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andiinaraethtash · 2 years

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What's this? A chapter?

Chapter 19: Cause I See Smoke Up Ahead (And I Got Steel in My Hands)

Notes:

... yeah. It's been over a month. Blame an ongoing mental health crisis. I'm hanging on by the skin of my teeth, but I'm hanging on, so. There's that. To everyone that has left comments and kudos, thank you. I don't know if I'd be able to push on without you guys. Tw: This is the start of the big battle. So, y'know, blood and violence and all that. Otherwise, should be good. Chapter title from Goodbye by Arcane

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

The good news is that they have a plan. The bad news is that the plan is terrible, at least in Gem’s humble opinion. But they don’t have much of a choice; they can’t stop the ritual, seeing as the groundwork has already been laid, was laid months ago, and if it isn’t performed, the resulting explosion will level the empires.

At least, that’s where the research Gem, Sausage, and Scott have been doing is pointing to. They can’t be sure, but they really don’t want to test that theory.

So instead of interrupting the ritual, they’re going to change it. During his journey through the spirit realm last year, Sausage found a different form of corruption, light corruption, an equal and opposite power to the corruption that Exor is so fond of, and when Scott sees it, he immediately confirms that it is tied to Aeor. Therefore, if they can replace the corruption Exor’s going to be using in the ritual with the light corruption, they can summon Aeor instead.

That’s the hope, anyway. As Jimmy points out when they present the plan to him, “There’s a lot of room for things to go off the rails, and knowing us, knowing our luck, it’s going to.”

But even with that optimistic outlook, it’s the best shot they have. They have three days to prepare, three days to rest, recover, and make sure they’re in peak physical condition, three days for Scott to master his powers and for Gem to regain control of her magic.

She does her best to make sure she’s ready, but her sleep is interrupted by the echoes of fWhip’s last scream, and she can’t eat because the food just tastes like ash in her mouth. She’s jumping at shadows, and there’s nothing that makes her feel better, especially seeing as they all left to their respective empires to secure them and set up successors in case anything happens to any of them. None of them are nearby to reassure her that everything’s going to be okay, that they’ll make it all through this. Instead, she’s left to give instructions to Gandalf and Rohan, who both had been so happy to see her and devastated that they might be losing her all over again, and pray that they’re unnecessary.

So instead of eating or sleeping, she practices, making sure to rest and take breaks when she needs to, but her magical abilities were somewhat strangled by her captivity, and it takes a bit for her to get back into the swing of things. Once she does, though, she finds her magic is actually stronger, and maybe that’s because of whatever cure Katherine gave her, or maybe it’s because her magic grows with her. She doesn’t know, and doesn’t care enough to do the research to find out.

There’s something relieving about being more powerful, something that feels a lot like courage. She knows she’s strong enough to stand up to Exor now—maybe not beat him, but she’ll definitely make him kill her if he wants to beat her. She’ll never be his captive again.

Finally, the day of the new moon dawns, and they all gather in Rivendell once again, this time in Scott’s secret meeting room instead of in his house. He and Jimmy greet them all—Jimmy must have come early, but since he’s more or less taken charge, no one really questions it—but Scott’s wearing his antlers again, and they’re still gleaming gold, but they now have ice crystals dancing around them, with small icicles, like small daggers or sharp teeth, hanging from the antlers themselves.

Gem has her big hat, the one that fWhip and Sausage had taken to teasing her about, and her staff and the sword fWhip made for her. Just putting it on her belt had nearly reduced her to tears. She misses him more than she would have thought she would, especially given that she’s lost him before, but she supposes there’s no getting used to this kind of pain.

The rest have their sturdiest armour, their strongest weapons, and even with all the swords, shields, tridents, bows, and quivers full of potion-tipped arrows, they know they’re not strong enough. There’s no way they can beat a god with mortal weapons.

Even as Gem looks around the room, thinking this, Scott takes his seat at the head of the table. Joey, Joel, and Sausage immediately claim the seats on one side of the table, and Pearl produces a stool which she sets at the foot of the table and proceeds to all but collapse into it. She looks as tired as Gem feels, and she doesn't doubt that her friend has gotten as little sleep as she has.

Pix gestures her, Katherine, and Lizzie into the three remaining chairs, electing to stand next to Shrub, while Jimmy stands next to Scott. As soon as they’re all seated, Jimmy beckons Shrub over and she lays out a map of a city surrounded by gorges, lava pits, and the tentacles of corruption Gem remembers vividly from when Xornoth was loose.

It’s so unrecognisable it takes a moment for Gem to recognize the city as Eastvale, and the surroundings as the plains of the Grimlands. The city stands on the map like a beacon of light, but even it is slowly being overrun by the red. The Manor and the Forge both still stand strong, seemingly untouched, but Shrub’s words quickly break that illusion.

“He’s setting up shop in the Forge,” Shrub says, and Gem feels her heart sink and her throat close up. Of course he’d desecrate everything that fWhip had built, if only for laughs. If the damage is even repairable, it’s going to take so much time and resources, she wonders if it’ll even be worth it, or if the Grimlands are destined to become something dead and uninhabitable.

Jimmy nods, then gestures at Sausage. “You’ll be in charge of switching out the summoning items, Sausage. Pick two to go with you. Pix, take one and clear out Eastvale. We want to save as many people as we can. Scott and Gem, you, me and the other three will need to hold Exor’s attention.”

Sausage, Pix, Scott, and Gem all nod, and Pearl adds, “There’s a secret tunnel under the chapel, it goes directly to fWhip’s farmhouse. It should help you get the villagers out safely.”

Pix nods again, then turns to Shrub. As he asks her to go with him, Sausage turns to Lizzie and Joel, who quickly nod at the unspoken question.

As soon as that’s decided, Scott clears his throat, and produces a wrapped item, which looks suspiciously like a sword. “There’s something else you should know about.”

They all still, and look at him expectantly. Jimmy nudges Scott, encouraging him to go along, and Gem holds her breath. This is big, she can feel it.

Scott sighs heavily and unwraps the sword, and Pix immediately gasps. “Is that…” the prophet asks, and Scott nods.

“It’s called the Rune Blade. It has… a great deal of power. According to the book I found on it, it can sever the bonds between ruler and land.”

“Not just that,” Pix puts in. “It sends the victim to the afterlife of the wielder’s choosing. That… that is a powerful weapon, and a deadly one. Where did you even find it?”

