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ashboy-3 · 9 months

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Love is a Disease

Fandom: Marvel, Iron Man, and Spiderman Prompt: Hanahaki character: Tony, Peter, Ned, MJ, Happy, Aunt May Words: 2666 Summary: Peter was in love with Tony before he met the man. He knows that those feelings will never be returned. what is he to do though when he has these feelings and a dangerous disease as well? Warnings: small amounts of blood, unrequited love

“See you on Friday Mr. Stark!”

“How many times do I have to tell you kid, it’s Tony,” the billionaire rolled his eyes, but still smiled fondly as he waved bye at Peter. The kid has come a long way since Tony first met him. Before he was fixing up old tech in the trash and running around in pajamas and now look at him. Wearing a high-tech super suit while working, i.e., running, Stark industries. Neither one of them thought that this would be in their lives, but they wouldn’t change it for the world.

Peter stopped waving and got in the car that Happy had pulled around for him. He doesn’t always have Happy drive him, but Tony gets worried if Peter takes public transportation to often, something that he will never understand.

“You ready to go kid?” Happy asked, getting into the driver seat.

“Yep! But take you time, Aunt May is cooking tonight,” Peter joked, making Happy laugh and Peter smile, a nice change from when they first met each other.

The ride wasn’t long, but Happy still asked about his day and what he did with Tony and Peter was happy to tell, even with the burn in his throat.

“You okay kid?” Happy asked, looking in the rearview mirror, hearing Peter cough violently.

“I’m fine. Just got something stuck in my throat,” Peter waved him off, coughing in his hand one last time and easily hiding the contents in his hand, slipping it into his pocket.

Happy eyed him, clearly not believing him, but knew he wouldn’t get much out of the kid.

“Tell May I said hi,” Happy said, putting the car in park outside of Peter’s apartment complex.

“Don’t worry I will,” Peter waved bye, getting out of the car and shutting the door.

“Aunt May I’m home,” Peter entered the door, walking into the living room to see smoke coming from a pot.

“Oh, Peter I’m sorry. Maybe we should just go out for tonight?” she suggested, looking disappointed.

“Hey it’s fine. I don’t mind. One day you’ll get the recipe down,” Peter comforted. “Just let me go put my bag down.”

Once he was in his room, he quietly locked the door as he grabbed the contents of what he coughed up, already knowing what they are. Red poppies and yellow chrysanthemums. One meaning death the other meaning love filled with sorrow or unrequited. It fit perfectly for Peter. As he looked at the flowers to dispose of them it was the first time that he saw them with splashes of blood. Rubbing his hand on his throat he tried to feel for any lasting pain, but all he felt was smooth skin.

Tossing the flowers in a small container he keeps under his bed, not willing to through away the beautiful flowers, he walked back to his room, ready to go out for dinner with May.

It was a nice dinner, with May asking about what he did with Tony at the tower, is Ned or MJ coming over to his house soon or is he hanging out with them? What are the avengers up to? It was a nice catch up that Peter was happy to have, then it was off to school the next day.

“Hey Nerd,” Mj greeted, sitting next to him.

“Hey Pete!” Ned greeted sitting on the other side of him.

“Sup guys,” Peter greeted.

“Alright class. You senior year is almost over, but that doesn’t mean that you’re not done with class. For the last portion we are going to go over modern times. We’ve already talked about some of the Heroes of our generation and how they shaped us, such as Captain America or Bruce Banner, but there are plenty that we still need to go over. For this lesson we are going to go over Tony Stark and Pepper Potts,” the teacher said, and Peter did not expect his body to have the violent reaction that it did to just hearing the man’s name. It was a change that must have happened during the weekend.

“You okay Pete?” Ned whispered loudly, and while Peter loved his friend, he hated the attention it gained of the rest of the class.

“I’m fine,” Peter said, probably too harshly, but he couldn’t focus on that right now. His body wanted nothing more than to get rid of the flowers growing within him.

“Dude you really don’t look so good,” Ned spoke softly as Peter’s grip around his stomach tightened,

“Ned I’m fine. Listen to the lecture,” Peter hissed out, hating how his friend flinched.

“Mr. Parker?” the teacher questioned.

“Yes ma’am,” Peter asked, not looking her in the eyes.

“Is everything okay?” getting the attention of the full class.

“Yes ma’am I’m fi-“Peter didn’t get to finish as his two friends betrayed him.

“No ma’am something’s wrong. Ned and I are going to take him to the nurses office,” MJ decided, standing up to help him up, Ned rushing behind her.

Peter is ashamed to admit that he didn’t have the strength to fight them.

“Very well. Be quick,” the teacher told them by the time they were halfway out the door.

“Peter-. . .Prvate. . .fw mintes,” Peter barely caught the conversation that was happening, but he noticed that MJ might have somehow got the nurse to leave them alone.

Not able to hold it in anymore, Peter ran to the closet surface he could find, luckily it was a sink, as he coughed and gagged. The red and gold petals flowed out, all covered in blood, green leaves following behind them. There was one bad part at the end that Peter suffered greatly through. He wasn’t paying attention to his friends, didn’t notice the sad look on their faces or how MJ quicky got her mind together and pushed Ned out. Didn’t notice when she walked closer to start rubbing his back comforting. Didn’t see her wince when an actual stem of the flower came from his mouth, but when he was done and sweaty, she grabbed a cold rag and wiped his sweat away as she handed him a glass of water, helping him to the small cot.

“Want to tell me what’s going on?” she asked in a tone that Peter wasn’t used to.

The lie was on the tip of his tongue. He could easily open his mouth and tell her that he has no idea. She wouldn’t believe him, but they’re both stubborn when they need to be. He could answer her questions in circles and make her angry. . .but Peter couldn’t do that. Not after holding this secret in for four years, not since hiding it since his freshman year. He would give anything to let one person know about the hell he was in.

“I’m in love,” Peter spoke quietly, tears gathering at his eyes. MJ didn’t have anything sarcastic or condescending to say. Peter wanted to tell her who it was, could tell when he looked in her eyes that she already knew, he just needed to do the one thing he could never bring himself to do, admit who it is out loud.

“It’s okay,” she whispered as he finally broke down, sobs heaving out of him as he shook violently.

“I’m in love MJ,” Peter gripped on to her, hard. “I’m in love with Tony!”

“I know,” she whispered, rubbing circles, not caring that Peter’s head was shoved on her shirt, making it a mess of snot and tears.

“I can’t tell him! I can’t tell him! I can’t tell him,” Peter started to rock, the old thing grounding him was MJ’s hands around his shoulders.

“You don’t have to, but. . .” Peter knew, even when he was breaking down into a panic, what she wanted him to choose. Instead of continuing the thought she let him brake down, staying with him for as long as he needs her to.

Peter doesn’t know how long it was, but soon he was calm enough and was able to move away from his friend, give her the privacy she loves so much, but MJ wouldn’t let him. She knows what her friend needs in this moment and it’s not rejection.

“Peter. You don’t have to tell him, but you have to make a decision. This will kill you,” she rubbed her fingers along his arms, telling him what he already knew.

“Does it matter. If I tell him, it’s rejection and death. If I don’t it’s death and he find out. If I get the surgery, then he finds out. He finds out no matter what I do,” Peter spoke his words carefully.

“I won’t blame you. Whatever you choose I am with you one hundred percent, but I think you should get the surgery,” she voiced her opinion.

Peter snorted at the thought. He’s thought about the surgery multiple times in the past four years. “I can’t afford the surgery. The only way would be to tell Mister Stark, but he would demand to know who,” Peter whispered, happy that he didn’t have to admit to who it was out loud.

“I’ll pay for your surgery,” it was spoken so softly, Peter thought that he didn’t hear it.

“MJ. . .no. . .I can’t ask you to do that,” Peter shook his head, trying to push her away, but her grip was strong in his weak state.

“No! Peter listen to me. This will kill you. I am going to set up a date. I’ll let you know when it is. If you want to get it done let me know and I’ll make sure you get to it. I don’t care if you’re at school, the tower, or your apartment, but if you don’t show up, I won’t be disappointed,” she got out her phone and started texting rapidly, Peter didn’t question her. MJ always had a bunch of connections.

I’ll think about it,” Peter promised her, grabbing a few tissues to wipe his tears away.

He got a notification from his phone saying that his surgery was exactly one week from today. One week to make a decision. Now he just had to avoid Tony.

Each day after that was a hell in his own right. Anytime he thought about Tony, texted Tony, talked about tony, talked to Tony, every single damn thing that had to do with Tony ended up with Peter coughing and puking up a mixture of flowers and blood.

Peter still hadn’t made a decision when the day had come for his surgery. He didn’t see Tony at all that day, but he knew what he wanted to do, he didn’t know if he would survive, but he texted MJ that he wanted the surgery. With luck his second time around he won’t fall for the man.

MJ didn’t even let him walk into the school. She pulled up to his apartment, unlocking her door as Peter got into her car.

“You’re sure this is what you want?” she asked as she put the car in drive and started to head towards the hospital.

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Peter promised, as she drove Furter and further out of New York. Peter had researched where she made the appointment. In New Jersey, bout an hours drive from his apartment, school would have started by then. Soon he would be getting calls from Ned, Happy, May, and of course Tony.

They had almost arrived when his phone started to vibrate violently. His gut sunked as he saw Ned call. Ned, his friend who has been trying to get information out of him all week since that day in the nurses office. Instead of letting it ring Peter denied the call, he could see his friend frustration and confusion in his mind. Ten minutes later, pulling up to the building May started calling him. Peter couldn’t face her, not right now. He knows MJ will take care of everything for him while he’s under.

Happy kept calling as they walked inside, MJ making him sit down in a chair as she checked him in. The three kept calling over and over, until finally they all stopped and only one name appeared on his phone Tony.

Peter could feel the petals in his throat trying to be free. He should still feel ashamed about them, ashamed about wanting to get rid of them, but sitting in this office, seeing three others like him, at least, brought some comfort. All of these people have fallen in love with someone they know is never going to love them back.

“Parker?” a nurse called five minutes later after Peter had signed what MJ told him to. Sighing Peter stood up and as he walked through the dreaded double doors he turned towards the nurse and apologized as he answered his phone.

“Hi Tony,” a small smile formed on Peter’s face, the nurse had an understanding look on his face, Peter wasn’t the first one to do this.

“Hey kid. Everyone says you didn’t show up to school. What’s up with that?” Tony asked, trying to ease Peter into the conversation, but Peter didn’t have time.

“Tony, I love you,” Peter spoke quietly and rushed. He could see the older man’s wide eyes at the statement.

“I love you to kid. Thought that was obvious. You’re like my son. Listen whatever you’re going through talk to me. Tell me where you are. I’ll come get you and we can talk about this?” Tony tried to goad him, but Peter didn’t hesitate in hanging up the phone, the nurse by now had left him in the patient room, a bucket handed to him.

Peter expected what came next. The new flowers that had formed in the past two minutes. The ones that had hurt the most as like magic a brand-new plant had formed in his lungs with the other two, but this one was trying to fully escape as well.

Peter didn’t need to look up what the flowers are or what their meaning was, he already knew. Yellow carnations, stand for rejection or disappointment.

Once the doctor came in Peter’s memory was a blur. He didn’t remember anything. He didn’t remember the surgery, the struggle to save him as he was rejected, the drive back to his apartment, MJ and May carrying him up to his bed, or May leaning over his bed crying.

Peter woke up like normal a week later, nothing wrong or off about him. He didn’t know why May looked at him so sad, or why she hugged him extra hard that day as he went to school. He didn’t know who this Tony person was that was calling him.

He didn’t know the strange man that was outside his apartment that day being creepy and following him up. He didn’t know why Aunt May let this stranger into their house.

“Kid what’s wrong with you?” the guy asked.

“Who are you?” Peter finally asked harshly.

“This is a joke, right?” the guy asked, looking between Peter and May. Peter who glared at him and May who only shook her head sadly.

“It’s me kid? Tony? Lab time? Avengers? Karen?” the guy seemed to be in a panic.

“How do you know about Karen?” Peter glared at him.

“May what is going on?” Tony asked, finally turning towards his aunt, and Peter didn’t like that.

“Tony, he got the surgery,” May whispered, voice wavering. “He loved you but didn’t tell anyone.”

Peter didn’t know why Tony’s eyes widened or why he suddenly gripped Peter hard, sobs shaking throughout the man, but clearly something happened that Peter was not aware of.

“Kid. I am so sorry. Let’s- Let’s start over,” Peter doesn’t know why, but he knew that it was hard for the man to get those words out, but he stopped hugging Peter and held out his hand instead.

“My name’s Tony, Tony Stark.”

“Peter, Peter Parker,” Peter shook his hand.

@starkerfestivals

#starker #peter parker x tony stark #starker prompt #iron man x spiderman #peter parker #spiderman #tony stark #iron man

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achitka · 1 year

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Doors (Chapter 34)

Travesuras de Madrigales

I've decided Antonio is my favorite Madrigal...such a fun kid. And apparently pants are trending in the Encanto. Pepa has increased her skill set and Bruno asks folks uncomfortable questions.

I am not sure how this got so long - so quickly... ummm yeah

Travesuras de Madrigales

Antonio walked with Paola up the stairs toward his room, and he heard Fura say, “Do not fear, Tuli. You are safe here. The Elegida will keep you from harm.” Paola looked at the rat but did not respond. This was confusing for Antonio since he did not know anyone by that name, but figured Fura must be talking to Paola. Were they the same person? Maybe. His friends often only referred to Mirabel as Elegida. They never said why, but that didn’t really matter. He opened his door and Paola’s eyes went wide at the sight.

“Before we go inside,” Antonio said, “There are a few things you should know. The animals that live with me are my friends. They’re not pets, so you should be polite when you talk to them.” Several birds flew down and chirped excitedly then flew out the door over their heads and Paola ducked. “It’s okay, they’re just going to get breakfast,” Antonio said.

“Can you really understand all of them?” Paola asked.

