make you laugh like that all the time. Make you smile like this every day. And  Peter works his way through the room over to the bar. 

"There you guys are! I thought I lost you…" Peter's face lights up when he gets closer, excited to see his best friend and you, the pretty tutor. He stands behind both your chairs putting his hands on the backs of them. Miguel’s eyes flick back-and-forth between you two. You're still oblivious. Smiling at Peter like you don't know what he's doing. Every instinct inside of him telling him to make Peter back off. But he's trying to be better for you. Trying not to lose control or act impulsive. 

"Spending the night bragging, are you?" You smile and tease Peter lightly. Leaning over the back of your chair. He did score a lot of the winning goals tonight. Peter laughs and loves any attention from you. Miguel can only listen and watch this interaction between the two of you. It's like a nightmare come to life. And he's feeling claustrophobic in this crowded place with all these people. He just wants to take your hand and go back to campus, go back to your dorm, go back to the library.

"Well you all played very well…" You hum. Looking between the two boys. You can't help but notice Miguel’s body language. Thinking he must just be upset that he didn't get to play because of his cast. But he did very well on the sidelines. 

"Peter here was especially on his game today. Princeton is tough…" Miguel says with tension in his tone, finally joining in on the conversation. His eyes flicking between the two of you but landing on you mostly. Watching your reaction to Peter's words.

"It's all in the foot work really. Reading the opponent… Gotta think about 10 steps ahead." Peter says with a grin, in his element. Miguel has to stop himself from rolling his eyes. As much as he loves Peter, he wants him to fuck off right now.

You giggle softly at Peter's joke and his obvious love for attention. Loving the way you can so casually hang out with Miguel and his friends for the first time ever. Miguel clenches his jaw, sipping his water and trying to keep his cool. You take a sip of your beer finding it's the last one, putting the empty bottle back on the bar. It seems both boys take notice. 

"Can I get you another? "Peter asks, His eyes lighting up.

“Um…" You're thinking. You don't really do this that often and you're finally getting to hang out with Miguel and his friends. What the hell… "Sure!"

Peter flashes that charming smile at you and Miguel can feel his control slipping again. Now he's buying you drinks? 

"I got it." Miguel suddenly says, waving to the bartender for another round. If anyone's getting you drunk tonight, it's gonna be him. So he can make sure you're okay. “Okayyy…” Peter huffs softly, raising his brow at Miguel’s rivalry. But Miguel doesn’t care. Grabbing the fresh cold beer bottle and sliding it over the bar in front of you. Looking back up at Peter, a stern expression on his face. 

Over the next hour and your next two beers, Peter just won’t go away. He’s practically hanging on your chair, talking to you about whatever. And because you’re so nice and sweet you just keep giving into him. Smiling at Miguel too like you want him to be in on the conversation. But it just makes him feel worse somehow. Is he really losing you to Parker? Is that how this is gonna go? 

“So… you guys are like best friends?” You ask, your words slightly slurred, cheeks pink and flushed. You’re tipsy and Miguel’s watching you like a hawk. Your beer shined lips as you smile up at Peter. So damn cute and pretty. “We are… best friends…” Peter says in a cocky way. Grabbing Miguel’s shoulder and shaking it a few times, a beer in his other hand. Miguel might be the only sober one in this place and it’s getting annoying. 

He fidgets with the same fray on his cast, pulling on it and pulling on it. Watching you talk to Peter. Forcing a smile when you look his way. It’s getting unbearable. Eyes flicking around the crowded room and just wanting to get out of here. 

“One more round?” Peter asks and Miguel groans internally. You’re both drunk, everybody is drunk and he just wants to get you back somewhere it’s safer. Peter gets to chatting loudly with some other people down the bar.

“Do you wanna leave?” You lean over, getting closer to Miguel, right up to his face and he just gives you a soft look. Admiring your pretty flushed features. He can see you’ve been having fun. “No, I’m good, we can stay if you want…” He hums gently. 

“Don’t lie, Mig…” You whisper, barely loud enough for him to hear over the noise. And his brow knits together, hearing the nickname, your soft warm voice, wanting to reach out and brush your hair back, kiss your pretty pink lips. Anything. “I’m a little tired…” He admits. And even in your tipsy state, you know it’s time to go. 

“Let’s go then… it’s too loud…” You sigh, a distracted Peter now talking loudly with Marco and Miller down the bar. Relief, Miguel thinks. He does really want to make sure you get back to your dorm okay. 

…

“Wai-I ‘ave a question…” You slur, hanging onto him and pressed up against his chest as he’s trying to get you over to bed. His big strong arms around you and it feels so good, feels so right. What you’ve been missing all this time and now it just feels like everything is perfect and everything is good and… and your tongue still tastes like beer and… and he smells so good. 

“Yeah, what's your question?” He asks so soft and gently. His voice is like smooth melted butter mixed with sweet brown sugar. Bringing you over to your bed and sitting you down on the edge. Making sure you don’t topple over. “Hold still, I’m gonna take your shoes off…” 

“D’you think… that… um…” You sigh, the alcohol clouding everything making you instantly forget what you were about to ask him. But the thought is mixing around your brain just waiting to come out. After all, it’s all you were thinking about all night. “M-my shoe is stuck”

“I know, I’m trying to get it off…” He sighs, unable to stop the smile when he hears your little whine. You are pretty cute like this and he likes helping you. Kneeling down in front of you and taking your shoe onto his knee to undo the laces, slipping it off.

“Do you think that… all your friends… that they like-like it?” You sigh, wiggling your toes in your socks as he slides your shoe off. His hands on your calves, absentmindedly caressing up and down, having you in his hands like this is too good to pass up, but he looks up at you at your question. His brow furrowing, wondering what you mean. “Do they like what,-?” He almost called you baby right there. But stopped himself. Maybe it’s just being like this with you right now. Being close and finally being needy for his help, needing him in any way. Or the way you seem so soft and fragile right now he just wants to protect you. 

“That they like me…” You sigh. Pushing a hand through your hair and he pulls your other shoe off, your feet freeing and legs dangling off the side of the bed. 

He looks up at you, piecing together your broken sentence. Do his friends like you? Peter? 

“Like P-peter… does Peter like me?” You ask and his expression goes serious. Swallowing thickly and setting your shoes to the side. He knows the answer. He knows that Peter obviously has a thing for you. It’s becoming more clear you have a thing for him too. 

Miguel straightens back up, standing over you and listening to your drunken rambling. Your mumbles. “Cuz I think Peter is really nice and I think you and I can be friends… and I can be friends with your friends too…” 

He doesn’t understand what you mean. Towering over you and feeling so blocked up. Like he’s miles away from where he wants to be with you. He wants you to want him. Not think about Peter. 

“Uh… I think Peter likes you, yeah…” He mumbles. Looking down at your face. The way it lights up and his heart falls. “Really? So we can all be friends?” 

His heart hurts, looking in your eyes. So confused, not knowing what to think. But wishing he could just kiss you right now and make your thoughts stop. Or to fill your thoughts with him. If he kissed you right now would you forget Peter ever existed? If he kissed you right now, if he laid you down and pumped into you until you were a crying trembling moaning mess like all those times before, would you forget Peter and think about him again? 

“I’m sweating…” You huff, moving to get up off the bed and his arms come to steady you. “Woah woah slow down, sweetheart…” The words ooze off his lips. His hands guide you before you reassure him you can walk. He huffs, watching you walk over to your closet. He sits down on the edge of your bed, head in his hands. Feeling pathetic and so lost. Not even knowing what to do at this point. Has he actually lost you for good? Will he actually only ever be your friend now?

You’re sweating, pulling at the material of your hoodie and ripping it off over your head. Slipping your pants off and sighing in relief. Standing in your panties and bra by the dresser and looking for some comfy clothes. Your mind filled with the thoughts of being Miguel’s again. You’re friends with his friends like any girlfriend would be. So what’s stopping him? What’s stopping both of you from just being together again? Since you’ve proven to him, you can fit in. 

“Miguel…” You hum, his head coming out of his hands and looking up at you. Eyes widening seeing you in just your underwear. Gulping thickly. “Yes?” He whispers. Like beckoning to your call. Like a plea for you to just put him out of his misery already. 

You walk over to him, trying to half haphazardly pull on a big t-shirt. His hands unable to stop themselves, coming up to help pull the material down. You’re drunk. You don’t know what you’re doing. This all just makes him feel somehow worse. Your body taunting him, teasing him with everything he needs and no way to get it. 

Your hips slot between his legs, standing between them and getting closer. Fingers clenching into his shirt and smashing your lips against his. His fingers splay out, shock and surprise. His eyes wide and heart seemingly stops. You’re… kissing him… you…

Heavy breath through his nose and his eyes flutter closed. Kissing you back, feeling your eager tongue tasting like alcohol come into his mouth. Letting it swirl against his lips and his tongue. His big hands snaking around you, holding you for the first time like this in so long. You gasp and hum against his lips and a chill goes down his back. He must be dreaming. 

But your hands go to his chest, pushing him back on the bed, and he’s so weak to you. His back hitting the mattress. He wants this so badly. Wants you more than anything in the entire world. You climb on top of him, clambering over his body, sitting on his abdomen and leaning down to kiss him again. 

“Wait-”

He’s silenced by your lips, trying to be dominant and licking into his mouth. You never did that before. That was always him. But right now it’s like you’re hungry for him in the exact same way he was hungry for you all this time. 

“I need you…” You whisper, pulling back from his lips with a smack. His eyes wide and breath heaving. It’s everything he’s ever wanted and yet it’s not right at all. “No baby… you need to go to sleep… you’re drunk…” He whispers, feeling so weak, his hands running up your warm bare thighs, like medicine. His cast is slightly scratchy on your thigh. Finally your body on his, your warmths feeding off of each other. 

“No please… say you want me, please you have to, don’t you want to?” You whine. Leaning over him and kissing his cheek, burying your face in his neck. He’s speechless. Doesn’t know what to say or think. He thought you were done all this time. He thought you were pining after Parker. 

“I want you… I do want you…” He whispers before his mind can even think. His hands falling from your thighs and flat on the bed. It feels wrong to touch you this way. His love for you overshadows his own selfish need. You won’t remember this in the morning. 

You won’t remember this in the morning. 

“I love you…” He whispers. Into your hair. Choking back a lump in his throat. 

“Mm?” You groan, pushing yourself up drunkenly on your hands, your hair dangling into his face under you. 

“Nothing…” He whispers. Swallowing thickly and wrapping his arms around you again. Pulling you to his chest and hugging you. Keeping you there, knowing you’ll pass out in a few minutes anyway and he can tuck you into bed safe and sound. 

To be continued…

Reblogs and comments very much appreciated!! Let me know what you think or your theories!

Taglist (thank you my sweets 🍬) :

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@jadeloverxd @chiikasevennn @mvlanchqly @resident-cryptid

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@mooreaey6yem @peachey-pie @migueloharacumslut @pxtched

@yougavemeyourheartyouknow @julia4today

[winter-turtle]

Could you maybe do a fic where Tony finds out about Peter and Mj without Peter telling him. Like maybe he walks in on them kissing or May just casually says “his girlfriend” or and Tony’s like “excuse me WHOS girlfriend?” Or something similar. Thanks!! 💜

It's finally here

The Birds and The Bees

READ ON AO3

Peter’s internship was on Tuesday and Thursday. The weekends were optional, but the kid made a point to show up on either Saturday or Sunday. Tony looked forward to those days. They worked in the lab, figuring out all possible improvements to the spider suit or tinkered with some of Tony’s inventions, and if the kid wasn’t feeling up to anything, they’d simply order pizza and watch a movie.

That, however, began to change.

“Sorry, Mr. Stark. I won’t be able to make it this Thursday.”

“We have a big test on Monday, so we’ll be studying the whole weekend.”

“Decathlon practice got moved, can’t make it today.”

“I’m helping to move some furniture as Spider-Man tomorrow, don’t wait for me.”

Now, don’t get him wrong, the kid has cancelled a session here and there before. That’s why he hasn’t picked on anything suspicious the last few weeks. Life happened, Tony understood. Not everyone was a superhero billionaire able to cancel and reschedule things without repercussions.

The final nail in the coffin came in the form of Peter last-minute cancelling every single session these last two weeks.

There was only one possible explanation.

Peter was avoiding him.

The next Monday, Tony walked into a quiet coffee shop, heading straight for their – well, “their” – booth. May was already there, looking at the menu.

He slid into the seat opposite of her. “Hey, May.”

“Hey, Tony,” she greeted with a smile, setting the menu aside.

After the whole Homecoming disaster and the kid’s accidental identity reveal to his aunt – and the following yelling, tears and negotiations – Tony and May came to an agreement to meet once a month to discuss their spiderling. May would talk about Peter’s grades, and Tony about the internship and adjoined activities. If either of them found something unsatisfactory, they would push the kid into the right direction.

Peter not getting enough sleep or his grades slipping? Reduce patrol time. May worrying about his safety? Work on upgrading the suit.

 A form of co-parenting, you could say.

Sure, he could push the responsibility onto Pepper, but ultimately decided against it in fear for his own safety. She and May were in a different (terrifying) league, already got along too well, and with the kid having Pepper wrapped around his finger, Tony would be the one to receive the scolding even though it was Peter’s chemical reaction that covered the walls with extra sticky webs, Pepper, I swear it wasn’t my fault—

Anyway…

Placing their usual order for chocolate cappuccino and butter croissant for May and black coffee and blueberry muffin for himself, they went over their “checklist”. Grades were great, the kid was healthy, and his social life hasn’t suffered.

Usually, Tony would’ve already known that Peter aced the big chemistry exam or was helping Ned build a new Lego set. He could keep smiling and nodding along, pretending that everything was okay, but May’s threat of “ripping him a new one” if he kept something from her again made him reconsider.

“He’s avoiding me,” he admitted. “I have no idea what I did, but he’s avoiding me. Every time we are supposed to meet, he has some excuse.”

And then May laughed at him. Well, more like chuckled, but still.

“Don’t worry, he’s not ditching you or anything,” she said, wiping her mouth with a napkin. “He’s just spending time with his girlfriend. You know how beginnings of relationships are. First, they can’t get enough of each other, and once the lovey-dovey stage passes, it’s more or less back to normal.”

“Oh. Okay. That’s good then.” Tony reached for his cup and took a long sip, tension bleeding from his shoulders. So, the kid hasn’t suddenly decided to ditch him. He was just being a teenager, doing teenager-y things and spending time with his—

Wait…

Tony spat out the coffee.

“His what?!”

Thursday rolled around, and Tony found himself parking on the street opposite of Midtown, far enough to not be noticed but still having a good view, waiting for the final bell to ring. He hasn't gotten any text cancelling the internship yet, but Tony wasn't taking any chances. They were talking today and on his turf.

He wouldn't be able to handle the ridicule May would no doubt put him through if he attempted it in the Parkers' apartment.

A swarm of teenagers left the building at last. For a moment, a panic seized Tony. What if Peter slipped past him in the hormonal tsunami?

His worries evaporated once he spotted a familiar mop of brown curls sitting on the stairs near the entrance. And he wasn't alone.

Because there she was, nonchalant as if she hasn't caused Tony to lose sleep.

Peter said something that made the girl - Michelle, or MJ, his brain supplied - roll her eyes, then leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

A weak sound escaped Tony's mouth, and if he had a pearl necklace, he would’ve clutched the hell out of it.

Huh. Maybe he should start wearing one. Who knows, he even might set up a new trend. Pearl necklace and three-piece suits.

Tony started the car and pulled up into the pickup lane before things could further escalate. He honked twice, then stuck his head out of the window. "Peter!" he waved, going for the casual approach, and happily ignoring the previous deal to not draw attention.

A man shows up one time in the Iron Man suit while being driven by a personal driver in a cabriolet and suddenly the kid starts using the metro to go to the tower. Ridiculous.

Well, at least no one could claim that Peter's internship was fake anymore.

As expected, Tony's shout attracted looks; first at Tony, then at Peter. And then the whispers started.

The kid looked like a deer caught in a headlight, his head whipping left and right, trying to assess the damage. Under different circumstances, Tony would've felt bad about smoking the kid out like this, but oh well. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

"Come on, Parker! I'm not getting any younger here!" he shouted again, keeping the smile plastered on his face.

Peter exchanged a few words with the girl, with her looking smug and him looking like he hoped the ground would open up and swallowed him whole. Some quick nods and waves later, the kid marched over to the car and threw himself in. No kisses.

Good.

"Hi, Mr. Stark. Uh, first of all; what the hell?" he asked.

"Nice to see you too," Tony replied and pulled into the traffic.

"You promised!" Peter cried out. "No more drawing attention to me, that was the deal! Do you realize that means the prank war is back on?"

"I'll get you pizza from that fancy place you like."

A pause.

"Garlic bread too?"

"Yep. And the bread sticks."

The kid mulled over the offer before bobbing his head. "You're forgiven. For now," he added. "So... what brought you here?"

Okay, careful now. Don't make it obvious, Tony thought. "I wanted to catch up. It's been a while since we saw each other, and I've got this cool upgrade to your suit. But about that later. How have you been? Anything... interesting going on in your life?"

"Oh, you know. Same old."

"Are you sure?"

Ever so slowly, Peter leaned away from him, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Yeah? Why are you asking?"

"I just told you."

"Well, I don't believe you."

"I missed you!" Tony nearly yelled, his voice strained. "Am I not allowed to miss my favorite spider kid? You barely come by anymore."

"I was busy!"

Alright then, subtlety won't lead anywhere. Time for a true Stark-fashioned honesty. "Oh yeah? Doing what? Smooching your new girlfriend?"

The instant the words left his mouth, the kid's cheeks turned bright red. "I- ho- wha- I mean..." he stammered.

Tony, ever so merciful, decided to spare Peter the misery. "Yeah, I know about that. I've seen everything on those stairs; the whole tonsil examination." Okay, he was exaggerating. So what?

"Tha-that's not what happened!"

The light turned red, and Tony whirled his whole upper body in Peter's direction. "I'm not ready to be a grandpa!” he said, wide-eyed as he gripped Peter’s shoulders. “You're a baby. A baby can't have a baby, that's against the nature! Don't you know how babies are made? By holding hands and kissing!"

Peter hid his face in his hands. "I'm sixteen, not six. I know how babies are made, and it's not the way you described."

"We'll have to plan your wedding.” The light turned green, and Tony’s hand retuned to the steering wheel. “Or Pepper will have to plan it, she's better at it than I am."

"What? No! No wedding!"

"Then no girlfriend! You can have girl friends, but no girlfriends until you're at least twenty-five." Nu-uh. No way. The kid tended to forget to tie his shoelaces. As he said, Peter was a baby. His baby. “This wouldn’t have happened if you spent more time with me in the lab. There are no temptations,” he grumbled under his breath, almost inaudibly.

In the following silence, Tony realized that almost inaudibly meant loud and clear for the kid.

"Mr. Stark," Peter said slowly, and Tony could swear he saw gears turning in that smart head of his. "Are you... jealous?"

Jealous?

Him?

"Pffft, please,” Tony sniffed. “What could I be jealous of?"

Peter sat up a bit straighter. "Oh my god, you are! You're jealous I'm spending more time with MJ than with you!" he exclaimed like he solved a particularly difficult equation.

"Am not."

"Are so."

"Am not!"

"Are so!"

Come on, that was ridiculous! Tony was never jealous. No, no, no. He just missed the time spent with Peter, missed the way he blabbered about stuff and confined in him, and it felt a bit like a betrayal that the kid hasn’t shared the news with him…

Huh.

“Okay, maybe – and that’s a big maybe – I am a teeny-tiny bit jealous. Don’t laugh at me,” Tony pouted.

What the world has come to? He, Tony Stark, getting laughed at by a teenager.

“Sorry, I’m sorry,” the kid wheezed out, not sounding apologetic at all, “oh, this is so good. MJ will love it.”

“Well, I’m glad you find my worries about you becoming a single mother entertaining.”

“It’s okay, Mr. Stark. I promise you I won’t become a single mother like you.”

“Good. Good, good, good.” Another light turned red. "Did you get the… uh, talk about the birds and the bees?"

The seat belt clicked, and Tony’s head snapped in Peter’s direction. His eyes shift from the kid’s face to his hand halfway towards the handle, then back to his face. “Don’t try it,” he raised a finger

"I'm pretty sure this is a kidnapping."

Neither Tony nor Peter moved, frozen in a stalemate. The faster one wins.

They both lunged at the same time, but luck was on Tony’s side. He pressed a button and the doors locked, leaving the kid to fruitlessly claw at the handle. "I take it as a no, then. So, let's begin."

Peter screamed.

"And that's how you do it correctly and avoid the rash," Tony finished as he pulled up into his garage and unlocked the door.

“My life is over,” Peter muttered as he clutched his head in embarrassment. “This conversation should never happen. Just launch me into the sun.”

Tony rolled his eyes and unbuckled his seatbelt. “Oh, come on, don’t be so dramatic.” Peter was a good kid, but it was better to be safe than sorry. If a little embarrassment was all it took to ensure Tony wouldn’t become a grandpa just yet, then so be it.

Just then, Peter’s head snapped up. “I’m telling Pepper!”

“Wait, no—” Tony said, not fast enough to lock the door again; the kid was already out and sprinting to the elevator. “I’ll get you two pizzas! Three!”

Peter only smiled in a way that promised revenge and waved before the elevator door slid shut.

Ooh, Tony was going to be in so much trouble once he stepped foot in the penthouse.

[coeurdastronaute]

Atlantis 14

Previously on Atlantis

The fact of the matter was, unfortunately, that Lexa had kept Clarke from something, and more importantly, someone. Had it not been for a kiss like that and the way Lexa unfortunately did look when she turned around in those jeans, she might have remembered that there was no fury like a Raven scorned. If she had remembered that, she would have been able to sleep past seven on a Saturday. 

“Get up you fuck!” Raven kicked the door in, slamming it against the wall. “I’m here to overwhelm you with so much support and love you won’t know what hit you.”

“Jesus, Rae, it’s…” Clarke didn’t finish, just buried her head deeper into the pillow, groaning when it was ripped away from her. 

“I was promised time, time that you were excited for, to get back into the world. A tall drink, if I remember correct, and then, once again, you disappear off the face of the earth for a whole week! I’m over being surprised and giving you space.” 

“Your love is touching.” 

The comforter went next as Clarke curled up into a ball, growling in complaint against the chill in her room. Even with the smell of coffee coming from somewhere, she didn’t want to move. She couldn’t. She was exhausted. 

How could she not be? An Atlantean just hopped out of her window like they were juniors in high school, just a few hours ago after a rather quiet, although more intense for it, session of making up for missing each other during the week. It was nearly as impressive as when she climbed up, shoulders straining and muscles--

“Why are you sleeping in lacy undies?” Raven balked. 

“I was, uh, laundry day. Last pair. And don’t look,” she muttered, snatching something to cover up in as best she could. “What are you doing here?” 

“I came to recoup what was mine.” 

“Which is?”

“My best friend. I’m sick of her avoiding me. I’m sick of her locked away in a lab, and I’ve sworn to be her nemesis until she makes it up to me.” 

With a heavy sigh, Clarke rolled over in the bed to finally face her friend. She wasn’t completely wrong. She just didn’t have to be so smug about being right. 

“Fine.” 

“Don’t sound so eager.” 

“I’m so stoked to hang out with you,” Clarke deadpanned. “Can’t wait.”

“That’s a little better. We’ll work on it. And you can spend the morning telling me about whoever gave you that hickey.” 

Immediately, Clarke clamped her hand over her neck, pressing against the sore bruising there and winced. She gulped and looked at her friend’s knowing-eyes and groaned again, shaking her head. 

“Laundry day,” Raven pfft’d. “I know sex hair when I see it.” 

It was her singular act of kindness for the day, to let Clarke shower, unsupervised. Raven lounged on a chair in her childhood bedroom while the scientist showers and dressed, prepared for whatever was going to happen. She wasn’t completely in the right, and she knew it. But Clarke did what she could to make up for it, despite how tired she had become. 

That was how they ended up perusing an empty apartment in an older section of town, with the ancient brick and ivy, the coastal clapboard in all different colors. It was how they ended up at four more after that, and how Clarke fell into an ease with her friend that she had sorely missed. Not much of the world was overwhelming or unwieldy to Raven. She could put things in neat little boxes and she could fix anything, whether it be human or mechanical. She wasn’t wrong for barging in and demanding her friend back. 

“It’s hopeless,” Clarke groaned. “I don’t like any of them.” 

“I don’t know,” Raven shrugged as they walked along the sidewalk, nursing their second coffees of the day. “Anything is better than your parent’s place. You’re a doctoral candidate with an apparent thirst for… sexual satisfaction.” 

She couldn’t help but roll her eyes as they got into the car. 

“I’m having a very good time with a very nice girl. It’s been… it’s been an adjustment. She’s sweet and kind. She’s been an escape.” 

“That tells me literally nothing. Do you have a picture? Her socials?”

“We haven’t… No? She doesn’t, um, believe in social media.”

“Red flag alert,” Raven buzzed like a game show host. 

They made it a few blocks, taking the scenic route to their favorite lunch spot with the good and cheap sushi. 

“It’s not a red flag. It’s just,” Clarke sighed and pressed her palm against her diaphragm where the necklace fell. “She’s different and I think it’s a nice change.”

“I just want to make sure you’re actually healing. It was a traumatic event, and you’ve thrown yourself into this… girl--”

“Stop!”

“I’m just saying that--”

“No! Stop the car!” 

The brakes engaged instantaneously, and Clarke was already climbing out before Raven could pull over to park. The red sign in the yard was a beacon to her that she followed heedlessly until she was standing in front of a mildly dilapidated, pale yellow home, skinny and tall, with peeling white paint around the beams. It was the perfect house-- a dollhouse-- the kind she’d always grown up wanting. 

The family’s house had been new when they bought it, and it showed. It was a mcmansion. It was boring and didn’t have any character. She always wanted one with a little more. 

But this house. This house had more than enough. Sitting with it’s back toward the cliffs overlooking the sea, it felt calm, happy with itself. It had the touret. And big windows, thin windows. The whole place seemed skinny, as if it were afraid to blow away if it got too big. And it was for sale. 

“Clarke, this is a tear down.” 

“No,” she shook her head. “It’s perfect.” 

“What do you need with all of that house?” 

“Quiet. I need quiet,” Clarke decided, finally looking at her friend as she squinted against the sun to look up at the place. “And roots. I need something.” 

She didn’t quite know what to say, just that Clarke was actually asking for something, and that was a rarity. Raven looked back at the house and shook her head. 

XXXXXXXXXX

“I still can’t believe it’s mine,” Clarke smiled and flipped the keys in her hand a few times, as if that would make it more true. 

Without meaning to, she looked at Lexa and smiled, oddly relieved at how her life was coming together. The hero leaned against the doorframe and watched the scientist play with the keys, staring at the pretty blue door. It didn’t seem crazy, to Lexa, for Clarke to want to do this. It felt incredibly normal, and for someone who wanted to find some space, it seemed incredibly reasonable. 

“Are you going to do the honors?” Lexa nudged her forward. 

“Just savoring this moment.”

The hero certainly understood that. She wasn’t lying when she said that she was counting the moments they had together. Not in the explicit sense, but just in the way that she liked when Clarke looked at her when she handed over her juniper bush. And she liked how she looked right now. Moments were important, she was deciding.

There was still a date that needed to be had. Lexa hadn’t meant to get sucked into another mission, but when Donna came knocking, she pulled herself away again. This time, Clarke didn’t seem to notice with how busy she was buying a run-down house and all. Lexa thought she hadn’t noticed, but she was wrong. 

Tentatively, Clarke finally placed the key in the hole and twisted, her face also twisting as it stuck in the lock, causing her to nudge it with her shoulder before it would open. Sheepishly she smiled at Lexa and shrugged. 

“A few kinks to work out, but she’s mine.” 

“And she’s perfect, warts and all,” the hero promised. 

She didn’t stand still though. Instead, Lexa leaned forward and scooped up the scientist, holding her tightly. She had about six inches and years of training to do things like that to her. She liked it. 

“What are you doing?” Clarke giggled. 

“Aren’t you supposed to carry someone over the threshold?” 

“When you’re married,” she informed her. Lexa just shrugged. 

Clarke looked cute in her overalls. She looked cute in how short they were and her pale legs were on display, and Lexa wanted to feel her skin. She looked cute with the pony tail, too, short and choppy and already curling at the edges near her neck in the sun. The last remnant of summer heat sizzled around them, and Lexa didn’t move to put her down. 

“May I start a new tradition then? Whenever you buy a house, you should be carried inside.” 

“I don’t know if a house that cost less than my car is worth that, but,” Clarke sighed with a smile, wrapping her arms around Lexa’s neck. “If you must.” 

“I must.” 

Her first act of entering her home, Clarke leaned forward and kissed the person carrying. It’d be rude not to, and she was nothing save for a hospitable host. But she couldn’t keep kissing Lexa. She couldn’t stop smiling. 

“Hopefully I’m the heaviest thing you lift today,” she laughed as she was righted to her feet. 

“I bet it’s your bed.”

