#please someone give me Deaf Peter
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negasonic9403 · 5 months ago
Text
Tony: Hey kiddo, wanna help me with this?
Deaf!Peter: *facing other way and doesn't respond*
Tony: Kid? Did you hear me?
Deaf!Peter:
Tony: *taps Peter's shoulder*
Deaf!Peter: *turns* Hey Mr. Stark! What's up?
Tony: *mildly concerned* I asked if you wanted to help on my suit, but you didn't respond. Everything alright?
Deaf!Peter: Oh, yeah! I just didn't feel like wearing my hearing aids. It can get pretty loud in here
Tony: *switches to ASL* That's fine. Do you want to help on the suit?
Deaf!Peter: *ASL* Of course! Thanks Tony!
Tony: *ASL and smiling* Not a problem
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allamericanb-tch · 7 months ago
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kill your darlings thoughts
all of them bc i read this in one day 
chapter 1
hooray i know nothing about hockey
“like some kind of psychological boob job”
ooh he’s moving
i love bad drivers
no sirius definitely is infamous
regulus is in gryffindor ?!
marlene and dorcas omg
having an older sibling with a reputation and everyone assuming you’re exactly like them is the worst can confirm
baby black
ahhh i want to know who’s in his dorm
evannnn
i like cerci
sirius jump scare
HE MOVED REGULUS 😭😭
james is the ra
regulus you’re giving me secondhand embarrassment i may have to take a lap after reading that
evan is just trying to be a good wingman 
they’re at the bar now ahhh
oooh remus
WAIT GUYS I THINK REMUS IS DEAF OMG
sirius knows sign language omg
wait is wolfstar wolfstarring
oooh james is here
omg lily
NO LILY AND JAMES ARE KISSING
oh no poor regulus omg
oh no walburger is calling
oh wait james is talking to regulus now
me this whole time: “oh oh oh omg oh”
omg they were having a moment
wait i love this
chapter 2
oooh lore
eugh snape
eugh lucius
MULCIBERS FIRST NAME IS NICOLAI???
library
omg james is here
ahhhh
james taking a creative writing class 😭
kill your darlings omg
lily is studying marine biology omg
ope james casually telling regulus his relationship with lily is too easy ?!
“He’s not…gay. Well, not outside his head anyway. It’s better that way.” ☹️
evan is feeling homesick ☹️
omg regulus is going to the hockey game
chapter 3
remus pov (!!!)
are they dating i’m confused
they’re on the roof
this is cute
“i love the smiths” “sorry?” “i said i love the smiths”
it’s so like. hmm. to see mulciber being referred to as nicolai
anywho
eugh nicolai
hmm
remus is facetiming his parents
i do not like lyall
regulus pov
oh wait i think this is the same day
james jump scare
☹️
“You’re in the closet?” “Yes.” A heavy handed metaphor but there’s not much that can be done. The beds are too low to crawl under.   
lucius is making me nervous
sirius is here
evan is a good friend
peter!!!!
oh james is here
pete is being a good friend
chapter 4
oh??? hanky panky??? 
peterrr
oooh a flashback
eugh
☹️
eugh mulciber
gasp
james pov
oh my
regulus is here
oooh they’re talking
GASP
I GASPED
“This is bad. This is so so so bad.” you’re right about that james
peter pov again
oh my
chapter 5
sirius pov
how is james being normal right now
and with LILY
alice hi
ok i think wolfstar is just mutual pining and not dating
i get the feeling mary and lily are marylilying
evan!
oh no im nervy
regulus pov omg
eugh snape
so are we just not gonna address what happened
evan pov again
texts??
uh
james pov
uh oh peter
oh no the party
SOMEONE FELL OH
PLEASE TELL ME IT WASNT EVAN OMG
it was. omg.
i’m tweaking out guys
regulus pov
omg
james pov
omg
plot is plotting guys
my hands are shaking
chapter 6
this fic is all over the place but it adds to the drama i think
backstory hello
wait does sirius think regulus has a crush on evan
omg wait
i think the reason evan didn’t go to salazar was because barty did and something happened with them
james is talking to the cops
ope sirius and mulciber are fighting
evan is talking to the cops now
HELLO???
why did evan tell them he did the drugs voluntarily 
backstory again
MY HYPOTHESIS WAS RIGHT
OMG THE TEXTS
bye wait i haven’t been saying anything im just too invested in the evan lore
this chapter is crazy omg
game
oh hello barty is telling evan to meet him
they’re kissing omg
REGULUS JUMP SCARE
they’re having a chat
chapter 7
regulus pov
he’s at work im nervy
i know what’s coming
omg james is here
GASP
this fic is so crazy actually
so we’re just not going to address the hanky panky in chapter 4 i see
remus pov
HELLO
so remus thinks sirius is mad bc he didn’t tell him about the cochlears and sirius is mad because he thinks remus likes regulus
wait im actually so confused
james pov
wait so did nothing happen??? WAIT WAS IT A DREAM OH THAT MAKES SO MUCH MORE SENSE
omg jily break up
it was for the best.
GASP guys my face is actually like 😧
chapter 8
evan hello
evan and regulus save me evan and regulus
CERCI
omg she’s ace
i love cerci
evan pov again
HE GREW UP ON A FARM
wait
stop this is so funny evan is offering to kiss regulus because regulus thinks he will never kiss a boy
they’re kissing
wait
did james see this and they didn’t even know he did??
sirius pov
my red flag is that i love miscommunication
omg wait
walburga is calling sirius
sirius is talking to regulus now
regulus pov
they’re at the leaky
gasp
GASP
they’re drunk kissing on the floor of the bathroom
this is not going to end well i fear
chapter 9
james pov
☹️
guys i was so locked in reading this i didn’t write anything
they kissed for real in the LIBRARY
chapter 10
oooh regulus pov
why is severus not the worst actually like
regulus is going to james dorm oooo
he’s reading a book to him
ope they’re kissing now
gasp walburga is calling
he is leaving ☹️
remus pov
noooo remus
evan ahh
oh cerci i love her
text ??
sirius
uh oh walburga again
practice
pete ☹️
GASP
sirius just came home and remus and fabian were on the couch
☹️
 chapter 11
james
i’m getting secondhand embarrassment 
ok
guys i think it’s game day
omg effie and monty are here
☹️
they won!
ope
regulus
☹️
oh my
evan
barty ?!
sirius
☹️
chapter 12
james
GASP
lilyyyy hi
mary is a hijabi omg
this fic has so much going on i can’t keep up with it
SNAPE ?!
lily is iconic
remus
not a fan of fabian and remus
☹️
chapter 13
these thoughts are getting shorter and shorter
regulus
hmm.
james is asking him to come over
ART HEIST BABY REFERENCE ?? wait idk if this was written before or after art heist baby
they’re talking about like in every universe this has to be an ahb reference 
evan 
lore
cerci and evan friendship 
peter. hm. 
hm
sirius doesn’t even know 😭
he told evan
james
hm.
“James Potter, the great moral authority. Everything is black and white with you until one of your buddies is involved right? Then it’s complicated.” regulus has a point
chapter 14
guys my lip is so swollen from my canker sore 
regulus
uh oh lucius
ugh mulciber
james is here
they had a talk that was important
uh oh evan walked in on them
FABIAN???
chapter 15
bye i haven’t been writing my thoughts but SIRIUS IS GOING TO HIS PARENTS FOR CHRISTMAS??
chapter 16
I DIDNT WRITE ANYTHING AGAIN
basically regulus is. well. you know. and james came out to his parents somewhat unintentionally 
chapter 17
sirius
PETERS PARENTS GOT A CAT AND NAMED IT PETE
gasp
regulus ☹️
monty didn’t know that sirius doesn’t know
evan!
GASP
remuuuu
GASP
sirius kissed remus and fabian saw and now remus and fabian have broken up
marylily save me marylily
regulus pov ive been waiting for you
chapter 18
looking forward to this i haven’t been home in 4 hours and i went through withdrawals
james wooo
he’s getting filled in on the wolfstar lore
fabian pov jump scare
aw gideon
regulus 
ope peter
effie marry me
gasp
regulus went back to james and james was gone
sirius
they’re skating
they’re talking
wait ❤️‍🩹
HELLO WAIT THEY JUST KISSED
very platonically but they kissed nonetheless
remus 
they way they all text is so on brand for them
ugh i lowk feel bad for fabian like i disliked him bc i love wolfstar and he was getting in the way of that but this is sad for him
you know i was not expecting the hanky panky to be fabian and remus
james again
gasp
aw
chapter 19
reggieee
awkward jegulus save me awkward jegulus
they’re awkward in an endearing way and not in a secondhand embarrassment way right now
☹️
sirius
woo game
evan ahh
evan may be having a crisis
woo hoo they won
omg evan and cerci asexual power couple of the century
alice jump scare
omg alice and barty crossover
stop wait i love them
chapter 20
james
ooh
oh
wait why is it sad now
aw wait
wait
lily
marylily save me marylily
i love them
remu
oh no his parents
wait wolfstar
they’re talking
chapter 21
oh no (the tw’s)
oooh
aw wait
me bc it took wolfstar 21/28 chapter to get together
regulus eek
evan is a real one
☹️
severus ?!
☹️
alice 
hmm.
chapter 22
remus
wolfstarrrr
gasp regulus 
wolfstarrr
james
GASP
☹️
evan
 chapter 23
i have five chapters left but it’s 1 am ugh
maryyyy
marylilyyyy
gasp
wait i’m loving this
and the poem
oh wait
sirius and mary friendship
i love muslim mary
chapter 24
regulus ☹️
he’s just like me fr
☹️
wait stop i actually really like severus
wait
james ☹️
he told regulus he loves him
no stop im gonna cry this is hitting too hard
no this sucks
chapter 25
flashback regulus
☹️
james
☹️
sirius 
☹️
chapter 26
i’m a little bit worried that there’s only two chapters after this and it’s all very angsty right now
flashback sirius
☹️
hands
love
regulus
remus made him safe food
sirius and reg are talking
it’s almost two i should sleep
james
evan i love you
chapter 27
almost done guys
barty chapter
i like alice a lot 
☹️
omg 
barty just drove all the way to evan
i love rosekiller
☹️
 chapter 28
last one
regulus
therapy
sirius
and james
regulus again
sirius again
regulus again
sirius again
peter ?!
oh
flashback james
☹️
i may cry
barty 
rosekiller
regulus
☹️ (?)
game
GASP
james ☹️ oh my
hey i thought this was supposed to be a happy ending
barty 
rosekiller
regulus
they’re going to the hospital
what
walburga just told regulus she loves him
oh. 
hello
this is cute in a sort of sad way
slowly but surely this ending is getting happier
they’re boyfriends
snape???
good (not sarcasm)
remu
❤️‍🩹
regulus
❤️‍🩹
sirius
wolfstar save me wolfstar
mary!
aw fabian met someone
ROMULUS NO THATS HILARIOUS 
marylily save me marylily
regulus again
ok that was a lovely ending and it is now 3 am
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superherotiger · 2 years ago
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A Pair of Silver Wings (Dadneto fic)
Oh boy, I’m absolutely hyped to be sharing my first Dadneto fic with you all today! X-Men (and specifically Dadneto and his Speedyson) have captured my heart and consumed my soul entirely ever since I watched the movies a couple of weeks ago! We were robbed of amazing Dadneto content in the films, but I’ve arrived with the fix it and the fluff in this gift for the bestie that started it all, the lovely @sunsetuniverse!! Hope you all enjoy!! - Superherotiger
AO3 LINK
~~~
“Hey Mags, what’re you doing up?”
Erik raised a brow as he rounded the back of the couch, observing the silver-haired speedster who was lounging back with his eyes glued to that obnoxiously loud game device in his hands. “I could ask the same of you,” the man replied, lifting his hand and dragging the device out of Peter’s grip with ease.
“Hey! Not cool,” Peter protested half-heartedly, though he made no move to snatch it back.
For a moment Erik simply observed the device the speedster admired so much, turning it over in his magnetic grip and noticing the buttons that had become worn down from overuse. Eric didn’t have much experience with video games. He preferred things like chess- methodical and strategic. Something that actually drew him out of the rabbit hole that was his mind, instead of the quick reactions and rush of adrenaline that this new era of games demanded. No, Erik had experienced enough of that on the battlefield as it was.
But he supposed for someone as fast both physically and mentally as his son, it was a fitting pass time.
“You’re supposed to be in the medical wing,” Erik stated matter of factly as he moved to sit beside his son on the couch.
“Yeah, well, you’re supposed to be asleep,” Peter shrugged, as if that were somehow a valid defence.
“Perhaps,” Erik mused, before the ghost of a smirk passed his features as he added, “But you see, I have this thing called an ‘injured child’ in my care-“
-A burst of laughter exploded out of the boy beside him-
“-and no matter what I do, said child insists on endangering himself despite how many times he is instructed to simply rest,” Erik continued with a strange mix of exasperation and fondness. Something he had only ever felt in the presence of his chaotic son.
“Please pops, give me a little bit of credit. I’m 27!” Peter huffed in faux offence. “I may be injured, but I ain’t no child.”
You shall always be my child, Erik thought warmly, before nudging Peter’s knee with his own and saying “Nevertheless, you should be resting. In the medical wing too preferably.”
Rolling his head back with a groan, Peter complained, “But it’s so boring down there man. There’s absolutely nothing to do, and time just drags on forever and ever- and trust me, for a guy who already feels time drag as it is I can tell you it’s a nightmare-“
Erik just made himself comfortable as he listened to his son ramble on about the severe boredom he had been forced to endure over the past few days. It was tempting to remind the speedster that his foot was only in a cast because he had ignored Hank’s earlier advice to rest his sprained ankle and gotten himself more injured in the process, but Erik knew the words would fall on deaf ears. Peter could be as stubborn as a mule when he wanted to. A trait Erik had not so proudly passed on, it seemed.
But deep down -underneath the menial complaints and over-confident façade- Erik could see Peter’s true struggle, which was his inability to run.
Speed was not just a power or a trick to Peter, it was his entire life. It defined him- gave him purpose. It was his weapon and his shield, leaving him practically invulnerable to anything that dared to threaten him or those he loved. Without his swiftness, he was defenceless. And Erik knew how awful that could feel- remembering those ten long years trapped at the bottom of the Pentagon, or the years he had spent trying to hide and restrain his gifts long after that. So detached from his true identity… from the power that could have saved his loved ones had he just been fast enough-
Erik quickly shook the thoughts away, turning his attention from the family he’d lost and back onto the family he still had. One look at those warm, dark eyes and that bright, mischievous smile again immediately reminded Erik of how lucky he was to have Peter in his life. Two survivors of a family that had only known hardship and pain and grief- but somehow through it all, they found each other. It didn’t right the wrongs of the past or return all that was stolen from them, but it was enough.
They were enough…
And when Peter’s ramblings were eventually slowed by the occasional yawn or scrub of his eyes, Erik took it as his sign to intervene. “If you insist on evading your bed downstairs, then will you at least attempt to sleep here?”
“What? Dude, no- I’m not even tired,” Peter bemoaned tiredly. “But hey, if you need to get some shut eye old man I completely understand, what with those aching bones and all-“
“Pietro.”
With the call of his birth name and the stern furrow of his father’s brow, Peter’s smirk quickly dropped with a displeased huff. A sign of defeat, if you would. One that Erik couldn’t help but celebrate with a coy smile of his own.
But always the one to have the last word, Peter rolled his eyes and threw a pillow at his father’s chest, saying dryly “If you’re gonna force me to sleep, at least be a decent pillow, yeah?”
Erik didn’t offer a reply, just raised his brow inquisitively and watched the boy lie down along the couch with his clunky cast stretched out and his head resting easily on his father’s cushioned leg. Neither of them said a word. Neither of them wanted to either; content to sit in the silence of familiarity. It didn’t take long for Peter to get himself comfortable, but sleep was clearly still out of reach judging by the little tremors and twitches that passed along the speedster’s hands and fingers. The residual instinct to move -be quick, be vigilant- now keeping him awake.
Noticing his struggle, Erik felt an old instinct of his own spark to life as he gently pulled a blanket off the arm rest and laid it over his restless son. It stilled the shuddering for a short while, but despite Peter’s clear attempts to subdue it, that pent up energy returned before long. So, with a careful turn of his wrist, Erik switched on the power to the record player sitting in the corner of the living room and lowered the needle down onto whatever vinyl Charles had last left on the turntable.
Gentle, soothing melodies echoed faintly into the air, and Erik felt his worries ease as Peter’s shifting and twitching soon settled against his side.
 ‘Although some people say he's just a crazy guy,
  To me he means a million other things.
   For he's the one who taught this happy heart of mine to fly.
  He wears a pair of silver wings.’
Glancing down at his son through the dim glow of the hallway light, Erik felt his heart bloom with fondness at the sight of Peter’s peaceful expression and his wild nest of silver strands. All mutations both great and small were a wonder in Erik’s eye, but his son’s hair was undoubtedly his favourite. As bright as Peter’s spirit; as soft as his generous heart. It suited him to perfection, despite the doubts and concerns that plagued the young mutant so.
Slowly, almost hesitantly, Erik ghosted his fingertips over the waves of his son’s hair, admiring their silky touch. It wasn’t often that Peter let him or anyone else touch it -at least not after the whole ordeal with Apocalypse the year before- but it was a scar they were slowly working to heal. The fact that Peter hadn’t smacked his hand away by now meant he was neither nervous nor uncomfortable by the gesture, and Erik took it as permission to gently comb his fingers through those heavenly silver waves, soothing them both more than they could ever know.
 ‘But when I'm left alone and we are far apart,
  I sometimes wonder what tomorrow brings.’
Closing his eyes for a heartbeat, Erik soaked in the warmth that had coiled around his bones in a soothing embrace. Promising a host of things he had only ever caught glimpses of in his dark past; safety and belonging, and serenity and love. Things he never thought he deserved…
Things that his beloved Pietro had given him anyway.
‘For I adore that crazy guy who taught my happy heart,
To wear a pair of silver wings…’
~~~
Lyrics from the song ‘He Wears A Pair of Silver Wings’ by Dinah Shore
~~~
Tag list:
@joyful-soul-collector @lost-lunar-wolf @lbigreyhound13 @aixabi @zanderljones @milstrim @anarinette @sfabsha @appleschloss @sdottkrames @katthebookiestnerd
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waitimcomingtoo · 4 years ago
Text
Better Left Unsaid
Pairing: Deaf!Peter Parker x Reader
Requested by @peterspeaches
Synopsis: you ask Peter to tutor you in sign language 
Masterlist
Tumblr media
Peter looked up when he felt someone bump into his table in the library, finding you standing there with a sheepish look on your face. You steadied the wobbling table with your hand and smiled nervously at him, giving him a small wave to greet him. Peter felt his face flush all the way to the tips of his ears at the unexpected encounter, forcing himself to wave back before he came off as weird. You seemed to relax at his greeting and sat down, fishing in your bag for a piece of paper. You slid the paper across the table for Peter, who looked up at you in confusion. You nodded, as if you give him permission, and he opened it.
“You’re Peter right?” Was written in blue ink in your handwritten. Peter looked up at you and nodded eagerly, pleasantly surprised you knew his name.
“Um.” You bit your lip and hesitantly looked down at your hands before showing him what you’d been practicing.
“Hi. My name is Y/n. I have a question.” You slowly and a little poorly signed to Peter. His eyes lit up when he realizes you were signing to him, something no one in the school had ever done. He chuckled a little at the determined look on your face and smiled in approval.
“What’s your question?” He signed back. You concentrated on his hands as they moved, smiling in excitement when you understood.
“You just asked me what my question was. Okay! This is going better than I thought. Um, I’m gonna write it.” You pointed to the piece of paper before taking it back. Peter watched you as you wrote him a whole paragraph before sliding the paper back over.
“My dad is has been dating this woman for a few years and I think he wants to propose. She has a 7 year old son but he’s deaf so we haven’t been able to bond all that well. I think my dads is hesitant to propose because he thinks I don’t get along with her son. I was hoping you could teach me some sign language?”
Peter read the note a few times to fully understand it while you watched him nervously. You suddenly grabbed the palate back and wrote something else before returning it to him.
“Please.” You had added, making Peter laugh. Peter took your pen and wrote down his answer, turning the paper around so you could read it.
“I would love to help you.” He had written. Your eyes lit up as you looked up at him with a smile.
“Really? Thank you so much! I mean.…” You stopped speaking and signed what you had said, remembering that Peter was deaf.
“You’re welcome.” He signed back.
“You’re welcome! I knew that one!” You exclaimed, getting shushed by the people around you. You and Peter exchanged a look before silently laughing. You wrote something else down and slid the paper to Peter for him to read.
“Could I have your number?”
Peter’s heart stopped momentarily as the girl he’d been pinning after for the better part of four years asked for his number. He quickly scribbled it down and shoved the paper in your direction, making you laugh at his eagerness. Your eyes darted back and forth from the paper to your phone as you typed in his number, sending him a quick text once it was in.
“I’m so excited for this.” An unknown number appeared on his screen. He looked up at you and smiled before texting back.
“Me too. When do you want to start?”
“Is tomorrow after school okay? We could meet right here.” You sent.
“That’s good. I’ll see you then.” He wrote back and looked up at you.
“Thank you, Peter. I love you.” You signed. He tilted his head in confusion and laughed a little, making you pout.
“Sorry. I don’t know that many phrases yet.” You texted him before getting up. Your reasoning made sense and he found it incredibly endeared as he signed goodbye to you.
“Bye!” You waved at him before leaving the library, both of you going back to your day with a satisfied smile.
~
“Hi, Peter. How was your day?” You signed one of the few phrases you knew as you sat across from him in the library the next day. Peter signed back something that to your surprise, you actually understood.
“Good?” You mimicked his movement and he nodded. “Me too.”
“Are you ready to start?” He texted you and you nodded.
“What’s the sons name?” He wrote.
“Levi.” You sent back.
“Follow my lead.”
You looked up from your phone and focused all your attention on Peter. He let out a nervous breath now that he had the complete attention of the girl he liked and feigned a smile.
“Hi Levi.” He sighed, spelling out the name with single letters.
“Hi Levi.” You followed his movements.
“Wanna play with me?” Peter continued.
“Wanna play with me?” You repeated Peter’s actions and looked at him for approval. “
Is that right?” You quickly texted and he gave you a thumbs up.
“Cool! What did we say?” You sent. Peter explained what you had said and watched you make a mental note of it.
“Okay. He really likes those little matchbox cars. How do I ask which one is his favorite?” You texted him and looked up for answers. Peter signed the phrase, watching you slowly lose your understanding.
“Sorry, could you do that again?” You texted him. He signed it again and you slowly followed along, doing it over and over until you got it.
“Which car is your favorite?” You signed. “Did I say that right?”
Peter read your text and gave you another thumbs up.
