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averagewriter-inthedark · 3 years ago

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Don’t Rain On My Parade | T.M Spider-Man Series P.3

Catch up on parts 1 & 2 -> Series Masterlist | Marvel Masterlist

Characters & Pairings: Tobey!Peter Parker x female!reader/ Black Cat (eventual romantic), tobey!peter x Mary Jane Watson (only for S1), Harry Osborn, Gwen Stacy, Eddie Brock, Norman Osborn, Otto Octavius, J. Jonah Jameson (pretty much every character from the Raimi trilogy)

Content warnings: light angst, violence, blood, & profanity. Sight canon divergence. References to SA and PTSD (read with caution) | female reader (she/her)

Premise: After experiences a traumatic event at the hands of her boyfriend, Y/n is left in anger when the authorities fail to provide justice. She made a vow and won’t let it go to waste, and her motivation to defend herself only rises when a crazed man in a green suit causes chaos in New York.

Note: just a reminder I am basing y/ns backstory similar to how Felicia Hardy became Black Cat in the comics. I wanted to clarify this once again and will continue to do so because I am following mostly Black Cat from the comics to develop Y/n in these stories. If you are sensitive to these subjects I advise you not to read or read with caution.

——————

“I’m sorry, but there isn’t much we can do.”

Y/m should’ve expected it as much as she didn’t want to. Despite the hard evidence, the rape-kit, and everything that should’ve secured a conviction, the justice system let her down.

All because of a ‘he-said, she-said’ scenario. Fucking typical.

“So that’s it?” Her voice was low, willing the tears to stay at bay as she looked between the detective and her lawyer. “You want met to drop the charges and let him go free.”

“That is the last thing we want, Miss L/n,” her lawyer defended with a tired sigh, “but unfortunately with his claim of being intoxicated—.”

“He wasn’t,” she cut in harshly.

The attorney lifted his hand, “I believe you, but a jury or judge might look at it differently. He’s also claiming you consented and given there were no witnesses to come forward makes it difficult to prove what took place.”

“What took place?” She repeated with a scoff. “What took place was this man assaulted me—knowingly and willingly. He wasn’t drunk and I didn’t fucking consent. Did you not see the pictures, Mr. Bowman?” Y/n was referring to the photos taken of her when the cops arrived to her dorm. Before they took her to the hospital they needed a record of her external injuries—which the ones on her face were still healing as there was still a light bruise on her jaw. Despite wearing makeup to cover, the scar on her forehead was key evidence. “What kind of consensual sex results in that?”

“I understand you are frustrated,” Y/n let out an sarcastic laugh, “but if we go to trial we’ll lose. I’m trying to spare you that, Y/n. We’ve done everything we could.”

“No,” she spat, “I did everything I could. You are doing everything to get it over with fast.” It was true and all three knew that. The defense he hired was strong, given his family were rich so it gave him the advantage to let the law fall into his favor. It’s not surprising her team took whatever deal his team offered to get the charges dropped considering it had been several long weeks since the assault.

“Now that’s an unfair claim—.”

“What’s unfair, detective, is I was violated and now being told to drop the charges. He gets to fucking walk a free man while I have to live everyday with what happened to me without justice. How is that fair?” Y/n grabbed her purse and slung it over her shoulder. She gave them one last glare as she rose from her seat, “Drop the fucking charges for all I care—but understand this,” she pointed a finger, “It’s your fault this man is out and able to hurt someone else. When that happens, it’s on you—not me. We’re done here.”

Without letting either of them have the last word, Y/n spins on her heel and walks out the door with a slam of it behind her. It’s not till she had walked the several blocks to her new apartment that Y/n finally cried. She felt defeated and exhausted, but mostly angry.

Sadness and shame were out the door, she would not allow herself to feel that way. Only anger.

They say revenge is a dish best served cold.

And she was going to make sure that happened. The past few months Y/n had been at the gym everyday. She took up self defense classes, boxing, even brushing up on her gymnastics skills all while maintaining her internship with Dr. Otto Octavius and balancing school.

Her trainer didn’t have to ask what happened to her to know. The minute she saw Y/ns bruised face and reaction to being startled was enough for her to guess. The trainer made sure Y/n would not leave that gym without being able to defend herself.

It sure as hell paid off the day Y/n got hit on by a creep and broke his nose without a second thought. Now it was time to use what she learned to her gain, and take matters into her own hands.

Wiping away the tears at the sound of her phone ringing, Y/n cleared her voice before answering. “Hello?”

“Y/n?” It was Harry on the other line.

“Hi Harry,” she hoped she didn’t sound like she had been crying. “what’s up?”

“Well for starters I wanted to check in on you. It’s been months and dad told me you had been in an accident in like May or June.” Y/n bit her lip at his words, trying to think of what to say.

