#the pressure in my head could crush a Lego

[neonphoenix]

Team it's not looking good on the allergy front 😔 just drank some water and almost passed out while swallowing.

[foxfirexo]

my minecraft base on a server with a couple ppl; i am very proud of how it is turning out, the vibes are cozy and it has very organically expanded over time :3

tiny bit of story feel free to ignore and just scroll past but i feel like oversharing so fuck u (kindly <3)

ive always been pretty creative even if i spent the last decade or so telling myself i wasnt. when i was little it was lego, when i got older it was minecraft (among other things)

but being an audhd transgirl growing up in a very conservative southern baptist household (and as a PK and MK at that ;-;) and whose very existence was just fundamentally at odds with the teachings i was raised, i felt a lot of lot of pressure to suppress any self expression or identity i might have and with that went a lot of my creativity

after all, how am i supposed to be creative without expressing myself? and if ive numbed all the thoughts that i want to share bc they get me in trouble w my parents, what am i supposed to put into my art?

also being told your whole childhood that you're a guy and receiving all that lovely generational societal trauma of male gender roles and expectations really crushed the pointless wonderful meanderings of my mind. god i cringe a bit now(w compassion<3) but i used to brag about how obsessed i was with productivity, efficiency, logic, order but in hindsight i think it was 98% just feeling like i had to be a high achieving eventually bread winning "guy"

anyway as such ive had a very on again off again relationship w minecraft. it was a coping mechanism when i was young so ive put probably a good 5k+ hours into it but it became increasingly difficult to enjoy as i got older and ive gone years at a time never touching the damn game

its funny bc you could probably chart my whole healing journey and my ups and downs of my mental health by just measuring # of hrs spent in mc per month

but very recently ive been finally reaching a point (thank u therapist) that i am allowing myself the joy of self expression, that i am accepting and loving myself without the judgement of my youth holding me back, that i no longer feel like i have to hide myself away for fear of being crushed again because i have the self love to stand on my own two feet no matter what anybody else thinks

as silly as this probably sounds, joining tumblr just over a week ago has actually played a part in this too. ill probably ramble more ab that some other time whenever i feel like oversharing again but suffice it to say that this environment is incredible and everyone on this platform has made me feel so so so comfortable in my own skin being myself sharing my thoughts and feelings and just existing :3

and ya its a bit goofy but im actually seeing this milestone in how im playing minecraft. not only am i playing again (pretty regularly, too!) but im... just fucking around. no plan, no goal, if i have an idea pop into my head i just go out and do it but im equally content to just strip mine, chop trees, tend to my farms, whatever sounds good in the moment.....

and im building again too!!! no worrying about doing it "right", no stressing about wasting time bc i didnt count something right and now i have to move that wall or i changed my mind and now i have to redo all my flooring... just chipping away at it, trying out new blocks or decor ideas, enjoying it more for the process than the finished product and never needing anything to truly be finished

so ya :3 i havent felt this amazing playing minecraft since probably 2014/15 and im super proud of myself for getting to this point, its been a long journey and im by no means done but silly little things like this give me so so so sooo much hope and encouragement ^^

k thats all if u actually read all that im sorry or ur welcome lol

[drymbp]

white knight | lisa

A/N : Hello everyone! I'm finally posting my first ever imagine out here in Tumblr! I'm still new to writing and I hope to get better at it soon.

This idea was inspired by a dream, and I couldn't stop myself from turning it into a Lisa fic, because it just felt right.

Happy reading :)

~

Lisa should have returned with her band mates after rehearsals. But instead she chose to stay back and practice more until she was out of breath and one thing led to another, and she landed herself on the ground with a twisted ankle. Luckily you were on your break returning from a café, and you just happened to pass by the Blackpink practice room when you heard a scream. You rushed into the room and saw Lisa from BLACKPINK howling in pain.

"Are you alright miss?" She looked at you and gave you a weak smile. You cursed yourself for your lack of sense, and got down on you knees inspecting her ankle. "I'm sorry for that earlier, but I believe we need to get you to the doctor as soon as possible." She nodded, trying to get up but wasn't able to put pressure on her leg and struggled to stand without being in pain. You felt really bad for the idol, so you did what you thought was right.

You crouched down before her, and asked her to hop on, she seemed hesitant at first, but the way you looked at her made her want to obey you somehow. So without further ado, you walked out of the room carrying Lisa. Thankfully you met her manager, who you knew as a senior because you were an intern, and explained the situation. Immediately y'all made your way to the back of the building after making sure everyone's face was well hidden. She had worn the hood over her cap, to make sure nobody recognizes her.

Once you were out, you lowly whispered. "Please hide your face, we don't want people to know it's you and have them follow us." She nodded and hid her face by your neck, you could feel her breath hit you neck, making goosebumps arise all over your body. She held on to you tightly as you made your way towards the company van. The manager opened the van door, and you carefully put Lisa down, making sure she was comfortable in the seat. By the time you were preparing to leave, Lisa tugged at your sleeves, making you look at her curiously and then the manager.

"Get in Miss L/N, might as well help us a little more. You got inside with Lisa, while the manager sat at the front instructing the driver to get to the hospital soon. The ride was silent, unless the manager asked you questions about how it was working in the company, to which you replied professionally. Lisa had been looking at you the whole time, and you could feel her stare, so you turned to the right to check and caught her staring. She quickly averted her gaze, trying to act cool as if she wasn't caught red-handed. You chuckled, causing her to smile.

~

You had somehow made it to the hospital without people knowing and you were relieved. The doctors quickly came to aid, arranging a private room for Lisa. You were standing with the manager, while he was talking to the doctor. Thankfully, it wasn't serious and it would get better if she takes rest and puts ice on them within 2-3hr intervals. The both of you made your way to Lisa's room, the manager informing her that she was free from activities for a while. He left shortly afterwards making a call and with that you were left with Lisa.

She motioned for you to come near and to take a seat, so you did. "How are you feeling?" You asked looking at her wrapped up ankle and then at her. "The pain's alright for now though it hurts if I move it, aside from that it's all good, thank you for carrying me and stuff--" She trails off, looking at you expectantly. You furrow your eyebrows thinking what she meant, then you realize she's asking for you name so you shyly flash her a smile which Lisa finds cute and coos. "Y/N L/N." She nods, saying your name a few times to check how it sounds on her lips, once she's satisfied, she holds out her hand for you. As you return the gesture her smile gets brighter. And you can't help but think how pretty she looks when she smiles, her doe brown eyes stand out making her look like a doll. If you were to be asked to describe Lisa, you would be at a loss of words. Words cannot do justice to her beauty. The more you stare at her the more heat rushes to your cheeks, you internally slap yourself for having these thoughts though you heart doesn't listen.

"Thank you for the help Miss L/N. I would be happy enough to have you in our team. You're really helpful. I must say I was impressed." The manager pats you in your back and you smile thanking him for the kind words, and do a mini dance when he's not looking but Lisa has been watching the whole interaction and chuckles making you hide your face and look everywhere but her and that makes her laugh again.

What a way to woo your crush.

~

You're again seated with Lisa at the back as you guys head to drop Lisa at the dorm. This time, Lisa makes small talks with you about her 5 cats. Leo, Luca, Louis, Lily and Lego and you can't stop smiling as she talks about her cats with so much love and adoration. "What about you Y/N, do you have pets?" You nod filling her in about your P/N and how he/she likes doing their favorite pass time. (P/N - PET NAME)

By the time you've finished telling her this one story, you've arrived at the dorm. You feel sad because you were genuinely having fun, though you don't let it show. You get out, waiting to take Lisa by the hand but she just pouts. "Carry me Y/N, my ankle hurts with all the walking I did from the hospital." The manager looks at you with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry to have you do this, but please help us Miss L/N." You see Lisa from the corner of your eye winking at you, and you swear you would have exposed her but then you don't want to be rude infront of your superior so you crouch down, while Lisa hops onto you with a smile. The manager opens the door for you, and waits outside. You walk in with Lisa in your back while she mumbles a genuine thank you and so you hum letting her know it's alright and you're not mad. As you enter the dorm, you spot the other members by the living room, sitting on the couch munching on food. Jennie is the first to spot you and Lisa, and she gets up walking to you, gathering the attention of the other two idols.

"Lisa! What happened? How can you be so careless?" Jennie turns into full mom mode when she notices Lisa's wrapped up ankle. And you try to suppress your laughter finding it cute. Lisa however notices you trying to laugh so she pinches your cheeks, making you whine. Jisoo swats away Lisa's hands from your cheeks, and offers you a smile while you mouth her a thanks. Rosé arranges the cushions for Lisa as you lie her down on the couch.

The girls thank you on behalf of Lisa while you bow and say it's alright. You get ready to leave, but Lisa calls you. "Y/N aren't you forgetting something?" You look back at her and snap your fingers realizing you should tell her the remedy. "Ah yeah, you have to put ice on your ankle within 2-3hr intervals so as to ensure that the swelling doesn't increase." Lisa shakes her head at your obliviousness and takes out her phone, flexing it in front of your face. "You forgot to give me your number. You promised to show me pictures of your P/N." You look at her incredulously while the other members just laugh and make their way to the kitchen to give you both some privacy. You contemplate whether it's professional of you to hand her your number, no it isn't. But the puppy eyes she shoots you makes it harder for you to decline and you hesitantly hand her your phone. She punches her number in, saving it with various emojis.

Lisa🐒🐥🐈🖤💗

You laugh at her choice. She sends a quick text from your phone to herself and saves your number with God knows how many emojis.

Finally, you get up to leave before she pulls you by your hand and kisses your cheeks leaving you flustered. "Uhm I-- You- I- must leave. M-My superior's wait-waiting bye!" You run off, almost stumbling into a wall.

You're falling for her and there's no denying.

~

The next day, dispatch and various news channels reveal photos of you carrying Lisa from the building to the van. Some fans share their worries about their favorite idol while some joke about the picture being from a movie scene. Both Knetizens and Fans are curious about the mysterious person, setting the news to trending. You go through a few other articles, until one of them catches your eyes.

BLACKPINK LISA SAVED FROM ANKLE INJURY BY MYSTERIOUS FEMALE. FANS CALL HER THE WHITE KNIGHT!

By the time you've finished reading, you get a message from Lisa.

Thank you my white knight, hope to have your exclusive services limited only for myself. Meet me soon <3 Would love to know more about you 🙈

[stanknotstark]

Wisdom Starts With a T (Loki x Reader)

SOOOO I’M SO EMBARRASSED THAT I FORGOT ABOUT THE GAUZE IN YOUR MOUTH AT THE END BUT I’M VERY THANKFUL @justfangirlthingies​ POINTED IT OUT AND I WAS GONNA FIX IT TOMORROW BUT I WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO SLEEP B/C EMBARRASSED XDDDD

You’re still not quite sure how you ended up here. Here being your head in Loki’s lap in the middle of Central Park, your body laid across an uncomfortable bench. You sit up a bit and glare at Loki. 

“What did you do?” You ask the God. Noting that there is gauze sticking out of your mouth, making your speech sound slurred and muted. 

Loki looks at you unamused. 

“I follow your demands and even then I receive backlash.” Loki scoffs, “Typical.” 

“All you were supposed to do was drive me to my appointment and then bring me back to the tower.” You say looking around the park, “This isn’t the tower.” 

“An astute observation.” Loki drawls out, squinting at you. “Are you fine now?”

“What?” You ask. You can’t for the life of you remember anything that happened since before going under for your surgery. 

“Are you going to cry anymore, specifically, is what I want to know.” Loki asks almost unnerved. 

You close your eyes and rest your head back on Loki’s lap. You’re still a bit dizzy but clearly capable, “What did I do?” 

Loki doesn’t quite snort but it’s a close call, “I think you should be asking what did you not do.” 

So, Loki begins to tell you what exactly happened. 

“So all I need to do is drive you there, wait till they bring you to the car and they will tell me exactly what you need the next few days. Then, I bring you back to the tower and let you sleep off the anesthesia?” Loki asks to both you and Bruce. 

Bruce shrugs, pushes his glasses up his nose and nods. “Pretty much.” 

“Don’t let me tell you what to do, do your best to keep me in the car, when we get back to the tower lock me in my room.” You say making sure to keep eye contact with Loki. 

Loki gets a look on his face like he smelled something really bad. “And, pray tell, why must I be the one to do this tedious task again?” 

Bruce chuckles. “I’d take her but Fury requires all of us minus her and you. You’re also the only other person she trusts to take her and is here at the tower to help her.”

Loki glances at you but looks away, “Of course she picks me to trust.” He says shaking his head. “Fine. I’ll take her.” 

“Sweet!” You yelp with a fist pump. 

~~~

After the nurse had put you in the car (Tony lent you one of his) and told Loki the instructions on how to take care of you after getting your wisdom teeth out he locked the car doors and looked at you with curiosity. 

“Are you quite alright?” Loki asked as you looked around with amazement in your eyes. At his words your head snapped to him and you smiled goofy. 

“Ya. I’m peachy, splendid, marvelous, dandy!” You almost yelled in the confined space, Loki looking disgusted when a little spittle flew from your mouth. 

“Right.” The god said starting the car. 

As you rode back in silence you began mumbling. You had hoped anyone else could have taken you because you didn’t want Loki to see you so vulnerable and small but you didn’t have any friends close enough but that’s not to say you don’t trust Loki. You just felt how you behaved would reflect badly on you since he already considered midguardians weaklings. You honestly wanted the god to like you and even be friends. You wanted more than friends but as if that would happen.

“What?” Loki asked you.

“Huh?” You said innocently, looking over at the god with wide eyes. 

Loki stopped at a red light and truly looked at you. 

“Why are you staring at me?” You ask shyly, bringing a hand up to push the gauze back into your mouth before it fell out. 

Loki smirked, shook his head, and looked back to the road. 

After a bit of silence you tell Loki, “I have a crush on someone.” 

Loki raises a brow, glances at you, but does nothing more to implore. 

“It’s Loki, but don’t tell him, please!” You grab ahold of Loki’s arm and tug. 

Loki doesn’t even have time to react to what you said before you start bawling. 

“You’re gonna tell him and then he won’t like me!”

Loki struggles to take back his arm but when he does he then uses it to pull you into a awkward side hug and shush you.

“I shall not tell him, your secret is safe with me.” 

This gets you to calm down for five minutes. 

“Can we go to a toy store I want to look at legos. I used to play with legos when I was little, I would build spaceships and pretend I was the pilot.” You rub your eyes of tears and sniffle. “I miss being a kid.” 

“As I am sure, we all do.” Loki says under his breath. 

“So can we go?” You ask with wide, puppy eyes. Loki had pulled out of the hug and instead had his free hand resting on the prindle, that’s what you liked to call it. 

“No, I’m required to only take you back to the tower. Keep pressure on your gauze to stop the bleeding, please.” Loki said glancing at you as he drove. 

He mentally prepared himself when he saw your eyes starting to water.

“You don’t care about me, you never did!” You wail, fat tears dropping from your eyes, your hands furiously wiping at them as they fell. 

“Nonsense!” Loki says.

“If you really cared you’d take me to the park!” You yell at him. 

Loki takes in a deep breath, another, then when you take in a deep breath to yell at him some more he relents, “Fine! We’ll go to the park, now will you stop your incessant whining?” 

Immediately your tears stop and you’re smiling with a red nose and blotchy cheeks. “Ok!”

Loki rolls his eyes but he’s very impressed with your acting in such a state.

~~~

Loki rolls his eyes as you laugh at him from his lap. 

“Thanks, for caring so much.”

“I do not care, I simply wanted you to shut up.” Loki says with a scoff but you know better because he lets a hand come down and stroke your hair. 

You lay there for a bit more, picking at his casual clothes. “How long have I been sleeping?” You ask when you realize the sun that started on the east is now in the center of the sky.

“Approximately two hours, give or take a few minutes.” 

Taking in your surroundings you start to hear shutters going off like crazy. 

“And how long have the paparazzi been here?”

“Long enough.” Is all Loki says. 

You hum but look on the bright side of things. 

“Well you’ll get some good reports and they’ll probably start printing out stories about how we’ve been having a secret love affair going on.” 

You feel Loki hum more than hear it, his hand stops stroking your hair but doesn’t move from its position. 

“From what you said earlier I understand that you don’t mind that?” Loki asks. 

You shrug but when Loki pokes your face you look at him. His eyes are imploring, he wants to hear from you, sober you, that you want it. 

“Yes. I wouldn’t mind having a secret love affair with you.” 

Loki smirks and his hand goes back to stroking your hair. You practically purr at the affection and snuggle into his stomach. 

“Who does the paparazzi think you’re currently bedding?”

“Steve. They saw us hug at a gala event, away from prying eyes, and the stories spun out of control.” 

Loki chuckles then moves your body to where you’re sitting up and hugging him by his side. When you both look at each other Loki tries to fight a smile.

“I would say we could give them a show but...”

You frown and touch the gauze sticking out of your mouth. Before you can begin to pull it out, fuck it you think, Loki snickers and stops your hands.

“I’m honored you want a kiss that bad however I do not particularly like my kisses to taste of blood.”

You pout as best you can through your gauze but concede with Loki. 

“You better kiss me the minute I stop bleeding then.” You say poking Loki’s chest. He still has a smile on his face but grabs your poking hand and holds it.

“Deal, darling.”

IF YOU WANT TO SEE THE ORIGINAL ENDING WHERE I COMPLETELY FORGOT ABOUT THE GAUZE IT IS DOWN HERE

Loki shifts making you frown and sit up next to him then he brings an arm around your shoulders and pulls you into his side. When you look at him you see his eyes are focused on your lips causing you to open them slightly. In return Loki licks his lips. Loki then grabs your chin and finally looks into your eyes.

“Lets give them a story worth writing, shall we?” He asks in a low, deep voice.

You can’t speak so you nod your head and Loki smiles before bringing your lips to his.

[starkeristheendgame]

I had this idea and- Tony and Peter in the lab working together when suddenly Peter gets a call and it’s Ned just talking about LEGO stuff so Peter puts him on speaker. Thing is, Ned has no idea he is with Tony because Peter didn’t address it so he suddenly says “So how’s it going with your Iron Daddy crush?” Or something like that and Peter and Tony look at eachother absolutely SHOCKED

I spent a solid ten minutes wholly entertained by this idea and cycling through all the reactions Peter could have. I hope I did you proud on this one, Non! Thank you so much for considering me ❤️

No triggers/warnings. SFW

Working with Tony was fast becoming one of Peter's favourite things to do. It was even better than building LEGO sets or patrolling the streets, and that was saying something. He lived for the long hours spent in the lab, working alongside or merely coexisting with Tony as they worked, playlists cycling through in the background. It was calming, it felt right. 

If he were to hazard a guess, he would say Tony enjoyed it too. He obviously didn’t have much evidence to compare to how Tony had been in the lab prior to his arrival, but these days Tony sang along to the music and talked to Peter about their projects and ordered too much takeout even for the two of them and sometimes, even fell asleep against the workbench after too many long hours. 

It was one such night when they were working together; each on their individual projects but bouncing information and ideas between them. Peter was working on adding a small-scale explosive to his web mechanism for things like blowing up concrete or doors and Tony was working on what looked like part of the suit, but could frankly be anything at this point. Peter had once asked him how working on the Gauntlet was going only to be informed it was a vase. A mechanical vase, no less. 

“Diamond laser, diamond laser…” Tony muttered, petting about the bench. Peter picked up the tool laying on his own bench. 

“Here,” he called, tossing it over. Tony caught it, offered him a brief, warm smile, and dove back into his work. Time passed quietly, until he heard a soft mutter of oh, that’s not good and then-

“Duck!”

Wordlessly Peter dropped down, tucking himself under the safety of his bench as there was a hiss, a clang, and a piece of metal flew over where he’d just been standing, ricocheting off the wall before it clattered to the floor. He righted himself, peered at it curiously, then went back to his own work. Mishaps in the lab were far too common to make a fuss of. 

It fell back into a lull, working in tandem and comfortable silence until Peter’s phone rang on the table besides him. He paused, nose crinkling. Aunt May wasn’t expecting him to be home tonight, so that left…

“Hey, Ned,” he greeted as he swiped the call, lifting it to his ear. There was a scuffle and a huff on the other end of the line and he waited patiently as Ned got himself set. 

“Dude! Have you seen the new LEGO Avengers set? You gotta get one. It’s got everyone! Well, except you, but technically you’re not an official Avenger yet-”

“Gee, thanks for reminding me,” he drawled, rolling his eyes as he fiddled with a coil one-handed. Ned continued to speak, rattling off the pieces, the details and resolutely demanding they went the moment the store opened tomorrow to get the set. Peter hummed along in agreement, interjecting here and there to demand details. 

“Oh, I thought about what we could do for our science project, too!” Ned began, and Peter huffed in irritation as he tried and failed to connect a wire with just one hand. Tony more or less comfortably forgotten in the background, he shuffled his phone down onto the desk and tapped the speaker icon, picking up his tools once Ned’s voice filled the room. 

“So I was thinking, right? And I was thinking; hey! Peter has access to all this stuff now! And I know we can’t do anything too dramatic because we’re still losers, but what if we use…” Peter listened intently, tongue sticking out as he focused on screwing on the pressure plate. Ned’s idea actually wasn’t all that bad - Taking inspiration from the web shooters to make a spray-able temporary hole/crack fix. 

It was nothing Peter hadn’t already made, so it ought to be easy enough. It was easy to listen along and work; both motions equally soothing. Tony said nothing in the background, engrossed in his own tinkering and content to let their conversation be background noise. 

"Oh, and hey! How's the whole thing with Mr. Stark going?" Ned asked on the tail-end of a ramble about how Peter could use the web formula to start his own business and make billions. Peter opened his mouth to explain their current projects, temporarily forgetting that he hadn't actually told Ned he was at the Tower right now. 

"Or should I say Iron Daddy now? Was that just a one time thing? Its so weird saying that, though. Just get his Iron Rod already so we don't have to keep-" 

Peter froze, staring at the phone in movie-comical horror. Across the lab there was a deafening clang and a curse as Tony jerked upright and knocked his head on Butterfinger's mainframe, dropping the diamond laser to the table. 

"-Like just go right up to him and say 'I want you to be my Iron Daddy,' like how hard can it be? You could tell him about your old fan account, I bet he'd be flattered. I bet he'd even-" 

Peter made a high distressed sound, flailing on the spot. His mind screamed SHUT UP NED SHUTUP HE'SHERERIGHTHERE SHUT UP but his throat wouldn't work to get the words out. On the other bench Tony looked vaguely like the arc reactor had glitched, eyes more white than iris as he gripped at the edge of the table. 

Panic rose like a tidal wave and Peter gave a strangled sound, operating on pure fear and horror as he raised his palm and pressed the trigger on the web shooters. The StarkPhone went up in a spectacular display of sparks and flying metal, Ned's voice cutting off abruptly. 

Dully, Peter thought huh, it works. As the last pathetic sparks fizzled to the ground Peter turned his head, staring meekly somewhere near Tony's shoulder. 

"Sorry. That was... Your phone," he excused lamely, belatedly noting he no longer had his chappy old IPhone but Stark Industries' latest, sleekest model courtesy of Tony. 

“Technically it was yours,” Tony replied back rather dazedly, leaning heavily against the bench. An awkward silence fell over them for several seconds, before Tony’s expression twisted. 

“Iron Daddy?” 

Peter made a sound between a groan and a whine and collapsed against his own bench next to the smoking remains of his phone. “Oh my god. I was a meme. I sent him a meme one time.”

“And my Iron Rod is…?” 

“Mr. Stark, I am begging you to stop talking.”

There was a terse pause where Peter awaited morosely to be told to leave; to be dropped outside his apartment again with a bye, c’ya, don’t call. And then - 

“Do you?” Tony’s voice sounded... Small. Peter looked up quizzically, brows furrowing as he watched Tony rub at his arm. It was a tic - an emotional tell. “Want me to be your Iron Daddy?” 

Peter almost groaned. Might’ve, if the meaning behind the words hadn’t rendered him incapable of anything other than surprise. 

“I’d... Always thought it would be more a boyfriend thing,” he admitted. His crush had never been a secret but had always been swept under the rug as idolism and hero worship, never taken seriously. It had only been in his dreams and fantasies that Tony had ever reciprocated the feelings or taken his compliments to heart. 

“Hm.” It was a flat response, thoughtful and veiling any true emotion as Tony moved to rub at his jaw, then turned away. “I’ll get you a new phone. FRI has all your data on back-up, so you won’t have lost anything.”

Peter’s heart sank a little and he took the unspoken rejection graciously, lowered his head with a short nod. He willed himself to be mature about it, sweeping away the remains of his old phone into the waste disposal and thanking the older man in a small, fragile voice when he was handed a sleek new device.

Tony had turned it on whilst he brought it over and it cycled through an installation before vibrating in his hand.

[Iron Daddy] I can do boyfriends. [19:21]

[unmaskedagain]

To all Guys a Chat Loved Before

Okay, this is it. I’ve been working on this story for over a week. It’s seventy pages and twenty thousand words. I basically wrote you a short story. Enjoy it. Review. 

I’m not fond of Rom-Coms and rarely if ever watch Romantic movies. But there are a few that i’ve liked. So THROUGH OUT THIS i’ve sprinkled some of my favorite lines from my favorite romantic movies over the years. Some also came from tv shows. See if you can point them out.

This is Adrien-centered fic. It’s also slash.

Don’t you wish that people came with warning labels?

           Adrien did. He wished more than anything because his life would be so much easier if everyone could see each other’s warning labels.

Bustier: Terrible teacher. Needs to please everyone. Hates confrontation.

Lila: Waring massive Liar, manipulative shrew.

His father: Workaholic, possible sociopath. Might be allergic to hugs and any affection whatsoever.

Adrien: A little needy. Emotionally scarred. Touch starved. Famous. Trust issues. Lacks some basic social skills. Probably going to be in therapy for the rest of his life. Likes to run around in a skintight leather bodysuit.

           You know? The basics.

           Okay, maybe that’s too much. Too personal. Fine. Whatever.

           But at the very least, if he could meet someone and just know, you know?

           Know that this is the one.

           This is it.

           This one.

           They’re the one that’s gonna break your heart.

           Adrien’s life would be so much easier if he could at least get that one warning.

           Maybe he’d run the other way. But maybe he wouldn’t. Adrien had a terrible habit of always making the stupid choice.

           Still, it would be nice to know before he gets into deep.

           Before his heart isn’t just broken…

           It's shattered beyond repair.

Iron’s Kid: When did you realize you weren’t like other guys?

Chat Galore: I was twelve. You?

           The first time Adrien realized he might not be like other guys his age came AFTER he put on a magic ring and ran around Paris as a superhero in black spandex. And yes, that statement alone makes him realize how insane he sounds.

           But in his defense…

           Okay, there was no defense. He didn’t need to defend himself. There was nothing wrong with him. He knew that. There was nothing wrong with…

Iron’s Kid: Fourteen. And it took me completely by surprise. Like a bite in the neck.

           Adrien always really liked his penpal. It had been Chloe’s idea. Adrien signed up when he was thirteen, anonymously, through a program at school and was given an American penpal the same age as him. The schools vetted all participants in the program for authenticity. They’ve never told each other their real names, never seen so much as a picture of one another, but still, Iron’s kid became one of the few people who knew him best.

           The blond knew a lot about Iron’s Kid too. He even had a list.

Iron’s kid:

A year older than Adrien.

Huge geek like Adrien.

He was a guy.

He loved Legos

Said he had brown hair and eyes.

He was bisexual.

He was really funny.

Really smart. Like Genius smart.

He was an intern at Stark Industries.

He was a huge iron man fan and adored Spiderman a bit as any New Yorker did.

He loved superheroes and memes (like a lot) and stayed up late a lot.

He made as many puns as Adrien did as Chat Noir.

.           They got along really well. They texted constantly. And, Iron’s Kid slowly became one of Adrien’s dearest friends. After the first year of being Penpals, Adrien asked if Iron’s Kid wanted to meet. The answer was no. Adrien asked Iron’s Kid at least once a year if they could meet up (or skype or trade pictures); the answer was always No. It was only after Adrien revealed that he was a supermodel, that Iron’s Kid revealed he had a famous face too and just wanted to be treated normally.

           That did stop Adrien from still asking once a year. Iron’s Kid was one of the few people, outside of being Chat Noir that Adrien could just be himself with.

           But unlike Iron’s Kid…

           Honestly, Adrien always kind of knew, ya know?

           He was always as into Harry Styles as Chloe was. Maybe a bit more.

When he binged watched Stranger Things with Marinette; he noticed Finn Wolfhard as much as the bluenette did.

Maybe, he noticed Kim’s biceps just a bit too much.

           So he started to suspect early on.

           He didn’t know for sure until…

           Luka.

           And that’s the worst (and craziest) part because knew Luka. He had been sort of, kind of, friends with the guitarist for quite some time. He had never even thought of the blue-haired boy like that.

           Until one day, Adrien, Marinette, and Luka were playing video games after school. They were just laughing and chilling out like they always do. It was perfectly ordinary.

           Then out of nowhere, Adrien noticed just how blue Luka’s eyes were. Then that was it. Suddenly the blond couldn’t help but think how cool Luka was, how funny he was, how artistic. And Adrien was really self-conscious. When Luka was in the same room as him, Adrien was hyper-aware of everything his own body was doing and everything he was saying.

           It was like he existed outside it for a few seconds and was just watching the chaos.

How does my hair look?

Why did I JUST say that? No, don’t say that THAT’s even worse.

