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jahayla-parker · 1 year ago

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Black & White : Peter Paker x Reader Series

Part 1

For full warnings, descriptions, and other parts, see series masterlist here.

Y/n bit her lip as she heard his creaky apartment door close as she locked hers.

It had been your cliche “meet-cute”; she’d literally ran into him while she was sorting through the pile of lecture notes in her hands. Keeping with the cliche, the papers had fallen to the floor and she apologized for crashing into him as she clumsily tried to quickly pick up each document. He’d been very understanding about it and even helped her gather the array of papers. But that’s where the cliche ended. Instead of the interaction sparking a relationship or even friendship, it merely ended as soon as she’d collected her belongings. So while it began as what seemed to be a meet-cute-like situation, in reality it was merely an awkward interaction between y/n and her neighbor.

Since that day, y/n had tried to make it up to him. While she knew what happened wasn’t a big deal, she also had never cared for the idea of people disliking her. She hoped she could at least be friendlier with him. They were neighbors after all. It wasn’t that they were unfriendly. But, it just seemed like every interaction had this cloud of awkward tension surrounding it. She wasn’t sure what was causing it. It’s not like she was trying to get super close to him, but at this point she didn’t even know his name despite them having had a handful of interactions and only living a few doors apart. And for someone like, y/n that felt strange. Especially because she sensed this neighbor of hers was uncertain of how he felt about her presence. Which only fueled her phoenix-like optimism and drove her to want to fix whatever it was that made him feel so tense and uncertain around her. She didn’t want her mere presence to cause anyone such discomfort.

Y/n smiled softly at him in greeting as they both turned away from their respective doorways. Their eyes met and he gave her a timid smile before he looked away. But y/n saw the way he tensed before doing so. She sighed quietly to herself as she began walking down the hallway to the staircase.

Peter saw the way his neighbor -the really pretty one who just so happened to live directly across from him in this rundown apartment complex- frowned faintly as she made her way to the stairs. “Uhh,” he mumbled nervously, uncertain if it was his place to even say anything. After all, he hadn’t even asked her name yet. He’d only interacted a few times; all of which he was an awkward mess during.

Peter still felt it wasn’t a good idea to let himself get close to her. But, he also couldn’t stand the way the frown on her lips felt so out of place. She had always seemed so positive and optimistic, even on days where she came home in her work clothes at an extremely late hour and barely staying awake. She always greeted him with a friendly smile, one that always made the days they ran into each other so much brighter than the rest of his days. So the uncharacteristic frown on her face tugged at Peter’s heart.

When the girl’s eyes flickered up from the grungy floor to meet his, Peter gave her a sympathetic smile. “Are.. it’s probably not my place,” he confessed in a hushed voice. “But, is everything okay?”

Y/n tried to hide her surprise over the fact her stranger of a neighbor was making conversation. It was small talk, but still. It was more than she’d gotten out of him so far. And that made her smile return. “Y-yeah,” she mumbled with a breathy laugh. “Thanks for asking though… uhh…”.

“Peter,” Peter introduced, holding his hand out towards his neighbor. He took a stabilizing breath as her warm and delicate hand grabbed his.

“Thanks, Peter,” y/n grinned as she shook his hand.

Peter’s face flushed as he listened to her say his name. The sweet smile she wore while repeating his name aloud caused a bashful expression to form on his face.

“I’m y/n,” y/n introduced with a giggle. Her words were coming out a bit childishly due to her being caught off guard by his Peter’s unexpected striking up of a conversation this morning. “By the way,” she added anxiously as her hand returned to her side.

Peter gave y/n what he was sure was a far too wide grin. “Nice to meet you,” he whispered shyly as he held the dingy door to the staircase open for her.

“You too,” y/n whispered back before adding a quiet thank you for him having held the door. She felt her phone buzz in her pocket just as she started down the stairs. Her eyes went wide as she saw the text from her classmate asking if she’d picked up the Scranton sheets for their upcoming test today. Shit. She meant to do that last night after work, but she’d gotten off far too late and had been too tired to even remember that intention. She would need to rush to campus to make it to the college bookstore in time to buy the answer form for the test before making it to class. “Sorry, I gotta go,�� y/n said in order to quickly explain why she was about to bolt down the stairs.

Peter tried not to laugh as he watched y/n suddenly sprint down the staircase, taking it two steps at a time. The senses that came with his abilities told him nothing was wrong, at least not in any way that he would need to be worried about. So, he let himself smile as he watched her burst of energy propel her clumsily through their crooked stairwell and out the door.

Peter groaned as he closed his GED program textbook and slid it across his small mattress. He’d been staring at the fine print for hours and desperately needed a break. While the material wasn’t difficult for him given he’d already learned most of it, he always focused deeply when studying. Fortunately by now, having nearly a year to work through it, his frustration over having to even do all of this to be done with high school had passed. He accepted that having to make everyone forget he existed understandably meant that they also had to forget his academic accomplishments as well. Nonetheless, he found himself extremely drained tonight. Peter had gone on patrol late the night before and into the early morning, only to then rush to work for his shift, and was just now finishing his nightly study session. He’d hardly had time to rest, much less eat or do something enjoyable.

After finding nothing edible in his barely functioning refrigerator, Peter figured he should at least head to the 24 hour bodega down the street and grab something to eat. He quickly threw on his navy blue hoodie and tied his converse; suddenly noticing his intense hunger. As he stepped into the hall to lock his door, he heard movement down the hallway. It was pretty late, it was reasonable to expect that most people would be asleep by now, so it naturally set him on edge. Peter had moved into a rundown apartment building in a not-so-great neighborhood due to his limited financial resources. Which meant he didn’t often have to go far to find trouble to fix during his patrols. But, he’ had yet to encounter anything like that in his own building so far. Peter begrudgingly turned to see who was behind the audible footsteps he heard, not in the mood to have to do his vigilante duties right now.

Fortunately, Peter realized it was his neighbor, y/n. She was wearing what he’d put together by now to be her work clothes. She had her keys clutched tightly in one hand, the tips of them sticking outwards from her palm defensively. Peter knew she was often having to work late, but this was far later than he’d ever noticed before. When y/n looked up and saw Peter, she smiled over at him. Peter noticed the way her grip on her keys lessened upon seeing him, making his heart flutter as he resisted a prideful smile.

“It’s really late,” Peter commented as he neared y/n. He noticed the way her eyes looked tired; she likely had a long day too.

Y/n giggled and bit her lip. “I know,” she nodded with a small smile.

Peter blushed at how obvious his comment was. He shook his head softly with a timid smile. “I… umm… I meant that… it’s not umm really safe out this late,” he rambled.

Y/n smiled appreciatively at Peter’s apparent concern. “I know, but I had to stay late at work,” she shrugged. “Besides, is it ever really?” She joked lightheartedly.

Peter gave a disappointed laugh; she wasn’t wrong.

“Plus, I’m coming home, whereas, you,” y/n added teasingly as she waved at Peter’s body, “seem to be just heading out”.

Peter chuckled and nodded. “Fair point,” he agreed.

“Where are you headed so late?” Y/n asked.

Peter blushed as he tried to find a way to explain why he had not eaten yet that didn’t sound so suspicious. “I umm… I’m hungry,” he simplified with a shy shrug.

Y/n’s eyes widened slightly before they narrowed as she squinted at Peter in an attempt to see his eyes in the dark hallway. “Ohh,” she mumbled, “munchies?”

Peter quickly shook his head. “No, no, I don’t.. I don’t uhhh, no,” he mumbled. “I just had been studying and forgot to eat,” Peter explained, leaving out the part where he actually hadn’t eaten all day due to his various responsibilities.

Y/n frowned slightly as a look of concern took over her face. “It’s really late to not have eaten,” she remarked. “Don’t get me wrong, I’ve done that too, but still,” she giggled and shook her head.

Peter nodded bashfully. “Yeah, so uh, I was gonna hit the bodega on the corner, and-,” he explained.

Y/n shook her head. “So that you can get mugged, or best case scenario, end up with food poisoning?” She teased. “Come on,” y/n instructed as she neared her door, “I’m sure I’ve got something much safer in my fridge”.

“Oh, you uh,” Peter blushed, “you don’t have to do that”.

Y/n nodded and smiled back at him. “I know, now come on,” she ordered lightly as she began unlocking her door.

“Did you make this?” Peter asked as he took another bite of the pasta.

Y/n nodded with a smile as she finished putting away her belongings she’d gotten out during the day. “It’s.. it was my mom’s recipe,” she admitted, fiddling with her necklace before she turned back to face Peter. “Is it warm enough? My microwave sucks,” y/n laughed.

Peter chuckled and nodded as he swallowed another bite. “It is, thank you again,” he commented. “It’s really good,” he grinned as he went in for more.

“I’m glad,” y/n hummed. “Do you mind if I take this half of the table?” She asked as she gazed at her microscopic sized leaflet table, the only table she managed to make fit in her cramped apartment.

