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indyanapolis898 · 4 months

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Mastermind

Peter Parker x f!reader

Synopsis: Peter has a crush on you from afar. One day you ask him to tutor you and things go from there.

Note: This really doesn't follow any specific canon from the movies.

"You know staring at Y/N won't make her like you."

Peter's head shot up at the sound of a voice behind him, that of MJ's.

"W-what are you talking about?" Peter chuckled awkwardly, doing a horrible job of lying.

"Me and Ned notice how much you watch Y/N. You always bring up any interaction you two have- and so much more! You like her. Just admit it, nerd," MJ explained amid the noisy school cafeteria.

"So what if I do?" Peter shrugged as MJ sat next to him.

"You should make a move- oh wait- you're too scared," MJ said with a sly smirk, begging him to fight back, which he did.

"Nervous? I'm an Avenger! I don't get nervous!" Peter hissed.

"Then go talk to her, Avenger" MJ shrugged like it was the only obvious option.

"Well- I- I just don't want her to think I'm weird."

"Well, then you're out of luck in that regard," she joked dryly. "You two used to be close. Why can't you spark up a conversation about, like, the past?"

"'Cause it's random, and also, we were friends in middle school! That was a while ago, MJ!"

"OK, Parker, I give up. Enjoy your futile people-watching."

Peter watched as MJ walked away to the lunch line. She wasn't wrong. He was too scared to even consider being near Y/N.

The boy sighed, going back to eating his lunch after you left the room.

___

"Alrighty!" Mr. Harrington clapped his hands together. "We have a new member for this semester's Academic Decathlon!"

The club whispered among themselves in anticipation of who it could be. Peter glanced up from his book when, of course, you entered the classroom with a new copy of the textbook.

"I'm sure you all know Y/N, so welcome her into the club and help her get acquainted with the material for today's practice."

You smiled shyly at the group, waving and going to take a seat in the open chair next to Flash.

Peter silently groaned, letting his head fall onto the desk. Of course, it was you, and of course, you had to sit next to Flash. Flash had an obvious crush on you as well.

"Peter. Wanna start off today's practice?" Mr. Harrington asked, staring directly at Peter as he lifted his head off his desk. Everyone was looking at him.

Peter sighed, standing up with his textbook to go to the podium to call the questions.

The first round went by fast. You answered three times, getting all answers right. Peter could feel himself smile every time you rang the bell.

Peter tried his best to compliment you when you answered during the second round.

At one point, Peter asked a question the Flash rang in for. Peter watched as the boy mouthed to you: watch this.

Flash got the question wrong, making you slightly giggle. Peter chucked, as did the rest of the class, at Flash's misplaced confidence. However, Peter wasn't laughing at Flash this time- he was laughing because you laughed. Peter wanted to cling on to any bit of you he could. He was glad Flash's terrible attempt to show off failed.

After a few more rounds, Peter traded off with another student. Peter didn't want to be like Flash and do a flashy show-off of his skills, but he did want to impress you.

Peter heard the first question- ringing in as soon as he could. He wasn't confident with his odds but gave a shaky answer, which was revealed to be correct.

Peter smiled slightly. When he glanced to the left, you were smiling at him, presumably because he aced the question. He smiled back at you, hoping this was some sort of connection. You were noticing him!

If that was what it took, he could do it. Peter answered every question he could, getting almost all right. He got a thumbs-up from you once after a question!

___

After practice ended, he was packing his bag to leave when you approached him. Peter felt his heart speeding up dramatically.

"Hey, Peter. Love the jacket," you started things off, making Peter smile and examine his jacket, vowing to wear it more often.

"Thank you. I... like your shirt. Um- you did good on your first day," Peter gave a tightlipped smile, trying to act normal.

"Thanks, but you were on fire! Like seriously, some of those questions were insane," you gushed, grinning the whole time.

"Oh, wow, uh, thank you!" Peter stuttered out, causing you to giggle. "You gave great answers, too!" He rushed to follow up.

"Yeah, about that... those were the bare minimum. I joined this club to help raise my grades. Clearly you know your stuff, so... I have the biggest favor to ask."

Peter raised his brows. "Uh, yeah, what's that?"

"So, it's OK if you say no because it's so random, but could you tutor me in some of the subjects covered here? I could really use the help, but again it's OK if y-"

"I'll do it," Peter agreed quickly, blushing at how eager he sounded. You grinned largely.

"Seriously? 'Cause I could pay you if that's necessary."

"Y/N, you don't have to pay anything. Honestly, I mean, it's the least I can do for the girl who defended me from Jose in 8th grade," Peter recalled a memory from their past, mentally punching himself for saying something that most likely meant nothing to her.

"You still remember that? Wow, I didn't know I could even make an impact like that," you said, surprised in a good way.

Peter decided to roll with it. "Uh, yeah, I mean, Jose was a jerk, so I was just glad someone stood up for me. So, uh, yeah," Peter awkwardly chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck.

You shrugged nonchalantly. "Anytime. But yeah, thank you so much for agreeing. When are you free to go over the material?"

Peter supposed one evening without Spider-Man wouldn't hurt. "Tonight," he said right away. "Um, like five?"

"Can do. At the library?"

"Absolutely."

"See you then, Peter. Thanks again," you waved at him as you left the class to go to your next.

___

"So, you're telling me that all you had to do was be nerdy, and she just came up to you?" MJ recounted Peter's story in a tone laced with disbelief.

"Yes! Seriously. If you didn't have to miss today's practice for your re-do test, you would've seen it! So, believe it or not, I've gotta get to the library soon and tutor Y/N," Peter said cockily, standing up from the barstool at the cafe MJ part-timed at.

MJ just rolled her eyes but gave a genuine smile. "Good luck. Don't screw it up."

"Thanks? I'll try not to."

With that, Peter slung his bag onto his back and left the shop, library-bound.

___

The library wasn't awfully busy that weekday, making it easy to find a table in a corner. Peter laid his books and notebooks out, realizing you wouldn't know where he was, nor did he have your number to text you.

Everything worked out, however, when you wandered into the back section he was sitting, looking lost. Your eyes lit up at the sight of him, making Peter's stomach churn in a good way.

You walked with a purpose over to the table, sitting your stuff down. "I was looking all over for you," you grinned, not meaning it in a guilt-tripping way.

Peter realized he actually had to reply instead of staying in a daydream. "Oh- yeah. I sat here and realized you might not be able to find me, but luckily you did."

"Yeah, it only took like, seven different aisles," you laughed before opening your notebook.

Peter couldn't tell if he was just nervous or if he just loved the sound of your laugh, but his heart raced.

"So, I was thinking... we could piggyback off what we did in practice today?"

"Sounds good. I'm sure whatever I learn will be good when you're teaching it," you said, laying your chin on the palm of your hand.

Peter could feel his face heat up. He ducked his head down to the textbook and chuckled. "Yeah... I- uh- just start in on page five right here."

For thirty minutes, Peter was able to impart some knowledge your way. After you two finished a chapter, you turned to Peter with a closed-mouth smile. "This has been really helpful, thank you."

Peter frowned. "You're done?"

You continued smiling. "Just for today, yeah. But I'm really hungry... do you wanna get something to eat?"

Peter perked up at the invitation to continue spending time together. "Yeah, I'd love to!" He said very excitedly, to which you just giggled.

"OK, c'mon. I'll show you this really good Thai place I like down the block."

You and Peter collected your things, exiting the library together to walk down the sidewalk to the restaurant of choice.

"So, you had that Stark Internship, right?"

"Yeah- still do, actually. I'm still just the young guy, though."

"Hey, they'll realize what a dedicated worker you are, and when they do, they'll have to give you more opportunities."

"You think so?"

"You seem like you have a great work ethic, Peter, so yeah, I do think so."

Peter just grinned, looking down at the sidewalk. You were making him nervous.

___

The restaurant you two entered was moderately nice for a casual New York City restaurant.

You both ordered at the counter and then sat at an empty table.

Peter wanted to try and flirt, but he knew he'd be super awkward and make things weird. Nevertheless, he still attempted to gain your favor.

"You caught on really fast with the Academic stuff. It was like you already knew it! So, I guess you're a natural."

You looked away and grinned. "Thank you. I- um- guess I just needed a few reminders, is all."

Peter cocked a brow, but their food was placed in front of them at that moment. The two ate, sharing conversation about middle school and how annoying some of their classes were now.

Somehow, the topic got moved on to Flash.

"You know Flash has a thing for you," Peter decided to throw bait into the water as the pair left the restaurant, being that they had finished their food.

You furrowed your brows. "Yeah, I know. We actually have two classes together- three counting Decathalon now. He hits on me every day. It gets tiring really fast."

"What?" Peter exclaimed in fake shock. "You don't appreciate all his futile attempts to be a womanizer?"

You laughed and shook your head. "Crazy, right? I might be the only one who doesn't. I just- I just already have my eyes on someone else."

"Oh," Peter mumbled aloud, regretting how disappointed he sounded. "Um... is it weird to ask-"

"Who it is?" you cut him off. "Yeah, I was hoping you would've guessed by now," you stopped walking, Peter doing the same, peering at you with confusion.

"I-I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to be invasive. I-"

"It's you, Peter. I've been trying to flirt with you and give you hints, hoping you'd make a move," you chuckled to fill the air.

"Oh... Oh!" Peter put a hand to his chest. "You," he pointed at you, then back at himself. "Like me?"

"Yes!" You desperately hoped he felt the same.

"I- woah. I really like you too, Y/N," Peter sputtered out.

"Really? Because I was starting to think my plan failed."

"Plan?"

"You said it yourself in the restaurant... I already knew that stuff we were learning. I don't need tutoring. I just decided to ask you so... I dunno," you looked away embarrassed. "So we could do something outside of school."

When you looked back up, Peter was grinning widely. "You made a plan just to be with me?"

You nodded.

"That's- wow. I was trying to drop hints all day too, but I suck at anything flirting-wise. I was just excited you kept asking to do stuff, but you planned this all along. You made the dominoes fall until we were here."

"I didn't know this would be how I confessed, but yeah. I don't need tutoring when I'm the mastermind," you joked and shrugged.

"Maybe it's my turn to do something..." Peter looked into your eyes, searching your face. "Can I kiss you?"

You leaned in, letting that be your answer. His lips met yours as you two kissed in the darkening evening. The cool Queens air hit the side of your face as you pulled away, catching your breath.

"Was that good? Because I'm definitely not an expert."

You just giggled. "Yes, it was great, Peter."

"Can I walk you home?" Peter pursed his lips, waiting for an answer.

You nodded and thanked him graciously with another kiss. With that, you two set off toward your apartment as the street lights flickered on in the chilled air.

___

"...And then we kissed. Boom! In your face!"

MJ rolled her eyes and laughed while Ned clapped Peter on the back.

"Dude! You got a girlfriend!"

Peter chuckled at Ned's enthusiasm. Peter's phone dinged at that moment. It was a text from you.

"Gotta go, guys. Peter has a second date today with Y/N."

"Did you just refer to yourself in the third person?"

"Yep, deal with it!" Peter called, already out the door of the cafe.

___

You were waiting at the subway station. Peter jogged down the stairs, joining you to enter the train and go ice skating.

You reached your hand out, Peter taking it as you two entered the train.

It was only the second date, but you knew Peter was going to make you happy. You simply looked up at Peter, smiling, which he returned with his signature grin.

The train's doors shut, and you two were carried away down the tracks, ready for what was to come.

#mcu peter x reader #peter parker x female reader #peter parker x reader #mcu peter parker #tom holland peter parker #tom holland #tom holland x reader #fluff #first kiss #peter is oblivious #flash thompson #mj watson #ned leeds #fanfic #fanfiction #cross posted on ao3 #Spotify

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imagine-knowing-a-name · 3 months

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In the Background - Chapter 4.5

Summary: You’ve been dating Natasha in secret since her early days in SHIELD, and you’ve been in the background of all her missions since.

Word Count: 5047

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x Reader

Warnings: canon events (violence/death), occassional swearing.

A/N: I'll be focusing on a couple of other WIPs now this is done but then it's back to work on Chapter 5; feel free to send comments/questions about the series and I'll answer any I can 😌

Series Masterlist

Previous Part

—:::——::-————>◇<—————::——:::—

If only the Avengers didn't cause so much destruction, your life would be so much easier. You'd been staring at the screen for hours now, tracing leads, conducting damage assessments, and handling the repair efforts as best you could, so when Natasha called and you answered within the first ring? You'll blame that on your dull work life, definitely not just your eagerness to speak with the assassin.

It was only after answering the call that you thought to check the time - 10pm, just as you would usually begin to wind down for the night. You smiled, for someone who lived such a turbulent life, Natasha managed to maintain a remarkable consistency; she always tried to call at that time, no matter where she was in the world, to keep you company with late night talks and to wish a goodnight.

As soon as she greeted you tonight though, you knew you were in for something different.

“Y/L/N.”

“Romanoff.” It was a warning, of course, a system you'd agreed upon to protect your secret if others were around. Sure enough, when her camera flicked on, you were greeted to the sight of the Avengers milling around her.

“We have company,” she told you somewhat redundantly, as you were shown the visitors sitting around the Barton family's kitchen table, with Nick Fury standing at the head of it all.

“Evening, Director,” you said.

“Did you know too?” Tony scoffed, “he’s got both of you?”

“Just Maria,” Fury corrected, “but why put in the effort to hide it from Y/L/N?”

“Does anyone actually know my first name?”

“No.”

“We’ve got a lead on Ultron.”

“You have a plan?”

“I always have a plan,” the man scoffed, almost in disbelief that you'd asked such a question. “Hill’s helping me out, and I'm bringing Banner back too. As for you… Steve, Clint, and Natasha are off to Seoul. You wanna help your old team?” Fury smirked with an eyebrow raised; he knew your answer before you could give it, so you played into it by pausing and humming as if considering your options.

“I suppose I can help out,” you said at last, earning an eye roll from Natasha in the background, “I'm sure they really need me.”

Natasha came to the forefront of the image again and grabbed her phone back. “That's enough of that,” she said; you raised your eyebrows and smirked at her tone. You saw Clint react the same, though he tried to hide it.

“Go to bed, Y/N. We'll call in when we need you.” She hung up before you could comment on her use of your first name.

—:::——::-————>◇<—————::——:::—

“We have to be careful. If Ultron is here, he's not gonna like that we're here too. So stay hidden, stay vigilant, and I'll be right back.”

The suit cams were deactivated for this mission – something about Ultron picking up on the transmission frequencies, you weren't sure; all you did know is that it made your job harder.

“Two minutes; stay close.” You assumed that they'd dropped Steve off.

Despite your statements the night before, you really weren't needed on the mission: Steve took mission lead, Natasha controlled tracking, and Clint flew the jet with no hesitations, all you were there for was backup, lest something go wrong.

Perhaps you thought too hard about that last point, jinxing the team with your belief that it would all run smoothly, but the plan collapsed almost instantly. Steve didn't direct his message to your group specifically, but looped you all into his conversation with Dr Cho.

Ultron knew they were there, he'd injured Cho, he had two superpowered twenty-somethings on his team, and he'd created a weapon beyond capabilities, something indestructible. Or, at least, he was in the process of making it; you still had a chance to stop its creation… silver linings.

“I've called for medical,” you said. That left Steve free to focus on the fight at hand, taking instruction from Natasha and Clint on where to find the metal man.

Clint, the eye in the sky, lived up to his codename by spotting it first: “There. It's a truck from the lab.” Steve clambered up and across the roads without hesitation, before a blast to the truck door almost blew him into moving traffic – at least it confirmed that Ultron could be found inside.

“Well, he's definitely unhappy. I'm going to try to keep him that way.”

“You're not a match for him, Cap.”

“Thanks, Barton.”

With Steve in the fray, you had to take command once again; your position away from the fight gave you the best overview with which to form a plan, and access to all angles of sight.

You only saw one way forward: “Natasha, you need to get into the fight. Steve can't get the cradle like this, so make the most of the distraction he's providing.

“Never thought I'd see you giving me orders.”

You didn't need cameras to picture the smirk on her face, you just knew it was there in the same way you knew that, despite her talk back, she would be following your instructions.

“A real role swap, I know,” you deadpanned, “now get on your bike.”

Was it essential for Natasha to ship her motorbike with her to every destination? No. Had you questioned her on it countless times? Yes. Did it occasionally come in useful? Unfortunately yes, but that was an answer that you would never admit to her face.

“We've got a window!” Clint took over, flying low to the ground so that Natasha could disembark, “Four, three…give ‘em hell.”

From then on, you could only do so much to keep track of all the agents, so Clint took charge of directions, watching from above to keep Natasha on the right track, while you monitored the truck's ever changing location. The roles eventually aligned as Natasha came up alongside the truck, throwing Steve's shield up to restore his upper hand in the fight.

Ultron could fight a battle on two fronts though; after being knocked down by Cap, he pulled a chunk of tarmac out of the road to keep Natasha away.

“Since when could he do that?” you asked into the comms.

Natasha was tenacious, a fact Ultron soon found out, and a clump of dirt didn't deter her. She neared the vehicle again, just for the enemy's robotic lackeys to fire at her this time.

“Clint, can you draw out the guards?” she suggested.

“Let's find out.”

Firing at the robotic man did just that, and soon the Quinjet weaved through the sky, trying to shake off various bodies on Ultron, which left Natasha free for her retrieval.

“Natasha, the Ultrons are on you now,” you warned. They hadn't seemed to see her in the truck, but latched onto the sides.

“Okay, the package is airborne,” came Clint's next comment, as the robots carried the truck away from reach. That didn't matter though, as Natasha was still inside and by the sounds of it, knew just what to do. You'd lost sight of them, so focused your attention on Steve's fight with the main Ultron body…or at least, as much as you could see.

The train cameras were non-operational and soon enough, the whole train was too.

“I lost him; he's headed your way,” Steve yelled. With the fight in the air, he couldn't follow, but he also had bigger problems: a runaway train, with the driver hit and the controls fried.

“The train's at the end of the line, I can't stop it from here.”

“Nat!”

“There are no controls; I need to get civilians out of the way.”

“Cap, you seen Nat?”

“If you have the package, get it to Stark! Go!” Steve said, momentarily distracted as he answered Clint's request.

“Clint, what's happened to Nat?” you shouted, quickly leaving Steve to his own problem – this was a higher priority to you.

“Do you have eyes on Nat?”

“Go!”

You scan everything you can get your hands on, desperate for a sight of your girlfriend; but they had been too high up, too far to be covered in any camera footage. She may as well have disappeared.

“Clint,” you said urgently, cutting Steve out of the communications for the moment, “what happened to Natasha?”

“Ultron got her. I don't know, she was with the cradle and then he flew past and she's not there.”

“She didn't fall, so he's got her.”

“I can't look for her here.”

“I know. Just get back.”

“I'm sorry. We'll find her, Y/N”

“We better. And I don't care if he's vibranium, I'm gonna kill Ultron with my own two hands next time we see him.”

The train sat stationary and steaming by the time your focus returned to it. Steve stood out among the crowd, and you realised he had the Maximoff twins by his side.

“The press will be on the scene any minute. I've sent ambulances and Damage Control. Steve, Stark has a jet at Incheon, get there and get back ASAP,” you mumbled the instructions to him then hung up, once again leaving him to fend for himself.

You threw your headset down with a scream, and stormed to where the other Avengers had settled.

Anger rarely got the best of you after missions were over, but that's because even after the worst incidents, Natasha would be there to keep you sane, and talk it through. Now she was gone, and you had no leads to getting her back.

“Where's Fury?” you demanded, seeing only Bruce and Tony in the room.

“Off on his own little mission, he picked Maria up and left. Do you know what it is? Because that man is always-”

“Natasha is missing.” You don't care that you interrupted Tony, and you don't care that there's probably better ways to break the news. Ultron had killed and hurt and targeted people the Avengers were close to; finding Natasha was urgent.

Bruce broke out of the stupor first. “What?”

“Natasha is missing. And if anyone could find her, it would be Fury, but since he's missing-”

“I'll set up nets, have one of my AIs tracking the internet for any signs of her. If she's out there, we'll find her.”

You nodded, and relaxed your body temporarily when you realised how stressed you looked. “I'm gonna keep looking,” you mumbled, “Clint's on his way back with the body Ultron was building – find a way to dismantle it safely when he arrives.”

Neither man spoke as you vacated the room and headed to the floor below. After SHIELD fell, the room has been converted into storage for some of their old tech, ranging from their founding in the 40s up until the internet age took prominence. There was nothing you could find on the internet that Stark's tech couldn't do faster, so you resorted to old fashioned methods: radio waves, faint signals, and contacting agents across the globe. One way or another, Natasha would be found.

Ultron was different to any enemy you'd faced before, he had no fixed body, he couldn't die, and he had more knowledge than even an espionage agent ever could. But his sentience, the humanity he tried to destroy… you noticed that, and that would be his downfall; Ultron theoretically could have been unstoppable, but he was a show-off, he craved attention, and because of that, he didn't always make the most logical moves. He hadn't dismantled JARVIS, he'd made a mess of the system and bragged about it; he'd killed Strucker and sent a message, even if that was the clue to finding him. If he'd killed Natasha, or hurt her in any way, he'd be boasting of it for attention – so you knew she was alive, and that hope kept you searching. The best spy alive was still alive, and she'd find a way to send you a signal.

—:::——::-————>◇<—————::——:::—

“I've never seen Y/N as stressed as this, nor you.”

You'd seen Clint's return and gone upstairs to greet him; you knew he would be as stressed as you in the situation. But when the conversation you found was focused on you and Natasha, you felt the sudden urge to hide and listen in.

“Y/N and Nat were recruited at the same time, to the same cohort. They’ve been friends for 7 years, longer than I've even been working with Natasha, so what can you expect? Natasha's been through a lot; a lot of injuries, scares, and dangerous missions, but nothing like this. We've always had tabs on her.”

“Guess now you know how Widow felt about you back in 2012.”

“Not the time Tony.”

“Anything on Nat?” Bruce asked Tony, having the sense to change the conversation somewhat.

“I haven't heard, but she's alive or else Ultron would be rubbing our faces in it.”

Clint then changed the topic completely, returning attention to the cradle he'd brought in.

“We're going to need to access the program, break it down from within.”

“Any chance Natasha might leave you a message, outside the internet? Old-school spy stuff?”

You thought Tony was just trying to make Clint feel useful while he and Bruce worked, and you appreciated his efforts. It also meant you had to rush back downstairs and continue to fiddle around as if you hadn't just been eavesdropping.

The archer hurried down the stairs. You saw him pause at the sight of you, before he approached more slowly.

“I am sorry, I know it's not your fault,” you began, though you didn't dare look up at him, “are you doing okay? She's your best friend too.”

“She was right there. Maybe I could've…”

“Neither of us could have done anything. She was falling through the air; that's not territory we can help in.”

“We'll find her though,” Clint repeated. You knew it was to convince himself. You nodded, then returned to your work – this time with an old friend by your side.

Minutes later, static buzzed through the radio, with vibrations echoing on the screen. You looked at each other, open mouthed, then hurried to take notes.

“Morse?”

Clint nodded, then smirked as he held the headset to his ear. He listened and typed quickly, pulling up a satellite image of a Sokovian castle.

“Coordinates. God she's smart. Come on, let's go tell them.”

Clint called to you, but your attention had diverted. You caught his eye then looked back up at the glass ceiling, pointing overhead to where one of the Maximoff twins stood, an unplugged cord in his hand.

Clint growled and grabbed his gun to shoot up and shatter the glass on which Pietro stood, causing the twin to come clattering down. The spy wasted no time in pinning him down. “What? You didn't see that coming?”

