#pete quill edit

[stanytork]

this meme belongs to them

[richincolor]

New Releases - Week of August 27, 2024

We've found eight different new releases to shout about this week. Are any of them on your TBR? 

Bridge Across the Sky by Freeman Ng Atheneum Books for Young Readers

A raw and honest historical novel in verse about a Chinese teen who immigrates to the United States with his family and endures mistreatment at the Angel Island Immigration Station while trying to navigate his own course in a new world.

Tai Go and his family have crossed an ocean wider than a thousand rivers, joining countless other Chinese immigrants in search of a better life in the United States. Instead, they’re met with hostility and racism. Empowered by the Chinese Exclusion Act, the government detains the immigrants on Angel Island in the San Francisco Bay while evaluating their claims.

Held there indefinitely, Tai Go experiences the prison-like conditions, humiliating medical exams, and interrogations designed to trick detainees into failure. Yet amid the anger and sorrow, Tai Go also finds hope—in the poems carved into the walls of the barracks by others who have been detained there, in the actions of a group of fellow detainees who are ready to fight for their rights, in the friends he makes, and in a perceived enemy whose otherness he must come to terms with.

Unhappy at first with his father’s decision to come to the United States, Tai Go must overcome the racism he discovers in both others and himself and forge his own version of the American Dream.

The Sticky Note Manifesto of Aisha Agarwal by Ambika Vohra Quill Tree Books, Harper Collins

“How have you gotten out of your comfort zone?”

That’s the Stanford admissions prompt that valedictorian shoo-in Aisha Agarwal can’t answer. Her life’s been homework and junk food. So, when her crush, Brian, asks her to winter formal, Aisha thinks her fate is changing . . .

. . . until Brian stands her up.

As if on cue, a banged-up Volkswagen arrives outside the dance; the driver profusely apologizing for being late to pick her up. Does Aisha know him or what he’s talking about? No. Does the Stanford essay convince her to take him up on the ride? Absolutely.

To Aisha’s relief, seventeen-year-old Quentin Santos isn’t a kidnapper, but he is failing math. They strike a deal: if Aisha helps Quentin pass math, he’ll help push her out of her comfort zone, using a series of sticky note to-do’s—dares—that will not only give Aisha content for her essay, but will turn her into the confident person she’s always wanted to be.

From New Year’s Eve kisses to high school parties, Aisha’s sticky note manifesto is taking off. But when she falls for the wrong guy, hurts her best friend, and still can’t finish her essay, victory feels far from reach.

Is winning worth it if you end up losing yourself in the process?

Indiginerds edited by Alina Pete Iron Circus Comics

First Nations culture is living, vibrant, and evolving…

…and generations of Indigenous kids have grown up with pop culture creeping inexorably into our lives. From gaming to social media, pirate radio to garage bands, Star Trek to D&D, and missed connections at the pow wow, Indigenous culture is so much more than how it’s usually portrayed. These comics are here to celebrate those stories!

Featuring an all-Indigenous creative team, INDIGINERDS is an exhilarating anthology collecting 11 stories about Indigenous people balancing traditional ways of knowing with modern pop culture.

Bvlbancha Forever, by Ida Aronson and Tate Allen

Walk With The Earth Mother, by Maija Plamondon and Milo Applejohn

Roll Your Own Way, by Jordanna George

Digital Eden, by Raven John and Asia Wiseley

Amplification/Adaptation, by Em Matson and Nipinet Landsem

Welei (I Am Fine), by Bianca “binkz17” and Rhael McGregor

Saving Throws, by James Willier and Sam “Mushki” Medlock

Dorvan V, by Alina Pete

Uncured Horror, by Gillian Joseph and Wren Rios

Airwaves Pirates, by Autumn Star and PJ Underwood

Missed Pow Wow Connection, by Kameron White

Twin Flames by Olivia Abtahi Lee & Low Books

When djinn start to show up in twins Leila and Bianca’s small Virginia hometown, the only way they and their families will survive will be if the twins can get past their differences and start to act like sisters again.

Twins Bianca and Leila could not be more different from each other. Being both Argentinian and Iranian in a small town has always been hard, but with Leila shunning her heritage and Bianca embracing it, the two walk very different paths. They run in different circles of friends, and barely talk anymore. Leila’s a homebody who loves to craft and plans on marrying her high school sweetheart. Bianca’s more anti-establishment and plans to get out of Dodge as soon as humanly possible.

But on their eighteenth birthday, the neighbor’s barn is burned down–and it doesn’t seem to have been caused by anything normal like an electrical or fuel source. When Leila encounters a mysterious monster arising from the fire, suddenly she gains strange powers–and can no longer touch iron or even eat foods with high iron content.

What are these creatures and where are they coming from? What do they want with Leila–or other people in town, for that matter? Can the twins learn to rely on each other–and their cultures–to banish them? It’ll take a sisterly reconciliation for the girls to find out and to save their hometown in this New Visions Award-winning fantasy adventure.

Everything We Never Had by Randy Ribay Kokila

From the author of the National Book Award finalist Patron Saints of Nothing comes an emotionally charged, moving novel about four generations of Filipino American boys grappling with identity, masculinity, and their fraught father-son relationships.

Watsonville, 1930. Francisco Maghabol barely ekes out a living in the fields of California. As he spends what little money he earns at dance halls and faces increasing violence from white men in town, Francisco wonders if he should’ve never left the Philippines.

Stockton, 1965. Between school days full of prejudice from white students and teachers and night shifts working at his aunt’s restaurant, Emil refuses to follow in the footsteps of his labor organizer father, Francisco. He’s going to make it in this country no matter what or who he has to leave behind.

Denver, 1983. Chris is determined to prove that his overbearing father, Emil, can’t control him. However, when a missed assignment on “ancestral history” sends Chris off the football team and into the library, he discovers a desire to know more about Filipino history―even if his father dismisses his interest as unamerican and unimportant.

Philadelphia, 2020. Enzo struggles to keep his anxiety in check as a global pandemic breaks out and his abrasive grandfather moves in. While tensions are high between his dad and his lolo, Enzo’s daily walks with Lolo Emil have him wondering if maybe he can help bridge their decades-long rift.

Told in multiple perspectives, Everything We Never Had unfolds like a beautifully crafted nesting doll, where each Maghabol boy forges his own path amid heavy family and societal expectations, passing down his flaws, values, and virtues to the next generation, until it’s up to Enzo to see how he can braid all these strands and men together.

Our Shouts Echo by Jade Adia Disney-Hyperion

Survival Tip #1: The world is going to shit. Whatever you do, trust no one.

Sixteen-year old Niarah Holloway’s only goal in life is to get through it unnoticed. That, and to spend her first summer in LA building a doomsday bunker in her backyard. Because if the past few years have taught Niarah anything, it’s that the ocean levels are rising, minimum wage is a scam, and the people who are supposed to protect you will hurt you. Now the only thing that helps Niarah stay afloat amidst the constant waves of anxiety and dread that threaten to drag her under is her new mantra: Be prepared.

But Niarah wasn’t prepared for Mac Torres. Not for his disarmingly cute face, or for his surfer lifestyle, or for the way his smile resuscitates her heart. Mac is a bomb that blows Niarah’s world to pieces, but instead of disaster, he fills it with sunset bonfires, breakfast burritos, and new friends.

For years, Niarah’s life has revolved around ignoring the demons of her past, avoiding the problems of her present, and preparing for the catastrophes of the future. Now Mac—with his sunshine laugh and infectious optimism— is determined to show her another way to be. But in a world where the worst feels inevitable, can one summer be enough to light the way to a hopeful future? Can one summer be enough to fall in love?

With Love, Echo Park by Laura Taylor Namey Atheneum

Seventeen-year-old Clary is set to inherit her family’s florist shop, La Rosa Blanca—one of the last remnants of the Cuban business district that once thrived in Los Angeles’s Echo Park neighborhood. Clary knows Echo Park is where she’ll leave a legacy, and nothing is more important to her than keeping the area’s unique history alive.

Besides Clary’s florist shop, there’s only one other business left founded by Cuban immigrants fleeing Castro’s regime in the sixties and seventies. And Emilio, who’s supposed to take over Avalos Bicycle Works one day, is more flight risk than dependable successor. While others might find Emilio appealing, Clary can see him itching to leave now that he’s graduated, and she’ll never be charmed by a guy who doesn’t care if one more Echo Park business fades away.

But then Clary is caught off guard when an unexpected visitor delivers a shocking message from someone she thought she’d left behind. Meanwhile, Emilio realizes leaving home won’t be so easy—and Clary, who has always been next door, is who he confides in. As the summer days unfold, they find there’s something stronger than local history tying them together.

Libertad by Bessie Flores Zaldivar Dial Books

A queer YA coming-of-age set during the rigged Honduran presidential election, about a young poet discovering the courage it takes to speak her truth about the people and country she loves.

As the contentious 2017 presidential election looms and protests rage across every corner of the city, life in Tegucigalpa, Honduras churns louder and faster. For her part, high school senior Libertad (Libi) Morazán takes heart in writing political poetry for her anonymous Instagram account and a budding romance someone new. But things come to a head when Mami sees texts on her phone mentioning a kiss with a girl and Libi discovers her beloved older brother, Maynor, playing a major role in the protests. As Libertad faces the political and social corruption around her, stifling homophobia at home and school, and ramped up threats to her poetry online, she begins dreaming of a future in which she doesn’t have to hide who she is or worry about someone she loves losing their life just for speaking up. Then the ultimate tragedy strikes, and leaving her family and friends—plus the only home she’s ever known—might be her only option.

[miss-agliz]

Chapter 7: The Marauders

The morning of 25th December 1971 Remus expected to have the room for himself, as Sirius was an annoyingly early riser. Instead, he woke up surrounded by all of his roommates looking down on him.

“Morning Lupin” started the ever-cheerful James “Do you want to open presents first or go to breakfast?”

“What are you doing here?” blurted Remus not yet fully awake.

“They didn’t want to leave us alone, can you believe them?” answered Sirius “They didn’t want to leave all the fun for just us”

“Now Lupin, presents or breakfast? Cause I’m famished”

“You’re always hungry, Pete, but let me get dressed and we’ll go have breakfast” finally answered Remus, removing the covers and finally seeing the packages at the end of his bed. “The presents won’t move”

He had received many more gifts than he had expected. He saw a few with her mother’s tacky Christmas wrapping paper, green with glittery Santas all over, some with plain brown paper or wrapped in newspapers, and a small mountain of multicolored delicate tissue paper gifts with complex bows that he couldn’t guess who had sent - it was probably a mistake that they were at his bed’s foot, they surely were for one of his roommates.

After a sweet and filling breakfast in the almost empty Great Hall - some of the upper-years had stayed, but most the students had gone back to spend the Holidays with their families -, the four boys were back at their room to open their presents. James had insisted that they do it in turns, that way everyone could see what the others had gotten, Remus wasn’t sure of it being a good idea but decided to not say anything.

Sirius went first, claiming priority as he was the oldest. His pile was the smallest by far, which surprised Remus. Sirius first opened a few presents in silver wrapping, all with a worried face as if he expected someone to jump out and kill him, but ended up being a few winter cloacks with the Black Family’s coat of arms emblazoned on it (from his parents), a small book on traditions (from his grandparents) and a new set of black self-inking quills (from his brother). Then went a square-shaped present, wrapped in old Daily Prophet pages, that ended up being two vinyls (The Beatles’ Let It Be and The Hobglobin’s Flying Dragons) from his favourite cousin, Andromeda.

“Her boyfriend is a muggle-born” Sirius told them, “and our family doesn’t know yet, only Cissy, Reggie and I. Aunt Druella and Mother are trying to convince her to stop working so she can find a husband, but unless Grandfather forbids it, she can.” He glanced at the note. “Apparently Ted proposed, they’re getting married in the spring”

“Can you give her my family’s congratulations?” asked James and, with a more sirious voice, added “I haven’t asked my parents, but I’m sure they won’t have any problem helping them if they need it, just tell your cousin to contact them if she needs it, at the very least my cousin Ignotus”

“I’ll tell her”

And with that, the gift opening continued. Sirius had received a few presents from the Potter family, the multicolored tissue paper ones: a clearly hand-made blue jumper with a black dog in the middle, a box of pumpkin pastries, and a Transfiguration book (’The Theory of Transfiguration: A Simple Guide’ by Everard Gamp).

Next went Peter, full of excitement at the sight of so many packages. His parents sent him a new set of Chess pieces, some Chocolate Frogs and a few pairs of bright yellow socks, all wrapped in past editions of the Daily Prophet. Grandma Bonnie had sent two messily wrapped presents in blue paper with hipogriffs on it, inside there was a new winter cloack and a hand-made orange scarf. Peter had also received some gifts from the neigbours and his old tutor, some in red paper with broomsticks and others in old newspapers, it was mostly basic spellbooks and new rolls of parchment, some quills and ink of different colours. And a few things from the Potters: a box of Bertie Bott’s All Flavour Beans, a hand-made deep green jumper with a broom in the middle, and a book called Sites of Historical Sorcery that described differnt places to visit around Magical Europe. Peter didn’t wait a second to put on the jumper and start eating the candies.

“Do you mind if I go next, James?” asked Remus eyeing his roommate’s present pile. “If you go first I may not touch mine until lunch”

“As you wish, dear Remus”

Remus started with the newspaper ones, he knew they were from his father - a leather bound journal and a calendar with 1972’s moon phases (that he quicly hid inside the journal) -, then went the packages in brown paper from Miss Carol, it had a guide of Scotland’s birds, a (badly) hand painted Christmas Card that looked more like a surrealistic painting, and green socks with wands on them. Next went her mom and grandma Lucretia’s, some watercolours, a brown and cream jumper and a few Muggle chocolate bars. He had left the fancy tissue paper ones for last.

“You know you didn’t have to make your parents send us gifts, right James?” asked Lupin unwrapping a cream colored hand-made jumper with white bunnies on it.

“Please! I had to get you guys something, and with Igny being all grown up Yule is boring now, and he loves knitting.”

Apart from the jumper, there were also sugar quills and a few potion books.

“Potions? Really?”

“You suck at it, dear Remus” answered James with a big smile and dramatic gestures, “I’m just trying to keep you from failing”

And as they laughed, James started to tackle his mountain of gifts. Some new Tutshill Tornados posters and a signed photo of Leslie Cason, the star chaser on the team; from Cousin Igny, who had studied with her. Uncle Charlus and Auntie Dorea gave him pumpkin pastries, multicoloured ink and a photograph of a broomstick, a Comet 220, with a message behind: “Waiting for you at home”. A burgundry quilt with golden dragons, a red hand-made jumper with a white toad on it, and a few new sets of Quidditch-themed socks - all of it from Auntie Dory and Uncle Royston, with the help of Cousin Sinclair -, and a very simple card by Cousin Reese. A new green dragon-hide notebook and a Potions books from dad, and a book about Greek Myths - in Greek, of course - from mom. Some Greek puff pastries and new bright blue and silver dress robes from his mom’s brother and his family (Uncle Apollo, Aunt Elysia, and Cousins Azure, Averill and Altais) who all live in Dokós, Greece, where part of the family originated. Auntie Zoelle and Nina, of course, sent Transfiguration books and essays and explanations of new theories. For last was Auntie Minnie and Auntie Poppy (not James’ actual aunts, but his godmother and her wife) with a Quidditch book, licorice wands and an invitation for tea, with the rest of the boys “if he so pleased”.

“Do you guys wanna go have tea with Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey?”

“Why even do they send you gifts?” asked Sirius

“Minnie is my godmother”

“I’m sorry?” exclamed a shocked Remus “What? How?”

“She’s good friends with mom and dad, and worked a bit with mom’s cousin, Auntie Zoelle, Edric Imore’s mother” he answered.

§§§

After lunch and telling Professor McGonagall they accepted her invitation, James took Remus aside, inventing and excuse so the other two didn’t come.

“I forgot a book, on the library. Do you mind helping me, Lupin?” James said “You guys go without us, we’ll catch you later.” And without waiting for an anwer, James took Remus arm and bolted towards the library, stopping a little bit before and getting in a classroom.

“What the fuck, James?” was the first thing Remus said after catching his breath.

“Language, Remus!” admonished James. “I have no idea how to say this, so I’m just gonna say it. I know you are a werewolf.”

“Excuse me?” started Remus, trying to mask his fear with offence “What on Earth makes you say that?”

“Auntie Poppy didn’t tell me, if that’s what you’re worried about, but it doesn’t take a genius to realize that you’re sick every Full Moon”

“And that’s all your proof?” Remus exclaimed “Having poor health doesn’t make me a werewolf, you know?”

“Don’t treat me as if I’m stupid, Remus. If I wanted to out you to everyone we wouldn’t be having this converstion. I want to help you”

“Help me? How the fuck are you going to help me? There’s no cure! There’s no treatment! There’s nothing you can do!” Remus had started to cry in frustration.

“True” James answered with a kind smile, putting a hand in Remus’ shoulder, “but I can do your homework those days, or help you with it if you prefer it, and I can convince Auntie Poppy to give you extra potions for the pain, or I can make or buy some; and I’ve seen how you shiver all the time, I can give you some of my jumpers, I have a lot of them, they won’t be the best fit, but they’re warm; and you’re an awful, awful liar, so I can help you with that, and tach you, Merlin knows you need it; and…”

Remus hugged him, effectively sropping his rant. “Ok, you can help me, but don’t tell the others”

“I think you should tell them. They care about you“ said James, tightening his embrace, sensing that Remus was about to let go. “Peter is the one who pointed out that you’re always sick. And Sirius is smart enough to have already guessed it”

“I don’t know, James…”

“Tell them tonight, I’ll be with you, and if anything happens we’ll tell Auntie Minnie, and she’ll solve it. I’ll take all the blame if something bad happens” James let go, took a step backwards and put his hands in Remus’ cheeks, making him look at his eyes. “I promise. Everything will be okay, I promise”

Later that night, after Peter had been absolutely beaten at Chess by Professor McGonagall, and they had gotten even more food in, Remus told them that he had to tell them something before they went to bed. And while the others put on their pyjamas, Remus was giving himself a pep talk in the bathroom.

“Come on Lupin! Don’t hog the toilet, the rest also have to go”

“One second, Sirius” Remus yelled back and, with a last sigh, opened the door.

James was smiling at him, giving him a thumbs up from his bed. Remus breathed in and out a few times, going to sit next to James, he was self-aware enough to know that he needed the extra support.

“Ok… So…” Remus started ”I… Well… When I was… No… Ahh”

“Come on, Lupin, just say whatever you wanna say” insisted Sirius.

“Yeah… The thing is I don’t know how to”

“The faster you go the sooner it will end” encouraged Sirius

“Ok… Well, so… I’mawerewolf,don’ttellanyoneplease, please, please”

Peter was the first one to speak “That’s… unexpected… but I still wanna be your friend”

“A werewolf, okay, yeah, no, okay, good, no, yeah, okay”

“You alright Black?” asked James

“Yeah, yeah, no, a werewolf, okay, why not? It does make sense, yeah” he kept muttering until he made eye-contact with Remus’ shiveing form and expectant eyes. “Okay, yeah, so… this changes nothing, right? Beacause, we still need a nerd between us, and you are our only option Lupin”

“I think James is much more of a nerd than I, Black” said Remus, and regretted it immediately as he was tackled into cuddling by the boney form of James.

“You think? He’s not as smarty as you, tho”

[the-pink-quill]

Damn I did not consider the child aspect. Now that I think about it... but then, I refuse to believe Kenta would be as loyal as he is even after having his child taken away. Accepting abuse as 'care' WWX-style is one thing. But even Wei Wuxian, with his foolhardy loyalty, would not stand by while Madam Yu trains her whip on Sizhui/A-Yuan.

If he's so deeply conditioned that he's blindly obedient even after having his child taken away, I don't think there are enough eps left to undo the trauma and influence Tony has on him, enough for it to be safe for him to be alone with his own child (assuming Pete gets this hypothetical child back at the end of the show).

Edit: Just saw this post:

And now I suddenly have a 100% plausible reason for Kenta's loyalty. As the mother(?), he wants to play it safe, even if it means harming other children and pledging his life to the devil that us Tony. While Pete wants to save them both.

Am I the only one having the uncomfortable feeling that Tonys plan was to use Kenta for breeding too? Since he is not an alpha. I wonder if the drama will ever say beta or omega instead of "normal human". But yea what else was the reason here....

I mean he obviously wanted to use enigma Pete for reproduction. They probably could at least produce more enigmas right? And that's the only reason he brought them together already when they were kids.... opposed to all the other kids who had to grow up separated. So Kenta and Pete were supposed to like each other and bond. They were supposed to fall for each other. Either to actually stay together or he was just testing Petes powers and pheromone influence on others. Making Kenta a test bunny or training object for Pete....

But Pete left despite them starting to have feelings for each other. It's just the question at which point in their relationship he left. How much happened between them. Just that little kiss? Or was there more later? Yes I am looking at you, fan-theory of "them actually having a child together that got taken away"

Petes urge to buy all the alpha kids before rich bastards can buy them.... 🤔

!! NO SPOILERS PLEASE !!

[breastmiilk]

✦AVENGERS ACADEMY TEXTS by thegeistdoctor // PARKER + QUILL

Peter: that’s cool because I like tony :)

Avengers Academy is listed as the #1 school in the world. It is both a secondary school and a university with students ranging from ages 12 to 27. It’s a school for the smartest of the smart. And if you’re not smart, you’re rich. If you’re not rich you’re talented.

A school for the leaders of tomorrow. For members of foreign royalty. For politicians, CEO heirs/heiresses and extremely wealthy bourgeoisie. Make connections, forge friendships, ruin lives─school’s just a playground after all.

[theycallmequeenie]

Yondu x Reader Part 4

Master List

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

A/N: Here it is Part Four!Hope you all enjoy it. It’s sorta some fluffy angst. I don’t think there is anything that needs a warning label if there is please let me know and I will happily make the necessary edits to include the warnings. Happy Reading! ~Queenie

Part Four:

As Yondu’s skilled, blue hands worked in attempts to free Y/N from the rest of her clothes he murmured sweet nothings to her, from telling her how beautiful she was to how lucky she made him feel. He was planting a string of kisses along her collarbone when he was stopped in his tracks.

Hearing the door to his quarters open he instinctively used his body to cover Y/N from potential prying eyes as Y/N sort of drew her limbs up to hide herself under Yondu in the event that it was a member of the crew. It wasn’t. It was little Peter Quill crying and looking for the mother figure in his life to sooth him, again.

Yondu let out a string of expletives most of which Peter probably shouldn’t have heard at hid young age and told him to wait outside the door that Y/N would be right out to him.

After the boy left Yondu released Y/N from underneath him clearly annoyed that he was once again interrupted while trying to ‘love on’ his woman. After adjusting his pants which obviously told on his intentions for the time, he and Y/N were spending together. Y/N noticed this and blushed top to toe once again which made Yondu chuckle at the situation.

“Darlin’, yer eventually goin to stay that shade of pink, especially with that kid around…” He laughed as he handed Y/N her top and helped her get redressed. Kissing her temple once she was clothed in an effort to offer some affection.

