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trashpandato · 3 years ago

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Twice, for good measure

It’s their thing, bringing each other food.

For Kara, it starts as an excuse to see Lena again, to visit her in her office, to meet up for lunch. Over time, it also becomes a way for her to gauge how Lena is doing — she doesn’t eat when she is stressed or sad. But it’s also just a nice way to spend time in each other’s orbits.

For Lena, it’s all about finding that special donut, the authentic noodle dish, the best pizza that will make Kara swoon.

And swoon she does. So much so that one evening, when Lena stops by Kara’s apartment with take-out containers from a new Italian restaurant that Kara has been itching to go to, Kara drops down on one knee.

“Lena! How did you do that? The wait times and line-ups there are insane. Will you please marry me!”

And Kara is a little too distracted by the smell of the tortellini dish, otherwise she might have noticed that Lena’s reply comes out with a lot more conviction than either of them expected.

“Yes, of course I will.”

It becomes sort of a running joke after that.

When Kara thanks Lena for saving her life, again. And again.

When Lena offers to deal with the mundane tasks of taking out the trash and cleaning Kara’s apartment when Kara is stuck in the sun beds for a few days after a particularly gruelling encounter with an alien.

When Lena remembers to pick up Kara’s favourite ice cream for movie night and Kara tells her she’s eternally grateful.

It’s always accompanied by a “well, we are engaged after all”, a line that Lena consistently delivers in that tone that’s both teasing and not.

And every time, Kara replies with something like “best fiance ever” and a wide grin on her face.

Alex chokes on her coffee the first time she hears it. She’s not yet in on the joke then and it takes Kara two hours to get her to calm down.

After that, their friends just kind of run with it. Nia sometimes rolls her eyes and mumbles that they really should get it over with, but mostly there are smiles and chuckles that seem genuine enough. And Alex’s grumpiness? That’s all an act, Kara decides. She’ll get over it.

It’s years later, after they’ve defeated Lex and Nyxly and moved from stolen glances across the room to a shared bedroom that Kara learns an important lesson. They are strolling through Lena’s favourite section of the botanical gardens and Kara stops them to pull a small box with a ring out of her coat pocket.

“Lena Luthor, will you marry me?”

Lena’s eyes never leave Kara’s, and there’s a look there that Kara can’t quite decipher. And maybe it’s because she is so nervous about Lena’s reaction that she can barely breathe, but when Lena frowns a little, Kara is sure her heart actually stops beating right then and there. She’s about to backtrack, to try and come up with something to say to salvage this when Lena reaches out her hand and touches the ring, lets her fingers glide along the edge of the box it is sitting in.

“You’re asking me again?” It comes out quietly, so quietly, and now it’s Kara’s turn to frown, but Lena continues. “I already gave you my answer years ago, and it hasn’t changed. It’s still a yes.”

And then it dawns on Kara. “You, back then, all this time, that was real?”

“I would never joke about how much I love you.”

Kara’s heart starts back up again, and it’s now beating so hard that it might break right through her ribcage. She surges forward and kisses Lena. She doesn’t know what to say but she hopes that maybe her lips and hands can convey that it was never really a joke for her either.

That evening, Lena manages to get a table at their favourite Italian restaurant, and Kara makes sure to order the tortellini. But this time, it’s Lena who is distracted; not by the food, but by the ring on her finger that she keeps glancing at when she thinks Kara isn’t watching.

#supercorp #sc #kara x lena

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guardianofscrewingup · 2 years ago

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One of my friends helped one of my other friends move from coast to coast, from the east coast to live with me on the west coast. Said helper friend also lives on the west coast and figured they could just fly out east, help take turns driving west, then fly down to their city from here.

So she and other friend/current roommate long hauled that road trip in a matter of days. And discovered weird random shit like an alien themed restaurant. (Apparently, they had a blast.)

Then she helped us in an ikea run for basic furniture for new roomie because we crammed heavy boxes of furniture in the car and it took multiple people lifting.

Two other friends then came over and everyone amassed on the building of ikea furniture. Given my sister was also there, only so many people could assemble a Brimnes and Kallax at the same time, so I made tortellini with vodka sauce for everyone and kept track of the points of a game of Geek Out! so people could just play without tracking their own points as they built furniture.

Moving can be irritating, but if they're good friends they'll just drop a hex key wrench mid-screw, flap their hands, and try to beat everyone else in the room in naming the most Batman villains.

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godtrauma · 2 years ago

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watching alien. i made a new recipe, tortellini soup. im going to the zoo tomorrow. feeling good for once :))

#☄️

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spencers-renaissance · 4 years ago

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Hunger

Summary: Spencer really likes his new coworkers: they're nice, welcoming, friendly, and made his transition to the BAU as easy as possible. Which makes it impossible for him to turn down an invitation to eat dinner with them at an upscale fancy restaurant, no matter how anxious that makes a boy who grew up with next to nothing feel.