Lexa looked around. She tucked her old baseball hat into her back pocket and Clarke cocked her head appreciatively, watching it slip into her back pocket. Every time she went on a mission, Lexa came back with something different. Soon, her wardrobe was a shuffle between old and new. Clarke quite liked the holes in her dad’s old band shirt, especially the one she might have been making bigger by playing with it near her ribs. She also didn’t mind the tight jeans. Those were nice. She had a thing for thighs. 

“What do you think?” 

The floor creaked as Lexa moved, hands behind her back, like when she was at the palace. She surveyed the built in shelves around the old fireplace that needed a face lift. She toyed with a door that hung sideways on a hutch. She flipped a latch on a window and failed to open it with a normal amount of effort. But then she turned back toward Clarke and smiled widely, and more importantly, genuinely. 

“It’s perfect. Good bones. And I think you’re just the person to love it back to life.” 

It was a compliment she hadn't expected. But Lexa did that-- the honesty thing. It was disarming. 

Lexa adjusted her glasses, still not used to wearing them as they slid somewhat down the bridge of her nose. Her hair was in a bushy ponytail, too thick to be captured willingly. She meandered back around, pretending to look at things again, though really she was just moving toward Clarke. 

“Do you want to show me the upstairs?” 

There was a gratifying instant, where Lexa saw the blood move through Clarke’s cheeks, where she blushed and cleared her throat before turning those eyes back at the hero. It wasn’t lost on Lexa what her girlf-- her frien-- what Clarke having her own place meant for them and the sudden need for privacy, of which they’d gotten none over the past month. She was prepared to take advantage. 

“Ding dong! Welcome Wagon!” a chorus of voices erupted, making Clarke jump. 

Lexa grumbled slightly before standing up straighter. 

Like a parade, a group of strangers poured into the house, all hugging and congratulating the new homeowner. Lexa shrunk back slightly to allow them their time. It was endearing, to see Clarke have a handful of people show up, gifts in hand. She took a second to beat herself up for not getting a gift before all curious eyes stared back at her. 

A girl crossed her arms and gave Lexa an entire look, top to bottom. She was shorter than Clarke, but somehow scarier. And another guy furrowed and cocked his head the other way, unsure of what this meant for him, Lexa thought. Another girl with tattoos Lexa admired smirked and leaned against a wall. She’d brought beer. Lexa really liked her. 

“Oh, uh this is my… Lexa. This is Lexa,” Clarke managed, leaning back into the hero who just adjusted her glasses. “Lexa has been-- she is going to help lift things. She’s strong. She’s around because she’s--”

“Strong,” Lexa supplied, looking down at Clarke and earning a glare for not helping the situation. 

“Your girlfriend.” Someone suggested. 

Clarke looked at Lexa again for some help, for any sort of guidance as to not mess it up. It should have come out like that. Lexa just smiled because Clarke was uncomfortable and she wanted to savor it. But she placed her hand on her hip and shrugged before nodding, earning a smile. 

“Yeah,” Clarke nodded, clearing her throat. “This is my girlfriend, Lexa.”

“Your very strong girlfriend.” 

“That’s me.” 

With her other hand held out, Lexa waited for the discerning girl with her arms crossed to take it. That was slow going but she did. 

“That’s Raven,” Clarke interjected. “And Wells, Octavia, Bellamy, her brother, and Murphy, that’s Ny, and over there is Monty.” 

“I will learn that, I promise.” 

It shouldn’t have been a surprise that she was charming in a situation like this. Clarke had nearly forgotten that she was the crowned princess of an entire country because this was the girl that climbed into her bedroom back home, and this was the girl who liked to eat pop tarts like they were a dying breed. 

“I think I have too much help and not enough stuff,” Clarke observed. “Thanks for coming out.” 

“Any excuse for pizza and beer,” One of them muttered-- Octavia, Lexa thought. “Many hands make light work, whatever.” 

“I don’t have much furniture, but just pile the boxes wherever you want. THis place is a death trap in need of work before I can really move in.” 

“Sounds good to me.” 

In the hubbub, Clarke was afraid she’s lose Lexa, but there was a finger hitched near the buttons on the side of her overalls and she took a step and was pulled back  immediately, earning a kiss while the others trudged toward the moving truck outside. 

“Girlfriend, huh?” 

“Too much?” Clarke worried. 

“No. I’m honored.” 

“Maybe enough to take me on that date I’ve been promised?” 

“Well I don’t have to now,” Lexa smiled. “You’re already my girlfriend.” 

Clarke rolled her eyes, pushing at her shoulder, only earning an arm hooking around her waist, not letting her get far at all. 

“Shut up and go show them how strong you are.” 

“Alright.” 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It wasn’t a lie when Clarke said she didn’t have much, and the amount of people that showed up made it over in record time. She scarcely had time to order the pizza before her living room was full of boxes and the truck was emptied. There weren’t any chairs or anything, no true furniture save for the bedroom set upstairs, but everyone made the best of it, finding pillows or cushions to sit on. 

Lexa found herself as a seat for the woman of the hour. She didn’t mind it at all. She welcomed it eagerly, stealing a bite of her pizza when she got distracted talking to Monty about tiles for the bathroom. 

The entire evening though, Lexa felt the eyes of Clarke’s friends on her. She didn’t try to change anything though. Just acted as she normally would, though it was disarming, suddenly, to be watched like that. She was growing used to blending in. 

She pushed up her glasses again. 

Clarke ran her thumb over the corner of her mouth to fix some sauce left there. 

Lexa kissed her temple. 

“Go ahead, give me it all,” Clarke sighed as she walked her friend outside, everyone mingling their ways toward their cards. “You’ve been watching Lexa like a hawk all day.” 

“I can’t put my finger on it, but there’s something different about her.” 

“She’s kind and nice and sweet and hot?” 

“Yeah, but something else.” 

They peered in through the window on the porch as the girl in question cleaned up the pizza boxes and bottles left on various surfaces. 

“She’s good. I’m good. Just leave it at that.” 

“You do seem happy.” 

“I am.” 

“Take it easy.” 

“I am, as much as you might not believe it. I’m… I’m doing it right.” Clarke smiled as Lexa stood up after bagging everything, her hands on her hips as she surveyed her the room. She liked how her shoulders looked when she had her hands on her hips. She liked that she stayed. 

When she turned around, Raven was looking at her and shook her head. 

“Alright, but I’m watching.” 

“Sounds like a threat.” 

“It is.” 

Clarke rolled her eyes and hugged her friend goodbye. 

The house was quiet, finally. Not at all moved in, but it wouldn’t be for a long while and she was okay with that. She was excited for the challenge. It’d been a long day, and Lexa was still there. 

“Your friends are nice,” the hero offered. 

“They liked you.” 

“Are you sure?” 

“Very.” 

Clarke locked the front door. She held out her hand and waited for her to grab it at the foot of the steps. But Lexa stood there for a moment when she did, keep Clarke closer. She smiled before reaching down and picking her up. 

“Did you just do the move on me again?” 

“It’s effective, isn’t it?” 

“Unfortunately,” Clarke sighed. 

Her legs knew what to do. They wrapped tightly around the hero as she carried them up the stairs. But she could do her own things too that didn’t involve heavy lifting. By the time they reached the top step, she’d kissed a tender spot to Lexa’s neck and earned fingers tightening on her hips. 

The bed wasn’t put together. There weren’t even sheets put on, though they’d been carefully pulled and left somewhere in the room. It didn’t matter. 

“This is the bedroom.” 

“I know, I lifted everything in here for you.” 

“Take off your clothes and let me thank you.” 

“I planned on offering my services around this place, since I’m now an expert in gutters and such, but if you only want me for--”

“I’ll take everything you’ve got. Give me it all.” 

The challenge made, Lexa smirked and searched Clarke’s face, unsure if she knew what it would mean. But she also didn’t seem scared, and so Lexa was ready to do just that.

NEXT

[babyjamiebarnes]

Build-A-Bear

Part Four

Featuring: Bucky x Stark!reader, dad!Tony, Peter Parker, Steve Rogers, various characters in other chapters

Warnings: language, making out

Chapter Summary: You go on a short trip to Massachusetts to see Peter, Bucky takes you on a second date, someone gets caught doing something they shouldn’t.

Author’s Note: This was going to be a filler but it has a decent amount of necessary plot and progression. The next part will have a time jump so I don’t have to include a bunch of filler chapters, blehk. Let me know if you see my Avatar: The Last Airbender reference in here! And as always, you’re welcome to send me a coffee!

(Part One) (Part Two) (Part Three)

Tags: @kennedywxlsh @ursmolbunny @devilswaldorf

By the time Monday rolled around, you were thankful Bucky had training in the morning or you would’ve never gone to sleep. Most of the deeper subjects had been touched on when you were together on Saturday, so Sunday was just texting more playful banter and fun facts you hadn’t learned during your lab hangouts, but you two still talked until your phone was propped up on your pillow waiting for another message while you drifted in and out of sleep.

Bucky had sent you a sweet “good morning, doll” text for you to wake up to, but you didn’t talk much before you had to head to work and he had to work out with Steve. That’s the downside to waking up with just enough time to get ready. Not much wiggle room for distractions, no matter how delicious.

You had barely settled in to your workspace, specs for Sam’s wings pulled up in front of you, when you had a request for a FaceTime call from Peter, of all people. You hadn’t seen him in a few weeks since he went back to campus, but he was set to come back soon for a weekend.

“Hey Peter, what’s up?” you answered.

“Hey [Y/N]! I, uh, I kind of have a big favor to ask,” he said with a forced chuckle.

“Oh… okay? What’s going on?”

“Well, you remember that project you wanted my help on?” You nodded. “Well I talked to my professor about it and he said I can use it as my final project for this semester as long as you come to the proposal and document what you did on it so I don’t take credit for any of your work. If you don’t want to, that’s totally fine! I can probably work on another project, I just don’t want to put your project off and make you wait for me to finish my part —“

“Peter!” you shouted, cutting off his rambling with a laugh. “I think that sounds great. It’ll be nice for you to kill two birds with one stone. When would I need to be there?”

“Uhh,” he started with another forced laugh. “My proposal is Wednesday.”

You stared at the screen, motionless at his response. “Wednesday. Like, two days from now, Wednesday?” Peter nodded. You could practically see him sweating through the phone, worrying about whether or not he should’ve asked his professor sooner or just completely avoided the subject entirely. But you knew he probably didn’t have much heads-up and considered using your project a little late in the game. “It’s a good thing I like you, kid. Let me double check with the boss but I’m sure that’ll be fine.”

“Yes! You’re the best!” Peter cheered.

“I’ll text you when my flight leaves because there’s no way I’m driving ten hours.”

You and Peter briefly went over how things would work, from what you should wear to whether you’d be getting a hotel room or bunking on his futon. While you were talking, you emailed your dad about the trip and got a quick approval. Tony liked Peter, and you understood why. He reminded you of your father if your dad had a stutter instead of an ego.

Mid-afternoon, when you took your second 20-minute break of the day just to let your brain relax, there was a soft tap on the door of your lab before Bucky poked his head in. He stepped in and looked around the whole room frantically before he noticed you curled up under a blanket on the giant bean bag chair you shoved into the corner once Peter left. You liked being able to take your breaks in the quiet of the lab so your brain could actually shut down for a few minutes.

“Oh, hey,” Bucky said with a smile.

“Hey Buck,” you replied, mirroring his smile. “How’s your day?”

“Pretty good,” he said with a sigh. “Just bored so I thought I’d see what you were up to.”

“Just taking a break,” you shrugged. “But you’re more than welcome to sit with me while I work. I won’t interact much because I lose focus easily but you can hang out.”

“As appealing as that is,” he started as he walked closer to you in your bean bag chair, “I know I’d start asking questions and I don’t want to distract you.”

You stood from your spot as he got closer and smirked up at him. “You are pretty distracting.” He stopped when he was toe-to-toe with you. “It’s a good thing my breaks are made for distraction.”

He smiled down at you as his warm hand curled around the back of your neck and pulled you into him for a kiss, your own hands looping through his belt and pulling his body closer to yours.

You practically melted into him, feeling as if you couldn’t get closer no matter how hard you tried. Even him slipping his thigh between your legs didn’t feel close enough. Then the weight of his metal hand fell to your waist as his tongue entered your mouth. It was all reminiscent of your first kiss just a couple days before.

Except outside your apartment, you didn’t have to worry about getting caught.

“Hey [Y/N], have you—“ You and Bucky quickly pulled apart at the sound of a new voice coming from the doorway and you immediately started to panic.

“—seen Bucky,” Steve ended with a sigh. The door quietly clicked shut behind him as he stepped in. “So you two…?”

“Have been on a date,” you said, walking toward Steve with your hands held out. “Steve, please don’t tell anyone, especially Tony.”

“You kind of owe me one, punk,” Bucky said as he walked closer, his hands shoved in his pockets. “I never ratted you out for lying on, what, five different enlistment papers?”

Steve huffed at this, clearly stuck between following the rules or letting others break rules that were much more harmless than his past rule breaking.

“You know this is gonna come out eventually, right? You won’t be able to hide this — and whatever this becomes — forever,” Steve warned.

“We know,” you said solemnly, “but it’s nice to just have this for now, you know?” You looked over at Bucky, who was leaning against the lab table looking back at you, his lips quirked in a small smile.

“Just… be careful,” Steve said as he started to leave. “If you don’t lock the door, at least ask Friday to alert you if someone is coming this way.”

“You know, I don’t care what people say about you, Steve. You’re pretty smart.” Steve initially smiled but then let out a short ‘hey!’ as you pushed him the rest of the way out.

“That was close,” you said, turning back to Bucky.

“But at least we have a pretty influential Avenger on our side, if we ever get outed,” Bucky said. Too bad he didn’t know the approval of everyone on earth would mean nothing to your dad — and both of your boss.

“Well, that little debacle kind of wasted the rest of my break,” you pouted, stepping up to Bucky.

“Can I take you out again?”

“I’d like that a lot,” you smiled. “Oh! I’m leaving for Massachusetts tomorrow and coming back on Thursday and have my family thing on Friday so will Saturday work?”

“Massachusetts?” Bucky asked, clearly missing the rest of your statement.

“Yeah, I’m helping Peter with a project so his prof wants me to be there to answer questions while he proposes his project. It’ll just be Wednesday, but Tony let me have tomorrow and Thursday off for travel so I’m taking my time.”

“That sounds…” Bucky started. “Uhh… I gotta be honest, that sounds unbearably boring,” he laughed, making you giggle with him. “But good luck to you and Peter. I’ll see you Saturday?”

•

The trip to Massachusetts was short but boring, and you were relieved to see Peter’s car when you stepped outside. Your hotel was right down the road from his dorm, so you dropped your stuff off before heading to his room to go over the proposal.

Even though you had only spent a few weeks working with Peter, he had grown to be like a brother to you. Spending so much time every day with no one else to talk to can really help people bond. Your dad’s adoration for the kid definitely helped, too. You wouldn’t be surprised if your dad eventually brought Peter along to family dinner.

“So I have to do most of the work, but you’ll need to explain why we’re doing this and what you’ll be doing,” Peter said after reviewing his speech.

“Okay, I can manage that.”

Peter was quiet for a second before saying, “Do you… maybe wanna go over what you’ll say…?”

“Oh, sure! Sorry, public speaking is a big thing in my family so I just figured I’d wing it.”

“Please don’t,” Peter said quietly, his eyes going wide right as the words left his mouth. “I don’t mean that in a bad way! I just mean, this proposal is important to me so I want it to go as smoothly and well-planned as possible.”

“Okay, you be your professor.”

Peter cleared his throat and said, “Miss [Y/L/N], what prompted you to start this project with Mr. Parker? And what role will you play in its growth?”

“Well, Dr. Kramer, I recently received a promotion within Stark Industries to work with the Avengers on their weaponry. This work included the vibranium arm on the Winter Soldier, Bucky Barnes. One thing I noticed early on was the lack of sensory receptors within the arm. That observation, along with a similar request from Mr, Barnes, prompted me to look into ways to change this. Mr. Parker has an internship with Mr. Stark so, considering our different areas of study, I sought out his help. With my knowledge and expertise on the mechanical side of things, Mr. Parker will primarily be working on the more biological side of things. Once he finds a way to connect new receptors to the spinal column through the current nerve channels, I’ll be able to create millions of micro-receptors that will need to essentially be surgically embedded in the vibranium. I already have the blueprints for this process; I’m more than willing to share those documents with you, though it is confidential and I would need you to sign an NDA for safety reasons.”

Peter stood in the middle of his room, speechless.

“I told you it runs in my family,” you laughed. “Now pick your jaw up off the floor. I’m hungry.”

The next day, Peter and you breezed through the proposal. Peter didn’t even stutter during his speech! But his classmates did bombard you with questions that the professor quickly shut down. You and Peter spent the rest of the day catching up. He introduced you to his girlfriend Michelle and his friends Ned and Flash. By the time you got back to your hotel that night, you were exhausted — and thankful for an afternoon flight.

The next morning, you got breakfast with Peter before his class and finished packing to fly back to New York. You were once again grateful for an afternoon flight because by the time you got back, you didn’t have time to get back to work. So you took the evening off and treated yourself to a bath, some wine, and your favorite Netflix series — and texting Bucky, of course.

Family dinner that week was much easier than the previous week. Your dad mainly asked about your project with Peter, only briefly touching on Bucky’s involvement. At least until your phone buzzed on the table. It was a rule that phones stay face-up on the table at dinner and any messages get read aloud. So when you saw “James 🐻” pop up, heat rushed to your face. You managed to snatch your phone before your dad could, but you still had to read it out loud to the table.

“Uh,” you nervously cleared your throat. “So, James said ‘I have an idea for our date tomorrow, but I would need full reign over your kitchen for a while.’” You sent the table a tight-lipped smile as you locked your phone and set it down again, waiting for someone to say something.

“You’re going out with this James again?” your dad asked.

“Yes,” you said plainly. “I like him, dad. A lot.”

“And you’re already inviting him over?”

“Dad, stop. I’m a grown woman; I can make my own decisions.”

“I’m not saying you can’t, I’m just saying… well, don’t you want to get to know him better first? Make sure he doesn’t want to wear your skin?”

“Ew, shut up,” you laughed. “I’ve done plenty of research into him; he’s a good guy.” Your dad still looked skeptical, so you pulled out your puppy dog eyes. “Please trust me on this.”

Tony huffed and shook his head. “Okay, fine. He’s a good guy. Just don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. And don’t do anything I would do either.” You rolled your eyes at him but managed to divert the conversation by asking Happy and Pepper what Tony’s limit really meant.

•

The next day at 3:30 on the dot, you got a call to your house phone by the front door. It was unusual, especially since you hadn’t ordered any food. The doorman usually brought food up, but called if they were working alone. And you knew they weren’t working alone, considering how early it was. Still in your sweats and a t-shirt since Bucky wasn’t coming over until 4, you answered the phone with a simple “hey.”

“Hello Miss [Y/L/N],” you recognized the doorman Matt’s voice, “there’s a James at the front door for you?”

“Oh, okay, shit,” you said, whispering the last word to yourself. “Go ahead and send him up.”

“Would you like to grant him regular access to your residence?” Matt was always so formal, probably because you pushed for your dad to hire him and he knew he had to keep this gig. His background check showed he came from a low-income family and really wanted to turn that around. He knew he owed you and because of that, he was always grateful and sweet.

“Yes please. Thanks, Matt!”

With that, you hung up and sprinted to your room, knowing Bucky only had a 20 second elevator ride before he got to the sixth floor. Unfortunately for you, you didn’t have time to scramble for new clothes before there was a knock at your door. You grumbled as you ran back to the front door and greeted Bucky.

“Hi,” you said, half out of breath from your scurrying.

“Hey,” he smiled back. “I’m glad we chose the same style today.”

You gave him an admittedly generous once-over and realized his gray sweats and black tee matched yours, though your shirt did have an NYU logo on it.

“Oh thank god,” you nearly cackled. “I was panicking because I thought I should dress nice but you were early so I didn’t have time but I didn’t want to get ready too early so I wasn’t —“

“Hey [Y/N]?” Bucky interrupted. “Can I come in?”

“Oh, shit, yeah.” You stepped aside and let him kick his shoes off in the entryway. That’s when you noticed all the grocery bags in his hands. “Uhh, whatcha got there?”

“I said I’d need your kitchen, right?” he smiled, sending a wink your way as he started setting up. “I’m gonna cook you some authentic Romanian dishes ma used to make back in the ‘30s.”

“Ohh, sounds yummy. Can I help?”

“If you want to eat any of it, you better help,” Bucky joked.

“Let me grab a couple aprons so our fancy attire doesn’t get dirty.” In the hallway closet, you had about a dozen aprons Happy got for you. You said you needed some aprons once and suddenly you were getting new aprons for every gift-giving holiday. You appreciated it, though. Every time Happy saw an apron he thought you’d like, he bought it. And you, in return, bought him every oven mitt you thought he would like after he accidentally burned his hand making green bean casserole one year for Thanksgiving.

You grabbed the “Queen of the Cat-chen” apron covered in cats for yourself and for Bucky, the “I’ll feed all you fuckers” apron your dad thought was hilarious on your last birthday.

“Sorry I don’t have any matching chef hats,” you joked as you handed Bucky his apron.

For the next three hours, you followed all Bucky’s instructions and watched as he did his part of the work, chatting while things cooked and finally relaxing once everything was plated. You each had a decent amount of food debris on your aprons, making you thankful you both wore them. You led Bucky into the living room where you sat on the floor between your couch and the coffee table.

“You know the couch is made for sitting, right?” Bucky asked as he slowly sat behind you, one leg on either side of your body.

“Yeah, but it’s more fun to sit on the floor, especially when I’m eating.” You turned your head to face him as you continued, “I get too sleepy if I’m on the couch too long.”

He chuckled at your confession but didn’t argue. You both ate in comfortable silence, the only sound coming from the hum of traffic six floors down and the TV quietly playing a crackling fire YouTube video.

“Can you finish this for me?” you asked as Bucky set his empty plate on the coffee table.

“I’m full, doll.”

“Bucky, please? I can’t finish it,” you whines, pouting up at him.

“Then just put it away with the leftovers and eat it later,” he shrugged.

“But I’m so bad at eating leftovers,” you groaned.

“Then I’ll put it away and eat the leftovers,” he conceded. He snatched the plate from you and headed to your kitchen to pack it all away.

By the time he made it back, you were snuggled under a blanket on the couch with “What’s Your Number?” pulled up on the TV.

“I hope you’re okay with watching my favorite movie,” you smiled, making sure to flutter your eyelashes extra hard so he couldn’t say no.

“I haven’t seen this one yet so sure,” he said with a shrug.

He yanked the blanket off your body and unfolded it so he could bring you under his right arm and cover both of you with the thick fabric. Ever since Monday in the lab, he’s been more affectionate. He stopped by on Friday and kissed you at least half a dozen times before he left, then earlier while you were cooking, it was like he had to hold your hips every time he watched over your shoulder, and he chose to end the night holding you into his side and… oh, you were a goner once his fingers started lightly tracing shapes on your bare arm.

And he had to have known you were weak, if the way he angled his body toward you was any indication. You loved the movie you had picked out and really did want to watch it… but when you looked up at Bucky and saw his gaze meet yours, you knew the movie was going to be long forgotten.

His lips pressed to yours firmly, like he wanted to make sure you remembered what he felt like. You quickly let things escalate by gripping his hair and pulling him with you and you laid back on the couch. Your legs fell open as he slid right between them, his left arm propped on the cushion to keep himself from crushing you and his right slipping under your shirt to hold your waist. When his tongue passed your lips, you couldn’t help but whimper at the feeling of him taking control. His hand never moved past your waist, just occasionally squeezing as he pressed his body against yours.

The rest of the night was spent alternating between making out, talking while you were chest to chest on the couch, and making out some more until you fell asleep against his chest.

•

The next morning, you woke up to the blaring sound of a ringtone... that wasn’t your ringtone. And you were on your couch? The sleepy haze quickly wore off when you felt Bucky’s body shift behind you to reach over and grab his phone.

“What?” he answered grumpily, though your body’s initial reaction was to how deep and gravelly his voice was in the morning. Fuck.

With how close you two were and how quiet it was with the TV off, you managed to barely make out what was being said on the other end of the line.

“Where are you?” It was Steve. “You were supposed to be at the group breakfast this morning but you weren’t in your room so I told Tony you weren’t feeling well.”

“Oh, fuck,” Bucky groaned. Now that sound sent all your senses into overdrive. “I fell asleep at [Y/N]’s last night.”

“Yeah, I kind of figured,” Steve replied, clearly exasperated. “Look, just stop by a convenience store and grab some medicine so when you get back, no one questions it. You snuck out when no one saw, that’s the story.”

“Thanks, man. I’ll head out soon.” Once they hung up, you rolled over on the couch to face Bucky.

“Good morning,” you said with a sleepy grin.

“Good morning,” he replied, pressing a slow, gentle kiss to your lips. “I’m sure you heard but I’ve gotta head out before Tony gets suspicious.”

“Okay. Text me when you get back?”

Bucky stood from the couch, and you followed suit behind him as he put his sneakers and jacket on.

“I’ll text you on my whole trip back,” he smiled. “Looks like you might have to bring those leftovers with you tomorrow. I don’t know that I can sneak them back today.”

You practically skipped to join him at the door, your hands going to rest on his chest before he could leave.

“Should we just designate Saturdays as our date nights?” you asked.

“Who said you get another date?” Bucky joked back.

“Excuse me?” you gasped in mock offense. “Next time I get to choose what we do and I’m not letting you take that away from me.”

Bucky chuckled at your little outburst but pressed another kiss to your lips as a peace offering.

“Next Saturday, your pick,” he smirked.

“It’s a date.”

[thegreenmetblue]

STARKER FESTIVAL SUMMER BINGO : 2nd square

not a date

read on ao3

Peter was utterly anxious. To be honest, he’s not even sure anything in his life stressed him more than that. To be fair, he wasn’t expecting this. At all. Let’s go back to earlier in the day. This morning to be more precise.

Peter was lying in his bed, watching some weird videos on YouTube. But it was Saturday morning. It’s what teenagers do on a early Saturday morning (read : at 10 am). Not that the boy was gonna say it out loud but it was either that, either reading fanfictions about Spiderman and Iron Man. But shhh if you ask him, he’d say it’s only for checking how people are describing him.

Anyway, he was watching some hilarious videos Ned has sent him for the last six days when his phone stopped the video in exchange of Tony Stark’s face. Peter’s heart skipped a beat in his chest, like every time Tony’s calling him. “Yes ?”, he answers with a faint voice. Most of the times, he has no issues talking to Tony face to face but god knows why, Peter has still big issues with calls.

“If this isn’t my favorite young adult. Hi, Pete. Im sorry if woke up you. Or maybe not that sorry, it was time to anyway.”, Tony’s voice says in the speaker. Peter’s cheeks redden at that. He doesn’t know the reason of it, but it’s been almost two months Tony stopped calling him a kid. And now he just said young adult, it gives hope to Peter’s poor heart. Maybe Tony stopped seeing him as a kid. Maybe he sees him more as an equal now ? Lost in his thoughts, the boy doesn’t even realize he didn’t answer to the man on the other side of the phone.

“Alright, imma take that as a no. Gosh, I wondered what happened to the boy that was practically begging to have all my attention.”, Tony laughs softly. Again, he just said Peter wasn’t that boy anymore. The boy makes a little shame sound to the man’s comment about his behavior, feeling his cheeks burning even more.

“N-no, im sorry, im here mr. Stark. You didn’t wake me up. And please take that back, I was never asking for you attention, old man.”, Peter shoots back. He loves doing that. He loves talking back to Tony. “Imma pretend I didn’t hear what you just called me. And Im also gonna pretend like you’re not shamelessly lying to me at the moment. Anyway, you have plans tonight ?”, Tony asks, a bit of growling in his voice. This automatically warms Peter’s heart. He’s probably gonna go to Tony’s lab tonight.

Peter was trying not to smile too much when he remembered Tony wasn’t actually there. “No, I don’t have anything. You want me in the lab ?”, the boy asks and immediately regrets his choice of words. want me in the lab. Fuck. He was gonna say sorry to that, but thanks god Tony speaks before he can make it even more awkward. “No actually I was thinking of something a little more fun. What do you say about eating in a fancy restaurant tonight ?”. Peter’s heart doesn’t skip a beat this time, it skips severals. Tony wants- what ?

“What ?”, he lets out, without even realizing it. “Should I take that as a no again ?”. Tony’s voice echoes in Peter’s brain but never gets analyzed. The boy’s still frozen, his phone hanging in his hand, the sound of his beating heart ringing in his ears.

“Peter ? Fri just told me your heartbeats are unsually high, are you okay ?”. And this time, that wakes him up. “Wh-what ? Oh.. no that’s- im okay, it’s just- MJ!”, Peter stutters as an answer. He swears he can hear Tony’s frowning’s expression in the silence that follows.

“I mean, she- MJ, she sent me a funny, a text, it reminded me of something and I huh.. yeah. No, that’s yes.”. Another long silence. that’s a yes. Peter feels like he just answered a proposal. “Yes as in, im free for tonight, mr. Stark.”, Peter finishes, his cheeks burning with shame.