Y/N gave a soft smile and shook her head, “You should probably stay here into umm, that,” She gestured to his tented pants, “subsides. So not ready for that conversation with him yet…”

Y/N righted herself smoothing out her hair and exited Yondu’s quarters to go take care of little Pete. After the door closed behind Y/N Yondu let out a yell of frustration because this wasn’t the first time that the boy had hindered Yondu’s attempts with Y/N. It seems every time over the last week that boy had come running in looking for Y/N for some reason or another. Yondu mulled over his frustrations at the situation and decided that a cold shower would be what’s best for him for now.

Y/N had Pete in his room and was sitting with him talking and sooth the young boy who she knew was still trying to process everything even if it had been a year since he was taken from earth. Losing your mom that young took a long time to process through. Y/N knew that firsthand though she was a bit older that what Peter had been when he lost his mom.

As she spoke with him about randoms things the boy asked innocently enough, “Y/N, are you and Yondu in love?” His green eyes sparkled with curiosity as he anxiously waited for an answer.

Y/N took a deep breath and tried to come up with the best way to answer him. “Well Pete, I think so, but you can’t tell anyone I answered that question. The rest of the crew isn’t in the know yet and we don’t what them to know yet, Okay?”

As Y/N answered him as vaguely as she could the little boy got excited and responded with, “I hope you are, Poppa Yondu needs you. You make him less grumpy, and I want you to stay with us forever…” He hugged Y/N’s neck and whispered in her ear as if it was a secret, “I’m glad you are here to take care of me like my mom would have. I don’t know what I’d do without you Y/N.”

Y/N smiled and hugged him back. It filled her heart to hear this boy tell her these things and wondered what Yondu would think knowing that this was how the little fellow felt. She held Pete as long as he let her, cherishing this moment as long as she could she knew these moments were going to become sparse in the not-too-distant future because he was going to be growing up.

When he was finally ready to let go, he started to rub his eyes as sleep was closing in fast for the boy and she knew it. As Y/N went through his bedtime routine with him finishing with tucking him in and telling him good night. Y/N left the room quietly letting Pete fall swiftly into dreamland only noticing that Yondu had been just outside the door after it closed.

Jumping after noticing him she offered a soft smile asking him how long he had been standing there and hiding her face when he informed her that he had been there long enough to hear Pete’s feelings on them as a couple. He couldn’t help but smile.

“That boy is tryin ta play matchmaker from the sounds a thangs, Darlin.” Yondu seemed thrilled with that. “Now if only we could get him to improve his timing…” Yondu gave Y/N a mischievous grin and put his arms around her.

Y/N gave him a small fake smile which raised alarm with Yondu prompting him to pull back from her and offered a questioning look trying to hide his concern but failing.

Y/N sighed and motioned for Yondu to walk with her, “Cap, that’s a lot of expectations on us. You know if, for whatever reason, we don’t work out its not only going to hurt us, it’s going to break his heart too.”

The realization hit Y/N hard in that moment and she started to pull away from Yondu and into herself. She hadn’t thought how it would affect Peter if the worst happened and now that she was it was frightening to her. It wouldn’t be just her and Yondu that would be hurt in this situation. The weight of it made her so anxious Yondu could feel it rolling off her.

Pushing his own feelings out of the way and reached to calm her out of instinct. “Hey, it’s gonna be fine, Darlin’. What we got goin on, ain’t gonna go bad. You an me are the stuff o’ legend. They’ll be writin stories bout us one day.” He realized in that moment she wasn’t second guessing them as a couple, she was questioning the possible aftermath if things didn’t end in their favor. He knew this had to be a Terran thing and did his best to shut down his negative feelings as he did not want to compound her already anxious feelings. “Come on Darlin’, let’s get you cleaned up and ready for bed too…”

To Be Continued…

@capitanostella

Part Five

[litttle-annie-adderall]

Vanish Into My Arms (WinterSpider) - Part 1

Summary: At the end of the Infinity War, Thanos has won the war. Everyone who dusted away find themselves in a strange place with no idea where they are. While everyone frantically searches for their friends and family, Peter spots a familiar face in a soldier he fought in Germany a few years ago. Torn between his need for a familiar face and his loyalty to his mentor, Peter makes a decision that will affect the rest of his life.

Pairing: Peter Parker x Bucky Barnes

Word Count: 10.8k (damn that’s long, I'm sorry)

A/N: Hey y’all! I’ve been working on this for excessively long time, so I hope you like it! It’s four parts total and the whole thing is written, I just have to edit and post them! This story will NOT be forgotten! I’ve posted this on my AO3 (@lynnnieee) as well!

Story on AO3

Slight spoiler for clarification: There is no real way for them to tell time, but I tried to insert people (mainly Peter) guessing how much time has passed using their internal clocks to make the timeline easier to follow because the time between intervals is not equal.

Italics are also mainly Peter’s thoughts.

Thank you and happy reading!! (:

The moment the dust of what had just been Mantis blew away into the wind, Peter knew it was coming for him. What it is exactly, he's not sure, but his spider-sense is burning hot inside his core and causing a small ringing in the back of his head. Drax disappears next, and Peter feels something looming over him. As if Thanos is standing directly behind him and Peter can't move to escape because it's already too late.

"Steady, Quill," Tony says. His voice catches Peter's attention and he looks at his mentor. Please don't take Mr. Stark too, Peter desperately thinks as Quill fades away before his eyes.

The invisible dark cloud behind him is drawing closer and his sense turns the volume of the ringing up to loud alarm bells, begging for him to move or fight or do something, anything, to hold on a little longer to his body.

Tony turns to Dr. Strange, who seems entirely too calm about his impending fate as he says, "There was no other way," before he disintegrates into thin air. Peter feels a sob bubble up in his throat. He's running out of time and he doesn't know what to do.

"Mr. Stark," He chokes out, his balance suddenly beginning to tilt. He twists his wrist, staring at his palm, but it doesn't matter because his body is going numb and he can't feel it anymore. "I don't feel so good." Peter desperately looks to Tony for help.

"You're alright," The man tries to reassure him, but Peter can tell he's afraid too.

"I don't... I don't know what's happening," His feet start to wobble, "I don't know..." His legs give out and he collapses into Tony's arms, clinging onto the inventor for dear life, "I don't want to go," He says, a small sob escaping his mouth.

Tony drops to his knees, holding onto Peter. "Mr. Stark, please, I don't want to go, I don't want to go," Tony sets him down on the ground. The boy is lying on his back in the sienna-colored dirt and mud on the ground, his head leaning against a rock. Peter can plainly see the terror in Tony's eyes as he continues to ramble on, "I don't wanna go."

But it's over too soon, it's too late for him. The dark presence is circling around his body and his spider-sense doesn't know what to do, doesn't know why he's not moving or running away or reacting. His whole body shakes and he knows he's started to dust. He looks at Tony one last time and whispers, "I'm sorry."

Peter shifts his gaze from Tony, choosing to look up at his last view of outer space, something that before this afternoon was only a thing of his dreams, before his vision is overtaken by a bright flash of white light and what's left of his body is blown away by the wind.

~~~

Peter feels like he's been thrust into another dimension. As if every atom in his body was ripped apart only to be forced back together seconds later. He sucks in a huge gulp of air and tries to steady himself before opening his eyes.

By the time he actually peels them open, he realizes he has no idea what he's actually looking at. The sky above him is a misty yet bright orange, like the sun rising at dawn, and the only thing he can see for miles is the Downtown New York Public Library in front of him. He blinks a few times, trying to reassure himself that that can't possibly be what he's looking at.

"Peter?" Someone calls from behind him. He whips around to search for the voice when he suddenly freezes. Standing in front of him and leaning against a pastel yellow old-fashioned car is a man in a worn brown zip-up jacket with a red flannel underneath.

"No," Peter breathes. This can't be right, he thinks, looking in all other directions for any sign of what's going on. But the library, the car, and his Uncle Ben are still the only things there.

"I've missed you, son," Ben says, a small smile forming on his lips.

"Uncle Ben," Peter feels the tears falling down his face, "Y-You're not really here, right? You're just my imagination?" Peter tries to convince himself this is all some crazy dream, but he's having a very hard time believing himself as the man begins to approach him.

"I'm here, Peter, I'm here for you," Ben stops a foot away from him, waiting for Peter to come to him.

And with those words, Peter can't take it any longer. Tears start pouring from his eyes and he throws himself into his uncle's arms, holding on for dear life. "I've missed you so much," He cries into Ben's shoulder.

"Oh, Pete, I've missed you too, but it's okay, you're going to be okay," He tries to calm down his nephew with a gentle smile on his face.

"How are you here? What even is here?" Peter pulls back slightly, whipping his eyes with the back of his hand. He sees the expanse of orange nothingness over his uncle's shoulder, "Where are we?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't give you all the answers right now," Ben sighs, keeping a firm grip on the boy, "We don't have very much time to spend together."

Peter's heart stops, "What do you mean?" He suddenly pulls back and really looks at the details around him. Uncle Ben's car, Ben's clothes, the library...No, this can't be happening again. "N-No, you don't mean...?"

"Peter-"

He covers his mouth with his hand, "No, y-you die today, Uncle Ben!"

"I know."

"You know?" Peter shakes his head rapidly, too many thoughts appearing in his mind all at once, "How can you know? It-It... You can stop it! You have to!"

"No, I'm afraid that's not-"

"You have to!" Peter explodes, "I-I can stop it! I won't go to the fight, I-I won't let him get away this time, I can stop it! I can save you this time, right Uncle Ben?"

"Peter," Ben says quietly, placing his hands on Peter's shoulders to steady him, "You can't stop it. It's in the past and it's already happened."

More tears shine in Peter's eyes, "But that's why you're here, right? For me to make things right? To let me save you?"

"No, Pete, that's not why I'm here," Ben whispers, wiping away the boy's tears with his thumb, "I'm so sorry, but we can't save each other this time. You can't save me from the past and I can't save you from this place."

"But why do I need to be saved? I don't even know where I am," Petter mutters still trying to wrap his head around the feeling of being in Ben's arms again.

Ben grins at him, "I'm just here to tell you that no matter what happened then, and no matter what happens from now on, I'm so proud of you, my boy. I'm so proud of all that you've become, of all the people you've helped and of the person you've grown up to be."

Peter gapes at his uncle before whispering, "You know that I'm Spider-Man?"

"Of course I do, son," Ben chuckles with a small wink, "I know a lot more than I'm supposed to be letting on."

Peter doesn't really understand what that's supposed to mean, but he doesn't care. "I love you so much, Uncle Ben," He sniffles, "We miss you so much."

"I miss you both more than you'll ever know, but everything's going to be alright, okay, kid?"

Peter starts to feel slightly dizzy and his spider-sense is buzzing like crazy inside his head again. He looks up at Ben in disbelief, "I'm gonna dust away again, aren't I?"

"I'm afraid so, Peter. But remember what I said on this day?" Ben holds him in place as if he's trying to hold him in this place for as long as possible.

"With great power comes great responsibilities," Peter recounts, "I've been trying so hard to listen to you, Uncle Ben."

"And you've done an amazing job. You're going to be just fine, Peter. This is your way station to the future and you know I wouldn't lie to you. Just remember to always see the good in people, because you never who you'll find a home in. I love you, my son." The smile on Ben's face is the warmest thing Peter's seen in a long time and he wants to cry all over again.

Peter can barely process the words he's hearing as the ringing in his head grows increasingly louder and his legs go numb. "You're my what?" He tries to ask but it's too late, he's out of time again. And this time around, it's the darkness that takes him away completely.

~~~

Peter knows he must be conscious again when he feels a throbbing yet surprisingly dull ache in the back of his head. His fingers feel wet as they lie beside his body on the ground and he groans, his eyes flickering awake again. Above him, he sees the same bright amber sky he did when he was with Ben. A part of him is tempted to run in search of Ben again, but he knows he won't be here. With his Parker luck, that would just be too good to be true.

He slowly sits up, cringing at the pain it causes to his head. He carefully places a hand on the back of his neck and rubs the base of his skull. The ground beneath him has a thin layer of water resting on top of it, and he can't quite tell if it's yellow sand or something else under the liquid. His fingertips swipe against the ends of his hair and he realizes it isn't wet even though he was just laying down in the water. He swirls his other hand in the pool, but it simply rolls off his hand instead of sticking to his skin.

That's when he notices that the dirt that had caked up on the Iron Spider suit during the battle with Thanos is gone. His entire suit is as clean and sparkling as it was the day Mr. Stark gifted it to him. "What the..." Peter mumbles to himself, before finally looking up at everything else around him.

There are thousands of people scattered all around him, and the amber landscape stretches on forever, just like it did with Ben. He feels like he's looking into a mirror reflection of another mirror, but it never ends and the number of people just keeps expanding. He watches on as more and more people keep materializing out of thin air. Some people are hugging each other, lots are crying, and many are wandering around aimlessly, probably looking for their loved ones.

Peter quickly brings himself to his feet and scans the crowds for any familiar faces. Logically, the Guardians and Dr. Strange should be around here somewhere, Peter thinks, but he doesn't see them anywhere. Peter's eyes nearly bulge out of his head when a grown man walks past him, one with head-to-toe blue skin and a long, thin tail sticking dragging in the water behind him. He does a double-take before quickly looking closer at the people around him. People being a loose term in this circumstance, but he's pretty sure that's a lion with her baby cub far off to the right. Peter's mildly conflicted between trying to get a closer look and running away for fear of being eaten.

Peter mostly sees humans surrounding him, or at least what he assumes are humans, but could truly be a life form from any other planet, he supposes. Just as he turns around, the biggest butterfly he's ever seen (at least a three-foot wingspan!) swoops down over his head and flies off into the distance.  The never-ending orange light continues to stretch out behind him in this direction now as well. The library and the car are gone, but they've been replaced by a large brown pavilion, made out of what seems to be wood, but Peter has yet to see any trees here, so he knows that can't be possible, right? Then again, if aliens are here and he saw his dead uncle, anything is possible, right?

Leaning against one of the pillars of the large gazebo-like structure is the only person Peter sees that doesn't look frantic or scared. The tall man with long brown hair has his arms crossed over his chest and is staring up at the new sky. His face is pretty emotionless, but Peter can tell there's a hint of remorse under all that brooding. His face isn't what catches Peter's attention though, it's his left arm. It appears to be... glistening in the amber light. Is he in heaven? Is he dead? Jesus?

Peter quickly shakes that thought away, telling himself how stupid that is. He can't help but walk towards the man anyway though. He's stunned with the realization that the man in front of him is The Winter Soldier. He freezes, not knowing what to do now. On the one hand, he's never officially met the man except for that one time two years ago when they briefly fought in Germany, but he's sure that the Winter Soldier has more important things to remember than him. Though that's honestly the least of Peter's concerns, really. He's completely aware of exactly what Tony thinks of the man and Peter can't help but wonder if his mentor would feel betrayed if Peter tried to be friendly with the soldier. Peter's not afraid of the soldier, he knows he's strong and could probably beat him if he ever needed to, but the Winter Soldier did murder Tony's parents, after all. Peter should probably avoid him because of that, right? Logically, he understands that the soldier was being mind-controlled and probably went through more torture than anyone else involved in the situations, but would that matter to his mentor? The person who's spent so much of his time training him and just hanging out with him? Giving him more family besides May?

But on the other hand... the soldier is familiar. Peter has no idea where he is, or if he's even alive, and even though he doesn't know this guy much beyond his name and scattered bits of his past, he knows Captain America trusts him, and honestly, Peter really wants something familiar right now. He wants someone from home, even if that's as vague as someone who lived in Brooklyn 80 years ago. He wants someone who knows him, even if they maybe don't remember him, and someone who knows about the ordeal with Thanos. Peter scans his surroundings one last time, looking for anyone else he might see that he knows. But at last, he takes a big deep breath and walks the final six feet over to the man, pushing down the small ball of guilt in his head and hoping that Tony would understand.

As Peter gets closer, he senses the cold energy the man lets off. His stance seems to command people to back off with arms tightly crossed over his navy bulletproof vest, the gold lines on his new, black, metal arm shining under the light. His lips are pressed together in a tight line, but Peter notices the depressed yet foreboding look in his eyes and wonders if maybe he's actually a little scared underneath his brooding exterior.

"Um, Mr. Winter Soldier, sir?" Peter says, trying to sound confident. The man turns his head towards him and raises his eyebrow. Peter shuffles his feet, "I'm-I'm Peter, Peter Parker. You probably don't remember me without the, um, the mask, but we met, briefly, in Germany a few years ago," Peter bites his lip and rubs his palms together nervously.

The soldier stares at him for a moment before giving the slightest of head nods, "You're that spider thing, yeah?"

Peter nods quickly, "Y-Yes, that's me, sir."

"Right," Bucky eyes the boy warily, "Just call me Bucky, kid."

"Okay, Mr.- uh Bucky," Peter's lip twitches with a small, nervous smile because holy shit, Bucky Barnes remembers him. "Do you- uh, have any idea where we are?" Peter glances around to make sure nobody is listening to them before leaning in and whispering, "This is because of Thanos, right?"

The sadness Peter sensed in Bucky's face earlier returns to his expression, glazing over in his eyes, "Yeah, this is Thanos," Bucky stares back up to the sky, "He killed Vision in Wakanda, took the mind stone, snapped his fingers, and that was that. Here we are." He shakes his head, putting on his blank stare again, "As for where or what here is, I'm not sure."

Peter tries to suppress the fear bubbling up in him, "Are we dead? Have you found anyone else from home? Any of the other Avengers?" If they are dead, Peter can only hope and pray once more than Mr. Stark isn't here. Or Aunt May, or Ned, or... or anyone he loves. He'd rather be on his own than have all his loved ones be dead along with him. Plus, maybe he'll find some company in Bucky.

But if they are dead... that means Uncle Ben and his parents should be around here somewhere, right? Although, Peter thinks, all this nothingness isn't exactly what he pictured when he thought about Heaven. And if this was Heaven, shouldn't God be around here somewhere? He could imagine everyone growing very bored very fast here. Does that mean it's Hell then?

Bucky raises his eyebrow at Peter again, this time as he sarcastically looks around for other people they know. Peter snaps out of his lull and cringes, "Right, sorry, dumb question."

"Thanos wanted to wipe out fifty percent of all living things in the universe, so I have no idea if we'll find people we know even if they are here. I already see lotta aliens though." Bucky states, looking out into the ever-growing crowds.

"B-But, I mean, I sort of know you, and I found you, so it's not impossible, right?" Peter all but begs him. Ben may not be here, but if Aunt May or Ned or Mr. Stark are, he needs to know about it. He has to be able to do something to find them.

His desperate hope seems to catch Bucky off guard as the man finally makes eye contact with him. "Kid," He sighs, "I don't know how far out this place goes, whatever it is. It could be like finding a needle in the universe's largest haystack."

"But we can't just give up!" Peter nearly yells, catching the attention of a blonde woman in the pavilion before she quickly turns back to the crying child in front of her. "I mean, what if Captain Rogers is here, wouldn't you want to find him?" Peter asks, the desperation once again slipping into his tone.

Bucky presses his lips together into a thin line, "I don't know what you want me to tell you. If you want to run off and go searching for your family, be my guest, but you and I both know that this place probably goes on forever and you might not find your way back to this point if you do." Bucky sighs again, glaring at the ground, "Steve's not here, and it's not like I've got anybody else to search for, so I'll be here until I see a reason to be somewhere else."

"But how do you kn-" Peter tries to ask, but the glare Bucky gives him tells him to stop, so instead he just nods, "Okay," Peter mumbles. Maybe he'll take Bucky's advice and just wait it out here until the chaos dies down. If the chaos ever dies down.

He sits down into the water and leans his back against the pillar. Staring at Bucky's black boots for a second, he realizes that they almost seem to rest on top of the water instead of plunging beneath it. He dips his fingers into the clear liquid again but it rolls off, the same as when he woke up. "You know, for being water, this stuff is pretty non-absorbant." Peter blurts out, catching Bucky's eye.

"What?" Bucky questions, frowning down at the boy on the ground. Peter's not entirely sure if Bucky's asking about the water or more so just what's wrong with him, but Peter decides to assume the former.

"Yeah, look," Peter cups a small amount of the liquid in his hand and dumps it right on top of his head. Bucky's eyebrows both shoot up and now he's definitely asking himself what's wrong with Peter, but to Peter's point, the water slides right off his hair like oil, leaving dry strands behind. Bucky slowly sinks down to sit beside Peter, his interest peaked. Peter smiles to himself at the small victory, trying to push away the thoughts of being stuck here forever to instead be in this moment with Bucky.

Bucky cups his hand full of the water and spills it onto his cargo pants. Sure enough, it slides right off in tiny droplets, rejoining itself with the pool on the ground. "Are you sure it's water?" Bucky asks quietly, swishing his metal finger around in the curious liquid.

"Huh," Peter considers it, "I didn't think of that. Guess we should give it a try, right?" Before Bucky can respond, Peter cups more in his hand and brings it to his mouth.

"Wait, don't-" The soldier goes to stop him, but it's too late, Peter's already drinking it.

He clicks his tongue against the roof of his mouth and determines, "Tastes like water."

Bucky gives him a blank stare before saying, "That literally could have been anything and you drank it anyway." Peter shrugs, and Bucky rolls his eyes, but actually chuckles, "You remind me of Steve."

"Really?" Peter smiles, thinking what a compliment that is to receive from Captain America's best friend.

"Yeah," Bucky smirks, "You're small and careless."

Peter's grin grows, "So like, pre-serum Captain America?"

"With the strength of post-serum Steve." Bucky nods, then hesitates before adding, "Couldn't believe when you'd caught my punch like it was nothing that day." Some of Bucky's old Brooklyn accent slips into his voice, and it makes Peter feel much more at home than he thinks it should.

Peter looks at Bucky's new vibranium arm, the metal fingers still dipped below the water's surface. "I thought your arm was the coolest thing in the world, still kinda do, if I'm being honest." Bucky gives him such a sincere smile that Peter has to look away in fear of blushing too hard, "Mr. Stark would never admit it, but I think he got a lot of inspiration from the dynamics of your old arm for the new Stark line of prosthetics."

Peter instantly regrets bringing up the genius when Bucky's smile drops. "So, you're actually really close with Stark, huh?" He asks, seeming so unsure of himself for someone who is often thought of as a terrifying assassin. Peter nods but winces at the guilty look that spreads across Bucky's face. "Right," Bucky whispers to himself, staring off into the distance. Peter recognizes from experience the look in his eyes and realizes his mind is probably drifting into dangerous waters.

Although he'd like to reaffirm to Bucky that he doesn't judge him based on his past because that wasn't really him, his loyalty to Tony gets caught in his throat, stopping the words. He shakes his head, sensing Bucky would rather move on from the topic anyway. "Do you like the new arm better? Where'd you get it anyway?"

Bucky's eyes dart back to the boy next to him who's staring at his prosthetic like it's one of the seven wonders of the world. "It's a hell of a lot lighter, that's for sure," Bucky explains, his jaw still tight, "I used to get serious backaches from lugging around the old one. The princess of Wakanda made it for me after Steve took me there to get my mind fixed."

Peter's eye bulge out of his head, "You lived in Wakanda? That's so awesome. I've seen King T'Challa on the news since they opened their borders and it looks so amazing. The technology is just so, so groundbreaking and unbelievable  there!"

