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dragon-kazansky · 4 years ago

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Here always | Wanda Maximoff

Warnings: Spoilers for Wandavision. No trigger warnings within this fic unless crying sets you off 😭

F/N = Fake name

Wanda stood on her doorstep looking out across the street. Vision was working and the boys were playing their video game in the living room. Wanda had met everyone in Westview. Well, almost everyone. The house across the road had appeared vacant since she had got here. Yet, the garden always looked pristine, lights were always on at night, and sometimes the window was open.

Yet, she had never seen anyone come and go from it.

She crossed her arms as she narrowed her gaze on the window. It was closed right now, but one of the Master in the back of the room was on. She could see the glow of it, just slightly, from where she was standing. Someone must have put it on.

Agnes had just left her house. She had seen Wanda as she had checked through her window. She did that often. Curiosity got the better of her, so she went outside. Agnes crossed her lawn to stand by her garden fence.

"Yoo hoo, Wanda!" She waved her hand as she put on a big smile and leaned over the fence just the tiniest bit. "What are you looking at?"

Wanda broke her gaze from the house across the street to turn to her neighbour. Agnes was always the nosy one, so she wasn't surprised to see her here now.

"That house," she nodded across the way, "who lives there?"

"Oh? You don't know? Been here all this time and have yet to meet them?" Agnes gave a hearty chuckle as leaned back and gave a wave of her hand. Wanda didn't see why her question was so funny, but Agnes' attitude certainly chased away any negative feelings that were brewing.

"No, whose house is it?"

"Well, that would be F/N's house."

"F/N?"

"That's them now."

Wanda turned to follow Agnes' gaze to find an unfamiliar car driving up the road. She certainly hadn't seen it before. Never once had been in the driveway, that, she was certain of. After all, the house always seemed vacant.

The car engine was turned off. A heartbeat of a second went by before the door opened and out stepped someone. At first, Wanda couldn't get a good look of them. The person had ducked back into the car to grab something, so she only caught a glimpse of their legs. Then, the person climbed out completely and stood upright. They closed the door and turned on their heel to face the street.

Wanda's world seemed to slow down. The person across the street saw Agnes as waved. Agnes waved back, but Wanda was paying too much attention to their friendly greeting.

Y/N. That's Y/N.

Wanda felt like she couldn't breathe properly. How was this possible? You hadn't been with Wanda when she left. You had never mentioned this town before. How were you here?

Yours eyes locked with hers. She wondered for just a split second if you remembered her, but your friendly smile told her not. She could only stand there as you crossed the road and came over to greet them. Agnes gave another chuckle, but Wanda couldn't focus on her. Only you.

"How are you, Agnes? I haven't seen you around much." You smile at the woman who goes rest her arm on your shoulder.

Wanda was confused. She hadn't even seen you around, but Agnes was always over. Agnes was her nosy neighbour, always around no matter what.

"I'm always here or there, honey." Agnes winked at you.

You turn to wanda, "Hi there, I'm F/N, I don't believe we've met." You hold out your hand to her. Wanda, tuning back into the conversation rather quickly, takes your hand.

"Wanda." It's all she can bring herself to say.

"So I hear," you grin at her. She let's go of your hand and tries her best to smile. It doesn't feel genuine enough, but you seem to buy it as you turn back to Agnes. "I'll let you two get back to it then."

You gave a wave of tour hand and left the two of them, returning to your house across the street.

Wanda hadn't noticed before, but the light had gone out in your house now. You had just closed the front door behind you, so it couldn't have been you. Wanda wanted to ask, but when she had turned for Agnes, the other woman had turned to a passing neighbour and had began chin-wagging with them.

Wanda left Agnes out in the lawn and headed inside.

The boys were still playing their video game, passing her a greeting as she made her way into the kitchen. She fixed herself a drink, then leaned her backside against the breakfast island while she stared out at nothing. Her kind was racing.

How were you here? You should be back at the Avengers facility. She didn't want to bring you here. Deep down she knew how disappointed you would be in her. Wanda knew how wrong it all was, but she was desperate and blindsided by it all. Her heart was aching.

How could she ever face you. The real you. She wouldn't have the strength to look you in the eye and let it all. That would be the final straw before everything fell apart completely. She wanted to cry.

Vision came home in the nick of time. He greeted his boys and hurried into the kitchen, where he found his wife having a staring contest with the tiles on the floor.

"Wanda?"

As if shaken from a nightmare, she 'woke up' instantly, her head turning directly to her husband who was looking at her all confused.

"Vis!" She put down her drink and put on a smile.

"What is it? What's happened?" He places his hands on her arms as she comes over to him. Wanda looked more than a little distressed.

"It's..." She was about to say your name, but this Vision wouldn't remember you, your name would mean nothing to him. "The neighbour across the road... I saw them today."

"Ah yes, F/N?"

He knew your name here? He had never mentioned you before, had he crossed paths with you before she had?

"You know them?"

"I've just seen them now, Agnes told me their name."

"Agnes..." Wanda let go of her husband and cast her gaze toward the living room, right here the window was located, though she couldn't see it as the shutter in the kitchen were closed.

"Wanda, are you alright?" He sounded so concerned.

Wanda put on a smile and turned to Vision, "I'm great. Sorry I worried you." She gave a chime like giggle as she shuffled around him and went into the living room. Vision followed her, but said nothing more on the matter. Wanda sat down on the sofa with her boys and pretended to focus on the TV, but her mind was reeling with thoughts of you.

Wanda didn't you again until 3 days later. She had come down one morning to find you in the sofa with her brother. His arm was slung around your shoulders and the pair of you were laughing hysterically.

"Pietro?"

Both you and Pietro turned at the sound of Wanda's voice. You smiled when your eyes landed on her. Pietro sat back against the sofa,not at all bothered by his sister's appearance.

"Wanda, hi!" You greeted her.

Wanda took a sear in the arm chair, smiling softly, but her kind was still clouded by confusion.

"Hello F/N. I see you've met my brother." She cast a glance to the speedster.

"Pietro and I met a few days back. He's been visiting me ever since." You chuckle.

Wanda couldn't help but wonder if he had been at your house the other day when she saw the light on.

"Is that so?" She turns her gaze to her brother with a questioning look. He didn't look the least bit sorry.

"Didn't I say?" He knew right of the bat he hadn't.

"Maybe I should go for now," you get up to leave.

"Why don't you stay? I'll make some coffee and we can chat for a while." Wanda didn't want to let the opportunity slip by.

"If you're sure."

"I'm sure," she smiled. Wanda got up and made her way into the kitchen. You excused yourself from Pietro, who winked at you as you left, and followed her into the next room. Now Wanda had you to herself. Another opportunity has presented itself.

"Wanda," you stand near the counter as she sets up the coffee machine, "you have a lovely home."

"Thank you," she smiles at you. It felt strange. You weren't too different from how she knows you out there. There was comfort in that.

"I always knew you had good taste."

She stopped what she was doing and slowly looked up at you. You were smiling brightly at her.

"Always knew...?"

"Wanda, I know you know me. I remember it all." You take a step closer to her. Wanda puts down the mugs she had taken from the cupboard.

"Y/N?"

You waste no time in hugging her. Wanda's mind is racing, but her body relaxes instantly. Her arms snake around you as she clings to you. Tears threaten to fall. For once, since she came here, she felt complete.

"How?" She whispers.

"You didn't think after everything that I would just let you go, did you? Wanda, we have been through so much. You have been through so much. I have to look out for my best friend." You pull away just enough to look at her, "I'm so proud of you."

The walls crumble and she lets her tears fall. You pull her back into your embrace.

"I'm sorry," she whispers, "I'm so sorry."

"You don't have to apologise to me. I understand why you've done it all." You give her a small squeeze. "Whatever you choose to do, I'll stand by you. You know that, right?"

She nods her head against your shoulder, not yet wanting let go.

"Oh, Wanda. Even just seeing Vision again has been a welcome sight."

"I just... couldn't..."

"I know." You pull away and place your hands on her arms, looking at her with a soft expression. She wipes away at the tears, but they continue to fall. "You're so strong, Wanda. The strongest person I know," you smile brightly. By instinct she smiles back.

"What must you think of me," she chuckles a little as she wipes under her eyes.

"I'm proud. I'll say as many times as you need me to," you grin.

Pietro, hearing the laughter from the other side of the door, smiles. He moves away when Vision comes in.

"What's happening?" Vision asks, having noticed the young man move rapidly from the kitchen door.

"Just girly conversation," Pietro replies.

Vision makes his way into the kitchen, his eyes falling on you and Wanda. Tbe pair of you were stood closely next to one another, laughing. The evidence that Wanda had shed tears was ear to him, but she seemed to be in bright mood with you there.

"Oh, Vis."

He smiles at his wife as she notices him. You smile too, stepping away from Wanda.

"I'll take a rain check on that coffee, Wanda." You turn back to her, grinning from ear to ear.

She nods, unable to find words.

"And remember, honey, I'm always here for you. Always. Nothing is too big or too small for you not to rely on me."

Wanda swears her heart skips at your words. She should have talked to you from the start. She should have let you in herself.

"I know," she says, trying not to cry again.

Vision has no idea what any of that was about. He let's you leave, then turns to his wife. Wanda grabs a tissue and blows her nose. The android goes to stand next to his love, placing a hand on her back as he looks at her with concern.

"What was all that about?" He asks, softly.

Wanda smiles at him. It's the brightest she had ever smiled. Her eyes seemed to shine I'm the light as she looked up at him with so much love.

"Just words I needed to hear."

Wanda had no idea what was around the corner, but whatever came, she would be sure to call on you. At the end of the day, she always needed you. You were always there when she needed you most.

#wanda maximoff #wanda x reader #wandavision #wanda maximoff x reader #marvel

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lady-divine-writes · 4 years ago

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Kurtbastian one-shot - “Inflated Egos” (Rated G)

Summary: When Kurt takes one of his students to compete in their first competition after landing their Axel, Kurt is confronted with the conundrum of choosing good sportsmanship or doing anything you can to win...

And Sebastian and Blaine are of no help whatsoever. (2080 words)

Part 69 of Outside Edge

Read on AO3.

“I wanna add the Axel!”

"I know you do, Kevin. It's exciting to land your Axel. But we can't add it to your routine last minute."

"Why not!? I know the perfect place for it!"

Kurt sighs, steering his precocious pupil down the corridor that leads to the ice, rehashing this conversation they've had close to a hundred times over the past three hours.

“You can't add the Axel because you're competing at a level that doesn't include Axel."

"But this isn't a technical competition!" Kevin argues, the words tumbling around his mouth as if they don't belong. "I'm skating spotlight artistic! I can have an Axel in my program. They just won't score it!"

"Wow. You have such a firm grasp of the rules and qualifiers for a ten-year-old. Almost as if someone fed them to you... " Kurt shoots his boyfriend a dirty look. Sebastian shrugs, but he doesn't look the least bit guilty.

"It might be considered bad sportsmanship, and that could lower your score,” Blaine adds, inching in on Kurt's side of the argument. He has nothing against Kevin adding the jump. It would add pizzazz to his program. But judging at the ISI level can be ambiguous, to put it nicely. Not like in higher levels where it's required to put real-time scores on a readily available screen throughout the performance for transparency. If a judge doesn't like your music or your costume or your coach or you in general for whatever reason, a skater can lose fractions of a point.

And those add up.

Most ISI judges coach competitors, and they tend to favor skaters in their own skating clubs. Scratches magically disappear if a coach happens to know the performer, knows that they've done better in the past, and cuts them some slack.

It happens more often than the casual onlooker may think.

Kevin is a talented up-and-comer who hasn't ruffled anyone's feathers (that Blaine knows of), so he doesn't see how one little Axel could sully his reputation. And Kevin is correct - it's not technically against the rules for his event class.

It's just frowned upon.

But if Blaine joins the Kevin-Sebastian tag team, that would be three against one, and that wouldn't be fair to Kurt. Kurt is looking out for his skater like any good coach would. Bad scoring won't tank a judge, but bad sportsmanship can kill a skater's career before it starts.

“I know the kids at the rink love this event, but I've never competed in spotlight artistic," Kurt admits. "Only technical. So I don’t really know what to expect.”

"I didn't either," Blaine chimes in. "My coach was adamant that it was a waste of time for serious skaters."

“I did a few," Sebastian says, "when I was part of Elite."

Kurt peeks over at his boyfriend, lips twisted behind his mask in an amused grin. "Why? That doesn't seem like Elite's cup of tea."

"Because coach wanted our names on the board for every event possible - technical, spotlight, shoot-the-duck, spirals... "

"What sort of routines did you do?"

"Nothing too impressive. Not like my technical programs. I was a big Avengers fan, so I stuck with that. I was Thor one year. Had a Mjölnir with lightning coming out of it and everything."

"Oh, please tell me there's a video of this somewhere!" Blaine begs, clasping his hands together in front of his chest. "I would pay good money to see it!"

"You can't afford it," Sebastian says, blowing him off without a glance. "You had to have a prop for spotlight, but coach always said it was about the skating, like every other event. Or it was." He raises an eyebrow at a tractor prop covered in LED lights, quietly questioning, "What the hell song is that for?" as it drives by. "Something tells me that may have changed a tad.”

“Ya think?” Blaine chuckles, pointing to three skaters dressed in inflatable T-Rex costumes pulling an animatronic Indominus Rex the size of a VW bus behind them.

Kevin gasping diverts their attention to a podium covered in holographic wrap, a giant "diamond" mounted on top spinning slowly, throwing colored beams across the floor, pushed by a young lady dressed as a one-eyed spy. "These props are awesome!" he says, his own small prop clutched in his right fist.

"Maybe next time, we can wrap you up in Christmas lights and glue drones to your shoulders to make you fly," Sebastian suggests. "Eh, Kevin?"

"Can we?" Kevin asks, bouncing on his blockers, excited at the prospect of taking his hand-made Elvis costume to the next level.

"No! Kevin doesn't need any bells or whistles," Kurt declares, unsure what Christmas lights and drones have to do with Elvis. "His routine is about his skating. Props are just gravy. We don't need more. One is enough."

"Yeah. Right. Okay," Sebastian and Kevin grump. Even Blaine looks disappointed.

So when Kurt hears a chuckle, his ears prick up, and his head turns.

Everyone he sees around them seems focused on their warmups. No one is paying attention to them. But off to his right, he spots a brown-haired woman, her smiling green eyes darting their way, then back to the ice. When she looks back and notices Kurt watching her, she knows she's been caught and waves their way.

"I'm sorry," she says, trundling over. "I didn't mean to overhear, but I was wonderin'... are you fellas new?"

It's not often that Kurt walks into a rink in Ohio and isn't immediately recognized. But unlike Sebastian, he enjoys the anonymity.

"Let's just say I am," Kurt says. "What am I missing?"

"A lot." She laughs again so hard, she snorts. "I'm sorry. Saying it's about the skating is admirable. That's what it should be about. But it's not. Not in this category. It's about the props. The bigger the prop, the better. You have to use every advantage you have if you want your skater to come close to winning a medal."

"Not everybody thinks that way," Kurt argues.

"Oh no? Do you see that boy over there in the gold crown?" She motions with her head past the crowd to where a boy slightly older than Kevin, dressed in pale blue and gold brocade, warms up. "That's Michael. He's skating as Tommen from Game of Thrones. His dragon prop is programmed to roll around the ice on its own. It even breathes fire! And at the end, he's going to jump out a tower window."

"Wow," Sebastian says when he catches sight of said tower. It has to be made of styrofoam. The skaters are responsible for getting their props on and off the ice by themselves. There is no way this kid would be able to push his tower around unless it was constructed out of foam. But it looks like stone. It stands at least six feet tall with a platform roughly three feet up and outfitted with a cushion for Michael to land on, painted to look like a cloud that will blend in with the ice. "Kurt, you're super dramatic and stuff. This sounds right up your alley! How about we sign you up for the next go-'round? You can do an excerpt from Wicked. Or Phantom of the Opera! We just need to find you a cape, a mask, and about seven dozen candles! Whaddya say?"

"I say it depends on which testicle you want to lose," Kurt mutters, hoping the bubbly stage-mom dressed in head-to-toe flair doesn't hear.

"Look, it may not be my place to say," she starts. "You are his coach and all, but... uh... " Her eyelids narrow. "What event is your skater in?"

"Thirty-seven," Kurt says.

She sighs, looks strangely relieved. "Okay. My Maggie's in twenty-three."

Kurt's brow furrows. Then he rolls his eyes, realizing she asked to make sure Kurt's skater wouldn't be competing against her daughter after she imparts this valuable nugget of information.

"If you want some advice, let him add the Axel. His prop is a little... well, it's a little... " She glances down at the object Kevin is strangling in his grip, searching for a polite word to describe it "... puny. He'll need a little oomph. Ooo!" She yelps so suddenly, all four boys jump. "I almost forgot! I have a boom box in my trailer from Maggie's last spotlight! It's got a detachable disco ball and flashing strobe lights! It would go great with his costume!"

"Is it big?" Sebastian asks, infuriating Kurt by getting caught up in this woman's prop propaganda.

"It's the size of an Irish Wolfhound!"

"And they're big," Blaine concurs, sharing a nod with Kevin, then Sebastian.

"Oh, I couldn't put you out..." Kurt tries, but she shakes her head, refusing to let him turn down her offer.

"Nonsense! I'm parked right outside the loading doors! It'll take five minutes to get!"

"It couldn't hurt," Blaine says, having the good sense to move away after.

Kurt can't reach him, but he fixes him with a glare that could melt glass.

"You can't honestly believe the skating doesn't matter?" he says, not directed at any one person.

"Of course, I believe the skating matters," Maggie's mom says. "But in this event, you have to have some sort of edge. Especially when you're up against stuff like that." She points past them, her eyes traveling up, way up, and Kurt's heart sinks into his stomach before he even turns around.

”Jesus Christmas,” Sebastian moans, staring at the monstrosity traveling their way - the biggest, gaudiest, parade-style float he has ever seen indoors, decorated to look like a six-year-old girl's dream: the base wrapped in tons of fluffy pink tuille intertwined with hundreds of white twinkle lights, crystal baubles and gold balls hanging from fishing line so they look like they're suspended in air, no less than three machines spewing bubbles straight up, a hidden fog machine obscuring the view slightly with pink mist, and in the center, a whole family of inflatable rainbow unicorns on an elevated platform, each one rotating independently, all surrounding a cocoon of pink satin pillows where a skater sits, carried onto the ice by this cotton candy throne. “I’m not even skating, and I’m suffering from some serious prop envy.”

Kurt stares at the thing as it passes by, its smug passenger waving at them like they're peasants waiting for crumbs of stale bread, until the image is burned into his retinas. He looks at Kevin and his pathetic prop - a lime-green inflatable guitar his mother bought for five dollars at the last county fair. There's something wrong with it. It keeps deflating at the neck. Kurt brought a hand pump with him, one he uses to put air in his yoga ball. One of Kurt's jobs as Kevin's coach is to fortify the thing before Kevin takes to the ice. He tosses it about three seconds in to his routine anyway.

Because it's not the star of the show.

Kevin is.

Kevin could probably skate circles around half these kids, but if what Maggie's mom says is true, he doesn't have a chance simply because they didn't think to look for anything larger for him to hold than this defective pool toy. Kurt finds it horrible that Kevin has lost before he even begins because his prop is less in-your-face than everyone else’s.

Excuse him for thinking that a skating competition would be judged on skating!

Kurt isn't necessarily proud of his next few decisions since they play into the "anything to win" mentality. But later, Sebastian will convince him he wasn't elevating Kevin so he could win. It was leveling the playing field so he had a chance.

And Kurt can live with that.

"Sebastian? Blaine?"

"Yeah, babe?"

Blaine debates calling Kurt babe, too, if for no other reason than to rankle Sebastian, but now might not be the best time. "Yeah?"

