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write-orflight · 4 years ago

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Like Real People do. Chapter 2

*Gif not mine*

Chapter 1

Rating: M, eventually will be smut.

Words: 2.1k

Warnings: Death, talk about death, Mentions of past sexual assault and kidnapping

Request: OPEN/CLOSED

A.N This is a little angsty chapter. lots of major plot details as well as mentions of assault. If that is Triggering to you i recommend skipping the first half. Also expect an update every week instead of this soon only posting this because I got inspired and finished early. much love, Cia

Chapter 2:About that night

“Hey dad, mom.” You said, sitting down on the cool grass, you began to pick at the blades like you did as a child as you spoke. “I know I haven’t visited in a while. In my defense, I was in school across the country, but it's not like I haven't been thinking of you guys.” You leaned back the cool marble chilling your back as well. You could practically hear your mother’s voice in your ear.

“Ladies don’t slouch, Y/N” She’d always say, your dad would always come to your defense, “Sit however you want, Angel.” He’d say. You smiled, sadly. You missed your parents in different ways but you still missed them regardless.

“Umm, so I suppose I should tell you guys what’s new with me.” You say. “I finished my masters, 2 actually and I uh… finished academy. I’m a profiler now at Quantico.” you winced slightly, you knew your mom would hate it, she hated when your dad was one. You couldn’t count the amount of times you hid in your room watching TV to drown out what they thought was hushed arguments. Your mom didn’t like that he wasn’t home a lot, sure but the main argument was always that she thought it was dangerous, and that he was recklessly putting their lives at risk.

If there’s one thing your mother always was, it was right.

“I know you guys probably wouldn’t have wanted this for me. I know mom wanted me to be a dancer despite my inability to dance.” you laughed, looking back fondly at the times you would just, for lack of a better word, flail around your childhood dance classes. “And I know dad never wanted me to know about that side of his job. But I did, and now I’m doing it and I’m happy because it’s the one place I finally feel like I fit.” You sigh. “And I’m good at it. So I feel like you guys would be proud.” You began to rattle off the details of your most recent case quietly to your dad. And how Spencer took a risk that had thankfully paid off but was terrifying in the meantime.

“Spencer is…” You paused, trying to think of the right words to describe Dr. Spencer Reid. “... A guy. Wait, not a guy, like that. He’s a coworker, who’s a guy.” you say, fumbling and probably flushing if you could see your face. Why were you blushing? No one was here, no one alive at least. You’d known Spencer for a little over a month now and the more you spoke, the more your crush on him developed. “He’s incredibly smart, like genius-level smart, and he’s nice. Dad, you would’ve liked him.” you felt tears coming up, as they typically did this day of the year. You stood up, placing the flowers you had purchased the day before. “I actually managed to find some good blue hydrangeas this year for you, mom.” You smiled, remembering the amount your mother would complain about how other people took care of their flowers in the neighborhood you grew up in specifically your neighbor’s blue hydrangea bush. You often found her in a rage that they were ‘practically butchering her favorite flower’ You laid the flowers down regarding your parents grave one more time.

Alice and Noah Y/L/N

Beloved Parents and Agents.

You stopped for hot chocolate on your way home, it always cheered you up in these winter months. Not that anything could cheer you up today but it couldn’t hurt. You made your way back to your apartment, picking up your textbook and making notes. When the words began to swim you laid down for a nap.

You hadn’t had the dream for a while but it was never really gone. The putrid smell of the basement you were kept in, the drip of the leaky ceiling, the small sealed shut window that was your only indication that days have passed. His hands, filthy dirty hands. Always covered in soot, fingernails always dirty. He’d always come in at night, the light from the hallway being the only amount of light you’d get. Every night, he’d grab your face roughly, making you meet him in his dead eyes, and ask

“Are you going to be good for me tonight, Beloved.”

You fought him the first couple of nights, but after a while you just let him take it. His hands always rough, pinning you, the knife pressing deep making shallow cuts in your side, the ringing of the phone

The ringing of the phone…?

You wake up startled, your phone is ringing. You look at the caller ID, it was Garcia.

“Hey Garcie.” You say, sleepily, calling her by the nickname you gave her a month into knowing her. “Is there a case?” You ask.

“Nope, sugarplum. I’m calling to ask if you wanted to come out and have a girls night. I was thinking maybe calling Prentiss and JJ, we go get drinks, have fun…” she trailed off.

“I don’t think so, Garcia, I might just sit and watch tv tonight.” You say, being in large crowds, especially today, didn’t sound fun.

“I know what today is, Y/N” she says, quietly. “So even if you don’t want to go out that’s fine, I’ll bring food, wine, and we can totally just sit and watch tv. But you shouldn’t be alone.”

She was right, you knew you shouldn’t be alone. You sigh. “Only if you bring thai food and we can watch Doctor Who.”

“Deal!” she says excitedly before hanging up.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

You and Garcia proceeded to spend most of the day watching Doctor who and laughing around Thai food. You’re halfway through the 10’s second season when Garcia gets a call.

“What’s up, buttercup?” She says. You can’t make out the other person on the line. “I am sitting with Y/N in her apartment and we’re watching Doctor Who, can you believe she stopped watching after Nine?”

“I got busy!” You said around your mouth full of food.

“Hold on, I’ll ask.” Penelope says. “It’s Spencer, he wants to know if it’s ok he comes to watch with us. I’ll tell him no…” She trails off.

“No, it's fine.” You say, nodding. “Tell him he can come.”

“Spence, she said it’s fine. But I’d hurry up before she inhales all the Thai food.”

“Fuck you!” you exclaim, laughing.

You get up and head to your bathroom. You looked like you had been crying for sure. So you put some concealer under your eyes and blush on your cheeks. You look at yourself again and decide why not finish? And put eyeliner and lipgloss on. You change pajamas as well opting for shorts and a tank in case you get warm.

You come back and Garcia is full on smirking at you.

“What?” you ask?

“Nothing…” She said, smirk now turned to a full grin.

You pour more wine into your glass, feeling Garcia’s gaze still on you. You look over and you were right. She was looking at you, still smiling.

“Alright out with it, Garcie.”

“You like him.” She says.

“Pardon?” You question hoping that if you act like you didn’t know what she was talking about she’d let it go. Obviously that was not the case.

“Spencer.” She says, nonchalantly. “You like him.”

You pick up your glass. Now seemed like the best time to drink. “No, I don’t”

Garcia scoffed. “I may not be a profiler, but I’m not an idiot.” She laughed. “I tell you Spencer’s coming over suddenly you have on full makeup.”

“I just didn’t want to look like I was crying.” You pointed out.

“Uh-huh, and the changing into the super sexy pajama set was also so you didn’t look like you were crying?”

You roll your eyes, continuing to eat. “It’s not sexy, it’s pajamas.” you say around your food.

“If you say so, I think it’s cute though.” Penelope says. “You know, he asked me if you were dating anyone the other day.”

“Really?” You said, a little too excitedly.

“No!” She laughs. “But nice acting skills, you almost had me fooled that you didn’t like him.”

You sit back in your seat pouting. “That’s not a nice trick to play.”

“Oh, shut up. You’re only upset you've been had.” As if he knew you were talking about him, a knock came to the door. You both turned to look at the door neither moving to get it. “Are you going to get the door or do you want to change again.” She jokes.

“Shut up.” you mumble before opening the door. Spencer regards you with a tiny smile clutching his messenger bag. “Hey, Spencer.” You smiled moving to the side, letting him in. Garcia greets him too, patting the seat next to her in the middle of the couch. He sits his bag down before joining her. You return to your seat at the end immediately pulling your legs under you turning your attention to the TV. You feel eyes on you so you turn only to lock eyes with Spencer. He flushes immediately before awkwardly clearing his throat and turning toward the screen. Weird… you think.

The three of you watch a couple more episodes, at some point the Thai food is put away and replaced with popcorn. You’re laughing so much you almost forget what today is.

Almost.

Eventually, Garcia stands. “Well lovelies, I have an early day tomorrow. So I’m going to head out.”

Spencer moves to stand too. “Guess I’ll head out too.”

“No!” Garcia all but shouts. “Don’t stop on my account. You guys seem like you’re having fun.” She says. If you weren’t glaring at her before it was full on daggers now she was obviously trying to set you up.

“If I’m not putting you out, Y/N.”

“Never Spencer, I like hanging out with you.” You add. God, I sound lame. You think. But you instantly lose that thought when a bright smile crosses his lips. You can’t help but look and smile back. A throat being cleared brings you both back.

“I’m going to go.” Garcia says, smiling at you both. She hoped you guys figured it out you could be good for each other. “I’ll see you at work.”

“Bye Garcie! Thanks for today.” You call out to her, watching to make sure she got to her car safe. You turn back to Spencer. “Next Episode?” You ask, he nods furiously.

You’re about halfway through the second episode you’ve watched with just Spencer and you can’t help but be hyper aware of your body right now. Spencer was still so close, seated in the middle of your couch instead of the end where Garcia had been. You took in his relaxed frame, the furrow that was normally in his brow was almost entirely gone, his sharp jaw finally slack. You find yourself looking at his mouth for a while, he had such a pretty mouth, soft pink lips that you couldn’t help but wonder what they felt like, what they tasted like--

That thought was dashed short when you saw his eyes back on you. You flush looking into his eyes.

“You didn’t come to work today.” He says.

“I did not.”

“Hotch said it was a personal day.”

“It was.” You sighed. You knew someone would eventually ask about it, you worked with profilers, you're sure most of them deduced why you took a personal day even if they didn’t know the whole truth.

“Do you want to talk about it?” He asks. He’s offering you an out, you decide not to take it.

“It’s been 11 years since my parents died today.” You say. “You’d think it’d get easier by now but it really really doesn’t.” You sigh.

Suddenly you felt arms around you. Spencer was hugging you tightly and that was enough to break the dam you thought you had closed before. You began clutching on to him sobbing giant messy cries into his shoulder. He rubs your back in smooth circles whispering it’s ok until he notices you calm. He still didn’t release his hold in you so now you were laying in his arms, head resting on his shoulder. ”You didn’t have to do this.” you say “I know you’re a germaphobe.”

“Yea to strangers, Y/N.” He points out. “Not to you, you’re my friend. I’m always going to try to protect you.” He says, smoothing your hair from your face. The action itself was so fond it hurt you. And while the friend comment stung a little you couldn’t bring yourself to care because right now even if it was just for the night you were in Spencer Reid’s arms. And you felt safe.

“Can we finish Doctor Who now?” You inquire, not moving from your spot, practically burying yourself into Spencer’s shoulder.

“Of course.” He says pressing play. You stay like that, pressed tightly together until David Tennant’s voice and Spencer body warmth lure you into slumber.

Taglist: @haylaansmi @yoruebeautiful @kianagilder-blog @l0ve-0f-my-life @bihoeofmanyfandoms

#spencer x reader #spencer reid x reader #spencer x you #spencer reid x you #criminal minds #bau x reader #spencer x reader smut #spencer reid x reader smut

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combat-wombatus · 4 years ago

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Hot Cocoa

Pairing: Iida Tenya x gn!reader

Warnings: brief cursing (mostly just bakugou being bakugou), some suggestive humor (m*neta is involved too)

Genre: fluff (a lil bit of crack bc why not)

WC: a bit over 8k? went slightly overboard with this idea and not entirely happy with the ending but i already rewrote it like 5 times so it is what it is-

(A/N): heya! so this is my first fic and i was kinda nervous about posting it...

it started out as an idea on @todorkihoe’s discord server but then it evolved into this monstrous nightmare so...it took me like a whole week to hash everything out and the logistics of the secret santa thing was an absolute nightmare. but it was worth it!!

It was the holiday season. Most people were taking time off of work to hang out with their friends and family. You had wanted nothing more than to relax in your hot tub with a glass of sparkling cranberry juice and scrumptious holiday cookies, but being a pro-hero meant sacrifices.

You were signed on as a sidekick in the UA Hero Agency’s Tokyo branch. The UA Hero Agency was exactly that: a hero agency formed by the most illustrious graduating class at UA. Not everyone from their class eventually went into the agency, but they were a large agency, with around 36 pro-heroes working full-time. This meant that they had several branches. You, a recent graduate from UA, knew these heroes who were a year above you at UA. They were special. When you started at UA, there were already whispers about “the Class of Legends”. Every single person who graduated the year after had been through enormous trauma during their years at UA. You thought that they were true heroes: strong, unbending even in the face of overwhelming adversity. They were only in their first year when they had been attacked by villains: twice. One of them had even been kidnapped. You couldn’t even begin to fathom how hard they must have worked to get to where they were today. They were resilient, and it showed. The UA Hero Agency is now one of the top Hero Agencies in not only Japan, but also the world. In fact, with their combined power, you wouldn’t be surprised if they happened to make an international branch. You knew that some of the heroes at your agency, Can’t Stop Sparkling and Pony, wanted to start something overseas but didn’t yet have the manpower to make it happen. You were sure that within a few years, their ranks bolstered by new graduates, they would take UA to the international stage.

So it was Christmas Eve. Even though you wanted the chance to chill out at home with some relaxing instrumental jazz and freshly baked sweets, you were out patrolling Tokyo’s vibrant shopping sector instead, on the lookout for villains who wished to ruin everyone else’s holiday fun. The mall was abuzz with shoppers, some hanging out in the verandas with cup of hot cocoa in their hands, others hurrying through, their arms loaded with shopping bags, searching for last-minute gifts they had previously forgotten to purchase. It was definitely not the worst patrol ever. The cozy atmosphere almost had you sighing in contentment, before you heard a voice shout, “thief!”

Of course a villain had to ruin the fun. They had a tendency to do that. You weren’t very comfortable using your quirk in such a loud, crowded area, but you bet that you could catch a small-time shoplifter without it anyways. You raced through the crowd, tracing the voice that had called out moments earlier. You saw a tuft of orange hair weaving unnaturally through the crowd of shoppers, and sprinted forwards, your eyes locked on the target. You followed the path they had created unknowingly for you, trying not to draw attention to yourself. It would only slow you down and light a fire under the criminal, which was exactly what you didn’t need.

Within moments, you caught up to them. Sneaking up behind them, you snatched their wrist and smacked your quirk-suppressing cuffs on it.

“Fuck!” He swore. How did he get caught so quickly? He could have sworn that there was no one chasing him. Pesky heroes. Relying on the comparative lack of heroes patrolling during the holidays, as well as the customary holiday shopping rush, was a sound strategy. He had done the same in previous years without getting caught. If only that damned, nosy civilian hadn’t shouted…

“Please do not resist arrest. It will be easier for all parties involved. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say may be used against you in a court of law. There are eyewitnesses to your crime. Please drop your bags and hold out your other wrist.” You said calmly. You had a beautiful voice. It was calming and had a lilt to it that was a byproduct of your quirk. The villain did as you said, knowing that there would be no escape.

You sighed. Pressing a button on the comms situated in your ear, you reported the situation back to your office. You then called the nearest detective station and waited until their patrol car got here so you could hand the man over. Glancing at your watch, you realized your patrol was almost over. You did one last sweep of the premises, then headed back to the agency.

Today, the agency was the emptiest you had ever seen it. It was a large building, with 20 above-ground floors. In fact, it was essentially a mini-city. There was a heated indoor pool, a sauna, an elite gym that would make fitness junkies drool, a massage and spa, three verandas, and a rooftop greenhouse. It had a café reminiscent of the UA cafeteria, and all types of cuisines were available. In fact, Lunch Rush’s niece was working in the café, and the food was always heavenly. Sometimes, heroes from other agencies would drop off at the UA Hero Agency just for a bite of food after a long patrol. It was the unofficial headquarters of all the hero agencies in Japan, and it certainly lived up to its reputation.

Thinking about the café, you were suddenly hungry for some pad thai. Arriving at the door, you dropped off your comms and cloak at the door to your office and headed down to the café for some food.

“(Y/N)!!! You’re back!” Your friend squealed.

“Yeah Mina, just got off of patrol. Arrested this shoplifter trying to take advantage of the holiday chaos.” Spying her coat in her hands, you realized she was on her way out.

“Cool! You’re always so efficient with your arrests. Anyhow, I’m going to head home. My parents and I are getting some dinner together. I’ll be back for the party, yeah? Don’t open any presents without me!” Mina waved, a grin on her face. You assured her that you would make sure everyone waited for her to celebrate. You wanted to see your parents too, but they were currently on an international tour. They were famous singers, pioneers of a new genre of music. It was a sort of lullaby, but it wasn’t meant to put people to sleep. It was more of an enchanting, calming kind of music present only in fantasy books before your mother brought it to life. She was wildly popular, and your father was only too happy to support her. Speaking of which, your phone rang in your pocket. You took it out and accepted the video call.

“(Y/N)! It’s so nice to see you baby! How’s it going? I know you had patrols today but I forgot about the time difference and your father had to stop me before I called you and distracted you during patrols! He’s always so paranoid you’ll hurt yourself, sweetie. Stay safe, okay?” Your mother was always cheerful.

“Yeah mom, I know. I’m doing pretty well, actually. I arrested a shoplifter today,” you replied, recounting the same story you just told Mina. “Everything’s pretty calm here. How’s your tour going? I missed you,” you asked her.

“That’s good to hear sweetie!” You mom smiled. “The tour is amazing. I’ve never had such an international turnout before! Maybe I need to start considering singing in other languages! Everyone’s always so supportive.” You smiled at her, happy that she was enjoying herself.

“You deserve it Mom. I’m glad that your music is appealing to an international audience. You always work so hard. It’s nice to see that people appreciate all that you’ve done.”

“Thanks sweetie. Here, I’ll let your dad talk to you for a bit.” There was a bit of shuffling on her end as she handed the phone over to your father.

“Hey sweetheart,” your father’s voice boomed through the phone. You held your phone away from your ear, wincing a bit. Quickly dialing the volume down, you responded.

“Hey Papa. Mom said the tour was going well.”

“Yeah, it is. How’s the holidays going for you?” You heard the slight sadness in his voice. You knew that he wanted Mom to take a break in the middle of the tour and spend Christmas with you, but Mom was adamant about it. It was a holiday tour, after all, and tickets had already been booked. Some people were going to see her concerts as a way of celebrating, and she wouldn’t let them down.

“I’m doing good. It’s pretty peaceful here. No big missions or anything,” you say, in an attempt to comfort him.

“Ok, that’s good to hear sweetheart. We miss you.”

“I miss you too, Papa. Don’t worry though, I’ll be here when you guys get back. Have fun in Paris!” You replied, suddenly feeling sad. “Bye Papa! Bye Mom! I’ll see you guys soon!” You blew a kiss to the camera and hung up. Sighing a little, you trotted towards Emiko, the revered chef.

“Can I have a pad thai please?” You asked, putting your phone back in your pocket.

“One pad thai, coming right up!” Emiko beamed. “So, I hear there’s a party tonight. Should I make anything special?”

You thought about it for a bit, then shook your head. “No, you don’t have to. It’s mostly just for the presents. We already have the booze covered. I think Momo is ordering some special hors d’œuvres already and Sato is taking care of the cookies. Are you coming?”

Emiko shook her head. “I’m spending the night with my family and my boyfriend. I think I might make you guys some tiramisu though. I have all the ingredients and I don’t want them to spoil since I’ll be gone for a few days. Desserts are my specialty anyways,” she added. Then, with a knowing smirk, she prodded your arm. “Do you have anyone on your mind? You know, Mina and Ochaco hung some mistletoe up before they left…”

You blushed. Of course they did. Your friends knew all about your one-sided crush. You also knew that he would still be working here. He was always working. You were pretty sure that he had the mind of a robot, focused only on his work and his legacy. With those hand motions he made, you weren’t surprised if he actually was one. You shook your head to get rid of these thoughts. Emiko didn’t know. At least, you didn’t think she knew. You really regretted telling Mina about your little crush. With her tendency to run her mouth, you wouldn’t be surprised if the entire agency knew already. With the exception of your actual crush, of course. He was simply too socially dense to see the signs and too uninterested to pry.

Taking your pad thai, you scurried away from a smug Emiko and plopped yourself down at a table. You dug into your noodles and sighed in contentment. Maybe working during the holidays wasn’t so bad. It wasn’t like you had friends who weren’t as busy as you were anyways.

You finished the last of your noodles, then got up and took your tray to the recycling area. Heading up to your office, you paused by Ingenium’s office. His door was cracked open, and you peeked inside. You had to muffle your giggles at the sight.

He was wrapping presents with such a focused look on his face that you found absolutely adorable. His brows were furrowed, the tip of his tongue poking out of his mouth. He had a spool of ribbons laying on the floor next to him, as well as elegant white-and-gold wrapping paper and a roll of tape. What really amused you was the pile of paper, ribbons, and tape that was bunched together and tossed aside, obviously a result of trial and error. Iida looked frustrated. He had already put his presents in boxes so that they were almost uniform in size and easier to wrap, but he was clearly struggling. You estimated that he had forty boxes littering the floor, but he only had five wrapped. You watched as he ripped off the wrapping on the newest box he had started on, muttering about how hard it was to get straight edges with the wrapping paper. Knocking lightly on his door, you stuck your head around the doorway.

“Need some help?” You asked.