Bucky's expression finally softens and he smiles at Peter's ramblings, "It was very beautiful. You'd probably like Princess Shuri, I think she's around your age and she runs all the technology in Wakanda."

"Did you know her?" Peter gasps excitedly.

"Not much," Bucky grins thinking back on his home in Wakanda, his first real home since Brooklyn, "She was real busy and I was content on my farm. I never knew I loved animals so much until the king gave me a small cottage and some land to raise livestock."

Peter can't believe that the Winter Soldier seemed so fulfilled living on a small farm raising animals, the simple life. But he deserves that happiness after all he's been through. "Did you have a favorite kind of animal to raise?" Peter asks as he tries not to let it show on his face that he's just realized Bucky's been ripped away from his home once again.

"Goats," Bucky chuckles, "Man, I loved those goats." He doesn't seem sad about the loss though, Peter thinks he looks happy to reminisce about it. He probably hasn't gotten to talk about it much.

"You have goats? I love goats, I've always wanted to see one!" Peter exclaims.

Bucky quirks his eyebrow, "You've never seen a goat in person?"

Peter shakes his head, "Nope, I've always lived in the city and there aren't a whole lot of farms or petting zoos in New York City." Peter's eyes light up with an idea, "Hey, maybe when all of this is over, I can come and visit your goats in Wakanda!"

Bucky smiles at Peter's hopefulness. If Thanos has all the infinity stones, they both know they're probably not getting out of this. They'll be here for the rest of their lives like the Mad Titan intended, but they could both use something peaceful to look forward to right now. "Yeah, sure, Peter."

"Promise?" Peter holds out his pinky, a nervous half-smile gracing his face.

Bucky chuckles, gripping it in return with his own pinky, a soft warmth humming through his body at the touch, "Promise."

~~~

It didn't take long for Peter to figure out that pretty much no one knows anything about where they are, and it's become abundantly clear there are few ways to get any definitive answers to the hundreds of questions floating around. It's not entirely hopeless though, Peter acknowledges, as they've all collectively learned some useful things since the day they first arrived.

First of all, Peter realized right away that there is no way of telling time, as the burnt orange light never grows any darker or brighter, it's always just as they found it. If he had to guess based on only his internal clock, Peter would say it's been about a week since he first woke up. With his extensive scientific knowledge, however, he deduces that time could be moving faster or slower here than it does on Earth, much like how time works significantly differently in the quantum realm. Therefore, any time predictions he can make are essentially useless to everybody but his own state of mind, as Bucky likes to remind him when the spiderling pesters him with questions about the time.

"How long do you think we've been here?"

"No clue. God, I hope this stupid light dulls at some point."

"But if you had to guess? How long has it felt?"

"Jesus, Peter, I don't know. A dozen hours at the most, maybe?"

"Okay, good I guess. I was thinking half a day so at least we're thinking the thing."

"Even though it doesn't really matter because we'll never know if that's accurate."

"Right, yeah, of course. Were there already a lot of people here when you woke up?"

"Not really, it was pretty sparse."

"Were you alone for long before I found you?"

"...Peter."

"I know, I know! We have zero way of knowing and all that, but do you think you were?"

"No, not really."

"So, if you had to guess-"

"I get the feeling you're going to make me."

"-How many hours would you say?"

"Although this is just my interpretation and it means nothing-"

"Of course, of course."

"-Less than an hour."

"Wow, so really not long in the grand scheme of things."

"Sure."

"Hey, Bucky?"

"Yes, Peter?"

"I haven't seen anyone else rapidly materialize for a while now."

"Me neither."

"How long would you say it's been-"

"PETER!"

The other findings of their new world were also pretty immediate. Whatever sort of beings this place has turned them into eliminated their need for food, drink, and the use of a bathroom. That was actually quite a relief to discover because this realm is sorely lacking all those things. Days had passed (possibly) when people began to talk outside their small groups and everyone agreed that they were not hungry or thirsty, but also didn't have any insufficiencies in strength or energy because of it. The elderly were stronger than they had been in their life forms and those who had been ill were healed upon arrival.

As for sleep, it's unclear to Peter whether they still need it or not. He has rested and fallen asleep a couple of times, but more out of boredom than real exhaustion. Aside from being able to feel things and each other, it's almost as if they're ghosts.

What Peter noticed the humans around him struggled with the most is the lack of privacy. With only about a dozen large pavilions discovered so far in the seemingly never-ending orange expanse, privacy was nearly impossible to achieve. The other species were an entirely different story though. Most of the other human-like species wanted their privacy as well, while all the animals or species without the ability to communicate vocally with humans seemed to have no problem with having no place to take shelter. Because none of them were hungry, the prey learned they had no reason to hide from predators.

A rather recent development came in the form of King T'Challa and his goal of reuniting people and families as best he can. Peter guessed it was around five days in when he and Bucky first caught sight of King T'Challa and his sister, the princess of Wakanda, Shuri. Bucky saw them first and was quick to drag Peter along with him to meet them, but Peter's sure Bucky's intentions for bringing him along had more to do with not wanting to lose sight of him in the crowds and less about introducing the boy to his royal friends. T'Challa had apparently awoken with his sister fairly close by. The King explained that most of the people around them were very distressed and alone, and so he and Shuri have taken up the job of helping people find with their families ever since. While it's been a struggle, but he has a plan in place, starting with collecting last names and finding multilingual beings of any species willing to help him out. For the humans T'Challa can communicate with, he's done his best to explain the Thanos situation, in the hopes that it will soon become common knowledge among the intelligible species here.

Aside from those baseline discoveries, that's been... it, really. Peter has yet to find any sign of his family or friends and therefore spent his whole week with Bucky. They can't do much because as beautiful as it is, this remains a pretty dull place. So, he and Bucky just talk, take breaks to stare at their new sky for some quiet, and occasionally sleep out of boredom. As far as companionship goes though, Peter thinks he could have done so much worse than Bucky. He'd actually argue that Bucky's company is the best he could have. The soldier was understandably stiff at first, but Peter did his best to stay positive and make witty remarks whenever he can, just like he does as Spider-Man. Bucky eventually started quipping back instead of just staring at Peter. His jokes were so subtle at first Peter almost missed it, but they soon fell in sync with each other. Even though it hasn't been that long, Peter thinks he's defintiley made a true friend.

"I think I'm gonna take the Iron Spider suit off, it's getting too hot in here."

"Do whatever you want, kid."

"...Um, Peter?"

"Yeah?"

"Why do you have a second fully equipped Spider-Man suit under your state-of-the-art Spider-Man suit?"

"Oh! Um, yeah, I forgot about that."

"Did you now?"

"Stop laughing, I can explain!"

"I'm waiting."

"Well, you see, Mr. Stark said to save the wizard and so I followed the Squidward alien who captured Dr. Strange onto the donut ship, but then as I webbed onto the side of it, it started flying back into space-"

"..."

"-And the higher it went, the less I could breathe, obviously, because I was on the outside of the ship. Did I already say that? Whatever. Anyway, Mr. Stark flew up in his Iron Man suit and sent the Iron Spider suit to me to cover me over my original Spider-Man suit as I passed out and fell off the ship so I could breathe again and you know, live-"

"..."

"Then he tried to send me back home by releasing the suit's parachute but I webbed myself onto the donut again because I figured he'd need the back up in space."

"..."

"So, yeah. Two suits."

"...Did you ever save the wizard?"

"Yup! Wait, no. Well, yes from Squidward. But then he died again when Thanos snapped us all away. He should be around here somewhere. The Guardians too."

"So, are we deciding that being here means we're dead then?"

"Maybe, I'm not actually sure what to call this."

"I'm gonna go with being dead. That would be a relief. Life is too fucking stressful."

"You know, I think you'd be great in the 21st Century, Bucky."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah! Your dark and self-deprecating sense of humor means you would totally love all the internet memes that most Baby Boomers think are sad and not funny. Depression and suicide jokes are almost always sure to get a laugh. And since you're from the G.I. Generation, you can prove that it's not only young people who love dark humor and think Boomers are the worst!"

"Alright?"

"One day, I'll teach you all about meme culture and vines (R.I.P). You'll definitely love it!"

"...That sounds great, Peter. I can't wait."

Peter loves learning about what Bucky's life was like before HYDRA took him and hearing stories about Captain America back in the 40s and as a child. Peter was initially surprised when Bucky expressed an equal amount of interest in hearing about Peter's life in Queens. Peter told him all about Aunt May, Ned and MJ, Flash's teasing (Bucky wasn't quite so amused by that one and Peter changed the subject at the dark wash of anger that passed through Bucky's eyes), how he became Spider-Man, and when Tony Stark recruited him.

He tries to keep the topic of Tony short any time he comes up because of the heartbreaking guilt that Bucky poorly hides whenever the man is mentioned. Although he feels like a bad person to have thought this, Peter thinks Bucky's noticeable and sizable guilt has actually lessened his own guilt towards Tony. Knowing that Bucky feels genuine regret and sorrow for the actions he was forced to do proves to Peter that he's not the man his mentor believes him to be. The small ball of fear of disloyalty will always be with him, but it affects Peter less every day as he grows more and more attached to Bucky.

That's sort of becoming the problem, actually. Peter's feelings of friendship slowly morphed into something more, something, well, not so friendly. More often, he finds himself watching Bucky's lips move when he talks or his skin growing hot under his suit when Bucky lets him examine his prosthetic arm and their faces are so much closer than usual. Their lazy, sleepy talks before they fall asleep are Peter's new favorite thing. Bucky running his hand through Peter's hair while the boy lets out all his worries, Peter comforting Bucky when the man wakes up from nightmares, and the pair fast asleep while laying all over each other. The whole thing has turned so oddly intimate that Peter hasn't felt this safe with someone since he was a young kid.

"...And I know King T'Challa is doing his best to find her, but we're all each other has left. Before Mr. Stark came along, it had just been her and I, and sometimes Ned, for the longest time, ever since, well, nevermind. I honestly don't know if it's better to have her alive and well in New York but all alone or have her stuck here but with me. She's lost so much and I don't want her to think I'm gone too."

"I wish I knew what to tell you, Pete, but I'd bet that if I were her, I'd rather be here with you than on Earth alone right now."

"How did you know Steve wasn't here?"

"Before you woke up here, did you maybe... go somewhere else first?"

"Did you?"

"I-I was back at the Stark Expo in the 1940s, sort of, but Steve was there. Not the Steve everyone knows and loves, but my Stevie. My scrawny and tiny Steve that wanted to fight every bad guy in the world even though he couldn't even breathe right."

"What did he tell you?"

"He told me about Thanos, he told me... he told me that I was going somewhere he couldn't follow, but that I wouldn't be alone. I teased him about being my guardian angel. Guess he saw you coming, didn't he?"

"...Ben called it a way station, I think."

"What?"

"The pit stop between Earth and here. I saw my Uncle Ben who died a few years ago. He said that he was my way station to the future."

"Is that all he said?"

"He told me he was proud of me, and-and all I could do was cry and tell him over and over how much I missed him. He was exactly how he was the day he died and it was all my fault and-and he's proud of me, but he shouldn't be because I was petty and wanted revenge and now he's dead because of it."

"Peter, I'm sure it wasn't your fault."

"It is, Bucky! It is! I entered a contest to win money so I could buy a car to impress a girl, but after I won the guy wouldn't pay up and I had to leave empty-handed. A minute later a mugger came in a robbed him and I could have stopped him from getting away but I just let him go to make the guy who owed me money feel just as cheated as I did. I guess the robber needed a car because he tried to take Ben's but when Ben wouldn't let him get away, so the robber shot him. Don't you see, Bucky, it's all my fault! Ben got killed for being the only person to do the right thing."

"I know how it feels to think like that Peter, but it wasn't your fault."

"But-"

"No, just- hear me out, okay? Yeah, you did a stupid thing, but I know that if you had even the suspicion that that guy wanted anything more than a crook's money, that he ever thought of killing someone, you never would have let him get away. I know it'd hard to admit to yourself, but you know that too. You're a good person through and through, kid. Okay? Can you trust me on that one?"

"Only if you trust me that you're a good person inside too."

"That's a whole other story, Peter."

"No, it's not. You didn't get a choice in the things they made you do and you're not a bad person because of it."

"I just make people's lives harder by being in them. I mean for god sakes' look at Steve. Even when he was small and sick, Stevie's always been the stronger one between the two of us. He adapted so well to the modern world after being pulled out of the ice and he was doing so good because he found people to be there for him, no matter how much he insists he can do everything alone. He had a home and a team and then I came along he lost everything he loves all over again, just like the ice took from him. I don't deserve to ever have the kind of family he did. I never got much choice in whether or not I was alone, but the more I lived, the more I realized that it's just better for everyone if I am."

"Bucky-"

"No, I'm sorry, you can pretend I didn't say all that. I didn't mean to go off on you like that."

"Don't be sorry, Bucky. I want to help you if I can because you help me. You know, during my moment with Ben, he told me to see the good in people because I'll never know who I'll find a home in. I think he saw you coming too, Bucky, like maybe Steve saw me. Steve did what he did for you because he loves you. I'm sure he'll never regret that. I wouldn't if I were him."

"Thanks, Peter, but I'm not worth all the effort and loss. He deserves so much better. You do too."

"I don't think that's true, you're definitely more than worth it. Nobody deserves to be put through what you've gone through."

"Maybe, but maybe I didn't deserve to be saved either. I should have just been eliminated. I shouldn't have gotten that choice to be alone or not."

"You're not going to be alone anymore, Bucky."

"How can you be sure I'm what your uncle meant?"

"Because I see how great you are, and how good you are. I wouldn't be here with you if I didn't believe that. Steve wouldn't either. You're going to have the choice to be with people in your life because you deserve it."

"People aren't exactly lining up to hang out with someone who's done the things I've done."

"...Peter, what're you doing?"

"Getting in line. I got here extra early to make sure that I was first."

It wasn't until one day Peter awoke half-hard with his head in Bucky's lap that he realized his feelings might be becoming a problem. But at the same time, he doesn't know how to stop his feelings because it seems impossible not to be attracted to this god-like man, especially now that Peter really knows him.

So, Peter knows he's definitely fucked. Surely and thoroughly fucked.

~~~

"Peter!" The boy jolts awake at the sound of someone distantly screaming his name. He picks his head up off of Bucky's legs, blinking a few times to allow his eyes to adjust once again to the sudden bright orange light. He squints into the distance, searching for where the voice is coming from.

"Good morning," Bucky's low morning voice grumbles beside him. Peter tries not to stare as Bucky runs a hand through his long hair and then stretches his arms in the air, his shirt riding up and exposing the skin around his waist.

"Yo, Peter!" They both hear again, but this voice is definitely different from the first. It's a little deeper but slightly more feminine sounding.

Peter bites his lip and forces his gaze away from how gorgeous Bucky looks when he wakes up. "Any idea who that might be?" Bucky stands, his eyes also scanning the crowd as he reaches a hand out to Peter, pulling him to his feet as well.

Peter starts to shake his head, he has a suspicion of who it is but doesn't want to get his hopes up. But then his eyes suddenly lock on two figures pushing past people and charging towards them. His expression breaks out into a beaming grin, "Oh my god," He whispers to himself.

Bucky chuckles beside him, "Friends of yours?"

"Ned! MJ!" Peter hollers and starts waving his arms around like a lunatic, the duo now running even faster towards him.

Peter whips around to Bucky, his face inexplicably bright, "I never thought I'd see them again, Bucky, can you believe this!" He's told Bucky all about his fanboy best friend and the snarky girl from the academic decathlon team. He's practically bouncing up and down and all Bucky can do is laugh fondly at Peter's excitement before the teens reach them.

"Peter!" Ned shouts in his face, nearly knocking Peter over with the force of his hug. MJ trails behind him, her arms crossed and a smirk on her face. "I can't believe you're here!" Ned yells into Peter's ear again.

"Ned, you're here!" Peter exclaims, pulling away from the boy's hug to see his face, "You're really here!" He turns to look at MJ and beams at her too, "MJ, oh my god, this is crazy." He doesn't even know what to say. He's so excited to see them again, and Ned gives amazing hugs, but he's also so sad that they're stuck here and not at home with their families, safe and definitely alive.

"Hey Peter," She raises an eyebrow teasingly looking at his clothes, "What? Were you caught in the middle of LARPing or something?" Peter glances down at his Spider-Man suit and his face burns. He hadn't considered that all these people would either think he's a complete nerd (which, to be fair, he is) or realize that he's actually Spider-Man.

He bites his lip nervously, "Oh, um-"

Before Peter can finish whatever bullshit explanation he was trying to think of, Bucky buts in with, "The hell is LARPing?"

Ned just now seems to notice the man beside his friend and his eyes grow to become the size of saucers, his jaw falling open. MJ, on the other hand, simply shrugs, "Live-Action Role-Playing. It's when dorks go to a park or something dressed as superheroes or fantasy characters and pretend to be them."

Bucky looks from the girl to Peter's suit and snorts, "Yeah, Peter, tell her all about what you get up to on the weekends." Peter playfully glares at the man's smirk.

"Well, you see-"

"Dude!" Ned shouts, grabbing Peter's arm, and cutting Peter off once again. "That's the Winter Soldier," He says in shock as if Bucky isn't standing right there and can totally hear him.

"Uh, yeah, it is," Peter twiddles his thumbs together, getting nervous about the whole situation. This day has already been much more eventful than the past three weeks -- Peter's best guess relative to the number of times he's sleep for a 'night' -- have been, and he doesn't really know how to explain to his best friend why he's been hanging out with Bucky all that time instead of looking for Aunt May and his friends.

Bucky's smirk has drooped a little at the mention of his HYDRA name, but he opens his mouth to reply anyway when someone shouts, "Buck!" His face drops and Peter can see the hint of fear in his eyes. Peter anxiously looks around for who's calling the man, nervous for Bucky's sake that it might be Steve. Peter knows Bucky would find a way to make this whole situation his fault and never forgive himself if Steve was stuck here, meaning he's possibly dead, too. He believes Bucky when he says Steve isn't here, but since they've never actually looked...

But thankfully, Peter sees King T'Challa approaching them all with the birdman Peter met the same day he met Bucky in Germany.

Bucky grins tauntingly when Sam rolls his eyes with a smile, "Man, of all the people I could get trapped in here with, it had to be you, didn't it?" Bucky gives him a one-armed hug, clapping his hand against Sam's back.

"It looks like you're stuck with me for all of eternity now," Bucky grins smugly.

"Hello again, Sergeant Barnes, Peter," T'Challa nods to them, "I found this one," He gestures to Sam, "many hours ago, and he asked me to lead him to you."

"Aw, did you miss me?" Bucky teases him, earning a shove from Sam.

"Looks like it's a day for reunions all around," Peter says softly, smiling at his friends. He anxiously turns to the king, "Have you heard or seen anything about my Aunt May?"

T'Challa smiles sadly, "I'm sorry, I've been keeping an eye and ear out for a May Parker, but I'm afraid I have not come up with anything as of yet."

Bucky places a comforting hand on his shoulder and a slightly forced grin slips onto Peter's face, "That's okay! I appreciate you keeping a watch for me," And Peter means it, mostly. Not finding May is a good thing, it might mean she's not here and she's at home, safe and sound.

"Speaking of, no sign of Steve yet? I haven't come across him and T'Challa said he hasn't either." Sam asks Bucky.

"No," Bucky shakes his head, shoving his hands into his pockets and avoiding eye contact, "And I get feeling Steve would have made his presence known by now, so I'm willing to bet he's not here."

"Yeah," Sam nods, releasing a breath, "That's good though, right?"

An uneasy silence fills the air for a moment before Shuri claps her hands together, "Well, we must get going, enjoy your reunion with one another. We will see you another time. Boys," She nods to Sam and Bucky, "Spider-Boy," She nods to Peter, the smug smile on her face telling him she's just trying to tease him.

"Spider-Boy?" Sam asks, narrowing his eyes at Peter before realization dawns on him, "Oh, kid from the airport who likes to talk?"

"That's the one," Bucky smirks at MJ as Peter's face darkens to the color of a tomato.

"So, hold on," MJ raises a hand, "You're actually Spider-Man?"

She doesn't seem all that surprised, or maybe she's just too good at hiding it, but either way, Peter shrugs, "Sort of?"

She barks out a laugh, "Oh man, is Flash here? Wait until he gets a load of this, he's gonna shit his pants!" Peter can't help but laugh along at the thought, especially considering what a huge fan he is. It's not an uncommon occurrence to see Flash walking around Midtown in a Spider-Man shirt, some of them even homemade.

"Well, this is a weird group of people to find you with, Barnes," Sam teases, "What the hell happened here?"

Bucky rolls his eyes, "The kid found me right when we got here and it's been just us until these two showed up just before you did." Peter catches his eye and didn't even know it was possible for his face to blush even harder until Bucky winks at him.

Sam squints his eyes and points at Ned, who currently has his head in his hands as he frantically looks between the two Avengers with his mouth open, "Uh, is he okay?"

Peter sighs, pressing his knuckle to his forehead, and praying to God that Ned won't embarrass him in front of Bucky, "Yeah, he's fine. He just needs a minute to lose his mind over being in the presence of two Avengers. Hold on one second, I've got this," MJ snorts as Peter pulls her and Ned to the side to talk. Peter glances back at the pair, hoping he's moved his friends far enough away that the soldiers won't hear them.

"I can't believe you've been hanging out with the Winter Soldier this whole time!" Ned gasps, clearly trying to keep his voice down, but ultimately not really succeeding.

"He was the only face I recognized when I woke up and I thought he might know what was going on," Peter tries to brush it off, "How did the two of you find each other?"

MJ shrugs, "I don't know, I was just sitting in one of those wooden things people watching for who knows how long when basically he fell on top of me, yelling my name." She rolls her eyes again, but Peter thinks she looks a little fond of Ned's overenthusiastic antics.

"I was excited and I tripped," Ned gives him an embarrassed smile, finally taking his off of the Avengers, "She was the first and only familiar face I've seen until now," Ned then starts rapidly poking Peter's arm, "But literally who cares about that, tell us about him," Ned gestures over to where Bucky is standing with Sam. To Peter's surprise, even MJ looks mildly interested.

"Oh, right, that," Peter stares at the ground anxiously, kicking his foot into the water and splashing some around, "I don't know, we just talk, maybe sleep if we get bored. He tells me old stories about Captain America. It's just... nice. It's really nice." Peter grins to himself, subconsciously biting the corner of his bottom lip.

"Oh my god, Peter," MJ says sarcastically, "you're into him, aren't you?"

"What?" Peter and Ned yelp at the same time as Peter snaps his head up, staring at her with wide eyes. Ned's head jerks towards Peter, anxiously awaiting an explanation, and Peter just can't believe she caught on so fast. He was being subtle!

"How did you- No, I don't!" Peter frantically exclaims.

Ned dramatically gasps and repeatedly swats at Peter's arm, "You do!"

"Idiots," MJ rolls her eyes then shoots the boys a smirk, "But for real, I thought this place was crazy before, but now Peter Parker is Spider-Man and he's getting it on with the Winter Soldier? Like alright, holy shit."