Peter shook his head. “No, course not,” he replied swiftly. “Besides, it’s your apartment,” he smiled.

Y/n giggled and nodded as she walked over and set her notebook and one of her textbooks down on her half of the table. “Still, I know you were studying already, so you’re probably tired of looking at textbooks,” she explained.

“It’s fine,” Peter asssured. “Besides, that looks far more interesting than what I’ve been studying,” he admitted with a slightly jealous pout.

Y/n looked up at Peter as she opened her textbook to the bookmarked page. “Oh?” She questioned. “What is it that you’re learning?”

Peter felt his face flush and he looked away. “I am uhh, studying to get my GED,” he confessed quietly. When he noticed there was no awkward pause before y/n’s response, he gazed up and noticed she didn’t seem fazed by it.

“How close are you?” Y/n questioned, confused by the surprised look on Peter’s face.

“Uhh,” Peter mumbled. He shook his head as he worked to accept y/n’s simple acceptance and lack of judgment. “I should be able to take the test in another month or so,” he answered.

Y/n smiled warmly at him before looking down as she opened her notebook. “That’s exciting,” she hummed, “any plans after that?”

Peter nodded before realizing y/n was still looking down as she searched for a certain page in her notebook. “Yeah, I’m hoping to attend y/c/c after, I’ve been in touch with an admissions counselor,” he rambled shyly.

Y/n smiled and glanced up at Peter. “Really?” She asked. “That’s where I go,” she added, her smile growing.

Peter blushed and smiled back. He didn’t know how to express his excitement over his realization he’d be knowing someone he’d hopefully soon be attending school with while also not letting himself get too attached to someone again. So, Peter opted for a slight change in topic. “What are you studying?” He asked. The textbook in front of her was for y/f/s, but he didn’t know if that’s what her major was.

“I’m starting with getting my associate’s” y/n explained. She shrugged her shoulders briefly as she nervously added, “I would like to go past that, if I can still make that work financially”.

Peter nodded his head in understanding. “Is that why you work so late?” He wondered.

Y/n nodded. But despite the unfortunate circumstances being discussed, she still gave a timid smile. “Sometimes my class schedule makes it so I have to do the evening shifts at work, or the late night to early morning ones,” y/n acknowledged. Her timid smile grew as she remembered her optimistic outlook. “But, it’s worth it, I’m able to attend school, so ya know, gotta do what you gotta do,” y/n laughed timidly.

Peter laughed warmly in response and nodded. “You work at a diner right?” He asked, looking at her clothes for reference.

Y/n nodded. “Yeah, Gino’s,” she answered.

“Do you like it there?” Peter wondered.

Y/n smiled lightly at Peter’s interest. “It pays…, well it pays enough for me to be able to get this apartment,” she giggled. “And, they help with my schooling a bit, plus then owner works with my schedule, which I really appreciate. That’s more than most can say,” she admitted optimistically.

Peter nodded in understanding.

“Now,” y/n began softly. “I’ve not seen you in any work uniform, presumably because it’s in that backpack you tend to carry everywhere,” she observantly commented. “But, I surmise you work as well?”

Peter blushed and nodded shyly. “Yeah, I work at Joe’s Pizza,” he answered. “The one on Bleecker. Helps cover my rent costs,” he shrugged.

“Peter, can I ask you something?” Y/n asked randomly as Peter was examining her textbook after having finished the dinner she gave him.

“Yes,” Peter nodded. “Of course,” he said.

Y/n bit into her lip, nervous to say what was on her mind. “I actually, before tonight,” she clarified. “I thought you hated me, err or well,-“.

“Hated you?” Peter asked, unintentionally cutting y/n off due to his surprise. “You thought I hated you?” He repeated apologetically.

“Err… well, maybe not hate,” y/n tried to soften. “But… that you didn’t want to be around me,” she reworded.

Peter noted y/n’s attempts to make him feel better about her comment. But, it only made him feel even guiltier for having made someone so caring feel as if he disliked her. “Why did you think that?” He pressed softly, wanting to ensure it didn’t happen again.

“Well, it seemed like you weren’t too sure about me when we’d run into each other,” y/n began with a dismissive shrug. “Which I get, being strangers and all,” she rushed out. “But… it’s hard to explain.., it just seemed like you wanted to keep away from me. Like you wanted to keep your distance,” y/n concluded with another shrug.

Peter sighed and frowned as he stared down at his lap in guilt.

“So,” y/n whispered. “If I pushed you tonight,-“ she began.

“No!” Peter gushed as he vehemently shook his head. “No, you didn’t pressure me,” he reassured y/n. “I really appreciate the offer, and the amazing meal”. Peter swallowed thickly as he tried to think of a way to explain himself. “I…”

“You don’t owe me anything, Peter, I just..” y/n shrugged again. “It felt weird keeping that worry to myself, so I wanted to make sure,” she explained.

Peter nodded with a sympathetic smile. “I’m glad you said something,” he promised tenderly. “But no, I never hated you.”

Y/n nodded, but Peter sensed her lingering doubt. So he elected to explain his loss in a general sense. “I’m sorry it came across that way, I’ve just… I’ve let people get close and it didn’t end well…,” he muttered defeatedly.

“I’m sorry to hear that Peter,” y/n acknowledged. “But I think if you look back… you’ll maybe find it was still worth being close to them though?”

Peter nodded slowly, y/n’s ever present optimism ringing true.

“That is, if you’re not tired of pizza,” y/n laughed nervously upon realizing Peter might not be in the mood for the particular dinner she suggested after having worked at a pizzeria all day. As her feet scuffled bashfully against the dirty flooring in the hallway, she heard Peter’s soft chuckle.

“No, no,” Peter reassured y/n quickly. “Pizza is amazing,” he said, prompting a deep blush to take over his face. He laughed at himself and shook his head. “I eerrr, I meant, pizza would be amazing,” Peter rambled, looking up from his converse as he bit his lip.

Y/n smiled warmly and nodded. “Okay, um, come on in,” she whispered as she unlocked her apartment door. “I’ll call it in and pick it up when it’s ready, if you want to choose what movie to watch,” she offered as she discarded her bag on the hook by her door.

“You just got home, and it’s late,” Peter pointed out, spinning around to face y/n. “I’ll grab it when it’s ready,” he offered with a polite smile.

“Are you sure? You’re my guest, and-“ y/n argued lightly.

Peter chuckled. “We’re friends, I’m not a guest,” he teased. “Besides, it’s too late for you to go out alone”.

“But it’s fine for you?” Y/n questioned.

Peter nodded, “I’ll be fine, don’t worry”. He gave y/n a reassuring smile and a light shrug when she looked at him warily.

Once the order was ready, Peter had quickly left to go pick it up. While it wasn’t that far away from their apartment building, y/n was still surprised at how soon she heard a knock at her door.

Peter wiped his hand on the inside of his coat sleeve as he balanced the pizza boxes against the wall, erasing any sign of the webs he’d used in between the boxes to keep them steady as he had rushed back to y/n’s apartment. Once he was certain he’d gotten any webs off the bottoms of the boxes, he tapped her door with his foot.

After looking through the small glass hole in it to ensure it was Peter, Y/n quickly opened her front door. She smiled warmly but gave him a teasing glance. “So, if you’re not my guest, why are you knocking?” She taunted playfully as she stepped to the side so Peter could enter.

Peter chuckled and shook his head at y/n’s joke. “My hands were full,” he defended with a content smile.

“Mmhm,” Y/n laughed as she locked the door and followed Peter over to the coffee table.

Peter set the boxes down on the auburn table, the corner of the larger box nearly hitting a small box labeled as ‘Christmas decorations’ that was sitting near the edge. It took him by slight surprise. Granted, it being near the holidays was what had initiated their hang out tonight. Although, to be honest, Peter was looking for a reason to come over or to invite y/n over anyways. But, when he ran into her in the hallway, it was clear that they were both struggling a bit with the holidays. He didn’t know much about her family yet. In his defense, any time Peter had asked, y/n just offered him a timid smile before she changed the topic. Peter never pushed it. However, he couldn’t help but let his eyes peek inside tiny box that was sitting partially open beside their dinner. “Are these family heirlooms?” Peter asked tenderly as he caught sight of what seemed to be a hand painted Santa decoration.

“Are what-?” Y/n called out cluelessly as she walked over to join Peter. Upon seeing what Peter was staring at, she bit her lip. “Oh, yeah,” she sighed warmly. “Uh, yeah, they are,” she nodded with a nostalgic smile. “Sorry,” she mumbled for some reason as she shook her head and went to fluff the pillows on her futon, “It’s all I have that is Christmassy”.