The broken glass made the blasts, punches, and threats from above even more audible. You pulled Pietro to his feet but held him back, nodding for Clint to leave the two of you and try to break it up.

You watched the scene unfold and get more and more aggressive. Pietro struggled in your hold when he saw Bruce grab his sister, and you were tempted to let him loose until she freed herself and sent the scientist flying backwards. Once the cradle was activated, and the red body of Ultron's creation flew out of it and into Thor, you saw no point holding the speedster back.

“Go check on your sister,” you muttered, and slowly ran after the blur into the common room.

The creation – the synthesoid – had calmed down by your arrival, and the team reached an uneasy truce to keep him, knowing there was no other hope to stop Ultron.

“Three minutes,” Steve eventually announced, “get what you need.”

You stood still for a moment. While the others dispersed to their lockers and equipment, you had no similar place to go – you weren't called in for last minute missions like the main Avengers were, so everything you needed, you kept in your room. You wouldn't have time for that on this mission, so you decided Natasha's locker would have to do.

“Come on,” you called to the twins who, like you, had been standing around without much direction. “Tony's undershirts might fit you,” you said to Pietro, sizing him up as you unlocked the cubicle, “and use Nat’s clothes if your sister needs.” The sister in question – Wanda – drifted behind the two of you; her focus not on you, but on the conversation happening between Thor and the synthesoid outside.

You grabbed the clothes and weapons you needed from Natasha’s locker, then left the twins to it.

“Ultron knows we're coming,” Steve told the team on the jet, forming the plan before you get there, “odds are, we'll be riding into heavy fire. And that's what we signed up for, but the people of Sokovia, they didn't. So our priority is getting them out. All they want is to live their lives in peace, and that's not going to happen today, but we can do our best to protect them, and we can get the job done.”

Tony would be the one to fight Ultron head on, Thor to investigate the robots plans, and Bruce to rescue Natasha. You tried to step in and volunteer yourself, but Clint held you back, subtly shaking his head.

“Bruce can get her out,” he whispered to you, “you'll do a better job getting civilians out than him, and it'll keep your secret a secret.”

You grumbled, but agreed, and eventually conceded to his case. So when the jet landed and Thor and Bruce headed toward the fortress the Avengers had fought so hard to infiltrate just a week before, you turned and ran the other way, into the main city of Novi Grad.

No work you did could be as effective as the twins; the pair evacuated buildings in mere minutes and knew their hometown well enough to know exactly which places to target. Meanwhile, you hurried the streets with Clint, helping anyone struggling with the evacuation process.

Almost everyone had vacated their homes, most on their way to Sokovia’s neighbouring villages, when Ultron's plan truly started. The ground rumbled, and the streets and buildings soon began to ascent into the sky. Orderly evacuation descended into chaos as civilians clamoured to jump down to solid ground while they still could – a window that only lasted seconds before the remaining civilians, and all the Avengers, became stranded on the floating rock.

“Bruce, did you find Natasha?” you heard Clint shout. Steve and Tony debated their changing plans in your ear, so if Bruce ever gave a reply, you didn't hear it.

Regardless, your attention couldn't linger on it for long, as a floating island wasn't enough for Ultron, he had to send hundreds of his identical lackeys into the fray as well.

“The rest of us have one job: tear these things apart. You get hurt, hurt 'em back. You get killed, walk it off.”

A mission was a mission, and you took to it well – even if you couldn't get the civilians to safety, you could protect them where they were. They began to congregate, and you moved with them, shooting, stabbing, and kicking the decoys whenever they got near, while herding the civilians towards shelter. It wasn't the most effective, but you were no superhero.

That remained your role, even as a certain redhead on the field caught your attention.

“Natasha!” you yelled.

She looked over and grinned when she saw you – a smile that was soon wiped off her face when an Ultron rocketed into you. You tussled with it, but it was Natasha who eventually pulled it off of you, shooting it in the head before you decapitated it for good measure.

She smiled again, then offered a hand to pull you to your feet.

“Why weren't you answering your comms, hmm? I was worried about you! I didn't know if Bruce got you out okay!”

“Oh, I don't know, baby, maybe because a psychotic robot took me captive and took away my means of communication?”

“Not those ones, Bruce's spare set! He was meant to give them to you.”

A robot came to end your reunion, but Natasha had it dead in seconds. “He didn't, but I pushed him into the crater so I can't really blame him-”

“You did what? Natasha you know you can't be doing that.”

“He wanted to run and I needed to get to you,” she smirked, with all the confidence of someone who knew they'd gotten away with it. “What else is a girl supposed to do?”

You sighed, then took her hand. “Just put this in. I had a spare set too.”

“We are not clear! We are very not clear!” Steve's voice echoed as she put it in, proving that it did in fact work.

“Now go be a hero,” you nodded, “I've got this.”

She squeezed your hand tightly before she ran to what used to be the bridge, where Steve and Thor had set up their operations.

You watched her go while completing your own job of keeping the civilians safe. The robots had dispersed, but you were still fighting a few when, minutes later, Nick Fury appeared on the comms.

“Glad you like the view, Romanoff. It's about to get better.”

Even from where you stood in the city, the helicarrier dominated the skyline and filled you with hope.

“Let's load ‘em up,” Steve commanded, and you didn't have to be told twice.

You beckoned to the crowd of people you had been protecting, and the stragglers who slowly emerged from their own hiding places as the hope of safety, and led them towards the ship. Natasha was by your side again, allowing you to direct the civilians without taking on several robots alone at once.

Countless ferries to the helicarrier later, and streams of civilians still emerged from the maze of crumbling apartment blocks. Ultron wouldn't let the team have that one victory, and Thor soon warned the heroes about an incoming attack on the vibranium core – an attack which would decimate the Earth and its population.

“Rhodey, get the rest of the people on board that carrier. Avengers, time to work for a living.”

Natasha grabbed your wrist as you signalled for more civilians to board the ferries, “are you coming?”

“Someone needs to stay and help them here,” you said with a shake of your head, “and Rhodey is dealing with enough in the sky. This is your mission, my love, so go finish it.”

She leant in, seemingly before she realised you were still surrounded by people, after which she veered to the side and pulled you into a tight hug instead.

“I'll see you afterwards, okay? Come back to me this time.”

“I promise.”

Then, once again, you stood and watched as Natasha ran into the fight. Screams and yells from the people surrounding you soon snapped you back to the present and you jumped onto duty. You called out to the civilians in your limited Sokovian, directing them in huddles from the cover of the police station onto the ferries, until they were in the ex-SHIELD team's capable hands.

“They're trying to leave the city,” Thor noticed, and sure enough, several silver bodies flew overhead, aiming to escape the Avengers' assault.

“I'm on it,” came Rhodey’s response, as he left you alone with the Sokovian authorities to protect the civilians boarding the ships. The civilian numbers were dwindling, as most had boarded already, and only the last stragglers were still arriving. Zips of blue occasionally crossed your sight, as Pietro scoured the city for any last boarders and deposited them by your side.

He eventually slowed down enough to talk, just as Clint and Natasha raced into the Square – where they had time to find and hijack a car, you'd never know.

“That's everyone,” Pietro panted, anyone not on the boats is here.

You nodded, looking around the square again. “We're almost done loading, you can probably-” you began, but rapid gunfire turned both of your heads like a shot.

“Natasha!” you yelled. The artillery had been aimed directly at her and the Hulk. The creature roared at the jet, bullets bouncing off of his skin, while Natasha was nowhere to be seen. As you ran towards her, it was only when you got close that you saw her body on the ground.

The world blurred around you as your only goal was to sprint forward, but even that failed. The Hulk picked her up, her body cradled gently in his arms, then leapt.

You turned back; he had jumped towards the helicarrier, but another sight caught your eye. A few bodies lay strewn in the street, victims of Ultron's final push, but Steve and Clint knelt still beside one of them. You traipsed back, seeing no point in rushing when the day had already taken so much.

Agents and guards rushed off the boats, running all around you to collect the bodies of their friends and colleagues. You continued forward. Steve looked up and met your eye, and you finally noticed the limp body in his arms. Clint returned the child to his mother, and Steve brought the final body – Pietro's – on board. You sat with the Captain in silence as the boat began to ascend.

“He was supposed to get Wanda,” you said at last, the realisation hitting you that she was still in the floating city. “Has anyone got Wanda?”

There was no time for anyone to respond because, just as your ship docked, the whole city began to fall.

“Thor, on my mark,” Tony said, and you watched as the city began to crumble into pieces.

Steve put his hand on your shoulder, bearing a defeated look as he guided you into the main body of the helicarrier. Your mood was sour, but the sight that greeted you inside finally began to change it for the better.

“Natasha!” you breathed, running forward as a grin spread across her face. You grabbed her and held her at an arm's length to assess her for injuries, but found nothing severe. “You're okay? You're alright?”

“I’m alright. I promised you I'd come back to you just fine.”

“Well that was before-”

“The Vision has got Wanda,” Steve interrupted, “I'm going to go up and tell her about… you know, but are we agreed on bringing her back with us?”

“She's got powers that she'll need training to control, I doubt the government will let her do anything else but come with us.”

“Don't bring that part up just yet though,” you added, “she's dealing with enough.”

He nodded, then left the two of you alone again. “So, The Vision…is that the red guy?” Natasha asked quickly. The two of you began to walk towards the control boards.

“Oh yeah! I suppose you were never properly introduced. Thor had a ‘vision’, and it was powerful enough to make him take Tony's side.”

“Wow, Asgardian visions must be something else.”

“You're telling me.”

“Y/L/N!” Fury called. You and Natasha stopped in your tracks to look over at him; he raised an eyebrow and impatiently beckoned you closer.

“I need a word with Y/N. Alone.” The Director warned when Natasha followed you over, “we have your big green friend on call, see if you can get through to him while we talk.”

Natasha’s first reaction was to check with you, but you met her eye and nodded, giving her the reassurance that you could deal with Fury alone.

You watched alongside Fury as your girlfriend rounded the corner and disappeared from sight, before the man finally turned to you with a glint in his eye.

“I have some news for you, if you're interested in hearing it-”

—:::——::-————>◇<—————::——:::—

“Your suit’s not on properly.”

“What? Yes it is, I can dress myself just fine, Nat.”

“Your belt is supposed to be tucked into your left belt loop, not the right.”

You looked down and, sure enough, your belt was wrapped anti-clockwise around your waist instead of clockwise. You then looked back up at your girlfriend, a tired look of disbelief on your face that that was the detail she decided to pick up on.

“Literally no-one is gonna notice that.”

“I did.”

“You're a special case.”

“Awww, you think I'm special,” she cooed sarcastically, before deftly undoing a redoing your belt. “There. You're all set.”

“Who'd have thought this is where we'd be 7 years ago, huh?”

You stepped out of your room, Natasha following right behind you, and headed toward the giant halls of the new Avengers Facility.

“I definitely didn't, you were shit when we met.”

“I'd argue but I always admitted that was true. And now here we both are, leading teams while we're still in our 20s… except, oh wait, oh you're old, I forgot.”

“You're so funny,” Natasha deadpanned, giving a sarcastic grin in response to your smug look.

“Fury wants to meet me here,” she then said, stopping you both at the intersection between your destination and a dead-end viewing platform. She took your hands in hers and traced your knuckles with her thumbs, “I am proud of you, you know that? You've achieved so much, and you're going to do brilliantly today. Good luck, my love.”

“Good luck to you too, baby.” You learnt in, kissing her quickly before you drifted apart, spitting towards your opposite destinations. “No pressure,” you called after her, “but the future of Earth's defence is in your hands!”

She flipped you off, while you turned and continued to walk down the endless maze of corridors until you bumped into Steve.

“Morning, Captain,”

“Y/N. Are you off to training?”

“Sure am.”

“I still don't suppose I can convince you to join me and Nat?”

You shook your head apologetically. “A team of superheroes and superpowers isn't really where I should be. The cameras and publicity and media scrutiny, it's not for me. But I've got my place and I've got my new recruits to train, so when you need us, we'll be there to support you in the background of it all.”

—:::——::-————>◇<—————::——:::—

Series Taglist: @fairychev @catswag22 @sapphosclosefriend @romanoffsgal @taliiiaasteria @saraaahsstuff @blacklightsposts @automaticdinosaurtaco @dyslexic-dreamer

General Taglist: @canvascoloredin @fxckmiup @wizardofstories

#natasha romanoff #natasha romanoff x reader #natasha romanoff fluff #natasha romanoff x y/n #natasha romanoff x you #natasha romanoff imagine #ikan in the background #ikan writes #marvel #mcu

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292pantone · 1 year

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Okay! Time for some Glass Onion analysis bc I'm already obsessed with this movie.

GLASS ONION SPOILERS AHEAD READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

I've seen people saying that it was unnecessary for the movie Glass Onion to be set in May 2020 during the height of the pandemic, and that it took away from the movie, but I disagree. The specific setting is relevant because of all the movie's subtext about the Black Lives Matter movement and its resurgence in May 2020. Hear me out- there are several parallels between Andi's death/Helen's avenging her death by wrecking the mansion, and the riots in 2020 following the unjust deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and many others.

To begin with, there's the power dynamic between Andi and Miles. A mediocre, unexceptional white man stole the contributions of a brilliant black woman and got away with it because his influential friends closed ranks around him in a system designed to benefit him. He got the benefit of the doubt and weaponized the legal system to financially ruin her. Even though she was telling the truth, no one believed her, and Miles fully expected this pattern to continue once her sister Helen took up the cause.

Miles burns the incriminating evidence of his lies and flat-out tells Helen that no one will ever believe her with only circumstantial evidence. Even Benoit Blanc acknowledges that his skill as a detective can only go so far without the police and courts on his side.

In the case of police brutality, cops similarly weaponize the legal system and avoid accountability for their murders by closing ranks through police unions that invoke "qualified immunity" (aka shielding the cops from legal liability). The privilege of white men, compounded by their wealth and connections, makes it difficult for them to face actual consequences for the harm they do.

We see the concept of avoiding consequences again with Miles' crew of "disruptors", all of whom rely on his money to bail them out of trouble. Birdie was implied to have done blackface, made tone-deaf comments comparing herself to Harriet Tubman, completely ignored all COVID restrictions, and tweeted ethnic slurs to the point where her assistant had to take away her phone, but her line of loungewear still takes off thanks to Miles' financial backing. In response to the latest scandal, personal assistant Peg says "We will do what we always do! Deny, half-apologize, then go silent awhile." Despite her litany of offenses and half-assed attempts at accountability, no consequences stick to the privileged Birdie either.

However, Helen refuses to accept this unfair state of things. In a situation where she appears powerless, with her sister gone and the valuable napkin burned, Helen essentially goes "fuck that" and makes Miles pay for what he did anyway. If the law won't take her side, she has to take it into her own hands. This is where the parallels to the 2020 riots come in.

We see her smashing the symbols of Miles' wealth, starting with his glass sculptures, and at first the other characters don't mind. They cheer her on from the couches, even though they all just refused to testify for her in court. This parallels the performative activism seen in many celebrities, who would rather watch from the sidelines and say vaguely supportive things rather than do any meaningful action to change the system. The other guests are happy to break the glass sculptures alongside her, saying how cathartic it feels, but they get antsy when she moves on to breaking more valuable things instead of giving up after a short while like they did. The camera shots of Helen smashing things and lighting a fire linger uncomfortably long as it starts to sink in that this isn't just a momentary temper tantrum. The so-called "disruptors" wince and gasp and exclaim how a piano belonged to Liberace and so on, completely ignoring how THE DESTRUCTION IS THE POINT, because if Helen only broke safe, acceptable targets, then it wouldn't actually mean anything. Similarly, when people rioted in 2020, there was a huge amount of pearl-clutching by people saying rioting is going too far, and can't we all just be nonviolent and have unity and forgive each other? In both cases, there's a veneer of support from people who just want the victims of injustice to "get their anger out of their systems" and move on without any serious changes being made.

I find it very fitting that Helen burns the Mona Lisa with Miles' own unregulated hydrogen fuel cell, using the override switch that he carelessly installed. She exploits the natural consequences of his self-centeredness so they all catch up to him at once. In the end, Helen's acts of protest do disrupt things and lead to change, even as people tell her she is going too far. Once Helen does the actual work of tanking Miles' reputation for good, only then do the "disruptors" jump ship and promise to back her up in court. They're willing to take the side of justice only when things have shifted to the point where it's the better act of self-preservation. If there was any chance of still hanging onto Miles' golden titty and making his reputation their hill to die on, they would've done it.

Blanc, the protagonist of the movie, gives Helen tacit permission to burn everything down by handing her the chunk of hydrogen fuel. He stands by her the whole movie and takes her seriously, demonstrating a path to better (non-performative) allyship.

Glass Onion shows that lasting change has to be demanded, not wheedled, and that sometimes things have to reach an undeniable crisis point to do so. In other words: protest is necessary.

#discussion #glass onion #knives out #glass onion analysis #black lives matter #knives out analysis #benoit blanc #miles bron

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coffeeandbatboys · 1 year

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In The Endgame (Peter Quill x reader)

A/N it took me an hour to find this specific GIF lol

Request: from Anon

hiii i saw you were taking requests for peter quill and was wondering if you could write something that takes place during endgame where everyone who got blipped comes back and peter and reader reunite since he got blipped but she didnt? just super emotional and fluffy? thank uuuuuu <3

Warnings: angst, fluff, emotion

No...

This wasn't supposed to happen.

You weren't supposed to die in space.

None of you were.

But Thanos had taken Gamora, and Peter, Drax, Mantis, and two of the Avengers you'd met all turned to dust right in front of you.

Your heart suddenly broke, knowing that Groot and Rocket were with Thor.

And now you were stuck in space with Nebula and Tony Stark.

Two people you were not incredibly fond of.

Once you were rescued and brought back to Earth, you learned that Rocket was alive, but Groot hadn't made it.

"What the hell happened to us, Kid?"

And even though he wouldn't admit it to anyone but you, he cried.

You cried for months after losing the love of your life.

But in the five years that followed that fateful day, you never moved on.

You kept yourself busy helping Rocket and Nebula to hold the Galaxy together and searching for Thanos while many of the heroes were 'dead'. And then one day, a bug dude showed up and brought the concept of time travel with him.

And this is how you ended up back on Morag in 2014.

It was the first time you'd seen Peter since he dusted. You desperately wanted to run to him and kiss him again, but this wasn't your Peter.

As he danced dramatically to 'Come and Get Your Love', you, Nebula and 'Rhodey'—as you'd been introduced—watched on at the utter ridiculousness.

Rhodey broke this silence.

"So he's an idiot."

You couldn't disagree.

"Yeah." You smiled sadly. "He's my idiot, though."

After all you'd been through there was no turning back now.

Portals opened everywhere in the ruins of the Avengers campus, and that's when you spotted Drax and Mantis, then—

Him. Your sweet, loveable idiot, Peter Quill. Sprinting over to join your found family once again, he spotted you and broke a smile. You returned it, giving him a desperate kiss when you reached him.

"I thought I lost you forever!" You cried, clinging to his jacket.

He looked confused. "It was only a few hours?"

Your head snapped up.

"Uh, try five years."

"What?..." He whispered, eyes widening as if horrified by the concept of you being alone for five years.

You turned towards Mantis and Drax, waving to them with a giddy expression. They both waved back, and you all faced the Mad Titan's army ahead.

And soon, you were right in the thick of it.

Lunging at a nightmarish humanoid creature, you blasted it before turning to cover Peter, who was fighting off two more. Once those were taken care of, you moved in and fought them back to back. Being close to Peter again felt like heaven, even in the battlefield.

Even when you saw all of the Female avengers joining to push back against the army, you were hesitant to leave Peter's side in fear that you'd lose him again.

"Go." He told you with a smile and a kiss. "I'll be here when it's over."

You ran after Mantis and Nebula, spotting...Gamora? You weren't sure how that worked, but you were glad nonetheless. It didn't feel right that Natasha wasn't there, but this, you felt, was to honor her. It was what she would want.

Fighting a pale squid looking thing, you watched over it's shoulder at Carol, the woman who had saved you in space, entering the fight. You cheered wildly and pumped your fist in the air. There was no way you would lose, now.

As you struggled with a Titan monster, you received some help from Groot, who skewered it with a thick branch while you blasted it in the head.

"Thanks, buddy." You high fived him.

"I am Groot."

"It's good to see you too!"

And all of the sudden, the Titans were disappearing.

It was then that you looked over to see Tony, slumped against a piece of wreckage, pale and barely breathing. It hit you that he had just snapped the enemy away, and that had drained everything out of him.

You shared a sad look with Rocket.

As dickish as Tony was, he had a good heart.

And he gave it all to save the world.

Everyone stood in silence as he breathed his last. And then one by one, they began to kneel. A king, a sorcerer, a captain, a soldier, an assassin, all from different backgrounds, honored one man. You kneeled and began to cry, knowing that he had a wife and daughter, one of which would be waiting for him.

After the funeral, you sat at the edge of the lake outside the Stark's cabin. Peter sat down next to you and slid an arm around your waist.

"He didn't have to do that." You bit back tears and leaned into him.

He signed deeply. "I don't think he saw a choice."

You had learned that Gamora, was in fact not the one you knew, but the one that didn't know any of you. The last you'd heard is that she'd run off in a ship from the battlefield.

"I missed you, Peter. You have no idea." You sobbed.

He pulled you closer "I'm sorry you had to go through that, babe."

"I...I couldn't bring myself to move on. You better treat Rocket right, too. He's the only reason I'm still here."

"I'm really glad you didn't. And, were on good terms, trust me."

You chuckled, giving a small smile.

"There it is." Peter crooned, kissing your jaw softly. "Wanna go get Dairy Queen before we head back out there?"

"Hell yeah!" You cheered.

#Peter quill x reader #star lord x reader #chris pratt #marvel #avengers: endgame #avengers: infinity war #Guardians of the galaxy #Mantis #Drax #Groot #Rocket #Nebula #Gamora #Rocket raccoon #star lord #drax the destroyer #Peter quill

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elenaysusneuras · 2 years

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For Science

A/N: My second fic in less than a month, I am proud of my achievement. I'll be honest, there were times when I thought this fic was turning into a big pile of disgusting garbage and almost gave up on it a couple of times. But alas, I persevered and I think sometimes I have to trust the process, or in my case the chaotic horny mess that is my brain. Again, English is not my first language so if you see any mistakes, please be patient and kind, I can only wish to improve. Please enjoy!! Pairing: Loki x Female Reader Warnings: SMUT (Obviously). Soft!Loki, Sex pollen trope, oral, penetration…just your regular filthy smut fic with a hint of plot. Avengers IW never happened. Words: 6.8k.

When you started working at the Avengers compound you could never have guessed what your life there would be like. And indeed every day was a surprise. You were hired as part of the medical staff after Tony read your thesis about modern medicine applied to metahumans. From day one you have been part of Dr. Banner's team and you were over the moon. Your work consisted in finding new ways of healing wounds inflicted by non-conventional weapons on enhanced humans. It was a challenging job that kept you on your feet and you loved it. And being so close to the almighty heroes almost made you feel one as well. One could dream.

In the span of a month you met most of the Avengers. They were nice and always grateful of your assistance. Captain America was polite and stoic, trying to be helpful in any way he could. Peter Parker always stammered and fidgeted while you looked at his wounds, something you found endearing. Bucky Burnes flirted with everyone. The Falcon told terrible jokes that made you cry from laughter and Thor was so gallant in an old-fashion way that you almost felt as a maiden healing a White Knight.

And then there was Loki.

The first time you met the Asgardian prince you felt intimidated. Even though you already met the great earth protectors, Loki was something else.