What is wrong with you?

Don’t stand like that! Who stands like that?

Does it look weird?

Am I being weird?

He totally thinks I’m weird.

Iron’s Kid: How could you NOT have seen Princess Bride?!!!!!?!!

Chat Galore: It doesn’t look like not my type of movie

Iron’s Kid: But you’ve seen the Labyrinth???!!! WTF

Chat Galore: It was my mom’s favorite movie!!! You haven’t seen vampire diaries yet!!!

Iron’s Kid: That is BESIDES the point. Princess Bride is a classic!!!!

Chat Galore: Oh just shut up

Iron’s Kid; As you wish.

           Adrien slowly became a blushing, stuttering mess.

           And he didn’t know how but somehow this was how Marinette figured it out what was going on.

“…You have a crush on Luka,” Marinette said slowly and quietly, one day after school as they sat in Marinette’s living room as if the words were as hard for her to get out as they were for him to hear.

The two had gotten closer as friends as a result of the Lila situation at school worsening. Once most of the class made it clear how quickly they were willing to drop Marinette for a shiny golden ticket; the blond and bluenette quickly washed their hands of the situation. They decided to let their ex-friends sink or swim on their own.

Adrien did not need fair-weather friends. Marinette was tired of being everyone’s doormat.  They decided to sit in the back together and wait for the fireworks. Surprisingly, not long after Nino joined them. The glasses-wearing boy hadn’t cared if Lila was lying or not (though Adrien and Marinette would provide him with enough evidence to convince him later), he just knew that Marinette was his childhood friend and Adrien was his best friend. Nino trusted them, and sure wasn’t going to abandon them.

That was over a year ago. Marinette, Nino, and Adrien were best friends. Then the bluenette and the blond found out they were really Ladybug and Chat Noir effectively ending their crushes on each other. (Though Marinette took a bit longer)

“No!” Adrien said quickly. “I mean, I can’t, I, uh. I used to love Ladybug, remember!”

           Marinette shrugged, “So? I dated Kagami for like three months last year, and I’d still wouldn’t say no to seven minutes in heaven with Luka. Or longer,” She smirked. “I used to like you. I’m bisexual; lots of people are.” She then tilted her head. “It’s okay if you like boys.”

           Adrien glanced down shyly. At that point, He hadn’t thought too much about his sexuality. He always figured he was straight. It was the standard some people would say. But… Did he? Did he like-like other guys like that?

           …He definitely liked Luka like that. But was it just Luka? Maybe Luka was special. And dreamy. And nice to look at. And he made Adrien’s stomach feel a little weird when he was around, “…I have a crush on Luka.”

“Everyone does,” Marinette nodded. “It’s a fact of life. He gets Kagami to blush. Chloe says he not completely awful. Hell, even Nino said, and I quote, ‘if I ever I had to pick a dude.’” She said but then her eyes widened as she looked at Adrien. “Wait! I just realized have you ever had a crush on a girl besides Ladybug? I never heard you talk about any. This is the first crush besides Ladybug.”

           Adrien blinked and then blinked again. “I went out with Kagami once,” He offered, and then gave Marinette a playful glare. “Before you stole her away from me.”

“It’s not stealing if she practically jumped into my arms,” Marinette defended with a laugh. “Don’t hate the playa!”

           The blond snorted.

“I mean, what did you like about Ladybug?” Marinette asked. “Not me! Not now. But before you knew that I was Ladybug. What did you like about her?”

           Adrien bit his lip as he thought, “She was always fun to be around. When I was with her I never had to worry, you know? I could do what I wanted, say what I wanted. There was no pressure or anything. I was just me… but more. And I liked that. It was easy being around her.”

           Marinette nodded, “Ladybug used to be the only one you could be free around,” She said. “As Chat Noir, you never had to censor yourself for fear of what your father would do. It was freedom. A type of freedom you always wanted; to be wild and carefree. You got to do that whenever you are Chat Noir, and whenever you were Chat Noir, Ladybug was there. Did you ever… you might’ve… I think you,” She sighed. “…Adrien, I don’t think you ever loved Ladybug. I think you loved how you got to feel when she was around. You might have equated the two.”

           It went quiet as Adrien thought about what his friend said. It helped that his crush had been long gone so he could view it without the bias he used to have. And yeah, the more he thought about it, the more he realized Marinette was right. Adrien had been more infatuated with the fun and freedom of being a superhero, being Chat Noir that he ever was with Ladybug.

           He also comprehended that His crush had ended it rather instantly the second he found out who was behind the mask. Marinette was amazing; the girl of most guys’ dreams. Yet Adrien just didn’t see her like that. He didn’t have romantic feelings for her. It was then he realized that no matter who was behind the mask, what girl, Adrien wouldn’t have been happy. “She wasn’t real to me,” He admitted. “Not really. Ladybug was this unattainable dream. Anything was possible with her. I got to think up outlandish fantasies all the time of what our future could be and nothing was too extreme or impossible. The second she became real, the fantasy ended, and… I didn’t want her anymore; not like that.” He told Marinette. “Don’t get me wrong, I love you! You’re practically my sister. You’re the best! But… It is strange, I know.”

           Marinette shook her head, “It’s not!” She would know better than most what it was like when the fantasy ended and you had faced reality. “We’re kids. Feelings are all haywire.”

“It’ll get easier.” He asked. “I mean it has to. Soon, right?”

“No!” Sabine, Marinette’s mom, called from the kitchen. “Try in about a decade. If you’re lucky!”

“Mama!” Marinette yelled as she face-palmed. “Private conversation.”

“In our very public family room,” Sabine sassed back. “Adrien, honey, besides Luka, have you ever thought about any boys like that?”

           Marinette just sighed.

           Adrien turned bright red. He had more or less been adopted by the Dupain-chengs, and he was still getting used to having an involved parent. “I, uh, like Kim’s arms.”

“Who doesn’t?” Marinette asked. “Drool-worthy.”

“Harry Styles,” Adrien offered. “I like his face.” The bluenette snorted, earning herself a face full of the pillow. “Oh, you are so helpful!”  After that, they erupted into a pillow fight.

Chat Galore: I’m late

Iron’s Kid: For what?

Chat Galore: Reality.

Iron’s Kid: Oooh someone’s feeling deep today. What’s up?

Chat Galore: I’m

           Adrien paused writing.

Iron’s Kid: You’re…

Iron’s kid: Chat? You still there?

Chat Galore: I’m gay.

Chat Galore: You’re the first person I’ve told.

Iron’s Kid: I’m honored. And proud of you man.

Chat Galore: TY!!

Iron’s Kid: So who made you realize you were finally into Luka?

Chat Galore: …I hate you. GO AWAY!

Iron’s Kid: As you wish.

           It took another month, and a lot of introspection but Adrien finally came to terms with it, and while getting ice cream with his friends, he said, “So, yeah, I’m gay.”

“And the sky’s blue,” Chloe shrugged.

           Marinette elbowed, “That’s not how we’re supposed to react.”

           The blonde huffed, “What? We’re supposed to pretend to be surprised. I’ve known him since we were in diapers. I was there through OUR One Direction phase. We were just little kids but just because he blocked it out or whatever doesn’t mean I forgot he called dips on marrying Harry.”

“All good, dude,” Nino told Adrien. “Still my boy.” He told him. “Does this mean you’re finally gonna ask out Luka?”

“NINO!” Marinette groaned. “I didn’t tell them. I swear!”

“What?” Nino licked his ice cream. “It was obvious Sunshine digs Luka.”

           Adrien’s froze. “…How obvious?” Dread slowly crept onto his face.

           His friends quickly went to assure him.

“It’s barely noticeable!” Marinette said.

“Everyone wants Luka; he probably doesn’t even realize it at this point!” Went, Nino.

“It’s not as obvious as the crush Marinette had on you!”

“Chloe! Seriously?!”

“What!”

Chat Galore: My friends suck as much as you!

Iron’s kid: Ahh, they call you out on the Luka thing too?

Chat Galore: Fuck off

Iron’s Kid: lol

Iron’s Kid: As you wish.

           Adrien just groaned, seriously wishing the earth would just swallow him up. It was official all of his friends were completely awful.

           Not long after he came out to his father, Nathalie, and Gorilla. His father barely blinked twice and told him not to make a fool of himself. Nathalie scheduled when he’ll announce it officially on twitter. Gorilla at least hugged him.

           Lila attempted to convince the class that Adrien was just confused and hiding his feelings for her. But even that was a bit too much to buy. Instead, the class shot the Italian girl pitying looks for being in love with an unreachable guy. Lila seethed with fury as what she thought was her ticket to fame and fortune going up in flame.

Pretty much everything stayed normal though. There were no big fireworks. Adrien never confessed to Luka about his crush; instead joined his dozens of other admirers in mooning from a distance.

           Adrien was fine with that. He wasn’t looking for anything for his life to radically change. Or to completely lose his mind over some guy (though he did come close with Luka). In fact, he was rather happy if that never happened.

           But since when does he ever get what he wants?

Iron’s Kid: If you could punch anyone in the face, who would it be?

Chat Galore: What did Flash do now?

Chat Galore: And the answer’s: Lila. But Marinette has dips. And then Chloe. Then Kagami for some reason. I’m also after Nino, which doesn’t seem fair.

Chat Galore: …There’s a line to punch Lila.

Iron’s Kid: lol.

Iron’s Kid: Flash embarrassed me in front of Liz. He got everyone at this party chanting the stupid nickname he gave me.

Chat Galore: What a jerk? I vote revenge!

Iron’s Kid: What happened to the high road?

Chat Galore: It went nowhere. Time to light someone’s car on fire now.

Chat Galore: OOOOHHH!!!! Get MJ to put a porn virus on his computer! Let it hit during that school project you guys got next week.

Iron’s Kid: You’re a cruel man. And you and MJ are never allowed meet!

Chat Galore: Lol

Iron’s Kid: I can’t do that. Revenge isn’t my thing. I wouldn’t even care if Liz wasn’t there.

Chat Galore: You really like her, huh?

Iron’s Kid: Yeah I do

           Adrien grinned at his phone. Iron had fallen hard for Liz a while back, and it was the cutest thing when he gushed over her. Plus it gave the blond some relief to know that there was someone as bad as him when it came to romance.

Iron’s Kid: So my dads suck

Chat Galore: We should start a club!

Iron’s kid: Lol.

Chat Galore: Your dad or your pops?

Iron’s Kid: Both. They totally freaked out on me! They’re so overprotective it is insane.

Chat Galore: Been there. Am there.

Iron’s Kid: Me and dad totally got into it. He thinks I’m reckless and stupid. Like I don’t know what I’m doing. I just wish he’d trust me

Chat Galore: Stop treating you like you’re a little kid?

Iron’s Kid: Exactly!!!!! I can do this! I know I can! If he just trusts me!

Iron’s Kid: Instead I’m grounded.

Chat Galore: What are you going to do?

Iron’s Kid: Whatever I have to!

Chat Galore: just be safe, ok? I don’t know what’s going on. And I know you can’t tell me. But just Be. Careful. I’d miss you.

Iron’s Kid: I’d miss you too.

Chat Galore: Goodnight!!

Iron’s Kid: As you wish.

           It was Christmas. Adrien was staying with Marinette’s family while his father was away on business and avoiding all things happiness. Marinette told him that her Uncle was coming. Her dad’s great uncle from New York. He broke up with his boyfriend not too long ago and wanted to get out and see more of the world.

           Adrien had expectations of what Marinette’s great uncle would look like – like any Uncle. Old, kind of fat, who made way to many dad jokes, and smelled like mothballs. And he definitely wore tacky clothes.

           The guy who walked into the Dupain-Cheng home, following a laughing Tom Dupain, was NOT that guy!!

           First of all, he was young; like two or three years older than Adrien and Marinette. He wore was pale with dark eyes and hair. He was dressed in all black and wore an old black leather bomber jacket. He was unnaturally handsome.

“Who is that?” Adrien hissed.

“My uncle,” Marinette said. “I told you he was coming.”

“How is that your great Uncle?”

           Marinette shrugged, “Magic. Demigod. Prince of the Underworld. What can you do?” She said. “His name’s Nico.”

           Adrien’s life was already so bizarre he didn’t even question the demigod part. All he could see what Nico. His mind turned to mush. “Boing!” He pointed.

“That’s my Uncle, Adrien,” Mariette reminded him

“Sweet! I would be your Aunt,” Adrien said. “Uncle. I don’t care. I’ll be whatever he wants me to be.”

           Marinette laughed and got off the couch to greet the newcomer, “Uncle Nico!”

“Marinette!” Nico smiled as he hugged his niece. “I told you to call me Nico.”

“Uncle is a bit weird,” Marinette nodded in agreement as she let go.

           As soon Nico let go, he found his arms full of again but this time by a blond, “Uncle Nico.”

“Adrien, right,” Nico said as he hugged the smaller boy, “I’m not your Uncle.”

“Even better!”

           Marinette snorted and pulled her friend away.

           Nico looked them up and down. “Aww, it’s good you two are still so close. I still got that picture your dad sent me of you two in Halloween costumes; Harry Potter and Ron Weasley.” He said. “Adorable. You two must have been, what eleven?” He shrugged and smiled at Adrien. “It’s been a while. You grew up gorgeous.” And then walked off to say hello to Sabine.

           Adrien turned bright red and a big grin spread across his face.

           Marinette crossed her arms, and gave him a serious look, “You are not going to be my Aunt.”

“I can’t hear you!” Adrien sang. “Buh dah Bu da da Da!”

“He’s almost eighteen; physically and mentally anyway!” Marinette said. “We’re fifteen.”

“Almost sixteen,” Adrien snapped quickly. “Which is practically seventeen. Which is a skip away from eighteen. Two plus Two, you know?”

           Marinette rolled her eyes, “I know Two plus two equals four. But with your logic, two plus two is three with a wig on.”

           He hissed at her.

Chat Galore: I think I found my Liz

Iron’s Kid: Someone Completely unattainable, and probably a bad idea?

Chat Galore: MJ or Ned?

Iron’s Kid: …

Chat Galore: Seriously? Give Iron back his phone!

Iron’s Kid:

Chat Galore: WAIT! What do you mean about Liz? What’s going on? Why is she a bad idea?

           He would get a response an hour later. It was just after dark.

Iron’s Kid: Sorry! MJ took my phone!

Chat Galore: NP. What’s this about Liz?

Iron’s Kid: A good friend will ignore whatever MJ told you!

Chat Galore: A best friend’s gonna get answers out of you!

           Adrien’s phone remained silent as he waited for Iron’s reply.

Iron’s Kid: ‘sigh’ Liz’s dad a supervillain. He tried to kill me.

Chat Galore: Shit. I’m sorry. Are you okay?

Iron’s Kid: It sucks. Liz’s dad in prison. She had to move.

Chat Galore: that blows

Iron’s Kid: Yep

           Then Adrien did something daring; something he thought about doing before but just stops short of being brave enough.

           He called Iron’s kid. It rang a few times before finally answering?

“Hello?”

“Iron’s kid?” Adrien whispered.

“Chat Galore?” Was said. “You called?”

“I thought you might need someone to talk to,” Adrien said. “Really talk to. It is fine if you don’t want to. I just thought…”

“No!” Was quickly said. “This is great. I mean, yeah. I’m cool with this if you are.”

They ended up talking to each other for hours like they always did. But this time it went on even longer; to the point where Adrien was genuinely surprised to see the sun starting to rise.

It was the first Adrien began to suspect he might be falling a little bit in love with Iron’s Kid.

           It didn’t end there. As the weeks went on Iron Kid and Chat Galore kept texting and talking. Iron Kid was going through a hard time and Adrien just wanted to be there for him.

Iron’s Kid: It’s never been easy being me. I love my parents. But normal doesn’t exactly coincide with our last name

Chat Galore: It is like no one can look past it, right? They don’t see you, they see your name. It’s all they care about.

Iron’s kid: Exactly!!!!! Who I am doesn’t matter. Its who my dad is, who my pop’s is. Hell sometimes who my grandfather was, and he died way before I was even born. It’s not fair!

Chat Galore: And you never know if anyone likes you for you. Or if they just want something from you. Or from your dad. You just want people to see YOU for who you are!

Iron’s Kid: Makes it really hard to trust people. My parents always did their best to give me a normal life but

Iron’s Kid: it’s whatever I guess.

Chat Galore: It’s not whatever. And its okay to feel like this.

Iron’s Kid: It’s sometimes I feel a little lost. Or maybe just…

Iron’s Kid:  I mean, I can be surrounded by a sea of people and still feel all alone. Like no one really knows me or sees me. Then I think of you. I think of talking to you. And I don’t feel so alone anymore.

Chat Galore: I see you.

Iron’s Kid: I see you too.

           Then once more Adrien asked Iron’s Kid if he wanted to meet, even though he knew he’d be turned down. That was fine. Adrien would wait.

If Marinette thought it was over when the holidays ended, she was dead wrong. Nico got an apartment to stay in Paris and to spend time with his family.

           And Adrien got used to his brain going all gooey when Nico was around. He always said goofy things; things that made him wish he’d never learned to speak in the first place. He read books that Nico casually mentioned just so they’d have something to talk about. He did ridiculous things try to get the older guy’s attention. And whenever, Nico asked the gang if anyone wanted to hang out, Adrien would be the first to shoot up and practically yell yes.

           And all Adrien would get from Nico would be a placating smirk; the same type Nino would give his younger brothers’ when they did something outlandish to impress him.

           The weird thing was when Adrien was going all googly-eyes at Nico, they got along really, really well. They both loved art and classic noir films like Gun For hire and Laura. The two once spent an entire afternoon in the museum just talking about the pieces, ignoring the whines of Marinette and Nino who got dragged along.

           Still no matter what Adrien did Nico never took the hint to ask Adrien out. Or even hint that he was open to Adrien possibly asking him out.

           His friends got used to Adrien sighing wistfully.

“Gods’ he so handsome, it makes my face hurt,” Adrien whined.

Marinette giggled, “You’re young, you’re dumb.”

“Just so we’re clear,” Chloe pointed a fork at him that still had a bit of salad on it, “That those are not necessarily correlated. You’re just an idiot.”

           Nino leaned forward, “Bro, just ask him out!” He said with his mouth half full of pizza.

“I can’t do that!”

“Why not?” Marinette, Chloe, and Nino asked/yelled at him.

“What if he says no?” Adrien asked, because duh, why else wouldn’t he have asked Nico out already.

           Chloe glared at him, “Then you look in the mirror and remind yourself that you’re the second hottest dude, around our age, in Paris?”

“Ahh, Luka’s first,” Marinette put in.

           Nino raised his hand, “Just so we’re clear, I’m at least in the top ten, yeah?” Silence. “Guys? Top fifteen?” Nothing. “Top twenty?”

“Eehh,” Chloe offered as she flipped her hand side to side rapidly.

           Nino grinned, “I’ll take it!”

           It all came to a head during the Dupain-Cheng family game. Marinette invited Chloe, Nino, and Adrien, who had become Tom and Sabine’s additional adopted children, when Tom walked in, with Nico trailing behind him. “Family game night to the max!” Tom cheered.

           Nico chuckled and gave everyone their hellos.

           Marinette holding a hat on her lap, “Time to pick the games tonight: Mom, Chloe, and Nico’s turn to draw from the hat.

           Sabine drew Uno.

           Chloe drew Pictionary.

           Nico drew dungeons and dragons which caused everyone in the room to groaned, “What?”

“That game always takes forever,” Nino whined.

           Marinette flopped on the couch dramatically, “Mom’s always the dungeon master and she never lets us win. Dad always dies before anything good starts.”

“We always get frustrated,” Chloe added with an eye-roll. “And snap and try to kill each other!”

“In the game?” Nico asked.

           Nino glared at his friends, “Not. Always. Marinette!” He called her out, and she had the decency to blush. “Some people walk with scars.”

“Mental and emotional ones,” Adrien winced. “Marinette.”

           Chloe caught Nico’s confused look, and explained, “Marinette’s a bit competitive.”

“A bit!” Everyone else in the room said.

“Let’s just play!” Marinette gave them a playful glare.

           Uno was fast. Marinette won, of course.

           Pictionary resulted in tears. (Sabine was just as competitive as her daughter, and Tom was a bit sensitive.)

           The Dungeons and Dragons came took hours. Tom died right away and was content to watch the show. The kids turned on each other by the second hour, and it took Nico’s taking leadership and forcing them all to work together to achieve victory, for the suffering to stop.

           By the end, nearly everyone in the room was dead asleep, their characters long since dead, apart from Marinette, Sabine, Adrien, and Nico. Until the die was rolled for the final time and Marinette raised her tired arms in victory, “Finally. Six hours, friends came together on a harrowing quest; the longest game of my life. And we finally, finally won!”

Seconds after she was cuddled against her mother, both having fallen asleep.

           Adrien gave them a sleepy smile from where he sat on the floor before every cell in his body suddenly felt like it was hit by lightning when he caught Nico’s dark eyes staring at him. It was then that Adrien realized that, with the others all asleep, this was the first time Nico and he were ever technically alone together.

Be cool, he thought. Just be cool, damn you.

           It was all for naught as Nico got up off the couch and went to sit next to Adrien, who let out a small happy squeak.

“Let’s talk,” Nico told Adrien, who fought to stop his entire body from shaking. “We’re sort of friends, right?”

           Adrien winced a little but nodded eagerly, “Yep, friends, totally. I’m happy being friends. Yeah, friendship!” He waved his fist around in a small cheer and died a little inside as soon as he did it.

Why am I such a loser, he asked himself.

“Can I tell you something?”

“Yes, sure,” Adrien said. “Anything. Whatever you want. You can ask me anything too. I’ll probably say yes. I’ll defiantly say yes. Yes!”

           Nico just gave him a small smile, “When I was just about your age, maybe a bit younger, I had a crush on this older guy Percy. I was ten when I met him. He was fourteen, almost fifteen. In my eyes, he was all my dreams come to life; a real-life Greek demi-god hero. He fought monsters, saved lives. I had the biggest crush on him instantly,” He told Adrien. “Not that I knew it then. I was too young. I was from a completely different time where things like a man liking a man just were okay, or… Or Legal. I didn’t handle it well. Even worse after my sister died and wrongly placed at least part of the blame of unfairly on him. It took me a long time to realize I never hated him, I hated myself. I only stopped hating myself when I realized and accepted I was gay. And a little bit in love with Percy.”

           Adrien had no idea where this was going but he listened intensely. He always enjoyed listening to Nico whenever he told tales about his life as a demigod.

“Still I ended up doing a lot of stupid things,” Nico said. “Just to get his attention, to help him; to get him to fall for me back. A lot of stupid things.” He chuckled. “When I found out he was Bi, I thought I had a chance. But I didn’t. I never would’ve. Percy just saw me as a brother. I was too young for him. Way too young. There was no way Percy could’ve ever seen me like that. I accepted that. I moved on. I got over him. I even admitted to him about my crush; after telling him that he wasn’t my type. Asshole fell down laughing.”

           Adrien laughed a bit.

“We’re still friends,” Nico added. “Great friends actually. And I’m glad. Do you know why I’m telling you this?”

           The blond frowned and suddenly found the game board very interesting. Because, yes he did know why Nico was telling him this.

“You know I’m too told for you, right?” Nico asked quietly as to not wake up the others.

“Yeah,” Adrien nodded slowly, his throat felt a little dry, and his eyes stung. “I know. I kind of always knew.” He glanced at the Dungeons and Dragons, and a strange sense of hope-filled him. The blond shot the older dark-haired boy a smirk, “But I’m playing the long game.”

           Adrien tried to be hopeful about it. Or least pretend to but…

Chat Galore: I just got my heartbroken.

Iron’s Kid: That Douchebag. I knew that weird death kid was no good!

Chat Galore: He’s not that bad. He said I’m too young for him. I get he’s trying to be a good guy but…

Iron’s Kid: It still hurts.

Chat Galore: Yep

Iron’s Kid: I get that. How about we watch Star Wars and make fun of Kylo Ren, that’ll make you feel better!

Chat Galore: I’ve seen less teen angst in my high school. The dude has problems!

           And that’s what they did. They texted each other while watching Star Wars: The Force Awakens; sending each other stupid memes and jokes. And Adrien felt a lot better by the end it of it.

Chat Galore: Thanks for this btw. I think I really need this.

Iron’s Kid: No Problem

Iron’s Kid: And for what it’s worth, I’d never turn you down.

           Adrien stared at that message for an hour, mentally screaming. Because… What. The. Hell.

Chat Galore: Oh be quiet! Lol

Iron’s Kid: As you wish.

           The next day, Adrien sent Iron’s Kid another request to meet. The answer was a simple: Not Yet. That was Fine. Adrien would wait.`

“You are not playing the long game, Adrien Agreste,” Chloe glared at him. “Do you hear me? I will not take this into my twenties.”

           They had talked Adrien into ditching one of his many lessons and were hanging out downtown. Eating ice cream.

“But!”

“No!”

“I agree with her man,” Nino said, and Adrien gave him big green puppy dog eyes. “You can spend your life swooning over some guy. There’s other fish in the sea.”

“I don’t want fish,” Adrien complained. “I just someone to ride the Ferris Wheel with me!”

“Ferris Wheel?” Nino asked confused.

“Gay culture,” Chloe explained.

           Marinette nodded, “We just mean that… You need to Get some more life skills. Learn how to talk to guys. Get cool!”

“I’m cool!” Adrien defended and was met with multiple snorts. “I am. I got my dad to let me have more freedom. I paint. I went to comic con last year. I ride the metro now. And I can talk guys. I’ve successfully learned how to be cool.”

           Chloe smirked, “Okay, let's see how you react when you see him,” She looked over his shoulder. “Guy’s been checking you out since we got here.”

“I’m cool,” Adrien said as he casually glanced over his shoulder and saw just who was checking him out, he let out a series of nervous chuckles. And couldn’t stop.

           The guy looked about his age, with dark hair and blue eyes, a jawline that was similar to ones Adrien’s had seen on Greek statues; and he had muscles, so many muscles. He sat on a park bench and was writing or sketching in a red notebook.

           Nino shook his head, “Yeah you still need some lessons in cool.”

“Lesson one: go talk to him,” Chloe demanded.

           Adrien’s eyes went wide, and he let out a squeak. “Nope! Can’t do it. Won’t do it!”

           His friends shared a look, and Adrien suddenly fears for his life. He found himself all but pushed/carried over to the guy on the park bench. He struggled a bit. Suddenly when they got close enough, Adrien was pushed (By gleeful and vindictive looking Chloe, his official witch of an ex-best friend), right into park bench guy, who caught him at the last second. And Adrien found himself sitting in the lap of a virtual stranger.

“Hi?” Adrien offered weakly. “Me and my friends were just talking about you.”

           The guy gave him a big smile, “I know,” He said. “I figured. I’m Jon.” He said with a southern American accent. “Jon Kent. And you can talk about me any time you want.”

“Adrien,” The blond laughed.  “Adrien Agreste.”

“I like your laugh, Adrien.”

“I like your smile, Jon.”

           Then Adrien’s phone started ringing. It was Nathalie and Adrien had to rush home. Mourning his chances of ever seeing Jon again. He was probably a tourist who’d be gone the next day, the blond figured.

Chat Galore: I have the worst luck with guys!

Iron’s Kid: I don’t know. I think you have better luck than you think.

Chat Galore: Lol. What’s up with you lately.

Iron’s Kid: Flash finally left me alone. All it took was a school field trip to my job. Suddenly I’m not a liar anymore!

Chat Galore: Oh I would’ve killed to his face, lol.

Iron’s Kid: It was basically the crying emoji.

Iron’s Kid: Oh yeah, I met this guy named Johnny; totally gorgeous, rides a motorcycle, and my dads’ hate him

Chat Galore: Last ones’s the best part, right?

Iron’s Kid: YES!!

           The next morning Adrien and his friends were happily sitting in the back of the class. The other kids in the class ignored them as usual. Even Lila more or less pretended they didn’t exist. (Though she had been reluctant to let Adrien go and had made several attempts to get him under her thumb. Until Adrien got his dad to fire her under threat of dying his hair neon green, and wearing plaid, the one pattern his father hated above all others.)

           They had entered a cold war with her. As long as she stopped trying to make their lives hell, they’d stop exposing trying to expose her.

           Bustier was once again proving she had no control over her classroom as she struggled to teach a simple history lesson about the French Revolution. It didn’t make a lick of sense and Bustier tried way to hard to get the kids to relate on a personal level.

“History shows that bad things happen when you don’t know who you are,” Bustier said just as the classroom door opened and in walked two boys and a girl.

           Adrien’s eyes went wide, and leaned over to Chloe, “Park bench guy!” He whispered.

“Foreign exchange students,” One of the boys said. He had dark hair, green eyes, olive skin, and a thoroughly unimpressed look on his handsome face. He wore a black turtle neck and slacks. “Damian Wayne, Gotham.”

“Lian Nguyen-Harper-Queen,” Said the girl. She had Auburn hair and gray eyes. Lian wore a pink headband, a pink cardigan over a white top and blue shorts.

“Hi I’m Jon Kent,” He said. Jon wore a red plaid shirt over a simple t-shirt and blue jeans. “I split my time between the Farm in Smallville and Metropolis.” He looked at the back of the classroom straight at Adrien. “And I’m happy to be here.”

           Bustier nodded, “Welcome. Always happy to get new students! Let's find you some seats…” She looked around the room.

“OH! Damian can sit with me!” Lila waved her hand. “I’ll be happy to show him around.”