Peter shook his head as he lifted his gaze up and over towards y/n. “There is no reason to apologize,” he smiled politely as he began to plate the pizza on the disposable plates she’d set beside him. “I was just noticing that you didn’t have them out yet,” he said, treading lightly. While Peter could tell the holidays were hard for y/n, he didn’t want to push too far. He needed company tonight, and while he was fearful of continuing to get closer to Y/n, he could see she had needed the company too. So, while he wanted to help her through whatever it was about the holiday that was troubling her, he didn’t want to get them into a place where she’d have to rely on him for support because he couldn’t handle not being able to give that to her. Plus, he admittedly needed her presence tonight and didn’t want her to shut down on him.

“Got a late start decorating, didn’t really have a reason to,” y/n said. However, her slightly sad comment didn’t ring in the air long. “But, I figured it’s still nice to decorate for yourself too, just haven’t gotten to it yet,” she shrugged with a timid smile. “Anyways, did you decide on a movie?”

Peter sensed there was more to it. But, this was the kind of answer he wanted, right? One that let him offer her some light comfort without getting to know her too well or building too deep of a connection between them. Right? Peter shook his head. “Oh, uhh, you pick,” he smiled as he sat down on the left side of the leather futon.

Y/n playfully rolled her eyes. She blindly grabbed the DVD case that was on the top of the pile Peter had been looking at when she was ordering their dinner. She quickly put in the movie before sitting beside him, their plates resting in between them. She tugged the blanket off the back of her futon and wrapped it around her, earning a chuckle from Peter as she buried herself under it.

Y/n hesitantly knocked on Peter’s door. Sure, he had invited her over via text, but given it was Valentine’s Day, it still felt weird to be knocking on his door. Plus, it was the first time she had been invited over to his apartment instead of them hanging out at hers. However, y/n’s hesitation resolved as soon as Peter opened his door with a friendly smile and welcomed her in.

“So this is it,” Peter chuckled nervously. He tried to ignore the self conscious butterflies suddenly in his stomach as he waved his hand around his apartment. His nerves eased and he even found himself smiling when y/n giggled at his joke with a delicate smile. Nevertheless, he silently watched as she looked around the room, taking it all in.

“Is that-?” Y/n began as she made her way towards the back half of the apartment. Only, she paused as she realized she didn’t have Peter’s explicit permission to move further inside. Before she could even turn around to ask him, Peter seemed to catch on to her worry.

“You can look around,” Peter reassured y/n with a warm chuckle.

“Thanks!” Y/n replied gleefully. She approached Peter’s desk, where his GED study guides were. But, it was actually what was next to the books that truly caught her attention. Sitting at the edge of his desk was a sewing machine. “You sew?!” She asked curiously as her fingers trailed over the smooth surface of the top piece.

Peter felt his cheeks flush and he nodded, only to realize y/n couldn’t see him. “Uhh.. yeah.., my aunt taught me,” he mumbled shyly.

“That’s really cool!” Y/n exclaimed, glancing back over her shoulder to grin at Peter. “I’ve always wanted to learn how to sew,” she commented lightly as she continued to look at the miscellaneous items on his desk. “Did you make your outfit for this dance?” She questioned, lifting up a photograph of what seemed to be Peter and likely some friends at a high school dance.

“Huh?” Peter asked, glancing up from where his bashful eyes had been looking. “Oh!” He swallowed thickly as he noticed what photo y/n was holding. Peter quickly shook his head, “I don’t sew anything to that level, no”.

Y/n smiled and nodded. She shrugged, “well you look adorable”. She giggled at the fact her comment made the red of Peter’s cheeks darken. “Who are these two?” She wondered, her pointer finger resting next to the unidentified people in the photo.

Peter bit his lip as he slowly walked over to y/n. “They uhh..,” he licked his lips nervously as he composed himself. “They were some really great friends”. Peter cautiously took the photograph back from y/n.

“Did you all grow apart?” Y/n asked softly. She hesitated to ask, but she was curious. Plus, she sensed Peter had gone through a lot and that talking about it might help.

Peter sighed and nodded. “Something like that,” he lied. Although, was it a lie? Peter still hadn’t found the right words to use to explain his predicament without having to put whoever he told in danger by association. He didn’t care to lie, much less to y/n; who against Peter’s better judgment he’d begun to allow to fill the role of his friend. But, he couldn’t risk her safety by telling her the full story either. It wouldn’t be fair to y/n when all she tried to do was be there for him. “We lost touch,” Peter stated vaguely. He gnawed on the inside of his cheek in response to the surge of guilt he felt over having lied; again. “Why don’t I start the popcorn? Make yourself comfortable,” he offered as he set the photo aside in attempt to change the subject.

“Pllleaaase,” y/n begged, “for meeee?” She batted her eyelashes pitifully at Peter. She had to resist smirking as she saw his resistance diminish over her actions.

“You really think we need a caffeine break that badly?” Peter chuckled as he checked the time on his phone. “It’s nearly ten!”

“If you expect me to not fall asleep on your couch tonight while waiting to grade your practice test, I’m going to need some coffee!” Y/n defended as she uncrossed her legs and scooted off his bed.

Peter laughed and nodded in acceptance as he bent down to put his shoes on. He mentally scolded his inability to deny y/n. It was something he’d caught onto doing awhile back, but it was especially difficult whenever she gave him that look. He knew the implications of all of this, and it was eating at him. His mind and his heart were at war with the other. It wasn’t as easy to keep things black and white the way he’d intended.

Peter hadn’t paid much attention to where they were walking; y/n having told him she knew which coffee shop she wanted to go to. Instead, given how late it was, he’d stayed close to her side as they walked. His body was positioned between her and the street as he scanned for any potential threats. Peter tried to ignore the twinge of pride as y/n gleefully walked without the concern he knew she normally had when out at night.

It wasn’t until Peter and y/n were standing directly in front of the cafe’s doors that he realized why the street had seemed so familiar. His eyes looked up at the sign as he heard the noise of the bells hanging on the door and noticed it was there MJ used to work. Where he’d last seen MJ and Ned. He felt his body freeze as he tried to keep his composure. He could do this. MJ likely didn’t work here anymore. Meaning neither she nor Ned would be here. It was just another coffee shop, he-

“Peter?” Y/n questioned as she watched Peter pause in the doorway.

Y/n’s gentle voice brought Peter back to the present moment. He gave her a shaky smile as he composed himself. Peter walked in and stood silently beside y/n as she ordered them coffee. Despite knowing that his former friends should be off at MIT, he couldn’t help but feel hit by flashbacks.

Peter knew he was acting off, so as they walked back, he intentionally kept his lips on the rim of his cup. He hoped y/n would interpret it as him simply enjoying his drink. He also hoped it would keep her from worrying over his change in demeanor. Peter was so focused on trying to act normal that when y/n whispered “it’s good, huh?”, he merely nodded against the cup.

As they returned back to their hallway, Peter suggested that she should actually turn in for the night as it was late. Y/n laughed faintly. “That’s why we got the coffee,” she pointed out.

Peter nodded. “Yeah, but uh…” he mumbled. “There’s a study that says pushing yourself to stay up to study actually worsens test scores,” Peter rambled as his thumb nervously picked at the paper material of his coffee cup.

“Oh.” Y/n nodded quickly, her teeth grinding together in embarrassment as her eyes flickered away from Peter’s typically knowing gaze. “Okay.” She took a deep breath and optimistically asked, “we’ll pick this up another night then?”

Peter hesitated for a moment. Without looking up at y/n he nodded once. “Yeah,” he whispered.

Y/n swallowed the bile rising in her throat over Peter’s sudden lack of interest. Maybe she’d been too optimistic and read this friendship wrong? She tried to keep her voice steady as she pulled her keys from her pocket and said goodnight.

Peter sighed as he rested his head against his door. He knew his actions had already caused a bit of distance between them. But, that was the goal. That’s what he needed to do. Right? Peter had been too optimistic lately and had been blinded by the possibilities he saw with y/n. But, he had to be realistic. He needed to keep y/n safe. She had no idea what she was getting into by even just being friends with him. Not to mention, Peter knew he undoubtedly had started to have feelings for her at some point between their first interaction and now. It happened to casually and effortlessly that he almost didn’t notice the difference. But that only meant he would be an even bigger risk to y/n’s safety. Tonight reminded him of just what could happen to her if things kept going this way. And Peter refused to have y/n end up like MJ or May. He couldn’t lose her. She could be in his life without harm, so long as she wasn’t truly close to him. So, he had to at least increase the distance between them; they couldn’t continue to be as close as they’d gotten lately. But, that didn’t stop Peter from being able to feel the aching pain that started in his chest when the saddened look took over y/n’s eyes tonight. Nor the way he wished he could undo the damage he’d made tonight and instead just hold her and apologize. But that was yet another one of Peter’s illogical wishes for his relationship with y/n that he knew could never be.