He was tall. But that was not it. Thor was a big guy, for sure, but there was something about Loki that made you feel small. Maybe it was his gaze, cold and curious. Maybe how long and lean his limbs were. Maybe it was the asgardian outfit that made him look so regal. Maybe that voice, deep and seductive that made your knees quiver. Not that he talked much, he mostly kept to himself and never stayed in the lab much. Something about being a magical entity from another planet; he never got badly injured and was in and out without much fuss. And he really seemed to dislike you in some way, because when you tried to patch his wounds he always looked bothered. When you tried to get a closer look to one of his cuts, he always backed up uncomfortable. You tried to make conversation, to make things less awkward, but he merely responded with monosyllables and walked away as fast as he could.

He was a creature of mystery and he certainly intrigued you. You made your utmost effort to make Loki open a little bit. But he was incredibly guarded.

So when you arrived first thing in the morning to the medical floor and found Loki there, to say you were shocked was the understatement of the century. He was leaning against one of the shelves, hands in his pockets and tapping his feet as if he was growing impatient. When he looked up and found you there, you saw something even more shocking.

He smiled at you.

-Hello- You said tentatively, as if you weren't sure he was standing there, in the middle of the lab. More specifically, in your side of the lab. -Hello… Dr y/n l/n Right? - He bowed his head almost imperceptibly as he kept smiling at you. A small, soft smile that you'd have never expected coming from him.

-Call me y/n, please. Besides, it's not like we are strangers. - You were sure to see a slight hint of a blush on his cheeks before turning away from you, looking at some of the papers you had on your desk. -Yes, well… we were never properly introduced and it never seemed like the right moment when you were working. - He fidgeted with the documents and tossed them back against the cold surface of your desk.

-Well then, nice to meet you again Loki. - You realized that it was your first time adressing him in a first name basis. He turned around and looked at you lost for words, but he regained his composure in a blink of an eye.

-Bruce was talking the other day on the jet about some of your research, about new methods of healing metahumans. I thought then that I could be of assistance.

This was by far the first time you've heard Loki talk that much to anyone. He usually looked at you in what seemed annoyance. So now you were lost for a moment in what was happening. The God of Mischief talking to you? Offering help? Were you high on something?.

You looked at the cup of coffee in your hand, as it contained all those answers, then back at him in what you were sure was the most skeptical glare you've ever given to anyone. Ever. Loki's little smile faded and he tilted his head, as if he was trying to convey that it was your turn to talk. After a silence that lasted two seconds too long you snapped out of your musings.

-Em… Sure. How exactly? - You walked towards him and again, you felt a little out of place. At your own lab. What was about his presence that was so menacing and enticing at the same time?.

-While Thor trained with my father, I spent most of the time learning from my mother. Magic, enchantments… but also different ways of healing different ailments. Botany, herbalism, potions… You name it, I've studied it. I think I could make myself useful to you.- There was pride in his tone, boast… But also joy and endearment in that memory.

-Why are you offering your help? -That might have sounded a bit severe because that little smile that you were starting to like, really like, disappeared from his features and he looked down, all that confidence he exuded evaporating in less than a second. -I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound harsh. Is just that your offer first thing in the morning was the last thing I expected for today. Or ever. -As he sensed humor in your voice he straightened up, a little less confident this time.

-My brother and I had a talk… he advised me to present myself to be more useful for the team. -That sounded very noble and you didn't notice any trace of sarcasm in his words. But you had the feeling that that was a half-truth at best. But he was offering thousands of years of otherworldly advice and who was the idiot to refuse that kind of knowledge?

Turns out you were the idiot. The biggest idiot in the galaxy.

Loki's help turned out to be extremely valuable. He really had knowledge not only about earth modern medicine or Asgard medicine, but all you could ever imagine and more. And he really seemed eager to be in the lab and help.

It started with some briefings about your research, and Loki was blithely filling some of the blanks. His explanations were educational and very entertaining. It totally re-shaped some of your theories and you were really grateful for all the input he was sharing with you. After a couple of days you told him that you had enough information and that you didn't want to waste more of his time, but he then had the brilliant idea of retrieving samples of medicinal plants and other biological material that could help from missions and some of his travels. And by the second week you found yourself in a unique routine with Loki: Early in the morning, most of the time a bit before your shift started, Loki was already in the lab next to your desk coffee in hand. How did he know how you liked your coffee you never dared to ask. At first you just had to repress your laugh because it was so funny to see the very important royal prince of Asgard in just casual attire and a lab coat. Or it would have been funny if he didn't look so cute in it.

The white coat really suited his tall frame. There were times were concentrating was a hard task in itself because, how dare he look so good? That would not matter if it wasn't for the fact that you just discovered that you had a thing for big, strong, elegant hands like the ones Loki brushed constantly against your arm every time he wanted to show you something. Or how he sometimes leaned in a little too close to say something to your ear and that voice, that accent made you almost purr.

All of this would definitely be funny, but it really, really wasn't. Because turns out the taciturn, arrogant and secretive prince you met weeks ago was a sweet, charming, a little bit too cocky and extremely attractive man you enjoyed way too much working with.

As the weeks went on the pattern continued: he would explain how the last mission went, some of the details you could need and then you two would spend most of the day examining samples under the microscope or running some simulations on the computer. Loki would always stay near, which was reasonable because you spend all this time sharing information and hypothesis. But sometimes you feared it was too near, especially after a long day where you would be tired and the temptation to lean in and get lost in how well he smelled was getting out of your control. By the end of the fourth week you were finishing your days with cold showers and it was starting to become embarrassing. You just wish Loki didn't notice anything.

Because boy you had it bad.

The next week started with the Avengers going to some remote location to fight a small army of very dangerous aliens. So you knew you'd spend the day alone and you felt relief, because any day now you were sure you'll combust at his mere presence and today at least you were going to be able to work unbothered. But on the other hand, you missed him because you really enjoyed his sense of humor, or how he looked at you, eyes full of wonder, as you tried to explain something you had realized that day.

Again, you had it really, really bad.

Good thing you loved your work and the high-tech lab Stark provided. You spent the day taking test after test, which usually kept your mind focused. Before you could finish the last one of the day it was already dark outside and you planned to end your shift soon.

As you were writing down the lasts results and making some notes, Thor stormed in the lab making you jump out of your chair. He seemed out of breath, something you deemed impossible for the God of Thunder, and before you could ask what he was doing there he was grabbing you by the shoulders telling you that Loki was extremely ill and in need of your assistance.

-Thor, calm down. What happened? - He was scaring you looking so worried, grasping at your lab coat a bit too hard. -Loki was explaining that he knew about a very exotic medicinal flower he insisted you could use for your research. We found a big field full of them and as he was about to grab some there was an explosion. -Oh God, is he ok? Is he bleeding?- Millions of scenarios flooded your mind as you felt a heaviness forming on your chest. -The explosion is not the issue. It nocked him out momentarily, but he was fine. The blast destroyed most of the flower field and there was pollen everywhere. Loki was covered head to toe and he seemed to react badly to it. -Thor you're scaring me. An allergic reaction? Is that it? I'm sure a strong asgardian god as your brother can overcome something that benign.- You exhaled in relief. Loki was alive. He only needed antihistamine, at most.

Or so you thought.

Thor insisted he needed your help and led you to the other wing on the medical floor. You were taken aback when you noticed Thor was leading you passed the main hall and took you to the isolation rooms, where quarantines were conducted. The rooms were all white, with one of the walls clear so you could see the inside without stepping in. There, you found Loki sitting on the bed as you've never seen him. Disheveled, his alabaster skin blushing red and looking damp. His always pristine asgardian suit was wrinkled and the top completely opened, showing his chest and abs glistening with sweat. He looked feverish and you started to worry as he looked at you and panic took over his features.

-Thor, what is she doing here!? - Was he mad? You came here to help. You were dragged here to help. -I was told you needed my help. That you had a terrible allergic reaction? - If looks could kill Thor would have been exterminated in a blast of fury. Loki stood up and walk across the room. He then hit his fist against the translucent wall, making you take a step back. Thanks for Stark and his technology that could stand the rage of an alien God. -I told you I didn't want her here. Get. Her. OUT. NOW.- Now you knew something was wrong. You've never seen Loki so angry. So out of his mind.

And so afraid.

-Ok. What is happening here. What is that no one is telling me?.- You were looking at the both of them. Thor was chewing his lower lip as he tried to prevent something coming out of his mouth and Loki looked like he was planning both of your murders. -The reaction Loki is having… in not a common allergic reaction.- Thor was whispering at you, as if Loki wasn't clearly able to hear the both of you. -Thor shut up.- Loki kept pacing the room like a predator in a cage.

-Loki she could help you, you know what could happen if you don't… -Thor sounded worried as he tried to appeal to his brother. Your head was spinning with their interaction and the hundreds of scenarios. Was Loki poisoned in some way? Was it a biological weapon in disguise that attacked him? -I'd rather die than get help FROM HER.- And that made your racing mind go blank.

All this time spending time together, falling for his smiles, his light touches and the way his musical voice asked for your advice… And now the only thing he seemed to want was to get rid of you, as if your presence caused him disgust. He kept avoiding your eyes and after that outburst, he walked back to the bed, sitting with his hands covering his face.

You started to walk out back to the hall, but you didn't get far before Thor caught up with you and grabbed your arm.

-He really needs your help y/n.- Thor implored you as you tried to walk pass him. -He doesn't think the same Thor, and his botanical knowledge is vast. I'll bring Dr. Banner and the technicians to run tests on him. I'm sure he'll be fine.- As you tried to walk away, Thor stood in your way. -I know what kind of plant Loki was looking at. Is a common flower in Asgard an Norns knows how it got here on earth. -You could have started there! We could draw some blood and try to synthesize an antidote or… -But from Thor expression you knew that something was amiss. -Thor, please. What are you not telling me? -The flower in question is called Pāravaśyam. In small doses, it helps increase blood flow, which helps in some healing processes. It also can help steady heart rate. But… -…But Loki didn't get a small dose. -No, he didn't. The dose he absorbed was extremely high, and the effects are dangerous if not taken the correct course.

-In that amount, what would happen to him?

-In big doses Pāravaśyam is used as an… how you call it here on earth… Viagra?

-Beg your pardon?- Sure you didn't hear him right. Besides Thor was so new to Earth sure he was confused. In no way he meant…

-Viagra? The blue pills that get manhoods engorged and full of lust for hours?- Ok. Wow. You had so many questions. First, how on earth did Thor know so much about Viagra? But second, and most importantly… All of this was because Loki was, for a lack of a better term… horny? -Are you telling me that Loki is… -Engorged and full of lust? Yes. -I don't know if asgardians know about this, but here on earth we do a thing called "masturbation". Maybe I should bring a book full of instructions for your brother.- You really tried your best not to laugh. But then you thought about Thor's fearful expression and Loki's reaction after he saw you. And by Thor's unamused reaction you knew there was something else. -Y/n I'm afraid that won't suffice. Some asgardians plants have some sort of magic in them, and Pāravaśyam is no exception. Sexual release might relieve the symptoms, but the only thing that can cure the… condition is to breed with a beloved person.

After that you went silent. Your head full of white noise. Thor looked at you as he expected some kind of reaction, but you didn't know what to think. You tried to push the images the word "breed" elicited to your mind. Loki was nice to you, he saw you as a colleague, as a lab partner. But did he care about you? In any sense that matter?

-Thor, Loki is only helping me with research.- Your voice was so small, like you were talking only to yourself. -You mortals can be as thick as a Kronan. Why do you think Loki asked to help you in the lab?- Thor looked exasperated now, like this conversation was taking a toll on him. -You asked him to. -Thor's chuckle was not completely humorless, but it didn't reach his eyes as his laugh usually did. -¿So that's what he told you huh?. Please y/n. Just go and try to talk to him. His condition will only get worse and it could be fatal. If it's not you, somebody has to help him.

"Help him". That's a way to put it.

With that, Thor walked away, leaving you with so many thoughts and so many questions. You looked back, and in what you perceived as slow motion you went back to Loki's room.

He was still sitting on the bed, elbows on his knees and head down his hands. You saw his shoulders twitch and you knew he was aware of your presence. But he kept his head down.

-I told you to leave.- Her voice was low and threatening, catching you off guard for a second. -Thor told me about the flower. About the pollen.- You started to close your distance, closing the space between you and the clear wall of Loki's room. -Thor doesn't know what he is talking about. -Well, he told me about your… your situation.

Thor words echoed in your head: "Engorged and full of lust". You closed your eyes as if it could erase the painfully explicit image that formed in your mind. Damn the God of Thunder.

Your hand instinctively reached to touch the wall, as if somewhat you could appease Loki through the thick crystal. Lokis hands gripped the mattress as if the gesture pained him.

-Please, don't come any closer. -He still didn't look up, and you could see now up close that his hands were trembling. -Loki I just want to help. Thor asked me to help you. - The palm of your hand touched the cold surface, and Loki finally looked at you.

His jaw clenched, forehead full of droplets of sweat. His shoulders were up to his ears and his knuckles white gripping the sheets with so much force it was a miracle they hadn't shredded. His pupils were almost completely blown out, barely showing the blue in his eyes. If you could decipher the way he looked at you it would be with hunger. So much hunger.

-I said, don't come any closer. I…I can feel you through the wall. Please y/n… leave. -Why did you offer to help me in the lab? - Loki blinked several times, taken aback by your question. Lips pressed together, it doesn't take long before his eyes dart to the floor again. He realized that you have talked to Thor, and norns only knew what he had told you. -I told you about that my knowledge… that I wanted… -Loki stammered, unable to read your expression because he could only think of one thing.

And is all the things he wants to do to you.

-Thor didn't ask you to, did he?. - Looking at him, seeing Thor's reaction earlier, remembering the first time you saw Loki in the lab… You knew in that moment that Loki's motivation to help you wasn't the selfless reasoning he gave you that first day. You just saw that so clearly now. -I wanted to help you.- His hands stopped grabbing the fabric to end again covering his face. And that bothered you so much because all you wanted was to see his reaction. To see what he was feeling.

To see him look at you with so much desire again.

-Why did you tell me that the first day? Why lie?. -You would have asked about my reasons. And lying was the preferable option. -Loki, what was the reason… -Because I wanted to spend time with you. Because every time I ended in your table examining my injuries, asking me questions all I could think about was how soft and small your hands were, and how good it would feel having them all over me. How sweet your voice sounded or how you always smelled like orange blossom and that drove me insane. So I offered you my help under false pretense. I thought spending time with you would alleviate my infatuation, but I was so wrong. The way you smiled when you explained some detail about your work, or how you bit your lip when you were frustrated. It was the most delicious, beautiful torture I've ever endured in my long life.- He looked up, his pained expression, making a knot in the pit of your stomach. -This is humiliating. This is not how you were supposed to find out. I wanted to ask you out, court you properly… and now… please y/n. Just leave.

And there you were, all this time thinking you were alone in your feelings. You felt elated to know Loki felt this way about you, but you knew that this confession, it was all wrong. He didn't want you to know about this. He felt exposed and vulnerable. He wasn't himself, he was under the influence of some cosmic toxin and he was suffering. And you didn't know how you could, or if you could. But you really wanted to offer some comfort.

So you walked towards the door, slowly turning the knob.

When you entered the room the first thing to hit you was the smell. It smelled like Loki: fresh peppermint, sweet spices and leather… but so much more intense. It was intoxicating. You felt the immediate need to press your thighs together, but you ignored it. Loki jumped out of the bed, walking backwards until his body was pressed against the furthest wall from you. He kept his hands in his back, as if he was afraid he could reach you from there. His breathing turned more elaborate and all you wanted was to end his misery.

-Y/n, please just… - He looks so concerned, so contrite.

Is he afraid of you… or for you?

You stepped closer, slowly. You knew what he needed. And your body ached to touch him, to hug him, to make him feel better. You feared that your intentions weren't selfless, you have been attracted to him for weeks and now he needed you, your body, and even though you saw him at the brink of hyperventilation, trying his best to remain in control… you just wanted him. You craved for him. Knowing that you were the only cure, for him to consume you, to satiate his lust for you was making your core ache.

-Please y/n, don't come any closer. I…I can smell your skin, I can almost taste it from here. I don't know what is going to happen if you touch me. I don't want to hurt you. I… -But his voice died in his throat as you cupped his cheek with your hand, your thumb feeling the soft skin under his eye. -You won't hurt me. Let me help you Loki.

Your voice was merely a whisper as you close the distance, pressing your chest against his. You felt his erection against your belly, his length pulsating against you even through all the layers of clothing. You stood on your tiptoes and brushed your lips against his, barely touching them. You were waiting for his reaction, for him to push you away.

But in a swift movement your back was against the wall and Loki was pining your wrists above your head. Before you could wrap your head about what just happened his mouth was on yours kissing you hard, his tongue demanding and his teeth pulling your lower lip making you gasp. His mouth was divine, his tongue moving expertly like he could not get enough of your taste. Before you could catch your breath, his hand found the hem of your t-shirt. It rested flat against your stomach and stayed there, his fingers flexing slightly. His lips started a trail its way from your mouth to your ear. He then sucked, hard, against the skin below. His breath was hot and you could hear a lump in his throat, his voice struggling to come out.

-Y/N… tell me you are sure. Tell me you want this… because I'm afraid I won't be able to stop If I keep touching you like this.- His voice was so soft but so full with need it made your core clench, feeling empty and desperate. Even in his state he still cared about you, enough to make you feel safe. He still needed your consent. He needed to know you wanted this. Him.

That somehow made you dizzy with desire.

-Yes, Loki. Take me… please.

With that you kissed him again, relishing on how soft his lips were, on how good he tasted. His hands went up under your shirt grabbing your breast firmly, wasting no time in pulling down your bra and palming them until your nipples were hard. Your head was spinning feeling his body so pressed to yours, his touch everywhere and his mouth relentless. His lips travelled from your mouth to your neck, sucking and biting so hard that you were sure he was leaving all kinds of marks on your sensitive skin.

Once his mouth found the collar of your t-shirt, his hands ripped it in half in one swift movement, exposing the warm skin of your chest to the cold air of the room. He then buried his face against your breast, his tongue tasting your skin. You arched your back trying to feel more of him and he took the opportunity for his hands to find the hook of your bra and tearing it off. He started to lick long and slow strokes, first one breast and then the other over and over again. His tongue was adamant against your nipples, swirling and lapping every inch of you, making you roll your eyes back as pleasure invaded your senses. His hands descended to your waist, pinning you in place as you felt his body descend and falling to his knees.

Loki was on his knees, in front of you. That was a sight you'd treasure forever.

His hands were gripping your waist before his fingers found the button of your jeans. Without taking his eyes from you he undid your button and you heard the metallic clicking of the zipper. His mouth was on your navel, nibbling his way to your exposed hip bone while his hands tore off your trousers and the rest of your underwear, discarding them with the rest of your now destroyed outfit. You felt his gaze roaming all over your exposed body, taking you in, and you started to feel a little bit self-conscious, your hands instinctively trying to cover yourself before Loki stopped them.

-You are so fucking beautiful. - His eyes never left yours, his face so closed you could feel his breath against your belly button. -Your mind is full of toxins and I'm pretty sure your judgment is clouded.- How did you manage to speak a full sentence in that moment was a mystery, You guessed the logical part of your brain never slept. -I always thought you were stunning. So alluring and so sweet… And I always wondered if you tasted as sweet as you looked.

And without any warning his hands grabbed your hips and his mouth was on you. His lips parted your folds and his tongue started lapping fervently, flattened tasting everything in its path. You felt your knees quivering on the verge of giving up as your mouth fell open in a silent cry. Lucky for you Loki had superhuman strength and had you pinned to the wall keeping you at place. His tongue swirled rapidly around your clit and that feeling followed by the wet and obscene sounds he was making while eating you, were making your head spin and your hands grabbed his head for support. The moment his mouth started sucking, his tongued never leaving your clit, you felt the familiar knot forming inside you tensing fast. You were a panting mess, and every flick of Loki's expert tongue getting you closer to your release.

The moment his lips sucked hard on your swollen clit your body snapped, shaking uncontrollably, your orgasm so intense that you could only feel your core clenching, asking for more as the wave of pleasure travelled through your body like fire kissing your skin. And it lasted so long, too long, because Loki refused to stop his movements. Even when the sensation verged on overstimulation. Your mind went blank for one second, eyelids still full of fireworks when you felt your feet not touching the floor anymore, and your body being moved carefully.

You were still trying to steady your breathing when you felt your back touch something soft. When you opened your eyes you saw Loki, taking off his clothing harshly, almost ripping it off his skin before joining you in the bed. He positioned himself above you, his hands partying your legs, kneeling before you. That's when your eyes found his cock, big and dripping with precum. His head was dark pink and looked smooth to the touch. Your hand thought so too because it wasted no time in grabbing him and feeling it pulsate against your hand. The moan that escaped his throat was obscene and went directly to the apex of your thighs making you even more soaked.

Before you could move your hand so he'd make that sound again, he grabbed it and kissed your palm. You were almost sure you felt his smile against your skin before he lowered himself and kissed you, his lips devouring yours as you still tasted yourself on his tongue. You were giddy with lust, craving to feel his cock buried deep inside you. His tip found your wet lips and you whined, longing to feel more of him. He stopped kissing you and you felt his mouth descend to your shoulder, peppering kisses everywhere in its path. Your hands started to caress his back and that's when you noticed he was trembling. His whole body was shaking.

Loki was holding back.

-Loki… -You felt him tensing at the sound of your voice, his cock twitching against you. His face still hidden in your neck. -Tell me this is ok y/n. Please… tell me you want to be mine.- His voice was merely a whisper struggling to come out and your heart expanded almost bursting your chest. Even in his state, even after devouring you five minutes ago and giving you a Richter's scale 10 orgasm, he was pleading you, still needing to make sure you were ok.

You took his face between your hands and looked at him. His eyebrows were almost touching, knotted with worry and his eyes glistening. He was in agony, so close to you and yet not allowing himself to lose control.

-Y/n… please- His voice was hoarse, barely a whisper.. You could hear him all day calling your name like that. But today was not that day. -Yes, Loki… I'm yours.

He positioned himself and started entering you, inch by inch, streaching you like you've never been before in an agonizing slow pace until he was buried inside you. You cried at the sensation, overwhelming and intense as he made you feel completely full. The pleasure was mixed with a little pain and you were gasping, trying to take everything he was giving you. His forehead was against your shoulder, as if he was trying to hide his pleasure from you. Both of you remained still, Loki trying really hard to give you time. By the way he was breathing you were sure he was at the brink of snapping and fucking you with his full force. Your cunt was gripping him hard and as the pain subsided your hips started moving of their own volition.

-Fuck y/n.. you are so tight… I can't…

With that he started moving. He proceeded to remove himself entirely to rapidly thrust inside you hard. At first his rhythm was languid, relishing on the raw sensation of his member teasing your narrow slit, entering you slowly making you whimper. But his need for you was getting more desperate, the overwhealming feeling of your naked form pressed against him, your hands gripping his shoulders, your moans filling his ears, it was all too much. And by the sounds he was making, and how he whispered your name like a prayer against your neck, you knew he needed release. Gripping your knees, he opened your legs completely wide and started pounding deeper, frantically, reaching a spot inside you that made your head spin. You felt the familiar coil in your lower belly building again fast. Your hips started rolling against his, looking for even more friction, to reach your release that was burning your nerves in the most exquisite and tortuous way. You felt his cock twitching and you knew he was close too.

-Y/n… I'm not gonna last, I need you to come now- He was struggling to talk, plunging into you with so much force you could hardly realize what he was telling you. One of his hands reached down, barely rubbing your clit, once, twice before making you scream his name. -Loki I'm coming, ImcommingImcommingImcommingImcomming… GOD!