“I did?” You said out loud then remembered he couldn’t hear you. “Eee I’m so excited. I can’t wait to show him.” You texted. Peter smiled at you before motioning that he was going to continue.
“How was school?” He signed. You followed along and got this phrase pretty quickly.
“What does this mean?” You repeated the sign for “school” as you slightly recognized the phrase. Peter texted you the answer and you signed it again.
“School. Got it. How was school?” You mumbled to yourself as you practiced the phrase.
“Perfect.” Peter texted. “Now try this.”
“Need any help with your home work?” Peter signed another phrase he thought you might find useful.
“Need any help with home work?” You signed back before picking up your phone. “What does that means?”
Peter texted you a response and you sighed in content.
“This is so great, Peter. Thank you so much for helping me.” You texted him before signing “thank you”.
“No problem.” He signed back. You smiled brightly at him before texting back.
“Can we go over them again?”
That night, Peter was deep into his Calculus homework when he saw your name light up on his screen.
“Levi came over for dinner and I helped him with his homework! He was so excited when I started signing to him! Thank you so much!” You wrote. Peter smiled happily at your message, loving your overuse of exclamation points.
“I’m happy to help. When do you want to meet next?” He asked.
“Can we do every Tuesday and Thursday? I know marching band is on Monday’s and Wednesdays.” You sent.
“Not that I’m stalking you.” You followed up, and Peter laughed.
“Sure. I’ll see you on Thursday.”
~
You saw Peter sitting alone at lunch the next day, as you often did. Instead of walking past him and heading to your friends table, you placed your lunch bag next to him and took a seat. He looked up at you in surprise and closed his textbook, waving shyly at you as you smiled.
“Hi.” You signed.
“Hi.” He signed back. You put a note on his textbook and tapped it twice, signaling for him to read it.
“Do you mind if I sit here?” It read, making him look up at you and nod. You took a seat next to him and fished a pen out of your bag before writing something down.
“I want to show you something.” Peter read off the note. Peter looked at you expectingly while you gave him a shy smile.
“You look nice today.” You signed, eagerly waiting for his reaction. Peter smiled at you and clapped his hands before signing “thank you.” You beamed signed “you’re welcome.”
Peter took out his phone and sent you a text, patiently waiting for the days when you no longer needed to communicate that way.
“Good job. Do you have another tutor?” He teased, hoping you’d get the joke over text. The smile on your face told him you did as you texted him back.
“I wanted to surprise you with the phrase so I looked it up. I’ve been practicing all day.” You sent.
“You did a good job with it. I’m proud.” He sent back and applauded you again. Your heart melted at the proud look in his eye, something you hoped you’d see a lot of.
“Thank you.” You giddily signed.
Peter’s phone buzzed suddenly and he picked it up, seeing a text from his conductor that band practice was cancelled for the day. He made a face, which lead to you making a face, so he showed you his phone to help you understand.
“It’s cancelled?” You asked audibly, but he read your lips. He got an idea now that his after noon was free and brought your attention back to him.
“Do you want to come over after school?” He signed. You furrowed yourself eyebrows before picking up your phone to text him.
“All I understand was “school”. Can you do it again?” You asked. Peter repeated the motion before texting you what it meant. Your eyes lit up as you nodded at him.
“Oh, sure. Watch this.” You sent, making him look up at you.
“Where do you live?” You signed. Peter chuckled and texted you his address, as well as his plan for the evening.
“I’ll meet you at your locker after and we can walk. I want to teach you some of the basics before you learn any more phrases.”
“Sounds good.” You signed another phrase you knew. You and Peter sat there smiling shyly at each other for a moment before he realized why you sat there in the first place.
“Did you want to practice now?” He texted you, but you shook your head.
“No. I just wanted to sit with you.” You wrote back, causing his heart to skip a beat.
“Good. Because I really like you.” He signed, knowing you wouldn’t understand him. Your face twisted in confusion as you tried to make sense of his movements.
“What does that mean?” You texted him.
“It means you can sit with me whenever you want.” He lied.
“Thanks. I’ll probably sit here a lot because I really like you.” You laughed at the admission as you said it out loud. He couldn’t read your lips fast enough and didn’t understand what you had said. He pointed to his phone, silently asking you to text it.
“Nothing.” You wrote. “Do you want a carrot?”
~
You sat on Peter’s bed two months later with a whiteboard and dry erase marker that you’d been passing back and forth. It was your temporary system of communication until you got better at sign language.
“Can I ask you something?” You wrote and showed him the board. He smirked and took the marker, writing a sarcastic message under yours. You looked at the board and made a face at him.
“You just did.” It read.
“Very funny.” You signed before picking up the board.
“Why are you in matching band if you can’t hear the music?”
“Because I can feel it. Watch.” He answered your message with his own before picking up his drumsticks. He hesitantly took your hand and pulled you over to his drum set, placing your hand on the barrel of the drum before sitting down. He played a fast, loud beat that reverberated in your chest. A smile tugged at your lips when you understood what he meant by feeling the music. Peter got up and grabbed the whiteboard, writing a message down and turning it to show you.
“You feel that?” It asked, and you nodded.
“I feel a lot of things for you, actually.” You said, but he didn’t hear.
“What was that?” He signed in confusion.
“Nothing.” You signed back. Peter gave you a funny look but dropped the subject as you began to look around his room.
“You have so many movies. Which ones your favorite?” You looked at him and signed. Peter pulled out a Star Wards movie from his collection and handed it to you.
“Really? Aren’t action movies really loud though?” You wrote on the board, not knowing how to say all that in ASL.
“Subtitles exist, sweetheart.” He signed to you.
“What was that last part? You better not have called me a mean name.” You signed back and stuck your tongue out. Peter just shrugged and pretended to whistle.
“Peter Parker. What did you call me? I demand to know.” You signed again, making a false angry face at him. Peter shut his eyes so he couldn’t see you, making you shove him playfully.
“Do not close your eyes when I’m speaking to you!” You wrote on the board and shoved it in his face. Peter’s body shook as he laughed at his own joke, making you laugh as well before sticking up the middle finger at him.
“See? I already knew that one. I didn’t need you to teach me.” You wrote and flipped your hair.
“I called you sweetheart, which is what I would call you all the time of you were my girlfriend. But you’re not my girlfriend because I’m too scared to ask you to be and don’t want the possible rejection to ruin our friendship. That doesn’t stop me from being hopelessly in love with you though.” Peter signed his true feelings. You tilted your head as you tried to follow along, but lost him almost right away.
“What did you say? All I read was “you”.” You wrote down.
“I said you’re gonna have to study more if you want to keep up with the master.” He wrote under your message.
“We study every day. I’m basically fluent. Try me.” You signed to him with a poised look.
“I am so in love with you it hurts.” Peter signed to challenge you. You grimaced and grabbed the board again.
“You are having a heart attack?” You asked, not having understood what he said. Peter laughed sadly and shook his head at you, wondering when you’d finally understand him. He took the board from you and wrote his own message, deciding to drop the subject.
“Sure. Let’s go over homophones again.”
“I absolutely hate homophones. We have been doing them for two weeks and I’m sick of it. You’re lucky I’m absolutely in love with you, you idiot.” You told him after reading his message. Once again, he failed to read your lips and was left in the dark.
“What was that?” He sighed and you waved your hand in dismissal.
“I called you an idiot. Now teach me some signs.”
6 months later
“Hey Peter.” You signed as you approached Peter at his locker. “Guess what?”
“What? You finally decided to give me my shirt back?” Peter signed before tugging on his own shirt that you were wearing. You had stolen it the previous week after a particularly long lesson.
“Nope! Even better. I found a ring in my dads dresser!” You signed excitedly.
“Wow, really? How did you find it?” Peter wondered.
“I accidentally found it in his sock drawer when I was looking for a ring!” You signed in response after taking a minute to comprehend what Peter had said.
“So he’s proposing?” He asked.
“Yes! He has a dinner planned for this Friday night and he’s doing it then.” You slowly signed the longer phrase, messing and mixing up a few words along the way.
“How do you know?”
“I asked him when he was doing it.” You signed and made a “duh” face. Peter gave you a knowing look for snooping through your dads belongings but you just rolled your eyes.
“Don’t look at me like that. I’m just excited.” You signed and slung an arm around his shoulders. You began to walk towards class like that, ignoring looks from the students around you.
“I’m happy for him. And I’m happy for you.” Peter signed with a proud smile. You smiled back before pulling out a note you had written him, knowing you wouldn’t be able to sign it all.
“I wanted to ask you to be my date to the dinner. Her whole family is gonna be there and my dads side will be there too.”
Peter looked up from the note with a hopeful expressing as you bounced on your toes.
“You want me there with your family?” He signed and you nodded eagerly.
“You are my family, Peter.” You sighed back. “You’re basically the reason this is happening.”
“Your dad is not proposing because of me. He doesn’t even know me.” He signed with a skeptical face.
“Yes he does.” You rolled your eyes as you signed. “I talk about you all the time, dummy.”
“Well I sign about you all the time to May.” Peter responded, making you laugh loudly.
“Is that a yes to dinner? You know, since you’re so obsessed with me.” You signed with a hopeful look in your eyes.
“Yes. I will be your date.” He sighed back with a smile. You threw your arms around him and hugged him tightly to say thank you and kissed his cheek.
“Thank you!” You signed. “I’ll text you the details.”
~
Peter stood next to you at your dads dinner in the one nice shirt he owned and pants that were just a bit too big. You stood next to him in a short black dress, nervously chewing your lip as you looked around the room.
“That’s Levi.” You signed and pointed to the boy. “And that’s my soon to be step mom.”
The pair spotted you and waved, immediately making their way over to you and Peter.
“They’re coming. Be normal.” You quickly signed before plastering on a smile.
“Hey Levi! I like your bow tie. You look super cool.” You signed to Levi, and the young boy smiled.
“Thank you.” He signed back and hide behind his moms legs. Peter knew exactly how he was feeling and frowned. He knew what it was like to be in a loud room and not hear a thing, and how overwhelming it could get. He knelt down to Levi’s level and gave him a small smile to let him know it was okay as you began to talk to his mom.
“Hi Levi. My name is Peter.” He signed. “That’s a cool watch you have on.”
Levi looked down at his watch and smiled a toothless grin before looking back at Peter.
“Thank you. Do you like Star Wars?” He signed back, taking a cautious step away from his mother’s leg.
“I love it. What’s your favorite movie?” Peter asked.
“I like Revenge of the Sith.” Levi answered.
“No way! Me too!” Peter signed excitedly. “We should get Y/n to watch it with us sometime. She really likes spending time with you.”
“I like her too.” Levi signed, fully away from his moms leg now.
“You’re a cool dude. Us deaf kids have to stick to together. I’ll see you at dinner.” Peter signed before holding his fist out. Levi gave him a fist bump as a huge smile lit up his entire face.
“See you.” He signed before walking away with his mother. Peter got up and looked at you, giving you a smile shrug.
“Cool dude.” You signed to tease him as you raised your eyebrows playfully.
“Leave me alone. I don’t know how to talk to children.” He signed back.
“Clearly you do. I’ve never seen him smile that much.” You told him. “Thanks for being nice to him.”
“Excuse me, are you Peter?” Your soon to be step mom ran back up to you and signed to Peter. She had been so distracted by her conversation with you that she hadn’t noticed Peter and Levi. But after walking away and watching Levi happily sign about the nice deaf boy he met, she had to say something.
“Yes ma’am.” He signed back.
“I just wanted to thank you.” She have as an emotional smile. “My son doesn’t meet a lot of deaf people and that interaction meant a lot to him. Thank you.”
She pulled Peter into a tight hug and you heard the air leave his body. He looked at you for help and you just gave him a thumbs up.
“She’s a hugger.” You signed with a wicked smile.
“Okay. Sorry.” She signed and wiped a stray tear. “I’ll leave you two to it.”
Peter turned to you once he walked away, body still aching from the hug.
“She seems nice.” He signed, and he meant it.
“She is.” You signed back. “Come on, let’s go take a seat.”
Halfway into dinner, your dad tapped his glass with his fork and stood up. You tapped Peter’s shoulder and pointed to your dad before giving his hand and exciting squeeze.
“Hello everyone. I know it’s not a normal thing to make speeches at dinner, but this is important. As you all know, Sharon and I have been seeing each other for quite some time now.” Your dad took Sharon’s hand and looked around the room. As he spoke, you translated a majority of his speech so Peter and Levi could follow along. Peter was so enchanted by how far you’d come with your signing that he didn’t fine back into the speech until he heard-
“Yes!” Sharon exclaimed. “Yes, yes, yes!”
Everyone clapped except for you and Levi, who did the ASL version of clapping. Peter laughed at what you opted for and did the same, leaning into you endearingly.
“You know what this means, don’t you?” You sighed. Peter’s eyebrows knit together I’m confusion so you rolled your eyes.
“Now you have to be my date to the wedding.” You signed and his face heated up in a blush.
“I would love to.” He signed, taking your hand in his and kissing the back of it.
One month later
“Great job today.” Peter signed as he closed his ASL text book. “Your reading and pace is getting a lot better.”
He got up to put his textbook on his desk, but you grabbed his sleeve to keep him in place.
“Peter, wait.” You signed. “I’ve been practicing something behind your back.”
“Go ahead.” He signed as he sat back in his seat. You bit back a smile and hesitantly looked at your hands, trusting them and Peter’s tutoring to carry you through. You shyly looked up and Peter and began to sign.
“You’re my favorite person to talk to. I really love spending time with you. I feel like you’re the only person who really hears me, no pun intended.” You laughed nervously and he did too. “And so, I have a question for you.”
“What’s your question?” He signed with a smirk, remembering your first conversation.
“Um...” You mumbled and looked down at your hands again, squeezing your eyes shut for the next part.
“How do you say “kiss me” in sign language?” Your eyes fluttered open after you signed the rehearsed phrase, nervously waiting for Peter’s reaction. He tilted his head in confusion and signed it for you, too naive to understand why you were asking. Of course, you had googled how to say it so you could recognize it when he did it.
And you recognized it.
“Okay.” You signed back before leaning in and kissing him. You heard his breath hitch into his throat as a small sound emitted from the back of it. Peter’s eyes widened as his lips touched a girls for the first time. His instincts kicked in and he cupped your face in his hands, leaning closer to you to deepen it. You pulled away to gasp for air, laughing shyly as you rested your forehead against his.
“You’re my favorite person to talk to, too.” He signed before kissing you again.
~
You found Peter at his locker the next morning, eager to show Peter what you worked on once you went home the night before.
“I have to show you something. I’ve been practicing this all night.” You signed with an elated smile. Peter nodded, signaling for you to go ahead.
“Oh, wait. Almost forgot.” You signed before grabbing Peter’s face to kiss him. He smiled against your lips, deeply loving your new way of greeting each other. You pulled away and looked at your hands, mentally rehearsing the phrase before you showed him.
“Will you be my boyfriend?” You signed slowly and hesitantly as you looked at Peter. It took him a minute to register what you were trying to say, but once he did, he excitedly signed “yes.”
“Yes?” You asked and he signed it again. “He said yes! He said yes, everybody.” You cheered as you pulled him into a hug. He couldn’t tell what you were saying, but the ecstatic look on your face was enough. You kissed his cheek a few times before pulling away with a grin.
“You can’t hear but I’m yelling.” You signed, accompanied with a laugh.
“Shut up and kiss me.” Peter signed as he rolled his eyes at you.
“You shut up. You’re so loud.” You teased him before kissing him again.
1 year later
“You got this, sweetheart.” Peter signed as you got ready to deliver your speech at your dads wedding. As promised, he had come as your date. You had done a decent job of signing the vows to him, your speed and memorization improving every day. Now it was time for your speech and you and Peter had been practicing something special.
“And I believe my daughter has a few words.” You heard you dad say, snapping your attention away from Peter. He squeezed your hand for encouragement as you stood up, giving you a soft smile to relax you. You took a deep breath and looked out at the table, never letting go of Peter’s hand.
“Hello everyone.” You signed and spoke out loud at the same time for Peter and Levi’s sake. “My name is Y/n and I’m the daughter of the groom. I had some things I wanted to say to my old family and to my new family. Whew.” You laughed nervously and looked at Peter for courage. He kissed the back of your hands and held up a symbol he hadn’t taught you, but you already knew.
Middle finger and ring finger bent to touch the palm with pointer finger and pinky extended, the way to say “I love you” in sign language.
Peter telling you he loved you for the first time gave you the courage you needed to continue the speech. You spoke about your dad and Sharon for a while before turning your attention to Levi.
“And to Levi, I’m so happy you’re my brother.” You didn’t speak this part and only signed. “I can’t wait to see who you grow up to be because the person you are now is amazing. I promise that I’m going to try my hardest to be the best big sister you could ask for. As long as I’m here, you will always have someone who cares about you. Welcome to the family. I love you.”
Levi looked at you with the biggest smile, feeling empowered to know he wasn’t the one who didn’t understand what was being said anymore.
“I love you too. I’m glad you’re my sister.” He signed back, making you tear up. You thanked the guests and took your seat again, continuing the rest of the reception with content bliss.
Peter held your hand as you walked towards a gazebo that had been dawned with fairy lights, a popular place for photos during the night. You were both in need of a break from the dancing and the gazebo just so happened to be empty. Peter lead you inside and twirled you around, smiling as you rested your head on his chest. You began to slow dance to music that wasn’t there until you pulled away.
“That went so phenomenally well.” You signed to him. “When do things ever go to plan the way that just did?”
“I guess the universe is on our side.” He signed back with a smile.
“It must be, if it brought me to you.” You signed, tears of joy coming back to your eyes.
“I love you, sweetheart.” Peter signed, wanting to say it over and over now that he had gotten the first one out of the way.
“I love you more. I can’t wait to sign “I do” to you one day.” You signed, making Peter gasped. Your smile fell at his reaction and you realized that might have been too much too soon.
“Did I just ruin the moment and say too much?” You grimaced as you signed. Peter came back to his senses and shook his head before pulling you into a kiss. He wasn’t afraid of what you said, just taken aback by you taking the words right out of his mouth.
Or, well, you know what I mean.
“No.” He signed once he pulled away. “You said just enough.”
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shyficwriter · 4 years ago
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Temporary Home: Chapter 12
Guardians of the Galaxy fanfic | Reader x Guardians (With Yondu and Kraglin!)
Summary: You want to make a run into town, but you're forced to take one of the Guardians with you if you want to leave. Guess who get's the pleasure of annoying you? If that wasn't bad enough, someone decides to show up at your door...
Previous Chapter here | Next Chapter Here Or click here to: Start From Beginning
Author’s Note: For my records, this is day 17 of the Guardians living with reader.
Word Count: 6,751
"Where you going?"
You turned and looked towards the source of the voice, Peter's voice, coming from a door to the kitchen. You had just grabbed your keys from the kitchen counter and you were finishing up the short list on your phone.
Obviously you had intended to quickly run your errands the other day when you planned to take the raccoon corpse into town to be tested, but when Fury showed up having brought his own doctor and lab to test the raccoon on site, and also sentenced you to wearing your arm in a sling, you obviously hadn't done that.
It had been a couple days since then, you having wanted to get used to the sling a little bit before attempting to drive. You knew it still wasn't exactly the smartest thing to do, but you really wanted out of the house.
"Just running into town," you say, not paying him much mind.
"Why?" he asked, his tone weighting the word, almost as if he wanted to tell you that you weren't allowed.
You look up at him with a raised eyebrow. "Because I need to? Ya know, check the mail, pick some stuff up, post a few bills?" You knew it could all wait, and the bills could be paid online if you really needed to, but he probably didn't know that. "Unless you need something I really don't see what it is to you." You weren't meaning to sound like a dick, but he was acting weird. You didn't like his tone, and his weirdness was only emphasized when you start to approach the doorway to exit the kitchen but he didn't move.
His eyes briefly went to your arm in the sling-brace. "Don't you think you should be taking it easy?"
That's what it was. Knew it. You roll your eyes so hard one might think they'd get stuck. "I'm literally fine." You make a shooing motion but he still doesn't move. Sighing, you make your way toward the other door, only to hear him jogging up the hall to meet you there, the sound making you pause before completing the distance, rolling your eyes before continuing on to see he had indeed done just that. You awkwardly cross your good arm with the one in the sling. "Can I help you?" you say irritably.
Gamora entered the kitchen from the other doorway and you looked to her. "Can you please make your boyfriend stop being annoying?" you ask.
"I'm afraid that's impossible," she quipped with a slight smile, "Why? what's he doing now?"
By now Peter had entered the kitchen through the doorway he had been blocking. He ignored Gamora's quip about him being forever annoying and said, "She's trying to leave, I don't think it's a good idea."
"Well, lucky for me, you're not my boss," you say, admittedly a bit childishly.
Peter then donned a smug grin. "You're right. She is." He nodded in Gamora's direction, referring to the task Fury had assigned Gamora, essentially making her your babysitter as punishment for you neglecting to seek medical attention for your arm.
Your nostrils flared in irritation at him bringing it up and Gamora gave him a look that clearly stated she was uncomfortable. No one had mentioned the incident since the first day. You, because you didn't want to be reminded Fury was treating you like a child, and the others for pretty much the same reason, seeing no reason to provoke you, especially since you were seemingly behaving. (Again, aside from Rocket, but you had taken to keeping your earbuds in for most of the time, so if he did act like a dick to you it often fell on deaf ears.)
"Peter, I really doubt Fury intended for us to keep her locked inside." Gamora said, having assumed Peter was only wanting to refuse to let you go out for a walk, which she didn't understand, because he hadn't said anything when you took one the other day.
"Well I really doubt she's supposed to drive like that."
Finally understanding the issue Gamora grimaced. Peter was probably right.
Just then Yondu and Kraglin came into the kitchen looking to make something to eat, but saw the tense atmosphere.
"What's goin' on?" asked Yondu with a raised eyebrow. He hadn't heard any fighting coming in, but the way you were standing between Peter and Gamora almost implied someone was getting into it.
Peter spoke up, stating how you were looking to make a run into town and how he thought it was a bad idea for you to drive, only he phrased it to group him and Gamora together as having the thought, which prompted Gamora to say back to him that she actually hadn't given her opinion on the situation yet.
Yondu eyed you, or more specifically the brace on your arm. "Can ya drive like that?"
"Yeah." you reply. It was true, the arm in the brace wasn't the one you'd need for changing gears or signaling, so you should be fine, even if truthfully it'd be better if you didn't.
Yondu shared a glance to Kraglin and then shrugged. "Don't see a problem then." He turned toward the pantry, Kraglin following his lead, before he added, "Long as ya take Quill with ya."
You blinked. "Excuse me? Why would I- That's not- I'm not-" You were caught off guard and were now sputtering, clearly not thrilled with his addendum.
Yondu grinned at Kraglin, who was wondering where the elder was going with this, before saying nonchalantly, "If you're too nervous to take a passenger like that, then ya don't need to be going alone."