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city-of-ladies · 3 years ago

Text

Women during the Baltic crusades

““Swantepolk, duke of Pomerania, learning of the absence of the (Teutonic Order) brothers and the citizens of Elbing, proceeded there after gathering a great army to attack the fort and town. Seeing this, the women (of Elbing), laying aside feminine adornment, put on a male frame of mind, girded the sword upon the thigh, and ascended the battlements, comporting themselves so manfully for their defence that nowhere was the weakness of their sex apparent. Hence, the duke, thinking that the brothers and townsmen had returned, retreated in fear. Nor should you believe that this only happened here, but (also) many times in other places where in the absence of men the fortifications would have been endangered, if the boldness of the women had not put a resistance.”

Thus Peter of Dusburg, a priest of the military monastic Teutonic Order, depicts an attack on the order’s town of Elbing by the Duke of Pomerania (ally of the Prussian pagans) in 1245. Dusburg’s chronicle, completed in 1326, describes his order’s long crusade against the pagan Old Prussians and Lithuanians (...). Scholars believe Dusburg utilized reports from eyewitnesses and the order’s own oral tradition, since written sources can only be found for only a small part of Dusburg’s section III. The story of the “manly” women of Elbing does not appear in the known sources for his chronicles.

Of course, this leaves the problem of sheer invention by the chronicler to entertain and edify. There is no a priori reason to assume such stories must be invented. Elsewhere in medieval Europe, women did sometime take part in combat, even fighting with sword and lance. We will see that there are story of bellicose women much more factually told in the chronicles of the Teutonic Order and the Order of Sword Brothers in Livonia.

(...)

We have a much more matter-of-fact, first-hand account of women on the battlements in the Baltic wars by Henry of Livonia whose chronicle relating the exploits of the Livonian order of Sword brothers was finished in 1226-1227. (...) Indeed, he was active in the Livonian wars in what is now Latvia and Estonia from 1205 onwards and is thought to have been present at the attack on Riga in 1210 described here:

“Fishermen from all parts of the Daugava River fled to Riga, announcing that (the pagan Curonian) army was following them. The citizens and the brothers of the Order and the crossbowmen, although they were few in numbers with clerics and women all rushed to arms... some of us having brought small three pronged iron nails, scattered these on the road...”

(...)

For the chroniclers of the military orders conducting the Baltic crusade, women in heaven and on earth were not excluded from participation in battle. By definition, there could be no civilians, no bystanders in a war seen as an elemental struggle between God and demons. Women were physically weaker, but God or the Devil could give them strength to become virile at least in their own defense. Probably this partially reflects the reality of life in an area in which the main form of warfare was the raiding party which sought to kill or capture everyone in its path. Women grew up or moved in as colonists to a war zone, and perhaps on some occasion they became warlike. On Christianity’s norther frontier, or at least in the world of its chroniclers, women had equal opportunity to be brave and brutal.”

“”Nowhere was the fragility of their sex apparent”, Women warriors in the Baltic crusade chronicles”, Rasa Mazeika

#i am back #women in the baltic crusades #baltic crusades #history #women in history #warrior women #middle ages #latvia #latvian history #poland #polish history #women warriors #medieval history #medieval women #13th century

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moonbaby26 · 4 years ago

Text

(gif from Jason Passaro’s youtube edit here)

Title: One Shitty Friday Night (Part 1)

Pairings: Peter Maximoff x Fem!Reader, Colossus x Shadowcat

Summary: Set after the events of Deadpool 2, you and your boyfriend Peter are on a double date downtown with your fellow X-Men Piotr Rasputin (Colossus) and Kitty Pryde (Shadowcat) when Deadpool and Russell arrive unexpectedly. Chaos and violence naturally ensues, including taking down mafia henchmen, dealing with news media and paparazzi who circle in with the action, and a jealous Peter. This will be concluded in Part 2 with the mixed reactions of Logan, Charles, and Erik when you all bring Wade and Russell back home, etc. 😄

Notes: For simplicity’s sake as Piotr R. is normally called “Peter” as well, he’ll just be referred to as Colossus here.

Warnings: Some alcohol use. And it’s Deadpool, so a lot of cursing and irreverent jokes of course. This started out as just crack!fic that became actual fic that had to be split into two parts because it hit post limit. Holy cow.

Peter Maximoff x Reader Masterlist

—————————

Kitty all but snorted, trying to put her drink back down on the table before it could end up fully sideways instead as her laughter left her trembling.

Colossus sighed quietly, but you could still see the warmth in his eyes as he looked down at her before helping dab up some of her errant wine off the table with a thick cloth napkin.

It was late Friday night, and save for your semi disapproving, large and very Russian designated driver, the other three of you were now several drinks deep and a bit too loudly enjoying Peter’s retelling of the Led Zeppelin cover band debacle. You’d been there with him that night, but it never got old the way Peter told it.

“I shit you not, and this guy still keeps hitting on Jean.” Peter continued, his third nearly empty glass of craft beer still in hand. “Scott’s about to fry the dude. They’re playing Immigrant Song, and these lasers start up. All dudebros in the club go wild, and Scott tries to sneak off a warning shot. Freaking air balls it! I have to move like forty people and it still blows a damn hole in the wall. But nobody even noticed! Fake Robert Plant is screaming his heart out and everybody is just eating it up. I swear my Dad could have flown in there, cape billowing and they still would have thought it was part of the show!”

You were at risk of being elbowed in this small restaurant booth, with how animated Peter was as he spoke beside you. But you didn’t mind. The lighting was dim, possibly verging on romantic, the smell of good food from the kitchen reminded you of what was to come, and you were just enjoying time with some of your favorite people.

When Peter did finally drop his hand again though, the not so subtle movements of it then up your thigh also promised something much more personal later tonight. Maybe it was the warmth from the mixed drinks you were also nursing, but you shifted your leg a little, pushing even more into his touch under the table. Your movement just signaled your silent agreement to him that tonight would be a perfect night to be throwing clothes on the floor as soon as you got back to your shared room at the mansion.

It’d been a long, tiring week after all. Helping teach classes during the day and training your ass off in the danger room every night, you didn’t think it was unreasonable to cut loose a bit now.

Even Colossus was chuckling a little at last, but the big guy was always softest around Kitty. You in particular had been one of her biggest supporters when she’d first confessed her attraction towards him. You’d noticed his bashfulness with her as well, and all the little glances he’d given her long before she’d ever worked up the courage to ask him out.

But that seemed so long ago now, it was hard to really remember a time when they weren’t together. Almost as long as you and Peter really.

You glanced up as the waiter came back by to check on you all, saying your food would be out in a few more minutes and asking if anyone needed more drinks.

“Oh gosh, we’re really running up the tab right?” Kitty smiled.

You could see the little bit of relief in Colossus’ expression as she waved the waiter off though, her current wine glass still nearly full. “I’m fine for now, thank you.”

Peter glanced at you and you nodded as well. A buzz was fine, but you didn’t want to be climbing the mansion stairs full on drunk tonight. “I’m good.”

As the waiter left, your conversation got a little more subdued. You leaned into Peter somewhat, hip to hip in the booth as he put his arm around your waist.

Kitty was now talking about a movie she thought you should all go see next weekend if you could. You were just in the process of agreeing as you’d wanted to see it too, when Colossus suddenly went stock still, a look of real surprise on his face.

Kitty evidently noticed as soon as you did, you both staring up at him in unison.

“Do not turn around,” He instructed to you and Peter, eyes locked on something behind you.

Of course when told to do one thing, it would take everything in Peter’s willpower to not do the opposite. But to his credit he actually did hesitate. “Do we need to be dodging something? I mean, I can move us if I need to, man. You just gotta let me know.” Peter stated.

“I don’t think he’s seen us yet. Please do not draw attention.” Colossus responded, still frustratingly vague to the rest of you.

But he hadn’t metaled up yet, his skin still entirely human looking. So on the plus side, it couldn’t be someone he thought an immediate physical threat.

You glanced to Kitty for some hope of explanation as she was seated beside Colossus and facing the same direction. But she was too short in comparison to him, and couldn’t see all the way across the booth dividers as easily as he could. “Well who is it?” Kitty demanded quietly.

But you heard an impatient voice carry over clearly from the nearby restaurant entrance.

“Look, you know he’s here. I know he’s here. Don’t make me leave you guys a bad Yelp review. I will totally Karen that shit up. I’m just here for him.” A pause. “...And some of the cannolis. God, I love those things. You went a little scarce on the filling last time though. Don’t make me add that to the Yelp review.”

You heard the hostess stutter, fear evidently building. “Sir, firearms are not allowed in this restaurant. The owner, he, I...I can’t.”

There was a loud sigh from the man, the distinct sound of a gun cocking, and then all hell broke loose.

“WADE!” Colossus screamed, your entire table flipping as he stood up, metal now encasing him in this even larger form.

Abruptly you were now standing back by the entrance yourself. Peter had one arm around you, and the other around Kitty as he let you both go just as instantly, having just brought you there before he disappeared again.

That little flare up of vertigo from the speed and sudden stop didn’t mix well with the alcohol, and she and you both stood there another moment, queasy as Peter appeared again with an armful of guns.