“Declined,” Damian simply said. “We’ll sit in the back.”

           Alya leaned forward, “But Lila’s goes to Gotham and Metropolis all the time!” She said and didn’t notice the way Lila paled. She seemed to have forgotten Damian Wayne was apart of her many, many lies. “Damian, you showed her around last time she was there. You guys became such a good friend. She just wants to return the favor.”

           Damian scoffed, “I’ve never seen this girl before in my life.”

           Marinette smirked at Adrien, “You’re going to need to move. I have a new best friend.”

“Mean,” Adrien said. “But understandable. Still not moving.”

           Jon and Damian sat in empty seats in front of Adrien and Marinette.

           Jon turned around in his seat, “Hi.”

           Adrien smiled shyly, “Hi.”

           Then they just stared at each other.

           Chloe let out a long-suffering sigh, “Oh this gonna be exhausting.”

Iron’s Kid: Best day EVER!!!

Chat Galore: SAME! What happened?

Iron’s Kid: Johnny asked me out!

Chat Galore: AWESOME!!!

Chat Galore: Park Bench Guy is in my class NOW!!!

Iron’s Kid: ‘High Five’ Maybe fate DOESN’T hate us.

Chat Galore: …

Chat Galore: …I swear to the Gods if you jinxed us

           The two guys in class quickly joined the Adrien’s friends’ group. They blended in seamlessly like they were always there as the weeks went on. Before anyone knew it, they were pretty much attached to hips. Even going as far as joining family game night.

           Through them; Damian, Lian, and Jon were able to get all the information they needed to survive Paris. The three had heard whispers of Hawkmoth but had been a little shocked when the Akuma alert went off and everyone had to duck for cover. After the third or fourth time, the new kids got used to it and easily swallowed the excuses Marinette, Adrien, Chloe, and Nino made about having to run off and go home during alerts.

           Around the same time as the fourth akuma of the new semester hit, three new heroes arrived in Paris.

           Well, new wouldn’t necessarily be the right word. They weren’t new heroes, they were just new to Paris.

           Robin, Superboy, and Arrowette. They assisted in fighting back akuma that turned people into candy; a toddler whose mother refused to buy him sweets. Afterward, they explained that they would be in the city for quite some time, and would assist when they are able.

           They didn’t reveal why they were there though. All Robin said was, “Justice League business.” And the Parisian heroes decided to leave it at that after offering to help if needed.

           Paris went nuts over the arrival of the new heroes.

           Alya cried in class when she found out Ladybug gave Aurore the exclusive interview about what was going on. Ladybug also publically endorsed Bugout, Aurore’s website, as the only reliable main source for credible information on the Parisian heroes. She didn’t say a word about Ladyblog, which was pretty much all anyone needed to know what they had already expected.

           Ladybug hadn’t given an exclusive on the Ladybug blog in almost two years but now it was official…

           The Ladyblog was out. Alya was out.

           Time went on. The kids grew closer as friends. Jon and Adrien got closer as… Well, Adrien didn’t know.

           He did know that his dad despised Jon because of time he picked Adrien up wearing a green plaid shirt but Gabriel wouldn’t admit it. Jon was the son of famous reporters Lois Lane and Clark Kent, godson to Lex Luther. And Gabriel Agreste was anything but stupid.

“I miss my family,” Jon told Adrien one day while they were studying in the library. “All the time. But I guess also miss the pets I have.”

“I always wanted a dog,” Adrien said.

“In Smallville, I have twelve chickens,” Jon said. “Three horses, four pigs, two cows, and a dog.”

           The blond nodded, “You win. Tell me about them.”

           And Jon did. He told all about his life in Smallville and metropolis. And Adrien told him what it was like growing up in Paris and being a supermodel.

Adrien grinned, “I want to be a lawyer when I get older,” he told Jon. “I want to fight for people who can’t fight for themselves. Like I read about this law firm called Nelson and Murdock who take all these pro bono cases to help people who usually have no chance of winning against bigger, bad-er, and richer people. It gets really dangerous for them but they just keep helping. Because it’s the right thing to do. I want to do that too!”

“I think when I grow up…” Jon said slowly. “I want to be like my mom. She goes above and beyond to get her story; to find out what’s really going on in the world and reports it honestly. I want to do that too. I want to be an investigative journalist. I want to hunt down the truth. Because people deserve the truth, even if they don’t like it. I know the truth can be scary sometimes, and a bit sad. But They deserve to hear it. But I’ve probably said too much.” He laughed.

“No,” Adrien shook his head, and smiled, “Tell me more.”

Still the more their friendship and bonds of trust grew, the more Lila became frustrated.  As far as she was concerned things just weren’t going her way. First, she lost her future as the world-famous fashion model Lila Rossi/Mrs. Adrien Agreste. Then Damian Waynes comes to town and won’t even look twice at her; too busy trailing after Miss Goody two-shoes. Then she finds out that Jon Kent is the son of Lois Lane and Clark Kent, godson of Lex Luther, only AFTER she privately threatened to make his life hell for siding with Marinette. She didn’t bother to try to get close to Lian Queen, granddaughter of Oliver Queen, the girl had been glaring at her since the second she heard Lila tell her first lie.

So instead of The Italian girl, once again, tried to sow dissension in the class, tried to force Damian to sit next to her; loudly bragged about her trips and famous people she knew to get attention. Damian ignored her. Then she tried making Marinette look bad again; lied about how the bluenette was bullying her. It didn’t work. Damian was quick to point out inconsistencies in her tales.

           That didn’t stop the class from believing them.

“Morons,” Damian called them one day after school.

“They’re not that bad,” Marinette tried.

“They kinda are, dudette,” Nino said. “I really expected Alya to catch on by now. But it’s like she doesn’t want to.”

           Chloe scoffed, “Of course she doesn’t!” The blond sneered. “She betrayed her best friend, ditched her best friend, broke up with her boyfriend, pretty much led the charge in exiling us, spread Lila’s lies on her blog which included Lies about Ladybug. It’s not just admitting she was wrong.”

“It’s having to deal with consequences,” Lian agreed. “That Alya got herself into this mess. If Marinette and all us aren’t the bad guys in this, that means she is. That’s a hard pill to swallow.”

           Jon shook his head, “I don’t understand why Lila lies so much,” he said. “Dad’s always told me honesty is the best policy.”

“You’re a long way from the farm, boy scout,” Damian tsk’d.

“Damian,” Marinette sighed and grabbed the boy’s hand and pulled him away.

           Adrien snickered, “Those two are so into each other, it’s not even funny!”

“I know,” Jon laughed in agreement. “I’ve never seen Damian be so nice to anyone before. I’ve known him since we were in the sandbox, and he just stopped calling me Kent last year.”

“Yeah…” Chloe drawled. “Watching two people dance around each other for months, neither making a move. It’s the worst.”

“Waiting for one of them to finally make a move,” Nino said, “Literally. Kill. You. Inside.”

           Lian nodded, “They like each other. Everyone knows they like each other. And Yet nothing. And we'll have no choice but watch and wait for them to pull their heads out of their asses,” She told them. “When all you want to scream is: hey, you two! Just freaking kiss already!”

“Yep the absolute worst,” Nino repeated.

           Then Lian, Chloe, and Nino stared blatantly at Jon and Adrien who merely shrugged.

“Damian will make a move soon,” Jon assured.

“I’ll try to get Marinette to say something,” Adrien promised.

“…I hate you,” Chloe said.

           Adrien gave her another confused look. Because what did he do wrong now?

Chat Galore: Dude!

Iron’s Kid: Dude!

Chat Galore: I need Hufflepuff support now!

Iron’s Kid: …Crap, I never told you Pottermore sorted me into Gryffindor, did i?

Chat Galore: WHAT!

Chat Galore: Traitor. Never talk to me again

Iron’s Kid: As you wish.

“How do I look?” Marinette asked as she twirled around in the living room. She wore a soft pink dress. Her hair was down and slightly curved. She looked like a princess from a fairytale.

“Flawless,” Adrien said, for the tenth time. “Why am I here?”

           Marinette narrowed her eyes at him, “Because!” She said. “You’re my bestie. I have my first real date. Chloe’s shopping with Lian. Nino won’t answer my calls. I need you here!”

“Take a deep breath, Mari!” Adrien told her. “You look absolutely beautiful. Damian’s already head over heels for you, and the way you look is gonna make his purpose.”

           The bluenette blushed a lovely pink, “Shut up!”

           The door opened, and in walked Nico, “Looking lovely, niece,” He said. “Big date tonight, huh?”

“Yes,” Marinette sighed dreamily. “He’ll be here soon.”

           Nico smirked, “Good. Don’t worry, I’ll only threaten him a little.”

“Nico!”

           The dark-haired boy chuckled before flopping down on the couch. “Hey, Adrien.”

           Adrien felt his mind go a little mushy. He never quite got over his crush on the older boy. At least not yet.

           The two still hung out every now and then, still always with Marinette. Nico frequently split his time between New York and Paris. So Adrien didn’t see him that often, though Nico had been around to wish Adrien a happy 16th birthday.

           Adrien tried to play it cool, but ended up sitting in awkwardly in the recliner, “Hey Nico!” His voice squeaked, and once more Adrien wanted to die.

           The doorbell rang.

           Damian brought Marinette a dozen red roses, let himself be mildly threatened by Nico, endured the massive amount of pictures Tom and Sabine took and ignored Adrien’s snickering in the background. Then the two love birds were gone. Sabine and Tom went to go finish closing the bakery for the night. And then it was just Adrien and Nico.

“So,” Nico said as he put his feet on the couch. “What are you doing tonight, Blond Wonder? Any plans?”

           Adrien shook his head, “Not really,” Jon was visiting his parents. Nino was watching his siblings. “I’ll just go home and watch Bleach. Or something.” Stuff his mouth with the hidden box of Oreos he had.

“Why don’t you hang out with me?” Nico offered. “The Maltese Falcon at the old theater on 3rd street. It’s your favorite right?”

           Adrien nodded eagerly, “Me and my Mom used to watch it all the time.”

           The two had a great time at the movie theater and ended up staying to watch another movie. They laughed. They ate lots of overpriced junk food. They talked. And Adrien finally managed to have a non-blushing, stammering, mind mushed, conversation with Nico. It was still just a bit awkward but it was not the cause of something either of them did.

           At the end, Nico walked Adrien to the front door of his house.

“It’s weird,” Nico said, “But I kind of always forget how great it is hanging out with you.”

           Adrien shrugged, “You’re not too bad yourself,” Then he smirked, “Though you’d probably be happier if you add some color to your wardrobe. Do own anything that’s not the color of sadness?”

           Nico barked a laugh, “I am the son of Hades,” He defended himself. “It’s our aesthetic, okay. And we all can’t be made from rainbows and sunshine.”

“Excuses.”

           The dark-haired boy shook his head, and smirked at Adrien, “This was fun. We should do it again sometime.” He said as he backed away.

“Yeah,” Adrien smiled. “Go to the beach, see what happens when you go out in the daylight. Even money, you burst into flames.

Nico chuckled as he turned around, “Goodnight, Sunshine.”

“Night, Twilight!”

“You’re dead to me!” Nico called back.

Ladybug and Chat Noir and the other Parisian heroes got used to the Three Justice League sidekicks appearing out of nowhere and assisting in battle. It had been strange at first; a little tense. Mostly due to Robin interrogating them every chance he got. Arrowette glaring menacingly at them. Even Superboy was a bit intimidating. Still, they never revealed why there in Paris.

           During this time, Adrien and Jon became much better friends. And the blond started to suspect that Jon would prefer to just stay friends with him.

Iron’s Kid: Johnny and Me are over.

Chat Galore: Ouch. What happened?

Iron’s Kid: ‘Dramatic Sigh’ we’re just too different, you know?

Chat Galore:  Different is not always bad. You really liked him, right?

Chat Galore: And did you actually type ‘Dramatic Sigh’, you dramatic bitch?

Iron’s Kid: I like that he was different at first. But we barely had anything in common. We were fire in and ice. Sure it is steamy at first but when the steam is gone…

Iron’s Kid: And yes I did

Chat Galore: You okay?

Iron’s Kid: I’m fine. I just realized I want someone I can talk to about everything and nothing.

Chat Galore: Someone to geek out over Star Trek with, and go to when you need a shoulder to lean on.

Iron’s Kid: Someone who’d stay up all night talking just because he wants to be there for me.

Chat Galore: Dating shouldn’t be this hard

Iron’s Kid: It’ll only get harder.

Chat Galore: Shut. Up.

Iron’s Kid: As you wish.

For Marinette’s sixteenth birthday, she had a party. It was much bigger than she wanted, but not smaller than her friends tried to make it. The bluenette was always there for them, and they wanted to remind her how special was.

           However, for the first time, Adrien was pleased to say, he was not the one trying to overdue everything to the extreme. Chloe was pleased that she wasn’t the one making the party planner cry whenever she called them. Nino was pleased that he wasn’t the one to be overly critical of the musical entertainment for being just a bit subpar.

           No! That was Damian Wayne.

           And unlike Marinette’s best friends, Marinette’s boyfriend’s craziness could not be contained.

           The party was huge. There were hundreds of balloons. Everyone was wearing fanciest party clothes. There were hundreds of balloons. Gourmet food. All of Marinette’s friends, close acquaintances, and anyone who loved and or adored her had shown up. Jagged had come. Cara Nightingale did a surprise performance.

           Adrien had a blast. His friends found out that while the blond boy had lessons in practically everything, dance wasn’t one of them. He was a terrible dancer. Laughably bad. Still, everyone had fun. Nino danced in a giant glow in the dark dinosaur costume.

           Then Marinette, Adrien, Nino, Chloe got on stage and sang Born to Brave from High School Musical: The Series. Damian, Jon, and Lian joined them. The crowd sang with. Bubbles filled the air. It was exhilarating.

           So much so that Adrien stepped out to take a small break. He sat on a white wood bench outside, looking up at the stars, and let the cool brisk night air relax him. Even from where he sat, he could still hear music playing from the party.

“Needed a breather,” Jon asked as he sat down next to Adrien.

“Parties,” Adrien shrugged. “They can be a bit much.”        

           Jon shifted in his seat, “Yeah. Yeah, I guess.”

           Then Blue eyes met green…

           And then everything suddenly felt really the world was holdings breath. Adrien had no idea where the tension came from but it was there. And it was like he was waiting for some imaginary bubble to burst. And Adrien just…  Ugh!

           He glanced down at his hands, suddenly not knowing what to do with them. He was also intensely aware of every millimeter Jon so much as moved. In fact, Adrien was aware of everything, including how many times he was blinking.

“This kind of reminds me of how we met,” Adrien finally blurted.

           Jon cast him a curious look but nodded, “Yeah, the park bench, right?”

“Mmhmm.”

           There it went quiet.

“Why are parties a bit much?” Jon asked.

“Not all parties,” Adrien said. “Just the ones my dad usually drags me to. Everyone is always overly polite while giving backhanded compliments; they pretend to be nice but they don’t mean it. No one’s straight forward.  I don’t know why it is so hard.”

“It’s not!” Jon turned to him. “Let’s try it now. Hi, I’m Jon and…” He took two plugs out of his ears, “…I wear earplugs because I can’t handle loud noises sometimes.”

           Adrien chuckled, “Hi. I’m Adrien. And apparently, I’m a terrible dancer.”

“God Awful!”

“Hey!”

           Jon laughed, “My little Pony is one my favorite shows.

“I once had an imaginary friend named Phineas!”

“I like fried broccoli!”

“I like fried Oreos.”

“You’re disgusting.”

“Oh because fried broccoli so much better.”

“Hey, being straight forward here!” Jon defended. “I like raining days over sunny.”

           Adrien smiled, “I like you,” he took a deep breath. “Like really like you.” He glanced down and then back up at Jon and tried to be brave. “Like I the way I thought you might’ve used to like me but don’t anymore.”

“Really?” Jon asked looking just a bit stunned. “How very straight forward of you.”

           Adrien stood up quickly, slightly panicked, “That’s it. That’s all I wanted to say. If you don’t like me anymore, I get it.” He said. “I… I just really wanted you to tell you. Even if you change your mind.”

“Adrien,” Jon said, standing up too, facing the blond. “I’ve never changed my mind.” Then he leaned forward and kissed Adrien. “I really like you too.”

           Adrien and Jon held hands as they walked back into the party.

           Later, after the party ended, Adrien would tell Marinette, Chloe, and Nino about his first kiss, and go partially death from Marinette and Chloe’s screams.

Chat Galore: You know what I like?

Chat Galore: Life!

Iron’s Kid: Things going good then?

Chat Galore: Jon kissed me. My grades are perfect. My dad’s letting me cut back on modeling.

Iron’s Kid: Awesome! You’ve need a break.

Chat Galore: We need a happy song!

Iron’s Kid: We. Do. Not.

Chat Galore: We need a happy song so when we can sing the happy song when we’re happy.

Iron’s Kid: We will never have a happy song.

Iron’s Kid: That’s more of a Hufflepuff thing

Chat Galore: I’d be offended if it wasn’t true!

           Adrien’s life really was going great. He became good friends with Nico. Lila’s lies in the class were starting to unravel, and she was quickly losing her supporters. Jon and him were sort of, kind of, officially dating. The sun was shining. Rainbows were everywhere.

           …He should’ve known it wouldn’t last forever.

           Adrien got a 911 group text from Chloe; with like a dozen exclamation points and several frowny faces so he knew it was serious.

           When he got to Chloe’s place, he found Marinette and Nino already waiting on the couch, while Chloe paced the floor. Adrien joined on the couch.

“Okay,” Marinette said. “We’re all here. What’s up? What’s the emergency?”

“They’re spies,” Chloe hissed, rage clear on her face. “Lian, Jon, Damian; they’ve been spying on us all this time.”

“What? Dude, no way!” Nino shook his head. “They’re our friends. Lian hates traitors!”

“Damian would never!” Marinette denied. “He loves me. I love him.”

           Adrien agreed, “They’d never do that us. Jon couldn’t. He’s like the most honest kid ever.”

           Chloe picked up a nearby face and smashed against the wall, “They’re two-faced lying little creeps.” She yelled. Though it was clear she was angry, they could also see the hurt clear in the blonde’s eyes.

“Chloe…” Marinette started slowly but was cut off.”

“Lian is Arrowette!” Chloe growled. “Jon’s Superboy. And I’ll give you one big fat guess who Damian is. And for the record he is not as wonderful as his nickname implies.”

           Pollen flew out from wherever she was hiding, “It’s true!” She said. “I saw them myself. They are the American heroes.”

“Pollen followed them,” Chloe explained. “She saw everything. They’ve been following us. Reporting intel to the Justice League all about us. That’s why they’re here. That’s why they got close to us. They know we’re heroes!”

           Horror and understandingly slowly crept over Nino, Marinette, and Adrien’s faces.

Pollen nodded eagerly, “They have reports all about your lives in and out of the mask. It's very detailed.”

           Adrien was glad he was sitting down because he felt like the floor has disappeared under his feet. Shakily, he stood up, “I need too…” He shook his head. “I have too…” He couldn’t finish his sentence instead he just ran from the room.

           And kept running and running.

           Until he found himself standing in front of the apartment where Jon, Lian, and Damian lived. He stared at the olive green door as if he didn’t recognize it. As if he hadn’t been there, in that same spot, standing in front of that door, a hundred times before.

           He closed his eyes and he knocked.

           Jon opened the door, “Adrien!” He had a large grin on his face that slowly disappeared when he saw the look on the blond boy’s face.

“Can I come in?”

“Sure, yeah!” Jon moved out of the way to let Adrien pass. “Is everything okay?”

           Adrien walked into the living room and saw Damian and Lian sitting on the couch, “Go see Marinette,” He ordered Damian. “If you want any chance of saving your relationship, if you ever really loved her like you said you; you will go see Her. Right. Now.”

           That was all Damian needed to here to fly out of the room.

           Adrien turned to Lian, “I need to speak with Jon alone, please,” He said as politely as possible. “I would suggest going to go speak with Nino and Chloe.”

           Lian frowned but nodded and left the room.

“Adrien, what’s going on?” Jon asked again. “You’re scaring me.”

           Adrien let out a shorter bitter laugh, “I’m going to ask you three questions, and I need to be honest with me, okay? Is your name Jon Kent?

“Yes,” Jon stated firmly. “Jonathan Kent Lane.”

“Are we friends?”

“Of course!”

           Adrien nodded and swallowed the lump that was building in his throat, “Why did you really come to Paris?”

           Jon frowned, “I’m here on a foreign exchange-” Adrien cut him off.

“Don’t lie to me, Superboy!”

           The boy of Steel flinched back.

“Tell me it isn’t true!” Adrien all but begged. “Tell me you didn’t come here to spy on Chat Noir and Ladybug and everyone else. Tell me this wasn’t all a big lie. Tell me you weren’t using me for information. Tell me! Tell me wrong I’m, please.”

“Adrien…” Jon whispered, pain on his face. “I’m sorry.”

           That was Adrien needed to here. “All this time. You… I thought… Was any of it real? Was anything you ever told me real? Do I even know you?” He asked. “

“The Justice League was concerned about Hawkmoth,” Jon tried to explain. “They received intelligence that Ladybug and Chat Noir were teenagers, and wanted to know more. They sent us.”

           Adrien just stared at him, “I like you,” He said. “I really liked you. You were my friend, Did you do all just because you were ordered to?”

“No!” Jon nodded, “I swear. I’d never do that to you, to anyone.”

“But you thought it was okay to kiss me,” Adrien said “To date me! When I had no idea who you are really?”

           Jon tossed his hands in the air, “You know who I am. Nothing’s changed. I’m still the same guy. I’m still me!”

“Everything’s changed!” Adrien yelled. “I’m questioning everything. Everything I’ve ever said to you, everything we ever did together!” His entire body shook. “You were sent to get close to us. You were sent to get close to me. To. Get. Information.”

           It went quiet. Neither knowing what to say.

“…That day in the park,” Adrien whispered. “You were on the bench and Chloe thought you were checking me out. You weren’t, were you? You were watching me, us. Gathering intel. Weren’t you?”

           Jon looked away, “…Yeah, I was.”

You knew I was Chat Noir even then?”

“I did.”

Adrien nodded, “It’s been a lie since the beginning,” He clenched his fists. “In the library, you told me that people deserve the truth. I believed in you. I trusted you. I told you things I’ve haven’t even told people who’ve known my entire life. Because I trusted you. I trusted you were honest and good and you would tell me the truth. Why didn’t I deserve the truth?”

He looked up at the mantle that was covered in pictures of people that Adrien knew as friends and family of Jon, Damian, and Lian, and at all of the pictures of Chloe, Nino, Adrien, and Marinette together with the three; laughing and smiling. And it hurt to look at it. “You’ve been here for almost a year. You three pretended to be our friends, to care, for almost a year.”

“It wasn’t pretend. Or a lie,” Jon looked ready to cry. “You are our friends!”

           Adrien ran a hand through his hair, “Then Why? If we were your friends, why?”

Jon shrugged, “I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say. Everything was so complicated. We were never supposed to be here this long. It was our first big mission. The first mission JL trusted us to handle alone. I could give you a thousand excuses but I know they wouldn’t be good enough.”

“They wouldn’t be,” Adrien agreed. “They aren’t. They never will be.”

           It went silent again. Jon and Adrien just stared at each other.

“You weren’t sent to get close us,” Adrien repeated. “Not just learn about Hawkmoth. But you were specifically sent to get close us; learn who we are as heroes and as civilians. Hawkmoth was a bonus. But you were sent for Ladybug and Chat Noir and Queen Bee and Carapace. Right?”

Jon looked down, away from Adrien’s soul-piercing gaze, and admitted, “You were the mission.”

Adrien closed his eyes, stood up straight, and with every ounce of control he could muster, he calmly said, “Goodbye, Jon.”

“I never meant to hurt you,” Jon said.

“That doesn’t really matter, because, in the end, it all hurts the same,” Adrien replied and left.

For the next few hours, Jon saying, “You were the mission,” Kept echoing in Adrien’s head on a loop.

Not long after leaving Jon’s place, Adrien would find himself in Marinette’s room, letting the bluenette cry her eyes out into his shoulder, shedding his own tears too. Chloe would arrive next with bloodshot eyes, and cuddle next to them. Nino, just after her, looking like a wreck and would take the spot next to Adrien.

It would be hours before they’d calm themselves down. But it wouldn’t be until the next day that any of them managed to ask what they should next.

Chloe spitefully suggested kicking them out of Paris.

Nino agreed halfheartedly.

Adrien was fine with just ignoring them. At least he hoped that he could. He would try really, really hard to.

Marinette didn’t say a word. Instead, she just let them talk with a faraway look on her face.

In the end, it wouldn’t matter.

By Monday, Jon, Damian, and Lian would be gone. Bustier would announce that the exchange program ended.

And Adrien would find himself frequently staring at Jon’s empty seat.

Chat Galore: So it turns out… Jon’s a big jerk

Chat Galore: He wasn’t who I thought he was.

Chat Galore: It’s complicated but to summarize he’s a jerk.

Iron’s Kid: Screw Prince Charming if he turned out to be a warty, jerky frog.

Iron’s Kid: You deserve better.

Chat Galore: To quote Gabriella Montez: Now I know you're not a fairy tale And dreams were meant for sleeping And wishes on a star Just don't come true

Iron’s Kid: Crap, you're quoting high school musical. You're really hurting, aren’t you.

Iron’s Kids: Want to watch shitty Disney Channel movies and talk?

Chat Galore: …Yes.

            Three months, two weeks, six days, nine hours, and twelve minutes. That was how long it took for Adrien to move on. For all of them to move on from the sense of betrayal.

Iron’s Kid: YOU STILL HAVEN’T WATCHED PRINCESS BRIDE

Chat Galore: It doesn’t seem like that good of a movie

Iron’s Kid: ‘Insulted Gasp’ How. Dare. YOU!

Chat Galore: You still have watched Vampire Diaries!

Iron’s Kid: I have taste!

           It took almost three weeks for Chloe to stop growling whenever someone mentioned Damian, Jon, or Lian’s name.

Iron’s Kid: I might need to hide out in Paris for a while

Chat Galore: Did you blow up your dad’s lab again?

Iron’s Kid: Worse!

Chat Galore: You superglue legos to your Pop’s shield again.

Iron’s Kid: That was an accident. They were supposed to come right off. And it's worse.

Chat Galore: Melt another hole in your living room floor?

Iron’s Kid: So. SO much worse.

Chat Galore: You didn’t call Natasha fat did you?

Iron’s Kid: Never that bad

Iron’s Kid: I may or may not have caused MJ’s laptop to crash

Chat Galore: … Shit

Chat Galore: Not even the gods could save you.

           A month for Marinette to not look like she wanted to cry when she thought about Damian.

Chat Galore: I’ve decided to learn to cook

Iron’s Kid: Sweet

Chat Galore:  Just think One day you will try my cooking.

Iron’s Kid: Sorry, Can’t I’m on a new diet.

Chat Galore: WHAT DIET?

Iron’s Kid: Photosynthesis

           Two months for Nino to redownload all the songs he deleted because Lian recommended them.

Iron’s Kid: Archie is one of my best friends

Chat Galore: *doing the Fortnite dance*

Iron’s Kid: I lied I don’t know you

           Three months for Adrien to be able to sit in the park and not think about Jon.

Iron’s Kid: I think are MJ and Shure are laughing at me

Chat Galore: Don't be so paranoid

Iron’s Kid: They're pointing at me and laughing.

           In the fourth month, things are pretty much the same as they ever were. Though everyone picked up the habit of pretending they didn’t know Marinette started texting Damian again. Eventually, the gang was okay when Marinette announced she was seeing Damian again; even if they, themselves, decided not to deal with the American heroes.

Chat Galore: I really thought 2020 would be a great year!!!

Iron’s Kid: …WWIII was trending in the first week of January.

           Time went on. Adrien went on dates, had fun, had a boyfriend or two. He grew up a bit, and kind of understood the position Jon had been in better. And then he wasn’t so angry. Still, a bit hurt though.

Iron’s Kid: I’m sending good vibes your way, they’re coming and there is nothing you can do to stop the

Chat Galore: that is the most threatening way I’ve ever been cheered up.

           By the time summer hit, Adrien decided to take a step back from love and romance and just focus on himself. He finally told his dad his wanted to be a Lawyer, and to his surprise, his dad helped him get a summer internship at a prestigious law firm.

Chat Galore: I’ve decided if I kill Lila, I’ll make it look like an accident.

Chat Galore: Unlike Chloe who has plans to mount her head on the balcony like a warning to the next that may come

Iron’s Kid: How will you make it look like an accident?

Chat Galore: I have a crowbar and a banana.

Iron’s Kid: Quick request: Go look up accident in the dictionary.

He quit modeling because he never really liked it. He found out he liked to paint and was pretty good at it. He tried and failed to learn how to dance.

           He did learn to surf.

           Adrien hung out a lot with Nico, who had become a good friend.

           By the time summer ended, the gang was back on speaking terms with Damian, Lian, and Job. Mostly at Marinette’s behest. She and Damian were going strong. And she really wanted everyone to forgive and forget and be friends.

           Chloe just agreed to be civil.

           Nino agreed to try being friends again after the three apologized.

           Adrien, mostly out of love for his all but sister Marnette, put his best foot forward and start over with them – even Jon. They agreed to be friends. Just friends.

Iron’s Kid: I don’t have a nervous system.

Iron’s Kid: I am a nervous system.

Chat Galore: I’m a Scorpio!