"Could you please escort this kind woman to her trailer and retrieve the enormous boom box she has graciously offered to lend us?"

"On it," Blaine replies.

"Yessir." Sebastian gives Kurt a playful salute, then hurries away, led by the now effervescent woman who couldn't be more thrilled than if they were outfitting her daughter.

“And Kevin?”

“Yeah, coach?”

Kurt puts his hands on Kevin's shoulders and gives him a reassuring squeeze as they watch that grotesque, bubble-spitting giant take the ice. “Add the Axel.”

#kurtbastian #sebkurt #sekurt #kurt hummel #sebastian smythe

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avengersapology-vid · 4 years ago

Conversation

Avengers during quarantine

steve: takes it like a champ, the 40s had absolutely no technology so he’s used to spending long periods of time doing nothing. takes advantage and watches all the movies and shows on his ever growing pop culture list, and upgrading his bike. is required to make infomercials. “remember folks; wash your hands, wear a mask, and social distance.”

tony: helps steve film his infomercials, and gets so pissy when steve doesn’t take his directions that he makes his own. “fine if you won’t do a full fireworks display, i will!” builds yet another array of suits (that aren’t murderous this time), and other completely tricked out gadgets and suits for the team. makes a city out of nats amazon boxes, and lives in it for 3 days before bruce accidentally hulks out and destroys it.

natasha: gets wine drunk and online shops. she’s the sole reason for the amount of amazon and other mail carrier boxes that start to pile up in the garage; you could build a miniature version of half of manhattan with them. buys masks in bulk, but they’re all different kinds. some are plain black, or regular medical grade. others are either weird cartoon mouths or super kawaii glittery sanrio type masks. the type of wine affects the type of mask she orders. bruce ends up hiding her mastercard.

bruce: he knows the severity of the pandemic, and is grateful for the stay at home orders. very big on cleaning constantly and wearing masks. he spends quarantine doing science experiments, and even tries to help find a cure or solution. almost hulks out when the home order is lifted prematurely, and he catches glimpses of the “bar lives matter” protests. spends time relaxing with natasha and tony. despite the obvious stress, its the most relaxed hes been in yrs.

clint: being the family man he is, obviously quarantines at home. he’s happy to have a prolonged break from the team, and more bonding time with his wife and kids. they play video games, make frog shaped bread, and he teaches his kids sign language. by the 4th month of quarantine they’re all almost completely communicating in sign. tony gets mad at him for not inviting him over to make frog bread.

thor: gets stuck at the avengers facility, and it is recommended that he stay on earth so as not to risk spreading to asgard. he sticks to playing fortnite and eating vast amounts of poptarts. he freaks out a little when his stash runs out and is the sole reason why the secret facilitys address gets leaked. makes friends with the grocery delivery person every time, and over tips.

loki: big time germaphobe!!! walks around with a mask and gloves at all times, probably showers several times a day. hoards lysol, wipes, and clorox, and only gives his stash to the others. although peter claims he saw him donating some to a women’s shelter. gets called out on a facebook mom group he was in (trying to keep track of stores with cleaning tings in stock) for hoarding. “sorry you refuse to get up at 5 am to shop jill. i am a god you dull creature, and i will not be bullied by a woman with a jersey duck nail!”

sam: baker affff, he shows up late to a meeting one day with a tray of cinnamon rolls and fury absolutely looses his mind. "HEHE I MADE CINNAMON ROLLS WITH A-" and nick is like "YOU’RE LATE! WE WERE SUPPOSED TO START 2 HOURS AGO! YOU CAN TAKE YOUR CINNAMON ROLLS AND SHOVE THEM RIGHT UP YOUR A-" "I PUT APPLES IN THEM" goes crazy spending most of his time in the kitchen. attempts to make thor poptarts.

bucky: he and steve are literally the kings of quarantine. bucky gets through the pop culture bucket list with steve, and actually tries to bond with his team mates. he falls into a rabbit hole of conspiracy videos (fully believes that paul mcartney died in the 60s, and if her brother didn’t kill her....then jon benet is definitely katy perry) and urban exploration videos and makes a list of places to explore when the stay at home order lifts.

peter: he goes absolutely crazy. he has to resume classes online, he feels stuck in his small room. eventually, may sends him upstate to the avengers facility where he has more freedom to roam around within a safe space. he can be found on facetime with MJ doing homework, or pranking the others with pietro and thor.

wanda: definitely spends time rereading popular series. i’m talking twilight, percy jackson, hunger games, vladimir tod etc. if you read it in middle school, it’s on her shelf. mostly orders through amazon, but as soon as the pandemic dies down a little shes at a book store stocking up. (side-note: shes team edward and definitely wants to be alice for halloween)

pietro: he rarely gets sick, but when he does it’s absolute hell! he panic buys toilet paper, lysol, and bath and body works sanitizers (specifically stress relief, noir, and warm vanilla sugar) he goes with loki to shop and speeds over to the tp and cleaning product aisle to shove things in his basket. he’s the sole reason why they start putting a limit on how much you can purchase. he doesn’t get sick at all, but definitely becomes a hypochondriac by month 2. he forms towers and statutes out of his massive collection of tp and sanitizers, and nick berates him and loki for hoarding.

vision: accesses different stan and fandom databases so he can carry a conversation with wanda about her interests. she's glad to be able to speak with someone other than peter and MJ about these things, cause she lowkey feels like she bothers them. he accidentally downloads a corrupt kpop file and can only speak in black pink and bts songs for a good two weeks till tony helps reboot his system.

nick: if you’re a covidiot, he knows. he has your name, ip, social security, list of allergies etc. and he’s not afraid to tell you he does. starts threatening people on social media under an anonymous account, and becomes very popular on twitter. his “stans” tell him to “dox” people but he doesn’t know what that means. not saying nick fury is anonymous but if the v for vendetta mask fits 👀

coulson: literally lives on tiktok, and becomes THE dad of tiktok. he dances, bakes, does “hey i’m proud of you kiddo” type povs, does tutorials on how to shave, change your oil/tire. he even helps a tiktok creator reclaim their sound from some pervy povs. refuses to tell nick what “dox” means.

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novannna · 4 years ago

Text

Best of Friends

Word count: 1663

@renegadesnet event 4: osby october ↪ [ Ruby’s Pov-she is in love with Oscar, but doesn’t think he loves her back. Takes place sometime before Renegades. Yearning, kinda angsty, a little bit of fluff between sketch’s team. ]

Ruby watched Oscar from across the lounge while he was talking to Adrian. They had just gotten back from their patrol, and were relaxing in HQ.

“Ruby!” She heard someone snap. Danna was standing right next to her, an irritated expression on her face.

“Sorry,” she said sheepishly. “What were you saying?”

Danna sighed. “I said Adrian wants us to meet at his house later for a movie.”

“Oh. Will Oscar be there?” Ruby asked hopefully.

“Probably. Adrian asked the whole team. And you should come. It’ll be fun.”

Ruby shrugged. “Sure, sounds good.” She turned back to glance at Oscar.

Danna sat next to her. “You two are perfect for each other. Why don’t you just ask him out already?”

Ruby blushed beet red. “What- I, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she stammered.

Danna raised an eyebrow.

“Oscar is just a friend. He’s just another member of the team. I don’t like him like that.”

“Then why do you keep looking at him like he’s the only thing in the world?”

Ruby ducked her head. “I don’t like Oscar.”

Danna chuckled. “Of course you don’t. Silly of me to think any different.”

Ruby nodded her head sharply. “Exactly. Quite silly of you.”

“Hey guys,” Adrian’s voice cut into their conversation. “What are you talking about.”

“Nothing!” Ruby said quickly as she saw Oscar right behind Adrian.

“I was just telling Ruby about movie night,” Danna said smoothly.

“Oh. Are you going?” Oscar asked.

“I think so. Are you?” Ruby asked.

Danna and Adrian exchanged an eyeroll.

“Yeah! It’s gonna be fun.” Oscar slung an arm over Adrian's shoulder. “Adrian’s promised me lots of popcorn and red vines, so you bet I’ll be there.”

Adrian shook his head. “Don’t worry, Oscar will have his own bowl. Otherwise we wouldn’t get any.”

Oscar laughed. “You know me too well.”

“Well, I’ve spent enough nights crying myself to sleep because you took all my food to know that you get your own, and we share the rest,” Adrian joked.

“Unless he runs out, and eats ours too,” Danna added.

“Hey, I make no promises.” Oscar laughed. “In fact, I’m hungry right now. I’m going to go change, then does anyone wanna go to Mcdonalds with me?”

Danna wrinkled her nose. “Mcdonalds? I’m good. I don’t understand how you like that crap.”

“You can have your own opinion,” Oscar said haughtily. “But mine is obviously the right one.”

“I’ll go,” Adrian said. “I’m pretty hungry as well.”

“Ruby, what about you?” Oscar asked.

She felt a burst of excitement rise inside her. Oscar wanted her there!

“Oh, I don’t know. My mom probably wants me home soon…” she said, trying her hardest to keep the quiver of glee out of her voice.

“Please,” he begged. “I want to hang out with my best friends.”

And just like that, Ruby’s excitement withered away to nothing. She tried not to look crestfallen. Best Friends.

That was all they were. That was all they were going to be. Just best friends. Not anything more. Oh, that cut deep into Ruby’s heart. If only he knew how much she yearned to be with him. If only he knew that she fell in love with him the moment she saw him, just the boy with a cane, standing in the center of a studium, screaming fans all around. She fell apart every single time he reminded her what they were. And she still wanted so badly. She was in love with the renegade who could control smoke. She was in love with the boy who loved all sorts of food. She was in love with the boy who loved to play video games with her. She was in love with the brave, kind, selfless, smart, handsome, reckless, funny, charming, awkward boy Oscar was.

But he did not love her back.

He never would

They were always going to be best friends. She heard that enough, you would have thought that it would begin to hurt less.

Danna winced next to Ruby.

“Yeah, come on Ruby! I’m sure your mom won't mind too much,” Adrian chimed in.

“... I guess.” Ruby shrugged. “But I can’t stay out for too long.”

“Yes,” Oscar cheered. “Danna you coming? You can watch us eat, and be sad about how wrong you are.”

“No. My dad needs help around the house today. Some other time though,” Danna said.

“Okay. We’ll miss you!” Adrian said.

Danna nodded. “Of course you will.” She waved goodbye, then burst into her black and gold butterfly swarm.

“I’m going to go change. I’ll meet you guys here,” Ruby said.

“Yeah. See you soon.”

Ruby smiled, and hurried off to the changing rooms.

---

Ruby knocked on the door to Adrian’s house. The mansion’s windows were bright against the dark evening sky.

“Ruby!” Hugh said brightly, as he opened the door. “I assume Adrian invited you over?”

“Yeah,” she replied, trying to sound brave. She knew that he was Adrian’s dad, but he was also the most important person in the city. It was hard to not be intimidated by the man.

“Go on down. Danna and Oscar are already there,” he said warmly.

“Thanks.” she hurried down to the basement, where Danna, Adrian and Oscar lay sprawled across the floor. An assortment of snacks and blankets were scattered everywhere.

“Hey guys,” she said brightly.

They all started.

“Ruby, you scared me!” Oscar said. He put a hand on his chest.

Her face reddened. “Sorry,” she said sheepishly.

“Oh, it's fine,” Oscar replied, his face red as well.

“Come on, we were just deciding which movie to watch,” Adrian said, patting a spot on the ground next to him.

Ruby plopped down, and shoveled a handful of popcorn from a nearby bowl into her mouth.

“What are the options?”

“Avengers, Up, or The Sound of Music.” Adrian gestured to the TV. “You choose which one.”

“Oh, ummm, how ‘bout Avengers,” she suggested. “I haven’t seen that in a while.”

“Sounds good,” Adrian said. He picked up the remote, and started to turn on the TV.

“Ruby, can you pass me the cheez its?” Oscar called out. He was now sitting on the couch, a pleading expression on his face.

Ruby laughed. “Alright.” She leaned over and stretched her fingers out to snag the red box. She stood, and walked them over to Oscar.

“Thanks,” he said, while grabbing a huge handful from inside.

“No problem,” she replied. Ruby sat down next to him, fully conscious of the thin layers separating him. She leaned backwards, and tucked her feet up underneath her.

Danna smirked when she saw the two of them right next to each other. She discreetly made a heart shape with her hands, then pointed to the two of them. Ruby raised her middle finger in reply, while Oscar remained oblivious.

The starting music sounded, and Ruby focused on the screen, desperately trying to think about anything but the boy sitting next to her. And it almost worked. But the warmth from his body pressed against hers was another painful reminder that she was ever going to get what she wanted more than anything. Ruby sighed to herself.

Why couldn’t she settle for just friends? Why did she have to want something more? It was never going to happen, and she was just breaking her heart more with every passing minute.

“No Ruby,” she thought to herself. “Don’t think about Oscar. Don’t do this to yourself.” Her eyes remained firmly focused on the screen, but her brain was not paying any attention at all. It was too busy constructing wild fantasies in her head.

After a while, soft snores filled the room. Adrian had fallen asleep, his face pressed against the floor. Danna raised her eyebrows, and stifled a small giggle.

But she fell asleep next. After another twenty or so minutes, Ruby looked over to see her slumped against a bean bag, her blonde dreadlocks spread across her face.

“Just you and me, huh?” Oscar whispered to her.

“Yeah.” Ruby’s voice was calm, but on the inside her heart was racing. She had never been alone with Oscar before. Granted, Adrian and Danna were there, but it was just the two of them, sitting next to each other, the movie playing quietly in front of them. .

“I wonder which of us is going to fall asleep next?” Oscar chuckled.

“I wonder,” Ruby echoed. “The movie’s pretty close to ending.”

Oscar nodded. “Yeah. It is.” He yawned. “I don’t know if I’ll make it that long though. I’m pretty tired.”

Ruby laughed softly. “Sleep then. It’s not like you haven’t seen this movie before.”

“Maybe I will.” He rested his head on her shoulder, and closed his eyes. “You’re a good friend Ruby,” he murmured, right before his breathing slowed, and he fell asleep.

Ruby was glad no one else was awake to see the anguish on her face. To see the pain of just one more reminder that Oscar did not love her the same way she loved him.

“I love you Oscar,” she whispered into the darkness. “Every time I see you, it makes my heart hurt. I love you more than I could ever love myself. But for some reason, you can’t see it. I wish that you could tell me if there was the slightest chance you might return my feelings. Then maybe I would know how pointless this stupid crush is.” She screwed her eyes shut, and felt tears leaking out the corners.

“I love you so much, and I will always love you.” Ruby opened her eyes, and swiped the tears away with the back of her hand. He looked so beautiful sleeping. She smiled softly. She placed a gentle kiss on his forehead, then rested her head on his and closed her eyes.

Ruby was closer to him than ever before, but at the same time, she was farther than she could ever imagine.

#osby #osscar silva #ruby tucker #adrian everhart #danna bell #renegades #archenemies #supernova #my fics #renegades fic #@renegadesnet

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fandom-imagines-stories · 5 years ago

Text

Day 36

Peter Parker x Reader

Words: 1989

Summary: Trapped on the Avengers compound, you and the whole team have been quarantined together for over a month. Of course, it doesn’t help that everyone knows you have feelings for Peter. Well, everyone except Peter. The Avengers decide to play matchmaker in order to prevent another day of awkward teenage flirting. Needless to say, hammers will fly before this quarantine is over.

Notes: Honestly, I got the idea for this from a tik tok.

“Day 213, Captain’s Log.”

“Peter, it’s only been a month.” You scoffed.

“Oh… right.” He dramatically turned back to the camera. “Day 36.”

“Kid, I swear to god if you don’t put that thing away, it’s going over the balcony.” Tony snapped and the rest of the group nodded in agreement. Peter laughed sheepishly.

“Sorry guys.” He stuffed his small video camera in his pocket and you gave him a small smirk. He clapped his hands together. “So, anyone want to play a board game?” It seemed like the entire room groaned in unison. Tony gave him a look.

“Peter, no offense, but I would literally rather do anything than that.”

“Oh you’re going down, Rogers.” Tony glared, rolling his dice. Whoever decided to challenge the billionaire at Monopoly clearly didn’t know what they were getting into. Everyone muttered begrudgingly as he took another building.

You had been stuck at the compound for over a month now because of the virus rampaging in New York. Before it all started, you and Peter were staying with Mr. Stark while your parents and his aunt went to a convention for something or other upstate. Now they were all stuck up there and you were all stuck in here. Even Thor was trapped on earth, forbidden from taking the risk of the virus back to Asgard. The whole gang was here; Natasha and Clint, Bruce and Thor, Rhodey, Steve and, obviously, Tony. Pepper was in the city, driving Tony a little crazy worrying and Wanda and Vision were on vacation in Europe, so they were stuck on their own.

“I told you this was a bad idea,” Clint grumbled. He was, understandably, the most unpleasant since he couldn’t go home to see his family.

“My turn.” You announced, reaching over the board for the dice. Peter was closer so he moved to grab them for you. Your hands ended up grabbing each other, making your breath hitch. The room went silent until Peter laughed anxiously and handed you the dice. “T-thanks.”

The adults exchanged glances. Tony pinched the bridge of his nose, holding back his disappointed sigh. This is what it had been like for the past 36 days and, since no one had anything else to talk about, it was a much discussed topic once you and Peter were out of the room.

“I can’t take this anymore.” Tony exclaimed, the rest of the room nodding in agreement. “She has to tell him or the awkwardness will kill me.”

“We can’t push her, Tony.” Steve argued. “A crush is a scary thing.”

“I’m not saying to push her…” Tony defended, making a waving motion with his hand. “I’m saying to nudge her.”

“I don’t know, I think I agree with Steve.” Bruce crossed his arms. “I don’t want to be dealing with two hormonal teenagers dating in this house while we’re all stuck here.” Everyone winced, thinking of the implications.

“We’ve got to do something about the goo-goo eyes, though.” Rhodey interjected. “Someone should just talk to her.” Slowly, all heads turned to Natasha. Her eyes widened at their expecting gazes.

“Oh no.” She exclaimed. “No way.”

“Come on, Nat, you’re the only one that she’ll listen to.”

“Just because I’m a woman does not mean we’re going to have some super special girl bonding!”

Yet somehow, she ended up standing in front of your door, feeling everyone’s eyes burn into the back of her head. She was going to kill all of them. Nat quietly knocked on the door, but there was no response.

“I don’t think she heard you!” Tony whisperer- shouted peaking around the corner She gave him a death glare and he ducked back behind the wall. She knocked a little louder.

“Y/N?”

“Come in!” You shouted from inside. Nat cast one last dark look towards the group of men behind her before entering.

You were lounging on your bed, book laid out in front of you. You must have gone through a dozen books already. Reading was better than listening to Tony and Steve bicker over god knows what.

“Hey,” Nat greeted, poking her head in the door.

“Hey,” You put the book away and sat up, giving her space to sit down. You saw the uncomfortable smile on her lips and your head tilted curiously. “What’s going on?”

“I need to… talk to you about something.” She almost looked like she was in pain, which just made you worried.

“Is everything okay? Is something wrong?”

“I’m going to kill them.” She muttered under her breath before giving you an even more uncomfortable smile. “No, everything’s fine. The guys and I were just noticing that you seem to have a certain… attachment to Peter.” She chose her words carefully, but it didn’t make the situation any better. Your eyes went wide.

“Oh.” There was a long moment of silence until she finally couldn’t take it.

“It’s driving all of us crazy!” She blurted. “Him smiling at you, you smiling at him, neither of you even realizing it, and we’re all sitting there waiting for you to realize it. I mean, good god, it’s like watching a romantic comedy except none of us want to be a part of it!” She gasped, taking a deep breath after her rant. You stared at her with your mouth hanging open slightly. She sighed. “I’m sorry. Being cooped up has been stressing me out, especially with those idiots.”