Iida looked up from unspooling more wrapping paper. His face brightened at your offer.

“Yes please, (Y/L/N)-san! I would greatly appreciate your aid. I seem to be having trouble folding the paper and trying to tape it together without it sliding from its position. If you could hold the paper in place while I tape, that would be wonderful!” He looked so excited, almost like a puppy.

You smiled at his eagerness. “Of course, I’d be happy to help.”

You sat down across from him and held the wrapping paper in place while he tore off a piece of tape. The two of you worked in tandem for around an hour, until you finished wrapping all the presents. You sat back, face flushed, and surveyed your work. All forty presents, wrapped with elegant paper and tied up prettily with a gold organza ribbon, were laid out neatly on the floor. It was a satisfying sight. Rolling out your back and cracking your knuckles, you got up from the floor.

“Those were a lot of presents, Iida-san,” you yawned, stretching your arms back like a cat. “Do you want to go down and get some hot cocoa? Emiko already left, but I can make us some.”

Iida got up too. His glasses were slightly askew on his face, and he had a dazed look about him. “That would be greatly appreciated, (Y/L/N)-san. Thank you very much for helping me wrap my presents. It was irresponsible of me to leave them until the last minute.”

“Of course, Iida-san,” you replied. “We were all so busy before the holidays I’m surprised you wanted to wrap everything as fancy as you did. I know that I just stuck my presents in bags, covered them with tissue paper, and called it a day! You didn’t even buy those sticky bows, you tied them with real ribbons. That’s dedication!”

Iida blushed furiously at your compliments. It’s the perfect time to confess to her, he thought. We’re alone, and there’s no one here to see if she rejects me. He took in a deep breath, trying to muster the courage to say something to you, but before he could, you grabbed his hand and dragged him down the hallway for some much-desired peppermint hot cocoa.

Humming lightly to yourself as you lead Iida down the halls, you entered the elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor. Releasing his hand, you clasped your hands behind your back, hoping he wouldn’t notice how they were shaking slightly. Wow, you thought. I really did that. I really just snatched his hand like that. Ugh, he probably hated it every second of the way, he’s just too polite to say anything. God, my palms are so sweaty. Why did I do this to myself?

Unbeknownst to you, Iida was having a mental freak-out of his own. Ahh! She grabbed my hand! And she didn’t seem to hate it! Does this mean she really doesn’t mind my company? Maybe I actually do have a chance with her! No, stop, he told himself. She was probably just tired of how I was staring at her and decided to do something about it. Ugh, I was staring at her, wasn’t I? God, I’m such a creep. Iida wiped his palms on his slacks, then reached up and adjusted his glasses, trying to hide the obvious blush on his face.

“Ding!”

The elevator stopped at the ground floor, and the two of you stepped out into the lobby. The decorations had been up for two weeks already, but it still took your breath away every time you saw it. There were garlands of lights strung high all over the ceiling, and dainty little ornaments hung from the chandeliers. There was a huge Christmas tree next to the fireplace, the floor around it coated in snowy fuzz. You had to resist the temptation to jump in on multiple occasions. You couldn’t help yourself! It just looked so fuzzy and comfortable, like clouds of cotton candy…

The Christmas tree was decorated tastefully. There was a surprising lack of hero-themed ornaments, mostly due to Momo’s elegant decorating. You had all been in agreement when you refused to let Kaminari or Mineta even touch the tree.

Making your way to the kitchen, you relaxed a little when you breathed in the apple-scented candles. It was a surprising choice for a holiday scent. Usually, pine or cinnamon were much more popular scents. You had gotten the privilege to choose the candles though, and although you almost fainted sniffing at every single scent in the candle store, you decided on apple. It was nice and refreshing, with just a subtle touch towards the holiday season. You liked the change of pace from the usual holiday scents, and it seemed it was growing on everyone else too. You stopped at the cabinets that contained the hot cocoa bombs. Emiko had seen these as an online trend with the food community, and she had made dozens of them “as an experiment”. Everyone fell in love with them (because heroes are allowed to be childish!) and they stuck. Now, the agency had an entire cabinet in the kitchen dedicated to the delightful goodies.

“Oat or regular?” You asked Iida.

Iida had, unfortunately, spaced out again. He was thinking about how cute you looked, standing on your tiptoes to reach the cabinet.

“Hello? Earth to Iida-san,” you turned around and waved a hand in front of his face. “You okay there?”

Iida blinked and had to recompose himself again. He kept getting distracted. This was not good. Not good at all.

“Regular is fine,” he replied, his face flushing once again. He really needed to stop daydreaming.

You poured out some milk into a jug and heated it. Then, you placed a hot cocoa bomb in each mug, licking some sprinkles off your fingers as you did so. Once the milk was ready, you filled each mug to the brim, careful not to spill any. It smelled absolutely delectable. Taking a spoon from the cabinets, you stirred both cups slowly, letting the chocolate melt at an even pace.

Iida was watching all of this, and he was still having an internal debate over when to confess. Would it be better to wait until you both finished the hot cocoa? Should he even confess to you on Christmas? What if his confession ruined your holidays? He began to sweat a little, his anxiety rising with each thought. Before he could come up with an excuse to escape, you stuffed a mug into his large hands.

“All done!” You exclaimed, taking a sip of your own cocoa, careful not to burn yourself.

Iida was not so lucky. Distracted by his thoughts, he raised the mug to his lips and gulped.

“Shit!” Iida swore. You blinked at him, a little shocked since he never swore, then immediately put your mug down and raced to the refrigerator to collect some ice cubes. Iida promptly put his offensive mug of cocoa on the counter, glaring at it like it just murdered his dog. Dumping some ice cubes in a glass, you hurried back towards Iida and popped one in his mouth.

“You really should be more careful next time, Iida-san,” you chided. “I just made it! You shouldn’t take such large swigs of a piping hot drink!”

“Sorry, I got distracted.” Iida replied absentmindedly.

“Distracted? By what?” Your curiosity was now piqued.

Iida’s face turned ever redder than before. He averted his eyes and mumbled out some quiet words that you couldn’t quite catch.

“Sorry, what was that?” You gazed up at him. “I couldn’t hear what you said.”

Iida’s hands were stuck to his thighs to prevent himself from freaking you out with aggressive hand gestures, and he didn’t think he’d ever been more nervous in his entire life. He cleared his throat. “I said that I got distracted by you.”

Now it was your turn to blush. “Really?” Your voice was quiet, almost a whisper. You weren’t sure if you heard that right, and your heart was beating so fast you were afraid that he’d hear it.

Iida finally looked at you. “Really,” he confirmed.

You wrung your hands and stepped towards him. Raising your eyes to meet his, your voice a half-whisper, you gulped before your next words.

“I like you.”

Blinking twice, Iida unclasped his hands and pinched his forearm. He winced in pain, then blinked again. You laughed at his antics, then clapped a hand playfully on his bicep.

“I’m real, Iida-san. I’m right here!”

Slowly, a grin crept up Iida’s face. “Really?” He mumbled, obviously still not entirely convinced he wasn’t dreaming.

You chuckled at how you had just asked the same thing moments earlier, but then you grabbed his large hand with your smaller one and squeezed.

“Really.” You smiled bashfully.

The two of you stood in silence for a while, then Iida spoke up.

“I like you too, (Y/L/N)-san.” Feeling bold now that he knew his feelings were reciprocated, he drew his other arm across your shoulders and drew you into a tight hug. You sighed, feeling comfortable and safe in his arms. A part of you wanted to stay like this forever and never wanted him to let go.

“Would you like to go on a date with me on Saturday afternoon at 3?” Iida’s voice rumbled in your ear.

You were bursting with excitement. A date! A real, formal, date! “I’d love to, but why so specific?” You giggled.

“Ahh, well, my patrol ends at 2:30, so I thought-”

Of course Iida volunteered for patrols the weekend after Christmas. Did this man ever take a break?

“No problem at all, Iida-san. That sounds lovely.”

Iida released you from the hug and rubbed lightly at the back of his neck. “You can… you can call me Tenya, if you’d like.”

You were smiling so big that you feared your face would split. “I’d love that, Tenya.” His eyes crinkled when you called him by his first name. “And you can call me (Y/N).”

Iida nodded his head. “(Y/N). I like that,” he said to himself. He muttered your name a few times, getting used to the way it rolled off his tongue. You blushed and hugged him again, pressing your nose into his chest. He was just too adorable.

You wanted to stay like that, but your phone dinging incessantly in your pocket made it uncomfortable.

Mina

(Y/N)!!! my parents ordered this WHOLE-ASS TURKEY for dinner with JUST THE 3 OF US!!! how we gon finish it all?!?

Mina

*burps* we did it. we finished all of it. the whole turkey. (Y/N). we. finished. a. whole. fucking. turkey. pls send help i can’t walk (Y/NNNNNNNN)!!!

(Y/N)

want me to call u an uber … mina mina MINA MINA DID U PASS OUT im calling an uber mina istg

Quickly sending an Uber to the restaurant Mina was at, you put your phone back in your pocket and looked up at Tenya.

“Hey. Do you wanna get your presents and put them under the tree?” You asked.

Tenya quickly straightened up. “Thank you for reminding me, (Y/N). I had almost forgotten about them!”

“No problem!” You chirped. “Let’s go!” You took his hand in yours again and lead the way to the elevator. As the elevator chimed, the two of you waltzed in, hands still clasped together.

Humming a little tune to yourself, you stepped out of the elevator. You and Tenya entered his office, and each returned with an armful of presents, carefully stacked as to avoid damaging the delicate ribbons the two of you had spent so much time tying.

It was a tradition in the agency to get everyone something small. However, you participated in gift exchanges every year. This year, it was a Secret Santa-type exchange, but the UA Hero Agency did Secret Santa’s a bit differently. Instead of giving your partner the gift on Christmas Eve, the gifts were labeled with typed name tags in generic Times New Roman font. Then, there was the guessing portion. Everyone got 3 guesses at the party when they first open it, and after that, they get one guess per week. Whoever held out the longest (avoided being guessed) would win a batch of Sato’s homemade cookies, a week of free food from Emiko, and two patrol coupons (basically the adult version of homework passes). This year, you had drawn Bakugo as your partner. You’d decided to get him a ¥4,000 gift card to his favorite ramen restaurant, as well as a high-quality leather jacket. The gifts were pretty generic, and you thought that you had a chance at the prize. You chuckled to yourself when you remembered that last year, Momo had been so frustrated when she hadn’t figured out who had given her a pretty earring and necklace set after two months that she’d used Creation to make fingerprint dust and swiped it all over the box. It had turned out to be Todoroki. Needless to say, he’d won the prize that year.

The two of you made a few more trips, carrying gifts from his office to the tree. Checking the time, you saw that it had been an hour since Ochaco’s patrol ended. Right as you were about to call her, the front door to the lobby burst open.

“(Y/N)!!!” Your friend screeched, holding up a kitten with fur the color of cinnamon. “Look what I found on my patrol! I had to take her to the vet really quickly to make sure she wasn’t hurt, and she didn’t seem to have an owner. Just look at her!”

You beamed. The kitten was absolutely ADORABLE. And not only was Ochaco safe, she brought a kitten back with her!

“Can I hold her?” You asked.

“Duh!” Ochaco passed the kitten from her arms to yours. Behind her, you saw Bakugou walking sullenly, arms drawn tight across his chest. You stifled a giggle at the sight. He obviously wanted a turn with the kitten too, but his pride wouldn’t let him as for it.

“We were coming back from patrols and I saw this little one stuck in a tree! And when I floated up to take her down, she just looked so sad. There wasn’t a collar on her or anything, so we took her to the vet. It seems like she was abandoned,” Ochaco pouted. “And so we asked the vet to vaccinate her and everything, and we brought her back here! Can we keep her? Mr. Grumpy over there already said yes.”

Tenya looked like he was about to object, seeing as this building had a no-pets policy, but then he saw how your face lit up and the idea and changed his mind. Maybe having a pet on the premises wouldn’t be too bad, he conceded. It’s not like there were other people sharing the building with them anyways.

“Of course we can keep her!” You squealed. Bakugou huffed a sigh. He’d have to deal with all these idiots fawning over the kitten for weeks, and he wasn’t happy about that, but there was no denying that the thing was cute. He’d mellowed out since his high school days and seeing a therapist for anger management classes certainly helped.

The kitten felt warm and fuzzy in your arms, and when you stroked it down its back with the palm of your hand, it let out a satisfied purr.

“What should we name her?” Ochaco asked.

You thought about it for a moment. “Well, since you found her, and her fur is brownish, why not Coco?”

“Coco! I love it!” She beamed. Coco purred again. “It looks like she likes it too!”

You smiled and looked down on the kitty. “Coco,” You murmured. “Welcome to the family.”

Just then, Mina burst through the doors, brimming with energy and not looking at all as if she’d fainted from turkey overconsumption.

“Mina!” You ran towards her. “I thought you fainted or something!” You accused, poking her in the chest. “You didn’t even leave me on read!! You just LEFT!”

“Chill, chill, girly, I’m alive and kicking! Just had to take a quick nap because of my digestive woes,” She flashed you a big thumbs-up. “And what’s this I see? Do we have an agency pet now? Did Shinso sneak it in his pocket from the cat cafe?”

“Shinso what?”

“Cat cafe?”

“I KNEW there was something fishy about his jacket the other day!”

You, Tenya, and Ochaco said at the same time.

Mina stared at all of you, then shook her head. “Never mind.”

Turning around, you looked at Ochaco. “I wanna hear about this later, you hear?”

“Alright, alright!” Mina shouted. “Change into your holiday gear! Let’s get this rolling!”

You had made a sweater especially for tonight. Knitting was a great way to relax, and huddling up in a cozy armchair with the soft yarn, some hot cocoa, and your favorite book, you had finished your holiday-themed sweater in two weeks. Now, you would finally get the chance to wear it. The sweater you made was white, a soft gold-and-silver threading woven through in the pattern of snowflakes. It was a basic winter pattern, but you were proud of your work.

Setting Coco down on the couch, you headed into the locker rooms to change into your sweater and some flannel pajama bottoms. Walking out, you noticed Tenya was still in his business attire, which looked pretty uncomfortable by your standards, although it did fit him nicely.

“Tenya,” you called out. “Are you wearing that to the party?”

He turned around at your voice, looking slightly taken aback. “Yes, as a matter of fact, I am. Why?”

“Nothing, just wondering,” you replied. Good thing that your present to him was a nice, cozy, hand-knit sweater. You may or may not have thought about making him a matching one, but then you’d decided that it was too forward.

“You look…” Tenya stared at you. “You look…cute,” he said, with a small blush on his face.

Blushing at his compliment, you smiled and ducked your head. “Thanks.”

“Your sweater…it looks nice,” he added.

Playing with the hems of your sleeves, you smiled up at him bashfully. “Thanks. I made it myself. I really like knitting. It’s kind of therapeutic.”

“Oh, wow. You are truly very talented, (Y/N)!” Tenya praised.

“Thanks.” You rubbed the back of your neck. It seemed like you had lost the ability to say anything else. Why did you suck so much at making small talk?

Just then, Mina stepped out from the locker room and saved you from any further embarrassment.

“Hey, has Yaomomo come down yet?” Mina asked.

“No, she hasn’t. Do you want me to go get her?” You answered.

“Nah, it’s alright, I’ll just text her real quick.” Mina pulled out her phone, fingers dancing rapidly across the screen, then put it back in her pocket. Minutes later, Momo stepped out of the elevator, already dressed in a red sweater and white jeans. She always looked so put-together. You were sure that she had a second quirk.

“Yaomomo!” Mina screeched, running up to her friend. “You’ll never guess what I ate for dinner!”

You groaned as Mina recounted her dining disaster. You loved Mina, but her tendency to tell her experiences to everyone multiple times could sometimes get a little annoying. Trying your best to tune her out, you tapped Tenya’s shoulder and moved to settle on the couch with Coco.

“Hey, (Y/N)!” Mina shouted. “Come here!”

Begrudgingly, you stood up again, having just sat down moments earlier. “What is it, Mina?”

“We forgot to introduce Coco! Yaomomo hasn’t seen her yet!”

Oh right. You did forget. You lifted Coco with both hands, then scurried over to where Ochaco, Mina, and Momo huddled. Momo let out a quiet “aww” when she saw the kitty and lifted her manicured hands in a silent invitation to hold her.

You gently placed Coco in her outstretched arms and was about to turn and leave when Mina grabbed your elbow. “Not so fast, (Y/N),” she scolded you sternly. “Picture time!”

Mina took out her phone and swiped open the camera app. You girls all huddled together as she snapped a picture for the fans.

Settling back down with Coco on the couch, surrounded by your friends, you didn’t think that you had ever felt happier. One by one, more of your friends and coworkers began to trickle in, until finally, when a disgruntled Jirou arrived with a protesting Kaminari in tow, Mina stood up.

“Alright! Everyone’s here now, so let’s get this party rolling!”

She bounced off to the kitchen to grab plates for everyone. You could smell Sato’s freshly-baked cookies from here, and your stomach growled in response. Remembering the tiramisu that Emiko had made, you followed Mina into the kitchen.

Mina held a stack of plates that covered half her face. It was wobbling slightly, the entire thing almost toppling over multiple times. You had gotten out the fancier cake platter and was currently in hyper-focus mode, carefully moving the tiramisu from its cake mold onto the crystal platter. You breathed out a sigh of relief as the process was finally completed and the cake hadn’t been ruined.

Holding the crystal tray with both hands, you stepped out into the lobby, marched over to the coffee table in the center, and slowly set the tray down.

“Hey guys, Emiko made us some tiramisu,” You called out. “Come here if you want some.” You held a cake knife in your hand and began serving everyone.

Tenya watched all of this with barely-hidden admiration. You were just so competent. So hard-working, so kind, and so wonderfully skilled at everything you do. Even the things that you weren’t good at, you tried your hardest to learn and to improve. He was definitely in deep, and to be honest, he didn’t mind a single bit. You were worthy of being admired, and he vowed that he would let you know in all the ways he could.

As you served the last slice of tiramisu to Ojiro, you carried the cake platter back to the kitchen and sat down next to Shinsou, who was, not surprisingly, hogging all of Coco’s attention. Seeing you, Coco scrambled over Shinsou’s lap and faceplanted into yours. You laughed at her enthusiasm and snorted when you heard Shinsou mutter “traitor” underneath his breath.

“So Shinsou,” you started casually. “What’s this I hear about you stealing cats from the cat café?”

Shinsou’s face immediately turned a tomato red. He put his hands up defensively. “No, wait, you have it all wrong- I swear- who told you about it anyways? Never mind,” he stopped his waving motions. You snickered. You were definitely getting the full story out of him later. For now, you had things to do.

Strolling over casually to Tenya with Coco still in your arms, you very sneakily dropped her, front paws landing gracefully, onto Bakugou’s head.

“Hey! What’s this damn cat doing here!” Bakugou yelped. Coco also yelped, and it came to you that dropping her on Bakugou’s spikey hair was probably not the best idea ever. However, as Coco quickly scampered down and curled up on Bakugou’s shoulder, and Kirishima was sitting next to him to make sure he didn’t kill the cat, you felt a sense of triumph. Bakugo was smiling. Not smirking, not grinning maniacally as he beat someone up, but genuinely smiling. You gave yourself an internal high five as you moved onto your next goal.

You walked hesitantly towards Tenya, and when he turned his head towards you, about to ask what you were doing, you quickly linked your hand with his and started leading him towards the rest of the group.

“(Y-Y/N) ?” Tenya sputtered. “What are you doing?”

“What does it look like I’m doing?” You replied cheekily. “I want to hold hands with you!”

“B-but, do they know?” Tenya gestured nervously with his free hand.

“Nope, but they’re about to,” you grimaced, thinking about all the teasing you’d have to endure from your friends later. Better to just get this over with during the party, when everyone had the attention span of a goldfish and any embarrassing moments would hopefully be forgotten moments later when more exciting things came along, such as Mineta’s annual lingerie gift. Whatever the powers that be were doing, they were definitely not doing the world any favors when they let Mineta draw a girl for the Secret Santa every single year. But, for all the bad things you could say about Mineta, he definitely consumes enough material to have at least semi-decent taste in lingerie. Surprising, and sometimes gross, but not entirely unwelcomed if you could manage to forget who gifted it. The most disturbing thing was he knew all the girls’ sizes. You tried your hardest to not think about that. It’s not like you could erase his memory anyways.

You settled down with Tenya on a vacant couch, inwardly counting the minutes until someone noticed your position. Tenya looked vaguely uncomfortable, his posture ramrod straight, and you squeezed his hand in reassurance.

“No one’s going to judge or anything, if that’s what you’re worried about,” you whispered into his ear. “And besides, at least half the girls already knew I had a crush on you, so this won’t entirely come as news to them.”

Tenya relaxed slightly at that, then stiffened again when he noticed a pair of eyes glancing his way.

Midoriya had been excited at seeing Ochaco for the first part of the evening, but then had wondered where his other friend had gone. He knew Tsu was in southern Japan, as she couldn’t stand the cold and was operating in the warm coastal areas instead, but Iida being absent was strange. He had searched around the lobby, and when his eyes descended upon you and Iida cuddling on the couch, he was intrigued, to say the least.