Scott gestures vaguely upward and behind him. “The festival grounds. It was encased in ice up there, ice I didn’t summon. If I had to guess…”

“Aeor,” Gem breathes, hope and fear in equal measure rising in her chest. “It has to be. There’s no way anyone or anything else could have found it and put it there. The ice practically confirms it. So why would he give it to you?”

Scott shifts uncomfortably. “I’m not sure.”

Now, Gem is no expert on Scott, or his body language. She can’t tell what he’s thinking without him saying anything the way Jimmy can. But even she knows he's lying, or at the very least is hiding something.

Interesting… and concerning.

Still, she doesn’t pry, though from the look Jimmy is giving him, she has to guess that he will.

Slowly, she stands, reaching for her staff. “We should get going,” she says, nerves gathering in a ball in her stomach. “It’s not getting any earlier.”

Nods all around, and the others all stand, grabbing weapons and shields. They’re all nervous, she realises, and it does nothing to ease her nerves. Gods, what are they doing? They have no way of knowing if this is even going to work. They could all be headed straight to their deaths—and the deaths of everyone and everything they hold dear.

They head out, and Gem takes a second to pull Pearl into a hug, then gets wrapped up by Sausage. “I love you guys,” she whispers, “just in case something happens, I need you to know—”

Sausage shushes her before pulling away. “Hey, now, none of that. We’ll be fine. I’ll see you when this is over, okay? Just stay safe. I… I promised I wouldn’t let anything happen to any of you. Don’t make me a liar.”

That’s a bit of a tall order, but she nods anyway. Pearl does the same, and they stand around in a circle that should have one more member, and they all know it, before finally Lizzie calls Sausage over, and Pearl and Gem head over to where Scott, Jimmy, Joey, and Katherine are waiting. One way or another, this ends now.

And she has a sinking feeling in her gut that it’s not going to end the way they want.

_______

The plan goes off the rails almost the instant they arrive. As soon as Eastvale comes into view, the Forge, which had been sitting innocuously on top of the jagged cliff, explodes, sending a fireball into the sky as the top of the building is flung straight up into the air, before coming crashing down at the base of the cliffs.

Gem pulls up in shock—a bad thing to do when gliding through the air—and she can hear the others exclaim in surprise as soot and ash are thrown in every direction. She coughs as she struggles to regain her balance, which, again, is hard to do in midair, but she manages to stabilise her flight enough to land on the roof of the walls that surround the city.

The only ones who don’t land next to her are Pix and Shrub, who are leading the rescue effort. They’re entering the city through the secret tunnel Pearl had mentioned, and Gem dearly hopes that Exor doesn’t know about it. But then, he’s had free reign of the city for about two weeks now, he might have found it in that time. It’s hardly a secret to the people of Eastvale.

Still, she exchanges a look with Jimmy and Sausage, the former of whom gestures her best friend forward, along with Lizzie and Joel, before turning to Scott, herself, Joey, Katherine and Pearl.

“Let’s go cause some noise,” Jimmy says, looking grim.

They all nod, unsheathe their blades—or in Gem’s case, readies her staff—but she can’t help but notice that Scott isn’t using the Rune Blade. He’s using his own sword, which, while effective, doesn’t have the same power that the Rune Blade does. He’s probably trying to keep it secret, as an ace up his sleeve in case things don’t go the way they hope.

Scott takes the lead, diving down and firing a rocket to help boost himself toward the Forge, where debris and ash is still raining down, filling the air. Gem has to cover her mouth with the hem of her tunic to keep from breathing in the filthy air.

They land right outside, careful not to step on any of the rubble, which has heat waves rolling off of it, and look around carefully.

Exor is nowhere to be seen.

They all exchange a look, silently agreeing that it’s a trap, and go to step inside.

Immediately a red forcefield springs into existence in their faces, and Jimmy, who was in front, bounces off of it with a yelp. Scott catches him as he stumbles, helping him keep his feet, then whirls around. Gem copies him, and is thoroughly unsurprised to see Exor waiting for them.

Well, her brain says it’s Exor. Her eyes, her heart says it’s fWhip, because while his skin still has patches of corruption growing on it, is still blackened in several areas, is still riddled with red veins that pulse with unholy energy, it’s also showing through in its normal colour in places. His eyes are red, still, but they somehow look more alive than they had the last several times she’d seen him.

But then she takes another look, and her heart catches up to her eyes which catch up to her brain, and she can clearly see the deer god in place of her brother. His stance, his expression, his body language, scream arrogance, scream malice in a way that fWhip had never projected. This isn’t her brother. Her brother is dead. This is just the thing wearing his body.

She gathers a fireball on the end of her staff and points it directly at the god. “Exor.”

“Gem,” he says, smirking. “I see you’re back on your feet. How fortunate; you living is just as beneficial as you dying would be, if not more.”

Gem scowls, and the fireball grows. “Believe it or not, but I’m hoping to inconvenience you more with my living than with my dying.”

Exor’s smirk broadens, and he turns to Jimmy. “Well, well, if it isn’t the cod boy. Finally stopped running from your responsibilities, have you?”

Jimmy swallows hard, but readies his weapons. “I don’t run from anything. Not anymore.”

With a laugh, Exor then turns to Scott and gestures at Pearl. “And I see you’ve managed to forgive her. After everything she did to you, you still are too weak to finish her off.”

“She’s my friend. Of course I forgave her.”

“Oh, so your friend gets your forgiveness, but not your brother? Not your blood?”

Scott bristles, and Gem shuffles a little closer to him, letting him know she’s there for him, he’s not alone. “My brother killed my parents, tried to damn the entire kingdom to a living hell. Tried to kill me, did kill some of my friends. You might have influenced him, but those were still his choices, and I can’t forgive him for that.”

Gem winces. She knows, somewhere deep inside her, that Scott still loves Xornoth, it’s just buried by layers and layers of loneliness and hurt. She knows because despite every mistake fWhip ever made, every time Sausage betrayed them, she still loves them. The only difference is that she can forgive them. She’s not sure Scott is lying when he says he can’t.

Exor grins. “ Were they? You forget, I am perfectly capable of puppeting someone around even without my true self being present in this realm. Eventually Xornoth’s will crumbled and gave way to mine. Granted, it took decades—time I didn’t have with this meat puppet” —Gem growls when he says that, and Pearl bares her teeth in a savage snarl— “but I did it. And now, now my plan has come to fruition.”

There’s a yelp inside the Forge, and Gem has to fight her instincts not to turn around, because Exor is grinning, and she knows the battle is about to start. “Oh, little elf, did you think you could sneak past me? I may not have an agent on the inside anymore, but I can still guess your next moves. You are so predictable.”