“It’s okay, I get it.” You fell back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. “I didn’t realize that it was that obvious.” Nat chuckled, laying back next to you.

“If it makes you feel better, it’s pretty obvious on his side too.”

You turned your head towards her, your eyes wide as saucers.

“Y-you think that Peter… Likes me?” You gasped. She raised her eyebrows.

“Are you kidding? The boy has the definition of puppy-dog eyes whenever he’s around you.” She put her hands behind her head and she felt the awkwardness start to fade away. “Peter is crazy about you. The two of you are just too shy to tell each other.”

“So what do I do?”

“Talk to him.” She playfully poked your side, making you laugh. “If the guys have to endure one more minute of awkward side glances they’ll implode.”

“I don’t think I can do this.” You groaned, covering your face with a pillow. Nat grabbed the pillow and peaked at your face underneath.

“Hey, you’re a badass who has helped Spiderman take down countless robbers and evil geniuses.” She fully uncovered your face, giving you a reassuring smirk. “I think you can handle an awkward teenage boy.” She put a hand on your shoulder and you felt a burst of confidence break through your nerves. Deep down, you wondered if this is what it was like to have an older sister.

When Nat left, the boys were all waiting impatiently in the living room. She sat down and put her feet up on the ottoman with a coy smile directed at Tony.

“You’re up next, Stark.” She smirked, pointing a finger at him. “You’re in charge of Spidey-Boy.”

It took Tony a while to actually find Peter since the kid was hanging upside down in one of the many gyms that the compound had.

“What the hell are you-” Tony pinched the bridge of his nose, “You know, I don’t want to know.”

“Oh, I”m just reading about-”

“I said I don’t want to know.”

Peter jumped down to the floor, brushing back the hair that flopped down in his face. The book he had tucked under his arm was about physics. He was more of a nerd than Tony thought.

“I came to talk to you about Y/N.” Tony finally said after an uncomfortable silence.

“What about her?” He noticed Tony’s discomfort and immediately felt a surge of panic. “What happened? Is she okay?” He stepped towards the door, but Tony put a hand on his chest to stop him.

“She’s fine, kid.” He might as well just say it. “This is about the googly eyes that the two of you can’t stop making towards each other.” Peter rubbed the back of his neck.

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about Mr. Stark.”

“Shut up, of course you do. Come on, Pete, you’ve liked her way longer than we’ve all been stuck here.” He crossed his arms, daring the teenager to argue. Peter’s shoulder slumped and he could feel his cheeks turn red.

“Do you think she knows? I mean, I really really like her, but I don’t want to mess up our friendship because that means a lot to me and-”

“Woah, slow down.” Tony interrupted, taking a deep breath. “First of all, this girl is crazy about you. Secondly, if you two keep avoiding your feelings for each other, that’ll ruin your friendship faster than pursuing a relationship will.” Damn, he was good at this. Maybe he should write a book.

Peter gave him a sideways smile, still unsure of what to do. He didn’t have time to figure it out, however, watching you approach the door of the gym through the glass.

“Good luck kid.” Tony chuckled, leaving so that the two of you could talk alone.

“Hey,” You greeted, fiddling with the sleeve of your shirt nervously.

“H-hi.” He stammered, playing the hem of his sweatshirt.

“There’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Yeah, me too.” You both seemed to hold your breath before you blurted out at the same time.

“You go first.” You felt all of the blood rush to your face. Peter gulped.

“I… I really like you, Y/N.” He said softly. “I have for a really long time and I haven’t said anything because I was afraid it would ruin our friendship. But being stuck here with you has made me realize that… it doesn’t matter where I am. I could be quarantined on some island somewhere, but as long as you’re with me, I’ll be happy.” He took your hand in his and you felt your heart flutter wildly in your chest. “W-what were you going to tell me?”

“You’re a badass.” Natasha’s voice gave you enough courage to close the space between you and Peter and crash your lips into his. You felt him smile and he deepened the kiss, pulling you closer into his cozy embrace.

Tony went back into the living room feeling pretty impressed with himself.

“Well that should take care of everything.” He announced with a proud smirk.

“Fantastic! I can show him all of the ways to woo her.” Thor said triumphantly. Steve, however, had a different reaction.

“Wait, you just left them alone?” He asked.

“Uh… yeah?” Tony replied not really seeing the problem.

“Tony, you can’t just leave two teenagers who just confessed their feelings for each other alone in a very large, very easy to hide in, facility.” Steve started to pace, trying to think of all of the places that could be used for secret fondue-ing. Tony scoffed.

“Come on! It’s Peter! He wouldn’t do anything that I wouldn’t-” He paused, realizing what he was saying. “Oh no.”

“I tried to warn you.” Bruce sighed. Steve and Tony started to argue over parenting tactics. Clint and Natasha exchanged a look.

“When did we become so involved in the love lives of two teenagers?” Nat groaned. Clint just shook his head.

“Let’s just hope this quarantine ends soon before-”

“That’s enough, Stark!”

“Oh I haven’t even started, Spangle-Boy!” Tony and Steve were getting closer when a blur of silver shot in between them. There was a loud clang as Thor’s hammer hit the wall.

“There shall be no fighting… without me.” Thor yelled. Nat buried her head in her hands. Clint was right. If they didn’t get out of lockdown soon, Peter and Y/N’s sex lives would be the least of their problems.

General Tag: @rae-gar-targaryen ; @takemepedropascal ; @childhood-imagination

Marvel Tag: @bensolocanbesaved

#the avengers #tony being a dad #nat being a big sister #peter parker x reader #quarantine #this is how i'm surviving

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ohwereusingourmadeupnames · 5 years ago

Note

For the intimacy prompts, “say it again”. Whichever pairing you're feeling inclined to write :)

Look How We’ve Grown

Pairing: Peter Parker/Tony Stark (Starker) Rating: Mature (M) Word Count: ~3.4k Notes: S, you’re always laying down the best ones. Thanks for all the creative freedom @goindownshipping - it’s much appreciated. I hope you enjoy where I decided to take this one. Warnings: None that I can think of - there’s lots of fluffiness. Summary:

Tony tells everyone but Peter how much he loves him. Luckily, Peter is a sneak & has super hearing.

Or: two times Peter stumbled upon Tony confessing his love for him to someone else, and the one time Peter pulled the confession from Tony himself.

do the thing, send in all the prompts

The first time Peter heard Tony say he loved him, the older man was talking to Happy. In the last year of being a full-time Avenger, Happy’s presence became a regular thing. He didn’t understand the depth of his relationship with Tony until he saw the two of them interact. Happy got to see parts of Tony that the rest of them wouldn’t ever be privy to, no matter how much they pestered him, or asked about the life he used to lead.

In Tony’s defense, Peter wasn’t supposed to be at the compound. He initially made plans with Ned and MJ, since they were both in the city on break from school. Working out the online stuff with MIT ended up being the best for Peter – he took advantage of not going to class by working in the lab with Tony and training with every free second he had. The shit with Thanos was no joke – he needed to make sure he was prepared for everything after that.

His friends bailed on him at the last minute, however – MJ had a new boyfriend and Ned was in the middle of writing some corrected code for a video game he’d been developing. Peter couldn’t begrudge them for it, either – he’d cancelled on them more than a few times over the past 12 months of full-time superheroing. The early night meant he might catch Tony on the couch, relaxed and watching a movie. Those were the best times – getting to see Tony at his realest.

When he walked into the kitchen from the hall, Peter stopped dead in his tracks – the cadence of Tony’s voice was too recognizable to ignore. He’d been straining to hear every single word that came out of the older man’s mouth for years now, just the pitch of it made his heart race a little.

Peeking in to see who all was gathered around the table, Peter let out a sigh of relief when he only saw Happy. As much as he loved the rest of the crew, he wasn’t up for the effort it took to be present with everyone around.

He was about to walk further into the room when he heard his name. “What’s about Peter? You two have been getting pretty close recently,” he heard Happy say – the look he shot Tony spoke volumes. Like there was way more to it than getting pretty close.

In a lot of ways, there was – they were creating a bond that Peter didn’t think Tony had with anyone else. To him, it felt deep; but that might just be the hopefulness of the still lingering crush speaking.

Tony took a second to respond – Peter watched him take a long pull of the drink in front of him and readjust in the chair; he only did that when he was nervous about something. “Honestly, Hap – I’m in love with him. He makes me happy and has the most interesting brain. Not just his smarts, either – the way he looks at life. But the smarts, too, Hap – he’s a genius and keeps me on my toes. It’s mind-boggling, how much knowledge is in that pretty head of his.”

Tony stopped for a second, looking at Happy with a goofy grin. “I’m not sure about it yet, but I think he might feel the same way. So, I’ll let you know.”

With his heart in his throat, Peter turned on his toes and rushed away from the spot he’d been eavesdropping from. He hadn’t even meant to – he had every intention of walking further into the room and joining the two of them. Yet, he didn’t really feel bad about it. He’d been agonizing over the idea of Tony reciprocating his feelings – a little affirmation was never a bad thing.

Sitting on his bed for a few minutes, Peter let the information sink in – the open way Tony looked at Happy and talked about him was everything that he’d ever wanted. It almost seemed like something that was too good to be true, but he heard it with his own ears.

Tony admitted that he loved him. Just – not to his face. Shaking his head, Peter decided to be happy with the little things. If Tony was admitting it, maybe it wouldn’t be long before he brought Peter in on the secret, too.

The grumble of his stomach reminded him of the reason he ventured into the kitchen in the first place – so he got up from the bed and made sure to make a lot of noise leaving his room. He stomped down the hall and even pushed one of the chairs in the living room out of its space for good measure. He didn’t want to spend any more time sneaking around and needed to make sure Happy and Tony weren’t caught in another intimate conversation like the one he witnessed before.

Both men looked up when he walked in, the soft smile on Tony’s lips catching his eye almost immediately. Walking to the fridge, he grabbed one of the Gatorade’s sitting on the shelf and took the seat next to Tony at the table. “Anything left?” Peter asked, his eyes roving over the table in hopes that there was still some of the amazing smelling Indian food.

Tony didn’t hesitate to start putting the half-empty cartons in front of him – Peter looked up at him with a big smile on his face and started to dig in. He didn’t look up again until a couple of them were completely wiped out.

“So, Happy – how’s Pepper?”

The question was enough to have the man spluttering, a swift blush moving across his face. It wasn’t widely known that the two of them were an item – so Peter enjoyed every single second of his mumbled avoidance and then eventual gushing. Tony caught his eye a couple of times throughout the conversation, an amused twinkle residing there. Peter pinched his lips together and sent Tony an knowing wink.

----

The next time Peter heard Tony say he loved him, Peter ran into him and Steve leaving the meeting room – both of them looking stressed. He tried to stop Tony as he walked past, but the subtle shake of his head stopped Peter’s next attempts. The only time Tony really got upset like that was when Steve was unreasonable and looking to go against what Tony said simply because it was Tony staying it.

Thinking quickly, Peter looked up – the habit one he hadn’t been able to break, no matter how often he communicated with the AI active around the entire compound. “Hey FRIDAY, do I still have access to the recordings in here?” Tony let him in on the monitoring codes when he first got here so he could avoid the others when he needed to a break from all the overbearing stimulus. It’d been more than a few months since that happened, so he wasn’t sure about the continued access.

FRIDAY answered immediately, her accent always making Peter smile the first time he heard it after a while. “Hi, Peter. You do. Tony hasn’t changed any of the security codes where you’re concerned. You’ve got full access.” She spoke so simply, as if having one of the keys to the kingdom wasn’t a big deal.

His curiosity about what just happened won out and he had FRIDAY pull up the footage from Steve and Tony’s conversation without much reservation. The screen on the wall was suddenly showing a scene that was timestamped for fifteen minutes prior. Sitting in one of the chairs closest to the screen, Peter settled against it and watched.

Tony shut the door behind Steve, sitting down across from him. The nerves that Tony couldn’t ever help sat heavily on his chest – the grip of his knitted fingers giving him away. Steve looked over at him, a curious tilt to his head. “What’s this about, Tony? We’re right in the middle of restructuring patrol groups – there’s not much going on,” Steve stated outright, the tone of his voice cutting and serious, as per usual.

Ducking his head, Tony took the customary few moments to reply. It was a noticeable habit – how long it took the older man put his words together. The idea of having so many thoughts running around in an already clustered head didn’t sound simple – so it made sense, his hesitation.

He ran a hand through his hair before looking Steve dead in the eye. “I just wanted to let you know about something before things change because of it. I know that you’ll have something to say about it, regardless of when I tell you, so I thought I’d get it out of the way.”

Steve looked at him with interest, his forearms pressed against the table and he leaned on them, the move cutting down the space between them. “Sounds serious – what’s up?”

Not wanting to beat around the bush, Tony stood up, his mouth and hands moving a mile a minute. “I didn’t mean for it to happen. I didn’t think I’d ever fall for someone on the team – but I have. I’m crazy about him and I’m bidding my time, trying to decide the best way to approach him.” Tony turned to lean against one of the glass walls, his arms crossing in front of him. “It’s Peter. I’m in love with Peter. If he’ll have me, I want to see where things can go with him.”

The reaction was almost immediate, Steve getting up out of his seat. He closed the distance between him and Tony, his long legs making it a quick thing. With less than a couple of inches left between them, Steve grabbed onto the front of Tony’s waistcoat.

“You know how young he is, don’t you? You can’t, Tony,” Steve spat out, his eyes wide. It was an aggressive gesture and he seemed to understand that when Tony stayed silent. He let go but didn’t make any move to create any space between them.

“You think I don’t know how young he is? I was the person to bring him into this mess. I’m well aware of how it looks, but there hasn’t been anything between us until recently. He’s 20, Steve – shouldn’t we let him make his own decisions?”

“FRIDAY, turn it off, please.”

As soon as Peter requested it, the video was cut and the picture he saw up on the wall was no longer there. He didn’t need to see anymore to understand the defeated look on Tony’s face. Like most people in Peter’s life, Steve still saw him as a kid. Hell, up until the last couple of months, Tony still saw him that way, too.

That was the one disadvantage, being the youngest person on the team – everyone neglected the fact that he’d been in the shit for years and could easily make his own decisions. Why did years of experience matter for some people, but not others?

Taking a couple of cleansing breaths, Peter got out of the chair he’d been sitting in and left the meeting room. What he’d seen made his blood boil – not because of what Tony said. No, he absolutely loved that. The way that Steve reacted, however – he might never be able to get that out of his head.

Peter didn’t need people to fight his battles; especially someone still stuck in the past when it came to a lot of things. When something happened between him and Tony, Peter was determined to make sure Steve knew exactly how much he wanted it.

The unease sitting in his chest led him into the elevator and down a couple of floors to the lab that felt like a second home. There were a few adjustments he wanted to make to his web shooters and could get a lot of work done now that he had a little bit of extra energy to spare.

He stopped when he saw Tony bent over his workbench, sparks flying around him. Peter took a second to enjoy the view of Tony in a tank top with his muscles bulging before, once again, trying to make as much noise as possible before walking into the room.

Tony looked up at him with the big goggles covering his eyes – the dirty part of his face spreading in a smile. “Hey, Pete,” Tony said, his gloved hand waving in Peter’s direction. He moved the goggles from his eyes and let them rest on the top of the backwards hat that sat on his head. If it wouldn’t be embarrassing, Peter would’ve swooned right there – the look was more than nice.

Shaking his head of the thought, Peter walked further into the room, a smile of his own settling across his face. “Hey, Tones – are you making those adjustments we talked about last week?”

It must’ve been the right question to ask, because Tony started on a happy tangent, the perturbed look he got a little while ago completely erased.

----

Thankfully, the next time Peter heard Tony say he loved him, it was directly from Tony’s mouth. Since watching the video of his interaction with Steve, Peter felt a little on edge. He wondered, if only briefly, if the man’s reaction would be enough to dissuade Tony from acting on his feelings and putting them both out of their misery. It’d be the most unfortunate if Peter lost the chance he knew he could have before it even came his way.

In the last couple of weeks, Peter did everything he could to make his intentions clear. He flirted ruthlessly, touched Tony whenever he could, and even hinted about spending more time together outside of the lab. Tony didn’t look at him funnily, but also didn’t jump on the chance. The reserved smiles were driving Peter crazy – more than anything, he just wanted to shake Tony’s shoulders and shout about how much he knew. If only things could be that simple.

With the growing frustrations, Peter spent a little more time in the gym. Getting sweaty and letting his body do its thing was a great way to work off a bit of the pent-up energy that he couldn’t stop from bubbling up. So spun up, Peter hadn’t been able to sleep soundly throughout the night for a few days. Instead of tossing and turning, he got up and had FRIDAY run one of his simulation programs in the empty gym space.

He’d been flying effortlessly through one when he heard the door open. The sound blew his focus, and before he knew it, he was soaring in a free fall – his quick reflexes the only thing stopping him from slamming his face right into the floor. It was covered in padding, of course, but would make for a few hours of uncomfortable and needless pain. Looking up from them makeshift perch he made against the far wall, Peter was surprised to see Tony standing there.

“Swing down – I’ll hold the pads for you in the ring,” Tony shouted, his hands cupped around his mouth in the cutest of ways. Peter didn’t bother to answer, he simply did what was asked of him and touched down in front of Tony within a couple of seconds.

Boxing wasn’t usually his thing – he liked to keep things in the air where he had a bigger advantage than most. When it came to hand-to-hand combat, Peter preferred to rely on his speed; he had the gift, it made sense to take it by the reins and use it. However, he’d been trying to get more into the art of it. Tony spent a lot of time talking about the cadence of his breath and the footwork – he tried to cling the technicality to keep the interest alive.

For a little while, the only sounds in the gym were Peter’s breathing, the smack of his hands against the pads, and their feet moving over the canvas of the mat. It was soothing, transferring his weight back and forth between his feet and letting his arms go. Despite his normal disinterest, he found himself getting into it as the minutes past.

Tony finally broke the silence, his eyebrows arching at a particularly hard hit Peter delivered. “Having a hard time sleeping?” Tony asked. The answer to the question was obvious, but Tony was giving him the room to talk about it if he wanted to. Peter did, he really wanted to shout in Tony’s face, how much whiplash he’d brought upon himself. He didn’t, though – not when doing so would implicate him just as much.

“Its been a bit of a struggle, yeah. I haven’t been able to sleep through the night in a couple of weeks,” Peter admitted, his arms dropping for the first time since he stepped into the ring. “I’m exhausted most of the day but can’t seem to get any rest when I actually want to. I know you know how that is.”

They shared a look, the softness of Tony’s eyes blazing into loosening his resolve the longer he kept the older man’s stare. It was too hard to break away – he wanted those eyes on him all the time. In all honesty, he didn’t know how he survived it when they weren’t.

“I know, you know,” Peter mumbled, the words coming out of his mouth so easily despite the mental battle he’d been having about them for what felt like way too long. Tony didn’t break the eye contact, in fact, he took a step closer, the hitting pads falling to the canvas below them.

“You know what, Pete?” Tony asked, his strides stopping just before their toes were touching.

Peter could smell the musky sweat Tony worked up over the course of their trips across the ring – he always smelt spicy and clean, no matter how drenched he was. It made Peter wanted to thrust his nose into the middle of Tony’s chest and inhale, taking in the most Tony of scents he possibly could. Biting down on his lip, Peter shrugged, buying himself a couple seconds of time.

“That – that you love me. That you’re in love with me,” Peter finally babbled out, his face turning a cherry red with his confession. A surge of adrenaline coursed through his veins, his body on high alert in case shit went wrong.

Tony shook his head, a reluctant smile slipping across his face. “I knew I heard you that night I was having dinner with Happy. He said it was just my wishful thinking – but I knew it.” Tony filled the space between them and wrapped him up in sweaty arms. “I do, though – love you.”