Your back arched as you felt your body combust. Your core was clenching hard in your release, making Loki come hard, thrusting into you mercilessly prolonging your orgasm. You felt him spilling inside you while he kept moving in long strokes without slowing down. That brought another devastating wave of pleasure that ripped you apart. You felt all the nerves in your body going on overdrive. And then your brain was suddenly filled with white noise.

When you returned to earth the first thing you noticed was that Loki was heavy. Not that you were complaining, his weight covering you was something you found comforting. His forehead pressed against your collarbone, you noticed his breathing going back to normal. You felt lightheaded and in a weird state of bliss. Both of you were silent, recovering your breaths and you found yourself starting to worry. Now that he got the toxin out of his system, would he regret it? What if he thought you took advantage of his vulnerable situation? All the things he said before… was that the pollen? Was it him? Both?

-I can hear you thinking from here. - At some point between your musings he lifted his head so he could look at you. His eyes drifted to your mouth and his finger brushed the lower lip that you unconsciously were biting.

And then the silence crept again. He was looking for you, waiting for you to say something. Were you supposed to say something? What was supposed to be said in this situation? You've never had life or death poisonous flower induced sex before.

-Did I hurt you? - His eyes were darting across your features, as if he could fathom what were you feeling.

You shook your head, your voiced trapped in your throat. He looked at you, sadness covering his features and you started to panic.

-You regret it, is that it? - It was more an affirmation than a question, and you felt his body trying to move away from you. Now that you have discovered how amazing his body felt pressed to yours, how amazing he smelled even after all the sweating and… No. You were not having any of that.

So before he could move you wrapped your legs around his hips. A long sigh escaped his lips as his eyes were again on you.

-I don't regret it Loki… it's just… -He looked somewhat confused and hopeful while you searched for the right words. How he could look so adorable after fucking you senseless was a gift from the ancient Gods of Asgard, you were sure of it. -What? You didn't like it?

That took you by surprised and you supressed a laugh. "Like it" could not cover the mind-blowing ecstasy he had given you. You took a long breath, trying to gather your thoughts. He needed answers. You needed answers. And it was truly distracting how beautiful he looked, head against your chest with big blue puppy eyes.

-I think I was quite clear in showing how much I was enjoying myself-His chuckle vibrated through your chest and you smiled, because how dare he doubt anything after what he did to you. -So what is it then? -Well… lets say this is not how I pictured our first kiss to be like. Or the first time we slept together. Or our first anything really. If anyone this morning would have told me that by the end of the day I'll be having crazy-monkey-flower-induced sex with you in one of the isolation chambers I would have called security.

His whole body relaxed against you as he propped himself with his elbows, hovering over you, noses brushing and you could see his smile wide and with a hint of mischief.

-Oh, but you have pictured me seducing you? - It was impossible not to blush as he smirked at you playfully. -Erm…

You turned your head, unable to meet his gaze, feeling a rush of shyness. One thing was being fucked into oblivion to safe his life, and the other was to confess that you have been harboring feelings for him for weeks, daydreaming about his small smiles and light touches. He grabbed your chin making you face him again, his thumb brushing under your jaw.

-I imagined fucking you on your desk every day for the last two weeks. I was hoping to ask you on a date after we arrived from our mission. But then… -His thumb released your lower lip again from your teeth and you smiled at him.

So at the end you both were idiots falling for the other. For weeks.

-Was it as good as you imagined? - Your arms embraced him, a wide smile spreading across your face. It was weird how much you were enjoying this new intimacy. -So, so much better. - This time he kissed you gently, taking his time as his fingers brushed against your cheeks. -Would you allow me to court you properly?- You sighed blissfully. Who would have thought that the God of Mischief was so soft. -I'd love to. But I'm afraid that we can't keep working together. -Why is that? - His eyebrows almost touched his hairline as he looked at you confused. -Well…for starts, I could never concentrate working on my desk next to you ever again.

And with a big smile he kissed you again.

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

People asked me to tag them WHAT: @andromedaa-tonks @donaweasley @mochie85 @sarahscribbles

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midnightmayhem13 · 10 months

Text

baby kiss it better

your first kiss with the ladies! enjoyyyyy🩶

carol danvers:

after carol had taken you on a few dates, she wanted to wait for the perfect one to kiss you. until one day, you two were doing a mission together but had to be disguised. you two dressed up and went to some famous drug cartel gala. there was people making bids on illegal substances and there was one in particular you had to get so no one else had it. you and carol had dressed up as if you went as a date. after you two finished the mission you were just chilling on a roof top. carol flew you there bc she wanted to cool down before you two went home. she was telling you all about the stars. saying "but your smiles out shines all of them" with a smirk. you giggled and looked at her then her lips, noticing she was already staring at yours. as if there was some force that pushed you two together you met in the middle and kissed. the kiss was long passionate. her hands going to your waist, yours to her face and neck. and the stars shined brighter in that moment

sharon carter:

you two were out and about just partying and having fun together. no avenger status and no power broker business. you two went to clubs and bars and just had drinks going to all the clubs you could find. and the more you two drank the more tension there was. you two were flirting shamelessly. you even had sat on sharon's lap and just chilled there with her arms around you. the later it got more drunk men started getting confident. sharon had gone to the bathroom and you stayed talking to random people. there was one specific man that got too confident and started flirting with you. he started getting touchy and you prayed sharon would come over soon to get you out. he was trying to pull you into him by the waist and before you could react he was getting punched in the gut. by who if not your sharon. she had protectively held you by your waist and cussed the man out. you two walked away and as you were going to thank her she pulled you in and kissed you passionately. you two later decided to go home and get some much needed alone time.

darcy lewis:

you can't help but stare at darcy's beautiful red lips all the time. and she can't help but tease you about it. always blowing you kisses or making kissy faces at you. you kiss each other on the cheek or forehead but you still haven't had your kiss yet. one day you two were on a walk on a chilly fall night, swinging your joined hands when you brought up the topic of kisses. you complimented her lips, says they always looked gorgeous with or without their usual red tint. she blushed and said yours were cute and adorable. you teased her saying that hers were probably soft too. "they look super kissable too darce" you said with a wink. she giggled and stopped your motion. "you wanna see for yourself?" darcy questioned with a raise eye brow and a smirk, grabbing both of your hands. "without a doubt docter" you answered, gingerly grabbing her face and kissing her sweetly. (this my fav one omg)

nebula:

now with nebula, physical affection was hard. not only having never rlly gotten any as a kid, but having you so close to her made her vulnerable. but for you, she would go through hell. she let herself get close to you and forced herself to get used to giving you physical affection and know you loved her. it was hard but things got better. after a hard day you two were entering your room. once in privacy, nebula loved to hug you for a while. while you two were doing this. swaying side to side you pulled away. she immediately looked to see if something was wrong, "i love you nebula." she was stunned, never in her life had she thought you would love her. when she took a while to answer you spoke up, " you d-don't have to say it, i just wanted you to know-" when she cut you off with a passionate but awkward kiss. she didn't say it back but you felt she did. with time, the words would eventually come out her mouth

maria hill

now i strongly believe maria loves slow dancing. so enjoy. you and maria danced often. she actually showed you the steps if you didn't know. but after a while it became a normal thing. when she was stressed for work you step back and hold your hands out and she couldn't say no. slow dancing with you always calmed her down. it didn't matter with or without music as long as it was with you. you two often slow danced in a beautiful scenery. one day while driving around, you found a flower field. it happen to be a mix of your favorite flowers. as if you read each others minds, you began dancing. maria played your favorite song to dance to. you were so beautiful to her. her eyes shined brighter than diamonds in that moment. as you two finished off the dance, you held eachother staring into eachothers eyes. "may i?" maria asked, almost shyly you nodded closing your eyes and feeling her soft lips on yours. neither of you could be happier in that moment.

kate bishop

when you and kate started going out there was a lot of times were you two almost kissed. and much to both of your dismays it was always interrupted. and kate was getting fed up. she wanted to just lock both of you in a room and make out. although that probably wasn't the best option but she considered it. finally one day when you two were having a roof top date as usual eating pizza and having fun. you two were both laughing at something and looked at the other to watch them laugh. in that moment everything just felt right. your belly laughs died down and turned into soft giggles. after having some sort of staring constant you smiled at kate "whatcha thinking about katie?" she questions with an adorable expression "i- i uhm i was uh can- can i kiss you?" late messily stuttered out. immediately getting embarrassed of the way it came out and covering her bright red cheeks with her hands. you didn't answer, you gently removed her hands and smiled at her. you held the side of her neck gently and kissed her. her eyes went wide not thinking you'd actually do it. once she realized what was actually happening she quickly held you by the hips and kissed passionately. you giggled into the kiss and made out on a roof top.

i love darcy. expect more content. that's it.

#carol danvers x reader #sharon carter x reader #darcy lewis x reader #nebula x reader #maria hill x reader #kate bishop x reader #marvel x reader #marvel imagine #wlw

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natureismynature · 9 months

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Oh fuck it- I did the analysis.

Anyway, I want you all to remember that this is me talking about CHARACTER MENTALITY. This is me analyzing these characters' THOUGHT PROCESSES about the whole situation.

This is not me victimizing anyone, this is not me making EXCUSES for anyone, and this is DEFINITELY not me blaming Tazercraft for the other islanders' thoughts and actions. This is just me looking at relationships and characterization.

Okay, so the whole "Tazercraft situation" is an interesting one. They were betrayed, they were forced to relive their trauma, they lost a dear friend in the process, and so many more things. And we know that the person who arrested them, Foolish, doesn't understand how severe his actions were. He did that for FUN, with little to no remorse at first. But for some reason, the Islanders aren't that mad at him? Why? Why aren't they hounding on him? Why aren't they pissed? Why aren't they trying to save Tazercraft? Why aren't they avenging them?

Well, because if you look at it, the Islanders know Foolish more than they know Tazercraft. Yes, they're all friends, but Pac e Mike aren't as, well, *close* to the other residents compared to Foolish. Yes, they organize a lot of events for all the Islanders to spend time together and have fun, but most of the time, they're building said events together rather than speaking with the others. It's not very common that Pac and Mike have deep and personal conversations with the other Islanders, but Foolish is almost always the emotional support himbo. And yeah, Foolish used to build a lot too, but lately, he's been spending more time with the others just bonding and talking and getting to know them.

My point is, almost NO ONE knows Tazercraft outside of "The guys who makes cool games and give haircuts". While everyone knows Foolish as more than "The silly guy who builds things."

The only people (that aren't Brazilian) who I can think of that are very close to Tazercraft outside of their events, are Etoiles (he wasn't informed when they were taken, he's clueless of the situation), Fit (he's the ONLY one who's truly angry at Foolish to the point of considering murder), and Foolish himself. It would be kind of hard to find a justifiable way to be very mad if you know almost nothing about the victims (and this is not me blaming Tazercraft, this is just me looking at how people in general would react to situations like this)

Now that we've talked about the Islanders' relationship with TC in general, let's talk about specifics.

Cellbit, why isn't he mad? Well, because he WANTS to believe in Foolish. He wants to TRUST in Fooish. Because they were friends first before they were in-laws. Foolish was the one who stayed by him when he was at his lowest. The one who kept him sane by being more insane than him. And if you guys remember, he's still under the impression that Foolish is doing this to protect Richas. Cellbit's SON. Plus, he BELIEVES in Tazercraft. "They got out before, they can get out again." (Also, let's not forget that he's probably a sleeper agent and was instructed not to intervene with it)

Forever, why isn't he mad? Now for this one I'm gonna talk meta. Well, similar to Cellbit, he's under the impression that Foolish is doing this for Richas. But unlike Cellbit, he's not fully convinced. ALSO unlike Cellbit, he doesn't really know Tazercraft that much, he doesn't share the same history as they do with Cellbit and Felps. Now that we've established that, let's talk meta. qForever treasures his family, we know that, but the last time he lashed out due to strong emotions, the FANDOM attacked ccForever. You think he'll act strongly again after that? He's controlling himself this time. Bidding his time, waiting for the bomb to drop, waiting for the truth to come out, so he doesn't make mistakes again.

Badboyhalo, why isn't he mad? Well, because he doesn't know Tazercraft (he often forgets who's Pac and who's Mike) and he's best friends with Foolish. As much as he wants to be impartial and fair on his judgment, he's still biased. He wants ANYTHING than to believe that Foolish is doing this by his own volition. He's trying his damn best to find anything to excuse Foolish's actions. His reaction when Foolish told him the truth was "Then why is everyone mad at you?" because to him, it's just normal Foolish behavior to sell out his friends for a gun.

Richarlyson, why isn't he mad? Because he's a literal CHILD. A child that is hopeful and loves his grandma very much. He's very close with Foolish, he copes through jokes, and has already lost so much. He doesn't want to lose his trust on Foolish too. So for now, he'll give him the benefit of a doubt.

Fit, why didn't he tell anyone that he found Pac and Mike? Well, because he could be putting his beloved son in danger if he said that. It was RAMON who asked him to keep it a secret. He has things at stake too. He cares for his friends, he's rightfully angry at Foolish, but he would never risk Ramon's life.

Jaiden, why is she siding with Foolish? Well, because she was lied to and she sees him as a trustworthy friend. She knows how it feels to be suspected by every, to be made an errand girl by the Feds. She thinks Foolish is in the same situation and wants to be there for him like many people were there for her.

Aypierre and Phil don't really have strong bonds with Pac and Mike so we can't really expect anything from them. They themselves are pretty out of touch with other players as well most of the time.

Now, let's talk about the "they would have been thrown in jail either way" sentence that the Islanders have been throwing around. They've been saying this because, well, it's the truth. No matter what, Pac and Mike would have been thrown in prison. The Islanders are just confused on why it had to be Foolish who arrested them. They all know of the illegal things that Tazercraft has been doing, and they all know what happens to people who break the rules, which is why no one was surprised when their illegal acts caught uo with them. I'd like to point out that the first person to be jailed was Maximus, and as far as the Islanders know, jail in the island isn't so bad because Max got out fine after a day. They're not AWARE of how fucked up the actual prison is because Max didn't experience what Pac and Mike did. I'm sure that if they finally see Tazercraft again and hear of the horrors they had to go through, people would be more angry and wary if anyone else gets imprisoned.

Tl;dr:

At the end of the day, it all boils down to biases and ignorance. The Islanders know nothing about the prison and they're very aware that Foolish would sell out his friends for free shit. They are not surprised about his actions because he was never shy to say he'd do anything for free things. And they are not that worried because they don't know how bad it was in the prison. They were all lied to, and they are all friends with Foolish. But I'm sure that if they hear the full story from Pac and Mike's side, they'd have a LOT to say to Foolish.

#qsmp #timb talks #foolish gamers #rambles #qsmp tazercraft #qsmp cellbit #qsmp forever #badboyhalo #qsmp jaiden #qsmp richarlyson #qsmp fit

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sirendeepity · 2 months

Note

I hate how Rhysand and the IC suffered no consequences and didn't even have the decency to apologise for withholding such important information from Nesta but Nesta was the one who had to be punished for coming clean to her sister in an attempt to avenge them both (canon). She didn't mince her words while saying how they didn't respect her as the HL and this fact was just never paid any heed in the entire book thereafter ...? Questionable.

She even apologised! (Though there was nothing wrong with what she said but Feyre should have been relayed this info more...gently?)

Never heard Rhysand apologise to her or Feyre.

This MF book gets on my nerves istg

Oh, pookie, I feel you.

SJM's favoritism toward Rhysand is murdering his character. She wants us to believe that he is so good and kind and open-minded and better than everyone because he is just so misunderstood, and then does... This?

Should have Nesta found a more appropriate way to break the news to Feyre? Sure, no one can argue with that. Oh wait, I can, because it shouldn't have been Nesta in the first place. It should have been Rhysand, you know, her mate and husband, or better yet! It should've been Madja!! The very first person who must've realized such a thing would more likely happen since she's their personal healer, but willingly chose to withhold that information from the High Lady mother to later share it in private with Rhysand. Ew. How she still has her job is beyond me. She should have her licence revoked, or whatever. But I digress.

It's not just the act in and of itself (of Nesta telling Feyre), but also everything around it, leading to it. Madja, as I said above, but also the rest of the IC. I'm sorry but, what the fuck? Isn't she supposed to be their friend, too? Their sister? She's their High Lady, for fuck's sake. HIGH LADY!! EQUAL IN EVERY DAMN WAY TO RHYS! And then some, because Rhysand could only wish he was more like Feyre.

And then they had the audacity to punish Nesta for it? For doing what they should've done a long time before? Are we insane?

Feyre didn't even stay mad at Rhys for a full night, but Nesta had to go through that Hike from Hell for a week straight? And Sarah really tried to make it look like that was a long-time-coming thing? Like we, as readers, would see it as a "close the circle" moment, The Healing Of Nesta Archeron? Fuck you, Sarah.

It's been a while now since I started to make a very specific distinction between the Hike scene and the Lake scene.

The lake, when she broke down and cried out 25 years worth of pain and regret? Good, we liked it, it was fifty shades of sad. Closing an eye on the weird beginning of Cassian's monologue being like "I won't tell you how I did x, y and z, but actually I will", but overall it was A Moment.

The hike, on the other hand? Yeah. Not a fucking chance.

Then again, SJM has this weird view of sex, so I can bet Rhys got a good lick between Feyre's legs, maybe fucked her real nice, and that counted as an apology for withholding vital information about the pregnancy from the, you know, pregnant woman. Disgusting.

#dee answers #thank you for giving me the opportunity to shit on *that* a bit more pookie #nesta archeron #nesta archeron deserves better #feyre archeron deserves better #anti acosf #anti sjm #anti rhysand #anti inner circle #is there anything I'm not an anti of at this point?

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mediocre-daydreams · 2 years

Text

mitosis // peter parker

pairing: peter parker x stark! reader

summary: you and peter have a bio project on asexual reproduction; specifically, mitosis. the avengers believe there is a different type of reproduction going on, and hint hint, it is not asexual.

warnings: friends to lovers, mutual pining, tony stark is a FOOL, the avengers are horrible meddling matchmakers, swearing, mentions of sex but no smut, poor bruce just wants to help

w/c: 10.4k (i'm so sorry i got carried away)

“this might be a bad time to ask, but what… is… that?” you slapped your hand next to a diagram of a cell splitting itself into pieces, like some fucked up version of a minecraft slime that existed in your body—no, was your body.

peter sighed dramatically, rolling his eyes, but you could tell he wasn’t actually upset. his lips were pursed and the corners of his mouth curved downwards, which was a telltale sign that he was holding back a laugh.

“you do realize that this project is due in a week, right?” peter, who had been lying on his stomach while studying, pushed himself off the ground to meet your eye level. he scooched a bit closer to you, pushing the textbook out from between you so he could get close enough for his knees to touch yours.

“duh, i totally knew that. it’s on my calendar and everything.” you and peter both looked up at the captain-america-holding-puppies themed calendar on your wall; peter raised his eyebrows, amused, when he saw that the entire month was blank.

“i mean my digital calendar. who even uses physical calendars anymore? that’s so stupid. i only bought it to support the puppies. not because steve looks really g- not because i wanted to use it, or anything. besides, it’s good decor.”

peter didn’t try to hold back his laughter this time. he pressed his hands to your cheeks, shaking your head. “you’re so dumb, you know that right?” you grinned, except not really, because your face was being squished.

“no! your fashe is shtupid!” you swatted at his hands, scrambling for the discarded textbook and holding it up in front of your face to shield yourself from his attack.

peter chuckled breathlessly, guiding the textbook down from between the two of your faces until it brushed against both of your legs, which hadn’t stopped touching. peter caught his breath and his playful expression from a minute ago softened into a look of adoration. you smiled faintly at him, eyes darting between his. sure, the two of you were friends. best friends, maybe—but you had always thought that was unfair to MJ and ned—but you weren’t the type of friends to hold each other’s faces (even if it was just a joke) or sit so close to each other (even if it was just for the convenience of sharing a textbook) or get lost in each others’ eyes (even if that’s what you were doing right now).

you heard your father’s sing-song voice as his muffled footsteps (he was probably wearing his new iron man slippers) approached your door. “oh stark spawnnn… my favorite child…”

the trance that you and peter were in broke immediately. you smiled sheepishly and pushed yourself off the ground to go see why your father was calling you. you only took a few steps before the door flew open to reveal an energetic tony stark.

“how many red bulls have you had today?” you sighed, having given up on trying to reduce your father’s energy drink dependency long ago.

“uh, five.” he checked his watch. “it’s only 11 though!” he shrugged his shoulders. “anyways, i need you to- oh hi spiderboy.” tony looked past your shoulder to see a pink-faced peter sitting awkwardly next to an open biology textbook and two backpacks. peter raised his hand in greeting, not wanting to push it by using words considering he was already in the daughter of his mentor’s room.

“you needed?” you prompted, stealing a glance at peter at the same time your father did. you were antsy, wanting to get back to doing whatever it was that you had been doing with peter as soon as possible.

“right. you know you’re my favorite kid, right? remember how i took you to mexico last month and let you buy as much street food as you wanted? you’re a really good, smart, cool kid, you know? i-”

“alright, spit it out. and don’t even get me started on mexico—that was because you had a mission. so,” you sighed, unable to stay mad at him after seeing the guilt creeping on your dad’s face. if tony stark was showing any emotion other than narcissism, something must’ve been seriously wrong. “what did you do?”

“okay, so i might have gotten into an argument with cap…” you looked at him suspiciously. that was a pretty normal occurrence. “…aaand i may have called him ageriatriccosplayerinspandex…. uh… wholookslikehecouldbeinasexyfirefightercalendar… but that he was sopurethathewouldprobablycombustjustlookingatthecostumes.”

“dad. i- i have no clue what you just said and i don’t really want to, considering the only words i could make out were ‘geriatric, spandex, sexy firefighter, combust’ and that doesn’t sound very promising.” tony looked down at the floor in shame.

“so you came to me to help you to help steve to forgive you? aren’t you like, the adult here?” tony pushed his glasses up his nose, eyebrows furrowed.

“i, uh, can’t. because he’s locked himself into his room and the last time i saw him he was probably as red as my suit. and you know he’ll listen to you over me!” tony whined, pulling at his hair, distressed.

“okay, okay. yeah, i’ve got it. now can you go and eat something? all that redbull’s gonna kill you if you don’t have carbs to soak it up. or at least i think that’s how nutrition works. i don’t know. when you and steve finish filming your firefighter porno, you can ask him about it. after all, he’s a supersoldier.” you grabbed your father’s arms to turn him around, then dug your palms into his back to push him out the door. “goodbye favorite father!”

“i’m your only father!” you heard tony yell back at you as your door slammed shut.

“jeez, i’m so sorry about that peter.” you threw yourself onto your bed with a couple of bounces from the impact. peter laughed, coming up to meet you on the plush comforter. he grabbed a pillow and laid it under your head, which you raised gratefully so that he could slide it underneath you. as he fluffed the pillow, peter’s hand slipped behind your neck to pull your hair out from beneath you and ran his fingers through it absentmindedly as he splayed it out like sunbeams around your head. you hummed contentedly.

“so, steve’s a sexy firefighter, huh?” peter mused, his calloused fingers brushing gently at your hairline, pulling stray strands and baby hairs out of your eyes.