Distantly, Gem is aware that the sun is setting, and the new moon is rising, but she’s more focused on Exor’s next words.

“Ready for my next move?”

He hurls a fireball at Scott, and Gem releases hers as Pearl and Joey charge. While Katherine hangs back and shoots from a distance, Gem takes off, circling the air above them and raining fireballs down at the enemy.

Exor exchanges a few blows with Joey and Pearl, then bats the jungle ruler away with a backhand that sends him flying, and shoves Pearl backward into the forcefield, where she bounces and lands in a heap. As she scrambles to her feet, Gem lands, exchanges a look with Scott, and charges, swinging her staff and sword in perfect unison.

They don’t have a choice. They have to win.

_______

As soon as Lizzie, Joel, and Sausage enter the Forge, a forcefield springs into being, trapping them inside. Lizzie whirls around, hearing footsteps from the shadows, and is thoroughly unsurprised to see illagers, zoglins, and ravagers hurtling toward them.

There must be some sort of magical mechanism summoning them, she figures, but that’s largely unimportant, because right now she has to defend Sausage while he tries to alter the ritual. Almost as soon as she’s set her shield, though, Sausage lets out a strangled yelp, and she risks a glance behind her to see him reeling backwards, hand clutched to his chest as a force field smokes at the point of contact. That’s not good.

But within the next few seconds, she’s too overwhelmed by enemies to pay any attention to what he does next. He’s cursing behind her, but all she can focus on is whirling her trident around in savage arcs, skewering, slashing, and shoving the enemies that threaten to overwhelm her. Somewhere above her, arrows are being fired down at a rate she’s only seen from Joel a handful of times. She knows, though, why he’s so desperate to win, to survive. Gods know she’s desperate as well (JimmyJoelPixKatherineScottGemPearlSausageJoeyShrub all fighting to survive, fighting to keep the empires alive).

There’s a zoglin bearing down on her, and she manages to impale it, but her trident gets stuck in its ribcage, and she wastes precious seconds trying to rip it out. It doesn’t budge. Cursing, she scrambles for her sword—unadorned netherite, enchanted but not well-used—but she sees a crossbow headed her way and knows she can’t block it in time. So instead of grabbing her sword, she reaches into her bags, closing her hand around the base of a totem as the crossbow hits.

It hurts, it always hurts when she dies, but this time she’s not exactly dying, she lives, because the totem of undying she had in her hand dissolves into liquid gold, which flows up her arm in a familiar rush to seal the hole in her chest, pushing the crossbow bolt out and filling her with renewed strength.

Still, she curses, because that was the only totem she had that wasn’t buried under useless junk she’s never bothered cleaning out of her bags, and she hadn’t meant for it to be used so early. It’s better than dying, but that’s not the point.

Desperate, she reaches out to the utter extent of her powers, calling the ocean to her in the only way she could, the only way it could reach her all the way inland, and as a great bank of thunderstorms roll in from the northwest, she grins savagely and thrusts out her hand, recalling her trident. It flies into the palm of her hand as the rain clouds above burst open, and she calls down the biggest lightning bolt she can.

The following thunderclap is loud enough that it temporarily deafens her, and though Lizzie closes her eyes, she’s still rendered blind by the enormous flash of light. She lashes out blindly, feeling the blows she lands as they reverberate up her arm, but she can’t see where they’re landing or where the enemy is coming from.

But there’s a lull in the action, like she killed more than could spawn at a time, and she takes a split second to breathe, blinking the stars out of her eyes. Her vision clears just in time to see Joel go down as a vindicator strikes him in the back with an axe.

With a scream, she takes off, landing on the minecart rail to stand over her husband. Crouching in a defensive manner with her shield covering them both, she ducks her head down and checks on Joel, who is surprisingly conscious and looking confused, but he’s also growing paler by the second as a blood pool gathers beneath him, staining his magenta shirt a deep maroon.

“Joel, stay with me,” she says as she rolls him onto his side so she can see the wound. It’s deep, but it mostly just hit the shoulder, not the lung or liver (or whatever Joel has that passes for that) so it’s just blood loss she has to worry about, though that’s no small thing.

“Not planning on going anywhere,” Joel manages, slurring his words slightly. “You and me… we’re getting our happy ending if I have to kill for it.”

“Good news on that front,” Lizzie says, as lightly as she can, because her hands are shaking, and her shield is shuddering as the illagers rain down blows on it. It’s not going to last much longer. “You may just have to.”

Joel glances around the shield and his eyes go even wider. “Oh.”

Snorting a quick laugh, she splashes a regen potion on him, then gives him a health potion. “Here, drink that, then get back to the fight. I need you—”

“Aww, I need you too,” he interjects, and she glares.

“I need you to watch my back,” she finishes, and he deflates slightly.

“Right.”

As he downs the potion, Lizzie roars a battlecry and charges forward. The illagers are all nicely lined up for her along the rail line, and she grins savagely as they all fall off, toppling to the ground below like autumn leaves before a gale. With a flying leap, she jumps off the suspended railway and comes crashing down on a ravager, imbedding her trident in the base of its skull.

As her impromptu mount dies with a shriek and a frankly unnecessary amount of thrashing about, she hops off and launches back into the fray. The tide is turning as the numbers of the enemy are whittled down, by herself, and Joel, and even Sausage who takes a moment from whatever he’s doing—he hasn’t removed the piece of red corruption from the altar, why hasn’t he removed it—to fire off a round of rockets from his assassin’s league-issue crossbow.

She turns to look at what Sausage has done as the last of the illagers falls to Joel’s arrows, and is shocked to see that he’s constructed another altar. “What—?” She starts to ask, but Sausage grabs her arm and tugs her—a mean feat, considering she is nearly four feet taller than him—toward the opening they sneaked in through.

“C’mon, we gotta go!” Sausage says, sounding worried but not overly stressed, which is odd because he hadn’t done what he’d been tasked with doing, why is he so calm—?

She doesn’t have any more time to wonder about that, because they’ve come up on a problem: they’re sealed in by the force-field that had sprung up in their wake. As Joel lands next to them, massaging his bad shoulder, Lizzie exchanges a look with Sausage. They’ve got no way out.

______

The ground above them shudders as Pix and Shrub turn the corner. He holds the torch up as she stumbles, grabbing her arm with his free hand to keep her upright.

“Sorry,” she pants as they press on.