Grinning, Peter put his hands on Tony’s hips, his fingers finally able to clench and grip skin and bone he’d been thinking about for longer than he cared to admit. “Say it again,” he whispered, a mischievous glint overtaking his eye.

“I love you, Pete. I’m in love with you. And I want you. Very much.” Tony said the words with a nervous smile on his face – he still wasn’t sure about Peter’s reaction.

Peter surged forward and pressed his kiss against Tony’s in a sloppy kiss – the feelings he’d been keeping under wraps coming to the surface and overflowing. Tony moved until he was clutching Peter’s chin between his thumb and fingers, the grip tilting his head just right. The next kiss was much more controlled, the desire fueling the intensity of the kiss, not the sloppiness. Peter let himself be led through it, his entire body thrumming.

Oxygen forced them apart – Tony’s chest was heaving, and his cheeks were pink from the lack of blood flow to his brain. The entire look was too much – Peter leaned in and rested his face against the side of Tony’s neck in hopes of distraction. He took a deep breath, his brain desperately trying to categorize the smells. Then, he remembered that Tony loved him and that this embrace wouldn’t be the only one or anywhere close to the last.

“I love you too, you know,” Peter mumbled quietly, his head resting on Tony’s sweaty shoulder.

He felt Tony wrap him up tighter, his chin resting on the top of Peter’s head. “Yeah, Pete – I know.”

#goindownshipping #starker #ironspider #prompts #ask prompts #s suggests #bobbie writes #look how we've grown

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caribouwritings · 5 years ago

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Sub-Zero

I was only three when my older brother Eddie died. He had a brain tumor; he died a couple weeks after my birthday and a couple weeks before his.

He did just as he told our mom when he said, “I stay four.”

On June 27th, my big brother was gone at age four.

***

My parents tried to give me a happy life. They gave me privileges that some kids are not as lucky enough to have (such as a vacation almost every year). Despite what the therapist had said when the event happened, I was damaged and it was only a matter of time before it would all show in forms that got glossed over repeatedly.

I didn’t just lose my brother, I lost my best friend, my protector, my guide… I lost my Eddie.

Although I can now say it and not think much of it, I still cry at the thought I was cheated out of a big brother to teach me the ropes and take my hand when I was scared.

Senior year of high school was the hardest. I was graduating (on that day fifteen years later) and my brother did not even make it to kindergarten, which he was so excited for because he’d get to ride a bus; His favorite thing in life besides me, our family, Scooby-Doo, and Donald Duck was anything with an engine.

I outlived my brother who knew what he wanted (it could’ve changed in time, but it would still involve cars and trucks), and I had panicked. I believed people when they told me I would be a great English teacher. I wanted to be a writer, but everyone kept saying I am a teacher at heart. There was just a couple teeny tiny (major) problems: I hate school (and still do), I am very selective with what I choose to read, and I don’t talk unless I want to or need to.

Kudos to those who teach, but I’d rather not go back. School for me was where I had my individuality constantly beaten out of me, I was bullied by other students for who I was, have been accused and associated with things I am not, and my mental health got worse.

However, being non-confrontational, I just nodded my head and let myself be pushed to a major I did not want and watched as I slowly went downhill, and crossed paths with someone a little bit before graduation who is just like me… sort of.

I was looking for some new games to play that are like Street Fighter II. While watching a Top Ten Best Fighting Games of All Time video on YouTube, the channel (Watchmojo) ranked a video game called Mortal Kombat (2011) at number two, right next to Street Fighter II which placed number one. When I saw the game on clearance at Walmart, I put it in the cart with the plan to take over the unused Xbox 360 in the living room bought by my parents’ for the Kinect feature. My mom did not care anymore, she was just grateful that the expensive gaming system collecting dust under the TV stand was finally being used.

I played through several kombatants (yes, with a ‘K’, most ‘C’ starting words are replaced with a ‘K’) in the Ladder Fights and Test Your Luck challenges for hours enjoying the blood and gruesome moves.

I oddly kept finding myself drawn to Sub-Zero, the blue ice assassin (don’t call them ninjas, they find it highly insulting). I didn’t know why though; I couldn’t figure out why I thought the man with ice powers was intriguing. Curious by nature, I did what I do with everything else I found fascinating, I dug for all the information I could find. It didn’t matter how useless and random, I wanted to know everything about the world of Mortal Kombat, and I now know a huge chunk of it.

Sub-Zero’s real name is Kuai Liang, and he was originally called Tundra. He is the younger brother of Bi-Han, the first Sub-Zero in the series, and Kuai Liang took the name Sub-Zero after his brother’s death to honor him. That was the only similarity I thought we had, but I was so wrong… I was so wrong.

Mortal Kombat is super violent. The two ice powered brothers are best known for a fatality where they rip the head and spine out of their enemy opponent, both parts still attached together like a twisted party trick (and this is also the main origin to the ERSP rating system in video games). I am not even strong enough to lift a twenty pound puppy without nearly dropping the stubborn Shepard Labrador mix back on the ground with a thump. Plus there’s the other stuff on the surface: blonde Caucasian female with an olive shade of green eyes, a bubbly persona and pink girly appearance, versus a dark haired Chinese American male with icy blue eyes, a cold persona and super violent history.

“He is just a video game character, he is not real. You don’t need to care this much for this fictional character.”

I know that. Kuai Liang is not real, but his story is real to me.

Kuai Liang went through hell. Everything bad that could have happened, did happen to him. He lost his brother when Scorpion—the wraith of the NetherRealm (and the franchise’s fan favorite character)—killed him in retaliation for killing the whole Shirai Ryu clan, his kind-hearted wife, and innocent baby boy (spoiler alert, it wasn’t Bi-Han at all! Scorpion was tricked into killing an innocent man!). Wanting to avenge his brother’s death, and avoid the Lin Kuei’s new cyber-initiative their Grandmaster was keen on, Kuai Liang and his best friend, Smoke, ran away to find the answers to what happened to Bi-Han. Right when our new Sub-Zero nearly has his revenge and is to kill Scorpion, he is stopped and surrounded by members of his former clan who have been converted from human to cyborg; despite the robotic outsides and still human insides, they are brainwashed to obey like full-fledged robots. He is taken back to the clan and suffers the same fate of being turned into a cyborg and is renamed LK-520, then sent after Smoke who managed to get away. Lucky for both of them, cyber-Sub-Zero is knocked unconscious and Smoke gets help from his new allies to reset Kuai Liang, but although he gets his control back, he is now stuck as a mashup of man and machine. Until (in a rushed scene of the game) he is killed and his soul is sent to the Netherrealm where he is rebuilt from what is left of his remaining bits of human organs and bone inside his robotic shell. Although human again, he is now under the mind control of the sorcerer, Quan Chi (spoiler alert! He’s the real person behind Scorpion’s suffering!), and is now working alongside both the man who framed his brother and the man who murdered his brother, along with several of his new allies that died as well. In the tenth game, he is freed from Quan Chi’s control by being in the right place at the right time (and by also being a fan favorite character too).

That should be the end of it, but it’s not. This is right before I realized how perfectly Kuai Liang’s life parallels mine. This is before I read the comics.

Like I said, I get invested in stories to the point I want to find out everything I can. When I found all three volumes of the comic series on Amazon, I couldn’t resist and I bought all three.

When UPS came to deliver the package, I brought it straight to my room plopping the brown cardboard box on my bed, and cut the tape open with a pink mechanical pencil. I didn’t care for the other two books I bought (except enough to hide the one I bought for my little sister’s birthday in the closet) because there they were. Volumes one, two, and three were at the bottom of the box under giant green bags of air that are satisfying to stomp on and give unsuspecting siblings heart attacks, but that was unimportant in this moment. I took the three volume books out and spread them on my bed, and dived right into the unknown; into the rebuild of the Shirai Ryu, the second generation of klassic characters, and what happened to those who lived or were brought back like Sub-Zero.

Sub-Zero, at this point, was my favorite character. In volume two, however, there was a shift in my view of him. In that shift, he became my number one favorite character ever and sealed his place into that spot permanently.

Kuai Liang had become possessed by a cursed dagger in the previous volume, and it continued into volume two. Scorpion (he is a good guy now… sort of) and his apprentice, Takeda, go after him and get the dangerous dagger back, but the curse makes it hard for Scorpion to reason with Kuai Liang. Scorpion becomes frustrated and the two fight to what they believe to be the death, until Takeda manages to get the dagger away. Kuai Liang exhausts out all the remaining evil within him, and then is left standing there perplexed by why he is there and what is going on. It doesn’t matter to Scorpion though, he still beats the bewildered young Sub-Zero to a bloody pulp and leaves him to die.

Kuai Liang rethinks his life as he lays their bleeding out, so when Bo’ Rai Cho (ew, trust me on this one, just ew) comes to him to help him get back on his feet, he asks him, “you haven’t figured out what all these events mean? Why I’m here?”

Kuai Liang’s answer is, “I must commit hara kiri…”

There. There it is. Right there. That is the line that made me see I am more like Sub-Zero than I thought I was.

We lost our older brothers, we lost our individuality, we were beaten, we were bullied, we were brainwashed, we took orders, we went down wrong paths, we battled the world, we battled ourselves, and we took so much of a beaten that we laid in our own blood, sweat, and tears thinking “I must commit hara kiri…”

What is hara kiri? To simplify, it is suicide.

I remember putting the comic down on my stuff animal infested bed and staring at the lavender colored walls, looking at the big picture. Sub-Zero is a strong warrior with ice powers, and he hit rock bottom. He may be physically stronger than me, but he is just as broken and weak as me on the inside. He put up a shield, hiding behind his anger just like I hid behind my smile.

I picked up the comic again, and skipped frantically through the pages of volume three just to get to Kuai Liang and find the answers. What did he do and how did he survive to be in the next game?

It is complicated and complex, but the answer is different based on how you interpret his story. I obviously interpreted it well, because I am here. I am okay.

#caribou speaks #caribou originals #caribou essays

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jamlally · 5 years ago

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Sleigh Ride

This was written for the 25 days of Christmas Challenge that is hosted by @panicfob . The Day 4 Challenge prompt was Sleigh Ride

Warnings: Fluff

Pairing: OFC x Tony Stark

Summary: Belle gets a magical surprise at the Stark Christmas Party

The annual Stark Christmas Party wasn’t Belle’s idea of a great way to spend the evening. While she was undoubtably getting more comfortable with the other members of the team, having to circulate with members of SHIELD and what ever other rich folks Tony had invited left her feeling like it would be her idea of actual hell. It felt like such a bad idea that she was praying for there to be some kind of emergency mission to come up so that she could get out of going. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

“Tony, no one is going to notice whether your mission analyst is there”.

“I will notice that my friend isn’t there” Even when he wasn’t looking (his head was currently inside the latest iteration of his suit) He managed to make her feel like he was focused on her. She was sure that he was only half way interested in what she was saying.

“Look, we both know that I’m just going say something stupid and then I’ll feel like an ass”

With a sigh Tony pulled himself back out of the chest cavity and laid down what ever tool he was using before spinning round on his stool

“I get that it’s not fun for you to attend these but you are a part of the team and I want people to see that. You matter to us and I won’t have the rest of the us upstairs having a good time and you languishing down in your apartment. You love Christmas ! I mean god knows why what with all the glitter and schmultz, but you do. This is a part of Christmas with the team” Hands extended in supplication and a big grin on his face made Tony nearly irresistible, his charm in full force. When ever he pulled something like this Belle understood how he could get any woman (or man) that he wanted.

“Sure, sure. See when I make an ass of myself you will owe me”. Belle shook her head before heading out of the lab and back to the reports that she needed to start working through

“I’ll have F.R.I.D.A.Y send you a reminder so that you’re not late” Tony’s voice laughingly called out before the door could shut. Belle just shook her head

Dressed in a floor length dark red dress Belle checked her appearance once more before heading out. She had tied her hair back with a ribbon and curled the ends and YouTube provided videos that showed her how to complete a simple makeup job. She wasn’t going to look as glamorous as Nat or the other women, but she figured that she looked passable. One final look over and she opened her door.

The ballroom in the guest area of the compound had been decorated to look like a Winter Wonderland. There were icebergs (some of which where actually made of ice), snowflakes and stars as far as the eye could see. The bar and wait staff were dressed as either reindeers or elves and moved seamlessly between the guests. Belle shook her head, she had known that it was likely the party would be over the top, but she hadn’t been prepared for all this.

Buck and Steve had introduced Belle to Rhodey and despite his serious face she had found him to be a lot of fun. He had explained that he was currently working with the UN but hoped to be back at the compound in the new year. Thor had been around with a bevy of beautiful women and had raised a glass in her direction. She had seen Bruce and Nat and Wanda and Clint all mingling with the guests in pairs, but the man of the hour and host for the whole thing was nowhere to be found much to the annoyance of many of the attendees.

Belle had done her best to circulate, largely sticking by one of the other Avengers as they kept too much attention from being diverted her way. Not wanting to cramp their style she had taken herself to the bar under the guise she needed another drink. Taking a second to empty her glass she declined another and decided she would do one more circuit of the floor and then head back to her rooms.

“Lady Belle, come join us!”. Thor waved in her direction wildly “Rogers was just telling me all about this strange tradition that you all have here of a fat man who brings gifts but only if your are good. It’s a funny tale - I was thinking back on Asguard I could get some of the others to put on a play for the people as part of the celebrations. Maybe Baldur could play the part.”

“Well yes Santa or Father Christmas is a pretty traditional part of Christmas here, along with his reindeer. Have you read ’Twas the Night Before Christmas? If not I’ll find you a copy and maybe a book of some of the other Christmas legends from around Earth, then you will have lots of things to take back and share”.

“Splendid! You are truly a great help. Though tell me what is this reindeer? Sargent Barnes said that is what these people are dressed as - I fail to see what would let them help him deliver presents, unless it is that they are thinner and so fit down the chimney better?”

“Did I hear someone mention Reindeer because I know that Reindeer games was not on the the invite list tonight”

“Ah Stark - No Loki is not here - though I am sure he is causing much mischief somewhere else. I was just asking the Lady Belle about why Reindeer were important for the fat man to deliver presents”

The small group turned to face Tony who was dressed in what could only be described as a high end, well fitting Armani Suit which bore a startling resemblance to the costume the man in red would usually wear.

“Things seem to be going well despite my needing to be bored by people who want to tell me all the things that they feel the Avengers should be addressing. Gentlemen you all look very handsome and Ladies you look beautiful and Snowflake” He turned to look at Belle more directly “You truly are the Belle of the ball”.

The line was cheesy and designed to make people laugh but Belle couldn’t help but duck her head and blush a little.

“Now I am afraid that I need to steal you for just a moment Snowflake, so if you all will excuse us”

Tony extended his arm, elbow bent waiting for Belle to take his arm before walking towards the dance floor

“Um Tony i… I really don’t know how to dance”

Glancing from the corner of her eye she saw a flash of a smile before he squeezed her hand that was resting in the crook of his arm.

“Relax Snowflake - I won’t let you fall”

People of course moved out of his way to let him find his place and the music changed to something soft and light before Tony turned to hold Belle in a more formal stance .

Belle drew in a deep breath and gave him a nervous smile and waited for him to begin to lead. It turned out that Tony was a pretty good at making her not look like a fool, she only stood on his foot a couple of times before the dance ended.

As the final chord rang out Tony spun Belle out and then back in to him causing her to give a small laugh.

“Thank you Tony, that was a lot of fun”

“Of course Snowflake. I have to admit that I do need some help with eh final masterpiece of the evening and I was wondering if you would assist? It’s with the sleigh”. He gestured over to where a large model of Santa’s sleigh stood. It had been used throughout the night as a photo prop and the guests had seemed very impressed with it. Belle couldn’t help but notice it had been painted in the same colors as Tony’s suit.

“Of course” Belle nodded , what do you need me to do?”

Tony tugged her hand gently “ I just need you to come with me”. He turned and lead her over to the sleigh where he started to remove the decorative rope around it. The hand on her back guided Belle up and inside the sleigh before Tony followed her up.

“Ladies and gentlemen, Thank you for coming to our Winter Wonderland. Throughout the nights festivities our lovely elves have been collecting donations and we will be be announcing the final totals shortly. In order to not be outdone Stark Industries will be matching your donations tonight before making a donation of Christmas gifts to the Parents and Children at the Cancer Hospital . Your generosity was lovely, your company a delight, but now I am afraid I need to say - farewell”

Belle watched as Tony pressed a button and the sleigh began to rumble and almost vibrate

“Tony!”

“Just smile Snowflake” Tony wore a huge grin, this was obviously a part of his grande finale

Belle gripped hold of the edges of her seat as the rumbling increased and then, to her utter amazement the sleigh rose in the air. The crowd around gasped and clapped as Tony sat himself down

“F.R.I.D.A.Y - it’s time for us to check out” he spoke to the AI as the sleigh moved towards the large floor to ceiling windows of the ballroom. Just when Belle feared they would crash the glass pulled back and the sleigh went through.

Sitting on the roof of the compound wrapped in a soft blanket Tony had produced Belle couldn’t help but laugh.

“Tony that was marvelous, the looks on their faces. How on Earth did you work out how to do this?”

The man shrugged “Its a modification of the Quinn Jet really and a little of the thrusters that we use on my suit, and probably a bit of how we get Sam’s wings to work. I mean it took a little finagling and a few adjustments and ta-da one functional sleigh “ he gestured to their current location “ It doesn’t exactly have range but I thought it would be a nice way to deliver the gifts to the kids and tonight seemed like a good place to test it”

“What was your plan if it didn’t work, or it exploded?”

“Well at least I went out with a bang” he shrugged “I was pretty sure it wouldn’t though. I know that I take risks but I don’t want anyone else hurt”

“I understand Tony and if I didn’t trust you then I wouldn’t of gotten into this thing to start with”. Belle turned to face him

“Thats the thing Snowflake you need to understand that I never want you hurt. I know you hate dealing with people, but you need to be able to be around ta group without freaking out. I had wanted to be there at the party with you, to make sure you were ok, but it looks like the others looked out for you”

“ They did, They introduced me to Colonel Rhodes and the other guests were interesting, but I don’t think that big parties are ever going to be my thing”

“Well you looked amazing all dressed up” Tony started to rake through the back of the sleigh “I never thought of you wearing red but it is absolutely stunning on you… Ha there you are!” Slipping back down into his seat he brandished a thermos flask.

“I have a confession to make. I asked F.R.I.D.A.Y how you made that hot chocolate from movie night and then whipped up a little batch of my own”

Belle laughed “It wasn’t a secret Tony - if you’d of asked I would have given you the recipe. I’d even of made up a batch”

“Well yes that would have been an option, Hold this” He handed Belle a cup balancing the thermos between his knees before sprinkling some mini marshmallows on top “but sometimes it’s easier to not ask. There is less of a risk of being told no”

Belle lifted her cup taking a careful sip before coughing in surprise

“Ah yes I added a little something myself, a nightcap if you will”.

Belle hummed in pleasure taking a second sip, this time enjoying the bite of what she guessed was a very good, very old scotch. They sat quietly looking out over the city and its sparkling lights.

Belle gave a small yawn, the drink and warmth from the blanket making her drowsy “I’m not sure if I ever told you how much I appreciate everything you’ve done for me since I joined the team, but I do appreciate it”

“It’s purely selfish you know. Don’t you be thinking that I’m really a good man”. While his tone was light Belle could sense that on some level he might believe some of what he said

“You know Tony, as much as you might want to hide it, or push it down, you’ll always be a good man to me” another yawn made its way passed her lips “You’re not perfect, but who among us is. We all make mistakes and you are trying to make up for yours - hell you even built a sleigh to deliver gifts to sick kids. You’re …..a……..good…man”

Tony glanced down to see Belle, cheeks flushed and eyes closed, her breathing leveling out. Taking a final drink from the flask he tucked it and the cup away before wrapping his arm over her shoulder and pulling her closer so her head rested on his chest. Pressing a lingering kiss to the crown of her head he relaxed back and closed his eyes for just as second, enjoying the peace and feeling of calm that surrounded him.