“i could see that,” you grinned. “he’s got the body to be a calendar model, for sure. i mean, he’s already got a puppy calendar. i wouldn’t be opposed to 12 different pictures of shirtless steve in my room.”

peter was silent for a moment before he cleared his throat. “your dad said something about steve listening to you?” he wasn’t jealous or anything, just curious about your relationship with him. i mean, steve was pretty nice. and chivalrous. and adored. and really, really, really ripped-

“oh yeah, he did say that. steve and i are kind of similar, you know? we’re just surrounded by tech geniuses and STEM minds,” you raised your hand to tap his nose, and missed, poking him in the lips, “like you. and it gets a little isolating sometimes, not being able to do that kind of stuff. steve’s a really talented artist, you know? but he doesn’t really show anyone his work because he feels like it’s not as important as what everyone else does. and, well, it’s not like i inherited my dad’s genes or anything.” your eyes were fixed on the ceiling. “sometimes i wonder if being tony stark’s kid is worth it, you know? maybe if i had been adopted by a normal family, i wouldn’t feel so inadequate all the time, surrounded by fucking superheros…” you trailed off, losing yourself to your own thoughts.

“do you really feel like that?” peter’s voice was laced with concern. he crawled over to you with as much grace as one could have when crawling around on a bed—which is to say, none—so he could look you in the eyes. you smiled at the bed creaking and sinking under his shifting weight, but it didn’t reach your eyes.

“is that really what you think of yourself?” peter had propped himself up with his forearm stretched your body, his other arm pressed into the space beside your head so that his face was floating just a foot above yours. you turned your head to the side, not wanting to get into all of your deepest darkest insecurities when you had originally planned on working on your biology project. you were not emotionally prepared for this.

“uh, i should probably check on steve. my dad is probably gonna keep interrupting us to beg if i don’t play peacemaker, like, right now. and interruptions would be really bad for, uh, our productivity.

‘cuz we have to work on that project about miosum. miolsis. mitosis.” you slipped out from beneath peter’s body, fiddling with the hem of your shirt as you lingered by the door.

“yeah, um, yeah. you’re right.” peter shook his head rapidly, trying to gain control of his thoughts and slow his racing heart. “yeah. and you were right, it’s mitosis. MJ and ned are doing miosis.”

he could tell that those words made no sense to you; that blank stare did not escape his watchful eye. “go see steve. i’m sure that… he needs you. he probably needs someone close right now, or something.” peter laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. stupid peter! stupid, stupid peter! why are you encouraging her to leave?

“yeah, that’s a good idea,” your hand was on the doorknob, but you made no indication of wanting to leave. “yeah, he’s really important to me, and i wouldn’t want to see him upset. so i should probably be a good-” you coughed, “friend. a good friend to him.” why did you do that? friend? why friend? friends plural? what about friends? why about friends? what does that even mean? with one last glance over your shoulder, you ripped open the door and slammed it behind you, fast-paced steps echoing in the hallway as you practically sprinted away from your room, and from peter.

as soon as he heard your footsteps recede, peter flopped onto your bed much as you had done just a few minutes ago. he groaned, flinging his arm over his forehead with dejection. why was he always screwing things up? he had been so close to you, twice, and both times he had managed to break the tension before it could go anywhere. well, the first time was tony’s fault. but the second time was all on him—he had upset you to the point where you literally ran away from him into the arms of the person he was jealous of.

the door flew open again. what now? why is there no privacy around here?

“i thought i heard something!” sam and bucky stood in the doorway, the former leaning against the frame with a smirk and the latter behind him with his arm crossed and his permanent grimace affixed to his face.

“h-hey! uh, what are you guys doing here?” peter stuttered, pushing himself off the bed and standing with his arms pressed flat against his sides, eyes darting around the room as if he had just hidden a corpse under the bed.

“i could ask the same,” sam probed, easily seeing through peter’s poor attempt at nonchalance. “stark’s kid, huh?” sam nodded, looking peter up and down appraisingly. he elbowed bucky, who had not been paying attention whatsoever, and the two of them whispered to each other furiously before turning back to peter, who was extremely confused and a bit uncomfortable.

“uh, yeah. we were just-” peter’s arms peeled off from their aggressively straightened position as he tried to conjure up an explanation as to why he was in your room, in your bed, without making it seem like he was a perv digging around your personal belongings.

“so, where’s your other half? hiding under the bed? in the closet, maybe? no need to be embarrassed kids, we all saw it coming.”

“what are you even talking about- there’s nobody- what?” peter gulped, watching as bucky shoved sam to the side, striding menacingly towards him. oh shit. were they going to kill him because they thought he was a stalker, or something? wait, what if bucky thinks i’m trying to steal steve’s girl? oh god, this is it. this is the end. bucky’s metal hand wrapped around peter’s tense shoulder. peter shut his eyes, preparing for the worst. instead, bucky’s flesh hand ruffled peter’s hair; and to peter’s shock, the grumpy supersoldier’s face was bearing the faintest hint of amusement.

“you two stay safe, alright?” bucky extended his hands, much to peter’s further confusion. a box of extra large condoms with a stick-on bow landed in bucky’s hands. he promptly handed the gift to peter.

peter’s eyes flickered from the festive condom box to sam, who was mimicking a basketball shoot, to bucky, who was trying his best to paste his frown back on, but clearly struggling as he took in peter’s bewilderment and sam’s ridiculousness.

“right, we’re done here! and you can come out from under the bed, we don’t care.” sam yelled back to peter as he dragged bucky away, muttering something that sounded like “horny teenagers…”

obviously, there was nobody under the bed. you were probably busy consoling steve in his bed. not that peter was thinking about you being in beds, of course. i mean, sure, he was, but in a purely innocent way. like, you were sitting on a frame you got from IKEA. super pure and stuff.

peter blinked a few times, swaying dazedly in place before resigning himself to brainstorming project ideas. he probably should’ve been mad that his project partner didn’t even know what mitosis was—the topic they had been studying for two weeks now—but he knew he could never be upset with you. instead, he pulled out his laptop and started taking notes for you. he had the material down, but after hearing how you’d felt inadequate around science and technology-oriented people, he’d be damned if he made you feel like you didn’t understand the material. (even if you didn’t.)

peter was so swept up in his work that he nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of you hissing at natasha as she laughed. it wasn’t like he wanted to listen in on your conversation or that he was a creep—he couldn’t help it! he had superhuman hearing, after all.

“—sleeping with him! i knew something was going on.” natasha wasn’t even trying to be quiet, and even with his hands over his ears, he could hear every word. he cursed his unnatural hearing

abilities. sleeping with someone? who were you sleeping with? why didn’t he know about this? peter wasn’t sure if he wanted to know anyway.

“i am not sleeping with him, you creep! since when did you become a conspiracy theorist?” peter heard natasha’s amused snort.

“riiight. so you just so happen to smell like cologne and you have bedhead in the middle of the afternoon when you and i both know you were up at 7:30 today?”

you groaned. your voice was pretty close to the door now, and peter nearly slammed his head down into the textbook so it wouldn’t look like he’d been intentionally eavesdropping.

“goodbye, natasha.” the door swung open to reveal a disgruntled figure who indeed had bedhead. shit. you were sleeping with steve. and he had basically encouraged you to. peter had never wanted to get punched in the face more.

“hey,” you sighed, collapsing dramatically next to peter’s side. his back was hunched over in concentration, but as your body brushed against his arm, he stiffened. you looked concerned. “everything good?”

peter thought he was going to be sick.

“yeah! yep, i’m totally good. really great, actually, because i just remembered that may said we were getting thai tonight! so i should probably get back earlier.” he forced out an unconvincing laugh. “uh, i took notes for you. i’ll just share the document when i get home, or something. okay! bye! see you tomorrow! i’m super excited to work on our project!” peter rambled as he shoved everything into his backpack, zipping it up with unnatural speed and running out of your room without so much as a look backwards.

sunday morning was rainy and humid. peter steeled himself before knocking on your bedroom door, squeezing out the last of the water in his floppy hair.

“pete!” you squealed, happy to see him. after his abrupt leave yesterday, you thought you might’ve done something wrong and spent the night restlessly wracking your brain for anything that could’ve upset him. you never ended up figuring it out; your brain only stopped it’s churning after the first glimmers of sunrise peaked through your window.

you threw yourself into peter’s chest, knocking the air out of him. after a second or two, peter wrapped his arms around yours and rubbed his hand up and down your back soothingly, making sure it didn’t slip down further than would be platonically acceptable. your arms clung around his waist possessively, clinging onto him as if he was going to run away again.

“you’re gonna get all wet if you keep hugging me like this,” peter chided, craning his neck to rest his chin on the crown of your head. you were a bit too short for it to be a comfortable position, and the two of you had always laughed about it, but the truth was peter enjoyed the closeness of it. he felt your warm breath against his damp shirt as you mumbled something with your face pressed into his body. it tickled.

“hm? what was that?” just like yesterday afternoon, he stroked the back of your head and ran his fingers through your hair. you sighed, melting into his embrace even more.

“i said your chest is too hard. i feel like i’ve given myself a concussion.” you scoffed. “you’d make the worst pillow ever. absolutely horrible at cuddling,” you mumbled, pressing your face back into his chest and inhaling deeply, “and you’re like the worst hugger.”

peter laughed and you could feel his body vibrating around you. you unwravelled yourself from him but kept your hands on his biceps so you could pull back steadily. you looked him up and down and frowned when you saw his sneakers, which had left squeaky puddles of water outside your room.

“ew, look at the mud.” you poked his shoe with your fluffy-sock covered toe. “c’mon, i’ll find something for you to wear.” you pulled peter inside, your eyes fixated on your dresser with such determination that you missed the dopey smile on peter’s face as he trailed behind you, kicking the door shut once you were both in.

“take off your sneakers, they’re nasty.” you tossed a pair of bundled socks at peter with your back still turned as you dug through messy heaps of clothing. it hit his arm with a soft bump and another as it fell to the floor. you swung your head around, watching as he bent down to pick up the socks, already knowing what you were about to say it.

“i’m not even going to say anything.” you smirked. “i’ll save the peter tingle jokes to may.”

he pursed his lips together to try and suppress the grin that threatened to spread across his face as he sat on the edge of your bed and started untying his shoes. i have to control myself around her. she’s already taken—i think—and it would be so unfair for her to find out that i like her too. i can’t put her in that position. just act natural, peter. no pining.

“uh, all your shirts are in the wash.” you cracked your neck. “great. the minute i decided to wear them is when you need them the most.”

“you wear my clothes?” peter croaked, trying to fan away the image of you in one of those stupid science pun t-shirts he’d worn so often that they had softened from their original stiff, boxy, cheap structure into something comfortable enough for you to wear, apparently.

“yeah, sometimes. to bed, and whatever, you know?” you fiddled with a bundle of fabric in your hands bashfully.

why are we always talking about beds.

you cleared your throat. “anyways! i found this. if it doesn’t fit, i’m sure i can scrounge for something else.” this time, he caught the shirt when you tossed it over to him. crossing his arms, he pulled off his damp shirt in one sweep, much to your horror.

jesus holy shit fucking christ. no wonder his chest is so hard. oh god, i said that out loud to him, didn’t i? that’s so embarrassing, oh my god. why am i like this? i’m staring. it’s not just embarrassing anymore, it’s creepy. but look at him! the rainwater makes his abs look like they’re-

your ogling was interrupted by the sight of the new, dry shirt covering up his bare skin. you shakily met his eyes, praying he hadn’t noticed. of course he fucking noticed. peter pushed the curls from his forehead to reveal the shit-eating grin pasted across his stupid, perfect face.

“uh, i’m glad it fits!” you squeaked, spinning around as quickly as you could. you busied yourself with digging around for more clothes as you heard peter’s chuckle approaching you. he wrapped his arms around you once more as he nuzzled his nose into your hair.

“oh, you’re wet!” peter unstuck his shirt from your damp one. you spun around, ears burning and eyes wide open. “oh my god! sorry, not like that! no, i mean,” he gestured wildly to your torso, “your shirt! you hugged me and now you’re w- damp.” he forced himself to make eye contact with you and not linger his gaze too long on your thin, semi-translucent top.

you spun around again to face your dresser, letting out a deep breath you hadn’t realized you’d been holding before resuming to your digging. you held up a shirt proudly. “hey! i found another one of your shirts.” you held it up triumphantly. “i didn’t even know this one was here.”

peter examined it. “i haven’t seen this thing in ages. i can’t believe it was you that’s been stripping my closet barren. i thought they just kept getting lost in the wash.”

stripping. that doesn’t mean anything. this is peter. peter is not a stripper. you would not strip for peter. or strip peter.

the two of you laughed awkwardly before you began to take your shirt off too. peter didn’t find it so funny now. “ah- are you going to ch-change here? should i- um- do you want me to leave? i’m so sorry ididntmeantolook i-”

you couldn’t see the bright red flush blooming on peter’s cheeks, as you were currently stuck in your shirt.

“shit. um, peter?” you wriggled around, trying to free yourself.

“y-yeah?”

“i’m stuck.”

“you’re… stuck?” peter turned around to see you half-shirtless, your hands held over your head as you tried to pull the damp shirt off your head unsuccessfully. he prayed that you wouldn’t ask him for help, because he thought if he had to look at you a minute longer, he’d do something incredibly stupid.

“yeah. the shirt was tight to begin with and then the water made it stick and i must’ve- anyways, uh, can you help me?”

peter gulped. “are you sure?”

“please,” you begged. “this is so embarrassing already, please just help me get out of this. it’s not like you haven’t seen me in a bathing suit before and it’s like the same thing, right?”

yeah, it is the same thing, peter thought. and that’s the problem. seeing you in a bathing suit and seeing you now make me the same amount of nervous.

peter’s fingers tentatively brushed your ribcage and you shivered.

“i think it’s because my elbow is stuck in one of the sleeves.” you muttered from inside the shirt. “jeez, you’d think for a designer company, the clothing would be a bit more practical. i’m never letting dad buy me clothes ever again.”

peter gave your top a bit of a tug and you giggled in surprise as his fingers dragged up your chest, tickling your bare skin. he couldn’t help the laugh that escaped his lips at the sight of you. you grinned once your head was free, and peter tossed the shirt behind him as he bore his eyes into yours, refusing to give in to his instinct to look down. the two of you stood like that for a while, your chest heaving as you caught your breath and peter’s heart pounding as he caught the movement from his peripheral.

“the fuck?” scott lang stood by the door, frozen in shock as his grip on his chocolate croissant loosened. the pastry fell to the ground with a sad thwap. “wow. i didn’t think i’d been gone for that long. it’s like all the interesting things happen when i’m away.” scott grumbled, scraping the chocolate off the floor.

“alright, i’ll leave the two of you to it. and next time, lock the door, goddamnit!” scott shook his head as he shut the door—properly this time—and walked away mourning the loss of his snack.

“i’m sorry, i must not’ve closed the door properly-” peter stuttered as you panicked. “i’m so sorry, this is so embarrassing i can’t believe everybody’s just seen me topless-” you rambled, pacing the room until you shivered.

“shit! i’m still not wearing a shirt!” you grabbed peter’s shirt—the one you had just been looking at—and slid it over your head in record speed.

peter barked a fake laugh. “that’s so funny!” he said, dead serious. “everyone’s… seen you shirtless? ha, ha, ha!” what the fuck.

“no, no that’s not it!” you fretted, taking his hands in yours. “no! i meant you and scott. and tony, obviously. and like, bruce. and wanda and natasha because we go shopping all the time, you know? not steve, though. i think he’d pass away on the spot.”

“oh! that’s… nice!” peter choked. so me and scott and tony. that makes sense. and bruce, maybe he was doing some medical thing? well, at least steve wasn’t on that list.

“...i realize now how weird that must’ve sounded.” you gulped. “i swear, i’m not stripping for the entire team. it- it makes more sense in context. i swear.” you rubbed his arm comfortingly, praying that he wouldn’t think the way you treated him was the same way you treated everyone else. no, the way you treated peter was very much different. maybe it was stupid to expect someone to be able to read your mind through your behaviors (well, not in wanda’s case), but you were terrified to cross any sort of boundary with peter, much less tell him how you’d been feeling lately, so you’d stick to, well, whatever this was.

“we should probably work on our project,” you commented.

“that’s a good idea.”

you hummed in agreement. “mitosis, right?”

“yep. cell division. did you get my notes?”

“yes,” you were unnervingly still as you stood by peter’s side, refusing to meet his eye. all of a sudden, you felt him take a sharp breath and fall into a seated position on the ground, tapping a spot next to him. the two of you rummaged around for your textbooks and notes, getting to work on a project that the subject matter of which you had no clue.

the downside of peter’s freaky spider powers was his insane metabolism, and it probably didn’t help that he was a growing teenage boy. peter’s stomach was growling loudly after a few hours, and he’d insisted he was fine. after the third dull roar, you jumped up.

“alright, you masochist. you’re not starving to death on my watch. you stay here and do the work because that’s what you’ve been doing the whole time and i’ll go make us something to eat.” he smiled as you left, watching you leave, clad with his shirt.

“you guys done?” scott pulled up beside you, cracking his knuckles.

“holy shit!” you screeched, not expecting the presence of the man who had not only snuck up on you but had also just seen you half-naked.

“sorry, i didn’t mean to startle you. are you kids hungry? i always get tired. it’s a lot of physical exertion.” he winked, poking around the cabinets with carelessly loud clatters.

“we’re probably gonna need another few days to finish,” you spoke absentmindedly, standing in front of the fridge as you investigated for anything with potential. “it’s turning out to be harder than i thought.”

“jesus, kid, you two are freaky! i never knew peter had it in him to- or should i say-”

“please do not finish that.” natasha swung herself over the countertop and settled into a relaxed slouch, her quiet entrance startling both of you.

“why are all of you so damn quiet?” you rolled your eyes, cutting up slices of different fruits.

“i could ask the same of you, we haven’t heard a peep. i thought tony was installing the soundproofing next sunday?” bucky trudged through the door, his footsteps loud and for once you were grateful. he leaned his hands on the counter and shared a look with natasha that you couldn’t quite decipher.

“trust me, i’m bitching and moaning plenty. this is taking so long,” you drawled, extending the vowels of your last word as you arranged the fruit onto a tray with a flourish. “alright, i’m out.”

you could hear the three avengers whispering loudly behind you as you made your way back to peter. “i can hear you, you know. why are all of you here anyways?”

“uh… we’re having a tea party?”

“okay, i cut out all the diagram parts last night. i didn’t start assembling them because i was pretty sure i’d end up gluing my hands together or putting it together wrong, so i figured we could just do it together.” peter had been coming over almost every day so that the two of you could work on your biology project. it turned out that as much as you hated biology, it was a lot more enjoyable when you got to work with peter.

“ooo, i love this part. it’s like assembling IKEA furniture.” the two of you looked over to your bed, remembering when peter had been visiting tony and found you in the middle of a pile of wood pieces, looking absolutely lost. he’d spent hours helping you undo the mistakes and put it together properly, and that’s when you knew that your feelings for him had changed.

you laughed at his excitement. charged with happiness, you rested your head on his shoulder without thinking. the two of you went silent almost immediately after comprehending the situation, and you moved to pull away, face burning. before you could, though, peter had slung an arm around your shoulder and pulled you in closer. you turned your head and buried it into his neck, your smile uncontrollable as you relished his touch.

“we should probably get the glue,” peter noted.

“good call.” you mumbled into his shoulder, warm breath drawing shivers from him.

“thank you.”

you stared at the diagram pieces. “glue is very necessary component.”

“for sure.”

neither of you made any effort to get glue.

“anyways!” peter broke the silence by nudging his shoulder to probe your head out. “i’m gonna be honest, we could probably finish this today if we really tried. i mean, we’re literally a floor away from the most advanced technology lab in the entirety of new york, surrounded by the greatest scientists and innovative minds of the century, so-”

“please do not inflate my dad’s ego any further. against all rules of logic and science or whatever, that thing will never stop growing. it’ll grow until it swallows all of north america.”

“gotcha…” peter’s voice became softer, eyes growing a little hazy as he stared to the side of your face. his hand stretched out, fingers quivering ever so slightly, and for just a second, you thought that maybe he was going to take your chin in his hands and kiss you. but that’d be stupid, because you were just friends and kissing was decidedly non-platonic. instead, he brushed a strand of hair behind your ears.

“sorry, it was distracting me,” he confessed bashfully. “but i was gonna say is how i think it’s kind of funny that we’re making this 3-d cardstock diagram of the mitosis process when honestly? we could probably be testing mr. stark’s updated blasters or making lightsabers or something.”

you looked at peter for a second and then burst into a guffaw. “our project seems so trivial compared to all that, but is it weird that i actually think of this as my baby? we must’ve spent at least eight hours on this—yeah, i know we probably could’ve gotten away with finishing something simpler in half the time, but i really enjoy spending time with you—” you rushed, taking a breath after realizing what you had said, and then continuing just as quickly as you had been speaking before. “but this?” you picked up the meticulously cut components to your diagrams made of cardstock detailed with fine-lined sharpie drawings of spindly kinetochore-microtubule, cleverly crumpled cellophane chromosomes and little buttons for the chromatids.

“it’s not stupid!” peter blurted, quick to reassure you. “i’m pretty proud of it too. now let’s go use some of banner’s precision glue and assemble this bad boy.”

by the time the two of you had finished putting together every 3-d replica of the six stages of mitosis, your backs were sore from how long you’d been hunched over. you rolled your head and heard your neck crack loudly.

“holy shit, how long have we been here?” you mumbled, blinking forcefully to escape your fuzzy state of concentration. “FRIDAY? what time is it?”

“it is 7:45pm. you have not yet eaten; would you like me to place an order for dinner?”

peter’s head perked up at the sound of dinner. “DELMARS?” he looked at you with puppy-dog eyes even though he knew you wouldn’t need any convincing.

you sighed sarcastically, throwing your body across your chair as if you had just fainted. “if you insist,” you groaned. you raised your voice a bit to signal FRIDAY. “can i get the fried avocado tacos? two- nah, three of them. and please specify that i do not want them smushed down real flat.”

“hey, i’ll have you know that flattened sandwiches are more efficient and less messy to eat. and-”

you lost focus on peter’s words as he listed off his usual order; instead, you found yourself admiring his side profile. even from the lab table diagonal from him, you could see the brightness of excitement in his eye that you always found endearing. you loved watching him so happy over something as simple as sandwiches, and you felt honored that you were the one who got to experience that happiness. you wondered what it’d be like if he looked at you with that sort of gleaming adoration one day.

“right! i’m basically done; i just need to figure out how to do the cytokinesis shape.” peter announced, taking a peek at your three perfectly done models. you always had a better instinct for solutions, and creating what was essentially a three-dimensional figure eight with convincingly spherical outsides was something peter was scared to approach altogether.

“i’ve got you, pete!” you kicked off from the legs of your table and slid towards peter on your wheeled chair. perhaps you had used too much force because the momentum of your path sent you tumbling straight into peter’s chair, where you jolted forwards. you swore you could see each second ticking by in slow motion as your heads came closer and closer to collision, and your hands frantically reached out in front of you for something to prevent the impending bump and potential concussion. one of your flailing hands landed on his shoulder, which you squeezed hard until your nails dug into his skin. the other found a home on his upper thighs, where you tried to find a stable grip. almost immediately, peter’s eyes went wide, and his cheeks flushed a dark shade of red.

he gulped. “t-thank you! i actually have to go to the bathroom, so maybe could you finish this one for me?” his eyes darted around the room frantically, looking anywhere but at you. “and i’ll pick up the food while i’m at it! bye!” peter tugged his shirt down as he bolted through the automatic glass doors, leaving you alone and a bit hurt.

you fiddled with the model for a bit before you were able to arrange it in a shape you were satisfied with. setting everything aside and admiring the six perfectly made representations of mitosis, you let out a long, satisfied breath. finally, the worst of the biology projects for this year was over. it’d be smooth sailing from here on outwards. you’d be lying if you said you would miss peter’s presence in your room on chilly new york nights with cups of coffee beside you as you finished homework for non-bio classes. though the boy had been working with your father for a while, you never connected with him until partnered for this project, and you weren’t sure where that would leave you after the project was over. would he still come over for study sessions? would you go back to your individual friend groups? would he even be bothered to spend one-on-one time with you anymore?

peter returned with two paper bags in each hand and a triumphant smile on his face. you pumped your fist excitedly.