Tags: insecurity, anxiety, allusions to poverty, hurt/comfort, team as family, angst with a happy ending, fluff, background jelle

TW: mentions of poverty, financial difficulties, and food insecurity

Pairing: Gen (Aaron Hotchner & Spencer Reid, Derek Morgan & Spencer Reid)

Word Count: 3k

Masterlist // Read on AO3 // Bad Things Happen Bingo

This fills my "trying not to cry" bad things happen bingo square and is set a few weeks after Spencer joins the BAU, in an AU in which Elle was there before him.

Everyone is so nice, is the thing.

And that’s great. Really, it is. Spencer isn’t about to complain when JJ kindly walks him through the filing system all the while asking questions about him and his life, or when Derek ribs him gently about his ducktail hair or his nerdy brain. No-one cuts him off when he gets carried away — unless it’s time-sensitive, of course — or teases him about anything that cuts too close to home. Being the new guy in the most prestigious unit in the FBI could’ve been a nightmare, but this team made it easy. He’s so grateful for all of it.

It just makes it really hard to turn down dinner invitations.

He watches his shaking fingers in the mirror as they button his shirt up and wrap his tie around his neck, poking it fastidiously under the collar, not a wrinkle of fabric out of place. He glances down at the countertop again, re-reading the restaurant name copied down in JJ’s careful handwriting onto a piece of copier paper regardless of having committed it to memory the first time he heard it. Sur la Rivière: a fancy European restaurant in DC.

He’d hoped for a cheap and cheerful Chinese when Hotch had first brought up the idea of a team bonding dinner, something more his style, but he’d smiled anyway when Elle had mentioned this place her foodie friend had recommended, no matter how strained it might have been. He’s the new guy after all. He doesn’t expect much swing when it comes to choosing where to eat.

As soon as his shirt and tie are perfectly in place, he gets to work on taming his curly hair. It makes him look younger when it’s loose and fluffy, and with a baby-face like his combined with already being the youngest person in the entire FBI, every year he can add on counts. Soon, though, there’s no more grooming he can use to stall the inevitable, and he sighs tiredly before clicking off the bathroom light and heading to the hall.

He collects his phone and wallet, checking for the sixth time that evening that his credit card and extra money to tip the waiter is definitely in there, grabs his keys, and heads out of his apartment. Derek is in his car waiting on the curb for him like he promised he would be, looking effortlessly suave and cool in a way Spencer never will as he honks his horn at the sight of the younger man walking towards him.

“Pretty boy!” he calls, his grin making Spencer smile, too. “Took you long enough. Hop in, fancy European cuisine awaits.”

Another rush of nerves floods Spencer’s stomach at the mention of the fate he’s signed up for, but he smiles anyway as he opens the passenger door and slides in. “Thanks for giving me a lift, Derek,” he says, hating that his anxious discomfort is so obvious in his voice.

Thankfully, Derek doesn’t pick him up on it, simply pulling away from the curb and beginning the drive across town. “How many times do I have to tell you not to mention it? I live less than ten minutes away, Spencer, it’s really not a problem.”

Spencer flushes a bit at that, wringing his hands in his lap as he watches the streets of his district pass by out the window. “Well, I appreciate it anyway,” he settles on, flashing Derek a quick smile that he doubts he sees anyway with his eyes glued so firmly to the road. “Riding the metro is a nightmare at this hour.”

“Never learned how to drive? I didn’t have the money for lessons, Spencer wants to say, irrationally frustrated at his situation. I was rushed through the academy too quickly to learn something as trivial as driving.

“I was too busy getting five degrees,” Spencer says instead, forcing a smile on his face. He wishes he wasn’t so well-practiced at managing other people’s emotions; wishes he could say what he’s really thinking. But he can’t, not in front of the people he’s trying to impress, not so soon.

“Alright, alright, I get it, you’re a genius,” Derek chuckles. “I’m glad you’re coming tonight, we all are. Gideon didn’t tell us much before he left, just that you had an IQ of 187 and he’d pulled a lot of strings to get you in at only 22.”

Spencer winces slightly at the mention of his ex-mentor. “Yeah, I’m sorry he ran out on you guys so suddenly.”

“Hey, from what I hear, he did the same to you,” Derek counters. “You guys seemed way closer than we were anyway. I never really liked the guy.”

As much as most of Spencer hates Gideon for abandoning him without warning, leaving him to find his footing in the FBI alone and afraid, a small part of him still itches to defend him. “He was a good mentor. Not such a good friend, as it turns out.”

Derek looks away from the road for a moment and shoots him a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry, man. But Gideon’s loss is our gain. You’re gonna be an amazing asset to the team, I just know it.”