“Yeah, that’s my Gift. Don’t worry, none of the animals here will hurt you. But there are a few that are really big. Like Nadia, she’s an eagle.” And he pointed up to the bigger tree. “Chipsi,” he said pointing to the capybara, “she’s mama to those pups over there and Parce, he’s a jaguar.”

And as if responding to his name, the jaguar padded silently over. He stopped a few meters away and Paola moved behind Antonio and asked, “You’re sure he won’t eat me?”

“Pretty sure. I mean, he’s never eaten anyone,” then Antonio added “that I know of. He did tell me once that humans are stringy and don’t taste good,” Antonio said this as he approached the big cat that was now laying nearby. Paola adjusted her flower crown as she came out from behind Antonio. After wiping her hands on her shirt, she reached out to Parce. The jaguar gently pushed into it, and Paola smiled, gently scratching Parce’s head. The next half hour was filled with walking and questions about what kind of animal is this, what in the world is that, until the pair were standing in the bedroom portion of Antonio’s room.

“Your room is so big, Antonio,” Paola said as she looked all around, “Don’t you get scared being alone in here?”

“I’m never alone,” Antonio said, “Plus, I have Parce. He’s my best friend, next to Mirabel, and he’s loads of fun. And I got little Parce too,” he said, and reached into a nearby hammock and pulled out a stuffed jaguar. “Mirabel made this for me,” he said, and held it up to Paola.

She smiled then paused as she examined the toy closer and said, “Aww, Toni, he’s missing an eye…”

Antonio looked at the toy and frowned, just as his mother came in, she had a tray of cookies with some milk in cups. She set the tray on the small table and Antonio put the toy back in the hammock, then immediately ran over to it. “Thanks, Mamí,” he said, stuffing one in his mouth.

“You’re welcome, Toni. But haven’t you forgotten something?” she asked, a small cloud forming.

“Oh right, sorry, Mamí,” Antonio said as he put three cookies on a plate and took them over to Paola. She was staring wide-eyed at the cloud over his mother’s head. Antonio handed her the plate and cup and Paola said, “Thank you… Señora Magical.”

“It’s Madrigal, and you are also welcome, Señorita Paola. Toni, I have to leave for the meeting now, so come give your Mamí a hug,” she said and knelt down. Antonio did, squishing her twice as hard as normal, and his mother’s cloud winked out of sight. She kissed his forehead and said, “I’ll see you in a little while.” Antonio released her and nodded. His mother stood up then and knelt in front of Paola and touched her arm and said, “I’ll see you as well, Señorita Paola?” Paola nodded, and Antonio’s Mama added, “You kids stay out of trouble.” And together they watched his mother head for the door.

“Your Mamí is so nice,” Paola said as she sat down to dunk her cookie in the milk.

“Yeah,” Antonio said as he put a few cookies on the other plate, grabbed his cup and sat next to her. A small band of coatimundi chittered at them, and the kids watched them play in the branches above them. Antonio pointed at each and told Paola their names. Gina, Rachel, Gigi, Gwen, Juanita and Juli. Paola asked how he could tell them apart. He told her it was by the markings on their faces.

“So they’re all girls?” Paola asked.

“Yep, no boys allowed. Gina’s the Abuela and Juanita is her hija. The others are her nietas.”

Paola finished her milk and sat on one of a pair of swings and said, “Your family definitely has some strong magic. Not like mine. My family’s magic is weak. I can only talk to rats.”

“What? That’s amazing, Paola!” Antonio shouted as he jumped onto the other swing. “No wonder Fura likes you so much. Have you always been able to talk to them?”

“Yeah, I guess… I learned how from my Papá before he, ummm… went away,” Paola pushed the ground with her feet to make the swing glide a little and asked, “When did you learn to talk to all of these animals?”

"No one taught me. La Candela gave me my Gift a year ago on my fifth birthday, and I just could. But then the magic candle went out, and our house broke, so I lost it. I was really sad then."

Paola was clutching her cookie and asked, “Your house broke?”

“Yeah, something happened to the magic candle. I don’t know what, but I knew it had something to do with Mirabel and Abuela fighting. They don’t fight anymore.”

“Oh, did the candle come back?”

“Nope, it melted down to nothing and went out.”

“Then how?”

“Mirabel.”

“But Mirabel said she didn’t have any magic.”

“She just says that cause she didn’t get a Gift, but Mirabel’s always been magical. I think she’s the most magical Madrigal cause she always finds a way to help. You needed help, and she found you. I don’t know why you ran away from the people you were with on the mountain, but you must have had a good reason, right?” Paola didn’t answer, so Antonio finished up saying, “Anyway, once Casita got rebuilt, I got my Gift back because of her. So, I guess it all worked out.”

Antonio started swinging again, only this time he pumped his feet, so he would go higher. Paola started swinging as well and before long a brief contest started as to who could get the highest. There was much giggling and Antonio decided now would be a good time to practice his super flying jaguar pounce and got ready to let go of the vines, and he shouted, “Paola, watch this!” He launched himself into the air and Parce, who had been quietly watching nearby, leapt up and Antonio landed gently on his back.

Parce chuffed and Antonio said, “Sorry, Parce, I’ll make sure to warn you next time, but can you catch Paola too?” Parce said of course, and Antonio shouted, “Paola!”

“What!”

“Your turn!” Antonio yelled. Paola didn’t answer, and her expression was on the terrified side. “Come on, it’ll be fun!” Antonio said, waving to her.

“I’ll get hurt!” She shouted back.

“Nah, Parce says he can catch you. Just do what I did!”

“I can’t do that!” she shouted back and stopped pumping her legs. She slowed enough that she was able to a stop and said, “You are a dangerous boy, Antonio Madrigal.” Fura, who was sitting again on Paola’s shoulder, agreed with a loud squeak.

Antonio shrugged; he knew what he was doing. Parce chuffed and Antonio looked behind himself to see his father had come into the room, and Antonio wondered how long he’d been watching. He actually wasn’t supposed to be doing what he just did. His Papí was never one to yell, but he did not look at all pleased, and that was just as bad as far as Antonio was concerned. His father turned his disapproving gaze onto the jaguar, and Parce promptly sat down, causing Antonio to slide off. Antonio got up and looked up at his father.

“Toni, please do not encourage others to try dangerous tricks that you are not supposed to be doing.”

“It’s not a trick,” Antonio crossed his arms and said sullenly, “It’s a super flying jaguar pounce.” His father said nothing, and they stood there in silence until Antonio dropped his arms and said quietly, “Sorry, Papí.”

“It’s okay. I know you were just trying to have fun. However, Son, you have to learn that your Gift can be dangerous for others who are not familiar with your friends.”

“Okay. I won’t do it again.”

“Thank you. So, how would you two like to go into town?”

Antonio immediately perked up, but Paola looked extremely nervous but put on a brave face as Antonio climbed up on Parce, and he held out his hand to her. She took it, and Antonio pulled Paola up behind him as his father said, “The rule about not running in the house applies to Parce as well.”

Antonio rolled his eyes and nodded. “Okay, Papí, we’ll wait ‘til we get outside.”

“Very good, Toni. Make sure Paola is ready beforehand. Don’t want a repeat of what happened to Juancho.”

Antonio remembered then, he didn’t mean for Parce to take off so fast and Juancho fell off and got hurt. Luckily, Tía was nearby and saw him fall, so immediately came over and gave Juancho a sweet. Antonio felt terrible for days. Juancho was mad at him for a whole week. Not to mention the scolding, he’d gotten from his parents and Juancho’s and said quite seriously, “I won’t Papí.”

“Excellent, let’s go.”

Once outside Casita, Antonio turned and waved to the house. Casita waved one of its shutters at him, and Paola turned and waved as well. “Can I go faster now, Papí?”

“Yes, I’ll meet you at the oak. Don’t wander, Antonio, and stay out of the woods.”

“I will,” Antonio agreed and turned back to Paola and said, “Make sure you hold on tight to me, or you’ll fall off.” Paola's expression turned from worry to fear, but she nodded and did as he said. “Let’s go, Parce!” The jaguar started forward at a good speed, and Paola gripped him even tighter. Antonio let out a laugh as they bounded through the town. There were a lot of people around the Church, so Parce took the longer route to the tree. The jaguar expertly avoided all the people milling around and came to a halt by the oak tree. Paola slid off the jaguar and sat on the ground. “Dios Mio, that was scary.”

“You okay, Paola?”

She nodded and slowly got up as Antonio hopped off the jaguar. Parce let out a low growl and Antonio turned to him and said, “Okay, I’ll see you after lunch, Parce.” And gave the jaguar a hug. The big cat pushed him with his head then turned and walked toward the river.

“Where’s he going?” Paola asked.

“He’s going to find some food.”

“Then that means…”

“Yeah, but I can’t tell him not to hunt.”

“I guess that makes sense,” then she asked, “Does that mean he doesn’t eat the animals in the town?”

“Yup.”

“Oh.”

“Toni!” a girl’s voice shouted to him from down the street. Antonio turned to see Cecelia, Alejandra and Juancho running toward them. Alejandra was waving and carrying a fútbol with her. She halted in front of Paola and blinked, then said, “You’re not a boy.”

Paola frowned and tilted her head. Fura squeaked from her shoulder and Alejandra backed up. Antonio introduced Paola and explained the rat on her shoulder was one of his Tío Bruno’s friends. The girls relaxed and cooed at Fura’s shiny black coat. The rat was fully fluffed out, and it seemed to Antonio that she looked a bit upset, so he included they should be very gentle with her. Cecelia and Alejandra nodded, then turned to Paola and wanted to know where she’d gotten the pants.

“But your girls, why would you want pants?” Paola asked.

“Why not?” Alejandra replied, “I saw Luisa and Isabela Madrigal when they were going to the meeting,” Alejandra leaned in and said, “They were wearing pants and if they can wear them, I think I should too.”

Cecelia leaned in and added, “And some of the ladies who came last summer have short pants too.”

Juancho came up next to Antonio and took a sip of his coffee. He shook his head and said, “This is all they talked about on the way here.”

Antonio looked away from the three girls who all had their heads together and said to Juancho, “Yeah, girls are weird. Who cares if they wear pants?”

Juancho choked on his coffee and said, “Toni, girls shouldn’t wear pants, it's unnatural.”

Antonio looked at his friend and said, “You gonna tell my primas that?”

Juancho paused in his drinking and lowered his cup, saying, “Nope.”

Antonio was already bored with waiting for the girls to finish their gossiping and said, “We gonna play or what?” All three girls turned to look at him. They were frowning and Antonio said, “Can we at least have the ball?” Alejandra realized she was still holding it and tossed it to him, then all three turned back around to continue their conversation. More kids arrived to wait outside as their parents were going to the town meeting, and there was a definite split among the children as the boys were playing fútbol and the girls of various ages were talking in groups. Paola was being dragged around by Alejandra from group to group, and Antonio felt bad for her. But while Paola seemed a little startled by Alejandra’s occasional outbursts, she looked like she was enjoying herself. There was a short break for lunch of sandwiches and juice, then back to the playing.

The afternoon stretched on and Antonio, after several fútbol matches, decided he was tired. He was lying under the tree with Juancho when the girls sat down with them. When the topic of where Paola was from came up, Antonio noticed she really didn’t want to talk about that. So, he changed the subject by telling them about his brother’s adventure the previous night. Tío Bruno said that it was always easier to tell a story, cause sometimes the truth was just too unbelievable. Paola also listened intently because she had passed out at one point, so was probably curious to know what happened after that. The others turned to her for confirmation of Camilo turning into a jaguar, and Paola nodded and said she was afraid she was gonna get eaten.

Antonio noticed his brother and Mirabel were now leaning against the building where his father had been earlier. “Come on, you guys,” Antonio said as he waved for his friends to follow. Camilo straightened seeing that many kids charging at him, but he smiled when they surrounded him and Alejandra said as she grabbed his ruana, “Camilo, Camilo, Antonio said you turned into a jaguar last night.”

“Did he?” Camilo said, looking at Antonio with a small smile, and Antonio realized the extra details that he’d added to his story were a bit much.

“Yes,” Juancho asked, “Can you?”

“Can you really turn into a jaguar?” Cecelia asked breathlessly.

“No.” Camilo replied, and they all turned toward Antonio. Antonio looked at his brother as a nervous grin crept onto his face. “But!” Camilo announced, and they turned back to him, “I can do this,” he said arms outstretched and gave a little hop.

Alejandra and Cecelia both screamed, Paola looked ready to faint again, and Juancho dropped his coffee. Antonio just smiled, seeing the jaguar disguise he didn’t get to see the night before, and said, “See!”

His brother returned to himself, and Mirabel elbowed his arm. “What are you doing? Why are you scaring them?”

The kids immediately calmed down and Camilo said, “Come on, they’re fine. You’re overreacting. Nobody’s dead.” Parents arrived to find out what all the screaming was about, especially after the day the children had yesterday. They laughed at Juancho’s explanation, which included him spilling his coffee. Antonio looked around and noticed there were several others that had started moving toward the group and tugged at Mirabel’s arm.

She noticed the people then, and Mirabel let out a sigh and said, “This is why you lunk head.” And gestured to the folks nearby.

Camilo turned and saw the crowd gathering and said, “Oops, forgot about that. Sorry Mira,” He spread his arms then and said, “Okay guys, show’s over. Definitely, time to go.” Camilo shifted to Mirabel, then back to himself, and began herding the children and their parents away from their prima.

Paola pulled Antonio behind Mirabel, and she whispered, “Why are all these people here?”

“Cause Mirabel is magical,” Antonio replied as if this should be obvious.

Paola gave him a look and Antonio shrugged. Mirabel turned and took their hands as she said, “All righty, time for us to make a hasty retreat.” She then started walking with them in the direction of Casita.