“Great. And Im not gonna question what just happened, alright ? Be ready for 7.”, Tony simply says before hanging up. Just like that. Just like he didn’t just made Peter’s brain completely fry.

“Did Tony just asked me on a date?”, Peter asks himself out loud, alone in his bedroom, his jaw hanging in shook. What the hell ?

That’s how Peter started the most stressful day of his entire life. Exams ? Spiderman ? Thanos ? Forget all of this, he has a freakin’ date with Tony freakin’ Stark, that is the real stressful shit. He spends half of the day walking in his apartment.

Around 3, he starts to panic hard because Tony said fancy. But Peter doesn’t have fancy clothes. He stayed in front of his phone, hesitating to send Tony something about that or no. He doesn’t want Tony to think he only has kid’s clothes. But then, better this than showing up in a fancy restaurant with a pun-sweat right ?

PP : How should I be dressed for tonight ?

Peter finally sends, not asking but hoping Tony’ll understand what he meant. His smile increases when, 6 minutes after, his phone rings.

TS : Happy is gonna drop you a suit at 5.

Peter’s inside catches fire at that. The words sugar daddy are ringing in his ears. Tony is gonna buy him a suit. Just for tonight. For their date. “Oh my god, imma be sick.”, Peter mumbles. His heart has been beating so fast since the call. And he feels like he’s gonna throw up. And he’s also happy. So happy. But- a date ? With Tony Stark ? Peter has been in love with the man for- he can’t even remember. Of course at first it was just a fan crush, then a real crush, then it bloomed into full love. And Peter never thought he could had a chance. But- Peter’s thoughts get cut by the entry door opening.

It’s May. And it’s been 5 hours now that Peter is combusting with impatience all alone in his apartment that he just can’t help himself. As soon as May starts taking to him, he blurts out : “I’ve got a date tonight!”

That’s how the hundreds of questions start. May knows he’s gay. However, May doesn’t know he loves Tony and she definitely doesn’t know the actual date is with Tony. So when she starts asking who he is, Peter realizes it maybe wasn’t the best idea. So after receiving the 5 hugs May felt like she needed to give him for that, the boy sends another text to Tony.

PP : Can we meet at the park next to my building please?

And then, he lets May giving him advices for tonight. “Alright, I get why you won’t tell me. Even if Im a little concerned, I get it. Where is he taking you ?”, she asks, a big smile on her face. “I don’t know actually, he just said it was somewhere fancy.”, Peter answers, trying not to let his smile gets to him too much.

“And how are you gonna get dressed ? You maybe can try some of Ben’s suit ?”. And Peter’s heart warms at that proposition. “It’s alright May, I already have something to wear actually.”

The two next hours aren’t better, they’re worst. May continues giving him advices. For his sakes, Peter swears himself to never use some. Then he takes a shower, the longest he never took. Just in case. He wants all of his skin to smell good for Tony. His cheeks brun at this thought. Are him and Tony gonna.. ? Now his whole body is warming up and Peter can’t help but jerking off at the thought of him and Tony going home tonight and having some fun.

When Happy leaves him a text saying the suit is in the mailbox, the boy sneaks to get it. Once the suit is on him, Peter can’t stop looking at his own reflection in the mirror. It’s a light blue suit and fuck, he does look good in those. His whole skin is shivering because Tony bought it to him. Tony’s money is touching his skin. The boy snorts at his own weird thoughts. But he can’t help it.

A small whine escapes his lips when he realizes there’s still 1h30 before Tony comes to get him. And that’s the absolute worst feeling ever. Peter tries to work, to watch a tv show, to talk with May, to phone MJ or Ned, to build lego, but nothing is able to make the time look less slow. And the more the time passes, the more Peter’s stomach gets stress crushed.

When 7 pm is finally approaching, Peter’s not even sure he can breath anymore. “Peter, hey- Peter, please can you stop ?”, May finally snaps and Peter turns to her, ready to burst at her that she doesn’t know how he feels right now, but she shushes him before he can even start.

“Everything’s gonna go well, angel. But please, you’re gonna faint before you’ll even get there, alright ? You’re handsome my baby, he’s gonna love you.”, May tries to calm him by hugging him. He was about to answer her when the clock beside them shows that 7 pm is in 5 minutes. Peter jumps saying he’s gonna be late and rushes out of the apartment.

He went down the stairs, crossed the street and went to the park in a 1 minute time. His heart is menacing to get out of his chest. And when he finally hears Tony’s voice behind him, his whole body jerks and he turns to the voice.

His heart stops again. Holy fuck, Tony is- he’s god-handsome. Peter’s jaw opens and doesn’t close.

“You’re doing alright Peter ?”, Tony asks, after a few seconds. Peter tries. He tries really hard. But Tony is in front of him, in a grey suit that looks absolutely heavenly hot on him, and they’re going on a date and-

“Peter ?”, this time, he forces himself to answer before Tony decides to leaves him there. “Hum… huh- yeah? Yeah you look good. I- I mean.. Im good! Im doing… good.”. He watches in horror as Tony tries to not laugh at him. “Blue suits you, by the way.”, Tony comments and Peter tries not to blush or smile at that.

Then the older one shows him the car behind them and Peter hurries inside.

“So. Why the park ?”, the man asks after a few seconds. Peter’s brows frown in confusion. “Forget it. Everything alright Pete ? You look… tense. Did something happened while you patrolled ?”. And this time, Peter’s sure he’s blushing. Why can’t he just relax ? Okay it’s a date but it shouldn’t be any different than the rest of the time they spend together.

“Yeah.. Yeah im sorry I was just a bit nervous, you know… I… Im happy you invited me tho! So.. where are we going ?”, the boy tries to show he’s grateful for this. The last thing he wants is Tony thinking he’s not happy about the date.

“It’s an Italian restaurant, my favorite one. You’ll see, everything that’ll get into your mouth tonight will make you fly.”, Tony answers and there’s a silence. Peter’s cheeks burn hot now. Did Tony really said- oh my god. “Im just realizing how it sounds. Maybe not my best choices of words.”, the man laughs. laughs, as if he didn’t created a whole fire in Peter’s body. The boy just prays not to pop up a boner just because of a single sentence.

The rest of the ride is just small talks and when they finally arrive, Peter stays close to Tony, it makes him feel protected. And he likes it. The smile on his face is uncontrollable. He can’t believe he’s on an actual date with Tony Stark. His heart is about to burst from happiness. And the place is stunning, and Tony’s stunning. And Peter sees people watching them and he feels proud. He knows how much people want Tony. But Tony’s there with him.

Once they’re seated, Peter can’t help but stare at Tony who’s in front of him. And the only thing he can think of is that he loves him. But the boy shuts up. Tony didn’t mentioned it being a date yet, and even when he does, Peter can’t just say he loves him already.

When the menu comes, Peter just stare at the Italian names blankly. “I… I don’t understand anything that’s written.” , he murmurs to Tony, a bit ashamed. But the man just fondly snorts in response and translates him the different propositions. But after the explanations, Peter’s still lost as fuck. what the fuck are all of those ?. Tony laughs again, louder this time, noticing Peter’s lost face.

“You know what, I’ll order for you. How does that sound ?”. The boy’s heart stops and he flushes different shades of red at once. Tony is gonna order for him. “That- That sounds good. Im sorry I don’t know what are those.”, Peter finally says. “Hey, none of that Pete. Plus, Im kinda excited for you to try what I’ll pick for you.”, the man says, like it wasn’t making Peter squirm in his chair. Oh my god, he’s gonna die.

To give himself a bit of capacity, he pretends to read the menu once again and pouts noticing the prices aren’t there. Meaning it must be like, super expensive. He knows Tony can pay, and there’s a side of him that likes it. Because it’s easier for him to call Tony Daddy in his head. But there’s also a part of him that hates it because it feels like he can’t complete. May and Peter are kinda broke and Peter would have liked to be able to pay a restaurant to Tony too.

“What’s up with the pout ?”. Shit. “N-Nothing, mr. Stark really. It’s just… you know, I can’t… it’s a fancy restaurant and May and I aren’t…”, he begins but Tony cuts him. “Im stopping you right there, Peter. Im sorry if me picking a fancy restaurant embarrassed you, I should have asked where you wanted to go first. But don’t worry about that, okay ? Im not asking you to pay for anything, I invited you there.”. Peter feels his heart beating hard in his chest. “No, Im really happy to be there, I swear! I just… I just don’t want- I don’t know, forget it.”.

Tony does what Peter asked him, he drops the subject and start talking about Peter’s project in the lab. And that, it allows Peter to relax a bit. Because it suddenly feels like a normal time with Tony. And not a date. Well, a date yes but not an awkward one. And if Peter chokes on his own saliva when Tony orders in fucking italian in front of him, then at least, the man acts like he didn’t see it. And Peter’s happy there’s a table because explaining to Tony why he’s hard right now would have been real awkward.

It becomes a bit more awkward again when the meals arrive. Because Peter gets aroused by how good the food Tony picked for him is. Because Tony looks genuinely satisfied with the fact Peter moans at every bite he takes. And because watching the gorgeous man eating in front of him is also a whole show.

Peter is too occupied staring at Tony to realize he’s missing his mouth with the next bite he takes. The man laughs gently at him and Peter wants to fucking hide under the table because now Tony’ll think he doesn’t know how to eat.

“That’s good huh ? Knew you would like it.”, Tony smiles, after a minute of silence. The smile on Peter’s lips grows automatically. He likes that. He really likes that Tony knew what he’d like. “That’s… the best thing I ever ate mr. Stark!”, Peter answers, beaming with happiness. Even the awkward moments can’t ruin this for him. He’s so happy.

The rest of the evening goes well. So well even. But the more the end approaches, the more Peter can’t help but asks himself if something’s gonna happen or not. Like… Is Tony gonna bring him home ? Is he gonna kiss him ? Even the thought of that is enough to make Peter’s head feel dizzy. He can’t even let himself imagine something more than a kiss would happen. And if he does, he’s gonna combust in front of Tony. And before his mind decides to picture them having sex, Peter shakes his head, his cheeks reddening with both shame and want. He had so many dream about Tony, so many wet dreams about Tony. He has been dreaming about the man since even before they actually meet. And Peter feels like he would cum the second Tony lays a hand on him. That’d be pretty awkward. And then, Peter can’t help but wonder what Tony sees in him. He’s nobody. Tony can have whoever he wants, and still, he chose him. Does Tony know he’s a virgin still ? Would he care ?

“Okay, have you even listened to a word I just told you ?”, Tony asks, a jaded look on his face. Peter realizes the man has been talking to him and blushes in shame. “Im so sorry! I was thinking… I got lost in my thoughts, sorry.”, he apologizes, hoping Tony won’t think he’s boring him.

“Wow, he’s getting invited to the fanciest restaurant ever and still act like it’s not enough. What more do you want Parker ?”, Tony jokes and one part of Peter is happy he didn’t get upset. Another part of him just wanna scream he wants Tony to kiss him once they’re out of the restaurant. But what if Tony wanna take his time ? He doesn’t wanna sound as desperate as he really is.

“I’d really love for a car.”, Peter jokes back, glad he made Tony smile. “Ask and you shall receive.”. And Peter doesn’t know how honest Tony is with this. He hopes the man is joking. But Tony’s intense look in his eyes when Peter said those words is enough to make him realize the man is serious about this. “I was joking, mr. Stark.”, the boy adds, just to be sure he won’t receive a car tomorrow. Tony doesn’t answer anything to that, which is kinda weird, but Peter doesn’t think too much about it.

When the server comes back and asks if they want a dessert, Tony answers for him again. No. This time Tony doesn’t wait for Peter to even asks him, he just orders him something in Italian again.

“I could have asked him for ice cream you know…”, Peter whines, faking a pout. “Oh so he understands Italian now.”. And the smile Tony had on his lips almost all night is making Peter heart feel so light.

“I don’t, but I don’t think I need a italian degree to understand ‘gelato’, old man.”, Peter teases, making himself feels hot all over his body. He sees Tony’s gaze changing a bit too. Is Tony loving this as much as him ? “Brat.”, the man accuses and Peter stops himself to make a punishment joke. They’re not there yet.

The boy is now eating his damn vanilla ice cream and can’t help the blush creeping on his face again. Tony is staring at him. Not watching. Staring. Peter’s senses can feel his intense gaze on him, on his face. And the boy feels like he doesn’t know how to eat anymore. He’s sure he’s putting ice cream everywhere on his lips and wants to die about it.

“Y-You didn’t want to take something ? Huh… dessert or- or coffee ?”, he stutters, to make things less intense, because Peter is seconds away to moan under Tony’s gaze. “Im all good, thanks Pete.”, Tony answers and the boy doesn’t know if he’s dreaming or not but Tony’s voice sounded more… low ? He goes back to eating his ice cream, hoping it’s the last ice cream he’ll ever eat in his life.

When they finally go out, Peter feels drunk. He’s so happy, so nervous and so horny at the same time. He’d say so in love but let’s not brings more awkward to this. They walk in silence to Tony’s car. And just before Tony can open his car, Peter blurts out : “Thank you so much for the dinner mr. Stark! It was really really good and really fun. I liked it… a lot.”, he says, knowing he’s blushing again but doesn’t care at this point. Maybe Tony is waiting for him to make the first move. Because he doesn’t wanna rush him.

“Pleasure was mine, Pete.”, the man answers, a soft smile on his lips. And then, Peter doesn’t even realize what his body his doing, but that should be the good time no ? His heart is pounding so fast and loud in his chest, ears and whole body as he leans and kiss Tony. A smack. Just a smack. Because Peter doesn’t even know how to kiss. It was fast, but enough to make Peter’s heart explodes in his chest.

But then he sees Tony’s face. Tony’s frozen and shocked face. Shit. Did it was too soon ? Did it sucked ? Did Tony expected someone who could actually kiss him ? Peter wants to throw up. ”Mr. Stark ?”, he asks faintly.

“Peter. What… What was that ?”, Tony questions, his tone dangerously flat. “I- I thought… Im so sorry I... You know with the date and all, I thought maybe… maybe it was a good time to kiss you, you know ? Im sorry if Im not a g-”, Peter painfully begins but gets cut by Tony. “Wait- A date ? It wasn’t a date.”, the man says, his voice suddenly high. Peter’s blood turns cold in his whole body.

What ?

“Wh- What ?”, he breathes, voice already trembling. Oh god no. No no no no, this can’t be happening.

“This. That’s- Christ, Peter. It wasn’t a date. I- I didn’t- We’re not- Fuck.”, Tony panics, his voice almost screaming the last bit, stepping back from Peter. Peter who’s still frozen, watching what’s happening in front of him without being able to move.

“Oh god, Im so sorry if I made you think it was a date, kid. Im- It wasn’t my intention.”, Tony tries to apologize, clearly still panicking. The only word echoing in Peter’s brain is kid. Tony hasn’t called him like that for months. And now he’s doing it again.

“Peter, kid. Shit, you can’t cry- I- Peter Im so sorry I shouldn’t-”. And it’s only when Tony says that that Peter realizes tears are rolling down his cheeks. His heart feels heavy in his chest. No. His heart feels completely crushed in his chest. And the humiliation. The boy still stands there, only capable of crying in front of Tony, who’s panicking on his own.

“Kid, you- Im sorry, Im not mad I swear, we can’t- We just can’t. We’re not… that.”. And Peter’s heart feels like breaking again. “D-Don’t call m-me k-kid.”, and it’s the only thing Peter can lets out before fully starting to cry. Small hiccups escaping his lips.

Tony watches in horror, unable to do much. “Peter, im begging you- stop crying, im not mad, you’re- kid I-”, the man starts and if he wasn’t so much in pain, Peter would have been genially shocked to see Tony struggling so much to speak. “Stop ca-calling me a kid!”, the boy almost screams, surprising both himself and Tony. The man steps back again. There’s a silence. A loud one. A painful one.

“Im sorry. It’s my fault if you thought- Jesus, it’s my fault if you mistook this, Peter. Im sorry I let you think this was a… a date. You can’t- it’s not on you, Im not mad.”, Tony speaks again. But it’s only words. Peter’s brain shut himself. He doesn’t understand what Tony is saying to him. He just wants to die.

“But- But I lo-”, he starts, desperately, only to get cut by the man in front of him again. “No. No you don’t. You- Jesus ki- Pete, it’s not-” and there’s a silence again. “It’s not wh-what ? True ? H-How would you know ? And wh-why… what was al-all of this for if-if it was- n’t a.. a da-date ?”, the boy desperately questions, in between cries. Tony’s pained expression intensifies. “Pete, stop crying.”.

“Answer me!”, the younger one screams. He can’t believe Tony. It’s not true. Tony is just being- delusional.

“Christ why are you doing this ? Peter, it was just- just… us.”. Peter never heard Tony’s voice sounding so desperate before today. But he can’t care. He feels like he’s been crushed by a fucking plane right now.

“Us ? Ye-yeah and Im- im saying that us, is me lo-lo-loving you and you- you looking at me with- with that look in your eyes.”. And Peter can sees Tony’s eyes watering. Again, it’d be the first time he sees Tony crying, but he still can’t care. The man just steps back and sighs, passing both of his hands on his face.

“You stopped calling me ki-kid. And- and you order for me- and- and sh-shit! I- I know you like it. I know i-it because I can se-see it, mr. Stark. I- I want- I want you… pl-please.”, Peter cries even harder now, his voice constantly cut by cries. “Please.”, he begs again. And it’s even more painful because Tony doesn’t answers anything. The man just stand in front if him, completely frozen, with a pained expression on his face. But he doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t deny it. Why doesn’t he deny it ?

And suddenly, Tony’s warms hands are on his cheeks, trying to wipes the endless tears coming out of Peter’s eyes. But the sensation of the hand on his cheeks only makes Peter cry more. “Peter… Peter, baby.. please. You- fuck. You have to stop, alright ?”, Tony whispers, so close to him, but yet so far. baby.

Peter doesn’t realize he leans on the touch, he doesn’t realize Tony’s other hand is clenching hard on his light blue jacket. And despite everything that is happening right now, Peter only wants them to kiss. A real kiss.

But the next thing he feels is Tony’s strong body against him. The man is hugging him and Peter can’t help but hug him back, his cries still loudly getting out. “Peter, please. I can’t. You know I can’t. Im so sorry. I shouldn’t have invited you, I shouldn’t- I shouldn’t have let myself- I can’t.”, Tony murmurs those things in Peter’s ear, tightening his arm around the boy’s body and it only hurts Peter more. Why is Tony saying all of this ? What does it mean ?

“Please…”. It’s all what Peter is capable to say. Please love me. He feels Tony’s body, Tony’s warmth getting away and hates it. And the boy can’t take it. It hurts so much. So before Tony can even answer with another apologize, Peter’s wrists move on their own, and the next second he’s not there anymore, he’s on the top of the building next to the restaurant. He has to get away from Tony. He can’t stay there.

And if Peter hasn’t jumped on another building right away, he would have been able to hear Tony whispering on his own. “Pete… I wished you’d understand why this can’t be a date, why I can’t let you love me back.”, finally letting himself cry now that Peter ran away.

second square for @starkerfestivals 🙈🙈

alright so first of all im so sorry for this fjndldl 😭😭😭 this bingo is challenging me so much tho bc i wrote my first tony fucking peter and now i wrote my first sad ending

its just the first thing that came to my mind seeing ‘not a date’ so i followed my idea

also i edited it three fucking times bc tumblr was being a bitch with me today 🔪

[captain-josslett]

Broken Melody - Part Thirty Two

Masterlist

Summary: Grammy Award winning Emma Danvers is the first to say she has a pretty good life. But what happens when it implodes around her and it looks like things will never be the same again?

Words: 8.6k+ (opps)

Warnings: Fluff, Angst, PTSD moments

Pairings: Emma Danvers x Lena Luthor, Alex Danvers x Sam Arias

This Part: Two weeks before the surgery, the Danvers sisters find out something about their Mom and the Superfriends go bowling!

Surprise! Two days later! What is going on? I had a lot of fun writing this. Sorry it got so long!

Thank you for reading and let me know if you wanna be tagged or any general feedback will be greatly appreciated. Please! I like knowing your thoughts.

Taglist: @finleyfray, @life-is-hella-unfair, @natasha-danvers, @supergirl-writingz, @camslightstories, @thinking1bee, @aznblossom

2 Weeks Before The Surgery

Emma slowly wakes up and stretches her whole body while voicelessly yawning. Generally her sleep hasn’t been as disturbed as before, but Emma is still finding she doesn’t feel as refreshed as she should when she wakes up.

Her hand reaches out for Lena, but finds the space next to her empty and cold. She blinks her eyes open and silently sighs when there is no sign of her girlfriend.

Lena had warned that she may have to work on Saturday due to the volume of business piling up. But she'd already said she needed to recharge.

Still.

Even though Sam and Lena have been hiring more staff to work the caseloads and Lena has been supervising the team leaders in the labs. The workload just seems never ending for L-Corp at the moment.

Causing Emma to barely see her girlfriend this week leaving Lena to usually stumble tiredly into the apartment after Emma has gone to bed. She’d sleepily brush her teeth, flop into bed, sometimes fully clothed and make Emma jump awake by the bounce of the bed. If Lena was still clothed in her tight business clothes, Emma would carefully change Lena into her pyjamas so she could sleep more comfortably. Emma would then kiss her on the forehead due to the raven haired beauty already being asleep.

Then Lena would wake up before her alarm, leaving Emma to sleep in as Lena quietly sneaks out of the apartment to head to L-Corp before sunrise. There wasn’t even much time for them to have lunch together but Emma would savour the moments she could have with Lena.

However, last night when Lena stumbled through the bedroom door, Emma had still been awake and once Lena crawled into bed and into Emma’s arms, she had groaned that she would take Saturday off to recharge.

‘Guess not.’ Emma thinks sadly while rolling out of bed to use the bathroom. She wobbles slightly as the room spins but Emma was getting used to the sensation.

Afterwards she grabs her phone and sees a message from her Mom

Eliza: Morning Sweetheart! Was wondering if you and Lena wanted to grab breakfast/brunch/lunch with me? Depending on what time you wake up of course!

Emma’s heart warms at how her Mom always wants to include Lena in their outings, which evidently, has started to dwindle. Emma glances at the time on her phone and sees it’s just gone 10:30am.

Emma: Yes please! Although it will be just me cause Lena has to work. 🥺

Where would you like to go? Do you want me to pick you up?

Due to everything happening Eliza had decided to rent an apartment that was close to the DEO and in a location that was in the middle of her daughter’s apartments. Emma was still impressed that her Mom managed to achieve all this in such a short time. But once her Mom’s mind was set on something, she went for it and no one would dare tell her to go back to Midvale.

Eliza: That’s a shame. How about that beach cafe you rave about so much?

Emma snorts at her Mom’s text.

Emma: Mom, I rave about a lot of beach cafés…

Eliza: Is that sarcasm I detect?

Emma: Noooo

Eliza: Anyway, you choose sweetheart, I am ready when you are. Just let me know when you are leaving.

Emma: Great! Give me 15 mins!

Emma quickly places her phone on the bed and races to the walk-in wardrobe, having had her shower the night before she waited for Lena to come home.

Suddenly the room spins and warps around her. Emma closes her eyes, waiting for the moment to pass. Thankfully it does and she continues her task. Choosing blue skinny jeans, a white t-shirt with gold stars on and a black hoodie. She stuffs her feet into black converses and grabs her phone, texting her Mom and places it into her messenger bag.

Emma: Just leaving now.

But as Emma heads for the door she notices a piece of paper on the island. Intrigued, she zips over, banging her knee into the corner of the unit. Unknowingly cracking the hard unit slightly.

‘Mother fucker!’ Emma’s mind screams as she rubs her knee before focusing on Lena’s handwriting.

‘Good Morning my love,

I’m sorry for leaving you like this but I have to go into work. I will hopefully be able to come to the bowling alley. If not, please apologise to Nia and give her a hug from me.

All my love, Lena x’

Emma lets out a voiceless sigh, she knew Lena was not in the apartment, but seeing the proof frustrates her. Disappointment in her girlfriend starts to creep in, she hopes Lena can make it to the bowling alley, not for her, but for Nia. Who has been bouncing around like a puppy with how much she was looking forward to spending time with the Superfriends to celebrate her birthday.

Due to Lena’s connections they’ve managed to hire a VIP private room with a few lanes, meaning once they are through the doors they don't need to have any face modifiers activated.

Because of Lena’s note, Emma grabs Nia’s birthday gifts and card, just in case Emma doesn’t return to the apartment before the party.

Her phone bleeps and Emma quickly takes it out as she exits the apartment.

Eliza: Okay Sweetheart! Drive safe!

Emma rolls her eyes at her Mom’s message and resists sending a sarcastic comment back. Instead she smiles down at her phone while she enters the elevator and activates her face modifier. She chooses a face with a beauty mark like Marilyn Monroe and she can’t help but pull a sexy pout while studying the new face in the mirror of the elevator.

Soon the doors open into the garage level and Emma approaches the L-Car, while mournfully staring at her bug. She gets into the car Lena designed for her and drives to her Mom’s apartment.

Eventually she pulls up outside Eliza’s building and finds her Mom is already waiting outside, with J’onn by her side. They haven’t noticed her arrival as they continue talking. Emma watches them with interest, noticing the smiles on their faces and how close they are standing while facing each other. Her eyes lower and widen at the realisation that they are holding hands.

Emma gets out her phone and records a short video of the pair interacting, zooming in on their joined hands before turning the camera on herself and raising an eyebrow. Immediately she sends the video to her sister’s group chat and another to Lena.

Emma: Morning love! Hope work is going okay? So… Picking up Mom for brunch and I’ve come across this… I don’t know how to feel… I want to squeal in happiness and simultaneously wretch! Oh Rao… We’re gonna have to give him the shovel talk aren’t we? 😬

Suddenly there is a knock on the passenger window, making Emma jump in her seat. Looking over she realises her Mom is standing by the door, waiting to be let in and Emma unlocks the door.

“Morning Sweetheart.” Eliza says while  sliding into the car and gives her youngest daughter a tight hug.

When they part, Emma looks around for J’onn.

“Oh he’s already left, doesn't want the shovel talk just yet.” Eliza jokes as she puts on her seat belt, Emma tilts her head, wondering how he would know that. “He heard your thoughts as you were messaging your sisters and Lena.”

Emma snorts and shakes her head, of course J’onn would have heard her. She  drives the car away from the pavement and back into the traffic. The pair stay in comfortable silence as they listen to the radio with Emma tapping along to the beat. Eliza has been learning some sign language but knows Emma won’t be able to communicate while driving the car.

About half an hour later they pull into a car park by a very long beach and Emma grabs her phone to communicate with her Mom. She sees multiple messages from her sisters but decides she will look at them later. Instead opening the notes app and writing a message out for her Mom.

‘Do you mind walking 20 minutes to the café? I can see if there are more spaces near it, but they are generally full.’

Emma shows her typed out words to her Mom.

“Of course sweetheart! I know I’m old, but I’m not that old!”

Emma shakes her head in amusement. Not liking the thoughts of how her Mom is growing older, that her blonde hair is getting lighter and more lines are appearing on her face.

As Eliza goes to pull the handle on the door Emma stops her, causing Eliza to look back at her daughter.

“Sweetheart?”

Emma circles her face, indicating she needs to engage her face modifier.

“Oh! Of course!” Eliza quickly taps her temple and her face morphs into another.

Emma silently sighs as they both get out of the car, hoping the face modifiers can be made obsolete soon. When Emma closes the door she stumbles slightly as the world spins but she manages to catch herself on the car. She looks over at her Mom, but luckily it seems like she doesn’t notice.

“So! Which way do we go?” Eliza asks as she links her arm with Emma. Her daughter points down to the path leading down to the beach and the pair walk in sync along the coast.

Both breathe in the salty sea air and enjoy watching the waves as they gently crash against the shore.

“I’ll never get over how beautiful the sea is.” Eliza comments and Emma nods in agreement. The colours were especially beautiful today, more turquoise than blue.

“Do you remember the amount of times you’d drag us down to the beach? How you wanted to go, even when it was raining?” Eliza smiles brightly at her daughter and Emma nods. Remembering the amount of pictures showing Alex and Jeremiah sat together while Emma enjoyed being in the sea. “And then once you found out about surfing, that was it! Your Dad and Alex put their foot down when you wanted to go all the time.”

Unable to respond Emma just smiles at the memories and the utter thrill she felt when she managed to catch her first wave. How her parents cheered and Alex tried to look unimpressed, but her eyes gave her away that she indeed was impressed and proud of her sister.

Eliza continues reminiscing as they walk towards the beach hut café Lena and Emma had gone to a few weeks ago.

“Oh this looks wonderful!” Eliza says as she steps through the door and follows Emma to a free table by the window. Eliza sits and takes in the beach decor of the cafe. The white walls and ceiling with the wooded furniture and beach elements in the decoration.

Emma grabs her phone and types out a message for her. ‘Yea Lena and I love it here.’

“I can see why.”

Their waitress comes over and greets them, handing them menus for them to look over.

“What drinks can I get ya?” The waitress pulls a pencil from behind her ear.

“Oh a pot of tea for me and-” Eliza looks over at Emma who points at an apple juice and a bottle of water.