He stared at the two of you for a solid minute, not wanting to disturb your peace. Slowly, he turned back to Ochaco, thinking that it wasn’t his place to draw attention to the two of you.

Ochaco, however, had no such qualms. Noticing how Deku began to space out during their conversation, she followed his line of vision to the two of you, blinked twice to check if she was seeing it right, then immediately let out a squeal.

Heads turned at the sound, and in moments, everyone was staring at you and Tenya curiously. You hadn’t noticed the attention yet, but Tenya had, and he grew stiffer and stiffer until you finally looked up at his face with furrowed brows.

“Tenya, what’s wrong?” You whispered. “Do you not enjoy cuddling? I can stop if you’d like,” your lips were pressed together in concern.

“I-it’s not that,” Tenya whispered back. “Look.”

You finally raised your head from his chest and saw thirty pairs of eyes staring back. After a few moments of silence, the room erupted.

“Iida-kun! Why didn’t you tell us?” Midoriya was the first to raise a question.

“(Y/NNNNNN)!!!!!!!!!!!” Mina practically screamed as she ran towards you. She clasped her hands dramatically over her heart. “YOU DID IT YOU DID IT YOU DID IT OMG YOU GUYS ARE SO ADORABLE EEEEE!!!!!!”

Half the room winced at her loud tone, and you quickly moved Coco from your lap to save her from the incoming bear hug.

Mina launched herself in your arms, then stepped back and shook your shoulders until you felt your brain rattling around in your skull like soupy mush.

“(Y/N)! What did I say, huh? Bitch I TOLD you that he liked you too, and you wait three goddamn months to finally make a move!?! Honey-”

Your face flushed red. Gently, you pushed her away. “Mina, stop,” you whispered, horrified that she was making a scene. It was too late. Ochaco and Hagakure rushed towards you, Momo trailing more slowly behind them. The boys were stunned for a bit, since you had always seemed so quiet and shy, much less Iida’s feelings towards you. As their initial shock wore off, Midoriya trailed after Momo to approach Iida.

“Congratulations, Iida-kun!” He held up his arms in front of his chest. “You and (Y/N) are really cute together!”

“Yeah bro! That’s so manly that you finally confessed!” Kirishima added, with a quirk of his lips and a thumbs-up.

“Tch. Fucking coward. Took you idiots three fucking months to confess, huh.” Bakugou smirked, but you could tell he wasn’t really annoyed. You actually somewhat got along with him, due to all the times Mina would drag you to hang out with her friends.

You struggled vainly against the arms of your friends encasing you. “Guys,” you pleaded. “Let me out, please.”

Reluctantly, the girls let go, and you immediately tried to redirect their attention. “Shouldn’t we start opening presents?” You asked hopefully.

“Oh, you sneaky little thing,” Mina wagged her finger in your face. “Don’t think we’ll forget about this, (Y/N), but you’re right, we should start opening presents or we’ll be here all night.”

“We’ll be here all night anyways,” Todoroki pointed out.

“You knew what I meant,” Mina sighed.

Mina enlisted the help of Ojiro and Shoji to pass out the Secret Santa presents; you’d all open the rest of your personal presents later.

The best way to go about this, after years of trial and error, was for everyone to open their presents at the same time. It would simply take too long for everyone to open theirs one by one, and you’d all realized that the people who opened theirs first had a significant disadvantage when it came to guessing who their partner was, as the ones who opened theirs later had the benefit of some options already being eliminated. When you opened your present, you tried your hardest to hold back a squeal. It was a limited-edition album from your favorite artist! You hugged it close to your chest, and immediately knew who gave it to you. Jirou. Her parents were musicians too, and you had bonded over your love of this artist. It was a thoughtful gift, and you were glad that she had given it to you, even though it immediately gave her away.

The rest of your friends opened their presents. Poor Momo. No wonder Mineta had looked so gleeful earlier. He had been her Secret Santa and had gotten her a lacy black lingerie set. Her face was so red you were beginning to get scared that she would hyperventilate, but you had to admit that it was a pretty nice set. Mineta was basically drooling at this point, and Jirou was trying to comfort her while sending a death glare towards Mineta. Mineta, meanwhile, had received a new video game. Sero had received a large pack of farmer’s market coupons, as well as some homemade mochi from Ochaco, who had blushed and apologized profusely for not being able to afford something better for him. Sero just grinned and gave her a thumbs-up, saying that it was completely okay and that he appreciated her effort into gift-giving. She had brightened up a bit at that.

Koda had received a new hamster wheel along with some toys for his various pets. Shoji had been gifted a comfortable-looking poncho, as well as three pairs of matching gloves. Ochaco had received a generous sum of money, Midoriya had gotten a new set of comic books, and Iida had received a beanie and a multiflavored pack of tea. Aoyama had received a makeup set, and had gifted a makeup set as well, evidenced by his inability to contain himself and pounced on Hagakure, asking if she liked it. Hagakure was ecstatic, babbling about how she could finally show her face and how she’d never really been able to afford a full set before and how Aoyama was so considerate.

Sato had received a new baking pan, as well as cute mittens and a trending recipe book. He had given Setsuna a batch of cookies, as well as a gallon of frozen cookie dough with instructions on how to make it. There wasn’t really a point in him trying to win the contest, since he would be one of the people providing the prize. Mina had gotten fuzzy socks and a blanket, Kirishima had received a new pair of tennis shoes, and Jirou had been gifted a new pair of headphones. Ojiro had received some sort of custom tail armor with spikes along with an Amazon gift card, and Todoroki had gotten a hand-made red-and-white sweater with a red reindeer nose smack in the middle, along with a gift card to a hair salon, tucked into a bouquet of red-and-white candy canes. The only person you could think of that would go so far into the color scheme was Hagakure, who seemed like just the type to make an ugly sweater for fun. Shinsou had received earmuffs, a silk eye mask with a note (“to help you sleep”), and some gourmet coffee beans (“in case you still can’t”). Mina had seen the little notes that came with his gifts and started teasing him relentlessly about how sweet his Secret Santa was and how it was so cute that he had a secret admirer. Shinsou looked very nonchalant about it all and grumbled about how he just wanted to pet Coco and then go to bed.

Finally, Kaminari received some Pokémon cards to add to his collection (yes, he collected Pokémon cards, what was wrong with that?) along with another Pikachu plush, as per usual. It was an unspoken tradition that whoever drew Kaminari for their Secret Santa would get him a Pikachu plush along with whatever else they decided to give him. He had about twenty, collected over various years from birthdays and holidays. If this kept up, he’d be able to fill an entire closet with them once he retired.

As the chatter slowly died down, you snuggled into Tenya again. At some point during the present exchange, Shinsou had stolen Coco from the couch you occupied. Stifling a yawn, you pulled out a bag and handed it to Tenya.

“What’s this?” He asked, a slight smile on his face.

“It’s your gift, silly,” you booped him on the nose with your index finger.

“Ah, I see,” he replied, still smiling. “Do you want me to open it?”

“Duh,” you giggled into his chest. “What else would you do with it?”

Chuckling lightly, Tenya removed the tissue paper from the top of the bag. He stuck his hand inside, then pulled out a sweater. The sweater that you’d knitted for him. It was navy, the color of the yarn matching his hair, with gold and white snowflake detailing. His heart skipped a beat when he realized that you had made this especially for him, with your own hands. Putting the sweater down beside him, he wrapped his arms around you and pressed his face to your hair.

“Thank you, (Y/N),” he whispered. “I love it.”

You flushed, but you hugged him back. “You’d better,” you teased. “I spent two weeks on that.”

“Well, I appreciate it.” Tenya ruffled your hair.

The two of you stayed like that for a while, just soaking in the pleasant atmosphere. Yawning, you stretched out your arms, careful not to hit Tenya in the face. You gently pushed his arm off of your torso and got up to go to the bathroom.

When you came back, Tenya was nowhere to be seen. You searched around the common area and stepped briefly into the kitchen, but he wasn’t there. Sighing, you grabbed your parka and padded outside.

“Tenya?” You called out as you stuck your head around the doorframe. He was with Kirishima and Todoroki, clearing the entryway of the building of snow. You leaned back along the handrails of the stairs and watched. Your friends were all just so nice. So caring, so wonderful, so kind. As Todoroki evaporated the last bit of snow, you stepped aside to let them all head back in. As Tenya reached you, he paused briefly, looking up.

“What?” You tilted your head up also, curious to see what he was staring at. Oh. So this was where Mina and Ochaco had decided to hang the mistletoe. If Tenya hadn’t looked up, you would’ve missed its existence entirely. You looked back down at Tenya to gauge his reaction.

He gulped, and softly taking your chin into his hand, he leaned down and pressed a chaste kiss on your lips. You leaned up to meet him, rising slightly on your toes and wrapping your arms around his neck. The kiss was long and sweet, and you were both a bit breathless when you let go.

You smiled sweetly up at him and took his strong hand in yours. Standing on your tiptoes again, you pressed another soft kiss to his cheek.

“Merry Christmas.”

Masterlist

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kyber-crystal · 4 years ago

Text

pop the question || s.r.

summary: steve goes to his old love to ask her for advice on making the most important decision of his life.

words: ~2.5k

warnings: really nothing, just fluff and cheesy steve as always :)

a/n: this was an old oneshot and it’s poorly written i’m so sorry. post civil war au where everyone is happy and peggy is still alive hehehehe let’s keep in mind this is unedited so there’s a lot of errors.

Upon hearing that your boyfriend was going to go visit Peggy, you immediately jumped at the opportunity and begged him to let you tag along. Hearing countless stories about the fearless woman who helped found the very organization that you had been a part of for so long made you want to see her in person. So after several days of convincing, he finally caved in and allowed you to come with him.

The room she was staying in was brightly lit and minimalistic, mostly uncluttered with the only thing on the wall being a framed black-and-white photo of her back in the 40's. A grey-haired woman lay peacefully in the middle of the bed and as you took a step forward, she stirred slightly and for a moment you were afraid you'd woken her up in the middle of her sleep.

Her eyes opened and a bright smile lit up her face, softening immediately upon seeing the two of you side by side. "Oh, do come in...And who is this beautiful lady you've brought along with you, Steve?"

"I'm Y/N. Former SHIELD agent, currently an Avenger," you explained as you made your way over to her. She reached out and gave your hand a quick squeeze, returning your warm smile. "It's so nice to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you."

"And I've heard plenty about you as well," she replied kindly, "You're even lovelier in person."

You laughed nervously and rubbed the back of your neck. "I don't think so."

"I've always wanted to get to know the woman he's fallen so hopelessly in love with."

"Peggy..." Steve felt his cheeks heat up at her statement. "stop, you're embarrassing me—"

"I can tell why he chose you," Peggy smiled, "He's a good man...I know he loves you more than anything."

"Actually, I beg to differ, he loves Bucky more than me," you raised an eyebrow in suspicion at the super-soldier. "He wouldn't pay attention to me after he got roped into an Uno deathmatch last night."

"Classic Rogers," she laughed, shaking her head in disbelief as he pulled up a chair to sit next to you, by her bedside, "a true child at heart. I see you haven't changed much over the years."

Steve took your hand in his, intertwining your fingers together and soothingly rubbing circles across your palm with his thumb. Peggy noticed the softened look in his eyes when he glanced over at you and you felt your face grow warm.

"So how long have you been together for?"

"Almost two years," Steve replied, with a light pink shade tinting his cheeks. "Our second anniversary will be on..."

"May 20th. Two weeks from now," you finished his sentence.

"That's wonderful," Peggy laughed again, "I wish you two the best in your relationship."

"You're too kind," you thanked her, "I've been a huge fan of yours for so long."

"And I, you. He always talks about you every time he visits. He never shuts up about you, so I was dying to meet you from the moment he first mentioned your name."

"What did he say?" you looked over at your boyfriend to see that he was now flushing a bright tomato red, much to both yours and her amusement. "It was all good things, I assume?"

"Of course. He tells me he's never been this happy in his life until he met you...I honestly couldn’t be more proud."

"Aww, Steve," you nudged him in the side as he grew an even deeper shade of red, "you're so sweet."

"He is a hopeless romantic," she added on. "Captain America is great with the ladies."

"Peggy!" Steve exclaimed.

"Aw, you're making him blush," you giggled.

"He is the easily flustered type, if I'm being completely honest with myself here, though one might not see that right away when they first meet him," she agreed, but then her face fell. "Y/N, would you be a dear and get me a glass of water and some yogurt from the cafeteria? You just have to head straight down the hall, then turn right. You'll know it when you see it."

"Yeah, of course," you nodded as you stood up. "Just a minute."

Once you were out of earshot, Peggy gestured for Steve to come closer so he could hear her speak better.

"I'm glad you found a woman like her to stick by your side," she said quietly, "All these years, I waited for you, and I was completely, utterly heartbroken at the idea of not being with you ever again. But after hearing you talk about her frequently and seeing your face light up every time her name was mentioned...I didn't want to take that away from you. You're still that good man with heart from Brooklyn I met so long ago, Steve, and I hope you'll continue to treat her well. She’s a real keeper. Promise me you'll keep her close."

"I will," he promised, reaching over to gently squeeze her hand. "I love her more than anything, and there's nothing I wouldn't do to make her happy."

"Good," she nodded with a smile, "you make the perfect pair with her."

After you returned with Peggy's yogurt and water, you stayed for about an hour and a half longer before a buzzing sound from your phone indicated a new text message.

Natasha: Hey, love. I'm in the parking lot right now, where do you want to go for lunch? I kicked Bucky out before he dragged us to shawarma for the third time this week, so it's your pick today. Thank me later.

You: I'll be out in a sec. Meet you outside.

Natasha: See you in a bit.

You looked back up at Peggy after sliding your phone in your purse, giving her an apologetic look. "I'm afraid I have to go now. I have a lunch date. Natasha doesn't like to be kept waiting, especially when there's food on the line."

"It's okay," she reassured you as you stood up and shook her hand again. "It was absolutely wonderful meeting you. I hope you can come and visit again soon."

"Of course."

After exchanging one last round of goodbyes with her and Steve, you slung your purse over your shoulder and pushed the doors open to head outside, where Natasha was awaiting you in Tony's Audi.

"Hey, girlfriend," Natasha sent you a flirty wink and wave. "Get in."

You slid into the passenger's seat, buckling on your seatbelt as she stepped on the gas pedal. "Hey."

"So, how'd it go?"

"It was pretty nice. She seemed to ship it pretty eagerly," you chuckled. "Oh, also, Thai food."

"Got it." She typed in the directions to the restaurant into the GPS. "That's cute, having another person who's an avid shipper of Y/N x Steve. You guys have any plans for your anniversary?"

You shook your head, "I have no idea. Usually, it's him who makes the move and goes all out for the night, but I'm not sure what either of us have in mind this year."

Oh, he definitely had something in mind.

There was a burning question sitting in the back of his head and had been doing so for as long as he could remember. Right as he was prepared to leave half an hour later, he decided to ask Peggy and get it off his chest.

"Could I ask you something important?"

"Of course."

"I, uh..." he fiddled with his thumbs nervously for a few seconds before reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out a tiny, cubic box encasing a gorgeous diamond ring inside. "Because our anniversary is coming up soon...I wanted to pop the question. How should I do it?"

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Peggy clasped her hands together excitedly. "Well...I'd suggest you go over-the-top for this occasion, it's a big, life-changing moment so why not? Don't be afraid to go all out, be romantic."

"What should I do, then?"

"Hmm. What are some things she enjoys?"

"Laser tag, crushing her opponents and beating them to a pulp in fights, Tom Cruise, Italian food, and Taylor Swift. She’s a popular pop singer these days."

"Ah, I see," she laughed, "She's a woman who enjoys variety."

"Exactly."

"A nice candlelit dinner would help set the mood very well, but if you're not wanting to pop the question in front of a crowd, you could always set that dinner up at home. Are any of you good cooks?"

"Bruce makes good pasta, and Vision's the baker of the compound."

"Back when my husband and I were still dating, he'd always surprise me with nice little fancy dinners at home. I believe that is the way to a girl's heart; sometimes you do not need to be extravagant to win her over. And you said she likes Taylor Swift, yes?”

“Yeah...”

“Take her to a concert! I heard from my niece that she’s in town right around the time of your anniversary...so you’re in luck. Get tickets, and take her there.”

"Thank you so much, Peggy. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Anytime, Steve."

...

"So," Natasha spoke up as you were on your way back to the compound after lunch, "it's been two years since you finally got off your asses and admitted you were in love with each other, how do you feel?"

"I honestly don't know," you shrugged, "but I guess I have you to thank, right?"

"Damn right you do," she smirked, "I've been rooting for you two since we were called in to take down SHIELD, and I started suspecting things during the Battle of New York."

"That was three years ago! And New York was five!"

"I know!"

You let out a long sigh, a wistful look appearing on your face. "I wish Mom and Dad were here to see where I am right now. You know, they always pushed me to get back into the dating game once I got over my nasty breakup in college...before I got my level 8 SHIELD promotion."

"Didn't they always tell you that they wished you'd date Cap?"

"They did, actually," you chuckled, "and here I am now. Their dream has become my reality."

"I always loved your mom. Remember when we were having dinner at their house? She snuck me extra cookies under the table. Being your best friend for over six years has its perks, you know."

"And she'd fangirl over Thor."

"Ho, boy. Yup," she shook her head as she thought back to that chaotic family dinner.

Two weeks went by in a flash, and before you knew it, it was the day of yours and Steve's anniversary. Strangely enough you'd been prevented from seeing him all day, with the team making extra efforts to keep you separated.

After a fancy home-cooked dinner, you found yourselves curled up together on the couch as you absentmindedly watched Tangled - one of your favorite Disney movies of all time. Your head was resting on Steve’s broad shoulder as he traced patterns on your arm, feeling his breath gently fanning over your head.

But partway through the movie, you noticed he seemed to be fidgeting a bit as well, glancing between you and his pockets frequently.

"Hey," you placed a gentle hand on top of his, still staring ahead, "are you okay?"

"Huh? What? Yeah, I'm fine," he blinked a couple times before snapping out of his daze.

"Okay..."

Several more minutes passed in silence before he decided to speak up again. “...If I recall, you’re into Taylor Swift.”

“Oh yeah! Why do you ask?”

“An insider told me she’s going to be in Brooklyn this weekend for a throwback tour. I managed to snag last-minute tickets for the two of us...what do you say?”

“YES,” you practically squealed, jumping out of your seat and throwing your arms around him. “You’re the best! I love you.”

“I know, darling, I love you too,” he laughed, one hand rubbing your back as the other was absentmindedly fiddling with the box in his pocket. You blew it, Rogers...

...

You were nearly bombarded by paparazzi as soon as you stepped out of your Audi with Steve by your side, reporters flooding your path. The guards at the main entrance were quick to notice, however, and led you aside so you could enter through a different route.

“This feels so surreal,” your voice echoed across the walls as you made your way down the hall hand-in-hand. “I’ve been dreaming about this moment ever since I was a kid.”

“I’m glad I was able to make that dream come to life.”

“This is why you’re the best person ever.”

“Not because I always have your back during missions?” he raised a brow.

“That too, but also because of the fact that you got me tickets to the concert of one of my favorite artists ever.”

He chuckled. “I get that.”

You ended up standing right in front of the stage - so you had not only a close-up view, but could hear everything beyond fantastically. As Taylor came out on stage and began to sing, Steve couldn’t help the look of adoration that crossed over his features at the sight of your brightened eyes and glowing complexion. You truly looked like an angel - and he knew for sure in that very moment, you were the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

His train of thought was interrupted at one point by you grabbing his hand and squealing excitedly. “My favorite!”

Steve recognized the familiar, soothing tune as Love Story. He recalled you and Natasha drunkenly dancing around on karaoke night to this very tune - heads thrown back in laughter as you exaggerated your movements, making everyone laugh. You’d explained that the reason why you were so attached was because listening to it made you long for a happy ever after - a perfect future. A girl could dream.

Romeo, save me, I've been feeling so alone I keep waiting for you, but you never come Is this in my head? I don't know what to think He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring And said,

You were too busy jumping around and singing your heart out to notice the spotlight was now shining down on you, and it was only when the crowd started shrieking in excitement that you turned around to see-

Steve was down on one knee, holding up a tiny velvet box with a beautiful diamond ring nestled in the very center. Taylor was grinning down at you two as she continued to sing, the audience chanting for you to say something.

"Marry me, Juliet You'll never have to be alone I love you and that's all I really know I talked to your dad, go pick out a white dress It's a love story, baby, just say, "Yes"

“Yes! Yes,” you nodded, choking on a happy sob as you put a hand over your mouth, letting him slide the ring on your finger. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

He stood back up and wound his arms around your waist, pulling you in for a passionate kiss to your lips.