There turned out to be far more people in the plaza than usual because of the meeting, and Antonio wondered if they were going to be able to get home. They hadn’t gone very far when Mirabel released Antonio’s hand and waved to someone he couldn’t see. His prima Luisa appeared next to them and picked up all three and began walking calmly away from the crowd. Mirabel on one shoulder, Paola and Antonio on the other. Antonio noticed there were extra big marigolds popping out of the ground between them and the crowd. Paola’s head was turning back and forth as the plants continued to appear all around them. They were just large enough that people would bump into them then wander off in another direction then the plants would fade away like they’d never been, and Paola whispered, “Is the cactus lady making those?”

“Yeah, my prima Isabela must be nearby,” Antonio said looking around for her.

"She's amazing," Paola whispered.

Luisa continued on for a few minutes, then stopped just past the edge of town. She set them down and said, “Looks like we’re in the clear.” She turned and waved to someone over the dispersing crowd, and the rest of the surrounding plants faded away. Paola turned to Luisa and said, giving her leg a hug, “You saved us. Thank you, Señorita Luisa.”

Luisa looked indulgently at Paola as she knelt and straightened Paola’s flower crown. “You’re most welcome, Señorita Paola,” Luisa said, then turned to Antonio and asked, “You okay Toni?”

He nodded and Luisa straightened. She looked over at Mirabel and asked, “So what happened?”

“Camilo decided to be showy,” Mirabel replied, “otherwise they likely wouldn’t have noticed me.”

“Maybe,” Luisa said and let out a laugh. Antonio waved to Isabela, who was still standing at the edge of the Church steps. She waved back, and Antonio turned to ask Paola a question when he noticed she’d disappeared behind Mirabel’s skirt again. Paola was looking past to and watching Isabela as she spoke to someone Antonio did not know. That person was looking in their direction and Paola seemed almost frightened, and he wondered why.

Luisa continued to walk with them toward Casita and said to Mirabel, “I was gonna tell you this at lunch, but I forgot. Anyway, you don’t have to make any shirts for me. Papa said he and Abuelo would take care of it. Can you give them my measurements?” Luisa noticed Mirabel’s frown and added, “It’s not that I don’t want you to, it’s more that you need to focus on other things right now, and I don’t want to stress you out. Camilo was right about that.”

“Yeah, sure, okay,” Mirabel said.

Antonio noticed that even though Mirabel was nodding and smiling, he could tell she wasn’t happy. Mirabel really enjoyed making things for their family, so Antonio said, “Mirabel, my tiny jaguar has lost one of his eyes. Can you fix it for me?”

She smiled and said, “Of course, I’d be happy to. Just bring him to my room after supper.”

“Okay,” Antonio said as Parce reappeared. Antonio offered Paola one more ride around the town before going into Casita. She said no thank you and grabbed hold of Mirabel’s arm.

His prima nodded and said, “There are a few things me and Paola gotta do.”

So, Antonio went for a short ride. When they got back, he found Paola in the kitchen with his Tía Julieta. Paola was standing on a stool, bouncing a little as she used a wooden spatula to help flip arepas. She was also now wearing a dress. He climbed off Parce, who wandered out of the kitchen. Tía had previously asked Parce to not come in the kitchen when she was cooking, so the big cat went into the courtyard to lay in the afternoon sun.

Antonio pulled a chair over to the counter and his Tía paused as her eyes ran over him, and she said, “Please go wash up, Antonio.”

Antonio looked at his hands and realized they were pretty dirty from playing fútbol, so he hopped off the chair and ran to the bathroom. He scrubbed his hands and face, then saw all the dirt still in the sink. He grabbed a towel, wiped up the dirt and went to put it in the hamper. He opened it and noticed something small and shiny and picked it up. It was a small locket and Antonio opened it. He did not know who the people inside were, so he figured it probably belonged to Paola.

He ran back to the kitchen and discovered Paola wasn’t there anymore. He asked his Tía if she knew where Paola went, and she said that she’d gone back to his room to take a nap before supper. Antonio was feeling a bit tired himself, so he left his Tía to do the same. Antonio walked back into the courtyard and waved to Parce, and together they headed up to his room.

He came into his room and Parce immediately turned to the right. He walked a little further on that side, and they found Paola looking for something under a bush, and she looked frantic. Antonio pulled the small locket out and said, “Paola?”

She pulled her head out of the bush, dislodging her flower crown, and Antonio could see she’d been crying.

“Is this what you’re looking for? I found it in the bathroom hamper.”

Paola rushed over to him and took the small item and visibly relaxed and said, “Oh, thank goodness, Toni. I thought it was gone forever.” She popped the locket open and stared at the tiny faces for a little while.

“Are they your parents?”

“No, they’re my abuelos,” she said and sighed before she closed it.

“Would you like a string or something to put it on? That way you can wear it, and it won’t get lost again.”

Paola brightened and nodded, so Antonio went to his desk and rummaged through it until he found a passable length of string. He gave it to her, and she threaded it through the locket’s loop and tied off the ends. After she put it around her neck, she said, “Thank you, I’m sorry I’ve been so much trouble, Antonio.”

“You’re fine,” Antonio said with a wave of his hand. “Good thing Tía made me wash up. I’m gonna take a nap, though. All that fútbol wore me out.”

She smiled and Parce made a low chuff. Antonio turned to the jaguar and said, “What?” The jaguar answered with a low rumble, and Antonio turned back to Paola and asked, “You’re not a girl?” Paola froze in place. Smile instantly disappearing. The jaguar pushed him from behind, and Antonio realized he wasn’t supposed to say that out loud. He could see that he’d frightened her, and he said quickly, “It’s okay, Paola, you don’t act like a boy or even look like one. Parce likes to make sure I know stuff he thinks I should. He told me secrets were dangerous.”

Paola got right in front of him and said in an almost threatening way, “You’re not going to tell them, right?”

“I’m not going to lie to my family, Paola.” Antonio said and leaned back into Parce. “Besides, it’s a good bet my Tía already knows. She gave you the clothes you were wearing before, right? She’s a healer, and she was taking care of you last night when my brother brought you back from the woods and if she knows, then Tío Gus knows, and my Mamí and Papí, Abuela and probably Tío Bruno…” Antonio trailed off when Paola’s face seemed to crumble as she sat down on the floor, looking totally miserable. He sat in front of her and saw she was crying very softly. Fura was watching him from Paola’s shoulder, and she did not look pleased. Parce had told him secrets were bad, but Antonio decided if it hurt Paola this much to be a boy, then this wasn’t his secret to tell. “Paola, I’m sorry. Please don’t cry. You got your reasons, so don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

“You promise?” she asked, wiping her eyes and nose on her sleeve.

“Yes. I promise,” he said. “You look tired. Come on, there are some hammocks over this way.”

Paola followed, still looking very sad as she climbed into one and Antonio gave her a blanket. He climbed into one nearby and felt the hammock sway. Paola’s was gently rocking as well, and the pair promptly fell asleep.

He woke later to find Paola was sitting with Fura in her lap. He only caught the end of what she was saying, “…no, you can’t come with me. You belong here with Tío Bruno.”

Parce noticed he was awake and let out a yawn that caught Paola’s attention. She stood up and Fura ran over to a trio of rats, squeaked at them imperiously, and the three turned and ran from the room. Fura let out another squeak, and both kids burst out laughing.

“She’s such a beautiful dam,” Paola said as she knelt down to stroke Fura’s head. “I've never seen a full black coat on a rat before. I wonder if her kittens will be all black like her.” Paola said.

“Fura’s having babies?!” Antonio yelled as he rolled out of his hammock. Fura scampered over to him and squeaked. “Fura, why didn’t you tell me! We need to have a celebration!”

“Toni, she’s a rat…” Paola sniffled and seemed very surprised.

“She is also Tío Bruno’s favorite.” Antonio gently scooped Fura up and put her on Paola’s shoulder. “Let’s go find my Tío. He’s gonna be super excited.”

------------------------

Isabela, Dolores and Luisa left the Church and were sitting on the steps talking about their new clothes. While Isabela liked hers, she really liked Luisa’s pants more.

“Gotta say Issa,” Luisa said, “That color…”

“I think Tío Bruno had a say in that one.”

“You both look very comfortable, but are they really?”

“Mine are,” Luisa said stretching out one of her legs, “Really nice how they give in all the right places.”

Isabela leaned into Dolores and said, “So, when you getting a pair?”

“Well, I’ll be honest, I’m actually more interested in the new skirt styles, you know, the ones that are in all those magazines?”

“Oh, the ones that go above the knee?” Luisa asked.

“Yes, but I’m not sure whether I’d actually be brave enough to wear something like that.”

“Mariano would probably appreciate them,” Issa said with a snort.

“He would,” Dolores said as she was looking across the plaza to where Mariano was standing. Isabela followed her line of sight and saw Mariano was animatedly speaking to Bubo Marquez. And she realized, they were watching them.

Bubo looked away when he noticed them looking in their direction and Luisa said, “Well those two became fast friends.”

“They’ve actually known each other since Señor Marquez got here last year,” Dolores said, “but we were busy rebuilding and Mariano and I weren’t dating then. I didn’t even know they knew each other until I asked Mariano about him at lunch. It is interesting that he leads the group of volunteers that have been watching the river, wouldn’t you agree, Issa?”

“Hmm? Yes, that is interesting,” Isabela said, trying to keep her features neutral. Luisa leaned in slightly and said, “So what sort of flower is that Issa?”

“What flower?”

“Behind you,” Dolores said.

Isabela turned and found a single flower growing out of a crack in the steps. She plucked it and held it out in front of herself and said, “It’s a Colombian Rose.”

“Oooooooo,” Dolores said knowingly. Luisa caught on then and stared at her sister. Isabela again tried to keep her face neutral but felt the heat in her face. “Well,” Dolores said, getting up, “I’m off to go stare at the floor in your sister’s room for a while before dinner.”

Mariano and Bubo were walking toward them, and that’s when they heard some children scream. There was a pause before several people headed toward where Camilo and Mirabel were talking to some kids and their parents. No one was moving quickly, but it was creepy nonetheless. Camilo and Mirabel separated, and Mira waved to them. Dolores joined Mariano and Bubo was talking to Abuela as she sat on a bench near the entrance of the Church.

Luisa asked, “I can go get them, but do you think you can keep them away with plants?”

Isabela was intrigued and said, “Don’t see why not.”

She must have had an unusually devilish grin on her face because Luisa said, “Nothing lethal, Issa.”

Isabela nodded and said, “Fine, if you insist. Pest repellent it is.”

She waited until Luisa had gathered up Mira, Paola and Antonio, then grew some unusually large marigolds. They were good for keeping away pests, she thought. The people would brush against them and turn another direction, returning to whatever they were doing before. She did not envy Mirabel this, that was for sure.

Still, generating so many plants so much larger than they should be was taxing. She probably should have picked something bigger to grow since increasing the size of any plant from its normal size used up more of her energy. Isabela wavered a little and felt a hand on her back. She remained focused on what she was doing until Luisa waved. Issa waved back, then waived to Antonio after Luisa set everyone down. Thank goodness, she thought as she let out a sigh and wobbled again. This time there were two hands supporting her, and she turned to thank the person and discovered it was Bubo. This made her smile.

“Are you okay, Señorita?” he asked as he released her, looking quite concerned.

“I’m okay, just a little woozy for some reason,” Isabela said, but she knew the reason and felt the heat rising in her face. This was so embarrassing and said as she wobbled again, “Kinda overdid it. I’ll be alright in a few minutes.”

Bubo steadied her again, this time not letting her go, and she heard, “Dios Mio, Isabela, are you okay, mi vida?” That was Abuela’s voice. “You stay put, young man. Don’t let her fall, please. Joseph, can you fetch Agustín or Bruno? I believe they are still in the Church.” That was Abuela Valentina. There was a pause, and Isabela wondered why everyone sounded so very far away. Her Tío Bruno appeared in front of her, looked her up and down then said gently, “Come on, Isabee. Time to go home.”

"Yeah, guess I'll go home, thanks for the help Señor," Isabela said, but she knew Bubo was the only reason she wasn't on the ground and looked back at her Tío. She squinted then blinked and asked, “Why are there two of you?”

------------------------

“Tch,” Valentina said, “such a stubborn child,” she turned to Bruno and added, “I see you two have everything in hand. Alma let’s go we have clothing to gather. We’ll see you later this evening.”

Bruno nodded to his mother and was amused at her look of startlement. She was not used to people telling her what she should be doing. She gave his arm a squeeze, then nodded and turned and followed Valentina toward their shop. Bruno looked back to see a very startled Bubo Márquez and said, “Nice catch, Bubo.”

“Is she alright?” Bubo asked as he lifted Isabela into a more comfortable position.

“Yes. Just a fun side effect of the newly re-Gifted. Instant exhaustion.”

“That’s terrible,” Bubo said, looking at Bruno's sleeping sobrina.

Bruno tilted his head and said, “Everything has a cost, Bubo. Especially magic. Anyway, would you mind helping me bring her back to Casita? I am unfortunately a bit wobbly myself.”

“Oh, of course,” Bubo replied.

Bruno was actually fine, but it was easier to ask uncomfortable questions when the target couldn’t just walk off. “Great,” Bruno said, and he and Bubo started toward Casita. When they passed the edge of the town, Bruno asked as nonchalantly as he could, “So, Bubo, you know who Paola actually is, correct?”

Bubo’s foot caught, and he stumbled slightly then continued on and said, “I believe I do?” Bubo paused, then said carefully, “but she looks a bit different than I remember.”

“Yeah, kids grow up so fast these days,” Bruno said as they approached the house. He stopped, turned to Bubo and said as he took Isabela from him, “You don’t have to tell me, but I have the feeling she wasn’t just running from Doris and Inez. That would explain why I’m getting so many mixed messages from my spontys. Just so you know, we’re aware that Paola is not a girl in the traditional sense, and we have no intention of challenging her on that,” Bruno said.

Bubo looked from him to Isabela, but made no reply. Bruno was about to turn away, then remembered the other something he wanted to ask. It was clear that Fura was actively communicating with Paola. Bruno knew this because he’d watched Antonio when he’d listen and speak to Parce, so asked, “Did you know Paola can talk to rats?”