Pix shakes his head, not sparing the breath to tell her it’s fine. It’s not, they both know it, but he wants to pass on the sentiment anyway. So he squeezes her arm just lightly enough to be taken as reassurance and lets go, pressing onward.

They’re still not quite to the exit that takes them up to the village, with Koda, Nova, and a few of the wolves tagging along, though the bulk of the rest of the wolves are stationed around the farmhouse, hiding behind the rubble of the Forge’s roof that had nearly crushed fWhip’s former retreat.

So they press on, Pix leading the way despite Shrub’s familiarity with the Grimlands, because she has never been down here, and while she is capable of defending herself, Pix feels better knowing he’s the first line of defence. They’re almost there, and he isn’t sure what they’re going to find, but he knows whatever it is, he’s going to protect Shrub from it as best he can.

Finally, they reach the exit, a series of stairs that leads out a cellar door to one of the back streets of Eastvale. The sky is nearly black, fire still spewing out of the top of the Forge, and there’s a thin blanket of ash covering everything. There’s a small garden to their right as they round the corner, but all the crops in it are dead, strangled by thin red vines.

But most concerningly, other than the flashes of magic from over the wall and the sounds of battle, there’s no signs of life. No movement, no sound; it’s like the city, once teeming with life, has died.

Behind him, Shrub gasps, her hand reaching out to clutch Pix’s robe. “No… where is everyone? They can’t have all…”

They can’t have all died, Pix finishes in his head. She’s right. There’s no signs of that level of violence, and Exor isn’t exactly the type to clean up after himself.

Turning to Koda and Nova, he kneels and scratches behind their ears. “Can you find them?”

As Shrub lights up, clearly finding hope in the possibility that the dogs can track down the missing people, Koda perks up, lowers his head to the ground, and starts casting around for a scent. Nova just watches, but she’s little more than a puppy, so he can hardly blame her for not knowing what’s being asked of her.

Finally, Koda seems to find something, because he barks and races off, through the main market place and down a side street that leads to a shop Pix doesn’t recognize. Shrub must, because she whispers something that sounds like, “Of course!” but she offers no explanation. It’s not needed anyway, because as soon as Pix pushes the door open, Koda and Nova both barrel forward, down some stairs that lead to a basement of sorts, clearly used for storage.

Pix tries not to feel too crestfallen, but it must show on his face because Shrub is nudging him and pointing to a painting. “Behind that,” she says, and Pix swingings it open, revealing a ladder that leads even farther down.

“A secret workshop?” He asks, and Shrub nods.

“It’s where he did all his tinkering. He even had a map of the empires down there. I didn’t know the villagers knew where it was.”

Leaving Koda, Nova, and the rest of the wolves at the top, they descend carefully, wary of any traps Exor might have set, but there are none. It’s quiet, like the cavern is holding its breath, but as soon as they turn down a tunnel, a makeshift club comes swinging at Pix’s head, and he barely gets his shield up in time to block it.

“Wait!” Shrub cries, and the villager who’d swung halts, looks down at her, and relaxes.

“Lady Shrub?” She asks, and Shrub nods.

“Is everyone here?” She looks around as she asks, and Pix does the same.

The tunnel seems to lead to a large cave, where sure enough, Pix can see a map of the empires stretched out across the wall. Huddled in the corners are maybe fifty villagers, less than a third of the population of Eastvale, but there are a few more people coming out of hiding places along the tunnel walls, and a few more curious heads poking out of another tunnel that undoubtedly leads farther into the caves.

The villager nods. “Everyone who survived. We lost several people to disease and starvation. But the children are still alive. Most of the women as well. Are you here to help us?”

“Yes,” Pix says, “we’re here to get you out. The other rulers are trying to kill Exor, the one who has possessed Count fWhip, but we need to know that you are all safe, otherwise, we’ll be distracted going into the battle, and that's something none of us can afford.”

Behind the woman, who looks ready to argue, a young boy, probably no more than ten, comes forward, grabbing her hand and looking at Pix with pleading eyes. “We can’t leave. Our lives are here, where else can we go?”

Pix kneels to be at his level. “Your lives aren't measured in the things you have here; your lives are here," He rests his hand against the boy's chest, against his heart. "That's all that matters, is that you have this." He taps the boy's chest one more time, then straightens. "Are there any who are unable to walk?"

A few people--an older woman, a girl with crutches, and a young man in a redstone powered wheelchair with a cat in his lap--all move forward, and Pix gestures them to the front.

"Shrub, lead the way. Those three first, then the children and women. All the able-bodied men should space themselves out amid the group, to protect them. I doubt Exor will bother attacking us himself, but he has more minions than we have fighters, we can't afford to risk your lives."

Nods all around, and Shrub turns on her heel, gesturing the disabled people and the children forward. Koda and Nova both run through the crowd, greeting everyone with enthusiasm, and Pix smiles as the man in the wheelchair shoos Nova away, cradling his cat closer, and whispering, "It's okay, Jellie, we'll be alright."

As they proceed forward, Pix hurries to the map and observes it for a long moment. The bridge from the farmhouse to the Crystal Cliffs had been utterly wrecked, so that way is hopeless, but they have to get the villagers out of the Grimlands entirely, out of the corrupted area, out of Exor’s way. So that leaves either Rivendell, which has a target on it the size of the mountains it rests upon, or the Lost Empire.

He supposes they could go to the Undergrove, but there is little room there for the hundred-odd villagers who've survived. That wouldn't be the smartest move.

No, the smartest move would be to go to the Lost Empire, but that would mean traversing the shattered plains of the Grimlands, which is hard enough on a good day, but with women, children, and injured, and the plains the way they are… that seems impossible.

They'll have to cross that bridge when they get to it. Possibly literally.

He watches as the villagers file out of the tunnel, following his orders as to who goes where. It's a relief; he was half expecting some of them to push to the front or put up a fuss, but no, they're all being quiet, solemn, even, as they leave, their possessions in bags slung over their shoulder.

Even Shrub's wolves are following his orders, spacing themselves along the line of refugees, though quite a few of them are waiting on him, his own personal bodyguards. He feels honoured, but he also knows that them waiting on his depriving the villagers of more protection. Hopefully, none of them will be lost because of that.

Finally, the line of refugees thins out and Pix unsheathes his sword, readying his trident in his off-hand as he casts one last glance around the room to ensure that they aren't leaving anyone behind. There's no way they make it to safety without a fight; he just has to hope they'll win it when it comes.