“Great! I’ll get those for you and leave you to decide on y’all food.”

“Thank you.” Eliza watches the waitress go before turning back to her masked daughter. Who sits looking out of the window and even though her daughter’s face is hidden, Eliza can see something isn’t right “So, how are you sweetheart?”

Emma picks up her phone and starts typing.

‘I’m okay, nervous about the surgery but also excited. I miss talking to you.’

“And I miss hearing your voice.” Eliza reaches out and takes Emma’s hand. “But whatever happens I’ll be here to take care of you. Even if we need to go home and get some of that mountain air into you.”

Emma smiles at the thought of going back to Midvale. She goes to type her reponse when a message from Alex pops up.

Alex: Emma answer me!

Alarmed Emma opens their group chat and starts from the beginning of the thread where Emma sent the video.

Kara: Wait what?!

Alex: When did this happen?!

Emma snorts as she reads through the continuous back and forth between her two sisters as they try to piece together their Mom’s relationship with J’onn and how they felt about it. Ranging from many different emotions, Kara seemingly being more accepting, while Alex pleads Emma for more information and her location.

“Kara and Alex?” Eliza chuckles as she watches Emma’s expressions as she reads. Emma nods and grins back at her in confirmation.

Emma: Sorry I’m with Mom atm and didn’t see your hundreds of messages.

Kara: Where?

Emma: In a café ☕️

Alex: Which cafe?

Emma: Not telling 😜

Emma places her phone back on the table as the waitress comes over with the drinks. The pair order their food and Eliza can’t help but notice how Emma’s phone keeps lighting up.

“What’s that about?”

Emma hesitates but clicks on the video she recorded of her Mom and J’onn.

“Emma!” Eliza’s eyes widen as she watches. “Did you send that to your sisters?”

Emma nods guilty.

“Oh well.” Eliza takes a sip of her tea. “I did think you all already knew something, Sam and Lena seemed to have cotton on.”

Emma tilts her head and tries to remember any conversations she had with Lena about this topic. But she comes up empty.

“Oh what a surprise!” Eliza places her cup down and smiles over at the door.

Emma twists in her seat to see Alex rushing through the doorway with her phone in hand and Kara standing right behind her.

“Look! All I’m saying is that tracking Emma’s phone feels like an invasion of privacy.” Kara whispers as they move further into the cafe.

“She’s with Mom, it’s fine.” Alex snaps back and notices the table with two blondes. One beaming at her and the other looking confused. The redhead quickly marches over and sits next to, who she presumes, is Emma. Kara drops into the chair next to Eliza and straightens her glasses.

“What a nice surprise! I thought you said you were busy this morning?”

“Plans change.” Alex quips back.

“They sure do, are you joining us for brunch?”

“Do you want us to?” Kara looks directly at Emma, knowing they are taking her time away with Eliza. Emma nods and shrugs, signaling she was okay with it. “Okay, I’ll get some menus and drinks.”

“Make mine a scotch.” Alex calls after her and turns back to her Mom. “So, how long has it been going on?”

“Alex.” Eliza tiredly sighs. “We are just enjoying each other's company and supporting one another through this time.”

“But why him?” Alex asks in frustration.

“Why not him? We’ve been through so much together and I know he views you as his daughters.”

“Makes sense.” Kara places two mugs of coffee on the table and the menus. “The waitress will be over in a second and will bring our food out together.”

The table falls silent as Alex and Kara look over the menu while Emma’s eyes glance between her family, surprised by Alex’s simmering hostility.

The waitress comes back over and the sisters order. The waitress turns to go but pauses and turns back around. “I don't mean to be rude but aren't you Emma Danvers’ sisters?”

“Erm-” Kara’s eyes go wide when they realise their mistake of not activating the face modifiers.

“Don’t worry, we won’t say anything! It’s a pleasure! Also, when you see Emma, please tell her we miss her and look forward to serving her again.” The waitress beams at them before heading to the kitchen to process their order.

Touched by her comment Emma’s eyes begin to fill with tears and she looks out of the window at the sea to hide them from her family. But she misses the knowing expressions on their faces.

“So.” Alex clears her throat and focuses on her Mom. “Is it serious?”

“I would like it to be.” Eliza says honestly, making Emma wipe her face and turn back to look at her.

“But what about Dad?” The redhead says quietly, almost sounding vulnerable, as she crosses her arms over her chest.

“Alex, in some ways, I will always love your father, despite everything that happened. But he’s gone and we had spoken that if anything ever happened to either one of us we would want the other to move on. For a very long time I didn’t feel at all able to, but I’ve finally got to the stage where I finally feel like I can.”

Emma sucks in her bottom lip and reaches out for her Mom’s hand. She nods and gives her Mom an encouraging smile, giving her blessing on the matter.

“Thank you sweetheart.” Eliza places her other hand over her daughter’s.

“When did it start?” Kara asks, blinking at her family as if trying to make sense of it.

“For me, I’ve always-” Eliza pauses, trying to find the right words for her daughters. She feels Emma gently squeezing her hand in reassurance. Eliza takes a deep breath and continues. “I’ve always liked him, in either form.” A small, sweet smile plays across her lips, Emma mirrors it as she watches her Mom closely.

“But when did it start?” Alex asks sternly, causing both Kara and Emma to give her a hard look.

“Girls, it's fine.” Eliza lets go of Emma’s hand and motions for Alex to give her her hand. But Alex keeps her arms crossed. Eliza sighs before continuing. “The truth is, our relationship developed while you all were still in the DEO. I mean, everyone had been so kind and welcoming, Nia especially made sure I always had a drink or she’d give me these little cakes from the bakery I like. Brainy, bless him, seemed at times unable to process what he was feeling. At one point I came into the lab and he was just so-” Eliza lifts her hands and motions them forward to emphasise the words. “Angry. I held him as he wept for the three of you. In some ways I fell into the Mom role for all of them. Sam likes to think she was the Mom too, but there were times I had to remind her to take care of herself.”

“And then there was J’onn. He saw the pain I was in and was the one who held me, told me that everything was going to be alright and we’d get through it together.” Eliza’s eyes mist over with tears. “For the first time, in a long time, I felt safe as he held me in his arms and the feelings we have for each other grew. We understood each other, our pain at our daughters' situations and the love between us grew.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Kara asks curiously.

“It wasn’t really the right time.” Eliza’s mind shoots back to when Kara and Alex had been imprisoned in their cells. The hatred burning in their glowing red eyes and the agony within Emma’s bloodshot ones.

“Or after that?” Alex asks, trying to process what she is feeling.

“Maybe, selfishly, I wanted to have this to myself for a while. Because I knew you’d react this way.”

Alex’s nostrils flare and she leans forward. “Well maybe if you had been honest in the first place-”

Emma’s hand on her arm cuts her off and she turns to angrily glare at her.

“No, Em! Mom should have told us.”

“You’re right.” Eliza’s words make her daughters’ heads snap to her. “I should have told you, but I didn’t. However, now you know.”

“Please Alex, Mom deserves to be happy.” Emma pleads.

“I agree.” Kara softly says and places her hand on Eliza’s shoulder.

Before Alex can say anything the waitress comes over with their food. They start eating with the tension simmering between them.

“I’m sorry.” Alex murmurs quietly, her head down as she cuts her food.

“I know.” Eliza reaches across the table and takes Alex’s hand “And I am too. I know how much you still love your Dad and that will never change.”

Emma places her hand on Alex’s arm, completely understanding what her sister was feeling but also wanting her Mom to be happy.

“Soo, talking of love.” Kara begins, trying to steer the subject away from Eliza but soon loses her nerves as three pairs of eyes focus on her. “Erm-”

“Someone caught your eye?” Emma signs and raises an eyebrow at her sister.

“Maybe.” Kara giggles shyly.

“Who?” Alex widens her eyes slightly. “That new guy working with James?”

“What new guy working with James?!” Emma signs to both of her sisters and looks at her Mom in disbelief.

“His name is Benvolio Rossi, Ben for short, he was named after his Grandpa who migrated over from Italy and Ben moved here a few months from New York. I saw him around the office but didn’t talk to him until recently. Well, Nia kind of pushed me over to him and we ended up chatting, flirting and getting coffee.” A shy, beaming smile grows on Kara’s face.

“Picture?!” Emma signs excitedly and claps her hands.

“Okay!” Kara pulls out her phone and goes onto Ben’s facebook profile. “Here he is.” She turns the phone around.

“Eh.” Alex shrugs half heartedly and shoves in a mouthful of food.

“Alex!” Kara yells at her sister.

“What I’m a lesbian! Man things don’t do it for me.”

Emma snorts and motions Kara for her phone, so she can look at the picture properly. She tilts her head as she studies his face, feeling a sense of familiarity as she looks at him.

His olive skin glowed in the sun and his face was chiseled and handsome with shiny black hair, groomed stubble and warm brown eyes.

“Em?” Kara asks, intrigued by the curious expression on her sister's face. Emma hands the phone to Eliza who also wants to look.

“Oh he’s handsome.” Eliza exclaims. “Wow!”

“Yea.” Kara says with a goofy smile. “But-” Kara turns back to Emma. “Why were you looking at the picture like that?”

“I feel like I’ve met him before. Was he press at the gigs?”

“Well he does everything but, yea, I imagine he would have been at some of your gigs.”

“Cool! What’s he like?”

The conversations soon flow onto Kara’s new crush as the Danvers eat their meal.

-- -- --

Time passes and the family realise they need to be leaving soon to get to Nia’s bowling birthday party.

“Shall we go together?” Emma signs as they exit the cafe.

“Sure.” Alex says and holds out her hand for the keys. “But I’m driving.”

Emma looks at her scandalised and backs away from her eldest sister. “Excuse me?! I’m a better driver than you!”

Alex stalks her as Kara and Eliza link arms, trailing behind them and chatting amongst themselves.

“Don’t be so ridiculous! I’ve been trained-”

“Whoop de doo!” Emma holds her hands up.

“I can’t believe you actually just signed that!”

Emma shrugs. “Are you forgetting that I had two minors on my driving test and you had fourteen?! I still wonder how you managed to convince that poor man of passing you.” Emma signs cheekily and quickly lifts her top slightly with a raised eyebrow and sticks her tongue out to the side.

“Oh now you’ve done it!” Alex yells and Emma immediately turns around and runs after seeing the spark in her sister’s eyes.

“Run Emma!” Kara yells as Alex chases after her, both laughing as Emma dodges her attempts at catching her.

“Those two.” Eliza chuckles and shakes her head as she watches her daughters jump down onto the beach, sand flying everywhere from their chase.

Eliza turns her head to look at Kara, who watches her blonde and redheaded sisters with a big grin and laughs along with them.

“So, Ben, does he know anything?”

“No.” Kara says quickly. “I mean, there was one incident.”

“Kara!”

“Okay, maybe four.” Kara admits and quickly continues talking. “But they were completely out of my control and I don’t think he knows anything.”

“Does Alex know about these ‘incidences’?”

“No…”

They both look over and watch as finally Alex manages to grab a hold of Emma while the blonde slips on a sand mound and Alex jumps on her back, wrapping her arms around Emma’s shoulders.

“Onward valet steed!” Alex yells and points at the path.

Emma blows out a breath of amusement and trots back up to Kara and her Mom, glad that she could take Alex’s weight.

“How far away is the car?” Alex asks her Mom with a grin.

“Well after you're messing about, probably ten minutes.”

“Ah kay. Peanut let me down.”

Emma answers by shaking her head as she starts walking and tightening her grip on Alex’s thighs.

“Em-ma!” Alex laughs as Emma picks up her speed and runs further down the path.

-- -- --

Soon the Danvers are pulling into the carpark outside of the massive bowling alley and Emma can’t help but feel excitement as she gets out of the L-Car.

She quickly double checks everyone has their face modifiers activated, which Emma can’t wait to deactivate when they enter their private room.

“Ready?” Eliza says, smiling at her daughters.

“Yup!” Kara bounces on her toes and grins happily.

When they approach the doors Emma winces at the overwhelming sound of the bowling balls slamming the pins.

‘Why’s it so loud?’ Emma thinks but tries to hide her discomfort from her family. The blonde zeros in on Kara who also looks slightly pained. Emma then focuses on Kara’s glasses and realises the damper isn’t turned on. Reaching over she presses the hidden button to turn them on and Kara visibly deflates in relief.

“Thanks Em.” Kara breathes out.

“You’re welcome.” Emma signs and wishes there was a similar device for humans as she can’t help but flinch when they enter the building.

“Hello ladies!” A man greets them at the desk.

“Hi! We’re here for Princess Leia’s birthday party.” Alex informs the clerk with the hidden codename, who nods and waves over one of his colleagues.

“My colleague here will escort you to your room. Have a great time!”

“Thanks!” Kara squeals happily and follows the clerk up towards some stairs that are roped off and being guarded by security personnel.

Emma raises her eyebrow slightly at Alex as they pass them. Knowing they were Lena’s doing to make sure no members of the public will intrude on the Superfriends and messing with Emma’s timeline of recovery.

The most recent post to Emma’s social media accounts were of staged physiotherapy sessions, showing Emma slowly walking between the rails. So to have any other photos of Emma moving around more freely would cause a media frenzy that no one wanted to face.

Lucy had sent strict instructions to all the Superfriends that photos can be taken but they will have to wait to be posted.

“Here we are!” The clerk leads them to the doors where another security guard is standing by. “Shoes should already be in there plus many different balls for you to choose from.”

Emma lets out two quick breaths of laughter, causing Eliza to tap her shoulder in disapproval. Which makes both Alex and Kara chuckle while they walk through the doors.

Once inside the room Emma turns around and signs with a smirk on her face. “Balls!” Making her sisters laugh louder.

“You’re here!” Nia rushes over to them and flings her arms around Kara. “Isn’t this amazing?!”

Emma looks past Nia and has to agree, the room was an upgraded version to the main area downstairs. It almost looked brand new and was filled with tables of food and drink.

“Kara, save some for later.” Eliza instructs in a motherly tone as Kara makes her way over to the feast.

“O-kay.” Kara pouts and rushes over to grab their shoes instead.

“Oh! And Emma?” Nia beams at the blonde when their eyes connect. “Please disengage your face mask immediately!”

Emma nods and taps her temple. The Superfriends cheer and immediately Emma enjoys the freeing feeling on her face when the modifier disappears.

“That’s sooo much better!” Nia opens her arms wide and Emma beams at the brunette while she gives her a hug. When they pull apart Emma notices that her family have disengaged theirs too.

But then Emma’s eyes search around the room for Lena.

‘Where is she?’ Emma worries when she can’t find her girlfriend.

“Sam said Lena was right behind her, so she should be here any minute.” J’onn answers and takes an apprehensive step towards the blonde.

‘Hi J’onn.’ Emma thinks coolly, her smile fades as she crosses her arms and sizes him up.

J’onn hesitates for a moment until Emma’s face breaks out into a grin and she holds her arms out to him.

‘Come here!’ Emma’s mind happily yells out.

J’onn laughs in relief and wraps her in a bear hug.

‘But seriously though, you hurt my Mom and I will hunt you down! Even if you go back to Mars or something!’ Emma threatens while still in his arms.

“I promise I won’t hurt her.” J’onn whispers gently in her ear.

‘Pinky.’ Emma demands, stepping back and holding out her pinky finger.

“I pinky promise.” J’onn says seriously and wraps his big pinky finger around Emma’s.

“What you pinky promising about?” Kara asks as she bounds over to them to give J’onn a hug.

“Well, that I won’t hurt your mother.”

“Yea cause if you do I will fling you into the sun!” Kara says seriously and Alex comes to stand by her side.

“Or I kill you with said pinky.” Alex threatens while drinking a beer.

“Alex!” Emma signs and rolls her eyes at the bottle.

“What?! It’s my day off and it's past lunch time!”

Emma shakes her head and goes to collect her bowling shoes. She frowns when the only pairs left are her and Lena’s.

Reaching into her bag Emma pulls her phone out and still sees no messages from her girlfriend.

“So, shall we wait a little longer or get started? We have the room for five more hours, meaning plenty of games of bowling.” Brainy asks everyone as he rubs his hands together. Allowing his feelings of glee to come through.

“Yea, why don’t we start and we can always bowl for Lena until she arrives.” Nia smiles at everyone and races over to the scoring computer to input everyone's names. Kara follows her as they debate whether to use their real names or make nicknames up for everyone.

“If she comes.” Sam mutters under her breath as she angrily pulls her phone out. Both Kara and Emma turn their heads to stare at her in confusion, not quite believing what they heard. Surely Lena wouldn’t miss this?

“Emma, have you chosen a ball yet?” Lucy asks, making Emma jump by her sudden appearance.

The blonde shakes her head and goes over to the rack where the bowling balls are kept.

Emma looks for a ten pound bowling ball, the kind she normally uses and finds a cool looking purple and black one. Emma reaches down and prepares herself to pick it up, not wanting to twinge a muscle for not lifting the heavy ball properly.

Only when Emma puts her fingers through the holes and pulls, she overcompensates, hitting herself in the chest and crashes backwards onto the floor with the ball in her lap.

“Em?!” Alex’s voice shouts as she rushes over to Emma, still sat dazed on the floor, with Sam right behind her. “Are you okay?”

Emma nods, feeling a bit shocked and embarrassed. A blush starts colouring her cheeks as the Superfriends turn to look at her in concern.

“I’m fine. Just being clumsy.” Emma signs, trying to laugh it off and goes to get up.

“Here.” Alex grabs the bowling ball and holds it while Sam helps Emma up.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Sam asks, her eyes narrowing slightly as she studies the blonde’s face.

Emma gulps but nods that she was indeed okay. “Just embarrassed for causing a scene.”

“Alright.” Sam nods as well before smiling and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “Ready to be beaten Danvers?”

Emma snorts and kicks her leg up behind them to hit Sam’s butt.

“Hey!” Sam yells and does it back to Emma. The blonde lets out a heavy breath of voiceless laughter.

Alex grins and shakes her head while she places Emma’s ball on the rack by the ball return and laughs at her girlfriend. “I think Em was saying no.”

“Are we bowling as teams or individuals?” James asks as he goes to pick up his bowling ball and looks up at the screen with the names on.

On team one: Nia is Dreamgirl, Brainy is Brainakins, Kara is Glasses, Emma is Stargirl, Sam is Hotmama and Lena is Irish babe.

On team two: James is He-man, Winn is Futureboy, Eliza is Aurora, J’onn is Martitan, Alex is Director of Sass and Lucy is Army Green.

“Why not both?” Eliza offers and smiles when she sees the name she has been given. “See which lane is better but also amongst ourselves in general?”

“I like that idea.” J’onn agrees.

“Of course you would.” Alex grunts before taking a swig of her beer. Only to splutter when Emma digs her elbow into her side.

“Nia? You’re first up on our team!” Kara points at the screen and everyone cheers. Emma claps her hands loudly to make enough noise. “Go Dreamgirl!”

“And remember, no powers!” Lucy orders from the stool by the computer and picks up James’ camera to take some photos.

“Yes ma’am.” Nia nods as she grabs her ball.

“You ready Dreamgirl?” James playfully taunts Nia.

“Bring it He-Man!” Nia grins back at him while lining herself up.

They both go at the same time and the game begins. Laughter, whoops and cheers fill the room as pins crash to the floor.

Kara completely misses on her first try due to the red sun dampers.

“I can put the rails up if you want?” Lucy jokes cheekily.

“No thanks, just need to get used to it.” Kara huffs out and shakes her hands. Her second attempt was much better and Emma claps loudly for her.

Next it was Emma’s turn and she makes sure not to overcompensate this time when she picks the ball up.

“Go Emma!” Lucy cheers and the blonde gets herself into position and aims.

Emma takes a few deep breaths and steps forward, releasing the ball at the lowest point. It shoots from her hand like a cannonball and knocks down all the pins.

Emma jumps up and down in excitement and the Superfriends cheer loudly behind her.

“Well done sweetheart!” Eliza pulls her into a hug. “Just how Dad taught you.”

Emma nods and goes back to sit down. Her eyes flick to the door, wishing Lena had seen her first strike. Naturally her hand reaches for her phone. She silently sighs when there are no messages or responses from her girlfriend.

Emma: Hi Lee, guess what?! I just did a strike! Your name is on the board, so you can start playing when you get here ❤️

Emma also takes a photo of Sam about to play her shot to send to Lena. Hoping this will cause some kind of response.

But her phone doesn’t bleep, causing Emma to run a hand through her hair.

“Hey, I’m sure she’s okay.” Alex notices Emma’s concern and tries to reassure her. But also looks over at Kara, silently communicating with her. Kara nods and gets up to bowl.

“Alex?” J’onn pulls the redhead’s attention away from Emma. “It’s your turn.”

“Yea! Go Director of Ass!” Sam winks at her girlfriend, causing Alex's cheeks to blush.

It soon gets to Lena’s name and everyone allows Nia to take Lena’s go and do her own.

They play seven more frames and when it gets to Lena’s name again everyone pauses.

“Kara? Do you wanna have another go instead?” Nia asks, trying not to show her disappointment.

“Er, sure! But please excuse me, I’m going to use the bathroom.” Kara squeezes out of the booth and rushes to the door leading to the restrooms.

Emma doesn't think anything of it until the door opens again and Emma turns her head to see a wind swept Lena walking in front of Kara. Emma's eyes move up and down her girlfriend’s body and takes in Lena’s fitted maroon coloured dress with black high heels.

Their eyes connect and they both feel a rush of giddiness.

“Finally!” Sam shouts as she places her hands on her hips, cutting off their moment as Lena’s eyes snap to her best friend. Causing everyone else to look over to where Sam was looking.

“Lena!” Nia squeals and rushes over to the raven haired beauty.

“Sorry Nia.” Lena apologises while they hug.

“Don’t worry about it. Contracts blurgh!” Nia gags and giggles.

“Exactly!” Lena laughs and follows Nia into the booth. She immediately sits next to Emma and kisses her lips. “Sorry I wasn't there when you woke up love.”

Emma shrugs and flattens parts of Lena’s hair that's still a bit messy from her flight over, making her girlfriend laugh.

“Thanks!” Lena chuckles and looks up at the names on the scoreboard. “I’m guessing your Stargirl?” Emma nods proudly. “Wow love. You’ve got a strike on almost every go?”

“I know?! I don’t know how.” Emma signs happily. “I even managed with a heavier ball!” Although for Emma it didn’t feel much heavier, even though it was meant to be six pounds heavier.

“Well your arms are getting more toned.” Lena nudges her shoulder into Emma’s. She had noticed Emma’s body changing and put it down to the running and weight training Emma is doing to fill her time.

A familiar twinge of regret hits Lena’s stomach at how busy she has been lately. ‘It won’t be forever.’ Lena thinks, trying to reassure herself.

Lena breaks her out of her thoughts by Emma flexing her arm and raising an eyebrow at Lena, causing a rich laugh to burst out from the raven haired beauty’s lips.

This heavenly sound makes Emma’s heart flutter and she beams sweetly at the woman she loves.

“Lena? It’s your go. Unless you want me to take it for you?” Kara asks and points at the scoreboard.

“Oh sorry!” Lena apologises and looks up at the board. “Who chose Irish Babe?” She laughs as Kara and Nia point at each other. “Right, I better get my ball and shoes.” Lena places her hand on Emma’s thigh and goes to stand up, but Emma takes her hand, stopping her from moving.

“I got them for you.” Emma pulls them up from under the bench and hands the shoes to Lena. “Also I got you a size eight ball but there is also a nine if you’d rather use that one.”

“Thanks love.” Lena places a gentle kiss on Emma’s lips. After she immediately kicks her heels off and goes to put her shoes on. Suddenly a pair of neon lime green socks appear in front of her face. “You think these socks go with this outfit?” Lena questions Emma who pouts out her lips and nods.

“I mean the shoes go exquisitely as well!” Emma signs, making Lena chuckle and puts them on anyway. Everyone wolf whistles when she gets up to bowl making Lena break out in a huge smile.

“Looking mighty fine there Luthor!” Sam hollers in a southern accent, causing everyone to burst out laughing and Lena to stare back at Sam in a mock glare.

Lena bowls and manages to get a spare. Emma claps enthusiastically when the last pin tumbles to the ground.

Lena smiles as she heads back into the booth, giving everyone high fives. Sitting down she snuggles into Emma, who wraps an arm around her waist and they watch the Superfriends bowl. Lena cheers along with everyone and takes a few deep breaths. Ridding herself of her work anxiety that had no place in the bowling alley.

They play a few more games before having a break to eat.

“Finally!” Kara yells dramatically and zooms over to the table. Emma is sure that if the sun red dampers weren’t on, Kara would have flown over.

“Kara!” Both Alex and Eliza yell in disapproval at Kara running to get the food.

“Sorry! I’m just hungry!” Kara whines while piling the food on her plate.

“Hey! Leave some for us Kara!” Winn calls across to her, making Kara squint her eyes at him.

The Superfriends get their food and sit together at a table set out for them and eat. Laughing and chatting about anything and everything. James takes a few photos before Lucy takes the camera off him to give him a chance to eat.

“Hey Lena! Em!” Lucy positions herself across from the couple and aims the camera.

The girlfriends smile widely at her and wrap an arm around each other's waist.

“Beautiful!” Lucy comments and keeps taking pictures as Lena kisses Emma’s cheek and the blonde beams at the camera. Emma turns her head and softly kisses Lena’s lips.

“Hey hey! Keep it under the R rating please!” Lucy says seriously and Emma flips her off.

A few of the Superfriends laugh and Emma smirks at Lena before pressing their foreheads together. They both close their eyes and breath deeply in.

Soon mostly everyone has finished eating and Brainy stands.

“Shall we play some more games?” Brainy asks, looking around at his friends.

“Yes please!” Nia squeals and runs back to the booth. Everyone follows other than Winn and James.

Emma and Lena sit close together and Emma goes to take a sip from her cup.

Suddenly the lights go off, causing Emma to violently jump, spilling her drink down her top.

“Happy-” Winn starts singing and everyone else joins in as he brings the cake over with lit candles. “Birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Nia! Happy birthday to you!”

Emma tries to smile as everyone sings, instead she lets out a long, heavy breath. She jumps again as Lena places a comforting hand on her thigh.

“Sorry love.” Lena whispers into her ear as the lights come back on.

“Emma! What happened to you?!” James laughs as he notices Emma’s wet, brown t-shirt.

Emma shrugs and looks down embarrassed. Missing the glares some of the Superfriends send to James. Lena grabs some napkins and tries to dry the worst of it.

“Who wants some yummy cake!” Lucy claps to draw the attention away from the blonde and goes to get the knife.

“Oo me!” Kara raises a hand and bounces in her seat like a nine year old kid.

“I’m sure the question was rhetorical Kar.” Alex snorts in amusement.

“Yea, but I want cake.” Kara shrugs with a grin.

Emma tries to smile as well but she finds herself rocking slightly as she tries to calm her racing heart.

“You’re okay.” Lena's calming voice whispers into her ear. “You’re safe. You’re with me and people who love you. Nothing bad is going to happen.”

Emma nods, resting her head on Lena’s shoulder and nuzzles into her neck. Trying to seek comfort and feel safe.

If the Superfriends notice they don’t say anything about it or draw attention to Emma, leaving Lena to help Emma though her trigger as they share the cake around.

When Emma sits back up, looking less pale, Nia hands their plates with pieces of cake over.

“Thank you.” Emma signs gratefully and digs in, trying not to focus on her embarrassment at what happened.

Once the food is eaten and cleared away the bowling begins again. Although the group of friends are not as quick as before but still as competitive.

“Seriously Emma!” Lucy yells when Emma does another perfect strike. “You need to show me your technique or something.”

Emma holds her hands up in surprise and just motions her bowling.

“Nah I’m not fooling around anymore with this ‘I can’t bowl’ act!”

Emma can’t help but voicelessly laugh at Lucy’s competitive side making itself known.

“Ooo, she’s laughing at you Luc.” Alex grins at her sister.

Emma holds her hands up again in surrender at Lucy’s enraged face.

“Hey relax.” Kara tries to soothe the brunette down and rubs her back affectionately. “It’s all about the fun of playing.”

A few nod but suddenly everyone bursts out laughing and continues for a while. The Superfriends never play just for the fun of it. Mostly everyone in the group are extremely competitive.

“Good one Kara!” Winn wipes the tears from his cheeks.

-- -- --

Finally they complete their last game and Emma is the clear winner. Although she is still very confused at how she managed it but takes the praise.

The food and cake is distributed into takeaway boxes and the Superfriends say their goodbyes and birthday love to Nia. With Emma and Lena being the first to leave.

“Do you need a ride?” Emma signs to Alex.

“No, Sam is- I’m, er, going with Sam.” Alex stutters and goes a bit red as she smiles shyly. Causing Emma to smirk and shake her head.

“Yea, my director of ass.” Sam whispers into her girlfriend's ear.

This makes Emma snort and sign at her sister. “Use protection.” Emma winks.

“Protection? Protection from what?” Kara asks after watching Emma’s hands.

Emma snorts loudly again but Lena drags her away before she can hear anyone's responses.

“Modifier.” Lena yawns before they go through the door and waves farewell to everyone. Emma taps her temple, shivering slightly as the mask crawls across her face.