A genuine smile crosses Spencer’s face at that. “Thanks, Derek. I can’t wait to really get stuck in, you know?”

“I remember the feeling.” Derek grins again.

They continue chatting for the rest of the journey, Spencer finally relaxing into the company of a new friend— that is, until Derek cuts across one of his stories from his second PhD. “Hey, the restaurant should be up on the left somewhere but I can’t see it…

“Oh, there,” Spencer says, pointing at the sleek, almost anonymous-looking black sign hanging above a set of fancy doors. How can doors be fancy? They’re supposed to be functional, not pretentious. All of a sudden that sinking feeling that had lifted on the car ride over settles back into his stomach and he can’t help but swallow nervously as Derek parks the car and they step out into the street.

Everyone’s already seated when they finally push through the restaurant doors, and Spencer hates that he made them both late with his apprehensive stalling, but no-one really seems to mind as they all cheer happily at the sight of them, ignoring the dirty looks it earns them from the other patrons.

“You made it!” Penelope squeals as she gets up from her seat to give Spencer a hug. He’s a little touch-averse, really, but something about Penelope’s hugs make him never want to leave her arms. He does anyway, though, and he and Derek find their seats opposite one another at the end of the table.

“I’m glad you’re here, Spencer,” Hotch says kindly as the waitress passes the two late-comers their menus.

“You’ll fit right in,” JJ promises, “we’re like a weird little family, to be honest.”

Spencer flushes a bit under the attention of so many experienced FBI agents, but he nods anyway before they all get started on deciding what to eat. He listens vaguely to everyone talking amongst themselves, giving one another suggestions in a way that corroborates JJ’s statement, and all of a sudden Spencer’s collar feels tight. It’s not just the nerves of meeting new people or the anxiety of an alien social environment, he realises he doesn’t recognise a single item on the menu.

He knows what the words themselves mean, but reading the words 'tortellini of venison’ and trying to imagine deer meat pasta is not easily done. The only simple meals seem to be seafood and Spencer’s never been a fan of fish. The only food he can even begin to imagine himself actually putting in his mouth, chewing, and swallowing is the porterhouse steak: not that he’s ever really eaten much red meat like that.

Spencer isn’t a fussy eater. He’s eaten a wide variety of dishes from any number of different restaurants across multiple cuisines, he’s just never had the kind of money to eat at a place that serves caviar, for God’s sake. Far too soon, the waitress wanders back over to the table, taking everyone’s orders with a polite smile on her face.

He listens as everyone confidently orders their meals: the smoked trout, the Moroccan quail, the lobster tagliatelle. Spencer thanks the heavens he isn’t a vegetarian, at least, but it’s not much of a consolation prize when everyone’s eyes fall on him.

“Uh, I’ll have the porterhouse steak,” he says uncertainly, hoping nobody notices the sweat beading on his forehead or the anxiety raging behind his eyes.

Everyone seems to accept his answer, the waitress taking their menus and walking back towards the kitchen as the rest of them resume their conversation. Hotch’s eyes linger a moment too long on him, and Spencer thinks he sees something like concern in his gaze, but before he can think much of it, Penelope’s drawing everyone’s attention to JJ’s bracelet.

“Can we please appreciate this?” she says, sounding scandalised for some reason Spencer can’t quite discern from context yet. “Elle, baby, you have taste. This is absolutely gorgeous! Are you sure you don’t want to date me, too?”

Spencer’s eyebrows raise slightly at that. “Oh, you two are together?” he asks, although now that he realises it he’s not sure how he didn’t notice sooner.

“Are you sure you’re a profiler, kid?” Derek laughs. “They don’t exactly hide it.

“Even though they’re supposed to,” Hotch chimes in with a faux stern look. “You two are gonna have my job at some point.” “Aw, but where would we find another Unit Chief that would help us hide our secret so well?” Elle says charmingly, making everyone laugh, including JJ, who presses her face into her shoulder fondly.

It’s easy for Spencer to momentarily lose himself in the banter, smiling as they tease one another, interspersing their gripes and funny stories from work among it all. They include him in all of it, and he doesn’t feel left out for even a second, finally relaxing into the unfamiliar environment of a fancy restaurant, eased by the reassuring company of his new team.

“JJ’s right,” he muses out loud when there’s a brief lull in conversation, “you guys really are like a little family.”

JJ leans away from Elle towards him for a moment, wrapping him in a side hug. “And you’re the perfect addition to it, Spence,” she says softly, everyone’s expressions reading nothing but fond agreement. “We needed a little brother to add into the mix.”

Spencer blushes again but leans into her touch.

No-one gets a chance to say anything else before the food arrives, the servers bringing JJ and Elle’s meals first, then serving Hotch and Penelope, before they finally bring out his and Derek’s order.