"I didn't say that!" you countered, pushing down the fact that the thought actually had entered your mind. "Maybe I just don't want to be annoyed by him- and I actually don't know if I can take him. That was never discussed." Again, this was also true. The topic hadn't come up. You had no idea if they were allowed to leave the property. Sure, for some it seemed obvious that they couldn't go into public, but you truthfully had never asked and had consequently never been told.
"He's Terran. Not like you'll run into issue there. I s'pose we could always call yer boss and ask..." His tone was laced with a grin as he turned back to face you with a Terran fruit he'd come to enjoy. A pear, he believed it was called. He was sure you wouldn't go for calling Fury, and he was right.
"No, we don't need to do that," you say irritably. Last thing you wanted to do was call Fury for something like this when he was already unhappy with you.
"I do think it'd be better if someone went with you," Gamora finally spoke up. "It couldn't hurt, at least." She was actually leaning towards the "don't let the Terran with an injured arm drive" party, but part of her believed you'd probably be fine and wanted to soften as much conflict as possible. Being transported in SHIELD vehicles she had seen how the insides operated, and it didn't look so complicated that you'd need both arms. It's not as if you were piloting a ship, and if you did wind up needing help, she was sure Peter could figure the vehicle out well enough.
You give her a mournful look and Yondu speaks again.
"But if yer still set on goin alone, I'm sure Gamora there won't mind callin' that Fury feller. Bet ya just wanna get away so ya can take that brace off without gettin in trouble," he said cooly with a grin. Catching the frown Gamora threw his way he added, "An' if she don't, I can always do it myself."
You tilted your head at the man, expression a mix of confused irritation. "First off, no, I'm not just leaving to do that. Secondly, who do you think you are? My mom?" you snarked.
"Nah, but yer acting like a kid. Somebody's gotta knock some common sense in that stubborn head of yers." Yondu replied, unfazed by your attempted insult as he took a bite of the pear and nodded once more to your injury.
You didn't get it. Why would he care? Why did any of them care?? Was it guilt? Because you wouldn't have been injured if they weren't there? You wanted to ask but settled for just sighing in defeat. You looked Peter over. He wasn't wearing a shirt with any alien writing on it, so at least he wouldn't get any funny looks for that. "Fine," you relented. "Get ready."
Peter let out a triumphant laugh and said he was already ready to go.
You took a moment and opened a couple drawers before finding what you were looking for. "Take these just in case." You tossed him a pair of black sunglasses. "You'll look like a douchebag, but you're probably used to that."
Peter let out a, "Hey!" but you ignored him, making your way past the others to the front door, telling Peter to hurry up.
***
"Can I drive?" Peter asked as the two of you walked to your vehicle.
"Absolutely not." you answered back with an incredulous glare.
"Why not? It'd be easier to let me drive than you try to drive with your arm in that."
"Because I seriously doubt you have a drivers license," you begin to say. Peter opened his mouth to retort but closed it again when you added, "that would be valid here." You open the driver's side door and add, "And because I don't even know if you know how to drive."
"I'll let you know I've been flying a ship since I was ten!" Peter countered.
"I don't care." you reply. "You're not driving. I can't risk us getting pulled over and you not have a license. You're fully free to stay here if you have a problem with that." You gesture back towards the house.
Peter disappointedly huffed but got in the passenger seat. You won this round.
***
Once you and Peter had left out the front door Yondu grimaced. "Might've miscalculated that one..."
"What'dya mean?" Kraglin asked. Gamora also gave him a funny look.
"Thought fer sure tellin' her to take Quill would've made her see that stayin' put wasn't that bad."
"Wait, you were trying to use reverse psychology??" Gamora asked, clearly annoyed.
"If that's what ya want to call it." Yondu shrugged with a frown, watching through the window as you pulled away down the drive, making sure the vehicle looked like it was driving straight. Luckily for you, it was. Otherwise he was fully prepared to whistle and spear a couple of your tires. Kitchen window would've needed replacing too if that happened, seeing as it was closed.
"Doesn't matter what I call it! It didn't work!" Gamora scolded. "If you didn't think it was a good idea you should have just taken our side instead of trying to play games and sending Peter with her!!"
"What'dya mean 'our side'? You were saying she should take someone with her too!"
"I didn't mean it!" Gamora snapped back.
Kraglin looked uncomfortable, not liking the feeling of being stuck in the room while the two of the more intimidating Guardians argued. Not wanting to draw attention to himself by leaving he just stood there and nibbled at his protein bar.
"Calm down, missy." Yondu said. "It'll be fine. And if not, Quill's got one of those phone things SHIELD gave us. Boy can handle himself."
Gamora glared but didn't speak any further, choosing instead to grab an apple off the table and head to her room. Yes, it likely would be fine, but it didn't mean she felt good about it.
***
After several minutes of driving in silence Peter tried to make conversation.
"So... lotta trees out here..."
"Uh huh."
"You make these trips into town often?"
You shrugged.
"I can see you don't feel much like talking..." Peter said awkwardly. You obviously weren't pleased with taking a passenger.
You turned on the radio in response.
Peter tried again after a few minutes when the music cut to a commercial break, trying a different tactic. "So, why are you afraid of doctors?" he asked, turning the radio down.
You gave him a strange look. "What? Where'd you get that idea."
He went into how you seemed tense when the doctor was checking you over when Fury came, and then recounted an incident that had happened the other day.
You had been reading in the sitting room when Mantis came in. You overheard her tell Gamora that her throat hurt, and so you pulled a lozenge from a drawer in the nearby table, telling her to suck on it and to tell you if it still hurt in an hour. If it did, you'd contact SHIELD to inform them she needed to see a doctor. Hearing this, Kraglin had piped up and asked why you would see that Mantis got a doctor straight away, but you had to have one forced on you. You gave him a look before telling him that it was different, and left the room before he could ask how.
"I only just put the two together." Peter said. "It must be because you're scared of doctors."
"No," you said flatly. "I'm not scared of doctors. I just didn't need one. If Mantis was sick, she would have needed one."
"But you did need one." Peter countered. "And Agent Hill told me about what you did in Romania. You needed one then too. Why would you do that to yourself unless you were too scared to go see a doctor?"
You exhale out your nose, annoyed that Maria had been telling him your business. "I'm not afraid of doctors, ok? It was an important job. There wasn't the time to stop and say 'Oops, will ya look at that, my appendix needs out. Better put the job on hold so I can find a doctor.' Not when I can do it myself. Happy?"
"She said you nearly died. That doesn't sound like being able to do it yourself. You can't do things like that. It's insane."
Your face hardened. Who did this guy think he was? Telling you what to do, you barely knew each other! "What's insane is a crime ring that traffics children to the wealthy elite for sexual favors," you snap at him. "So I guess I'm sorry if I wasn't willing to compromise the job to go lay in a damn hospital bed."
Peter didn't know what to say to that. He still thought you were insane for performing surgery on yourself, but he couldn't quite find a suitable argument after what you just said. After a moment he asked, "Did... did they get out?"
You knew he meant the kids. You swallowed. "Most of them. I don't want to talk about it." You turned the music back up, and Peter let it go.
The two of you rode in silence for a good bit longer before Peter turned the music back down again to speak.
"How much longer until we get where we're going?" he asked.
"Not long. Another ten minutes maybe. Why?"
"I need to take a leak."
You almost roll your eyes. "Why didn't you go before we left the house?"
"I didn't have to go then!"
A huffed laugh escaped your throat. "Seriously? You're like a toddler." You shake your head and say, "Do I need to pull over? I can if it's an emergency."
Peter almost pouted from the toddler comment. "No, I can hold it."
"Alright. Suit yourself."
About five minutes later you come up to a town, and a few minutes after that pull into the lot of a shop, the first stop on your list.
"I just have to run in here and grab a few things, they'll have a toilet you can use." you say as the two of you got out of the car, adding, "Don't forget those sunglasses. I don't want to take any chances."
He rolled his eyes but put them on anyway.
Upon entering the store you told Peter he'd find the toilet in the back and told him you'd be looking in the spices, pointing in the direction he'd find you when he was finished. You debated going along and waiting for him since he was technically your responsibility, but you decided against it. The shop wasn't too large so you trusted he wouldn't get lost on his own.
You split off on your separate ways and you grab a hand basket before heading towards the spices. You had only browsed for a short while when suddenly Peter was back at your side. "That was quick." you said to him, locating two of the spices you needed and dropping them in your basket.
"Door said it was out of order." Peter replied, sounding almost pouty.
You shook your head and said, "See, this is why you go before we leave the house." You find the last spice you needed and give him a knowing look as you began walking away from the spices.
"Don't talk to me like I'm a kid!" Peter said indignantly, following you as you left the aisle.
"Don't act like one." you reply, turning to find the cleaning aisle. SHIELD had been kind enough to include other basic things like toilet tissue on their supply drops, which you had been grateful for with eight other people living in your home, and the Guardians had already come with their own toiletries like toothpaste and soap, but you were seemingly on your own for cleaning supplies. You were now running low on dish and laundry soap. Gods, there was always laundry now. At least they did their own. Mostly.
"You're one to talk!" Peter retorted, gesturing to your arm.
You glare over to him as you walked. You swore, if you heard one more time about how you were acting like a child just for being stubborn about not seeing a doctor...
"Ow! You did that on purpose!"
"Did not." You said flatly, though you absolutely had smacked him with the basket on purpose. Not super hard or anything, but enough for him to feel it crack him in the knee.
He pinched you on the shoulder.
"Ow!"
"Didn't do it on purpose." Peter mocked.
You were by the dish soap now and so you set the basket down to grab a bottle. However, you were sure to flick Peter on the back of the head before you did.
"You did not just flick me!" he said irritably, retaliating by giving your exposed side a couple quick squeezes.
Your arm jerked down fast as lightening, having been just shy of grabbing your preferred bottle of dish soap. Your cheeks were burning and you looked around as you scolded him in a whisper-yell. "We are in a public shop! Don't you dare start that!"
"You started it," he countered smugly. However, his the smugness was wiped off his face when you gave him a taste of his medicine.
"See how you like it then!" you say, using your good arm to return his actions. You hadn't been positive it would work, but you weren't disappointed to see the playing field leveled when it did.
Peter's eyebrows shot above the sunglasses, his eyes widening as he crippled away from the touch and grabbed your wrist. "Don't! I told you I had to pee!"
"Oh." You had been so busy bickering it had honestly slipped your mind. "Sorry."
"Truce?" Peter offered, releasing your hand.
"Yeah, fine. Truce." you agreed, reaching up to finally grab the bottle of dish liquid, a little embarrassed as you realized how much like children the two of you had just acted. "Just hurry up and figure out if you or your friends need anything before we leave," you say, making your way down the aisle to grab the laundry detergent.
It was Peter's turn to look embarrassed, only for a completely different reason. "Actually, now that you mention it- if it's ok, I was wondering if they sell... "certain"... things here?"
You put the detergent in the basket and begin to head towards the pharmacy section, realizing it wouldn't hurt to pick up some bug spray and more of that gel for the bites. Mantis had a bad habit of getting bit by midges, and most of the others had started falling victim to them as well. You didn't look at Peter as you walked, saying, "You're going to have to be way more specific than that, dude."
Peter's cheeks we turning noticeably pink by the time you looked at him when he said, "You know... um... the things... for "special moments..." he used air quotes and looked quite uncomfortable, even with the sunglasses hiding his eyes. "Um... you know... uh... When two people like each other very much..."
You wanted to cover your mouth to hide your grin, but one arm was stuck in a sling-brace and the other was too busy holding the grocery basket. "Are you asking if they sell condoms here?" You tried really hard to bite back a laugh, but a tiny chuckle slipped out. It wasn't that he was asking for them that was funny, it was the way he seemed like a teenage boy about it, all nervous and such like you'd call his mother on him.
Peter's face was bright red now. "Don't laugh! Just- never mind."
"No, it's totally cool. It's just funny. I mean, we're adults, you can ask for them. Like, at least you're being safe about it." Suddenly feeling in a better mood and wanting to tease him you say, "Unless... do we need to have 'the talk' young man?" Now you really couldn't hide your giggles.
"So not cool!" Peter pouted, hiding his face in his hands.
You nudged him in the arm and pointed him down that aisle and told him he could find what he needed there. You continued up a couple aisles to grab the bug repellent and itch cream.
You met back up and he wordlessly threw what he had retrieved into the basket, barely looking at you as he did so. You held back giggles at his behavior and asked if he knew of anything else you needed to grab before checking out.
Peter shook his head, and you can tell by his expression he's eager to leave the shop and go back to the house. You almost feel bad for laughing, and you get an idea.
"If your friends liked the Oreos I can pick you up some more. We'll pass that aisle to get to the checkout anyway."
Peter nodded and you grabbed another double sleeve of Oreos before walking to check out. You only hoped you wouldn't get stuck with one of those chatty cashiers.
Wouldn't you know it, of course you did. You weren't super familiar with the cashiers despite frequenting this store, but you had become familiar with the fact that you didn't care for the one who's line you got stuck in, not realizing you had until it was too late.
Normally you feel for retail workers. You knew it was a tough job, but this one cashier just didn't know how to get the hint that not every item he scanned needed a comment.
Laundry soap? "Ooh! Great taste in scent!" Spices? "Someone likes cooking! Anything good tonight? Yum Yum! Ha ha!" Bug spray and itch cream? "Oh those nasty midges are out again. I feel you, haha." Cond-? Oh fuck. "Oh ho! Someone's getting luck-ay tonight! Am I right, my dude?" He winked at Peter, who noticed you looked like you wanted to reach across and murder the cashier.
Peter chuckled nervously and tried to smooth it over. At least, that's what you thought he was attempting. "Oh- aha- no. We're not together. We're uh- She's my sister."
You snapped a glare at Peter as you thrust your payment to the cashier and grabbed one of the two bags before storming off, telling him to keep the change. Peter grabbed the other bag and left the cashier standing there, who at least finally had the decency to look embarrassed by his comment.
Peter caught up with you quickly.
"Don't call me your sister. I barely know you," you say grumpily. That wasn't really the full reason it upset you. Peter wasn't your brother. Your brother was gone. Peter didn't get to call you that.
"Sorry, I panicked," he said.
You brush him off. You knew there was no way he could know. "Whatever, let's just leave. Sooner we finish in town sooner we can go back to the house."
You made your next stop to a nearby petrol station to fill up your car and give Peter a chance to find a working toilet. After the two of you successfully completed both tasks respectively, you stopped by the post office to grab the mail and post your bills while you left Peter in the car. On your way out of the post office you caught glimpse of someone across the road and a brick fell in your stomach when they waved, indicating they clearly saw you. You nodded back out of politeness but hurried to get in your car.
You buckled in and looked in the rearview mirror, only to see the person, a middle aged woman in a flowery blouse, walking towards your car, still not quite to the road yet, and waving her arms trying to get your attention.
"Fuck," you say, putting the car in gear to reverse before stopping to put it back in drive to finish pulling away. This would be so much quicker if your arm wasn't in the damn sling, but you still managed even with having to completely stop to remove your hand from the wheel to safely change gears.
"What?" Peter asked, turning to look out the back window once you began to pull forward.
"Don't worry about it- and don't look back!" you scold. You take a peek in your review mirror to see the woman gesturing in defeat, thinking you hadn't seen her trying to get your attention, and you let a small relieved sigh.
"Who was that?"
"No one." you replied.
"So you ran away... from no one. Sure."
You shoot him a look and turn the radio back up, clearly signaling that you weren't about to discuss it. The rest of the ride was spent in silence.
***
Once home you told Peter to put his "special" items (yes, you called them that, air quotes and all, just to embarrass him) in one of his pockets unless he didn't mind advertising them to the rest of his friends. You had assumed he'd be embarrassed if they were just on display for the others based on how he acted in the shop, and the fact that he obeyed implied to you that you were correct.
Once inside you and Peter made your way to the kitchen to put things away. He had refused to let you carry both bags, and you didn't fight him.
Sitting at the table were Kraglin, Yondu and Rocket. On the table were five empty bowls and an empty tub of ice cream.
You sat your bag on the counter and began pulling out it's contents to put them away. Honestly you were slightly bummed that they had finished off the whole thing, if you had known that you might have picked some more up while you were in town, but you didn't say anything about that. You did, however, say something along the lines of "Looks like you guys had fun without us."
Kraglin, who knew you didn't like the house to be messy and knew they were expected to keep up after themselves, began gathering the bowls to put them in the sink, to the eyeroll of Rocket.
"Yup. Ya two missed the party," said Yondu with a chuckle. "I'll admit, that ice cream stuff ain't bad." He then said to Peter, "Yer girlfriend is the only one who didn't want any."
You froze in place, your eyes widened. It hadn't clicked before. Your mind had been preoccupied with other things. Ice cream. Five bowls. There were seven people left at the house. Gamora hadn't wanted any. Tiny Groot probably shared with someone else. Yondu literally said he ate some. That meant... fuck.
You turned around to face them. Looking right at Yondu you say, "Uh, how long ago would you say you guys had the ice-cream?"
"Not quite half an hour ago, why?"
You bit your lips before saying, "Do none of you think to read labels before you eat things?"
Kraglin rolled his eyes playfully as he sat back down. "What? Ya mad we ate your snack?" he teased.
"No no no-" you state, holding up your pointer fingers like a teacher instructing the class on why they were incorrect. You didn't know if you wanted to laugh or groan. Probably the later. You look over at Peter, who held a slight grimace on his face. You say to him, "You know what ice cream is?"
Peter nodded. He remembered ice cream. He also knew the moment Yondu claimed to have eaten it what the problem was.
You look back to the others. "Any of you know what ice cream is?"
Yondu and Kraglin exchange a strange look and Rocket rolls his eyes, wanting you to get to the point.
"It's basically frozen milk."
"Ah." Yondu says, clasping his hands on the table and dipping his head with a slight wince of understanding. He was about to have a bad time. Kraglin and Rocket now share a look that can only be described as 'Crap..." (No pun intended)
Disbelieving laughter bubbles up your throat as you bend below the sink to retrieve a can of aerosolized air freshener and plop it down on the table in front of Yondu. "That's for you, for the inevitable. Use it." You walk to haphazardly throw the contents of your grocery bag in the pantry, leaving your mail on the counter and grabbing your earbuds. "Make sure to open the windows... I'm going for a walk, because there's no way I'm sticking around to deal with that again," you say, giving a mock salute as you make your way out the back door, leaving the guys there to deal with what was sure to be the horrible aftermath of their oversight.
*** You finally came back a couple hours later to find all the windows still open, but no one outside, and decided that was probably a good sign.
You cautiously re-entered the house to find that no bad smells seemed to have stuck around and decided to go look for survivors, but first you needed a snack. You were starving.
You ate a pop-tart just for something quick and then found everyone in the sitting room. Feeling in decent humor you said, "Oh good. You lived." This earned groans from the others. They weren't really annoyed with you for abandoning ship, so much as they were annoyed that Yondu would have messed up and ate dairy for a second time. Well, Peter was a little annoyed that you had just left him there when he hadn't been part of who caused the issue, but he'd get over it.
Your phone started to go off, startling you and a couple others in the process. You checked the caller-id and recognized the number. "Nope," you say aloud, ignoring the call.
"Who was that?" Peter asked.
"No one," you reply, only for your phone to chime with a text almost in response. You open the text and your eyes widen before you make your way quickly but calmly to the windows to shut them and draw the curtains.
This, of course, gathers the attention of the Guardians.
"What's wrong?" Yondu asks, perplexed by your behavior.
"Nothing," you answer at first, before turning to face them and amending it to, "Nobody's home," and continuing your task with the other three windows, still trying to retain a semblance of being calm.
The others watched as you made your way about the room, sharing perplexed glances. Once finished with the final window at the back of the room you started heading towards the door when Mantis grabbed your hand.
"Are you ok? What can we do?" she asked, concerned. "Please tell me?" She could feel you didn't want to ask for help, but she hoped her asking nicely might work.
You barely glance at her, don't notice her antennae are glowing. "I'm fine. If you want, I could use some help shutting the rest of the windows and curtains, please and thank you." You pull away and head to the hall, where they can see you draw the curtains on the front door shut through the sitting room doorway.
"I know you said you can ease people into compliance, but I didn't think you could actually make people do things." Peter whispered to Mantis. He naturally just assumed that's what happened. You, miss "I don't need help from anyone!" had actually asked for help. Clearly that wouldn't happen without some Mantis mojo. The closest you had come to asking for help was the first time Yondu had dairy and you wanted Peter to help open the windows, but still, that was less asking for help and more of telling him what to do if he wanted to live.
"I can't." Mantis replied. "She was genuinely asking. She's very nervous."
Peter shared a look with Gamora and Drax stood up from the couch to follow you, and the they followed him along with Mantis.
Yondu and Kraglin stayed in the sitting room with Rocket, who told himself he didn't care about whatever this nonsense was about and continued to play with Groot. Kraglin and Yondu exchanged puzzled looks, because unlike Rocket they were genuinely curious what was going on to make you as nervous as Mantis claimed. Why were you batting down the hatches for?
In the kitchen Drax helped you close the windows and curtains. As soon as he heard Mantis say she felt you were nervous he felt there must be a good reason and that he should probably help you, just in case.
Then you started shutting out the lights, and this increased the other's concerns.
"What's going on?" Gamora asked, authority in her voice as she followed you out of the kitchen. You may be their host, but she still felt they had a right to know what was going on, if they were in danger.
"Nothing." you say, shutting off the lights in the hall on the way to the sitting room.
"If it was nothing you wouldn't be doing this. Something is wrong. Do we need to call SHIELD?" She asked more insistently, not believing you.
You turn to her irritably at the doorway. "No. We don't need SHIELD," you say, flicking the switch to turn the sitting room's light off, much to the puzzlement of those inside.
"I will if you don't tell us what's wrong."
Just then there was a knock at the front door, and you visibly startled in response before freezing in place and whisper yelling, "Quiet!"
The other's obeyed, not sure what else to do or what was going on.
Peter quietly stepped out of the kitchen where he had been peeking through one of the curtains when he thought he could see the dim glow of headlights through the fabric. He saw a blue car pull up next to yours, and out of it stepped a tall man in a light grey sweater and a woman in a floral print blouse. She looked familiar.
"Hey," Peter whispered across the hall, "It looks like that woman from earlier. The one you ran away from."
"Shut up." you hissed.
Gamora looked at the two of you in confusion, but didn't say anything, didn't get the chance, because the knock sounded again and a woman's voice could be heard from the other side of the door calling your name.
"We know you're in there." said the voice. It wasn't angry or confrontational like the others might expect for someone you were apparently hiding from. "Your car's in the drive and we saw you shutting the lights out when we drove up."
You grimaced.
"We just want to talk." It was the man's voice this time.