“yesss,” you hissed, jumping up and grabbing the bag with your name. “i feel like my stomach is eating me from the inside out. can we move up to the kitchen? don’t tell dad, but i’d kill for a coffee right now.”

“you’re drinking coffee? this late? that’s a bad idea, and you know i won’t hesitate to get mr. stark involved if y-”

“oh no, he doesn’t care about how late i drink coffee. he just thinks it’s a sin to pick coffee over redbull,” you shrugged, scooping up as much of your project as you could in one arm. “c’mon bugbaby!” you spared him a look before disappearing through the door and upstairs, absolutely ravenous.

peter stood there for a couple of seconds, feeling stupid, before he caught himself in the act. he forced his lips, which had been quirked up into a dopey smile, into a stoic line. he squished his face together to rid himself of his pinched eyebrows and dazed stare. and the sigh of adoration he had let out became a coughing fit. peter thumped his chest a couple of times to rid his throat of the imaginary block, but he couldn’t lie to himself. the thing making him choke up was his feelings for you, which had been shoved down for so long that they seem to have compressed themselves into a little ball that was now trying to escape through peter’s esophagus. well, shit!

by the time he had made it to the kitchen with the rest of the project in his arms, you were already perched on the countertop, swinging your legs contentedly and chewing your sandwich, which was decidedly not squished down real flat. your face lit up when you saw peter and you waved enthusiastically; in doing so, you knocked down a couple of the figures that you’d set down behind you tumbling to the ground.

“shit! peter! oh god,” you squeaked, putting down your sandwich on the wax paper and trying to scramble off the counter. peter dropped his bag on the ground and came to help you down, grabbing your waist and lifting you up before softly resting your feet on the floor. you giggled; his hands on your waist were tickling you. he smirked, realizing his opportunity to instigate a tickle war.

“don’t even th-” you warned him before your eyes widened as you remembered what you had come down for.

the two of you raced around the counter, terrified at what you might find. to your relief, the project was in perfect shape. the two of you were panting—peter was heaving with shock still painted on his face while you had your hand clutching the fabric of your shirt over your heart.

“i can’t breathe,” you confessed, laughing through your gasps as you tried to calm yourself down. you collapsed to the ground with a moan.

peter crouched down beside you, picking up one of the figures tentatively and examining it for potential cracks or weak spots. there was nothing; if the two of you hadn’t been there yourselves, you never would’ve been able to tell they’d dropped.

peter held the figure closer to your face, turning the model around so that you could see what he was referring to. “you’re so good,” he marveled, admiring the meticulous glue work that you’d done. he smiled with a sigh. “no one else could do it like you.”

you rolled your eyes. “come here.” you patted the floor next to where you were laying, but instead of joining you, peter grabbed the fallen figures and walked away. you whined.

“i’m coming, give me a second,” peter delicately arranged the fallen figures alongside the ones still on the counter. then he flopped down on the floor next to you, but instead of lying parallel to your body, he dropped his head on your stomach.

“peter!” you cried, smacking his forehead. “ugh, i hate you,” you groaned, trying to sit up so you could shove him off of you.

“no, you don’t,” he rebutted. peter wasn’t going to back down in a fight, so instead of allowing you to sit upright, he rolled the rest of his body on top of yours, effectively flattening you. you wanted to laugh, but your stomach was being pushed down by peter’s back.

“why… are you… so…” you heaved, “heavy?”

peter laughed evilly, rolling his body around so that his back was no longer on you; rather, so that you were stomach-to-stomach. he propped himself up on his elbows, letting his chest hover over yours. he smirked as he watched you grumble from underneath him. “i gotcha,” he whispered, face just a few inches from yours.

“why is this your go-to when fucking with me,” you poked his cheek with exasperation, making no effort to do so gently. “there are literally an infinite amount of things you could do to me and it’s always the one that ends up with me sore and unable to breathe.” you kicked your legs around threateningly before peter could open his mouth.

“i have knees and i’m not afraid to use them,” you taunted, deadly serious. you pushed your knee up, dangerously close to his upper thigh.

“nope! i’m done, i’m off! i concede!” he yelled, scrambling to escape. in his frantic movements, he ended up full-force dropping on you with no arms to soften the impact, and you both groaned. you turned your head, to avoid a forehead collision. also to avoid your lips from touching. that may have happened if you hadn’t turned your head, and having lips on lips is not very platonic.

“i swear to god, if you gave me a concussion, i’m gonna-”

“WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE?” tony raged, storming into the kitchen with his hands thrown up in the air. “WHERE ARE THE DAMN CHILDREN?”

scott stuck his head out from behind a corner to investigate the drama. (he loved drama.) “oh, your daughter? yeah, last time i saw her was in her room with peter; i think they were changing or something.”

“excuse me?” tony looked furious.

bruce arrived. “no, i actually let them use my lab. didn’t wanna disturb them. they’ve been working really hard on their bio project on reproduction so i just let them have the place to themselves.”

tony’s mouth dropped. “banner, are you shitting me? we all know what happens when two teenagers are alone in a room together! and we all know reproduction project does not mean… what it’s supposed to mean! you just let them? and in the lab too? did they even have safety goggles?”

bucky and sam, who never passed up the opportunity to hear fresh gossip and had crept in a while ago, gave each other knowing grins.

“don’t worry, tony,” sam held back a laugh.

“they’re definitely… safe…” bucky wheezed, the two of them struggling to stay upright as they watched tony’s rage slip into confusion.

natasha strolled in casually. “you got them protection?” she snorted. “cute.”

you and peter were frozen in your places. so frozen, in fact, that peter’s cheeks resembled the flaming red of anna’s hair and your knuckles had gone as pale as elsa’s snow. neither of you wanted to go out and face the crowd, so the two of you stayed extremely quiet as you prayed nobody would look over the counter.

“they’re right there,” clint yelled from his perch, pointing you two out.

tony stalked over, fuming. when he saw the situation, he was no longer fuming, but on fire. “PETER PARKER, GET YOUR STICKY, PUBESCENT HANDS OFF OF MY DAUGHTER.”

“i’m so sorry, m-mr. stark! i- we’re not-”

“it’s not what it looks like!” you exclaimed, pushing peter’s chest in an unsuccessful attempt to get him off of you. curse his perfectly chiseled 6-pack abs and his weird super-spider strength. just fucking move!

as tony panicked, you hissed at peter. “move!” he realized he had remained in place and clambered off you instantly, the two of you crawling over to separate corners to put as much space between your bodies as possible.

the crowd of avengers struggled to hold back their laughter. well, sam and bucky weren’t trying to at all. but the rest of them (unsuccessfully) attempted to stifle their roars.

“does anyone want to explain why i found two children committing unholy acts in the middle of my million-dollar kitchen?” tony seethed.

natasha raised her eyebrows. “you could’ve at least tried to keep it down, you know.”

“but we weren’t even-”

sam rolled his eyes. “no point in excuses not; you weren’t even trying to be discreet.” he pitched his voice up to imitate the two of you badly. “‘peter! oh god!’ ‘i’m coming!’ ‘you’re so good, no one else could do it like you!’”

“c’mon, and in a common area too? it’s my bad i barged into you guys before, but this one’s your fault, dudes.” scott scolded.

tony’s face was almost entirely red. bruce’s face was also red, for a different reason. tony pulled peter up by the collar. the two of them were shaking, also for very different reasons.

“so, not only are you sneaking around with my daughter behind my back,” tony poked peter in the chest. “but you’re doing… you’re doing the nasty with her too? and you have the nerve to defile my kitchen?” he shoved peter off of him, who stumbled backward.

tony kept creeping closer. “i should take away your suit. clearly, you aren’t trustworthy or responsible enough for this. you know, i had a lot of faith in you kid,” tony looked murderous. “and you screwed up big time.” he took a deep breath to compose himself, and his next words were low and threatening. “i don’t want to see you near my daughter ever again.”

you jumped to your feet, furious. “are you insane? peter and i are just friends!”

“oh yeah? explain why you were on top of each other, a- and all the things that sam said!”

your voices had raised considerably since the start of the confrontation. the onlooking avengers no longer found this very funny, and trickled out slowly.

“we’re friends! we’ve always been friends! you guys are just jumping to conclusions because peter just so happens to be a boy and i just so happen to be a girl!” peter had backed away a bit, which gave you the chance to get into your dad’s space.

“i don’t care what you are, there is no way i’m letting my daughter be with some sticky, hormonal, lit-”

“stop!” you shook your head, unbelieved. “stop it! you don’t get to talk about peter that way. peter and i are just friends, we have always been just friends, and we are always going to be just friends. so either you apologize to him, or you can go f-” you hesitated. “you can go fuck off.”

it might’ve been inappropriate timing, but peter’s heart broke.

tony silenced, his eyes narrowing at your outburst. he opened his mouth to snap back, but you grabbed peter’s hand and dragged him off, not bothering to look back. tony angrily stared at your intertwined fingers.

you and peter had retreated to your bedroom, where you slammed the door and threw yourself onto your bed, tears already beginning to well up. peter sat by the foot of your bed, not daring to come any closer.

“i’m sorry,” peter croaked. he instinctively reached out to rub your leg consolingly, but pulled back just as quickly.

“don’t apologize. you didn’t do anything wrong,” you sniffed. “dad’s just being an asshole. a huge asshole. god, he can be so-” you shoved your face into a pillow and screamed. you sat up to face peter. “i’m the one who should be sorry. he- he had no right to treat you like that. absolutely none. and none of the things he said about you were true.”

you tentatively extended both your hands, palms up, and he took them in his. “i think the two of us just have a tendency to get caught up in arguments. we always say things we don’t mean. and i promise, the whole suit thing was a lie. he really loves you, pete. i hope you know that.”

a quiet tear rolled down peter’s cheek. you brushed it off gently. “i just- i don’t know what i would do if i couldn’t see you anymore,” he choked. “and this is all so stupid, you know? it was embarassing, but kind of funny at first, but now i’m realizing-” peter looked down, shaking his head and laughing quietly to himself.

“what is it, peter?”

he looked up at you from beneath wet eyelashes. “i’m realizing that, i guess, i kind of wish what everyone was saying was true.”

you furrowed your eyebrows. “you wish dad would take your suit away?”

“no, i mean-”

your eyes widened. “you wanted us to fuck in bruce’s lab? peter, there are some of the world’s deadliest chemicals in there and i have a perfectly functioning bedroo- oh shit.”

the two of you looked at each other wordlessly.

i basically just told peter that i wanted to fuck him in my bedroom.

she literally just told me she wants to fuck me in her bedroom.

“yeah, i mean- no! i mean, yes, your bedroom is definitely safer and more practical but that’s- what i’m trying to say is-” peter stuttered. “yes, i would love to have sex with you! but that’s- holy fuck. oh shit.” peter let go of your hands immediately and practically threw himself off the bed onto the wall. “no! not that i want to have- no, not that i don’t want to, but i was trying to say was that i wish, you know, that we weren’t just friends. like they were saying, you know. or, i guess insinuating. well, they were insinuating that we were having unprotected sex in the lab, but that implies that we weren’t just friends, but that could mean we were just friends with benefits, and i’m not trying to say that i want to be friends with benefits with you-” peter gasped for air.

you interrupted him. “i think i know what you mean.” you swallowed thickly. “remember when i said we were just friends and only ever going to be just friends? and uh, do you remember what i said earlier about saying stuff in the heat of the moment?” peter nodded furiously. “that was just the heat of the moment.”

peter stopped nodding. he looked at you, absolutely lost. you couldn’t help but chuckle.

“i think what we’re both trying to say—or at least, i really hope this is what you’re trying to say too—is that um, neither of us wants to be friends.”

you winced.

“wait, no, that came out wrong. we don’t want to be platonic. or, i don’t, at least. i like you romantically, peter. is this a bad time to say that? considering you just got threatened by my dad for supposedly hooking up with me.”

“no! no, it’s not a bad time. and i like you too, actually. i’ve liked you for a while. i-” peter laughed breathlessly. “i actually kind of thought you were with steve.” he scratched the back of his neck, blushing.

“steve? dude, he’s like 106!”

“i know, i know! i don’t know what i was thinking,” peter huffed.

“c’mere,” you opened your arms for him and he climbed beside you, accepting your embrace. you could feel his warm breath on your face.

“your breath smells like pickles,” you murmured, nestling your head into his chest.

“sorry.”

tony was about to bore holes into the expensive tiled flooring with all of his pacing. bruce was the only one brave enough to come back into the kitchen.

“what do you want?” tony grumbled, refusing to look at the scientist.

“tony, take a look at these models.”

“i don’t want to take a look at whatever it is my daughter and that sinful spider boy produced,” he whined.

“no, look. the figures—they’re not just reproduction. they’re asexual reproduction. a very well-done representation of the mitosis process, actually.” bruce held up some of the models in awe. “these are really well done! letting them use the lab was worth it,” he muttered to himself.

tony raised his head, glaring. “what are you talking ab- oh.”

on the countertop were six intricate replicas of cell division. “this is what you meant by ‘reproductive project?’” tony whispered, horrified.

“i mean, i wasn’t exactly sure, but i figured-”

“oh my god,” tony paled. “i can’t believe i thought- all this time it was mitosis- god, and these models are beautiful too…” his jaw clenched, thinking back to the things he had said as he yelled at you and peter.

bruce sighed, giving tony a pointed look. the billionaire couldn’t meet his eyes.

“don’t look at me like that,” tony whined. “in my defense, all the evidence was stacked against them! what was i supposed to do?”

“hear them out?” bruce raised an eyebrow, unimpressed by tony’s immature self-soothing methods.

tony hid his face in his hands. “she must be so upset with me now. and the spider boy… jeez, i’m a fucking douche, aren’t i?”

bruce patted tony on the back consolingly. “well, you heard the girl. you can either apologize or fuck off, and i think you’ve tried and failed at fucking off. so you might as well go with the first option.” the scientist walked away, leaving tony alone to soak in his own guilt.

bruce is right. i can’t ever own up to my mistakes, can i? first i make my daughter patch things up with steve for a comment that i made, and then i go and accuse her of something she didn’t do without even giving her the chance to speak? god, if i had just shut up for a minute, she could’ve explained everything and none of this would have happened.

tony rubbed his temples, exhaling heavily as he found himself standing in front of your door. he knocked softly, but heard no verbal response. maybe you had left the tower? before he could ask FRIDAY for your location, he heard the shuffling of sheets. oh no, did i make her cry?

tony cracked open the door and peered in. “favorite spawn? are you there?”

when he opened the door fully, he watched as you and peter peeled yourselves away from each other again, breathless and flushed. his eyes flickered between the two of you before he noticed your puffy lips and your avoided eye contact.

“peter parker, have you been kis-” tony raised his hands and pinched his fingers together, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath to calm himself down. he tried talking again, but slowly and more thoughtfully. “using context clues, i have come to the hypothesis that the two of you had previously been k- kissing.” he fought the urge to gag.

“i also observe that the two of you are on my daughter’s bed. alone, with the door closed. and that is… okay. because… the right to privacy is protected by the 14th amendment. unfortunately.” he said the last word under his breath. you and peter looked at each other, perplexed.

“in the kitchen, i discovered six models of… the mitosis sequence. footnote: they are very well constructed. uh, i realize now that perhaps i had… overreacted. and unjustly threatened peter. and also jumped to conclusions. and i also had not trusted you. all of which are… mistakes… that i made. and for that, i am… i am… s-sorry.”

you raised your eyebrows. “did you just… apologize?”

tony nodded his head hesitantly. you jumped out of bed, making your way over to him. tony gulped. this is it. this is the end.

you slapped tony across the face.

“oh my god!” you screamed. “i’m so sorry! holy- i’m so sorry, dad! i didn’t mean that at all, i thought you were a hologram! i was trying to see if my hand would go through, you know?”

tony chuckled. “i- i probably deserved that.” he rubbed his cheek which was now growing pink.

peter hopped off the bed to stand hesitantly behind you, not fully confident that tony wasn’t going to castrate him.

“so, you and my daughter, huh?” tony crossed his arms, leaning his weight onto one foot.

“y-yes, mr. stark.”

tony sucked his teeth and sighed. despite his nerves, peter straightened his back and came to stand firmly beside you. you looped your pinky around his.

“well, as you are aware, i do have multiple suits with blasters capable of melting iron, ironically.” peter steeled himself. “and you are currently standing in my billion-dollar tower surrounded by earth’s mightiest heroes who will not hesitate to decimate you should anything happen to my daughter.” peter gulped.

“but i am also aware that you are…” tony pursed his lips in resignation. “you have proven yourself more than capable on multiple accounts, and i was wrong to question you.” tony wrung his hands. “and you have saved my daughter and your classmates and even that asshole teacher about four times now. and i see the way you look at her; how you’ve always looked at her—which by the way, is a really embarrassing, dopey look on you, boy—and my head was too far up my ass to realize that you two are big boys and girls now.”

tony sniffed emotionally, blinking back proud dad tears. “and obviously my daughter doesn’t need any protecting, because she’s a stark and she could whoop your ass in her sleep, but i know how much you care for her and i know you’ll look out for each other. so… i give you my blessing.”

you looked confused. “dad, you know we’re not getting married, right?”

tony took a step back and waved his hands around. “dear god, no! i don’t want to hear about marriage until at least 30 years later! you guys are too young to be mouth mashing anyways and i’m already being very lenient with letting you have the door closed!”

“uh, thank you, mr. stark. it really means a lot.” peter bit his lip to hold back what you knew was going to be a brilliant grin.

“don’t get used to it, kid.” tony rubbed his hands together. “well, in a few years or so i’ll have bruce teach you two about the birds and the bees. for now, um, wash your hands for at least 20 seconds, kids.” tony shot you two thumbs up. “alright, peace out.”

when tony’s footsteps receeded, you turned to peter and threw your arms around his neck. “you have a look for me, huh?” you spoke into peter’s shoulder.

“i guess i do. i guess i always have. you’re hard not to look at, do you know that?”

peter could feel the vibrations and your warm breath as you laughed into his shirt.

“no, i don’t think you know,” he insisted. he threaded his fingers through your hair and closed his eyes, comfortable. “everybody sees you- you’re stunning, and not just in the physical way. you have this weird talent—it’s like you’re a light—and everything is just so much better with you. y’know, i hated coffee until you made it for me. and i dreaded spanish until i found out you were in my class, so i think… i think i’ve lo- liked you, felt this way for you, for longer than i’ve known.”

he could feel your lips curve into a smile. “you’re such a goddamn sap, pete,” you muttered, nuzzling his chest. “you know i hate sappy stuff. but i could make an exception for you.”

“oh really?” he placed one purposeful kiss on the crown of your head. “i think…” he began leaving kisses more sporadically until he reached your temple, then your cheek, then the tip of your nose. “i think that i’ll just have to be extra sappy. you know, to see how much you like me.” he pulled you away from his chest and held you at an arms length with a smile that could rival the sun.

“and in that case…” peter got down on one knee. you gasped theatrically.

peter pressed his palms together and opened them like a ring box. “will you be my girlfriend?”

you wiped away fake tears and you squealed, “yes!”

a distant voice that sounded suspiciously like tony’s interrupted the romantic proposal. “i said 30 years until marriage!”

*＊✿❀　❀✿＊*

main masterlist | moodboard

taglist: (comment to be added!)

@im-a-slut-for-fluff

#peter parker x stark!reader #peter parker x you #peter parker imagine #peter parker x reader #mcu spiderman #peter parker x y/n #tom holland peter parker #tom holland #spiderman mcu #spiderman x stark!reader

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ahappyplacefornat · 11 months

Note

Hey :》

What about Nat being a mom for her kids while she is still working for shield as the black widow?

Have a nice day or night!!!

The black widow as a mom

Word count: 1328

Summary: Natasha has to handle three kids plus being the black widow. A hard task.

Pairing: slight Natasha Romanoff x gn!neutral reader.

Warnings: none

None: It took me real long to finish this request, I hope you like it and please let me know if you see any mistakes! This is also way shorter than I wanted it to be, let me know if you would like a part 2 :(

So, one would think Natasha is perfectly capable of handling three kids and a job as a spy for SHIELD, right?

Well, that’s right, she is. But it is certainly not as easy as she and her partner thought it would be.

First of all and probably the question she made herself the most, why were they so bad at timing?

I mean, yeah, they’re kids, but everytime they would call her, she was always doing something dangerous that needed her complete attention.

But her kids were always gonna be first.

In the middle of an interrogation, a phone started ringing. To be oddly specific, Nats phone started ringing from her purse. Damn it! she thought, how did she forget to leave her normal phone at home and bring her work phone with her? it probably had something to do with her partner suggesting it was a good idea to buy THE SAME PHONE twice, since the second one would be cheaper, she couldn’t believe she let them take that offer.

“So, what do we have here?” One of the men in front of her took the phone out and read from the screen the contact name: “Honey”. His face instantly brightened up as he stared at the screen, that wasn’t a good sign. “Here is what’s gonna happen, darling. I’ll let you answer the call so you can reassure your little ´honey´ you are ok” he smiled “then we will keep talking and maybe you’ll see them again, are we clear?”

“As water” she answered, with a side smirk before getting to answer the call. As soon as she did, she heard a loud set of laughter that she could recognize everywhere.

“Mama, you sure took your time to answer” it was Yakov, the oldest. After that, she swears she could hear Irina tell him to hurry up.

“Hi, baby. Is everything okay at home?” a suddenly calming voice got out of her mouth, it was always so warm talking with them. But she needed this call to end as soon as possible.

“Yeah, umm” the only thing she could hear was his breathing, that got her a little worried. She was already holding her own “The responsible adult that was supposed to take care of us left like fifteen minutes ago to the grocery store” He meant their parent, he was always the sassy one “And we don’t have a clue on where the cheese is so we can make some sandwiches…We thought maybe you knew, do you?”

And she obviously did, it was in the fridge, at the bottom, as always. She sighed.

It was actually kind of refreshing to have your kids asking the most silly question at the worst moments, she was gonna give them that.

It wasn’t their fault, after all, the only thing they knew about her job is that sometimes she would run into Captain America or Thor and that “wasn’t a big deal”.

She knew they thought that she was a cashier close to the avengers tower. Sometimes, she wishes that was true.

It got a little more complicated when her middle child started a tantrum because she wanted to go with her on the “bring your kid to work” day.

Don’t get her wrong, Natasha LOVED her kids more than anything, she was grateful everyday for them and to finally have a family with the person she loved the most, but sometimes they were too much. By too much she didn’t mean annoying or anything related, they were just…special.

Out of nowhere, she found herself walking to the store next to the Avengers tower, holding the little hand of her daughter while she tried to hide her face under a pair of sunglasses (thanks, Steve). Both went inside the little shop called Iron-Groceries and started walking through every corner.

“Soooo…this is where mama works” said the little girl, with a little spark of disappointment on her voice “I was expecting something better”

“Were you?” Natasha couldn’t help but let a giggle get out of her mouth “You do know I never said I worked here, right?” Nat got on her knees to speak clearly with her daughter, tapping her forehead with her finger “You just assumed that, baby”.