It would have been comical as he clearly had no idea where to put them now, but everyone else that had still been in the restaurant was already screaming and running for the doors in a panic.

The owner of the multiple guns couldn’t care less about the crowd however, only turning his full focus to the lot of you then in exasperation.

“Oh my God, you anti second amendment, mother fuckers. I’m in the middle of a job here!”

“You can’t just point guns at innocent people, Wade! We have talked about this many times!” Colossus retorted, all seven foot of him now standing over Deadpool with paternal like annoyance.

“For fuck’s sake, it’s called a threat. I wasn’t going to kill her you overprotective, asshat! Now Giovanni is probably holed up in some pussy ass panic room, or he’s already ghosted me out the back door! And yes, I know that is such a stereotypical mob boss name and totally sounds like the Pokemon villain. Fuck him and his always trying to take Pikachu! He had a talking cat the whole time who just wanted his love, but no, got to have the electric rat. Fuck!”

“Language, Wade!” Colossus scolded. “There is still a child present!”

And honestly in all this insanity, that was the first time you actually noticed Russell also still standing there. Everyone else in the room had now fled out into the street.

“I’m fucking fourteen,” The boy replied defiantly. “And yeah, we were working!”

“Daddy and angrier metal daddy are just talking, hon.” Deadpool commented, waving a hand.

There was a small gust of air beside you and you looked to Peter knowingly. Wade’s guns were now all on a table, though intentionally still distant from your current position. “So I just made a couple laps.” Peter spoke up. “The cops are already coming, and there’s still a bunch of guys in the basement. They were opening some crates, probably getting weapons? I didn’t know if we were taking them out yet though. I didn’t touch anything. But is Giovanni like a big dude with gold rings and all?”

“I’m telling you besides the drug and human trafficking, it’s practically more criminal how much he sets back Italian-American stereotypes. They are an honest, manicotti making people goddamn it.” Deadpool answered.

You really were starting to regret the amount of drinks you’d had. If you’d known tonight was going to be anything like this, you would have gladly stuck to water. Your head was already trying to throb a little as you finally spoke. “So, does this guy actually have warrants out on him? If the cops come, they’re all going to end up shooting each other most likely. Can we just defuse this by giving him up to them?”

“I would say we assist to prevent unnecessary bloodshed, if that is the case, yes. I’m sure the Professor would prefer that.” Colossus agreed.

“Freaking goody two shoes, all of you.” Wade sighed. “But he has to get arrested or dead okay? I don’t get paid otherwise.” He paused though, then looking back up to Colossus before suddenly elbowing him. As if he’d even really feel that. “And hello rudeness, are you not going to introduce me to your little girls night out club here before we go bust some heads in a gratuitous X-Force/X-Men hotties crossover?”

“X-Force?” Kitty asked, sounding as already over this as could be.

“Well, we are a little empty on the roster at the moment. Some...unfortunate parachuting incidents. Wind advisory that day. You know how it goes.” Deadpool shrugged.

By her expression, no. She did not know how it went.

But the sooner you started, the sooner this could be over. Colossus motioned to each of you in turn, “Peter, (Y/N), and Kitty. These are my teammates and friends.” He nodded back to Deadpool, “And this is Wade.” And then to the boy. “And Russell.”

Of course you already knew who they both were. It’d been a bit of a scandal really, with the whole Essex House fiasco and the deaths that had occurred there. Fair or not, a lot of the blame had ended up on Juggernaut the second time around though you thought. Which is why Charles hadn’t had to deal with too much bad press in the aftermath.

You could not let this become another Essex House situation for the X-Men though. You were about to speak up about heading to the basement together and Deadpool staying out of your way so you all could neutralize everyone without any fatal hits, when he gasped dramatically, making you freeze again.

“Kitty!? Like an actual girl named Kitty? Oh my God, this whole time I thought you were his cat!” He hit his own leg, laughing. “I’m thinking, holy shit this guy loves his goddamn cat, but who am I to judge you know? I had a dog named Mr. Shuggums. Cutest little fucker.” He took a breath. “I miss him.”

“Wade.” Colossus groaned. “We do not have all night.”

Okay, so there was still something sweet about Colossus gushing about his girlfriend even to this manic mercenary. But no kidding, this show really needed to get on the road here.

“Guys, why don’t we just let Peter disarm them all, Colossus, you grab Giovanni, and Kitty and I deal with anyone who still resists? No one has to get hurt, and then it’s all done, easy.”

“And then we go find somewhere else to eat. Killing me here. I wanted that damn calzone and tiramisu.” Peter sighed, pulling his goggles back down over his eyes again. “More guns coming up.”

He disappeared at once, but when he didn’t return immediately as you were so accustomed to, you and Kitty exchanged a nervous look.

And after only another few seconds, your instincts told you something had definitely gone wrong.

“Is the basement directly beneath us?” You asked Deadpool sharply, already reaching out a hand to Kitty. Your adrenaline was starting, all good feelings gone as it was now time to act.

But you’d worked together long enough now, you didn’t have to explain your plan to her or Colossus.

Yet when the previously mouthy merc had no instant response, just staring at you in thought, it was clear he hadn’t done any recon beforehand at all. He’d literally just walked in here and expected everything to work out.

“Perfect.” Kitty said sarcastically, glancing quickly to Colossus as she took your hand. “You’re our backup, dear, in case our vertical entrance doesn’t work out. Come find us.”

“Always.” He said, already turning, his weight shaking the floor as he ran to look for any stairway downward while you and Kitty dropped straight through the floor.

It was surely a risk of its own to use her phasing ability so blindly as this. You could end up in a too small crawlspace, in underground piping, a sewer system, anything really. She’d make sure not to go solid until it was safe, as to not impale or bury you alive of course. But if Peter were in trouble, there was no time to waste by ending up at a dead end and having to go back up and try again.

You’d held your breath, as there was no way for you to process oxygen either as your lungs and every other part of you shifted through the other matter. It was darkness and insulation, pipes, and conduit that flashed by at first. But in the fractions of seconds that it took to fall, you had already powered up. The white light of your energy field overtaking your body, shielding you both as you did fall into a larger open area.

It was even darker than the restaurant above, all concrete and dampness. The glow from your body was the brightest thing there as much more men than you’d expected all turned in surprise. You saw the glint of multiple gun barrels now, but the thing you wanted to see most was Peter’s silver hair as you’d scanned the area for him instantly.

There was a stairwell in the distance. He was laying near the bottom of it. But you had no time to be shocked or afraid, only anger swelled as you released Kitty’s hand, making you solid again. “I’ll get him.” Was all you said. Letting her know to protect herself as you flew to him. Bullets couldn’t hurt her if she was ready for them. But Peter would be defenseless without one of you now, and by means of your power of flight you were the faster of you and her.

The man closest to Peter had a different kind of gun though you realized. Something you didn’t recognize at all as he aimed at you. You splayed your palms to create an energy shield in front of you as he pulled the trigger.

It didn’t make a sound though. But everything around you instantly distorted as pain exploded through you. You saw five or six of him now, as your feet hit the ground, unable to concentrate enough to fly then. But even as you stumbled, realizing your shielding wasn’t fully stopping whatever that weapon was doing, you were still able to expand your shield rapidly, hitting the man with the force of a car in your pain and sending him flying into a nearby wall, the weapon clattering to the ground lightly against his now limp body.

But you still felt like you were going to puke.

“Kill them you idiots!” Someone screamed.

You dropped yourself, laying over Peter just as quickly, grateful to feel him breathing as you focused through the pain to extend a shield around you both as the gunfire started.

“Bitch!” Another man yelled as Kitty just walked unharmed through all the flying bullets towards you.

“Shadowcat actually,” She said, skilled enough in her powers to choose what was solid and what wasn’t. Just the outside of her fist being all she needed to crush his nose in one punch with a squirt of blood, and only the end of her foot used as she swept her leg after to knock his own right out from under him.

Even among your own team, sometimes people could forget that that petite Jewish girl was about as skilled a martial artist as anyone could be.

“Babe?” You heard against your ear though, glancing back down to Peter. There was real relief even in the chaos as you saw him smile up at you.

He talked back against your ear in the noise as Kitty continued to utterly wreck the guys around you. “I fucked up a little, right? That gun...they already had it going, aimed at the door when I came back, a trap...I think I hit every stair on the way down...I still see like three of you right now.”

“Ditto.” You breathed.

And then there was another even louder noise as the remnants of a door also came flying down the stairs. Colossus barreled in behind it like a stampeding elephant, Deadpool right behind him as they leapt over the both of you and joined the fray.

“We found the basement!” Deadpool announced gleefully, swords swinging. “Don’t think they’d even locked the door back actually, but fuck if big Russki doesn’t love a dramatic entrance!”