The couple walk down the stairs hand in hand and out into the evening air. Emma leads her girlfriend to the L-Car and opens the passenger door for her.

“Thanks love.” Somehow, despite her exhaustion, Lena still slides gracefully into the car, even with her drooping eyelids.

Emma gets into the driver's seat and leans over to plug her girlfriend in. A hum of acknowledgement leaves Lena’s lips and her eyes finally close.

Emma can’t help but smile at how cute she looks and turns the electric engine on to head for home.

-- -- --

In no time at all they are pulling into their space under the apartment building. Lena looks like she’s already in a deep sleep and Emma wonders if she can carry her up to their apartment.

Remembering how easy it was to piggyback Alex, Emma decides to go for it. She quietly unplugs Lena’s seatbelt and gets out of the driver's side. Emma quickly goes to Lena’s side and carefully opens the passenger door, hoping Lena wouldn’t fall out, but thankfully she hasn’t moved.

Leaning down Emma attentively runs her right arm under Lena’s legs and her left under her back. She manages to lift Lena and the bag of food, carrying her girlfriend bridal style out of the car. Carefully she heads for the elevator, thankfully that the L-Car locks automatically when the keyholder walks far enough away from the car.

Somehow she manages to press the button to call the elevator and again for the penthouse apartment.

‘Nice one Emma!’ She praises herself and kisses Lena’s head when the doors close.

However, once the elevator doors slide open, Emma voicelessly groans. She exits the elevator, debating what to do to unlock the door and open it.

“You know you could just put me down?” Lena says sleepily as she blinks her eyes open.

‘Of course you're awake!’ Emma rolls her eyes and gazes down at her girlfriend.

“Well?” Lena asks with a yawn, waiting to be put down.

“Get my key.” Emma mouths, causing Lena to squint up at her.

“Get your key?” Lena says back and Emma nods. “Where is it?”

“Bag.”

Lena reacts down to Emma’s messenger bag by her side.

“You know this would be a lot quicker if you just put me down.”

Emma shrugs and grins happily, liking the sensation of holding Lena close.

“Got it!” Lena pulls it out and stretches for the lock. Emma moves a bit forward to make it easier for her. “Thanks love.” Lena yawns out again and unlocks the door, partly opening it.

Emma kicks it open fully and manages to step through before it swings back.

“Impressive.” Lena chuckles while nuzzling into Emma’s chest and closing her eyes.

Emma lets out a voiceless laugh and carries Lena into the bathroom.

“No, just dump me on the bed!” Lena whines but doesn’t complain when Emma places her feet on the tiled floor and pulls her dress up and underwear down. “Ooo kinky.” Lena says seductively while cracking an eye open as Emma guides her onto the toilet.

Emma shakes her head with a smile at Lena’s comment and goes to grab Lena’s pajamas and a fresh pair of underwear.

She hears the flush and Lena whining out her name.

“Em-ma!”

‘Le-na!’ Emma yells back in her head but she quickly makes her way back to her girlfriend, who was sleepily brushing her teeth.

Emma closes the lid on the toilet and places Lena’s clothes on top, Lena watches her every move and as Emma begins to sign. “We are staying in bed tomorrow. No excuses!”

Lena clears her mouth and places her toothbrush back on the counter. “Bed all day? Lucky me.” Lena says sultry and lifts an eyebrow.

Emma rolls her eyes. “Not like that you bad girl.”

“Hmm but you’d want me to be your bad girl huh?” Lena slowly tilts her head and leans in, kissing Emma’s lips slowly and passionately. Emma could taste the fresh mint of the toothpaste on Lena’s tongue.

But Lena soon breaks the kiss, closes her bloodshot eyes and rests her weary head on Emma’s shoulder.

Emma carefully bends down and grabs the clothes so she can place Lena back on the toilet lid. She lovingly changes Lena’s clothes and kisses any exposed skin that she comes across, making Lena hum and smile.

Once Lena is changed Emma reaches down and picks her up again. Attentively carrying her over to their bed. Next she pulls the covers back and carefully places Lena on the bed and tucks her in.

Lena hums sleepily in approval but doesn’t open her eyes or makes any other movement or noise. Seemingly falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Emma smiles down at her sadly and kisses her forehead.

“Hope, dim the lights to the lowest setting.” Emma signs to the AI before reentering the bathroom to get herself ready for bed.

After she’s brushed her teeth and hair, dressed in her tank top and shorts, Emma quietly tiptoes back into the bedroom. The corner of her lip pulls up when she can hear Lena softly snoring.

When she reaches her side of the bed Emma carefully pulls the covers back and slowly gets into bed. Trying desperately not to jostle Lena.

“Hope, lights out.” Emma signs once she’s settled.

The lights slowly fade and the window dim to blackout.

Emma swallows as she turns towards Lena, listening to her steady breaths as she sleeps. Almost becoming Emma’s lullaby when her own eyes slowly grow heavy and close.

(Part Thirty Three)

[elliesguitarstrings]

Silence (Part 1/Prologue)

Peter Parker x stark!reader

Summary: You and Peter have been best friends ever since he stepped foot into the avengers compound. After a year of being friends you realize you’ve developed a crush on him, but he doesn’t feel the same way... at least, you don’t think he does.

A/N: This is my first ever post so idk how many people will see it but if you do feel free to send in any requests for Tom Holland or any of his characters and tell me if you like this story - part 2 coming soon!