Bubo barely hid his surprise and only shrugged as Casita opened the door behind them. Bruno watched and waited a little longer as the silence stretched then said as he put a foot on the step, “Just a suggestion, Bubo, but you might not want to mention to your Tío that Paola is here. At least not right away, but given what we don’t know, it would be safer for her, I think.” Bruno shifted Isabela a little and added, “That is, if you’re planning to stay.”

Bubo seemed to catch his meaning but still said nothing, so Bruno nodded and said, "Thanks for the help, Señor, I got it from here." Then turned and went inside, leaving Bubo to contemplate just what he should do. Casita closed the door behind him, and Bruno placed Isabela in the hammock near the sitting room. He pulled out a blanket and draped it over his sobrina. He’d noticed how she’d gone out of her way to talk to Bubo at lunch. This was something she’d never done with Mariano. She was definitely interested in that one.

Julieta came in from the kitchen and Bruno said, “Your daughter fell asleep.”

“I see that,” Julieta said adjusting the blanket, “What happened?”

“She and Luisa were keeping the unwashed hordes away from Mirabel. Biggest marigolds ever.”

Julieta sighed and said, “Oi, well, hopefully she’ll wake up quickly.”

“Probably. I’m going up to the tower. Pep wants us to meet her on the other side of the path. Says she has something in mind to help you tonight.”

“Okay, I have a few things on the stove, so I’ll meet you up there in a few minutes.”

Bruno nodded and walked toward the stairs. He knew Julieta would never leave anything on the stove, but he did not need to turn around to know that she was fussing over Isabela. Something Issa would never allow if she were awake.

------------------------

Pepa and Bruno were standing in a small glade just north of the Encanto, looking out over the town. It had been a long time since she had been up here, and it was interesting to Pepa that the path in the tower led here of all places. Julieta stepped out onto the grass from the tower in Casita, and she looked around and smiled as she came over to where they were standing.

“That was just weird,” Julieta said.

Bruno nodded and said, “I know, like walking through a sheet of ice without the ice.”

Pepa agreed and said, “Camilo didn’t notice anything, but he was moving pretty quickly on Parce.”

“It’s so beautiful up here,” Julieta said, gazing at the town.

Bruno turned and looked over at a gnarled oak that had a number of scars along its bark, indicating it had been hit by lightning several times.

“Wow, can’t believe it’s still standing after all this time,” Pepa said, moving closer to it.

“It was your favorite target when you were learning to control that lightning you are so fond of,” Bruno said, then added as he ran a hand over one of the scars, “Tough tree.”

“So, Pepa, why are we all up here?” Julieta asked as she too looked up into the tree.

Pepa sighed and turned away as she replied, “Fog.”

Her siblings looked at one another and Bruno said, “As I recall, Pep, that never went well.”

“I know that, but I want to try again. Mamá is set on retrieving those kids tonight, so we’re gonna need some kind of cover.”

“Oh, so you mean that fog,” Bruno said, sounding a little more nervous than he was when he’d gotten there.

“Okay,” Julieta said, “Don’t do anything, I’ll be right back.”

“You don’t have... to…” Pepa trailed off as her sister stepped out of view back into the tower.

“You know she always wants to be prepared, Pep,” Bruno said as his eyes wandered up to the dark cloud forming over her head.

Pepa nodded, and the cloud winked out of sight. She probably should have told Julieta what she was thinking, but she was almost afraid she wouldn’t come. That was ridiculous because Juli was always there for them.

When Bruno vanished after Mirabel’s failed Gift ceremony, they all knew that their mother would beg Bruno to do a vision, maybe see what it meant. Julieta was concerned, but Bruno had gotten into the habit of going missing for weeks sometimes. His door had been wavering a lot, but still Bruno always came back, and each time their mother would chastise him. And each time it would affect Bruno a little less. When he did not come out of his tower the following day for meals or anything, Julieta went to the tower stairs and could see the magical glow had left his door. Juli confided to Pepa once after he’d been missing for more than a week that he was getting up the courage to leave completely. After several days, she and Julieta made the long journey up those stairs, only to find the rope bridge had been cut. He really was gone this time, and they both cried for a long time as they sat on that ledge most of the day, looking at the door to that vision cave.

Now Julieta had not just Mamá but Mirabel to deal with, so the next day Julieta seemed to resign herself to Bruno’s absence and refocused on getting Mirabel back on stable ground. It was around the same time, that food started disappearing from the pantry. Julieta thought it might have been Camilo, but even with Camilo’s increased food needs, there was no way he was eating that much. Her sister had been responsible for the kitchen and pantry since she was a teenager and kept a pretty good record of what was in supply. This was another thing she stopped talking about, even to Mamá and since Pepa never paid attention to such things, she did not notice the ‘extra’ food Julieta prepared.

Pepa realized now what she had not back then. Just like Dolores, Juli always knew that Bruno was nearby and was choosing to be apart from them. This was something Bruno often said would happen one day. She also couldn’t tell Pepa because their Mamá now saw Pepa as the difficult one. Pepa also knew she would have likely outed her brother, as she was forced now to find ways to placate their mother. Though Julieta was saddened by the fact that Pepa went along with the whole not talking about Bruno thing, she did not judge.

Julieta, however, continued to mention their brother, though it was always in passing. As if to remind her and their mother that wherever he was, he was probably happier. That had led to Pepa’s senseless anger at the mere mention of his name, how dare he leave her here to deal with their mother alone. But of course, she was never really alone, Julieta made sure to remind her of that whenever the opportunity arose. Felix was her joy. He had given her three perfect children. So, it wasn’t until the house fell, and their mother returned with both Mirabel and Bruno, she felt the first pangs of regret.

What’s the first thing Bruno said to her after ten years in the walls? An apology for her overly wet wedding day. That meant he heard everything she'd said to Mirabel as she and her family tried to reinforce the no talking about Bruno rule.

Pepa looked over at Bruno, who had moved closer to the edge of the glade and was once again looking out over the town. Was he always that tiny? She walked to the edge of the glade and stood silently waiting for their sister to reappear.

Julieta stepped out onto the grass again and shivered as she stepped into the afternoon sun. Though the large basket on her arm was covered with a towel, there was the hint of chocolate in the air now.

Well, time to get to it, Pepa thought. Probably start with some mist. Mist was easy, she could make that with barely a thought because it was so much like rain. But this was going to be on another level. She’d never been able to localize fog, was an all or nothing kind of thing. There was also the dog to contend with. Pepa had seriously considered bringing Antonio along, but then they did not know if a dog loyal to its master would respond to Antonio or just be confused by it. There was also no time to test it. It was just one risk too many, so she decided this might be the best way to move forward.

Pepa thought back to the last time she did this. She’d studied a book on weather for weeks as she learned how to get it to change only in the places she wanted it to. She forgot the circumstances that prompted her to try to make fog, but it took enough out of her that she slept for two days straight. She’d thought about that failure over the years, and though she understood the mechanics of this type of event, she realized there were key elements that she’d left out of that attempt.

Hatred and fear.

They were the emotions she relied on the least. The ones she avoided at all costs. Anxiety she could deal with. Sadness was a snap compared to this. Before they got their Gifts, Bruno used to take every opportunity to frighten her. Just his usual jump scare nonsense. Post Gifts, not so much.

“So, what are you thinking, Pepa?” Julieta asked.

“Do you remember that time I almost got run down by that donkey cart? It frightened me so badly, and I was so mad at the driver that I inadvertently created a fog so thick the town came to a standstill? You couldn’t see more than a meter in front of yourself, and the silence was just awful.”

Again, her siblings exchanged glances and nodded.

“I want to create something similar to that, just need to figure out how to keep it from spreading to the whole town, and I don’t want to rely on those emotions.”

“Well, there was that time…” Bruno paused and looked at Julieta, she nodded, and he said, “You made something like that, but you weren’t afraid at all, and it only lasted for... what about an hour?” again Julieta nodded.

“I have no memory of that.”

“I am not surprised,” Julieta said and uncovered her basket as she sat in the grass and pulled some glasses and a wine bottle out of the basket.

“What happened?”

“You were very drunk,” Bruno said flatly as he sat next to Julieta and took the proffered glass, “Well, we were all drunk.”

“I was not drunk,” Julieta stated as she indicated that Pepa should sit and take her glass.

Pepa generally did not drink. She was ten times more volatile with any sort of alcohol in her. She had a hazy memory of Bruno getting his hands on a bottle of aguardiente when they were thirteen. Really was some awful tasting stuff as she recalled. She sat down next to her siblings, and Pepa took the wine glass from her sister. Julieta poured them each half a glass, and they toasted to a successful mission. Bruno snorted, Julieta and Pepa just giggled. After a few refills, Pepa was feeling good and smiled as the mist she’d started began to settle around them. She took another sip, and Bruno suggested she wait before drinking more to see how thick it got.

Julieta offered her a chocolate filled sweet bun in exchange for her wine glass, and they sat and waited. She and her siblings sipped their wine and discussed what to do about Bubo’s Tío. Based on the spontys he’d had today, Bruno was of the mind they should not let the people in the mountains know that Paola was in the Encanto. Bruno mentioned that Bubo showed up in his sponty and seemed to recognize Paola but had been reluctant to admit that. He pulled out his sketchbook and Julieta and Pepa looked at the sketches from his most recent spontys and agreed that they should most definitely hold off revealing Paola’s presence in the Encanto. He said he was going to do a vision when they went back inside. Pepa’s irritation with the whole situation was making her furious. To calm herself, she started to hum, but the mist still deepened, turned to fog and did indeed get very thick.

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spacetimewithstuartgary · 1 year

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Scientists reveal secrets to burping black hole with the green bank telescope The National Science Foundation’s Green Bank Telescope (GBT) has revealed new information about mysterious radio bubbles surrounding a supermassive black hole. In a new paper studying the galaxy cluster MS0735, “We’re looking at one of the most energetic outbursts ever seen from a supermassive black hole,” says Jack Orlowski-Scherer, lead author on this publication, “This is what happens when you feed a black hole and it violently burps out a giant amount of energy.” At the time of the study, Jack was a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania, and is now a research fellow at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. Supermassive black holes are found deep within the centers of the enormous galaxies at the heart of galaxy clusters. The plasma filled atmospheres of galaxy clusters are unbelievably hot – about 50 million degrees celsius – but these hot temperatures usually cool over time, allowing new stars to form. Sometimes, the black hole reheats the gas surrounding it through violent outbursts jetting from its center, preventing cooling and star formation, in a process called feedback. These powerful jets carve out immense cavities within the hot cluster medium, pushing that hot gas farther from the cluster center and replacing it with radio-emitting bubbles. Displacing such a large volume of gas requires an enormous amount of energy (several percent of the total thermal energy in the cluster gas) , and understanding where this energy comes from is of great interest to astrophysicists. By learning more about what’s left behind filling in these cavities, astronomers can begin to deduce what caused them in the first place. The team of astronomers used the MUSTANG-2 receiver on the GBT to image MS0735 using the Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) effect, a subtle distortion of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation due to scattering by hot electrons in the cluster gas. For context, the CMB was emitted 380 thousand years after the Big Bang, and is the afterglow of the origin of our universe 13.8 billion years ago. Around 90 GHz, where MUSTANG-2 observes, the SZ effect signal primarily measures thermal pressure. “With the power of MUSTANG-2, we are able to see into these cavities and start to determine precisely what they are filled with, and why they don’t collapse under pressure,” elaborates Tony Mroczkowski, an astronomer with the European Southern Observatory who was part of this new research. These new findings are the deepest high-fidelity SZ imaging yet of the thermodynamic state of cavities in a galaxy cluster, reinforcing previous discoveries that at least a portion of the pressure support in the cavities is due to non-thermal sources, such as relativistic particles, cosmic rays, and turbulence, as well as a small contribution from magnetic fields. “We knew this was an exciting system when we studied the radio core and lobes at low frequencies, but we are only now beginning to see the full picture”, explains co-author Tracy Clarke, an astronomer at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory and VLITE Project Scientist who co-authored a previous radio study of this system. In contrast to earlier research, new imaging produced by the GBT considers the possibility that the pressure support within the bubbles could be more nuanced than previously thought, mixing both thermal and non-thermal components. In addition to the radio observations, the team incorporated existing X-ray observations from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, which provide a complementary view of the gas seen by MUSTANG-2. Future observations across multiple frequencies can establish more precisely the nature of how exotic the black hole eruption is. “This work will help us better understand the physics of galaxy clusters, and the cooling flow feedback problem that has vexed many of us for some time,” adds Orlowski-Scherer. Read more about this work published in the latest issue of the journal of Astronomy & Astrophysics. IMAGE....Observations by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory (left image) and by GBO’s MUSTANG-2 instrument (right image) clearly show the enormous cavities (highlighted with gray circles) excavated by the powerful radio jets (green contours) expelled from the black hole at the center of galaxy cluster MS0735. The green contours in both images are from observations performed by the Naval Research Laboratory’s VLA Low-band Ionosphere and Transient Experiment (VLITE) back end used on the National Radio Astronomy Observatory’s (NRAO) Very Large Array (VLA). CREDIT NASA Chandra X Ray Observatory & the NSF's Green Bank Observatory.

#space #science #Astronomy #physics #news #nasa #chandra

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sublimeobservationarcade · 8 months

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ACCC Failings: What Have They Been Doing?