"Shh!" Peter shushes them both, "First of all, we are not getting it on. And second, keep your voice down, the whole world doesn't need to know that I have an embarrassing crush on Bucky!" He whisper-screams to his two friends, the look on his face screaming sheer terror. He can't stop his intrusive thoughts from asking what would happen if Bucky overhears them and gets weird out by what a freak he is? What if he ditches him because of it?

"Technically, it's only half the world," MJ interjects but Peter pretends not to hear her.

"I especially don't want Bucky to know!" Peter glances back at the man quickly. His arms are crossed and a small grin plays on his lips while he listens to Sam animatedly tell him something. He doesn't seem to have heard them, but with his enhanced hearing Peter can't know for sure. He tries to take a deep breath to call himself down, but it doesn't feel like he's working.

Ned tips his head like he's still trying to wrap his brain around the whole situation, while MJ just squints at him with a simpering smile, "Please, he's totally into you too. I've only been around him for like five minutes but he's already being so soft on you. He's been glancing over here literally every other second with just this look of sad concern or longing or whatever." She shakes her head smugly, "For a brainwashed assassin, he sure gets whipped easily."

Peter groans and buries his face in his hands, "MJ, it's really not like that. He's... he's wonderful, and he's not brainwashed anymore, but he definitely doesn't see me like that. He probably just thinks I'm some stupid kid he has to keep an eye on." Peter's always known that to be true, but it still makes his heartache at having to admit it out loud.

MJ, however, doesn't seem to be buying what Peter's selling at all. She raises an eyebrow accusingly and places a hand on her hip, "Are you trying to tell me you guys haven't been hanging out just the two of you for the past three weeks since we got here, and that you haven't been having a good time?"

"No, but MJ that doesn't mean-"

"And has he pushed you away and not been letting you be your overly touchy self? Does he complain when you lay all over him like you were when we found you?" She gives him her best are-you-fucking-kidding-me stare.

Peter squirms, thinking about the soft little smile that crosses Bucky's face when Peter touches him, "Well, no-"