Warnings: language, awkwardness, a little bit of fluff

italics mean flashbacks

~~~~~~~~

Today was a special day. Well, to you that is. To everyone else, it was just a normal Saturday. But to you, and hopefully to Peter too, it was special.

Today marks one year of you and Peter first meeting. One year since he walked through the glass elevator doors of the Avengers Compound. One year since you met your best friend. You remember it like it was yesterday.

Waking you up from a deep sleep, you hear a loud knock on your door, one you recognized only to be your dad’s.

He opens the door and peeks his head in.

“Hey, get up and come into the living room. There’s someone I want you to meet.”

Barely awake, you respond, “No, let me sleep. It’s too early for this shit.”

“Watch your language young lady! Now get your ass out of bed and be out in ten minutes.”

He walks away, not even bothering to close the door.

You groan into your pillow and proceed to throw it across the room as you reluctantly get out of bed.

Lately you’ve been fed up with everyone in the compound, and you’re taking out all your anger on them. But what else are you supposed to do? Everyone treats you like a kid, but they still expect you to act like an adult. They don’t let you go on missions, but they still make you train. They don’t let you go to actual school, but they make you study twice as hard. Everyone is just so hard on you, especially your dad, and you’re fucking done with it.

You walk into the bathroom and pull your hair up into a quick ponytail, not bothering to brush your mess of hair. Hastily, you brush your teeth and splash some water on your face in an attempt to make yourself look somewhat alive, but the dark circles are still extremely noticeable. You walk back into your bedroom and think about changing out of your hoodie and shorts, but you decide against it. You look halfway decent, and whoever it is that your dad wants you to meet certainly can’t be so important that you have to change into something nice.

After a quick look in the mirror, you slowly make your way into the living room, dreading the coming interaction with another one of your dad’s boring co-workers.

However, when you look up and see a teenage boy sitting next to your dad on the sofa, your mood changes.

Your dad stands up and turns to you, gesturing at the boy.

“Y/N, this is Peter Parker, Spiderman, whatever you want to call him. He’s the newest addition to the team, and he’s moving into the compound in a few days. He’s the same age as you, so I thought you should show him around. So be nice.”

Peter blushes and smiles, giving you a small wave.

Suddenly you regret not changing.

He’s cute. So fucking cute. He has fluffy brown hair, brown puppy dog eyes, the cutest smile, and he’s your age. Your age. Everything about him is perfect.

Realizing that you have been staring for probably a little to long, you speak up.

“Um, hi Peter, I’m Y/N. Uh, it’s- it’s nice to have you here. Sorry I look like shit.”

“Oh, um, thanks.” Peter responds, just as awkwardly as you.

“You don’t look like shit by the way,” he adds, “you look pretty.”

You smile, about to say thank you when your dad interrupts.

“Well, that was really fucking awkward, but I think you two are going to get along just fine. I’ll leave you two lovebirds to it then, see ya around.”

He winks at you as he leaves to go to his lab, and you roll your eyes in return, mentally hitting yourself at how embarrassing this whole interaction has been so far.

You turn to Peter, “So, uh, why don’t I show you around and you can meet everyone.”

“Sounds good to me!” he smiles.

You start in the kitchen and show him around the compound: the movie room, the game room, the pool, the sun room, the training room, the labs, and the bedrooms, introducing him to all of the Avengers along the way. Finally, you stop at the largest spare bedroom, which happens to be right across from yours.

“This is probably gonna be your room. No one really uses it right now but since it’s the biggest one I thought you might want it.”

“Oh, um, thanks, but even the smallest room here is like ten times bigger than my room, so I’d be happy with anything. But since it’s across from you, I’ll take it.”

You blush, not sure if he’s flirting with you or just trying to be nice. Either way, it’s not helping your already developing crush on him.

“So, um, that’s the tour I guess. What do you want to do now?” you ask, hoping he doesn’t want to leave so you can spend more time with him.

“Well Happy isn’t taking me back home until three, so we still have a few hours to do whatever. It doesn’t matter to me.”

“Do you just want to hang out in my room? Maybe watch a movie?”

“Sure! Sounds great!”

The two of you walk across the hall to your room and you open the door, regretting again your poor choice to not clean up this morning. Your bed was a mess, your clothes were strewn everywhere, and your desk was piled high with papers and books.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry, my room is such a mess.” you exclaim, rushing to push your clothes in the corner and hastily pull your covers up in a sad attempt to make the bed.

Peter smiles and laughs, “Don’t worry, if you think this is messy, you should see my room. This is nothing.”

You laugh as well, sitting down on your bed and grabbing the TV remote. You pat your bed, motioning for Peter to sit down next to you.

“Y- you want me to sit next to you? Like on your bed?” he asks, clearly shocked.

“Oh, um, yeah. But only if you want. You can sit on the beanbag chair over there instead, I guess. I just thought the bed would be more comfortable. And you would be able to see the TV better.”

“Oh, um, ok. That’s fine.”

He makes his way over to your bed and sits next to you, and you silently turn on the TV, starting to overthink everything.

There was a boy. On. Your. Bed. You weren’t doing anything, but still. You suddenly realized how little interaction you’ve had with people your age. Even girls. You didn’t go to school, so you only hung out with the Avengers. The closest person to your age was Wanda, and even she was a lot older than you.

‘Am I being too forward?’ you started to think to yourself. ‘Should I have not asked him to sit on my bed? What is he thinking right now? Oh my god, this is so bad. He probably thinks I’m so weird. He probably hates me. Fuck.’

When you see him looking in your direction, you decide to stuff the thoughts in the back of your head and try to act as normal as possible.

“So, what should we watch?” you ask.

“Um, do you, uh... do you like Star Wars?”

“Are you kidding me? I LOVE Star Wars!” you exclaim, the tension and awkwardness easing slightly.

“Really? My favorite is A New Hope.”

“No shit! Mine too!”

“Then A New Hope it is I guess!”

You turn on the movie, smiling, and you notice that he scoots a little closer to you, seemingly more comfortable.

A few minutes into the movie, Peter breaks the silence between you two and asks, “So what’s it like living with the Avengers?”

“Oh,” you look away from the TV, “it’s cool I guess. But after a while it’s gotten pretty boring. And really frustrating.”

“Frustrating? Why?”

“It’s just, well, they treat me like a kid all the time. And before you say it, yes, I know I am a kid, but it’s still annoying. There’s no one here even close to my age, I mean fuck, Thor’s like 1500 years old. And none of them know how to talk to me. They act like I’m a toddler even though I’m literally sixteen and they never let me go on missions with them, because they don’t think I’m ready even though I’ve been training since I was like ten – “

You cut yourself off, realizing you’ve been ranting for probably a little too long.

“Sorry about that,” you mumble. “It’s just that I haven’t really had anyone to talk to about this.”

“No! Don’t be sorry. That fucking sucks. Not gonna lie, you’re kinda making me regret moving here if that’s how everyone’s gonna treat me,” he laughs.

“They’re not gonna treat you like that.”

“Why wouldn’t they? I’m the same age as you.”

“Because. You’re a fucking superhero. They don’t give a fuck about your age if you can climb walls and shoot spider webs out of your hands.”

“Well, even if they don’t treat me like a kid then I’ll still back you up.”

He puts a hand on your shoulder and smiles. You blush and smile back.

“Thanks”

“Of course.”

He scoots even closer to you so that your shoulders are barely touching. If this had happened five minutes earlier, you would be freaking out. But now, something is different. You aren’t sure what, but you suddenly feel more calm and comfortable with him around.

You finish the rest of the movie in silence, and you realize you let your head fall onto his shoulder. You were scared he would push your head away, but he didn’t care.

“You awake?” he asks.

“Oh, yeah, sorry. I just didn’t get much sleep last night and my dad woke me up early, well, to meet you.”

He smiles down at you, and suddenly your dad bursts through the door. You scramble to sit up, lifting your head off Peter’s shoulder.

“Hey kid, Happy’s here to – oh?” He stares at the two of you sitting next to each other in your bed, both blushing. “Jesus, you’ve only just met and you already slept together? At least tell me you used protection.”

“DAD, OH MY GOD, NO!” you exclaim, blushing even harder now.

“Mr. Stark, I promise. We- we were just watching a movie. Nothing happened!” Peter assures him.

“Sure, sure,” your dad winks at the two of you.

“Dad, seriously. Nothing happened!” you groan in frustration.

“Whatever. Anyways, Happy’s here to take you back to Queens Pete. Be down in five.” He leaves the room.

“God, that was fucking embarrassing,” Peter laughs getting up from the bed.

“That’s my dad for you.”

You both walk to the door, and before you leave the room, you give him a small hug.

“I’m glad you’re moving in, Peter.”

“Me too,” he smiles, “Friends?”

“Definitely.”

You smile thinking back on the memory. After that day, you and Peter have spent almost every hour of every day together. You’re rarely ever apart, even at night. You sleep with him in his bed, and he sleeps with you in yours. The rest of the team bugs the two of you to get together, but you both agree that you are just friends.  Best friends cuddle with each other and kiss each other’s foreheads and play with each other’s hair, right?

[heybeybey]

You should be killing titans Levi

Happy Smutty Saturday everyone. I actually promised angst but the plot I have in mind for that one might need a few more weeks because my mind is melting.

Anyway, have crack instead feat. Levi getting horny over a titan. Man just can't catch a break.

And no, the sex happens in Petra's human form. Please, I'm not that fucked up yet 😭

Summary: Petra somehow acquired the Cart Titan during canon events and Levi, whose sole purpose in the past few years was to kill titans, finds himself simping over one.

Rating: Explicit

Genre: Romance, Humor, Crack

Words: 2,480

---

When Petra emerged from her titan form the first time, the only thing Levi thought about was her safety. Sure, they'd seen that Eren was perfectly fine, albeit a bit knocked out of it. But the idea of humans controlling titans is still pretty new to their own little world. As Petra's captain, of course he'd do whatever he can to protect his subordinates.

They tested out her abilities in the limited time they have until the next expedition. Hange, the mad bitch that they are, would be the one doing and leading the experiments while his squad oversees. Frankly, him and the three other guys think it's more to protect Petra from Hange's crazy ideas.

So, it was the same as usual. As far as usual can get when it comes to the Survey Corps, that is. Petra was still in his team and surprisingly, nothing changed in their relationship as captain and subordinate.

Everything only shifted when he'd seen her in action during her first expedition as a titan shifter.

He honestly thinks that her titan form is ugly as fuck. It was even uglier than Yeager's. However, seeing the fire in its eyes, in her amber eyes that is just so Petra had left him a little bit awestruck. Her titan has the same ginger hair and he shouldn't be thinking this, because he's looking at a titan, but is it shining when the light hits her tresses? He feels his mouth go dry as Petra's titan shields an injured scout from two abnormals, before making a move to kill them by biting off their napes.

She lands back on the ground, re-assembling herself in their usual scouting formation.

Fuck.

"Levi? Are you okay?" Erwin pipes up once they're all in the clear.

"What the fuck are you talking about, Erwin?"

Erwin, that bastard, only gives him a slow smirk in return.

"I hope that won't be much of a hindrance then," Erwin says, gesturing down. Levi glances down and only realizes now why his pants have started to tighten. The fact that he's currently riding a horse isn't doing him any favors.

---

There was this one time when Hange wanted to test how long the younger girl can retain her titan form and they found out that she can go on for months. He'd have to admit that he misses actually seeing Petra's face but even Levi found her titan's strength impressive.

Until she started crawling around in her human form.

He finds her crawling one afternoon and Levi feels that familiar heat flare up inside him as he takes in the curve of her back and ass. His eyes would sometimes stray there during trainings but he'd never expected her backside to be this round and full. The fact that she's currently in a dress that reaches just below her knee is only making this worse. He swallows when he sees a hint of exposed skin of her thigh and if he could bunch up her dress further, it would be so easy to just take her right now.

Levi's hand twitches, and he repeatedly needed to remind himself that touching his subordinate is considered harassment.

"What the fuck are you doing, Petra!?"

"Oh, hi captain!" Petra flushes in embarrassment, trying to push herself up against the wall but fails every time. She almost hit her head once, if Levi hadn't stepped in and helped her up himself.

"I'm sorry," She says, clinging to him. Levi, mortified that another inch closer would mean she'll feel the rising enthusiasm below his belt, tries to discreetly move his lower part away. "I didn't know this is a side effect of being in my titan form for too long. I'm actually on my way to tell Hange about it."

"Side effect?"

Petra only blushes deeper. "My body... might've forgotten how to walk properly since I've been on all fours for so long."

Levi can feel his brain short-circuiting when she said the words all fours. His brain started supplying him with an image of her on all fours in his own bedroom floor, of how he would bend her over and make her suck his-

"Hey Petra!" Thank fucking god. He'd never been so glad to have Hange around. "Gunther said you were coming to see me?"

Wanting to get everything over with completely (so he can run to his room and deal with his rising erection), he hoisted Petra up in his arms instead, leading to her wrapping her own arms around his neck. A blush tinges her soft round cheeks and he tries to avoid looking down at her, knowing that she's staring up at him in wonder.

He'd noticed this with Petra whenever they're physically close together, of how she'd be in a sort of trance whenever he'd subconsciously tuck a strand behind her ear or when she'd lean down to set his tea on his office table and he really shouldn't be thinking of this right now when he was just thinking of fucking her if Hange hadn't barged in.

Once she's settled in Hange's lab, Four Eyes took that moment to turn to Levi.

"Now you know how I feel whenever I see titans," Hange says.

"What." Horror starts to rise in Levi's chest when he realizes their implication, but only his disgust shines through his face.

"What?" Hange answers back, acting as if what they just said was a normal statement.

---

That same afternoon, Levi demanded from the medical team that they better provide him a crutch right fucking now or he won't be responsible for the injuries he'll be causing on the inhabitants of the room.

He hurriedly gives it to Petra, harshly ordering her that she is not to crawl around like that ever again for the sake of her dignity. Deep down, he knows it's to save his.

---

He tried to avoid being alone with Petra in her titan form in the coming months. Actually, he avoided being alone with her completely, even when she's out of her titan. But it's a Friday night and all the other scouts have been given time off, with some of them already packed up to go home for the weekend to see their family.

Petra, on the other hand, had no choice but to stay until further notice. She could barely leave the building unless either Levi, Eld, Gunther or Oluo is with her.

He sees her alone right now outside since Hange wanted to test if Petra can stay up all night in this form. The sun will rise up in a few hours, and he thinks this is more than enough time to indulge Four-Eyes in their curiosity.

"Captain?" It always catches him off guard whenever Petra speaks in her titan form. Her voice was so different from the sweet and cheerful tone he'd gotten used to greeting him in the morning.

"Couldn't sleep."

She's currently lying down, hands tucked under her titan's chin and it endearingly reminds him of a ginger cat curled up and poised to sleep. He noticed how Petra's eyes reveals just how bored she is, staring only straight ahead.

"Aren't you tired?" Levi asks, leaning his body against the side of Petra's titan form. Feeling the titan's bare skin almost made him flinch because he knows it's Petra. He shouldn't be thinking of his subordinate naked right now but her titan form isn't helping at all.

"Levi... are you actually getting attracted to a titan?" Erwin had asked him once, amusement coloring the blonde man's features, when he caught Levi staring at Petra's titan form during one of her experiments with Hange. "Maybe I shouldn't have allowed you to be around Hange too much."

"Are you on some drugs, Erwin?" Levi snaps, but can't help the thumping in his chest and the rising panic because of course Erwin would catch on eventually. "Are you getting too smart that that brain of yours actually rotted and died in a shithole?"

Petra only shakes her head. "I'm all good, captain. Besides, Hange tells me I can take the day off to rest tomorrow. Still can't leave the barracks though."

Levi tries to avoid cringing at hearing her titan's voice. He doesn't think he'll ever get used to it. "Can you not talk to me while you're using that voice? Get out of there." He orders.

Petra, always obedient and willing to please her captain, did get out of her titan. She struggled with detaching her hands as usual and Levi sighs, making a move to climb up and help her.

Before he gets the chance to do so, Petra was able to pull herself out abruptly but the force was enough to send her flying to the ground.

Levi's reflexes was fast enough to try and cushion her fall but the angle wasn't right for him to catch her properly, and Petra ends up landing on top of Levi and both of the groan at the impact.

Levi thinks that his erection must really hate him. It already betrayed him once during a fucking expedition. It's rising again now as Petra shuffles around in an attempt to stand up, muttering a string of sorry captain! and I didn't mean to, her every action brushing further against his dick.

"Stop it, Petra!" He shouts, panic almost tinging his voice. Petra freezes at his voice and Levi thinks that maybe he shouldn't have asked her to stop moving because now, his dick is directly against her thigh and she'll eventually feel everything.

He watches as confusion passes through Petra's face, before it shifts to shock when she finally realizes what was pressing against her thigh, eventually settling on a coy smile.

They stared at each other a little longer before this minx actually found the courage to intentionally press her thigh down further. Levi finally allows his pent up lust and frustration to blow over, growling as he grabs Petra's hair to pull her down for a bruising kiss.

---

When Petra mentioned that she's getting a whole Saturday off to rest, he's pretty sure this wasn't how Hange instructed the younger girl to spend her day.

He already came once after she enthusiastically sucked him off. He could only watch in a daze as Petra took him as far as she could, almost intentionally choking herself on his own cock. He's surprised at how much of an absolute freak Petra is, insisting that she's going to swallow every last drop of him even when he tried to push her away for her sake.

Now, she's settling herself on his bed, on all fours, and Levi's pretty sure he's going to die before this day ends. He palms her ass, giving a squeeze as he feels her up, before kneeling behind her to deliver hot kisses down her spine. Petra shivers when he pulls on her hips to draw her closer.

"I wanted to rail you so bad the past few weeks, Petra." He whisper against her skin, hand trailing down to start playing with her clit. "Fuck, your experiments with Four Eyes only made it worse."

"Take me like this then, captain." She says in the filthiest voice she could muster, grinding her ass up firmly against his clothed erection and opening her legs further for him. From the naughty smirk that she's giving him, Levi finally realizes that she'd already known just what has been running on his mind the past few weeks.

He can see her core glistening, half from when he'd fucked her with his tongue earlier on and half from her eagerness and anticipation to have him inside her as soon as possible.

He tears his underwear away, wasting no time in breaching her wet core. Petra moans wantonly, curving her lower back further so she can push her ass up to pull him inside of her more.

How can someone who sounds and looks and acts so sweet be such a fucking slut in bed? he thinks in a daze as he starts pounding inside her.

It was a tight fit and Petra grabs one of his hands to push his palm up against her breast. Levi was all too eager to indulge in her fantasies, thumbing down her erect nipple and squeezing as he gives a hard thrust.

When he hits the spot inside her just right, that's when they both fasten their pace. Petra braced her arms against the sheets, head falling down and forehead resting against the soft bed as she takes everything that Levi gives her.

She comes first, grabbing a pillow to catch a moan that's bordering a scream. Levi revels in the feeling of her tightening around him and after Petra says yes, I can take birth control come inside me, captain please, he didn't even think. He just lets himself go and Petra moans further as he releases hotly inside her.

Petra slacks down on the bed with him following, his bare and sweaty chest against her back. He rolls away after he'd caught his breath, and Petra giggles from contentment and ecstasy.

Her giggles shoot straight down to his cock and Levi finds himself starting to harden again. She squeaks a bit when she feels his growing erection against her ass before smirking, a challenging glint on her amber eyes as she finally turns to face him.

No words were needed to be spoken and she tempts him by throwing a toned leg over his middle, inching her skin closer to his crotch.

Needless to say, Petra found herself on her back, knees almost touching her shoulders as the captain made sure she kept her legs open for each of his thrusts.

After that round, Levi could only exhaustedly lie on his back afterwards. His mind is still swimming after orgasming for the third time in a row.

He was about to ask her if she'd like to take a shower first before they sleep, only for Petra to roll herself on top of him. She started peppering kisses along his jaw and neck, making it a point to grind her exposed nipples against the hard lines of his chest.

"Fuck, again?"

"Didn't Hange tell you that the cart titan has amazing endurance?" Petra leans in, a coy smile on her lips. "I can go on for hours, captain."

[weaselle]

here’s the truth about drugs if you’re wondering.

They are fun, awesome, sometimes damn near holy experiences. Even bears and moose and dolphins get drunk and high, it seems like a pretty natural part of this earth; I think almost everyone should have the opportunity to have a good drug experience.

BUT.

There are two things to address. Addiction, and the other big problem with drugs. Which I’ll get to.

First, a lot of what we associate with addiction, things like not taking care of yourself as you devote more and more of yourself to the drug... those things are probably actually signs that our Rat Park is outta wack. Lemme explain. 

No, is too much, let me sum up.

early experiments showed that captive rats, when presented with a food button and a heroine button, would sometimes only use the heroine button, and starve to death even though they knew they could have food at any time. But then another scientist one day years later said “y’know, those rats were kept in small sterile individual cages in a lab - they didn’t really have much to live for to begin with.” So he made a Rat Park, with everything a rat need: wheels to run in and a variety in their diet and a couple little puzzle-y toys and they lived in a group together because rats are social creatures like us but with plenty of space for rats to get some alone time or not want to be on the same side of the habitat as That One Rat because rats are social creatures like us.

And also heroine. There was one colored dish in one place with water, and another colored dish in another place with water and also heroine.

And they found that the rats would use the heroine recreationally, occasionally, and overall preferred the water without it. They definitely didn’t starve themselves to death over it. 

But that doesn’t make addiction any less real. It’s just something to realize. It’s less about any kind of personal failure, and more about a societal failure. And there is definitely a chemical component too, that with repeated usage is capable of literally rewiring parts of the brain, so like, addiction is a serious thing. But there are ways around it, mostly focused on very controlled and rare usage, with some kind of social component.

But the SECOND big problem with drugs is, basically, they get worse the more you do them. 

Like, the first few times you take a drug, it’s going to be way better than the next few times. Which will be better than the next few times after that. The drug is running the same chemical program on your brain wires, but they aren’t as excited to tell you.

WHICH MEANS. If you’re going to do drugs, it should be planned (what will I be doing, where will I be) overseen or guided (the ideal guide A has done it before and B is sober this time, but at minimum there should be other people there and someone in the group should have researched it) and scheduled (once or twice a year? five times in your whole life?). 

It should be treated like a special, nearly once in a lifetime experience, because the next time you do this drug, it’s not going to be as good. It might be almost as good, you might not notice, but by the tenth time it’s going to be really noticeable. And it gets much more noticeable as time goes on. The more you space out the usage, the smaller the difference in quality - if you do a crazy drug for the very first time on Friday and then again on Saturday, there is almost certainly going to be a very big difference in the quality of your experience. Whereas if you wait a whole year or more, the difference might be so slight you decide you actually liked the second time better.

Sure, maybe you choose to go on a little run. Maybe you decide, this is the summer I do a bunch of acid, and then that’s your lifetime’s experience with LSD. But do that shit on purpose, not accidentally. Really decide what you are going to experience each time, because with every drug, the first few are magical, and it’s all down hill from there. All the negatives remain (and tend to stack). All the positives keep diminishing. 

(which is why it’s a good idea for everyone to agree to save a couple big ones and a couple medium ones for medical use, because pain relievers work the same way and if you get hit by an SUV driving through the front of a Starbucks some fine day you’ll be glad you didn’t spend any recreation time building up an immunity to whatever the hospital is going to give you when they cut your leg open and bolt a metal rod to the bone. Or whatever)

With the common stuff, like caffeine, THC, and alcohol, you want reasonably moderate usage when using (don’t use an absurd amount) and you want a solid more-days-sober-than-not usage ratio. Having to stop and work out wether you’ve had more days off it than on it is probably a good sign you should cut back. Like, dumping too much of that stuff through your system is stressful for your body on many levels, be nicer to yourself than that. And even caffeine and weed, tho less acutely, are subject to the diminishing returns rule of drugs. It all gets less good the more you do it. So ration it a bit, give yourself the best experiences you can. 

And lastly, for gods sake, wait until you’re solidly mid 20′s. Like have A joint each year in highschool or whatever, but the human brain isn’t finished forming until about 25, and you don’t want to fuck with that. All the ways it sucks to feel when you’re a teenager? That’s the LAST STUFF your brain figures out how to deal with, like, on a physical level, and it uses chemicals to do that -- don’t throw a bunch of outside chemicals into the mix, that’s not good. Wait until you’re like 25, don’t be in such a godsdamn rush.

source: I waited until I was 20 and then spent the next 20 years living through a whole bunch of both good and bad drug decisions. 

[cdarkheartzero]

Inktober day 30- “family”

Saturday. Family fun day. Your weekly mini vacation. Where you can usually decompress from the stress of the week. Unfortunately, being the world’s greatest scientist and all, Professor Membrane is always busy on Saturdays, even if he isn’t in the lab.

His young son and daughter begged him to spend the day with them, demanding they join him on whatever tasks he had planned. He eventually gave in, dragging the pair from store to store. None of the tasks exciting by any means- picking up groceries, tools, science materials, new gloves... even the professor found it dreadful but necessary.

Yet, his beloved children barely made a peep the whole day, just trotting behind their father in joy as they went about their business. As he set them in the car, clipping them in and capping off his errands, he asked them why they had insisted so forcefully to join him, even if they were likely bored to tears.

They simply smiled and said they loved their father. That they missed him throughout the coarse of days and just wanted to be in his presence. He was deeply touched. His life was so chaotic that he rarely spent time with his own children, pretty much forcing them to raise themselves. And yet.... they didn’t envy him or hate him. They still loved their dad. And Membrane couldn’t even begin to express how thankful he was that he had such great (though sometimes troublesome) offspring.

It wasn’t much. But the least he could do was show them that he cared. Ah! An idea! The toy store! When was the last time they had gone there? Had they even ever? Perhaps a small gift or two each would be enough? How much could his children possibly ask for?

.... “well-“ Membrane thought to himself as he was packing the plethora of bags away “I fear we may have overdone it”. He looked at the damage. Figures. Board games. Dolls. Plushes. A telescope. Art sets. And the $250 7ft plush pig his daughter threatened to spill blood over had she not brought it home with them.

With a burning hole in his wallet, he watched as the sun set, reminding him that the day has escaped their grasp. He watched as his two children settled into their seats, clearly exhausted from the long day, pretty much erasing the frustration that will be his credit card statement from his memory. Within a few minutes of driving, slight snoozing could be heard from behind him. A quick glimpse in the rear view mirror displayed his beloved smiling babies, peacefully resting and gently holding each other’s hands.

He let out a silent laugh, overcome with a maternal warmth. How lucky was he to have such precious kin? They had so much love to give, far surpassing the size of their tiny forms. Perhaps he would do this again the next time he had a day home. Just.... without another 7 foot pig in his passanger seat.

[quillname]

Lab Rats Headcanons: Part 2

 Lab Rats After-Hours & Golden Girls

Hello, did you miss us? Well, we’re back again for another round of inane rambling so buckle up my dears! On this thrilling installment of “wow, you guys really don’t shut up about these nerd characters, huh?” we’ll be featuring the following:

Burke, Luchino, and Bane (the Golden Girls), as well as BonBon (who makes the group into Lab Rats After-Hours)!

So, let’s talk about Golden Girls first before we hop into how BonBon shakes things up for them.

When he first showed up, our favourite lizard man saw Burke’s lab and had precisely one thought: I want in.

Okay, so like, Bane and Burke were friends with each other long before the games at the manor

They were both employees of the DeRoss family and they became friends in their time together as coworkers

As mentioned in their backstories, several incidents occurred. We headcanon that these events caused them to drift apart for a bit

(More on this whole dynamic and character history later when we talk about Bane and Burke’s dynamic specifically, because there’s a lot to get into with them - Quill)

They didn’t end up meeting Luchino until after the games at the manor had begun

When he first showed up, our favourite lizard man saw Burke’s lab and had precisely one thought: I want in.

At first, he tried many different ways to worm his way in politely but when it became pretty quickly apparent that that wasn’t getting him anywhere, he went for the next best thing: annoying Burke into letting him share the lab.

He would often just kind of insert himself into the lab and act like he owned the place, much to Burke’s annoyance

Over time, however, Burke did begrudgingly let him stick around

The three of them have an interesting dynamic, since none of them are particularly great at the whole “communication” thing.

They do all care for each other quite a bit, but they tend to show it in subtler ways. They do little things to show they care.

They check in on one another (especially if someone --- usually Burke, let’s be honest --- stays up too late and needs to be told to sleep), they make each other food/tea, things like that.

Bane and Burke have a long history and are good friends, although some parts of their history are a bit strained, at the end of the day they care about each other lots and both want the best for the other.

Burke and Luchino started out pretty at odds. Burke was annoyed by Luchino and Luchino cared more about the lab space than actually getting to know Burke himself. This evolved over time and they do actually care about each other now quite a bit.

Burke appreciates Luchino’s company more than he’d ever willingly admit to him and Luchino would be willing to go out of his way to help/do something nice for Burke (which isn’t typical for him) if he noticed him in a bad mood.

Luchino tends to yank Burke out of his comfort zone quite a bit. After years of being alone, Burke has developed some not-so-healthy habits and norms, like shutting people out and burying himself in his work when things are bothering him. Luchino is good at noticing when he’s started to wallow and pestering him into a healthier distraction

Like trying to stop a chaotic lizard-man from releasing 20 leopard geckos into the lab space.

No, but in all seriousness, Luchino is good at looking out for Burke in the roundabout ways that he can’t just outright turn down

Burke recognizes this and the amount of care it takes for Luchino to do so (though it does take him a while to realize) and he appreciates it.

Bane and Luchino is a bit of an interesting dynamic.

For us, they kind of got to know each other personally because of their mutual friend in Burke.

Sure, they’d met a few times around the manor before. Run into each other, possibly had a few Duo’s matches together, things like that. But they never really got to know each other through these things because Bane’s a pretty closed-off and guarded person and Luchino is generally apathetic towards getting to know new people. It’s not that he’s anti-social, he just doesn’t really care about getting to know people if they’re not really of use to him.

Because both of them were spending time with Burke, though, they began to run into each other more frequently and with more reason to actually know who the other was

At first, Bane was curious about the new person present around the lab that Burke had let in. He’d heard about him through Burke’s complaints back when he was first trying to break into the lab, but now that Burke actually seemed to be willingly letting him stay, it was enough to pique his curiosity.

Beyond that, he was also quite grateful that Burke had a new person in his life because he knew how important it was that Burke shouldn’t be alone.

For Luchino, there was a similar curiosity: he was intrigued what kind of person could matter so much to someone who seemed as adverse to people and human interaction as Burke (although he does later realize that this impression of Burke isn’t entirely accurate, either)

As such, they began to get to know each other a little more outside of when they just happened to both be in/around the lab at the same time

Over time, they formed a remarkably chill dynamic

Luchino is a little bit more subdued when he’s around Bane, likely because annoying him isn’t quite as much fun as it is with Burke and thus he turns that down a little. He’s still willing to be a bit chatty about his work or be a little chaotic but like, he’ll do it while sitting on the couch and reading a book rather than hanging from a lighting fixture in the lab.

Bane tries to show his appreciation for Luchino in the quiet ways he can. Luchino also tends to look out for Bane, both because he considers him one of his friends and also because he knows it’s good for Burke to know his friend is looked after.

On Duo Hunter days where he notices Bane to be tired, he offers to throw and do a friendly match (to note: this is very unusual for Luchino, who on his own will basically never throw a match. The man likes winning). When Burke asks him about it, he usually waves him off with excuses like the mode not being serious anyway. The small gesture is enough to make Burke smile though, seeing someone else care for Bane’s wellbeing. (That being said, Luchino does extend this to Burke when he’s tired. Burke however, is old and stubborn. He’d rather go down swinging. The two are more similar than they seem, but don’t mention it to Burke.)

Luchino is pretty good at recognizing when the other two are in a bad mood, and he does often try to help in the ways that he can. He has, however, also learned to recognize when the bad mood is probably caused by something he’s not exactly equipped to handle, usually involving either of their pasts.

When this happens, he knows it’s going to take more than helping to get their minds off of things or cheering either of them up.

He’ll usually find a way to direct them to try and talk to one another. Usually it leads to them working things out, though it isn’t always the fastest process.

Neither Bane nor Burke is particularly open about their pasts and he respects that enough not to push them about it.

Luchino feeling down about his own past and current situation is a much rarer occurrence, but still happens nonetheless.

Bane and Burke both do what they can whenever it hits. Sometimes that means listening to Luchino talk. Sometimes it’s offering whatever little bits of advice they can. Sometimes it’s just sitting with him quietly so he doesn’t need to feel alone.

Bane’s presence is quite calming, and given his stalwart nature, Luchino finds that he can fill the silence with sparse ramblings without feeling like he’s judged or unheard. Bane won’t ask him to talk upfront, but it’s an unspoken open door, and for him that’s more than enough.

Bane’s less touchy than he used to be, but he’ll sometimes give pats on the back, as an added support. Luchino allows it.

Burke’s not adept at navigating feelings, but he’s down to trade advice and talk it out (Eventually, once he opens up more. Once they as a group open up more) Luchino and him spend long nights at the lab, heavier conversations are bound to happen. Being someone who’s older and having gone through alot himself, once Luchino starts talking about his own issues, I think Burke would want to let him know that just as much as he’s been there for them, they’re here for him as well.

He mentions one night that if they are to be compared to a symbiotic relationship, then they have one that is mutualistic. Luchino pauses at that, doesn’t hesitate to huff and call Burke corny for using that term, but his eyes begin to blur and he does his best to look away from the old man. He really does appreciate Burke.

Miscellaneous

Burke and Luchino are both softies for Bane.They dote on Bane alot, to which both parties are oblivious. Luchino would deny it to the grave because he is a Bad Bitch, No Feelings™, Burke has given up on pretending he doesn’t care (post-talking-it-out™), that’s his dear deer friend and he’s glad to have him.

Oldie that does not make sense in canon but if there were saturday morning cartoons in the manor, they’d watch them together. Burke would have them running in the lab as background noise, Luchino would make some teasing/playful jabs but ends up intrigued. Bane walks into the lab to see the two of them not doing work and either laughing at punchlines or critiquing certain aspects, and the two motion for him to sit down and watch the rest of it with them.

Burke enjoys the animation medium and the technicalities behind it, Luchino finds the gags and visual effects fun (although he’ll squint at some of the logics), and Bane’s not quite into it as much but the prospect of having saturday mornings set aside to watch cartoons with his good friends is a charming one. Also, he quite likes the ones involving a certain rabbit and hunter. Beat his ass Bugs. Luchino likes the roadrunner cartoons.

Giving something potentially closer to canon timeline, Post-Manor Burke and Luchino find themselves at odds with the Betty Boop cartoons that start airing. Burke finds it neat how far animation is advancing, meanwhile Luchino took one look at her french poodle design and said no. (“Luchino, you’re a lizard.” “And?? At least I look like a lizard. That is not a poodle, you cannot convince me otherwise.”-broh3m3)

Bane and Burke start a garden together in one of the empty courtyard/atrium areas at some point. It’s just a nice little veggie garden that they take care of. It gives them a nice way to spend some time hanging out together.

Burke also has some sunflowers on one end that he grows. They’re the same ones he found growing in his old watering can when he found it while cleaning up the lab. He moved them into the garden to grow properly and so he could use the watering can.