The ACCC stands for Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. Did you note that term ‘Competition’? This body is supposed to ensure that healthy levels of competition exist in markets. Yet, we in Australia have the highest levels of market concentration ever seen in our history. ACCC failings: What have they been doing? Down under in Oz we pay lip service to things to avoid actually doing anything about scams and fudges in the business world. Toothless tigers are our speciality when we establish the various commissions and overseeing bodies. Governments make sure that regulators like the ACCC don’t have the funding or the necessary connections to really achieve what their remit states. “The market power of Australia's largest firms has grown in the last two decades, and price mark-ups have increased. "Over recent decades, there have been a number of significant changes in the Australian economy," he says in a forward copy of his address. "The job-switching rate has fallen. The business start-up rate has declined. The largest firms have increased their market share. Mark-ups have increased. "All this suggests that the Australian economy has become less competitive." Andrew Leigh, the federal Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities, and Treasury” - (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-25/andrew-leigh-speech-large-firms-are-dominating-the-economy/101368066)

A couple of decades of neoliberalism permeating through our governments has seen a laisse faire approach to monitoring markets and corporations. The mantra ‘the market will look after itself,’ has been the excuse vigorously proffered by ministers sweetened by corporate largesse in the form of campaign donations and kickbacks. Personally, I am amazed that no one is pointing the finger at the champions of neoliberalism who ushered in many of the moves that see us in the mess where we find ourselves. The smug, leering face of Tony Abbott and his cronies for instance.

Australian Competition & Consumer Commission Missing In Action

The ACCC are an obvious scapegoat, as their job was to be the gatekeeper to prevent market concentration in the Australian economy. “New research by the e61 Institute assesses a change in the 2008 Australian merger guidelines, finding: The change resulted in the number of deals reviewed decreasing by 75%. A significant portion of this decrease came from deals that were not publicly notified. The average time spent reviewing a deal also doubled after this change, suggesting greater resources were spent on larger transactions. With Australia’s voluntary disclosure regime, smaller transactions are potentially leaving blind spots in our understanding of the competitive landscape in Australia. An important starting point for merger reform in Australia will be obtaining a clearer picture of merger activity.” - (https://e61.in/as-the-clock-strikes-midnight/)

Qantas flying off with your money

Role Of The ACCC

“The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is an independent Commonwealth statutory authority. We are Australia’s competition and consumer regulator. We promote competition and fair trading and regulate national infrastructure to make markets work for everyone. We make markets work by: protecting consumers and ensuring fair markets by enforcing the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 and the Australian Consumer Law collecting information from consumers and businesses to help us understand what issues cause the most harm to Australian businesses and consumers and where best to use our resources reviewing and assessing company mergers and asset acquisitions, authorisation and notification applications in Australia promoting competition in the communication, bulk water, postal, and transport industries.”

Woolworths record profits, high prices for consumers but no real competition. Australians Hoodwinked By Big Business Market concentration means price setting and higher prices for consumers and other businesses. It, also, means falling productivity and low wage growth. Lack of competition denudes capitalism and free market economies from functioning as they should. Control of the market and rent seeking takes wealth from us and delivers it to an ever smaller percentage of our population. Over the last 10 years, in particular, we have seen the rich grow much richer and the rest of us lose out becoming less well off. Very low wage growth and now a cost of living crisis is stripping money out of our hands as we speak. The housing crisis and the disappearance of social housing over the last 20 years – who do you think is responsible for this? Neoliberal champions! Market forces manipulated by powerful corporations and rampant neglect by the monitoring bodies. The ACCC has overseen this economic shift and done next to nothing about it.

Neoliberal champions who led us where we find ourselves - ripped off by our own economy! How much do the biggest firms control? Three stark examples: the US vs AustraliaIndustryMarket share of top four AU firmsMarket share of top four US firmsCommercial banking94%Supermarkets91%Liquor retailing78% This graphic was taken from a 2016 article In Choice Magazine. It compares us with what is happening in America at that time. https://www.choice.com.au/shopping/everyday-shopping/supermarkets/articles/market-concentration Think of all those sectors where market concentration means an oligopoly controls it. The big 4 banks, Coles & Woolies, big 4 consultancy/auditors, Qantas & Virgin, cinemas, real estate, Telstra & Optus, petrol stations, liquor retailers, News Corp & Nine Fairfax control the media via newspapers, TV & radio networks with the exception of the ABC, health insurance, general insurance, internet providers, chemists, mining, car companies, department stores, and all these dominating corporations have tentacles reaching into other industries and sectors. Many of these companies spend vast sums on advertising to implant positive messages in our psyches. Think of Qantas and their emotive spirit of Australia ads, banking ads are full of feel good stories about home ownership and growing together, insurance ads likewise tell a helping hand narrative in times of dire need, and so on. Meanwhile, we the consumers are being ripped off via the absence of any real competition. Indeed, quite a few of the other players in the market are actually owned by the dominant corporations in the oligopoly. ACCC Failings: What have they been doing? The ACCC has completely failed us in the Australian economy and there should be an enquiry into this. Governments are complicit, so this will not happen without real push from the wider public. Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of Money Matters; Navigating Credit, Debt, and Financial Freedom. ©WordsForWeb

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#ACCC #Australia #costoflivingcrisis #economy #lackofcompetition #marketconcentration #moralfailure #politics

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maacwanowrie · 2 years

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How to Use Visual Design to Simplify Complicated Ideas

Graphic design is a great career for people who are creative thinkers and enjoy art, technology, and communication. There are design needs across every industry, so short term graphic design courses in Pune have many opportunities to take on a range of new and exciting projects.

In business, you occasionally need to use the entire toolbox to simplify and make understandable complex ideas. Different people connect emotionally and learn in different ways. That holds true for product design, business-to-business branding and marketing, as well as both.

In essence, one of the most effective ways for people to connect is through visuals. We have used art to convey ideas ever since the first drawings appeared on cave walls. (Gifs, animation, and 3D have just made us a little more advanced.)

As the founder and CEO of a creative agency, I have found that photos, videos, infographics, and other graphic elements that are interesting and pertinent to the message work the best for messaging. Nowhere is the adage "a picture is worth a thousand words" more true than in the world of brands.

A brand is built on images.

It can be difficult to grasp a brand's values quickly. You only have a second to make an impression, so you need it to stick. Just picture the white polar bear, which stands in for Coca-cool, Cola's refreshing taste. I once went to a hot air balloon festival where a blimp advertising the brand didn't even need to fly with the name of the business on it. No one needed to know the brand name because the white polar bears on the balloon had grown so synonymous with the soft drink. Numerous iconic brand animals have become household names, including Smokey Bear, the Budweiser Clydesdales, Tony the Tiger, and the Geico gecko.

We are all aware that brands have narratives. How then do you employ audience-resonant images that are memorable? Here are some pointers:

• Choose images that seem genuine. Images that appear overly staged fail to connect with viewers.

• Keep graphics understated. Don't try to tell everything at once because it will clog up the visual.

• Use visuals to your advantage. Make a collection of images, graphics, and videos for your business that you can use to promote your brand.

Written and spoken content is driven by images.

Despite the value of visuals, many businesses create content strategies that primarily consist of the written word in posts, blogs, and articles. A product is frequently written about more the more technically advanced it is. However, the use of visuals is crucial because they can increase the overall impact of written or spoken content.

Thus, graphics, images, and videos must still be included in well-written content. For presenting data and viewpoints, you might think about using infographics. Sharing images of actual customers using your products, as opposed to stock photos, strengthens brand recognition.

Video content can be added to written or spoken content. Videos are quickly replacing written explanations as the preferred format. When using video to explain complex concepts, keep the ratio of spoken or written language and visual design in mind. Even without using words, visual storytelling can increase consumer engagement with your brand. Despite only using the song lyrics that were playing throughout, Chipotle's "Back to the Start" commercial is a perfect illustration of an advertisement that connected with its target audience.

A logo is created by visual design.

The development of a logo is the one instance in which visual design is more important than anywhere else. Companies devote a significant portion of their marketing budgets to spreading the word about their logos.

Take Apple as an example initially: How shocking was it to see an apple being bit off as a logo for a computer company? When the company was founded in 1976, no technology company was performing that. There are numerous, mostly untrue tales about how Apple's logo was created. CNN reports that some claim it was done in memory of Alan Turing, whose research served as the foundation for the computer and who passed away after biting into a cyanide-laced apple. Others have hypothesised that it represented information from the Adam and Eve story in the Bible. According to CNN, some people have even suggested that the logo represents the apple that Sir Isaac Newton believed to be the source of gravity.

What has Rob Janoff, the logo's creator, finally said about its genesis? According to a Forbes contributor who spoke with Janoff, he didn't receive a creative brief from Steve Jobs and decided to use an apple to demonstrate how user-friendly and entertaining Apple computers are. To avoid being mistaken for another piece of fruit, the apple was bit into. He later discovered the concept of computer "bytes," but he insisted that this was unrelated to the design. Doesn't that make for a great story?

The point is that a great logo should have a narrative and an approach (even if the customer is unaware of the narrative at this time). If you're just starting out with logo design, consider the following advice:

• Create for your target market. What emotionally appeals to them? What are they concerned with?

• Align the logo with your company for the present and the future. Be open-minded; once you choose a logo, you'll likely want to stick with it for a while unless your company undergoes significant changes.

• Conduct a competitive analysis. You don't want a logo that is too similar to those of your competitors or even those that are widely recognised and currently in use in other markets. See if you can find anything else with a similar look by performing a reverse image search on Google.

• Make it stand out. When people see your logo, will they remember your company? Before you make a decision, conducting some quick focus group testing is one way to get an answer.

• Ensure that your logo functions in various contexts. How does your logo appear on advertising and sales materials? Exactly how does it appear on social media? Are both small and large formats effective?

To make the most of this crucial asset for the expansion of your business, the answers to all of these questions are crucial.

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cmvarma · 2 years

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Charitable Dental Clinic Near Me

Some Moore County residents without insurance may soon be able to get free dental services, according to a new dental clinic initiative from Moore Free and Charity Clinics.

Clinic chief executive Tony Price said the clinic, which will be located in the existing South Pines Health Clinic building, has secured sufficient funding to begin construction and is currently awaiting building permits. He hopes to have it completed by the end of the year – dental clinic hyderabad

"The real benefit here is that we'll have a dental facility where uninsured patients can get everything they need, from hygiene, cleaning to extractions when necessary," Price said.

Moore Free and Charitable Clinic is a private, not-for-profit clinic that provides low-cost or no-cost primary care to eligible uninsured residents of the county. It treats common chronic health conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes, Price said, and delivers the drugs through its own pharmacy. Last year, the clinic served 1,783 patients, typically seeing between 22 and 52 patients a day. Patients must be below 250% of the federal poverty level to be eligible for services. For a family of three, the federal poverty level this year is $23,030.

The clinic offers an alternative to an urgent care facility or hospital emergency room and is the only facility in Moore County that offers free care to the uninsured, Price said. Most healthcare professionals work on a volunteer basis, and the clinic has strong links with local healthcare providers.

Funding for the clinic comes primarily from donations, as well as from grants and donations from the county and Carolina FirstHealth.

Price said the dental practice received a significant portion of its funding — about $70,000 — from a recent gala by musician dental crown treatment in hyderabad Tom Burnett. In total, the clinic has raised about $380,000 to meet the dental facility's initial funding threshold, Price said.

Price said a large part of the focus of the dental practice will be on helping people practice and understand the importance of dental hygiene. Dental clinics will be provided, as well as diagnostic measures such as X-ray screenings.

"What's happened over the years is I think the mouth has become separated from the body," Price said. "What we're trying to do is put the mouth back in the body, basically, and make sure we start with hygiene.

"So for our uninsured patients . . . (it) talk to them about the importance of hygiene and how poor hygiene affects your body. It affects other elements of health in your body. So we're trying to It's important to make sure they understand this and take good care of their teeth, with regular cleanings."

Price also said the clinic is designed to prevent short-term fixes, such as emergency room visits, that ultimately fail to prevent the infection from recurring.

"We don't want them (patients) going to the emergency room," Price said. "That's not their place. They'll get some painkillers, but they're not going to solve the problem." – laser dental treatment in hyderabad

Price said once the dental practice was established, he hoped to "gradually" expand its scope over the years. "At some point in the future, not immediately, we even want to do some implants. I don't know if we'll get there in our lifetime. But hygiene is the most important thing right now."

#best dental clinic for braces in hyderabad #charitable dental clinic near me #best dental implants in hyderabad #dental clinic hyderabad #dental crown treatment in hyderabad #laser dental treatment in hyderabad

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talkmatch3 · 2 years

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What Happens If I do Not Pay The charge For My Safe Deposit Box?

Make sure you have a record of the contents of your wallet or handbag. That way, you can quickly report to each business if and when your belongings are lost or taken. In case of loss, immediately inform every business included and ask to freeze your account. Gold is most likely the soundest, best investment worldwide. It likely won't return double digit portion gains every year, however it will hold it's value for the most part, and is an excellent hedge versus uncertain times as well as inflation. The world economies have actually pumped trillions of dollars into the economy. This will likely lead to financial healing, however when economies do recover, there will be extreme inflation in my opinion. safety deposit box key This is why Gold is likely a fantastic investment right now. Some experts anticipate it will go as high as $2000 - $2500 an ounce within the nest 2-3 years. Identity burglars are specifically looking for your Social Security Number. With it, they can practically gain access to all of your accounts. They can get your credit, insurance protection and a great deal of other financial deals. It is what says you are who you are. List your present medical professional, together with phone numbers, and any medical conditions you are going through treatment for. Real, your kids may currently understand this, but often kids move long distances away and we stop working to keep them informed of what is going on in our lives. Write down what health center you prefer, needs to an emergency occur. Barbara's boxes included essential information for each of her kids, and they were such a hit with her own family, that she now runs an effective company making comparable sets to offer by mail, email, and on the internet. During her tirade a police vehicle pulled up and the officers tried utilizing their verbal abilities to relax the out-of-control lady. Right after the cops arrived, another cars and truck got here. Nancy Spilotro was the driver. If you happen to die in that house fire, losing your will also would be a catastrophe. Yet do keep in mind that if you pass away in a house fire, the mix to your safe might go up in smoke together with you. so keep the mix to your flooring fireproof or safe safe in a safe deposit box at the bank. We might not all have the opportunity to call our children in and have a special time with them like my brother-in-law did. That's why I think it is so crucial to consist of an individual letter to each of our kids in the Mother Box, or Manual, or whatever we choose to call it. Regarding other home appliances, put 2-3 tbsp. of grease in the dishwashing machine to keep the seals moist. Do not lock the door. Likewise put 2-3 tbsp. of veggie oil in the waste disposal unit to assist keep it from locking up. Keep in mind to disconnect other home appliances throughout the house. At the sight of her hubby, Geri left her cars and truck and took up a position on the lawn, screaming at him. She stated the FBI wished to talk with her and she simply might go see them. She also revealed that Tony Spilotro was her "sponsor" (protector) and would like to know what Lefty prepared to do about it.