Their final year of school started with a bang. Next year they would all be off at University. And by Bang, Adrien meant Alya knocking Lila the fuck out during the first week.

           Lila had told the one lie Alya couldn’t just live in denial with.

“I told Ladybug, I just couldn’t do it anymore,” Lila sighed, “I already have so many medical issues. I couldn’t be Rene Rouge anymore. Ladybug was devasted.”

           Then the entire class heard Lila scream, and the thing they knew Alya was on top of Lila beating the hell out of her, screaming, “You lying little WITCH!!”

Chat Galore: ‘Video Sent’

Iron’s Kid: Lila’s the girl on the floor right?

Chat Galore: Alya SNAPPED

           Lila transferred out of the school Alya transferred out of class. No one got an apology. Adrien didn’t know why he was still a little surprised.

           Outside of school, Adrien was pleased to say the gang’s friendship with Jon, Lian, and Damian was back to full force. Even Chloe greeted the three warmly.

           Once Adrien decided to move passed any lingering romantic feelings for Jon, they managed to have a pretty good friendship. Even the Superboy and Chat Noir team-ups were going well.

Chat Galore: what should I be for Halloween this year?

Iron’s Kid:  a vampire, Batman, my boyfriend, Superman

           Adrien laughs until everything processed in his mind.

Chat Galore: What?

           He didn’t get a reply. And Adrien figured it was just autocorrected. But still… his mind couldn’t help but wonder. Just a bit… What if?

           A while ago, he had vaguely considered that maybe him and Iron’s Kid had something, could possibly be…

In the middle of Winter break, Adrien got the best gift he could’ve ever asked for.

Iron’s Kid: I’ve been thinking

Chat Galore: Well that can’t end well

Iron’s Kid: Have you and MJ been talking behind my back

Iron’s Kid: Wait don’t answer that. I’m afraid to know

Iron’s Kid: Ned made a point the today

           Adrien waited for Iron’s Kid to elaborate more, because what?

Iron’s Kid: I’ve been stupid.

Chat Galore: Ned makes a good point, lol

Iron’s Kid: WHAT I’m TRYING TO say is; I trust you

           Adrien smiled as his phone.

Iron’s Kid: We’ve been friends since we were like 11

Iron’s Kid: I want to meet

Iron’s Kid: I want to know what you look like.

           Adrien agreed instantly. Because he’s been waiting for like six years. They agreed to meet up that spring. Iron’s Kid’s was going on a trip to Europe for his spring break. It was just going to be him and a few classmates who were in the same club as him. Iron’s Kid said everyone else in their grade was looking forward to the Big Senior Ski Trip at the Brown Bear Ski Lodge that happened every year.

Adrien had family in England. They would meet at six pm at the London’s Eye.

Chat Galore: I always figured you were secretly a werewolf and knew we’d automatically be enemies.

Iron’s Kid: Wait, why would we be enemies?

Iron’s Kid: Oh You’re a Cat!

Chat Galore: And You’re supposed to be a genius.

Iron’s Kid: Meow!

           Adrien’s seventeenth birthday came and went without any fireworks; metaphorical ones anyway. His party was huge.

           He also met the Justice League and got to watch Chloe cuss out the greatest heroes in the world for the invasion of privacy. Marinette, Adrien, and Nino just watched with smiles on their faces.

           He was counting down the days. Until he and Iron’s Kid finally met. It was strange to think it was really going to happen.

Chat Galore: Would you say you’re an independent person?

Iron’s Kid: MJ told me to say to yes.

Chat Galore: Stop being weird.

Iron’s Kid: As you wish.

           Adrien chuckled.

“What?” Marinette asked. He showed her the text. “It kind of funny.

“Not the Mj thing,” Adrien shook his head. “Iron’s Kid always says ‘As You wish’ whenever I tell him to do something. It’s weird.”

“…Like in Princess Bride,” Marinette asked.

           Adrien shrugged, “Never seen it. It’s one of Iron’s favorite though. Irritates him that I refuse to watch it. But I won’t until he watches the Vampire Diaries.”

           Marinette stared at him, “And Iron’s Kid says ‘As you Wish’ every time.”

“Yep.”

“Adrien, WATCH. THAT. MOVIE,” Marinette ordered a firm look on her face.

           Adrien pointed at her, “No!” He said firmly. “It goes against my principles.” She shot him a curious look. “I have a duty to annoying Iron’s Kid in any way I can.”

           The bluenette nodded understandingly, a small smile on her face, “Makes sense,” She said. “I totally accept your reasoning.”

           Adrien smiled happily… Like a fool.

           In retrospect, he should’ve known Marinette would never back down that easily.

           And that was how he ended up literally hogtied on the couch, the Princess Bride playing on the TV, with a smug Chloe and a gleeful Marinette next to him. Nino watched from the recliner with an easy grin on his face.

“You’ve could’ve helped!” Adrien complained to his friend.

           Nino shrugged, “I did help!” He defended. “…Them.”

           Adrien sighed and allowed himself to watch the movie; he fully knows two things.

One; there was no way he was getting out of this

Two; Iron’s Kid was never going to let him live this down.

           The movie was actually pretty good. But then…

           The scene played…

Grandpa: Nothing gave Buttercup as much pleasure as ordering Westley around.

Buttercup: Farm boy, polish my horse's saddle. I want to see my face shining in it by morning.

Westley: As you wish.

Grandpa: "As you wish" was all he ever said to her.

Buttercup: Farm boy, fill these with water - please.

Westley: As you wish.

Grandpa: That day, she was amazed to discover that when he was saying "As you wish," what he meant was, "I love you." And even more amazing was the day she realized she truly loved him back.

Buttercup: Farm boy ... fetch me that pitcher.

Westley: As you wish.

           Adrien’s mind went blank. His heart started beating faster than it ever had before. It couldn’t mean…

           Iron’s kid didn’t mean…

           Right?

           But what if he did.

           Adrien always sort of held a small torch for his penpal. And he never had any concrete evidence that said he felt the same. And he was waiting until he did.

           But what if Iron’s Kid was waiting too. What if he was waiting for Adrien to finally say something; to finally get his message.

Chat Galore: So…

Iron’s Kid: So… Did we agree to stop sending cryptic messages

Chat Galore: We did not

Chat Galore: So I finally watched Princess Bride

Iron’s Kid: YES!!!!!!!!! Finally!!! Fuck yeah! Tell you me loved it.

Chat Galore: It was good, you freaking loser

Iron’s Kid: It’s amazing. It’s a classic you asshat

Chat Galore: Learned something interesting though

Chat Galore: ‘As you wish’, huh? You say a lot

Chat Galore: To me.

           Adrien stared as his phone waiting for a reply. It came after ten minutes.

Iron’s Kid: I do.

Chat Galore: Does it mean what it's supposed to.

           Another five minutes, and it felt agony.

Iron’s Kid: It does

           Adrien screamed a little

Chat Galore: Are you seriously just going to give me two-word answers? Why didn’t just you tell me

Iron’s Kid: In a way I sort of did

           Adrien glared at the phone.

Chat Galore: You are the most frustrating person to ever exist!!!!!!

Iron’s Kid: Thank you

           Adrien took a deep breath before dialing, “You suck!” He said as soon as it answered.

“I told you to watch the movie,” Iron’s kid defended.

           Adrien gripped his hair, “You don’t tell someone you love them by using some obscure 80s movie reference!” He snapped. “How hard would it be to say: Iron’s Kid, I’m pretty sure I’ve been in love with you since we were twelve-years-old.”

           It went quiet as both processed what Adrien just said.

“…That’s oddly specific,” Iron’s kid whispered.

           Adrien took a deep breath, “Yeah it is.” He said. He was forcing himself to be brave, braver than he ever had before. “But its how I feel. And I can’t help that.”

“I love you too,” Iron’s kid said. “And I’ve loved you since the first time stayed up talking while Binge-watching Harry Potter. It was the first time I realized you know me best in the entire world, and you don’t even know my real name. I could be honest with you in a way I can’t be with anyone. If I could dream up the perfect guy, he wouldn’t even come close to you.”

“Boys meets world,” Adrien let out a small laugh, that sounded a bit more like a sob. “Most of my life I felt alone, even when I was with people. That was until I met you.”

“Pretty little liars,” Iron’s Kid stated.

“In a few weeks, we’re finally gonna meet.”

“I’ll be there,” Iron’s kid said. “I swear.”

           Adrien smiled, “Good because I’ve been waiting for six years. And I know this is scary, but I will be there. Don’t let me down.”

“I won’t,” He promised.

           Valentine’s day came and went.

           Adrien was literally marking off the days on the calendar.  The trip was all planned already; Nino, Chloe, and Marinette were tagging along.

           Iron’s Kid and Adrien talked every day.        

“Okay if you sigh dreamily one more...” Nico teased.

           Adrien flushed a bright pink, “I’m finally gonna meet Iron’s Kid.”

“Ahh,” Nico nodded understandingly. “The mysterious penpal. It’s been what seven years?”\

“Six,” Adrien corrected. “Feels like twice that. We like each other,” He admitted. “Like really, really each other. We told each other a few weeks ago.’

           Nico frowned, “Just before meeting each other. Sounds like a lot of pressure. You ready for that?”

           The blond took a deep breath, “Yeah, I think so. It’s time. It’s going to be perfect. We’re gonna meet at London’s eyes, under the stars; it’ll be like a movie.”

“Your Ferris wheel moment,” Nico concluded. “Marinette told me,” The older boy explained. “Just… be careful okay.”

“I will be.”

           Nico gave him a hard look, “I’m serious. I know you. You’re all in. You always are,” he said. “Just don’t build this some more than you should. Don’t go in thinking it’ll be this picture-perfect movie moment. I don’t want to see you let down.” He told Adrien. “You’re my friend. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

           Adrien gave him a small smile, “I don’t care if the Ferris wheel is broken when I get there. Or its raining cats and dogs. It’ll be perfect.”

“Just be careful,” Nico repeated.

           The big day came. Adrien arrived in England on late Thursday with a stomach full of butterflies. Iron’s Kid had texted that he had been in London with his friends for a few days and that he couldn’t wait to see Adrien.

Iron’s Kid: I have brown hair. I’ll be wearing black slacks, and a rose lapel flower pin.

It wasn’t the first time the blond had been to England; he had more than a few photoshoots there. Yet somehow it all felt different. It all felt new. And it was like he was looking at everything again for the first time.

           He was to meet Iron’s Kid on Saturday at 6 pm. And he could barely contain himself

           He spent most of the Friday touring with his friends. They went to Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, The British Museum; standard tourist spots. And eating really, really British cuisine.

           Adrien woke up bright and early on Saturday and pretty much had a panic attack. It took Nino twenty minutes to calm him down. However, even when he was breathing normally again, Adrien was adamant about running back to Paris. That was when Nino called in Marinette and Chloe as reinforcements.

“If I have to drag to London’s Eye by your tacky boyband haircut,” Chloe growled. “I will.”

           Marinette tried the nice route, “Everything’s going to be fine,” She assured.

Chloe huffed, “I didn’t come all the way to London so you can be a little bitch.”

“You are so hostile,” Nino complained.

“What if this a mistake?” Adrien asked. “What if he’s disappointed? What if he takes one look at me, and is ‘You? I waited six years, and I get you. Waste of time.”

“That won’t happen!” Marinette said. “He’s gonna love you. He already does!”

           Nino nodded, “Yeah. You two are practically soulmates.”

“No!” Chloe held up a finger. “Listen to me clearly, Adrien Agreste; Just because he likes the same nerdy crap you do doesn't mean he's your soul mate. And if it doesn’t work out, not that it won’t, you will be just fine.”

           Marinette sighed, “No matter what happens everything is going to be okay.” She said firmly. “But you should really change that blazer. It’s not doing you any favors. Then we’re going to get breakfast and go to the museum. You have 11 hours until you have to be at the London’s eye. You’re going to relax until.”

“While we stop you from fleeing the country,” Nino yawned tiredly.

           That had to stop Adrien at least three times. One time Ladybug actually had appeared to pick Adrien up when he was halfway to the airport. This was all before one pm.

           The blond boy managed to calm down after that. Then he went back to bursting with excitement.  He was still afraid but he couldn’t let that stop him. Adrien has been waiting six years to meet Iron’s Kid, to meet Iron’s Kid.

           He arrived at the London’s eye, half an hour before six. He wore a silver suit Marinette had designed for him.

           Adrien took calming breaths. Marinette rolled her eyes as she fixed his tie, “See? This isn't so bad. You look amazing.”

“Are you kidding?” He gave her a nervous smile, “He traveled over three thousand miles to me. Any second now he's gonna get here, look at me and go, "Ha. Yeah, right, you're so not worth this.”

           Marinette gave him a hard look, “Yes, you are.” She patted his chest. “Take a lot of pictures. Text if you need anything.”

           And then she was gone.

           Adrien texted Iron’s Kid.

Chat Galore: I’m here. Blond; silver suit.

           The blond looked up at the London’s eyes, the biggest Ferris wheel had ever seen, and knew this was it. This was the moment Adrien had been waiting for. He smiled.

            When six pm came, Adrien was practically bursting at the seams. He was literally shaking in excitement. He watched the people go by and held his breath every time he saw a guy his age with brown hair but would frown when he didn’t see the rose lapel pin.

Chat Galore: You here yet?

           Six turned into seven. The sun had gone down. The stars were shining. Everything looked so perfect. Adrien was sure Iron’s Kid was on his way.

Chat Galore: If your running late it’s cool. I’ll wait.

           Seven turned into eight. Adrien refused to give up hope. He would wait no matter how long it took.

           Iron’s Kid was worth it.

Chat Galore: Still here.

Chat Galore: Did something come up?

           Eight turned into nine. The London’s eye closed. People started leaving. Adrien texted his friends that he was fine.

           He wasn’t feeling as hopeful as he did a few hours ago. But he’d wait.

Chat Galore: Still waiting.

Chat Galore: Well past feeling just a little pathetic.

           Nine turned into ten. Hope kind of then.

Chat Galore: Still here. Still waiting.

Chat Galore: What happened?

Chat Galore: Just say something!

           Ten turned to eleven. Adrien didn’t even know why he was still waiting.

Chat Galore: Anything! Please!

           A quarter to midnight, Adrien finally got an answer.

Iron’s Kid: I’m sorry.

           That was it. That was all he said.

           Adrien got back to his hotel room a little after midnight; feeling numb. His throat burned a little. His eyes were a little red.

           Nino greeted him with a big grin, “Back late, huh? Must’ve had a good time…” He trailed off when he saw the look on Adrien’s face. “Oh god, what happened?”

           Adrien shoved his hands in his pockets, “He, uh, he never showed up,” he said and swallowed the lump that had been building in his throat. “It’s fine. I’m fine. It’s okay.” Adrien nodded. “I need to, I have to, uh. I got to the bathroom.” And then he fled into the bathroom, locking the door behind him; willing the world to just stop existing for just a few moments.

“Dude, it’s okay,” Nino said through the door. “I know this has to be rough. But you’ll get through it. I’m here. I called Chloe and Marinette, they’re on their way.”

           Adrien didn’t say anything. He just wiped the tears off his face, and then gripped the bathroom sink.

“They’ll probably be banging on the door any sec,” Nino added. “Unless, Marinette’s trying to stop Chloe from committing murder,” He joked. “Which would be way rude by the way. I’d have liked an invitation. I thought our friendship was stronger.”

           Adrien heard loud knocking and the sweet voice of Marinette asking where he was, and the furious voice of Chloe already talking about how she knew how t to hide a body.

           The blond boy figured it was only a matter of time before Nino or Marinette convinced him to open up the door. Or Chloe broke it down.

           However, surprisingly after twenty or so minutes of his friends pleading with him to open the door, the door would gently swing open to reveal Marinette kneeling with a lockpick set in her hands.

           That got a smile out of Adrien. After all these years, the bluenette was still full of surprises.

           Adrien spent the rest of the night letting his friends comfort him. They left England the next morning.

           When they got back to Paris, and Adrien was back in the comfort of his room, he finally texted Iron’s Kid back.

Chat Galore: Why didn’t you show?

           He’d wait for a reply all day but wouldn’t get one.

           The next day, Adrien texted again.

Chat Galore: I’m not mad.

Chat Galore: I promise

Chat Galore: just a little hurt.

           Again, he’d wait for a reply all day, but it didn’t come.

           Though his friends tried to get him to talk about it, Adrien wouldn’t budge. He just couldn’t…

           It just stung too much. It burned too much.

Chat Galore: I get it if you were afraid or something

Chat Galore: It’s okay.

           And was the truth; it was fine.

           He would be fine. Everything was good. It was okay.

           Adrien would be fine.

           That was what he told everyone.

Chat Galore: We can pretend this never happened if you want

Chat Galore: Just be friends.

           Adrien still didn’t get a reply. That didn’t stop him from waiting for one. He figured Iron’s Kid was just embarrassed that he didn’t show or something. Everything would go back to normal after a few days.

Chat Galore: I’m going to see Onward. Heard its pretty good.

           But a few days became a week. A week became two. Two weeks a became a month of radio silence. And a seed of worrying starting to grow in Adrien’s stomach. Nevertheless, Adrien wrote Iron’s Kid once a day. He refused to give up hope.

           Adrien kept a smile on his face to stop his friends from being concerned. There was no reason to. He would be fine. It was okay. It wasn’t the first time he got his heart broken; probably would even be his last.

His days were split between studying and fight Hawkmoth. The villain was getting bolder and more desperate. Every Akuma seemed worse and stronger than the last. The kids got used to the feeling of always being dead on their feet.

           Marinette finally decided they needed a break and ordered a family game night. She got the newly permanent heroes Luka, Kagami, and Aurore to cover for them.

           Adrien tried to give all his attention to the monopoly game they played; laughed when he was supposed to. Tried to ignore that in the back of his mind, his attention was still a bit focused on his phone, and that fact that it's been a month since he heard from Iron’s Kid.

           A month since London.

           He barely even blinked twice when Marinette successfully bankrupted him, even though he was the first one out. Instead, as soon as the game got more intense, Adrien stuck away. He found himself on the roof the bakery, staring at the stars, clutching his phone in his hand.

Chat Galore: I’m running out of things to say

Chat Galore: Hard to have a one-sided conversation.

Chat Galore: I’m not even sure you’re reading this.

Chat Galore: Maybe I’ll just you send you movie quotes until you respond

            Adrien looked back up at the stars and wished. He wished never agreed to meet Iron’s Kid. He wished he never told him he loved him. He wished he could take it all back because at least he’d still have his friend.

           He wrapped his arms around himself. Adrien blinked back the tears that were building.

           He heard the door open behind him and figured it was Chloe or Nino coming to check on him; whoever got kicked out of the game firsts. Because Marinette was going to win.

“Beautiful night,” A voice said. “Nothing quite like Paris in the springtime.”

           Adrien cast a quick smile at Nico, “I always preferred it during Winter. A Snowy wonderland.” He went back to looking up at the stars.

“You know someday someone will walk into your life,” Nico said as he walked to stand next to the blond, “And make you realize why he never worked out with anyone else.”

“Go ahead,” Adrien laughed bitterly. “Tell me I told you so.”

           Nico shrugged, ‘Iron’s Kid’s a kid. And an idiot.”

“Yeah,” The blond sobbed. “That doesn’t mean much coming from you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Nico crossed his arms.

“Nothing,” Adrien rolled his eyes. “I’m just tired… I'm so tired of falling for guys that don't fall back. It hurts.”

“Adrien, I…”

           Adrien cut him off, “It’s the same thing every time. I’m all in, and they’re not. I’m the one left out in the cold. I’m waiting, looking like a total idiot. Because I was stupid enough to give all my heart when no one else ever does. So you wanna help me, Nico? Tell me what I do wrong.

“Nothing!” Nico gripped Adrien’s shoulders. “There is nothing wrong with you. You’re smart and talented. You’re caring and you’re funny. You look at this world like everything is possible, and you make me believe it too. You’re not the problem.”

“Tell me why I'm so easy to give up then,” The blond asked. “And maybe I can fix it”

“You’re asking the wrong guy, Sunshine,” Nico whispered, his forehead against Adrien’s, their lips inches apart. “There is no time or place or world, where it would ever be easy to give you up.”

Nico moved closer; so did Adrien…

“Hey!!” A voice called from downstairs. “New games starting. It’s Poker! Hurry your butts up!”        

           The two guys snapped back to reality and away from each other.

“You should go,” Nico said dryly, looking away from the other boy. “I’m going to stay here for a bit.”

“Nico…” Adrien said, looking a bit confused.

           The older boy shook his head.

           The blond nodded and started for the door.

“For what it’s worth,” Nico called. “He made the wrong choice.”.

           A small smile spread over Adrien’s face, “I know.”

“I wonder what would’ve happened if we met when we were older,” Nico asked.

           Adrien shrugged, “Someday we will be.”

“Long game?”

“Long game.”

           He went back to the living room where everyone was waiting, with the cards and poker chips already dealt.

           Adrien settled in the seat next to Marinette.

           The bluenette shot him a concerned look, “You okay?”

“I’ll be…” Adrien sighed. “Eventually.”

           The blond boy decided to chalk up whatever happened on the roof with Nico as… Just the two of them being caught in the moment. Emotions were high.

           …That didn’t stop Adrien from smiling every time someone mentioned Nico’s name.

Chat Galore: Everything is possible.

Chat Galore: Even the impossible.

           He still wrote Iron’s Kid once every day. Adrien didn’t say much. He just sent a movie quote he liked, just to let Iron’s Kid know he was still there. He was still waiting… if Iron’s Kid ever changed his mind.

Chat Galore: When you can’t look on the Brightside, I will sit with you in the dark.

           A month became two.

Chat Galore: In the garden of memory, in the palace of Dreams,  that is where you and I shall meet.

           Two became three. They figured out who Hawkmoth was. The battle had been epic. Adrien’s father had hesitated when he realized Adrien was Chat Noir, long enough for Ladybug to make the killing shot.

           Figuratively anyway.

           Ladybug blasted Hawkmoth into a wall. The heroes banded together to remove his miraculous. Then they erased his memory. And then Natalie’s. Of any and all knowledge of magic permanently; defeating Hawkmoth once and for all.

           As far as Gabriel knew he was just a recluse workaholic with what barely passed as a decent relationship with his only child.

           Adrien was devastated to learn who his father really was. Even so when he discovered the reason behind Hawkmoth’s villainous pursuit; his comatose mother and learned from Fu there was no way to save her; not even with a wish.

           The blond boy had long ago mourned his mother and moved on but that it didn’t hurt.

           Emilie Agreste was officially declared dead and buried on a sunny Tuesday afternoon in the middle of Spring.

Chat Galore: Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it

           Three months became four.

           At this point, he knows Iron’s Kid’s never going to write him back. And that was okay. Adrien was okay.

           People move on. And while Adrien would always wonder why Iron’s Kid never showed, he could live without knowing.

           If anyone asked why he was still writing, Adrien would say he didn’t know.

           But that was a lie.

           He did know.

           Iron’s Kid had been a really big part of his life, had been one greatest friend he ever had; had been his first love in a way.

           So yes, Adrien knew exactly why he was still writing.

           He could live without Iron’s Kid in his life but he couldn’t live without one thing.

Chat Galore: Here's looking at you kid

           Adrien officially graduated from school. He was accepted into Columbia. He’d be living in New York. And so, would Chloe, Marinette, and Nino. They decided they wanted to stick together and keep being heroes.

           Chloe would be going to Columbia with him to study business and public relations. Marinette would study business and fashion. Nino decided to dedicate his life to being the next great movie director. Adrien would study Law.

           They decided to get two apartments across from each other like in F.R.I.E.N.D.S. Because that was pretty much all they knew about New York.

           Damian would be attending Columbia; he was gearing up to take over Wayne Industries one day. Him and Marinette were still going strong. Lian would be going to Princeton, as Oliver Queen would be damned if his granddaughter went anywhere else. Jon would take a year off to explore the world before attending Metropolis University; he still wanted to Major in Journalism.

           Damian kept hinting hard that the Titans, not the Teen Titans, were looking for new members. And as he was the current leader of the Titans, it was less of a hint and more like being actively headhunted by the most aggressive Robin to ever walk the earth.

           It was official, they weren’t kids anymore.

Chat Galore: You know that place between sleep and awake where you’re always dreaming? That’s where I’ll always love you. That’s where I’ll be waiting.

           They had a few months before they had to move completely to New York, and decided to do something special. Or rather Tom and Sabine did.

           And mostly because they just wanted to see where their kids would be living from now on.

           Sabine and Tom claimed to find this great deal on a ski resort near New York.  Everyone was invited; Nico, Kagami, Luka, Aurore, Lian, Jon, and Damian.

They did the whole tourist thing, led by Nico who was excited his cousin would be living in the same city as him and explored the great New York City, and Tom and Sabine got to see the penthouses, Gabriel and Audrey had bought each their perspective children and were assured their kids would be living in a safe location.

Chat Galore: So maybe it won’t look like you thought it would in high school, but it’s important to remember that love is possible. Anything is possible. This is New York

           The Brown Bear Ski Lodge was packed, apparently, some class from a school called Midtown had booked a trip at the same time they did. So the entire lodge was filled with graduating seniors, between the ages of seventeen and eighteen years old.

           To say it was wild was an understatement. Sabine vocally wondered why the school though three chaperones to watch over an entire class of students were enough. Tom just comforted Mr. Harrison when he started to cry.

Adrien got to meet loads of kids his age, a few that would even be starting at Columbia the same time as the French kids. It turned out most of the kids from Midtown were insanely smart.

           The blond boy ended up spraining his ankle while skiing and ended up spending most of the time on sitting on the lodge’s bay window watching nature and relaxing. He ended up sitting there long after nearly everyone else had gone off to bed.

“Having fun,” A boy his age asked, one of the few people left in the room. He was handsome with light brown hair and kind brown eyes.

“As close as I can get,” Adrien answered.

The brown-haired boy smiled, “Well if you get bored out of your mind, I got some movies on my tablet if you want to watch. I know some pretty good ones.”

“I’m good,” Adrien said. “You can join me if you want. I wouldn’t say no to company.”

           The boy did, “Name’s Peter.”

“Adrien.”

“By your accent, I’m guessing your not with the Midtown group,” Peter asked. “Also, because I’m from the Midtown group.”

           Adrien snorted, “France. I’ll be living full time in New York come autumn.”

“Is that right?” Peter looked excited by the news. “You’re gonna love it.”

“Yeah, and why’s that?”

           And then Peter went on to tell Adrien all about the places and people he loved in New York. They talked for hours until morning rays hit them through the window.

           Over the next week of the vacation, the two ended up finding themselves repeating that; talking and letting time disappear.

Chat Galore: I wish I knew how to quit you.

           Adrien introduced Peter to Marinette, Chloe, Nino, and the others. Peter introduced him to his friends Michelle, Ned, and Gwen. Like Adrien and his friends, Peter and his friends were pretty much attached at the hip.

“He pissed me off, so I put a porn virus into his computer,” Michelle answered the Marinette’s question as to why a Eugene kept running from her.

           Marinette and Adrien had decided to enjoy a nice cup of hot chocolate by the fire, only to be joined by Peter’s friends: Michelle and Ned. Another would’ve joined them but he scampered away the second he saw the girl.

“He deserved it,” Michelle added.

“He totally did,” The large Asian boy nodded in agreement. “But MJ you might’ve taken it too far when you made it happen during class.”

           Marinette giggled. “Harsh!”

“No mercy, Ned!”

Adrien laughed until his brain processed what was said, “Wait, I thought your name was Michelle?”

Michelle and Ned froze like deer caught in the headlights.

“MJ’s my nickname,” Mj explained cooly. “And we should really be going…”

“Geniuses,” Adrien suddenly recalled; his mind finishing a calculation, he didn’t even realize he was trying to figure out. “Who goes to a school for super-smart kids. MJ, scary queen who could rule the universe,” He pointed at her. “Ned; loveable teddy bear nerd with a fixation on Legos. A bully named Eugene who I’m guessing goes by Flash.” He swallowed hard, and fixed hard green eyes on the two kids in front of him. “Did you take a class trip to Europe in Spring? Keep in mind I would really like you to say no.”

           Ned and MJ paled.

“Ned and MJ,” Adrien repeated. “Iron’s Kid’s best friends…” He whispered. “Peter’s best friends. Peter is Iron’s Kid, isn’t he?”

           MJ narrowed her eyes at him, “Chat Galore: Adrien Agreste.”

           Adrien’s entire body froze. He tried to remain calm, “This can’t be happening.”

           Marinette glared at them, “Your friends with Iron’s Kid!” She growled. “Peter is Iron’s Kid. What was he thinking? How could he just stand Adrien up? I’ll kill him!”

“I never told you my last name!” Adrien realized. “How did you?”

“We hacked into Peter’s phone a few months ago,” MJ shrugged. “And traced your Ip address.”

           Adrien glared, “And Peter knew? When I got here, he knew who I was didn’t?” He accused. “He lied right to my face!”

“It’s complicated!” Ned looked at Adrien with wide eyes. “Yeah, he knew who you were when he saw you. He just wanted a do-over. It’s weird I know. I told him not to do it!”

           MJ looked at Marinette, “You should kill him. It was a bitch move,” She said. “But if it means anything, he regrets not showing up at London’s eye.” This part she told Adrien.

“Like super regrets it!” Ned added. “You can’t beat him up half as much as he does himself.”

“I can try,” Marinette crossed her arms.

“He reads your texts every day,” Mj said.