Everyone dives into their food, immediately making noises of contentment, passing bites around to one another, but Spencer can’t join in the jubilant celebration of a good meal. He picks his knife and fork up shakily as he stares at the massive portion of steak in front of him. It’s served with roast potatoes and flecks of a pointless salad that he suspects is only there as a garnish rather than actually part of the meal, but that’s not what has him worried.

This huge slab of meat hasn’t been sliced beforehand. He knows that he’ll shake the whole table if he tries to do it: it’s a massive, impenetrable slab of red meat that Spencer has no chance of enjoying, let alone finishing. He stares at it as tears burn in his eyes: he’s so out of his comfort zone and he’s so terrified of messing up and pushing away these newfound friends that he can’t move.

“Spence?” JJ cuts in gently, putting a hand on his shoulder, forcing him to look up, only to find everyone looking at him with worried expressions on their faces. “Are you okay?”

“Sorry,” he says, standing up abruptly, the disturbance of the table barely registering in his brain. “I just need a minute.”

He rushes out of the restaurant without looking back, drawing in deep breaths as soon as he’s in the cool evening air of spring. Thoughts race through his mind at a million miles an hour as he grasps for something concrete to grab onto, eventually settling for a tall flower pot.

“Spencer?”

He looks up to find Hotch standing next to him, deep concern written across his face, and Spencer’s heart clenches at the thought that he’s already messed this up so quickly. Could this night possibly get any worse?

Apparently, it can, because all of a sudden he feels his face crumple and the stinging tears finally spill down his cheeks. He sinks down to the ground and buries his face in his hands, humiliation glimmering in every cell of his body.

“Oh, Spencer,” Hotch says gently, lowering himself to the cool pavement next to him and placing a warm hand on his back. He lets him cry it out for a couple of minutes, his palm drawing small circles in between his shoulder blades, trying again to get through to him when Spencer’s sobs calm down slightly. “You want to tell me what’s going on?”

With a shuddering breath, he forces himself to lift his face from his palms, although he still refuses to meet Hotch’s eyes, keeping his gaze fixed firmly on the Korean restaurant across the street. “I guess it just all got to be too much,” he whispers.

“Yeah?” Hotch says encouragingly. “What specifically?”

“I— I didn’t have much growing up. It was just me and my mom so we were living in the middle of Vegas on a single disability check each month. And, uh, then I went to college, and I was barely scraping by there, too. It’s only recently that I’ve known the luxury of knowing for sure I was eating that night, and it still gets to me sometimes when I’m faced with fancy restaurants and heavy, expensive meals. My body’s had to work for years on virtually nothing, there’s no way I can stomach a steak like that. I guess, all those feelings that are a lifetime in the making combined with the anxiety of eating with the team for the first time… wanting to make a good impression, it just all got too much. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

Hotch raises a hand, and Spencer finally meets his eyes, finding nothing but compassion and understanding there no matter how much he searches. “You don’t need to apologise, Spencer, not for something like this. I’m sorry that none of us thought to make the first team dinner with you a more casual affair, and I’m even more sorry that you felt like you couldn’t tell us you were uncomfortable.” “It’s okay.”

“It’s not, but I’m glad you accept my apology,” Hotch says, smiling softly. “You know, we all bring baggage with us, Spencer. I can’t relate to food insecurity, but I had my own issues when I first joined the BAU. I grew up with a pretty terrible father, and the thing I found myself reprimanded for the most when I was a new recruit was the inability to follow orders. I’d spent my whole life scared of this man, obeying his every word, and I couldn’t help but hear him when my superiors would tell me to do something. When I was finally free of him, it was like I couldn’t help but rebel.

“You’re not the only one whose childhood follows them around, and I’d much rather it be something like this that we can easily manage, than something that will affect you or the team in the field, okay? Instead of beating yourself up over things you can’t control, try and remember that you have a whole new family who will do anything they can to make you feel as comfortable as possible. We already think the world of you, Spencer. Sacrificing fancy dinners that — let’s face it — can’t beat cheap junk food anyway is hardly a big ask.

Warmth spreads across his chest at Hotch’s words, replacing the feelings of failure and rising anxiety with something that feels like a promise of all the good to come. There’s something fatherly, something deeply paternal in Hotch that there wasn’t in Gideon, and it’s the most comfort Spencer’s felt in years. “Really?”

“Really,” Hotch nods, squeezing his shoulder gently. “You wait here one minute, okay?”

“Okay…” Hotch is gone before he can finish replying, and Spencer is left staring at the doors confused, until the rest of the team are piling out of them a few minutes later, Hotch bringing up the rear with his jacket and wallet in hand.