Notes:

I promise I'll update again within the next two weeks. Assuming I don't have to go to a mental health facility. Which, at this point is still a possibility. Anyway, did you catch the cameo from one of our favorite miners and crafters? I love sneaking these little Easter eggs into my works.

#cleaning lady #empires smp #empiresblr #fanfiction #creative writing #tw: blood and violence #you are totally meant to read those first two sentences in Pearl's voice

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ambivalent-anarchy · 4 years

Text

Star Wars 101 (Ch. 2) Episode IV - A New Hope

Masterlist

Gender: Female

Pairing: Peter Parker x reader

Wow, I didn't realize how much I'd written until I hit the tumblr limit. Hope you like it! Comment your thoughts!

Chapter Summary: Steve just wants to do his job, the avengers are the best wingmen, Scott doesn't like porn, and [y/n] thinks all nerds are freaky

~~~

sci-fi boi: okay which cartoon rivalry was better?? Popeye the sailor man and Bluto or Tom and Jerry?

crackhead [y/n]: dude.

crackhead [y/n]: how is that even a question??? Obviously Tom and Jerry lol

sci-fi boi: explanation pls

crackhead [y/n]: popeye and bluto were always fighting over that girl olive and some other stupid crap but with my two furry buddies it was no talk pete no discussions just murder attempts ON SIGHT. Tell me they don't go harder than any other rivalry

sci-fi boi: haha truuuu

~~~

"Are we boring you, Queens?"

Peter's head snapped up quickly, discreetly turning his phone off underneath the meeting table. "Um-huh? No no no, Mr. Rogers I'm listening. Sorry."

Steve shook his head and continued to speak as he pointed to the pictures on the screen at the end of the room. All of the Avengers of Earth were there, some half asleep, while the others either joked or listened intently.

In two short days, they were going to be taking back powerful tech that Martin Li(aka: Mr. Negative)'s "demons" had stolen from Stark Industries. A simple "get in and get out".

They'd known this plan for some days now, yet Steve insisted on calling meetings to go over it again and again.

Feeling a quick vibration go off in his hand, Peter instinctively looked back down at his phone to see a snapchat text notification from you.

~~~

crackhead [y/n]: According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly. Its wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground. The bee, of course, flies anyway because bees don't care what humans think is impossible🐝...

~~~

Peter shook his head slightly as he chuckled, a smile shamelessly creeping onto his face.

~~~

sci-fi boi: did you really just quote the bee movie at me???😂😂

~~~

"Hey spidey-boy, would you mind sharing to the class what's so hilarious?" Rhodey's voice rang out loud and clear from across the table.

Quick as lightning, Peter turned his phone off and buried it in between his thighs, realizing that he hadn't been as quiet as he'd thought. To his luck, everyone’s eyes were trained on him now.

“It's n-nothing!” Peter squeaked, his voice breaking embarassingly. He shoved his phone into his pocket in fear of someone snatching it from him.

Natasha rolled her eyes and smirked. "So what're you looking at down there?"

"I-i, uh, I was just um, w-watching a funny- very funny video actually-"

"C'mon guys!," Sam laughed, clapping his hands together. "Don't tease the kid. We all know what he was smiling at down there!"

At that, Peter practically choked. "WHAT?!"

Tony snickered. "Personally, I don't think two inches is something to be proud of, but alright."

Peter's eyes widen, nearly falling out of his skull by the looks of it. "I-it's not two inches a-and I wasn't looking at-!"

"Jesus christ, guys..." Bruce sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "He was obviously just doing something on his phone. Leave the poor guy alone."

Peter coughed as he saw Steve glare at him with that infamous 'Im Captain America and Im judging you' glare. Phones weren't allowed in the meeting room. Well, they weren't supposed to be. No one ever really followed that rule except Peter. But he'd already been so deep in his conversation with you that he just couldn't put his phone down. "No no, um, I wasn't.. I was just zoning out, y'know, and I just happened to be looking-"

"-at your phone?," Steve cut in to ask.

"-at your dick," Rhodey stated at the same time.

"-at porn," Tony said with an all-knowing smile, causing everyone at the table to turn towards either him or Peter, whose face was beet red with embarrassment.

"Peter please tell us you weren't watching porn," Scott begged, his jaw completely dropped. "I mean, no judgment but-"

"Full judgement, actually," Clint corrected, an extremely disturbed look on his face. "Seriously, what were you doing, kid? You gotta tell us now with all these assumptions being thrown around."

"Curious," Thor stated, leaning back in his chair. "What is porn?"

"Something that I definitely WAS NOT watching!," Peter responded as he practically slammed his face into the table and slapped his hands over his eyes. "Does it even matter what I was doing anyway?," he mumbled into the table.

Natasha raised an eyebrow, blowing the smoke off of her coffee. "People usually aren't this defensive when they're telling the truth, Peter."

Peter shrunk into his seat with a loud groan. Can I die. Can I please just die. Like why am I seriously even alive right now??? Some bad guy please just burst through the door and maim me please.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y. pull up Parker's phone," Tony commanded once the commotion in the room died down.

Peter quickly lifted his head. "Wait, what?!"

"Accessing Peter Parker's mobile device, sir," F.R.I.D.A.Y. responded. "Would you like for me to transfer the screen to the meeting board?"

Tony looked back with a laugh to see a frozen, slack-jawed Peter. He turned back around. "Yeah sure, F.R.I.D.A.Y., what the heck let's have fun."

"No wait- are you seriously hacking into my phone right now?!"

"Well why're you so tense, Parker?," Sam asked teasingly. "Thought you had nothing to hide?"

"I-i don't!," he stammered. "I-it's just..." he trailed off, looking for the right words to say. "..that's my private property," he said lamely while staring at the wall.

Tony stared back at him. "Well that's the dumbest excuse I've ever heard." He pointed towards the board. "Alright it's coming up."

Scott closed his eyes. "Oh God, please don't be porn.."

Peter rolled his eyes. Everyone else looked to the large board, fully expecting to see either porn or just some stupid game the boy had been playing.

But none of them expected him to be texting a girl.

~~~

crackhead [y/n]: hey u still there?

~~~

"Who's crackhead [Y/N]?," Natasha asked.

Scott turned to Rhodes who was sitting on the side of him. "Is that some trashy porn star?," he whispered.

"Why're you asking me like I know?"

"It's this girl from school.." Peter answered, blushing profusely.

"And you like her," Natasha noted, watching his body language intently.

The boy's eyes widened. "N-no I don't!"