           Adrien stood up angrily, “Then why doesn’t he text back?” He demanded to know. “Why didn’t he show up at the London’s eye. I waited! I’ve been waiting!”

           MJ shrugged, “I can’t answer that,” She said. “Only he can. I can only tell you he was stupid. And he overreacted. You deserve to hear everything from him.”

           Ned nodded eagerly, “He really likes you. He nearly dropped dead when he saw you were here. Just let him explain!”

“No!” Adrien snapped. “I don’t want to see him. Ever.” He clenched his fists. “I… I just can’t.”

           And he stumped away.

           He went to his room and packed his bags. He was getting out of there. He was leaving he had nothing to say to Iron’s Kid. Or Peter. Or whoever he was.

           There was a knock on his door.

“Go. Away!” Adrien snapped.

“I can’t do that!” It was Jon that surprisingly said that.

“Come in!” The door opened. “What do you want?” Adrien asked. “Sorry, I’m just a bit busy right now.”

           Jon wore a red plaid shirt over a white t-shirt and blue jeans, “Don’t leave,” He told Adrien.

“I have to,” The blond said he snuffed his suitcase.

“You can’t!”

           Adrien all but snarled, “Look you don’t understand. You don’t get it.” He said. “I have to leave.”

“Yeah I do,” Jon said and shut the door behind him. “Super hearing, remember? I know everything that’s going on. You can’t go, not like this.”

“Yes, I-” The blond started but was cut off.

           Jon grabbed his shoulders and sat him on the bed, “You deserve an answer. You’ve been waiting for an answer,” He stated. “You deserve to know why he didn’t show up.”

“And why he decided to mess with me for the last week?!!”

“That I understand!” Jon said. “He wanted to start over. Second chances are hard to come by. And once upon a time, there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t have done for one.”

“And you think he deserves one?”

“Just talk to him,” Superboy said. “Or scream at him. Whatever.”

           Adrien ran a hand through his hair, “I haven’t been waiting for an answer,” He admitted. “I would’ve liked one, but I wasn’t waiting for it.”

“You love him,” Jon said. “You did. Or do. I know. Because I remember how you used to look when he texted you. I know… Because you used to look like that around me.”

“Jon…”

“I saw you two together,” Jon said. “You’re good together. Leaving now would be a big mistake. I’m saying that as your friend. Meet him, talk to him. Even nothing happens. Or everything does.”

           Adrien hid his face in his hands and groaned, “Even if it’s just to reject him?” He crossed his arms. “Wouldn’t it be better to just leave?”

“Not for you,” Jon shook his head. “Look, if you reject him now, he's gonna make it his life's mission to go out there and meet the most perfect, beautiful guy or girl in the world just to try and get over you. And he'll end up marrying this other person and spending the rest of his life with them. And you know, he'll tell himself that they're perfect and... He really must be happy, but they won't be you, you know? And that’s the worst thing that will happen.”

           It went quiet.

“Follow your heart, Adrien,” Jon added. “It’s what you do best. And it’s the best thing about you.”

           Then the boy of steel left.

           And Adrien was alone with his thoughts.

Chat Galore: Relationships are messy and people’s feelings get hurt. Who needs it?

           Adrien left. It wasn’t his finest moment and not his bravest. But he left. Because he wasn’t ready to see Peter. Not yet. He texted his friends and tom and Sabine that he was leaving and that he’d okay… eventually.

           He’d go back to New York City, leave on the next flight out. He’d back to the big Apple two months later, move into his apartment with Nino, Marinette, and Chloe and start his life there.

           Two weeks after that Chloe would get the opportunity of a lifetime, a PR internship for college credit at Stark Industries. The blonde girl invited them all to go on her tour with her; apparently, she was told she could bring friends.

           Adrien would frown when he heard but not say anything. Peter wasn’t the only one with friends that could track an IP address.

           It was time. No more running.

           Stark Tower was everything, the kids all dreamed it would be. A scientist, futuristic wonderland. They oohhh’ed and awed. And Adrien tried to enjoy himself and keep his mouth closed.

           Even when the most advanced elevator in the entire world “mysteriously” malfunctioned and took them to the very top floor; otherwise known as the place the Avengers lived.

“Sorry about that,” Tony Stark, himself, gave them his most charming grin when the doors opened and he was standing right there. “We’ll get that fixed right away.” He promised. “Come on kiddies, let me show you where the big kids play.”

           He led them to the living room where Captain America was watching TV.

“Hey, babe!” Tony grinned. “This is Chloe, Pepper’s newest intern. Marinette, Nino, and… Adrien.”

“Tony…” Steve Roger gave his husband a chastising look.

“Cap…”

           Adrien huffed and glared at the occupants in the room, “Cut the crap,” He ordered them, drawing surprised looks from his friends. “Where’s Peter?” He asked. “Iron’s Kid,” Tony smirked at the name. “Is Peter. Peter Stark-Rogers.”

           His friends turned fierce glares at the Avengers.

“It’s a setup!” Chloe accused.

“Heroes are supposed, to be honest,” Marinette chided.

           Nino crossed his arms, “What a letdown.”

“Where’s Peter?” Adrien asked again.

“He’s coming,” Tony said. “You three and my hotter than the sun husband come with me; I’ll show you the training room that you can use full time If Ladybug, Queen Bee, Carapace, and Chat Noir decides they wanted to ditch the Justice League and hang with the Major Leagues.”

           His friends paled at the fact that Tony Stark and probably all the Avengers knew their superhero identities and followed Iron Man out of the room.  Steve just sighed at his husband’s antics and follow him out.

           Adrien crossed his arms and waited.

           The elevator would ping, and five minutes later Peter would walk into the living room. They just at each other for a few moments.

“I’m sorry,” Peter finally said.

           Adrien shook his head, “I don’t want your apologies. I came here… I waited here… for the same reason I’ve waited the last seven months,” He said. “I only waited to say goodbye.”

“Goodbye?” Peter gave him half a smile. “We’ve only just met.”

           Adrien pointed him, “Don’t!” He said. “Don’t quote movies at me.” He snapped. “Why?” Adrien asked. “Why weren’t you there? How could you not be there?!”

“I was!” Peter said. “I was there. I saw you. I was terrified. And I left.”

“I was afraid too!” Adrien said. “The difference is I still showed up. I waited six years to meet you. And I waited at the London’s eye for almost seven hours, and you just left me. You blew me off.”

“I’m sorry!” Peter yelled. “I’m so sorry. It was the biggest mistake of my life.”

Adrien clenched his fists. “Why didn’t you write me back? Why did you pretend at the lodge?”

“I don’t know,” Peter admitted. “I really don’t. I don’t know what I was thinking. I just saw you and my mind just went blank. I thought it was like fate giving me a second chance. I didn’t do it right. I screw up. Again!”

“A second chance?” Adrien glared at him. “You think that was your second chance? No. Your second chance was I texted asking what happened. You got another chance every time I texted you. I texted you every day for six months. Those were your chances!” He yelled. “If it was over for you, you could have told me. Said something. But you left me in the dark. If you didn’t feel the same about me, you could’ve told me. I just wanted my friend back!”

“Adrien, I…”

“Why didn’t you write me back?” Adrien asked, tears burning in his eyes. “Why? It wasn’t over for me. Six months, that’s one hundred and eighty-two days. I wrote you one hundred and eighty-two times. I waited for you! It’s too late now. It’s over!”

           Peter looked ready to cry, “I wrote you over three hundred emails. I have them saved on my computer I never sent them. I didn’t think they’d be enough. They’re still not enough. It’s wasn’t over for me. It’s still not over.”

“Why?” Adrien asked again. “Why didn’t Iron’s Kid show up? Why was he so afraid?”

           Peter just looked at the blond boy for a moment, before taking a deep breath, “Iron’s Kid thinks about that moment every day. He used to think he didn’t show up because he was afraid of what would happen; that it wouldn’t work out. That he’d lose one his best friends.” He said. “That them being together would ruin everything. Because they were just kids; they were stupid and young. But that was just a lie he told himself because he was afraid. The truth is, He was at the London’s eye that night, he saw Chat Galore: the most perfect person he’d ever seen and got scared for a completely different reason.”

“Why?”

           Peter stepped towards Adrien, “Once he figured that out, and he figured that out really quick but only when it was just too late, Iron’s Kid didn’t know what to do. Didn’t know what to say to make it right. So he said nothing. And it killed him every day. Iron’s Kid would give anything to go back to that night at the London’s eye, to back to that moment when they were supposed to meet. Before everything went wrong. Iron’s kid would tell Chat Galore everything he always wanted. But he couldn’t. Because doesn’t work like that. Instead, he was so sorry for what he had done.”

           Adrien just listened.

“Because Iron’s Kid realized,” Peter said, “That he wasn’t afraid that night because he thought it wouldn’t work out; that Chat Galore wasn’t the one. He was absolutely terrified because he knew he was. And if Adrien could just give him one more chance. Just one more chance, he’d spend the rest of his making it up to him.”

“Peter…”

“I love you,” Peter said. “I’m totally and completely in love with you. And I don’t care if you think its too late. I’m telling you anyway. Because if I don’t, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life. Because I know in my heart, you’re the one for me.”

           Adrien just sighed and looked away, wondering what he should do.

“I don’t what’s going to happen in the future,” Peter said. “I don’t if in the time I was an idiot if Jon or Nico or Luka,” He chuckled, and so did Adrien. “Won your heart. I just know… I may not be your first love, but I intend to be your last. However long it takes.”

           A smile spread across Adrien’s face, “You watched it,” He said. “You finally watched the Vampire diaries. It only took you, what? Seven years.”

“Six and a half,” Peter corrected. “Sorry I made you wait.”

“I know,” Adrien nodded. “I need some time, okay. I need to get my head on straight. Before I decide anything.”

“I understand,” Peter agreed eagerly. “I get it. I’ll wait.”

           Adrien would take two weeks to decide what he was feeling and what he wanted to do. And when the two weeks were over, he knew exactly what he wanted, and who he wanted. So he made a call.

           And then ended up a Coney island, next to The Wonder Wheel, one of the most famous Ferris wheels in the world. He waited in line and happily got on the ride. The seats next to him were quickly filled by Marinette, Chloe, and Nino.

“Finally getting your Ferris wheel moment?” Nino asked as the ride started.

           Adrien smiled, “Yeah. Except I wanted the people I love the most with me.”

“Awww,” Marinette hugged him. “We love you too.”

“That’s a dollar for the overly sentimental jar,” Chloe glared at him. “And no more rom-com for you.”

           Adrien snorted.

           The kids enjoyed the ride, and when it was over, and they got off, Marinette asked, “So you didn’t choose anyone?”

“Well…” He motioned to the guy waiting at the exit of the ride. “I wouldn’t say that. I’m done. No more waiting, no more long game, no more… anything. Its time I get a little more proactive.”

           Chloe smirked, “About time. Get it, Agreste!”

“Just remember you have a roommate,” Nino smirked.

           The three walked off to enjoy the rest of the amusement park.

           Adrien smiled at them, and then smirked at the guy waiting for him, “Wait long?”

“I’d wait forever.”

[mandoalorian]

Hi 👋 hope your staying safe! Can I request something with Santi, please? Could you write something where Santi and reader used to be friends as kids, Santi having looked out for reader when she was picked on or if she fell over at school, but then after he graduated they lost contact until years later reader reaches out to him randomly and they reunite, maybe fall in love??

Sorry if it's strange, I'm going through something similar but I'm trying to get the guts to reach out to the guy, it's nerve wracking!! 😳😨 Maybe reading something will give me a boost 😂

Tinder [Santiago Garcia x F!Reader]

Word count: 1,700

Rating: 18+ I guess? I don’t know. Nothing explicit, it’s just Tinder is an 18+ app.

Warnings: food mention, tinder mention, allusions to sex

Masterlist

Tinder. It was so tedious. An app that had gained it’s reputation for being nothing more than a “hookup app” or even a “sex app”. It was associated with superficiality and laced with sexual innuendos. It was the app that had been accused of igniting modern day hookup culture. It was the app that Santiago Garcia frequented every damn day. The man even paid a premium! It was a quick and easy way for him to meet girls for drinks and a quick fuck. It’s all a man like Santiago had time for. Falling in love wasn’t an option for him. It was something he’d never considered until Games Night last week. 

Once upon a time, Will’s small living room was just filled with him, Santiago, Frankie, Benny and Tom, but the head count had grown extensively over the past few years. Tom had reconciled with Molly, Yovanna and Benny had something going on, and now even Frankie was engaged to the blonde haired, blue eyed girl who sat quietly in the corner sipping tea and doodling in her sketchbook. 

Santiago didn’t mind the girls. In fact, he actually enjoyed their company, but their presence only had him yearn for something more. He’d never been one to think about settling down or starting a family of his own, but he felt an indirect pressure. Maybe trying out one long term relationship wouldn’t be so bad after all? But he was so used to his flings. How was he ever going to grow out of his commitment issues and find someone he could really connect with.

Truthfully, he’d already found her, about fifteen years ago.

You and Santiago Garcia were the best of friends. You used to do everything together; walking home from school hand in hand, singing and dancing when you thought no one was around, playing LEGO and building up jigsaw’s. He was your soulmate, in every sense of the word. But you can’t stay young forever and eventually Santiago left your small neighbourly town to join the military. And you never saw him again.

Which is why it was a surprise when you, half asleep at 2 am, and drooling on your pillow, lazily swiped right on his profile. You weren’t even paying attention. Just another tanned skin man with dark brown hair and chocolate eyes. It was a haze, and your desperation to move on from your ex boyfriend had you yearning to meet someone new. You groaned tiredly, deciding you were never going to find someone as good as your ex, switched your phone off and shoved it under your pillow before finally getting some sleep.

At around 3 am, Santiago still wasn’t asleep, thanks to his roommate Frankie and his fiancée keeping probably the whole apartment complex awake. He pulled out his phone from his nightstand and checked Tinder. That’s when he saw you. Before even checking your name, he could tell it was you by that familiar sparkle in your eyes, and the way your perfect lips curled into a smile. It might have been fifteen years since he’d last seen you, but just looking at your photo made it feel like yesterday. He couldn’t contain his wide grin as he flicked through your photos. You looked just as beautiful as ever, and Santiago recalled the crush he had on you when you were both kids. He wondered how come you hadn't settled down already. He knew you always dreamed of getting married and having kids, with a big house and a big dog. So why were you on Tinder?

In a simple spur of the moment, Santiago swiped right.

‘It’s a match!’ the words blew up on Santiago’s screen and illuminated the dark bedroom. Streamers and confetti exploded around your photo; the typical thing that always happened when he matched with women on Tinder, only now it actually felt like celebrating. This meant that you must’ve swiped right on him too. 

You spent the morning the same way you always did, laying in bed and checking the notifications on your different social media. Just before you were about to get up, you remembered how you’d impulsively installed Tinder the night before and, on a whim, you opened the app to see if you had matched with anyone.

You scrolled through the eight matches you’d gained through the night, frowning and twisting your face in disgust at some of the profiles. You really hadn’t been paying attention to who you were swiping.

Your eyes went comically wide when you read the name at the end of the list.

‘You have matched with: Santiago Garcia! Say hi!’

It was like time had frozen and you read the words over and over again. Santiago Garcia. Santiago Garcia. Santiago Garcia. You wondered how many Santiago Garcia’s lived in New York City - or more specifically, only three miles away?!

You hammered your thumb into your screen to view his profile and you were blown away as you went through his photos. That was definitely him. That was definitely your childhood best friend. Although his hair was once dark and curly, it was now short and slightly salt and peppered. He had a slight graze of facial hair in all of his photos, and in most of them, he was seen to be hanging out with a bunch of other guys. Wait- was that Francisco Morales too? They were still friends?

You were so nervous to say something. Truthfully, if you had come across his profile at any other moment where you weren’t half asleep, and hopelessly desperate for love, your fear would’ve stopped you from swiping right. You’d been in love with Santiago since pre-school. It had been over a decade but you still thought about him every single day and cherished those long lost moments you spent together. 

But the reality was, that he’d swiped right on you too. He was interested in you as well! Which had to count for something. You took a deep breath and typed out the words “Hello :)” before quickly turning your phone off and throwing it across your bedroom. 

You sat bolt upright in your bed for a few moments, contemplating what you had done. You told yourself it would be okay and asked yourself what was the worst that could happen. You sighed and forced yourself out of bed to get ready for the day ahead.

Turning off your phone was a good idea because you’d actually forgotten about messaging Santiago until about lunch time. You flicked through the television channels, holding a lazily put together sandwich in your free hand, and landed on a dating game show. You considered applying, thinking about how fun it might be, when you remembered you might already have a shot with someone else. Santiago. You dropped your sandwich on the coffee table in a frenzy, ran to your bedroom and turned on your phone. The painful minute it took to completely boot up sent butterflies rampant in the pit of your stomach.

Santiago: Hey! How you doing? I gotta say I was really surprised to see that we matched last night. It’s been a long time!

Oh my god. He’d replied. He’d replied three hours ago and you hadn’t said anything back. Shit. You wondered if you had already blown your chances, but little did you know, Santiago had been holding out for a message from you for a long time.

You: Right...almost fifteen years, I think! I’m okay. How are you?

You pressed send and took a deep breath. It was okay. Just casual small talk. It would be okay. You slid your phone into your pocket and went back to eat your sandwich. No matter how hard you tried to focus on the game show, you just couldn’t stop thinking about Santiago.

“Santi! You got a new message!” Frankie called from the other room, taking a huge, messy bite out of a candy bar and picking up his phone.

“Frankie! I’m literally on the toilet… can it wait?” Santiago cried, face palming and chuckling incredulously. Living with his best friend for five long years meant that Santiago had become accustomed to interactions like this.

“No, I don’t think so,” Frankie mumbled, knotting his eyebrows together as he read the notification that had popped up on the screen. “Hey, are you talking to Y/N L/N from high school?”

“Wh- what?” Santiago asked, feeling his cheeks flush.

“Oh my God you are!” Frankie gasped excitedly, typing in his friend’s passcode for his phone and getting inside. “On Tinder!”

Santiago finished up washing his hands and walked out the bathroom, an unamused scowl drawn upon his lips. Frankie swallowed at his best friend’s expression.

“This has to stop,” Santiago warned, taking his phone from Frankie’s hand. “I love you buddy, I really do. But you’re getting married next Summer. You can’t keep trying to talk to me while I’m on the toilet!” 

Frankie laughed and rolled his eyes before getting back to his video game. 

Santiago was shocked to be reminded that you had remembered exactly how long it had been since you last saw each other. He began to compose his next message. You practically screamed when you felt your phone vibrate at the notification.

Santiago: I’m well, thanks for asking. Would you be interested in meeting up sometime for a few drinks? I’d love to catch up.

Drinks. A catch up. It sounded perfect. You already found your mind racing as you wondered what to wear.

You: That sounds great!

Santiago’s reply came fleetingly.

Santiago: Are you free tonight? X

Tonight was so soon… but you were free, and it felt like you’d been waiting forever to reunite with your childhood crush. And he felt the same way. It was so exciting for both of you.

You: Tonight sounds great. See you then :) x 

You and Santiago spent the rest of the day in anticipation to see one another. You didn’t know then, but the accidental Tinder encounter turned out to be the long lasting and perfect relationship both you and Santiago craved. The soulmates were reunited at last.

Taglists - let me know if you wish to be added!

Permanent: @supernaturalgirl @phoenixhalliwell @ah-callie @luvzoria @stardust-galaxies @wickedfrsgrl @goth-topic @nerdypinupcrystal @wonderfulfluffer @kiwi-the-first @pedroepascal @castiel-barnes @honeymandos @rocketqueen @ladycumberbatchofcamelot @dybalalover10 @girl-obsessed-with-things @elena-myth @moth-guillotine @pedro-pascal-love @hayley-the-comet @pinkninja190 @maxiarapamaya @autumnleaves1991-blog @artsymaddie @harrys-stan @kennedywxlsh @cripplingmoon @cheekygeek05 @mrschiltoncat

[evendeadlmthehero]

The Five Year Promise: A Night to Forget (1/10)

Summary: Y/N Stark, 20 year old superhero, makes a promise with a 16 year old Peter Parker after being cheated on, that if she hasn’t found love in the next 5 years, they’d finally go on a date. Then the snap happens. Y/N is gone and Peter isn’t.

Warnings: NSFW, swearing, angst

The Five Year Promise Masterlist

Part 2

2016, After the events of Civil War

“Harry,” you moaned as your nails scratched the surface of the skin on his back. Your toes curled as you were nearing the end.

You don’t know how this all started. All you know is that you and your boyfriend, Harry Osborne, were getting ready for your 6 month anniversary dinner at the most exclusive reasturant in New York.

You were wearing a red dress and apparently Harry had a fetish for red dresses. So here you are, makeup not as polished as it looked a few minutes and hair looking dishevelled.

“Patience babe,” Harry spoke as his eyes were screwed tight, thinking about the pressure between his hips. “I’m almost there.”

Your legs felt numb and you knew you were close. You were almost at climax before the door of your room was opened abruptly, making you quickly push Harry off you and dive under covers.

“I-,” Peter started, his face turning beet red as he realised what was going. Your hair was messy and both you and Harry were panting. It didn’t take a genius to guess what you were both up to. “Y-your Dad, Mr Stark, left to-to-“

“Fuck off Parker,” Harry cut him off, standing out of the bed in all his naked glory. “Can’t you see that we’re busy?”

Peter’s face went a darker shade of red, giving you a quick glance. You swear you could see his eyes glistening with tears but before you can make out exactly what it was, he quickly left the room, slamming the door with him.

Harry let out an infamous smirk, before turning around to you and walking towards you. “Now where were we?”

He leaned down to kiss you on your lips but you quickly moved your head to the side, causing him to kiss your cheek instead. “No Harry.”

“What do you mean no?” Harry scoffed, his eyes filling with rage, before realisation. He let out a bitter laugh before facing you. “Are you serious? You’re mad because I told Parker to fuck off?”

You got out of the bed and begun dressing up, picking up the shirt from the floor. “You have to be soft on him, he’s like a little boy. My dad is in love with him, he’d kill you if he found out you were rude to him.”

“He’d also kill me if he found out I’m fucking his daughter but that’s not stoping me,” Harry laughed, expecting a laugh from you, but it didn’t come out. You let out a sigh, shaking your head at his vulgar words and lack of respect for your father.

“Oh come on Y/N it was a joke!”

You rolled your eyes at him, wearing your shorts and hanging your red dress back in your wardrobe. “I’m going to go check up on him. One, to make sure he’s not crying because of you and two, to make sure he doesn’t tell dad what we were doing. He still thinks I’m a virgin.”

“Peter’s scared of me, of course he won’t tell,” Harry scoffed at you, watching you tie your hair up into a bun. “I mean he’s just an intern. I’m Y/N Stark’s boyfriend. He isn’t that important anyway.”

You let out a snort in your head at the comment. No one but your Dad and yourself, as well as some of the Avengers, knew who Peter Parker actually was.

“My Dad likes him more than he likes you,” you commented, turning around to look at him. “I’m going to check up on him.”

“Fine,” Harry spat out, getting up from your bed. You watched as he angrily put his suit back on. He chucked his tie around his neck and frustratedly shook his head at you.

“So much for 6 month anniversary. Go have fun being a fucking baby sitter.”

He looked at you one last time before leaving your room, slamming the door shut. You let out a sigh, closing your eyes for a minute.

Harry didn’t like Peter and vice versa. Harry was mad that your dad liked Peter more and Peter didn’t like Harry because he bullied the little kid and always made out in front of him with you to gross him out.

Or at least that’s why you thought Harry did it. The reason why Harry really did it is because he could sense that Peter had a crush on you so he did it to piss him off. And every time he did it, Peter would storm him, making him smirk in victory.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y, where’s Peter right now?” you asked her.

“In his room Ms Stark.”

You turn around, open the door of your room and leave, walking towards the direction of Peter’s temporary room that was set up just to make sure his Aunt really believed this is an internship.

A couple of months ago, Peter was found by your father and bought in to fight the other Avengers who had gone rouge. You were first apprehensive, with him still being a teenager, but then you remembered when you discovered quantum technology and fought in the battle of New York at 15 years old.

You were able to harness quantum particles into bands that you wore around your wrists to shoot energy blasts as strong as Wanda’s energy blasts. You then figured that if you put bands around your ankles, you could use the power and pressure of the energy blasts to fly; similarly to your father.

Your suit was inspired by Black Widow’s suit, because you loved her. She was like a mother figure to you, only tied to Pepper who took care of you 24/7 and called you everyday. Natasha inspired you a lot, as she was the first female avenger and always gave you advice and girl talk.

She loved you like you were her own and you loved her due to the lack of mother figures in your life. But during 2006 to 2012, you had gained two mothers and you were estactic.

However, instead of having your suit black, you made your suit white with blue outlining (because you loved Kim Possible as a child and her look in her movie). Your alias that people had created for you was Quasar, which you thought was an ugly name but got used to after a little google search on what it meant.

Peter was fanboying the moment he met you, but not as much as he did when he met your dad. The boy lacked a father figure and used your father as the missing piece. And you couldn’t blame him, you knew exactly how it felt.

You finally make it to Peter’s door and knock on it carefully. “Peter?”

There was no reply so you let out a sigh. “Peter listen. I’m sorry about Harry. He can be a little rude and aggressive sometimes.”

“Then why are you with him?” You heard a little voice say behind the door.

You’re quiet for a secound, angry at yourself for letting Harry make Peter this upset. “Maybe when you’re my age, you’ll understand what love can do to you.”

The moment that left your lips, the door was pulled open and you were greeting by a tearful Parker boy. “Love? Is that what you call that between you guys?”

“Peter-“

“You mean when he forgets your birthday on the Y/B/D. Or how you don’t like those fancy restaurants he takes you to, you like Y/F/R. Or how- how sometimes you don’t like wearing revealing clothing because of your scars, but I guess he doesn’t mind as long as other boys don’t perv on you!” Peter rambled, his face getting redder by the minute.

At first, you were shocked he knew those things about you, with the last thing being the most personal. But then you saw the look on Peter’s face and realised this little kid saw you as a sister, and he just wanted to best for you. “Hey Peter, how about we go inside your room, yeah?”

Peter took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, before swallowing nervously.

“Yeah,” he replied back in a tiny voice, wiping his tears with the sleeves of his shirt. He then moved to the side, letting you in his room.

You walk in, seeing posters of Star Wars and lego pieces scrambled on the floor. You smiled in your head, ‘classic Pete’, you thought.

You sat on Peter’s bed, nodding at him to come over. Peter stares at you for a while, thinking how beautiful you are. How smart you are. How funny you are.

He remembered the day he met you. He had landed down at Germany, where he’d soon fight Captain America. But before he did, he heard a knock on the door of his hotel room.

And there you were, with a beaming smile he’d never forget. You dressed up in a black leather jacket, sunglasses on your forehead and black jeans accompanied by black combat shoes. You were wearing a dark red singlet with a matching lipstick. To Peter, you were absolutely breathtaking.

“Hi, I’m Y/N Stark,” you stuck your hand out at the Parker boy while he looked at you dumbstruck. Because you were Y/N Stark.

Y/N Stark, named the top ten most hottest female celebrity in the world.

Y/N Stark, the girl everyone spoke about at his school.

Y/N Stark, the girl who discovered how to harness Quantum energy into bands, making her just as powerful, if not more, as Thor the god of thunder himself.

Y/N Stark, now standing outside his door with a smile on her face like it was nothing. “I-I- shit your Y/N Stark.”

And then you giggled. That kind of giggle that made Peter blush. That kind of giggle that made Peter realise he was going to lose his sanity with you around.

And now you were sitting on his bed, with his tear blotched eyes looking at you apprehensively. “C’mon spidey.”

He let out a little smile at that nickname before sitting beside you, his muscles a little tense. You laughed at him, hitting his shoulder playfully.

“Relax I’m not going to scold you.”

Peter let loose a little bit, but he was still tense. How could he not be? He just revealed the things he knew about her. Were you weirded out? Scared of him? He didn’t know and that had him panicked.

“Pete, I want you to know that you mean a lot to me,” you begun. Peter’s heart quickened at your words, but his body turned cold as he heard your next words.

“You’re like part of this family and I know family look out for each other. But Harry is good. He’s nice. And I know you two don’t get along. But that’s because he’s mad that dad likes you more,” you chuckled at that. “But I really like him Pete. I love him. And I hope you two get along one day because you two both mean the world to me. You’re more than Spider-Man and he’s more than the tough guy act he puts out..”

Peter sighed, looking down at his palms. He gave you a little nod, making you smile at him. He hated that he couldn’t tell you how he felt. He hated how there was an age gap between you two, and how you saw him as a little brother.

He wished he was older. Maybe, just maybe, he would have a chance with you. And if he did have that chance, he’d treat you like an angel. He’d treat you how you were meant to be treated and not like how Harry treated you.

Like a little token to show off to paparazzi and keep his little Osborn name in the news.

“Good night Pete,” you whispered as you got up from his bed, walking over to his door. Before you opened, an uncomfortable look plastered itself on your face. “And Peter?”

Peter looked up from his hands to look at her.

“Please don’t tell Dad what you saw?”

And in that comment, Peter felt like absolute shit. Like you only came here to make sure he wouldn’t say a word to her father, not because you actually cared.

‘Why would she care?’ He thought in his head. ‘She’s Y/N Stark. She’s a daughter of a billionaire, dating the son of another billionaire. I’m a kid who can’t give her what she deserves.’