For a moment you thought all your words about at least trying not to kill had been for nothing, thinking Deadpool was going to chop these men into literal pieces. But even as blood sprayed left and right, you realized he was just cutting tendons. The men then unable to hold their guns, unable to stand at all as he crippled each he reached in succession.

It was still completely horrific, but hell, how much could you really ask for from someone like him? Especially when you yourself had slammed that one man into a concrete wall as if he were a ragdoll. You glanced over anxiously for a moment, glad to see him shifting a little, but still crumpled exactly where you’d thrown him. He was alive, a small relief at least.

——————————

Obviously the other gunmen hadn’t had a prayer either though once you’d all been down there together.

Colossus already had a still cursing Giovanni slung over one shoulder as you were now helping Peter back up and trying not to step in all the blood as you all walked over to Kitty.

“What a mess...very interesting weapon though,” She spoke of that odd gun that’d been used on you and Peter, it now in her hands as she turned it one way and then another examining it. “I’m bringing this back with us. The police don’t need anything like this. Hank and I can figure out how it works. And how to defend against it hopefully before we run into another one of these out in the field.”

“It seems this Giovanni was more a threat than expected,” Colossus said, giving the still squirming man an unhappy look, before looking back to you all. “Are you alright, Peter?”

“I’m still hungry.” Peter grumbled, an arm over your shoulder to still help stabilize him as his other hand went to his head as if it were pounding. He also had some bruising starting on his face, no doubt from his tumble down the stairs. “I wouldn’t have drank so damn much if I’d known we weren’t going to eat...”

With the speed of his metabolism, that alcohol likely was hitting him pretty hard now on his already empty stomach.

“We should turn this guy over and get out of here.” You agreed. Though you didn’t feel so hot yourself. Still a little nauseous from whatever that weapon did to your senses. But at least you weren’t seeing triple of everything anymore.

“Hold it, girl scouts!” Deadpool piped up, chipper as ever as he grabbed something at Giovanni’s neck before any of you could think to stop him.

The man choked just a moment though, before a piece of metal snapped off into Wade’s hands. It was a necklace, with a symbol of some sort. You saw just a glimpse of it before Deadpool pocketed it. “No proof of finishing the job, no payday for DP. No payday, then no liquor, no coke, no hookers. Am I right?”

It was too difficult to tell when if ever he was serious, and you all chose to ignore his comment, starting back up the stairs. The odd sounds of bullet fragments falling back down the stairwell caught Peter’s attention though as he gave a grossed out look to Wade for a moment.

The now impact deformed bullets were starting to work themselves back out of all the bloody holes in Deadpool’s costume. You knew where you’d seen that before of course, but Peter was the only one that actually said it aloud.

“Damn, you and Logan would be a pair.”

There was a pause, and you could swear even with the mask, you thought you saw Wade’s cheekbones move in a way that signaled he was outright grinning from ear to ear. “At least someone gets it. He still won’t return my calls though. Such a diva lately.”

Once you did get to the top of the stairs, you only found a very agitated Russell standing there, Wade’s guns in his arms. “You took long enough, the cops are outside you know. I’m not going back to jail for you!”

“Cool your tater tots, kid.” Deadpool responded lazily, in no hurry, but grabbing the weapons back to holster them all regardless.

“I could have finished this faster! I would have fried their asses!” Russell argued.

“You would have been shot. Fire does not stop bullets.” Colossus only answered matter of factly.

Russell made a face, but Wade cut him off before he could say any more.

“Now now, listen to metal daddy. No sass. And actually, I think there’s something we should talk about, champ. X-Force is way more badass and all, but we don’t exactly have a training and junior member tier yet. Maybe later. You might want to think about riding home with these guys and checking their setup out. I don’t have any powers myself to relate to you like that, except me being very shootable, devastatingly charming, sexy, smart, and a competitive level Skee-Ball player...”

Deadpool sighed, continuing. “But these guys have a Danger Room. Which is totally not a sex dungeon, yeah I was bummed about that too. But they could let you unleash that school shooter level teenage angst and burn all the shit you wanted until you really figure out your powers.”

Russel bristled. “I’m not a school shooter you prick! And you always said the X-Men were neutered dweebs and-”

Wade coughed loudly, ushering Russell forward suddenly as you all continued to walk. “Hah, kids. Such darlings. Mishear everything don’t they?”

Colossus only answered without offense though. “The offer is still open, Russell. Though you have said no before. The Professor would never turn down a young mutant in need.”

It was Peter who surprised you a little, a smirk on his face as he contributed. “Freaking sweet house too, man. Xavier’s loaded. Big screen TV, a pool, basketball court, your own room, supersonic jet. Bunch of cute girls as well, or cute boys, you know whatever you’re into.”

“I’m not gay.” Russell huffed, but actually looked to be listening now as he didn’t immediately spit back with a sarcastic retort.

Though you gave Peter a weird look and he just grinned. “What? I stayed for you didn’t I, babe? Just saying. I wasn’t exactly on board with the whole team thing before that either. I know where he’s coming from is all.”

“It’s up to you, Russell.” Kitty said more diplomatically, before returning to the matter at hand. “We’re parked at that parking garage two blocks south. Everyone meet back there, Colossus and I will hand this guy over to the cops out front. The rest of you, I’m sure there’s got to be some emergency exit you can sneak out of. Probably better to split up actually. Less attention.”

—————————

Just as Kitty had suggested, Deadpool and Russell went out one way, and you and Peter another. You came out onto another street behind the restaurant. And you’d just finally started to relax again, Peter taking your hand in his own and walking away like an honest to God normal couple for once, just out on the town together before you noticed an oddly placed white van with distinct lettering on it.

Peter saw it too just as the light from a camera hit you both.

“Hell,” You breathed.

“Want to run?” He asked seriously.

“Too late, they’d just film us ditching, and say we had something to hide.”

Your headache was returning in full force you thought as you steeled yourself, seeing the reporter now in a full sprint towards you.

“It’s Quicksilver! And (your codename)! The X-Men are here!” A woman shouted.

As you walked closer to the news van, the camera flashes only increased. It looked like a small group of paparazzi had also camped out here, hoping for this exact result. How did word travel so damn fast?

“Marcia Fletcher, WAFN nightly news!” She introduced herself at once, her camera man there just as quickly, huffing a little from the run as he got you both in focus.

You could see the lights on on his camera as she shoved her microphone in front of you and Peter. “You’re on live coverage of the Ruffiano’s restaurant shootings with WAFN. Is it true that Giovani Marcello was apprehended here tonight by the X-Men? And how did you know he was here when he’s been on Interpol’s most wanted list for four years?”

You knew without looking at him that Peter was happily deferring the speaking role to you now as you tried not to look rattled. You attempted to think of what Charles would and wouldn’t want you to say, even with the pain in your head and lingering nausea. “We didn’t know who was here. We were in the area and saw people running and went to help, that’s all.” You lied.

“But the reports of gunshots, witnesses also said Deadpool had drawn a gun on a restaurant employee and Colossus was seen inside. Is Deadpool now affiliated with the X-Men again? Did he shoot anyone?”

“Deadpool is not affiliated with the X-Men. Colossus was here tonight, but he only would have been defending anyone he thought in danger. Deadpool did not shoot anyone.” You tried to keep to short truths that time.

“But then why was Deadpool there? Should people really believe it would be a coincidence that the X-Men and Deadpool would be at the same incidence at one time if not working together?”

“Well you’re here aren’t you? Are you affiliated with us?” You replied before you could stop yourself, though still restraining the annoyance you really wanted to put into that statement. “Trouble attracts a crowd.”

Peter made a sound, a restrained laugh you knew. But before the reporter could blurt out another question, one of the now growing number of paparazzi called out, “(Your codename), hey look here! Is it true you and Quicksilver are still dating!?”

You knew better than to be baited, humoring any of them just made it worse. They were like piranhas. But Peter couldn’t help it, turning to look as so many cameras flashed. His arm slid around you protectively. “Why wouldn’t we be, dude?” He called back.

“Are you saying the photos of (your codename) and Gambit were before you two reconciling?”

It took every ounce of your self control to not respond, but oh God did you want to. It was the mission in Tanzania. You knew it. You, Storm, and Gambit. Peter had stayed in the U.S. for that one as it’d been the holidays and his Mom had wanted both he and Wanda over for some time together.

After the mission was over, the three of you had ended up on one of the beautiful Tanzanian beaches for a single day. Just a single day to yourselves.

You’d had the audacity to wear a revealing bathing suit though and you and Remy had been photographed together, him shirtless of course because it was a goddamn beach. And laughing and smiling because, surprise, you were friends! And they’d cropped Ororo out in all the closeups for complete loss of context.

It’d been a thing in some of the tabloids for a while, but you really thought that had finally blown over. Of course if anyone asked Remy, he liked to play coy on the whole subject to keep up his God’s gift to all men and women sex symbol status.

“Peter, let’s just go,” You whispered in his ear, sure anything else said would only make things worse.