“We just paid the tab. How does cheap Chinese food eaten in the park a couple hundred yards down sound?” Hotch suggests, raising an eyebrow as he smiles warmly at Spencer.

He looks around briefly at the rest of the team, who are all giving him encouraging looks, not a trace of judgement or annoyance to be found.

“That sounds amazing,” he laughs wetly, the tears springing to his eyes this time caused by a completely different emotion. “I can pay you back, though.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, pretty boy,” Derek says, patting Spencer’s back, “we’ve got it. Now, come on, I’m gonna order sweet and sour chicken balls, and I want them now.”

“That’s what she said,” Penelope giggles, linking her arm with Derek’s.

“That was terrible, baby girl, but I love that you tried.”

“Do you want to share shrimp chop suey with me, babe?” Elle asks JJ as they clasp hands, walking a couple of steps ahead of them.

“Well, I’m certainly not sharing with any of these losers,” JJ teases, before kissing Elle’s cheek.

Spencer feels Hotch place his hand on his back, and he turns to smile gratefully at the older man. “Thank you,” he says quietly, trying to convey just how earnestly he means it. “No-one’s ever done anything this nice for me before.”

There’s a slightly sad tinge to Hotch’s smile, but it doesn’t look like pity. “I’d get used to it if I were you. That’s just how we do things in the BAU.”

Well, if that’s the case, Spencer thinks, smiling as he falls into step between Hotch and Penelope, I think I might just stick around.

taglist: @criminalmindsvibez @suburban--gothic @strippersenseii @takeyourleap-of-faith @negativefouriq @makaylajadewrites @iamrenstark @hotchseyebrows @temily @jellejareau @reidology @spencerspecifics @bau-gremlin @tobias-hankel @garcias-bitch @oliverbrnch @physics-magic @sbeno22 @im-autistic-not-stupid(taglist form)

#criminal minds #cm #criminal minds fic #criminal minds writing #criminal minds gen #criminal minds gen fic #aaron hotchner & spencer reid #derek morgan & spencer reid #derek morgan #spencer reid #aaron hotchner #penelope garcia #jelle #jennifer jareau #elle greenaway #criminal minds fluff #criminal minds angst #hurt spencer reid #hurt/comfort

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saintflint · 3 years ago

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12, 26, 29 !

12: favorite tv commercial?

my sister and i used to quote this one to each other as kids for hours, don’t ask why we thought it was the most hilarious thing ever

26: do you believe in aliens?

yes and no? i don’t really doubt the possibility of anything but i’ve never seen or experienced anything that’s made me believe

29: the last thing you ate?

tortellini pasta in a spinach and sun dried tomato cream sauce with chicken

#ty for asking!#answered #💌: piratebay

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cyclicalaberration · 5 months ago

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Patches!

@does-existance-exist @tortellini-time @robot-aliens

make a salad but your contribution is the object nearest to you

tag people if u want idk

i'll start:

UNO CARDS

@post-unuwuifer @yes-im-youtube-kids @microsoft-edge-real @the-red-planet-mars @bingle-official

@wordswordsorswordswords @india-reblogs

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lady-griffin · 3 years ago

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Ooooooo I'm game

Don't believe I've sent an ask b4..... Hello I'm pixx uhhh so: 4, 21, and 29

(was gonna actually write them but my memory is already slipping but those were my favorites)

Thank you for asking me!! Here are my answers!

4. Mythical creature you think/believe is real?

I don't know if this really counts; but there's something called British big cats, or ABCs (Alien/Anomalous Big Cats), or mystery cats; basically, in British folklore there are sightings of large wild cats, like panthers or pumas.

While most experts don't believe these sightings are real, due to a lack of evidence; there are a lot of animals that shouldn't be in certain areas and experts deny their existence, but they do in fact exist.

Doesn't Pennsylvania have a thing about wolves not existing in their state or something like that?

There's that missing herd of moose in New Zealand, the monkey island in Florida (no one denies that one).

I just think there's a possibility of people having exotic pets or bringing non-native species into a country and then that species being freed and still existing out there.

Also, the Loch Ness Monster.

I don't believe it exists; I just really want it to be real.

21. A number that weirds you out?

Not so much specific numbers or weird feelings about them, but I do have two very specific 'quirks' that involve numbers.

13th Floor

I hate that so many buildings don't have a 13th floor. I mean literally they do, but they call it the 14th floor or 12B, because people are superstitious.

But this bothers me. Because the floor is still the 13th one; calling it a different name doesn't make it not the 13th floor. It doesn't.

I understand people can have a problem with staying on the 13th floor, but be okay with being on the "14th" or "12B" floor; but that still bothers and annoys me.

Because you're still on the 13th floor. How does that objective fact not bother you? Even if it's not called the 13th floor, it’s still literally the 13th floor of the building.