"Why crackhead though?," Rhodey asked, crinkling his nose.

Peter shrugged. "That's what she wanted her name to be," here responded. "Thought it was funny."

Steve rolled his eyes. "Just like you thought 'sci-fi boi' was funny?" Shaking his head, he changed focused. "Guys, are we gonna get back to work or not?"

"Not," Tony answered as he scrolled up all the way to the beginning of the messages from early that morning. "So, you've been texting this girl today off and on since..." He checked the time. "Five in the morning?"

Clint chuckled. "Oh yeah, huge crush."

“No!” Peter protested, his voice an octave too high. Realizing that it isn’t working, he decided to try a different technique. Clearing his throat, he tried to sound and act as nonchalant as possible. “She’s just a friend from school.”

"She's first on your best friends list, even over that computer kid you practically live with. And you and her practically snap each other nonstop."

Peter scratched his nose. "W-well that's only cuz Ned doesn't like to text much."

Bruce took his glasses off and sighed, realizing there was no way this meeting was getting back on topic. "Look Pete," he said. "Friends don't do that. I've seen it all before. If you and this girl are talking on a daily basis all throughout the day starting at five in the morning?" He titled his head in a suggestive way, though Peter stared back at him blankly.

"What?," Peter asked.

"Oh my God, kid," Bruce sighed.

Tony held his head back and laughed. "It means either she likes you and your just too dense, you like her but won't admit it and she's just concerningly nice, or you both like each other and just won't make your moves!"

Sam, who hadn't lifted his eyes from the board the entire time, spoke up. "And judging by these texts, you already got her, it's just not official yet."

Tony kept scrolling. "You two went to winter formal together?"

"Yeah... but as friends," Peter said with a shrug.

Steve cleared his throat loudly, gaining the attention of everyone in the room at once. He looked at Peter who was doing everything here could not to look him in the eye. "Look, as much as I would love to talk about Peter's sad love life, we have a mission-"

"-that will still be there tomorrow, Cap," Bucky finished for him. "C'mon we've been going over this stuff for hours. Let us have this distraction."

Everyone looked to him, Tony feigning a puppy dog expression. Crossing his arms, he left the room. "Fine, but when someone gets hurt because they didn't know where they were supposed to go, don't blame me."

"...literally no one's ever blaming you, man," Sam said.

Suddenly, the screen lit up and F.R.I.D.A.Y. spoke. "Sir, Peter Parker has a new message."

Everyone looked to the board. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh. Scroll down, Mr. Stark. Scroll down!," Peter yelled frantically. "What's she saying?"

Natasha smirked. "And you're sure you don't like her, Peter?"

His face flushed. "Okay fine...I might have a tiny crush-"

"I'm sorry I can't hear you," Tony cut in. "Can you say that agai-"

"-I SAID YEAH I REALLY LIKE THIS GIRL!," Peter finally yelled with his eyes squeezed shut. He kept them closed for about twenty seconds afterwards, afraid of the judging faces he would see if he opened them.

He carefully opened his eyes to see all of the avengers (minus Cap) staring back at him with stupid smiles and smirks on their faces.

"Well, that's all I needed to hear," Tony said. He clapped his hands together. "Okay everybody, first order of business, checking the text. Sam, you're our reader."

"Got it."

"What?," Peter yelled, reaching for his phone. Tony dodged him and gave it to Sam. "Mr. Stark, I can text a girl on my own. I don't need help."

"Nat, you're our timer. Make sure none of the responses take longer than a minute. We don't want the girl to get bored and go on to something else."

"Check."

"Mr. Stark, c'mon-"

"Sam, you explain stuff to lightning head over here if he doesn't understand it. This could be learning moment for ole Shakespeare. Thor, you listen to Sam."

"Right."

"On it."

"Everyone else, you're with me. We gotta find the perfect thing to say to this girl. I've got a feeling this is probably the only chance he's gonna have to get a girl in a long time."

Rhodes, Scott, Clint, Bruce, and Wanda looked to each other and nodded.

"And Pete?"

Peter raised his head. "Yes sir?"

"You know this girl more than anybody here does, so you tell us if what we say is appropriate for her or not."

Peter rolled his eyes and nodded. After all, what's the worst that can happen?

Tony pointed to Sam. "Okay, read it."

~~~

crackhead [y/n]: u going to flash's party on saturday??

~~~

"She wants to know if the kid's going to some party Saturday."

Tony turned to the boy. "You're going," her demanded.

Flash was the most popular douchebag in school. Totally rich and totally rude and totally determined to use his every breath to spite Peter. "I wasn't even invited," Peter mumbled, shooting a glare towards Sam when he heard him laughing.

"Well get invited," Tony ordered. "A party is the perfect place to make a move. Send yes."

~~~

sci-fi boi: yes

~~~

"Mr. Stark, how am I supposed to get into this party? Flash hates me! And if I crash it and Flash sees me, he's gonna make sure everyone thinks I'm a loser!"

Tony rolled his eyes and sighed. "Peter we're trying to help you here. Figure that part out on your own."

Peter sighed, leaning forward in his chair. The last thing he wanted was another assignment, even if it wasn't actually an assignment. On the plus side, he'd get to see you, and maybe have some fun if he actually tried to enjoy himself.

~~~

crackhead [y/n]: cool so i guess ill go too

~~~

Rhodey chuckled while shaking his head. "Kid, if you don't ask this chick out the second you see her again, I'm gonna bodyslam you."

Peter frowned. "What do you mean?"

Bruce smiled. "Whether or not she went to the party was depending on if you were going," he pointed out.

"This girl used to be like that with me back in college," Scott said with a shrug. "Thought she liked me. Turned out she just had social anxiety..."

"Yeah you're really not helping this, bugman," Tony said.

"Wait, you guys think [Y/N] actually likes me back?," Peter asked, getting groans and laughs in return.

"Where have you been the last few minutes?," Natasha said.

"We've literally been saying that this entire time," Sam deadpanned.

Peter stared at his feet below the table. If the team was right, and you did actually like him back, then the movie marathon he was planning was the perfect excuse to hang out with you. "I-i think I might have a plan!," he rushed out, his head flying up. He pointed to Sam. "Ask her if she's free tonight!"

"Yes!," Thor yelled, his fists pumped into the air. "The spider child has grown his man balls!"

"Now that's what I'm talking about." Sam nodded approvingly as he texted.

~~~

sci-fi: r u free tonight??😉

~~~

"Wait hold on," Peter said, suddenly rushing towards the phone in a frantic manner. "Why is there a winking emoji?! I didn't say anything about a winking emoji!"