“Yeah sure,” he replied instead, giving you a small smile. You smiled back, giving him one last look before leaving his room.

Leaving Peter on his own.

Taglist:

@kissingtrutharchives

@autobotgirl15-blog

@clockblobber

@im-a-stranger-thing

@isabella-bby

@spidermansmj14

@benevolentgemini

@jonsnowdoesknow

@fangirlingonrhys

@trenchcoatedwhiskers

@spxcekru

@platonictrashh

@misswritingintherain

@itsbebeyyy

@xs-hoodie

@callmedaddys-blog

@fangirling12566

@editsbyjenny

@bubblegumholland

@hollandinq

@lordofthunderthr

[dru-reblogs-stuff]

Check in tag!

Thanks for the tag @corkytheguar :D

1. Why did you choose your url?

My main is DruidX, which has been my handle on nearly every single platform ever since.... well, since the World Wide Web became a feasible thing to have in one’s home ^.^; Because this is the blog to which all other random interesting things are thrown, I thought I’d keep in theme with “Dru reblogs stuff”, for I am Dru... and I am reblogging stuff XD

2. Any sideblogs? If you have them name them and why you have them?

Technically @/dru-reblogs-stuff is a sideblog already. It gets more personal stuff, and also everything I like that’s interesting to me. I keep thinking I should narrow it down further though, and make seperate fashion & star wars blogs, because I rb that stuff on the regular...

@/druidx is my main, and is my Writeblr blog, for, well, all my writing, other people’s writing, and writing related advice/ resources.

@/dru-plays-starbound is the blog I used to rb Starbound stuff, and also post my starbound builds to. I haven’t updated it in a while, thought there’s lots of stuff still to post... I just haven’t had the inclination to fight with a graphics program and screenshots.

@/nine-blessed-hero breaks my naming scheme sadly, but this is now my dedicated Elder Scrolls blog, for art and fanfic. It’s also not as well kept as I would like it to be (I’ve got 600 items in draft to read though and comment on, so it’s slow going).

Finally there is the essentially abandoned @/things-my-rm-says-to-her-lego. This started as an out-of-context quote blog for things my roommate muttered while sorting/ building the old Lego her parents dropped off ~October 2020. I have no idea what to do with it now said roommate is no longer saying strange things to her Lego...

3. How long have you’ve been on tumblr?

I’ve just passed my one year anniversary, 18 May -- or at least, the anniversary of my first post which I’m sure was made only a week or so after I joined. Basically I joined up not long after the Lockdown was made official in the UK.

4. Do you have a queue tag?

Yes! It’s just “q”, because I am both lazy and basic.

5. Why did you start your blog in the first place?

As mentioned above, I joined not long after the Lockdown was made official in the UK. Because I had more time, I was looking back at old works and wanting both to share them and to get advice on how to get better. I’d heard somewhere that Tumblr was to writing as DeviantArt is to art, so I figured I may as well join and see what I could get out of the experience. Again, because I suddenly had more time, I bought TESIV: Oblivion on Steam and started to get into TESblr as well as Writeblr (which incidentally, is how I met the wonderful Corky ^.^). 

6. Why did you choose your icon?

I wanted something that reflected my interests (boy do I love Tea :D), but also wasn’t fussy, so I found a site filled with free SVG icons and picked this one out. I’ve had a lot of complements on it, so clearly it was a good choice ^.^ I’ve tried to keep the theme of teapots over all my blogs.

7. Why did you choose your header?

I don’t think any of my blogs have a header because I just couldn’t find anything I liked?

8. What’s your post with the most notes?

Across them all, it’s a “Last Line Tag” game one, posted Sep 22 2020 with 328 notes.

9. How many mutuals do you have?

28, across the board.

10. How many followers do you have?

I feel that’s somewhat defeating the point of not having them public. Let’s just say I have enough.

11. How many people do you follow?

181; just enough to keep things interesting, but not enough to be overwhelmed.

12. Have you ever made a shitpost?

No; the most I’ve done would have been an incorrect quote.

13. How often do you use tumblr each day?

I’m currently working from home, so it’s a permanent fixture on one of my background virtual desktops, ready to be flipped over to when work is dull or when I’m procrastinating writing.

14. Did you have a fight/argument with another blog once? Who won?

I think someone tried to insinuate I’d offended them once, but they hid in the tags and I could never work out if it was my tags they were arguing against, or the post in general (it was a rb). But generally no; I’m Internet Old and just done with the Drama so I don’t engage.

15. How do you feel about “you need to reblog this” posts?

They can jog on. If I think it’s important, then I will chose to rb it, but telling me I’m a horrible person if I don’t? That’s a surefire way to ensure I dislike you and your cause, and will ignore you out of spite.

16. Do you like tag games?

<Points to this post> I fuckin’ love tag game, my dude. I’m bad at doing them sometimes, but I honestly adore when people are thinking about enough to say “You know who’d want to do this? Dru!”.

17. Do you like ask games?

Slightly less so, because again, I’m bad at keeping up with these things, and a full askbox hangs over my head like the sword of Damocles. But that you chose to poke me with a question about me or my writing that you’re curious about, well; it does warm my heart.

18. Which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous?

im-a-seraph-winging-it, rewrit, adelinewriting (though she’s no longer on Tumblr) maybe? idk ^.^; I guess not knowing is one of the nicer things about Tumblr; it makes everything a little more personal.

19. Do I have a crush on a mutual?

Yes. I’m not saying who (it’s sort of embarrassing to be the age I am and have a crush), but they have a unique and exquisite writing style, and I care for it very much.

20. Tags?

I’ll do my usual bods: @aquadestinyswriting @alias-levi , but I’m also curious about @homesteadchronicles @writtenbyrain and @scribeofred (0 pressure tho! I know this is an unsolicited tag)

[myheartrevealedocs]

Untouchable Ch 13- Home, Again

Warnings: swearing, mentions of torture and injuries, family drama and stuff? (if there’s something in this chapter that you want me to tag, let me know, I’m just not sure what to classify some of this stuff as)

Ch 12 | Ch 14

~ ~ ~

Beck threw herself into her sister’s arms as Lydia entered the waiting room.

“Thank god. Lydia, I’m so sorry, but I’m so scared. Watching her fall apart like that, then start seizing- What would we do if we lost her? What would I do? The system will take in Katie and Adam, but I… I’d be alone.”

Lydia pulled away to look into her sister’s cloudy eyes. “You will never be alone. If something actually happened to Sonia, you could come to DC with me in a heartbeat. Please don’t ever think I’d leave you alone.”

“You hate me,” Beck claimed. Her face was a blotchy mess and she didn’t make it any better be rubbing her hands over it frustratedly. She’d recently cut her hair short, which was perhaps the only thing stopping her from ripping it out. “I’ve been such an ass. I wouldn’t blame you if you left me here and went back to Virginia. I don’t have a job, I don’t have a college degree, I don’t even know how to drive a car! I’m useless!”

“You aren’t useless,” Lydia insisted, then leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “You’re stubborn. You were angry. But you know who knows even more about anger than you?”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m guessing you, you menace?”

They both giggled, Rebecca hiccuping slightly through more tears.

“So, you won’t leave me to be a homeless prostitute?”

“Not this month,” Lydia joked. “What have you heard? Did they dissolve the blood clot?”

Beck nodded. “It’s gone. Now the only concern is figuring out how much damage it did.”

“Okay. Well then, one of us should stay here and wait for news and the other has to take Katie and Adam home and get them to bed. I really think you could use the rest, but I’m okay with either.”

The two twins were seated in the corner of the room. Katie was asleep across the armrest between her and her brother’s chair. Adam looked bored out of his mind, picking at his fingernails.

Beck looked back at them, then bit down on her bottom lip. “I need to make sure she’s okay. I don’t think I could fall asleep if I went home anyway.”

Lydia could understand that. She gave her sister a nod, before stepping around her and approaching the kids. “Hey Adam. Long time, no see!”

He pushed himself out of his chair quickly and wrapped his arms around Lydia’s waist. “Hi Lydie! Why didn’t you come home for Christmas this year?”

“I had to work,” she admitted, feigning disgust.

“You have to see the Legos that Becky got me! I already built them all!”

“That’s so cool! You’ll have to show me once we get home.”

He bounced excitedly, turning around to wake up his sister. “Katie! Lydie’s here!”

The girl blinked, rubbing her face where it was previously squished against her arm. “Adam,” she grumbled. “What do you want?”

Lydia knelt down next to her seat. “Hey Katie,” she said, softly. “I’m here to take you two hooligans home.”

Katie blinked, recognizing Lydia’s voice and her silly nickname for the twins. “Lydie? Mommy didn’t say you were coming home.”

Lydia didn’t want to freak them out by making them think the stroke was a big deal, so she held up a finger to her lips and said, “Sonia doesn’t know yet. It’s a surprise.”

“Is mommy sick?” Adam asked. “Becky said she was hurt, but when I hurt my arm, I didn’t have to stay at the doctor’s this long.”

“Mommy did get hurt,” Lydia admitted. “But she’s super strong. Right now, you two have to get some sleep. In your own beds. Okay?”

They nodded and followed her out, saying their goodbyes to Rebecca as they passed. Lydia called a cab to meet them outside and take them back to Sonia’s house.

As they were packing in, her phone rang. Spencer. Shit…

“Spence, hey…” she began, but couldn’t for the life of her come up with anything else to say.

“Lydia? Hotch told us that you had a family emergency, what happened?? Are you okay? Did you get home?”

She sighed, relieved he wasn’t angry about her sudden disappearance. They’d just been talking face to face and then she was on her way to the airport. “Can we start with one questions at a time? I’m so tired.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he agreed, quickly. “Where are you right now?”

“I’m leaving a hospital in Oakland, California, on my way to my foster mom, Sonia’s, house.”

“Why were you at the hospital?”

“Sonia had a stroke.”

“That’s awful. I’m sorry. What kind of stroke?”

“Uh… I’m not sure? I didn’t speak to any of the doctors directly.”

“Do you know if she had a hemorrhage or-?”

“No. No, it was a blot clot.”

“That’s good!” he said immediately. “The chances of surviving a ischemic stroke are higher than a hemorrhagic stroke. There’s also a higher likelihood of a full recovery.”

She smiled. “Thanks, Spence. How did the case go?”

“We found and recovered all the kids, but Jane and Frank disappeared.”

“Oh no…” she fretted. “I’m so sorry.”

“What are you talking about? You weren’t even in Nevada when it happened.”

“But I was… I told him we could negotiate for Jane and-”

“You saw her,” Spencer reasoned. “She was throwing herself at him. Frank would have gotten away either way and Jane would have followed him. You helped us get those kids back.”

“When did you become so good at cheering me up?” she teased. He didn’t reply, so she kept going. “Spencer, I should go. I’m almost at Sonia's house. Talk to you tomorrow, okay?”

“Yeah, of course. Tomorrow.”

~ ~ ~

“Lydia? What are you doing here?” Sonia demanded as Lydia walked into her room the next morning.

“What are you doing in a hospital bed?” she fired back. “You went and scared the hell out of us!”

“Honey, I’m old. It happens.”

Lydia rolled her eyes. “Not old enough. You’re like… one of the least likely people to get a stroke. You’re 50, you’re a woman, you’re Asain… do you have any blood pressure problems I don’t know about?”

“Apparently I have blood pressure problems that I don’t even know about,” she chuckled, trying not to focus on how bad that could be. “Since when do you know so much about stroke statistics?”

Lydia was perfectly ready to tell her that she’d done a bunch of research at the airport, but it was a lie. Spencer had been sending her little tidbits of information all day. Some to try to cheer her up, others to help prepare her for how Sonia’s recovery might go. As she thought about those texts, a smile pulled at her lips and Sonia was on her in an instant.

“What’s that? That smile. You just got all blushy on me, what happened?”

“I work with profilers and somehow you’re already onto my little secret, hm?” She rubbed her forehead. “You should probably go work for my team if you’re going to be so observational.”

“You should probably stop being so obvious,” she argued. “You’ve got a crush written all over you. Did he tell you about the stroke statistics?”

“His name is Spencer, he texted them to me to make me feel better, and I’m not crushing on him.”

“Oh please!” she cried. “Your cheeks are bright red! I know a crush when I see one. Tell me about this Spencer. Where did you meet him?”

“We work together. And I’m not lying, I’m not crushing on Spencer… because we’ve been dating for almost a year now.”

“You what?!” she exclaimed. “Lydia, you have to tell me these things! Almost a year?”

“Yeah. It started last year in April.”

“Why would you hide this from me? Look at you! You’re so happy!”

Lydia bit her tongue in contemplation. Why hadn’t she told her family? “Because I’ve been keeping it a secret anyway. None of the team knows we’re together. We never agreed that we wouldn’t tell our families, but… I don’t know, I guess I got so caught up in the lie that I didn’t even think about telling you guys.”

“Why are you hiding?” Sonia asked.

“Our work.” Lydia shrugged. “When we went on our first date, we didn’t want the whole team to be invested in a relationship that might not last. We didn’t want things to get weird. But now, it feels wrong, you know? Our boss wouldn’t be happy if he found out that we’ve been lying to him all this time. Spencer’s an agent, so in-office relationships are frowned upon for him.”

Lydia’s phone buzzed in her hand and instinctively, she looked down at it.

“Did he just text you?” Sonia teased.

Lydia glared back. “Fucking profilers.”

~ ~ ~

“Katie! Adam!” Lydia called as she shuffled upstairs.

“Hold on!” Katie’s muffled squealing came from the twin’s room.

Lydia smiled at what she could only imagine to be wild shenanigans going on behind that door. But, she turned and walked farther down the hall, opening up the door to Sonia’s room.

She’d been let go from the hospital after about a week, and had been recovering quickly. Lydia was glad to see her sitting up in bed stretching her arms out in front of her. Her left arm was weak and shook dramatically, but it was an improvement.

“Good morning, Sonia,” she greeted, walking over to the side of her bed. “Make sure to do your leg stretches as well today. I know they’re uncomfortable, but if you don’t build up that strength again, you’re going to end up with only one working leg. I want you to think about how frustrating that would be.”

She dropped her head back. “You’re right. That would be awful. Then I’d look like you.”

“Very funny,” Lydia deadpanned. “But my leg works fine, thank you. At this point, I’d say better than yours. But nevermind that, I won’t be here and neither will the car. If something happens, Beck will handle it and I’ll be back before your physical therapy appointment, okay?”

Lydia leaned down and gave her foster mother a kiss on the cheek.

“I’m ready, Lydie!” Adam shouted as he burst into the room. His backpack hung loosely from his shoulders, seeing as there probably wasn’t more in it than a folder.

“Is Katie ready?” she asked.

“No. Katie’s tying her shoes.”

“Oh, well then she’s almost ready. Let’s start heading down, shall we?”

He nodded, eagerly. “Bye, Mommy!” he said, before scurrying downstairs.

“Bye, Sonia,” Lydia followed suit, closing the door behind her as she left. “Beck?”

Her sister popped her head out of the bathroom, only half her makeup done, looking thoroughly unamused. “Must you be so loud?”

“Make sure Sonia gets up soon,” she ordered. “I won’t have my phone with me, so if something happens, call the doctor.”

“Won’t have your phone…?” She raised an eyebrow. “Are you not coming back after dropping the twin’s off?”

“No. I thought Sonia told you.”

“Told me what?”

“I’m ready!” Katie cried, rushing down the stairs to meet her brother.

“Head out to the car, little hooligans!” Lydia instructed. “I’ll be out in a second.”

“Where are you going?” Beck tried again.

Lydia sighed. “I’m visiting Dad today.”

~ ~ ~

Not that visiting a prison was ever a pleasant experience, but Lydia was comforted to find the place exactly the same. She had enough anxiety going in as is, but trying to navigate new rules or requirements would have made it ten times worse. Her dad didn’t even seem to notice her walk into the room, sitting alone at a table, staring intently at a wall.

Lydia cleared her throat. “Um, hey Dad.”

He blinked at her for a moment, before pulling her into a hug. “Lydia! Look at you! You’ve changed so much, sweetheart!”

She shrunk away from him, slightly as he spoke, both because the guards would yell at them if they were in contact for too long and because it had been so long. It was just weird.

“Yeah,” she sighed. “It’s been a crazy two years.”

“I hear,” he said, the two of them sitting across from one another. “Rebecca tells me that you work for the FBI full-time now.”

“Not exactly. I’m contracted out by one of their teams. Sometimes I’m home for a few weeks, other times we solve one case and fly straight to the next. It isn’t exactly 9 to 5.”

“I’m really proud of you.” He smiled and Lydia’s lip twitched as well. “I was shocked to hear you were coming. Rebecca says you very rarely visit.”

“I’m not in California for a visit,” she admitted. “Sonia had a stroke, so I’ve taken some time off work to look out for her and the other kids in her care.”

Her dad had warmed up to Sonia over the years, seeing as she had to escort Lydia and Beck to the prison when they were still minors. He looked genuinely sad to hear the news. “That’s terrible. Tell her I hope she gets well soon.”

“I will. It was pretty mild it seems. She’s regaining strength quickly.”

They didn’t have the time for this small talk. Her father knew that. But Lydia almost hoped that they could keep the conversation going. As if he wasn’t an inmate in a prison. As if they weren’t being watched carefully. As if she didn’t have mixed feelings about speaking to him.

“So, Lydia, why did you come?”

Lydia blinked, pushing up her glasses habitually. “What do you mean? I haven’t seen you for two years…”

“I know,” he chuckled. “But if you wanted to come say hi to me, you’d do it when you were visiting home. Not when you’re busy taking care of a whole family.”

“Well… your sentence is almost done. Seven years… And I was talking to Sonia about it and she asked when the last time I saw you was… I felt bad.” She waited for him to say something, but he didn’t. Because he knew that wasn’t it. “I haven’t really… told anyone in DC that my dad’s in prison. And with this new job, I talk to serial killers. I learn a lot about them, get into their heads. And in the end, we always put them away. And now I see prison in this whole different light and I think I needed to prove to myself that you… you aren’t one of the bad guys.”

“Okay, so… how do I prove I’m not a bad guy?” he asked.

“You don’t. You just-” Lydia’s eyes started to burn and she stopped herself from getting emotional. “I wanted to see you. That’s all. Recently, it feels like I can’t remember much about anyone in the family.”

“Is this about your mom?”

“I don’t know what this is about,” she rambled. “I just… I was finally starting to be okay in college and then, the whole Jenna thing happened and I was an angry monster again. And when I realized I had settled down, I was a different person. I worked for the FBI for crying out loud! And I’m looking at the people around me, and they look different, too, but I can’t figure out if it’s them who’ve changed or just my view of them. And I’ve always-”

She was tearing up again. Lydia gritted her teeth, feeling frustrated. She came here to check up on him, not have a meltdown. But if she shut down, he would keep bugging her about it, so might as well keep going.

“I’ve always been so mad at you,” she said, gnashing her teeth like an animal. “And then I’m looking through a serial killer's house and all I can think is, ‘At least my dad didn’t become this’. And I feel guilty that I’ve been so hard on you for seven years. So, I came here because I needed to prove to myself that this face belongs to my dad and not a bad guy.”

“Could it be both?”

Lydia glared at him, but didn’t have anything to say. She didn’t need the ambiguous question right now.

“Lydia, I know what I did was stupid and it hurt people. And all the excuses I made for it at the time don’t justify my actions. I wasn’t wrongfully accused and I’m not trying to pretend I was.”

“I don’t want to have an argument with you,” she grumbled. “I want to look at you with my new profiling eyes and determine whether it’s worth rebuilding a relationship with you when you get out.”

That shut him up. Lydia’s face burned in shame, but there was no taking it back. They sat there in silence for what felt like years. She didn’t know what there was to say. It had been on her mind for months now that his release was approaching. She’d considered Beck to be her only family for almost 7 years. Her father was a distant memory. But maybe when his time was up… maybe it’d be nice to have a dad again. But she had sworn at 16 never to forgive him.

“Did you decide?” he asked, his voice grim.

Why did she have to decide? Why couldn’t someone tell her that she was going to have to learn to live with or without him and be done with it? Why did it have to be her to walk away or make the effort. Shouldn’t family come naturally?

But for now, at least, she knew what she wanted.

“I want my family back. I don’t want to leave California one day and never have a reason to come back… I want to know my mom… And maybe, just maybe, I want to remember my dad, too. Because somewhere in the far recesses of my mind, he was a cool dude.”

“I’m sorry that I ever left you,” he said.

Finally, Lydia felt a sense of relief. She stood up. “I need to go, Dad. Luckily, the next time I see you, you probably won’t be behind bars.” And then, she opened up her arms, welcoming him in for a hug.

For the past seven years, she’d never been the one to initiate a hug with her father, but it felt like it was time. Her stubbornness had kept her from too much. She’d missed out on so many opportunities to be happy all because she was hinged on being in complete control of the image of herself that other’s saw. And she hadn’t felt like she’d had a parental figure in a long time.

He accepted quickly. “Go be an amazing bad-guy-catcher,” he teased.

“I will,” she replied with a smile. “Keep being a neutral guy, alright?”

As she headed for the door, he said, “Lydia? One more thing…”

She raised an eyebrow in his direction.

“Happy birthday.”

He remembered. She didn’t expect him to, for some reason. She didn’t really expect him to know the exact date.

“I love you,” she told him, but didn’t wait around to hear his response. She didn’t plan on spilling any tears today.

~ ~ ~

“You’re hunched over your computer like Quasimodo,” Rebecca joked as she dropped a bowl of ice cream next to her sister.

Poor Lydia was so wrapped up in her paper, she didn’t even notice the gift, ignoring the dessert completely. “I need Spencer,” she admitted. “He’d be able to give me more accurate information than these pathetic websites.”

“Why don’t you call him?” Sonia offered from across the table.

“He told me this morning that he was leaving for a case. Really bad one, too. He doesn’t need the distraction.”

Beck rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe you’re actually going to get a PhD for this guy.”

“I’m not getting this for Spencer,” she tried to argue. “But I mean, look at me! I’m set to graduate in the spring. Have you ever seen someone get a doctorate in 2 years? Spencer did that for me. I could become a college professor in about a year, all thanks to him. At 23 years old.”

“Don’t act like you’re not a genius all by yourself,” Beck grumbled. “Just because he’s super charismatic-” Lydia laughed out loud when she said that “-does not mean that he got you your PhD.”

“I’m not saying that!” she tried to argue. “Think about how much money I’ve saved! I mean, I was terrified when I took that internship at the BAU that once it was up, I’d be stuck. With this, I have so many options open that I-”

She paused, noticing her phone screen light up with Hotch’s name. Rebecca and Sonia gave her funny looks, but she held up a finger.

“My boss is calling me. Strange.”

“If he says you have to go back to Virginia, do it. You’ve taken enough to time off as it is,” Sonia instructed, but Lydia just rolled her eyes.

“Hey, Hotch,” she answered. “What’s up?”

“Lydia, I’m going to need your help with something…”

“That’s fine. Is it case related?”

“No it’s…” He sounded exhausted and Lydia wondered where he could be. It was 9 in California, so unless he was on the west coast, it was late. “Lydia, Reid has been taken captive by an unsub.”

Her heart stopped. Seeing her family's confused faces across from her, she jumped up from the table and rushed out of the room.

“What? I- What are you… How bad of an unsub?” she sputtered.

“He’s sending us a live feed of it. As of right now, Reid’s forehead has a large gash in it and one of his feet is mangled. We’re doing everything we can to find him.”

“Is there something I can do?” Her breathing was labored and her chest, constricting. This was all wrong. Spencer had to be okay. He needed to be…

“Lydia, Spencer’s strong. He’ll keep fighting until we can get to him. But I have a feeling when he gets out, he’s going to want to see your face.”

She was far too stressed to even consider what he was implying. “You want me to- I’m not sure if I can-”

“Two days. That’s all. I’ll get you a ticket to Georgia as soon as possible. He’ll need your support. Can you be here?”

Leaving suddenly, once again. But Spencer might need her. Hotch was certain he would. And after news like that… she’d need to see him for herself to even imagine that he was going to be okay.

“I’ll pack my things now. Send me that plane ticket and the case file. I need to know what to expect when I get there.”

“I’ll let you know if anything changes,” he assured her. “Thank you.”

She heard him hang up the phone, but didn’t move it away from her ear. All she could hear was her heartbeat in her ears, as if it was trying to break out. She blinked a couple of times and turned to see that her sister had followed her into the next room, eyes wide.

A tear slipped down her cheek, which she quickly wiped away. “I need to go,” she told Beck and ran to her room to gather some things.

Tag List: @kris-stuff​, @wooya1224, @spencerelds​

[brandstifter-sys]

Under Pressure

Chapter 5: Emotions                 (Ao3)

Word Count: 1122

Characters: Remus, Roman, Patton, Virgil

Rating: T

Warnings: Villain!Logan, anger, aggression, accidental injury, arguing.

-----

This was a little kid's room. He was not some toddler! He was draped over the bed staring at the toy chest and Lego castle. He wanted to break it, kick it and smash it to pieces. He wanted to body slam the toybox and crush the dolls inside to keep them from smiling at him, mocking him with their button eyes. 

He wanted to destroy so much but he also wanted to cry and cuddle anything or anyone. It was so lonely in this room, the King's old playroom where he liked to nap. This was all too much for Patton. 

He shifted his gaze to the ceiling and tried to find joy in the whimsical mural that hadn't faded with time. It was a castle with a small crowd of people in front of it, all happily crowding around a boy in a purple cape with a crown. The king was so happy with a young Patton and a young Janus hugging him. Tiny Virgil was shyly hanging out a short distance away, and near the castle, a young Logan was smiling at the scene. Patton snarled and grabbed a pillow to throw at the image. 

Janus was supposed to be the deceptive one! It had to have been Janus, but Janus wasn't good at mimicking anyone else! Patton had gone looking for Roman and Virgil. Logan had told him that they were probably struggling with Remus. Logan had told him this was for Thomas' own good before locking him in. 

The memory of the betrayal was enough to make Patton scream. And he screamed at the top of his lungs, flinging himself to his feet. He paced around the small room and pulled at his hair. He let this happen. He let it get so bad because of his stupid naivety! Maybe he was just some dumb kid. 

The dark eyeliner around his bright eyes and the long-sleeve, striped shirt under his black, short-sleeve button-down certainly proved that point. He didn't care that his khakis were tight jeans or that his hair was shaggier and darker. He was too busy trying to manage all his feelings. 

Betrayal

Anger

Sadness

Confusion

Patton hadn't been this much of a mess in twelve or so years! He swore if he spoke his voice would crack and he would break out with the most irritating acne. He would probably start worrying about homework and getting ready for college again, despite being in his early thirties. It was so unfair and he hated it. 

He kicked a soccer ball that was on the floor and huffed, pulling a black cat hoodie from his shoulders and putting it on. Maybe with some music he could break down the door with his fists and rage. 

He pulled his earbuds and phone from his pocket and put on some A Day to Remember—no other band on his phone could capture the betrayal and rage he felt because of a so-called friend. It was perfect.

With a roll of his neck, Patton gauged his target and charged, slamming into the wood with a loud thump. He jumped back and swung his fists, screeching with each perfectly landed punch. It didn't matter if his vision was wet as long as he kept hitting the door. It was cathartic if nothing else. 

The door swung open as he threw another punch. 

"Hngh!" Virgil whined and gingerly rubbed his cheek. Patton had a solid left hook! Patton's arms went limp just after pulling out his earbuds. Virge was in Remus' arms and Roman was emerging from the other side of the door, rubbing his forehead. They looked different but they were still his friends—and Remus who he struggled to find common ground with. 

"You okay, Scare Bear?" Remus asked and gently turned Virgil's head to get a better look at his cheek. That was going to be a nasty bruise! He conjured an ice pack for him and looked to a shocked emo dad. 

"Virgil?!" Patton yelped after a beat of silence, "Oh god are you alright?! I'm sorry I didn't mean to—where did you?—how did you?" 

"We escaped. The loud banging was a fantastic hint as was the door to the face," Roman huffed and adjusted his crown. Patton scowled at him. He didn't push the door and he was not about to be accused. 

"Oh spare me the glare, Padre," Roman huffed, "These things happen and now you're free to make your escape with the two most capable sides and Virgil." 

"What the hell makes you and Remus the most capable?" He questioned and crossed his arms. 

"Pat, we built this place. As the king. We know our way around," Remus cut in, "That's it, no matter what Ro says." He shot Roman a death glare to keep his mouth shut. His Maj-ass-ty was not going to piss off the really scary emo. 

"So I have to go with a poser, a prick, and a perv to be free?" 

"Better to be a poser than a complete burden," Virgil shrugged, "Oh wait I am—" 

"I will physically fight you if you even try to say anything bad about my best friend!" Patton snapped. 

"But you just—" 

"I know!" Patton barked and sighed, "I know and I'm sorry. I'm not used to this and I spoke out of bitterness. You shouldn't have been the target, Virge." 

"Just Virgil?!" Roman gasped, offended. 

"No. I was just talking directly to him. I'm not sure if I want to take back what I said about you and Remus." 

"I am a little perv, Ro-hoe!" Remus teased, "That's why I always put doors in wrong! You're in your underwear and you want to close the door? You have to go in the hallway! And then I might see you!" 

"Don't bullshit me, you put them in wrong so you would have more space in the room!" 

"Yeah you are a prick!" Remus laughed, "Patton is finally being brutally honest!" 

"What's that supposed to mean!?" Patton snapped. Virge let out a whine before the tension built up. He was not emotionally stable enough for this. 