While, you didn't ask this I'm combining this question with

17. an anxious compulsion you do everyday?

Even Numbered Words

So basically, I have this habit of counting the number of letters in words with my fingers on both my hands.

For example, the word –

"Mountain"

M-1 O-2 U-3 N-4 T-5 A-6 I-7 N-8

Then I always prefer it if the word has an even number of letters, because then I can divide the letters of the word by 2 (using only using one hand).

M-1 O-2 U-3 N-4

T-1 A-2 I-3 N-4

I don't know why I do this; I just do it.

So, I don't really like words that have an odd number of letters. Or at least not when I'm doing this, because I can't divide it by 2 and do this whole thing.

It doesn't cause me any problems, like if I think of the word –

"Heart"

I will do the whole thing, but get “stuck” on the divide the amount of letters by the number 2 thing, but it’s not a big deal, because I often try to think of a different word that does have an even number of letters, like "Hearts” or just a random word like “Necklace.”

29. Preferred pasta noodle?

I don't know if these counts as ‘noodles,’ but I do prefer tortellini or ravioli over regular noodles.

If those don't actually count as types of noodles, then I am very partial to thin spaghetti and bowtie pasta (it's fancy!).

Again, thanks for asking!!

The questions asked are from this post.

#personal #answering question #answering asks #personal post #answering questions

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dontcare77ghj · 4 years ago

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Naps

Tony x reader x Stephen

The three of you led incredibly busy lives. It was incredibly rare for any of you to get a day off, and it was a once in the lifetime experience when the three of you had a day off together.

Because of the lives you led, the three of you had to cut back on some things. Such as regular meal times, taking care of yourselves, interacting with people, and, most importantly, sleep.

There always seemed to be too much work to do. There were constant meetings, training sessions, paperwork, and so many other responsibilities to attend to.

Sometimes you didn't have time to sleep, but you did have time to nap.

It was a rare day. You and Stephen were at home together. Stephen wasn't needed at the sanctum, and all you had to do was paperwork that you could easily do from home.

Tony had been bullied, by Pepper, into attending several meetings for SI. Though he was no longer CEO of the company, he still did a lot of work for it and held a majority of the shares.

While Tony had gone to do his work, you and Stephan had decided it was a lazy day, despite your paperwork. The two of you had made no effort to get dressed or leave the bed today, and it felt great.

"Ah!" You yelped as Stephen's cloak suddenly attacked you. "Stephen, what the hell?" You exclaimed as it wrapped itself tightly around you.

"You zoned out, sweetheart." Stephen chuckled. "I was calling your name for almost a minute." He said, shifting closer to throw his arm around your shoulders.

"So, you set your cloak on me?" You raised a brow.

"The cloak made that decision on its own." He shrugged, gesturing for the cloak to move. "What were you thinking so hard about?"

"How good it feels to stay in bed with you." You smiled, resting your head on his shoulder. "I miss spending time with you and Tones."

"We miss you too," Stephen admitted. "I never used to be one who enjoyed the simple moments, but now I miss them."

"You know, I have some leave saved up." You mentioned. "Maybe we could all go on a trip." You suggested.

"Wong could look after the sanctum if we left." Stephen mused. "I'd be okay with that. We just need to get Tony to agree."

"I'm not agreeing to anything until I have another coffee." Tony groaned, entering the bedroom. "I need to set a new protocol, one that tells me to hide because Pep's coming." He said, falling onto the end on the bed.

"If you did that, Pepper would find a way to disable it and then kill you." Stephen pointed out. "And we all know she would get away with it."

"It was just a couple of meetings, Tone." You smiled at him. "You do them all the time."

"But they're so boring," Tony whined, rolling onto his back. "I was up all night going over Pepper's notes. I felt like I was back in school." He muttered, relaxing back into the bed.

"Did you get everything you needed done?" You asked, shifting on the bed so that you could get his glasses off.

Tony let out several noncommital hums before closing his eyes and going limp. Stephen chuckled as he shifted to sit next to you.

"And he's out like a light," Stephen said, gently raising his head so he could undo his tie.

"Let him sleep." You said as the two of you moved him, so he was properly on the bed. "He deserves it."

"You know I could have just bought pasta and sauce from the store, right?" You asked, raising a brow.

"I will have none of that sacrilege in this house," Tony said, pointing a flour-covered finger at you. "Store-bought pasta is wrong, and don't get me started on the sauce."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot you're Italian and a stark traditionalist." You rolled your eyes.

"I'm not going to respond to that," Tony said, shaking his head. "Besides, you know you love my homemade sauce."

"That sounds sexual." You smirked.

"Be quiet you," Tony said, rolling his eyes, but you could see a slight smile on his face.