Oh, oh, oh Oh, oh, oh, oh 'Cause we were both young when I first saw you

...

if your name is striked out, that means i couldn’t tag you for some reason

general tags: @yoomum @captainchrisstan @sandystoriess @naomiiiiiiiiiii04 @patzammit @rynhaswritersblock @capcapcapsicle @wheresmyjae @thinkingofbuckybarnes @carryonmywaywardbucky @musicalkeys @buckybarnesthehotshot @zaddychris @optimistic-dinosaur-nacho @sylvie-writes @sis-it-dont-add-up @tonystankschild

permanent tags: @sandwitch-god @renaissancecherub

steve/chris tags: @marvelfanatic16 @angrybirdcr @speechlessxx @epiphanybucky @smokeandnailz

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scenes-in-between · 4 years ago

Text

Trust No 1 (Part three)

“Who authorizes you? I mean, what gives you the right? Who ARE you?!”

“I’m the future, Agent Scully. And I risked my life being here.”

“Well then why do it? I mean, why meet me?”

“Because you can reach Mulder. Mulder needs to know what I know or he may have no future. Perhaps no one will. Another car is parked on the main road, half a mile out. If I see that you haven’t contacted Mulder in the next 24 hours, I disappear and you never see me again. Do you understand, lady?”

Scully stalks away, seething. All of the theatrics, all of the waste, and for what? A two-minute conversation that raised more questions than it answered? What was the point of any of it?

Scowling, she pulls her phone out of her jacket pocket - because apparently it was absolutely necessary to blow up her clothes and her gun and inspect her watch, but Mr. Mysterious had no qualms about letting her keep her phone? - and punches the speed dial for Monica Reyes. Monica picks up immediately.

“Dana! Thank god. We’ve been trying to reach you all day. Where are you?”

“At the end of a very long and very stupid wild goose chase,” she grumbles. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get in touch earlier. How’s William?”

“He’s just fine. John’s in the kitchen right now heating up a bottle for him.”

“Agent Doggett stayed with you?” she asks, surprised.

“Not the whole day,” Monica says. “After that couple left, he went to the office for a while, but then he came back a few hours ago when we still hadn’t heard from you. Seriously though, where have you been?”

Scully answers with a groan, then gives an abbreviated account of the day’s events as she continues making her way back to the main road. Her foot catches on something in the dark and she stumbles, cursing. Of all the times to be without a flashlight…

When she gets to the part about the car and the remote detonation, Monica says, “Holy hell, Dana! Do you need one of us to come get you?”

“No, he said there’s another car parked up the road. I’m heading toward it now.”

“But are you sure that’s safe?” Monica presses. “What if it’s rigged to explode, too?”

“Whoa, wait, what’s rigged to explode?” Scully hears Doggett say in the background, and she shudders at the thought that she spent the entire day driving around on top of a bomb. However, the fact that she’s still alive right now is a fairly good indicator that she’ll be able to get home safely.

“If he wanted me dead, he had ample opportunity,” she says. “No, what he wants is for me to contact Mulder, which I can’t very well do if I’ve been blown up. I’ll be fine.”

“You’re sure?”

“I’m sure.”

What she’s not sure of is exactly where she is right now. It became harder and harder to track her relative location after she left the interstate. The very notion of spending who knows how many more hours on the road fills her with a mix of exhaustion and dread, and she’s angry all over again at the phenomenal waste of time today has been.

“Maybe you can help me figure out where I am, though,” she says. “It was too dark to read the street signs, the last couple of turns he told me to make, but I was on Route 17 going north for a while, somewhere between Norfolk and Fredericksburg. It’s not much to go on, but it’s all I’ve got at the moment.”

“I’m on it,” Monica tells her. “Can I use your computer?”

“Of course.”

“Here, you can talk to John while I pull up MapQuest.”

Ahead, Scully can just make out the bulk of a vehicle in the darkness. She reaches to unsnap her holster out of habit and grimaces when her fingers catch nothing but the fabric of her waistband.

In her ear, Doggett barks, “What in the heck’s going on? Where’ve you been all day, and why is Monica talking about things being rigged to explode?”

Scully sighs. “I’m going to let her fill you in on the details because I would just as soon not go through it all again right now. Short answer is that I’m fine, just tired and frustrated. I’ll be on my way home soon, hopefully. I want to thank you, though, for helping to look after William. I really do appreciate it.”

“Well, you’re welcome, but I didn’t do all that much. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

She approaches the car, again wishing she had a flashlight. It’s too dark to see anything through the rear windows, but the front of the car at least appears to be empty. Cautiously, she reaches for the door handle; it’s unlocked, and the interior light comes on when she opens the door. There’s a piece of paper on the driver’s seat.

“Son of a bitch,” she murmurs, picking it up.

“Agent Scully?”

“You can tell Agent Reyes that I don’t need her help after all. I’ve been left a map.”

“A map?” Doggett asks. “So where are you?”

Thirty miles. She is all of thirty miles from Fredericksburg. It is going to take her less than two hours to get home. It could have taken her less than two hours to get here. Of all the stupid, pointless, absolutely and completely asinine...

“Just a bit southeast of Fredericksburg,” she says tightly, glancing at her watch. “I should be home by nine.”

“All right then. Be careful.”

“Yeah.”

***

This isn’t the first time Monica has been asked to watch William, but it is the first time she’s had to try and put him to bed.

And he is not having it.

She’s never seen him like this. She’s never felt him like this; William’s energy is always vibrant -- she’s known that since the night he was born -- but it’s usually contained, like the potential energy in a compressed spring. Tonight, it’s like a storm, howling around him as he wails in her arms.

“I don’t know what’s wrong. Should we call Dana?”

John chuckles at her, evidently unconcerned, because of course he can’t feel what she feels.

“There’s nothing wrong. And there’s nothing she could do even if there was. He’s just tired.”

“No, John, I’m telling you, something is--”

“Here,” he says, holding out his hands. “I’ll show you.”

She passes the squirming baby to her partner and steps back, nerves jangling. John gathers William against his chest and starts to walk around the living room, gently bouncing him while murmuring softly. At first, Monica can’t hear what he’s saying over the sound of William’s cries, but as the boy gradually quiets, John’s words become clearer.

“There you go, easy does it, your mama’s gonna be home soon, don’t you worry, atta boy…”

He’s asleep within minutes, energy storm subsided. Monica shakes her head, a little abashed at having so comprehensively misread the situation.

“You were right,” she says quietly.

“Eh, nothing I hadn’t seen before, that’s all.” He doesn’t meet her eyes, his gaze still trained on the top of William’s head as he slows the bouncing to a gentle sway. “Luke certainly did his share of fussing.”

She didn’t know him then, of course. She’s only ever known him as a grieving father; this is the first time she’s gotten a glimpse of what he was like as a dad, and it makes her unexpectedly emotional.

“I’m gonna see if I can go put him down,” he says, and she nods, watching him go before turning to pick up the few scattered toys and take William’s dinner bottle back to the kitchen.

***

By the time she has retrieved her own car from where she left it parked this morning, after stewing on the whole drive home and running through the day’s various cryptic conversations over and over, Scully has come to three conclusions.

Number one: nearly everything that man claimed to know about her, he could have learned by bugging her apartment and going through her garbage bins. What did he really give her that was concrete? Knowing her clothing size seemed eerie at first, until she remembered the receipts she’s thrown away from a handful of recent shopping trips. Her childhood clown phobia? She and her mom were laughing about that in her living room a month or so ago. The rest of it -- resting heart rate, ATM pin, college boyfriend, et cetera -- was only specific enough to seem unnerving without actually proving that he knew any of it.

Her emails to Mulder would require some additional access, but that could be as simple as someone following her to the cafe. It’s probably one of the “regulars” that she -- blithely, it would seem -- dismissed as a potential threat.

Number two: while her apartment has definitely been under surveillance, apparently for quite a while, Mulder’s has not. The “one lonely night” the man mentioned? She’s reasonably certain he was referring to the night she asked Mulder to stay after the IVF failed, and that was not their first time together. If, as he said, the events of that night surprised him, then he could not have known about what they had already been doing at Mulder’s place. Or, for that matter, what they had been doing at her place before that night. So now she also knows approximately when the surveillance actually began.

Number three: if this man genuinely does have useful intel about super soldiers -- and that is an extraordinarily big “if” -- then it may in fact be worthwhile to call Mulder home. The idea terrifies and thrills her in almost equal measure. On the one hand, there is nothing she wants more than to have him home. Nothing. But on the other, if she has miscalculated, and calling him out of hiding only ends up getting him killed, she will never forgive herself.

In the end, it is Agent Doggett’s words from yesterday that settle the issue for her. If we know who these super-soldiers are we can go after them. This is somebody giving us a way that can make it safe for Mulder to come home.

How else are you going to get him home?

It’s a risk, possibly a big one, but ultimately, it’s one she has to take. He has been gone for almost seven months. This is the first time in those nearly seven months that there has even been a chance he might be able to come home. If she lets this chance go by, how much more time will pass before they get another one?

She walks into her apartment having made up her mind. There is a giddy, fluttery feeling in her stomach that is only temporarily eclipsed by ravenous hunger as she steps through the door and the smell of Thai food envelops her. Reyes and Doggett look up from where they’re sitting, at her kitchen table, takeout cartons amassed between them.

“Hope you don’t mind, we got takeout,” Reyes says, standing. “We didn’t know if you’d have a chance to eat, but if you’re hungry, there’s a bunch left.”

The last thing she ate was a bag of almonds from the gas station, hours and hours ago. To say she’s hungry is a massive understatement.

“Mind? I could kiss you both right now.”

Doggett’s eyebrows shoot up to his hairline, and Reyes laughs. “I’ll get you a plate.”

Scully nods. “I’m just going to change and wash up.”

On her way to the bedroom, she grabs a plastic bag from the closet. The likelihood is slim that there will be much in the way of usable trace evidence on the clothes she’s wearing, but it would be irresponsible not to even look. She opens the bedroom door quietly so as not to wake William; by the soft glow of the bedside lamp, she can see him sleeping peacefully in his crib, and she smiles, some of the tension from the day melting away. Though she would love a shower, she's too hungry, so she settles for changing into sweats, carefully folding and bagging the "borrowed" outfit, then washes her hands and face before heading back to the kitchen.

Doggett and Reyes have tidied up their dishes and are in the process of putting on coats and shoes.

"We'll let you get some rest," Reyes says, though she’s looking at Doggett when she does. “Whatever else you might have to tell us about what happened today can wait until tomorrow.”

“Unless,” Doggett adds, in a tone that sounds like he’s continuing an argument from earlier, “there’s anything you think we need to know now. Or if you don’t feel safe staying here alone, knowing that this Shadow Man may well have eyes and ears on you.”

“Is that what we’re calling him?” Scully asks, arching one eyebrow. “Look, I appreciate the offer, but I’ll be fine. As violating as it feels to be surveilled by some NSA creep--” she emphasizes the words, fully assuming that she’s being listened to right now “--I don’t have any reason to believe that William and I are not safe here.”

“Well I still don’t like it,” Doggett says, frowning. “Why don’t you let us post a couple agents out front, just in case?”

“I really don’t think that’s necess--”

“That’s a good idea, actually,” Reyes interjects, then drops her voice to a murmur. “Especially in light of what happened this morning. We know you can take care of yourself, Dana, but we also don’t know exactly what we’re up against, here. Maybe the answer is to try and watch the watchers, find out who they are, see if we can figure out who else the Shadow Man is working with.”

Scully sighs but has to admit that’s a sensible course of action. Either the knowledge that she’s being watched over will deter this so-called Shadow Man and his associates, or it won’t, in which case they could be exposed and identified.

“All right,” she agrees.

“Good,” Doggett says. “I’ll take first watch until I can get someone else over here.”

As soon as they leave, Scully makes herself a plate of food and takes it to her computer desk. If the Shadow Man is able to access her emails even when she sends them from the internet cafe, it seems pointless to wait until morning to write to Mulder. The giddy feeling from earlier comes rushing back as she types.

Mr. Hale,

I am overjoyed to tell you that circumstances appear to have changed. Exercise caution, but put the plan in motion. I cannot wait to see you.

All my love,

Dana

She clicks “send” with her heart in her throat, wondering where Mulder is and when he’ll be able to read her message. How long it might take for him to make the necessary arrangements and begin the journey home. He could be in her arms as early as tomorrow, a notion that seemed impossible just 24 hours ago.

She powers down the computer -- according to their plan, his next communication will come via text message from a burner phone -- and picks up her plate to finish eating in the kitchen. A glance out the window as she stands up reveals Agent Doggett sitting in his truck across the street, cell phone held to his ear. She sighs, regretting the additional work and worry she’s given her former partner but also deeply grateful that he’s got her back, he and Reyes both. She appreciates them more than she can say.

With any luck, all of this will soon be over. Mulder will come home, the Shadow Man will give him the information they need to take down the super-soldiers, and things can go back to… well… “normal” for them, anyway. It’s maybe too much to hope for, but right now, she will allow herself to be comforted by the fantasy, at least for a little while. When she finally crawls into bed, later, she falls asleep with her cell phone on the pillow beside her, imagining the sensation of being wrapped securely in Mulder’s arms.

***

“Holy shit,” he breathes, reading her email for the third time.

The library’s just about to close, and he had checked his email one last time before leaving, more out of impulse than any actual expectation that there would be anything there. The surprise of a new email was immediately eclipsed by the surprise over its contents.

Home. He can go home. He and Gibson both, even. No more hiding in the desert. No more ache of longing binding his stomach and keeping him from sleep. It almost sounds too good to be true, but she called him Mr. Hale, the code phrase they established before he left so he’d be able to tell a genuine summons from a trap. This is the real deal.

Which means the threat is past. Maybe Skinner cut a deal, hell, maybe Kersh did. Who knows? Who cares?! He gets to go home!

The grin on his face is massive as he logs off and heads for the door.

***

“You’re leaving," Gibson says, before Mulder has even closed the front door behind himself. "You promised you wouldn’t. But I guess I shouldn’t have expected you to keep that promise.”

It's still weird, Gibson knowing what he's thinking about before he's even said anything, but it doesn't throw him for a loop the way it used to.

“No, we’re leaving, Gibson. Both of us.”

Gibson scoffs. “You know I’m not going anywhere. It’s not safe. You might be able to outrun them if they catch us, but I--”

“Scully said it’s safe. And yes, I’m sure the message really was from her.”

Gibson stares hard at him and Mulder thinks as forcefully and loudly and clearly as he can.

We can both be free. I swear. I will protect you.

“I believe that you believe that,” Gibson says finally. “But I don’t think either of us knows for sure whether that’s really true.”

“Look, I know you’re scared. And you’re right that there are no guarantees. But for the first time since I left Washington, there is at least a chance that it’s safe for us to get out of here. If we don't take it, I don't know when another one is gonna come along. Do you really want to hide here for the rest of your life?"

"If it doesn't mean dying horribly and having my head karate chopped off by an alien replicant? Yeah. I'm fine with that."

Mulder’s thoughts flicker, involuntarily, to Dr. Parenti’s severed head in a jar, to the gash in Skinner’s forehead, to his own memory of being hurled across Parenti’s lab by Billy Miles.

“Exactly,” says Gibson. “I’m not letting that happen to me.”

“I trust Scully,” Mulder says, thinks. “She wouldn’t call me home if it wasn’t safe. She’s too smart and too cautious to take a risk like that.”

This, at last, seems to convince him, if only somewhat. He may not trust Mulder’s judgment, but he apparently trusts Scully’s, at least enough to finally sigh and say, “Okay. I hope you’re right.”

Despite Gibson’s reluctance, it takes almost no time at all to pack. They don’t have much to take, not bothering with spare clothes. Mulder shoves the stuff he printed about Mount Weather into his backpack, along with a little food, the fake IDs from the Gunmen and all of their remaining cash. They’re out the door and on the road in less than twenty minutes.

On the way to the train station, Mulder stops to gas up the motorcycle and buy four prepaid cell phones from the convenience store. Two hours later, as they’re getting ready to board the train that will take them eastward, Mulder types Scully’s number into the first phone and sends a single-word text message.

“Midnight.”

Once the message sends, he opens the back of the phone, pockets the battery, and tosses the phone in a garbage can.

#x-files fanfic #TXF: Trust No 1 #scullyfic #mulderfic #gibson praise #monica whalesong reyes #john doggett #msr #mulder on the run #a/n: this installment of scenes in between was originally going to be in two parts #and then it turned into three #aaaaaand now it's gonna be four #there are just too many gaps to fill in #hopefully no one minds ;)#i promise it won't take me as long to finish and post part four #as it did to finish and post part three

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takenbyemrys · 5 years ago

Link

Merry Christmas Peachy!!! For @peachy-keener for Parkner Secret Santa event

---

Peter laid his head down on his books. He let out a muffled groan as Ned patted his back. MJ rolled her eyes from across the table. They were trying their best to get a last minute study session in before classes started.

“Come on, loser, it’s english,” MJ said. Peter huffed and sent her a mild glare.

“Says you.” Peter said. “All you ever do is read.”

Ned chuckled. “He’s not wrong MJ. English is so much easier for you than us.”

“Help us Michelle Jones, you’re our only hope.” Peter snickered as he said it, earning an eye roll.

“You’re both massive losers. It’s not that hard. But fine.” She leaned forward and began explaining just where they were wrong. MJ was halfway through her explanation when she was interrupted by Principal Morita walking up to their table. A tall girl followed closely behind him, her arms crossed and a scowl on her face.

“Oh you three will do,” Morita said. “Peter, MJ, Ned, this is our new student, Abbie Keener. Abbie is a junior, but she’s going to be taking a lot of senior classes, so I want you three to show her around.”

With that, he nodded to the four of them and walked out of the library.

MJ snorted. “Okay then.”

Peter, however, jumped up and grinned. He held out his hand to Abbie. “Hi, I’m Peter!”

Abbie raised an eyebrow at his outstretched hand but reluctantly reached out to shake it.

“Nice ta meet ya.” Her southern twang was rich.

“You too, Abbie.” Peter waved to the empty seat next to MJ. “This is MJ, who was oh so graciously helping us not fail English. And this is Ned.”

Abbie nodded to them, but otherwise said nothing.

“It was gracious of me, wasn’t it?” MJ smirked. “Why was I doing it again?”

“Because if you didn’t, we wouldn’t be going to NYU together next year,” Ned said. MJ huffed. “And what would you do without your soulmates?”

“Y’all are soul mates?” Abbie asked, clearly trying to assess the relationship with her eyes.

“Yeah, we’re all platonic soulmates,” Peter explained. He held out his left arm that had two phrases tattooed on it. MJ and Ned held out their wrists as well. “For me, the top one is Ned, because I first met him. Ned and MJ’s first was me too, even though MJ met us at the same time.”

Abbie studied his wrist, where the first phrase said ‘Do you like star wars?’ and the second said ‘Sup Losers.’

“Cool. My Brother’s my platonic.” She held out her left wrist. Peter saw that it said, ‘Hello, little sister.’

“Oh that’s adorable.” Peter grinned. Abbie grinned. Most people thought it was weird that her brother was her soulmate. “So, where are you and your brother from?”

“Tennessee,” Abbie answered easily. “My brother and I moved up here because he started at NYU this semester.”

Peter’s eyes lit up. “Oh cool! Are you planning on going there too?”

“Probably,” Abby explained with a grin. “I think i want to travel first.”

MJ nodded. “Same. Hard debating ditching these losers.”

Ned grabbed his chest, giving her an exaggerated gasp and the ultimate eyes of betrayal before crying out, “You would never!”

“Yeah, sorry MJ.” Peter shrugged. “After the whole ‘soulmate’ thing, you can’t really pretend not to like us.”

“I don’t know,” Abbie teased. “I’ll ditch my brother and you ditch them, and we can hit Europe.”

“The three of them can look after each other.” MJ agreed. She paused, looking between the boys. “Well, maybe.”

“Oh my god,” Peter gasped. “Ned, it finally happened. MJ found someone else who’ll be just as mean to us.”

He then wailed, burying his head in Ned’s shoulder. Ned, for his part, hugged Peter close and pretended to weep as well.

MJ stood up, both annoyed and affectionate. “Alright losers. Come on. We have class.”

“Ugh, I don’t want to go to class,” Peter groaned. Despite his dramatics, he looked to their new friend. “Abbie what classes do you have?”

Abbie pulled a schedule out of her backpack and handed it to them. It took only a few seconds for all three to look back up at her eagerly.

“Sweet!” Peter said. “You have most of your classes with us.” After he finished, he grabbed Ned and led the way out of the library. MJ snorted and pulled Abbie after her.

“Alright, Keener,” she said. “Looks like we’re adopting you.” --------

After that, Abbie easily merges into their friend group. She shares almost every class with at least one of them. This gives them all plenty of time together (especially she and Peter) and allows her to open up more. Her and MJ get on like a house on fire, making Peter and Ned sometimes wonder how they aren’t platonic soulmates, or maybe even romantic soulmates. Regardless, there’s nothing between them like that and they just all click. Abbie ends up invited to movie nights, lunch, and the occasional Aunt May sponsored thai food. She raises an amused eyebrow everytime Peter has to go to his ‘internship’ and everytime he has sprint out right after school.

It happened one day when Peter offered to walk Abbie home. He was rambling on and on about nanotechnology when it hit her. It hit her so hard she stopped walking, gaping at Peter.

“Abs?” He asked, eyebrows drawing in concern. He reached out and grabbed her shoulder. Abbie jolted out of her trance at his touch.