Peter and Gamora looked at you expectantly, and you shook your head at them. Drax was now standing behind Peter in the kitchen doorway, Mantis having already moved past him to stand next to Gamora in the hall with you.
"Yes, we just want to talk." The woman's voice again. "We saw you in town today, we've been thinking about you."
By now Yondu and Kraglin had made their way closer to the door to better hear what was being said. They didn't care if they were being nosy.
The man spoke your name now, questioningly, as if to ask if you could hear them. "Ok, we understand if you don't want to see us, but please listen; We forgive you, and we're sorry."
You take in a breath, trying to mask your feelings with the others near. They were looking at you. Gamora's face had softened, wondering what the man meant. Forgave you for what? Sorry for what?
"We shouldn't have blamed you for what happened. We know that now." came the woman's voice. "We've had a lot of time to think it over, and we were wrong."
The man spoke again. "We were just hoping you could find it in your heart to forgive us, too."
You felt your chest tighten and you eyes burn, and so you clenched your jaw and your fists, unwilling to show any emotion to the space-strangers in your home, but they noticed anyway.
Peter gestured to get your attention and mouthed, "Open the door."
You shook your head, and he gave you a confused look. You nodded your head towards Mantis and Gamora as if to say, "Um, not with aliens in my hall!" Although that wasn't completely the reason, and you had the feeling he could tell, as he only sighed and frowned slightly in response.
After a pause the woman spoke again. "Alright. We understand you may not be ready yet. Maybe another time. We're still at the same place when you're ready to speak with us. Hopefully that's soon. We'll be going now."
You waited a few moments before approaching the door, and the other's thought you might finally be going to talk to the couple. You didn't, mostly to Peter's disappointment. Instead you peeked through a sliver in the curtains to watch them leave, not pulling away until their vehicle was gone.
As soon as you stepped back from the door Peter asked, "What was that? Who were they?"
"Nothing and no one," you answer, not meeting anyone's gaze as you flicked the hall light back on and walk towards the stairs.
Mantis grabbed your hand, but you pulled away, telling her that you weren't in the mood to hold hands right then and you were going to go take a shower. She just looked down sadly in response, but you wouldn't look at her to notice.
No one stopped you as you walked upstairs, and when you were out of earshot, Drax whispered to Mantis asking what you had been feeling just then, having noticed Mantis had been reading you when she grabbed your hand.
The other's listened in to her answer as she mournfully replied. She hadn't been able to touch you for long enough to get a full reading, but there had been one dominant emotion when she did touch you. You had been sad.
This only rose more questions from the team. Had the couple been been angry with you? What had you done? Why would their forgiveness have made you sad?
Weren't most people happy to be forgiven?
The sound of your bedroom door opening and shutting travelled down the stairs, followed shortly by the same noise of the bathroom door as you entered for your shower.
Yondu almost thought he could hear the faint sounds of crying before the noise was drowned out by the sound of a shower blasting on.
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walkswithmyfather · 3 years ago
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“Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?” Then the Lord said, “If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first sign, they may believe the second. But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground.” Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.” —Exodus 4:1‭, ‬8‭-‬13 (NIV)
“Moses to the Rescue” By Bible Love Notes
“Moses saw himself as a rescuer (Exodus 2:11-25). He killed an Egyptian while rescuing a Hebrew slave and had to flee for his life. When he reached Midian, his first act was to rescue Reuel's daughters (including his future wife) from bully shepherds.
But the years that followed changed Moses. He lost his self-confidence. God could have used the confident young Moses, Pharaoh's adopted grandson. He was bold and self-assured. He had a position of power and influence. But God used the elderly, fearful shepherd Moses, the "nobody" who no longer imagined himself a rescuer (Exodus 4:1-17).
We choose leaders who are confident in themselves, confident in their abilities, those with good self-images, who believe they can do anything they set their minds to do. We choose them and try to emulate them. But God waited until Moses was drained of his own self-confidence so he could place his confidence in God (1 Peter 5:6). May we make that our goal as well.”
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steveezekiel · 3 years ago
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SPECIAL AREA OF MINISTRY
7. "But on the contrary, when they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised [Gentiles] had been committed to me, as the gospel for the circumcised [Jews] was to Peter
8. (for He who worked effectively in Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised [Jews] also worked effectively in me [Paul] toward the Gentiles).
Galatians 2:7,8 (NKJV)
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• When you started out in ministry, God may allow you to try different areas of ministry, but as time goes on, He would want you to streamline your operation to a specific area. The reason for this is, focus.
- You cannot excel in what you are not focused on. If you are into many areas of operation, you may not be outstanding.
- God would not want your attention to be divided, He would not want you to be jack of all trade and master of none.
- He would want you to have a specific area of operation. Paul said, “but one thing I do...” (Philippians 3:13).
- Most people who become great and outstanding are known for a particular area of operation.
- God would not want you to be haphazard—one with no particular order or plan.
- If you are yet to know your specific area of operation in ministry, you have not started. Thus you must
strive to know your specific area of operation.
-> To know this:
• There are certain basic things you can consider in order to know God's plan or will about your Life, the area of your operation, what He wants you to do.
- Even if you do not have any supernatural manifestation or revelation so to say, considering these things, you can know God's plan for you; thus you will not to be going about dissipating your energy and efforts.
(I) Consider your experiences in your walk with God and ministry, especially painful ones.
~ The devil 😈 always attacks the area he fears most in a person's life and ministry.
~ The area that is being attacked MOST by the devil is probably your area of operation.
Your “mess” is your message.
(II) Your passion should be considered as well. What you are passionate about is a pointer to your area of operation.
(III) Another thing is your heart desires.
What moved you. Your values. How you view things. All these are pointing to your make-up, that is, temperament, genetic makeup, demeanor or outward behavior, and your nature.
~ God will use you in line with your make-up.
~ You are unique. You just have to accept the fact.
• Having said that, God is not limited by your make-up, nature or temperament, He may use you for the assignment you are temperamentally unsuited for.
- Someone who has introverted nature could have a sense of inadequacy when he is being assigned to do a crowd demanding assignment. Moses gave a number of excuses why he would not be able to do what GOD instructed him to do. He thought he was not competent enough for the assignment. He even suggested that God should look for another person to do the work.
10. "Then Moses said to the LORD "O my Lord, I am NOT eloquent, neither before nor since you have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of tongue [heavy or dull of tongue; cannot talk very well].
13. But he said, "O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send."
Exodus 4:10,13 (NKJV)
- Irrespective of what have been shared, if you are convinced about what God wants you to do, and your make-up, nature, or temperament is contradictory to it, you will need to follow your conviction.
- If God has called you to do anything that seems to be contradictory to your nature, it means He will give you the special grace needed to do the work. God can use you even in the area you think you are not good at—God is unlimited. Nothing can stop Him or limit Him, when He sets His mind to do a particular thing.
11. "So the LORD said to him [Moses], "Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the LORD?
12. "Now therefore, go, and I will BE with your MOUTH and TEACH you WHAT you shall SAY."
Exodus 4:11,12 (NKJV)
• However, in most cases or generally speaking, if you do not have any direction supernaturally, you have to consider some of the points we have earlier mentioned—your experiences in Christian walk, your passion, and your desires, what moved you, or your make-up.
• You will not fail in Jesus' name.
Peace!
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marvelsswansong · 5 years ago
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“Did you just break into a fucking library?”
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summary: deaf!Stark!reader and Peter break a few rules, but the reward is too sweet to resist. 
a/n: Peter and the reader communicate through sign language, for simplicity reasons these conversations will be italicized to indicate them being done through sign instead of being spoken <3 
This was written for the Marvel Fic Writers x BLM campaign, please see my pinned post if you’d like a request done too. 
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“Are you insane?” Peter asks you, pure panic flashing across his face as you pull him towards the public library. Because it was 2am on a Thursday, the large building was dark and deserted, with even a large padlock on the front doors. Thankfully, this meant that the neighboring streets were also empty and there wasn’t a single soul walking by to witness what these teens were doing.
You’d inherited Tony’s wild side, apparently, always eager to entice Peter to the dark side and do something rebellious that made his heart race. Granted, it was half because of the thrill of it all, and half because he liked you, but he genuinely couldn’t say no when you flashed him those puppy eyes, tugging at his sleeve and twisting his heart in five hundred different directions. 
He’s always saying yes to you. 
“What? Don’t worry, we won’t get caught.” you sign back, causing Peter to outwardly sigh and visibly relax. His morals are telling him to not go along with it, but his heart is telling him to just follow the pretty girl he likes into the darkened library. 
Taking out a hairpin from your jean pocket, you open the padlock and drag Peter through the oak doors. They close quietly, to his surprise, and the moonlight streaming in through the stain glass windows are illuminating the way. Dodging every chair and sharp corner, he has to walk quickly to catch up with you, and it hits him that you’re moving too precisely and too quickly to just be “exploring” this place for the first time.
Knowing you, he wouldn’t be surprised if you’d stayed here over the closing time to read a book and explored this library before. A sharp left, a few feet forward, a sharp right, cornering the history section and then the journalism section, you abruptly stop and pull down a ladder from the ceiling.
You shoot him a sly grin and start climbing upwards, not even giving Peter a fraction of a second to argue against it. He follows quickly, not wanting to be left alone in the dark, and he marvels at the sight when he finally gets to the top. 
Wow.
You’ve led him to a quaint little corner, a windowsill adorned with cushions that’s been hidden away from plain sight. There’s a stack of books to the side and a half-drunk coffee mug on the windowsill, clearly indicating that someone was here a few hours ago. Looking through the window he sees the city lights and empty streets and the window fogs from his breath as he leans closer. You shove him lightly, causing him to almost collide with the window, and he sends you a glare.
“You’re mean.” 
“Sorry not sorry.” 
A few moments of comfortable silence passes before you sign again.
“I’ve never brought anyone up here before.” 
He raises his eyebrow, surprised.
“Why not?” 
You shrug your shoulders.
“Guess you’re special.” 
“Am I?”
Your eyes soften.
“You’ve always been special to me.” 
His face feels hot at your compliment and a blush is creeping onto his cheeks.
“You’ve always been special to me, too.” 
He’s subconsciously moved closer to you, his knee brushing against yours as his hand extends to cradle your cheek. It’s almost reflexive how he starts to lean in, his eyes closing and at that moment-
“Who’s up there!” a new male voice rings out, a blinding ray of light being directed towards to two of you. A man steps into the light, clearly angry. The two of you quickly sit up and scrambled for a way out, but to no luck. 
“Oh, miss Stark, apologies.” his voice immediately switches to one filled with kindness and politeness, his eyes softening upon recognition. “Should I leave you alone?” 
“No, we should be heading out anyways.” you sign back, smiling.
The man disappears into the darkness and Peter looks at you incredulously. 
“You know him?”
“Yeah, he’s one of the owners of this library. Dad donated a hefty amount to him after this library was threatened to close by the city council. Those idiots wanted to replace this library with a fucking mall.” 
He helps you climb down the ladder, one hand holding yours, and the two of you walk outside. It dawns on him that he never got that kiss he’s been hoping for a few years all because of that interruption and it fills him with bitterness. He feels you tap him on the shoulder and he turns around.
You quickly kiss him, with such force that he stumbles backwards before steadying himself by gripping your waist. It’s a few seconds of complete bliss before you feel a buzz in your pocket and it’s a text from your dad.
“DID YOU JUST BREAK INTO A FUCKING LIBRARY?” 
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13-reasons-ideas · 4 years ago
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Marry Me - Monty’s Perspective
A/N: Here it is. I’m so sorry this took so long to put out. I was having a really hard time getting into the right headspace to write this. I hope you guys like it! I recommend listening to Thomas Rhett’s Marry Me when you read this. As usual, feedback is appreciated and much love! -Em
Ellie was coming back into town for her engagement party this weekend. I was the first person she called when Evan proposed. She damn near gave me a heart attack when I answered, and she was scream-crying.
Flashback
I was watching the Chargers game when Ellie called. “Hey Elliebear.”
“Heaskedmetomarryhim.” She screeched on the other line. I had no idea what she said. It sounded like she was crying. And that I would be deaf in one ear. I pulled the phone away from my head until she stopped freaking out.
“What was that?”
“Evan proposed.” What?
“Oh?”
“And I said yes. I’m getting married Montgomery.” Oh.
“That’s great Ellie. Congratulations. I’m happy for you.” I cleared my throat, trying to get rid of the pit that was forming.
“Thank you. I wanted you to be the first one to know, so I just wanted to call you quick. I can hear the game in the background, and we have more people to call so I’ll let you go now.”
“Okay, tell Evan I said hi and congratulations.”
“I will. Bye Monty.”
“Bye Ellie.” I hung up and sat back on the couch. She’s getting married.
End flashback
I was on break at work when I got a text from Ellie.
Hey you. I just got into town with Evan for the weekend. Are you free tonight?
I texted her back a few minutes later, yeah I’m free. What’s up?
She replied right away. Drinks or coffee? Just you and me. My parents are going over some details for tomorrow with Evan that they don’t want me around for.
Sure. Meet you at Monet’s at six?
I’ll save you a seat. Usual order?
You know I don’t change things Elliebear.
I stopped at home to change after work into something more comfortable. I grabbed a clean pair of jeans and a random t-shirt before grabbing an old flannel and running out the door, so I wasn’t late.Ellie barely beat me to the café. It wasn’t surprising really, since she was always the early one.
“Hey, what can I get you this evening?” the barista asked her.
“Can I get a-”
“She’ll get a skinny vanilla bean latte with only one pump of vanilla, a dash of cinnamon, and extra foam in a for here cup. I’ll get a regular black coffee. And she’ll also have the chicken and spinach sandwich.” I said behind her. The barista looked at her, unsure if she should ring it in or not. Ellie nodded and turned around to face me. Before I had a chance to say anything, she jumped into my arms for a hug.
“Hey Elliebear.” I grunted.  
“I missed you.”
“I missed you too.”
Our orders were finished quickly as it was surprisingly slow for a Friday night. Luckily, that meant our table was free. We sat down and conversation flowed easily. It was almost like we had never been apart.
“The ring is nice. It suits you. Bigger than I thought you would like but it’s nice.”
“It is nice, yeah. That reminds me, Evan said he’s looking forward to meeting you tomorrow.”
“So am I. See who finally caught your interest.”
“I was interested in other people before Evan.” She told me, scandalously. Sure, you did El. I didn’t let myself think about the possibility of her liking me that way when we were younger.
“Ellie. That guy from drama class doesn’t count. And neither does your chemistry partner.”
“I was not interested in Adam. And Zach was my chemistry partner. I can assure you I was not into him.”
“Please, enlighten me as to these people you were interested in before Evan.”
“There was,” she paused. “Dylan from sophomore English was cute. Ian. Couple other guys in high school. Peter from my first year anthropology class was… very attractive, and smart.”
“One guy aside from Evan? University of Georgia is a big school. There’s no way you only had eyes for two people.”
“I was busy. I practically lived in the library when I wasn’t in class or my dorm. What about you?”
“What about me?”
“Is there a girl I should be hearing about? Or should have heard about?”
“Nah. Nothing important or anything to write home about. I was busy.” I wouldn’t call what I did, dating. The point wasn’t to find someone to bring home. Who I wanted to bring home was over 900 miles away.
“Oh please Monty, you played ball at OSU. You honestly expect me to believe there was no girl in your life?”
“No, no. There were girls. Just nothing really serious.”
“Uh, huh.” She replied, sarcastically. We reached for our cups at the same time and our hands brushed. I was immediately transported back to the day of homecoming in senior year.
Flashback
“Remember students. The homecoming game is tonight at 6:30. You’ll want to be there early as our Liberty Tigers take on the Hildebrandt Mustangs if you want good seats. It’s sure to be a nail biter.” Principal Bolan’s voice boomed from the intercom during the morning announcements.
“Don’t know why he’s hyping it up to be a nail biter.” Scott laughed.
“We are playing Hildebrandt. We could literally not show up and still win.” I joked. “Have any of you seen Ellie? She’s usually here to force me to English by now.”
“Nah man.” Scott replied.
“Need lover girl to make sure you do what you’re supposed to?” Bryce teased.
“Fuck off. It’s not like that with us.” Unfortunately.
“Sure it’s not Monty. I refuse to believe you never hit it.”
“Don’t talk about her like that.” I threatened, lowly. Don’t push it man. Bryce shut up at my tone. “I’m going to go try and find her. I’ll see you guys at lunch.”
She was arranging her books when I found her at her locker. She was trailed by Clay and Alex. I pulled her into my arms and lifted off the ground. “Montgomery, put me down!” she laughed.
“Never.” I laughed, evilly.
“I have to grab my chem book. And go to chemistry.”
“I’ve got it.” Zach said as he grabbed her book, “you carrying her to class today?”
“Nah, I thought about it but since I had to come find her this morning, I figure she can make it there on her own.”
“I was running late. My alarm didn’t go off when it was supposed to.”
“Excuses, excuses.” I replied, putting her down and shaking my head.
“I’ll see you guys later? Zach and I are running late.”
“Sure. Justin said if I don’t go to the game tonight, he’d tell mom and dad about Ani. And I don’t want to deal with that.”
“Someone has to keep Clay company, so I have to go too.” Alex said, pushing clay lightly.
“Great. I’ll see you then. See you at lunch Monty.”
I sat through just about the driest English class of my life, counting the minutes on my watch. Math was no better. We were reviewing for a test that almost the whole
class failed. Somehow that was our fault for not studying enough. I let out a sigh of relief when the lunch bell rang.
The table was already mostly full when Ellie came and sat next to me. “Ellie, think you could pray for us to not lose this game tonight?” Bryce sniggered from the end of the table.
“Hey, quit being a dick.” I stated. Bryce responded by chucking a grape at me. I threw it back at him. I knew how important her faith was to her. Some things just weren’t okay to be joked about or questioned. When it came to Ellie, faith was one of them.
“It’s fine Monty. Not like he hasn’t done it before.” I know he has. I don’t like it. “It’s going to take a lot more than God to help you win if you don’t learn to throw better than that in the next six hours. But sure.” I watched her from the corner of my eye as she smirked to herself before beginning. I’d seen her pray for real before. This wasn’t that. “Lord, please help the guys win tonight. Give them the ability to not trip over themselves when they make plays. And God, please show Bryce how to make the ball go where it’s supposed to and not hit some poor kid in the head again. Maybe, just maybe, then he will get laid tonight and we all know that’s really why he asked me to pray.” She smirked at Bryce. I choked on my juice. She probably isn’t wrong. Was pretty funny when that kid got hit though.
“You need to quit hanging out with Monty, he’s rubbing off on you too much. And I was serious.”
“I know. I’ll do it for real after lunch. You can sit with me if you want.” She was true to her word. I was late for Geography because I was watching her sit in an empty alcove praying. Bryce didn’t sit with her.
The locker room was abuzz with excitement. It was the homecoming game. Not to mention our season opener. If we wanted to start the season off right, we had to win. Sure, we joked around about Hildebrandt being an easy team to beat-they came in second to last in the league last year-but there was still a chance they would pull off a miracle. Especially if Bryce threw like he did at lunch. “Yo Monty, is Ellie coming to Monet’s tonight?”
“She said she would. Not that she’ll give you the time of day.” I waved off Matt’s question. She’s not interested. Trust me. Find someone else to have your eyes on. Several ‘oooo’s were voiced around us.
“How do you know?”
“Just do, man.”
“I could treat her real nice. She’d beg me for more.” Are you fucking kidding me?
“Oh shit.” Someone muttered, seriously. I didn’t really hear who it was. The sound of my blood rushing in my ears was too loud. Coach Kerba wasn’t in the room. He was talking to Banes about plays. No one in here will snitch. Not when it’s about Ellie.
I immediately turned towards him and cornered him against his locker. The rest of the team stood silently, watching us. I got real close to his face so only he would hear me. “You even think about her like that again and I will bury you so deep they’ll need ground penetrating radar to find you. Not that they’d recognize you if anyone found your body. If you so much as brush against her too hard in the halls, I’ll break your jaw. You understand Carraway?”
“Y-yeah. I got you. Never said a word.” He breathed in response. I had scared the living shit out of him. Good. I stepped away from him and after a few beats the incident was forgotten and the mood was light again.
The game wasn’t that exciting. Had it not been homecoming, most people probably wouldn’t have shown up. As expected, it was in our favour most of the first half. Ellie waved at me between plays. She was practically beaming. During the second half Hildebrandt seemed to find their groove and the game was at least interesting to play. It wasn’t the nail biter Principal Bolan had promised this morning. Everyone knew that regardless of how we played, we would end up winning. The game ended and the team and the crowd were excited. Matt and Garrison were so excited by the win, they tripped over their own feet and faceplanted on the sidelines. The excitement died down for a moment until they shot up and went on celebrating.
I waited for Ellie outside the locker room, as per our tradition. “Good game.” She called.
“Of course, it was. I was on the field.” I smirked.
“Modest as ever I see.”
“Do you expect anything else at this point Elliebear?” “Not really. But I can hope, maybe one day.”
“Maybe, but not likely.”
“Oh hey, while I’m thinking about it, Clay asked me to keep an eye on Justin tonight.”
“Is everything okay?” My brow furrowed.
“I think so. Clay said something about him having issues adjusting and stuff. Do you think you can play nice with him for a while?”
“I suppose, since he is your friend, I can try and be nice for a while. But not all night. I want some Ellie time.” Only because it’s you asking.
“And you’ll get your Ellie time. After you make nice with Justin.”
I sighed, making it seem like a hassle just to get a rise out of her. I was about to respond when Bryce called us, “are you two going to stand there and chit chat all night or are we going to celebrate?”
“We’re coming. Give us a minute asshole.” I called back to him. Bryce didn’t respond.
I turned around so I could give her a piggyback out to the car. “Hop on”. Once she felt secure, I walked us out to the parking lot. I pretended to not pay attention when she stole my baseball hat. She couldn’t see the way my smirk turned into a smile when she did.
“That’s my hat El.”
“I know. I happen to like it though, so I’m wearing it.”
“I’m not getting it back tonight, am I?”
“Nope. It is now mine. Might even write my name in it.”
“You do that Ellie. I won’t care when I steal it back who’s name it has in it.” Already has my name in it. Yours would just complete it.
“Fine. Then I’ll readjust it.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“Oh, I would.”
I set her down at her car. “No, you wouldn’t.” I called her bluff. You’re too sweet to do it. Or you’d fix it right away if you did. She rolled her eyes at me.
“Whatever. I’ll see you at Monet’s in a few with your precious hat.” I waited until she got in her car and drove off, before starting my own engine and following her.
Ellie beat me to Monet’s as usual. I nodded at and stopped to chat with some of my teammates when I came in. Matt nodded awkwardly at me as I passed. I glared in return. My coffee was set across from her when I got to our table. “I see you told the truth. Can I have it back now?”
“No. I think it looks quite fetching on me, if I do say so myself.”
“Fetching?”