"Did Stephen say when he was coming home?" You asked, pushing hair out of your face. "Or what exactly he's doing?"

"I heard something about alien squid, and then he hung up screaming 'love you bye.'" Tony told you as he began to shape his pasta.

"That's terrifying." You shook your head. "We need to tell him to work on his tact. He's going to give one of us a heart attack."

"Honestly, at this point, I don't notice when either of you says stuff like that." Tony shrugged. "The two of you give me a panic attack if I pay too much attention."

"Rude."

"Babe, between Stephen's phone calls and you dealing life-threatening injuries in the bathroom, I think I have the right to say it." Tony pointed out.

"Like you're one to talk." Stephen scoffed as he appeared in the doorway. "You drink more coffee in one day than most do in a month."

"Steph!" You exclaimed, rushing forward to embrace the sorcerer. "You look terrible." You said once you'd pulled back to get a glimpse at his face.

There was probably a better way to phrase that, but you weren't wrong. His face looked gaunt, he was favoring his right leg, his body was covered in cuts, and you knew he was exhausted by the dark bags under his eyes.

"It's nice to see you too, sweetheart." Stephen chuckled, leaning down to press his lips to your head.

"Please tell me the other guy looks worse than you?" Tony asked, standing behind you.

"Much worse," Stephen said, moving to kiss Tony's cheek. "You're covered in flour."

"I'm making homemade tortellini," Tony told him. " Sit your ass down, you look like you're going to pass out." He added, pushing him towards a chair.

Stephen took the offered seat and rested his head on the counter. Tony began rambling nonsensical stories about his day as he finished making dinner. When Tony had finished serving dinner, he turned to the two of you and was about to speak before you shushed him.

'He's asleep.' You mouthed. 'Do we move him?'

'Leave him.' Tony mouthed back. 'He needs his sleep. I'll save a bowl for him.'

You hadn't been home in five days. You'd been assigned a mission with Natasha and Clint, and it was one of the more stressful ones you'd ever been on.

It seemed as if everything wanted to go wrong. You'd barely been able to get your guy, and the information he had, Clint had broken his hearing aids, and Natasha had almost fallen off a roof.

You were exhausted. Everything ached and felt bruised. Your head was pounding, and you still had to debrief and write your part of the mission report.

You couldn't wait to get home and curl up in Tony and Stephen's arms.

"Hey, you're home," Stephen said, watching as you dragged yourself out of the elevator from the couch. "Did you go to medical?"

"Why would she when we've got our own doctor here?" Tony asked as you collapsed into the gap between him and Stephan. "You good there, kitty?" He asked, running his fingers through your hair.

"Don't be weird." You grumbled but didn't make a move to move his hand."I missed you two." You sighed.

"We missed you too, sweetheart," Stephen said, placing a soothing hand on your back. "Are you sure you're not injured?"

"Not injured. Just tired." You told him. "Really tired."

"Do you want us to move you to bed?" Tony questioned. "Steph will have to carry you unless I get the suit."

"No, I just want to stay here. You're so warm." You murmured, burrowing deeper into your spot and their warmth. “I love you both. A lot, a lot.” You added as your eyes began to close.

The last thing you heard before drifting off into a wanted slumber was;

“We love you too, sweetheart.”

“A lot, a lot.”

Taglists are always open. Requests are always open, for stories and for pairings.

Taglist

@rvgrsbrns @smilexcaptainx @hopingforbarnes @starlingelliot @piper-koko-barnes-rogers @jelly-fishy-babie @skeletoresinthebasement @agent-barnes40 @reann-loves-sebstan @skadikh @summergeezburr @buckybarton03 @sunshinepower17 @bindythedemon @natasharomanoffismywife @keenmarvellover @alissaginger

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stingray-stories · 3 years ago

Text

Day 24 7/21/2021

Helllllllo friends!

Today was soooooo fun. Maybe my favorite day yet. Which is saying a lot since most my days here have been amazing. Hopefully I can paint a nice picture for you. It began with a nice cozy sleep. In the morning, I didn’t workout to give myself a nice break and some more sleepies. I had a nice yummy breakfast and then met up with the Cocos crew to get ready for our visit to the refuge (specifically the East-West causeway) to do a bird count. I threw on my biosecurity outfit and hopped in the Guardian mask free with the Cocos (their quarantine is over yay!). When we got to the East-West causeway, we waded through the water to get to the very thin strip of land (previously a road built in the 40s) where we started our count. I wasn’t much help since this was my first go at it, but our job is to count active nests and determine varying stages of the bird babies. The Cocos crew are experts so I listened, enjoyed the scenery, and took wayyyy too many pictures. It was so much fun seeing all the different stages of the babies. Little eggy eggs that had been recently laid, naked little dinosaurs, fluffer nutters, awkward little fluffy and nudey mixes, grumpy-potamus looking ones, and full grown cuties that are not quite ready for flight (as you may have noticed I have become very well versed in the technical descriptions used during bird counts ;)). Overall we saw red-footed booby babies, masked booby babies, brown booby babies, frigate bird babies, and red tailed tropicbird babies (at a certain stage they call them chocolate chips eeeee so cute). We also saw lots of crabs and a baby black-tip shark do do do do. My favorite little baby was this super awkward brown booby who had a bunch of fluff around it’s neck and on its hips making him like quite the distinguished little gentleman. Honestly there were so many cuties it’s very hard to choose my favorite. After a lovely morning, we headed back to shore, I changed into my regular clothes, and then tried to help with the last little bit of community day. While we were out on the refuge, the rest of the crew was doing odd jobs around the station for community day so I missed most of the grunt work while I ooed and awed at little baby birds. I’m not complaining at all!