#safe deposit box

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omegas-spaghettios · 2 years

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I will never understand this weird obsession that Peter Parker MUST suffer and not be connected to other heroes

No Way Home Spoilers

People shit on MCU Peter for relying too much on Iron Man and never suffering and I just don't get it.

Yes this has a lot to do with Hitop films but just go on Twitter for 20 minutes and you'd see all of this.

"Oh he relies too much on Tony, Iron Boy Jr." Shenannigans. You understand that he has proven multiple times he is a hero without Tony, right? Peter got bit at 14. Peter made his own suit, costume, web shooters, and webbing. Peter caught the attention of Iron Man for being so good at what he does. Peter knocked multiple Avengers out of the Civil War fight for periods of time (Bucky & Sam). Peter took on the Vulture when Stark Industries was too far up its own ass to assume things were off. Peter walked into burning wreckage to save a man that attempted to murder him. Peter insisted on going to space to fight Thanos to protect his neighborhood. Peter used his spider sense and ingenuity to get to and take down Beck.

Why is none of that good enough for people? Does wearing a Stark suit means he loses all agency? Really?

Sure, his films haven't had untold amounts of suffering. Why does it have to? What's so wrong with giving Peter the world for a while so when he loses it it hurts more? If MCU Peter started out and stayed miserable, what's the point? He'd be just the same as the other two incarnations, just that he shows up for crossovers. Let him enjoy high school, let him bond with his aunt, let him find his young love. Because I'd be damned if you tell me No Way Home would have hurt as much without everything that came before, May not being done well before be damned.

They did do May dirty but discrediting this entire Spider-Man on that is stupid

People complain about how his relationship with MJ "isn't developed organically and they don't grow together in complex ways"?

Guys, they're fucking 16. I remember my first romance at 16. My crush came fast and so did theirs, we were head over heels and "there" for each other come hell or high water. All I could think of was them. Were we in any way healthy? Or actually mature and well developed together? Hell no, doesn't mean they weren't my world for 1.5 years.

So of course MJ and Peter weren't the epitome of romance, they're kids, let them be kids! Why can't we give Peter the highs of his life, give the audience that, so when the misery comes it hurts so much more?

"It's unrealistic that he wanted to get away when Tony died and just kiss a girl" have you never like, wanted to hide from your pain? Your responsibility? Have you never wanted to ditch school for a day in high school to hang out with someone you fancied? Have you never felt so much pressure and expectation that you wished you could just run away from it? Have you never tried to hide in the comfort of someone you loved to escape it?

"He isn't bullied" bro idk what your high school was like, but bullies didn't slam people around everyday in high school. Bullies were often rich assholes who were kinda pathetic but everyone was too apathetic to intervene. Man, I wonder if the MCU Flash was like that? Oh wait, he was. Yeah he wasn't slamming Peter into lockers but like, that isn't how bullies are anymore, at least not for a large portion of their audience.

This Peter has at least 3 more movies coming. He's a little over halfway through his journey with us. Would you expect ANY character to be fully self actualized and perfect halfway through their story?

Just, ugh.

#spider man no way home spoilers #no way home spoilers #no way home #nwh #spider man no way home #spider man homecoming #homecoming #captain america civil war #avengers infinity war #infinity war #endgame #avengers endgame #spider man far from home #far from home #ffh #peter parker #spider man

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mionemymind · 3 years

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Chapter 3: The Harsh Treatment

Fake Memories

Series Summary: After Y/n is caught cheating on Wanda with Carol, Y/n would do just about anything to get Wanda back into her life. But was it even Y/n’s fault that she cheated? Or was it the new enemy set on revenge?

Chapter Summary: What will happen to Y/n as the team pushes her past her limits?

A/n: I lied, I decided to be nice and post it now. Honestly, the amount of support that I’m receiving from this fanfic has literally made me smile so much. I really love all of you who read and/or comment. You mean the world to me. Let me know what you think. :) (Not my GIF)

Warnings: Starvation, harmful thoughts, curse words, self-doubt, mentions of blood, injuries, angst

Word Count: 5k

Masterlist

Y/n abruptly woke up at the feeling of pressurized gas coursing through her body. She quickly sat up, unable to see anything in the white fog. The cold feeling only lasted a couple seconds before F.R.I.D.A.Y stated, “Fire has been contained.” Y/n hugged herself for warmth as she waited for the fog to disappear. This was the 13th time this month that she was woken up with pressurized gas. At first, it was foam but someone in maintenance had changed the system after the 5th time she woke up.

Y/n looked at her surroundings and sighed at the damages to her sheets. There were burn marks along with small amounts of frostbite from the gas. “At this rate, I won’t have money for food.” With a grim face, Y/n got up from her bed and proceeded with taking everything off her bed, a routine she unfortunately started to learn.

Y/n didn’t know when things got worse. If she had to guess, maybe it was after the whole fiasco with Wanda. The team had been on edge ever since then. “They probably thought I hurt her,” Y/n thought at the time, but it was far from the truth. She had wanted to explain herself to the team but dismissed those thoughts with, “What’s the point in trying? I’ll always be guilty to them.”

As for Wanda, the still heartbroken girl didn’t dare to speak to the team about that night. Even she didn’t quite know what happened. Since that night, she only lied to herself stating that maybe Y/n had done something. It would probably remove the guilt she had when she thought of the blood running down Y/n’s face. But even the lie couldn’t repress the truth from her thoughts.

After she collected her bedding, she threw it away in the trash can along with the other damaged beddings. Y/n grabbed her wallet off her night stand and opened it. She couldn’t feel it, but her heart dropped at the sight of the lack of money she had. Only a $20 dollar bill as well as a couple ones were left. She closed her eyes and tried her best to keep herself calm, to try and act like the world wasn’t closing in on her. It was a couple minutes later when she opened her eyes and looked at her wallet again. “This was supposed to last me for the rest of the month.” Y/n rubbed her forehead, feeling the overwhelming stress from her lack of funds.

One might ask, “Aren’t you an Avenger? Shouldn’t you make a shit ton of money.” And at one point, Y/n would say yes, she did. But it all came back to that night. A week after, she had overheard a conversation that went…

“I just don’t understand why you’re doing this to her.” Y/n was about to go around the corner, but decided to wait at the sound of Steve’s voice. “It’s simple Rodgers - unless I have to remind you why we needed to redo the glass in the conference room.” Steve sighed at Tony’s simple minded actions. Y/n could practically feel him crossing his arms in a disapproving manner.

“Well she did work fair and hard for her money Tony - this just feels wrong.” Y/n heard a couple clicks before Tony replied with, “This is for Wanda. Anything to get Y/n out of here by her own means is worth it. If you have a problem with this, you must not care as much for Wanda as I thought.” Steve sighed again seeing as he was morally put in an awkward position. It was either care for Y/n or care for Wanda. “That’s what I thought.” Tony left with a smug look on his face as he clicked more on the screen in front of him.

It didn’t take long for Y/n to see the effects of Tony’s decision. Her pay day was the following day and the overwhelming sense of panic and anxiety rose up within her as she only had $400 to survive until the next pay day, which was a month later. Since then, her food portions have been small to say the least. Y/n learned that she only had enough money for the month to eat at least once a day and even that was cutting it. The dramatic changes to her diet had slowly affected her powers but it recently had an exponential increase.

This was her fourth month of hardly eating when her powers started to flare at night. It has gotten to the point that Y/n couldn’t control them in her sleep leading to F.R.I.D.A.Y having to deal with her fireside. But her powers weren’t the only thing that has changed. If anyone were to actually look, they would see that Y/n had gotten skinnier. Her literal glow was getting duller and duller the more time passed.

However, Y/n refused to feel sorry for herself. The sentence “I deserve this” was burned into her head. The brain tricks she puts herself through even allowed her to convince that Tony's decision was right. That Wanda didn’t need to tell the truth to the team. That Steve didn’t need to defend her. And that the team certainly was allowed to make her feel like nothing. Because to Y/n, if she didn’t deserve this, then why would you possibly treat a person like this? Just why?

Of course, Wanda didn’t notice these changes at all. The girl was trying her best to avoid Y/n as much as possible. She always had exit strategies in place in case she were to be in the same vicinity as Y/n. However, Wanda also didn’t notice that lack of Y/n’s presence. Much to her dismay, Y/n’s efforts were the reason they didn’t see each other much.

What Wanda did notice though was the slow and gradual decline of snacks in her cubby. It left her to question whether Natasha was done doing these small favors for her. But her reports were still getting done.

The red head didn’t have much room to think though as she got slammed down on the mat from the other red head. “Take a ten - you’re distracted and we can’t keep going like this.” Wanda grumbled at another failed attempt to flip Natasha over. Hand to hand combat was one of the few subjects that Wanda hated the most. With the help of Natasha, Wanda got up and walked over to the waters on the other side of the room. She was gulping down the remaining when Natasha’s words caught her off guard. “What happened?”

Wanda cocked an eyebrow while still drinking her bottle, needing more elaboration. Natasha faced Wanda while hundreds of thoughts racked her mind. Luckily for her, Wanda had trained her on how to make them quiet enough that Wanda wouldn’t be able to hear. When Natasha found the right words, she said, “I am not doubting you. I am doubting her…” Wanda closed the bottle and looked around the room to avoid Natasha’s eyes. This had been the first time that anyone from the team had remotely even asked her about that night. To be frank, she hadn’t expected Natasha to be the one to break the ice. Usually it was Steve that would act like the team’s counselor. Guess things change.

Wanda sighed and recollected her memory for the night that continued to haunt her. “One minute, I left to get a drink from the bar. - she said that she needed to go to the bathroom. The next minute, I come back to see her all over blondie.” Wanda’s grip on the bottle tightened at the words she was going to say next. “I thought it was a mistake - that she could have been too drunk that night - b-but her thoughts were so - loud.” Wanda slammed her fist at the table in front of her, tears already falling down her cheeks. “A-a-and I saw everything-”

The broken hearted girl didn’t have much energy left in her to continue. She dropped to her knees and sobbed into her hands. Natasha kneeled beside Wanda. She pulled the poor girl into her arms, trying her best to physically comfort her. But nothing could really make Wanda feel better. What could you say to a girl that saw every moment where her girlfriend has cheated on her? Nothing - you say nothing.

“It’s quite pathetic actually,” Tony said as he spun the rod, causing his player to score in foosball. He was currently versing Steve as the two decided to quietly speak about Y/n’s actions for the past couple weeks. Going on the defense again, Steve shot back but Tony was quick to block. “She’s probably just trying to get her money back.” Steve huffed from the sudden slap shot as well as Tony’s rude words.

For the past couple weeks, Y/n had gone from trying to win Wanda back to trying to win the whole team back. The first thing they noticed was all the completed mission reports and the continuation of it. Clint was the first to jokingly comment, “Bruce must really love mission reports.” But the genius bore a confused look before replying with, “It wasn’t me. Even I haven’t had anything to do in my stack for a couple days.” Bruce had a displeasured look on his face. Clint just assumed it was either he wanted to do his stack of reports or the comment was actually true...or maybe both.

When it was time for the meeting, Clint had asked everyone in the room, minus Y/n, on who was completing the mission reports for everyone. “Well, I’m doing Wanda’s and mine,” Natasha claimed as she sat in her usual spot. No one was able to detect her lie, but then again, Natasha was always good at lying.

Clint was quick to figure out that the only person remaining must have been the person responsible. With a straight forward voice, he explained to the team that Y/n had been completing everyones, besides Wanda’s and Natasha’s, reports. Still, Natasha sat there, copying the confused looks on everyone’s faces. She didn’t care to tell them the truth, it wasn’t worth it. However, the meeting proceeded with little comment on Y/n’s actions. She wasn’t worth the mention.

“What if she actually is trying to say sorry to us?” Steve couldn’t help but feel slightly guilty for Y/n, but Tony’s words made the guilt go all away. “Oh - so miss Hydra over here actually wants to apologize - hilarious Steve.” With that, Tony quickly spun the rod and scored the final point, making him win the game. What the two failed to realize was the fact that Y/n had overheard their conversation. She no longer felt hungry for the day and had retreated back to her room, feeling overwhelmingly numb from the confession she heard.

It was a new and different day for Wanda. She had managed to want to try and sit in the common room with her team seeing as sitting in her room no longer gave her the same satisfaction anymore. Scrolling through the tv, she was about to pull up Bewitched when the following words appeared on the screen:

Bewitched is longer provided on Netflix. Please see related tv shows.

“What do you mean it’s no longer available?” Wanda frustratedly questioned. And here she was trying to have a good day. “Sorry kid, I guess Netflix took it off their streaming service,” Clint said as he leaned over the couch. “No why would they do that?!” Wanda said with an exasperated look. Clint simply shrugged, Netflix did have an awful reputation for getting favorites removed or canceled. “No clue, but you could try other shows.” Wanda crossed her arms and huffed at his suggestion. “I was really feeling Bewitched today.” Ruffling her hair, Clint left after saying, “Try to feel for something else.”

However, Wanda had failed to feel anything but angry for the remaining of the day. It wasn’t until she sat in her room for the night, aimlessly finding shows in her room when she noticed Bewitched on her home screen. She quickly clicked on it noticing that all eight seasons are there for her own viewing. Her mood immensely increased for the night as she fell asleep in the middle of season two.