“Yes. Do you disagree?”
“No, I think it looks good on you.” Not that anything would look bad on you. Suits her. She’s wearing my shirt.
“That’s what I thought.”
We chatted quietly before Justin showed up. “Hey guys.” He waved.
“Justin! You made it.” She exclaimed, too excitedly. Making him think you were forced to babysit him by being overly happy isn’t going to help Elliebear. I shot her a tone it down look. Justin smiled uncomfortably as she offered up her seat. “Make room.”
“Can do sweetheart.” I flirted, patting the chair next to me. The smile and blush she tried to mask didn’t go unnoticed.
“Thanks for the coffee Ellie.” Justin said, taking a sip.
“No problem.” The three of us chatted idly for a while. I was on my best behaviour with Justin and even laughed a few times at couple things he said. There was no mention of what he witnessed in the locker room.
My hand found Ellie’s under the table and I grasped it carefully. I had to make it look like I hadn’t done it intentionally. I could see the pink flare of her cheeks and my lip twitched upwards.
“Hey Justin, come over here and look at this.” Charlie called. He was looking at something on Garrisons’ phone. Justin left us to go investigate. I caught the quick glance at our hands, even if Ellie didn’t. Thank you, Foley.
“And then there were two.” I muttered, pulling her from her thoughts.
“Then there were two.” She repeated.
“That shirt looks good on you. It’s pretty familiar too.”
“Oh, yeah. There may be a reason for that.” She seemed nervous.
“Need to go talk to Mike?”
“Not if you don’t have a problem with it. I think he would agree it was simply borrowing, rather than stealing. No need to involve Jesus.”
“I am. So now you’ve got my shirt and my hat. Anything else you intend on taking of mine?” I slowly inched closer to her. We have never gone here. But there’s no way she doesn’t feel this pull.
“Possibly. Depends what else you’re willing to offer.” She said, coyly. My fingers itched to brush the hair from her face. She beat me to it.
“I think there’s a thing or two I could offer you Ellie.” I replied, leaning in a little more. What am I doing? What if she doesn’t feel the same way. Am I about to ruin our friendship? Do I even care? Before I could kiss her, fucking Bryce Walker beckoned from across the room. Son of a bitch. You couldn’t wait two god damn seconds, could you? This better be important.
I stopped just short of kissing her. “What?” I answered, curtly.
“My place, half an hour.” He called back. That is what was so important you had to interrupt this moment? That could have waited. Fucker. I nodded in response and turned back to Ellie, hoping the moment wasn’t gone. I knew it was though. I sighed internally. She was smiling at me, but it didn’t reach her eyes like it normally did. She’s upset. I didn’t know what to say to try and salvage our moment. Instead, I watched her take a sip of her latte and check her watch.
“Shoot. Is that really the time? I have plans with my mom in the morning. I should get going.” I’ll take bullshit for 200, Alex. She never was a good liar.
“Oh, okay. Are we still on for waffles Sunday afternoon?” I tried to hide my disappointment.
“Yeah. Be at my place around one? I need to talk to Pastor Mike about a few things after service.”
“I’ll be there. Text me when you get home.”
“I will.” She hurried out of the café so fast, someone might think there was a fire.
I threw my head back in my chair and ran my hands down my face. Bryce and Matt were watching me when I looked out at the room again. I mimicked Ellie’s actions and took my half empty cup to the counter. “You couldn’t have waited one minute, could you Walker?” I grumbled as I passed him.
“Sorry dude.” He called after me. “My place-.”
“Half an hour. Yeah. I got that.” I shook my head as I left the café.
End flashback
I turned to watch her take a sip of her latte. She still savoured the taste and licked her bottom lip the same way. “What about the blonde girl you told me about briefly?”
Blonde girl… Lip piercing? No. Was a red head. The sorority girl? That was the brunette with the Adderall. Blonde… oh! Chirpy. “Sara?”
“Yeah.”
“She was nice. Very peppy and chipper though.”
“Ah yes. Need to keep up that stoic exterior. Can’t have someone too chipper, lest people think you have a soul or something.” You always thought I did.
“Exactly.” I laughed. He took a long sip from his cooled coffee. “Can you imagine if I brought her home?”
“Well, knowing your mother, I would probably be attending your engagement party tomorrow instead of the other way around.”
“Oh probably.”
“How is your mom doing, by the way?” “She’s doing okay. After dad died, she was pretty out of it for a few months. She’s gotten better with time though. Really started to come into her own and forge her own path.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
“Not going to ask how I’m doing Ellie?”
“No. I know how you’re doing.”
“Oh really?”
“Montgomery. I am your best friend. Your dad was never a parent. DNA doesn’t make someone your family. You’re doing the same as you did the day you left and vowed to never speak to him again.”
Her easy explanation surprised me. “Sometimes I forget how well you know me.”
“I know. That’s why I have to remind you all the time.”
“Yeah, yeah. How did Evan react to Scott on the way from the airport?”
“I’m not totally sure. I don’t think he realized how things worked at Liberty and exactly what you and I being friends meant. Scott told him about the treehouse.” Oh God.
“Oh no. Ellie. I need to look the guy in the eye tomorrow.”
“I know you do. Don’t worry. He didn’t seem upset or anything. I think he found it amusing actually.”
“Did he tell him anything else?”
“About you?”
“Yeah.”
“No, mentioned how you guys fucked up and didn’t study for midterms and I singlehandedly kept you all on the team. And how Matt and Garrison managed to keep themselves above their feet until after homecoming senior year.”
“Of course, he did.”
“Don’t worry. Evan will like you.”
“How do you know?” Why do I care? Because you love her you dolt.
“Because I like you. And even though you think you are, you really aren’t a bad guy.” We talked for about another hour or so, just catching up, before we decided to call it a night.
“I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Three o’clock sharp.”
“Good.” She squeezed me tightly. When we pulled apart, I looked down and saw she was wearing my shirt. She kept it all these years.
“Is that my shirt?”
“Yes, it is.”
“I thought I lost that years ago.”
“You never asked for it back. We agreed that I technically borrowed it, remember?”
“Yeah, but I also thought you would have given it back by now.”
“I mean, I can give it back to you tomorrow if you want it.” She offered.
“No, no. You keep it. You seem comfortable in it.” She smiled and hugged me again before leaving.
No matter how much I tried to talk myself into cancelling at the last minute or just not showing up to the party, I couldn’t do it. As much as I wanted to let her finally think that I was an ass, I couldn’t. I couldn’t hurt her like that. So, I manned up and went to Ellie’s engagement party. I showed up right at three, as promised. “Hey you.” She beamed. Her whole face lit up when she saw me.
“Hey Elliebear.” I said as I hugged her. Evan stood to the side, giving us a moment. He looked so uncomfortable with our interaction. Maybe he noticed how much brighter her face got when she saw me. She pulled away first and turned towards her fiancé.
“Evan, this is Monty. Monty, this is Evan.” She motioned between us. I shook his hand awkwardly.
“So, you found the way to Ellie’s heart, huh?”
“Yeah. She is something special. I thank God every day that she decided to give me a chance.”
“Don’t I know it?” I replied, trying to hide the wistfulness and ignore the pang of jealously in my chest.
Jill called her over for something and she pointed Scott out to me. Trying to avoid a pissing match El? “Coming Mom. Scott is over there by the cupcakes. Try to keep him from eating himself to a sugar high?”
I laughed, “can do Ellie. It was nice meeting you Evan. Congratulations.”
“You too Monty. Enjoy the party.” He doesn’t like me.
“Hey Scotty.”
“I didn’t think you’d show up. Justin and I had a bet going. I owe him fifty bucks.”
“Well, you know. It’s Ellie.” I grabbed a cupcake from the stand and took a bite. Not bad. I see why she wants me to monitor Scott.
“That’s why I didn’t think you’d come.”
“You came.” Justin said, patting me on the back in lieu of greeting.
“Yup. Where’s Sasha?”
“Girl talk with Ellie and Jess and some other girls.”
“Riveting. What choice did I have? My options were come, watch her with Evan, and hate every second of it for an hour or two, or, not come and have her hate me for the rest of our lives.”
“I guess. Are you going to go to the wedding?” Justin asked.
“See if Evan lets her invite me first. He doesn’t seem too impressed so far. Thanks for that by the way Scott.”
“I’m sure he’ll warm up to you.”
“If you’re invited? Which you will be, because you’re her best friend.”
“Then what kind of best friend would I be, if I didn’t go to her wedding? I’d just hate myself for a few more hours then. That’s better than a lifetime of her hating me.”
“Fair. Look, if you want to leave, just say the word. We can go back to my place and drink.” Scott offered.
“Thanks. I need to stick it out. It’s Ellie.” The rest of the party was fine. I talked to Jill and Rob for a while. I even talked to Evan for a bit. It was awkward but we didn’t fight each other. If he suspected anything about my feelings for her, he didn’t say anything. I left that evening, wondering if he noticed Ellie looking for me and not him all afternoon and letting my brain go somewhere it hadn’t gone in years. At least, not willingly gone in years.
I held out some sick hope that maybe, just maybe, the engagement wouldn’t last. I knew it was wrong of me, but I couldn’t help it. This was the girl that I had been in love with since the eighth grade. That’s when she stopped being like one of the guys. When she became something more. Even though I knew it wasn’t an attainable thing, even back then, there was always this little spark of hope. She was the reason I didn’t really date in college. She was the reason no girl was worth bringing home to meet my mom. They were all compared to her. They would always be compared to her. I always hoped that she felt the same way about me as I felt about her. That hope vanished when I checked my mail after work that Wednesday. The fancy envelope and familiar script were enough of a giveaway. I didn’t need to open the card to know what it was. The invitation. I sighed as I went in the house and opened the card. I merely skimmed for the important dates and time. I knew in that moment that I had finally lost her. I also knew that I would go anyway as I signed, sealed, and mailed the RSVP that night. I had to go. It’s Ellie.
**
The day had finally arrived. I had been dreading this day for the better part of a year. It was the morning of Ellie’s wedding. I woke up, forced myself to get out of bed, made coffee, and showered. I stared at the black suit hanging on my bedroom door for fifteen minutes. Arguing with myself about if I was really going to do this was getting me nowhere closer to a decision. If I go, I’ll hate myself. If I don’t go, she’ll hate me. If I go, I’m losing her. If I don’t go, I’m losing her. If I go, then I’ll get to see her. If I don’t go, I won’t see her. If I go, I’ll have to hold my feelings in forever. If I don’t go, I’ll have to hold my feelings in forever. Finally, I came to a decision. I wasn’t willing to risk losing her because I couldn’t show up for her. If I wasn’t going to be able to be with her, at least I could still be in her life. Maybe. But I’d cross that bridge when I got to it. I put the suit on and fixed my hair. Then I went to the liquor cabinet and filled a flask with whiskey. I couldn’t drink it in church because if Ellie found out, she would kill me, Ten Commandments be damned.
I arrived at the church forty-five minutes before the ceremony was scheduled to start. I took a sip from the flask in my pocket on the city sidewalk. Spotting Bryce, I walked over to him. “Hey.”
“Hey man, how’s it going?”
“It’s going, you?”
“Same old, same old.” We chatted mindlessly for a few minutes until Justin showed up with Clay and Sasha. I’m shocked we haven’t gotten a happy announcement from them yet. She looks thrilled.
“Justin, Clay. Hey Sasha.” The trio greeted me, and Clay took Sasha inside. He seemed to pick up on the displeasure radiating off of her.
“Holding up okay?” Justin asked.
“Sure.”
“He’s at his best friend’s wedding.”
“I know. Just trying to be nice Bryce.” Zach showed up and broke some of the tension brewing between Bryce and Justin. Never thought I’d be happy to see Zach freaking Dempsey.
“So, I heard from one of the groomsmen that she looks beautiful.”
“Of course, she does. It’s Ellie. And it’s her wedding day.” I said. Scott found us milling in the back of the chapel and came over. He didn’t bother greeting us.
“Have you talked to her?” he asked.
“No. I wanted to give her space. In case I decided not to come.”
“Oh. You could go talk to her now.”
“And say what Scott?”
“Tell her.”
“Tell her what? It’s her wedding.”
“I know that.” I looked around to see if anyone was paying attention to our little group. They weren’t.
“Tell her what exactly Scott? How do you propose I go about telling her that I think she’s making a mistake and that I’ve been in love with her since we were thirteen? I’m not going to do that. Not today. Not ever. I’m not messing this up for her.” I whisper-yelled.
“He has a point Scott.” Zach pointed out.
“If I say something, I’ll lose her forever. So, to avoid losing my best friend, I’m going to sit here, watch her marry the man she loves, and wish her the best. And then I will go home, get very drunk, and sleep the hangover off for the next two days.”
Scott raised his hands in defeat. “Okay. I get your point. I’m not going to push you into doing something you don’t want to do.” Even though I made a good little speech, the closer we got to the ceremony, the more uncomfortable I became. I couldn’t stop the thoughts of wanting to do exactly what Scott suggested. I wanted nothing more than to go find her and tell her how I felt. But then I looked around the room and saw all of these people waiting excitedly to see Ellie and Evan get married and live happily ever after. I wasn’t going to be the reason that didn’t happen. But the closer we got to ceremony time, the closer I also got to losing my resolve to sit here and watch this happen. I couldn’t watch her marry someone else.
“I can’t do this.” I said suddenly.
“What?” Zach asked.
“I can’t watch her marry him. I can’t sit here and watch them get married. I can’t give her up like this.”
“What are you doing Monty?” Scott asked. I stood up from my seat.
“Tell Ellie that I’m sorry.” With nothing more to say, I turned around and walked out of the church. My friends didn’t try to follow me, too stunned to process what was happening. I got in my car and drove. I wasn’t sure where I was driving until I pulled into the lot.
I opened the door to the quaint café and saw that our table was available. Though, I suppose now it was more my table than our table. I lost her today. There was no way I was getting her back after what I did. I slipped my jacket off and hung it over a chair to save the spot, before going to the counter and ordering.
“Can I get a tall bourbon neat. Make it a double.” Monet’s had been licensed a few years ago.
“Sure thing. Rough day?” The barista asked.
“You have no idea.” I shook my head and took the drink she set in front of me. Back at what was now only my table, I pulled out my phone and scrolled though some old photos. A lot of them were of Ellie. She used to like to steal my phone and leave me with some selfies to surprise me when I opened the app. I scrolled through the seemingly endless stream of photos and ordered another bourbon when I finished the first one. My trip down memory lane was interrupted when I got a text from Bryce.
I need you to tell me where you are.
Why?
Because I do. Now tell me where you are.
Why?
Montgomery. You want to tell me where you are.
Fine. If you must know. I’m at Monet’s. Now why do you need to know?
I’m sorry about homecoming night. I hope this can make it up to you at least a little. I stared at the screen in confusion. Shaking my head, I put my phone down and went back to sipping the amber liquor. What the hell is he talking about? Fucking Bryce. I didn’t look up when I heard the bell chime above the door. Nor did I look up when I heard the click of high heels against the wood floors.
“Is this seat taken?” I heard a familiar voice, softly.
I looked up at her then, my eyes widening in surprise. What is she doing here? She is supposed to be getting married to Evan. What does this mean? Why is she here?
“I couldn’t do it if you weren’t there. You’re my best friend Monty.”
I scoffed quietly before replying, “it’s not taken, no. Sit if you want,” and taking another drink from my glass, not looking at her for fear of letting my guard down again, only to be crushed again.
“Hey,” she started, reaching for my hand. I looked at her hand and paused before letting her take it, “I mean it. I couldn’t marry him.”
“Why not?”
She was quiet for a moment. Noticing I had about fingers width of bourbon left in my glass, she grabbed it, downing the rest of it.
“Hey. I was drinking that.” I protested.
“I couldn’t marry Evan because he wasn’t you. And you weren’t there to say anything by the time I walked down the aisle. You were just going to give me away and live the rest of our lives wondering what if.” She told me while she stared into the bottom of the now empty glass.
“You- really?” Wait, how did she know I was there? “How did you know…?”
“Zach told me.” Of course, he did. I sighed internally.
“I know I wasn’t there Ellie. I just. I couldn’t sit there in that church and watch you marry him. And I knew I was and would be too much of a coward to stand up and say something when I saw you standing up there with him. I had to let you be happy.” I told her, trying to make her understand that I couldn’t be the reason she spent her life unhappy.
“Don’t you get it Montgomery? I wouldn’t have been happy. Not really. Or at least not for long. Not with Evan.”
“So why did you agree to marry him?”
“Because I thought it would be easier? My friends liked him, my family liked him, I liked him. I just thought that it would be easier to ignore my feelings. I could marry him, officially move to Atlanta, come home a couple of times a year, have a couple of kids. It all seemed easier than admitting to myself that I was in love with my best friend and if I really, truly wanted to be happy, I would need to be with him instead. And that admitting that would change everything. But I’ve learned over the past year that easy doesn’t always mean happy. And sometimes what we think is easy in the short term, isn’t always easy in the long term.”
Easier. Sure. She finally admitted it. She’s in love with me. I chuckled lowly, “took you long enough.”
She furrowed her brow at me, “what is that supposed to mean? I just confessed my love for you, and that’s all you have to say?”
“Yeah. It took you long enough to come to that conclusion. You were what? Half-way through the ceremony before you put a stop to it?” I asked, unable to keep the bitterness out of my tone.
“Not exactly. I knew a while ago. I spent the whole morning shaking and waiting for you to come and tell me that I was making a mistake. When you didn’t come, I thought… that you either didn’t feel the same way, or that you were going to do the kind thing for once and not say anything, but I thought at least you would be there. When I saw that you weren’t, I knew I couldn’t marry him. Even if it was the easy choice.” When I didn’t say anything she added, “you picked a great time to do the kind thing.”
“Yeah, well. You knew it would happen sometime. You owe me another shot by the way.” I muttered.
“Oh please. There was barely a fingers width in your glass.” she told me, sighing dramatically.
I looked at her through my eyelashes, “they won’t serve you that small an amount.” she rolled her eyes and stood up to go order me another shot. Before I could chicken out again, I surprised her when I grabbed her wrist to stop her, before pulling her down into my lap, she fell rather gracefully given the fit of her dress and kissing her deeply. I pulled away first and turned to look out the window. Our friends had gotten out of the car and were clapping and high fiving each other.
“How about that shot now?” I smirked.
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flourgirl · 4 years ago
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When We First Met
Part I of “The Unbelievers” series
Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader
Summary: You’re the new intern at Stark Industries and you’ve made it your mission to figure out just how Peter Parker became Mr. Stark’s favorite.
Word Count: 2.5k
Warnings: A slow burn with a few curse words thrown around.
A/N: This fic helped drag me out of my writer’s block, so I really hope you guys like it! Happy reading <3
“Have you been talking for a million years? Did I go deaf because you're burnin' my ears? Spare the details, it's unnecessary I got places to be and people to see” -It’s Not All About You, Lawrence
The first time you met Peter Parker, he was actually tolerable. It was your first day at Stark Industries, and you had just gotten your job assignment as Pepper’s assistant’s assistant. In other words, you were about to spend your days making coffee runs and changing out ink cartridges. 
“Hey, uh, do you need some help?” he had asked as you struggled to carry two boxes of printer paper all the way to the copy room on the other side of the building.
“Yeah, for sure,” you huffed, not being able to see who your savior was over the stack of boxes. When he took both of the boxes out of your arms, you were met with his dopey grin and wavy, brown hair.
He’s cute, you thought. But all you dared to say was, “Thank you so much. I felt like I was about to die.”
The two of you shared a laugh at your dramatics before you continued walking.
“No problem. I was headed this way, anyway,” he replied nonchalantly. You caught yourself staring at how light he made the boxes seem. He must’ve been a lot stronger than his baggy, oversized sweatshirt made him look. “Are you new? I’ve never seen you around before.” 
Peter had to slow his pace down a lot to let you catch up to him. He wasn’t used to taking casual strolls around the office, always having to run over to wherever Mr. Stark was at a moment’s notice.
“It’s my first day, actually,” you admitted, offering him a weak smile. You weren’t much of a conversationalist, especially not when it came to cute guys who looked that good in sweatshirts with dorky math jokes printed across the front of them. “Are you an intern, too?”
“Yeah! I’ve been working here since I was fifteen,” he told you, leaning against the doorway of the copy room. “But I don’t do anything too important. Mostly just fly under the radar and do what Mr. Stark tells me to.”
Your eyes widened. “Whoa, you work directly with Mr. Stark? You must be one important guy.”
Peter blushed, not knowing how to backtrack out of the hole he had just dug for himself. “Uh, not really. We’re not like friends or anything. It’s just, Mr. Stark knows about all of my science fair projects and—”
“You aren’t making yourself sound any less impressive,” you interrupted, crossing your arms and narrowing your eyes at him as he set the boxes down on the counter. “So, Einstein, who are you?”
“Parker. Peter. Shit, sorry, it’s Peter Parker. I have to go now. Bye!” he blurted out, running from the room before you could even tell him your name.
A girl who looked about your age slipped into the copy room, startling you out of your confused state. “Were you just talking to Peter Parker?”
“Uh, yeah. Why?” you questioned, hoping she’d have some sort of explanation for why he acted the way he did.
“He’s basically Mr. Stark’s surrogate child,” she said, sipping one of the many coffees that she was carrying. “I’m Grace, by the way.”
“Y/N. What do you mean by ‘surrogate child?’”
“It’s like, everywhere Mr. Stark goes, so does Peter. That thing with you and him was basically the first time any of us had ever seen him next to a printer, and he’s only talked to a handful of us once or twice. Guess he’s just too busy being the golden boy to associate with the less important interns.”
Of course. The first chance at a cute office romance that you get is squashed by the fact that the guy you like is an antisocial jerk. But that’s not how he seemed to you, so why was his reputation with the other interns so bad?
----------------
It had been one week since you started working, and every day you learned more and more reasons why everyone hated Peter Parker. He didn’t make coffee runs and nobody had seen him at an intern meeting in the last year. And yet, somehow, he was the CEO’s favorite. It was annoying, to say the least.
You actually hadn’t seen Peter around ever since you had first met, which only helped to confirm the rumors that he’d rather eat lunch alone than be forced to talk to any of you. You hated that even when Grace or anyone else wasn’t dragging Peter through the mud, you were still thinking about his stupidly adorable Queens accent and whatever the hell he could be doing that was so important.
Of course, the next time Peter decided to grace the cafeteria with his presence was when Mr. Stark had just arrived back from a business trip to Germany. Figures that he would take his favorite on the trip of a lifetime. Your bitterness grew as you imagined Peter relaxing in the company’s private jet, but it wasn’t until he held up the elevator that you really started to hate him.
“Hey,” he panted, slipping into the elevator just before the doors closed. Once again, your hands were full, this time with a stack of folders meant for Pepper to look over. “You’re that new girl. Sorry, I don’t think I got your name.”