"That's all I'm saying," The smirk that seems to consistently reside on her face says it all, and it irritates Peter slightly that she can read him so well. Her face brightens mischievously and she suddenly does a little wave to something behind Peter that has him whipping around at the speed of light and wishing he could crawl into a hole and die, "Oh look, here he comes now!"

~~~

Over the possible weeks that passed, the odd group dynamic between two and a half Avengers and two and a half regular high schoolers worked out much better than Peter initially expected it would. Bucky and MJ got on like a house on fire resulting in a never-ending storm of sarcastic comments. Ned loved hearing all the stories Sam would tell about his time in the military and as the Falcon with the rogue Avengers and Sam was more than happy to share them.

As glad as Peter is to have his friends back with him, he still finds himself crawling back to Bucky when he misses home or wants to feel as if he's wrapped in one big safety blanket. Just by sitting next to Bucky Peter feels more at ease and less anxious. He tries not to think about his feelings for the soldier, but sometimes it's hard when the intrusive thoughts in the back of his mind tell him that maybe Bucky is feeling the same way. He obviously hangs out with Sam a lot now, but any time Bucky's going to sleep or just needs a moment of silence, he goes to seek out Peter, and Peter's insomnia-ridden mind always has a field day keeping him awake with every possible imagination of why this might be.

Like right now, for example, when MJ, Ned, and Sam are all passed out in a pile under the roof of the pavilion, Bucky and Peter sit in silence at their go-to spot on the edge of the structure. Peter tossed his legs over Bucky's and leaned his head back onto a wooden beam. The man beside him traces the lines on the spider suit near the boy's ankles and Peter can't help shiver slightly at the warm and fuzzy tingling that it sends through his body.

"Y'know, I really miss the night," Peter blurts out as he gazes up at the intense light that is constantly showering over them.

"Yeah?" Bucky mumbles, staring intently at Peter.

"Yeah," Peter nods gingerly, "My senses get overloaded pretty fast since the spider bite and the dark protected me from that even more than my mask did, so I always did better Spider-Man work at night. It's also easier to hide at night, and all the bad guys seem to think they're invisible at night so they creep out then too." He blushes when he sees Bucky watching him ramble on with such a small, yet tender smile on his face.

"I didn't have to worry about anybody figuring out my identity because nobody ever knew I was there until I caught them doing something bad," Peter laughs quietly, "I loved the look they would get on their faces when I showed up. They always underestimated me and it was so invigorating because eventually, it would always morph into that look where they know I've got them and that-"

"-They're fucked," Bucky whispers. Peter locks his eyes with the Bucky's and smiles nervously. With the super soldier's enhancements, he wouldn't be surprised if Bucky could hear his heart pounding out of his chest right now under the soldier's ardent stare.

Peter weakly nods and digs his teeth into his lower lip, "Do you think we're ever going home?" He breathes, unwilling to shake his eye contact with Bucky. His skin begins to burn under the passionate scrutiny of Bucky's darkening eyes. Peter has caught him staring at him like this a few times before over the recent days, but it usually happened when Peter was only just waking up and Bucky's always quick to catch himself and look away before the boy had time to ogle him right back. He's surprised Bucky hasn't turned away and tried to pretend he wasn't looking this time, but Peter can't seem to draw his attention away from Bucky long enough to think properly on that right now. The look in Bucky's eyes triggers more sensations in Peter than he's ever felt all at once before, but more than anything, the feeling of want bubbles up inside every inch of his body.

Bucky opens his mouth to respond but then quickly hesitates. He rolls his tongue carefully between his lips and says lowly, "Sometimes I'm not sure I want to go back."

Peter's breathing hitches and he slowly shuffles even closer into Bucky's personal space. Bucky doesn't hesitate to wrap his arm around the small of Peter's back to hold him in place. Peter's voice unintentionally drops even quieter and he's unable to stop the obvious wanton from slipping into his tone, "You don't? Why?"

Bucky's eyes flick swiftly to Peter's lips before they train back on the boy's eyes, full of more unrestrained fervor than Peter's ever seen Bucky allow himself to show, "You know why."

All at once, their lips are harshly pressed against one another's and Peter has no clue who leaned in first but he can't find any part of himself that cares. His body is flush against Bucky's chest and the kiss is already so intense that he begins to feel lightheaded as his weeks-long need is finally starting to feel sated. Bucky swipes his tongue along Peter's lower lip and the boy moans into the older man's mouth as he parts his lips.

Peter doesn't have much experience with any of this, but he hopes that what he lacks in knowledge he makes up for in enthusiasm because good lord, he's only been kissing Bucky for less than a minute and he already wants to do it forever. He presses his hand against Bucky's cheek, feeling the stubble (that never seems to grow out into a full beard in this place) tickle his palm. His other hand finds Bucky's shirt and he clenches his fingers around the material to reassert his space in reality, but that must have triggered Bucky's own grip on reality because he's abruptly pulling back from Peter and moving to the side, away from the boy.

Peter whimpers at the loss and opens his eyes in flash, instantly picking up on the hint of shock in Bucky's eyes that he's clearly trying to hide. "Fuck," Bucky mutters as he breathes heavily.

Peter hurries to catch his own breath, "Bucky?"

"I'm sorry," Bucky mumbles, "I-I shouldn't have..." He shakes his head and stands up, facing away from Peter.

Peter scurries to his feet and takes a step toward him, "Why... why not?" Peter reaches out and gently wraps his fingers around Bucky's right wrist. "I wanted-"

"Stop," Bucky growls, effectively cutting him off. He huffs a sigh and looks over his shoulder at Peter, "We can't."

Peter chokes down the tears rolling up in his throat and burning his eyes, "Is this-... Am I-..." He struggles to find the right words that won't send Bucky running, "Do you not want this?" He settles on, his voice much more vulnerable than he intended for it to be.

Bucky's eyes finally meet his again, "Peter..." He says desperately, but then his eyes turn hard and he turns his head away again, killing any hope Peter might have had. "We just can't, okay?" He doesn't wait for an answer as he swiftly dislodges his wrist from Peter's grip and stalks off.

Peter's lip wobbles and he bites it hard to keep it still as he slumps back against the wooden pillar in their spot, watching Bucky walk away from him. A tear slides down his cheek and he finds himself questioning whether or not Bucky will actually come back to him.

TO BE CONTINUED...

A/N: So I know that each soul stone experience is supposed to be based on a specific memory like Thanos’ thing with little Gamora, but for this story, since so many people are all in one landscape, I just sort of shaped it around the vague clip from Infinity War and the pavilions are basically inspired by the structure Gamora stood in, even though I know that’s not a universal memory. It’s not super relevant, but I hope that clears my intentions up a little bit!

As far as I’m aware, they never mention what happened specifically with Uncle Ben in the Tom Holland Spider-Man universe, so for the parts talking about Uncle Ben, I just used what happened in the first Spider-Man movie with Tobey Maguire, imagining Ben as being around May’s age from the MCU spider-man movies.

[wiener-soldiers]

how to (not) be internet famous - peter parker

summary: peter parker becomes internet famous overnight and doesn’t exactly know how to deal with it, which causes him to end up in a precarious situation.

words: 4k

warnings: rien, mes amis!

a/n: part of the unsolved mini-series! just wanted to write a lil blurb w some world building before i go into more ghost/ghoul hunting. also goes without saying that this is minimally edited, sorry lol

unsolved masterlist | masterlist | add yourself to the taglist! | faq

Peter Parker did not intend on becoming famous.

It was quite literally an accident—a byproduct of being in the right place in the right time. But, completely out of his control, Peter Parker helped solved an Unsolved mystery.

It was one of Buzzfeed Unsolved’s most viewed episodes; the story of Peter Quill, a little boy who went missing right after his mother died. Of course, one theory was that he was abducted by aliens. That was the joke theory.

Until Peter Parker and Y/N Stark proved that theory to be correct.

Being fans of the show, the duo was vaguely aware of the existence of Peter Quill, the mysterious boy who went missing. It wasn’t until Thor traveled back to Earth with the rest of the Guardians did Peter and Y/N recognize Peter Quill.

Of course, their first instinct was to interview him about how he got abducted and ask about some space stories. Their next instinct was to invite Ryan and Shane of the Unsolved Network to interview him as well.

This subsequently made the internet blow up. And Peter Parker became famous because of it.

The video titled “We Solved A Buzzfeed Unsolved Case” garnered millions of views overnight, with thousands of comments flooding the video. Peter’s Twitter went from less than a hundred followers to more than a hundred thousand overnight, and his Instagram blew up in a similar fashion.

He was used to Spider-Man being famous, but Peter Parker had never gotten that much attention before. It was surreal.

He found himself sitting on the brown leather couch at the Avengers Tower (where the Stark family alose happened to reside) the morning after the video was released, staring at his texts blow up in front of him.

Ned: Dude you’re famous?? You’re on the YT trending page!!

MJ: can i meet ryan and shane? also warning: flash and brad don’t know you’re dating y/n so their texts may be a little hostile…

Flash: Damn Parker, how do you know Y/N Stark???

Brad: Why haven’t you brought Y/N around?

Betty: Peter you HAVE to let me interview you for the school news! When are you free??

“What the hell is going on…” Peter whispers, jaw unhinged as notification after notification caused his phone to ‘ding’ out of control.

“Hey Pete,” he hears a voice flow into the living room. His girlfriend walks past him, not before pressing her lips to his cheek. His cheek warms at the contact and his eyes follow her pajama-clad body into the large kitchen.

“Did you see the video you posted?” Peter calls after her. Y/N shakes her head as she throws a banana along with other frozen fruit into the blender.

“No…why?” she calls back. “Do you want a smoothie?”

“No, but thank you,” Peter replies quickly. He turns his body to face her and raises his voice at the sound of the blender turning on, “It’s trending. Like, everywhere.”

“I figured it would,” Y/N calls back, the hum of the blender drowning her voice out.

“How are you so chill?” Peter asks her, slightly bewildered.

“There was paparazzi in the hospital waiting room when I was bored. You get used to stuff like that,” she answers, before making her way back to Peter, smoothie in hand. She positions herself on the couch, placing her legs overtop Peter’s lap.

He places his arms over her shins instinctively. “I’m definitely not used to stuff like that,” he mumbles, still scrolling through his notifications.

Y/N scoffs, “You’re Spider-Man, honey. That comes with press.”

“Spider-Man is famous, not me,” he counters.

The sound of the elevator opening and deep voices conversing cut the couple off as they turn towards the door. Tony, followed by Steve, Bucky, and Natasha file into the common floor, all deep in conversation. They don’t seem to notice the young couple, so Y/N decides to make them known.

“Morning!” Y/N calls out.

Tony’s head snaps up towards his daughter, before shifting and narrowing his eyes at Peter. “We were just talking about you,” he says, walking towards the two.

“Oh?” the younger Stark challenges.

Natasha lets out a soft laugh before patting Peter on the shoulder. “You need a public relations lesson,” she says to Peter.

“A what?”

Y/N lets out a fit of giggles. “It’s to make sure you don’t say something stupid to a large audience,” she tells him, and Peter scrunches his nose.

“Why would I need a…oh.”

Tony smirks at him before showing him his ever-rising Twitter followers. “Yeah, oh. That video you posted basically broke the internet. Even old man Steve is talking about it.”

Steve rolls his eyes but smiles sympathetically at him before handing him a grey folder. “Protecting Spider-Man’s identity is still your number one priority, right?” Steve asks and Peter nods. “So, we need to make sure you don’t say anything stupid or post something that gives away who your alias is.”

“So, what’s in the folder?” Peter asks the adults in the room.

“Homework,” Natasha answers. “I’ll help make sure that your identity stays a secret, but I need you to make sure you read that document very carefully. They’re full of general best-practices and protocol for if your identity is exposed.”

“Got it,” Peter whispers, mostly to himself.

“Great,” Tony says with a pat to his shoulder. “It was a funny video, by the way. Can’t wait to see what you kids come up with.”

Over the weekend, even though Natasha, Tony, and Y/N prepared him as best they could for the storm that would most likely ensue on Monday at school, Peter still didn’t feel prepared.

He stood in the middle of his room, gnawing at his lip and choosing between the dark blue sweater and the maroon sweater. Granted, the sweater wouldn’t make that much of a difference and hide the fact that Peter was still a big nerd, but he had a feeling he needed to make a good impression today.

“Babe, you are overthinking it,” Y/N mumbles from Peter’s bed. Like most weekends, she spent the night at Peter’s place. Although things do tend to get a little heated, most nights the couple just watch movies, play video games, or take a walk around the block.

“You’re not the one going to a public school,” Peter mumbles back. It was true; Tony had tried sending Y/N to Midtown, but the paparazzi was getting unbearable, so she took online classes instead. Y/N didn’t mind missing out on the high school experience—her life was so surreal that nothing could make her feel normal, except Peter or Morgan.

“That wasn’t what I meant,” Y/N groans and rolls out of bed. She shivers at the cool breeze caused by the AC being blasted on high as she wraps Peter’s flannel around her body even tighter. “I meant that you’ll look really good in whatever you wear, honey.”

Peter rolls his eyes but turns to face his girlfriend, dark blue and maroon sweater still in hand. “I don’t know why I’m so nervous,” he admits.

“Afraid everyone will look at you differently?”

“Afraid everyone will think I don’t deserve someone like you…”

Y/N gives him a soft smile before closing the gap between them. She peppers kisses along his shoulder, his neck, then finally his lips. Peter ducks down to look at her, wrapping his arms underneath the flannel she’s wearing and around her waist.

“I love you, ya know that right?” she whispers into his collarbone.

Peter hums in response.

“And the world doesn’t get to decide who or what you deserve. Because you deserve a hell of a lot more than what I can give you.”

Peter groans, “Don’t say that. You give me everything I need.”

“And that’s what matters,” Y/N replies. “Not what anyone else thinks. Okay?”

Peter pulls away and gives his girlfriend a sincere smile, “Okay.”

“Good,” she muses before pressing a final kiss to Peter’s lips. She then takes the maroon sweater from his hands. “Wear the dark blue sweater, I want to wear the maroon one.”

---

Despite Y/N’s encouraging words, Peter’s still nervous.

He’s nerves kick in as soon as Y/N has to leave his place while he packs his school bag. He’s nervous on the subway on the way to school. He’s nervous as he crosses the street towards campus. He’s nervous when he’s walking toward the school entrance, so much so that he can hear his heartbeat over the podcast he’s listening to. And he’s especially nervous when people openly gawk and stare at him as he makes his way to his locker.

Luckily, MJ and Ned are there to save him.

“They’re all staring,” MJ comments as Peter yanks his locker open and reaches for his calculus textbook.

Peter laughs nervously, “I’m aware.”

“You know that clique of really hot sophomores who won’t shut up at lunch?” Ned adds on as he stares at his phone, “They’re all thirsting over you on Instagram.”

Peter slams his locker shut in surprise, “Wh-what?”

Sure enough, Ned’s phone is filled with screenshots of the video on Allison’s Instagram story with the caption ‘hmu peter ;) or i may have to fake needing a tutor to talk to you.’

Peter gags. MJ snickers.

“Oh my god, this is awful,” Peter shudders as he turns around and makes his way to first-period calculus. Ned and MJ follow suite. “Don’t they know I’m dating someone?”

“Peter, if we barely knew you were dating someone until we met her and started handing out with her,” MJ deadpans.

“Speaking of your girlfriend,” Ned butts in, “are you going to tell her about Allison?”

“No, she’d probably laugh. And it’s not a big deal, right?” Peter answer honestly, smiling slightly at the thought of Y/N laughing her ass off at the thought of sophomores at his own school acting thirsty on main.

Ned stops dead in his tracks, “What if she was actually talking to you?”

“Ned, what—”

“Hi, Peter!” a high-pitched voice attempting to sound sultry cuts him off.

MJ laughs in amusement before walking away as Peter squeaks out, “H-hi, Allison.”

Ned pats his shoulder encouragingly before walking away, giving Peter a ‘you’re on your own’ look.

She bats her eyelashes at him, giving him a shy smile. Peter’s distracted by her bright pink outfit—she looked straight out of an early-2000s movie. It suited her, but it wasn’t really Peter’s preference.

“I watched your video, it was really funny,” Allison says, inching closer to Peter.

“Thanks, um look, I gotta go—”

“You doing anything tonight?” she immediately asks.

No, Peter thinks, but he racks his brain for an excuse. May is working so he can’t use her, Tony is at the Avengers’ Compound, MJ has art class, Ned is working on a group project, maybe Y/N…

It’s too late. “Great!” Allison quips, “I’m having a party tonight and you’re invited, hottie. I’ll AirDrop you the details.”

“Uh, thanks,” he mutters pathetically as she practically skips away.

It wasn’t just Allison’s invitation that stuck out to him; it seemed like everybody more popular than Peter was giving him some sort of attention. If Peter didn’t know better, we would’ve been flattered. Instead, he was suspicious.

By lunch, Peter had been invited to three parties, a football game, a boat ride, and more invitations to hangout than he could count. Even Mr. Harrington made a jab at Peter’s internet fame.

As soon as the bell rang, Peter bolted out of his English class and ran out the front gates to take a breath. Even as Spider-Man, public events often felt overwhelming. Now, with no excuse to leave and no disguise to hide his flustered expression, the few minutes of silence he had at beginning of lunch was the only break he got all day.

“You don’t look too hot, babe,” he hears a voice say. From his spot leaning against the railing of the school entrance, he lifts his gaze and finds Y/N Stark staring up at him from the bottom of the stairs.

He stands up immediately and meets Y/N halfway down the stairs. He smiles widens as he gets close to her, “What are you doing here?”

“MJ texted me—said you were feeling overwhelmed,” she says nonchalantly, but concern laces her features. “You doing okay?”

“Just not used to so many people giving Peter Parker attention. And the feeling that they probably just want to hang out with me because they want to be famous makes me icky.”

Y/N hums and reaches for his torso to give him a hug. Peter is on the step above her, so he wraps his arms around her shoulders and rests his chin on her head. “I know how you feel,” she mumbles.

Peter laughs half-heartedly, “Got invited to a shit ton of parties, though.”

Y/N chuckles into his chest, “Oh really?”

“One of which is tonight. Got any plans?”

“Hmm…maybe,” she tells him. “Dad wants me to be his plus one to a gala thing, but I don’t really want to go.”

“You’d rather go to a shitty high school party?”

“I’d rather do anything, honestly.”

A honk from a car parked on the curb catches their attention. Peter looks up and finds Happy peering his head through the window of a black sedan. “Hate to break you two up, but I really don’t want to be swarmed by high schoolers,” Happy shouts, “so we should get going, Y/N.”

Y/N sighs, “And, that’s my cue.”

“I’ll see you tonight, maybe?” Peter asks hopefully, pressing a kiss on her forehead.

“Maybe. Text me the address, but don’t bail on the party,” Y/N tells him before giving Peter a proper kiss. Another honk from Happy causes them to break away, followed by the school doors opening and more and more people filtering outside. A series of shocked gasps at Y/N Stark and Peter Parker in such a compromising position prompt Y/N to start walking down the stairs.

“See you, Peter,” Y/N shouts as she quickly makes her way down the steps.

Peter waves to Y/N in the passenger seat as her and Happy drive away. His phone the buzzes with a text from Y/N:

Y/N 🥰: hang in there bb, love you!

“Yo, dickwad!” Peter hears Flash shout from behind him, “Why didn’t you introduce me to your Stark friend?”

Peter sighs. This was going to be a long day.

---

“You don’t have to go if you don’t want to.”

“I want to May…it’s just that—”

“It’s just that you want Y/N there?”

Peter sighs and shakes his head. He sits in the passenger seat of May’s car as she’s parked outside Allison’s house where the party is taking place. He’s beyond uncomfortable: the girl who was shamelessly flirting with him was sending him DMs, asking him when he was going to show up to her party. His skinny jeans—the nice ones saved for special occasions—were still a little stiff because he never really wore them, and he’s sure he’s made sweat stains on his white t-shirt.

“I guess, I just want the high school experience, to feel normal. Even if it’s a fake normal,” Peter says honestly, fiddling with his hair in the mirror. “But everything is easier with Y/N around.”

“Did she answer your texts?”

“I sent her the address and she said she would try to find an excuse to leave the gala early, but I don’t know if she’s gonna make it,” Peter says dejectedly.

May nods understandingly, “If you want to leave, just send me an SOS. I’ll come pick you up.”

“Thanks, May,” he says before pressing a kiss to her cheek. He doesn’t feel his body move, but his feet carry him out of the car and towards the front steps of the house. He doesn’t realize he’s reached for the door until he’s already inside, looking around at the darkened house illuminated by colourful lights and blaring with music.

“Peter!” he hears someone call from the top of the stairs. It’s Allison, clad in a sheer top, lacy bralette, and tight leather pants. He tries not to gawk at her, but he gulps in nervousness as she approaches.

“You made it!” she exclaims over the rumbling bass. Without warning she pulls Peter into a hug, pressing her body close to his. His muscles tense in surprise, but he feels Allison shiver.

Fucking great, Peter thinks as Allison eyes him up and down, biting her lip.

“Do you want a drink?” Allison says, latching onto his bicep and guiding him further into the house.

“Um, sure,” Peter says as he tries to remove his arm from her grasp while still remaining subtle. He fails, and Allison proceeds to run her nails up and down his arm.

Someone shoves a solo cup in Peter’s hand, and he takes a few big gulps immediately. His powers can’t get drunk, but he can sure as hell try if he has to handle Allison’s not-so-subtle advances towards him all night.

“I’m glad you came,” Allison suddenly whispers in his ear before biting his ear lobe in an attempt at seduction.

Peter whips his head around to confront her but before he can say anything, she’s left him to chat with her friends who have been watching the whole interaction in jealousy and awe. Great, Peter thinks before wiping his earlobe clean of her spit.

The party isn’t too bad; a few games of beer pong are going on the patio and people are taking turns jumping into the pool in just their underwear. Peter makes small talk with some people he recognizes, but for the most part, he leans against the wall and watches Flash pretend to be good at beer pong. Every few minutes, he checks the time on his phone and hopes for a text.

At 9:15, Peter has been at the party for forty-five minutes and is on his third drink. He still doesn’t feel buzzed.

At 9:24, Allison checks up on him again and tries to get him to strip with her and jump into the pool. He declines.

At 9:32, Flash loses his third game of beer pong in a row and a heard of angry freshmen finally scare him away from the table.

At 9:47, he hears excited commotion inside the house. He doesn’t bother to look inside and instead stares at the amber liquid in his cup.

He feels a hand fall on his shoulder, and he groans, finally fed up with Allison’s antics. “Look Allison, I think you’re sweet and all but—”

“Who’s Allison?”

Peter’s face breaks into a huge smile at the sight of Y/N Stark, still in her formal evening wear. The dark green, straight gown falls to the floor and the simple dress is bedazzled by nothing except the gold necklace Peter got her for her birthday and the million-dollar Stark smile.

“You made it,” he says in relief and excitement.

Y/N smirks back, “I’m overdressed.”

“You look beautiful.”

Y/N examines Peter’s outfit, “You look good too. This shirt makes your arms look huge.”

Peter blushes but takes a hold of her hands, only half-aware that half of the party is probably staring at them right now. “I didn’t think you were going to make it.”

Y/N laughs, “We were stuck in traffic. Dad wanted to get out of there too, it was pretty boring. We had to drop him off at home, first.”

“You left a boring party to come to another boring party, then. The difference is that you don’t get free dinner over here.”

Her laugh draws more attention to the duo and Peter finally finds the balls to look at the decent-sized crowd accumulating around them. He then notices a familiar face push through the people.

“Oh my god, you’re Y/N Stark!” Allison gushes as she approaches her, “Can I get a picture with you?”

Y/N smiles at her, “Um, sure?”

Allison squeals and shoves her phone into someone’s face, demanding them to take her picture. After a few photos are taken, Allison grabs her arms giddily and says, “You should totally follow me on Insta, these pics turned out really cute.”

Y/N looks amusedly at her, “Yeah, for sure…”

Allison then gasps, “You know Peter, too! We go to school together.” Allison then wraps her arms around Peter’s bicep and Y/N and Peter lock eye contact; Peter looks at Y/N in a state of panic and Y/N looks at Peter with nothing but amusement.

“Yeah, I figured,” she tells her, the amused expression growing.

Allison gasps again, “Peter! We should get a picture together too!”

Before he can really process it, Allison is pulling Peter close and shoving her phone in front of their faces. As Allison makes several different selfie faces, Y/N laughs softly as Peter smiles awkwardly at the camera. Suddenly, the feeling of lip-glossed lips touches his cheek and Peter raises his eyebrows in surprise and watches as Allison presses a kiss to his cheek in front of his girlfriend and what seemed like half the party. Her kisses trail down his neck, jaw, and ear before Peter finally gets over his initial shock and laughs awkwardly.

“Okay, um. That was kinda weird, Allison. You see, I’m ac—”

Allison juts her lip out and pouts, “But these were turning out so cute, Petey!”

Y/N Stark finally breaks out into a fit of hysterical laughter and both Peter and Allison turn to her with a bewildered expression.

“What?” Allison asks accusingly, thinking that she’s being mocked.

“Honey, he’s not interested.”

Allison’s jaw unhinges, “And how would you know?”

“Sweetheart, you’d be embarrassed if I told you.”

She scoffs. “Try me.”

“I’m dating Peter.”

Allison’s eyes bulge. The group of people watching the interaction gasp. Peter chokes on his own spit.

Allison’s face suddenly gets very, very red. “Miss Stark, I’m so, so sorry—"

Y/N holds out a hand to stop her rambling. “Don’t worry about it, love. If I wasn’t already dating him, I would be all over him, too,” she quips before grabbing Peter’s hand and leading him out of the party.

“E-erm, bye! Thanks for inviting me,” Peter calls back as Y/N leads him out of the house and towards the black sedan where the driver was waiting for the two to be done partying.

“All things considered, I would call that a pretty tame first fan interaction,” Y/N tells him as they walk towards the car. Her arm is wrapped around his torso as she leans her cheek on Peter’s shoulder. 

Peter’s arm slings around her shoulders and looks down at her face. Her eyes twinkle in the moonlight and her features are light with amusement. “You’re not mad?” he asks her.

“Why would I be mad?”

“Because another girl was kissing me in front of you. And that you had to out our relationship.”

“Not a valid reason to be mad, to be honest. She didn’t know, and our relationship was bound to get out anyway.”

Peter laughs lightly, “You’re amazing, you know that?”

Y/N hums, “Yeah, I know. But so are you. And don’t worry, after a few weeks, the whole school will be a little chiller about your internet fame.”

A week later, Y/N and Peter uploaded a video where they went ghost hunting with Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes and it broke the internet yet again. Needless to say, the whole school was not very chill about it.

[mermaidxatxheart]

Paint Me a Memory Chapter Fourteen

I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted in this story. I hope you like this chapter, it’s going to be text mixed in with pictures. (Edit: I suck. additions are at the bottom. Eek.)

Pairing: Bucky X Reader

Mood board made for me by @captainsteveevans​

Warnings: fluff, swearing, mentions of crying, the usual suspects.

Series Master List

Chapter Fourteen

 I try not to crowd you, I try not to hover, but it’s hard. Being around you is addicting. I left you last night with a heavy heart, full of regret at not kissing you. 

 But it wouldn’t have been right. You were distracted by something on your phone, and although I think you flirt, I’m not sure how serious it is. You’re important to me and if I’m given the chance to do this, I want to do it right.

 “Bucky?” You start, looking over at me. Your face full of worry.

“Yeah?” I ask, pulling up in front of my studio. 

 “Did you mean what you said yesterday? About my stuff being good?” You ask and I frown. 