“You make me want to be better Snowflake”

#panic's 25 days of christmas #oneshot #christmas

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magic-and-moonlit-wings · 6 years ago

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Chapter 40: A(nother) Changeling In Trollmarket

Becoming The Mask

I'll be using a script format in addition to my previous -text between hyphens indicates text messages- method, to make it clearer who is typing in the group chat. (Emojis) will be described in parentheses.

Bold italics are trollish.

I’m also trying out a simple new line divider now that Tumblr doesn’t have an automatic one anymore.

+=+

The second thing Jim did when he got home, after putting his backpack and duffle bag in his room, was dust the house. It hadn't built up much in a week, since dust was mostly human skin cells and Barbara was rarely home in any case, but Jim usually dusted every day. Then he checked the lightbulbs, swept the floors, and scrubbed the bathroom. He wouldn't need to take out the trash until Monday.

Barbara didn't have work that day, and since she'd slept all morning, she was awake while Jim cleaned, which was a little weird – he usually took care of these things before making her breakfast. She half-followed him, helping dust and sweep.

"You know you don't have to do all this," she told him from the doorway, as he was wiping toothpaste stains out of the sink.

"I like taking care of you," Jim insisted. "And I wasn't sure how much you'd trust my cooking now, but this I can do."

"You understand why what you did was wrong." She hesitated. "… Right?"

"I know why it upset you," which wasn't quite the same thing. Jim knew he'd caused his mother stress when she found out about the sleeping potions, but how much more stress would it have caused her to wake up and find her child missing? "I won't do it again." She knew now, that he might be gone in the middle of the night.

+=+

Toby: -So Jim told me something last night that's really freaking me out.- -He's had a plan *since before we were ten* for how to cover up my death if I got killed by a troll.-

Mary: -… I'm sorry but also curious.-

Darci: -You OK, TP?-

Toby: -Just freaked out that my BEST FRIEND has BACKUP PLANS to HIDE MY DEATH!- -Sorry, Darcy.- -Didn't mean to snap.-

Darci: -Understandable.-

Toby: -Also sorry my phone keeps autocorrecting your name.-

Darci: -It happens.- -You're going through a lot right now. It's good to let it out.-

Claire: -Jim said WHAT?!-

Toby: -Yeah, he said if I died and he couldn't make it look like a bear attack or car crash, he'd hack my phone and tell Nana we ran away to be rockstars. He'd come back without me in a few months and say we 'got separated'.-

Mary: -That's nuts.- -I mean I might believe it but it's still nuts.-

Toby: -Back when we were kids he was gonna send a postcard saying we were looking for my parents and his dad.-

Darci: -(wince emoji) That hurts.-

Toby: -It gets worse, amazingly. He said he thinks the rockstar story could also work for you guys if *any* of us die.- -Because Dr L found out about you. Not specifically, no names- -but she knows we have other friends who know about trolls, and she wants to tell your families but Jim said no and Dr L asked what he's going to tell our families if we get killed.-

Darci: -(three wince emojis)-

Mary: -Not to derail but this means his mom's talking to him again?-

Toby: -Yeah she was at my house when we got back last night.- -She let him move back in. That's where he is now.-

Claire: -She trusts him again already? After he kidnapped and replaced her son?-

Toby: -She had this whole speech about how she adopted him and he's her son too.-

Mary: -Aawww-

Toby: -I think she was a little drunk but she didn't take it back when she sobered up.- -She's still mad about the drugging and the lying and everything, she didn't say she forgave him. Just that he can move back home.-

Claire: -So at least you're not sharing a bedroom with somebody with a plan to cover up your death anymore.-

Mary: -OMG Claire I know you're mad at Jim and I get it and you deserve to be, but will you chillax? Yeah, I just used outdated slang. That's how long it feels like you're dragging this out.-

Claire: -I'll *chillax* when my brother's not stuck in troll-hell.-

Darci: -What if we told our parents ourselves?- -You know, got ahead of Dr L and told them what's up on our terms.-

Mary: -That's a good idea. Let's talk to Jim first so he can tell us from experience what not to say.-

Toby: -Jim might have to use those cover stories because I think Trollmarket would kill us.-

+=+

"I don't want it facing where I sleep, but I've no objections to you keeping your trophy here."

"Excellent." Jim positioned Bular's head on one of the basement shelves. "I got called into the Void while I was there. The Ghost Council is really impressed we took him down. Your father wanted me to say that he's proud of you for avenging him."

Draal puffed up at the praise. It made Jim want to pat him on the head or something.

"And I wanted to thank you again for – being here. Keeping an eye on my mom."

"She faced no danger on my watch."

"You know, if you ever wanted to help out around the house, too –"

Draal snorted, making his nose ring flap. "I protect. I do not clean."

"Except for taking care of the recyclables," Jim teased. They'd had this conversation before. Draal rolled his eyes.

Jim's phone chimed. "Toby wants to meet up in Trollmarket for 'strategic brainstorming'," he read. "You want to come along?"

+=+

"What is HE doing here?!"

Jim stared, wide-eyed and jaw twitching, at Enrique, who blew a spit bubble at him from the stroller.

"I told my parents I was meeting friends at the park, and Mom said 'why don't you bring your brother?', and if I said 'no' it would've become this whole thing and they'd think we were really planning to sneak into an R-rated movie or something."

Draal had declined to leave his post, so instead of taking the tunnels and opening the door from the inside, Jim had walked with Toby to the canal. It didn't take long for the girls to join them, accompanied by an undesired extra.

"Okay," said Jim, failing to calm down but trying to at least fake it. "What are you planning to tell your parents if he's discovered and executed?"

"Not everyone spends their time coming up with ways to cover up the deaths of everyone they know!"

"I don't have plans for everyone." That would be absurd and unnecessary. "Just the people I'm close enough to that it would be more suspicious if I didn't at least know they were missing." Jim took a deep breath and let it whoosh out. "Let's get inside. Now I need to brief Enrique before we go downstairs, and that'll be easier if he can ask questions."

Stricklander and Nomura had both been startled into revealing their connection when they first visited. Jim couldn't let Enrique be exposed so easily.

After the portal's arch closed behind them, there was a crackle of green light mixed with the blue glow from the crystal staircase. Enrique unbuckled himself from the stroller and hopped over to Jim.

"Is it supposed to look like a Nyarlagroth's lair in here?"

"Creepy, right?" Jim transformed as well. "It's just the colour of the stairs. You get used to it. Tobes, would you keep watch for us? Just say my name if anybody starts coming up."

Mary snapped a photo of the two Changelings.

"The one you need to watch out for most is Vendel," said Jim. "He's in charge down there. Pale, long curly horns, carries a Heartstone staff; hopefully you won't actually meet him. Blinky, my trainer, you will meet. He's the one who looks like Dictatious. They're brothers. Don't bring that up if you're found out. If he catches you staring, just giggle like the six eyes are funny and –"

"Peek-a-boo routine, I know. I'm more in practise than you are at the baby gig right now."

"AAARRRGGHH is going to be there, too."

Enrique ducked into a crouch, ears up, slit pupils thinning to eyelash width and then dilating.

"But it's okay! He's a pacifist now. He won't attack anybody."

"You're jokin'."

"No, really."

"Why is that a shock?" asked Claire. "AAARRRGGHH's a sweetie. Unlike some trolls I could mention." Jim and Enrique didn't answer her. "Plus, I already told Blinky and AAARRRGGHH about Not Enrique, remember?"

"You what?!"

"Enrique didn't need to know that," the blue Changeling growled, holding the green one suspended in the air. "He can't risk dropping his guard down there."

"Getcher hand off me scruff or I'm taking it off your arm!"

"You guys even keep secrets from each other?" asked Toby, sitting on the top step. Darci was sitting next to him. Both humans were watching their friends over their shoulders rather than peering down below.

Jim set Enrique on the ground rather than dropping him. Enrique growled and reached behind his shoulders, rearranging and grooming his scruff as best he could, but he was glaring at Jim rather than Claire, so Jim counted it as a win.

(If he could keep fights between the Nuñez siblings from turning violent, it would be easier for them to bond, and less likely Enrique would lose his home at Claire's hand.)

+=+

"We want to tell our parents about trolls," Darci said to Blinky and AAARRRGGHH. Since she had come up with the idea, she'd been informally elected the one to tell the trolls about it.

Jim made a shrieky noise. When the group turned to him, he shook his head and waved them off, taking notably deep breaths.

AAARRRGGHH shook his head. "Bad idea. Vendel mad."

"I must concede the point. Vendel would never agree to have more humans made aware of trolls."

"Jim's mom is out to tell them anyway," said Toby. "She already told Nana. Nana thought she was talking about a video game, but still. The only thing holding Dr L back is that she doesn't actually know who to talk to yet."

"But if we tell them ourselves," said Darci, "then we can make it sound a bit less terrifying then she probably would, so they won't try to call in the army or something."

"We're not really asking permission, here," said Mary. "We're asking how to tell them, not if we can."

"… We should discuss this with Vendel," said Blinky. Darci thought his hands might be shaking, before he clenched all four into fists.

They made a tense procession through Trollmarket. Jim practically hovered over Claire and Enrique. AAARRRGGHH, at the rear of the group, made quiet snuffling sounds every few moments.

Trollmarket paid more attention to them than was usual anymore; trolls glancing at them and then muttering or whispering. Darci hoped it was the stroller drawing attention. Though, even if anyone was picking up on the mood, grimness could be passed off as 'some serious Trollhunter matter just came up'.

The stroller's wheel caught in a crack in the ground. Not Enrique made a whiny noise at the jostling, but didn't commit to the part enough to start crying.

"Vendel?" said Blinky cautiously, tapping on the Heartstone to the side of the hollow leading into and under it. "A matter of possible urgency has arisen."

There was a long pause.

"Come in, Blinkous." Vendel sounded tired. "What is it this time?"

He was at a worktable with a number of gems. Darci only recognized a few of the tools; a hammer and chisel, various sizes of tongs, a grindstone. She didn't know any of the crystal names or their properties, even after months of part-time exposure to troll culture, but Toby might.

Darci cleared her throat, and then gulped, and then cleared her throat again. She tried not to let her voice shake.

"We … Claire and Mary and Toby and I, we want to tell our parents the truth. That trolls exist."

Vendel peered at her with his seemingly blank eyes. When she'd first met him, she'd assumed he had cataracts. Now she thought his eyes were opal or moonstone. He could definitely see; she'd seen him reading.

"I suppose I have no way of stopping you. Short of having you executed, or imprisoned here forever … which I daresay our Trollhunter would object to. But know this, young humans. Should you expose the secret of our existence, a secret which you have given your oaths to guard, you will no longer be welcome here in Trollmarket."

+=+

Previous Chapter (Strickler considers summoning Angor Rot)

Table of Contents

Next Chapter (Arguments for and against telling the parents)

#Becoming The Mask chapters #Trollhunters #Tales of Arcadia #Changeling Jim #Dr Barbara Lake #Tobias Domzalski #Darci Scott #Mary Wang #Claire Nuñez #Draal #Not Enrique #Changelings #Blinkous Galadrigal #AAARRRGGHH #Vendel #My Fanfiction #Monday is fanfic day!

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forever-more-never-again · 6 years ago

Text

Game Over (A Natasha Request)

Requested: Anonymous

Word Count:1321

Pairing: Natasha X Reader

Warnings: Swearing, Character Death (It’s not Sad!)

Request: Hi! I love your blog! Can I request a Nat x reader? All I could really come up with was that the reader could be a new recruit and have a mutation that gives them a gamer's mind and a gamer's body (heals from incredibly severe injuries in a few hours or overnight). Thanks!

Masterlist

You never thought that you would be here, standing in the Avengers tower, being introduced to Captain America.

“Hi, Kid. Look, you wanna be an Avenger, you’re going to have to stop staring like a lovestruck teenager.”

You could tell he was joking around, his blue eyes alight with mischief, but you still flushed like a schoolkid and scuffed your foot in embarrassment.

“Sorry. Cap.”

He cleared his throat and stood up straight, “Let’s go to the training room, [Y/n]. So you can meet the rest of the team and we can see what you can do. I trust Tony, but I need to know you can handle yourself.”

You nodded, trying not to appear too eager. Tony had found you in England during one of his business trips.

You had been an Orphan, scrounging for food in alleyways and when Thugs had tried to attack you, you had taken them down before Tony, who had been walking past, could interfere.

One thing led to another, and you went back to New York with him and he talked to Steve Rogers about making you an Avenger.

“Hey guys. Got a new recruit here. [Y/n], this is everyone. Natasha, Clint, Bucky, Sam, Tony, Bruce, and Wanda and Vision.”

You smiled to everyone, but your eyes kept going back to the first woman. Natasha. Her bright red hair and striking green eyes seemed to brand her in your brain. She was gorgeous.

“I found [Y/n] in England. They are something truly unique. Bruce and I have been in talks about what their DNA could mean for the world of Medicine.”

Tony walked up and put a hand on your shoulder, radiating pride. You whimpered quietly, you had a major fear of needles and hospitals. Which was why your mutation was something you were happy to have, because it meant that you didn't have to go to one.

Natasha noticed your discomfort and spoke up, “Do they have a say before you use them for your experiments?”

Tony frowned, “Yes. We talked all the way from England. But were not here for that reason. [Y/n]. Want to tell them your codename?” He was like a kid in a candy store, practically vibrating with expectation.

You laughed, looking out over the various confused and eager faces before you.

“My name is [Y/n], but I decided my codename will be….Player One.”

Everyone looked between each other before staring at you, bewildered.

Clint was the first to cough and break, “Uhhh….that’s neat...but not really...a fit name. Here. My name is Hawkeye.”

Wanda stepped forward, her hands red, “Scarlet Witch.”

Sam’s wings stretched behind him, “Falcon.”

Bucky stretched his metal arm, “Winter Soldier.”

Natasha giggled, “Black Widow. But guys, I think they have a reason for that name...right, [Y/n]? What exactly is your mutation? Tony left us in the dark this time.”

You smiled and winked at the assassin, catching the slight curve of her ruby lips.

“You are correct. Let’s see…” You looked over the faces of the superheroes before you. Finally landing on Vision, the android. “You sir. Please step forward.”

You motioned for him to stand across from you. He floated over and stood before you, face expressionless.

“What does one expect me to?” He asked.

You grinned, excited for the chance to show what you could do, “I need you to try and kill me.”

Gasps rose from everyone except Vision, Steve and Tony.

Natasha managed to catch your gaze, “[Y/n], what are you doing?”

You shrugged, looking back at the android who was tilting his head at you, “Showing you guys what I can do. Come on bot boy. Let me have it.”

And suddenly, you were jumping and barrel rolling over his back as he shot out a yellow beam from his forehead.

Everyone else slowly backed up until a ring was formed around the pair of you.

You laughed as you engaged in hand to hand combat, blocking before landing a punch on Vision’s chin.

He grimaced, “I do not see how harming you will show what you are capable of, [Y/n].”

You growled, playfulness gone, “I am Player One!” You screamed, launching yourself at the Android.

He stared, shocked, and you caught the horror in Natasha’s eyes, she was standing behind Vision.

The light flashed and pierced your heart. You dropped to your knees, Smiling up at the group of scared people who converged on you.

“Quick! Get medic!”

“Tony! Do something!”

You coughed, blood speckling your lips. Natasha dropped to her knees across from you, tears in her eyes.

“Stupid!What were you trying to prove!?”

You giggled, hands coming up to rest on her cheeks, “This is all going the way I want it to. Just wait. And watch out. Cause it’s…” Your voice grew weak as your life force faded, “Game Over.” You ended your cryptic remark with a wink as your body gave one last dying gasp and you fell on your side, eyes open and lifeless.

Natasha stood and whirled on a smug, grinning Tony, “What the fuck is wrong with you!? They just died and your standing there like the cat who caught the canary! They were just a kid Tony! And now what? Dead in our own building by one of our own!”

Natasha whirled to face Vision who was staring at the body, as Wanda rubbed hands on his shoulder, trying to comfort him.

“Natasha. I do believe you would want to witness this.”

Natasha followed Vision’s line of sight and gasped. Your body was slowly disintegrating into nothing.

“What is going on?” She whispered.

No one answered as they all held a collective breath as the last of your body disappeared into thin air.

“Ready? Player One!”

Your voice spoke out, loud as you dropped from the air onto your feet in battle ready stance.

“What…”

“The…”

“[Y/n]!” Natasha ran over, enveloping you in a hug.

You laughed, relaxing and returning the tight grip she had on you.

“Told you guys My name made sense.”

Clint doubled over, laughter and hysteria in his voice, “You...you are a video game character!”

Tony shared a look with you, as you spotted him over the top of Natasha’s shoulder, “[Y/n] has the mutation of regeneration. From minor wounds disappearing over a matter of seconds, to a full revival like you guys were just witness to. They truly are one of a kind.”

Vision nodded, “Now your remarks from earlier about the properties of their DNA make sense. If you can isolate the gene that causes the regeneration, you could cure cancer and many other diseases.”

As everyone slowly regripped reality and talked with Tony and Bruce about your DNA. You were still dealing with Natasha’s death grip on you.

You patted her back, “Natasha...you can let go.”

She sprang from you, a rosy blush rising on her cheeks, “Sorry. I don’t usually lose my cool. But that was horrifying [Y/n]. I really, truly hope I never have to go through that again, for your sake as well.”

You laughed, rubbing the back of your neck, “It’s nothing really. I’ve learned to mute the pain of death because I know that it only lasts a minute and…” You trailed off as you saw Natasha’s look of pain in her eyes.

You gently cupped her face, “But hey. I’ll try to stay safe. Maybe I could train with you? I have a feeling you and I are going to be great partners in life.”

Natasha finally laughed, and your heart soared at the smile on her face.

She ducked under your arm and knocked you to the ground. Leaning over you, her face framed by the gym lights, she held out a hand to help you up.

“I agree...Player One….Maybe I will be your Player Two.”

FOREVER Taglist:

@sxph-t @mialeelavellan @rainydaysrnevergrey @platonic-plots @sociallyawkwardcircus-freak-hi @ayyidkeither @mcuimxgine @mythixmagic @chas-z @iflew-onabus @thefridgeismybestie @strangersstranger

Natasha Taglist:

@ludwigvonbaethoven @hanjiscience-slut @kitten-q-p @morbid-gaymer @honeybadgerwhodoesntcare @sunnyandtwisty @zoeyknight @kurlyafro @thewomanofwonder @5aftermidnight @myfemininelesboworld

Avenger Taglist:

@jadepc

#Avengers #avengers x reader #avengers x you #natasha x you #natasha x reader #natasha romanoff #natasha romanov #avengers tower #imagine #imagine request #avenger imagines #reader insert #tag list #please give feedback #please give credit #rose writes #enjoy

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legendary-defender-of-fandoms · 6 years ago

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Avatar Hunk AU Sneak Peek

So, I wanted to have a few Avatar Hunk stories ready for @hunk-appreciation-week , but I bit off more than I could chew & don’t have any of them done. To compensate, I thought I would share some backstory, Headcanon, story ideas, and other stuff that I want to put in my Avatar Hunk AU.

Part 1 - The Premise

Before I get too far, I need to give credit where credit is due. @avatarpabu97 was the one who originated the idea of Hunk being the new Avatar. I thought it was cute at first, but the more they shared about their Headcanon & the more I thought about it, the more I realized how it was a fantastic idea. It fit with the cycle of the preceding Avatar shows, it gave our favorite sunshine boi a chance to shine, and it could lead to some awesome stories that combine the best of Voltron AND Avatar! @avatarpabu97 had a lot of cool ideas for what kind of Bender everyone would be and who would be where, and our ideas might overlap in some spots. But I had a few ideas of my own for how the Voltron folks would fit in the Avatar universe.