“You didn’t,” you noted, turning to look away from him in the hopes that he’d get the message. You weren’t interested in giving him the time of day.
“Did I do something to upset you?” He rubbed the back of his neck while he waited for the answer that you didn’t plan on giving him.
The awkward silence between the two of you was starting to feel especially long when the worst thing possible happened. Loud creaking noises came from the elevator shaft, shaking the two of you as the cables screeched to a halt.
“You have got to be kidding me!” you groaned, setting the files down to press the emergency call button. You had luckily never actually had to use one of these things, but that also meant that you had no idea how to work it.
“Hi, I’m here with another intern and we’re currently stuck in the elevator on the west wing, between floors four and five. Could you send someone over to get us out, please?” You pleaded into the little phone, bitterness lacing your voice.
“What do you mean it’ll take two hours? What do you expect us to do, sit here and play checkers?” You could feel your face heating up as you panicked over the fact that you were going to be stuck in this metal death trap for a while.
Peter walked over to you, leaning against the wall of the elevator to take over the conversation before your attitude extended the wait to three hours. You begrudgingly handed the phone over to him.
“Hey, could you put Mr. Stark on the line?” You couldn’t hear what the person was saying, but you could guess that it wasn’t very positive.
“Well, tell him it’s Peter and…” He looked at you, mouthing for you to give your name.
“Y/N,” you muttered, continuing to pace back and forth as the tiny box that you two were stuffed in started to feel smaller and smaller with each minute that passed.
“Y/N. Five minutes? Alright, thank you so much, Alice! Have a great day.” You were irritated by his effortless charm with others, despite how awkward you knew him to be.
“Um… thank you.” You rubbed your arm awkwardly.
“Are you okay? You seem a little on edge.”
“I’m fine! I just… really need to get out of here.” You wanted to keep pacing back and forth, but you were too busy hyperventilating to think about moving your legs. Peter watched as your eyes started to water, not sure about what he could do to make you calm down.
He stepped closer towards you, which only made you feel even more anxious than you already were. You didn’t want him to see you like this.
“Y/N,” Peter whispered, wrapping his arms around you. You looked up at him in surprise, your eyes probably red and puffy from crying.
“What are you doing?” you sobbed, leaning in closer to him. It was comforting, but you were so embarrassed that you were crying in the arms of a complete stranger.
“Well, uh, I know that hugging someone can release endorphins, more specifically dopamine and serotonin, that calm them down. And it relaxes the muscles, and I know that when babies hear their mom’s heartbeats they feel better, so I just thought—”
“Peter.”
“Yeah?”
“Please stop talking.” You leaned into the hug, taking in the clean smell of his sweater and how warm he was. Little by little, your breathing slowed down.
“Okay,” he agreed, holding you tighter, one of his hands gently stroking your hair in the comfortable silence that had filled the elevator.
You almost forgot about where you were when the elevator jolted upwards, causing you to wriggle out of Peter’s grip and pick your files back up off the ground. When the doors opened, you scrambled out without a word.
----------------
“Hey, Mr. Stark,” Peter began, fiddling with one of the many decorations around Tony’s office. “I… I think that, maybe, I should be doing, you know, more intern-y things around here.”
Tony cocked an eyebrow, looking up from his computer screen. “Let me get this right, kid. You’re asking me to give you random tasks to do around the office?”
“Uh, yes?” Peter answered, unsure if he had just made a big mistake or not. His confidence was dwindling by the second.
“Now, why on earth would I do that? What if we need Spider-Man for a mission, but Peter Parker is too busy getting some jackass down in HR a peppermint mocha latte?”
“Well, I mean… I just… Some of the other interns are getting kind of mad that you don’t make me run errands or come to any of their meetings, and I’m just worried that they’re getting a little bit too suspicious that I’m always with you and—”
“If I say yes, will you please stop rambling?” Tony groaned, returning to finish typing whatever Peter had just interrupted.
“Yes,” Peter squeaked. For once in his life, his inability to stop talking had been beneficial.
“Fine. Here, go sit downstairs and take the staples out of these packets. And then re-staple them.”
Peter immediately perked up again, excited to be someone other than Spider-Man to Tony. “Right away, Mr. Stark. Thank you so much! Bye!” He quickly ran out of the office and downstairs to where he knew some of the interns liked to have their lunch breaks.
“Is that Peter?” you heard Grace ask in between bites of her panini. Your head perked up to see his head tilted down, making only his soft brown curls visible from where you were sitting.
You squinted, wondering what kind of task had him so engrossed, and why he was sitting over here. He never sat here, especially not while you were eating lunch. Carlos, who interned in accounting, glanced over at Peter before taking his seat across from you.
“Parker sure does seem interested in removing staples all of a sudden,” he laughed, unwrapping his tortilla wrap from its aluminum foil. 
You couldn’t believe it. He was just pretending to be doing something. “That’s it? You’ve got to be kidding me.” Before your friends could stop you, you were marching over to Peter’s table, tapping your foot as you waited for him to notice you.
You cleared your throat, finally catching his attention. “Hi, Y/N,” he grinned, looking back down to meticulously bend back the small metal arms of the staple, freeing the sheets of paper from each other.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Taking out staples.”
“Is this some kind of joke? Some weird way of you proving that Mr. Stark totally doesn’t give you special treatment or something?” Peter got nervous, realizing how quickly you had caught onto his ruse. He needed a way to distract you and fast.
“You, um, you look pretty today,” he told you, not even looking up to meet your cold stare.
A blush started to spread across your cheeks when you realized what he had said. Surely the quick glance he had just given you wasn’t enough for him to actually know what you looked like today.
“Nice try, Parker. You barely even looked at me. Showering me with false compliments isn’t going to stop me from figuring out what the hell you’re actually up to around here.” You countered, satisfied that his plan wasn’t working as well as he wanted it to.
“Didn’t need to look. You’re pretty every day,” Peter replied calmly. He didn’t even realize what he was saying until it had come out of his mouth. It was true. He thought you looked nice every time he saw you, but you didn’t seem to take his compliments very well, and so he never told you.
But you didn’t know that he actually meant it. He’s just messing with you, you reasoned, regaining your composure.
“Whatever,” you huffed. “Just some advice: next time, you should try to come up with something better than taking out the staples of packets that clearly never had any problems in the first place.” 
He peered up to see you turn on your heels and walk back to your friends, who had been carefully watching the two of you this entire time.
“Was that a lovers’ quarrel?” Carlos teased as you sat back down. You rolled your eyes at him, and Grace giggled at your insistence that nothing was going on between you and Peter.
“Yeah, it looked like things were getting a little hot and heavy,” she added.
“Shut up, you guys. We definitely are not lovers,” you assured them, digging back into your grilled cheese.
“Sure. So if there’s nothing going on, then why did Yuri tell me that he saw you guys making out in the elevator on the security cameras?” Carlos asked, making you snap your head at him mid-bite, your eyes widening.
Fucking Yuri. All of those security interns were just nosy and power-hungry, but you’d have to deal with him another time.
“We were not making out! We were just stuck in the elevator and—”
“You guys decided to have a romantic embrace?” Grace questioned, only further exasperating you. “Come on, Y/N, just admit it. You have a crush on Peter.”
“No, I don’t! I wouldn’t date Peter if he were the last guy on the planet,” you yelled, suddenly aware of how loud you had become. 
You looked around the room to see many confused faces staring back at you, including Peter’s, which had a frown on it.
You watched as he collected his stack of papers and walked out of the room, staring so hard at the floor that he almost ran into two women who were walking by.
“Geez, Y/N. We were only joking. It’s okay,” Carlos said, holding back a laugh at your little scene.
“You guys suck,” you huffed, settling down to hopefully enjoy the rest of your lunch break in peace. 
You needed to forget about the way that Peter had looked at you just a minute ago, full of hurt and disappointment. He didn’t actually care, you thought to yourself, even though you weren’t quite sure if that were true.
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One Spider-Man and a Baby
A/N: This was supposed to be part of a 5+1 in response to an ask prompt, but I’ve been stuck for...honestly I have no idea how long at this point, and I really want this one to see the light of day, so I’m posting it. 
Summary: Peter is definitely out past his bedtime, but to be fair, babies are also definitely not supposed to be out in the dead of night...or in dark, spooky alleys. 
It’s a slow night on patrol.
Peter is sitting atop a Subway, his legs hanging over the edge, and he’s just finished munching on a complimentary six-inch. He stands, stretches, and shoots his balled up trash in to the large silver can below him before hopping to the ground, opting to walk in the shadows instead of webbing so that his food can settle.
It’s very early in the morning (or late at night, depending on how you look at it); it’s low traffic hours, so for once, Peter is able to navigate his own city as Spider-Man with ease. Every once in a while, he passes a pair or a group of partygoers, slurred exclamations of “Spider-Bro!” and “Wow, Spider-Man!” making his cheeks burn with pride. He’s just fist-bumping an especially enthusiastic passerby when a new sound reaches his ears.
The cries of a baby definitely aren’t novel sounds to Peter, especially around bedtime in New York, but something about these cries are wrong, aside from the fact that it’s almost 1 in the morning. They seem raw, desperate, even.
Following his ears, Peter comes to the mouth of an alleyway. He listens for a moment more before slowly inching his way into the darkness.
“Hey, Karen,” Peter mumbles. “Do we have night vision?”
“Of course, Peter.”
Instantly, the small space is lit up in a strange, fluorescent green that Peter has seen on numerous ghost-hunting shows.
“Seriously? Green? I feel like I’m on ‘Ghost Hunters.’”
“I believe that was the intended effect. Mr. Stark was aware of your television preferences.”
Peter smiles a bit, but it melts when he realizes where the cries are coming from. Peter carefully steps toward a large dumpster and hoists himself up; a dark blue infant car seat sits on top of a pile of full black garbage bags. Peter quickly dives over the edge of the large bin and wades toward the source of the continuous cries until he’s able to lift the blanket draped over the handle; the smallest baby Peter has ever seen lays swaddled inside. The tiny human’s face is so wrinkly and pinched that even Peter can tell it’s the closest to a newborn you can get without being in a hospital. Peter feels his stomach turn over when reality sets in: someone probably abandoned this baby here. The night vision just picks up the tear tracks on the baby’s cheeks, and Peter’s heart clenches.
“Karen, can you scan the baby for injuries?”
“She appears to be unharmed, Peter, but her body temperature is low. Considering she is a newborn, I suggest skin-to-skin contact if possible.”
“Oh....” Peter considers for a moment. “I have my Midtown hoodie. It’s pretty thick.” He knows his backpack is webbed up behind the aforementioned Subway, about fifteen minutes away, but he knows he can’t leave the baby behind. “You said skin-to-skin, right, Karen?”
“Yes, Peter.”
“Okay, Babygirl, we’re gonna get you warm.” Peter hits the spider logo in the center of his suit, and it becomes lose all around him. He slips out of the top half of his uniform and reaches into the car seat; he carefully brings the squirming infant against his chest and grits his teeth when she cries louder at the movement and harsh cold. He holds the surprisingly light little body with one arm and then the other as he slips them back into his sleeves. He presses the little spider again, and the suit becomes form-fitting around them. “Hey, Karen, can you loosen the suit around Babygirl?”
Immediately, the pressure against his chest lessens, and he cradles the little one there, shivering at how cold she is against his warm skin.
“Can you put the heater on low, Karen? Don’t want to hurt her.”
His suit is instantly less warm than normal, and Peter hugs Babygirl close. She’s still crying, so he tries to bounce her a bit, like he’d seen on countless T.V. shows.
“She’s probably hungry, huh, Karen?”
“Most likely.”
“Mmmhmm...Is there like a shelter or something nearby?”
“May I suggest a hospital?”
Peter smacks his forehead. “Duh. Get me directions to the closest one with a 24 hour emergency room.”
“Done. Directions starting.”
Peter grabs the carrier and sets off under Karen’s direction. It’s an hour journey on foot, but Peter would rather not risk upsetting the baby more than has already been done.
As they’re walking, Peter tries to keep Babygirl as steady as possible, running a hand over her head over and over, cupping the infant to him as he silently pleads for her to calm down. 
“Karen, what calms babies down?”
“Top results include: feeding.”
“Can’t do that.”
“Diaper changes.”
“Also can’t do that.”
“Pacifiers.”
“Didn’t see one.”
“Rocking.”
“Limited ability right now.”
“And singing.”
“If I do that, she’ll scream.” Peter snorts. 
“Why is that, Peter?”
“Let’s just say I’m not the best singer.”
May may not be his biological aunt, but he definitely inherited his tone deafness from her by proxy. 
“You don’t have to be. Just the sound of a voice can be comforting. Studies show that babies are calmed by hearing familiar voices talking, but singing has been shown to be even more effective.”
“What about humming?”
“Close enough.”
“Hmmm...this is weird, Karen, but I have ‘Bella Notte’ from Lady and the Tramp stuck in my head right now.”
“I can play that quietly for you, if you want.”
“That works.”
The opening accordion notes of the Disney classic play quietly around them, and Peter smiles. “I’ve always loved this song. There’s just something about it.”
“Are you going to sing along, Peter?”
“I already told you I’m awful, Karen.”
“You can still hum. The vibrations might be soothing for Babygirl.”
“I guess-hey, Bella. I’ll call her Bella. That’s nicer than Babygirl.” 
“Bella is a nice name. It means ‘beautiful.’”
“I like it. Bella Notte...” Peter takes a deep breath and silently resigns himself to humming for Bella’s sake.  
The baby has quieted down quite a bit by the time the hospital comes into view, and Peter has literally memorized “Bella Notte” as it plays for the 20th time.  
The ER only has a few scattered patrons when they arrive, and thankfully, none of them really acknowledge the strange pair. “Karen, voice disguise.” Peter whispers as he crosses into the reception area. 
“Uh, hi. I’m, uh-”
“Carrying a baby in your shirt?” The receptionist is terse but smiling just a bit as Peter fumbles with the carrier.
“Uh, yeah. I found her abandoned in an alley.”
“Oh, dear.” The woman clicks her tongue and picks up her phone. “Katie,” She sighs after a few moments. “Can you come to my desk please? An infant. Yup. Thank you.” She smiles softly at him this time. “One of our pediatric nurses is coming. There is a single bathroom back here if you you want to take her out...privately.”
“Oh, thank you so much.” Peter tentatively rounds the desk and nods when the receptionist, Patricia, her nametag says, lets him in the locked door.
In the privacy of the one-person restroom, Peter rips off his mask and sags against the wall, breathing deeply and unevenly as he tries to get his bearings. He can’t believe he walked all the way here with a tiny baby in his suit. He presses the logo and carefully extracts her, immediately bundling her in the blanket he’d found her under. He realizes in the light that she’s only wearing a dirty white onesie, and he feels tears spring to his eyes. 
“Don’t worry, Bella.” Peter coos softly, his voice breaking as he really looks over her scrunched up face for the first time. “You’re safe now.” 
Before he can think, he places a featherlight kiss on her little forehead, and his heart flutters. He clenches his eyes against the tears welling there as she whimpers in his arms, exhausted from crying for who knows how long. The boy stares at the baby for a few more moments before sighing deeply and pulling his mask back over his tired features.
Peter keeps the baby cradled to him with one arm and carries the car seat with the other; he carefully opens the bathroom door and inches out into the employee area behind the reception desk. A young woman with a brown ponytail and soft hazel eyes catches his gaze and gives him a small wave; she pushes off of the table she’s leaned against and meets him halfway.
“Hi, Spider-Man.” Her voice is like tinkling bells. “Pat says you have a visitor for me?”
“Yeah....I don’t know her name, so I’ve been calling her Bella.”
“That works for now.” Katie smiles and reaches out. “Mind if I take her off your hands?”
“Oh, yeah, of course.” Peter hesitates and looks down at Bella, his eyes filling again, and he feels himself blush. He looks back up at Katie but subconsciously pulls the baby closer.
“You can hug her good-bye if you want,” Katie offers softly, gently pulling the carrier from his arm. “I’ll be right out front with Pat when you’re ready.”
“Okay. Thank you, Katie.”
The young nurse smiles and leaves quietly.
Peter looks down at Bella, his view of her distorted through tears. “You’re gonna be okay now, Bella. Katie and Pat will take good care of you.” Peter swallows thickly and places her laterally against his chest, bouncing her gently to comfort both of them, if he’s honest. He squeezes her against him and brings his head to rest on top of hers. “This is so weird. I only met you like an hour ago, but...I love you so much, Bella.” Peter sighs and sniffs before straightening up; he continues slightly rocking Bella as he walks toward Katie and Pat, the former continually smiling at him as he hands the tiny bundle over.
“She’ll be okay. Thank you for bringing her to us.” Katie pats his shoulder and holds an arm out. Peter is taken aback for a second until he really looks at her, sees the lines in her face and bags under her eyes. She suddenly reminds him of May, the desire to help and love so evident in every part of her, and he steps into her embrace. Katie squeezes him lightly and rubs a hand over his back. Peter breathes shakily, and she squeezes again before pulling away. “You’ll both be okay,” Katie promises.
“Why...was she abandoned?”
Katie’s eyes turn down at the corners. “Any number of scenarios for why, but Pat told me you found her in an alley.”
“In...a dumpster.” Peter chokes out.
“Sadly, not the first time we’ve heard of that, but she’s definitely better off now that she’s here. Our social worker specializes in infant care, so she’ll find a good foster family for her.” Katie pats his back one more time before holding Bella close to her; she runs a finger over her forehead.
“She was so cold when I found her,” Peter whispers. “But I think I helped warm her.”
“I’d say so; she doesn’t feel too cold at all. You did good, Spider-Man.” Katie turns back toward the door he came through, and Peter holds it open for her.  “You’re welcome to stay here until we’re done looking her over and getting her settled, if you want.”
“I...I want to...” Peter sighs and rubs his arm. “But I already said good-bye. I should go home. Someone is waiting for me. Plus, I trust you guys.”
“Well, thanks.” Pat laughs and rubs his arm. “This is what we do, baby. She’ll be just fine. You did good.”
Peter nods, puts a hand on Pat’s shoulder as he passes, and heads out of the emergency room before he can break down.
-
It’s after 3am when Peter finally climbs in his window. He shouldn’t be surprised to find May asleep on his bed, but his vision, physical and otherwise, is a little hazy thanks to his senses being on alert ever since he left the hospital. It wasn’t like the normal shriek of danger but a buzz at the base of his neck, like the area there has somehow fallen asleep.
Peter shakes his head when he finds himself still sitting on the windowsill. He crosses to May silently and gently rubs her shoulder. “May?”
May stirs and squints up at him; her eyes widen before she sighs and laughs, slightly delirious. “Oh, shit, Peter. I always forget about you under there.” She sits up and stretches. “Why didn’t you call me? Way past curfew.” She yawns into her hand.
Peter hits the spider logo and strips out of the suit, exhaustion flooding his bones and tears in his eyes at her comment. “I’m sorry, May. Crazy night.”
“Yeah?”
Peter slips into a t-shirt and sweatpants and turns to face his aunt.
May’s expression falls when she really sees Peter’s face.
“Oh, baby, what happened?”
Peter bites his lip and blinks, releasing a few of the tears he wouldn’t let fall in the hospital. “That’s exactly it. I...I found a baby.”
“Oh my god.” She’s across the room and hugging him before he can blink again. She pulls him back toward the bed and hugs him close as he begins trembling.
May hugs him against her cups the back of his head; she looks down at him and murmurs, “Why didn’t you call me? I could’ve helped you, sweetheart.”
“You’ve never had a baby, May.” Peter says between shuddering breaths. “And I was six when you got me.”
“Touché.” May brushes some bunched up hair form his forehead. “But I had cousins growing up. I know how to deal with babies.”
“I just....didn’t think to. I took care of her, though. Took her to an emergency room. I had it handled.”
“Good thinking, kiddo.”
“It was Karen’s idea.”
“Well good on Karen, then.”
Peter nods mutely, staring blankly at the floor.
May wipes the stray tears from his cheeks and just lets them sit in silence for a few minutes, letting Peter get himself together before a yawn shudders through her. They both laugh a bit, and May asks, “Good?”
Peter nods.
“Good.” May carefully detaches herself and picks up his bedside water glass. “I’ll fill this for you, then bed time.” She goes and returns swiftly, kissing him tenderly on the brow while whispering, “I’m so proud of you, sweetheart. The hero with a heart of gold.”
Peter’s smile is wobbly, but he forces it up for her.
When she leaves, he lays on top of his covers for a little while, staring at his ceiling. Even with his windows and doors closed and locked tight, Peter can’t seem to shake that buzz in his senses.
It’s a little after 5am when his eyes finally fall closed, though the threat was long gone.
Stories below him and hours before, a hooded figure had slipped off into the night, having been at the right place at the right time for his own gain.
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sonid6699 · 4 years ago
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Time travels back to the start by SONid6699
Leipzig, Germany, 2016
"Underoos"
Suddenly a figure in cladded in red and blue leaped out of nowhere and stole Captain's shield, and landed in the most superhero pose ever.
"Hey everyone!!!"
"Nice job kid."
"Thanks well I could have stuck the landing a little better it's just a new suit"
Everyone was looking at the red cladded person "Underoos" as Tony had called him with curiosity and annoyance but the look on Tony's 'I am so done with it' face made him backtrack his statement.
"What it's nothing just a new suit. What. It's nothing Mr. Stark it's perfect thank you"
"Yeah don't really need to start a conversation"
"Cap-Captain big-"
Suddenly his spider sense tingled. Well tingled is a small word, it felt like his senses went overdrive. As if they were screaming at him for an upcoming threat.
Stopping his ramble mid way he observed the airport. The need to find what triggered his senses at such a level was vital. He found nothing.
"Underoos. What are you doing there's nothing over there. Roger is here in the front." Now Tony was getting annoyed and for the tenth time he questioned himself that whether he did the right thing or not by bringing a kid to this fight.
"Something is happening!!!"
"What do you mean something is happening ki-"
"Mr. Stark? I don't feel so good…. "
The tremble and fear in his voice settled a suffocating silence over the airport. All the avengers and non-avengers were trying to identify the actions behind those words but no avail.
Tony definitely did not like where this was going. Somehow he had a bad feeling about it in his gut. "Kid are you alright?" he asked in surprisingly calm voice.
"I don't know… I don't know whats happening…."
Terror invaded in everyone's heart as suddenly the kid fell on his knees the shield long forgotten fell on the ground with a clank. The scream that came next was terrifying.
"aaaahhhh… Aaaaahhhhh……… ItIt….. It… Hu…..hurts!!!!"
By this time even Sam, Barnes, Wanda and Clint had came out of wherever they were hidden to watch the commotion.
"Roos you have to tell us what's going on."