Sam raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were flirti-"

Peter groaned. "Delete it, man. Delete it before her bitmoji pops up!"

"Okay okay, dang kid," Sam chuckled, quickly deleting the text and replacing it with one without a winking emoji. "There. And ya girl didn't even see it."

"Hey guys," Scott said. "I know we're all freaking out and stuff. But honestly, I'm just glad he wasn't watching porn." He shrugged. "So no matter what happens with this girl, today's still an absolute win."

It went on like this for a solid thirty minutes.

~~~

crackhead [y/n]: yeah wassup

sci-fi boi: wanna come over and watch movies?

crackhead [y/n]: sure what're we watching

sci-fi boi: we can decide that when u get here. how about 4??

crackhead [y/n]: alright sure

~~~

"Okay, last thing," Tony said. "We need a sly compliment. Something not that special about her, but enough to show her that you're tuned in. Gets them every time, trust me."

Natasha rolled her eyes. "Wow, lady-killer."

Tony pointed towards her and shrugged. "She said it, not me."

Thor looked to Peter. "So, young spider. What have you observed about your darling love?"

Peter blushed, almost wanting to comment on the Thor's word choice but ultimately deciding not to. "Well, um, her eyes light up a lot when she gets excited and it's really dorky in a cute kind of way I guess," he mumbled, scratching his head.

"Alright I got it," Sam said, typing the words in. He lifted his shoulders into a shrug. "Who knows, kid? There be some hope for you."

~~~

sci-fi boi: btw how do you get ur eyes to sparkle so bright when u get happy about stuff? Just thinking about it lol its cute

~~~

Peter blew out a shaky breath as he looked back over the set-up he'd made in the living room.

He'd cleared out space to build a super huge homemade blanket fort and inside it at the end was his tv. Towards the middle were all of pillows he could find inside the house and at the other end were snacks. All around the inside were fairy lights because he knew you liked them, though personally he found them cliche.

He spent about an hour on the whole set and an additional thirty minutes stressing over and making sure everything was safe (with all three fairy lights and tv cords). The last thing he needed was for the both of you to catch on fire while watching the movie.

The two of you were going to be watching Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (or as normal 'not-nerds' like to call it, "the first one"). Of course, he hadn't told the team that. If they'd known what movie he'd planned on showing her, high chances are they wouldn't have even let him out of Avengers tower. But if Peter was gonna be forced to hang out with someone (not that he was really complaining), he would at least pick the film.

Finally checking all the boxes in his head for the night, Peter went to go check the DVD before he heard your knock at the door.

"Coming!," he yelled, quickly chucking the disc into the DVD player. He ran to the door and opened it with an awkward smile. "Uh, hey [Y/N]."

"Hey," you said back, already sort of blushing. "How's it going?"

Peter stared. Are your eyebrows done or are they just naturally that nice? He found his voice after abruptly noticing that he was staring. "Uh-well. It's been going great! How's it going for y-you also as well?" He frowned. "I-i mean, what's been going on with your life lately? No, that's dumb. I meant-"

"Peter, Peter! Calm down, dude," you giggled. "I've been fine."

"Oh," he chuckled. "That's good... d-do you wanna come in?"

"Question. What're we watching, Peter?," you asked, a smile playing on your face. Considering what you remembered from the last time you were at his house, and the fort you could get a peek of from the doorframe, you figured it was special for the nerdy boy. Plus his shirt had Yoda on it.

Freakin' Star Wars.

Immediately, a wide grin spread across his face. "Remember what you promised me we'd watch?"

You rolled your eyes, stepping past him into his living room. "Yeah yeah, whatever. Time to get nerdy I guess."

"Come on, you'll love it,"Peter said, quickly closing the door behind them and then briskly running towards the fort to hold up the side blankets for you. "So, snacks and drinks are beside us. We'll chill on these blankets here. And...um, yeah. That's about it." After stepping outside for a bit to go turn off the lights(for the full "movie theater" experience), Peter laid down on his belly, reaching for the DVD player to press play.

You watched as he fumbled with the wires, making sure the DVD player was plugged in before turning it on. Has your jawline always been that sharp?

You couldn't quite place it, but his texts from before seemed.. weird. But not a bad weird at all. A good, intriguing weird.

And that compliment was pretty nice, but odd for Peter. Sure, he complimented you often, but it just felt different this time. Usually it'd be something like, "new dress?" or "nice shoes". But never "you're eyes sparkle when you get excited." Heck, you didn't even know that about you. Was he paying attention? Did that mean he-

You remember how he acted about Liz Allen and Michelle Jones. Always staring. Never able to even say a full sentence in front of them without stuttering up a storm.

But he was so comfortable about you for the most part. You were just a friend.

"Okay got it," Peter said, laughing excitedly as the screen in front of him lit up. He scooted back to where you were sat. "Prepare to have your mind blown."

The Fort quickly became dark as the Lucasfilm logo shined on the screen.

"I seriously dou-"

"Shhh!," he cut you off. "Wait for it..."

You gave him a look but joined him in his silence to see what he was waiting for.

BUMMMMM buh buh bummmm

Practically jumping on top of him, you flinched at the loud and sudden music. "Crap dude! Turn it down!"

Peter shook his head, reaching for a soda. "You have to get the full effect, [Y/N]!," he laughed. "Just embrace it." He began to sing with the music and mime crazy gestures as if he were directing an orchestra.

Duh duh duh DUH DUHHHHHHHH

Halfway through he stopped and recited the opening crawl, his eyes glued to the screen with a sort of focus that made you sure that not only was this not foreign to him, he probably did this every other week.

"It is a period of civil war," he mumbled, throwing some popcorn into his mouth. "Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic- [Y/N] you have to watch the words, I swear it'll make the whole experience better." It went on for a little while longer until he paused the movie and looked over at you, cowering a bit. "D-do I have something on my face?"

"Huh? Nah you're good," you said, realizing he'd noticed you staring. "It's just-" you remembered his text from earlier. "-you got really excited... It-um..it was cute."

Because of the darkness(the only lighting being from the tv), you couldn't see if Peter blushed or not, but you could clearly see the stupid grin plastered on his face that he was trying to hide from you with his hand. Repeatedly licking his lips as a desperate attempt to stop smiling as he pressed play on the remote control. "A-ah, um, thanks [Y/N]."

The opening crawl was over and soon the movie actually began, showing a huge spaceship.