Anyway, the Premise. For my Avatar Hunk AU, it would be set in the world of Avatar about 70-80 years after the events of Legend of Korra. The tech levels would be more advanced than what we have (given their access to Spirit Energy, Bending, etc.), but not quite on, say, Star Trek levels. Korra has died (of old age, or at least peacefully in her home), and the world has started to look for the new Avatar. But given the technological advancements made since Korra’s time, this is seen as more of a side quest by the general public. The White Lotus & the New Air Nation dispatch a few teams, and some ambitious mover producers decide to create game shows to find the new Avatar, but for the rest of the world, life moves on. A new research and development corporation, Galra Tech, starts to make serious advances in harnessing Spirit Energy. The CEO, Zarkon Daibazaal, is a suave businessman who started his company to help people. But having all this power at his disposal leads to corruption, and the chief scientist for his company - his wife, Honerva - has been performing more and more unsettling experiments. They may have plans to invade the Spirit World to reap untold power, conquer the world, yadda yadda yadda. So the Avatar will be needed once more to prevent the exploitation of the Spirit World, another Spirits vs Humans war, and possibly the destruction of the planet? Haven’t planned that far yet.

Part 2 - The Characters

Hunk - Born and raised in Zhao Fu, Tsuyoshi Hershel Seidou Garrett is the only son of Tsuyoshi Garrett, an Earthbender (and a distant descendant of Haru from the original series), and Lisa Seidou, whose family immigrated from the Northern Water Tribe after the Earth Empire dissolved. His nickname was a misnomer, since he was a very small baby, but he quickly grew into it. His parents always knew their child was special (Spirits used to gravitate towards him when he was a baby, he took to Earthbending like a turtle duck to water when he was five, he started Metalbending & helping his father in the family Satomobile shop when he was ten, and he’s always been the sort to end disputes & help those in need), but they wanted Hunk to discover his destiny on his own, let him decide if he should let the world know he is the Avatar. Hunk earns an academic scholarship to the Hiroshi Sato School of Technology & Exploration at Republic City University, where he meets a colorful group of friends & discovers the dangers of Galra Tech’s Spirit Energy experiments. When Hunk starts to realize he’s the Avatar, he’s not sure what to think. I mean, the Avatar is supposed to save the world every other week, isn’t he? And the Avatar’s always been some confident badass who can take out armies by themselves & never backs down from a fight. Hunk wants to help however he can, but he’s not sure he has what it takes to be the Avatar. Until he realizes just how much is on the line, in which case Hunk decides it doesn’t matter if the Spirits made a mistake or if someone else should be the Avatar. He has the ability to help others, and he’ll do whatever he can to save the people he loves.

Gyrgan - Hunk’s animal companion, an Armadillo Lion. Hunk saved him from poachers when he was a cub, and the two have been inseparable ever since. Gyrgan is slow to trust new people, but once he has accepted someone in his life he becomes a giant lap kitty. Threatening those he loves, however, can lead to a death more terrifying than failing an Altean linguistics class. Hunk has taught him proper manners, so he’s not a menace & is permitted to be boarded at RCU. Much like Naga and Appa, he’s huge & can be ridden by Hunk, but typically won’t let others ride.

Lance McClain - A Waterbending mischief maker from Whale Tail Island, Lance and his family move to Zhao Fu when Lance is 12 years old. The two instantly bond over their love of “Nuktuk, Hero of the South” (who, much like Captain America and Wonder Woman, has evolved past his propaganda origins into a pop culture hero with multiple reboots, spinoffs, and Saturday morning cartoons). Lance isn’t quite the scholar Hunk is, but he does manage to get into RCU on a Probending scholarship & is excited to go to his sister Veronica’s alma mater. Until he finds a certain big-eyed mullet boy is on his Probending team & in his classes (not sure how far the Klance stuff is going to go, because I have little writing experience & even less experience with LGBT+ rep. But I want it to keep true to the 30+ years of Klance sexual tension that dates back to GoLion.) Still, when the world starts to fall apart, Lance won’t be left out of the action. (Might also make Lance a descendant of Sokka and Suki, but not sure how to work that into the story)

Katie “Pidge” Holt - The daughter of the head of the Technology department at RCU, Pidge is a child prodigy when it comes to computers. She manages to skip a few grades & get into the Hiroshi Sato School of Technology at the age of 15. Pidge has a pet Owl Cat named Rover who becomes instant besties with Gyrgan. Pidge’s mother was the daughter of Air Acolytes, and Pidge is a skilled Airbender. However, Pidge doesn’t really connect well with others. Until she gets to Computer Algorhithms class and meets Hunk, the first person close to her age who not only understands her techno jargon, but contributes with his own tech knowledge instead of scoffing & calling her a nerd or teacher’s kid. She’s not so sure about his buddy/roommate Lance, but he kind of grows on her & they eventually bond over their love of Space Sword video games. Pidge’s brother Matt was interning at Galra Tech when their experiments in the Spirit World started to spiral out of control, and Pidge will do whatever it takes to bring him home. Even if it means fighting the entirety of the Spirit World.

Keith Kogane - You know how Mako & Bolin had it rough, growing up on the streets after their parents were killed by a Firebender? Now imagine if either one had to do it alone & never knew what happened to their mother because she took off when they were babies. After Keith’s father is killed in a freak industrial accident, the young Firebender falls in with the Blade of Marmora Triad. He’s caught during a raid by Detective Takashi Shirogane and his partner Ulaz, a former Blade, but instead of putting him juvenile detention Shiro decides to give the kid a shot at a new life (maybe he shows mercy to someone the Blades ordered him to kill, or he has impressive Firebending skills, or Shiro’s a sucker for mullets). Keith starts channeling his aggression into Probending, playing against a certain hotshot from Whale Tail Island over the years, and he eventually gets into the Lin Beifong School of Criminal Justice at RCU. He’s less than thrilled to be on the school’s Probending team with Lance, and after Shiro disappears Keith considers dropping out. But when Shiro reappears (backstory below), Keith will put aside his petty rivalry with Lance and help Shiro with taking down Galra Tech once and for all.

Takashi “Shiro” Shirogane - A skilled Metalbender & brilliant detective, Shiro is everything Hunk thinks an Avatar should be. Intuitive, compassionate, a great leader, skilled in a fight - is there any chance Raava can pick this guy to save the world? But one night, Shiro & his partner Ulaz (not sure if they’re just platonic partners or if they’re also partner-partners, also not sure where Adam & Curtis will come in if they exist at all) are sneaking through a Galra Tech laboratory after receiving anonymous tips that Honerva was capturing Spirits to experiment on, an explosion destroys the building. Shiro loses his partner, his arm, and six months of his life (which Honerva May or May not be responsible for). When he finally returns to his Republic City apartment, he’s visibly distraught by the lost time & a vague memory of something horrible coming. Pidge & Hunk work together to make Shiro a prosthetic he controls with Metalbending, at which point Shiro realizes Hunk is the Avatar & warns him about the Spiritpocalypse. Hunk isn’t sure what Shiro expects him to do about it, and Shiro promises to stand by his side in the coming war to defend humanity & avenge Ulaz.

Allura & Coran will also be part of the story, but I haven’t quite figured out their motivations or backstories yet. Allura will be a powerful Healer from the Northern Water Tribe (not sure if she’ll be a Princess or the daughter of Alfor of Altea Industries, a company that was bought out by Galra Tech through shady deals, corporate espionage, and some old friend backstabbing), and Coran will be Varrick’s grandson & heir to Varrick Industries.

Part 3 - The Stories

I’ve only got a couple of plots right now, but more are coming.

1) A New Beginning - this will be a prologue for the series, confirming the death of Avatar Korra & introducing everyone to baby Hunk. We’ll also get to see Tsuyoshi, Lisa, and a bit of their extended family. Expect maximum cuteness. This is the only story I’ve started so far, and I have it all figured out in my head. I just need to transcribe it.

2) The Boy and the Armadillo Lion - this will be how Hunk meets Gyrgan & when he starts to suspect he might be the Avatar. There will be some tough stuff in here regarding poaching, but most of the animal torture will be implied. One of those “this guy needs to be returned to his mother/oh, don’t worry, he’ll be with his mother soon enough” situations. We’ll see “a boy and his future pet” bonding similar to Hiccup & Toothless, lots of fighting & chasing, and Baby’s First Avatar State. Also debating if I want Old Man Meelo to make a cameo. I love the idea of Meelo deciding to be a hermit in the Swamp because the Avatar’s going to need a cooky wise old mentor in the swamp, but it may raise too many questions if he watches Hunk fight off the poachers without doing anything to help. Maybe Hunk will ride through the Swamp on his way to RCU while wrestling with his insecurities about being the Avatar, and after fighting a few Swamp Hallucinations in the form of past Korra baddies Meelo will pop out of nowhere like Rafiki saying something like “You forgot to be the leaf!”

3) A series of vignettes about young Hunk developing his Bending skills. Earthbending sand castles with his dad, figuring out Metalbending while watching him work on his uncle’s racing Satomobile (oh, he has an Uncle Filo who races Satomobiles professionally), thinking he’s using Lavabending to weld a broken pipe (but Tsuyoshi realizes it’s Firebending), healing his friend Lance when he gets scraped up after trying to pull off a Nuktuk dive while their families vacation at Lake Laogai (which, without the Dai Lee hideout, is a fairly popular vacation spot), that sort of thing.

#dreamworks #voltron legendary defender #hunk garrett #keith kogane #lance mcclain #pidge gunderson #katie holt #takashi shirogane #avatar the last airbender #avatar hunk #legend of korra #au

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toddykun · 6 years ago

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duckvember 2018: 3. game duck & 5. competitive duck - Duck Siblings (HDLW), Daisy’s Triplets (AMJ), Gladstone Gander & Donald Duck.

game over! or try again?

summary: Louie found a new indie video game made by an unknown developer inspired by their favorite superheroes! Hurray! Only problem? The last level seems impossible to complete. Could anyone in the mansion do it? Also, obviously the Duck Avenger is the best character to play with, right? No, Gizmoduck! No, Darkwing Duck! ...Huh, better ask Uncle Donald.

word count: 1994

n/a: inspired by this wonderful piece by @neon-shesh. april, may and june’s designs inspired by @avespecora, fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants writing.

“Oh, come on! Not again!”

“Umm, Louie, what are you doing?”

Huey looked at Louie, sprawled on the floor dramatically, holding his phone like had betrayed him. Louie just looked at him with this indecipherable expression and then showed him his phone. A pretty high score was glowing in the screen and the words of two options: ‘try again!’ and ‘game over’. It showed too, the international high scores. The colors looked cool and the little animation too, Huey murmured appreciatively.

Huey sat beside him. “But you have a really high score, and into the internationals too, Louie! Why are you so frustrated? What is the game about?”

Louie sighed and got up like it was a trouble for him to do that but he smiled anyway, happy to ramble about his new discovery. “A person on the internet developed this new indie game with superheroes from real life! They have the Duck Avenger even when he’s retired. You can choose between Gizmoduck, Darkwing Duck and the Duck Avenger. I chose the Duck Avenger, of course, he’s the most badass.”

“I would like to argue that. Duck Avenger was the most badass, he retired, he’s no more. Gizmoduck, however, it’s a new superhero and he has so much-.”

Louie interrupted him immediately. “Yeah, yeah. I will fight you on that later because that doesn’t change the fact that the Duck Avenger is the most badass. Anyways, the game is pretty simple. But I can’t past the last level no matter how much I try. It’s stupid, I’m thinking it’s rigged.”

“Maybe the character is not the one adequate for the level?”

“That’s ridiculous, they’re all supposed to pass the levels.”

“Well, only one way to find out. Come on, let me try it with Gizmoduck.”

Louie passed the phone to him and Huey tried it. It was, like Louie said, an actually simple game. Like some Mario Bros game. But the animation was actually pretty cool and fluid and the levels were even more interesting. Until he got to the last level, and he lost. Multiple times.

“This doesn’t make sense! I have changed every little thing that went wrong went I played and none of them work?”

“I told you! It’s rigged!”

Dewey entered the living room and looked at his brothers being a little too mad at a simple phone. “Guys, what are you doing?”

“We are playing this game and none of us can pass it.”

“Oh, can I see? Mmm. I will choose Darkwing.”

“So, Launchpad made you like it, huh?”

“Shut up. Pass the game.”

“WHY THE HELL I CAN NOT PASS IT?”

“WE KNOW!”

“THIS IS RIDICULOUS!”

“Boys, whatcha doing?”

“WEBBY, TRY THIS!”

“Oh, ok. HEY, IS THAT THE DUCK AVENGER? I WILL CHOOSE HIM!”

Louie just smiled proudly. “Good choice, little sister. Good choice.” Huey and Dewey just rolled their eyes.

“WAIT, WHY I CAN NOT PASS IT?”

“UGH, COME ON, NOT EVEN WEBBY?!”

“THE GAME IT’S RIGGED, I TOLD YOU!”

“Maybe the developer made a mistake?” Huey took his book out of his hat and looked out for the page on developing independents video games.

Louie and Dewey rolled his eyes. “Not everything can be in that book, Huey.”

“Even Uncle Scrooge tried, and he lost too. Well, he didn’t like to play, kept saying that’s it was a ridiculously simple game and he shouldn’t lose his time. But when he kept losing he almost threw my phone like it personally offended him. No good.”

“Cousin Fethry tried too, but well, he didn’t really understand the game either. He thought it was cool though.”

“Well, atI least I’m glad they all have great taste. They all chose Duck Avenger.”

“Yeah but, boys, we have not found a way to win. Granny didn’t want to even try it though.”

“Launchpad tried too, he lost with Darkwing and he was actually good at playing it.”

“Maybe we could ask Uncle Gladstone? I mean, if someone it’s able to win, it’s him, right?”

All the kids looked at each other and then nodded. All of them went to look for Gladstone.

“Do you think anyone is going to ever catch up that you fucked up that last level on purpose so no one can find the secret passage, April?” May asked, making her basketball’s ball turn around in her finger while resting on her bed.

“I didn’t do it on purpose, I don’t know why no one is finding the secret passage in the last level!”

“Well, you should fix it, dear sister. Like me and this little buddy. Right, little buddy?” June cheerfully said from her place in her own bed. She was trying to fix a little robot she was making.

“I. Am. Trying. To. Fix. It! You’re not helping!” April declared, furiously typing on her computer.

May and June just rolled their eyes and shrugged, continuing to do their own thing.

“Girls, let’s go! April, to your programming classes! May, to your basketball practice! June, you volunteered to that activity in the park!”

“Yes, aunt Daisy!” May and June responded and went to look for her things. April made a frustrated noise and started to write even faster. “UGH, WAIT, JUST A LITTLE. I STILL NEED TO SEND THE UPDATE.”

“I’M NOT WAITING. APRIL!”

“UGH, OKAY.” April ended giving up, taking his things frustrated, putting her laptop in her bag. Well, she could just apologize to the gamer community later and post the update, she supposed.

“Sorry, little beans. Guess video games are not my thing, not even for my luck.” Gladstone did seem weirded out by the result too. He didn’t lose the game but for a really weird reason his character (the Duck Avenger, Louie was glad most of his family had such great taste) got stuck in a weird way, he didn’t lose like everybody else, he wasn’t killed even once but his character kept moving and moving without another obstacle on the way but the way didn’t end for minutes. Until they themselves stopped the game. It was like the game couldn’t let him lose but it couldn’t let him win either. It was actually ridiculous.

Webby sighed but smiled. “It doesn’t matter, Uncle Gladstone. Thanks anyways.”

Louie raised a brow and looked Huey and they both nodded. They were thinking the same thing. “In a way, Uncle Gladstone didn’t lose, he’s actually the only one that didn’t lose, and he never died in the game,” Huey concluded.

“The game is rigged, it’s impossible Uncle Gladstone had not won.” Louie ended saying.

Gladstone seemed to consider it too and then he smiled. “Have you asked Don to play it?”

“Do you think the most unlucky duck in the world can win this game?” It wasn’t like Dewey wanted to underappreciate his Uncle Donald but it was just. Good luck vs. Bad luck, you know.

Gladstone shrugged, an easy smile on his face. “Why not try it? Don holds a lot of surprises.” Also, he is going to flip out if he sees someone has done a game of PK, he deserves a little pleasure once in a while, he thought. “Good luck, kids!”

The kids looked at Gladstone going away to whatever business he had. Well, that only left them with an option.

“Kids, I’m kinda busy.” He was still repairing the boat, he didn’t know why the thing could just hold it together. All the kids made puppy faces. Donald sighed, it wasn’t fair. “Ok, ok. Give me that. Wait, is that the Duck Avenger?” He seemed to blush but Webby wasn’t so sure.

For a reason unknown to Webby, it was like that simple phrase lighted up something between the boys that she had not seen before. She blinked confused, the air smelled like competition out of nowhere. She looked at Donald and made a simple question. “Who are you going to choose to play, Uncle Donald?”

It seemed like the wrong question when the boys’ aura of competitiveness grew even more. Louie was the first one to attack, trying to be smooth about it. “It is incredible that the Duck Avenger is in a video game and he deserves it because he is super badass, you should choose him, Uncle Donald.”

Huey jumped next, his spirit wasn’t going to submit to the younger and more spoiled brother. “But Gizmoduck is a promising young hero! He has so much room to grow, and he is super smart and heroic and-!”

Dewey, not about to be left behind, jumped too, interrupting his older brother, determined to make his Uncle choose his hero. “But Darkwing Duck is amazing too, he is a great detective and does some pretty sick moves! You should choose him, Uncle Donald!”

Donald tried to calm them down. “Wow, wow. Calm down, boys. Let’s see.” Donald looked at the screen and then nodded. “Ok, I’m choosing Gizmoduck.”

Huey made a pleased cry, his fist in the air. Dewey and Louie looked at him, feeling betrayed. “But Uncle Donald!”

“Well, Huey is right, Gizmoduck is a promising young hero. Darkwing Duck is from another city and he has more experience, and Duck Avenger is retired, so. Anyways, this is just a game, it really doesn’t matter who I choose.”

“Ha! In your faces!” Huey jumped, happily, the winner of the unsaid competition. Dewey and Louie groaned.

“Huey,” Donald warned.

“Sorry, Uncle Donald…”

Webby tried to regain the attention to their actual issue. “Well, let’s play, Uncle Donald!”

Donald lost more times than any other person they asked for, the kids were about to give up until, eventually, he screamed ‘It says this is the last level!’, the kids jumped and hovered around him to see the screen. It was, in fact, the last level. They all felt dread over their bodies. Even Donald was starting to tense over this simple game. He started the level and the kids even felt like they couldn’t breathe. For now, it was going well. He avoided the obstacles even when the kids distracted him with their shouts of ‘be careful!’, ‘no, to the left!’, ‘uuuuugh’ and ‘jump, no, run, no, just walk!’. He was almost getting to the same point that Uncle Gladstone was. He only needed to make a simple jump and not fall into the hole. Simple enough.

He fell. The kids’ spirits fell too. Nobody had ever felt into that hole, it was an easy jump.

“NO!”

“UNCLE DONALD, HOW? WHY DID YOU LOSE LIKE THIS?”

“WHY? WHY? IT WAS A SIMPLE JUMP!”

“UGH, SO CLOOOOOSE.”

“Um, kids, I fell into a secret room.”

All the kids stopped their wailing, confused and asked at the same time. “Secret room?”

In fact, there was a secret room. The kids started to shout again, happy and almost hysterical. Donald kept moving his character until he got to a door. It read ‘FINAL BOSS’. They all gulped. Donald made the character enter the doctor without much thought.