 “Absolutely. I don’t...” I park and look at you. “It’s hard to believe, when you feel the way you do right now, it’s hard to believe the good things. Our minds are constantly trying to bring us down, make us think we’re not good enough.” I cup your face gently, hoping you’re really listening. “But I promise you, you are good enough. I did mean what I said. You’ve developed your talent into an amazingly impressive skill. You’ve mastered more mediums, more styles than anyone I’ve met. And you keep pushing yourself to do more. If you keep going, you’re going to catch up to Da Vinci himself.” My thumb strokes your soft cheek. “I promise, I’ll never lie to you about anything. I’ll always give you an honest opinion about anything you want.”

 Your hands clutch at my wrists as you squeeze your eyes shut. “Thank you.” You whisper. I carefully kiss your forehead and pull away before I do something to make a fool of myself. 

 We head inside the same as before and this time you get right to work. You strip out of your coat and pick up the mallet and chisel. 

 Something feels different today. You were excited about the snack, but then you turned into this stress ball. I could boil it down to the rejection letter you got that prompted all of this, but I feel like there’s more to it. Rejection is a part of this business and I don’t feel like you’re the type of person to let that get you down. Maybe it’s whatever is going on with your professor. I don’t like the thought of you doubting yourself. Let alone someone else making you doubt yourself. I’ve seen your work, and you basically called that stuff your bottom tier work. If those are your worst displays, I’d love to see your best. I bet it would be like standing in front of the Mona Lisa herself. 

 I set my playlist, a softer collection of songs this time. It seems more fitting, considering your mood. I wish I could help you. 

 “How do you feel about pizza for dinner?” I asked, leaning against the bench next to you.

 “That’s fine.” You shrug. 

 “Sausage and mushrooms?”

 “And spinach?” You ask apprehensively. 

 “You got it. How do you feel about wings?”

 “Hopeful.” You reply. 

 I chuckle. “Understood.” I wander away, letting you work. I putter around, avoiding any actual work. I wander up to the loft and do some pushups to work off some energy, but the whole time I’m listening to you work. 

 Yesterday, you sang along with every song that came on, but there’s no humming from you today. I walk back down just as you stop hammering. Your shoulders are hunched, hands braced in front of you. 

 “Y/N?” I start, coming around to see you. “Did you hit your fingers again, doll?” I ask, but I didn’t hear any swearing. You’re usually louder when you do that.

 “No.” You grumble. 

 “What’s wrong?” I gently take your elbow and you twist towards me. Your eyebrows are pinched together, your chin dimples as you crush your lips together. You look ready to cry. 

 “You don’t have to work on this today, sweetheart. We can just hang out, watch movies and talk.” I say. You nod, your lower lip starting to tremble. “C’mere.” I hold my arms out and you step between them, pressing your face into my chest. Your arms tighten around my waist as I hug you tightly. I gently rub your back, but that only seems to break the dam a little bit more.

 “Come on. Get your coat.” I tell you, pressing a kiss to the top of your head.

 “Where are we going?” You ask, wiping your eyes. 

 “My place. I have a TV there, we’ll be more comfortable.” I say and you nod, turning to grab your coat. I notice your phone on the counter light up with a phone call from PQ.

 “Your phone’s ringing,” I call to you.

 “Decline. If it’s that important, they’ll leave a message. And my roommates text in the group chat so everyone can know my business.” You sigh. 

 “Have you told them what’s going on?” I ask.

 “They know most of it. How I keep getting rejected.” You shrug, flipping your hair out of your coat. 

 “How about the part you’re not telling me? Anyone you feel comfortable with talking to about that?” I ask, handing your phone to you and you flush red.

 “You know about that?” You ask.

 “I know enough about you to know you’re not telling me everything. And that’s okay. It’s your business. But I think that you should talk to someone. Maybe they’ll have some insight and advice on how to handle it. You don’t have to carry the weight of this alone.” I say and you gesture me closer. I smile, leaning towards you, and you peck my cheek.

 “You’re really smart. I don’t care what anyone else says about you.” You grin and I roll my eyes.

 “Glad to see you’re feeling better,” I mutter.

 “I’ll talk to Gamora. She’s the most level headed of my friends. The one voted most likely to listen first, ask questions second and shoot third.” You admit, following me over to the front door. 

 “Good. I hope she can help you.” I unlock my car and you climb in quietly. Your phone lights up in your lap.

  “Are you sure you don’t need to answer that? They seem really persistent.” I aim my car towards my condo.

 “Positive. It’s just my professor. I yelled at him today, told him basically to fuck off and leave me alone. I understand he’s trying to help me, but honestly, the sight of his name on my phone makes me want to cunt punt him across campus.” You shake your head, rubbing your face. 

 “That’s a new expression.” I chuckle. But inside I’m seething. I’m liking this guy less and less with everything you tell me about him. “What’s your professor’s name? Has he published anything? Maybe I’ve heard of him.” I say and you roll your eyes. 

 “Peter Quill. And I doubt you’ll have heard of him. If he has anything published it was way before my time.” You mutter.

 I park in the garage and wait for you to join me on the other side. You link your arm with mine, head resting on my shoulder. 

 “Thank you.” You say softly. 

 “I didn’t do anything, doll.” I shrug. 

 “You aren’t judging me, and you didn’t get mad that I didn’t want to talk.”

 “I’m here to listen if you want to, and of course, I won’t judge you. But I also realize that we haven’t known each other long, and I can appreciate that you might not feel completely comfortable talking to me. I’ve met enough artistic people to know how tight-lipped they can be.” I look down at you, jabbing the button for the elevator. “You don’t owe me a thank you for being a decent human being.”

 You make a little noise in the back of your throat as we step into the elevator. “Bucky Barnes, you just may be perfect.” You mutter, burying your face in the fabric of my coat.

 “Nah. Just raised right,” I say, but my face flushes at your words. Your phone dings again and you glance at it for barely a second. “Him again?”

 “Roommates. Talking about what’s for dinner.” You shrug, turning the sound off before it can ding again.

 “You don’t have to mute it,” I say, leading you out of the elevator towards my door. 

 “It’ll get annoying. My three idiots can never agree on anything. Pete wants Mexican always, MJ wants Chinese, Mora wants something completely different. They’ll argue back and forth for a while until I jump in and remind them that they can each get their own thing delivered.” You roll your eyes and I laugh. “They’re a mess.”

 “They sound like fun. I’d love to meet them.” I say, unlocking my front door and letting you go in.

 “I’m sure you will. They won’t let this one go. And I’m sure Pete will love the chance to threaten you.” You shrug out of your coat and I hang it up on the coat rack. 

 “Make your self at home. Movies are over on the shelf.” I tell you, heading for the kitchen. “Want anything?”

 “Do you have coffee creamer?” You ask and I look at you curiously. 

 “You want to drink coffee creamer? Like, by itself?”

 You laugh, face scrunched up in the most adorable way. “No, but if you have some, I’d love some coffee.”

 “Ah. That makes much more sense.” I grin, pulling down the coffee grounds. 

 “Do I wanna drink coffee creamer?” You scoff. “You’re a strange guy, Barnes. A strange guy.”

 I chuckle, glancing back at you as you move around my space. I like seeing you here more than I should, probably, for having known you for such a short amount of time.

 “You have three copies of each Lord of the Rings movies.” You say, pointing at the shelf and turning to look at me. 

 “I do, limited edition, ultimate edition, and the anniversary edition,” I say with a grin. “They’re some of my favorite movies.” 

 “The art is stunning in it.” You agree and I swear I could kiss you. “I know what I want to watch.” You say, pulling the Fellowship off the shelf. 

 “You’re a goddess,” I mutter. 

 You grin and set it on the back of the couch. “Bathroom?”

 “Down that hallway. To the left.” I start cleaning up my dishes from this morning as you walk away, humming Beyoncé’s Irreplaceable. I chuckle to myself. 

Chapter Fifteen

Everything Tag List:

@everythingisoverrated​ @psyched2b​ @shreddedparchment​ @bitsandbobsandstuff​ @after-avenging-hours​ @alexblrus​ @thinkingsofamadwoman​ @i-dont-want-to-be-called​ @thefridgeismybestie​ @fortheloveofallthatsholy​ @crazychaotic​ @sebastianstanslefteyebrow​ @pleasureoftheguiltiestvariety​ @redstarstan​ @justreadingfics​ @themistsofmyavalon​ @wkemeup​ @thiccbinch​ @glide-thru​ @elliee1497​ @ellaenchanted91​ @part-time-patronus​ @janeyboo​ @jensensjaredsandmishaslover​ @thirstybitchqueen​ @xxloki81xx​ @stuckonjbbarnes​ @browngirlmagic​ @geeksareunique​ @nicoleplacee​ @lexshead​ @gambitsqueen​ @sebbbystaaan​ @lokisironthrone​ @imanuglywombat​ @also-fangirlinsweden​

Paint Me a Memory Tag List:

@katshrev​ @pantrashtic​ @buckysmischief​ @pinnedandneedled​ @estillion14​ @alagalaska​ @seduce-me-with-your-weirdness​ @i-dont-want-to-get-out-of-bed​ @fandom-addict-aesthetics​ @voltage-my2dlove​ @flyawayprincess​ @buckybarneshairpullingkink​ @what-is-your-plan-today​ @matsumama​ @afterlaughter27​ @lilliannaansalla​ @superavengerpotterstar​ 

[starwitch3000]

What’s Your Story - 1

Pairing: Peter Quill x Reader 

Summary: After having a not so great couple of weeks the reader finds their way to The Milano a dive bar in NYC where they meet the owner Peter Quill

Warning: Drinking and language 

masterlist - ff.net

You were having a terrible day. Well, maybe more accurately, days plural. You were up for a promotion at work, you were currently an editor at an online news website, but your so called “in the bag” promotion your boss had promised was instead handed to some new guy they hired. You were bitter because you gave this job 3 whole years of your life and this was the thanks you got.

Another thing, your boyfriend of a year dumped you a couple of weeks ago because he got a job offer overseas and didn’t think you’d want to go with him, not that he asked. He also didn���t want to do a long distance relationship because he just wasn’t feeling it. So now he’s dead to you.

The list of tiny annoying day to day things just kept piling on your shoulders. Like someone taking your coffee order and having to pay for a new coffee because the barista didn’t believe you. Having your cab taken 4 separate times by 4 different people. Being sent an email by your boss asking why you weren’t in a meeting that you clearly were and participated in. Having your lunch being stolen from fridge in the break room and never getting your lunch bag back. Having to buy a new lunch bag.

With everything piling up things just became too much. That’s why you texted your best friend, Natasha Romanoff, to meet up for some drink at a bar near your apartment. She agreed and you headed out to make your way there. Your sour mood prompted you to walk and the fact that the bar you were heading to, The Milano, was only a couple blocks away.

You made it to the bar and headed in. It was a Friday night so you were a little surprised to see that the place wasn’t too terribly packed. Though you had to admit this place was a little run down and the people that were there looked a little sketchy. This is New York after all so who were you to judge.

You headed up to the bar and took a seat at it. You pulled out your phone while you waited for the bartender to finish up the customer he was already with and to check and see if Natasha had sent you an update.

She had.

Not a good one.

Work called have to bail. I’m so sorry you know I’d be there if it weren’t important. xx

Frowning at your phone you hadn’t realized the bartender approached you or that he was talking to you.

“Hello?” he whistled waving his hand slightly in front of you, “you’re not deaf are you? Cause if you are then you’re totally making me feel like an asshole right now.”

“Huh?” snapping out of the pity party going on in your head you looked up at the bartender. He was a tall, well built man with dark blonde hair and green eye. He looked stupidly handsome and you couldn’t help but stare. He tossed the towel in his hands over his shoulder as he raised an eyebrow at you. You coughed wishing you could sink into the floor and disappear out of embarrassment,  “Sorry?”

“What can I get ya?” He repeated with a kind but snarky smile. He totally noticed you gawking at him that asshole.

Well Nat left you hanging but you were already here so why not, “Whisky neat cheapest you got.”  

With a bit of flare he tossed your glass into the air catching before setting it on the counter to pour your drink, “Here you are,” He slides the glass over to you with a charming smile, “enjoy.”

Show off.

You gave him a pressed smile and lifted the glass in thanks as he went to take care of a new customer. Taking a sip you looked down at your phone unlocking it to Natasha message.

No worries. Call me when you can. xx

You sent her a quick reply just so she knew you weren’t mad, disappointed sure but not mad, you knew how seriously she took her work. You wish you felt the same honestly, but this past week at work had you reconsidering what you actually wanted from your job. Sure it paid well enough and you had been there long enough to be on the company's insurance plan, but that was about it. You landed that editing job straight out of college and you were so proud of that for so long. Maybe your pride had hidden what you really wanted to achieve.

“So what’s your story?”

Pulled from your thoughts you tighten your grip on your phone and looked up to see the bartender had made his way back towards your end of the bar where you sat alone.

“Excuse me?” You asked confused.

“What’s your story?” He asks again, “What brings someone like you to The Milano alone on a Friday night?”

“I’m sorry, someone like me?”

“No offense ma’am but you don’t exactly fit the demographic of this bar,” he shrugged as you both took a glance around at the other patrons of the establishment. You found he was not wrong. Most of the people looked like they were criminals. Covered in scars and tattoos with permanent scowls on their faces.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Taking another sip of your drink, “I think I fit in perfectly here.”

He snorted, “Right. I guess you are just as brooding as the rest of these chumps.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” you scoffed offended.

“Walking in here with a look on your face that says “I’m thinking about murder” and sitting all by yourself nursing a whisky,” He explains then nods to himself, “No you’re absolutely right you fit right in.”

“Huh,” you breathed loosening your phone from your grip and set it down next to your glass. You processed his words for a moment, it makes you wonder if he was checking you out when you first arrived, looking up at him he seemed to be doing that. His head slightly tilted and eyes slightly darkened as his eyes traced your face. Biting your lip you asked, “I really look like I’m thinking about murder?”

“You telling me you’re not?”

“No, but to be fair I have been tossing around the idea of some light arson so that could be what you’re picking up.”

“Arson?” His eyebrow cocked up intrigued, “alright now you’ve got my attention. Let’s hear all about this.”

You snorted as if you hadn’t already had his attention, “You really want to stand here and talk to me?”

“Well if I’m being honest this place is a little slow tonight and unless a bachelorette party comes stumbling through those doors you’re the most interesting person I can be talking to right now,” He explains.

You laughed and shook your head, “Dunno, that guy seems pretty interesting,” You nodded your head to only other guy actually sitting all the way at the other end of the bar. He was hunched over in his seat picking at the label on his beer as he intensely read the subtitles of the movie playing on one of the tv on the wall, “maybe you should find out what his story is.”

“Nah that’s just Kraglin I’ve known him forever,” He explained playing with the towel in his hand, “You however mentioned arson and I would like to hear all about it. What do you want to set on fire the most?”

Rolling your eyes you decided to play along, “Do I have to pick just one thing?”

He gasped, “A serial arsonist. This just keeps getting better. Let’s start with the one thing you want to burn the most. Like if you could set this fire right now what would it be?”

“Okay,” you let out a long breath and thought it over. What to burn first, “Probably my bosses office - wait no, my ex.”

“Work trouble and love trouble? That’s a nasty duo.”

“Yeah well my boyfriend dumped me for a job overseas. He’s going to be some regional manager for whatever doing whatever in Turkey. He didn’t want me to move with him so he just ended things,” you explained bitterly.

“How long were you guys together?”

“Little over a year.”

“Geeze,” He hisses in sympathy, “Did you guys even talk about it?”

“Nope,” you said popping the p, “He just decided for me that I wasn’t going to move with him.”

“Would you?”

“If he asked me?”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah I think I would have. We were together for so long I thought we were good. If he asked me I probably wouldn’t have given it a second thought,” you answered hating yourself slightly for all the time wasted on him.

“What about if he walked into this bar right now and asked you?” He asked.

“I’d kick him straight in the nuts,” you immediately answered.

“I don’t think I like how quick that response was,” He grimaced, “Yikes. Now what about your boss?”

“Well,” you sighed, “I usually don’t have any issues at work but recently I was up for a promotion and he told me that the job was basically mine they just had to do other interviews so that the higher ups didn’t think it was favoritism or whatever.”

“What do you do?”

“I’m an editor for an online news outlet. Been there for like 3 years now.”

He nodded and let you continue.

“So they had a couple of interviews and decided to give the job to one of those guys and not me. I asked my boss why and he said that this guy was much more qualified for the position and he figured I wouldn’t care so much anyways,” you finished feeling the same bitterness that you felt when you had left your bosses office after being turned down from the promotion.

“That’s shitty,” He sighed, “What a dick man.”

“Tell me about it,” you rolled your eyes taking a drink.

“Ay Pete, hand me another beer would ya,” Kraglin from the other end of the bar interrupted waving his now empty bottle toward the bartender, Pete you guess.

“So that’s what brought you here?” He asked cracking a fresh beer open and sliding it down the bar towards Kraglin not breaking the flow of his conversation with you, “A deadbeat ex and a shithead employer?”

“I was actually meeting up with a friend,” you explained watching Kraglin nearly tip over the new beer over but saving it last minute, “but she canceled last minute because of work.”

“You want to set her office on fire too?” Pete asked preparing himself for another story.

You chuckled, “No, god no. She’s a detective usually when she gets called in like this there is usually a dead guy.”

“Oh,” he paused, “well shit. Better be careful with all this crime you’re about to commit. Don’t worry I wont tell.”

“Gee thanks stranger,” you teased causing him to laugh.

“It’s Peter actually. Peter Quill owner of this fine establishment,” He declared gesturing around the bar.

“Fine establishment?” You questioned, “Weren’t you the one saying this place was running slow on a Friday night?”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Peter gasped in mock offense, “Is the not New York, the city that always sleeps?”

“Not sure that’s how it goes Pete,” You shook your head sympathetically.

“Pretty sure that’s exactly how it goes.”

“Whatever you say man. I’m (Y/N) by the way. (Y/N) (Y/L/N),” you smiled, “Now you’ve got a name to give the cops when you go to snitch on me.”

“Okay first of all, I would never snitch. Have you seen the people in this bar? They would eat me alive if I was some kind of snitch. Secondly, I am one hundred percent sure that’s a fake name now, but I’ll call you (Y/N) anyways,” dramatically he put air quotes around your name when he spoke.

“Anyone ever tell you that you’re dramatic as hell Pete?” You asked with a smile.

“No not even once,” he frowned, “alright maybe a couple of times, but that’s not the point.”

“And what’s the point?”

“I feel for you man,” He said sincerely, “getting dumped fucking sucks and then not getting a dream job on top of that? It’s rough.”

“Well I wouldn’t call it a dream job,” you said thinking it over, “Just a different job. Rising through the ranks. Getting better pay. Got any pretzels?”

“What’s your dream job then?” He asked reached over for a bowl of pretzels on the bar handing them to you.

You thought over his question for a minute while snacking on a pretzel. What was your dream job? You were an English major for a reason, because your passion growing up was writing. You used to write all the time what happened? This job that’s what happened.

You sighed knowing exactly what your dream job was but also knowing that it’s nearly impossible to get where you want to be.

“(Y/N)? Did I lose you?” Peter questioned and you looked up to meet his gaze.

“Sorry, no, just thinking it over,” you apologized.

“And?”

“What?”

He sighed exasperated, “what’s the dream job haunting your dreams?”

You rolled your eyes, “I guess I’ve always wanted to be a writer. And not some shitty news writer. Like my own stories. Put my own thoughts and opinions on paper and see who picks it up you know?”

“So what’s stopping you?” Peter blinks watching your face carefully.

Squirming under his gaze you suddenly felt the pressure, “Me I guess. I don’t know where to start or if I’m any good. I’m just paralyzed by my own fear of failure and it makes me want to stay where I am and just blend in for the rest of my life. Always having opportunities placed in front of me but never getting to experience them.”

“That is a load of bullshit,” he scoffed.  

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. I think that is all a bunch of bullshit,” He repeated a little harshly.

“And what gives you the right to say that? You barely even know me!” you jumped feeling overwhelmed by his confrontation.

“Sure I do your ex is a douche, your best friend is a cop and your name is probably not (Y/N),” He shrugged, “That’s pretty much everything.”

Baffled you shook your head, “I don’t really think it is.”

“Well,” He started placing his hands on the edge of the bar leaning forward, “It’s plenty enough for me to know that you’re going to be miserable if you keep doing what you’re doing because guess what, you already are.”

“I’m not miserable,” You interrupted, “I’m just having a bad week!”

“Who is the bartender here and who is the girl drinking by herself?”

You refused to answer.

Smugly he continued, “This is my job honey, I know people, even when they don’t want me to. And right now I know that you are stuck not because you’re afraid of failing. You’re afraid of wasting your time and you wont accept that you already have. You wasted a year with some dickwad who didn’t care enough to get your opinion on your relationship together. You’ve wasted your time working for some assholes that don’t recognize your desire to achieve more. It’s time to pull your head out of your ass and take something that you want.”

You hated it. You hated every single word that left his mouth. You hated the way he said it. You hated how it sounded. Mostly you hated that it was all true.

“What the fuck dude?” You huffed feeling out of breath for him. Peter was proving to be extremely long winded.

“Am I wrong?”

“Well no, obviously, but can’t you just let a girl wallow in self pity for an evening?” you question, “Geeze.”

He rolled his eyes standing up straight again, “You’re way too pretty for that sweetheart.”

“Great. Good to know. Next time I just want to drink and feel sad I’ll just stay at home then,” you nodded to yourself looking at the remainder of your drink in your glass.

“Sorry didn’t mean to overstep my boundaries, “He sighed, “but this bar is my life, even though some of us here are unimpressed by that,” he shot you a cocky wink, “and if someone hadn’t told me to get my head out of my ass and do something I love then we wouldn’t be here today.”

“And who was that?”

“Well my mom always told me to do what I love but after she passed away it was my foster dad that was always telling me to get my head out of my ass,” He explained.

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Not it was for good reason,” He said, “I was a shithead.”

You scoffed and rolled your eyes “was”, “I meant about your mom passing. I’m sorry to hear that. My mom passed away too when I was younger.”

His lips pressed into a line and he nodded looking at the surface of the bar, “It sucks.”

You nodded in agreement settling into a silence. Loss was something you both seemed all too familiar with. You had noticed that he had said foster dad and not his dad but you didn’t want to bring up two intrusive topics in a row. Things felt a little too personal and that’s saying a lot seeing as you just told a random stranger all your most recent problems. It’s clearly something he’s used to him being a bartender and all. People must come in here and bare their souls to him all the time.

The sound of your cell phone buzzing made both of you jump. You picked it up to see Natasha picture flashing across the screen. A wave of confusion and mild panic hit you.

“Sorry hang on,” you told Peter and answered her call never knowing when it could be an emergency, “hey what’s up?”

Through the phone all you hear is her aggravated sigh, “Just got finished dealing with a bunch of teenagers who thought it would be funny to prank call some detectives about fake homicide. They didn’t even use burners to hide their identities or anything but were oh so shocked that they got caught.”

“That awful. What’s going to happen to those kids?” you asked biting your lip listening to your friend.

“Don’t know probably community service. I’ve been dealing with hysterical parents for the last hour. They’ve got court dates and the judge will decide the rest,” she sighed through the phone, “In the meantime I am free again and really want some extra cheesy pizza from Romeo’s, want to come over and yell at each other?”       

“Wow,” you replied, “you really know a way to girls heart don’t you.”

“What can I say? I’m a gifted individual now come on over and I can show you more of my talents,” She teased.

“You gotta stop it with the dirty talk babe I’m in public,” you said causing Peter to laugh.

“Where are you?” Natasha dropped the teasing tone instantly curious, “Is that a guy?”

“The Milano,” you chose to only answer her first question.

“Seriously? You still went?”

“I was already here when you bailed,” you explained, “figured I’m already out might as well get what I came for.”

“Is that place any good? I know we’ve been meaning to check it out and tonight would have been that night if not for, you know, teenagers,” the bitterness of her tone did not go unnoticed.

“Eh, it’s alright,” your unimpressed tone was purely for Peter listening to just one side of this conversation, “It’s kind of dirty but they’ve got pretzels.”

You grinned as you earned a glare from Peter.

“Hot guy I hear ya,” Natasha murmured understanding the context of a situation she wasn’t even a part of, “tell me scale of one to ten where is he?”

“Eh, maybe like a three,” you replied loving the baffled looks you were getting from Peter seeing as he thought you were still talking about his bar.

“Shit really?” reading way more into your reply than you had intended, “look if you need to bail in order to get some I will not blame you.”

“Nah it’s not like that.”

“Oh really?” she questioned, “or are you just saying that because he’s standing right in front of you and you too scared to admit you want to jump on him and ride him till sunrise?”

If not for the little bit of alcohol in your system you would probably turn beat red hearing your friend say this while you stare directly at the man in question. You bit your lip considering it, “No I’m pretty sure it’s just because you enticed me pizza and now I’m going to hold you to that.”

Natasha laughed, “Alright I’ll order it now see you in a bit.”

“See you,” you smiled and hung up the phone.

“Someone have a hot date?” Peter asked sounding slightly disappointed.

“Yeah sorry to leave you like this,” you grabbed your wallet out of your purse only to look up and see his pout, “really? Pouting? Is that how you get all of your regulars?”

“It worked on Kraglin,” He shrugged dropping the pout.

“Sorry I’m just not that kind of girl,” you took out some cash and paid for your drink, “the only way to keep me around is food and sorry but pizza trumps pretzels.”

He gasped in fake disbelief.

“I know. I’m sorry but I make the rules and that’s just how this one goes,” you shrugged and got out of you seat. For the first time all week you finally felt yourself settle into a good mood. It made you feel lighter. You smiled up at Peter, “Thanks for the talk. I really needed it.”

“Anytime,” He smiled softly, “You’ll know where I’ll be.”

With that you left and headed toward Natasha place anxiously anticipating some pizza.

chapter two

~

Alright chapter one stay tuned for more. Also sorry for any mistakes things can slip by when proof reading but if I don’t post this now I never will. So let me know what you think and I promise chapter two is on its way! ~Star

[rivaille-plisetsky]

Avengers: Endgame Reaction with Spoilers

Once again ended up in a very reactive theater that enhanced my Marvel experience! I’m so glad I finally went to see this movie and can now join in on the reviews/discussions ^^ So, in no specific order, here is a sporadic list of reactions I had during the movie. May edit as I recall more.

Cute moments:

-Tony and Nebula playing in space

- Giddy Hawkeye and Widow flying their first space-ship

- Thor with Frigga

- Ned n’ Pete with the handshake (though, it was pretty sad too; the comfort of a friend)

Moments where I LOLed:

- Spiderman getting tossed around like a hot potato

- Nat and Clint fighting to be the sacrifice (more ironic laughter)

- Loki mimicking the Cap’n

- Rocket’s banter with Scott

- Thor threatening kids on Fortnite

- Hulk the Idol

- Hulk from 2012

Scenes that made my heart decay in my chest:

- Rhodey checks on Tony, Peter watches Tony die, Pepper says goodbye, that ENTIRE SCENE

- Natasha talking about her family :’(

- Thor’s moments of clarity

- Scott looking for baby-girl’s name at ‘The Vanished’ memorial

- Tony and Peter reunion (but in a good way <3)

- Tony finally spending quality time with his dad

Times I bounced in my seat and cheered loudly:

- LOKIIIIIIII~~

- YIBAMBE!

- The appearance of the sorcerer’s portals

- Avengers Assemble Scene

- The Ladies of Marvel handling Thanos’ Ass

- Thanos getting double-teamed by the Worthy Men

- Tony’s slight-o-hand and wielding of the Infinity Gauntlet

Moments where I was dancing in my seat:

- Quills dance break

- That remix of the Avengers theme during the final battle (Pls tell me yall peeped that fire)

Disgusting moments:

-Thor’s beer belly

[irondadtexts]

Text Masterlist

(this is going from oldest to newest)

Peter has a field trip to Oscorp. Tony hates Oscorp. (part two)

Is Tony a member of the illuminati?