"Let's go get Jay," Remus sighed, "We can trash talk once we're back in the main mindscape." 

"Who made you the leader?" Roman and Patton scoffed at the same time. Remus shrugged, careful not to jostle Virgil too much. 

"Virgil did when he didn't want anyone else carrying him, and I guess I did since I've been the one who escaped and busted you out! But we don't need a leader, we need to get a snake and then the nerd." Remus droned. Virge curled into himself and Patton and Roman ceded. It really sucked that Remus was right.

-------

(Master Post)

[shewantedtobeasecretgirl]

The Backstage Pass (Out)

Hey everyone... this is still not an update of Do You Wanna Dance? but another pathetic attempt of me to provide you with PJ-related reading material... Sssooo, there was this post of @gardenofstoney... and I’ve always taken tags verry seriously. I felt addressed since the situation she described sounded absolutely like a perfect fanfic material so I ended up playing with the idea. One thing led to another and a Stone Gossard one-shot happened, which I hereby share with you (with her and @mookiebaelock’s consent). Disclaimer: may contain traces of Jeff Ament!

Ps. I solemnly swear I get Judy out of the shower soon.

„Are you sure you don’t want to move towards the side of the stage? These Vedder-fanatics seem pretty dangerous, I’m not sure I want to be here when they go wild…” Mel asked fidgeting with the setups of her professional camera.

“No, I’m pretty sure I’m fine here…” Maggie answered leaning her forehead against her arms that were resting on the barrier. She was dog-tired; she and her best friend, Mel were cueing the whole day to get there at the show of their favorite band, Pearl Jam. Actually, Pearl Jam was their second favorite band but it was the rock group that brought them together. They saw each other’s introduction in the “Pen Pal Wanted” column of Footsteps, the band’s fanzine and the rest was history... And finally, they were there, standing at their precious front row places, waiting for the show to begin…

They agreed on standing in front of the center of the stage since they both had different preferences… Mel was dying to make close shots of her bassist crush (and maybe steal a few smiles and glances from him), while Maggie was interested in the other side of the stage… to be more accurate, in the person who regularly ruled it. Stone Gossard. The absent-minded, aloof alien who played the rhythm guitar parts and who, unfortunately, wasn’t the most responsive member of the band. He was said to be a sarcastic, hilarious and nice guy but at shows he just… didn’t give a shit about the crowd. He was usually absorbed in the songs, following the rhythm with his entire body, marching to the beat or just bobbing his head… but that was all. No interaction, no communication, just the chords. If Maggie had been alone there, she would have picked his side and stayed there as if she had been pinned to the ground… but Mel wanted to stand near Jeff so they made a compromise. Of course, Mel tried every kind of dirty trick to lure her closer to Mike’s and Jeff’s territory and Maggie begged desperately with her irresistible sad puppy face to move in the other direction, after all, if the mountain won't come to Muhammad… and Jeff would bounce around, anyways, she argued. But neither of them could convince the other one so they were stuck in front of the place of Eddie Vedder and they knew they would have to fight hard to be able to keep their position.

“You will defend me, I know.” Maggie cuddled to her friend, letting herself be pulled in a bear hug. She was short and slim, the top of her head barely reached the level of the tall Mel’s chin, that’s why they often joked about themselves being two dogs coming from different species but being allies and best friends forever.

“I’ll defend you just… not now, oh my god, ohmygod, they’re here, that’s him!!!” Mel suddenly let her go frantically taking one picture after another of her main target.

“Okay, I can’t win against Jeff Ament…” Maggie shook her head with a forgiving smile only to discover the object of her admiration appearing on the other side of the stage, walking around with a deadpan on his face. She couldn’t help chuckling when she noticed he was wearing a black socks-dress shoes combo... with light brown shorts. She’d already got used to these weird testimonies of his terrible fashion sense but he always managed to surprise her with a newer unacceptable outfit.

When the singer finally showed up too, the crowd moved forward, pressing the girls against the barrier… and from that moment on, they only had some rest during the slower songs. Not that they wanted to complain, they were singing along the lyrics, screaming, laughing, crying or just squeezing each other’s hand making sure they were not dreaming, they were finally together, having the time of their life, really living their favorite songs. Mel was overly contented with seeing the bass player’s manly moves in the tight tank top he was wearing and the passionate solos and dazed-off moments of Mike pleased both of them too, even if they were within the spitting range of Ed. But as time went by, they both started feeling the depressing thought that this would be over soon, even if they tried to fight against it by bouncing and screaming twice as intensely as before…

When Stone started playing the opening chords of State of Love and Trust, the crowd went completely nuts and Maggie had to tighten her grip not to be drifted… the pressure behind her eased for a second but at once, she felt a sharp pain in the back of her head and lost the touch with the outside world…

***

Mhmmmm… what are these bright lights? I must have died and got in that shining corridor about which people who experienced clinical death always tell…

“Jesus, I go blind…” I mumble… or am I just hearing my own thoughts? Shit, this splitting headache, I’m definitely alive, I must have fallen asleep after taking in my migraine pill.

“Do you prefer low light?” a nasal male voice asks and as I look around, I find myself lying on a couch but I’m not in my own apartment, I don’t know this place. Oh, so I’m in a dream, nice, let’s see where it’s going…

“Yes, please!” I groan covering my eyes.

“Clouds roll by… sorry, bad joke, here, is it better his way?”

I take away my hand from my eyes and let them adjust to the pleasant half-light provided probably by a standing lamp somewhere out of my sight. When did I learn how to change the setting of my dreams? Cool… The owner of the voice takes place opposite me only to make me realize, I’m in a Stone dream, moreover, this time it’s a new one.

“Are you okay?” he’s checking me with the inquiring but still expressionless stare of a toad.

“More or less…” I mumble helplessly. Interesting, I’ve never had such a vivid dream about him, it’s somehow different, like I was in charge, I’ve never felt like this before while dreaming… Familiar melodies provide the musical accompaniment, I have to listen for a few bars until I recognize Yellow Ledbetter… but he’s here… and the music comes from…?

“Are we… at a show?” I ask suspiciously, I’m afraid that despite the realistic surrounding, it’ll turn into an incoherent screenplay written by my subconscious.

“Yes, we are…”

“But how come you’re not playing? You should be on the stage with the others…”

“I don’t feel like playing… I mean in that song, I have basically not much to do, I strum the same chords as Mike, it’s boring. At sound checks, sometimes I beg until I can play the drum parts, I’m a desperate drummer but I love it. But the rhythm guitar part is just… nah. Plus, I had to pee, anyways.”

“Fair enough.” I snicker. He’s such an awkward dork, even in my dreams. “Well, that happens if a musician is too busy with drinking beer at gigs instead of playing”.

“Excuse me?” he startles offended. That’s my favorite thing in dreaming, I can do and say what I’d never dare in real life.

“Do you think we don’t notice when you’re just fudging, walking around with the guitar and use the change of amplifier setups as an excuse to take a few sip of your booze? That doesn’t really count as musical contribution.”

“Ugh, busted. I try not to drink before the show though. Right as soon as I get onstage I start drinking. But come on, I never belch out of key, what’s this if not musical humility?”

I snort shaking my head and keep grinning from ear to ear. If he’s such a hilariously funny guy in my fantasy, how adorable he can be in the reality… I know he used to be an annoying, sarcastic little shit but when PJ got really successful, he mellowed down and made himself to the main target of his irony… The mixture of this down-to-earth humbleness and calm confidence was one of the main reasons why he became my favorite member in the band; in the band that only consists of great, relatable people, by the way.

Maybe I should use the occasion to have a chitchat with him, I could ask him questions about stuff I’ve always wanted to know… even if the answers are only the products of my mind…

“Do you see the world in yellow?”

Okay, maybe that’s not the best start but the colored lenses of his spectacles somehow distracted me and it just slipped out. He reacts with that short, amused eyebrow twitch I love… good job, Maggie.

“It’s a good question! It’s funny, nobody asked that before… but to answer it, I do, it’s like being trapped in that moment of sunset when everything is glowing in that golden light… but to be less poetic, it makes everyone look as if they were Lego figures, they have yellow head, y’know…”

The mentioning of my favorite toy brings back old memories about the times when I was building my own town with eclectic houses that served as the scene of the made-up action stories crafted by my cousin and me.

“I you were a Lego figure, you’d be a bad boy.” I remark with a timid smile and try to ignore the fact that my cheeks are in flames.

“Only if I were a Lego figure? That’s offensive. I was the member of the gang Newton Street Boys. We were the most dangerous guys on whole Capitol Hill, we terrorized the district by taking protection rackets from kindergarten pupils. They were scared to death when we showed up riding our bikes, I liked the banana-seat ones with the high handlebars - maybe a card in the wheel could have been part of it.” he chuckles playfully. “Anyway, why a bad boy?”

“It’s because of the scruff.” I giggle and reach out to pinch his neck but he leans away.

“Please don’t touch me.” he grunts.

Hey, brain, we had an agreement: if I behave decently enough in real life, you won’t throw any obstacles in the way of my naughty tendencies at nights. So if I want to touch Stone’s perfect neck, I’m gonna to do it. Period.

“I said no!!!” he repeats this time angrier when my fingers approach his skin again. What the hell???

“Sorry. I… I just wanted to say that there were those bearded figures… and you could get them mostly from the pirate or the police station series.”

“You mean they had an attachable Lego beard?” he inquires confused and excited at the same time; I’m sure he’s already forgotten the embarrassing intermezzo and is now desperately trying to recall the look of the little yellow dudes.

“Haha, no, it was just painted on their face. There was the moustache, the regular beard and the scruff that basically meant black dots on their face. And the scruffy guys always played the role of the bad boys in my stories. You know, the bank robber, the fleeing prisoner…”

“… the fucked-up musician… we should definitely have a Lego party once!”

“We should…” I repeat and we’re smiling silently at each other for a few seconds… I clear my throat and swallow hard since my mouth got completely dry, shit, it must be that damn gum-shield I have to wear at nights to prevent myself from gnashing.

“You want some water?” he asks walking to a fridge standing at the door.

“Fuck, yes, I’m dying of thirst.” I moan and I mean it.

“Here.” he hands a small bottle to me while he opens a beer can. I rather don’t make any remarks, the show is over, after all… But now that I think into it, maybe the other band members will show up too… I can’t wait!

I lower my head and press the ice cold bottle against my forehead. It feels incredibly good, that blinding pain is still pulsing in my head. As I direct my gaze onto the ground, I can’t help laughing again when I spot his dress shoes and the black socks tucked into them. The hem rolled down around his left ankle making the socks look like they were unmatched.

However thirsty I am, I can only take small sips since I’m already snorting at the next part of this weird vision.

“Anyway… before the others would arrive, there’s one thing we have to discuss.” I begin when I finally manage to force my facial muscles into a serious expression.

“Something that stays between us? Like a dirty little secret?” his face lights up with a boyish smile.

“Kind of, if your socks are dirty…” I roll my eyes. “It’s the footwear.”

“Yours or mine?”

“Of course yours, mine is normal. Matching boots, a totally adequate choice for a rock concert. But yours is just… criminal.”

“Don’t be rude with my shoes, they look good and they are comfy as fuck!” he circles with his feet comically.

“They do but man, look in that mirror!” I point at his reflection in the mirror hanging on the opposite wall. “You look like the mixture of an elementary school boy and a bachelor dressed by his mother. Shorts with dress shoes? How? Why? It’s an obvious no-no!” I scream.

“I have only these ones, sneakers and flip flops with me, which doesn’t leave much variation.” he shrugs briefly.

“You should have chosen the sneakers… as for the “f” word, I’m not even willing to pronounce it.”

“I always wore hiking boots in the earlier times, they were the most comfortable choice but they weren’t compatible with the heat on stage. And then, I got introduced in the magical world of orthopedic sandals but the band somehow vetoed them, I don’t really understand why... I was only allowed to wear them between shows and at soundchecks but at gigs, I had to wear the boots… Once, before a show, maybe in Atlanta, I can’t remember exactly, the sole of my boot separated so I could only wear my sandals… the guys freaked out about my velvet shorts-sweatpants-white socks-sandals outfit and obliged me to wear Jeff’s shoes during the show.” he recalls but I can barely listen to him, his hand talk and the fidgeting alien fingers are definitely more appealing than the image of Birkenstocks worn with socks.

As my eyes are glued to him, I involuntarily start playing with my hair but my fingers land in something sticky. I check them and glance at him helplessly, as if he could help me find out why blood is the next nonsense feature in this scene.

“Fuck, why didn’t you tell me earlier that you’re bleeding?” he shouts and rushes to the fridge.

“Because I didn’t know…” I mutter and can’t form further coherent sentences since he steps back to me with an ice bag and presses it to the back of my head… and he keeps standing opposite me with his arms laced around my neck. I’m desperately trying to look at the ceiling, the ground and the four walls at the same time, anywhere but him…

“This is too embarrassing, I want this to finally end… this is terrible.” I whisper in pain, fixing my gaze on the ugly shoes and working on calming down my hyperventilation with all my nerves.

“Hey, I just wanted to help! Just for the record, we don’t often let passed-out fans in the backstage, you were in bad shape and…”

“No, I mean, thanks and all but this dream… it’s going nowhere, it was funny but you entering into my personal space creates a tension that needs resolution, like a hug or a kiss or anything, this makes just no sense!” I blurt out, basically arguing with myself, the director of the movie.

“What? That doctor could finally arrive, you must have a concussion!” he gently tries to push me back onto to the couch but I shake his hands off me.

“What doctor... wait… the pain… the blood… is this… real?” I flail still hoping he doesn’t exist and suddenly disappears or turns into my real crush or Edge from U2 or whatever.

“You got hit with by a half-empty beer can and you passed out so the security personnel fished you out of the crowd. Since I came back anyway, I suggested that they should lay you down here until they get a doctor. You got a backstage pass by passing out. A backstage pass out.” he tries to ease he situation with a pun but I’m not really in the mood.

“No… the scruff… the shoes… the ki… I can’t believe I said all this bullshit, this is worse than a nightmare…” I bury my face into my palms completely mortified and stumble back towards the couch dizzily. Suddenly, I hear a familiar voice… Mel!!!

***

“I’m not going to repeat this again, my best friend is in that room so if you won’t let me in immediately, I’m going to fuckin’ sue you!!!” Mel pointed with her index finger outraged at the huge guy standing in front of the door of the dressing room. Actually, instead of suing, she wanted to headbutt him in the chest but she knew it would feel like running into a concrete wall. She’d already been arguing with him for like fifteen minutes but the guy was just standing there with folded arms, stoically bearing the threats and the various spells casted on him by the furious girl.

“Hey, Ernie, I think you can let her in, her friend has just woken up, it’d be better if she’s with her when the doctor arrives…” a top of a head with ruffled hair peeked out of the door. The security guard obeyed and silently stepped aside.

“Maggie!!!” Mel shouted and tossed the young man in the door away to get a free way to her friend. “I was so worried about you!!!” she captured her into a rib-breaking hug.

“I’m… I’m okay… Stone took care of me…” Maggie mumbled against Mel’s chest trying to point at the guitarist under her friend’s arm.

“Stone???” Mel screamed making both of them turn around without breaking the hug.

“Yup.” the guitarist waved clumsily with one hand at her, digging his other hand deeply in his pocket.

Maggie managed to tiptoe enough to rest her head on her friend’s shoulder, which allowed her to saw the door opening… only to recognize the other members of the band arriving back from the stage. The small group was guided by Jeff who stopped at the door exchanging a surprised look with the embarrassed guitarist standing in the room.

Maggie started silently shaking of laughter because she could already imagine what’d happen next…

“Uhm… Mel… I’m choking… please let me go…” she acted patting her friend’s back a few times. “I think you should turn back… slowly…” she recommended biting her lips to hide her amusement when she pulled away to see the girl’s reaction.

“Why… what…?” Mel looked back over her shoulder and… due to the bassist’s excellent reflexes, she didn’t land on the ground but in his arms. Jeff stared shocked alternately at the unconscious girl and the other ones, begging for help with his eyes.

“Jesus, not again… “Stone sighed facepalming.” She’s yours, I’m out.”

[imaginesmai]

Peter Parker-Finally

Plot: Peter’s strange behaviour hasn’t gone unnoticed by the people around him, but he has a very, very, good reason for it.

Or

In which Peter and you plan a date for Friday’s night and he can’t stop thinking about it.

This is pure fluff.

MONDAY

Peter Parker was kind. When, in the school, someone needed anything, he was the first one to offer them it. Peter Parker was funny. If anyone was sad, a look towards the boy was enough to cheer them up. Peter Parker was cute. Most of the people who knew him agreed on that. And Peter Parker was, above all of that, distracted. The high schooler was always worrying about homework, missions or the latest memes, and his mind was always far away from where he stood.

But that wasn’t the actual case. Lately, he had been looking like he was in a lovestruck haze.

As the young boy swung into the living room after a quick tour around town, he whipped his mask off and urgently took his phone out of his suit to shoot off a rapid text. Peter almost stumbled as he tried to press the spider on his chest that let the suit loose and write at the same time. The answer to that text came immediately, as he smiled widely and walked out of the room hunched over his cell.

Aunt May and Happy, who had been watching him the entire time, followed his retreating form in silent horror and awe.

“Did I just imagine the kid not acknowledging our presences?” Happy blinked slowly. “Does he not care about us being together anymore?”

It wasn’t a secret anymore that he was dating May; and since the moment it had become ‘public’, Peter hadn’t stopped giving him death glares. Until that moment, where he hadn’t scoffed, complained or even pouted at his presence.

“Maybe he’s just talking to Ned” May shrugged. A few days ago Ned had bought some strange Lego thing and brought it to their apartment to build it with Peter. “But, hey! He didn’t growl at you this time!”

Happy rolled his eyes but gave her a sweet smile. He would find about the kid later.

TUESDAY

The next one to notice were Natasha and Clint. They had become suspicious of Peter’s behaviour the next afternoon, when all three of them were in the gym working out. One of the conditions of being an avenger was that Peter had to train at least once a week. Tony made sure to arrange everything so that he wouldn’t miss classes or homework.

Peter had quite literally begged them to train with him. He had already trained with Steve, Tony, Bucky and even Thor, but never with the two friends.

So there stood Natasha throwing knives into mannequins while Clint and Peter sparred on the mat, sweating and calculating each other’s moves. Soft music played in the background, helping them to concentrate. Until a certain loud song sounded and Peter became immobile.

His eyes widen and that’s all Clint needed to spring into action and rush towards his phone. Between the group of superheroes, pranks and jokes are nothing strange. Peter had seen Thor with a spoon glued to his hand and Natasha being thrown to the floor by transparent paper on the doors. Clint’s run towards his mobile would only give him mocking for a week, so Peter sprinted towards the arrow man and, with a somersault over him, took the phone out of his hands.

It stopped sounding just as Natasha appeared to see what was going on. Before she could open her mouth, it started sounding again.

“I, uh, thanks for the help today Mr. Hawkeye. B-But, I have to, I have things to do” Peter faked a yawn and gave a small smile. “Take a shower. Homework. And thanks to you too, Mrs. Romanoff! That really…tired me out. Bye!”

He proceeded to walk out of the gym too fast; but they didn’t miss how, when he pressed finally the phone against his ear, he smiled happily.

WEDNESDAY

The cafeteria was the worst place in the whole highschool. Full of people who Peter didn’t want to meet, stinking food and small chairs that made his back hurt. Usually, his safe boat were Ned and MJ. That day, Peter was shuffling his way through it tapping away on his phone. He had a cute and distracted look on his face, and he didn’t notice Ned calling him or MJ waving her hand.

“What’s wrong with him?” MJ frowned, looking at her friend. “He’s gonna crash into someone.”

“Oh, let him be” Ned laughed. “Love makes people blind.”

“Love? What are you talking about?” she turned to look at him. “Don’t tell me it’s that Liz again. I can’t stand her.”

“I can’t tell you anything” Ned shrugged. “Ask him yourself.”

They were interrupted by a group of students who came running to the cafeteria, probably to get the best place. Peter was so focused that he didn’t hear the wave of students coming his way.

Thanks to his spidey senses, he was able to avoid them all without crushing anyone, yet the last one made him fall to the ground. The tables who were closer to him turned their heads to see Flash on the ground with his face red of anger and Peter a few inches away still typing on his phone.

“Are you fucking blind?!” Flash shouted to his face. Finally, Peter looked up and noticed the angry boy.

“Oh, yeah, sorry Flash” he got up in a second.

“Sorry? That’s all you have to say?”

Peter just made a small sound as he walked away, his eyes once again fixed on the screen.

THRUSDAY

He was happy; finally, the week was coming to an end and Peter couldn’t be any more happy. He had woken up earlier than usual, made breakfast for him and aunt May; even added something more when he realised that Happy was there too. Usually, he would have shouted to hell and back, but that day he just smiled at him and offered him some coffee. In highschool, it had been great too. Too much homework that he had finished in his break, Flash being a dick but Peter not caring at all, Ned and MJ arguing over something and his heart jumping in joy.

It was after lunch when he went to the compound again. If that weekend was going to end well, he needed to make sure everything was planned. Peter bumbled into the small theatre room in hopes of finding the movie he wanted. It was probably the only place were he could find DVD still.

Too busy looking down to his phone, he didn’t notice Wanda and Vision in the room. He kept walking into the darkness until he heard a muffled laugh. He lifted his smiling face from the illuminated screen to see both of them cuddling in the couch.

“I-I’m sorry” Peter tried to look anywhere but their faces, as his cheeks were covered in red. His concern about interrupting something was cut short the a small ‘bling’ sounded and he was back to his screen.

They watched as Peter smiled again, pressing his thumbs into his phone with a speed that made Vision frown.

“Is that a girl you’re texting?”

Her voice was enough for him to chuck his phone into the air and squeal. So much for his spidey tingle. Wanda was looking at him with curious eyes, Vision looking down at her with love and adoration. It almost made him forget about the question, because he thought about how, in just two days, he would be doing the same with-

“Peter!” Wanda repeated.

“Why-Why would you even ask that? Of course it’s not! It’s-I’m just talking to Ned” the excuse sounded fake even to him. Wanda squeezed her eyes against him, as if she was trying to coerce him into the truth.

“That’s what humans call crush, isn’t it?” Vision asked. Wanda nearly choked with his own breath as Peter’s cheeks and neck became pink.

He opened his mouth and tried to explain it to him, but when the ‘bling’ sounded again, he was out of the room before Vision or Wanda could say anything about it.

FRIDAY

“Too risky?”

“Dude, not even my grandpa would wear that.” Ned scoffed from the bed.

Peter looked in the mirror again, his hands going instinctively to fix the hem of his jacket. He thought it was cool. Black leather jacket with white shirt, and brown jeans? That’s what the boys in the film wore when they wanted to get the girl.

“But aunt May told me-“

“No offense, but if you’re taking advice from your aunt I think we should abort the mission.”

Again, he watched his reflection in the mirror. Ned was sitting behind him, trying to finish his star wars puzzle in some pyjamas. The sight was almost comical; two teenagers who had never had a girlfriend before trying to find something cool between last-decade-clothes. And there were Star Wars t-shirts too, of course. Peter didn’t think they were the best option to impress someone.

He tossed the jacket aside without a second thought, the t-shirt and the jeans following close. If he could just wear the suit. It would make him look cool, interesting and would sweep the girl off her feet. Because that was what Spiderman did, not Peter Parker.

“Maybe I shouldn’t-“

“If I hear you say that you shouldn’t go, I’m dragging you there myself” Ned threatened. “You’ve been planning this for a week! What could go wrong?”

“A lot of things!”

Peter was staring to feel the anxiety filling his chest, a deep pressure on his chest that made him want to call and fake a headache. Maybe it was because of the excitement he felt about his first date since…always, but, honestly, it was making him feel sick. He breathed slowly and took a random shirt from the drawer.

“Okay. I got this.”

“Of course you got this!” Ned got up and stepped in front of him. “Who were you, again?”

“W-What?”

“You’re supposed to say Spiderman, dude” Ned sighed. “Once again. Who are you?”

“I’m Spiderman?” Peter said with a shaky voice.

“Yeah, that way you’re not even getting touched tonight. Who are you?!”

“I’m-I’m Spiderman” Peter half smiled. “I’m Spiderman, I can do it.”

“Of course you can do it!”

“I can do it!”

While Peter dressed up again for his date, both boys kept screaming encouragement words. He had it, he could do it and he would do it. He just needed a little encouragement, which was what Ned was doing in that moment. When he finally finished, Peter Parker was a bubble of excitement and energy that didn’t notice aunt May, Tony and Happy staring at him with their eyes wide open on his way out.

“And you want me to believe there is nothing wrong with that kid?” Tony whispered to May.

“Maybe he’s just-“

“Drugs” Happy’s eyes widened. “First it was porn, and now drugs.”

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

The night was colder than what he had anticipated, and he wished he would have listened to his inner voice the first time and brought that stupid black jacket. It was probably the most horrendous thing, but he wouldn’t be freezing his ass off.

Actually, he wouldn’t have wore it. Peter knew that, even if it would have been snowing, he wouldn’t have worn the stupid jacket. It would have been another excuse to touch you, dropping it over your shoulder and keeping his arm there.

Still, the night hadn’t gone bad.

Peter had arrived to your meeting place half an hour before the hour you had talked over the phone, and had felt the most ridiculous human being. People that had walked by his side had looked at him with a mixture of pity and curiosity, and he had felt every passing second deep in his chest. But he hadn’t waited for too long, because twenty minutes before the meeting hour he saw you with the jacket he loved so much. You were running while looking at your phone, and sometimes stealing a glace to your sides to make sure your father wasn’t behind you.

You had arrived where he was standing and greeted him with a shy kiss on the cheek, and he had almost fainted on the spot.

Then, his plan started; kissing Y/N Stark without making a fool of himself.

Some months ago, you had mentioned him how you would love to see one of those old movies in an old cinema. Those where people went with their cars or blankets and the film was played outside a building. Peter had looked everywhere until he found a small park that had in front of it an abandoned building. He bought the blanket, snacks and got the film, and asked you for a date a week ago. Technically, he didn’t ask you; Peter just stutter in front of you until you asked him if he wanted to invite you to a date. Blushing, he had nodded furiously and you had agreed gladly. Which lead to that moment at the park.

In the beginning, you had been on your side of the blanket and him on his. You had talked about school (you went to the same one), joked and laughed, and finally he had showed you his idea.

“What’s this?” you asked, looking at the object in front of you. It was a small box, with a big lens on the front.

“It’s-I got it for our date” Peter explained. “I saw it on Twitter, and I thought that you would like it.”

“But what is this? What’s inside?”

You tried to shake it from side to side, to listen if there was something in there. Peter looked at you with a small, and lovestruck, smile. For the daughter of Tony Stark, you knew nothing about the old technology.

“It’s a projector”

“What? Where are the cables?” you searched for them turning the object up and down a few times.

“No, it’s- give me that, you’re going to break it.” Peter took it swiftly from your hands and placed it on the ground.

“And why did you bring it?”

Well, that was the main question. Peter had thought about thousands of answer for it; because saying that he had been looking for it on amazon, e-bay and ali-express for months, just for you, seemed a little creepy. He cleared his throat and shifted on his place, focusing his attention on the DVD and the projector.

“I got it a few weeks ago. Y-You told me that you wanted to see a film with a blanket, and that shit, a-and your father doesn’t let you out too often. So I thought that… you might like this” Peter explained, blushing furiously.

You blinked as he continued talking about how he got it and why you shouldn’t think he was a stalker. Peter and you had met three years ago, when your father had finally let you go to a normal high school. Since the first moment, you had had a crush on the cute boy who went out of his way to make you happy. Each time he covered up for you in class because you had problems with your father, helped you with your homework or let you a place to stay, your heart beat a little faster for him.

“… so, yeah, that was my plan for tonight” he chuckled a bit. “But if you don’t-“

“That’s the most awesome thing someone have ever done for me” you cut him off with a small smile. “What are we watching?”

Peter put on quickly the DVD and watched as Pulp Fiction started to play on the wall in front of you. As he sat back on the blanket, your shoulders brushed slightly and the voice of actors started sounding. You watched as he fumbled a bit, his fingers shaking and the back of his ears as red as his suit.

The night was cold and the park was even colder, but you felt a comforting warmth filling your bones. If he had chosen the worst movie in the world, it wouldn’t have mattered. If he had chosen a stupid documentary, it wouldn’t have mattered. Or if you two would have been in the worst place in Earth, it wouldn’t have made a difference neither. Because you didn’t have your father behind your shoulder, watching every movement you made and keeping the spider boy away from you. That fact was making Peter feel more confident than even, so he dared to rest his hand on the top of you.

His shaky fingers crawled until he was covering your smaller hand with his, and his thumbs ran across your palm as a feather touch.

Peter was trying to seem focused on the film, but you could see how, with the corner of his eye, he was watching your reactions.

Before you really knew what you were doing, your body turned to the left and your lips were on his. It was a quick and probably a little sloppy, and at first all Peter did was lose the strength of his arms and fall against the blanket. You fell on top of him, surprised and kind of disappointed. As you were tearing away, ready to go back home and cry to your father to sleep, Peter lifted himself a little and caught again your lips with his, letting out a small smile.

His sureness encouraged you, and you sat slowly on his lap. Your hands landed on either side of his face, and your fingers found his soft, brown hair; the pressure they were doing against it enough to make Peter nearly lose the rhythm of the kiss.