“Sorry. Just contemplating the inescapable chasm of loss in regards to abandonment.” Abbie pressed her lips together, trying to stop the onslaught of invasive and horrific thoughts. It was only natural. Harley and Peter were soulmates. There was no doubt in her mind that these two idiots would fucking love each other. The only problem was Abbie. They would run away together, and do science, and completely forget about her.

“Fucking mood. Literally my entire existence.” Peter snorted. Abbie raised an eyebrow.

“Who abandoned you?” She pried.

“Besides everyone? My parents dumped me on May and my Uncle Ben’s doorstop when I was like nine. Then, Ben died in my arms last year after a robbery. So, i get it. Whatever you got goin on, you’re not alone, and I’m not gonna abandon you. Never will.” Peter gave her a sad, lopsided smile, and Abbie melted. She launched herself at Peter, wrapping her arms around him. Peter gasped as Abbie knocked the wind out of him, but instinctively reciprocated.

“You’re great, ya know that Parker?” Peter shook his head and slung his arm around her. He led her down the street.

“I’m something. So, I shared. Who abandoned you?” Peter squeezed her shoulder. “Besides everyone?” Abbie smirked. “Dad left when I was a baby, but mom did the emotional abandonment thing. All I ever had was Harley.” Abbie shrugged. “Hopefully I’ll always have Harley.”

“Well, I’ve never met the mysterious brother whose never at your apartment, but based on everything I know about you and him, he wouldn’t leave you either. I mean he drug you all the way to New York because he refused to leave you at home didn’t he?” Abbie looked up.

“How in all seven hells did you know that?” She asked. Peter shrugged.

“Best guess.” He gave her his best dimples and a wink.

“You’re too smart for your own good Parker. But, I still appreciate it.” Peter stops at the door of her apartment building. “And for the record. I won’t abandon you either.” Peter lit up like a christmas tree. “Now get outta here. I know you have stuff to do.” Abbie winked and sauntered through the door. Peter shook his head, but slipped into the alley next to the building.

---------

“Does he really believe he’s bein’ subtle about the whole Spiderman thing?” Abbie asked one day, watching Peter sprint across the courtyard. MJ rolled her eyes and Ned gaped at her, already trying to find excuses to explain Peter’s behavior.

“Unfortunately.” MJ despaired.

“Ya know. I think it’s time y’all met Harley.” She was still staring after Peter.

“Because?” Ned asked.

“Because I just have a feelin’.” Abbie said as explanation. “We can go meet him now, if you’d like. Then y’all’ll definitely know what I'm talkin’ about.”

MJ shrugged and closed her book. “Might as well. Ned?”

“Why not?” Ned nodded.

Abbie led the duo through New York, stopping at the entrance to a run down garage. “You’re sure he’s here?” Ned asked. Abbie held up her wrist, staring at the invisible string she knew was there.

“Yep. I’m sure. Come on.” Abbie pushed opened the door and led them through the waiting area. Music boomed the minute she opened the door. ACDC almost burst their eardrums. When they reached the garage portion, MJ raised an eyebrow at the sports cars, while Ned was too preoccupied with the state of the art parts strewn around the room. “Yo, Harls!” Abbie yelled over the music, pointing to a car with it’s hood up. They noted the shirtless man leaning over it. He stood up and yelled at the ceiling, turning off the music. He pulled a rag from his pocket and wiped his hands.

When he turned around MJ snorted. Ned grinned.

“Ya’ll must be Abbie’s friends. I’m Harley.” The southern dripped off his lips, sweeter than tea.

“Well, fuck Keener. You had a feeling, huh?” MJ asked. Ned shook his head.

“Just a feelin’.” Abbie answered.

“I’m missing something.” Harley said, his lips twisting into a scowl.

“You’ll find out soon enough.” Ned grinned at him. “I’m Ned, this is MJ.” MJ jerked her head, smirk still dancing on her lips.

“Peter couldn’t make it. But, i’ll bring him by tomorrow, if thats cool?” Abbie asked.

“Yeah, you know that’s cool. So, y’all go to nerd school?” Harley asked.

“The nerdiest.” MJ confirmed.

“Is that the beginnings of a sublight engine?” Ned asked, pointing to a massive pile of parts on a nearby cart.

“Hell yes!” Harley grinned. He began to explain how he was making it. MJ leaned toward Abbie.

“This is the best feelin’ you’ve ever had. And i’m personally upset you didn’t tell me sooner.

“It just hit me a couple weeks ago. There’s no way they aren’t soulmates.” MJ grinned at Abbie, who hip checked her.

“When are you bringing him? I so want to see it.” MJ stared at Ned, a rare soft smile on her face.

“Tomorrow for sure. I wanted to make sure y’all agreed with me. We can do the exact same thing.”

“Do you know what Harley’s soulmark says?” MJ aked. Abbie grinned evily.

“Oh yes. And you won’t want to miss it.” Abbie collapsed on a couch near the wall and watched Ned and Harley nerd out over Star Wars and mechanics.

“Fucking losers.” MJ said fondly, sitting next to Abbie. They stayed for another hour, plotting the lovely demise of Peter Parker into the abyss that was Harley Keener. Ned and Harley kept getting more excited as the moved from engine to engine. MJ pulled Ned away after a while, offering to walk him home. As soon as the door closed, Ned turned to her with a grin.

“MJ. He’s fucking perfect.” Ned vibrated with excitement.

“Intelligence?” MJ asked.

“Off the charts. No way they won’t be on the same level. Also, did you see the abs?” Ned asked.

“You mean the ones literally showing through his shirt? I saw. The honeyed accent is no slouch either. I’m thrilled to see what happens tomorrow.” MJ hugged Ned when they reached his apartment and practically skipped to hers.

-----

“I can’t believe I missed meeting Harley!” Peter groaned.

“We’ll go back today so we can meet him,” Abbie rolled her eyes. Peter lit up, a grin gracing his lips, and his dimples gracing Abbie. After class MJ and Ned led the way to the garage, having a heated debate on MJ’s latest book. Abbie was studiously ignoring Peter as he tried to pry information out of her.

“Come on, you never tell us about him. I’ve been so curious. I mean he’s your platonic soulmate and that’s adorable.” Abbie rolled her eyes at him.

“You’ll meet him in just a minute, Parker. Calm the fuck down.” Abbie bumped his hip against Peter’s. The boy huffed and crossed his arms. MJ opened the door to the shop, and they were once again blasted with ACDC. Peter’s eyebrows jumped in surprise.

Harley was working on the same car when they walked in, but this time, he was under it. Abbie walked up and hit the hood of the car. Harley’s legs jerked as he jumped in surprise.

“Ow! Fuck! Abbie!” Harley rolled out from under the car and jumped up, glaring at his sister. She gave him a sweet smile.

“Sorry Harls. Just letting you know we’re here. Also, you didn’t meet him yesterday. This is Peter.” Abbie flung her arm out, pulling Peter out from behind MJ and Ned. Peter’s eyes widened, following the line of grease smudged on Harley’s neck.

“Oh you. Fuck me.” Peter muttered. Harley grinned and leaned back onto the car. Harley held up his wrist that said ‘Oh you. Fuck me’ in Peter’s notorious chicken scratch.

“Maybe not now, but hopefully soon, darlin’.” Harley smirked as Peter’s eyes widened. MJ and Ned were trying their hardest not to laugh. Peter held up his matching wrist and grinned.

“Well, who'd've thought.” Abbie smirked, grinning between the two who she now thought of as her brothers.

#parkner #parkner secret santa 2019 #parkner secret santa #christmas fic #gift fic

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queerchoicesblog · 5 years ago

Text

Misunderstandings (OH, Harper x F!MC)

This Open Heart fanfic is my first entry for the @choicesseptemberchallenge hosted by @ramseyandrys!

You know that I’m a sucker for this (hopefully not for long) non-canon pairing and today’s prompt gave me an idea or two so...here I am! Basically, Meredith (F!MC) and Harper’s hidden, denied feelings surface when a series of misunderstandings happen. Hope you enjoy it!

Prompt: Misunderstandings

Word Count: 1830

Perma Tag: @brightpinkpeppercorn @bhavf @melodyofgraves @abunchofbadchoices @silverhawkenzie @begging-for-kamilah @strangerofbraidwood @kamilahmykween @desiree-0816 @universallypizzataco @gayestchoices

Harper Emery x F!MC Tag: @bubblygothzombie @korrasamixfan @emeryharper @delphinusbae @noeschoices @jellymonster

____________________________

Meredith hated night shift: it wasn't just another medical legend that during night shift anything can happen and things can get super weird. And hectic. At least that new nurse - Colleen? Doreen? She never seemed to remember her name yet- would have been there too: she had spotted her at the subway station so one friendly face around. I should bring her a coffee later, she was so kind to help me the other day, she thought as she walked towards Edenbrook Hospital with her earphones on: listening to music on her way to work helped her get in the right mood.

She had almost reached the main entrance when she noticed a familiar face approaching. Her lips immediatly curled into a most cheerful smile: what a lovely surprise bumping into Dr. Emery! Valentine was a bit early so she could have even lingered for a quick chat. She waved her hi out of instinct but Harper didn't see her. She didn't even look her way. She was with a man, a finely dressed man a bit older than her: classy and expensive looking linen suit, neat shirt, impeccably laced necktie.

The two of them were laughing as they made their way out of the hospital. They also looked so...close?

"I swear, Harper, that's what he said!" the man was saying, giggling. "See what happen when I finally clear my schedule to take you out to dinner?"

"Oh apologies! I didn't mean to cause so much trouble" Harper mocked an offended tone and playfully bumped his arm.

"I'm just kidding! I'm so happy to spend some time with you: I missed you, you know?" he added, putting an arm around Harper's shoulder and pulling her close.

"Same" Harper smiled. "I know our careers are...demanding, to put it mildly, but we should do it more often"

"Yeah...maybe next time you can come over! You haven't seen the new house yet: oh you should totally stop by. Tell you what? I may even cook for you"

"You cooking for me? You sure you don't have fever, darling?" Harper made a show of checking his temperature.

"Very funny, Harper" the man rolled his eyes then burst into laughter. "I hope that that new lovely Thai restaurant downtown will do for now"

"...Maybe" Harper smirked and they walked out of earshot into the parking lot, leaving Valentine to awkwardly stand in front of the glass doors.

So, Dr. Emery wasn't as lonely as many nurses gossiped. She had a date, well most likely a new partner. Meredith diverted her eyes and shook her head. But of course, how silly of me to think...to think what? She winced at her stupid assumptions and hopes. That a woman like her wouldn't make heads turn? That we were getting closer just because she answers my questions or we chat from time to time? She sighed deeply. That an intern like me could ever get her attention? Open your eyes, dumbass: she's way outta your league. At the fancy Thai restaurant Mr. Linen Suit is taking her you could buy the cheapest bowl of noodles on the menu if you're lucky.

"But it's time to face the truth/ I will never be with you" James Blunt's voice melancholically sang into her ears.

"Thank you for the remainder, James!" she groaned and harshly removed her earphones, storming into Edenbrook's main hall.

----------------------------------

A few days later, Harper gave her niece a ride on the way home.

"Thanks for having me, Aunt Harper" Aurora said, shifting to sit more comfortably.

"Don't mention it, Rory. How was your day?"

"The usual, you know. I just wonder how some interns could even get into med school if they clearly lack brain cells" the Emery girl commented sharply, making Harper chuckle. “Anyway, how did the Thai dinner with Dad go?"

"The place was neat, but I always knew Marcus had an eye for things like that. And it's almost...cute how much he cares for this little tradition we have: brother and sister night out to plan mom's birthday party. It just makes me cares so much too"

"Glad to hear, let me know the details of Nana's party"

"Of course!"

After a moment Aurora spoke again: there was a thought that kept bugging her.

"I know this is random but have you talked to Valentine recently?"

"Recently? A few days ago I guess?" Harper tried to remember as she turned into the street where Aurora lived now. "Why? Did something happen?"

"That's the thing: I don't know! But she's acting weird. I mean, weirder than usual"

"Valentine is not weird, don't be mean, Rory!" Harper protested: she couldn't genuinely understand why Aurora could ever define Meredith 'weird'.

"She is! Listen to this then you tell me! The other day I was brewing coffee when she materialized at my side and asked 'Aurora, is there a way to unfeel what you feel because you know you shouldn't feel that way? Or to tell yourself to stop feeling that way because it's utterly stupid?"

Harper furrowed her brows: that sounded a bit confusing, yeah.

"And...what did you answer?"

"I told her that the coffee wasn't even ready and there were too many "feel" in just two sentences"

"Empathy at its finest" Harper chuckled.

"I'm not a therapist and my brain needs coffee to function in the morning!" her niece protested.

"I just thought you two were friends and it seemed like she could use one"

"We might be friends, Auntie. But we don't braid each other hair and have long talks about feelings"

"But-" Harper refrained herself from telling that true friends do talk about feelings sometimes. "Nevermind, is she feeling better now?"

"I don't know but I hope so honestly, no more weird talks at the breakfast table - oh good news, he's there" she sighed in relief as Harper stopped the car.

Dr. Emery followed her gaze and saw an oddly familiar man leaning over a car not far from where they were.

"Isn't that paramedic...Aveiro?" Harper asked, failing to hide her surprise.

As if he heard someone calling his name, he turned and spotted them looking at him. He flashed them a bright smile and waved hi. The Emerys found themselves mechanically returning the greeting before he resumed checking his phone.

"Yep, the one you saved during that infernal E.R. emergency" Aurora confirmed, gathering her stuff.

"He's here to pick Valentine up: they're having dinner at his place or something like that? Whatever, a meet the grandma thing is involved in some way - I think - but I wasn't paying too much attention to be honest" she let out a relieved sigh, changing the topic. "Everyone is out on dates and work tonight and you can't believe how happy I am to have the place all for myself!"

But Harper wasn't listening anymore.

"Meet the grandma? I knew they're friends, I didn't think they were that...close" she looked back to Rafael.

He was just putting his phone away in his pocket when he raised his eyes and one of his signature smiles formed on his lips. Meredith ran into his arms a moment later and he made her swirl around before putting her back to the ground. The two of them started chatting but Harper couldn't make out any word from inside her car.

"It almost looks like they're dating" Harper noted, turning towards Aurora. "Do you kno-"

Her niece shrugged and opened her mouth to say something but her aunt anticipated her:

"You don't braid each other hair and don't have long talks about feelings" she repeated her words.

"Precisely" Aurora nodded in appreciation. "Can I go now, Auntie?"

"Oh sure! Have a good night, Rory" Harper said absentmindedly as her niece got out of the car and walked towards the front door of her new house.

Finally alone, Harper's gaze fell once again on Rafael's car now disappearing out of view. But of course, now it all made sense: Meredith being so adamant and ready to assist her during the operation, all the times she spotted her checking on him once her shift was over, squeezing his hand reassuringly as he laid in his hospital bed. The long hug they shared while Harper signed Aveiro's discharge papers. The two of them bantering and laughing with each other waking to the metro station together.

For reasons unknown, collecting the dots didn't bring any joy to Dr. Emery: on the contrary, she felt a pang of...sadness? Which upset the neurosurgeon: why would she even feel that way? Valentine was a colleague and what she did outside work, who she dated was none of her business.

Nor whose grandma she was gonna officially meet, she added mentally. She groaned: no, it's not working. But I mean...why should I care? That's ridiculous and...and...I shouldn't feel this way. I'm just happy that Valentine found such a nice match: Aveiro seems a very nice guy. And she deserved some happiness after all the rough stuff she's been through over the past months.

I just...no, nothing.

She sighed and started the car.

-------------------

"So, you're ready for Juliana?" Rafael asked, happily tapping the wheel. "I warn you, she can be quite intense: there's a reason why we call her 'hurricane Juliana' after all. If she's too much, just let me know and we can have a walk or go dancing if you're feeling like it"

"Thank you, Raf. But I'm sure I will have a great time tonight...thank you for having me!"

"Oh the pleasure it's all our, M.! Juliana kept asking when the lovely lady doctor comes to visit us, she's overjoyed to have you. Not to mention she's been cooking for hours: hope you're hungry, Valentine" he giggled.

"I'm sure Juliana is the best cook so worry not, Superman!" Meredith chuckled.

"Cool" Rafael gave her a quick look before looking back to the street. "I'm glad you agreed to this. With a little bit of luck we will bring the smile back on your face"

"I'm not sad or...off?" Meredith protested, but she didn't sound too convincing.

"And Juliana is a great advisor when it comes to matters of the heart and love troubles" he continued, throwing her a meaningful look.

Dr. Valentine gaped at him unsure whether to deny everything or surrender.

"How did you...? Am I that obvious?" she said in the end, biting her lip.

"No, worry not, M.! I just have a trained eye after years of soap-operas" he winked and after a moment they burst into laughter. ------------------

That night, sitting at two different tables, several blocks away from each other Dr. Emery and Dr. Valentine both found themselves repeating in their heads: is there a way to unfeel what you feel because you know you shouldn't feel that way?

Because it's stupid, how could I even think that it would work somehow? Because I shouldn't feel this way: why does it even bother me if she's dating that guy?

#choicesseptemberchallenge #open heart #harper emery #dr. harper emery #harper emery x mc #Harper x mc #playchoices #choices fanfic

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theonewhodoesntknowwhattodo · 6 years ago

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Charlie Weasley x Mc

Summer was amazing to almost everyone but there was always someone who couldn't enjoy it , and that was Y/n L/n case . She was a fourth year at Hogwarts and wasn't really expecting with happiness going back home . Her mother was always shouthing at her and asking why her brother was still missing . She couldn't bear it anymore .

"Mom , is there any chance we could invite our friend ? " Bill asked his mother who was braiding little Ginny's hair . " She is probably not having a good summer at home , I think . Her letters are the most boring thing I have ever read ."

"That may be yours , Bill , mine are more interesting ." Said Charlie with a bright smile on his face .

"Im sure all you talk about in your letters are dragons ."

"That is not true " The oldest brother looked at him and raised his eyebrow . " We talk about Quidditch and more things .

"Okay , whatever you say ." He laughed and looked at her mother who saw all the argument in silence .

"You can invite her over , but not the whole month ." She said finally . "Just one or two weeks .

They looked at each other and smiled , happy that they could have Y/n at their home finally . Bill thought of her as a little sister and everytime he saw her he thought about how well she would get with all the Weasleys .

When their dad finally came home the first thing they did was going to Y/n's house .

She was in her room reading a book . The best time of the day was whenever she received one of her friends letter , they would tell her how amazing was being their summer and that made her happy .

"Who told you that you could read instead of looking for the next vault ." Her mother was in the door of her room , once again talking about her dear son . She was sick of that woman worrying more about Jacob than the daughter she still had . She was worried about her brother as well but at least did something to find him but her mother was just shouting why was he lost . "Mh? What is that?

A flying light in the sky was slowly approaching to their house . Y/n knew what it was and smiled . She took out her wand and pointed at her mother with it . " I'm sorry but I gotta go mum .

"What are you..." She tried to stop her but it was useless , she couldn't move anymore .

"Sorry ." She got some important things for her and went out . There was the car and Bill and Charlie with their father . " Guys , what are you both doing here ?

"Well , we thought you could use some help getting out of here ." Answered Charlie as Bill took Y/n's suitcase . " We should be going , our mother is waiting for us .

"You are the best ." She followed her friend insisde the car and saw Arthur Weasley . " It is nice to meet you finally , Mr Weasley .

" The pleasure is mine , Charlie and Bill talk a lot about you .

She looked at them with a smile , she was going to tease them about that , that was for sure .

Finally they arrived to the Burrow , Molly waited there with an incredible dinner at the table . They opened the door and Arthur went to see his wife . Charlie was carrying her suitcase while she tried to do it her own self .

"Just let him do it , Y/n ." Said Bill with a smirk on his handsome face . " You are a guest .

"Yes , I know that but ..." Charlie easily carried it with a kind smile , he went up to left it somewhere , she didn't know where . " You really didn't have to , Charlie . " Said when he was at her side once again .

"As Bill said , you are our guest ." She wished to help at least a little and Charlie knew but he knew his mother as well . Molly woudn't let a guest help in her house , it was rather difficult . She was about to say something but was interrumpted by a woman who had the same ginger hair as Charlie and Bill . It was really a ginger haired family . The woman had a big and kind smile on her face as she approached Y/n . She hugged her to the surprise of the young girl .

"You must be Y/n ." She was sure a kind woman letting a friend of her children to stay for a few weeks . " I've heard so much about you , about your family .

Suddenly the woman didn't seem that much happy at the mention of her family . She looked at Charlie , saw his worried face and smiled once again . " I'm sorry dear , is just that I am not really fond of your family .

"Oh ." She smiled a little and didn't care that much about that . " Don't worry , I am not really fond of them myself .

Molly smiled as she saw sadness on the girl's eyes . That was the moment when she decided that Y/n was going to be there all the time she wanted . " You can stay here all the time you want , dear .

"Ah , thank you so much Mrs. Weasley , it means so much for me ." She was honest , Bill and Charlie couldn't believe it . She did it . Their mother let her stay all the time she wanted even thought she was a L/n , a family who their mother hated .