"That's the imperial star destroyer," Peter whispered, never taking his eyes off the screen. "They belong to the empire." He saw your blank expression, wide eyes as he realized that meant nothing to you. "Uh, the bad guys."

You squinted your eyes at the screen, silently judging the graphics of the energy blasts- space bullets?- or whatever they were supposed to be. "Pete, when was this movie made?"

"1977."

"Oh okay," you said, deciding to give it some leeway for the trash designs.

You scooted a little closer to your friend, figuring you'd get a little bit more comfortable.

Oh how he wished you hadn't done that.

Nothing like actual, physical contact with a girl that you like and you think she might like you back to actually manage to distract you from one of your favorite movies ever.

He froze, not wanting to pull away and offend you, but definitely not wanting to stay because just being this close to you was making his mind run wild.

Does she actually like me back? What if Mr. Stark and the team only said that to get me to make a fool of myself? She's too comfortable with me. She just sees me as a friend. Or maybe she likes me and she's just really chill about it? Ooh my gosh and she's leaning on me right now. What am I 'sposed to do?? I don't know I don't know I don't know!!!!!!!!!

Deciding for a quick compromise, he got up completely to reach for another soda, though his sprite was still half finished. When he sat back down, he wasn't as close. Hopefully, you'd just see it as natural human behaviour and not him wanting to be away from you.

Course you would see it that way, wouldn't you?

"Oh my gosh I recognize someone! That's R2D2, right?!" You pointed wildly, glad to not be completely clueless for once with this nerd crap.

"Yeah that's R2," Peter responded, letting out a secret sigh of relief, thankful for the distraction.

"A-and that's that gold dude!"

"Yeah, C-3PO."

"And oh crap that's Princess Leia!," you shouted. "Fucking feminist icon!"

Peter tilted his head. "Wait, how would you know that if you've never watched this?"

You laughed. "I still have access to the internet, doofus! Scroll down the nerdy feminist side of tumblr and Leia is literally everywhere."

Peter chuckled as he finally finished his sprite. "Okay. Valid."

Since that, you stopped talking for a bit. Part of you actually did figure that since you're here, you might as well actually try to enjoy the movie and maybe find out what the fans actually see in it that makes them like it so much. The other part just really didn't want to annoy Peter while he was watching his favorite movie series.

But sometimes you just have to say something.

"Hold up, wait. Isn't that his sister? Oh my God, Pete I swear somebody told me before that Leia was Luke's twin!"

Peter shrugged while nodding. "Well, that's a bit of a spoiler, but yeah. What about it?"

"Oh my gosh, Pete- what about it?! Dude, he's literally making 'fuck me' eyes at his own sister! He's all like, 'ooh you're so sexy I'm gonna bone you all over the galaxy'. That's freaky!"

You grabbed the remote and began to rewind it.

"C'mon now [Y/N]," he explained. "He didn't call her sexy. He said she was beautiful. Sexy is wayyy different from beautiful. You can think your family members are beautiful can't you?"

You paused it once you got to where you wanted.

"Okay Parker, look at that. Look at that and tell me Lukes's not totally undressing her with his eyes!" You pointed at Peter's face with a goofy smile on yours. "Oh wow, I've finally figured you people out now."

Peter's head cocked to the side. "Figured out what?"

"Star Wars nerds are a bunch of horny kids that like that step-sibling porn stuff but can't watch that in front of their parents so they have to use an alternative!"

Peter fell on his back with laughter, practically rolling around like a pig. "[Y/N], what?!"

You gave him an incredulous look. "Who else likes to see two siblings bang each other, Peter?!"

At that he pointed back at you while picking up his other soda. "To be fair, they never do that with each other. They only kiss, like twice and that's it. And one of them is only to make Han Solo mad."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about the Han Solo guy. Where is he anyway?"

Peter smiled. "Well, we're only twenty mintues in. He'll come soon."

To tell the truth, Peter really didn't even know what part you were at. His eyes were watching the screen but nothing was being comprehended. The only thing he could manage to think about was all the tiny things that were going on over on your side of the fort. Did you notice him staring? Was Tony right and you were just concerningly nice?

"I love how everybody at this bar is so chill south everything that's happening. It's like oh wow this guy just shot this green dude at table 8 and nope we totally don't care," you joked, pulling Peter out of his trance. He reminded himself that he should probably try to pay more attention. He didn't want to ruin the movie for you in case you had any questions.

But eventually, like all things do, the movie came to an end.

"So, how'd you like it?," Peter said while neither one of you made a move to leave the dark fort. You were laid out in practically a starfish-type position while he was sitting Indian-style.

You smirked. "I'll admit, it was pretty nice for a movie made in 1977. Still a bit lame though," you teased, pinching your fingers together with a giggle. Suddenly, you gasped. "Ooh, Vader was pretty lit though! Just straight force-choking people who disagree with you is such a power move."

Peter rolled his eyes and scoffed lightly. "Typical..."

"Excuse me?"

He bit back a quick smile. "Look, I'm not saying that Darth Vader isn't awesome. Because he is! Totally and completely but [Y/N], you do realize that in literally every movie we watch you like the villains?," he said, raising an eyebrow.

"Because the villains are awesome!," you defended.

"Just saying. I'm sensing a bit of a pattern...," he teased.

You scoffed. "This coming from the guy who actually feels bad about some the people crashing into things when we're watching Ridiculousness," you said, reminding in how Peter was forever the relentless sap. "Well, while you're so busy judging me, whose your favorite character?"

At that, he gave a small sincere smile. "Ben. He's really cool."

"Ben Kenobi? The old guy that literally let himself die? But why?"

He shrugged, the small grin still present on his face. "Eh, sentimental reasons..."

He watched you return his sweet smile and it was then and there when Peter really felt content with the night. Though, you hadn't even known the weight his words carried, he did. Ned was the only other person who knew about it. But Peter knew right then and there that if you had asked, he'd tell you. And he knew you'd understand. Maybe you were just nice. Or maybe you did like him back. But in that moment, Peter didn't care. He just wanted to be here with you. Lost in the warm smell of popcorn and your vanilla perfume, watching a Star Wars movie with Uncle Ben surely smiling down from Heaven. And it gave Peter hope that maybe, just maybe, this was a step in the right direction.

2 hours (and five minutes) down. 22 hours (and forty seven mintues) to go...

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

Taglist: @underoosjae @spn-assemble-seven @of-your-eyes-begonia-skies @parkerpeter24 , @audreylovespidey706

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