He gripped your waist and his thumbs brushed the skin softly. And you swore you were dying right there from a heart attack. Eventually, you pulled away from his blushing and smiling face and rested your forehead on his, a stupid smile on your face.

You continued to thread your fingers through his hair, tugging lightly at the ends.

“That’s-not how I had planned things” he said. “Not that I’m complaining, but-“

“You don’t have to plan everything. I would have agreed to go with you to the worst burger in town.”

“I wanted to make something special” he shrugged lightly. “Y-You’re special enough, thought”

You let out a little giggle and kissed the tip of his nose. Then, pressed a kiss on the right side of his mouth, the left corner and finally crashed your lips together again.

As you kissed and laid on each other arms, the film played against the wall in front of you. All Peter Parker could think was 

Finally.

Want to know more about me? Here is my Masterlist! Feedback is always appreciated!!

[the-silentium]

#17 & #18 🙈

17. “Looks like we’ll be trapped for a while…”

18. “This is without a doubt the stupidest plan you’ve ever had. Of course I’m in.”

Masterlist

Pairing: Eddie Brock x Reader / Venom x Reader

Warning: Angst, fluff, swearing

Words: 3025 words

A/N: First off, a big thank you to the anon who gave me my first prompts ♡. I literally wrote this at 3 a.m. and I thought it would be a good idea to mix someone new that lives in the city! Please, give me comebacks!

Gif is not mine, credits to the owner.

A light breeze made you tighten your grip on your jacket. Finally, your favorite time of the year showed its nose and replaced the excruciating weather with a more tolerable one. The new bright colors decorating the trees and the sidewalk gave a new life to the dull streets of San Francisco. The pumpkin spice smell lingering in every café in town, the kids smiling in the perspective of the sweet holiday coming soon and the monsters showing themselves after a year of hiding.

The darkness surrounding you put you at ease while the cold air sharpened your senses. You perceived every movement on the street below and all the sounds carried by the wind invaded your ears.

From your position on the roof of a 15 story building, you had a perfect view of the mugging of a young lady by a guy twice your size. You watched the scene, your legs swinging over the void, a smile creeping its way on your lips. A young raccoon made its way onto the edge and waddled to your side. At that moment, the lady let go of her purse, probably choosing her life over a few bucks and some pads. She lost her balance and fell onto the sidewalk. Her cries reached your ears just when you reached for the little thief and cradled him into your arms.

You couldn’t stop yourself but started to coo at the little furry ball. A few gunshots, a very piercing scream and some wet noises characterizing a beheading later, you were now tickling the little mammal. His squeaking melted your heart and made you once again question your decision of moving into town. You missed the countryside, but you were very not welcome there.

Suddenly, the young raccoon tensed, all senses in alert. A shock on the side of the building accelerated his heartbeat and a wide toothy grin scared the shit out of him. In a flash, he had reached the other side of the roof and found shelter in the gutter.

Sighing, you turned your attention on the alien taking a seat next to you. You had met him a few months ago during one of your nights out. You were stealing some antibiotics from a drug store and at your exit, he intercepted you. He gave you the fear of your life, threatened your organs and licked every inch of your face. In your panic, you had used what you had sworn to never use again. Your mind called to anything within your range and soon enough, 4 stray dogs ran to your rescue and attacked the black monster. You had dropped the meds and ran off. Surely, you could try again and right now, those few pills weren’t worth it.

Of course, he caught up to you. A black mass scotched you to a wall and before you appeared a very good looking guy. His right arm was engulfed in the black mass and the left one shoved the pill container onto your face. He screamed at you, accusing you of being a junkie, insulting you for stealing drugs that could A. kill you and B. help someone else and lost his temper because you weren’t responding.

You were there, watching him blankly like everything he said was stupid.

“Now that your little tantrum is done, can I talk?”

Your tone shut him up immediately. Clearly, he had overlooked something. You explained how these pills weren’t drugs, but antibiotics. How you needed them for your little brother who had pneumonia. You were his only living family and you couldn’t afford the meds. After some time, Eddie let you go. The black mass dissolved and he gave you back the meds.

“Don’t do it often or you’ll have trouble.” He had told you before you ran off and never looked back.

“Still looking for trouble?” Eddie’s voice put a smile on your face. For quite some time, the mere thought of him managed to make you happy.

“You know me.” You turned your head to face him. “I’m always looking for trouble.” You continued with a wink.

Eddie’s laugh broke the silence of the night. You were grateful for the cold breeze that hit you square in the face and hide the blush that colored your cheeks. You shuddered from the sudden cold that infiltrated your clothes. Bringing your legs up, you wrapped your arms around them in an attempt to keep yourself a bit warm. The streets were empty again. The lady must have run off, a body was lying in a dark alley and no one else wanted to face the cold night. In this neighborhood at least.

A warm spot on your arm caught your attention. You could do nothing but watch as your limb disappeared under some liquid-ish darkness. It was the second time that Venom touched you, the first time being when he threatened you to eat your heart, lungs and some other vital organs. That first time, you weren’t paying attention to the warmth radiating from him but now, all you could think of was how wonderful it would be to sleep enveloped in this black mess.

At this thought, you frowned. You clearly weren’t normal. Eddie misunderstood your reaction and distanced himself from you, pulling the symbiote with him. He scratched his neck and kicked the ground to dissipate his embarrassment.

“I erm- I have to gather some information on a doctor. Wanna tag along? I reassure you, it’s far from legal.” He smirks.

At the mention of something illegal, you scoff.

“Only if you are there to keep me out of trouble.” You turned to him, hiding your smile in your shoulder.

“We’ll always have your back darling.” He smiled with his hand extended for you to take.

Scoffing, you wrapped your fingers around his hand and before you knew, you were in the air, flying toward your target in the arms of an alien.

*****************

It took 9 minutes and 43 seconds for trouble to find you. You were currently crouched in a corner of a lab, trying to not touch anything and more importantly, not receive anything on you. Because you see, after 9 minutes and 43 seconds of Venom searching through files and document about someone named Henry Pym, a size-shifting man appeared out of no-fucking-where and started to piss off the black alien.

You didn’t know much about Pym Technologies. Scratch that. You knew nothing about them, but your instincts told you that a lab like this must contain stuff that you shouldn’t touch. Basics really. If it glows in the dark? Don’t touch. It’s red? Clearly a no-no. Don’t even think about the big kind of portal toward Star Wars Land.

Shattering glass caught your attention. Venom just threw the red costumed man through a window to what you think is a command room. Venom’s milky eyes met yours and he joined you in a heartbeat. He checked you over for a second before half his face morphed back to Eddie.

“Play the hostage.” He simply said, causing a frown to deform your features.

“This is without a doubt the stupidest plan you’ve ever had.” Seriously. Other than guards, there was no one in this building, so why a civilian like you would be in there? Clearly, Eddie hadn’t thought this through. The guy would be a bit hard to trick, but you hoped you could be convincing. “Of course, I’m in.”

Venom was back in his entirety, grabbing you harshly by the throat with a clawed hand and lifting you to show the other guy. Damn, at this rate, you wouldn’t have to fake anything. The pain, the missing oxygen, they were all real. Even the thrashing around. Your eyes shot daggers at him and he must have gotten the message because his hold on your throat eased a bit.

You whimpered and grabbed Venom’s hand. You tried to get free from his loose grip, not to avail. Fortunately for you, your opponent wasn’t known for his deep thinking.

“Let her down.” His voice was ragged and didn’t impress you much. Now imagine Venom.

The alien laughed and put a claw from his other hand across your stomach. He made a slow movement on the side like he would open you vertically.

“Her organs would be too delicious to waste.” Well, thank you? For the second time in your life, the biggest tongue in the universe licked its way across your face. This time though, it seems like there was more pressure on your lips than anywhere else. Maybe you were imagining things… It could have been accidental. His eyes shifted from you to his opponent, two slits scrutinizing the hero for any weakness.

“But maybe I could eat you first.” He dropped you without warning, causing you to fall onto scattered papers and lose your balance. You fell onto your wrist, screaming from deep within yourself when a net crunch resonated through your ears. Pain flooded through you in waves while tears invaded your eyes and stained your cheeks.

Then, the fight continued. You cowered away from all the action, choosing to nurse your sprained wrist instead. You could barely touch it and the swelling process already started. At this moment, you made yourself a promise. Never again will you follow Eddie’s stupid plans.

Now, desks were destroyed, more papers scattered the ground, some odd liquid was dripping on the ground and ants were crawling up your arm. Great. Just great. You didn’t fear ants, but insects definitely weren’t in your heart.

You tried to rub them off, but they were really persistent. They would climb on your finger and avoid being crushed. You didn’t notice the lack of fighting noise, but the giant flying ant that landed on your nose, this one you didn’t miss. Screaming, you tried to hit it off, but a hand caught your good wrist just before you did. In a millisecond, the guy had stuck something onto your chest and suddenly, the room became bigger. Like, you were a tiny lego in a motherfucking big room.

You wanted to scream, but at the same time, all you could think of was oh my god, that’s fucking awesome! But when you saw the big ants and the even bigger flying ant, your reflex was to finally let your vocal cords express themselves.

You couldn’t have the satisfaction to scream for long though, because two hands took hold of your cheeks with care and it shut you up instantly. The guy in front of you was cute. He had lifted his mask, showing all the concern written on his face.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get you out of here.” With a smile, he presented you a hand to shake. “Hi, I’m Scott Lang. E-eh, I mean, Ant-Man.”

You chuckled and shook his hand, giving your name. The gentle squeeze he gave your hand made your heart skip a beat. It has been a while since a guy tried to flirt with you and you would be lying if you said it didn’t feel good. True, he wasn’t the one who you wanted the attention from, but it felt good nonetheless.

A guttural roar got you both out of your little moment. Ant-Man grabbed your waist, guiding you toward the flying ant and lifted you on its back, positioning himself in front of you. Your arms instinctively wrapped themselves around his waist and locked there. Saying you were stiff was an understatement. If you were to receive a hit somewhere, you would break in half.

To distract yourself, you tried to focus on Venom, who was currently rampaging the room. You didn’t know if it was because you had disappeared from his view or because he had lost his fight -for now- but he really looked furious. Poor Scott Lang.

If you once thought that the symbiote was tall, it was nothing compared to how he was right then. He was a giant terrifying murderous being that was waiting for the second that your companion returned back to normal.

After a moment, you lose your sight on the symbiote. The ant had entered what looked like some air conduct. Your arms tightened a bit when the complete darkness of the conduct started to weight on you. Where were you going? Will you be stuck as a tiny version of yourself? Will there be an enormous rat living in these conducts that will attack you and kill you like in the movies? Your breathing accelerated at the same time your head found support on Scott’s back in an attempt to find comfort in his presence. A small pressure on your tight and some calm reassurances from Ant-Man later, the cold air of an October night hit you like a ton of brick. You started shivering but soon you hit the ground and Scott helped you down.

“Are you okay?” You simply nod. After your little panic moment in the conduct, you didn’t trust your voice. For sure, it would be broken and weak.

“Okay. I’ll get us back to normal and you’ll run as far from here as you can. You think you can do that?” Again, you nod.

A wave of nausea hits you when you grow back up. You seriously need to puke but hands are hurriedly pushing you away. You don’t understand his haste until a loud crash near you both made you jump. Never before have you seen Venom so pissed.

“You’ll pay for taking something of ours.” He growled.

*****************

After kicking Ant Man’s ass, Venom took you home. Not your home, but Eddie’s. You had had to bargain Scott’s life for a day at theirs. You saw glitter on his face when he removed his mask, so you deduced that he had a family to go back to. Plus, he has been sweet and caring with you all along. You did owe him that. Even if he did start all the trouble.

When you finally made it to Eddie’s, he quickly got you a bag of ice for your wrist and proposed you a shower, which you gladly accepted. He let you borrow some clothes and started acting really weird.

First, he would stare at you on your way out of the bathroom. You weren’t naked, nor were you in a simple towel. You had clothes on, for god’s sake. Then, it was like he went brain dead because you took his hoodie to keep yourself warm. His apartment was as cold as the room where you get cold beer at the store. That room was a pain for everyone, right? How in the world could he live in this cold?

“Do you happen to know what heating is? This place is freezing.” Suddenly you were happy that you accepted only a day. You liked a fresh environment, not the north pole.

The lack of answer made you turn toward the brunette, who was blinking at you, mouth slowly opening. You started to move your feet up and down repeatedly against your legs to try to keep them warm, but the lack of socks didn’t help. Noticing your problem, Eddie seemed to suddenly revive.

He walked to you, took you in his arms bridal style and carried you to bed. You blushed but tried to hide it by hiding under the covers.

“Eddie?” He shook his head.

“It wasn’t me.” He got under the covers too, his face telling that this wasn’t him once again. His arms pulled you to him and kept a firm grip.

As much as the movement surprised you, you couldn’t stop from melting in his arms. One, because of the heat emanating from his body, two, because you had low-key fell for this guy a while ago and three, a black goo engulfed every inch of your body, minus your head.

You tried to move an arm just to test the black mass, but just as you thought, you were stuck.

“Looks like we’ll be trapped for a while…” Eddie trailed off, avoiding your eyes. You giggled, catching his attention and his gaze.

“Can I ask you something?” You placed your cheek on his chest, feeling his heartbeat.

“Anything.”

“Why was Venom so pissed?” You felt a change in his heartbeat. It quickened and caught your interest.

“He wasn’t pissed, Y/N.” He made eye contact with you before continuing. “We were scared.”

You laughed causing Eddie to frown.

“You guys were scared of this guy?” You closed your eyes, trying to remember Ant-Man and really, even to you he wasn’t scary. If you had met him in another scenario, surely he would have become your friend in no time.

A hand moved and took hold of your chin, tilting it up. Eddie’s handsome features were deformed by a frown and worry.

“We weren’t scared of him. You really don’t see it? We were scared we had lost you.” His eyes confirmed his words. They were truly scared for you. “We have- kind of- grown attached to you.” Again, his gaze focused somewhere else.

It was just now that everything made sense. Your current position in his bed, the fear in Venom when you disappeared from his view, the warm blanket on the roof and the-

“So I wasn’t imagining it when Venom licked my face and put more pressure on my lips!” At that, Eddie turned bright red and his eyes widened.  

You laughed wholeheartedly and tried to lean in to kiss those perfect lips of his but you couldn’t move an inch thanks to your symbiotic restrains. Groaning from frustration, you turned your head so that your mouth was below Eddie’s armpit. You murmured some promises to Venom and his grip loosened on you. You were still recovered but your movements weren’t restrained.

You surprised Eddie by moving your legs so that you were now straddling him and crashed your lips on his. His stunned state lasted a second. He answered your kiss with as much fervor and passion and soon enough, you were flipped on your back, marking the beginning of the most exhausting night of your life.

Tag List: @slither-in-a-half @a-frozen-bag-of-corn​ @noshi-chan

[life-of-ice]

Apparently I'm an even bigger sucker for AJR then even I thought I was. Ya boi wrote down my interpretation of the stories of as many AJR songs as I could get a hold of.

(Not gonna lie, some of these made me cry.)

AJR Analysis : Living Room

Overture- Is good songs smushed together

Infinity- This is kind of one of the only love songs they will ever write. In this he is kind of asking if it was all in his head and that she was kind of perfect to him and all his troubles fell away when she was there and it's just a really sweet song.

I’m Ready- This is when they are really confident and happy, and excited for their first album to come out. They also want to make other people happy

My Calling- He is finding his calling, which is represented by ‘ I'm sailing the clouds”, and he's pretty confident it is his calling as said by teh “It might be my calling”.I think the “A heartbreak and hundred red balloons, now i'm off the floor” means he found his calling when he broke up with his significant other, and finding his purpose made him happy, or euphoric. He kinda thinks that he's going to put himself into this completely, and there's no going back, so he’ll let you know when he succeeds.

Thirsty- This is a silly party song about drunk people being really intense and excited.

Pitchfork Kids- This is literally one of the most intense song in the album and it is so hard to analyze in the beginning. He’s saying if he should spend time running for his life and that the “Pitchfork kids” are coming for him, orlike peer pressure and popular kids and people and if he gets away he’ll still be singing his. 

Livin’ on Love- This is about a guy who has a crush on someone, and that someone makes the first move. He explains he likes to take it slow, and he doesn't want this relationship to end, and looks like it'll be smooth sailing from there.

Big White Bed- He's thinking about his future with someone he lives. He would imagine living with his significant other for the rest of his life.

The World is A Marble Heart- He feels betrayed that his ex left him because of promises his ex made him when they first started dating. He's just kinda bitter.

The Green and the Town-The Giants they refer to are adults. They know they're  growing up, and they hope they can keep their youthful tendencies. He wants to be able to come back home someday, and relive his younger days.

Big Idea- They are really confident after a big success. And while they might be a small fry in the world of music, they are taking what they can get. They feel like you can do anything you put your mind to. But for now they are going to celebrate.

Growing Old on Bleecker Street- He's kind of saying it's kind of pointless to dream alone and that he is going to take his and wait for someone for him to make him happy. And that time may wash away his memories but him and the person in the song and him will still cry together. This song is really hard to put into words but i think the music and the lyrics are really beautiful. The music really complements the words too. It's a beautiful ending to a beautiful album.

AJR Analysis : The Click - Deluxe( https://youtu.be/PZz1Gxdb_tA )

Overture- Unfortunately, this is just a very well put together mashup of the other songs.

The Good Part- He's not sure he's made it yet and he doesn't know what or where it is but still really wants to be there but he doesn't want to go through all of the hard parts in the middle and, this is just stealing the name but, just wants to skip to the good part.

Weak- He wants to be stronger and resist those who want to get him in trouble, despite how he knows that trouble he gets himself into is fun for him. He keeps refusing, his past keeps interfering as though he had an addiction in the past.” One hit” almost certainly refers to that.

Sober Up- He doesn't want to be left behind by the few people he wants to trust but they keep losing touch and his new friends are kinda bad (reference to drama) and i think this kind of touches on the three of their relationship as brothers that dont hate each other.

Drama- He is outgrowing his friends, and notices that they aren't exactly the best influence on him. His so called friends have overblown problems that really aren't necessary, and they are pretty as shown in the “Recently, he said that she said some shret that you wouldn't believe.”

Turning Out- He realizes he has really high expectations for a relationship, needs to reevaluate how he would like a relationship. He also needs to work on his maturity. He realizes he needs to know how to make a friendship before he does anything else.

No Grass Today- He refers to smoking when he talks about “grass”. It seems like he used to smoke, but stopped after he started performing. He doesn'to anymore, but is cool if you smoke because he understands that it has a kind of euphoria. He replaced his addiction with music, because it feels the same to him. As it is, his whole attitude is  you do you, I'll do me.

Three Thirty- He wants to get his work out to the public, but no one has yet to accept his work. He knows he needs more attention, and he wonders whether if he would get the success he wants by becoming more mainstream, like Ed Sheeran. He also wonders whether he can get success before he gives up.

Call My Dad- Something bad happened to him when he went to a party and hung out with a girl. He wants to be comforted and go home,which is why he wants to call his dad, as his dad represents home and safety to him.

I'm Not Famous- He's not famous and he embraces it. He embraces it because his problems are kinda embarrassing, and he doesn't really want to show everyone and lose all privacy in his life.

Netflix Trip- It goes through his life and some of his most influential moments in his life that this show had gotten him through. Also the show is the office, with Dwight, Michael, and Jim and head of sales. I also fit with times of when the seasons originally came out. It also talks about the show being over and he’s going through netflix looking for a new show to help him get through the times that are harder for him to get through himself.

Bud like You- Two really good friends being like why are people taking everything so seriously. And also like why is everything so expensive

Come Hang Out- He is always leaving himself out on gatherings with friends and people because he wants to keep working on his musical career. In the bridge he says “should i go for more clicks this year, or should i follow the click in my ear.” I think that's one of the more powerful lines in this song, because he's saying that he is comparing his popularity on the internet to the “click” or clique that keeps asking him to drop it for once and hang out.

Burn the House down- He used to be innocent and foolish wondering about how he looked and walked and now he isn't as innocent and now he wonders if he should keep his songs innocent even though he isn’t and everyone is now deceiving and stoof and he wonders if he should expose them with strangers on Twitter of bite his tongue. Lets just say he chooses to expose the crap outta them.

Role Models- He's saying that people are famous for all of the wrong reasons. I think this song really connects to their later song in neotheater, beats, because i think he is kind of worrying about losing all the best parts of himself and become what some of the more famous people are.

Normal- The background music sounds like a playground, which I think represents his childhood. He doesn't feel normal as people think it's weird he's spending time by himself. He wants to give up and stop trying since people think he's so weird. “My friends have all new friends” means that he doesn't want to be left behind, and he made something to make him popular, and that makes him sad.

Pretender- I honestly love the acoustic version. This song is, i think, sort of about the sang like if everyone jumped off a bridge, would you. He is basically saying that he has problems and insecurities but he hides them to be like everyone and he thinks hes right about the fact that he has to be exactly like everyone else. Also it makes an amazing mash up with next up forever.

Ajr Analysis: Neotheather (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmvfyCBJfPPRukUpv-xRE6EWuHZeAosLJ) 

Next Up Forever- The perspective is very nervous, and people are encouraging him to get better and better. He is both hopeful for his success, and scared of it.

Birthday Party- This is the perspective of an innocent person. He describes all of the world's problems, like “ I bet my ignorance is always Bliss, except ignoring pigment in our skin, I bet my countries nice to immigrants”. He is throwing shade at our problems with racism and ignoring the other problems we have, like global warming and discrimination of the minority.  

100 Bad Days- This is from the perspective of someone who is trying to ignore his problems, and brush it off for tomorrow as his way of coping. Like for example, when his girlfriend breaks up with him.

Don't Throw Out my Legos- The perspective is from a person graduating from perhaps high school, and is moving out. He doesn't want to leave his childhood behind him completely.

Break My Face- He's like Eff you, I'm fine, you don't have to worry about anyone but yourself, because you're kinda a jerk. If you only care about my looks, you have a lot more than me to fix.

Turning Out Pt.ii- He was a sad lonely person, and clung to the first person who would accept him. He realizes that that's what he did, and doesn't to want to burden her with himself anymore. He also realizes his decision might hurt her, and knows he needs to mature.

The Entertainment's here- He wants to distract himself from his reality so he doesn't have to think about his existence, like when he says “But I don't want to to think about my purpose on Earth” He is feeling numb as he has done the same thing over and over again. We think the school bell sound in the chorus is supposed to represent that as the school system is so rigid and uniform, but also rather boring.

Karma- A person is with a psychologist and is asking why he is so depressed as shown by his words of Doc or Doctor. The perspective feels like he has done everything he would to get better, but nothing is working, so it's a vicious cycle of being depressed, then getting depressed because he is depressed

Beats- The past line influences this a lot, but I think it's kind of like is he willing to throw away his dignity and creativity for the popular and expensive things that more popular writers and musicians say and make people think is popular. I think

Wow, I'm not Crazy- It's sort of touching on the fact of being the same in society but also being different. I think it sounds like he's convincing himself he's not crazy it's sort of just a social construct.

Dear Winter- I feel like this is a really nice and wholesome song compared to the rest of the songs. I feel like he is saying he is already proud and happy with Winter even though he hasn't even met their mother yet. I think it's a song where they is saying what he may not be able to say to them when they're older and won't listen to him. And he still has a lot to learn about being a good person and everything but he will still be proud and want to hang out with them. He wants to try really hard to be a good parent. #cool parent😋

Finale(Can't wait to see what you do next)- The perspective is like “ you have really high expectations, and I don't feel like I or anyone else can live up to them. So i'm going to do whatever I want because I don't feel like I have to deal with your expectations anymore. It's also like, I tried really dang hard, and there haven't been any results, as from the “You went hard, and you did fine."

No Album name yet

BANG!!- This songs begins with reminiscing about being a little kid who is allowed to fool around and be silly. He than has to "grow up" and is trying to pretend to adult, by doing adulty things like buying quinoa or other things ings like that."I'm way too young to lie here forever I'm way too old to try, so whatever Come hang, let's go out with a bang "those lines are talking about being at that weird age where you're definitely not feeling comfortable as an adult, or you're just really lost, you don't have to be at a certain age. He just goes fuck it, I'm learning to adult along the way, I'm sorta not succeeding, but that's ok.

[namjoon-koya]

Daughter of mischief.

A/N: so I got inspiration from Ninjago the Lego movie because I can sorta see Loki being like this but not 100% but I really liked this movie so I wanted to do an avenger spin off on it:)

Pairings: Y/N x Peter Parker (crush) Loki x Y/N (father/daughter)

Warning ⚠️: bullying.

—————————————)—————————//

Y/N wakes up to the sound of her phone ringing her crystal green eyes hazily opens before grabbing her phone and answering it “hello?”

At first she didn’t see anything but then she saw Loki Odison.. her father in his pajamas eating cereal “hello who’s this?” Y/N sighed “you called me.”

Loki takes another bit of his cereal “no I didn’t, must’ve butt dialed you who are you?” Y/N groaned “...your daughter?” Loki shook his head “ Y/N.... Odin?” “no no my daughter is bald.. has no teeth and can’t even talk, or walk”

Y/N rolled her eyes “well.. I’m not longer a baby.. that’s what happens dad.”

“Well your right what are you 7? 8 years old?” Loki asked.

“I’m sixteen dad..” Y/N mumbled “oh yes well goodbye.”

“Wait! Isn’t there any reason you called me for? Remember anything?” Y/N had hope in her eyes “no I told you I butt dialed you, but your daddy’s got to go to work! Y’know do evil things and destroy that..! New avenger girl.” Y/N rolled her eyes.

Her father hanged up she let out a sigh she really did not want to go to school today, all people did was glare at her and narrow their eyes at her since she was the daughter of Loki.

She got dressed putting on her favorite green shirt and black ripped jeans and her favorite checkered shoes she put her hair up.

She walked out ate her breakfast and when she was done she was washing her bowl with a cloth, she didn’t have a smile she was never truly happy suddenly she saw her mother walk in she quickly smiled so her mother wouldn’t see her upset.

“Good morning Y/N!”

“Morning.. hey mom since y’know it’s my birthday I thought hey why not go to school today?”

Her mother shook her head “oh no! You don’t want to miss out on school do you? It’s the best day of your life!”

Y/N scoffed “um.. have you been to high school? Everyone’s so... judgey and rude..”

Her mother gave her a gentle smile “Y/N you just have to give it a chance!”

Y/N sighed “y-yea I guess your right...”

“Just know it only matters what people think of you in here.” She points at Y/N’s heart “oh! And don’t forget if your father attacks don’t forget to-“ Y/N irrupts her mom.

“Duck and cover until the avengers say it’s all clear.” Her mom smiled “that’s my girl.”

Y/N was about to walk out until her mother stopped her “also don’t forget..happy birthday.”

Y/N smiles “thanks mom.. see you later.”

———————-

Y/N got on the bus, everyone moved away from her everyone was so.. afraid of her yet she tried smiling for the best. When she got off the bus people stared at her she could hear whispers as she walked by suddenly she was greeted by one of her friends.

“Y/N!” Shuri said smiling at her she smiled back “hey shuri.” She showed Y/N her new technology she made which Y/N showed interest in.

Y/N opens the door, she sees student coward in fear because of her she sighs but suddenly sees Ned walking towards them.

“Yo Y/N!” Ned embraces Y/N in a tight hug.

Y/N chuckles “haha yea that’s a good hug Ned.” Trying not to choke from the hug Ned gave her.

“Birthday hug?” Shuri asked “let me apply more pressure then.” She said as she hugged Y/N from behind.

Suddenly Y/N hears the sound of a skateboard she looks and sees MJ “Y/N!” She stops flipping her board up.

“MJ!” Y/N said happily.

“Hey Y/N.”

“Hey MJ.” Ned said she smiled “sup Ned.”

Peter was leaning against the locker smiling at Y/N, yes maybe Y/N was the daughter of Loki but he didn’t find her any more different he loved her and that’s what all really mattered to him.

“Yo dorky!” Y/N sighs she turns around and sees flash with two girls who were dressed up as cheerleaders “we heard it’s your birthday today, too bad your the daughter of Loki.” The cheerleaders laughed at his joke.

“Lay off flash.” Peter warned flash scoffed leaving “whatever.”

Y/N sighed “hey.. you okay?” Peter asked “yea just flash I guess my father he um.. called but he didn’t even remember my birthday.” Y/N said rubbing the back of her neck.

“Hey! Let’s go out somewhere together all of us!” MJ said looking at you, you smiled back at her and the rest of your group they always knew how to make you happy.

The bell rung as students started going to class “see you guys later!” MJ skates off as Ned, and Shuri walk off.

You and Peter get to class the teacher was talking about how socializing is important but in all honesty you wanted to throw yourself out the window it bored you to death.

Suddenly there was a loud crashing sound it was Loki again “thanks Y/N!” Everyone in the classroom said glaring at her she nervously laughed “duck and cover!” The teacher yelled as everyone went underneath their seats.

“Can I use the bathroom!” You and Peter exclaimed “it’s “May I” not “can I” but sure go ahead.” The teacher said as she continued to hide behind her desk.

You and Peter ran out that’s when Shuri came by your side as did MJ, and Ned “avengers assemble!” You click on your locker revealing a slender tube you quickly go inside it sucks you down leaving you in a secret lab.

Peter put on his suit, as did you. Shuri gave MJ and Ned armor to protect themselves “ready?” You asked “ready!”

-end HOW DID YOU GUYS LIKE IT SO FAR?!- :)