"Call me Molly ." She said . " You have taken care of Charlie and Bill so now I will take care of you , It is the least I can do .

A true smile made its way to her lips as she denied with her head . " That is not true at all , they were the ones who took care of me .

"So you are Charlie's girlfriend ." George said and looked at his twin .

"The one he won't stop talking about ." Charlie started blushing as the twins kept going .

" I am not his girlfriend ." She said , blushing as well .

" Her future girlfriend probably . " Interrupted Bill while laughing . He loved teasing those two when it came to their love that was stuck because neither of them was brave enough to say how much they loved each other .

"Bill!" She cried out . " Stop teasing us .

Suddenly she heard something and then a little girl was in the floor crying . It was Ginny , the youngest . Before any of her older brother could go to help her the guest of the house went to see if she was okay . " Oh no , are you okay?

Her knees were bleeding , nothing that she couldn't handle after helping Madam Pomfrey so many times . She cured her wounds and then smiled at Ginny who was no longer crying . " Better now? " The girl nodded , she was shy and wasn't really happy about some stranger seing her cry . " You must be Ginny , you are just as pretty as your big brothers have told me . " The little girl blushed a bit while looking at the floor . " I am Y/n , Charlie and Bill's friend . It is a pleasure to meet you .

The other just watched and didn't want to interrumpt . " It is nice to meet you ." Whispered the little one and gave her a hug just as her mother used to do . After that she went to Charlie and waited for a piggyback ride .

"It that the Y/n you like? " Said her whishpering at his ears .

"Yes ." Answered , no one else but Ginny hearing him .

"She is pretty and kind ." Charlie laughed , it was her way of saying that she liked her as well .

"Now there's only Percy and Ron left ." Ginny told her brother to let her down and she went to Y/n . She waited for her to pick her up and when she was finally in her arms pointed the stairs . " You will show her the way to Ron and Percy while we help mom , Ginny ? " The second son smiled and let both girls to go .

" By the time she comes back from meeting those two she will probably know that you like her ." Bill was right , after all the twins went after them and Ron wasn't really good at keeping secrets .

She met Ron and he liked her rather quickly .

"Only Percy left ." Said Ginny still in her arms . George and Fred were still after them and now was Ron too .

"Why is Charlie a Gryffindor? " Asked Fred while laughing .

" Good question , if he is , he should have asked her out by n...

"Shhhhh!" Ginny looked at them angry . " Go away ." She was way to busy protecting his big brother to notice that they were finally with Percy .

" Then you are not here as Charlie's girlfriend?

"No?"She smiled confused .

"Ah!"Ginny tried to stop Percy but it was too late .

"Thought he would have asked you out by now ."

"What?"

She was a blushing mess that moment and Ginny went to find Charlie quickly but instead found Bill who went upstairs to get Y/n . They went to Bill's room .

"You OK , mate? " Never had he seen her like that and as probably future brother in law he wanted to help her .

"What Percy said means that Charlie ..." She hid her face in her hands . "Charlie likes me .

" You didn't know? " He laughed when someone came in his bedroom . " Oh , Charlie .

They both looked into each other's eyed and immediatly blushed . Bill got up of the bed and went out the room . " I am not letting you out until you both become a couple ."

He closed the room's door and stayed out .

"So you like me ." She was the first one to talk barely smiling . " Ohmygod ." She was blushing once again . " I cannot believe it , it's just ... how I ...

"It's true ." Finally he said something and sat at her side . " I kind of have a crush on you .

"I see ." Her heart was about to get out of her chest when she felt a hand on her shoulder . It was his way of telling her thay everything was okay .

" I understand if you don't like me back , tho .

At the other side of the door Bill was about to explode in anger for his brother behaviour .

"What? Are you stupid? " She looked at him competely confused . " I have been all the year sending hints to you , Charles Weasley .

" W-what? " He asked like an idiot ." For real?

"Of course ." She hugged him tight . " I coudn't be more happy . When I saw Bill and you coming to rescue me I knew this was gonna be an amazing summer .

" You like me ." He was still processing the information and hugged her back . " Does that mean that we are a couple now?

"Well , if you want to get out this room someday , yes . " They looked into each other eyes and started getting closer . " Then?

" Yes ... " They kissed finally and Bill opened the door in that moment .

" Thank godness that Percy doesn't know how to shut up . " Bill was thankful that his year of frustration was over at last .

" Wait , Percy told you? Not Fred , George or Ron ? "

" Ginny did a really good job keeping them quiet . " Bill went downstairs leaving them alone . " I... Io l-l ... I can't say it , I'm sorry .

"I love you ."Said him instead of her .

"Do you feel like a Gryffindor now?

"Maybe ." He thought for a moment and smiled . " I love you more than I love dragons .

" Woah , you really are a Gryffindor . " They laughed and she blushed . " Well , I love you so much that I could stop looking the Haunted Vault for you . Wait no , forget that , that would mean forgetting my brother .

" This is not romantic at all .

"You were the one to say Dragons first .

"To say I love you more than I love them ." He complained . " It is romantic .

" Well , if I didn't love your rants about dragons then I couldn't love you .

"That's rude .

"It is true , Dragon boy . " She smiled . " Look at our letters , almost all of them are about dragons or quidditch .

"I knew it!" Said Bill suddenly .

"Shut up , Bill!

The end

Srry for my mistakes , English is not my first language .

#charlie weasley x mc #charlie weasley #hogwarts mystery #bill weasley #ginny weasley #ron weasley #fred weasley #george weasley #arthur weasley #molly weasley #percy weasley #mc hogwarts mystery

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eponymous-rose · 6 years ago

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This isn’t a post I really wanted to make, and I feel kind of shitty making it because parts of it aren’t my story to tell, but not talking about it isn’t working, so hey. Weirdly comforting internet void, please don’t reblog this.

There’s discussion of mental illness below, but not (directly) firsthand. This is mainly discussion of the impact mental illness is having on my family. Please avoid this post if this is a topic that is likely to cause you pain or discomfort. I think I just need to have it out there.

About a year ago, my brother was diagnosed with Bipolar I. His seeking out a diagnosis was the direct result of the way his mental health was horrifically mismanaged when he lived in the US in his late teens: he was misdiagnosed as schizophrenic and, a few months later, a pharmacy error cut him off anti-psychotics cold turkey. It was absolutely horrible, and he wound up leaving school and moving back in with my parents for a time just to recover. That diagnosis was still on file for him almost a decade later, but recently his job finally had decent enough benefits that he could afford to go in for a barrage of psychiatric testing to rule things out. Bipolar I wound up being the diagnosis that fit.

And I think, for him, there was a sense of relief that came from that initial diagnosis, because a lot of things started to fit. Our immediate family is very close and very loving, but also almost comically controlled and disciplined and logical and isolated. As a kid, he would frequently spiral over something small (I clearly remember being baffled by the fact that my teenage brother would still have full-on tantrums), and my parents and I would just be staring wide-eyed in silence because strong emotion??? what do????? He was comforted and loved, and outright tells us all the time that he loves us and feels really lucky to have had such a supportive family, but I can’t help feeling like we were just... overwhelmed by inertia and kept thinking “this is probably healthier and more normal than the way we repress our emotions”.

I suspected depression was always there, and I’d reached out to him a little about that based on my own experiences, but mania hadn’t even occurred to me, even when he was sending us e-mails at 5 AM about the new opera he stayed up all night writing. It’s incredible what starts to feel like normal when you’re in denial like that.

Regardless, that’s where we were last year: he called us up when I was visiting my parents and we chatted for about an hour about what we all knew about this illness and how he’d be going forward. We all assured him that we loved him a lot and were here for him in whatever way he needed us.

And then, in typical us fashion, we repressed it. My dad yelled at a server out of nowhere for bringing the wrong drink that afternoon; this is the most empathetic man I know, who’s raised his voice maybe three times in my life that I can remember (he called the server over afterwards to apologize and tipped hugely for having to put up with him). My mom’s anxiety spiked. I stopped sleeping well. It took us a few months to realize we were all struggling because we were so worried.

My brother tried a few different meds, none of which had a really strong impact. We all got together for the holidays, and when he arrived, he was furious in a way that felt familiar, like back in high school when he’d be so angry it was like he wasn’t fully in control of his body, wasn’t hearing the things he was saying. It was weirdly a bit of a relief, because I realized then how much he must have been putting on an act before: after high school, he’d always been extremely quiet and positive every single time I talked to him (always for short visits with big chunks in between). He was finally comfortable not being perfect around us.

The precipitating factor for this particular blow-up was one of his coworkers e-mailing him and asking for one more article even though he was on holidays: dick move, sure, but in no way deserving of flinging his luggage around and teary-voiced ranting at the restaurant we took him to for dinner. We made sure he knew he was being heard and understood, and we sympathized with him, and we set up an hour that evening so he could just sit quietly in his room and work out how he was going to reply to the e-mail. And then things were fine again. He told us stories about how great that same coworker was the next day.

My parents stayed at an airbnb, mainly because my place is a little small for four, and he and I stayed here and just had a wonderful time. I realized how much I’d built things up in my head in a worrying way: this was still my brother, who I love very much, who’s sensitive and feels things deeply and sometimes gets upset, but I knew how to talk to him and I hope I could help him feel better; he certainly helped me feel better. We watched old cartoons and played NBA on the Switch and got milkshakes and ordered in pad thai and had a fantastic time just chilling and talking about whatever crossed our minds. I never once felt nervous or weird around him in the three weeks we were here, and I very clearly remember thinking, “Hey, future self, remember how natural this felt next time you’re catastrophizing: this is one of the few people in the world you’d happily have as a roommate.” We get along so, so well, and some of the new initial tension between him and my parents (that awkward combination of “well-meaning” and “absolutely out of their depths” made for a couple of baffled moments before they hit their stride) just never bled through to our friendship.

It came out during that trip that he’d accrued some pretty hefty credit card debt (overspending being an extremely common thing when you’re in a manic phase... and also in your twenties living alone in a big city when a big chunk of your job involves socializing every night); my parents very calmly and supportively told him they’d help him pay it off on the condition that he cut up those cards and take a serious look at the gaps in his budget. He was more embarrassed than anything, but my mom’s no-nonsense, logical attitude broke through and soon they were happily sitting down and setting up a budget.

He went back home, and things started getting worse. His landlord was an asshole who wouldn’t let him and his roommate control the heating and insisted on controlling it from off-site, so he’d come home to a sweltering apartment every night and couldn’t sleep. He took a sleeping pill to help him get some rest, and that triggered a major depressive episode. Through a series of accidental events (mainly getting stuck on hold with a crisis line for 45 minutes and calling 911 out of desperation), he wound up getting picked up by the cops one night and brought to a mental hospital, which he said wasn’t his intention, but he was glad it happened in the long run (the hospital, not the cops, obvs).

He was only there for one night, after which point they set him up with a social worker and amazing outpatient care, including psychiatrist visits every week and a new set of mood stabilizing meds, and I cannot stress enough that this would have been a much shorter story if he’d lived in the US. With my parents’ help, he wrote a letter to his landlord threatening to go to the city if he didn’t fix the heating situation, and his landlord caved (thank goodness, because there’s no way he’d be able to pay rent anywhere else in that city). Things stabilized, a little.

Now, though, it looks like he may lose his job. He disclosed his illness right after the diagnosis, and after some initial missteps, they started putting in effort to work with him on it---in my brother’s e-mails to us, the HR person went from an obnoxious jerk to a determined ally, if only to avoid liability issues. But on his new meds, while he feels great in the mornings, he’s exhausted by the afternoon, and he often has minor depressive episodes in the evenings, so clearly the dose isn’t right yet. He’s up to missing a couple days of work a week, and they’re clearly trying to lean on him to switch to contract work so they can let him go without running afoul of legal protections. It doesn’t help that what started as a wide-open, exciting startup (he still says the first eight months were his dream job) has turned into an ad revenue-grabbing mechanism where all his colleagues are white homophobic tech bros who ignore him at best and resent his “special treatment” at worst.

A lot of his friends happened to move away around the time of his diagnosis as well, and now a lot of his remaining friends are distancing themselves. A common factor in his last few jobs toward the end was people telling him, “You just looked miserable all the time,” and it sounds like it’s starting to impact his personal relationships. His time online is spent in the deepest of “cancel culture” discussion, where being mostly good but fucking up once is almost more reprehensible than being wholly awful (he quit Facebook for a while, but wound up reopening his account to let people know about his hospitalization... and now he’s just back there again). He and his boyfriend broke up. His friend who initially suggested he apply for this job now ignores him at work.

It’s that awful combo of “people are being assholes about my illness” and “my illness makes it hard to believe that someone who initially reacts poorly will ever come around, so I’d better shove them away first”.

My parents are understandably so worried for him. They’re going out to visit him for three weeks starting tomorrow, staying at an airbnb nearby and occupying themselves with their own retirement pursuits so he can come visit if he likes, or ignore them if he needs space. They’ve told him that, if he’d like, he’s welcome to come stay with them for a few months (they live on the other side of the country); they’ll cover his half of the rent while he’s gone, and he’ll have a bit of an opportunity to just heal, considering he went straight back to work the day after his hospitalization. They’ll also help him strategize about whether he wants to switch to part-time on his current job and see about picking something else up. I suggested they bring up the possibility of going back for a master’s---I know it’s an absolute minefield for mental health, but in his particular case, a flexible schedule plus project-based creative work with specific deadlines has always been a pretty good fit, and he excels academically.

They’re also preparing for the possibility of moving him out to stay with them on a more permanent basis, but they obviously don’t want to disrupt his care (his current appointments are at the best mental health facilities in the country). They can’t afford to live in his city on their pension, but they’re also talking about giving up their retirement condo and buying out his roommate’s half of the rent, and just being there to help him out when he needs it. I don’t think he’d go for that unless things really deteriorated quickly, but a few months away from the city definitely sounds like what he needs.

And I’m just... so angry. I’m pissed off that so much of the stress weighing on him (and so many others!) right now comes from him being nearly 30, in debt, without a hint of a way to start saving for retirement, with these little one- or two-year gig jobs with two-hour commutes full of toxic people stretching out into eternity. I’m pissed off that this awful disease has made it so my parents probably aren’t in a place where they’re going to be able to do their big retirement trip, and they may be giving up their idyllic retired life for good. I’m angry with myself for that little burrowing resentment that, because my parents are older, I could wind up a financial, medical, and emotional caretaker for them and/or my brother at a moment’s notice, and I don’t feel ready to take all of that on. I’ll never feel ready.

(As a bonus, bipolar I has a genetic component, and now I’m thinking back to that one time I stayed up all night determined to save the world by learning all of biology in eight hours, or the time when as a grown-ass adult I started crying like a ten-year-old because I felt left out from an activity friends were doing, and I’m thinking, is this it? And then it’s not those extremes, it’s every normal human emotion that was previously muted by my own situational depression years ago. Is this it?)

I feel so, so entitled to the life we should have had as a family, and so frustrated at all these external factors that’ve brought it crashing down. More than anything, I’m scared for my little brother. I know bipolar isn’t something that magically disappears, and that things are likely to get worse, but I want those external stressors to go away and just leave him alone for half a minute so he can heal and find the right combination of meds and maybe, maybe get to think about thriving rather than just surviving. I’m so grateful to my parents for finding the right things to do and say to help him recover. And I know that, if something goes horribly wrong, I can try to fill those shoes.

I’m still losing sleep, but only every now and then. People at work occasionally comment that I don’t look so good, but that’s much rarer than a couple months ago, and the people I’ve confided in are very kind and check in on me even when things seem to be going well.

After the move this fall, I’m going to find someone to talk to professionally about this. In the meantime, just typing this all out makes me feel a bit better. I am finding better ways to cope; I had to mute him on social media because my overwhelming tendency to overthink his posts was very dangerous (turns out that famous self-deprecating millennial sense of humor is terrifying when you’re trying to work out if someone’s in danger). I have a generally positive attitude about this, and I can now usually catch myself when I’m starting to spiral. I send my brother goofy links, and he sends me funny stuff in return. I’m going for runs and eating better and playing video games and hanging out with friends...

... and I’m genuinely very happy a majority of the time (not just content, but happy), which wasn’t true even a couple months ago.

I’m scared and angry and coming to grips with it being okay to be both of those things, as long as I’m also supportive and loving. This is my little brother. This is my family. They’re the best.

And all we can do is take it one day at a time.

#(no reblogs yes thank you)#eponymous family tag #mental health ///

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wiener-soldiers · 7 years ago

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merch? merch. - peter parker

summary: You were always a sucker for comfortable clothing. However, you did not expect so much to happen because you bought a Spiderman shirt.

pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

words: 1,500+

warnings: none!

taglist: @sebastianstanfoundmymixtape

a/n: this has been sitting in my draft for forever and i finally finished it! got this idea when i bought a spiderman shirt lolololol. im also working on a jack kelly and a davey jacobs fic along with part 2 to my steve trevor fic so yay me. shoot a request if you wanna see somthing happen!

You weren't really sure why you did it.

Maybe it's because you were a huge dork, maybe because it looked really comfortable, maybe because it was super cheap, maybe it's because you really liked the shirt.

You don't really know.

Nor did you really care.

But you bought it anyways.

And now, an oversized Spiderman t-shirt was sitting in your closest.

The first time you wore it, you were having a rough day. You woke up late that day, making you late to the bus, forcing you to haul your ass on the subway to get to school. You barely make it to homeroom on time, but get a scolding from the teacher about being late anyways. Then you completely forgot your English essay at home the day it was due. Finally, hoping you could spend quality time with your best friend Peter Parker after school, he blew you off, something about running to do some errands for Aunt May. You wanted to offer to join Peter, but he ran off before you could ask.

So you went home, changed into a comfortable bralette and some soft Brandy Melville shorts, and of course, your Spiderman t-shirt. Because it's oversized, it falls onto about mid-thigh, so you tie it up into a knot at the front. Because your mom works that night shift at the hospital as a nurse and your dad was in London for a conference, you had the house to yourself.

You walked out of your room and into the living room, bringing your laptop, homework, and some leftover Thai takeout along with you. After you plant yourself on the couch, you start to binge watch Harry Potter while doing your homework.

When your mom finally came home from working the night shift at the hospital, she finds you fast asleep with your homework falling on the floor and the end of the Chamber of Secrets playing.

The next morning, when you wake up from your spot on the couch, she makes no comment on your Spiderman merch.

The second time you wore the shirt, your close friend MJ came over to watch Criminal Minds with you. This was your first break after the beginning of the second semester and both of you were dying to get your dose of Spencer Reid in.

The moment you answer the door, MJ laughs at your outfit choice.

"Nice shirt, nerd," she says as she kicks her shoes off, pushing hair behind her ear as she bends down to retrieve the chips and candy she brought.

You scoff and lightly kick her butt as you walk by, "Whatever."

"No seriously," she says while she chases after you, "Boxers and a Spiderman shirt? Where did you even get those?"

"The shirt?"

"No you idiot, the boxers! But where you got the shirt wouldn't hurt either."

You laugh and grab some chips, a tub of ice cream and spoons, and some sodas from the kitchen. "I got the shirt from a gift store in Manhattan."

"And the shorts?"

You look down at your feet, heat rushing to your face. To keep your hands occupied and grab the remote from the counter, walking back to the living room. You hear a scoff escape MJ's lips, "It's Peter's, isn't it?"

Your face burns and you throw a spoon at her face, "Shut up!"

She scrunches her nose, "Ew, who leaves boxers when they stay over?"

You mumble something under his breath.

She rolls her eyes again, "Speak up, dammit."

"...He gave them to me."

She bursts into laughter, "She's whipped! The girl's whipped!"

The third time you wore the shirt was when Ned came over to do a project.

You were assigned partners for a science project and you insisted that Ned came over to do the project as oppose to the school library. After school, the library was usually fairly quiet, but because of the pouring rain outside, a lot of students stayed inside the library to wait out the storm.

The two of you ran from the subway station two your family’s apartment, but the pouring rain almost guaranteed that the both of you would get drenched regardless.

After hastily unlocking the front door, the both of you stumbled inside.

"Gee, (Y/N). I'm starting to think that going out into the rain was a bad idea," Ned laughs out. He opted not to wear his raincoat to protect his books. You were just stupid enough not to bring one.

You giggle, "Yeah? Well I was not about to let us do work in a loaded library that'll smell like mud and everyone's B.O."

He laughs, taking off his shoes and dumping the water on the floor. He wrings out his socks after. "That's really gross, man."

You follow suite, "You bet. Hold on, I'll grab us a change of clothes."

You run to your room and grab some clothes Ned had left at your house. You grab a couple more supplies for the project before you change into pyjama pants and your comfy Spiderman shirt.

You meet Ned in the living room and he does a double take when he sees your shirt.

"What?" you ask him.

"Nice shirt."

"What? MJ, now you?"

"Who's MJ?"

You look back at him, "I thought you knew you MJ was?"

"..."

"You know, brown curly hair? Sarcastic sense of humor? Absolutely gorgeous?"

"..."

You roll your eyes, "She goes by Michelle, Ned."

He widens his eyes in revelation, "Oh!"

You laugh at him and hand him the dry clothes, "Go change, Ned."