Whatever Mr. Stark was saying fell deaf to Peter's ears. He was terrified. He thought he knew what pain was but this was offwordly. He can't help the scream that escaped his lips. "aaagghh… He..help...it hu.. Hur-"
Silence. Pin drop silence covered the airport for the second time this day. Everyone's face displayed all the emotions. Sympathy, horror, astonishment, pained, terrified…….. No one knew what to say as the kid's body disintegrated into dust. Tha dust that had now flew away with the wind.
Natasha broke the silence "What the fuck!!!!"
Steve collected his composure "Tony I know we aren't on good terms but…But for the sake of God please tell us it was one of the kids trick or your plan to stop us. That the kid disintegrating into fucking dust was all planned."
Tony didn't know what to say. He can't even believe what had happened." Cap do I look like i know what's going on." He was angry know. He knew that he was desperate to stop them and take them into custody but he wasn't that inhuman that he would willing allow a kid to suffer from… Whatever just happened. "And I… don't know ok!!!! As far as I am aware this ain't in his skill set!!!!!"
"Tony I.. Didn't mean it like that. Listen-"
"Can you both fight later and discuss what the hell happened!!" Rhodey cut both of them.
Sam knew he will be seeing weird things once he joined cap but this was on another level. "Guy's listen-"
He abruptly stopped as suddenly the ash that once had fallen started integrating again taking the form of a human body. The kid's body he realized. The formation was as scary as the disintegration.
Looks like he wasn't the only one paying attention as everyone held thier weapons against…… Whatever the hell they are going to face.
¤¤¤¤¤¤
He falls on the ground, pain tearing through every cell, every atom of his body. He can still feel the pain of being torn from its neighbour and sent drifting out into space. He could still feel the pain of his atom binding together, again, and it hurt but the pain was receding. That was good he thought. He was still coughing, body still shaking, weakened due to his unplannes excursion. He was vaguely aware of being held at gun point.
"Ow" he rasped. "I am not a threat. Please…… Not a terrorist. Lower the weapons….. Please……The trial is complete I am innocent. Mysterio and Beck…… Everything was a fucking lie…. ''
Silence laid heavily on surroundings. Not even a whisper disturbing the air.
Odd. Nothing had been this overwhelmingly quiet since he’d been bit by the spider; he could always hear, see, or at least smell something. It was a bit disconcerting, though not entirely unwelcome. Sometimes he really missed having normal senses. The last time this happened was his fucking trial. Being on trial with a shock that disabled his powers was something he didnot want happening. again.
Cutting himself off from that train of thought, Peter realized he should probably try and figure out what the hell was going on and why he was he was experiencing the pain of atoms binding together again rather than be at Ned's funeral. Which he can finally go now since his name was cleared. Realizing his mind was getting off track again, Peter squinted open his eyes.
Get back on track, Parker. He reprimanded himself.
What he was met with when he eventually cracked open his eyes, however, was a dim, shimmering wall of scarlet red (which was not on the list of what he was expecting to see but it wasn’t a bad thing, either). He carefully peeled his eyes fully open, ready to slam them shut again in case the authorities didn't get the memo that he was not a terrorist.
Everything slowly came into focus, and he rapidly sat up, turning in a full circle. "What-" he breathed out. The red dissipated into whisps, and he was face to face with people who had been either dead or who had abandoned him since the funeral.
The Scarlet Witch stared him in the face, eyes returning to a normal murky brown rather than a vibrant red. Peter realized that she had trapped him in what could be described as a... bubble? with her powers so he wasn't disturbed as he regained his senses.
And as Peter spun around yet again, breathing picking up in panicked breaths, he recognized his surroundings.
Around him were the Avengers, every one of them.
He was back at the airport battle in Leipzig.
¤¤¤¤¤¤
Peter's eyes locked on Mr. Stark's, chest heaving, and he immediately thought back to the last time he'd seen the man. Alive.
We won. You did it sir. We won Tony.
Mr. Stark looked confused, eyes raking over Peter's form, clad in a red and black suit with a metallic silver spider sprawled in the middle of his chest.
"Peter?" the man asked, taking a step towards the boy, and that was all he needed to bolt away from everyone. Well in the centre as everyone seemed to be circling him. The reason unknown.
It took him a couple of minutes to arrive at the conclusion that Beck was alive. It was all his game. His fucking plan to fuck with him even more when everything was finally going to be as normal as possible. But no!!! His Peter Tingle™ had to betray him again.
Fury and rage filled him as he spoke. "What the fuck Beck. How can you be so cruel. Wasn't london enough. Want to fuck with me and my mind even more. With what the battle of airport. THIS TIME YOU CAN'T FOOL. I WON'T LET YOU. I DEFEATED YOU ONCE BEFORE. AND I WILL IN EVERY HELL DO IT AGAIN. THIS TIME I WON'T FALL IN YOUR ILLUSIONS YOU ASSHOLE"
By the time he was finished he was breathing heavily. His mind wandered to that one question again and again. How did Beck and his crew got the airport's battle. There was no footage in public media and after London he himself strengthened Stark Industries server.
"Underoos, what-" Mr. Stark said, cutting himself off as he took in the sight of Peter again.
Black and red metallic suit. Eyes filled with rage and fury. But their was hollowness in them like the kid had gone through hell. And London? Beck? Mysterio? Illusions?
"Kid I-"
"Stop!!!!!"
Peter said. No roared. Tony definitely never thought he could piss someone this much in such a short time.
"This is ridiculous" Peter yells ignoring all the looks he was getting. Ignoring the was his heart shattered upon seeing Beck using Mr. Stark's face, again to lure him into his trap.
"Peter it's me Ton-"
"Tony Stark is dead. Has been dead for a fucking whole year. Today is his death anniversary." Peter yells the illusion freezes. "I mourned him. For a whole fucking year. I went to his mother fucking funeral. I met his daughter. Do you really think I am that gullible!"
All the illusions looks confused froze In their spot. Mr. Stark no the illusion rasped "What!"
Peter turns his eyes stinging with tears, pain, exhaustion, rage. He just wanted this to end for good and for forever.
"You want a battle let's have one. And this time do not forget that you can't fool me into thinking you are dead. This time I myself will depart you to Raft."
With that he launched in attack webbing fake-Tony's hands and body to floor along with fake-cap. Disabling fake-Sam's wing and weaving him and Barnes together in a cacoon. He was fast like a shadow.
Suddenly he dodged the cars that fake-Wanda was throwing his way. Immediately webbing her hands up with the strongest webbing he had to disable her hand. This way she won't be able to to conjure magic. All the while dodging repulsor blasts from Fake-Colonel.
Again he dodged the punch fake-T'challa was gonna give and weaved him, fake-Clint and fake-Colonel similar to fake-Sam and fake-Barnes.
What he wasn't prepared was the blast from infinity stone and the sparring from Fake-Natasha.
After dodging and attacking what felt lIke eternity he was defeated. Fake-Natasha had won. But how? He didn't knew Beck's crew had such a skilled fighter. How the Blasts from fake-infinity stone seemed real. His body was aching. He wanted to rest. And he will after he capture Beck.
He tried getting out of her and Fake-Vision's hold but "You can't get out my Peter. Not until you tell us what the you did… You are doing. I thought you were on Stark's side against Cap? And who is Beck? What illusions are you talking about?" Fake-Natasha threatened very…… calmly.
"You of all people know Beck what you are doing" Peter choked. But his mind was just getting confused. The last Beck himself accepted that it was all an illusion. Had he changed tactics?
"Kid! Roos what are talking about? This is real everything is real. Their are no illusions kid." fake-Tony said.
By this time Peter had long given up on fighting instead he was waiting for the families Peter Tingle to tingle. To sense where drones could be. But his senses….. Were calmed. As if he wasn't in middle of illusions and drones. It was wrong. This was feeling real. Too much real.
"Pete-"
"Tell me a thing only my Mr. Stark would know. Something only between the two of us." He cut off fake-tony.
Tony was shocked seeing the kid's composure. The happy, bubby, nervous, like a lost puppy was gone. Instead in front of him was a kis who had suffered too much for his age. He thought of a thing only the kid and he would know."In your room you said 'If bad things happen. And you don't stop even if you have the ability then they happen because of you."
Peter's body went limp. No….. This can't happen. I know time travel is real but…… This can't happen……. Wait….. If I am back this means Mr. Stark isn't dead. He is alive and healthy.
"Mr. Stark????" He whispered. He was scared. What he isn't the real Mr. Stark. What if all this is just a dream just his imagination.
Even Natasha loosened her hold hearing the kid's scared and confused voice.
Peter immediately got out of Natasha's hold. And ran to where Mr. Stark was webbed up. He tore through the web using his super strength and hugged his Mr. Stark with all his force.
OK this wasn't what Tony expected. This kid was hugging him. Just a moment earlier he was fighting all of them and had almost defeated them and now he was hugging with such a force that he thought he might break his ribs.
"Kid-ouch easy" the hold loosened.
"You-you are alive"
Updated periodically on ao3. 4 chapters updated as of 13.5.21
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blitheringmcgonagall · 4 years ago
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This is a very silly/fluffy Jily fic for @lizardcookie - Happy Birthday love 🥳🥳💗💗 🎂 🎂 🎁 🎁!! It’s ridiculous cause you gifted us with a new Jily fic today, which is outrageously excellent and a huge treat (nothing new here, I love it). So this is a small, silly, fluffy bit of pre-relationship Jily back at you. Hope you have a beautiful day Sarah, you deserve much joy xxx
💕💕💕💕💕💕
Though I’ve tried before to tell her Of the feelings I have for her in my heart Every time that I come near her I just lose my nerve As I’ve done from the start
Every little thing she does is magic Everything she do just turns me on Even though my life before was tragic Now I know my love for her goes on
The Police - Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
💘💘💘💘💘💘
She was standing talking to Mary Mc Donald, Dorcas Meadows and Benjy Fenwick, her satchel slung casually over her shoulder, her auburn waves blowing gently in the cold air. The white smoke billowing from the Hogwarts Express enveloping her and temporarily hiding her from his sight. When she emerged from the haze, she was laughing uproariously at something Mary had said, her head thrown back, her eyes closed, her nose wrinkled up, like it always did when she found something funny. He knew when she opened her eyes they would be shining brightly, so vividly, so alive. The 6th Year Christmas holidays had only lasted two weeks but he felt as though he hadn’t seen her in years. Her eyes wandered around the bustling platform, as though searching for someone, until they found his. 
“Fucking hell!”
He stumbled forwards and Sirius let out a sharp laugh.
“What happened?” Remus called out, sounding vaguely concerned despite his laughter.
“He walked into the lamp post cause he was ogling Evans,” Peter snorted as James rubbed the side of his head.
“Not ogling!” he rolled his eyes good humouredly, trying to look annoyed as the others laughed again. “I was just looking at her laughing.” 
He hadn’t been ogling. Not really. Not in a weird way. It was simply that seeing her happy made him feel so warm and contented and bursting with something. Joy, or something like it. He wanted to be the one making her laugh like that. Making her so happy. She deserved to be happy.
“Merlin, he’s so deaf! Oi, Prongs!” Sirius’ shouts woke him from his reverie.
“Huh?” He turned around sharply, still looking at her, distracted by her, and almost lost his footing again.
His traitorous mates dissolved into giggles.
“You are a lost cause!” Sirius said, coming over and patting his shoulder with a smirk. 
“I am, yeah,” James said, earning another laugh from Sirius.
It was one of the things his mates liked about him, that he knew how to laugh at himself. That he didn’t mind them taking the piss, constantly.
“She’s looking over at you,” Remus commented dryly, as he straightened James’ tie.
“Huh?” James jerked him head in Lily’s direction.
“Fuck” he added, wincing and holding his neck.
“Did you just give yourself a torticollis?” Remus asked, looking at him as though in awe at his utter disastrousness.
“Torti-whaty-whaty?” asked Sirius, staring as Remus with what James thought was a lovestruck expression.
“Crick in his neck,” Remus said, with an affectionate sigh.
“Word snob,” said Sirius, sounding impressed.
“Fuck you,” said Remus, sounding pleased.
“Maybe?” James replied, vague, his attention wholly and irrevocably focused on the red headed student.
“She’s smiling at you again Prongs,” Peter chuckled.
She was. She really was. Such a fond look.
“She’s laughing at you, Prongs,” Sirius said.
“Fuck off, Padfoot,” James grinned back at her.
She was laughing at him. He had succeeded in making her laugh. Not in the way he would have preferred, but still, it counted for something.
“She’s smitten too, Prongs, she fucking loves you,” Sirius added with a smug expression, pulling up the collar of his leather jacket to look cooler (as apparently that’s what muggles thought was cool, who knew?).
“Nah!” said James, giving Sirius an exaggerated eye roll and hoping his dark skin hid his flushed cheeks. “She doesn’t.” 
She was everything. She could beat him in an Arithmancy test and have him swooning over her mastery of Potions. She could win his eternal favour by wearing a teal blue hooded robe or wearing a scuffed pair of runners with torn jeans. By standing up to Mulciber, fearlessly, and by helping a confused First Year. By accepting Remus’ Furry Little Problem without a second thought, by teasing Sirius and by joining in with Peter’s antics. Every little thing she did was magic. The way she placed her hair behind her ear, almost coy, the way she jumped up and down and screamed her approval when Gryffindor won that last match against the Hufflepuffs, screaming his name.
Screaming his name…
“Ouch!” he said, turning around to glare at Sirius. “Why d’you poke me, you twat?”
“Merlin’s arse, Prongs!” said Sirius, poking him again, rather viciously. “She spoke to you? And you just ignored her?”
James elbowed him back, the annoying little fucker.
“Fuck off…what?” he said, whipping his head around and looking over at Lily.
She was biting her lower lip and smiling at him.
Of course, he was so blind and stupid it was a curse from the gods and Merlin, fuck! He was such an idiot and-
Somehow, he had managed to walk over to her, without making a conscious decision, and was now standing right in front of her, speechless.
“Alright, Potter?” she said, like she wanted him to say it back.
He grinned wide, so wide.
“Alright, Evans?” he said, winking at her and immediately ruffling his hair.
She nodded, beaming at him, the cold, crisp air condensing her breath and blowing it towards him when she exhaled. He breathed in and felt like she had given it to him, like she was his oxygen.
continue reading That Raging & Wholly Unsuccessful Thing
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etoileholland · 5 years ago
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Hold me tight, tell me I’m the only one
Pairing: Peter Parker x female reader
Word count: 4.1k (I got a tad bit carried away oops)
Warnings: so much fluff that you may just have a mouthful of cavities.
Summary: In which you ask a clueless & oblivious Peter to the 60′s themed prom. The description doesn’t do it justice okay I’m bad at summarising I apologise.
A/N: This is the first time I’ve written for my little angel Peter! Also I wish my actual prom went as well as it did here. 
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Prom. It was arguably one of the most important events in your junior year. Homecoming paled in comparison to prom, and it was a massive deal to ask someone, and to be asked in return.
People were getting asked out left and right, and in the most elaborate ways possible.
Except for the trio, not surprisingly.
It was a week before prom, and the prom committee was hanging a large banner in the cafeteria. The theme was the 1960’s, and the writing was in the same font as 'The Beatles' logo.
Peter sat down, joining Ned at their usual table. Ned was going on about something, but Peter wasn’t listening to anything that he was saying. He was too focused on you, as you stood on the ladder hanging up the banner.
You weren’t the most popular girl in school, but you were popular adjacent. You took AP classes and were nice and pretty, so naturally people noticed you, but you were a notch down from the ‘elites’. Peter liked that you were nicer than they were, and that you didn’t let your ‘popularity’ go to your head.
Peter knew he had no chance with you whatsoever, but it didn’t stop him from admiring and pining over you.
What did stop him was a swift smack to the back of the head, courtesy of MJ’s binder.
“Ow! What the heck MJ, what possessed you to do that?” Peter rubbed the back of his head, wincing while doing so.
“Because I caught you looking at her again.” She shrugged. “I’m trying to get you to stop doing that, so now when I catch you looking at her, I’ll smack you.”
“What would that help?” Peter asked as he took a bite of his pizza.
“It’s classical conditioning, Peter. It’s basic psychology. Didn’t you pay attention in class, dork? You’ll associate her with being smacked upside the head and then you’ll stop staring at her like a creep.” She grinned as she stole a carrot from his lunch tray.
“Yeah well I’m not one of Pavlov’s dogs, I don’t need to be classically conditioned.” He propped his arm on the table and leaned on it, as he let out a sigh, continuing to watch you talk with your friends.
“Just ask her to prom already.” MJ took a loud bite of the carrot and didn’t bother to close her mouth as she chewed.
“I can’t do that, she doesn’t even care that I exist. Besides she’s probably been asked by someone way more popular than I am.”
“You’ll never know until you ask.”
Ned chimed in, “That’s true, maybe it’s like a paradox. You would think she’s already taken because she’s semi popular, but if everyone assumes she’s already been asked, then no one will actually ask her.” He paused as he took a bite of his granola bar. “I have an idea. I sit by her in AP US History; she always gives me snacks because she knows I’m hungry. Anyway I’ll see if she’s been asked, and if not then you need to hop on the opportunity.” Ned added as MJ gave him a high five.
“Precisely, what he said.” She stole another carrot from Peter’s tray, and he just pushed the tray towards her so she could eat them.
“Fine, but I still have no chance.” He uttered, taking a sip of his juice box.
--
The next day, Ned practically knocked Peter over at his locker.
“Dude, dude you are not going to believe it! Okay so yesterday (Y/N) asked me if I was going to prom with Betty and I said no, because we were going to see a movie together instead. But then she asked if you were going and I said no, but then she was like ‘Well that’s a shame, prom would be a lot more fun if you guys went.’”
“Sooo?” Peter grabbed his book from the locker and slammed the door shut.
Ned grabbed his shoulders and shook him around. “It means that she wants us to come! Maybe she wants you to ask her, I mean why would she ask me first if we were going. She knows I’m with Betty which means she was inquiring about you! Think about it!”
Peter grabbed Ned’s arms and pried his hands off his shoulders.
“Or maybe it’s because she’s on the prom committee and she wants people to attend. It’s her job to recruit people.”
“Hm, you might be right. That would be more plausible.” Ned said as he and Peter walked down the hallway. “But hey, at least she knows you exist.”
“Did you find out if she’s already been asked to prom?” Peter nudged Ned in the shoulder. “Oh rats, I forgot to ask that. My bad.” Ned said as he snapped his fingers.
“Sometimes dude, you are no help.” Peter said as he dodged the herd of students trying to get to class.
Peter insisted on walking the long way to Chem because then he could pass by your locker and get a little glimpse of you. He would notice you always organising your books in the same order, and checking yourself out in the small locker mirror to make sure you looked alright. Even though walking the long way would mean he’d be a minute or two late to class, it was well worth it.
You grabbed your statistics book out of your locker, and to Peter’s surprise, you waved at them. At first he wasn’t sure it was directed at him, but once you said “Hello Ned and Peter!” he knew it was directed at him.
You walked over to them, clutching your textbook to your chest and slightly rocking back and forth on your heels.
“Hey! Ned said yesterday that you weren’t going to prom, so why not? It’ll be a ton of fun, and I’ve also been working really hard on it and I want my efforts to be appreciated.”
“That’s nice of you to ask (Y/N), but I don’t really like going to dances. I was planning on having a Star Wars marathon instead.” He grimaced when he realised how stupid and pathetic it actually sounded, but you didn’t jump at the opportunity to make fun of him.
“Me either, to be honest. I only attend because I plan them; apparently you can’t plan a party and not attend. I mean sure, Gatsby did it but then again it wasn’t required for class participation. Anyways, it’ll be so much fun if you went, please? For me?” You drew out the last word and pouted, and Peter had to grab on to Ned to make sure he wouldn’t faint.
“I, erm, well haven’t had anyone to ask yet, I mean I’m not sure anyone would want to go with me anyway.” Peter rambled as you looked at him sympathetically.
“Yeah, well, I haven’t been asked either, so you wouldn’t be alone.” You hinted, hoping that Peter would ask you to prom.
You had always liked Peter. He was patient, kind and extremely intelligent, there was never a doubt about that. He was always sticking up for people, and you were amazed at how he never lost his temper. You loved his curly hair, his freckles, and how he always smelled like vanilla. He always avoided you when you had a class together, so you assumed that he didn’t care for you much. You had no idea how wrong you really were.
Ned elbowed Peter in the side as he tried to prompt him to ask you out. You were standing right in front of him, and yet Peter was frozen.
“Ah, well it’s not that bad. You have a week to find someone to ask you.” You visibly frowned when he said that, and you just nodded your head.
“Y-yeah, I do have some time, thanks. Anyway see you around.” You walked in the opposite direction from the boys, and Ned elbowed Peter in the side again.
“You idiot! You messed it up!” Ned was smacking Peter continuously, not even caring when Peter pushed him, as Ned knocked over a trash can.
“Oh come on, she didn’t really want me to ask her, did she?” Peter asked, and Ned just slapped him again.
“She did! Why do you think she came over to us and said hi, and then mentioned that she hasn’t been asked to prom yet. She wanted you to ask her to prom and you blew it.”
Peter leaned his head back as he covered his face with his hands. “Oh my god, I really did mess it up.”
“Yeah you think?” Ned was cut off when the bell rang, signaling that they were late to class.
“See you at lunch, Ned.” Peter waved to Ned as he trudged to class.
He knew that he blew it with you, and the last thing he wanted to do was go to class. But he made his way to Chem, hoping that it would distract his mind from what just happened.
He only had to make it through the rest of the day, and then he could go home and cry about it.
“I can’t believe it, I tried to hint at him to ask me out but he didn’t.” You signed to your friend Daphné as you plopped on the floor, sitting criss cross.
You and Daphné were best friends since the first grade, and when you learned that she was going deaf, you both learned sign language together so that you could communicate.
“Boys don’t get hints, you know, Peter is pretty clueless.” Your friend Daphné signed back, emphasizing the sign for ‘clueless’.
“I know, but he’s so cute. He doesn’t seem to like me though, he told me that I’ll find someone soon to ask me. Like no, you dork, I want you to ask me out.”
“Trust me, he is always staring at you. Maddie texted me saying that she overheard Ned say that Peter walks the long way to Chem so that he could pass by your locker every day. He clearly likes you, but he’s nervous. Why don’t you ask him out? If he’s too clueless to take a hint, then you should take matters into your own hands and ask him.” Daphné grinned as she signed.
“Maybe I will, thanks Daph.” You signed back as Daphné grabbed a piece of poster paper and some markers. She handed you the materials, and you signed “thank you” to her.
“Ask him at lunch.” She signed as you nodded, grabbing your pencil as you began to sketch out the design.
As lunch came around, Peter sat there at the table glumly, not even caring when MJ took his burger from his tray.
“Hey sport, what’s got you down and out?” She said with her mouth full.
“Peter blew it with (Y/N). She saw us in the hallway, and actually spoke to us. She said that she hadn’t been asked to prom yet, and you know what this idiot did?” He motioned to Peter as he let out a sigh, leaning forward to rest his head on the table. “He said, ‘Well you’ll find someone soon to ask you’ like a doofus.”