Outside of her room, Y/n had been cleaning up the compound for the night. It was getting harder and harder to clean the kitchen when everything in her wanted to just take a couple of snacks for herself. Her hunger was constantly on her mind as well as the stupid flashes that have sporadically appeared more and more everyday. But she wanted more than anything to prove to the team that she is a good person. Stealing, no matter how minor, was probably the last thing she needed to be labeled as.

When she completed for the night, she returned to her room but paused outside of her door when she heard the Bewitched theme song loudly play in Wanda’s room. A small smile appeared on her face as she walked back into her room and slept on the floor tonight.

“Did it ever occur to you that I love you - like a lot?” The couple were laying in Carol’s room decorated with punk rock posters and pictures of their team. Small plants were placed around the room while Malcolm in the Middle was used as background noise.

“Nah. I haven’t heard you say it in approximately - 10 minutes?” Carol laughed as Y/n glanced at her watch. They laid on their sides as they faced each other, their faces being only inches away. “Well I do.” Carol cupped Y/n’s cheek as she soon grew mesmerized.

There are words to always describe feelings with someone but they all felt overused or incomplete. Because everything felt like this daydream colored borders with warm tones and retro filters as she glanced at Y/n. She felt like she was watching a show that she would never get tired of. Even if the show was in color or black and white, new or old, slow or fast, she would watch just to see her. Just her.

“You do what?” Carol flicked Y/n’s forehead at her response. “Kidding - kidding.” Y/n said as she rubbed her forehead. Carol rolled her eyes and kissed Y/n’s head as she cuddled into her arms, legs tangled within the sheets. “I do love you.” Y/n kissed her hair as she combed it with her hand. “I know,” she whispered, hoping Carol would pick up on the secret reference. Because to Y/n, yeah, she’s worth a whole galaxy.

It was the middle of the night when Steve woke up from a nightmare that shook him from his slumber. Rather than staying in bed to force himself to sleep, he got up and headed to the kitchen for a late night snack.

Heading into the pantry, Steve pursed his lips noticing that Y/n’s cubby had been empty for weeks it seems like. The guilt that was slowly forming inside him kept building and building. Although he knew he could try to do something about it, the loyalty he had to his family - to Wanda. That was something he didn’t want to break.

The relationship with Wanda and Steve was something similar to a father and daughter relationship. Steve had always wanted a kid of his own and Wanda had lost her father. The irony of it all just happened to work for the two. Even though Wanda nor Steve would admit it out loud, they viewed each other as the roles that needed to be filled in their lives. They needed each other regardless of titles.

But then there was Y/n. The troubled girl that made Steve absolutely nervous with how quick her and Wanda seemed to like each other. It absolutely didn’t help Steve’s case when the whole team found out about Y/n’s past. His anxiety had practically skyrocketed. It eventually led to a one on one talk with Wanda about how sometimes we need to protect ourselves before letting people in.

But Y/n was still there. Breaking down Wanda’s walls. So just like any Dad would, Steve watched over. Making sure his girl was always happy and safe. So while Natasha may have refilled Wanda’ cubby and did her reports, Steve had carried Wanda to bed during nights she couldn’t sleep. He made her tea for times that she didn’t want to talk, which was often. He tucked her in at night and cuddled with her when she needed a shoulder to cry on. He was just there.

But so was she. She was there whenever Wanda cried at night. She was there when Wanda would sometimes forget to eat after busying herself all day. She was there to take care of Wanda. She was there when Steve wasn’t. And that meant everything to Steve. So why couldn’t Steve be there for Y/n?

There were a lot of unanswered questions roaming around Steve’s head. Rather than pondering more about them, he walked around the tower, eating a pack of cookies for himself. Just as he was turning the corner, he glanced towards the conference room to see Wanda asleep in front of her reports. However, the more alarming part was the girl that happened to be right in front of Wanda. Steve quickly grew on high alert and observed Y/n’s actions. However, after a couple minutes of harmless actions, Steve forced his shoulders to relax. “She’s just doing reports - calm down,” Steve thought.

But he couldn’t calm down. The guilt had maneuvered it’s way back up to his throat as he actually noticed the pale state of the once bright girl. For someone that had literal fire abilities, she lacked the glow of any raging fire. Feeling nothing but guilt all over, Steve felt compelled to say something - anything. But he froze. He didn’t know what to say.

However, the opportunity soon was lost as Y/n finished everyone’s stack of reports. Steve hid around the corner as Y/n passed him. Hearing a door close was when Steve stepped out of hiding. He glanced towards the direction of Y/n’s room, feeling every need to go to her. But his footsteps led him to Wanda. He picked her up and carried her to her room. Wanda will always be first in Steve’s heart. And nothing could change that.

“We have to stop this treatment Tony.” Steve waltzed into Tony’s lab the very next day. For once, he couldn’t sleep for the remainder of the night. Y/n was all over his mind. The guilt was practically eating him alive.

Tony rolled his eyes at Steve’s dramatic fashion for entrances. “Oh - good morning Tony - how are you - I’m actually pretty good.” Steve rolled his eyes as he stood in front of Tony, a hologram in between the two.

“Cut the crap Tony - I’m being serious.” Steve crossed his arms. This needed to end. “And you think I’m not Rodgers?” Tony was quick to respond, already growing irritated by the conversation.

“This isn’t right - none of this right.” Steve wiped the hologram to finally get a clear view of Tony as he grew frustrated by the second. Tony simply swiped it back, not wanting to deal with the issue. “Well maybe if she just quit - we wouldn’t need to worry about anything. It’s not my fault Fury hired Ms. Hydra - and if he finds out I fired her, he would not allow it at all.”

“But can’t you see that your stupid plan isn’t working? All we’re doing is abusing the girl.” Steve wiped the hologram again but Tony simply walked to a different station and continued his work. Angry with his response, Steve walked around the table and stood beside Tony.

“This needs to end Tony,” Steve said through his gritted teeth. The man was clenching his jaw so hard, it almost looked as if he was going to break his teeth. However, Tony quickly glared at Steve at the mention of his threat.

“Don’t you fucking dare. Can’t you actually see that I’m trying to protect Wanda.” Steve tilted his head at the awful reasoning for his actions. “How is this protecting Wanda? Why are you even trying to protect her?”

Tony slammed his fist into the table, feeling his anger rising by the second. “We - no - I need to protect her Steve!”

“Why Tony? Why?”

“Because I’m the goddamn reason her parents and her country is dead. I’m the reason that everything she ever loved is gone. I’m the reason for her sadness. She, of all people, deserves happiness. And I sure as hell won’t let anyone else hurt her anymore - no more Steve.” Tony didn’t give Steve a chance as he walked out the facility needing a day drink more than ever.

It was lunch time and all Wanda could think about was the need to cook paprikash. She didn’t know when the last time she had actually cooked. And seeing as the majority of the team was on missions, she could actually cook without interruptions or lingering eyes.

Walking into the kitchen, Wanda tied her hair up and started to take out the necessary ingredients for the meal. It was when she was talking the spices out when Vision had appeared out of nowhere, nearly scaring the girl. “Vision!”

Sensing a slight rise in her heart rate and anger, Vision had quickly apologized. “Sorry Wanda.” Wanda shook her head and quickly resumed prepping. “I will try to work on making my presence known. If I may ask, what is it that you’re doing?”

“I’m making paprikash.” Vision’s mind grew curious at the word and quickly searched his database for it. “I see. A traditional Sokovian food.” Wanda didn’t realize it, but she had felt a little annoyed at the synthezoid’s presence. It wasn’t anything he did, but Wanda desperately wanted alone time for herself.

Before she could ask, Vision had said, “Good morning Y/n.” Wanda’s quickly grew wide as she avoided glancing in Y/n’s direction. She hadn’t stayed in the tense position though as Vision announced, “Oh - it seems she had left before saying hi back.”

Feeling ever more frustrated with people’s presence, Wanda was about to ask him to leave but noticed the confusion written all over his face and didn’t hesitate to ask, “What is it Vision?” Vision pursed his lips and contemplated his words. It was visibly obvious to see that he was trying to wrack up what to say. “I think...it’s just…” He sighed knowing that this was going to be a sensitive subject to the witch but knowing everything she's been through, lying was not the best option. “It’s just that Y/n-” Wanda quickly cut Vision off in desperation to know what Y/n had done to Vision. If the girl were to even lay a finger on him, she was sure to deal with it herself. “What did she do? Did she hurt you? I swear-” Seeing her eyes turn red, Vision immediately explained himself. “-No no no. It’s not that, the complete opposite actually.” Wanda’s eyes slowly turned back to normal. When Vision saw that her heart rate was close to normal, he continued. “It’s just that...Y/n’s vitals have been decreasing in a fluctuating matter. Some days it would be a small decrease, but some days it would be a big decrease. Overall, her health has been poor.” Vision looked back at where Y/n once stood. If he hadn’t quickly analyzed her, he wouldn’t have noticed that today’s vitals was record worst. “Although she does have physical injuries, she seems to continue to radiate pain throughout her body even when those injuries have healed. It starts through her head and it spreads like a radio wave through her nervous system. I’ve done my calculations and the leading cause could be migraines...” Vision soon was in deep thought, trying to recalculate just to make sure what he was about to say was correct. “...but it doesn’t make sense.”

Wanda tilted her head. Processing this information was hard seeing as at her darkest moments, she wanted nothing but Y/n to be hurt. She deserved it for all the pain she caused her to go through. But hearing it now? That was a different story. It was like an internal conflict was going through her. Should she even care about Y/n’s health? “What doesn’t make sense?” Vision looked hard into Wanda’s eyes as he said, “Migraines shouldn’t cause her heart to stop multiple times.”

Wanda stared at Vision, processing the information that the love of her life is practically dying. “A-are you sure?” Vision slowly nodded. “However, after some calculations, I do believe she will be okay. She only needs a good source of food for her healing regeneration to fully heal this.” Wanda relaxed at Vision’s words. Although she has been through immense pain through these past couple months, having Y/n gone from her life like that would hurt more than anything.

Before Vision could continue his explanation, F.R.I.D.A.Y stated, “Emergency alert. All available Avengers please head to the quinjet per the request of Mr. Stark and Mr. Rogers.” Quickly, the two headed to the plane as the important part of Vision’s explanation was missed. Little did Wanda know, Y/n would not heal any time soon.

The trio arrived on the quinjet and wasted no time trying to figure out the mission that was ahead of them. There was a serious feel in the atmosphere sensing that this had to be bad. There was no way that it couldn’t have been. Because if it wasn’t, they certainly wouldn’t have invited Y/n to this mission.

Lately, the girl has been assigned to only solo missions. Y/n couldn’t quite remember the last time that she was on a mission with any team member nevermind the fact with the whole team.

“Backup is needed immediately after touch down. Vision and Wanda, meet up with Steve and Sam at the Northeast corridor. Y/n, you are assigned to the entrance,” Tony stated through the intercom.

The feeling in Y/n’s stomach worsened. Not only was she hungry and sleep deprived, she didn’t also have a partner with her. It also didn’t help the fact that the flashes have gotten worse. Y/n couldn’t help but pray for a miracle. After all, they were dealing with the very people Y/n hated - Hydra.

Y/n couldn’t quite tell when things on the mission got to shit. Maybe it was the fact that as soon as they touched down and went to their assigned positions, Y/n received a massive swarm of Hydra agents. It didn’t help that her health regeneration was not at its peak or these agents actually were decently trained. Or was it during the third wave, that was currently happening, where Y/n tested the limits of her body.

Seeing the onslaught of agents coming her way, Y/n decided it was time to test out her new ability. She rapidly swung her right arm, building momentum as the fire within her right side blazed. As soon as the enemies were close, she released a fire tornado in their path. It had managed to take out at least half of the wave, but more and more kept coming.

Pressing her comms, Y/n said, “Can someone send back up my way?! There’s too many for me to handle.” Y/n kicked back the agent that was about to stab her in the back, but was too distracted to the point a different agent was able to cut her leg. “Fuck.”

Y/n quickly released an ice wall that at first glance, appeared to be the same height as the Great Wall of China. She hoped the barrier would give her enough time for her backup to appear. Focusing all her energy on her fireside, Y/n aimed at any agent near her, using her arm as a flamethrower.

However, worry immediately grew when no one had responded to her call within a couple minutes. Before she could request again, Nat had spoken bitterly in the comms, “On my way.” Sighing in relief, Y/n continued to fight off the agents the best she could.

But no matter how hard she tried to buy herself time, it seemed that Natasha was taking forever to come. It had gotten to the point that multiple lashes already appeared. Her healing regeneration couldn’t keep up at all. Not only that, but her body was either giving up from exhaustion or blood loss. It was only during the last couple agents when Natasha had shown up and quickly killed the remainder.

Y/n glanced at the assassin and noticed the lack of any injuries on her and it was as if she barely broke a sweat. “What happened? I almost got killed.”

Natasha glared at Y/n as she responded with, “I helped Bucky and Rhodey on the way, they needed it.” Y/n swallowed the lump in her throat knowing the redhead in front of her had practically lied. If backup was needed, it was always voiced through comms.

Even if Y/n had wanted to confront Natasha about it, she couldn’t. Natasha had already left to head to the quinjet. Y/n simply limped a couple feet from her. When Y/n arrived, it seemed that everyone else was already prepared for take off. Feeling ever more guilty, Y/n simply sat at the closet seat to the entrance that was away from the team. But something inside her broke even more noticing the lack of any questions or concerns from the team in regards to her injuries.

Not even bothering to buckle up, Y/n sulked in her thoughts when she realized, “Why doesn’t anyone care about me?”