Luchino also likes plants, and has a particular fondness for carnivorous plants. He used to keep a few in his room and a few in the lab, but once the other two start their garden, he starts keeping them in the small greenhouse in the courtyard.

The three of them maintain the garden together.

Because he’s a little on the reckless side and definitely down to cause chaos just to see what happens, Luchino ends up getting chewed out by Burke a lot. He doesn’t usually take it too seriously.

That being said, because he’s known him for so long, Bane knows when Burke’s being a hypocrite about something he’s nagging Luchino about and will sometimes point out an instance of Burke being just as if not more reckless/destructive with his experiments than whatever he’s currently complaining about (“You set fire to the desk, Luchino.” “When you were first testing out BonBon, you set fire to half the forest, Burke.” “...We don’t speak of that.”). It’s all done in good fun and is usually pretty silly.

Luchino is usually just happy to be privy to hearing about Burke’s own recklessness and he can get kind of smug about it. Burke tries to avoid chewing out Luchino about stuff he knows Bane would call him out on if Bane is around as a result.

Luchino tends to be the one making the most jokes of the bunch (or at least he’s prone to saying the funniest stuff) but every so often, on rare occasions, Bane will make a joke. Usually it’s said in a deadpan, and it’s often quite dry, almost to the point that the others wonder if he was joking at all. They’re usually pretty good once they land, though.

As much as we enjoy ‘Burke has detention’ jokes around Luchino, Bane is actually the scariest one to anger. Luchino knows an angry Burke, he sees it all the time. Angry Bane however…

That about does it for the Golden Girls, specifically.

With all that said, how does our loveable, resident penguin-bot shake things up for this group?

BonBon cares a lot about Burke (that is technically his dad, after all!) and enjoys spending time with him in and around the lab.

If he can help out Burke with something, he’s happy to do so, and if he can surprise him by doing something, he’ll be excited about that, too.

Burke doesn’t really say it, but he loves BonBon a lot, too.

As much as Burke insists that BonBon’s name is Guard 26, he still slips up and calls him BonBon now and then.

He actually does consider “BonBon” more of their name than Guard 26, but at this point he’s just stubborn about it. (His tsundere is showing)

Bane’s known BonBon since he was first built.

He’s a little more affectionate with him than Burke is, if only because Burke is not particularly affectionate. BonBon knows they can probably expect head-pats if they sit with Bane.

As a caretaker, BonBon enjoys looking after Burke. Very occasionally he also does the same for Bane. Because both are rather stubborn on that front, he usually has to be sneaky about it.

He’ll make them food or leave them a blanket or sometimes just sit by them to quietly keep them company.

Bane can usually catch on pretty quickly when BonBon is going out of their way to take care of him, partly because it usually involves them hanging out with him outside of the lab.

He appreciates it, though, and lets BonBon do what they want because he knows that they like to help others.

Luchino was a little weirded out by BonBon at first, not entirely sure what to make of him.

Once he got a bit more used to him, though, he decided he liked the little guy.

The two of them can cause untold chaos if left alone for too long. 

Bane is the good influence uncle, Luchino is the bad influence uncle. Burke is the tired father.

Luchino usually steers BonBon into helping him out, but he’s a decent enough person to not let BonBon be the one to get in trouble when they’re inevitably caught doing something Burke told them not to (Burke can usually figure it out on his own, but it’s the thought that counts).

Luchino also likes BonBon because they’re warm. When the weather gets cold or if he gets sick, Luchino likes to curl up against BonBon since they’ve got a built-in heater.

Bonbon is often the middleman for bets and arguments. He can however, be easily swayed, which both parties (see: luchino and burke, bane is chill) will try to work in their favor.

Love languages let’s go!!

Bane’s is quality time. He’s spent quite a bit of his life isolated in the woods and while he never really minded being on his own, it does make him value the time he spends with people he cares about all the more.

After the incident with the poachers, spending time with people who he loves and trusts is a comfort: a rare opportunity for him to let his guard down. He knows the others would help look out for him.

Luchino and Bonbon’s are acts of service. Bonbon is used to filling up the role of a caregiver, and naturally their means of showing affection manifests in doing little things for the others. They’ll tuck a blanket over the others if they fall asleep in the lab and they’ll make a favourite dish if someone seems down.

Luchino on the other hand, was someone who hardly mingled with his previous colleagues for more than necessary. To him, actions speak louder than words, so to go out of his way to do something for Burke or the others (ex. cleaning up the lab, taking over another’s tasks for the day, etc.) is his way of showing he cares for them and genuinely appreciates their company. ‘Cause like hell he’s verbalizing it (bad bitch ™)

Burke’s is also a form of “acts of service” in that the motivations underlying the actions he takes are the more significant manifestation of his care.

Sure, letting the Lab Rats use his lab is spending time with them, but the act of him not kicking them out of the lab is the more significant part for him. Likewise, when he chooses to make a gift for someone, it’s less about the material gift given, and more about the sentiment.

In a way, he’s kind of an amalgamation of multiple love languages, but the one that seems to encompass his motivations the best right now would be acts of service.

Completely random, but for favourite plants: Bane likes Bauhinia trees, Burke likes sunflowers, Luchino enjoys any kind of carnivorous plant but especially venus flytraps, and BonBon likes daisies.

That’ll be the end of that for now, but expect more Lab Rats in the future! This little found family can fit so many headcanons in them! Please take care of yourselves until then! :D

[icelily17]

Date Night (A KimxRon fic)

Alrighty, here’s a little writing exercise for myself! This prompt was from @gothicthundra and I’m very grateful to everyone else for suggested prompts! I’ll get to them hopefully soon. Put under a read more for space purposes haha, this is set during Season 4 just so I can start on familiar ground. I really, really hope I didn’t butcher the characters....

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“You think you’re all that, Kim Possible!! But you’re nooooooot!!!!” Dr. Drakken yelled out angrily as he flew away with Shego in his hovercar, once again defeated. Kim Possible, teen superhero, stood up and dusted herself off after a job well done. “Okay, Drakken, whatever you say,” she said sarcastically.

“Y’know, how many times is he going to say that line?” Ron Stoppable came up behind her, picking a piece of dirt off her shoulder that she missed. Her best friend-turned-boyfriend crossed his arms, “You’d think that after the first couple of hundred times his butt was kicked, he’d come up with something else”.

“Well, at least Drakken didn’t get his hands on that chromium gem to power whatever his newest hairbrained scheme, AND we got it done before dinnertime!” Kim looked at her watch, “Perfect!”

“Yeah! We can stop at Bueno Nacho on the way home!” Ron exclaimed. Rufus came out of his pocket and ran up Ron’s shoulder and squeaked “Mmm, dinner! Hungry!”

Kim smiled and took out the Kimmunicator, “Sorry, I have some AP English homework I have to do tonight. Wade?” She called, and within seconds their friend blipped on the screen, “Can you get us a ride back to Middleton?”

“Hey guys, didja get Drakken before he got the goods?” Wade asked, already typing away looking for a contact. “Yeah, the chromium gem is safe and sound in the lab,” she assured. “Cool, you’re ride’s on it’s way!” Wade gave a thumbs up, to which Kim gave her thanks and put the Kimmunicator away.

 “English homework? On a Friday night? But I thought Friday night was our night!” Ron said, continuing their conversation.

“Not officially!”

“Aw man, that rips,” Ron moaned, “I was hoping we’d be able to spend some time together.” Kim raised her eyebrow, “Ron, all we ever do is spend time together.”

“Yeah, I know, but I meant something along the lines of a date. Maybe a movie, maybe we could have watched the newest episode of Agony County, grab a pizza....you know,” Ron rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. It was something he felt he could never get used to, talking about going on dates with Kim; it was like a never-ending dream, being her boyfriend. Kim smiled affectionately and grabbed his hand, “Sorry, but I really want to get a headstart on this homework. You know you can still come over?”

“Nah, I dont want to distract you if you’re working. I’ll just head home and play some Zombie Mayhem 2. What about tomorrow? I can take you out to dinner, we could go to a movie or take a stroll around town?” They began walking downhill to their rendezvous point. Kim put her finger to her chin as she thought, “Hmm....tomorrow’s looking pretty free, dinner and a walk sound great.”

“Coolness! Pick you up at 7?”

“It’s a date,” Kim giggled.

--THE NEXT DAY--

“Monique, I don’t have a clue what I should wear!” Kim wailed into her phone, shoving her clothes aside in her closet. She picked up a blue flowy long-sleeve shirt and held it up to herself in front of her mirror.

“Girl, it’s a date. You said he’s taking you out to dinner?” Her other best friend asked. “Yeah, but I dont know where, I dont want to be too over-dressed,” Kim said.

“If it’s Bueno Nacho, then it’s most likely over-dressed,” Monique deadpanned. “No, I don’t think it’s Bueno Nacho this time, he sounded like he really wanted to make this a real date,” the redhead mused, holding up a forest green long-sleeved shirt that had cut-outs on the shoulders to herself. She smiled and put it on the bed, returning to her closet for a pair of pants.

“Well, good on him! Look Kim, it’s Ron, you have nothing to worry about! It’s not like you haven’t known each other your whole lives,” Monique pointed out. Kim took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She had to admit Monique had a point. She had nothing to worry about, she knew that as long as she was with Ron she was going to have a good time. She glanced up on her dresser mirror and saw the pictures she and Ron had taken in a photobooth a few years ago, and smiled at the familiar flutters in her gut she felt when she looked at him.

“You’re right, Monique...not to sound too dramatic, but it’s just that it’s a little weird to think about going on a date with Ron. I mean, a real date as boyfriend and girlfriend, not the stuff we usually do. But in a good way! It’s just...”

“New?” Monique offered. Kim smiled, “Yea, new. But I like it.” She pulled out a pair of dark jeans, a pair of black boots with a small heel and a necklace, “Alright, outfit picked, not too casual, but not too dressy. So not the drama, thanks Monique!”

“No problem Kim. TTYL, spill the deets on Monday!” her friend said her goodbyes and hung up. Kim got ready, put on the slightest bit of makeup, hoping her father wouldn’t notice but felt it was necessary. This was a date, she wasn’t an animal, and she wanted to look nice for Ron. She sprayed a little perfume, then went downstairs and sat on the sofa where her little brothers were watching some cartoon she didn’t care about, and her mother was reading a book.

“All ready for your date Kimmie? When’s Ron coming over?” Dr. Ann Possible glanced up, looking at her daughter. Kim took the fact she didn’t say anything about her makeup meant she looked fine by her parents’ standards and opened her mouth to answer--

“Kim’s going on a daaaaaaate!” Jim taunted. “Ew, cootie alert!” Tim followed, and both boys laughed. “Shut it, Tweebs!” Kim hissed. “Boys,” their mother warned, and the twins just grinned and turned back to their show. “Ron said he’d pick me up at 7. It’s just to dinner and a walk, nothing too fancy,” Kim told her mom. Mrs. Possible smiled and turned a page, “Well that’s nice, I hope you two have a good time.”

“Where’s Dad? Working late again?”

“Ah, you know your father when there’s a new project at work, he’ll probably be gone later than you will. Which by the way, not too late okay?” Mrs. Possible looked up sternly. “I know Mom, 10 o’ clock,” Kim rolled her eyes good-naturedly. Her mother smiled, “Let’s make it 10;30. It’s Saturday, and it’s Ron, it’s not like he’s a stranger.”

Kim gasped, “Really? Oh thank you Mom!”

Mrs. Possible chuckled and pat her daughter on the hand, “Of course Kimmie, and if your father has anything to say he can talk to me about it.” She returned to her book again, and at that moment the doorbell rang.

Kim answered the door to Ron in a nice button-down short-sleeved red plaid shirt with a darker red t-shirt underneath, a pair of light blue jeans and sneakers. Kim was grateful that he had decided not to wear his usual jersey and so didn’t say anything except “Wow, look at you!” To which Ron giggled nervously and produced a bouquet of lilies. Kim smiled and took them happily.

“Good evening mademoiselle, and may I say you look very enchanting this evening,” He lifted an eyebrow in a flirty way. Kim laughed into her hand, then went inside to put the bouquet in a vase. He followed her inside and waved, “Hey Dr. P!”

“Hello Ron! Have Kim home by 10:30, okay?”

“You got it!” He called back as Kim dragged him out of the house. They walked down the walkway to where his scooter was parked and Ron handed her a helmet. “So where are we headed, Mr. Romantic?” Kim asked as she put it on and climbed on the back of the scooter.

“There’s this Italian place downtown I thought we could check out, DiPaolo’s,” He revved up the scooter, Kim grabbed his waist and they left. “Is that okay?”

“I could go for pasta,” Kim said, resting her head on his back. “At least it’s not Bueno Nacho.” Ron smiled as his tummy turned slightly and they rode in silence. 

At the restaurant they initially sat in uncomfortable silence as they realized this was their first real, fancy-ish not-naco-and-a-movie date since becoming a couple and didn’t know what to do. Ron glanced at the menu and was glad his father lent him some money--not too expensive but not quite cheap either. He glanced up at Kim and could swear he was looking at an angel. She looked beautiful (well I mean not that she isn’t all the time but WOW) and he was once again wondering how he was so lucky to have been the one Kim chose to be with. He smiled affectionately, and when Kim caught his eye she smiled back shyly.

“Hey KP, this is so...well, I mean...I just...” he began, but sputtered nervously. Great, not how he wanted to start, real smooth Stoppable. But Kim put her hand on his, to which he looked up and saw her still smiling and shaking her head.

“Oh Ron, look...if it makes you feel better, I’m nervous too.”

“You? But you’re never nervous!”

“I am when it comes to cute boys,” she said slyly. Ron giggled and rubbed the back of his neck, “Haha, yeah...but I didn’t want to be nervous. I mean, we shouldn’t be, right? I mean, it’s us.” 

Kim leaned back in her seat, “You’re right...it is us, but this is something I guess we never really expected. Still, I’m glad it happened, and I’m glad you’re here with me.” Ron smiled and took her hand again, “Yeah?”

“Of course. Here’s an idea: let’s just pretend this is just another hangout at Bueno Nacho, and we’ll go from there one step at a time, okay?” She squeezed his hand.

“Yeah!” Just then the waiter came up and asked “What can I get you to drink?” with his notepad and pen poised. Kim ordered a water with lemon, and when the waiter turned to Ron, he studied the menu for a minute before looking at the waiter. “I’ll have a coco-moo....I mean, ah.....iced tea! Yeah, iced tea please, heh heh,” he chuckled nervously. The waiter and Kim raised an eyebrow, exchanged a glance, and the waiter walked away to get their drinks.

“Coco-moo?” Kim inquired. Ron shrugged a shoulder, “I heard it somewhere once, can’t remember. Anyway,” he said, clearly trying to move on, “did you finish your English paper?”

The rest of dinner went easily, and neither of the teens could believe they were even nervous to begin with. When they got past the initial awkwardness, it was like everything was as it had always been, just with more handholding and kisses and neither of them were complaining about that.

Afterwards, they rode Ron’s scooter to the park and just walked hand in hand. They stopped at a familiar, graffiti covered wall and sat on the bench nearby. “Hey, remember when you were hit with Drakken’s weird plant and were going to disappear every time you got embarrassed?” Ron asked.

Kim rolled her eyes, “How could I forget? They followed me on my date with Josh Mankey and tried to embarrass me themselves! Not to mention the embarrassment ninjas and the Tweebs...did you know they set up a projector and showed embarrassing pictures of me here on this wall?”

Ron winced, “Oof, that’s harsh. Embarrassment ninjas?” Kim nodded, “Yeah, but then you came through and got me out of it just in time.” Ron shrugged, “Well I wasn’t going to just let you disappear. Although, I was surprised you weren’t in your room, Wade and I had to track you down.”

Kim looked away sheepishly, “Yea...I’m sorry about that...” Ron waved his hand and gave his goofy smile, “Hey no big, KP. Everything turned out fine and the Ron-Man saved the day!” Ron tried not to think about how he had felt when he saw Kim out with Mankey, risking her life just for a date. He remembered giving her a thumbs up when she looked at him in gratitude, because like Mankey or not (which he absolutely did not) he was going to support his best friend.

But that didn’t stop the pang he had felt in his chest that night.

“You know, I think that might have been the first time I noticed I liked you,” Ron said thoughtfully. “What?” Kim asked, looking at him. He winced, “Did I say that out loud?”

“Yea, but what do you mean? When I was on my date with Josh?” She asked. She was surprised he had liked her for that long, and a little pleased.

“Yea. I know I didn’t like him but I wasn’t going to let that get in the way of you dating him if you had wanted that. But seeing you there, all happy on your date, I was....”

“Jellin’?”

“What?”

“Sorry, I mean jealous?”

“Yeah, I guess so. I had never really thought about it, about you, that way up until then. But I still didn’t think about it up until the end of last year. And I didn’t know what you thought of me, you know?” The blonde put his hands together and twiddled his thumbs.

Kim faced him, “Ron, why didn’t you say anything?” Ron shrugged, “I didn’t want to risk our friendship.” Kim understood, she had wrestled with the thought for years on her end. She smiled and put a hand on his cheek, “Well let me be the first to say that I like you, Ron Stoppable, and I am very glad that you are my boyfriend. I wouldn’t trade you for anything in the world.”

They smiled at each other and leaned in for a tender kiss. They remained that way, in a sweet embrace for some time before they had to come up for some air. Ron leaned back and looked at her through half-lidded eyes. Her cheeks were red and there was a sparkle in her eye; he felt his heart swell and once again thanked the universe for making him the luckiest man in the world.

“I love you, KP.”

Kim’s eyes turned bright as she felt herself warm up from head to toe; she felt an almost weightless-ness as her chest swelled tight. She could burst out of happiness, and nothing could ruin this moment for her--not even Shego.

She threw her arms around his neck and captured his lips once again, and they could feel each other smiling into it. As they pulled away, Kim let out a sigh, “Best date ever.”

Ron laughed, “Boo-yah! I still got the way with the ladies!” Kim just smiled at her goofball. She looked at her watch: 10:15. “Well, we better head back home. Let’s go, Romeo.”

The drove back to the Possible house; Kim was slightly relieved to see that her mother had been right and Mr. Possible was still working. No pesky questions, no matter how well-meaning her dad was. They both got off, since Ron was going to walk her to the door--he knew the basic boyfriend rules.

“So you wanna come over and watch the latest Agony County episode tomorrow? I taped it,” Kim asked, her hand on the door. “You got it! Order a pizza?” Ron asked. 

“Psshh-yeah! Isn’t that the tradition?”

“Bon diggity, I’ll bring the popcorn and soda,” Ron said excitedly. “Well, ‘night KP!” 

Kim leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Goodnight Ron. Tonight was perfect. See you tomorrow!”

Ron waited until she went inside before he walked back to his scooter and walked it into the garage of his house next door. He went up to his room, smiling so hard he thought his face was going to break in half. When he walked in, Rufus looked up from the video game he was playing and squeaked at him as if to ask how it went.

“Rufus, buddy, your main man Ron’s still got the moves,” Ron said, then sighed happily as he flopped on his bed. Rufus squealed happily and ran next to him.

“I was wrong Rufus. Love isn’t complicated...it’s great!”

[lynnearlington]

Prompt: Supercorp (friends to more maybe?) + Kara invites Lena to spend Christmas at Midvale for the first time.

“Do you really think it’s such a great idea to spend winter break alone with your quote “best friend” whom you’ve had a giant gay crush on for the last three years?” 

Lena shoots Sam an exasperated look and continues to throw clothes into a small weekender bag on her bed. “It’s not all of winter break.” 

“A week. Over Christmas.” 

“And?” 

“And what’s your game plan? Are you going to finally tell her?” 

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Lena scoffs. 

“You guys are going to be alone, in Midvale, with her family, drinking schnapps and snuggling under blankets while it snows outside and you’re abso-fucking-lutely going to tell her.” 

Irritated at the certainty in Sam’s voice, Lena throws a sweater a tad violently into her bag and glares at her friend. “I’ve lasted three years in silence, haven’t I?” 

“Because she was dating what’s-her-name half the time and the other half you were dating Veronica.” 

“So?” 

“So it’s the first time you guys have both been single and alone at the same time,” Sam argues far too logically as if Lena hasn’t been thinking the same thing for the past two months since Kara invited her to Midvale. 

“We’ll be fine,” Lena dismisses, rummaging through her underwear drawer. 

“I doubt you’ll need anything in there,” Sam deadpans and Lena tries to chuck a pair of lace panties at Sam’s face, but it just floats in the air between them, buoyed by the sound of Sam’s laughter. 

–

Lena realizes how right Sam was about five minutes into their journey, when Kara’s talking delightedly about what she’s going to make for Christmas dinner and her cheeks are rosy from the chill in the air, her hair tumbling down beneath a thick grey beanie. It’s cute and so Kara and oh god Lena’s not going to need any schnapps to tell her. 

“Are you excited?” Kara asks, practically bouncing as they wait for their Uber to take them to the airport. 

Lena nods, warming when Kara grabs at her hand and holds it. “Very,” she says, fighting the flips in her stomach. 

–

They’ve kissed before. Once. 

Well, twice, really. 

–

They’re freshman, and really only just becoming friends. Lena is on a break with Veronica, upset and feeling vengeful at a house party one Saturday night. Kara is the consummate supportive friend, listening to Lena rant about all of Veronica’s wrongdoings and pouring her drink after drink every time she asked. 

Kara looks good. Attractive in a way Lena’d never really let herself notice before. The soft flannel shirt she has on hangs open at the sides, the grey t-shirt underneath clinging tightly against the plane of her stomach. The sleeves are rolled up to reveal strong forearms and Lena realizes she’s spent far too long staring at Kara’s belt buckle and wondering if she could undo it with just a finger. 

It doesn’t help that Kara’s body is solid and firm when Lena sags against it, the vodka swirling in her gut making her feel warm and loose. 

“You okay?” Kara asks so sweetly, eyes a perfect blue as they try to catch Lena’s. 

Lena nods, straightens a little, but licks her lips when Kara’s fingers wrap around her bicep to keep her upright. Kara’s face is so earnest and her hair is coming out of her ponytail so attractively and gosh Lena just wants to feel something. 

She’ll have her excuses in the morning - a long list of things like the vodka grapefruits she’d consumed or those butterscotch shots or being upset over Veronica. It’ll be settled and dismissed by the time her hangover is fading midafternoon tomorrow, but for now, Lena just steps up into Kara’s body and kisses her. 

Full on, lips against lips, hips against hips, kisses her. 

The drink she has in one hand sloshes a bit against her fingers when she moves and her other hand wraps soundly around Kara’s neck and everything else at the party fades out. Kara takes a beat to react, but react she does. Her arm sliding across Lena’s back and bringing them together, lips slanting easily and taking over the kiss. 

It feels good and perfect and lasts a solid thirty seconds until a loud crash interrupts them and they’re pulled away by a fight breaking out in the living room. 

When they address it the next afternoon and Lena’s head is muffled by a throbbing embarrassment, Kara accepts Lena’s excuses easily enough and offers to bring over her famous hangover remedy. 

Lena’s still, two years later, not certain if she’s grateful or disappointed. 

–

Midvale is small, but charming. Just like Kara’s always described it. There’s snow everywhere and lights already hanging around all the trees. The giant welcome sign is draped with garland and there are snowmen built haphazardly across every other front yard. They even pass a few children having a snowball fight as they run down the sidewalk. 

It’s idyllic in a way Lena’s never really experienced. 

“This is fun,” Kara says as they drive further into town. “I’ve never gotten to bring anyone from school home before.” 

Lena quirks a brow at that. “Really?” 

“Really,” Kara confirms, reaching across the center console of their rental car and patting Lena on the thigh. “I’m glad it’s you.” 

And that’s definitely not going to help Lena stay close-lipped about the entire thing. Nor is the way Kara is grinning at her or the warmth bleeding out from her palm up Lena’s leg. It feels significant and inevitable and Lena tries to do a mental calculation of how long she has to last before she leaves. 

It’s like she can hear Sam laughing all the way back at school. 

–

The second time they kiss is the end of sophomore year when Lena’s finally ended things once and for all with Veronica, and Kara decides that’s a great time to tell Lena she’s started to seriously see that little brunette floozy she shares a chem lab with. 

To this day Lena refuses to remember her name. 

Lena has this whole speech prepared about how she’s finally done being off and on again with Veronica and how it’s really always been Kara she’s wanted to date and even if it means risking their friendship Lena thinks it’s worth it to try. There’s this whole part about how she can’t stop thinking about that one time they shared a drunken kiss and sometimes when Kara holds her hand late at night, Lena thinks about doing it again. 

It’s a good speech. She practices it with Sam and everything. 

And then Kara goes and ruins it with her big dumb mouth. 

“So [redacted] said she’d be my girlfriend,” Kara tells her as they lounge about Kara’s dorm room pointedly not studying for finals. 

It halts Lena’s entire being, stuttering all functioning to a dead stop for several moments. 

This was not part of her master plan. There’s a party this Friday at Nia’s house and they’re supposed to go together and then she’ll pull Kara out onto the porch and sit her down, maybe take a few extra sips of her tequila sunrise for courage and then - in this stunning ensemble she’d bought with Sam last week - she’ll start her speech. 

Kara announcing she’s got a girlfriend a few days prior isn’t exactly on the menu. 

“She did?” 

“Yeah,” Kara replies, sounding nervous as she fiddles with the television remote, sliding the battery door open and closed over and over again. “Sorry, I’m sure you don’t really want to talk about this after everything with you and Veronica and -” 

“You’re right, I don’t,” Lena interrupts, her chest feeling icy and stomach twisted. She stands and paces to Kara’s minifridge, bending to peer inside and pulling out a bottle of beer stored there. “Do you want to get drunk?” 

“Lena, it’s Wednesday,” Kara says, but the exasperation in her voice is fond and she stands up to take the offered drink from Lena’s hand. 

They drink all the beer in Kara’s fridge and watch reruns of The Office until late that night, curled up on Kara’s tiny futon. It’s soft and warm and lets Lena forget that Kara’s officially off the market just when she’d been ready to snatch her up. 

Maybe they really are destined to be just be friends. Maybe the universe is just saving her from ruining the best friendship she’s ever had. 

She’s sure it’s that passing thought that has her staring at Kara’s lips for far too long when Kara laughs at something ridiculous on the television. There’s enough beer in her system to make her feel risky and there’s a chance she’ll never get this opportunity again. Kara’s going to have a girlfriend next year and probably won’t have any time for her anyway and Lena’s going to be alone forever and - 

Kara’s turned toward her, that furrow in her brow that always makes Lena want to kiss her, and so she does. 

It’s quick, but powerful. Lena surges forward and startles Kara back into the couch, their lips crashing together solidly enough that Kara lets out a little yelp into the kiss. 

But Kara doesn’t push her away. Not immediately and not even after Lena shifts enough that she’s almost in Kara’s lap, her fingers pulling Kara in by her cheeks. 

It ends softly, slowly, as Kara pulls Lena’s hands away from her face and looks at her quizzically, an uncertainty in her blue eyes that makes Lena’s chest go tight. “What are you doing?” 

The words are whispered between their lips, still hovered near enough that Lena’d only have to move a fraction and they’d be kissing again. She could do it too. Could press forward and straddle Kara, kiss the confusion off her face and slip down into her lap until Kara’s moaning and forgetting about anyone else except Lena. 

Kara’d let her. 

But it’s not right. And Lena’s not about to make a cheater out of her best friend. Her perfect, innocent, never does anything wrong, best friend. 

“Sorry,” Lena whispers back, her cheeks flush as she sits back on the futon, a considerable distance between her and Kara. 

“Uh -” Kara’s touching her lips gingerly like she can’t believe it’s happened again and thinks that’s about her cue to leave. 

“I should go,” Lena announces, standing up from the futon and making her exit as quickly as possibly while Kara’s still dumbfounded. 

Nothing comes of the kiss. Just like the first one. Kara dates she-who-must-not-be-named for most of the summer, but by the time they return for their junior year, there’s no girlfriend to speak of. “Didn’t work out,” is Kara’s only explanation. 

Their friendship doesn’t miss a beat. Kara seems to move past the incident just as easily as before and Lena can’t deny she’s at least somewhat grateful for Kara’s ability to just roll with the punches. Especially because Lena seems to be incapable of not throwing them. 

“We were drinking,” Kara says when they finally talk about it and Lena nods. “And you were sad.” Lena just nods again. “You do crazy stuff when that happens,” Kara whispers like it’s a secret, eyes searching Lena’s face. Lena rolls her eyes, but acknowledges the truth with another nod. Kara smiles. “Good thing I love you anyway.” 

Lena nods, but her throat gets caught just the slightest when she laughs. “Good thing.” 

–

Kara’s childhood home is such a contrast from the one Lena grew up in that she knows her jaw is dropped as she takes it all in. 

It’s small, but inviting. Large trees line the front covered in glistening lights and the windowboxes all have ornamental arrangements in them. The yard is coated in fresh snow just like most of the town and Kara’s adoptive mother Eliza greets them on the front porch wrapped in a warm sweater with a smile so much like Kara’s they almost look related. 

“Hey, girls,” Eliza greets, hugging them both and ushering them out from the cold. 

It’s warm inside and smells like something delicious is cooking. Kara perks up immediately, hoisting her duffel up on her shoulder and carrying Lena’s bag inside as well despite Lena’s insistence she didn’t need to. 

They settle up in Kara’s bedroom and Lena takes the time wandering around the small space inspecting everything and enjoying the way Kara blushes at Lena’s inquisitiveness. 

“You had short hair in high school?” Lena asks, picking up a picture of a younger Kara and Alex and wondering how she’d never seen it before. It’s not an unattractive style, the swoop of Kara’s blonde hair looks disheveled from the wind of the beach they’re standing on and it’s tossed atop her head in a way that makes Lena’s fingers itch to run through it. 

Kara snatches the picture out of her hand. “Alex got gum in my hair,” she grumbles, setting the picture down on her desk. “I had to chop it all off.” 

Lena laughs, strides over to the small bed against the corner and flops down onto it, testing its feel. “So this is where all the magic happened, huh?” 

Kara crosses her arms across her chest and rolls her eyes. “Oh yeah, you know me. Big stud in high school,” she jokes, but as Lena looks at her leaned up against her desk and smiling at Lena, she’d believe it. 

“Ah yes,” Lena teases, leaning back on the mattress. “I can sense all the heartbreak.” 

Kara smiles at her, but doesn’t respond, just regards her for long enough that Lena sits up, feeling self conscious under the observation. “What?” 

Shrugging a shoulder, Kara looks away, standing up from where she’s leaning. “Nothing,” she says, walking over to her bag and unzipping it. “It’s just nice having you here.” 

Lena’d have a much easier time with things if Kara would just stop saying stuff like that all the time. 

–

Kara’s sister Alex arrives from out of town much later and though Lena’s only met her a few times, hugs Lena as if she’s family. 

They eat a home cooked meal together and catch up. It’s nice and easy and Lena can see why Kara is the way she is. There’s a familiarity and warmth that pervades every interaction and Lena sees so much of Kara in the way Eliza keeps offering her more food or drink or the way Alex tells ridiculous stories from their childhood just to make Lena laugh. 

Lena didn’t even know this was something she could miss without having ever had it, but she finds she already aches knowing it’ll be gone in just a short week. 

–

It’s far more difficult than Lena had ever anticipated. Kara in her family home is somehow a softer, more attractive version of the one Lena gets at school all the time. She didn’t even think that was possible. It so effectively beats past all her we’re just not meant to be justifications and complicated compartmentalizing that she’s worried she’ll just blurt something out at any moment. 

They spend their time watching trashy holiday movies in the living room with Alex, or braving the snow so Kara can show Lena her favorite watering hole on the other side of town, or baking and decorating cookies with Eliza. Simple, uninteresting activities that seem to wrap around Lena’s soul in a way she’s always associated with Kara. 

She won’t make it until Christmas, she can sense it, and all her extremely logical reasons for keeping her feelings under lock and key seem to break down every second she spends with Kara and her family. 

It’s Christmas Eve that ends up being the tipping point. Kara tugs Lena inside the tiny dive bar they’ve been frequenting and Lena knows she’s in trouble the moment Kara smiles at her as she shakes the snow off her head and shoulders like an overgrown puppy. They’re greeted enthusiastically by the bartender and a few other patrons that seem to know Kara and the worst of it all is the way Kara’s mittened-covered hand stays wrapped around Lena’s as they make their way to two empty bar stools. 

Forgoing the strong stuff, Lena lets Kara order them a pitcher of beer and sips on it slowly lest the alcohol get to her head and she pull Kara into the sketchy bathroom stall down the dark back hallway. 

“We should go sledding later,” Kara suggests as she’s draining the last of the pitcher into her glass and nodding at the bartender in some kind of silent communication for another round. 

“That sounds cold,” Lena replies, chuckling warmly at the glint in Kara’s eyes. The strings of christmas lights hung across the ceiling twinkle in the reflection of Kara’s glasses and Lena reaches for her empty glass just for something to do with her hands. 

“Nah, it’ll be fun,” Kara dismisses, murmuring a thanks when the bartender sets down their second pitcher. “Plus, that’s what beer jackets are for.” 

Lena makes a face with that, thinking she’s maybe had all the shitty local beer her stomach can handle, but doesn’t stop Kara from refilling her glass. 

“If you say so,” Lena says, nearly choking on her drink when Kara’s hand lands heavily on her knee. 

“I’ll be fun,” Kara repeats, bending slightly to make the kind of eye contact that warms Lena’s cheeks. “I promise.” 

–

The sledding hill is another hike through thick snow, but Kara passes the time explaining to Lena all the different hijinks she and Alex got up to on the hill when they were kids. Lena focuses on keeping her feet under her as she matches the large footsteps Kara’s leaving in the snowfall. 

“You good?” Kara asks, reaching behind her to grab for Lena’s hand. 

“Yeah,” Lena says softly, taking Kara’s hand and letting herself get tugged forward. “Are we there yet?” 

Kara laughs, a warm rich sound that drips over Lena’s chest. “Almost,” she says, pulling Lena in close. “Do you want to get on my back?” 

At the offer, Kara turns and bends a bit, but Lena shoves her playfully. “No,” she chuckles, but when she tries to keep walking, Kara moves in front of her, still offering her back and shuffling whenever Lena tries to get past. 

They dance around each other, laughing, until Lena manages to push Kara full on into a snowbank. It’d be hilarious if Kara didn’t grab at Lena on her way down until she’s falling on top of Kara bodily. 

It arrests the laughter in her throat and she feels the warmth of Kara’s length all the way up her front, their faces hovering near each other as their breath manifests in the air between them. Lena’s suddenly aware of far too many things, from the snow falling quietly over them to the way she can feel Kara’s heartbeat thud between their thick jackets. 

She hasn’t had nearly enough to drink to make her drop forward and kiss Kara, but god does she want to. 

“Sorry,” Kara says when Lena fails to say anything. Blue eyes dart across Lena’s face, drop down to her mouth and back up. “Are you okay?” 

It’s enough to shake Lena out of the sudden rush of desire and she scrambles to get up off Kara’s body as quickly and gracefully as she can. She’s only half successful, slipping on a patch of ice on the sidewalk part of the way up and relying on Kara’s quick reflexes to catch her, but then they’re standing again and Lena’s able to put some distance between them. 

“Yeah, of course,” Lena says, laughing it off and brushing snow of Kara’s shoulders. “You’re so snowy now.” 

Kara laughs again, shrugs. “We’re almost there anyway,” she says, shaking off the snow as much as she can and reaching out to grab Lena’s hand again. “Come on.” 

–

It’s only when they get to the hill that Lena realizes they don’t have a sled. Kara seems largely unconcerned with this reality when Lena mentions as much and she realizes why fairly quickly when Kara jogs towards a small ramshackle shed tucked away in the thicket of trees at the bottom of the hill. 

It’s quieter out here and devoid of people - Lena’s pretty surprised considering the recent snowfall has created ideal sledding conditions - but grateful there aren’t any witnesses. She can just imagine what her mother would say if she could see Lena now. 

There are a small collection of community sleds that Kara rifles through until she picks one she likes. “Perfect,” Kara says, holding it up with a triumphant smile. 

Lena thinks the entire endeavor is ridiculous, but Kara’s excitement is contagious and the snow is pretty and there are worse things Lena can imagine doing. At least out here she’s less liable to blurt her feelings out than curled up under blankets in Kara’s room watching a movie. 

Or so she thinks. 

She’s wholly unprepared for the fact that Kara intends to get on the sled together and she perhaps could have anticipated such an event, but she’d been too distracted with the way Kara looks with a beanie pulled down low and cheeks pink from the chill in the air. 

“This is a terrible idea,” Lena says, resisting the slightest when Kara scoots back on the sled and spreads her legs in indication of just where Lena’s supposed to sit. 

“I promised fun and I never break a promise,” Kara says with a cute little lift of her chin. “So come over here.” 

Lena relents, stepping over Kara’s leg to drop down between them. Her stomach swoops dramatically when Kara curls an arm across her midsection and tugs her in tightly. It puts Lena’s back up against Kara’s front and her cheek warms when Kara’s chin plants on her shoulder and her breath floats hotly across her skin. Lena licks her lips against the feeling. “If I end up in some small town hospital tonight because you crash us, I swear to -” 

Kara’s laugh interrupts her and her arm tightens around Lena enough that the words get lost in her throat. It feels so good Lena closes her eyes just a moment to enjoy it, to imagine she doesn’t have to resist the liquid heat dropping down her chest at the feeling of Kara so close. 

And then the sled is lurching forward and Lena’s eyes fly open as they crest the hill and start flying down. Cold wind and snow whip past them and Kara’s excited laughter is infectious enough that Lena joins her as they go barreling towards the bottom. Kara’s hands stay locked tightly across Lena’s stomach, keeping them locked in close together as they go flying off a makeshift jump. 

“Oh, shi-” Kara lets out as they go careening sideways, but Lena’s laughing through their crash as they slide across the snow and tumble together the rest of the way. 

“You did that on purpose,” Lena accuses, but there’s no bite in it, tempered by her smile and fond chuckle as Kara starts making a snow angel where she’s lying on the ground. 

“I didn’t,” Kara laughs, standing and jogging to where the sled is. “I swear.” 

“Sure,” Lena draws out, trudging after Kara back up the hill. 

“Come on, we won’t crash this time.” 