“Oof, you really did ruin it Peter.” MJ agreed as she continued to eat his burger.
“Don’t remind me, I just need this day to end.” He groaned. He began to lightly hit his head against the table while saying “I. Am. Such. An. Idiot.”
Just then, you were approaching their table, poster in hand. You strutted over to them, and Ned gasped as you stood right behind Peter, tilting your head to see why he was slouched over the table. You gently placed your hand on his back, and let out a little “Peter” in a soft voice.
He shot his head up, nearly giving himself whiplash as he recognized your voice.
“Oh hi, I wasn’t sleeping or anything.” He said as he slapped his forehead with his palm. God I can be such an idiot, he thought.
“That’s good, because I have something to ask you.” You grinned as you held the poster behind your back so that he couldn’t see it.
“Uh yeah sure, what is it (Y/N)?” He asked as you pulled the poster from behind you, opening it so that he could read it.
The poster was black with little stars, and it read: “Yoda one I want to go with to prom”, with baby Yoda right next to the words. The print was in the same font as the Star Wars logo, and the word ‘prom’ was filled entirely of glitter. You clearly put a lot of effort into it, and he couldn’t stop grinning at how precious you were.
“I know you like Star Wars so, yeah. That’s all.” You grinned as he sat there shocked. This can’t be happening, he thought, I can’t believe she really wants me to go to prom with her.
“Well Peter, are you going to give me an answer?” You asked, swaying back and forth on your heels.
“Of course.” Heat rose to Peter’s cheeks as you hugged him from behind, wrapping your arms around his shoulders. You took a step back as Peter got up from the table and pulled you into a proper hug. Applause filled the cafeteria when they noticed he said yes, and you let go of Peter’s embrace.
“Penis Parker got asked to prom by (Y/N)? God what day is it, ‘ask a dork to prom’ day?” Flash exclaimed as he got a few laughs from the kids in the cafeteria.
“Ignore him, thank you for saying yes.” You said as he nodded and added “Thank you for asking.”
“You can keep the poster.” You handed it to him, and he rolled it up and put it in his bag. You stood there for a second, unsure of what to do next, but you didn’t want to bug Peter anymore. “Okay well have a nice lunch.” You began to turn around, but you stopped when you felt that Peter grabbed your hand.
“Um, would you want to eat lunch with us? If that’s alright with you and your friends of course.” He asked as you looked down at the hand that he was holding, smiling. “Yes of course, let me just grab my things.” You let go of his hand as you practically ran back to your table, grabbing your food and backpack as you made your way back to Peter’s table.
You set the pizza box down on the table that you ordered from Postmates earlier. You then sat down, making yourself comfortable as you opened the box and grabbed a slice. You noticed Peter eyeing the pizza, his mouth slightly watering as he continued to stare at it.
“You can have a slice, Peter.” You motioned to the pizza as he eagerly grabbed one and took a huge bite out of it.
“Someone” he tilted his head to MJ “ate my burger.” He said as you patted him on the arm sympathetically. “It’s okay, you have an even better lunch now.” You added as Peter nodded.
Sitting and eating pizza with Peter was the best lunch you’ve ever had.
The dance was only three days away, and you were staying at the school late, working on the decorations and ordering last minute supplies. You stayed behind while everyone else left, not wanting to miss their other obligations.
Peter stayed late for an academic decathlon meeting, and as he was walking down the hallway, he heard music playing from a classroom. He followed the music and noticed that you were in the classroom by yourself, dancing to the music as you were gluing a flower to the backdrop. He stood in the door frame, admiring how cute you looked when you were dancing. Your head bobbed to the music, your hips slightly swaying to the beat as you hummed the lyrics.
“Do you need some help?” You heard a voice from behind you, and you turned around to notice Peter standing in the doorway. He looked cute in his sweater and jeans, and you noticed his hair was slightly ruffled.
“I think I’m good, thank you for asking though.” You said as you turned the music down slightly. “What are you doing here so late?”
“I could ask you the same, but I just got out of acadeca practice.” He rested his arm on the door frame, and you couldn’t help but smile at how cute he was.
“Wow, you’re cute and smart.” You said, and Peter began to blush.
“Thank you, you as well.” He said as he felt himself blush.
“Would you like some help?” He took a step into the classroom. “I’d love to help you out, it seems stressful to set the whole prom up.”
“It is, and I would love the help, thank you Peter. Maybe this can wait until tomorrow, I’m pretty exhausted. I’m just worried that this-” you motioned to the backdrop “won’t be finished in time by Saturday. I haven’t really had much help with it.”
“Well I’d love to help you tomorrow after school, I’m available all day.”
“Thank you, I appreciate that.” You pulled him into a hug, but he stood there motionless, unsure of what to do. You idiot, hug her back, he thought to himself, but before he could put his arms around you, you had pulled away.
“Can I walk you to your car?” Peter asked as you grabbed your things.
“I’d love that, thank you again. Do you need a ride home?” You asked as he nodded his head no. “My aunt is actually waiting for me in the parking lot.”
“Good, I want to make sure you get home safe.” You replied and Peter smiled. “You too, now let’s go.” He said as you turned the lights off in the classroom, locking the door behind you as you two left.
Saturday finally rolled around, and you were beyond excited. You loved everything about the ‘60s, from the fashion, to the music, to the dancing. You were so happy the committee chose your theme, and you were so committed to the theme that you asked your grandma for a dress from that era. She had an extensive wardrobe with many outfits from the decades she’s lived through, and they were in nearly perfect condition. You decided to go with this dress, which was a peach coloured long sleeve dress, with buttons and a collar. You paired the outfit with white and black patent leather short block heels.
Your grandma even helped you with the makeup, giving you a Brigitte Bardot inspired look, and did your hair in the same way. You really wanted to look and be as authentic as possible.
Admiring your outfit in the mirror, you danced to “A Night To Remember” from the High School Musical 3 soundtrack, practicing the twist and other dance moves.
--
Peter wore a suit and tie, and had May help him with the tie.
“I can’t believe it, you’re actually going to prom! I remember my prom like it was yesterday. I went with Marc Fisher, and he and I danced all night, and stayed up all night too if you know what I mean.” She winked as Peter gagged. “Just be safe, and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. Remember that.” She placed a kiss on his forehead and helped him straighten his tie. “You are so handsome Peter, I know for sure she is one lucky girl to be going with you.”
“Thank you May, I feel like the lucky one for being able to go with her.” He added, smiling as he fixed the curl in front of his face.
“Now remember Peter, be a gentleman. Open doors for her, ask her if she wants to dance, and make sure that you give her your jacket if she gets cold.” Peter nodded as he was making a mental note of everything.
May patted Peter on the back and handed him the corsage. “Now dance the night away and get groovy with it.” She laughed as she began to dance, while Peter headed towards the door. “Love you May.”
“Love you too Peter, be safe!” She called out as he closed the door.
You told him that you would pick him up at his apartment, so he waited outside for you to pull up. A few minutes later, you drove up in a retro 1960′s Mini, embellished with a union jack painted on the roof of the car. He then gasped as you stopped the car and got out, as you looked like you stepped out of a retro cover of Vogue.  
“Wow” was all he could say as you stood there in front of him, arms at your side as you spun around so that he could see the whole outfit. “You look extremely beautiful; I am truly the luckiest guy in the world right now.” You blushed as he handed you the corsage, and luckily it matched your dress colour perfectly.
“Thank you Peter, you look very handsome yourself.” He blushed as you interlocked your arm in his.
“Tell me honestly, did I go a bit overboard with the whole outfit, even going as far as renting a vintage car?” You asked and Peter shook his head no. “Honestly, I love how dedicated you are to the theme, it shows you really care.” You smiled as you took Peter’s hand in yours, as you led him to the car.
You drove to the venue, which was a community center by a lake, and it was a beautiful location. The committee set up the night before, so that you would have the day of prom to get ready. Peter was amazed at how gorgeous everything looked, and he knew that you had worked so hard on it. He noticed the backdrop to the photo booth that he helped you work on, and he couldn’t help but smile. It felt bittersweet knowing that once prom was over, he wouldn’t have a reason to hang out with you anymore. He didn’t want this night to end, because then he’ll just be back to Peter Parker, and not your date anymore.
Music filled the air as people were around dancing, and the music was a mix of modern and music from the 60s.
“Wanna dance?” You asked as you held your hand out, and Peter gladly took it. “Disclaimer, I’m not the best dancer though.” He said as you led him to the dance floor.
“I doubt that, everyone can do the twist.” You said as you danced and he joined in.
‘Hold Me Tight’ by the Beatles came over the speakers, and you squealed. The Beatles were your favourite band and you had always dreamed of dancing with someone to this song. You were happy knowing that the ‘someone’ was Peter.
‘It feels so right, now hold me tight. Tell me I’m the only one, and then I might, never be the lonely one.’ They sang as Peter held you close to him. He had one hand on the small of your back and the other holding your hand as you two danced to the music.
Peter and you were singing along to the lyrics, and you didn’t realise how close he was to you. “It feels so right, now hold me tight.” Peter sang into your ear, causing you to blush.
“Tell me I’m the only one.” You whispered back, and Peter held you even closer. He looked at you with so much love and adoration, and in that moment it only felt like the two of you, dancing to one of your favourite songs. You two swayed and moved to the beat, but suddenly you two stopped dancing.
Peter looked into your eyes, and then back down at your lips. He licked his, causing you to look down at them. You two were so close that you could feel his heartbeat, and you could see each and every one of his freckles up close. You wrapped your arm around his shoulder, and he pulled you even closer to him, as he pressed his forehead to yours.
“(Y/N), thank you for asking me to prom, I’m sorry I didn’t have the courage to do so before.” You leaned in so that your lips were only a few centimetres apart, and all you wanted to do was lean in more to kiss him.
“You’re welcome, Peter. I’m just happy you said yes.” Peter let out a “mm” as he cupped your cheek, and you leaned into his touch.
“May I please kiss you?” You whispered, and he replied “Yes.” His lips grazed yours, and he pressed his lips to yours. His lips were soft and they tasted like vanilla chapstick.
After a few seconds, you pulled away first. Peter, suddenly with a bit of confidence, pulled you into a deeper kiss. You were shocked at his burst of confidence all of a sudden, but were happy that he was finally showing you he liked you too.
“I feel like the happiest man ever.” He said against your lips, as you just pulled him into another kiss.
High school musical was right, this truly was a night to remember.
——
Additional A/N: hi! I hope you enjoyed it! Anyway as always, if anyone has any requests please send them my way! Also if you want to be added to the tag list also let me know! :) 
Mes petits anges: @scarletxwidow​ @starkissedholland @fangirlwithasweettooth
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bintadnan · 4 years ago
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“It is true you will not be able to guide every one, whom you love; but Allah guides those whom He will and He knows best those who receive guidance.”
Dear brothers and sisters,
I understand it hurts. I can feel the anguish and remorse that runs through your veins when you see your loved one(s) indulge in things that displeases Your Rabb. It is excruciating to see them give precedence to anything or everything over their religion. I know your heart reeks of sorrow when your advice and reminders land on deaf ears. When your beloved people look the other way despite repeated attempts to call them out for their follies. I know you must be exasperated and teetering on the brink of losing hope for a change. I know your patience might be petering out. You might even hold yourself accountable for your futile attempts (drawing them closer to Allah SWT) to budge or persuade them. Feeling disheartened and crestfallen? Believe me when I say we're paddling the same boat.
However, I want to remind you of these soothing and consoling words of our Rabb. Our Rasūlullah ﷺ was grappling with tremendous grief over his inability to persuade Abu Talib (his uncle) to say the Shahada while he was seemingly breathing his last. We cannot even surmise the pain that gripped the heart of our Prophet ﷺ to see his most beloved one turning a blind eye towards Allah's reminders. Although his uncle was at the forefront of protecting, assisting and guarding him ﷺ yet he did not revert to Islam. And these beautiful words of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala must have planted tranquillity in the heart of our beloved ﷺ. This revelation comes as a huge assurance to comfort and inform him ﷺ that we, the slaves of Allah, do not possess control over other people's lives. We cannot bend them according to our will. We do not own the power to coerce someone into submission to Allah SWT even if it pierces our hearts. And we are not at the same footing as our Prophet ﷺ because our loved one (s) is/ are still believer(s). Yes, you might be struggling to draw their attention to their misdeeds which causes Allah's displeasure. And because you love them it ruptures your heart to see them tread the path of Shaytan. But, remember Allah reminds us that despite our innumerable attempts to guide someone we certainly do not have control over their hearts. We cannot instil the noor of īman in their hearts without the permission of Allah. But yes you have the ability to continue advising them gently, politely and respectably without offending them. You must not lose strength and have Tawakkul in your Master's plan. You might have been living under the same shadow that is cast over them. You might have also engaged in things without fearing accountability. You might have walked that same path. But had it not been for the guidance that Allah subhana hu wa ta'ala bestowed upon you and thereby pulled you out from darkness into light, you would've been equally heedless and ignorant. Please trust your Rabb's impeccable timing for everything. Just like He inspired your heart with knowledge and Taqwa and īman and granted your character an overhaul, similarly, He will inspire the heart(s) of your loved one(s) too, In sha Allah. He knows when to guide someone and how to guide someone. You do not have to fret over the nitty-gritty of this process. You just have to trust Allah's plan and strive to advise them through healthy conversations. Yes, they might remain adamant but Allah SWT will not allow your efforts to go down the drain. He watches you struggle. And perhaps He will guide the person concerned just because of them.
Hence, please do not grieve and continue supplicating for them and engage in the remembrance of Allah together. Do not isolate them and harbour resentment against them. They need your help, your words of advice. And leave the rest in the hands of Him, who is the controller of our hearts. 💗✨
May He grant us sabr to endure it momentarily and May He guide us, as well as, our loved ones to His beautiful path. Ameen.
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tabloidtoc · 4 years ago
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Star, May 3
You can buy a brand new copy of this issue without the mailing label for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks
Cover: Shiloh Jolie-Pitt
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Page 1: Christina Aguilera at 40 -- she talks about child stardom, learning to love her body, and what she wants her daughter Summer to know
Page 2: Contents, Renee Zellweger, Phoebe Dynevor and James McAvoy at the BAFTAs in London
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Page 3: Mariska Hargitay and Law & Order: SVU co-star Ice-T take a selfie during a break from shooting the cop drama in NYC, Heather Graham at the beach in Mexico, stepping into the America's Got Talent studio Sofia Vergara elevated her casual cropped jeans with strappy platform sandals in L.A., Jason Momoa cutting a rug with an unidentified partner ahead of filming a scene for his upcoming fantasy film Slumberland in Toronto
Page 4: Colton Underwood comes out -- saying he's the happiest and healthiest he's ever been, the former Bachelor clarifies his orientation
Page 5: Lena Dunham is no stranger to controversy, so it comes as no surprise that her foray into fashion design has also come under fire as she partnered with a plus-size label to create the capsule collection 11 Honore x Lena Dunham, but the kicky line quickly came under fire as critics are calling it tone-deaf, mediocre and not inclusive at all since its largest size is a 26 and some are even going so far to call Lena a grifter who gained weight in order to make money off the plus-size community but Lena, who underwent a hysterectomy at 31, has pointed to early menopause as the cause of her straight-up gut -- while Lena refuses to be intimidated by bullies, she is listening to the complaints about sizes and is planning to address it
* Once a cautionary tale of the perils of child stardom, at age 40 Macaulay Culkin is a father himself as he and girlfriend Brenda Song welcomed a son, Dakota -- he's finally overcome his demons and Brenda has been a huge influence on his life and helped him get back on the straight and narrow and he's even pursuing acting again, shooting season 10 of American Horror Story; his life has taken such a positive turn
* A year after announcing her split from Jay Cutler, Kristin Cavallari is seeing the upside of divorce, saying it's made her a better mom in some ways because she has her kids half the time now so when she has them for her week, she is so incredibly present with her kids Camden, Jaxon and Saylor and she is not distracted by her phone or anything else; she is with them -- Jay and Kristin each have the kids 182.5 days a year and court papers also revealed that her ex is allowed two phone calls and two FaceTime or Skype calls a week and vice versa so now every moment is precious and if someone is having a temper tantrum or something, she remains calm because she knows that she is losing them in a few days
Page 6: Gwen Stefani is widely thought to have had some help in the nips and tucks department, and as her wedding to Blake Shelton approaches, he is starting to object to her constant tweaking of her face -- she's always messing with it by getting more fillers and Botox and Blake is afraid of what he'll see at the altar and he's freaking out at Gwen's increasingly extreme beauty routine which is becoming increasingly over-the-top; Gwen can barely move her face to smile at him anymore and it looks weird -- while he frets, he's trying to reassure his wife-to-be because Blake thinks she's beautiful just the way she is
* As an executive producer on the long-running Law & Order: SVU, Mariska Hargitay has tasked the writers to come up with more storylines featuring one of her favorite characters: defense attorney Trevor Langan, played by none other than her husband Peter Hermann -- Mariska and Peter originally met and fell in love when Peter guest-starred on the show and she loves to keep that magic alive by bringing him back to play Trevor but the trouble is he is busy with his own gigs as a series regular on Younger and his recurring role on Blue Bloods and Peter loves working with his wife, but he has his own acting career apart from Mariska -- still, he may soon have his day in court because Peter understands how Mariska feels and is trying to work his schedule to allow him some guest spots in the near future
Page 8: Star Shots -- Lenny Kravitz with a guitar flaunted his well-sculpted midsection during a stroll on the beach, Suki Waterhouse with her on-the-go grub on the set in Liverpool
Page 9: Louisa Jacobson and Taissa Farmiga and Denee Benton on the set of The Gilded Age in NYC, Conan O'Brien sipped on a soda at lunch in L.A., Katy Perry in the American Idol bathroom
Page 10: Kate Hudson with mom Goldie Hawn and kids Ryder and Rani, Kate Hudson twirled solo modeling in a pal's swimwear collection, Jude Law's daughter Iris Law who will make her acting debut in Danny Boyle's upcoming Sex Pistols biopic makes a call in London
Page 12: Kelly Osbourne handed out items at a food distribution event as the Islamic Center for Southern California, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in the gym, despite a no-social warning a cheeky Nicole Kidman shared a pic from the set of Aaron Sorkin's Being the Ricardos in which she portrays Lucille Ball
Page 13: Anabella Sciorra and Donnie Wahlberg gloved up for a Blue Bloods scene in NYC, Heidi Klum and husband Tom Kaulitz started their morning during a walk on the beach in L.A.
Page 14: Travis Barker showed off his body art stepping off a Hollywood tour bus shirtless after filming a music video, a cheerful Britney Spears gave a fun look into her wardrobe in a pink floral frock, Scott Disick and Amelia Hamlin color-coordinated for a walk near the beach in Miami
Page 16: Lamar Odom and Aaron Carter put up their dukes to promote their Celebrity Boxing Match in Philadelphia, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and husband Nick Jonas at the BAFTAs in London, Ellen DeGeneres on the phone during a stroll in her main hood of Montecito
Page 18: Normal or Not? A denim-on-denim clad Jay Leno scratched an itch while filming a project in Los Angeles -- not normal, dressed in a Siggi sweatshirt Katie Holmes picked up some seasonal blooms on Manhattan's Upper East Side -- normal, Kate Beckinsale multitasked during a car ride by applying undereye patches -- not normal
Page 19: Gavin Rossdale appeared to be pleased with his Kitson purchase by doing a little dance after leaving the popular L.A. store -- not normal
Page 20: Fashion -- stars wow in statement-making capes -- Gisele Bundchen, Charlize Theron, Zoey Deutch
Page 21: Greta Gerwig, Elle Fanning
Page 24: Justin Bieber: How Love Saved Me -- the formerly troubled pop singer gives praise for wife Hailey Bieber
Page 25: Olivia Wilde and Harry Styles' romance has already cooled and the pair are giving each other space -- turns out Olivia and Harry don't actually have much in common -- the two jetted to London after wrapping Don't Worry Darling, but they were soon waylaid by their respective responsibilities as Olivia has been spending time with her kids Otis and Daisy while her ex Jason Sudeikis shoots Ted Lasso while Harry, who was spooked by how quickly intense things got, is gearing up for his role in My Policeman -- for now, the two have decided to reassess things when they're back in L.A., which leaves the window open for Jason, whose strategy was to let her and Harry fizzle out, then see where she is at, and it's going according to plan
* Jennifer Lopez calls off her relationship with Alex Rodriguez
* Carrie Underwood and Mike Fisher are better than ever after overcoming a rough patch, one that had their inner circle convinced they were headed for divorce -- Mike had a serious roving eye that made Carrie anxious and she would treat him like he was Mr. Underwood and tensions between the two were at an all-time high when the pandemic hit, forcing the two into extra one-on-one time, but as it turns out, their new routine is just what they needed because they set boundaries, divided up tasks and put time aside for fun things and they prioritized romance, which has made all the difference -- Carrie and Mike are re-committed to their marriage and they've been through so much so much and neither wants to throw it away
Page 26: Cover Story -- Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's model kid -- Shiloh Jolie-Pitt the gorgeous teen is ready for her close up, but Brad and Angie are at odds about Shiloh's new passion -- Shiloh's been experimenting with girlier styles lately, including growing out her hair and she's at the age where she's starting to change things up -- Brad isn't thrilled about Shiloh's modeling dreams and idea of her walking into the lion's den gives him cause for concern -- Angelina began modeling at 16, just one year older than Shiloh and Shiloh knows that's what set her mom on her path to fame and Shiloh is constantly asking Angie about the pros and cons of the modeling world
Page 29: Model Kids -- these celeb offspring also know how to strike a pose -- Hailey Bieber, Sofia Richie, Amelia Hamlin, Lily-Rose Depp, Brooklyn Beckham, Paris Jackson, Kendall Jenner, Corinne Foxx, Ireland Baldwin, Margaret Qualley, Kaia Gerber, Leni Klum, Patrick Schwarzenegger
Page 30: Prince William and Prince Harry: Behind Closed Doors -- the estranged princes are forced to reckon with their rift as the royal family gathers for Prince Philip's funeral
Page 32: High Anxiety -- it's not so simple for celebs who struggle with panic attacks -- Emma Stone, Stephen Colbert, Amanda Seyfried
Page 33: Hugh Grant, Ryan Reynolds, Ariana Grande
Page 36: Beauty -- nail it -- self-care essentials to score the perfect at-home manicure and pedicure -- Kaley Cuoco
Page 38: Style -- cute cases -- step up your tech, and fashion, game this season with a trendy cellphone cover -- Rosie Huntington-Whiteley
Page 40: Entertainment
Page 48: Parting Shot -- Corey Feldman embraced wife Courtney Anne Mitchell as the two ventured out for a romantic outing in L.A.
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