But you could read him all too well, and when he turned his face to look back at you, you already knew what he was going to do. You didn’t try to stop him, because never would you humiliate him on live television with any type of rejection, but oh, you would never live this one down. Never.

He kissed you hard. And there was nothing fake about it, honestly the kind of kiss usually reserved for your bedroom as you felt heat rising up in you. The camera flashes clicking over and over as you could still taste the alcohol he’d drank before.

When he finally released you again, you gasped a little. He gave the photographers a ‘fuck you’ look, before speaking just to you. “Now we can go.”

“Fly or run?” You breathed.

“Fly please. I’m still about half out of it.” He admitted.

You powered up to some surprised and excited sounds from the crowd. Your whole body glowing white again in the energy you emitted.

“Wait, aren’t you going to stay and talk to the police!?” The reporter shouted.

“They know where to find us if they need us.” You answered, extending your energy field around Peter, before you took off vertically, making sure to get sideways over the rooftops as soon as you could though to breakup their camera angles and finally give you privacy again at last.

You landed gently atop the parking garage only a few moments later, letting him go again as you powered back down.

“Are you mad at me?” He asked, just taking your hand again though.

“No.” You said truthfully. “But, I have no idea what we’ve really just done. We still have to go home...home where the Professor always watches the 10:00 news with his late night tea.”

Peter sighed, only half joking. “We could always go stay with my Mom for a while?”

You just moved in closer, pulling him against you as you laid your head on his shoulder. “We’ll survive, babe. Somehow we always do.”

“I think that says more about you than me though. Pretty sure I’d be face down in a ditch somewhere already if it weren’t for you.”

You chuckled, wrapping your arms around his neck then before raising your head back up to kiss him once more. Much softer this time, and even longer than his jealous little display a few minutes ago.

He made one of his little noises of contentment, hands sliding down to squeeze your butt through the thin pants you were wearing. As he pulled your hips tighter against him, he broke the kiss enough to speak regretfully. “I really was hoping to get lucky tonight...”

“Same.” You smiled. It had been a while. Mostly from you both being so tired by the time you finally got in bed. Passing out on each other had more been the norm the past couple weeks. “We get some food in you, and see where things go?”

“Gross! Get a room!”

You startled at the sudden shouting, having wholly thought yourselves alone up here in the moonlight.

Peter rolled his eyes, yelling back at Russell, “Kid, we have one! And we’d already be back there by now if it wasn’t for your little mafia hunting shenanigans!”

You looked over to see Deadpool and Russell both standing in the doorway to the parking garage stairs.

Wade whistled, leaning back against the doorframe. “Way to take down that Marcia Fletcher a notch! I always found her too uppity to be honest. I think she’s still butt hurt that they didn’t give her the lead anchor spot when Carl Sanderson moved to the early bird morning show. Tanya Meyer on the 5:00 news though, that’s my girl.”

You blinked. “How...how do you know-” It was literally minutes ago, it would have taken them just this long to walk here.

Deadpool lifted up his cell phone. “Facebook live, bitches. Don’t you follow WAFN? The recipes they post from Saturday morning cooking with Pat are always delish.” He looked back down at the phone though, happily reading. “Hah! Peggy Fredrickson from Brewster, New York thinks Marcia’s contouring and drawn on eyebrows are getting worse. Fire your makeup person, Marcia.” He tapped something on the screen. “Like comment! Oh, and Michael Morris from Ridgefield says who wouldn’t do Remy LeBeau. Damn, Michael, all out and proud on main.”

Peter let go of you, taking an annoyed breath. But then looking back to you. “Please let me at least prank Remy, something, anything.”

“But he didn’t do anything.” You replied, though only more stressed now that this was already blowing up on social media.

“Exactly! He should have at least denied it! But no, Mr. cool Cajun can’t admit that you’d actually choose me over him.”

“Hey now, I think you’re looking at this the wrong way, Quickie.” Deadpool interjected. “There’s always the ménage à trois option. I mean he’s French right? And Michael from Ridgefield is just spitting truth. Who wouldn’t want to do Remy LeBeau? He could shuffle my cards anytime.”

“You guys are so fucking weird.” Russell groaned. “Can we go find your damn car now?”

But you didn’t move yet, still looking fully at Peter. “Wade’s just trying to get under your skin. We all know how Remy is. He’d flirt with a piece of cardboard if it suited him. It doesn’t mean anything to him.” You recognized that Gambit was physically attractive of course, you had eyes too after all. But that was the only extent of it. You loved Peter. Not to mention you wouldn’t at all want to get on Rogue’s bad side. She and Gambit were tumultuous enough without someone else being added to the mix.

“This is adorable, really. But I did bring ‘good job team for sending a little girl selling, gentrification funding, pencil dick mob boss to butt fucking federal prison’ cannolis. Want some?” Deadpool offered, lifting up a large takeout box you somehow hadn’t noticed before.

Peter’s shoulders dropped a little, still heavily annoyed though eyeing the box. “So does this mean you’re coming back with us too?”

Wade shrugged, “The kid doesn’t know you guys. What kind of daddy would I be if I didn’t at least go and make sure he actually wanted to stay in your little mutant commune before I ditch him there?”

“You aren’t my damned dad.” Russell said, though almost sounding too tired to argue further at this point. He reached up, taking a cannoli from the box and biting into it as he started to walk back down the stairwell. “What floor is the car on?”

“Just one down from here, you already passed it. Black SUV,” you answered. Colossus and Kitty must not have been here yet if Wade and Russell had made it all the way to the top deck without finding them.

Peter grabbed your hand again, walking with you to the doorway as he grabbed three cannolis out the box begrudgingly with his other hand. He passed one off to you, before biting into the other two in quick succession.

And you only had a moment to see all the thick scarring under Wade’s mask as he lifted it just enough to start eating one himself, before turning to follow you both out and down the stairwell.

———————————

(Concluded in Part 2 here)

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sustain-the-stain · 3 years ago

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list of people in history who were obviously lovers but historians say otherwise:

· Artemis and Callisto

· Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok

· Hamilton and Laurens

· Sappho and the woman she wrote about

· Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas

· Dorothy Arzner and Marion Morgan

· Ethel Collins Dunham and Martha May Elliot

· Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West

· Lili Elbe and Gerda Gottlieb

· Michelangelo and Tommaso de Cavalieri

· Edith Anna Somerville and Violet Florence Martin

· Allen Ginsberg and Peter Orlovsky

· Walt Whiteman and Peter Doyle

· Radclyffe Hall and Evguenia Souline

· Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon

· Duke Ling and Mizi Xia

· Alexander the Great and Hephaestion

· Achilles and Patroclus

· Tennessee Williams and Frank Merlo

· Oscar Wilde and Lord Alfred Douglas

· Greta Gardo and Mercedes de Acosta

· W. Somerset Maugham and Gerald Haxton

· Anne Lister and Ann Walker

·Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum

#lgbtq #history #lovers #wlw #sapphic #queer #mlm love #gay #gay pride

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jahayla-parker · 2 years ago

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Ahhh thank you love! I’m so glad you liked it 💜💜💜

as a writer (tbh this one was hard as I’m really hard on all my works lol) I pick Peter Parker Protection Program though cause it’s a lighthearted piece that was fun to do lol

“Y/N?” He asks, waving a hand in front of my face; slowly getting my focus eyes off his toned chest. “My eyes are up here babe” he laughs, catching where my eyes were looking before I looked away. I glare at him and cross my arms over my chest. “What?! It was a joke! I don’t mind you staring” he says and smirks. “You didn’t tell me you had abs” I blurt. Peter chuckles and blushes a bit, “was I supposed to?”.

“Peter, I’ve known you for years! Before we even started dating! How did I not know?” I ask, still in shock. Peter continues laughing and walks closer to me, “to be fair, I haven’t had them for years”. “Oh, okay fine. I’m not mad then” I say, uncrossing my arms. Peter laughs and kisses my cheek causing my blush to redden. “Were you really mad you didn’t know I had abs?” he asks, raising an eyebrow at me as he snakes his arms around my waist. I swallow hard and force a tight nod, “not mad per say, but annoyed and frustrated”. His eyes widen and he blushes a bit but then a smirk takes over his features, “frustrated hmm?”.

bahahahahahaha

Peter smiles, still blushing, and tilts his head down to kiss my forehead. I scoot my way up until I’m more at eye level with him and kiss his nose. He breaks out into a huge grin and gives me a soft kiss on the lips before he pulls back and lets his warm eyes trail all over my face. I blush and bite my lip nervously. “Y/N, you know how much I love you right?” he whispers, stroking his right hand across my cheek. I instantly break out into an embarrassingly large smile. This is the first time we’ve said those words. I nod and give him a soft yet clingy kiss, “I love you too Peter”. Peter’s face forms an even bigger smile than he had already and he shuffles until we are laying next to each other, face to face this time, with his arms around me.