“I’m not going again.” 

Kara looks back at her. “Yes you are,” she says with a wink and a smirk like she knows Lena will do whatever Kara wants. 

“You’re the worst sometimes,” Lena complains, huffing as they start the long trek back up to the top. 

“I know, I know,” Kara says, pausing for Lena to catch up and wrapping her free arm around Lena’s shoulders. “But it’s Christmas Eve and you love me.” 

“Hmmm,” Lena hums, enjoying the strong way Kara pulls Lena into her side. “I suppose.” 

They get back to the top of the hill and Kara brushes snow off the sled before setting it at their feet, keeping it there with a touch of her heel

“Actually,” Kara says, not getting back on the sled like Lena expects. Instead, she looks out to the side, hands tucking into the pockets of her jacket. 

They can see a lot of town from here, Lena realizes. Not that there’s all that much to see. But the spattering of Christmas lights and homes are visible from where they stand. Lena takes it in a moment with a quiet smile for Kara’s hometown. 

“I’ve been meaning to tell you something,” Kara says, pulling Lena’s attention back in front of her. 

It drops something heavy in Lena’s gut. She’s heard this before. It’s usually what precedes Kara telling her something devastating like [redacted] and I are back together or you’re such a good friend, Lena. And frankly, Lena doesn’t want to hear it. It’s Christmas Eve and she doesn’t have to deal with this today. If Kara wants to tell her later, fine, but right now, Lena’s going to live in her fantasy world for a little longer. 

So she does what any rational person would do when they don’t want to hear bad news from their best friend. She puts both her hands on Kara’s shoulders and shoves her hard enough that she falls onto the sled and starts careening down the hill. 

It occurs to her seconds after Kara yelps and starts flying backward what exactly she’s done. Her hands fly to her mouth in mortification, but it’s done now. No taking that one back. 

Kara tumbles gracelessly down the hill with her sled farther and farther away from where Lena’s still standing at the top and she watches as her best friend faceplants in the snow at the end. 

“Oops,” Lena thinks to murmur, allowing herself a soft laugh at the way Kara comes up from the ground with a face full of white powder. 

“What the heck?!” Kara yells up at her. 

“Sorry,” Lena calls back, feeling her cheeks heat up. 

Kara looks adorably upset, stomping through the snow towards her sled and ripping it up from the ground as she starts her ascent yet again. It’s hard to feel truly guilty with the cute way Kara swipes snow off her face. As she nears, Lena can make out the expression on her face, brow furrowed and the slightest pout of her lips. Whatever Kara’s got to tell her, maybe Lena should kiss her first one last time just in case. 

“You pushed me!” Kara says, sounding as if she can’t believe it herself. “I was just trying to tell you -” 

Kara pauses, grabs her sled with both hands and holds it in front of her like a shield. “Don’t push me again, I have to tell you something.” 

“Sorry,” Lena says again, arms crossing over her chest and biting her lip against a laugh. “I thought it’d be funny.” 

“Not when I’m trying to tell you something important.” 

“Kara, it’s Christmas Eve,” Lena sighs, thinking maybe there’s something unspoken between them that Kara will pick up and spare Lena the pain of having to hear something she doesn’t want to. 

“I know,” Kara says, dropping the sled enough that Lena can see the serious expression on her face, the red in her cheeks from more than just the cold and snow. “That’s why I want to tell you this.” 

“If you’re back together with you know who, I don’t want to hear it,” Lena says, unable to stop her defense mechanisms from ratcheting up no matter how it sounds. 

Kara drops the sled to the side, looking a bit indignant. “She has a name, you know,” Kara says, almost stomping her foot in the snow. “I don’t know what it is you have against her.” 

Against better judgement, Lena replies on instinct. “Yes you do.” 

They’re silent a moment, gazes locked on each other and Lena can barely hear the sound of falling snow over the heavy staccato of her heart. 

“Yeah,” Kara says, so softly Lena barely catches it. Then, louder, “So the thing is, I like you.” 

It’s such an absurd set up for a let down, Lena rolls her eyes. “I know you like me, Kara, don’t -” 

“No,” Kara interrupts, taking a step forward and looking more serious than Lena’s ever seen her. “I like you.” 

The significance of what Kara’s saying slams into Lena so forcefully she has to take a deep breath, her eyes widening in bewilderment. 

“No you don’t,” Lena says when she can’t think of any other way to convey her shock. Honestly, she thought that if she ever confessed to Kara, it’d take some convincing to get her best friend to see her in a romantic way, and then after that she’d reconciled with the fact that Kara would only ever see them as friends. 

Kara looks taken aback by her reply, looking around as if she’s being pranked by a hidden camera crew. “Yes, I do,” she retorts. 

“That’s not possible,” Lena says, her voice going a little shrill at the end as her brain starts to spiral into hysterics. Is Kara really saying what she thinks she’s saying? She’s regretting the alleged beer jacket Kara had foisted upon her.

“Okay, not exactly the reaction I was hoping for.” 

“But you - I mean - and when I - you can’t -” Lena scrambles for a complete sentence, but falls short, incapable of expressing three years of repressed feelings in one solitary moment, but Kara cuts through it all and takes another step forward. 

“I wanted to tell you here, in my hometown, because it’s away from all that stuff at school and because I guess you always remind me of home, so it just felt like the place to tell you that I like you and you’re my best friend and I’m not trying to ruin anything between us, but I just think about those times we kissed way too often and I think I’d be a good girlfriend for you and if maybe you’d just consider -” 

Lena finally catches up to the moment, lets herself believe in what’s happening and presses so swiftly forward into Kara’s physical space that the sled drops from her hand and goes gliding down the hill at a rapid pace. 

“Yeah, okay,” Lena breathes out, looking up into Kara’s eyes. Her heart feels heavy against her rib cage and her brain can barely understand that this is really happening, but she’s pretty sure it means she can kiss Kara and not feel guilty about it in the morning. 

“Really?” Kara’s smile is so bright and genuine that Lena wishes she had said something the moment they got in the car to the airport together. 

In lieu of answering, Lena just grips her fingers into Kara’s jacket and pulls them together until they’re kissing, soft and sweetly at first until Kara seems to get with the program, arms around Lena’s waist and deepening the kiss into something much hotter. It’s like that for long moments, the world dropping away around them, until they pull away and blink dreamily at each other. 

“Wow,” Kara says softly and Lena laughs. 

“Can I confess something?” Lena asks, feeling an unstoppable urge to even the playing field. 

“Of course.” 

“I’ve been meaning to say the same thing for a long time,” she says, feeling embarrassed by the confession regardless of circumstance. 

“How long?” Kara asks, the softness of her expression making Lena want to press back in again. 

“Too long,” Lena admits and Kara smiles. 

“I’m glad I said something then,” Kara says, the curve of her lips turning into something more teasing. “You’d have been too stubborn to ever do anything about it.” 

Lena tsks indignantly, pushing ineptly at Kara’s shoulder. Even though Lena’s pretty sure she doesn’t shove that hard, Kara stumbles back and pulls Lena with her. It’s not so bad this time; Lena ducks her head to kiss her. They stay at the top of the hill for a long while, their sled abandoned at the bottom.

–

Sam gives Lena the biggest I told you so when they get back on campus and stroll into the welcome back party hand in hand, but Lena just rolls her eyes at her friend and stays glued to Kara’s side, rewarding her with a kiss when she hands her a drink. 

She can’t even bring herself to mind when Sam sends her about forty texts in regards to Kara’s Instagram post - the one with her arm slung around Lena’s shoulders and her lips pressed to Lena’s cheek, with a very cheesy caption: The best Christmas gift of all. 

Sam can say as many I told you sos as she wants. Lena spends the latter half of her winter break wrapped up in Kara’s arms, plenty surprised and absurdly joyful. It was the best Christmas gift of all. 

fic tag | prompt fills | ko-fi

[slowly-writing]

I’ll Always Love You

Wanda Maximoff x Reader

Word Count: 1369

Requested by: anonymous

Warning: Angst, Major Character Death

The first time Wanda notices something is off you’re making dinner after getting home from work.

She walks up behind you as you’re stirring the pasta and wraps her arms around your waist. She notices you’re a bit skinnier than you were but doesn’t think much of it. You insisted the two of you start eating healthier when you moved into the compound with her. Her job often involved a lot of junk food and take out, and you were convinced it would send her into an early grave. So you both must just be getting a bit healthier.

“Hey, darling. How was your day?” You ask and she smiles, all of her worries forgotten.

“Tony lit Bruce on fire with an explosion in the lab. We almost had a code green on our hands after that one. So you know, just a regular day at the office,”  Wanda says with a laugh.

“Please tell me nobody got hurt,” you say with a sigh and she places a kiss on your cheek.

“Nobody got hurt. I swear, they’re all okay,” she promises and you nod.

“Good. Dinner’s ready,” you give her a quick kiss before carrying the food over to the table.

“It looks delicious, my love. Thank you for cooking,” she says and you smile.

“Of course. You better eat up quick before all the other heathens come in and steal it,” you tease and she laughs.

“You’re right. I work with a team of animals.”

“Who are you calling animals? Oooo dinner,” Clint says, quickly proving Wanda’s point.

“There’s extra on the stove,” you offer, having known this would happen, and within minutes it turns into a full team dinner.

“Heard you got set on fire,” you say to Bruce who rolls his eyes.

“It wasn’t my fault!” Bruce yells and you laugh, pushing your plate away a bit as you engage in conversation. Wanda frowns at your almost full plate that you’re obviously finished with. She doesn’t like that you aren’t eating, but she’s not about to scold you for it. You’re a big girl, you can figure out how to feed yourself.

xxxxxx

The next time Wanda notices something is off is a few weeks later she was off for the weekend and you both decided to spend a lazy Saturday in. The two of you were sleeping in and Wanda woke up around nine. She glanced down to where you rested with your head on her chest and smiled, content to sit there and run her fingers through your hair as you slept.

After reading the book that had been sitting on her nightstand for a while she began to get hungry and gently removed herself from you. She frowns when she notices it was almost eleven. You never sleep in this late, but she decides to let you rest and get herself some food.

Around one Wanda made her way back into the bedroom and gently shook your shoulder to wake you. She frowns at how warm you are

“My love, are you feeling okay?” She asks softly as you open your eyes “you’ve been sleeping for a while.”

“I’m good,” you said with a hum, “what time is it anyway?”

“It’s a bit after one,” she says and you furrow your brow.

“Huh, I guess I was tired. It’s been a long week,” you mumble, climbing out of bed.

xxxxx

The next week Wanda was gone on a mission. She had been gone for three days and you were waiting in the hanger as her jet landed. As soon as she stepped off the plane you ran over, jumping into her arms. She laughed and spun you around before pausing. She never had an issue lifting you, she could throw a car across a field with the flick of her wrist, but it’s never been this easy to pick you up.

“Love, have you lost weight?” She asks gently and you tilt your head to the side as she sets you down, her hand settling on your waist.

“I….I don’t….don’t think so. Why?” You ask, slightly out of breath. Her hand tightens around your hip a bit and she sighs.

“You’re all skin and bones. You feel lighter than you used to. And why are you out of breath?” She asks and you cross your arms.

“Not all of us can be superheroes who can run miles at a time without getting tired,” you grumble defensively and she cups your cheek.

“That’s not what I’m saying, my love. You’ve been off for a few weeks now and I’m worried about you,” she explains and you shrug slightly.

“I just haven’t been feeling great. I might be a little nauseous maybe, but I’m sure it’ll go away soon,” Wanda frowns are your dismissive tone.

“Have you seen a doctor?”

“No doctors, Wan. I hate them. I’m fine!” You argue.

“Please, love. I’m starting to get really worried,” Wanda begs, tears gathering in her eyes and that broke you. You brush your thumb across her cheek before nodding silently.

xxxxx

“Okay, I’m going to have to do a bone marrow test,” Dr Cho says and your eyes widen. She had asked you a few questions and done a routine exam, and then made this decision.

“No you don’t! Why the hell would you need to do that?” You yell and Wanda takes your hand, standing next to you and letting you lean into her side.

“Your symptoms could be a lot of things, and I need to figure out what it is. I know you’re scared, but I need to do the test,” she says and you look up at Wanda, fear evident in your eyes.

“You’ll be okay, my love. I’ll be right here the whole time,” she promises and you nod, moving to lay on your side.

“You’re going to feel a pinch, and I’m gonna need you to stay still,” Doctor Cho says, sending a look to Wanda who places one hand on your leg and the other on your shoulder. You feel a needle enter your side and you go to flinch away.

“Hey, look at me. Look right at me,” Wanda says, holding you still as tears start streaming down your face.

“It hurts,” your voice comes out somewhere between a groan and a scream, and Wanda’s heart breaks.

“I know, love. Just a few more seconds,” she promises, holding eye contact in hopes of distracting you.

“I’m all done. You two can go, I’ll call you with results when I have them,” Dr. Cho promises after a few minutes and you nod.

“You feeling okay? We can skip movie night so you can rest,” Wanda offers as she leads you towards the elevator to leave the med floor.

“No, I’m okay. I just wanna cuddle up with you and relax, I can do that at movie night. Plus we haven’t gotten a chance to hang out with the whole team in forever and I refuse to be the reason plans fall through again,” you tease and Wanda chuckles.

“Hey lovebirds!” Clint teases as the elevator doors open to the common room.

“I take it back, we’re skipping movie night.”

“No! We’ve missed you guys. I promise I’ll shut up!” Clint begs and you roll your eyes.

“We have missed you though, it’s been a while since we’ve all hung out. How is it that we all live in the same building yet we never see each other?” Nat says and you smile.

“You guys always leave me to go off and save the world. It’s selfish really,” you say, unable to hold back your laugh as Wanda throws an arm around your shoulder, pulling you into her side as she laughs as well.

“You’re right. We really should think about others more,” Tony says and the team all breaks out laughing.

You spend most of the night catching up rather than watching a movie. Steve nervously tells you all about a date he went on and Clint shows you all pictures of his kids. Bruce and Tony talk about the lab developments they’ve made. Nat is halfway through a story about her last mission when your phone rings.

“Who is it?” Wanda asks and you glance at the phone.

“I don’t know, it’s not a number I have saved. I’ll be right back,” you excuse yourself and walk a few steps away before answering.

“Hello? Who is this?” You say, the others kindly quiet down so you talk.

“It’s Dr. Cho, we got your lab results back. I have some bad news, I'm afraid. We….my team and I believe you have lymphoma,” the rest of her sentence is lost on you as your phone slips out of your hand. The sound of it clattering to the floor draws Wanda’s attention back towards you. She glances over and sees you frozen, jaw hanging down slightly and staring at your friends, but not seeing them at all.

“Love, what’s happening? What’s going on?” She asks but you don’t respond, you just keep staring. She’s quick to pick the phone up off the ground, terrified of who could be on the other line. “Who is this?”

“What’s going on? Is somebody threatening you?” Nat asks, everyone immediately going into mission mode.

“No…no that was Dr. Cho,” Wanda’s voice is barely audible as she quietly pockets your phone and steps in front of you and tries to hold your gaze. She places her hands on your shoulders and ducks a bit to meet your eyes.

“Why are you both so freaked out over a call from a doctor?” Steve asks nervously. A threat from hydra they could handle, but he fears they may be way out of their depth here.

“I have cancer,” you mumble, the statement almost sounds like a question and your eyes are still glazed over.

“You what?” Clint asks, disbelief clear in his voice.

“I have cancer,” you say again, eyes meeting Wanda as tears begin to fall. You start to shake and she quickly takes you into her arms before your legs can give out.

“Banner, call Dr Cho up here. We’re figuring this out right now!” Tony calls before stepping closer to you, “hey, guys it’s gonna be okay. We can figure this out. I’m sure we caught it early and everything will be fine.”

The first thing Dr Cho asks when she gets to the floor is if you’re okay discussing this in front of everyone. You let out a shaky yes as Wanda helps you sit down.

“We ran your bone marrow through some tests and as I said on the phone, I have some unfortunate news. You have lymphoma-”

“But you caught it early. So she’ll be okay, right?” Tony cuts her off and Dr Cho sighs.

“Unfortunately, no. It’s quite advanced. It’s rare that we catch it this late, there’s usually signs. Fatigue, weight loss, loss of appetite, and fevers to name a few,” she says and you can hear Wanda take a sharp breath.

“No,” she says under her breath and all eyes are on her, but she’s only looking at you. “You said you were okay. You said….you said you just weren’t hungry. I thought you had a long week at work. You said you were fine!”

The pain is so clear in her voice and you feel your heart crack, “I thought I was.”

“How far along is it?” Bruce asks and you see Dr Cho shift uncomfortably.

“It’s stage four,” she says.

“Out of how many stages?”  Steve asks quietly, scared of the answer.

“Out of four,” she tells him, and you can feel the tears falling down your cheeks.

Everyone in the room falls silent as they stare at each other. None of them know what to say, because what can you say to a girl who’s just been handed a death sentence?

xxxxx

“How are you feeling today?” Steve asks cheerfully as he sits next to you and Wanda on the couch. You’re curled into her side as she runs her hand through your hair.

“Bad,” you mumble, sinking further into Wanda’s embrace.

“She started chemotherapy this morning. It’s making her a bit nauseous,” Wanda explains, careful not to jostle you too much.

“A bit more than a bit,” you say grumpily, “I feel like someone poured acid into my stomach.”

“Technically there is already acid in your stomach,” Steve says, but your glare shuts him up, “I’ll leave you two alone.”

“Is there anything I can do, my love?” Wanda asks and you look up at her.

“Do the magic,” you beg hopefully and she chuckles.

“You make me sound like Elsa,” she teases before bringing her hand to your temple. You close your eyes and smile as images start playing through your head. She starts by showing you memories of the two of you. You see your first date and the day she asked you to move in. Then it shifts to things that haven’t happened. You see Wanda in front of you with a ring. Next the two of you are in fluffy white dresses. You smile at the thought and suddenly you see you and Wanda, a sleeping child in her arms. The image fades away and you blink the tears away, smiling up at her sadly.

“I’m sorry we’ll never get to have that,” you whisper and she frowns.

“Don’t say that. Everything is going to be okay. I can feel it,” she says, cradling your face in her hands and brushing your tears away. “You’re going to get better, and the second you do we’re going to start our future together.”

“Wanda,” you say, voice cracking already.

“Just don’t,” she cuts you off, “please don’t.”

You nod. You know what the future holds for you, but she’s not ready to face that, and you can respect that for now.

xxxxxx

“Hey babe, are you almost ready?” Wanda calls from the hallway. The whole team is going out to the movies. Steve said something about it being good for public opinion if they saw the avengers doing normal human things. You’re currently standing in the bathroom, looking down and the clumps of hair in your hand that fell out when you were brushing your hair.

“Uh yeah. One second!” you call back, grabbing a beanie off your dresser and pulling it on.

“It’s really not that cold,” Clint teases as you walk into the common room and you falter a bit, shrinking into Wanda’s side.

“I just like this hat, okay?” you say softly and he furrows his brow but takes the hint to leave it be.

“Yo, what’s with the hat? It’s like 80 degrees out,” Tony teases as he walks in with the remainder of the team.

“My hair’s falling out, okay!” you yell, staring at the floor as the room falls silent.

“Hey, I think the hat looks awesome,” Nat says after a few minutes and you smile, wiping the tears from your eyes.

“So do I. I think you’re beautiful no matter what. With or without hair,” Wanda says and you nod, eyes still cast towards the floor, but you take her hand.

“Thanks. Can we just go?” you look up at her and she nods.

“Of course. Let’s get going.”

xxxxx

“Hey Nat,” you say softly, and she glances up from her book with a smile.

“Hey you’re awake, how are you feeling?” She asks and you shrug. Last week you permanently moved into the med wing. The treatments weren’t working and you were getting worse by the day. Everyone knew it was just a matter of time, even if they wouldn’t say it out loud.

“I’m fine. I need to ask you a favor,” you say and she sets her book aside.

“Of course. Anything you need,”she says, she has a smile on her face but you know it’ll drop off soon.

“I need you to take care of Wanda,” you say softly.

“I don’t-“ Natasha tries to stop you but you cut her off.

“No. Let me finish. We all know what’s coming. I’ll be lucky to make it to the end of the week, and I’ve never been that lucky,” you say with a slight chuckle, but there’s little humor in it. “When I’m gone she’s going to be a wreck and I love her too much to let this destroy her. She’s lost too much already, and I hate that I’m going to be another thing she’s lost, so please just promise me you’ll look after her.”

“I promise,” Natasha says, gently taking your hand. You both have tears streaming down her face.

“Thank you,” you whisper and she nods at you.

“We all love you both. We’re not going to let her slip away.”

“I love you guys too,” you say softly, “I wish we had more time.”

“We don’t know what we have left. So we’re going to cherish every moment until they’re gone. It’s the only thing we can do,” she says gently as Wanda walks back into your room.

“What’s with all the tears?” She asks as she sits on the edge of your bed, wiping the last tears from your face and placing a kiss on your forehead.

“Just, saying goodbye I guess,” you say and you hear Wanda take a deep breath.

“Could you give us a minute?” she asks Natasha who nods, placing a kiss on the top of your head before she leaves. “Love, you don’t need to say goodbye, because you’re not going anywhere.”

“Wan, I love you and I love your optimism, but it’s time to step back into reality. Everyone’s done everything they can for me. This was stage four, it was doomed from the start. I wish it was different but it’s not. These are the cards we were dealt and they’re shit, but it’s what we have to play with. I don’t have the time I want, and I have to accept that,” you say, holding her hand tightly as her tears begin to fall.

“I’m not ready for you to leave yet,” she says softly and you pull her into your arms. “Why are you so ready to go?”

“I’m not,” your voice is barely above a whisper, “I’m not ready to go. I have things I still want to say and every night I fall asleep and I’m terrified that I won’t get to say them. I don’t want to say goodbye, but I’m going to go whether I say it or not.”

“I have something I need to give you,” she says softly, “I told myself I was gonna wait until you got better. I had this whole plan, but I think I should give it to you now.”

She pulls out of your arms and reaches into the pocket of her sweatshirt and pulls out a little velvet box. You feel your breath hitch as she opens it.

“I had this whole speech. I was going to tell you how I love you more than anything in the world. How I want to spend the rest of my life with you. How we already have the ‘in sickness and in health’ part worked out and we could handle anything else life throws at us. I wanted us to move out of the compound, get a little apartment, maybe a farm like Clint, and start a family. I guess maybe none of that matters now, but I still wanted you to see it,” she says with a smile on her face. You have tears streaming down your face and so many emotions whirling around in your head. This was supposed to be the happiest moment of your life, but it wasn’t. All you could think about was everything you were missing.

“I would’ve said yes. I would’ve loved it,” you whispered and she wrapped her arm around your shoulder, pressing a kiss to your temple as you spoke. “Promise me you’ll move on.”

“Love, I can’t-“

“Yes you can. I’m not saying you need to go out and find someone else tomorrow. But don’t shut the world out. Let the team help you, let them love you. And I’ll be waiting, wherever I am,” you say and she smiles.

“I’ll do my best. I promise I’ll let them in. I also promise that I’ll never forget you, and I will love you for the rest of my life. I’ll always love you,” she says and you smile up at her.

“I’ll always love you too. I promise,” you whisper and she smiles back, helping you lay down and settling down next to you.

“Rest now, my love. I’ll be here when you wake up,” you look up at her again and she can see the fear in your eyes. The fear that you’ve worked so hard to hide over the last few months.

“What if I don’t wake up?” You whisper and she gently brushes her hand across your forehead, as if moving the hair that’s no longer present.

“Then I’ll catch up with you soon,” she promises and you nod, closing your eyes. She stays awake, watching you drift off to sleep and taking comfort in the gentle rise and fall of your chest. She holds you close as you rest, wishing she could keep you safe as the tears stream down her face. You look so peaceful, a small smile on your sleeping face as she gently traces her fingers up and down your arm. She lets that peaceful look comfort her hours later as the machines around her start to blare. She watches you slip away and she doesn’t try to stop the tears that fall as she’s ushered out of the room, looking at you one last time and saying a quiet promise “I’ll always love you.”

tag list: @rvgrsbrns @rororo06 @freerebel @prizmix-and-friends @m19friend @worlds-in-words @5aftermidnight @riotmaximoff

[lettheladylead]

avoid the unhappy ending (ch1-2)

ships/characters: Goldie, Quackfaster, Gyro, Fenton, Lil Bulb, Manny, Boyd, Launchpad, Scrooge/Goldie words (so far): ~2800 summary: Goldie comes to town to see Scrooge. Instead, she somehow manages to run into literally everyone else. ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27108943

First two chapters are up!

It was a Saturday afternoon. Normally she wouldn’t be in Duckburg, but she was passing through on her way back north and thought a little stop could be nice. Just pop in and say hello, maybe stay for a swim in the money bin or a sleepover if Scrooge asked. He wouldn’t ask, but she was always up for it.

Security at the bin was the same as usual. It always felt like there was a gap just for her - though obviously Scrooge wouldn’t be foolish enough as to leave his guard down for a professional thief. That being said, she was in his office quicker than usual, and a brief scan of the room told her she was alone.

“Huh,” Goldie breathed out, wiping her hand along his desk and taking a seat in his big chair. She spun around a few times, then stopped and looked at the different drawers. They were all locked, which didn’t change anything for her, but she knew this desk was mostly paperwork. Nothing of note, nothing of interest. Even a spare few dollar bills wasn’t worth the effort.

She stood up and walked over to the vault. It was closed, but perhaps Scrooge went for a more...private swim. That’d be fun to interrupt (and/or join in on). Her left shoulder made a terrible cracking sound as she slowly opened the door and she groaned a bit, popped her head in, and listened closely.

No sounds whatsoever.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Goldie groaned, rubbing at her shoulder and stepping fully into the vault. She looked up and down, left and right, but there was clearly no Scrooge to be found.

She sighed and closed the vault door on her way out in a sudden burst of politeness. Alright. Often Scrooge spent his Saturday afternoons catching up on work that he missed during adventures out of town. Apparently this was not one of those Saturday afternoons. Her shoulder was still a little sore, so Goldie decided to exit the normal way. Maybe someone would see her and call Scrooge to let him know. That’d be fine with her, she didn’t want to spend the whole day just looking for him.

But she had no such luck as it seemed the majority of his administrative employees weren’t working on a weekend. Made sense. Goldie poked her head into every other room to see if Scrooge was in a meeting or doing something or whatever, but he just...wasn’t there! It was agitating. Just a little bit.

The next door she spied was to the Archives. Goldie spent very little time in this room, since she had a pretty decent memory and didn’t need a piece of paper to remind her what year something happened in. Scrooge loved to talk about himself and his accomplishments, so there was rarely anything she needed to know that she didn’t already.

With a shrug, she entered the room anyway, considering the possibility that Scrooge could just be reading through old files like the old fogey he was. The door creaked loudly and almost immediately, Goldie made eye contact with the only other person there.

“What the…”

Goldie frowned as the other woman spoke and started walking towards her. This was not someone she’d had to interact with in a long time.

“Goldie O’Gilt, is that you?”

“Ah...Quackfaster. Nice to see you,” Goldie responded with a characteristic smirk. “Still working as Scrooge’s secretary, then?”

Quackfaster snorted and looked down at Goldie’s hands, clearly checking for stolen items. “Archivist. But you already knew that.”

“I did.”

Emily didn’t see anything on Goldie, and nothing near her seemed to be missing, so she turned around and headed back to her cart. “What are you doing here, O’Gilt? I know there’s nothing in this room you’d want to take.”

Goldie glided a finger against one of the shelves and cringed at the amount of dust that accumulated so quickly. “You can’t know that for sure.”

Her response was just a brief glare before she went back to filing.

“Alright, yeah,” Goldie stepped a bit closer, relishing in the way that Quackfaster flinched and reached for the sword that Goldie knew she had on her. “I’m just looking for Scrooge. Do you know where he is?”

“He’s not here,” Quackfaster said as she struggled to shove a certain book into a spot that was a little high up for her. “I assume, anyway. I haven’t seen him.”

Goldie rolled her eyes before reaching over and grabbing the book, getting on her tip-toes and putting it in its place. “Don’t you know his schedule, Secretary?”

“Archivists don’t keep schedules, Thief,” she scoffed. “Even if I knew where he was, I wouldn’t tell you. So have fun walking around town like a lovesick puppy.”

“Excuse me?” Goldie couldn’t contain her offense at the simile and proceeded to knock over Quackfaster’s cart of books before rushing out - leaving a loud crash and a pile of old papers in her wake.

Emily sighed and looked down at the pile. At her next salary meeting, she was definitely bringing this up.

Goldie, on the other hand, was back to business. That conversation had been entirely unhelpful and mostly unpleasant and very incorrect. Lovesick puppy? What was she, a teenager? She just wanted to see Scrooge so she could brag about her latest exploits - remind him of how nice it is to not be boggled down by family...maybe get some food. Sure, she loved him (or whatever), but she wasn’t sick over him. She wasn’t some kid in a bad romantic comedy. She was Goldie O’Gilt!

Quackfaster told her Scrooge wasn’t around, but she didn’t really know. And then, even she had, she might’ve told Goldie the opposite of the truth. There were a lot of angles to consider, as there usually was. So Goldie did what any sharp shooter would do - she decided to check out the last place in the Money Bin that Scrooge might be...the weird underwater lab.

--

She didn’t normally take elevators. They weren’t safe or secure. She could still remember when elevators first became a common thing...people became so reliant on them so quickly.

This was all she could think about in the slow, slow ride down to the lab where she was desperately hoping she’d find Scrooge. It’d be a shame to find out this trip to the Money Bin was a waste. If he wasn’t down here, she’d be stealing something for sure.

The doors opened and she was welcomed by two incredulous stares. She crossed her arms and stuck out her hip, staring back at them.

The two men looked at one another and then back at her.

“I don’t have time for this. Inter- er, Employee! Go!”

“Yes, Sir!”

Goldie stepped out of the elevator and looked around to see a distinct lack of Scrooge McDuck. She frowned. The shy-looking duck waddled up to her and smiled.

“Hi there! Welcome to Dr. Gearloose’s lab!” Fenton reached out a hand. “What can we do for you?”

She looked down at his hand and then back up at his face. “You seem familiar,” she said cautiously, grabbing his hand with two fingers and giving him a single shake before letting go. “...were you ever a Sheriff?”

“No, ma’am!” He didn’t give any sort of negative reaction to her odd question. “But mi mama is a police officer, so that’s close! Sort of!”

“Mama…” Goldie paused and put a hand to her beak in thought. “Oh! Are you Cabrera’s boy?”

“Wh…” Fenton blinked several times in surprise. “You know her?”

“You could say that,” Goldie said smugly. “We had a run-in a little over two decades ago. I remember you being much smaller.”

Fenton scrunched his face and considered her words, realizing after not long that this was someone on the other side of the law. “Um…”

She strode past him and towards the other man she’d seen earlier. “Is Scrooge here?”

Gyro sighed as loudly as possible before turning around to point in her face. “ Why would Mr. McDuck be here? This is a scientific laboratory, not a bin filled with coins.”

He realized briefly after speaking that this woman was familiar - familiar, as in, he’d met her just a few months ago for him and many many decades ago for her. Considering the recent controversies regarding unsanctioned time travel, Gyro started to sweat.

“Huh.” Goldie eyed him carefully. “You look familiar, too.”

“That’s not possible,” he said quickly. “I’ve never-”

“Gearloose, right? Any relation to Ratchet?”

He paused. “Uh...my grandfather?”

Goldie smacked him on his back. “I knew it! You’re his spitting image, you know that?” She laughed and continued to look around the room on the off chance that Scrooge was purposefully hiding from her. Why would he be? Who knows. Scrooge was a mystery sometimes. “Damn, I guess I owe Scroogey some money.”

“Why’s that?” Fenton asked, coming closer when he determined the intruder wasn’t a danger to the lab.

“Well, I bet Ratchet would die a virgin. Seems I lost.”

Fenton blushed and Gyro grumbled, turning back to his work, which Goldie just realized was also quite a bit familiar.

“Hey, I know this robot, too. This whole lab is turning into a trip down memory lane.”

“Hi! I’m Boyd!”

“Yes, I remember that,” she said with her eyes on the exit. “I’m guessing you’re not determined to kill anymore?”

Gyro glared at her and Boyd just clapped a hand to his cheek, producing a metal clang. “Aw geez, no I’m not! I’m sorry if you got hurt at Doofus’ party, Miss O’Gilt.”

Goldie shrugged and looked back at Fenton, who almost looked like he had a light bulb over his head. Or, well, actually. He did have a light bulb over his head. And then it jumped down onto his shoulder.

“O'Gilt! As in... Goldie O’Gilt?!”

“The one and only.”

She didn’t react as the light bulb jumped from him to her and then from her to the grumpy scientist behind her. She started to walk towards the door when she decided she’d made a mistake in coming here.

“You’re Mr. McDuck’s longtime, ah, paramour, one might say?” Fenton asked as he followed.

“One might.” She had to admit that it was interesting to know how Scrooge described her to his coworkers, but something told her that he’d never called her that.

“Then, from what I’ve read, you’re well over 100 years old, and I have never had the opportunity to ask Mr. McDuck about that, but I’m deeply fascinated!”

He started rambling, following Goldie the entire way to the elevator, and even stepping inside the elevator with her. She frowned deeply at this fact, and then there was the giant stone horse thing with Scrooge’s head clopping its way towards them that she very much wanted to get away from.

The talkative guy didn’t seem frightened by it, though - in fact, he waved at it as he continued to rant about chronological physics or whatever the hell was happening.

Not wanting to deal with this anymore, Goldie took this opportunity to grab Fenton back the back of his shirt and toss him towards the statue thing - repeatedly pressing the Close Door button on the elevator as fast as possible.

Fenton just squeaked and Manny caught him without a problem. “Hm...I guess I’ll have to save my questions for next time!”

Gyro barked at him from the other side of the lab. “There won’t be a next time! This lab needs to be more secure!”

Goldie breathed out a sigh of relief as the elevator dinged and she was back to being surrounded by no one and nobody. The Bin was still mostly empty and she was very happy with that. Though now she’d have to make her way over to the manor - where she was more likely to run into Bentina. After their last interaction, she knew it wouldn’t go well and didn’t want to deal with it. She’d just have to do her best to avoid the kitchen.

She headed out the front door, but on spotting a security camera, Goldie smirked and looked around for something to take. She spotted a few umbrellas sitting in a holder by the door, and shrugged. Something was better than nothing. Plus, it was getting kind of cloudy out there. So she grabbed the nicest looking one and stepped outside.

The clouds didn’t seem as thick once she left the building, but whatever. The umbrella was going to be hers either way. And now she had an annoying journey to the manor - normally she’d find a faster way over there, but the streets were pretty empty and she didn’t have any of her fancier gear on-hand.

So: walking it was.

Her knees started to hurt after only a minute. The road she was on was not made for feet, it was made for wheels! Why didn’t Gearloose or Cabrera or Quackfaster have a car she could steal? Were they all commuters? Did Scrooge pay any of his employees well enough to afford a car?

Just as all these complaints were charging through her brain, Goldie was cut off by the sudden sight of a familiar limo coming up towards her. She couldn’t contain the big smile on her face as she stepped in front of it - bringing the car to a halt.

She brushed invisible dirt off her pants and posed - leaning gracefully on the umbrella - in anticipation of Scrooge coming out to greet her.

Instead, a tall, muscular man stepped out of the driver’s seat and rushed towards her.

“Whoa! I almost hit you!”

Goldie sighed and stood up straight. “Is Scrooge with you?”

“Huh? No, he-” Launchpad pouted as he looked down at her, clearly dealing with the gears in his head turning a little faster than usual as they deciphered the data in front of him. “Oh, man! You're Mrs. McDuck!”

“Mrs....” Goldie looked like she’d bitten into a lemon. “I’m not -”

“I was just on my way to visit Fenton, Mrs. McD! But I could take you back to the manor instead, if you want!” He took off his hat and held it to his chest, looking a little nervous. “Please don’t be mad I almost hit you. It wasn’t that bad!”

“You didn’t-! I’m not…” Goldie was so confused by his assumptions that she didn’t even know where to start. But...a good con always knew where the benefits began. “...alright. Sure. Fine. Mrs. McDuck won’t say anything to Scrooge if you drive me back to the manor and not say a word about this to anyone. Does that work for you?”

“Oh, yes ma’am!” Launchpad quickly stepped back and opened up the back door for her so she could slide in. He closed the door on her foot and she scowled - leading to another slew of apologies before he closed the door for real.

She sighed and looked out the car window, feeling like she’d lost her touch. Usually she just knew where Scrooge was. Right away, she was always able to find him. And this was going to be one of those days where she ran around like a chicken without its head.

Launchpad was humming along to a tune on the radio, and Goldie felt the urge to have him change it to something more her style. But she wasn’t here to put on a show. She needed to find something else to focus on.

“Who told you to call me Mrs. McDuck?”

The redhead lowered the radio volume and looked at her in the mirror. “What do you mean?”

“I mean…” She shuffled a bit in her seat. “Did Scrooge tell you to call me that?”

There was quiet in the car for a minute as Launchpad seemed to be thinking about her question. She was ready to tell him to forget it when he finally spoke up again.

“I don’t remember! But I don’t think so,” he said with a nod. “Did I do something wrong? Do you still use your maiden name? Or should I call you something else?”

Goldie didn’t respond to that as she looked down at the seat next to her and noticed a stray white feather. She reached down and picked it up, realizing immediately that it was Scrooge’s. A hint of an embarrassed blush came to her cheeks as she tossed the feather back down - being able to recognize the smell of Scrooge on a single feather was ridiculous.

“No,” she finally said, deciding that the unfamiliar warmth spreading through her chest was kind of...nice. “That’s fine.”