Donald did give the final boss, Negaduck, a fight. It was sad that he lost, anyways.

Donald sighed, mad at himself, feeling the dread of the disappoint he probably left in the kids. “I’m sorry I didn’t win your game, kids. I-”

The kids couldn’t care less, they all hugged him. Donald returned the hug, greatly surprised but confused nonetheless.

Huey was the first one to talk. “Are you kidding? You were the only one that found the secret room, Uncle Donald!”

“Yeah, that was pretty cool!” Dewey followed.

“Especially since not even Uncle Gladstone could. I mean, he didn’t lose, but he didn’t win either. It was weird.”

Donald was even more confused now. “Not even Gladstone?”

Webby smiled and reassured him. “Not even Gladstone. You’re the best, Uncle Donald!”

Donald smiled harder and hugged them harder. The kids just laughed, happily, hugging him in return. Who knew that what they actually needed was some little of bad luck?

36 notes · View notes

ceealaina · 6 years ago

Text

Everything You Do Convinces Me More

Title: Everything You Do Convinces Me More Pairing: Steve Rogers x Tony Stark Link: AO3 Rating: T Summary: Steve likes to prank people. And then he and Tony hook up. There’s some kind of connection to the two events in there somewhere. Word Count: 5,222 A/N: Loosely based on this tumblr post about Steve being a total troll. My brain read it and ran with it.

It started during Steve’s “reintegration process,” shortly after he’d been thawed from the ice, when SHIELD hadn’t quite figured out what to do with him yet, but didn’t want to risk leaving him to his own devices, and had kept him on lockdown instead. They hadn’t called it that, of course, but Steve wasn’t stupid.

And the thing was? Reintegration was really damn boring. Steve missed the 40s, of course he did. He missed his friends, missed Peggy and the commandos (and Bucky, always Bucky, like a hole in his chest). And of course it was a culture shock sometimes; he didn’t think he’d ever get over the price of a cup of coffee. But it didn’t take him nearly as long to adjust as everyone seemed to expect, and the Recent American History books got real dry real fast. And well, ask anyone who really knew him, and Steve had always been a bit of a punk.

So he started fucking with people.

It was just harmless stuff, really, nothing more than a mild irritant. He’d taken to computers and the internet like a duck to water, and one day, three hours deep into YouTube videos, he ended up watching a 47-second video on how to flip a desktop screen. And so the next day, when he passed Agent Endright’s unoccupied desk (the same agent who, three days earlier had explained how to use a damn microwave in the most condescending tone that Steve had ever heard), he hadn’t been able to resist. And when he heard the frustrated cries coming from Agent Endright - who apparently hadn’t watched the same video as Steve - something warm blossomed in his heart.

It turned out there were all kinds of fun tricks you could pull with desktops, so a few days later he slipped into Agent Alvarez’s office, quickly took a screenshot of her screen, and set it as the background, hiding the taskbar at the same time. He couldn’t help snickering himself later that day, when he walked down the hall to hear her grumbling about it to another agent, promising to report them once she found out who had done it. (Agent Alvarez, though very nice, was a stickler for rules. Personally, Steve didn’t think it hurt to approach them with a slightly more laissez-faire attitude.) When she pulled him into the conversation, asking if he had noticed anything, he managed to hide his smile, pulling up his best “aw shucks ma’am” expression as he assured her that he hadn’t noticed anything amiss, but he’d be sure to keep an eye out for any potential culprits.

The next week he brought in a bag of raisin bagels, concealed in a chocolate chip bagel bag. Chocolate chip bagels were a weakness of Agent Lennox, and Steve made sure to position himself in the staff kitchen, drinking a cup of coffee and reading from the newspaper (a real paper one and everything!) when they took a bite, which was promptly spit out with a horrified noise. It was a close thing, but Steve managed to smother his laugh before blinking guilelessly up at Lennox, asking if everything was alright.

He kept going like this for the next couple of weeks. Everyone was talking about the string of pranks that was suddenly plaguing the department, and even though Steve was the only factor that had changed, no one had even the slightest inkling that he might have been behind it. It was kind of great.

Then, of course, Loki arrived and suddenly Steve’s reintegration period was over and without so much as a chance to change his underwear, he was thrown into the thick of things. It was chaos and destruction, and nothing that Steve had ever imagined was even possible. But suddenly he was part of a team again. They’d all gone their own ways at first, but slowly, gradually they’d all made their back to New York, back to Stark - sorry, Avenger - Tower. And it was good.

They weren’t the Commandos, nowhere near that level of camaraderie, but there was something comforting in the familiarity of having the same people around him every day, and Steve had absolute faith that they would get to the point of real friendship eventually. He just… might… do something to help things along. Like putting purple koolaid in Clint’s shower head (the internet was seriously a wealth of amazing ideas. Steve was a huge fan). Or managing to convince Tony for three hours that he couldn’t figure out how the television remote worked and needed it explained to him. Repeatedly. And that may or may not have turned into a full out prank war among all the avengers that lasted a solid three months, right up until Bruce booby trapped the three hole punch to spray hot sauce, except the person who ended up using it was a high brow client, and Pepper put a stop to the whole thing.

And through it all, not one person, not even Natasha (he was pretty sure) suspected Steve. They all figured he was some old 1940s fuddy duddy (Clint’s words, not his) who had been born before pranks had been invented, apparently. And Steve was happy to let them keep thinking that, maybe even play it up a little, if it meant he could continue to get away with doing what he was doing.

The thing was, Steve was kind of a dick. Not an asshole - he felt that was an important distinction. He wasn’t a republican, he firmly believed in equal rights, and he would never hurt someone (unless they were a bad guy, obviously, or otherwise had it coming). But there was some little part of him that liked messing with people in harmless ways. Bucky had known that about him, had always given him suspicious looks, then laughed and called him a punk, ruffling his hair while Steve squawked at him to fuck off. But here no one suspected him, and when he was Captain America, couldn’t quite believe it even while seeing it happen in front of them. So sometimes, when he was exhausted from a long battle, or feeling like Steve Rogers had been replaced by Captain America, or when he was just tired of the pressure of constantly having everyone’s eyes on him, he would do things like steal french fries from strangers in McDonald’s, or shooting past people on bikes when he was out for a run, or cursing up a blue streak in front of teenagers in the park only to stop with a wink the second they pulled their phones out to catch it on camera, or lift cars when there were small children watching (that one was actually super fun. He loved the way their eyes would light up in amazement).

It just made him feel a little bit better about the crazy turns his life had taken.

If you’d asked him three months ago - hell, if you’d asked him three hours ago - Tony would have never, ever pegged Steve as the pranking mastermind. If he’d had to rank the avengers in order of Most Likely to Prank, Steve would be at the very bottom of the list, somewhere below Jarvis. He loved the guy - they’d grown much closer after their initial meeting, and Steve had rapidly grown to be one of Tony’s favourite people. They spent a lot of their free time together, playing long games of chess when neither of them could sleep, or Steve coming down to keep Tony company in the lab, spending hours sketching and talking while Tony got lost in his work. They shared meals, and a love of ice cream, and talked a lot, long conversations that ranged from deep and meaningful to so funny they were on the floor laughing and could barely remember why. Tony adored Steve. He was genuinely kind, smart in a wildly different way from Tony, had a wickedly dry sense of humour that always took Tony off guard, and if Tony was totally honest with himself, he was rapidly developing a pretty strong crush on the man. He’d just never pictured Steve as the pranking type.

Or at least, that had been the case, right up until the end of the last mission. It had been a long one, though thankfully they’d come out of it relatively unharmed. Tony had banged up his shoulder and ended up hovering near the Quinjet while he made sure it wasn’t anything critical. SHIELD was onsite by then, prepping for cleanup and debriefing, and Tony was only half paying attention to what was going on around him. He could hear people talking close by, and it took a few minutes before he placed Steve’s voice. He sounded confused, and Tony looked up, eyes tracking him down to where he was standing a few feet away, talking to a junior SHIELD agent with a piece of paper in his hand.

“Son,” he was saying, voice endearing and pleading in a way that only Steve could pull off. “I really need your help with this. Director Fury asked me to fill out this paperwork, and paperwork’s just not my forte. This is form…” He looked down at the paper in his hand. “One-two-seven-niner Delta? And I guess I need form Bravo Bravo One-oh-seven? Do you think you can find the form for me? Fury’s on his way back, and I think he’ll lose it if he has to explain it to me one more time.”

“I, um.” The agent swallowed, looking confused and more than a little intimidated. “I- yes sir, Captain Rogers. Of course.” He took off at a sprint, and as Tony watched, Steve’s lips twitched, curling up into a smug smile that Tony didn’t think he’d ever seen on Steve’s face before.

Intrigued now, Tony started fiddling with the side of the Quinjet, turning himself so that he could keep an eye on Steve and his pleased smile while having an excuse at the ready if anyone asked what he was doing. It only took a couple minutes for the agent to return, papers in hand and a perplexed look on his face.

“Um, Captain Rogers, sir?”

Steve turned around, that endearing look back on his face, and Tony’s frown deepened because that look was far soppier than anything he’d ever seen on Steve’s face before.

“Did you find the form, Agent?”

“Uh, well. I think maybe there might have been a mixup? I checked the databases, and I can’t find any record of the form you’re looking for?” He cleared his throat, fluttering the paper in his hand toward Steve. “I did find a form Bravo Bravo one-oh-four. But sir - this is an authorization form requesting permission to host an inner-office bake sale. I-I don’t think that’s the form you were looking for?”

Tony couldn’t help snorting outloud, and Steve made an awkward choking sound before constructing his facial expression into something even more confused. “Oh,” he said, eyebrows knitting into a frown. “No, I don’t… That can’t be right, can it?” He stared down at the form in the agent’s hand. “Are you sure there isn’t a One-oh-seven?”

“I’m pretty sure, sir.” He was obviously trying to be assertive, but he looked pained at the look on Steve’s face. “I can check again?”

“Would you?” Steve asked, face lighting up. “I’d really appreciate it.” He frowned at the paper again. “I’m sure Fury doesn’t want me to host a bake sale, but I just can’t wrap my head around searching these databases.”

“Of course, Captain Rogers sir. I’ll… be back as soon as possible.”

Tony watched him run off again, narrowing his eyes as he watched the exchange. Flipping up his faceplate, he moved over to Steve, who was watching the agent go with the same smile as before.

“Okay, what gives Rogers?” He asked in an undertone. “There’s no such thing as form Bravo Bravo One-oh-seven.”

Apparently he’d actually managed to sneak up on Steve, because the other man jumped with a hilarious squawking sound. “Tony! Were you - I didn’t see you there, sorry.” He blinked, face going carefully blank. “What were you saying?”

“That form you keep sending Agent Two Shoes after? That’s not what we use. It doesn’t even exist. “

“Oh, um. Are you sure? I could have sworn… Oh! You know what? You’re gonna make fun of me, Tony. That’s a form we used during the war. You know, with the ice and everything, sometimes I still get odd things mixed up.”

“Riiiiight.” Tony frowned at him, puzzling out the detail that had been niggling at him since he first heard Steve talking. “Wasn’t 107 your unit? You know, back in the good old war days?”

Steve shrugged, and there was something slightly panicked in his eyes. “Coincidence. We have a form 70295, and that’s your birthday. It happens.”

Tony blinked, that stopping him. “You know my birthday? You know those numbers make my birthday?”

Steve rolled his eyes. “It’s not exactly a state secret, Tony, of course I know your birthday. Come on, I’m exhausted, and we still have to debrief. I’ll, um. Leave a note for Agent Hicks. Let’s go back to the tower.”

“Yeah, alright,” Tony said, still giving Steve a suspicious look. “Let’s go.”

Steve laid low after that, partially because he wasn’t sure how long Tony had been standing there and didn’t know how much he had put together, and partially because Tony was like a dog with a bone, kept watching Steve speculatively, and so Steve couldn’t have gotten away with something if he’d tried. Still, as previously established, Steve was a dick at heart, and eventually it seemed as though something else caught Tony’s attention, because he stopped eyeing him every time he walked into a room, or sneaking up on him at random moments. He had never called Steve out either, or questioned him further, so Steve figured it was safe.

He started out slow, little things like moving Clint’s pizza box to the other side of the room when he ran to grab a drink, just enough to confuse him. When nobody jumped out to accuse Steve of being the catalyst for every prank war that had ever occurred, he started stepping things up again, and before long he had (in his own mind, since no one else could know) once again regained the title of Steve Rogers King of Pranks.

It hadn’t taken Tony long to realize that watching Steve the way he was, he was never going to have another chance to catch him and confirm his suspicions. So he’d stopped. Or at least, he stopped actively watching him. Contrary to popular belief, Tony actually did know how to be subtle. It’s just that subtlety didn’t usually serve him that well, so he never bothered with it. Outing Steve as a secret evil mastermind would definitely serve him though, so subtlety it was.

It took some time - obviously he’d spooked Steve with all his questions after the paperwork incident - but gradually he noticed Steve relaxing around him again, and not watching Tony in turn. And finally, nearly three months later, Tony’s patience paid off.

It was after another mission and when Tony noticed Steve off by himself, helping with clean up. He made his way over, finding something to fiddle with just out of Steve’s eyeline. At first he was legitimately just doing his thing, cowl off and face exposed as he muscled some debris out of the street and into a somewhat neat pile. But then, as Tony watched, he paused to brush the hair out of his face and his eyes lighted on a group of little kids, around seven or eight, hovering unsupervised at the edge of the barricades, now that the danger had passed. They were watching in awe, whispering to each other and pointing at Steve in excitement, and while Tony had the brief thought of wondering where on earth their guardians were, they seemed pretty safe. Apparently Steve thought so too, because he stopped his cleanup efforts, grinning over at them and waving, laughing when that made them shriek in excitement and duck out of sight. It was sweet, and while wholesome was everything that you were supposed to expect from Captain America, something about it made Tony go all warm and tingly inside.

But then, Steve looked around furtively to see if anyone was paying attention to him, and when he didn’t spot anyone, he winked at the kids and then picked up a fucking motorcycle and lifted it over his head. The kids all started hollering in excitement, and Tony didn’t miss the smile that spread across Steve’s face. Half impressed and half wanting to roll his eyes on principle, Tony watched Steve do a few overhead presses with the bike before setting it back down with a heavy clang. He held up a finger to his lips, indicating they should keep it to themselves, a secret between them and Captain America, and the kids all took off screeching in excitement. Steve laughed a little before turning back to what he was doing, the pleased grin on his face softening into something that Tony couldn’t quite place.

When Tony had imagined finally catching Steve out, he had imagined making a big show of it. Maybe recording proof that he could play in lieu of their next movie night, so that ribbing Steve could be a team bonding experience, maybe just jumping out at Steve so he could hold the fact that he had caught him over his head for the rest of time. But something about the pleased look on Steve’s face, the truly happy smile, stopped him, made him want to do something to keep that smile on his face for always, and so Tony said nothing to anyone.

Now that he knew, Tony couldn’t believe that none of them had picked up on it before. It seemed so obvious, in retrospect. Half the tower pranks happened when Steve was the only one who was even around to do it, and somehow they’d never once suspected him. It was a little disgusting, honestly, like Steve was so sweet and innocent he couldn’t pull a prank - even though they’d all witnessed him cursing out Nazis and Republicans and the Yankees on a regular basis? Tony was a little ashamed of the whole team (and himself, if he was really being honest.)

More and more he noticed that all the pranks (with the exception of when things escalated to a full-on war) could be traced back to Steve, Steve who always looked just a touch too innocent, now that Tony was looking for it. And he’d had every intention of eventually calling him out, had started out just plotting the best way to do so, what the best reveal would be, how to most effectively show the team that he had figured it out first. Except the longer he went without saying anything, the less he wanted to. He kind of liked the secret of it, liked catching Steve’s small smile after he pulled something off, figuring out how he’d pulled his latest prank. It was like a secret the two of them shared, even if Steve didn’t actually know about it.

And, truthfully, he was falling in love with this new side of Steve. That little crush had grown into something wildly out of control. Tony had known from the get go that Steve was his exact physical type; he’d jerked off to his pictures more times than he’d care to admit during his formative years, and that inclination hadn’t exactly gone away when he’d met him in person. But he’d gotten to learn Steve’s quirks, to realize he was more than just his father’s most successful experiment, and somewhere in there he’d just accepted that he was more than a little in love with the man. Realizing that Steve was a secret prankster, that he was capable of applying his tactical skills to the kind of pranks that took Tony back to his days with Rhodey at MIT? It was like Steve was made for him.

They probably would have kept on like this forever, never actually going further than that, if it wasn’t for Clint - or, more specifically, if it wasn’t for Clint almost catching Steve. Tony had stepped off the elevator into the common area to find Clint sprawled across the couch, watching some made-for-tv movie, Steve sitting in a chair close by. Steve looked over at the sound of the elevator, giving Tony a warm smile, before glancing back over at Clint with a subtle look that Tony recognized, which meant something hilarious would be happening soon.

Sure enough, just as Tony had finished filling his mug with coffee, Clint’s phone started ringing. Clint jumped, because he was a terrible spy, and dug it out from where it was buried in the couch cushions, frowning at the caller ID.

“Nat?” A second later Clint was wincing, and Tony thought he heard faint sounds of Russian coming down the line. “What? No… I don’t… What? What coffee? No, I… I didn’t stand you up! I never messaged you! Why would I meet you for coffee in Bed-Stuy?”

Tony couldn’t help wincing a little in sympathy, because he’d probably be terrified if he’d stood up Nat too. But also, watching Clint flail around, and the way he kept ducking like he was expecting Nat to come flying through the window at him, was a little hilarious. And the way Steve was carefully trying to not pay attention, chewing at his lower lip in a fight to keep from smiling as he looked out towards the window and pretended he wasn’t listening in on Clint’s conversation, made it hard for Tony to really feel that bad about it.

Five minutes of Clint frantically trying to explain later, and Clint was hanging up the phone, looking decidedly frazzled. “What the fuck,” he breathed, in the tone of voice of a man who had just survived a near death experience. He started scrolling through his phone, frowning down at the screen.

“Uh… What was that about?” Tony asked, because it looked like Steve was dying to.

“Nat’s pissed at me for standing her up, but I didn’t even know we were meeting for coffee?” It came out as a frantic question, Clint looking perplexed. “She said I texted her for a coffee date, and that we were supposed to meet at two, but I haven’t talked to her since yesterday.” He shook his head, still staring at his phone. “There’s not even a message here.”

“Huh,” Steve said, still acting like he was only half interested. “Weird.”

Clint nodded. “It’s like…” He trailed off, eyes widening in realization. “It’s a prank! I think someone hacked my phone!”

Tony couldn’t help snorting a little. “Using the regular applications on your phone isn’t exactly what you would call hacking,” he pointed out, getting a glare in return.

“Fine,” Clint retorted snottily. “Someone used my phone without my permission. I forgot it here for a couple hours, and…” His eyes grew even wider, and he pointed across the room at Steve. “You! It was you!”

Steve’s eyebrows shot up. “Me?” he choked out. “Why would it be me?”

“You were here! You were here when I left, and you were here when I got back this afternoon,” Clint was insisting, voice cracking a little in excitement. “Oh my god, has it been you this entire time??”

“Uhhh.”

“Relax, Legolas,” Tony cut in before Steve could give himself away based solely on the guilty expression he was wearing. “It wasn’t Steve. I mean, it’s Steve,” he pointed out, rolling his eyes when Steve looked a little affronted at that. “Come on. And anyway, he was with me most of the afternoon. I had some ideas for a new stealth suit we were trying out.”

Clint blinked at him, visibly deflating. “Really?”

“Really,” Tony confirmed, finally chancing a glance over at Steve, who was nodding in agreement.

“Sorry, Clint,” he offered. “I left right after you did.”

“Aww, pranks,” Clint mumbled, staring down at his phone.