“Thank God, I was worried it was too soon to say that. But, I’ve been wanting to for awhile. I just didn’t want to rush things, or pressure you, or-. I’m just glad that you’re okay with it because if not, I-” Peter rambles, playing with my curls. I shake my head and kiss him to stop his worries from racing. I feel him smile into the kiss and pull me closer. I place one hand on the back of his soft curls, pulling him closer still, my other hand falling to rest on his chest between us inadvertently.

this is so cuteee<3

“Peter, you go around saving people everyday and I’m just one random person. Yet you intentionally make sure there’s time for me?” I ask, still stunned. He frowns and looks at me like he hates what I just said. “Y/N,” he says, sitting up and gently directing me to follow suit, “you’re not some random person. Not to me.”. I smile and snuggle into his side, resting my head on his shoulder. He hums and presses his soft lips to my ear, whispering, “you’re my world. I need you to know that” before kissing my ear.

awwwwe<3

“Peter is attentive, loving, kindhearted, charitable, intelligent, a great listener, charming, brave, and inspiring. He is all around a far more heavenly beautiful person than anyone I’ve met, especially you, both inside and out” I say, turning around to grasp Peter’s hand. Peter has already looked up from the ground and is now staring at me with watery eyes, red cheeks, and a beaming smile on his face. I smile back and grab his hand in mine and whisper “I love you”. Before Peter can respond, Flash decides it’s not over yet.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. You’re just covering up for the fact that he has no muscles” Flash says but I can hear his frustration in his voice. Finally something got to him the way he gets to Peter. Peter simply rolls his eyes, clearly over the situation. “Did you not listen? I just said inside and out. I can personally attest that seeing his abs would have your jaw hitting the floor” I smirk, glaring over my shoulder at him before focusing back on Peter.

Peter laughs softly and squeezes my hand in his as his blush worsens, but he doesn’t seem to mind. An unanimous “Oooooooh” and other gasps ring out from the students. I smile and give Peter a quick kiss before tugging on his hand as I begin to walk to the exit with him. “Ms. Y/L/N! Where do you think you’re going?” The Heath teacher yells out, causing the whole class to cease their verbal reactions. Peter gives me a sympathetic look, signaling he feels bad for the situation. I roll my eyes to show him I’m not mad at him, and don’t even bother turning around. Instead, I resume our exit hand in hand, as I answer “by now class is over, so Spanish. After that, I presume detention”.

this was so sweet<333 i love it!

#ELB🦯🎩#mutuals 👯‍♀️#feedback 🤗#tom holland peter parker

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whatdoesshedotothem · 2 years ago

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Thursday 12 September 1833

7 20

11 55

Rainy night and rainy morning F63° at 9 ¾ am - sat an hour at her bed side talking foolishly enough for she was not ready till near ten and I seeing the room swept etc was delayed she saying I was a great fidget and she could not live [with] me breakfast at 10 20 in an hour - out at 12 ¼ in a caleche on account of the rain - drove to the bank of Messrs. Hunt Carr and co. left almost all my French money 575fr. in five from pieces, to be changed for whatever might be its value - found letter from Lady Harriet de Hagemann (Copenhagen) dated 31st August 2 pages and a few lines on the 3rd page - very kind letter - offering me a bed at her house but not able to take in my servants - wishes I had chosen a better season ‘for this month has been so bad we are almost cold already. It seems she never really expected seeing me - cannot much recommend the hotels at Copenhagen but the best and cheapest ‘Hotel Royale’ in the farthest from the house - will take me rooms there if I like - to write to say when I shall be there - shall find their carriage and perhaps M. Hagemann at the place of disembarkation her direction is 130 Amaliengade [Amaliegade] Copenhagen – from the bank as near as we could drove to the Exchange (a large low room rez de chaussée with a court which, as well as the room, full of people) and sent the carriage back at 12 55, and walked the rest of the day – Senate house very old looking exterior – figures in high relief – the great library there - the Börsen-stadt, the place where the merchants go before going to the exchange, full also – then walked about crossing the different bridges over the waters that run along several of the streets of the old town – 1 of these, in which a great many brewers live, called Brewers street – the cranes alongside the water with penthouses over them have a singular appearance – small vessels come up these waters and load and unload at the doors – remind me of Rotterdam and Amsterdam – not like Venice because there is a paved street way on each side the water – then all along the Elbe, and the shipping and mounted up to the Stink-fang, a part of the old rampart made into pleasure ground and walks like the rest close to the river, and from which a fine view along it – the great bridge of boats built straight across the river at Haarburg, by the French quite destroyed – a large Indiaman lying off Altona – the very large ships dont come within 12 German miles of here – then struck into the town again to St. Michaels’ church – burnt down in 1750 – large and handsome – interior whitewashed – very neat and clean – Good picture over the altar – very large handsome organ (filling up the west end) and, at the top of it, the picture of Mr. Matheson (born here of English parents) who gave 45000 marks (£3,000) towards it (the organ) – long pews (12 sittings each) on each side the nave – 3 tiers of galleries – Loges there glazed belonging to private families – handsome carved pulpit – then along to the town to St. Peters’ church – large – whitewashed

SH:7/ML/E/16/0110

interior – full of pictures on the columns – gothic church – left (looking towards the altar) 1 side aisle – and 2 on the right – private loges in the used-to-be little Roman catholic chapels, along the side-aisles – some glazed some iron-railed – very handsome pictured altar – large handsome organ filling up the west end of the nave, as at St. Michaels’ – several good pictures – very handsome carved gilt pulpit – long pews with a dozen sittings in – painted gallery fronts and organ-loft – organ gilt – then into a good shop in Johannis street for toys, nick-nacks, etc. – Accordions pretty little bellows-musical things with ½ a dozen stops or notes, price from 9 ½ to 20 marks, made at Magdeburg – All the painted things snuff-boxes etc. come from Brunswick – Portraits etc. in fer de Berlin from Berlin – then to the church of St. Nicholas – whitewashed within (all the churches brick) neat and pewed as the others boarded floor – my valet de place said all their churches were boarded – handsome, richly carved painted white organ with lead-like pipes – this church pewed like the others with chairs in the middle – against the ends of the pews (as at St. Peters’) seats turned up and locked up, belonging to individuals – painted galleries – Gothic church – Loges as in the other churches – handsome white and gold carved screen with ditto ditto cupola between the nave and choir – very handsome altar with over it good copy of L- da Vinci’s famous last supper and larger piece over it – the chancel railed off with massive, bright brass balustrade – all the churches beautifully neat – then back to the Börsen stadt and being now empty went all over it – a large good room below and large reading room above, and several good rooms for one purpose or other – then looked into another toy shop – of higher reputation and dearer – then to the botanic garden – went all along the basin of the Alter [Alster] between the artificial one (in front of our hotel and along the Jengfarstig [Jungfernstieg] (pronounced Youngferstee) and the natural one parted from it by a good road with a bridge over the communication between the 2 basins – nobody allowed to fish in them with nets – Angling allowed to the gentlemen on paying a certain sum or rent for the privilege of their amusing themselves – good skaiting over the ice in winter – met a highly painted lady – 700 ladies in Hamburg – each pays 2 marks a month to government – the botanic garden (made in 1814) along the Alster (I had before taken it for the fosse) which runs all round the town, small but very pretty – nothing particular rare? – home at 5 ½ - dinner at 6 ¼ - Had the banker who gave me 14 Fredericks at 14 marks each and 46 species at 60 schellings (or 4 marks – schillings each) and 29 schellings (1 schelling = 1 penny English) for my 575 francs in silver - Miss Ferrall off (took my valet de place) at 7 in a droshky to the Quahlers at Altona to spend the evening - had read her Madame de Hagemman’s letter her manner not good humoured about de H-s - till 10 wrote 3 pages to lady H- de H- thanks for her so exceedingly kind letter - much obliged for her offer of a bed, but as I think of making C- headquarters for some time, had better settle at once - beg her to take me rooms, comfortable but not splendid (a sitting room and bedroom for myself and 2 servants rooms) at the Hotel Royale and then when we have talked over my schemes afterwards to advise me what to do better - shall leave here tomorrow and leave Miss F- at Arensburg [Ahrensburg] to rejoin me on board the streamer - to land at Copenhagen early on Wednesday morning the 18th from Lubeck - will not expect M. de H- to meet me, but if he does, shall be delighted to see him - impatient to arrive - shall be delighted to see lady H- de H- again ‘Ever affectionately yours AL’ - Miss F- returned at 10 ¼ - stood talking to her half an hour her little dog had made water in the bedroom and on Eugenie’s bed could not sleep for its snoring last night sick of it could not get another room so put my bed in the sitting room on the sofa and three chairs wish I had done so before Rainy day till 1 – soon afterwards fair, with merely a few light drops for a few minutes, for the rest of the day – F64° at 10 p.m.

Public cellar at Hamburg, and the senate sells wine as at Bremen. sure of its being good according to the price, but have none so old as at Bremen.

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