Tag List: @halobaby @arelyitsherec8 @blackxwidowsxwife @cristin-rjd @madamevirgo @trikruismybitch @paradiselost916 @mmmmokdok @morbid-gaymer @dailyavengering @itsnottilly @helloalycia @randomshyperson @tomy5girls @daenerys713 @ensorcellme @lezzzbehonesthere @imagine-reblog @sighsam

#wanda maximoff x reader #wanda x reader #fake memories

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starlight-loki · 3 years

Text

Precautionary Surveillance (Loki x Reader)

Or, That Time You and Loki Became Friends

Word Count: 2.8k

Warnings: none :)

A/N: this is platonic (and gender neutral! :D )

As this is my first imagine, I kind of just wanted to establish how the reader first meets Loki, but I’ve got plenty more fluff in the works! ;)

also this takes place post-Ragnarok, but Infinity War doesn’t exist here, shHHHH

Despite the long list of risks and expectations that came with living with the Avengers in their compound, you never thought that babysitting Loki would be included. And yet, a mere two weeks after having moved into the compound, Tony sheepishly approached you with the news.

He didn’t word-for-word call it ‘babysitting’ of course, but you knew it was definitely implied.

“Think of it as... precautionary surveillance.” Tony had explained to you that morning as he packed a small backpack, supposedly containing enough supplies to last for a week-long mission. “Or if that’s too much, just be normal roommates. But check in on him every few hours. Make sure he’s not destroying anything. And don’t let him go out. Or to my lab. Or Bruce’s. Or the roof-”

“Okay, I get it Tony,” you rolled your eyes as you heaved out a sigh. “You want me to babysit Loki.”

Tony shrugged, and patted your shoulder empathetically before zipping up his backpack. “Your words, kid. Not mine. Like I said, it’s just precautionary surveillance, we’ll be back before you know it.”

“I don’t understand why you can’t just bring him along with you!” You protested, throwing your hands up in the air. “His fighting skills and abilities would be really useful for your mission, you know that right?”

You were fine with the fact that Tony and Steve weren’t confident enough in your fighting abilities to bring you along on missions just yet -- frankly, you were completely happy staying behind and burying your nose in a book. But now Tony wanted you to babysit Loki, going so far as asking you to log any ‘suspicious activity’ from the god. You thought the entire thing was ridiculous.

“You know why, Y/N.” Tony began sternly, slinging his backpack over his shoulder and starting towards the quinjet hangar. He was walking briskly, and you scowled as you had to practically run after him. “The New York Incident? The two-hundred or so times he’s betrayed Thor? That time he stuck his dad in an old folks home here and just paraded around Asgard in disguise for two years?”

“New York was nearly ten years ago!” You protested. “Look at him now, all he does is putter around the compound in sweatpants because you won’t let him out-”

Tony sighed loudly, cutting you off mid-sentence. “Look, I know you’re new here and you mean well, but we don’t trust him Y/N. Thor dragged him here because Asgard’s gone and there’s nowhere else for them to go, but Loki is not one of us. It’s going to be a damn long time before any of us think anything different of him.”

You glowered at Tony, fighting the tiny glow of anger that sparked in your heart when you heard him talk about Loki like that.

You had stolen glances at Loki last week when he thought no one else was looking, and you knew he was far from the dysfunctional maniac who tried to take over New York all those years ago. Sure, the dysfunctional part may still remain, but he was far from a maniac -- you could see that in his features when he sat on the couch alone that day, flipping through a small worn book.

He looked... lost. Empty almost, as if any possibility of a joyful life had been stripped from him. It hurt your heart to see someone sit with their own melancholy the way Loki did. The fact that no one else in the Compound trusted him -- evident from the fact that you were being put on babysitting duty this instant -- didn’t make things any better.

“Take care of yourself, kid.” Tony said, pulling you in for a fairly awkward one-armed hug. “Keep an eye on Loki, but don’t do anything stupid.”

You frowned. “What does that mean?”

“Just... keep your distance from him.”

Tony’s words brought the image of Loki sitting alone in sadness back to the front of your mind, and you decided right then and there that you were going to do exactly the opposite of what Tony was suggesting.

The first day felt like an eternity. Loki remained in his room with the door shut, and with no one else to chat with and pass the time, time seemed to crawl at an eerily slow pace.

You made pasta for dinner. You figured the sound of pots, pans, and kitchen utensils clanging every now and then as you cooked would summon the lonely Asgardian out of his room to eat at the very least, and you couldn’t help the little sting of disappointment that appeared when you finished your meal as alone as you had been earlier.

After placing your own bowl in the sink, you grabbed Loki’s portion you had set aside and padded down the hall to his room. You tried to ignore the slight tremble in your hand as you knocked on his door.

“Loki?” You asked gently. “You there?”

You were greeted with a faint shuffling noise, but otherwise there was nothing but silence.

“I made you dinner. I haven’t seen you all day, you must be hungry... um... I mean, you don’t have to eat of course if you don’t want to, but I’ll just... I’ll leave this here at your door if you want it. No pressure.”

You felt fire rush to your cheeks as you cursed yourself silently for rambling, and carefully set the bowl of pasta on the floor.

“If you want anything,” you added quickly in a voice that was barely louder than a whisper. “More food, tea, some company... I’m in the other room.”

You stood frozen at Loki’s door for a moment, waiting for any sort of response. Earning nothing but more silence, you nodded to yourself before turning on your heel and heading back for the kitchen.

You looked back over your shoulder before you rounded the corner at the end of the hall, and the pasta bowl was gone. You couldn’t help but smile to yourself.

The second and third day passed much like the first. If it weren’t for the fact that Loki was constantly on your mind, it would’ve felt like you had the entire place to yourself. You would have enjoyed the quiet, but there was a part of you that couldn’t stop worrying about Loki.

After the god failed to leave his room once again, you brought dinner to his door which was hastily accompanied by another short little babble of an invitation to join you in the living room if he wished. Just like day one, you were greeted with silence and a meal that vanished out of the hall just before you turned the corner.

On the fourth day, you couldn’t get Loki out of your head no matter how hard you tried. Was he lonely? Bored? Did he sleep the entire day? Did he even sleep at all? The rooms in the Compound were just about the same: spacious, yet minimal in decoration. Everyone got a TV and a small bookshelf in the corner, but that was about it. Judging by the fact that Tony and the rest of the Avengers weren’t allowing Loki to leave the Compound, you figured he probably didn’t have much for entertainment.

Before you could convince yourself otherwise, you dashed off to your beloved little bookstore in the city. You ransacked the shelves for anything you felt Loki would’ve liked, as well as books you adored and would’ve wholeheartedly recommended to anyone else. If Loki was going to spend all day in his room, he deserved to have new books to keep him company, at the very least.

Two hours later you returned home, your shoulder aching from the countless books that were weighing you down in the best way, and to your surprise you found Loki with his back to you in the kitchen.

Was he... doing the dishes for you?

You dropped your tote bag of books to the ground in surprise, and Loki flinched almost imperceptibly at the dull thud that echoed throughout the open space of the Compound.

“Hi,” You managed breathlessly as the god turned and looked at you with wide eyes for the briefest second. You blinked, and just like that Loki had regained his cool composure. “You’ve finally come out of your room.”

Loki opened his mouth to reply, his eyes scanning the room as he searched for an excuse. After a moment of silence, he sighed.

“Thank you for the meals. I appreciate it.”

You took off your coat and hung it on the chair as you approached him. Your heart sank ever so slightly as you caught Loki take the smallest step back.

“Of course, I mean... we all gotta eat right?” You laughed quietly and looked away as you ran a hand through your hair. “You don’t have to clean up, I can do that.”

“It was the least I could do in return.”

The silence that grew between the two of you seemed to amplify with every passing second. Loki nodded, almost out of resignation, and began to walk back to his room without a word.

Now was your chance, if you wanted to make him feel welcome like you had hoped to.

“Wait!” Your voice came out more as a squeak and you tried your best to ignore the fire that rose to your cheeks. “I, uh, I got these for you.”

As you bent down to retrieve your fallen bag of books, you heard quiet careful steps as Loki approached you cautiously. He kept his distance, but leaned a little closer to you as you began laying all the books out on the table for him to see.

“I picked out a few books I’ve read and love dearly. I figured you could give them a try. And... I, uh, saw you reading Shakespeare last week, so I thought you might like these two.” You gestured to the novels closest to him. “They’re Ancient Greek tragedies.”

You glanced at Loki, and noticed how he picked up Oedipus Rex and began flipping through the pages carefully, as if the book were to vanish from his hands at any moment.

“I’ve never read this one before,” Loki mused quietly. Your heart skipped a beat as his steady gaze moved to meet your eyes. “When would you like me to return these to you?”

You blinked in surprise. “They’re for you to keep.” You smiled. “I bought them for you.”

You watched as gratitude, then confusion, then what almost looked shame flash across Loki’s features. He almost seem to clutch the book tighter in his grip.

“...Why?”

You pulled out the chair that you were leaning against and sat down with a sigh as you looked up at Loki.

“I don’t like how everyone’s been treating you.” You admitted quietly.

“So this is out of pity?” Loki asked cooly, nodding at the books on the table with narrowed eyes.

“No!” You exclaimed, shaking your head rapidly. “No, Loki, that wasn’t my intention at all. I mean, I’ve only been here two weeks and I could see immediately that everyone keeps their distance from you. You’re not allowed on missions-”

“Neither are you.” Loki cut in. You dismissed him with a wave of your hand.

“Yeah, but I’m the weakest link at the moment. I don’t count.” You replied quickly, trying your best to ignore the intrigue on Loki’s face as he gazed at you. “I saw you last week, reading your book. You looked so lonely. I thought maybe you just wanted some space, but I’ve noticed how the others treat you. Tony and everyone else, they leave you out of everything! They don’t try to include you in conversations at dinner, you wear the same two pairs of clothes everyday because no one’s bothered to get you any decent clothes besides sweatpants. Hell, Tony kept me off this mission to babysit you and it makes me so mad! You’re an adult! You deserve your own freedom, Loki!”

You slammed your hand down on the table in frustration, and winced as your words replayed in your head. You definitely went overboard this time. You should’ve just given Loki the books and left.

You were certain Loki was going to retreat back to his room as he moved away from you and around the table, but to your surprise, he sat down in the chair across from you, his hands clasped carefully together.

“Perhaps Stark is right, this is what I deserve.” He said quietly, breaking the silence that resided between the two of you. “I haven’t exactly been... welcoming to anyone.”

You shook your head. “You lost Asgard, your family... Thor brought you here with the intention of this being your new home. The least everyone could is treat you like a person, not a hostage. This isn’t a prison. You deserve so much more than that.”

“They don’t want me around.” Loki said simply.

“I do.” You held his gaze unwaveringly, and reached out to place your hand gently over his. To your surprise, he didn’t pull away. “I want you around. You matter to me.”

Loki sighed, his eyes fluttering closed for a brief second as he took in your words.

“Thank you.” He spoke slowly. “Your words -- and your actions -- mean more than anything Stark or anyone else has done in the time I’ve been here.”

You smiled in response, giving his hand a gentle squeeze before pushing his books towards him.

“You’ve got plenty of things to do while you’re in your room now.” You grinned nodding towards the books on the table. Anyone else would’ve missed it, but you caught Loki return your smirk for a split second.

“I think I would prefer to read my books out here... with company.”

The following day was nothing like the others. To your surprise, Loki greeted you with a small smile from his spot on the couch as you trudged bleary-eyed into the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

“You look tired.” He remarked quietly as you began searching the cupboards for something to eat. You managed a shrug.

“I don’t sleep that great most nights.” You admitted. You heard Loki get up from the couch, setting his book down on the coffee table gently before approaching you. He still kept some distance -- the kitchen counter did a good job of separating the two of you -- but he leaned in, almost grateful to be in the presence of someone who truly saw him.

“Me neither.” Loki chuckled. “Thor sleeps like the dead, but I rarely sleep well. That’s how my love for books began, actually.”

“Me too!” You exclaimed excitedly. “I’d stay up reading till 1 or 2 AM some nights as a kid. I’d have to use a flashlight and hide under the covers so I wouldn’t wake anyone up.”

That earned a genuine laugh from Loki, whose smile suddenly began to look like sunshine in your eyes.

“I used magic to see in the dark, but hiding under the covers was the only way I could read at night without waking Thor up.”

“You shared a room with Thor?”

Loki nodded, scoffing a little. “My mother thought it would help reinforce our bond as brothers. A lot of good that did.”

You leaned in towards him, your posture mirroring his as you rested your arms against the kitchen counter.

“Thor still loves you.” You said quietly, a small smile touching your lips for a brief moment. Loki rolled his eyes.

“Sure he does.”

“No, really. He wouldn’t have brought you here to live with him if he didn’t. You guys got here before me of course, but I’m sure he had to pull a lot of strings to get Tony to agree to have you live in the Compound.”

There was that silence again, like the day before, settling down gently between the two of you. You lowered your gaze to your hands.

“Sorry. I meddle too much. I should stop.”

This time, it was Loki who placed his hands over yours gently.

“No,” he replied softly. “You speak your mind, I admire that. It shows you have strength.”

“I don’t always feel strong.” You admitted quietly.

“Only the foolish admit their own strength.” Loki whispered.

“...Does that mean Tony’s a fool?”

“Your words, not mine.”

A laugh bubbled up out of you at Loki’s words, and as your eyes met his, you noticed the loneliness you had seen before was gone.

In their place was the warmth of a thousand suns.

The two of you stood there, hands intertwined almost as if to keep the other afloat. Loki’s hands made yours seem small, but his were warm and soft and surprisingly gentle.

You closed you eyes, taking as much of this moment in as you could.

“I wish they’d let you outside.” You sighed quietly. “There’s so many shops and restaurants I think you’d like. You’d love Central Park, too.”

Loki frowned. “When is everyone due back?”

“In two days. Why?”

You got a smirk in response. “Let’s go now.”

You let out a surprised laugh at Loki’s suggestion. It thrilled you to see this side of him.

“We can’t! Tony’s got cameras around the building, he’ll see us if we leave.”

Butterflies filled your insides for a brief moment as Loki suddenly winked at you. He raised his hand, which had begun to glow with a green hue, before snapping his fingers. Green sparks flashed briefly from the windows as he did so.

“I believe Stark will be needing to replace his cameras once everyone returns. Where do you suggest we go first?”

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