Peter’s had a long day at school

Neither Peter nor Tony can sleep (pure fluff)

Peter needs money for a new backpack

Peter and Tony talk one another down from their post-nightmare anxieties

It’s Tony’s birthday and Peter is EXCITED (part two) (part three)

Tony checks in on a sick Peter 

Spider-Man is scared of spiders

Tony helps Peter with his problems, and Peter accidentally calls him dad

There was a crash on the subway and Tony is worried

Peter gets detention 

Tony texts Peter after the snap (angst) + Peter finally replies

Peter and Ned go to a party, and Peter gets spiked (part two)

Tony plans for Peter’s birthday... six months away

A teacher gave Peter an F, and Tony is not happy about it + Tony gets him his A

Peter accidentally texts Tony about his upcoming date, and Bi Buddies is formed

Peter’s class got to Stark Industries, and Pete is sassy over text

Peter worries Tony is hurt after a mission, ft Rhodey and Tony calling Pete his kid

Peter has a panic attack and Tony is there to help (part two)

Peter has questions about Howard, which leads to a heart to heart about how good of a dad Tony is

Peter vs Tony: Movie Night Edition

Peter stays out late, and he and Tony argue (part two)

Peter asks Tony to Pride, bc they’re Bi Buddies

Tony has a panic attack, Peter helps (part two)

McDonalds got in Spider-Man toys, and Peter is excited

May goes away for the weekend and Tony wants Pete to stay with him

Peter doesn’t want to lose anyone else

Tony worries about Peter’s well being, ft trans!peter

Tony gets Peter help with with a history project and they gossip about Avengers

The Avengers know Peter as Spiderson

Tony tells Pete about Aunt Peggy

Peter helps a stray dog

Flash gives Peter trouble, and so Tony gives Flash trouble in return

Peter babysits and worries about how he’s doing

Spider-Man helps a lost kid

Peter gets drunk and tries to act sober (part two of the following morning)

Peter’s feeling depressed and Tony helps

RIP Emoji Rule

Peter helps Tony after a nightmare

Tony adds in some custom auto-corrections on Peter’s phone

Flash uploaded an embarrassing video of Peter online + Tony takes it down

Tony puts an end to Peter wanting to go back to space

Peter breaks something in a store and Tony comes to the rescue

Kids at school find out Peter actually does know Tony

Tony asks Peter to be his page boy

May asks Tony to go to a parent teacher conference

Pete goes in to sensory overload and Tony helps

Pete and Thor’s day out (part two)

Peter is ill and stresses Tony out

Adventures in Disneyland (part two)

Peter realises he lifted Stormbreaker

Peter gets into a fight after defending Tony

Rhodey vs Happy: Uncle off

Tony and Peter plan for fathers day

Tony helps Peter out on patrol

Tony is away for business and Peter misses him (part two)

Tony gets jealous when Peter spends a lot of time with Rhodey

Peter’s phone dies and stresses Tony out

Natasha notices Peter’s enhanced metabolism

Tony accidentally texts Peter about Peter

Bi Buddies gain two members when Tony finds out about Bruce and Thor

Peter got a job, which isn’t part of Tony’s plan

Peter’s in the hospital and freaks out to Tony

Tony texts Peter while he’s in class and gets him detention

Peter tells tony about the guy that ghosted him

There trouble in the city and Tony tells Peter to stay put

Peter feels better when he’s around Tony and Tony doesn’t understand

Flash takes things too far + Tony recruits a certain Uncle to help teach Flash a lesson

Clint has questions about Peter

The press find out about Tony being close to Peter

Ned and MJ tell Peter the rumours about him in school, and Tony thinks they’re hilarious

Peter hit his head while out on patrol and Tony has to go find him

Thor wants to take Tony out, which turns into Thor vs Tony (tony will always win)

Rhodey recruits Spider-Man’s help and Peter gets hurt

Tony’s having a tough day and says some stuff he doesn’t mean + he apologises afterwards

Avengers gc in which they ask about Peter

Steve’s back in town and Peter’s worried about Tony (part two)

Peter calls Rhodey for help, which pisses Tony off

Tony feels guilty about Titan and tries to push Peter away (part two)

Tony finds out about The Lip Sync and he LOVES it

May gets hurt and Peter becomes a helicopter nephew (part two)

According to a buzzfeed quiz, Peter is Captain America, but he really wants to be Tony

Tony gets hurt, Peter worries, Tony really just wants his kid there with him

Tony takes Pete to the compound and certain avengers are excited to meet him, but Pete freaks out when he sees Steve and Bucky (part two)

Spider-Man gets a flavour of Ben and Jerry’s named after him

Peter asks if he’s still an Avenger

Quill wants to take Peter to space and Tony rants to Rhodey about his worries

Flash steals Peter’s phone and Tony goes off on him

Peter looks at college and Tony gets emotional

Happy notices Peter is off and Tony reaches out to him (part two)

Round two of Thor and Peter’s outing, ft Loki and a stressed out Tony

Tony’s on a mission and tries to say goodbye to Pete (part two)

Tony finds Peter’s fan account + bonus of Tony gushing to Rhodey about it

There’s an alien invasion, Tony and Pete argue, Peter gets hurt (part two) (part three)

Pete asks about the suit protocol names

Pete needs advice on how to talk to a pretty person and Tony is dramatic

Tony stalks Peter’s fan account, and makes his own for web-head

Pete and Tony sort the Avengers into Hogwarts houses

Peter skips school to be Spider-Man and gets caught out

Peter thinks he’s letting Tony down, and so he pushes him self as Spider-Man

The Avengers want to get to know Pete, but Pete has anxieties

Peter and May have an argument, ft co-parenting Tony and May

Tony texting a Still Gone Peter on the kids birthday

Tony throws Peter a surprise party for his birthday

It’s the anniversary of Peter’s parents deaths, and Pete needs Tony

Peter’s day with Black Widow and Ant-Man

[goingknowherewastaken]

Divine Me A Masterpiece Challenge

♦ About

Welcome to my 1000 follower challenge!!! With there being a lot of seasonal challenges right now I thought I’d do something a little different. I thought that maybe we should get in touch with magic that’s in the air right now ;)

So for this challenge we are looking at tarot! First I’ll go over the rules and expectations, then gloss over tarot, and finally round out this post with the characters and prompts. So let’s get started :D

♦ Rules

To Enter

You must apply through my ask box so no anons. If you are using a side blog and don’t want your main shown to the world tell me so in the ask and I will not post it publicly. 

Every entry needs to be inspired by a Major Arcana card and must be focused on a character or ship I listed.

Each card is limited to one person!

Entries must be sent by ask and will be posted publicly!

I have bonus prompts listed at the bottom of this post; you need to use at least one (1) and you are limited to three (3) total! Sentence prompts are all first come, first serve! The majority of the AU prompts have a two person limit.

What your ask should include - the tarot card you wish to claim, the character or ship you wish to write for, and 1-3 of the prompts/AUs I have listed (You need to use at least one from the list).

All angst must have a happy ending and no cis-swapping.

I am accepting - fics, fan art, moodboards, edits, and playlists (you need to make a cover for it).

Note: I work second shift so please don’t panic if I don’t respond in the afternoon/evening hours.

November 24th, 2018 - I currently am just shy of 1000 followers and will not be posting a due date for these until I get 1000 followers. I will tag all who entered when that happens.

When Posting Your Work

All entries are due on February 22nd, 2019. Please do not post before then.

Make sure to list - the character/ship you wrote for, any warnings, and if it is nsfw.

Tell me how you interpreted the card for your work.

Make sure to tag me @goingknowherewastaken and @jiminthestreets-bonesinthesheets (Ashley is my assistant during this challenge)

Please use this tag within the first 5 tags - #DivineMeAMasterpieceChallenge

If your work contains nsfw content please make sure to tag it accordingly.

Please send me the link to your work through my ask box!

♦ About Tarot

We’ve all seen the decks of cards with beautiful designs used for helping find possible answers to questions we may have, but not everyone knows what’s going on with them. I will gloss over the bare minimum of info here, but I encourage you all to read up on tarot if you are unfamiliar with it.

Tarot cards are used for uncovering possible answers to questions we have about our lives - from love to career. Cards can be drawn and placed in a certain layout (spread) and are then read in a specific order. They are meant for enlightenment and what they tell in the spread is not set in stone - they are cards and you can ignore their take if you wish.

There are two ways to read the cards depending on how they appear in a spread - upright and reversed (upside down). If the card is revealed to be right-side up you are to read the card as is and if it is reversed then it’s meaning is reversed.

Depending on the deck, the description of the card can vary slightly, but overall they are similar. Also, the meaning behind the card is affected by the other cards in the spread. For this challenge you will only have to worry about the card you selected.

Because there are in total 78 cards in a standard deck (divided between the Major Arcana and the Minor Arcana), we will only be using the Major Arcana which totals 22 cards.

Please read up more on the card you select!!!!!

The Tarot Cards (the words listed are just brief overviews of the cards that I gathered from Biddy Tarot)

Fool - @haveyouseenmymind 

Upright - beginnings, innocence, spontaneity, a free spirit

Reversed - naivety, foolishness, recklessness, risk-taking

The Magician

Upright - power, skill, concentration, action, resourcefulness

Reversed - manipulation, poor planning, latent talents

High Priestess - @frostingsfics 

Upright - intuition, higher powers, mystery, subconscious mind

Reversed - hidden agendas, need to listen to inner voice

The Empress

Upright - fertility, femininity, beauty, nature, abundance

Reversed - creative block, dependence on others

The Emperor

Upright - authority, father-figure, structure, solid foundation

Reversed - domination, excessive control, rigidity, inflexibility

Hierophant - @bsotstory 

Upright - religion, group identification, conformity, tradition, beliefs

Reversed - restriction, challenging the status quo

Lovers - @the-goddamn-queen 

Upright - love, union, relationships, values alignment, choices

Reversed - disharmony, imbalance, misalignment of values

Chariot

Upright - control, will power, victory, assertion, determination

Reversed - lack of control and direction, aggression

Strength

Upright - strength, courage, patience, control, compassion

Reversed - weakness, self-doubt, lack of self-discipline

Hermit - @auduna-druitt 

Upright - soul-searching, introspection, being alone, inner guidance

Reversed - isolation, loneliness, withdrawal

Wheel of Fortune - @kjs-s

Upright - good luck, karma, life cycles, destiny, a turning point

Reversed - bad luck, negative external forces, out of control

Justice

Upright - justice, fairness, truth, cause and effect, law

Reversed - unfairness, lack of accountability, dishonesty

Hanged Man

Upright - suspension, restriction, letting go, sacrifice

Reversed - martyrdom, indecision, delay

Death - @captainsbabysitter-blog 

Upright - endings, beginnings, change, transformation, transition

Reversed - resistance to change, unable to move on

Temperance

Upright - balance, moderation, patience, purpose, meaning

Reversed - imbalance, excess, lack of long-term vision

Devil - @bookcaseninja

Upright - bondage, addiction, sexuality, materialism

Reversed - detachment, breaking free, power reclaimed

Tower - @haveyouseenmymind 

Upright - disaster, upheaval, sudden change, revelation

Reversed - avoidance of disaster, fear of change

Star - @filatarcangelus

Upright - hope, spirituality, renewal, inspiration, serenity

Reversed - lack of faith, despair, discouragement

Moon - @resistance-is-futile81

Upright - illusion, fear, anxiety, insecurity, subconscious

Reversed - release of fear, unhappiness, confusion

Sun - @and-i-cant-resurrect-you 

Upright - fun, warmth, success, positivity, vitality

Reversed - temporary depression, lack of success

Judgement 

Upright - judgement, rebirth, inner calling, absolution

Reversed - self-doubt, refusal of self examination

World  

Upright - completion, integration, accomplishment, travel

Reversed - lack of completion, lack of closure

♦ Characters And Ships

Characters (for reader inserts)

Jim Kirk (AOS)

Leonard McCoy (AOS)

Spock (AOS)

Scotty (AOS or TOS)

Steve Trevor

Steve Rogers

Bucky Barnes

Clint Barton

Bruce Banner

Thor

Peter Quill

Skurge

Owen Grady (Jurassic World)

Nicholas Devereaux (The Princess Diaries 2)

Cinderella’s Prince (Into The Woods)

Bernie Webber (The Finest Hours)

Jack Ryan (Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit)

Toby Howard (Hell Or High Water)

FDR Foster (This Means War)

Dr. Alex Murray (A Wrinkle In Time)

Robert the Bruce (Outlaw King)(I can’t help it he’s too precious with Elizabeth!!)

Eomer

Vaako (The Chronicles of Riddick)

Gavin (Pete’s Dragon)

William Cooper (RED)

John Kennex (Almost Human)

Vincent Stevens (The Loft)

Kirill (The Bourne movies)

Ships

McKirk

WonderTrev

Jim Kirk x Eomer

Jim Kirk x Vaako

Jim Kirk x Scotty (Scirk)

Owen Grady x Charlie Weasley (from Harry Potter)(I know no one will use this ship but I have to have hope ya know?)

WonderKirk

Napollya (Napoleon Solo x Illya Kuryakin from (T.M.F.U.)

Merthur

I have expressed interest in other crossfandom ships in the past that involve one (or some) of the characters listed above so if you have an ship in mind ask me about it and I may grant an exception to it (no sp*rk though so don’t even try that)

♦ Other Prompts

Sentence Prompts (gathered from around tumblr)

“I…think I’m in love?” - @the-goddamn-queen 

“Are you scared? Don’t be. ‘ll protect you from today onwards.” @haveyouseenmymind

“It’s crazy, isn’t it? Two complete strangers who know nothing about each other being brought together like this.”

your car slid into a snowbank and i’m the mechanic that comes to tow you

i hate the holidays more than anything in the world and you drive me nuts because you love the holidays more than anything in the world and this is why we aren’t friends (enemies to friends to lovers hello)

i’m constantly dragging all my friends to your hockey games because i think you’re so much fun to watch and i don’t think you’ll ever notice me

you knit me a sweater for christmas and i realize i am in love with you @bsotstory 

your birthday lands on christmas so no one ever remembers except this year i’ve asked everyone to delay their holidays to throw you a proper birthday bash

I build a fort in the college courtyard and have been throwing snowballs at people passing by and you are not impressed

our first date is spent walking around our small town holding hands and talking as soft snow falls around us @resistance-is-futile81 

I mean life is full of surprises. You could find the love of your life tomorrow, but you could also wake up bald. @the-goddamn-queen 

Will you press pause on your SHIT for 5 minutes? @the-goddamn-queen 

“Let’s not confuse healthy eating with a hot dog.”

“I’m gonna lay down and die for like a half hour okay?”  @auduna-druitt

“So MacGyvering this out of my tuckus right now.” @captainsbabysitter-blog 

“I just did some calculations, and I’ve been able to determine that you’re full of shit.” @frostingsfics 

“You screw with me, I’ll screw with you.”

“i’m pretty good at providing distractions.”

“Why is there a picture of Steve Buscemi in your bathroom?!”

“These stars are nothing compared to the ones I’ve seen in your eyes.”

“Are you ready to dance with the devil?” @bookcaseninja

hey i just moved into the house next door and i just wanted to let you know that your dog keeps getting into my yard an - wait what? what do you mean that’s a cat????? that’s not a cat it’s fucking huge!!!! (turns out it is a cat, it’s just really big and fat) @haveyouseenmymind 

The postal worker delivered your package to my place accidentally and I was expecting something so I totally didn’t look before I opened it and… wow that is um… quite an interesting thing you bought and I’m here to return it

our dogs are in love with each other and it’s making things awkward at the dog park AU

I injured myself doing something stupid at a holiday party and you’re the doctor at the emergency clinic AU

I just moved into a new apartment and went to buy groceries, but I bought more than I could carry back. I’ve stopped to catch my breath when I hear someone asking if I need help and I look up and the sun is literally making you glow like a damn angel. @and-i-cant-resurrect-you 

where one person is actually famous and sets up a dating account with their real picture and the other sees it and is like, oh dude you are not fooling anyone with that picture and when they actually meet the other is pissed because DUDE YOU’RE THAT FAMOUS PERSON and the other is like, yeah, i mean, i thought you knew…

i have a soft spot for cats so i always feed the fat one that’s always hanging out in the hall with treats and now it started hanging around me fuck i’m so sorry i didn’t mean to accidentally steal your pet @filatarcangelus

“ur just a random stranger and i’ve been ranting to you for like 20 minutes about how much i hate this one band but now several groups of people came up to you asking for pics and autographs, and oh shit it turns out you’re in the band i’ve been going on about” au

You’re a famous viner and I constantly witness you doing the weirdest things AU

“I went to see you live in concert and was front row and you went into the crowd and I grabbed your hand, but started freaking out so much that I was touching you that I couldn’t let go to the point where security had to physically tear me away from you and now you’ve invited me backstage literally what” AU

AU Prompts (each of these (baring the Soulmate AU) has a two person limit)

Soulmate AU (there will be no limitations on this prompt) - @frostingsfics 

A/B/O AU

Shop AU -

Book shop,

flower shop,

bakery,

coffee shop/cafe,

ice cream shop,

boutique/antique store

Professors/Teachers AU

Wings AU - @bookcaseninja 

Supernatural Creature(s) AU

vampires,

werewolves,

fey,

shapeshifters,

Ghosts,

demons,

Angels

merpeople

Magic/HP AU - @haveyouseenmymind 

Celebrity/Famous Face/Hollywood AU

Fake Relationship AU - @captainsbabysitter-blog 

Youtuber/Viner AU

Circus AU - @kjs-s 

Roommates AU - @auduna-druitt

Historical AU

Fairy Tail/Disney AU

Spy/Secret Agent AU

Royalty AU - @and-i-cant-resurrect-you 

Classic Novel Pride & Prejudice AU

Tagging those interested: @musicmandy1991 (tumblr won’t let me tag you????) @haveyouseenmymind @outside-the-government @tardisoftheshire @bookcaseninja @miraclesoflove @exiledtime @cynically-optomistic @frostedej

[starkexposition]

The Bachelor: Tony Stark Edition

Forced against my will, at gunpoint, to write this. Here it finally is.

The Bachelor AU

Rating: Teen? Mature??? It’s Peter’s perspective, y’all Parings: Tony/Steve, Tony/Bruce, Tony/Thor, Tony/Loki, Tony/T’Challa, Tony/Strange, Tony/Quill, Tony/Bucky, Tony/Rhodey, Featuring Superfamily Summary: One man. Nine contestants. Several weeks in paradise. All through the horrified eyes of one sticky, adopted son.

This is a bad idea. This is a very bad idea.

I can’t really blame myself for this in the slightest. Reality T.V. is its own form of entertainment—its own industry. Any kid my age that says they haven’t indulged in reality shows at least once in their life is lying about it. That’s why I agreed—not because I was serious, not because it was a genuine interest of mine—but because I just thought it would be cool.

Anyway, the opportunity presented itself and now we’re here. Did I think ABC’s team was actually this serious? No. Did I think ABC would send their people to our doorstep the very next day? Never. Did I expect my dad to actually agree to do it? Not in a lifetime.

I was very wrong.

Long story short: when you’re adopted by the second richest man on the planet and probably the most famous man on the planet, you meet a lot of people in fancy suits that introduce themselves to you and inform you of what they do for a profession, by which you start to tune them out because you’re too busy staring at the gray hair that’s just intrusively sitting on their black blazer and you’re wondering if they’re aware of it or even if they’re aware of how gray their hair is getting, and next thing you know, you’re nodding at questions they’re asking you about yourself and now it’s obvious that you’re not listening and—

“Pete,” Mr. Stark quipped.

“Sorry,” I said, swallowing. “What was the question?”

Before I knew it, my father had rolled his eyes and drifted away from the conversation to another, leaving me to suffer through the conversation alone, without any help—without someone there to back me up when my collar would get too tight and I needed someone to take over. Oh, god. Oh my god, it was so painful. Not the collar, but the lady and her white hair and piercing eyes. And the whole adulthood, networking, real-life LinkedIn party that turned out to be way different from what I thought it would be. Three root beers deep and I was still dissatisfied.

“How did you and Mr. Stark meet?” The lady repeated herself, only slower than the first time, which really didn’t make me any more interested in the conversation than I already was.

I smirked at her words, stifling a laugh. “You make it sound like we’re dating.”

Wait.

What?

“Sorry,” I quickly jumped on my words as her eyes widened at my response. “I need to, uh… well, you know, get better at the whole—” Confused eyes pierced through mine, voiding my body of my soul and leaving it with nothing but regret and burning cheeks. “I, uh, had an internship with him a few years back.”

The woman laughed—she laughed. At me? It was possible. Probably likely. There was no way I was free. Not this quickly… “You’re quite alright, Mr. Parker,” she said. “You just surprised me, that’s all.”

“My, uh, bad…” I muttered, glancing around to spot my father, who was at a comfortable distance away from me, chatting with… Elon Musk? And Grimes?

“Actually,” the woman cleared her throat to grab my attention again, “it’s very funny that you said that.”

“Thanks,” I smiled.

The woman’s face faltered briefly in confusion, and she blinked her thoughts away. “I mean coincidentally.”

“Oh…” I nodded slowly, pretending to understand.

The lady pursed her lips and watched me for a second. “Your father is single, right?”

“Only sometimes,” I said.

“What does that mean?”

“Nothing,” I stared. “He is single, yes. You were saying?”

She hesitated before her next proposition, eyeing me carefully. “As you know, over at ABC, we feature many reality shows, including The Bachelor…”

So, that was her job. Huh.

“You’ve heard of The Bachelor, right, Peter?” The woman asked.

“Of course,” I told her. “I don’t live under a rock.”

“Ah, well,” she nodded slowly, a smile rising to her lips. “How would you feel if your father was given his own season?”

I widened my eyes. “Are you serious? That’d be so cool!”

“You think he’d want to do it?” Her eyes fell to Mr. Stark.

“Doesn’t matter if he wants to,” I said. “He should.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” the lady said. “It was nice meeting you, Mr. Parker.”

“It was nice meeting you too, Miss…” She was first to leave the conversation, cleverly making her exit before I had to painfully try to remember her name from earlier. I turned back to the bartender and tapped my hand down to get his attention.

“A fourth, Mr. Parker?”

I nodded. “I need it.”

Maybe I’m wrong if I say I didn’t egg it on, because I definitely did, but did I really seem that serious? I don’t think so.

So, there wasn’t really a valid reason for Mr. Stark to wake me up the next morning at only eleven by rudely turning off my room’s tinted windows and standing in my doorway with his arms crossed. I opened my eyes and glanced at him before covering my head with my pillow.

“Pete.” He said. “Wake up.”

“No,” I groaned.

“You want to tell me why ABC is in our home right now?” His voice was thick with frustration.

“Because you let them in?”

He pulled the blankets off of me. “Peter,” he said. “Get up. Now.”

I grudgingly pulled the pillow from my head and sat up, rubbing my eyes. “I honestly don’t know why they’re here,” I told him, “but I have a feeling you’re about to tell me.”

“They said you talked to them,” his tone was short and low.

I looked up at him, his eyebrows raising expectantly, and then shook my head. “I had that conversation with that one lady last night, but I didn’t like… Call them or anything.” I narrowed my eyes a bit as his face grew skeptical. “Wait, why? What do they want?”

“Get dressed and come out here when you’re done,” he said, and the door was shut.

I sat on my bed for another minute, glancing around my room in exhaustion before I finally stood and decided to ignore his directions, making my way out to the living room after him. “So,” I said loudly, “What’s up?”

“Peter! Just got out of bed, huh?” The lady from the night before sat on our sofa next to Pepper, smiling way too much. All eyes drifted to me, including Dad’s, whose immediately rolled at my appearance. “We were just discussing the show.”

I looked at my father, who looked back with daggers in his eyes. “Right, uh, I totally think you should do it, Mr. Stark,” I said. His face hardened even more. “I mean, you should see yourself right now. If looks could kill, I’d certainly be dead again.”

Too soon?

“Not funny, Pete,” he warned.

I nodded. “Right. Sorry.”

“Your father, Peter,” the woman began again, clearing her throat, “has actually already agreed to do it.”

“W-What?” I looked back and forth between her and my dad, whose face lightened slightly. “Then why were you just mad at me?”

“Because it woke you up,” Tony shrugged. “Sit with us. We were just getting to your part.”

“My part? Wait,” I shook my head, sitting down across from them. “No. I never agreed to do anything.”

“No,” the lady said, “But your father and I agreed that you should be a key component of it.”

My eyes fell to my father as a smirk rose to his face. “Why?”

“Audience viewers love kids,” she said.

I shook my head. “They do not,” I insisted.

“Peter…” Mr. Stark hushed.

“Listen, I’m audience viewers and it’s my professional opinion that I stay one,” I told them.

The lady nodded slowly and started tapping at her tablet. “Perhaps you’ll change your mind after I show you…” She placed the tablet in front of me on the coffee table. “Your amenities.”

I leaned forward and peered at the screen, my eyes widening as I read the list. “How often to I have to be on the show?”

“Only a few times, Peter,” Pepper chimed in.

I looked from her to my father and the lady, then back down at the list before me. “Fine,” I sighed, sitting back. “What is it that I have to do?”

A few moments later, I was already packing, regretting three out of five root beers and every conversation I’ve ever had with an adult. And no matter how excited Mr. Stark seemed to be, there was one thing I was still certain of: despite whatever the outcome might be of this whole thing, it was still a very bad idea.

A very bad idea, indeed.

[izaswritings]

Title: at last, sunrise

Synopsis: Rapunzel gets kidnapped, Varian gets adopted, and a couple of evil hoodlums get what’s coming to them. All in all, it’s a good day.

Notes: I mentioned in my fic daybreak of the victor that Rapunzel sees Varian as her little brother, and I kind of wanted to write more on that? So here, have this—fluff, humor, feels, and sibling bickering/bonding all in one.

I’ve said this before, but—as much as I adore writing character development, it is so nice to explore the after, too.

Didn’t edit this nearly as much as I usually do—please let me know if you catch any mistakes!! (Also, I’m always open for feedback or constructive criticism, so please, don’t be afraid to tell me if you think something doesn’t quite fit!)

-

This fic is a prequel to two other fics of mine, daybreak of the victor (which can be read here or here) and the problem with politics (which can be read here and here). You don’t need to have read these fics to understand this one, but it does provide some background for the fic!

AO3 Link for this fic is here.

-

The tunnels beneath Corona’s castle are the stuff of nightmares. No matter how many times Rapunzel has been here, they are unchanged. Dark, damp, and as frightening as they were the first time she stepped through them. They are lit by a ghastly green glow, thin and weak, barely illuminating the floors, and even an extra lantern cannot quite pierce through the darkness that surrounds them. They are always full of dust and cobwebs, danger lurking around every corner. They are mystery incarnate, holding secrets and threats Rapunzel can only guess at, a place of constant peril.

“Princess,” Varian says, from behind her, voice dark with irritation, “if you don’t stop laughing, I’m going to have to gag you.”

They are walking side-by-side in the tunnels, Varian holding the lantern above their heads to light their path. On Rapunzel’s shoulder, Pascal is nestled into the hood of her cloak. At the moment, none of them are quite looking where they are going— Varian is giving Rapunzel the stink eye, Pascal is having conniptions, and Rapunzel is currently dying.

“Oh!” Rapunzel says, and slaps a hand across her mouth. She can’t quite stop giggling, however. “Oh, Varian, but their faces!”

A smile twitches at Varian’s lips before he ruthlessly squashes it, scowling at her so forcefully it looks more ridiculous than threatening. In the light of his lantern, she can see his cheeks go pink. “Stop, stop it, I was improvising!”

“It is I, Varian! The Alchemist! Come to enact my revenge!” Rapunzel mimics, and has to stop, she’s laughing so hard. She places both hands on her knees and wheezes. Tears bead in her eyes. “Oh, Pete! Stan! I’m so sorry!”

Varian elbows her. “Stop laughing!” His cheeks are bright red, the tips of his ears burning. “I had to improvise, okay? I didn’t know they would come back right when I was sneaking you out! You said Cassie was keeping them distracted!”

“No, no, it was good, really!” Rapunzel insists, and clasps a hand to her mouth before she can burst into hysterical giggles all over again. “Very convincing!” she squeaks out through her fingers. Her voice is high and strained.

Varian gives her a disgruntled look, unconvinced. “Somehow I do not believe you. Why is that?”

Rapunzel takes a deep breath, shaking her head to get her laughter back under control. “Oh, I’m sorry, Varian, it’s just…” She bites her lower lip, grinning into the back of her hand at the memory.

He’s not wrong about Cassandra, she had promised to fill in—alas, Pete and Stan must have somehow slipped her notice. Varian had reacted very well, all things considered, and it probably would have been okay, dramatic speech and all, except… well. Varian hadn’t been wearing his alchemist’s mask at the time, and instead of intimidating, he’d just looked rather panicked. A bit like a startled rabbit, honestly.

In other words— Adorable.

“It was just… so… you,” Rapunzel decides finally.

Varian reels back at this, overblown offense on his face. He waves both hands in the air, the lantern swinging wildly in his grip. “What! What’s that supposed to mean?”