"Okay, okay!" Ned replies, grabbing the clothes from you with a smile from your face. "Thanks, (Y/N). Oh, and uh...does Peter know you have that shirt?"

You shake your head, "No."

"Show it to him, I bet he'd love it."

A blush was your response, "Go get changed, Ned."

The fourth time you wore that shirt was to bed.

At least that was your intention.

A soft rapping on your window wakes you. You roll around to face the window and notice a familiar red mask in your field of view. You sigh and roll out of bed and open your window to let the spandex clad man in.

"Hi, Spiderman."

He grunts silently in pain when he rolls through your window, "Hi, Miss."

You let out a huff in annoyance. For the past couple weeks, Spiderman has been showing up injured to your window asking for assistance. You had no idea why you hadn't told anyone yet, or why you decided to help him. However, he never asked for your name and you felt like this was your way of crime fighting and helping others.

"Where are you hurt?" you softly say, scrunching your eyebrows together and looking over is hunched form.

Spiderman slowly lowers himself on the ground and gestures to his ribs. You nod and leave the room, coming back with a pack of ice. He looks up at you and lets out a small laugh, "Nice shirt, (Y/N)."

You freeze.

You had never told him your name.

You step back, your hand hovering over the light switch. "Who are you? How do you know my name? What the hell?"

He stutters, "Uh...you have to promise not to scream."

"I make no--" you start to say, but before you get the chance to finish, he rips his mask off.

Peter Parker gives you a small sheepish smile. Your shock doesn't fade.

Out of shock, you throw the ice pack at him. "Peter!" you whisper yell, "you're Spiderman?!"

"I told you not to scream!"

"I'm whisper screaming!"

"Look, I'm sorry I couldn't tell you. It's just that--"

"No, Peter Parker, you listen to me! Do you really have the audacity to show up hurt every night? I thought you hated me because you kept blowing me off! I really freaking miss you Peter I could almost--" you cut yourself off with a scrambled scream.

Peter stands up and pulls you into a hug, silencing and comforting you. You push yourself away.

"Peter Parker I could almost soak you in the face right now!" you threaten, stepping closer to him noses almost touching.

"What's stopping you?"

"Why you little--" you grab his face and kiss him, hard. His arms snake around your waist and pull you closer. You both pull away, out of breath. He rests his forehead on top of yours, heaving from the adrenaline.

"I'm sorry," he whispers.

You kiss his nose, "I'm just glad your okay."

He kisses you on the lips once again, "I wasn't kidding when I said I loved that shirt."

You smile and look down. Peter’s eyes soften and he brings his hand to rest on your cheek. He slowly pushes your chin upwards to face him. Your eyes flicker up to his. Though is dark, you find yourself lost in his chocolate eyes.

“Hey,” Peter whispers to you, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I’m sorry I kept ignoring you. You mean the world to me (Y/N) and I couldn’t live with myself knowing that I was keeping something as big as me being Spiderman away from you. But I could never bring myself to tell you, I...I didn’t want to drag you into this.”

You pull him into a tight hug, nestling your nose in the crook of his neck. You turn your head and rest your cheek on his shoulder, and you press a soft kiss on the side of his neck. “I’m in it for the long haul, Peter. You’re my best friend, and I love you in every way possible. Whether you like it or not, you’re stuck with me.”

Peter’s body shakes with laughter, his grip on you tightening. ��I wouldn’t want it any other way, darling.”

The fifth time you wear that shirt, it's in bed beside Peter as the both of you binge watch the original Star Wars trilogy. He rests against the headboard with you sitting in between his legs, your back resting against his chest with his arms wrapped around your waist. He toys with the hem of your shirt, a smile finding a way to his face when he remembers the first time he saw you in it.

You notice Peter's hands brushing against your stomach and slip your hand into it. "What are ya thinking about?" you ask him.

"Just about you, beautiful. Have I ever told you that I love you?"

You feel him press a kiss to your neck and you smile, pausing the movie playing on your laptop resting on your lap. "Yes, Peter. Everyday."

"That's good. I mean, if you ever came out with some '(Y/N) (Y/L/N)' merch, I'm buying it."

You laugh once again before kissing Peter full on the lips, the smile never leaving either of your faces.

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blurrybethny · 6 years ago

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Diary entry #8

So I’m gonna start this entry the same way I did in the last post.

So. MUCH. has. happened. like so much

okey, so since the last post, it’s almost been 2 years. Isn’t that crazy, 2 years. Well, the main reason for that has been F. So let’s just start where we left of.

So we’re in May or something now, and I finally finished my finals and got my results which where incredibly great. So with that result I had the chance to apply to the University of my dreams for the major Online-Media-Management. I thought that it would be great to make Instagram and Facebook to your Job. So meanwhile, I was still hanging out with F everyday, and since I already finished my finals, F was allowed to sleep at my place.

Now we are at the end of June and it is my high school prom which I have been exited about, I had a beautiful long, blue dress and F was wearing a really handsome suit. The funny thing was the next morning at 6am we had to catch out flight to Tenerife. So F was drinking kind of a bit of alcohol at my prom and at like 1 or 2am we drove back to my place and slept for like an hour and then headed to the airport.

We’re in July now, for 10 days we had the greatest vacation ever. The whole time we did what we wanted, the explored the whole city with a scooter und took many pictures. On one of the days we went up to the biggest mountain of Tenerife and then WALKED down it. We were almost on the ground again, when we lost track of the path and kinda got lost. But at the end we came back home safely. On another day we drove to this cool looking beach, it was really windy tho and the sand was hurting so much when it hit you skin. On one of the last days we drove to an animal park, which was also a great experience.

Just 2 weeks later, me and my mom flew to Los Angeles for kind of a road trip with a bigger group of tourists. The trip was really great because we explored LA, Hollywood, Las Vegas, San Francisco and other nice towns and sights. That was really one of my biggest dreams to travel through a part of the US. Honestly, at the beginning of the trip I missed F so much, and we talked everyday on the phone. I also was getting really angry at him, because at the beginning he seemed like he didn’t miss me at all and he went to two parties where he was having fun and getting drunk. And I also got quite jealous, because I was scared he would make a mistake with another girl.

So we’re in August now, and I came back home from the US trip and F and my dad picked us up from the air port and I was so excited so see him again. Also btw during the trip I got the message that they accepted me at the university I wanted to go to. So I was really happy about that. And because of that, now it was the time to search for a flat near the university, because it is actually 300km away from my hometown. The question that was upcoming now was, if F would move with me or not. And he said to me that he would move to anywhere I was. Which was really sweet of him and I was so happy about that. Now we had to search for a flat with at least 2 rooms. The search was kinda difficult because the flats where really expensive up there and especially in the middle of the city. However, my mom finally found one that was having a visitors day, so we drove up to the city and visited the flat. The flat already had furniture in it and it was not the prettiest. After that we kind of spontaneously drove to another flat that was also having a visitor day the same day, but there were no pictures on the internet. So we got there and the landlord was really nice, the little town was pretty and quiet and the flat was light and had no furniture in it. So we drove back home and the same day, the landlord from the first flat denied our request. However, the one from the second flat, sent my mom an email the next day, that the flat was ours!! So the renovating began. We drove up there on the weekends again to paint the walls and buy furniture. It was a lot of fun.

September. Not a lot happened in September, at least I can’t remember it. The only thing was, that it was my 19th birthday and I really wanted to go to a club, so we went to the club. I was wearing a really sexy dress obviously. Then we only stayed until 1am and left again because it was kinda boring and I felt a little sick. So, surprise surprise, on my birthday I was sick.

October. At the beginning of October, a week before Uni officially started my major had a kick-off to get to know the other students and teachers. I was really confident in myself and ambitious to meet new people and hopefully make some friends. The first day, started not that bad, I picked up 3 other girls to drive to the meeting place. There I got to know other girls as well. I actually talked with almost everybody - which is not common for me - and still groups were already forming and I was left behind. I kind of thought that I was getting closer to some girls, but they always left and did other stuff and I’m just not the type of girl to run after everybody. So even there I was sitting alone sometime. And I was turning into an outsider more and more because me and another girl were the only ones not drinking. It was also annoying for me because they played all kinds of drinking games and that’s just not my thing. The next day was not so great because I just felt uncomfortable and left out. The evening was even worse, I felt even more left out, and I felt so sad because I missed F so much and I just wanted to be home. I was really glad when the 3 days were over. Overall, the start of the major was not bad, I kind of liked the subjects - however, I was still the odd one out all the time, because everybody already had a friends group and everybody is just shallow - I also started to get better friends with the other girl that was not drinking alcohol and we actually had quite a few things in common. I even invited her for a sleepover once and we initially wanted to watch Riverdale but we ended up talking about all kinds of stuff. Since then she is like the only one I really talk to.

The following months until February were not really exciting. It was a really hard time for me because during the week I was all alone in my flat and I only saw F on the weekends and holidays. I literally cried every time we had to say goodbye. Also during that time, we had a lot of fights because when we talked over video call he usually fell a sleep which made me angry. And also when we saw each other on the weekends, he still had stuff to do or met up with people or even had to work Saturday and Sunday. This things always made me really angry and frustrated because I was all alone the whole time, I just wanted to spend time with him on the weekends and then he would have even less time. Sometimes we had really heavy fights where he really hurt me with his words. I know that I was not always fair to him and how I reacted, but he also never understood me. What I maybe have to add here is that, since F this one fight between me, S and F after the theatre the friendship between the two guys and between me and S was kind of over. So in August F told me that S was diagnosed with cancer. In the following months F and S started to talk again and meet up, which I was happy about because they have been friends for a long time and I felt really guilty that I was the reason for the breakup of this friendship. Also for new years eve we planned a bigger party because S wanted it to. It was not too bad, and I was really glad about the fact that S was talking to me again, because I missed being friends with him. In the following months there were ups and downs with his health.

February. Most of this month F and me spent in Thailand because his mom is from Thailand. However, this vacation was probably the worst one I have ever had. First, everything was just new to me and I met a lot of new people I could not talk to because they only spoke Thai, then another thing was that F did not really keep me in mind because this was his second home and everything was just normal for him but not for me. Especially the missing hygiene and the weird food. Also I got pretty sick with fever and everything and I had to go to the hospital for two days. After that I still stayed home a bit and F always wanted to go fishing at night. And I was just so frustrated about him because I was still exhausted from the sickness and he did not really pay attention to me and always got angry at me because I didn’t want to leave the house and I always started crying. So I basically did not leave the house for two days, when we finally got together again. The last few days were the best of the whole holiday because he finally adapted his actions to my needs.

March. F finally moved in with me because his education for his job finally ended, so he had to find a job up here. It took quite a while but he finally found a job which he likes. Also I got the results of my first semester’s tests and they were all really great actually.

April. We finally had our one year anniversary for which we went out on a date.

May. F, me and his family drove to Hungary for a weekend trip which was also okey. But I prefer the alone time between F and me. In Uni, I finally started to become kind of friends with two other girls, and we also formed a group for a school project, however, one of the girls quite uni during that.

June. This is the month of S’s death day. I was so sorry for F, because they were finally best friends again and it seemed to get better. I was also in shock because I just couldn’t image S not being here anymore, to never see him again.

July. Not much happened in this month, except that I had my finals and I applied for a job that I could do over the summer break, and I actually got one in a cafe not far from my flat. Also the other girl I was talking about, that I thought I was also kinda getting friends with, switched to another major at the end of the semester. So again, I had no friends.

August. I worked the whole month in this cafe, and it was actually so much fun, because I did not have to think about school and it was just something different for me. Also my coworkers were really nice and funny.

September. I had my last week to work, and everybody was telling me how much they would miss me and that I was the best worker here for the summer and why I can't stay, and honestly this makes me so proud, because I never thought I would be so good in this job. After the last week in work, F and me drove to Hungary again because we wanted to have some vacation and also work on the house his parents have there. After we got back home, F and his friend B planned a kind of funeral for S, because since his death there has not been a funeral. The “party” was really nice and emotionally. For me it was really hard because until then I always tried to ignore my thoughts and feelings about this topic because I had to be strong for F. But at this day everything was just coming up. A few days later we drove back to our flat.

October. The 3rd semester of my university was starting. After only the first week, I knew there was a lot a head of me. - short cut, because I have to tell a backstory to what's following, so I’ve always wanted a dog since I have been a kid and F also always wanted a dog, for the past year I was pretty obsessed with pugs, then I was obsessed with french bulldogs because they’re just cute. Back in January we already talked about this topic with my mom and she just said that me and F have not been together for so long and that we would talk about this another time. So until October we were kinda over this topic already.- But on one day where we both were home, he brought the topic back up and just for information purposes he searched for people, that were selling french bulldog puppies. On the same day, we were driving to there place - keep in mind we just wanted to ask them how much space the puppies would need, how much affection and just general stuff. - But oh my god, the puppies were so cute and adorable. When they said the dogs only need around 50-60 square meters, I was initially in the mode of picking my favorite puppy (our flat has 56 square meters). On the way home we both knew that we would be getting a dog. When we drove home, F called our landlord and asked him, if it would be okey if we would get a dog and I called my mom to tell her all the facts, because against that she would not be able to say something against it. She was not impressed but also not angry, so I was like okey let’s get a dog. The next day, we drove to the breeders again to pick our puppy. I originally said that I would either want a grey or spotted one - they had both - however, the spotted ones were not that pretty. So we had to make the decision between a lazy fat black one or a quirky playful grey one. Characteristically, we would more be like the black one, but I wanted to have the grey one so we could play a lot. So there you have it, within two days, we made the decision to get a dog and already picked out a puppy. Four weeks later, we would be able to pick him up.

November. The time has finally come, and we were able to pick up our puppy and bring him home. He was really, great. He was not scared of anything and he was also not crying a lot. It was so funny to watch him run around and play and jump. Back then he was so little, you can't even imagine. But he’s also a lot of work, at the beginning he peed and pooped into the flat which was not so great. Another topic: Uni. During October and November I did not have the best time in uni, because there were so many things I did not understand and I was exhausted and it was just so much that I was not even interested in. I was so stressed out, I had a break down almost everyday because of the tasks we had to do. I was also considering, switching to another major that was about marketing and advertisement. Because I was way more interested in that kind of stuff. However, the problem was the timing, because the semester had just started, so I either had to finish this semester anyways or I would stop right now and then do nothing until March, which my mom would not allow. And if it was the first option, I would already been done with 3 Semesters, and if I would switch to another major I would have to start at zero again. I also saw, that the major I wanted to switch to had really shity times to be at uni, and with our puppy it was better if I was the most time at home. So it was a really shit time for me, because I wanted to switch but then I would be even longer in Uni. But also a reason, why I wanted to switch was that in my major I did not really have any friends and I was just hoping that I would maybe gain some new friends in the other major. So it was the first weekend that we drove home with the puppy because also my grandpa had died and the funeral was on a Friday. When we got home I noticed that my mom was annoyed the whole time. - my dad was in love with the puppy tho - so the funeral was pretty sad and I could not believe that my grandpa was gone now. It was for the better tho, because his health got worse, sometimes he would not even remember me and his body was just shutting down. At the funeral I also had to think of S, and that I lost two people this year. The day after, me and my parents talked about a lot of things. First, me and my dad about the houses and some stuff and that I would get one of the houses. And then all together about why my mom was so angry about the dog and yea. Then I told her the situation about the decision I would want to make considering the major and obviously she was not happy about it. Like she's paying my rent and everything. So her condition was that, if I would switch, I would have to find a mini-job during the semester. So that was not really optional because I would have to do so much for uni itself. So I got over the idea and said to myself that I just have to live through it.

December. I’m still here in my original major and I finally found peace with it because now I’m almost done with everything and the things don’t seem impossible anymore. But I’m really glad that this semester is over soon, because I hate everything about it. I also feel really uncomfortable in the lessons again, because I always sit next to the girl - from the very beginning I’m still friends with her - but she always wants to sit in the front which means that it is always just me and her in the front and everybody else is always behind us. Which I feel so uncomfortable about. It is also always really awkward when we have to build groups of 4 or something because then it always us two outsiders and usually two other outsiders. - Just so you know, I have nothing against foreign people, like my boyfriend is half Thai - but these other two outsiders are from russia I think, and they have this strong accent and because I already worked together with them and I sit with them, I think I am also considered an outsider and I feel so uncomfortable with that. Also another thing that’s been on my mind lately is, that the relationship between me and F is getting quite dry and boring because we just have our routine and there is nothing exciting anymore. It’s also really difficult to change this, because our routines are fixed because of work and uni but also because every time I talked with F about our relationship and that I want more love and affection, he does it for like two days and then it’s just like how it was before that. And this is so frustrating. I just want the feelings from the start again, where everything was exciting and new. Like he is still my favorite person and I prefer spending time with him over being alone or with someone else, but this is probably the problem why it is so boring. I just need a friend or an activity without him, so when I come back I’m excited to see him. Or we need a new routine, I just don’t know honestly. Last but not least, on Saturday we are finally driving home for the christmas break which I’m excited for because I don’t have uni for two weeks and yea. Also we maybe celebrate New Years Eve at my place which is also exciting, because I never really had a party at my place. Also another thing, in February and March next year I will be working at the coffee shop again which I am very excited for. I am also really excited for the next semester because then we will do a lot of marketing stuff and media production which I’m really interested in. - One last thing, last weekend F, two of his friends and I drove over 1000km on one day to look at a car F wanted to buy and guess what he bought it. But it is a crash car so he has to work on it still before he can drive it. Also our puppy is getting bigger and bigger and I am such a proud mommy.

- See you probably in 4 years

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akamaiden · 7 years ago

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Mariiiiiii sua linda! Congratulations on you folowers! You deserve every single one of then! I LOVE YOU 💕😘 For the prompts “I know most people don’t like me; I don’t care, I don’t like most people.” and “I turned out liking you a lot more that I originally planned.” with Matt 😋

A/N: Thank you babe for requesting something with Matt. I was looking forward to write something for him. I hope you like this. ♥️

Pairing: Matt Murdock x Reader.

Warnings: This may be a bit triggering. Violence implied.

Words: 966.

You were coming to Matt's apartment, you intended to make a surprise for him. Since you met him on the police station, you and him started getting along.

Thanks to Matt and Foggy, now you were divorced. They helped you to get rid of your stupid now ex husband.

You were bringing to him Thai food, you knew it was his favorite.

You knocked on his door and you heard him groaning, “It's open,”

“Hey there, Matty,” you said and when you saw him laying on the couch covered in bruises, busted lips and everything else you almost dropped what you were holding.

“Jesus Christ, Matt! What happened?” you said putting the food on his balcony and getting some ice cubes and a first aid kit.

“I-i-”

“Don't you dare lie to me, saying that you fell off or something,”

“Y/N”

“What really happened?”

“I got into a fight,” he said sitting on the couch and groaning.

“You in a fight?” you tried your best to not sound rude but he was blind after all, he could get easily hurt.

“Yes,”

“So everytime you said you fell off you actually got into fights?” you asked.

“Hm, yes,” he said.

“Matt, are you involved in some kind of illegal fight club or something?” you asked and started to cleaning his bruises, earning low groans of him.

“Not exactly,” he said.

“If you don't tell me what's going on here I swear I'll put alcohol in your bruises. It's your choice,” you said.

“I'm Daredevil,” he said after a long silence.

“What?” you didn't hear right, it was not possible.

“Inside the locker has a box, open the box,” he said.

You did exactly as he told you and when you opened the box you gasped.

“No way, Matt! Holy shit!” you said holding his mask in your hands.

“Language,” he said smirking.

You sat at his side again, with the mask in your hands.

“Why?” you asked.

“When I was a kid, before the accident, I'd lay awake at night listening to the sirens. I liked to out stories to them. Trying to figure out what they were for, ambulance or cops, robbery or fire. I don't know, just a stupid game. But after I lost my sight, after my abilities developed, I realized how many sirens there actually were... How much this city suffered every single night. I tried not to fight... To make my dad proud. To... To block it out. The sirens, the pain, the fear, all strangling Hell's Kitchen. For years, I buried my head and turned away. Then one night, I heard it,” he said.

“What?” you said.

“A little girl... Crying in her bed, in a building down the block. Her father liked to go to her room late at night... When his wife was asleep,”

“Jesus, Matt,” you said.

“I called Child Services... Like you're supposed to. But the mom, she wouldn't believe it. Said it wasn't true. And the dad, he was smart. He made sure what he did, how he did it, didn't leave a mark. The law couldn't do anything to help that little girl. But I could,” he scoffed.

“What you did?” you asked.

“He spent the next month in a hospital, eating through a straw. And I never slept better,” he said.

“So you're a hero. Actually, I already considered you one but this is a huge new level,” you said.

“Y/N, you can't tell this to anyone,” he said.

“Obviously that I won't do this, Matt. Thank you for trusting in me to tell me such a thing,” you said caressing his hand.

“You're a special person to me, Y/N,” he said.

“I know most people don’t like me; I don’t care, I don’t like most people. So this is new to me,” you said.

“Actually, I turned out liking you a lot more that I originally planned,” he said.

“So you planned something, huh?” you said making him blush and smile to you.