“Here.” Tony clapped his hands, and Clint him his phone on instinct. “Let me take a look.” He fiddled with the phone for a few minutes, mostly entertaining himself by going through Clint’s browser history. “Yeah, looks like you have some deleted texts. Sent between 3:02 and 3:18.”

Clint’s eyes narrowed again as Tony tossed him the phone back. “That’s when Sam gets back from the gym,” he breathed, looking like he was already thinking up ways to get him back. “That fucker.”

Tony smirked to himself. “And on that note, gentlemen, I’ve got some highly volatile experimental stuff to get back to. If I leave it too long there could be chaos… explosions… All the fun stuff. I’ll see you around.”

He’d half expected Steve to just pretend the entire thing hadn’t happened. Still, he wasn’t exactly surprised when he’d barely made it down the hall before he was jogging after him.

“Hey Tony! Tony, wait up. I, uh… Wanted to ask you something?”

“Oh yeah?” Tony turned, arching an eyebrow at him. “What about?”

Steve met his gaze steadily. “The new stealth suit. I had a few more thoughts.”

Tony gestured lazily down the hall. “Well then, walk with me Cap.”

Steve didn’t actually speak until they were safely down in the workshop, fiddling with some of Tony’s spare machinery by the door while Tony made his way over to his latest project. When Steve still hadn’t spoken, Tony looked over to find Steve watching him like Tony was a puzzle for him to figure out. It made Tony shiver a little.

“You know, don’t you?”

Tony blinked. “Know what?” he asked, smiling sweetly back at him.

Steve half laughed and half groaned, sinking into one of the couches and covering his face with his hand. He squinted over at Tony, wry smile in place. “How long?”

“How long what?” Tony asked, unable to resist teasing Steve when he was getting that adorable, half-embarrassed response. “Oh, how long have I known that you’ve been the menace trolling the entire tower?” He shrugged. “You know, not long. Just a few… months.”

Steve groaned again, flopping back against the couch with a sigh. “It was the paperwork, wasn’t?”

Tony couldn’t help laughing. “Form BB-107, Rogers? Really? You’re not exactly subtle.”

Steve was laughing too. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

Tony shrugged, feeling suddenly flustered, and turned back to the table, bringing up holograms and avoiding Steve’s eye. “Well, you know. It was kind of fun knowing something that no one else had picked up on. And I don’t know. it brightened up my day, sometimes, watching you mess with people. And, uh… It seemed to make you happy, so…” He trailed off awkwardly.

There was silence for a long minute, Steve not saying anything at all, and Tony could only take it for so long. He chanced a glance back over at Steve to find him watching him with a speculative look, a slow smile crossing his lips.

“You didn’t say anything because it made me happy?” he asked quietly.

“Well sure, when you say it like that I sound creepy,” Tony grumbled.

“No,” Steve said quickly. “No, not creepy. Not creepy at all.” He got up, moving toward him until he was leaning against the table beside Tony, elbows and forearms touching. “That’s… Really nice, actually. Thank you.”

Tony snorted at that, trying not to smile at the table. “You don’t have to thank me for that, Steve. I know how rough it was for you, with the whole ice capades interlude.” He looked back up at Steve with a wink. “I hereby give you permission to do whatever you need to to make yourself happy.”

Steve rolled his eyes at that, but he looked pleased at the same time, and, feeling pretty pleased himself, Tony turned back to his work again, Steve a steady, reassuring presence at his side.

“I, uh…”

Steve sounded hesitant, and Tony looked over at him, finding Steve chewing nervously at his lower lip but with a determined look on his face.

“I noticed you looking at me sometimes,” Steve admitted. “I thought…”

“Thought what?” Tony’s eyes caught Steve’s, the two of them staring at each other for a minute too long before Steve shook his head, blowing out a soft breath.

“God, tell me if I’m reading this wrong,”he breathed, and before Tony could say anything else, Steve’s big hand was curling around the back of his neck. Tony blinked at him, shocked silent, but when Steve leaned in, Tony didn’t hesitate to close the distance between them. It was probably a little too fast, considering the way their lips bumped together, but Steve just made a surprised, happy sound and then they were kissing, and it was even better than Tony had imagined kissing Steve would be. He couldn’t stop his hands from sliding around his back, digging into thick muscles as Steve’s grip tightened on his neck.

“Fuck,” Tony breathed when they broke apart for air. He pressed his forehead to Steve’s shoulder, body feeling weak and giddy. “Definitely not reading that wrong, Steve, oh my god.”

Steve laughed, sounding as giddy as Tony felt. His thumb was rubbing distractingly at the back of Tony’s neck. “Good,” he said, voice just a little rough. “I’ve wanted to do that for a long time.”

Tony grinned, absurdly pleased at that, and lifted his head to meet Steve’s gaze again. He traced his finger along Steve’s lower lip, shivering when Steve’s tongue flicked out against the pad. “Does this mean you want to go out with me?”

He earned an eyeroll with that, but Steve was grinning widely, no trace of exasperation. “Tony, I’ve been daydreaming about going out with your ages. Yes, I definitely want to go out with you.”

Tony laughed, delighted, and then Steve was kissing him again, tightening his grip on Tony to pull him in close until he was practically sitting in Steve’s lap. Tony wasn’t complaining in the slightest; Steve was an incredible kisser, and being as close as possible sounded like a very good thing - especially with Steve’s fingers pressing bruises into his skin.

They kissed until they both had to breathe again and pulled back, panting slightly. Steve ginned at him, flicking teasingly at one of the curls falling over Tony’s forehead. “Hi Shellhead,” he said softly, and Tony beamed back at him.

“Hey yourself, Winghead,” he replied, pressing a soft kiss to the corner of Steve’s lip. He sighed softly. “You know, the one downside here… We’re going have to tell the rest of the team, and they will be absolutely impossible to live with.”

Steve chucked ruefully, and then stopped just as abruptly, a glint that Tony recognized all to well coming into his eyes. “I mean, we could tell the rest of the team…”

He trailed off and Tony found himself grinning because God, he loved this giant, childish troll. “Or…?”

Steve beamed at him, trailing his fingers up and down Tony’s spine. “How do you feel about becoming my partner in crime?”

#my fic #steve x tony #steve/tony #steve rogers #tony stark #steve rogers is a troll #pure fluff #stony

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fanficsandfluff · 8 years ago

Text

The Best Spider-Man

I took the liberty of kind of joining this prompt with this one. I tried my best to get a balanced feel of both of these prompts to make one cohesive story. Hope you like it, sweeties!

Words: 2,722

Another lab report due by the end of the week. Jesus, this was the third week in a row his teacher did that to the class. And that means a whole lot of staying up late typing the damn thing. Peter Parker knew he’d be getting straight A’s anyway. It was just another thing piled up on his week’s worth of science, math, language, english, and technical homework.

You can do it, Peter. You’re Spider-Man. You can do anything.

Oh right, Spider-Man. Yet another load onto Peter’s full plate. He wanted to be Spider-Man full-time! But unfortunately, it wasn’t up to him. It was up to Tony Stark.

Speaking of the man, Tony had been paying Peter more visits. Whether it was to scold him or congratulate him on something, Tony was acting more and more like some father figure to the kid. Except when he wasn’t.

Tony had become semi-obsessed with teaching Peter everything he knew. How to be the most spidery Spider-Man ever. The training added another weight to Peter’s young shoulders. He could’ve easily said no and that he was too busy, but what would Mr. Stark think of him then? That he wasn’t strong enough to bear the burden of being Spider-Man? Hell no. He couldn’t have that.

So Peter was stuck dealing with schoolwork, his social life, being a superhero, and making time for Iron Man’s teaching. Wow, he was so screwed.

A weekend arrived. Finally! Some relaxation at last, right? His cell phone ringing and the voice of Tony being the caller told Peter that he was wrong to assume he’d ever get a break.

The phone call went something like:

“Hey, kiddo. You free today?” “Me? Oh um, yeah I think so, Mr. Stark. Why?” “I was gonna ask Happy to pick you up and take you to the Towers. I have a new upgrade for your suit I think you’ll like.” “That’s... that’s real nice of you, Mr. Stark. Sure. I’ll come over.” “Great. See you soon.”

Peter sighed after he hung up and flopped down onto his bed, shutting his eyes. He needed sleep. If not sleep, he needed at least an hour with no worries and no responsibilities.

But within half an hour, Peter was showered and dressed and Happy was downstairs ready to pick him up. He was too tired to even annoy Happy today.

Upon his arrival, Happy took Peter to the gym inside the upstate Avengers facility where Tony was waiting for him.

“There he is. Spiderboy,” Tony teased gently, welcoming Peter with a smile.

“Hi,” Peter mustered up his own smile and he waved to Tony.

“C’mere, let me show you what I have so far. Then I want your comments.”

Tony showed Peter a new power grid for his suit as well as a new program that improves Peter’s agility within it. That and a few other tweaks were what Tony started off with.

Peter listened attentively, offering minor quips about the technology Tony was developing for those programs. Tony took in each one with humbled pride.

“Alright, now that that’s out of the way, why don’t we take the suit for a test run? You and me? Sparring?”

Peter almost threw up at the word, not imagining he could handle a full on fight after a night of no sleep. His tired look of disgust transformed into an appreciative smile just for Tony.

“Yeah, let’s do it.”

Peter got changed into his Spidey suit and met Tony in a large sparring arena.

“Now, I’m an old man so go easy on me,” Tony joked, hoping to get a crack of a smile or a laugh from the kid. Nothing. Tony sensed early on that something was on Peter’s mind, but he figured maybe not bringing it up was his best bet.

Tony was trying to teach Peter all the new moves and specialty powers he could unlock from his suit. Tony was very aware how much this sounded like a video game tutorial.

Peter would try. Most of the moves he’d get right, and a specialty web would shoot out of his wrist. But there was always one or two he stumbled on.

“It’s alright, Pete. Why don’t we move on to the next one?”

Peter was panting, that one move taking a lot out of his sleep-deprived body.

“T-There’s more?”

“Only another five or so,” Tony shrugged, “Then I want you to actually use them. Against me.”

Peter wanted to groan out loud. He choked it back in his throat and continued on with the moves.

Once it was the final new move, Peter found he didn’t have the stamina to do it. He tried and tried, over and over again. Each time the jumps and kicks taking more and more out of him.

Tony couldn’t sense the fatigue so much and just continued watching, thinking Peter just had to find his groove.

He was proved wrong when Peter tore off his mask and screamed, “I can’t do it!”

Tony stood still, shocked at the sudden outburst, “Peter...”

“I can’t do it! I-I know you want me to, Mr. Stark, but... there’s just so much going on right now. So damn much,” Peter threw his mask on the ground as tears welled up in his eyes, “I’m not the superhero you want me to be. B-But I’m trying! I’m doing my homework, studying for my tests, going out at night and stopping the bad guys and--” he sniffled, “It’s so much... You believe in me, I know. You put so much faith in me and here I am, unable to manage every little thing I should be able to. I’m not cut out for this, Tony,” a tear slipped down Peter’s cheek. Not waiting for Tony to give him any answers, Peter ran out of the sparring gym.

Tony rocked back and forth on his heels. He then took a few steps forward and picked up Peter’s discarded mask. With calm, even steps, he went in search for Peter. After asking the Tower’s supercomputer where he was of course.

Peter ran through the Towers, going up a flight of stairs and turning a corner. He continued running until he found an open door. It seemed to be an unoccupied sleeping quarters. Probably unused and brand new, judging by the pristine-ness of it all and the smell. He ducked inside there and shut the door behind him.

Peter took one look at himself in the mirror there and he got even more enraged. He screamed with anger and anxiety all mixed into one tearful shout. He ripped the suit off his body and kicked it after throwing it to the ground. Then he curled up on the pearly white bedsheets, sobbing quietly. Weak. That’s what he was. He couldn’t handle even the least bit of pressure. And he just exploded like that in front of Tony Stark. He was done being Spider-Man. That was the end, he was sure of it.

Now only clad in boxers, Peter sniffled into the pillows, holding one close to his chest.

Minutes past and Peter was still upset and crying. He couldn’t stop his tears once the stress took over. This had happened before.

Half an hour. Peter shut his eyes and was no longer crying. He cleared his mind and just sat in silence. He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. By now, all expression on his face was nonexistent. A blank stare accompanied with red eyes from his fit of crying.

A sudden knock on his door made Peter cringe and he rolled onto his side, back facing the door. He did not want to interact.

Tony stepped in after waiting thirty seconds post-knock. He saw the forgotten suit on the ground first and then the curled up pale blob that was Peter. Tony sat down on the edge of the bed, fiddling with something in his hands.

“When I was a little younger than you, and I’d be upset or stressed about something, you know what my dad would do? He’d stand in my room and tell me, ‘You’ve got to be better.’ Hmm,” Tony stared in front of him absently as he reminisced, “And I’d always think, gee... that was some shitty pep talking. I mean, he didn’t even say ‘You’re better than this,’ or ‘It’s okay, things will get better.’ I got none of that. And it’s funny because... every time I speak to you, the one thought always running through my mind is don’t be him. So I have to be better to you than my dad ever was to me. I’m failing,” Tony smiled sadly, “Clearly. I can’t read the signs that you’re tired. That you need a break. I mean, you’re just a kid. I’m starting to realize... I’m exactly like Howard.”

“No.”

Tony turned his head, surprised to hear the second voice pipe up. Peter was now sitting up, half his body still turned away from Tony.

“You aren’t like that, Mr. Stark. You’re doing everything right, it’s me that’s the problem.”

“If you are still believing that you’re the problem, there’s something going on. Right?” Tony lifted half his leg onto the bed to look at Peter fully, “Pete, you’re an amazing kid. And I don’t say that to every Spiderboy I know.”

A glimmer of amusement shown in Peter’s eye.

“I picked you for a reason. Took you under my wing, gave you the suit, given you all the support I can give. I see the strength in you. I see what you’ve been through. And frankly, I see myself.”

Peter’s cheeks tinted with blush.

“You get easily distressed, easily anxious, and pressure isn’t the thing you handle best. But I wouldn’t take my Spider-Man any other way. We both gotta just keep,” Tony gently socked Peter’s shoulder, “Rolling with the punches. I’ll be a better mentor. I’ll recognize the signs easier. I promise. I’ll work on that. And we’ll make you the best superhero you can be. Okay?”

Peter took in all of what Tony said and he nodded. Tony tossed the thing he’d been holding in his hands this whole time at Peter. The teen caught it and he sighed, now looking at his mask.

“New York needs Spider-Man,” Tony concluded, shrugging his shoulders, giving Peter a knowing look.

Peter nodded again and he was about to speak but another article of clothing got chucked into his face. Oh, how sentimental, Tony.

“No big speeches, that’s my job. And especially not when you’re half naked.”

Peter huffed and he grinned, seeing that Tony threw his change of clothes at him.

“Thank you, Mr. Stark,” Peter slipped on his shirt.

Peter knew Tony was doing all the right things. He had all the right instincts. Tony knew to give him some time to cool down, and when he confronted him, he wasn’t all about yelling at him to get him to come to his senses. He wasn’t lovey dovey with hugs or anything and that was nice, too.

“So, what can I do to make it up to you?”

“Nothing. You don’t owe me anything.”

“I can take you out for ice cream. Isn’t that what dads do? Hell, you don’t know either so why am I even asking?”

Peter grinned again, “It sounds like something a dad would do. Especially taking his son to get the biggest soft serve cone out there.”

Tony reciprocated the grin, “Oh boy, it sounds like Peter’s being sassy.”

Peter stood up to pull his jeans on properly and he smiled at Tony, “I think I know who I got that from.”

Tony chuckled now, the joke still carrying on, “Wanna sit on dad’s lap and tell him all your woes? Girl troubles? Friend drama? Sexual escapades?”

Peter let out a laugh and he grabbed a pillow, pushing it into Tony’s back, “Stop! You’re soho creepy!”

Tony smirked and while Peter was pushing the pillow into him, he turned and was able to nab one of Peter’s arms and wrench him forward. So now Peter was on his back beside Tony.

“What’s the big deal? I’m just trying to get my boy to confess to me,” Tony, while still holding one of Peter’s wrists, used his free hand to spider a set of fingers into the teen’s belly.

The soft, teasing sensation send shocks up Peter’s spine, and he yelped. He could do little to stop it from happening, despite being Spider-Man.

“T-Tony! No wait! Plehease don’t!”

“My dad never did this to me. I gotta be his opposite, Pete, you know that.”

Tony latched onto both of Peter’s skinny yet muscular sides and kneaded them up and down. He heard Peter’s laughter escalate and he knew he was doing something right.

“Thihis isn’t fair! NO! Tony, not thehehere! ACK!”

Peter whined and cackled when Tony’s fingers crawled up to ripple against his ribcage. Peter struggled harder now and was able to wiggle himself away from Tony for a second. But he wound up with his upper half hanging off the side of the bed and Tony held onto him tighter so he wouldn’t move. With Peter’s ribs now sticking out more prominently thanks to his back being stretched, Tony massaged and caressed his way up each and every rib.

Peter’s mouth was open in a wide smile, desperate laughter pouring from his lips. He could barely form words to beg Tony to stop. But did he really even want this to stop? This was a drastic 180 compared to his earlier behavior.

“SHIHIT!” Peter wailed and panted when he got a break. Tony’s fingers stilled on his highest ribs, Peter’s arms clamping protectively to his sides.

“How’re you holding up?” Tony asked with a wicked grin, his face popping over the edge of the bed to look at Peter.

“J-Juhust don’t go any hihigher...” Peter panted, his head hanging back to savor this moment’s rest.

Tony rose a curious brow, “Does the spider have a weak spot under his arms?”

Peter blushed and tried worming away again, “Noho he doesn’t!” the teasing wasn’t helping his predicament at all.

Tony smirked and he slid his hands up under Peter’s protective arms and wiggled his fingers briefly just to test it. Peter shrieked just from those two seconds of tickling, and Tony could feel his arms press harder into his sides.

The billionaire playboy resumed his tickle attack, able to scritch every bit of skin in Peter’s armpits just fine. Peter threw his head back and dislodged himself from Tony’s hold just a little more so now he was hanging upside down from the bed.

“TOHONYYY! STAHAAA!” Peter was done for now. He couldn’t finish words and all that overtook him was his own laughter.

“Isn’t this like the part of you always vulnerable? What with you swinging on webs and climbing buildings? Geez, some warning would’ve been nice before we named you Spider-Man. Better planning should go into future heroes if they’re all as ticklish as you.”

Peter’s face got even redder and he shook his head back and forth, unable to escape Tony’s torturous digits. They wouldn’t stop wiggling and digging into his hollows. It was hell.

Eventually, Peter’s squirming got to be so adamant that he fell off the bed and landed on the floor with a soft thud. Tony chortled and looked down at Peter.

“You good, Pete?”

Peter was still giggling, and he looked right up at Tony, “Behetter.”

Tony’s heart warmed and he got off the bed, helping Peter to his feet. He couldn’t help but ruffle the kid’s hair affectionately. Tony decided to call off the suit repairs and training for the rest of the day. He even offered to help Peter with his schoolwork, but the brainiac declined, as Tony expected.

Before Peter left with Happy, he ran towards Tony and squeezed him in a tight hug.

“See you, Mr. Stark.”

Tony smiled and he patted Peter’s back, “Go show that chemistry teacher who’s boss.”

Peter laughed and nodded before jogging off to meet up with Happy at the car. He spun around and waved to Tony one last time before leaving.

Tony stood there and watched the car drive off. Now that was the Spider-Man he’d come to know and love.

#ticklish!peter #ticklish!peterparker #tony and peter #tony stark #peter parker #tony stark and peter parker #dad!tony #spiderman #iron man #spider-man: homecoming #hurt/comfort #tickling #dad!tony is my weakness #marvel

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