Rapunzel wavers her hand back and forth in a vague gesture. “Just… you.”

He scowls at this, turning his back on her with a dark mutter under his breath. He raises his voice, sounding peeved, not looking at her. “…This is a kidnapping, you know. I’m kidnapping you. Just so we’re clear.”

Rapunzel looks down at her unbound wrists and unchained feet, the frying pan at her side. She looks back at Varian, at the comically serious expression on his face, the near pout he is just barely biting back.

Her choice is instantaneous. Rapunzel sags dramatically against the wall, as if her knees have gone weak, Pascal bawling fake tears on her shoulder. “Oh!” she says, pitching her voice high and breathy in pretend terror. “You dastardly fiend! You have captured me! Taken my only means of escape! Whatever shall become of me!”

“Why is it, that you’ve only gotten more embarrassing with age?” Varian complains, but he’s grinning despite himself. He shakes his head and shoves at her shoulder. “C’mon, move it, we gotta go! We’re burning lantern-light here, night won’t last forever.”

Rapunzel fakes a stumble and Pascal gives a nice theatrical wail. “Ah!” Rapunzel says, pretending to cower at the wall. It takes everything she has to not cackle at the look on his face. “Don’t hurt me, dear sir! Mercy! Mercy on me!”

Varian stares at her for a long moment in contemplative silence. “I’m gagging you,” he decides finally, and Rapunzel laughs so hard she falls over.

-

See, it starts like this: the separatist group of Saporia decides to threaten war.

To be more precise—the Separatists gather up their weapons, terrorize a few villages, somehow manage to get an alliance with a neighboring kingdom (Damn it, King Trevor, Rapunzel thinks), and then they make an ultimatum: give us land or else.

Now, this would be a very serious and not-at-all laughing matter sort of situation, if the Separatists hadn’t done it in such a way that Rapunzel is helpless to do anything other than stare at the missive and say, “But… that’s… so stupid?”

“Honey, they’ve infiltrated our kingdom.”

“But we know their base?”

Her father sighs at her. “They want us to attack them, Rapunzel. They have the treaty with Equis for that reason. If we crush them publicly, as a kingdom, without a crime that King Trevor can’t excuse—well. Equis can retaliate. It will break into full-blown war.”

Rapunzel arches an eyebrow. “Then… don’t attack them publicly. We can send men in disguise!”

Her father crosses his arms. “How many men? They’ll know it’s us if we send an army. Trevor—” He practically growls the name, “—will immediately suspect. We can’t send more than two or three people, and we most certainly can’t do that.”

The solution to that, of course, is simple. “Send me,” Rapunzel says without thinking, and gets promptly banished to her room.

Thanks, Dad.

Sometimes he’s good at respecting her choices, Rapunzel thinks absently, tapping her quill against her lips as she writes her letter. Other times, her father can be rather exhausting.

The difference between now and then is that nowadays, Rapunzel had no more patience for it. Her father has forbidden her from infiltrating and taking out the Separatist group? Fine. She’ll just sneak out and do it herself.

Of course, it never hurts to have help.

It’s easy, grabbing a hold of Varian—easier than it would have been a few years ago, before he returned to Corona. All she has to do is borrow Owl and send him off with a message, and then she meets Varian in a secret location a few days later. He always comes, when it is Rapunzel asking; she suspects lingering guilt.

Two days after she sends the message, she arrives at the Snuggly Ducking, a usual meeting place of theirs. Varian is already there waiting. He stands the moment he sees her, walking quickly to her side, pale with worried. “What is it?” he asks without any delay, searching her face. “What’s wrong?”

Rapunzel places a hand on his shoulder, and he jumps at the contact, blinking fast. “Calm down,” she tells him gently. “I’d have said if it was anything immediate. Come on, let’s sit. Have you eaten?”

Only after they order some food and drink, and Rapunzel has secured a private room from Lance, does she finally sit down to talk. The room is small, but secluded, the walls secure from eavesdroppers and attackers alike. Two small chairs and a small wooden table is its only furniture.

Rapunzel settles down in her usual chair, and rolls out the map for Varian to see. The door opens before she can speak, Lance sweeping in with their food. Rapunzel gives him a sincere smile. “Thank you, Lance. I’ve missed your cooking.” She glances at the plate and gasps in delight. “Ooh, and pie, too?”

“Of course! Anytime, little lady, if it’s for you,” Lance replies warmly. He sets down the plates and ruffles Varian’s hair with a grin. “Anything for my favorite customers! Lemme know if you two find any more buried treasure like last time, y’hear?”

Varian bats his hand away with a scowl, and Lance laughs deep from his gut, walking away. “I’ll keep the eyes off your back,” he calls after them as he exits. “Go save the kingdom or something for me!” He pokes his head through the doorway to point a finger at Varian. “And you, kiddo, you better let me know if you’re staying for dinner.”

Varian mutters under his breath and brushes his hair back into its usual style, tying the strands behind his head in a loose pony-tail. “Yeah, yeah. I’m staying.”

“Wonderful! I’m making your favorites, then. It’s a special day, after all!”

Rapunzel waves at Lance’s back as he exits and turns to Varian the moment he’s out of sight. “Special day?” she asks with interest.

“Doesn’t matter,” Varian dismisses, waving it off. “Lance is just being—Lance. Mother-henning me.” His hand drops, and Rapunzel suddenly finds herself pinned under a fierce stare. Varian is practically bouncing in his seat, his fingers tapping hard against the table.

“Now can you tell me why you wanted to meet?” he asks, without any more delay. “Usually when its small stuff I meet with Cassie or Eugene, so, it’s something big, right?”

Rapunzel shakes her head, more amused by his impatience than offended. “Here,” she offers, pointing out the mountain hideout. “Have you heard anything about the Separatists lately?”

Varian leans over, eyeing the map. “Yes,” he admits. “I sent Cassie a letter about them this morning, actually. They’ve been… weirdly active. Bolder than usual.” He looks up. “The royal family knows?”

“And the guards.”

He frowns at this. “But then why haven’t they…” Realization flickers across his face. “The Separatists—they have leverage?”

“What they have,” Rapunzel says, “is a deal with a King who is willing to defend their right to be Separatists.”

Varian clicks his tongue, catching the subtext. “You can’t attack without inciting war, can you.”

Rapunzel snaps her fingers at him. “Exactly. Or, arrest them for being Separatists without getting the same result. Basically, we’re checked!”

Varian frowns. “It’s checkmate, actually. Checkmated…?” His face screws up, and he coughs into his hand. “…Anyway, you are acting weirdly peppy for this conversation topic? It’s a little freaky? Not like, bad freaky, but—”

Rapunzel snaps the map closed, cutting off his ramble. “That, my friend,” she says with dramatic grandeur, “is because I have a solution.”

Both eyebrows rise up, and a smile twitches at the corners of his mouth. “Okay…?”

Rapunzel clasps his hands in hers and leans forward over the table so he can’t escape. “Varian,” she says solemnly, “how do you feel about kidnapping a member of the royal family?”

Varian freezes.

Rapunzel grins.

“Oh, no,” Varian says, very quietly, and that is when Rapunzel starts laughing.

-

“I don’t know why I had to be the one to come,” Varian grumbles, hours later.

“Quiet!” Rapunzel hisses back. They are crouched in a bush, ducked underneath the many branches and leaves. She cannot help but be thankful, for once, that her long hair is now cut short; even unbreakable, it would have been a pain to lug around and hide. “Do you want them to find us?”

“I dunno, do I?”

Rapunzel frowns at him, disapproving, and Varian subsides with a sigh. His shoulders droop, his attitude falling to uncertainty. “I just don’t know if it’s a good idea, okay? What if we get caught?”

“Easy,” Rapunzel says, and hefts up her frying pan. “We get to practice! It’s been a while since I went all out, y’know?”

“Well…”

“You have your staff, don’t you?”

“…I do…”

“And all your alchemy concoctions?”

“Well, not all, but…”

Rapunzel studies his face and gentles, smiling sympathetically and nudging at his shoulder. “Remember a few years back?” she asks, soft. “When you and I went into the tunnels, and fought our way through all those boobytraps?”

“Yeah,” Varian says. “And then I stole a useless flower, betrayed you and the kingdom, and started making what turned out to be some of the worst decisions of my life?”

Rapunzel punches his shoulder, a move reminiscent of Cassandra, unamused by this. “Before that. Just— just the tunnels. The moving walls, the traps, the collapsing floors…”

“The automaton,” Varian offers, brightening a little, as Rapunzel knew he would. Science has forever been Varian’s love. Even just the mention of the robot is enough to bring a sliver of joy to Varian’s face.

She beams at him. “Yes, exactly! The automaton. We worked together pretty well then, didn’t we?”

His smile is sudden and startling, small and uncertain but bright. “…Yeah. Yeah, we did!”

She nudges his shoulder again. “That’s the spirit! And I mean, after having faced such a… a marvel of ancient scientific achievement, what are a few goons?”

This time, Varian grins, all teeth. “Easy pickings?”

Rapunzel matches his smile, bolstered by his good mood. “Exactly! So chin up, okay? Don’t worry. I’m here with you— we’ll be fine.”

“Okay,” Varian says, and this time he really sounds like he means it. Rapunzel tugs a twig from his hair and tells him the rest of her plan with a wicked smile.

Varian matches her grin with one of his own, laughter in his eyes. “Aw, you’re right,” he says, warmth in his voice, “we do make a pretty good team, Princess.”

-

“I seek an audience with the to-be King of Saporia,” Varian says coldly, shoving Rapunzel forwards. Rapunzel stumbles in her footing. Her arms are wrenched tight behind her back, tied with rough twine and twisted so she can’t get free. There’s a gag around her mouth and fire in her eyes, the hook of Varian’s staff circling her throat.

At the entrance of the mountain hideout, home of the Separatists, the look-outs hesitate, stepping back, glancing uncertainly between one another. Neither of them speaks.

Varian’s eyes narrow, shoulders drawing back. He grabs Rapunzel’s arms and forces her to her knees so that he can point the staff at them, instead.

“Well?” Varian snaps. He makes a terrifying sight, in this midnight darkness— a tall and snap-thin teen, all angles, with dark circles like bruises beneath his eyes and deep shadows across his cold face, a wicked scar trailing across one cheek. Varian tilts up his chin and jabs the staff in the look-out’s direction, the alchemical concoctions tied to the tip glowing a sickly green-and-yellow. “Get going, before I decide to find him myself.”

One guard steps back, but the other steps forward, sword held out, expression uncertain. “Who—who are you? I don’t—”

“I am someone who wants revenge on Corona, same as you,” Varian says. “What more do you need to know? I have the Crown Princess at my feet and my staff at your throats. I don’t advise you make me wait any longer.”

This, it seems, is enough for the guards— without a second glance, they both flee into the hideout, vanishing into the dark, leaving Varian and his prisoner alone.

The moment they vanish, Varian’s shoulders sag, and the cold expression falls from his face. He looks down at Rapunzel in worry. Rapunzel sits up and winks at him.

“For the record,” Varian whispers down to her, “I've changed my mind. I hate this plan so much. I mean sure, they were dumb enough to both leave and get him—their hideout is completely undefended right now, I’m a bit offended, but—”

Rapunzel rolls her eyes at him, sitting back on the dirt. Pascal crawls out from behind her hair, shaking his head up at Varian from her shoulder.

“I mean, yeah,” Varian admits, squinting at the unprotected hideout entrance, scar scrunching up near his eye, “it’s nice to be respected, but like— wow, this is one of worse ones yet. The plan, I mean. I’ve met worse goons— the plan, this plan though, oh yikes.”

Rapunzel turns to stare at him, deadpan. She cannot believe him. Is he really saying this now? Here? When they are quite literally in the middle of said plan? Ridiculous.

Varian looks back. “Oh, wow. Did you learn that one from Pascal? ‘Cause it kinda feels like you learned that one from Pascal.”

Pascal squints at him. Varian nods knowingly. “Yep,” he says. “That was a Pascal-look for sure.”

Footsteps and voices echo from within the hideout, and all three of them pause, before they snap back into character. Pascal vanishes back behind Rapunzel’s hair, and Rapunzel directs her eyes to the ground, shoulders bowed in pretend defeat. Varian gingerly places the crook of his staff back at her throat.

“Positions, everyone, positions,” Varian mutters, mockery of a stage play director, and giggles nervously under his breath.

Rapunzel bites her lip to keep from laughing and shakes her head. Angry thoughts, she reminds herself. Must think angry thoughts!

By the time the Separatist self-proclaimed King and entourage turns into the light, Rapunzel is ready, eyes lowered but burning with fury. It is not hard. All she has to do is remember the threat this man poses to her people, and the rage comes quickly.

Varian’s face is once more wiped clean of emotion, his cold blue eyes glittering with malice. When he sees the Separatist leader arrive, he smiles a crescent smile, a smile too wide to be sincere, devoid of true joy and warmth.

“King of Saporia,” Varian says, calm. “I’ve come to offer you my services.”

“Have you,” says the man, but he seems non-hostile, mollified by the title Varian has granted him. He glances at Rapunzel and then away again. “A bold statement, my dear boy. Why, pray tell, should I believe you? Or even have need of such services?”

“Because I have the Crown Princess of Corona at your feet and skills you could only dream of,” Varian says, smile dropping. Silly questions always have made him impatient. “Do the math, old man.”

“The Crown Princess—?” the man starts, looking to Rapunzel for a long moment. After a second his eyes go wide with recognition. “That is—… by the Moon, it is her.”

This time when he turns to Varian, he doesn’t seem nearly as confident. “Who… just who are you?”

“One who hates Corona as much as you do,” Varian says simply. He smiles again, hard and cold as stone. “Tell me, would-be King of Saporia. Have you heard of the Alchemist?”

“The Alchemist? You?” The false king steps back. “But I heard… I heard he was much older. And you don’t look at thing like the wanted poster…”

“Is it my fault if the kingdom is full of fools?” Varian asks simply. “They didn’t want the stigma of being beaten by a fourteen-year-old; worked out well for me all these years. I am tired of this. Do you agree, King? Or should I go,” he pulls back the staff, near choking Rapunzel, and she holds her breath to keep from coughing, “—and give my gift to someone else more… appreciative?”

“No!” The Separatist leader says, panic and greed clear as day in his eyes. “No, no, my dear boy… You, you are welcome! Your company, your abilities…” His eyes stray to Rapunzel. “And your gift.”

“Wonderful,” Varian says. He smiles, much more genuinely this time, and squeezes Rapunzel’s shoulder in a silent cue. “We have a deal then. Now—”

All at once, Rapunzel breaks into motion. She twists and turns and fights with all her might, and Varian lunges at her bound wrists, pretending to struggle to keep a hold on her.

“Damn you, help me!” he shouts at the Separatists. “Bring your men out here, hurry!”

“Can’t you do something?” the leader cries out, stepping closer, nervous at the idea of his prize escaping.

“Do as I say,” Varian snarls back, acting out his part perfectly even as he dabs chemicals on Rapunzel’s bound wrists, “or Moon help me, I’ll—”

Rapunzel ‘rips’ free of the rope bindings while all are distracted and lunges for the Separatist leader. Her rope bonds fall away like water, the cords already eaten away by one of Varian’s concoctions, just as they planned. She grabs the startled leader, twisting his arm behind his back the way Cassandra taught her, and holding the rim of her frying pan under his throat, cold metal against his windpipe. “Drop your weapons!” she shouts, when all the Separatists go for their swords. “Stop moving now, or—or, the old man gets it!”

The old man gets it? Varian mouths at her, looking incredulous, and Rapunzel flushes, shaking her head at him.

The men mumble, shuffling uncertainly on their feet. Rapunzel glares her fiercest glare at them. “Well?” she demands.

They glance between each other. “…We could always get a new king,” one guard mumbles, and as one, every Separatist sword rises.

In her grip, the former Separatist leader sobs pathetically.

Rapunzel nearly drops her pan. “Really?” she says, disgusted and annoyed. “Really?”

“I told you so,” Varian mumbles, and that is when the men attack.

-

“Stop pouting,” says Rapunzel, an hour later, trudging through the woods. Varian follows at her heels, grumbling quietly. “We were fine!”

“You hit me in the eye,” Varian says back. “With a frying pan.”

“That was an accident!”

“You threw it straight at me!”

“I thought you were going to catch it! Everyone else always catches it!”

“Threw it at me,” Varian repeats stubbornly, rubbing forlornly at his face. “Giving me black eyes, making annoying plans, setting off flares…”

“It all worked out!” Rapunzel insists, offended by his complaints. She brushes a stray branch away from her face, ducking underneath another one, heading up the hill with a huff. “We were amazing! You didn’t accidentally say anything cheesy in a panic, I got to dramatically escape and hold a man hostage, we had a wonderful time subduing a threat to the kingdom, and we won! It was perfect!”

“Sure, they all got arrested,” Varian says. “But we had to run away from guards, and my eye hurts, and I told you so.”

Rapunzel grins at him. “And we won!” she repeats stubbornly, nudging him with her elbow.

Varian waves a hand. “Ehhh.”

“Ehhh?!”

“Yeah, that’s right. Ehhh. I think we should’ve done my plan.”

“Your plan!” Rapunzel says, crossing her arms. “What was your plan!”

Varian huffs. “Well, I may have forgotten to mention it, but—”

“Ohoho, did you?”

“—BUT,” Varian repeats loudly, “I’ll have you know it was a vastly superior plan—”

“Oh!”

“—Very well thought out—”

“I see!”

“—And it would have absolutely worked, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. So there.”

“W-ell,” says Rapunzel, trying not to laugh, adopting a lofty tone, “I’m very sorry for not following your wonderful and yet unspoken plan, Varian.”

Varian nods firmly, crossing his arms with a satisfied smile. “Thank you,” he says primly, and promptly trips over a branch.

Rapunzel catches him before he can face-plant the ground, laughing softly as she sets him upright. “You okay there?”

“Branches, too many branches. Where are we even going? This isn’t the way back to the castle!”

“That way is going to be crawling with guards for a while, so I figured we should avoid it for a bit.” Rapunzel tugs him forward, looping their arms together playfully. “I know a good place to rest, yeah? We’re almost there! Just, trust me?”

Varian goes quiet at this. When he finally responds, his voice is much softer. “Okay,” he says. His eyes are on the ground. “I trust you.”

Rapunzel faces forward, and doesn’t look back at him, doesn’t dare to. But she smiles into the shadowed brush, so wide and bright that the force of it nearly brings tears to her eyes.

She never really thought they could have this, is the thing, never believed she and Varian could ever be friends again. Those years ago, after that battle in Old Corona, she had thought that would be the end of it. She could apologize, she could give him a second chance, she could try— and maybe, things could be all right. But even then, she’d never dared to dream that this would happen. That he could forgive her, and that she could forgive him. That they could start over.

The events that brought them to this point—none of them were nice, none of them were pretty. Some still give Rapunzel nightmares, memories of a dark place, of a desperate chase, of a bloody arrow or a kingdom in ruin. She still has scars, pale and light, remnants of wounds even Rapunzel’s quick healing can’t erase entirely. Varian is missing half his ear, has a scar slashing across half his face. Eugene’s leg will never be the same; Cassandra’s back is a mass of scars.

Yet, for all the ugliness in their past, their future is bright. It is full of laughter and fun and fights that are more brawl than true danger. Rapunzel… she can never regret these past few years, not really. Not when it has brought her this future, not when it has brought her here, to a world where Varian says “I trust you,” and means it, a world where they are not enemies. A world with Eugene at her side and Cassandra set to be Captain of the Guard. A world where they are victorious.

These thoughts comfort her as they walk, set her heart at ease and keep her walk steady. When they reach her destination, she has enough good cheer remaining to make of a show of it, a low sweep of her hand and a silly smile.

“May I present to you—a wall!”

“Ah, yes, the kingdom border,” Varian says dryly. “A riveting sight. Truly amazing. It’s almost like I didn’t grow up in a border town and see it every day of my life—”

Rapunzel has already climbed to the top. “Quit sassing me and come up!”

“Princess, seriously, I already know—”

“Up!”

He sighs loudly, but starts climbing, only complaining a little bit. Halfway up, his gloves slip, and Rapunzel leans over the edge, catching him just in time. She yanks him up the rest of the way with one sharp tug. He’s lighter than she expects, though, and she pulls too hard—they go tumbling back against the stone, Varian yelping and Rapunzel wheezing when Varian’s elbow digs into her stomach.

“Ouch!”

“Ohhh, thanks for that, just what I needed, to be sent flying into space—”

“I keep forgetting how light you are,” Rapunzel says, laughing weakly, trying to catch her breath. “Eugene is right! Have you been eating regular meals?”

“I forgot how strong and how nosy you are,” Varian says in return, pushing himself up. He pats the dust from his hair. “I’m fine, Mom. I eat veggies and everything, lay off.”

“I just worry.”

He sighs at this, rolling over onto his back, arms out-splayed. “I know,” he says sadly. “You always worry. I wish you wouldn’t.”

Rapunzel has nothing to say to this, so she lays down next to him instead, arms folded on her chest, looking up to the stars. She’s quiet for a long moment, playing with her nails, before she dares to speak.

“I’m told that what older sisters do,” she says finally, hesitant. “Worry, I mean.”

Varian sucks in a tiny breath. “An… older sister,” he repeats, but his voice breaks on the words, makes it a question.

“Yes,” Rapunzel says. She tangles her fingers, untangles them, tangles them again. She has called Varian her brother before—just once, a year ago, and it had seemed right to do it—but she has never laid claim to the title in this way, mentioned herself as a part of his family, rather than just him as a part of hers. “If… if that’s okay?”

Varian is quiet, quiet for a long time, his breathing rasping faintly in the air. When he finally speaks, his voice is rough, wet with unshed tears. “…Yeah,” he says. “Yeah. I’ve… I’ve never had a sibling before. Its— I don’t… I don’t mind if— if you are.”

Rapunzel lets out a relieved breath, grinning up at the sky. “Okay,” she says, beaming at the stars. “Okay.”

“Do—do you?”

“Do I what?”

“Do you mind? Calling me— your brother. After everything.”

She rolls onto her stomach, pushing up on her elbows so she can reach out and tweak his nose. He yelps, hands flying to his face, and she laughs at his expression, confusion and childish annoyance clear as day in his eyes.

“I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it,” she tells him, warmth curling in her heart. She twists to sit up fully, legs dangling over the edge of the wall, the wind blowing through her hair. “How many times are you going to ask me that? You’re my brother. I told you that ages ago. Ah, you’re so silly sometimes.”

He laughs, or maybe cries, or maybe it’s something a little of both. He sits up too, next to her, one hand still rubbing at his nose. His eyes are blinking fast and he is hiding a smile behind his hand. “Ugh, where do you get off saying that? Remember the tunnels? Oh, you dastardly fiend—”

“May I remind you,” Rapunzel says with a grin, “of, It is I, Varian! Come to enact—”

“Okay okay! I get it, you win, can you please not remind me of that?”

Rapunzel breaks off into laughter, and after a moment of hesitation, Varian laughs with her, the last of the tension bleeding out from his shoulders. The wind blows cold against their faces, still clinging to the winter chill even in this early spring. In the distance, the capital city and the castle are awash in light, a glowing beacon on the horizon, a radiance gathering at its edges. It turns the far-off hills into black silhouettes, stains the clouds a brilliant gold and pink. Dawn is soon approaching.

Rapunzel smiles out over the kingdom and reaches out with one arm to hug Varian to her side on impulse. “Happy birthday, little brother,” she tells him, and kicks her feet over the edge. “Nineteen’s a big year—I know mine was. I hope you had fun tonight.”

He freezes in her hold, sucking in a sharp breath, stiff in her arms. “I didn’t know you—”

She grins at him. “A little birdie told me.”

“Who?”

“I think you’ll have fun finding out, won’t you?”

He pauses at this, and then sighs. “Lance. Oh, damn. There's gonna be gifts in my main hideout, isn’t there?”

“Better head to the Snuggly Duckling and pick them up before you go!” Rapunzel chirps, refusing to feel ashamed.

“You’re all terrible,” Varian says, but he is smiling, cheeks flushed with pleasure. “What, was this—this whole thing, was it—”

Rapunzel laughs sheepishly, one hand rising to pull at a strand of her hair. “Sort of…? I mean the Separatists, they were a legitimate issue, but… Yes.”

“I still don’t get how what we did solved anything,” Varian admits, picking at a loose thread in his vest. “Won’t King Trevor just declare war now? I mean, being a Separatist is a crime, but he’ll probably defend them against that charge, so…”

“Oh!” Rapunzel says, grinning back at him. “Actually, it’s pretty simple. See, you attacked and kidnapped me, and you made a deal with the Separatists— I can vouch for that. Ergo, because of that, they are guilty of aiding and requesting an attack on a princess, ergo this is a crime King Trevor can’t excuse, and thus— We charge them for the crime of assault, and since we aren’t persecuting them for being Separatists, King Trevor can’t throw a fit over it, and we leave them all to stew in their untimely demise.”

“Nice,” says Varian.

“I know, right? I make good plans.” Rapunzel pokes his side, and he squeaks in surprise, leaning away from her. “Nice subject change, by the way. C’mon, be honest. It was fun, wasn’t it?”

Varian smiles, a bit sheepish, his eyes bright. “Okay, okay. It was.” He takes a deep breath, looking as if he is about to speak, and then shakes his head. Abruptly he leans forward, twisting in her hold to hug her properly, both arms squeezing tight against her back, his hair brushing her cheek.

He has let go and pulled away before Rapunzel can react. “Thanks,” Varian says, very carefully avoiding her gaze. "For— for everything.”

Rapunzel blinks at him, still surprised by the sudden hug, and then smiles, soft and gentle. She feels like she's on cloud nine, so happy she could sing. “Of course.”

Varian shakes his head again, and stands suddenly, turning away. It cannot hide the tremble in his hands, the tears in his eyes, or the smile on his face. “I should go now,” he says awkwardly, fiddling with his clothes. “I still have…”

He waves his hand, looking frustrated, and Rapunzel nods knowingly, taking pity on him.

“I get it,” she says kindly. “Take care, Varian.”

He looks back at her. “You too, Princ…” He stops then, and smiles. “Rapunzel,” he corrects, and Rapunzel beams back at him, delighted.

They help each other down from the wall and Rapunzel wraps Varian in one last bruising hug before he can scamper off. For a moment he hesitates, and then his arms come around and hug her back, just as tightly.

“Goodbye, Varian,” Rapunzel says, squeezing him hard before she pulls away, hands resting on his shoulders. “I’ll see you soon.”

He grins up at her, for a moment looking every inch the boy he once was, the boy he still is, the boy she met years and years ago. “Bye, Raps.”

She waves him off and tries not to laugh when he leaves, because he is walking in the direction of the Snuggly Duckling. She hopes Lance doesn’t tease him too much, or throw too big of a celebration; she hopes he likes the gifts they all have left for him. She hopes tonight was as fun for him as it was for her.

She turns her face towards the sunrise and starts the long walk home, discussing with Pascal her story for how she ‘escaped’ her kidnapping. There is happiness in her heart and warmth brimming from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. She feels happy. She feels victorious.

All in all, she thinks, watching as the sun crests over her kingdom, it has been a good day. A good day, a good year, a good life. It is the happily ever after the tragedy, the sunrise at the end of the long night. They may have struggled to get here—but in the end that sun shines all the brighter to their eyes because of it.

Her story has ended at last, and this ending—this happily ever after they have all been left with—it is one she has come to love, with every fiber of her being.

She walks home to her family without fear, led on by the rising sun, and not once does she think to look back.

[trashpandaorigins]

Chapters: 10/10 Fandom: gotg, Marvel, MCU, Marvel Cinematic Universe Rating: Not Rated Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Groot/Rocket Raccoon Characters: Gamora, Star Lord, Peter Quill, Drax, Drax the Destroyer, Mantis (Marvel), Kraglin Obfonteri Additional Tags: Team as Family, parenting, Angst, Teen Angst, Love, Hate, Emotions, Hurt/Comfort, rocket does his best, sometimes its good enough, sometimes its not Series: Part 2 of Our Empire of Dirt Summary:Sequel to "Sweet Child of Mine." A few years after the events of GOTGVol 2. Groot is now an adolescent, Rocket and the rest of the team must try to navigate all the emotions that come with it. Old wounds of grief have not yet closed, friendships are fragile and there's always a galaxy to guard amid it all.

---

*Newly Edited Chapter!* While writing “Heaven Can Wait,” I realized that each story in this trilogy contains the song after which it’s been named! “Sweet Child of Mine,” ends with Rocket singing the song to Baby Groot and the latest chapter of “Heaven Can Wait,” Groot, Rocket and Peter all listen to the song on Pete’s new tape. I realized however the “And If You Don’t Love Me Now,” didn’t actually have the song “The Chain,” in it! So I edited chapter 4 of the fic to include the song, along with some important connects to Groot’s own crisis he’s working though in the story to give the title new meaning. I hope you enjoy and check out the entire series on my A03 now titled “Our Empire of Dirt.”