In the afternoon, Ben, Mollie (one of our fabulous chefs), and I had an early lunch so that we could go out and help Hank and our CMO (chief marine officer), another Ben, document the installation of new snorkel buoys and some smart satellite buoys. In a nut shell, we got to snorkel and take pictures of them working underwater. It was SO much fun. The first site we stopped at was the Rubble Pile (marked as a dead squirrel on the map hehe) where they installed a new buoy since the old one was not in great shape to anchor up to. To do this, they brought new chain and fed it through the a cement block about 15 feet down and then they connected the float buoys which sit 5 or so feet in the water column and then the surface buoy which is what we snag and link the boat to when we are snorkeling. Mollie and Ben were taking photos of the whole process while I watched and explored the reef. I saw a very calm and chill turtle swim by, some curious snappers, and a huge crown of thorn sea star which was cool to see but also a bummer since they can cause damage to the reef. Next, we headed to Tortagonia (or tortellini or tortilla) to set up a satellite buoy. At the sites where we set up the satellite buoys, there were previously established concrete blocks with a small submerged yellow marker that we had to find at the surface. We had rough coordinates and Hank knew where they were generally located so it wasn’t too tough. I also didn’t mind hanging out in the boat and enjoying the views. The weather today was spectacular. Not too much sun but just enough to keep you comfortable while snorkeling (I get chilly swimming after awhile even though the water here is usually a balmy 80 degrees depending on where you are). The water was also soooo clear it was like we were in an aquarium. So visibility was pasta primavera aka primo aka perfect aka amaza! I saw a ton of giant clams and lots of fishies like the humbug dascyllus (my current favorite), bigeye emperor, and yellowmargin triggerfish (or peach face). After Tortagonia, we stopped at station to grab some things and then we headed back out to North coral gardens and Barren islet to explore and install another satellite buoy. This is my new favorite part of the atoll. There’s soooo much to see in the water. It’s really shallow and there’s tons of coral covering the sea floor. It’s like a carpet of coral. Blue, green, pink, yellow, and brown. It reminds me of this toy I used to play with as a kid called Aqua Sand. It was like a drip castle underwater but with colored sand. The magical part of it was when you took it out of the water it was dry! Anyway it looks just like that. It’s soooo amazing. There were also tons of fishies swimming about. We swam to Barren and climbed up onto the coral rubble which is moved and shaped by the waves. It’s similar to the Rubble Pile, but there’s a lot more land and a lot more wave action coming in from the Pacific. At the end of Barren, there are two decoy bird colonies. These areas of Barren are the only parts we are allowed to access. They are technically apart of the refuge but we don’t have to worry about biosecurity since there’s not much there but rubble. The south western parts of the islet have more going on, but we can’t venture there due to unexplored ordinances from WW2 times. In the parts we could access, we walked around and did some exploring, but not with our fair share of difficulty. I mentioned that the end of Barren is coral rubble and only 2 out of the 5 of us brought shoes. “Lucky” for us there was a fair amount of trash that had washed up on shore which included many random shoes. I found a croc flip flop and a platform flip flop. Mollie also found a kid sized croc flip flop so we ended up passing the shoes around so we wouldn’t struggle too much on all the dead coral.

Overall, the whole experience was insane. The waves crash there in all different directions creating these crazy patterns in the rubble. It looks like aliens in a cornfield type of thing. The best part of it was standing at the end and watching the waves go all over the place. It’s just the big ol Pacific out there and it’s very powerful. Hopefully I can post of video of it because it’s very hard to explain how crazy it looks.

After hanging there for awhile, we headed back and stopped to fix another buoy by the North-South causeway. We got back to station pretty late but it was a fantastic day. So much fun on the boat! Once we got back to shore, we had some leftovers, I rinsed off, and then headed to bed. I was soooo tired after such an incredible day! Woweeeee!

Pictures will be a separate post. I got lots!

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