“Well, yeah…” accepted the shorter one, a bit ashamed “But you always refuse to tell us what is your work about and I was excited to think of you as the most beautiful cashier to EVER exist” while saying ever, she made sure to draw a giant circle with her hands, Natasha thought that she was very, very wrong when she believed that she couldn’t love her kids more.

“How about we buy some chocolates and go to the exhibition of ironman at the bottom of the tower, would you like that?” Said the redhead, feeling incapable of stopping her smile.

To be completely honest, the most difficult part for Nat wasn’t receiving strange calls during her missions or getting mistaken as a cashier.

It was always going to be the fact that she was missing important moments of her kids' lives because she couldn't risk being recognised or she was too busy with work.

School events? never. Doctor appointments? Not even dreaming. Dinner with the mothers of the other kids at school? Maybe she didn’t miss that one so much.

She was always sad everytime she needed to leave.

Watching their little eyes water whenever she said she wouldn’t come back in a few days.

It never failed to break her heart.

But there was ONE thing she would never miss.

she would always turn down any mission she had just to take her youngest kid to the optics so he could get new glasses.

She was never gonna regret that.

Standing in front of the store, with her little boy in her arms, both had a confused look on their faces. They had so many options, from red to purple glasses to big and small frames. It was never an easy decision, the hour and a half that they already spent there was proof.

“I think I want the blue ones, mama” Exhaled the blond boy, trying to make up his mind. Kind of tired even if he wasn’t touching the floor at all to stand.

“Do you? last week you said you wanted black ones, to look cool at kindergarten” She said, looking at him with a tiny smile.

“Yeah, I do” He said, so sure of himself that even Nat felt confident with his decision.

“Well, let’s go then” she reaffirmed him on her side and began to walk inside the store, but just before she could get fully inside, the little guy spoke.

“But maybe the yellow ones…” and there Natasha could sense another hour and a half coming for them.

She wasn’t expecting Fury to be happy as soon as she went back, since she clearly told him this was only going to take twenty minutes. She grabbed her baby’s cheek and left a kiss there, followed by many others as his laugh only got her to feel even more tempted to never stop. All this time was never a waste.

There is not much more to say about this, but maybe we could finish talking about the rough days, the end of those to be more specific.

After dealing with everything involving her three kids and her job, there was nothing more delightful than laying on bed with her loved one.

Just feeling the back of her arm being calmly touched in little rounded forms at night was enough to get her realizing that everything was more than worth it.

She would sleep like a tree, being the little spoon after tiring days and sometimes sharing her bed with one of the kids if not all of them.

She would definitively put her phone in flying mode, never wanting to bother her little family with working calls in the middle of the night.

#marvel #natasha romanoff #natasha romanoff x gn!reader #natasha romanoff x reader #fanfiction #black widow #black widow x reader #gn!reader #natasha romanoff x male reader

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snootlestheangel · 5 months

Note

Please I’m begging you

PRISON AU GHOAP PRISON AU OMFG

PLEASE

I am honestly so glad this AU seems to be a hit. It's such a niche idea and I was like, maybe this one should stay on the Ole mind but apparently it deserves to be running free

I will definitely be doing it now, don't worry

For this, my friend, you get some more worldbuilding! *I really wanted to write something but today was absolute ass in a blender and I can not*

This will be really dark just an fyi

I want Price to be the warden that leads the manhunt for Soap and Ghost once they escape. Gaz is his loyal (???) whatever the word is that would be someone underneath a prison warden.

Price eventually learns about Simon's innocence and agrees to help clear his name. He does not like having to work so closely with Soap (because Simon simply refuses to cooperate if Soap isn't involved)

Soap's background is a bit dark for this. He's not a normal person, like he's actually incredibly sadistic just in his own way, and his sadistic tendencies tend to apply to a really specific group: abusers.

He's kind of known as like an avenger for abuse victims, as he is one himself. His ex was really abusive and is the reason he's in jail. He actually was burning some old documents when said ex came home, drunk and pissed off. Soap pushed him when they got into a fight, and he landed in the bonfire. Soap, fueled by rage and a sudden glee from watching his abusive partner literally burn in front of him, he grabbed the fire poker and stabbed the ex, effectively keeping him pinned in the fire. Soap then sat and watched him burn, and was still sitting there by the time the cops arrived (neighbors called cause of screaming).

He earned the name "Soap" in the prison because there were 2 guards known for being abusive. One was physically abusive and the other a bit less violent, more sexually abusive. Soap took matters into his own hands only a month after he arrived. He managed to get into the showers where the two were talking. Having caught them off guard and vulnerable, he tied their hands behind their backs with their own belts (in the same way officer 2 did and the belt the way officer 1 would lash prisoners). After dislocating their jaws, he pinched their nose and shoved a fresh bar of soap down their throats.

Once again, like his ex, he remained sitting next to his victims until discovered. Word about the incident spread like wildfire and thus the name "Soap" was born because "it's all he needs to kill someone"

Soap definitely loves Simon, and vice versa, but there's definitely turmoil given Soap's track record. I'm unsure if I want to give them a happy ending or not....

Simon was military briefly before leaving due to issues with his family. It's been a few years, Tommy had met Beth and they have Joseph. Simon's father is gonna still be alive in this BECAUSE he actually hired Roba to ruin Simon's life. Roba framed Simon for the brutal torturing and murder of one Gary Sanderson.

And yes, Soap does have to meet Frank Riley and it does not end well :)

That's really all I have right now. Maybe soon I'll actually write something, but for now have this

#prison break au #break for your heart #it's unhinged!soap time #soapghost #ghostsoap #simon ghost riley #john soap mactavish #kyle gaz garrick #john price #call of duty #cod mw2

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starksvinyls · 7 months

Text

Title: Career Day Rating: Gen Pairing: Peter Parker & Tony Stark Tags/Warnings: Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Adopted Peter Parker, Dead May Parker (sorry not sorry it's for the irondad fluff), Irondad and Spiderson, Fluff, Family Fluff, Identity Reveal Summary: Midtown is hosting a Career Day, and Tony comes to speak as Peter's dad, revealing Peter's identity as his son to Peter's class. Notes: fills square B5 'identity reveal' on my @pparkerbingo card!

AO3 Link

Peter didn’t think anything of it, when he left the papers from school on the kitchen island. It was part of his new routine with Tony and Pepper, they liked to keep up with the goings on at Midtown, and if Peter didn’t immediately leave the papers for them when he got home, he’d forget them in his backpack. He wasn’t sure why the school didn’t just email all the parents and guardians with the latest news and reminders about parent teacher conferences, sciences fairs and band performances, it wasn’t like this was the really old days of dial up and checking your email once a week.

Midtown School of Science and Technology was hosting a career day for the juniors, as collage application deadlines would be upon them sooner than they realized, and had asked for parental volunteers in several different vocations to come and speak. That flier had been in the stack, however Peter didn’t think Tony or Pepper would have the time, but well…

There, in a line of other parents and guardians, sat Tony Stark in all his bespoke suited glory. He had one leg crossed over the other and his hands in his lap, fingers laced. The HUD glasses were perched on his nose, and he was smiling out at the group of awestruck teenagers staring up at him on the auditorium stage. There was a cacophony of excited whispers, too muddled for Peter to catch anything specific.

Next to him, Ned was hitting his arm. “Dude, your da-“

“Ned!” Peter hissed. “You know he’s not-“

“He technically is,” MJ rolled her eyes from the other side of Peter. “Those adoption papers aren’t just for show, loser.”

Peter could feel himself flush and he snapped his mouth closed, slouching down in his seat. It wasn’t that Peter didn’t think of Tony as his dad, but he had only recently gone from calling him ‘Mister Stark’ to ‘Tony’. It wasn’t even until May’s funeral that the man had hugged Peter fully. They weren’t there yet.

They hadn’t made any announcements (nor had Peter really said anything at school, it wasn’t like he went around talking about his family before. Plus, who would he tell?), though they weren’t hiding Peter away. Most everyone at the tower knew, the school knew, of course, as did the Avengers and Peter’s friends. Pepper had also planned a lovely little debut, of sorts, for Peter as their son and heir to Stark Industries at the next Maria Stark Foundation fundraising dinner. Huh, she had said “their son”…Peter smiled to himself. Maybe they were there.

Peter remembered the flier, then, it had asked for volunteers to come speak at “their child’s” school for a career day. That was definitely something parents did.

Principal Morita stepped up to the podium and cleared his throat. “Hello, students,” He waited for the room to hush before continuing. “We have some very accomplished and knowledgeable parents here today to talk to you about different college and career paths in STEM. I expect you to give each of them your full, undivided attention, as what they can tell you will be very valuable for your own futures.”

It was obvious the principal was implying that they needed to pay attention to all the parents and not ignore them because of Tony Stark, and Peter was kind of embarrassed. His classmates were definitely the type to fan-geek out instead of paying attention.

“Without further ado, let’s have our first speaker,” Principal Morita clapped, prompting some applause from the students, as he stepped back to his chair.

The first parent, a woman with dark skin and round glasses, adjusted the height of the mic. “Hello, I’m Rochelle Brown, Abe’s mother,” She was cut off by an excited whoop from a few rows in front of Peter, and laughed. “Hey, son…I’m a doctor specializing in cardiovascular health.”

Peter listened to her talk about med school and the skills and knowledge from non-STEM areas that were important as well. It was overall pretty informative. The next few parents followed the same formula; introduce themselves, as well as whose parent they were, and then talk about their work and college experience.

They went down the line, and the 5th chair held Tony. When it was his turn, he stood and made his way to the podium. “Well, you know who I am,” He flashed them a smile.

Peter noticed it wasn’t his media smile, it was genuine. A warmth spread through his belly at the realization that Tony was there as his dad, not as Tony Stark.

After a small smattering of chuckles from the audience, it went silent, clearly all waiting with baited breath to hear who his kid was.

“And I’m Peter Parker’s dad.”

The warmth in Peter’s belly exploded into a million butterflies and he could feel his cheeks pulled up into a wide smile. That was the first time he had said that. Sure, he called Peter “his kid” all the time, but he said…

Peter couldn’t stop smiling, even as everyone was suddenly turned, looking at him. The whispers were loud, and teachers around the room were trying to hush everyone and get them focused again. Flash could be heard loudly protesting as he was escorted out the doors into the hallway after a rather rude outburst. Peter snorted.

“Yes, yes, new gossip, I know it’s exciting.” Tony drawled, amused. “But I’m here to talk to you about engineering and MIT, the greatest in higher education for a budding young scientist, and I promise I’m only a little biased,” He winked.

Peter watched at Tony captivated a room full of teenagers and adults alike, with tales about building DUM-E at fifteen, and the non-proprietary aspects of engineering the arc reactor. He grinned and laughed at an anecdote about the one armed bot, and then reached into his pocket for his phone. He typed out a text and hit send, knowing Friday would display it on the screen in Tony’s glasses. A second later, his dad looked directly at him and smiled.

thanks for coming to speak, dad

#pparkerbingo23 #peter parker #irondad and spiderson #irondad #irondad fic #marvel fanfic #starksvinyls fic

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arlana-likes-to-write · 2 years

Text

Battle Scars by Paradise Fears

Summary: You are an empath living in the Avenger Towers. It isn’t your job to help the Avengers when their feelings get out of control but you do it anyway. What happens when you go on a mission and now the empath needs help?

Warning: mentions of guilt, depression, anger, doubt, sadness (all of the emotions and past traumas of specific Avengers), human trafficking

Word Count: 7.5k

Please read the end note after this story! It would mean the world to me and my family

Growing up was hard. You were constantly tired as you feed into the emotions of those around you. It started with a tight feeling in your chest as if a ton of bricks were resting there. Then the feeling moved to the base of your head, almost like a headache. Soon you began to feel whatever that person was feeling. It could be anger, grief, sadness, depression and on the off chance; happiness, joy, or pleasure. As you got older you learned to control it. It only took real intense emotions that would call on your mutant powers. So living with the Avengers was a challenge. They were intense people with even bigger emotions. You drank calming tea, meditated, and journaled to keep your own emotions in check. You weren’t a full time member of the team - you spent a majority of the time in the lab with Bruce and Tony. It was rare that you saw action in the field but you were prepared when duty called. Like this past weekend. The world seemed to be on a different level and the Avengers were sent to all corners to deal with rising threats. You were in the compound when Maria approached you with a mission report. You took it without hesitation and now as you sat in your room, a blanket wrapped around you tightly -protecting you from the world, you wished you told Maria no.

The mission went south as soon as you stepped down in Uganda, you were working closely with the Wakandans. Numerous reports of children going mission and the rumors of a human trafficking ring, meant you and T’Challa had to work fast before they left the country. You weren’t fast enough. You closed your eyes, wishing for the images of inside the shipping containers would leave your mind. Sometimes you wished the others had your ability so they knew you were hurting and they could come to you like you’ve done so many times for them.

Steve Rogers; Captain America

FRIDAY announced the arrival of the team but you knew they were back as soon the quinjet landed. Guilt. It was a powerful emotion and it was confusing one of your teammates and in turn, consuming you. You closed your laptop and headed to the elevator. Before you pressed the button, the door opened and Tony was leaning on the metal wall. “Tons, are you okay?” He nodded, pushed himself off the wall, and walked out the elevator. He didn’t look injured, just exhausted.

“It’s not me you're feeling El,” He said, placing a hand on your shoulder walking into the lap. El wasn’t your real name, it was your given name by the Avengers as your birth name carried too much trauma. It was short for elephant as Vision let slip that elephants were some of the most empathic creatures. But you weren’t a big fan of being called an elephant so El was the next best thing. “What happened?” You asked, following the billionaire. He became a father figure to you since your parents disowned you when you told them you were going to join the Avengers. Tony fell into his chair, pinching the bridge of his nose. The mission was supposed to be a recon on an old HYDRA facility. There were rumors of a new super solider serum and Fury wanted the Avengers to get their hands on it before someone else did. Steve, Tony, Sam, Natasha, and Maria were sent on the mission - that was a week ago.

“Mission went sideways. It was a trap.” Your stomach dropped. “Wilson and Romonaff are in medbay.”

“How bad?” You asked.

“Wilson broke his arm. Romonaoff got it worse - she got a nasty hit to the head. She was unconscious the entire ride back home.” You nodded. “It’s Steve.” Tony whispered. “Steve is who you are feeling, tread lightly.” You gave him a smile and walked back to the elevator, asking FRIDAY where the super soldier was. The AI informed you that Captain Rogers was in the training room - he asked to be alone. You huffed as your rode the elevator to the training room. You wondered if you should have made a stop at medbay but you knew Dr. Cho would have her hands full and Yelena and Bucky would be down there. It was a quick walk to the training room when the elevator stopped. You were greeted with darkness, the windows were covered and a majority of the lights were off besides one. The soldier was illuminated by the light and was punching a sandbag. A pile was forming of ones he destroyed. Oh Steve, you thought, leaning on the door frame. With a hard swing from his right hand, the sandbag broke off the chain and flew towards the wall.

“You know,” You said, making your presence known. Steve’s shoulders tense up. “I don’t think Tony would appreciate how you are treating the building's equipment.” Steve sighed.

“I was wondering how long I had before you found me.” You hummed, pushing yourself off the walk and walked over to the soldier. Your footsteps echoed against the wall.

“I’d say 4 sandbags.” You joked. Steve smiled. “FRIDAY, open the window.” The AI listened to your request and the New York sun lit up the darkness. “Please advise the other Avengers that the training room is off limits.”

“Understood, El.”

“I gave FRIDAY that same order but it appears it didn’t work.” You shrugged, sitting on the floor, and patted the empty space next to you. Steve stared at the empty spot and you gave the stubborn captain a pointed look - he sat down next to you. With him being this close, you could feel his guilt. It was suffocating.

“What’s your favorite part of the day?” You asked, looking forward. He didn’t answer so you answered your question. “Mine is dawn. Dawn means to become day in old English so it’s the first sight of lightness in the morning.” You explained, looking at Steve. He was wondering about your answer. “Do you know why dawn is my favorite?” He shook his head.

“Why?” He questioned, his voice shaking.

“Because,” You said slowly. “No matter how dark it is there will be light towards the end. It may take some time but light will over power the darkness.” Steve let out a shaky breath and his blue eyes were glossy with tears.

“It’s so hard,” his voice cracked. “It is so hard to make the final call and it is possible that one of you or all of you don’t return home.” You laced your hand with his.

“Sam and Natasha are going to be okay.” You said. “You brought them home.” He shook his head.

“We got lucky this time. What if we aren’t so lucky next time?” He asked. It was a valid question, a question you didn’t have an answer to. This job was filled with uncertainties and a million ‘What if?’ questions.

“Then we deal with it together because you are not alone and keep marching on. We’ve all got battle scars and you’ve had enough just don’t give up.” You gave his hand a a tight squeeze. “This is worth fighting for. You are worth fighting for.” You watched as a few tears slid down his face. His guilt was still there but it wasn’t as strong.

“Thank you.”

“Captain Rogers,” FRIDAY’s voice called out. “Dr. Cho wanted me to inform you that Miss. Romanoff is requesting to see you.” You saw the tension leave his shoulders. You gently patted him on the bag.

“Go get her tiger.” Steve got to his feet quickly, stumbling slightly. You giggle at the flush of embarrassment that graced his cheeks. He gave you a grateful smile and jogged to Medbay. You sighed, leaning back and closed your eyes. You liked the quote by Umar Iban Al-Khattab: ‘No amount of guilt can change the past and no amount of worrying can change the future.’

Yelena Belova; White Widow

It wasn’t a normal occurrence for you when sleep avoided you. You laid in bed; hands behind your head as you stared up at the ceiling. A sudden rush of anger passed through you. The strong emotion took your breath away. It was anger mixed with sadness. You slowly sat up. “FRIDAY, who is up right now?” You asked the AI.

“Miss. Belova is in the kitchen and The Boss is in the lab with Mr. Banner.” You nodded, grabbing a sweatshirt from (you were pretty sure the sweatshirt belonged to Steve) and a pair of fluffy socks. The compound was always freezing at night. You left your room and walked the empty and dark halls to the kitchen. You figured you were feeling Yelena’s range of emotions. She returned from a mission with her sister, they were going on a recon mission to a lab. They’re primary object was to sneak in and steal some intel. You reached the kitchen and saw Yelena sitting at the counter, two bottles of vodka out and a shot glass. She saw you immediately so you didn’t have a chance to watch her. Instead you gave her a friendly smile, grabbed two spoons from the drawer and opened the freezer. Chocolate ice cream. Perfect. You closed the freezer and leaned against the counter. Yelena’s green eyes never left you.

Yelena was a new addition to the team and you knew she was cactious of you, Natasha must have told her about your ability. You offered her the extra spoon. “Want soom?” You offered. She looked at the spoon then the ice cream.

“No.” She said, simply. You shrugged, putting the spoon down and opened the ice cream.

“If you change your mind, the offer still stands.” You took a spoonful and ate it. Out of the corner of your eye, you watched the White Widow take a shot and fill it again.

“Isn’t that Sam’s ice cream?” She questioned. You looked at the container and saw in horrible penmanship Sam’s name and a drawing of a falcon. You smiled.

“What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.” You almost dropped your spoon as the smile graced the Russian’s face. A wave of silence passed you two as you ate ice cream and she drank her vodka. Soon you noticed Yelenba looking at the spoon. She took it slowly and you pushed the ice cream container closer to her. “What’s your favorite ice cream?” You asked. She thought for a moment, took a spoonful and ate the chocolate ice cream.

“Mint chocolate chip.” You scrunted your nose. She laughed, throwing you head back. “What? It’s not good?” You shook your head.

“Not for me.” You mumbled. Her laughter made you smile. Her earlier feelings of anger and sadness were disappearing but they were lingering.

“So what is your favorite ice cream?” She asked.

“Rocky road.” You said without hesitation. “I have good memories with my parents sitting at a pond, eating rocky road and watching the ducks.” You said, sighing. You couldn’t tell if this overwhelming sadness was your own emotion or Yelena’s.

“I like mint chocolate chip because it reminds me of a time before the Red Room.” She stopped, taking another shot of vodka. You didn’t prompt the blonde to continue, hoping she would on her own. “Alexi took Natasha and I to a small ice cream shop. We had to stay in the car and he didn’t know what ice cream flavor kids liked so he got us mint chocolate.” You smiled as you listened to her talk. “Natasha didn’t like it but I ate all of mine.” She sighed. Yup, you thought, the sadness was coming from her. Her jaw clenched as she threw back another shot. The anger was back. “I hate them so much.” She confessed.

“Who do you hate, Yelena?” You asked softly. She looked at you, blinking her green eyes at you. She shook her head.

“Nobody,” she said suddenly. “It’s not important. You have more important things to do.” She stood, gathered her bottles of liquor, and shot glasses. “Thank you for sharing ice cream.” You stared blankly as the White Widow headed back to her room. You broke out of your trance and ran after her.

“Yelena,” her name stopped her. “You’ve had enough, just don’t give up. You are worth fighting for. You know we’ve all got battle scars. Just keep marching on.” She didn’t respond or turn around to look at you. “You are not alone.” Her body began to shake.

“I’m angry at Natasha, Alexi, and Melina.” She answered, turning to face you with tears coming down her cheeks. “Why did they give me back to the Red Room? Why didn’t Natasha come back for me?” You weren’t sure if she wanted you to answer or she was just throwing these questions to the universe. “We got separated on our mission and I found my way out of the lap and I couldn’t find Natasha. I thought she left me again.” Her hands tightened around the neck of the bottle. “I don’t want to be alone again.” You took a few tentative steps towards the Russian, closing the distance.

“You aren’t alone.” You said, taking the glass out of her hands. “As long as I’m here you won’t be alone.” She looked into your eyes, looking for any lie in your words. She chuckled, whipping away her tears.

“Natasha was right. You are a weird one.” You laughed, throwing your head back.

“I’ll take that as a compliment. Come on, let's go watch a movie.” You held out your freehand and the Russian took it.

Bucky Barnes, White Wolf

You watched the Quinjet touch down, wrapping the rain jacket tightly around you. It was down pouring in Upstate New York. This was the type of weather where you wished you were curled up in your room, under blankets and hot chocolate. But you were waiting for members of the team to come home from a mission. Bruce, Sam, Bucky, and Steve were returning home from clearing out an old HYDRA base, a simple mission. But Bucy stumbled upon mission reports of him as the Winter Soldier and it triggered a depressive episode. Sam sent you a text on their way home. Bruce was the first out of the Quinjet. He descended the ramp and jogged over the covering where you were standing to avoid the rain. You smiled at him. “How’s the team doing, doctor? Any injuries?” He shook his head, spraying water on you.

“Cap dislocated his shoulder but nothing major besides,” he waved his hand. You nodded, he was talking about Bucky.

“Headed to the lab?”

“Yeah after a shower.”

“I’ll see you down there.” He placed a gentle hand on your shoulder.

“Take your time, kid.” He went into the compound. Next to descend the ramp was Captain America. He was stretching his shoulder as he didn’t seem to be bothered by the rain.

“How’s the shoulder, Captain?” He shrugged. “I’ve had worse,” You laughed, shaking your head.

“Natasha is waiting for you. FRIDAY alerted her that you were hurt.” Steve groaned and followed the same path as Bruce. You waited for the next member to come out but no one did. You groaned, ran through the rain, and up the ramp into the Quinjet. You loved the sound of rain hitting metal. On any other day you would enjoy the sound but as you walked through the Quinjet to find Bucky and Sam, a cloud covered your mind. It stopped you in your tracks. Darkness, regret, and sadness crept through you. You felt cold. You shook off the feeling and continued. You found Bucky, sitting on the ground, Sam kneeling in front of him with his hands on Bucky’s knees. The cute interaction made you smile. Sam looked away from his boyfriend and smiled.