“Okay, I brought Thai food, I hope the all mighty devil of Hell's Kitchen like this,” you said provoking him.

“I love Thai food and you know this,” he said.

You two sat at the table but before you started eating you had to tell him something.

“Matt, can I say something to you?” you said.

“Sure. Is something wrong?” he asked.

“No, I just... Well, you trusted me to say your little secret so I have to confess something to you too,” you said.

He waited for you patiently until you said, “I'm in love with you but I know you don't like me this way so I'm sorry just give me some time to-”

“Hey, breath. You're wrong,” he said.

“About what?” you asked.

“I'm in love with you too. Since I heard your voice, I couldn't stop thinking about you,” he said.

“Well, it's really cool that you're not seeing me red as a tomato now,” you said.

“But I can hear your heart hammering in your chest,” he said.

“Okay, this is weird,” you said.

“Sorry,” he said.

“Oh shut up,” you said and got closer to him and sat on his lap and pressed his lips with your own.

And it felt so right, it was like you already knew yourselves for a really long time.

The kiss was intense and really passionate. When breath became a necessity you hugged him.

“Please tell me that we can make this work,” you said.

“We can and we will,” he said kissing your forehead.

“Okay, but this implies that you came back whole to me,” you said.

“Well, I'll try my best,” he said.

You hugged him tightly and thanked God in a silent pray for him letting an angel like Matt Murdock got into your life.

Tags: @nothingeverdies, @ivarsshieldmadien, @mblaqgi, @laketaj24, @haliannej, @feistybaby.

#matt murdock #matt murdock x reader #daredevil #daredevil x reader #matt murdock fanfiction #matt murdock imagine #daredevil fanfiction #daredevil imagine #marvel #marvel insert reader #marvel fanfiction #marvel imagine #charlie cox #700 followers celebration #mari writes

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cubelelo · 3 years ago

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He Invented the Rubik's Cube. He's Still Learning From It

Erno Rubik, who formulated one of the world's generally well known and suffering riddles, opens up about his creation in his new book, "Cubed."

Erno Rubik, who created the Rubik's Cube, composed his book "Cubed," he said, "to attempt to get what's occurred and why it has occurred. What is the genuine idea of the cube? Video by Akos Stiller For The New York Times

The primary individual to settle a Rubik's Cube went through a month attempting to unscramble it.

It was the riddle's designer, an unassuming Hungarian engineering educator named Erno Rubik. At the point when he created the 3D shape in 1974, he didn't know it might at any point be settled. Mathematicians later determined that there are 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 approaches to mastermind the squares, however only one of those blends is right.

At the point when Rubik at long last did it, following quite a while of dissatisfaction, he was overwhelmed by "an extraordinary feeling of achievement and utter alleviation." Looking back, he understands the new age of "speedcubers" — Yusheng Du of China set the worldwide best of 3.47 seconds in 2018 — probably won't be dazzled.

"Be that as it may, recollect," Rubik writes in his new book, "Cubed," "this had never been finished."

In the almost fifty years since, the Rubik's Cube has gotten perhaps the most suffering, flabbergasting, goading and engrossing riddles at any point made. In excess of 350 million solid shapes have sold internationally; in the event that you incorporate knockoffs, the number is far higher. They enrapture software engineers, rationalists and craftsmen. Many books, promising pace settling techniques, dissecting solid shape plan standards or investigating their philosophical importance, have been distributed. The 3D square came to epitomize "significantly more than simply a riddle," the intellectual researcher Douglas Hofstadter wrote in 1981. "It is a keen mechanical development, a side interest, a learning device, a wellspring of illustrations, a motivation."

ImageErno Rubik, right, at a Rubik Rsquo;s Cube big showdown in Budapest in 1982. The competitors included, from left, Zoltan Labas of Hungary, Guus Razoux Schultz of the Netherlands and Minh Thai of the United States.

Erno Rubik, right, at a Rubik's Cube big showdown in Budapest in 1982. The competitors included, from left, Zoltan Labas of Hungary, Guus Razoux Schultz of the Netherlands and Minh Thai of the United States.Credit...via Rubik's Brand

Be that as it may, even as the Rubik's Cube vanquished the world, the exposure disinclined man behind it has stayed a secret. "Cubed," which comes out this week, is halfway his diary, part of the way a scholarly composition and in enormous section a romantic tale about his developing relationship with the creation that bears his name and the worldwide local area of cubers focused on it.

"I would prefer not to compose a personal history, since I am not inspired by my life or sharing my life," Rubik said during a Skype meet from his home in Budapest. "The key explanation I did it is to attempt to get what's occurred and why it has occurred. What is the genuine idea of the shape?"

Rubik, 76, is exuberant and energized, motioning with his glasses and bobbing on the love seat, running his hands through his hair so it stands up in a dim tuft, giving him the vibe of a surprised bird. He talks officially and gives long, intricate, philosophical answers, much of the time following off with the expression "etc" while circumnavigating the finish of a point. He sat in his family room, in a home he planned himself, before a shelf brimming with sci-fi titles — his top choices incorporate works by Isaac Asimov and the Polish author Stanisław Lem.

He talks about the solid shape as though it's his kid. "I'm exceptionally near the 3D shape. The 3D shape was growing up close to me and the present moment, it's moderately aged, so I know a great deal about it," he said.

"Here's one," Rubik said, recovering it from the end table, then, at that point tinkering with it missing mindedly for the following hour or thereabouts as we talked.

Rubik Rsquo;s introductory plan was made of wood, then, at that point he added shading to the squares to make their development noticeable.

Rubik's underlying plan was made of wood, then, at that point he added shading to the squares to make their development visible.Credit...Rubik's Brand

"While heading to attempting to comprehend the idea of the 3D shape, I adjusted my perspective," Rubik said. "What truly intrigued me was not the idea of the solid shape, but rather the idea of individuals, the connection among individuals and the block."

Pursue The Great Read Every work day, we suggest one piece of outstanding composition from The Times — an account or exposition that takes you somewhere you probably won't anticipate going. Get it shipped off your inbox.

Perusing "Cubed" can be an unusual, bewildering experience, one that is similar to getting and winding one of his solid shapes. It does not have an unmistakable story construction or circular segment — an impact that is intentional, Rubik said. At first, he didn't need the book to have sections or even a title.

"I had a few thoughts, and I thought to share this combination of thoughts that I have to me and pass on it to the peruser to discover which ones are significant," he said. "I'm not taking your hands and strolling you on this course. You can begin toward the end or in the center."

Or then again you can begin toward the start.

Erno Rubik was brought into the world on July 13, 1944, about a month after D-Day, in the storm cellar of a Budapest clinic that had become an air-strike cover. His dad was a specialist who planned flying lightweight flyers.

As a kid, Rubik wanted to draw, paint and shape. He contemplated engineering at the Budapest University of Technology, then, at that point learned at the College of Applied Arts. He became fixated on mathematical examples. As a teacher, he showed a class called distinct math, which included helping understudies to utilize two-dimensional pictures to address three-dimensional shapes and issues. It was an odd and obscure field, yet it set him up to foster the solid shape.

In the spring of 1974, when he was 29, Rubik was in his room at his mom's loft, fiddling. He portrays his room as taking after within a kid's pocket, with pastels, string, sticks, springs and pieces of paper dispersed across each surface. It was likewise brimming with shapes he made, out of paper and wood.

Keep perusing the primary story

At some point — "I don't know precisely why," he composes — he attempted to assemble eight 3D squares with the goal that they could remain together yet in addition move around, trading places. He made the blocks out of wood, then, at that point penetrated an opening toward the sides of the shapes to connect them together. The article immediately self-destructed.

Erno Rubik, the creator of the Rubik’s Cube, at his home in Budapest. “I’m exceptionally near the cube,” he said. “The solid shape was growing up close to me and at the present time, it’s moderately aged, so I know a great deal about it.”

Erno Rubik, the creator of the Rubik's Cube, at his home in Budapest. "I'm exceptionally near the 3D shape," he said. "The 3D shape was growing up close to me and this moment, it's moderately aged, so I know a great deal about it."Credit. Akos Stiller for The New York Times

Numerous cycles later, Rubik sorted out the novel plan that permitted him to fabricate something incomprehensible: a strong, static item that is additionally liquid. After he gave his wooden solid shape an underlying turn, he chose to add tone to the squares to make their development apparent. He painted the essences of the squares yellow, blue, red, orange, green and white. He gave it a bend, then, at that point another turn, then, at that point another, and continued curving until he understood he probably won't have the option to reestablish it to its unique state.

He was lost in a bright labyrinth, and did not understand how to explore it. "There was no chance back," he composes.

After the 3D square turned into a worldwide wonder, there would be mistaken records of Rubik's innovative cycle. Reports portrayed how he isolated himself and chipped away at the 3D shape day and night for quite a long time. In actuality, he went to work, saw companions, and chipped away at tackling the 3D shape in his extra time, for no particular reason.

After he broke it, Rubik presented an application at the Hungarian Patent Office for a "three-dimensional coherent toy." A producer of chess sets and plastic toys made 5,000 duplicates. In 1977, Rubik's "Buvös Kocka," or "Sorcery Cube," appeared in Hungarian toy shops. After two years, 300,000 solid shapes had sold in Hungary.

Rubik got an agreement at an American organization, Ideal Toy, which needed 1,000,000 3D squares to sell abroad. In 1980, Ideal Toy carried Rubik to New York to a toy reasonable. He wasn't the most appealing sales rep — a bashful engineering educator with a then-restricted order of English — however the organization required somebody to show that the riddle was reasonable.

Deals detonated. In three years, Ideal sold 100 million Rubik's Cubes. Advisers for addressing the block shot up the success records. "There's a sense wherein the 3D shape is incredibly, basic — it's just got six sides, six tones," said Steve Patterson, a logician and writer of "The starting point: The Foundations of Knowledge," who has expounded on the 3D square as an epitome of mysteries. "In an extremely brief timeframe, it turns out to be fantastically unpredictable."

Right away, Rubik didn't have a compensation from the toy organization, and for some time, he saw little of the eminences. He lived on his educator's compensation of $200 every month.

#rubik's cube #cubelelo

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pratktcven · 7 years ago

Text

this is unofficial and un-beta'd, but fuck i've been working on it forever and i want to die

the summer between may 20

Shiro graduates college on a pleasant spring day. The sun is warm on his robe-clad shoulders but not hot, and there is enough of a breeze that the long hours in his metal fold-up chair remain bearable. By the time his name is called, Shiro's butt is only partially numb.

"Congratulations," the dean tells him as they shake hands. "You've earned it."

It is a simple platitude. The dean doesn't know him or his personal struggles. Nevertheless, Shiro feels pride swell beneath his breastbone. His degrees—one in History and one in Asian American Studies—were hard earned. He chokes a little when he replies, "Thank you," and clutches his diploma.

After the ceremony ends—after Shiro has tossed his decorated mortarboard into the air and carefully retrieved it—he heads towards the green to find his family. He is stopped several times by various classmates, who all exchange relieved laughter, as though they cannot quite believe that they've finally reached the end. Shiro understands the incredulity. It feels surreal to be done with the five of the most stressful years of his life.

"Hey!" a familiar voice shouts over the din. "Hey, meathead! Over here!"

It's Matt, Shiro's roommate and closest friend since elementary school. He stands on the freshly cut grass with Shiro's parents and cousin, as well as his own mother, father, and sister. Shiro breaks into a wide grin and jogs over; when he is within reach, he is immediately folded into a multi-limbed embrace. He slings one arm around his mom's shoulder and wraps his prosthesis around his dad's back.

"We're so proud of you, honey," Naomi says, her voice is thick with unshed tears.

"Very proud," agrees Hiromu.

"I'm only a little impressed," Keith interjects from behind.

Shiro releases his parents so he can step forward and wrap Keith into a tight hug. Keith grunts a little at the playful exertion of force before he gives back as much as he gets. It quickly becomes competitive—they haven't seen each other since early January—and they are soon squeezing each other as hard as they can.

"Is that all you got?" Shiro taunts even though Keith's hold is beginning to hurt his ribs.

"I haven't even gotten started!" Keith shoots back, breathless. "Giving up already?"

"Boys," Hiromu says. His tone is fond, firm, and warranted, as Shiro and Keith tend to forget themselves when they roughhouse. "Knock it off."

Neither Shiro nor Keith can resist one last squeeze before they let go. Keith's face is as red as the flannel tied around his waist. Judging by the heat Shiro feels on his cheeks and forehead, he is no better off.

"You're both nerds," Pidge quips as she elbows Keith aside. Then, with a small grin thrown upwards at Shiro, she demands, "Give me a hug."

Shiro smiles and wraps his arms around her. She hasn't grown much since middle school. At full height, she is level with Shiro's solar plexus, and her pointy chin digs into the exposed softness of Shiro's stomach.

"Hey, kiddo," Shiro greets gently. "Glad you could make it."

"Almost didn't come when I found out that the commencement was going to be outside," Pidge says. "But I also realized that coming meant I could skip Iverson's dumb class, so…"

"I appreciate your support," Shiro drawls.

"Can you really blame her?" asks Matt. "You remember what it was like. Or—wait—no, you don't, because Iverson didn't hate your guts."

Shiro raises an eyebrow at Matt and reminds him, "That's because I never asked stupid hypothetical questions while he was in the middle of a lecture. Or tried to blow anything up during lab. Or attempted to make a flamethrower-slash-robot out of an old toaster."

"Rest in pieces, Deathtron 6000," Pidge intones as solemnly as she is able while still squished against Shiro's torso. Keith, who had taken Iverson's class in junior year with Pidge, places a solemn and respectful palm over his heart.

Once Pidge unlatches, Sam and Colleen are the next to congratulate Shiro. Sam pats him on the should like he did when Shiro graduated high school—Sam had been his biology teacher—and Colleen curls a soft hand around his cheek. They have been a part of his life for almost twenty years, and are as close to him as an aunt and uncle.

"So what do you guys want to do?" Matt asks once all the hugs and congratulations have been exchanged. "We could show you around since the admin opened up campus. Or we could go eat? If you're hungry?"

"Fooooood," Pidge votes.

"You're a gremlin, you always want food," Matt snarks. Then, to the adults, "Any opinions?"

"Whatever you want to do," Colleen says, a sentiment that is quickly shared by Sam and Naomi. Hiromu expresses an interest in a tour while Keith, the final decider, shrugs ambivalently. Matt turns to Shiro and tilts his head with a silent question.

"STC, then Barnum, then the MaCC?" Shiro suggests.

"Mini tour it is!" Matt declares as he claps his hands together. "Dibs on intrepid leader!"

The small journey takes roughly an hour and a half. Matt guides their group first to the science hall where he practically lived his final semester, then to the humanities building where Shiro had done the same. They take a quick detour through the library—an enormous, three story monstrosity made of curving steel, dark stone, and blue-tinted glass that impresses everyone—before going into the campus center. Pidge groans loudly and dramatically when they pass one of the small cafés.

"Please tell me it's time to eat," she whines. "I'm wasting away!"

"How?" Keith asks rhetorically. "You ate like ten bagels at the hotel's continental breakfast."

"I have a fast metabolism."

"There's a good Thai place down the road," Shiro offers. Then, after a quick glance at his phone, he admits, "Might be a little packed now."

"What about that burger place on Massachusetts?" Matt suggests as an alternative. "Since it's only four, they'll have a booth open."

"I vote burgers," Keith chimes.

"We'll have to drive, though," Shiro points out. "Will we all fit in the rental?"

Luckily, the car company had upgraded the Holts' compact to a three-row SUV for no extra charge. The eight of them will fit if Pidge, Keith, and Matt sit in the back, a fact that Matt complains about as they head towards the parking lot. Nobody takes his griping seriously. Matt has always been and will always be a talker, the kind of person who fills silence with the verbal equivalent of packing peanuts.

"I mean, you should be the one sitting the back with the other children," Matt says as he and Shiro peel off their gowns and store them in the trunk. "Since you're still technically five."

"True," Shiro says, too used to the leap year baby jokes to protest, "but I'm not the one in a ridiculous t-shirt." He looks pointedly at Matt's attire, which consists of straight leg jeans, dirty Adidas sneakers, and a lime green shirt featuring Sasquatch in a cowboy hat. "Does Allura know you wore this to commencement?"

"Allura's in France. I can dress however I want." Matt runs a prim hand down the line of his torso. "Besides, it's not like anyone could see it underneath my robes without x-ray vision."

"So you're saying I can tell her?"

Matt pretends not to hear Shiro's teasing. Instead, he walks around to side of the SUV and wedges himself in the back with Keith and Pidge. Shiro stifles a laugh. He knows that Matt doesn't actually care if Allura finds out. Matt's propensity for casual clothing in formal situations is actually a weird running joke between the two of them, which is why Shiro snaps a candid of Matt halfway through dinner and texts it to their missing roommate.

It's a good picture. Matt is gesticulating around a mouthful of his enormous burger, his cheeks bulging comically, while Pidge stares at him, deadpan. They look eerily similar despite their different expressions: their thin noses have the same small upturn, their heart-shaped mouths are identically full and chapped, and their round jawlines both curve softly upward. If it weren't for the incriminating focus on Matt's t-shirt, the snapshot would be almost sweet.

TS [photo image sent] look what matt wore for graduation

Instead of sending the picture to Allura privately—she won't get the message until morning, as Paris is six time zones ahead—Shiro sends the picture to the group chat he shares with her and Matt. Matt throws Shiro a dirty look when his phone chimes.

MH BETRAYAL u may actually be the worst takashi the worst ever (flame emoji) (skull emoji) (poop emoji) thats u

When dinner is done, Shiro, Matt, and their families move outside and continue their conversations on the sidewalk. Hiromu and Naomi are talking to Colleen about their newest home renovation; Pidge and Matt are geeking out over something Matt pulled up on his phone; and Sam is asking Keith about his college decisions. Shiro listens to the latter silently.

"I got into Berkley, UCLA, and San Jose," Keith says. "But I ended up choosing UCLA because I don't really know what I want to major in."

"Katie has said the same," Sam says with a nod. "Though in her case, I believe it was a struggle to narrow down her interests. They have some of the best science departments in the state! And engineering too. Has Hunk decided which one to focus on?"

"He's still trying to decide between mechanical and electrical," Keith replies, his cheeks flushing at the mention of his boyfriend. "He'll probably end up double majoring."

Sam laughs at Keith's reaction and claps him on the shoulder. Sam is like an uncle to both Shiro and Keith, as Matt and Pidge have been their respective best friends since childhood. "I think it's wonderful that you all are going to the same school," he elaborates. "The first year of college is quite the adjustment. Away from home, making all your own decisions—big things, mundane things—it can be overwhelming."

Keith's blush deepens and turns his cheeks a splotchy red. Shiro remembers how Keith struggled with his decision to go to UCLA instead of Berkley or San Jose, admitting to Shiro that while he wanted to go to school with Hunk, he didn't want it to be a deciding factor.

"I don't want to be one of those people," Keith had whispered during one of their weekly phone calls. "Y'know, the person who follows their boyfriend from high school to a college they don't care about? Who doesn't know what they want to do with their life? Who always gets dumped halfway through the first semester?"

"Hunk isn't going to dump you halfway through your first semester," Shiro assured gently. "That only happens in bad television. Besides. Your scholarships are about the same for each place, you don't have a decided major, and physical closeness is something you value in your relationship. It isn't wrong to choose the same school."

"Is that why you and Matt went to the same place? I mean—I know you never dated or anything so it's not exactly the same but—you're close."

"It was definitely something I thought about," Shiro replied. "But I'm glad I did it. My freshman year was difficult, and having Matt there helped me. Are you planning on rooming with Hunk?"

Keith made a strangled noise and gave a choked, "No!" Then he coughed, and said, "No. We all applied to the same dorm hall but opted for random assignment." Keith paused. Sighed. Muttered petulantly, "How much you wanna bet I'm going to end up being roommates with Lance?"

Smiling at the memory, Shiro brings his attention back to the present. He listens as Keith and Sam discuss UCLA's astronomy department until the other half of their group wanders back over. None of them are ready to disperse, so instead of lingering on the curb, they pile into the rental and drive to a local ice cream parlor. It is predictably packed. They have to wait awhile before a harried worker can that their orders, but they get lucky afterwards and snag a recently deserted table after they pay. Shiro holds his single scoop of blackberry walnut expertly in his prosthesis, content to lean back and let the plastic chair hold him and the heaviness of his day as his family chatters around him.

"Getting tired, old man?" Hiromu teases when all that remains of Shiro's dessert is a vague stick on his fingers. "That's supposed to be my job."

"It's been a long day," Shiro says. He can feel the weight of it tugging on his eyelids and weighing on his shoulders. He had woken up before dawn and ended up running for fifteen minutes longer than usual, pushing further and further into the suburbs as he attempted to exercise off his anxiety. It worked until he hit the shower and the sick feeling in his stomach returned as he scrubbed his hair with Allura's leftover shampoo.

"Well, it's done with." Hiromu places a supportive hand on Shiro's upper back. "And Stanford is months away. You've got a whole summer ahead of you to relax, to take it easy." Hiromu grins. "Sounds good, doesn't it?"

"Yeah," Shiro says. "Yeah, it does."

#my fic

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