“Hey, El.” You waved. “He’s barely said a word and hasn’t moved.” You nodded, walking over to them. You placed a hand on Sam’s shoulder.

“I got him.” Sam nodded, standing up. He pulled you into a quick hug.

“Thank you.” His words vibrated through his chest. You scrunted your nose, pushing him away.

“You stink.” Sam laughed, shaking his head.

“Yeah, yeah.” He bumped your shoulder against yours as he left you and the super soldier alone. His head was down, staring at his hands. You sighed and sat next to him.

“If you could be an animal, any animal in the world, what would you be?” You asked. He didn’t respond, he made no sign that he heard you. “I think I’d be a butterfly. Across different cultures, the butterfly has become a metaphor for transformation and hope. It starts with a colorless caterpillar and turns into an exquisite winged beautiful creature.” You explained. He leaned his head back and was looking forward. Progress. “White Wolf.” You whispered. “A wolf symbolizes loyalty, protection, and freedom.” He let out a shaky breath and his blue eyes were glossy with tears. “In many Native American cultures, wolves are scared creatures. They are strong and courageous.” You looked at the soldier. “I think the Wakandans picked a perfect name for you, Bucky. You are a wolf.” He shook his head. “Why not?” You asked.

“I hurt and killed so many people.” His voice was shaky as tears fell from his eyes. “I’m not a protector but a monster.” Your heart broke at the way he was talking about himself.

“The Winter Soldier did those things. The White Wolf didn’t.” He formed his vibranium hand into a fist, opening and closing it. “Better days are near. Hope is so much stronger than fear. You’ve had enough just don’t give up. You are worth fighting for. We all have battle scars.” You stood up, taking your rain jacket off, and held out your hand. “Do you trust me?” You asked. He looked up at you.

“Of course.” He said.

“Then trust me when I say I trust you with my life Bucky Barnes and I know everyone behind those walls,” You pointed in the direction of the compound. “Do as well.” He hesitantly put his flesh hand up to grab yours but you pulled your hand back. Confusion flashed across his face. “Other hand.” You told him. He sighed but grabbed your hand with his vibranium one. The temperature difference shocked you. You pulled him to his feet and dragged him out of the Quinjet, down the ramp, and into the rain.

“What are we doing?” He asked.

“Teach me how to dance.” You said, grabbing his flesh hand. His eyes grew wide.

“What?” He questioned.

“You heard me, old man. Teach me how to dance.”

“In the rain?” You nodded. “Right now?” You nodded again, excitedly. “Why?” He asked.

“Because it’s fun.” You said simply. He gave you a pointed look. You shrugged, rolling your eyes. “Have you seen Shawkshank Redemption?” You asked. Bucky shook his head. “Remind me to have a long talk with Sam on what movies he’s showing you.” He smiled. “Towards the end of the movie, one of the characters stands in the pouring rain with his hands stretched out.” You demonstrated the iconic scene with your hands outstretched to the sky. You grabbed his hands again. “Rain is a symbol of rebirth, the flow of life, and cleansing.” You squeezed his hands. “Your memories of the Winter Soldier won’t go away overnight and that quilt, anger, and sadness you carry may never leave you.” You told him honestly. “But you will learn to cope with it. Some days will be better than others. Let today be a reminder for you that you are still alive and so many people care about you. You are not alone.” Your smile grew. “So cleanse away those thoughts and dance with me.” Bucky chuckled, shaking his head.

“Alright, let’s see those moves.” The darkness was still looming over Bucky but just as a rainstorm, the clouds passed and the sun began to shine again.

Maria Hill; Deputy Director of SHIELD

You regretted saying yes to Wanda. She had a date with Vision and she asked you to finish her mission report and hand it in to Maria. Bucky and Sam invited you and Yelena to play Guitar Hero but you had to decline because it was impossible for you to say no to the Sokovian. You groaned, putting your hand up to knock on the Deputy Director’s door but stopped. Intense feelings of guilt, stress, and dread washed over you. You shook off the feeling and knocked on the door. It took a minute but you heard Maria call out, “Come in.” You opened the door and stepped into her off. Ah. It was Maris you were feeling. Her desk was covered with files. She had another desk with a 3 screen computer system and you could make out emails that needed to be answered. A bottle of whiskey was on her desk, unopened but you could bet she was itching to open it.

“What can I do for you?” She asked. Her question broke you out of your trance.

“Mine and Wanda’s mission report.” You said, holding up the folder. You watched Maria suppress a sigh. Over the years you’ve learned to never ask if someone was okay if you could feel their emotions - they would deny something was wrong. You walked over to her desk and handed it over to her. She reached out for it with a tired smile.

“Thank you.” She went to grab it but you pulled it away.

“Are you hungry? Because I haven’t eaten all day and I could eat.” It was a small lie but Maria didn’t need to know that. She shook her head.

“I’m not hungry.” Well that was a lie. “Besides, I have too much to do.” You handed her the folder but once again as soon as she was going to take it you pulled it away. Her glare would send any agent or Avenger running but you smiled. “I’m about to kick your ass.”

“I know.” You jumped on the empty space on her desk to sit down. “I’m thinking Chinese or maybe Italian. No Indian. Ugh Mexican.” You were swinging your feet, careful not to damage her desk. “What are you thinking?”

“If I give you an answer will you leave and give me your mission report?” You nodded. Maria sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Fine Indian.” You smiled, jumped off her desk, and handed her the file.

“I’ll be back.”

“Can’t wait.” Maria deadpanned. You rolled your eyes at her dry humor. An hour later you found yourself back at Maria’s door. This time you entered without knocking. Nothing in her office changed besides the bottle of whiskey was now open. “Food delivery.” You said, kicking the door closed. You sat on the empty space on the ground with your back resting on the wall. You began to lay out the food, glancing at Maria. “Are you going to join me?” You asked.

“Why do I have a feeling you won’t let me say no?” You smirked.

“Because you know me very well.” Maria rolled her eyes, standing from her desk and walking over to you. She made sure to grab the whiskey. She sat in front of you and chose her food. You ate in a comfortable silence until Maria broke it. She took a hefty swig of the whiskey.

“I know what you are doing.” You hummed, unable to say anything with a mouth full of food. “You can sense I’m feeling a certain type of way and you think it’s your job to help.” You whipped your mouth with a napkin. “I’m fine.” Debatable. But you kept that comment yourself.

“I’m not doing anything.” Which was true. “My mom told me that working on an empty stomach leads to mistakes and mistakes will make work take longer.” “It’s hard to take advice from a woman that disowned their own kid because they wanted to do good.” You were shocked at Maria’s bluntness regarding your family. She winced. “Sorry that came out wrong.”

“No, I mean you aren’t wrong.” You sighed. “My relationship with my biological family ended poorly but I found a new one because of it. You, Nick, and all the other crazy characters that live here are my family.” Maria nodded. She was looking down at her food, stirring it. She appeared to be lost in thought and her emotions were muddy, you couldn’t pinpoint what she was feeling. You wondered if her feelings had to do with the idea of family. There were rumors that the Deputy Director had family issues of her own and her agent assumed that was why she’s so unpleasant. You bite the inside of your cheek. “Are you up for a little adventure with me?” You asked. She looked up at you.

“Oh what the hell. You’ve already made me behind.” You smiled, cleaning up the food. The first step was the fridge then you lead Maria out of the compound to a remote area of the property. You were close to the treeline but had a lot of empty space to move around in. It was twilight - the sun was beginning to set and the stars were coming out. The air seemed fresser here. “Why did you bring me out here?” She asked.

“To scream.”

“Excuse me?” She questioned. You nodded, jumping on the balls of your feet.

“One of the best things about nature is it’s the world’s best secret keeper. You can tell it anything and it will hold it forever.” You explained. You had good memories of yelling your secrets with your brother at your vacation home in Maine. “Even if you don’t say words and just scream or yell or laugh or cry. The trees, the stars, and the moon will listen.” Maria looked confused. “Allow me.” You looked up to the sky and screamed. You looked back at the SHIELD agent and she was shocked by the sound. But you felt freer, the weight that you felt on your chest was a little bit lighter. This time you yelled looking at the ground. “Try it.”

“You are insane.”

“Probably but have I ever steered any of you in the wrong direction before?” Maria sighed and shook her head. You waved your wan, telling her it was her turn. She closed her eyes, looked up at the sky, and screamed. You cheered and clapped your hands. She yelled again. On her third scream, you joined her. “How do you feel?” You asked. Her cheeks were flushed and her chest was rising and falling, a little faster than normal.

“Better. A lot better.” You smiled.

“Tell nature everything. Tell it all of your secrets.” With a deep breath in and out you yelled, “I wish I was good enough for my parents. I wish I didn’t miss them and I hate that I still love them.” Her face softened as if a part of her understood everything you confessed. “Your secrets are safe with me and nature. Scouts honor.” Maria chuckled, pending down to pick up a rock. She threw it in the air and caught it a few times before tossing it into the woods.

Placing her hands on her hips, she yelled, “Sometimes I wish I declined the promotion of Deputy Director.” You kept your face neutral at Maria’s confession. “I lose sleep at night when I send the Avengers and my agents on a mission because I worry they won’t come home.” Your heart broke. “I have to pick and choose who we help and it kills me that we can’t help everyone.” You smiled at her. “I want people to see me. Not an agent or Deputy Director, just Maria.” She yelled one more time and fell to her knees. “I wish I could be good enough for my dad.” She whispered. You sat on the grass in front of her. The only noise between you two was Maria’s labored breathing as she tried to get her heart rate under control.

“I’m proud of you.” You said. Her head snapped up to look at you. “I know I’m not the person you want to hear it from but it doesn't make it any less true. You have an incredibly difficult job and many agents and Avengers give you shit for doing your job. I also bet dealing with Fury isn’t a walk in the park either.” Maria let out a wet chuckle, whipping away a few tears that fell. “But never doubt we don’t have faith in you.” She let out a shaky breath. “We’ve all got battle scars. You’ve had enough, just don’t give up and stick to your guns. Keep marching on.” You took Maria’s hand in yours, squeezing it. Her emotions weren’t as cloudy.

“Thank you for this.” She said softly. She let go of one of your hands to cover her mouth as she yawned.

“Come on, Deputy Director, you need sleep.” You stood up, pulling her to her feet. “And before you argue with me if you go get some sleep I will help you tackle that mess of an office.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“No I don’t,” you said. “But I want to help if you want me too.” You gave her the option to not feel as if you were pressuring her.

“I’d love your help.” You began your walk back to the compound. She put her arm around your shoulders. “They are missing out.” She said, “You are one hell of a superhero.” You smiled, looking at the ground. “I’m proud of you too.”

Natasha Romanoff; Black Widow

You hated being cold. It was winter in Upstate New York and you were not having a good time. Yes, it was pretty and snow meant Christmas but you had half the mind to march to Tony and ask him why he didn’t build the Avenger’s compound in Florida. You were bundled up in a fluffy blanket with hot chocolate in your hands near the fireplace. You were reading when you heard footsteps headed your direction. Grief and sadness as the Black Widow sat next to you. You put your book down and opened your arms. Natasha didn’t even hesitate to move to sit between your legs and you wrapped the blanket around her. The redhead slumped against you, allowing you to hold her weight. You and the Black Widow had a complicated relationship. She hated that you always knew her true feelings and it took years for her to realize you weren’t going to use it against her. It wasn’t until after your fight with Ultron, Natasha started to trust and open up to you. She was the only person in the compound to come to you when her feelings got out of control. It was comforting to know she trusted you on such an intimate level and you weren’t going to break it. You rested your head on her shoulder. “Do you want to talk about it?” You asked. She didn’t answer verbally but you felt her shake your head. “Okay, we can just sit here until you are ready.” The Black Widow just returned from a mission with Steve, Wanda, and Vision. They were in Russia for 3 days. You knew she was going to struggle being there. You sighed. She was warm and you were jealous.

“You are always so cold.” She mumbled. You rolled her eyes.

“Trust me I’m aware.” The redhead chuckled. “But at least I have a best friend as a heater.” You gave her a squeeze. You got the opposite reaction you thought you were going to get. Natasha tensed up in your arms instead of relaxing more. “Tash, talk to me.” You whispered.

“Can we go to your room?” She asked, her voice was shaking. You nodded.

“Of course.” The Black Widow was comfortable showing emotion in front of you, Steve, and Yelena but not the whole team. You lead the redhead to your room. You held open the door and as soon as Natasha walked in, she climbed into your bed. You closed the door, joining her, and she moved to lay her head on your chest. As routine, you began to run your fingers through her hair. You felt her tears on your shirt but you didn’t call attention to it. You let her cry. You weren’t sure how long you laid there but Natasha sat up and leaned against the wall.

“I hate Russian missions.” she said, rubbing her eyes. You sat up and handed her tissues that you kept on your nightstand. She took them with a smile.

“Do you want to talk about it?” She shrugged, looking up at your ceiling.

“The mission went well. We got in and out without any problems.” She closed her eyes. “We were leaving and I saw these kids playing soccer in the street. Just kicking a ball with no care in the world and I was looking at these kids and I saw myself and Yelena.” She shook her head. “I don’t know we didn’t have that. I mean we did but it was for a mission it wasn’t real.”

“Natalia.” You said. She winched at the name. It was an argument that happened a lot when Natasha first told you about the Red Room mission in Ohio. You determined early on that Natasha told herself that her ‘family’ wasn’t real to help with her guilt and to make it hurt less that they gave her away. The Russian sighed.

“Yes, yes, I know the mission gave me a real family.” You smiled. “I got angry watching these kids because what they had was stripped away from me.” You nodded. A normal childhood. A childhood that wasn’t about training or ballet lessons.

“What else happened?” You asked, it wasn’t the whole story.

“One of the kids got hurt. She had to be 6 maybe 7 and an older kid ran over to her. It was nothing major, just a scraped knee.” She looked back at you and you watched tears start to leave her green eyes. You had a pretty good idea why seeing this was affecting her but you learned it was best for people to say it out loud if possible. “She was only 6 too.” Yelena. You were feeling guilt and grief pulsing through the Black Widow. “And I just left her. I didn’t go back for her.” You knew Yelena and Natasha had come to an understanding of what happened all those years ago but it didn’t make the pain and the guilt any easier. “I let her get controlled.” You shook her head.

“That wasn’t you Natasha. You had no idea what was going to happen to Yelena.”

“I should have gone back for her.” You shrugged. “Maybe you should have or maybe Dreykov would have gotten you under his control too.” You grabbed her hand, running your thumb over the back of her hand. “The world is filled with ‘What ifs’ and we’ll drive ourselves mad thinking about what could have been.” You knew from first hand experience. Many nights you lie awake wondering what your life would be like if you said no to Tony. What if you didn’t join the Avengers? “We can’t join the past but we can live for the future.”

“Would you change the past?” She asked. You thought for a moment, looking at your connected hands.

“No, I love the life I’m living.” You squeezed her hand. “Definitely how I thought my life would be but I can’t complain.” She nodded her head slowly. “You’re not alone anymore, Nat. Neither is Yelena. Some days that guilt will eat you up inside but better days are near. Just don’t give up.” Natasha squeezed your hand back.

“I’m glad life brought us together.” She confessed. “You have done a lot for me, for all of us.” You felt your cheeks burn at her honestly.

“Just doing my job.” Natasha rolled her eyes and pushed you gently on the shoulder.

“Your job isn’t to be our therapist but we approached it.” You shrugged.

“Miss. Romanoff, Miss. Belova is looking for you.” The AI said. You looked at Natasha.

“Movie marathon?” You suggested. “We said we’d try to watch all the Harry Potter movies in one sitting.”

“FRIDAY, tell Yelena where I am and bring snacks and drinks.” You laughed as Natasha got comfortable in your bed. You grabbed the remote and queued up the first movie. Life hasn’t been the kindest but you wouldn’t change it

El; Empath

“Has anyone seen El?” Maria asked, walking into the common area holding a folder in her hands. Natasha laid on the couch, her head in Steve’s lap and her feet in Yelena’s, who was playing Mario Kart against Bucky and Sam.

“FRIDAY said they were going to shower and be right out.” Sam said, without looking away from the screen. Natasha looked at Maria and saw the worry on her face. The Black Widow sat up, earning a curse from her sister.

“What’s wrong, Maria?” She handed Natasha the folder.

“That is T’Challa’s report on their mission.” Maria watched Natasha open the report and the color drained from her face.

“Nat,” Steve said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “What happened?” Bucky paused the game. Natasha cleared her throat.

“We arrived at the abandoned warehouse at 0700. Upon searching the area we found no signs of anyone being there for some time. Our last area to search were two large shipping containers.” Natasha sighed. “As we got closer, we noticed the smell. El opened the first container. Inside were the bodies of 15 children, ranging from 5 to 16. There were no survivors.” Natasha closed the file. A heavy silence filled the common area.

“How do we help them?” Yelena asked, breaking the silence. “They are always there for us, how do we be there for them?”

“I have an idea,” Maria said. “But I’m going to need help.”

You didn’t expect a knock on your door and you were tempted to ignore it. But another round of knocking forced you to leave your cocoon of blankets and walked to the door. A wave of emotions rushed through you; anxiety, hopefulness, excitement, and joy. It was a weird mix and you had to compose yourself before opening the door. It was Maria. Today was full of surprises. “I haven’t finished my mission report.” Truth be told, you haven’t even started the report. The idea of having to relive the past 48 hours made your stomach turn. “I’ll have it on your desk by tomorrow morning.”

“I’m not looking for your report.” Oh. Before you could question why the Deputy Director was at your door she continued, “I read T’Challa’s.” Oh. You didn’t know the King of Wakanda needed to write mission reports.

“Oh.” You said, looking down at your feet. “I uh well you know how things went down then.” You felt tears in the corner of your eyes. A headache was forming and your chest hurt as you held back the tears. Maria held out her hand.

“Do you want to go on an adventure with me?” She asked. It was a strange deja vu moment. How many times have you stood in front of the team with your hand out hoping they took it? You wanted to crawl back into bed and ignore the world but you took her hand. You barely got the chance to close your door before Maria dragged you to the elevator. She pressed the button and waited for the metal door.

“Where are we going?” You asked. She gave you a smile.

“The roof.” She said as the doors opened. The roof of the compound was your favorite place. It allowed you a place to sit in silence; to feel the wind, listen to the trees, and look at the stars on a clearless night. The roof also allowed you to get away from everyone when you needed a break from their emotions. The elevator opened and you stepped onto the roof. The normal bare roof was transformed. A protector was set up, playing the intro to Hercules. It was one of your comfort movies. In front of the projector - were an assortment of pillows and blankets. Yelena was sitting on some of the pillows with a bowl of popcorn trying to throw pieces into Sam’s mouth while Bucky watched. Natasha and Steve were pouring chips into bowls.

“What is this?” You asked. Your voice caused your teammates to look at you.

“This,” Sam answered. “Is our version of the talk you give us.” You looked at him confused. Maria led you to the pillow fort and you sat down. Steve and Natasha joined you.

“You are always there for us no matter what we are feeling without us needing to ask.” Maria explained.

“This is us doing it for you.” Bucky shrugged. “Words aren’t our strength but Maria thought a movie might help.” The SHIELD agent blushed at being called out that this was her idea.

“We can watch it with you or if you prefer to watch it by yourself, that’s okay too.” Steve said. It was weird, you were feeling no overpowering emotions from them just you own. You were overwhelmed.

“Uh, stay please.” You cleared your throat. “Please stay.” Yelena smiled.

“We got you, dorogoy.” You found yourself resting your head on Maria’s lap with Yelena laying next to you as Natasha started the movie.

“Do you think Thor has met Hercules?” Natasha asked as the muses began to tell the story.

“He’s met Zeus, so probably.” You said, taking a handful of popcorn.

“Sh,” Sam said, throwing a piece of candy at you. You gasped, taking the candy and unwrapping it. You eat it. “Stop talking.”

“Can we sing?” Yelena asked, glancing at him. He thought about it.

“I will allow singing.” Yelena gave you a high five. You were feeling better surrounded by people that loved you.

As the credits began to roll, the reality of the situation you experienced crashed down on you. You turned your head into Maria’s lap and bit back a sob. Her hands immediately wento your back, soothing your cries. “We weren’t fast enough,” Your words were muffled but you knew you had their attention as the movie was muted. “Everytime I close my eyes I see that shipping container. Gods, I wish we were faster.” You cried. How many families had to be notified? Families were broken. Sons and daughters were lost. Siblings were never coming home. “They were right.” You said. The words of your parents echoed in your mind. Failure. Worthless.

“Who are you talking about, malen’kiy slon (little elephant)?” Natasha asked.

“My parents.” You felt Maria tense up. “They didn’t just not want me to become an Avenger but they said I wasn’t good enough to become one. They said I’d fail.”

“No,” Natasha said. You heard movement and soon you felt warm hands on your arms and pulled you into a seated position. “I won’t sit here and let you think bad about yourself. They were wrong.”

“Nat.” You said, slowly.

“She’s right.” You looked at Bucky. “What happened in Uganda wasn’t your fault.” You looked down, feeling shame creep around you. Maybe if one of them took the mission the outcome would have been different. You weren’t an Avenger. You weren’t a hero.

“Why do you like the stars so much?” Sam asked. The question caused your spiraling thoughts to stop. You didn’t look up.

“I like them because of the stories they tell.” Steve answered. “History is persevered in the night sky.” You smiled, looking up.

“I think they are pretty to look at.” Yelena added. “It’s amazing to think we live underneath such a work of art.” Your smile crew. It was an interesting feeling being on the other side of your silly little question game.

“I like them.” You began. “Because they are a reminder that we aren’t alone. While you are looking at the stars someone else could be looking at them too.” You let out a shaky breath. “And..hundreds of years ago someone was standing in your exact spot, looking at the same stars.”

“Exactly,” Maria said softly. “We’ll carry you home. You’re not alone. Keep marching on.”

“This is worth fighting for.” Sam said. Natasha gave your arms a gentle squeeze. You looked at the red head.

“You know we’ve all got battle scars.”

“You’ve had enough. Just don’t give up.” Steve said.

“You are worth fighting for.” Yelena smiled. “Just keep marching on.” You nodded, whipping away your tears. You laughed.

“I thought you said you guys were bad with words.” You joked.

“We learned from the best.” Maria smiled.

“Thank you,” You said. “Thank you for this. Can we watch another movie?” You asked.

“Anything you need.”

“Ooo I get to pick.” Yelena jumped up and picked The Incredibles. She laid back next to you, grabbing your hand.

“Great choice.” Bucky said. You couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic or not. You didn’t care as you leaned back in Maria’s arms. The Avengers were fighters, soldiers, and righteous. They were once lost, broken, and defeated. But they all had battle scars. As the movie began you were grateful to call them family and home.

I’m not the type of person to ask for help but I feel a little helpless. Hurricane Ian devested my home town (I don’t live in Florida anymore) but I lived where the path of the hurricane directly hit for 13 years. That being said my grandfather lives down there and his house was damaged. My grandfather hasn’t had the easiest few years. His wife (my grandmother) passed away 2 years ago during COVID, he’s recently been put on oxygen, and he’s a lone done there. My parents are working on getting down there but the city is a mess and he’s without power and electricity.

I’ve added my kofi donation page to this story. All donations no matter how big or small will go directly to helping my grandfather get back on his feet and help get my parents down there. They will be missing work by going down there so it will help with bills.

I appreciate all the support and love you all have given me. If you happen to donate I’d love to write you a personal story for a fandom of your choice. Any amount will help.

Much love. -Arlana

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