“Yeah-yeah I was. But it’s all good now,” that was far from the truth.

“You okay?”

“I’m doing fine now just a few bruises here and there.” Big lie. Physical scars might heal but never would the mental ones. “Thanks for calling—I appreciate it.”

“Anytime.”

“How’s things with you?” She changed the subject before he could ask for more details. “Congratulations on graduation by the way, I’m sorry I didn’t call you sooner.”

“It’s all good and thank you. Everything’s same ole—dad focusing more on his work than me,” he ignored Y/ns sound of disapproval. “I’ve seen him less and less—even in passing the past couple days.”

“I’m sure he’s busy, Harry. Norman is all about perfection when it comes to his work.”

“Yeah whatever. But I did ask out that girl—Mary Jane—you know the one I almost got in trouble for talking to.”

“Ahhh the redhead,” she mused, masking the feeling of unimpressed she felt. “I thought from my observations she was going out with that jerk, Flash.”

“Yeah she dumped him that day.” Harry sounded a little smug, “—anyway I was calling to ask if you were still coming to the World Unity Festival—Oscorp is sponsoring it as you know.”

Y/n cursed at herself for forgetting the big event. It was the last thing on her mind with everything happening. “Oh right, when is it again?”

“Tomorrow,” she cursed again, dropping the receiver to her side briefly before bringing it back up. “—if you’re can’t to it’s alright—.”

“No I’ll be there. I just have to cancel a few things, but it’s no biggie.” They talked for a few more minutes with Y/n promising Harry she would be at the festival. After saying goodbye, Y/n paced around her apartment. Her thoughts were all over the place, wondering how she was supposed to socialize with so many people after being isolated in the months following the attack. The only people she came in regular contact with were her trainer, professors, and Dr. Octavius.

She would have to put on a façade. Attending the World Unity Day festival was the last on her mind, but she made a promise to Harry.

‘Maybe it will be good,’ she thought to herself. Taking her mind of things would ease some of the suffering she was mentally enduring. ‘Or I’ll go for the first hour and make up an excuse to leave.’

Either plan seemed good in her books.

Y/n made a few calls which included rescheduling her morning session with her trainer and afternoon therapy appointment. She didn’t have to call Dr. Octavius because he would also be attending the festival and already gave all his interns the day off. Luckily Y/n wouldn’t have class so her entire day would be free.

Which the young woman was looking very forward too now that she had things to plan. Maybe she will leave the festival early—eager to get started on her plan.

Popping back the pills prescribed bed to her and washing it down with water, Y/n ate some random leftovers before heading to the campus library to spend the rest of her day reading up on some information regarding how to get away with the perfect murder.

The next morning Y/n found herself looking over the balcony of the Osborn penthouse above Time Square. World Unity Day was in full effect with floats and balloons covering the skies while people filled the streets from end to end. Y/n was nursing a mimosa she stole from one of the trays before anyone could stop her, the wind brushing through her hair and blazer.

As her eyes casted down to the crowd below, Y/n felt herself daze out. The people became blurry and her mind drifted elsewhere. It felt like flashes—the images coming as fast as they came. She tried not to think about it, but it consumed her like a hurricane. Y/n had been so lost in her mind she hadn’t felt a presence approaching behind her so when a hand landed on her shoulder, Y/n let out a loud gasp—the glass shattering as it fell from her hand and onto the floor.

“Woah-woah,” she heard Harrys voice when she stepped away abruptly to turn around, hand coming to her chest. “Sorry, Y/n—I-I didn’t mean to scare you.” There was glass by her feet, yellow liquid from the drink pooling in a small puddle. “Here let me find someone to clean this.”

Harry whistled for one of the staff members who came with some towels and a broom. Y/n felt the embarrassment pool in her system, “I’m so sorry,” she apologized offering a tight smile, “I’ve been a little jumpy lately, it’s my fault I—.”

“No, no it’s okay. I shouldn’t have snuck up on you like that.” Y/n then notices they weren’t alone. Mary Jane was standing a few paces away looking at them puzzled. Harry sees her gaze on his girlfriend and reaches out to the redhead, “Mary Jane, this is Y/n. You might remember her from the trip to Columbia science department—or quite frankly even Midtown.”

“Yeah I do,” Mary Jane smiled lightly, extending her hand out, “Hi, I’m Mary Jane Watson.” Y/n took her hand to shake it.

“Y/n L/n.” She noticed the redheads eyebrow lift.

“I thought your last name was Hardy?” MJ briefly glanced to Harry, “I remember you from school last year.”

Now this was a conversation Y/n was not in the mood to have. “Technically it’s L/n-Hardy. But I go by L/n now.” Y/n gave a cut nod as she relayed the info—the gesture indicating she would not explain any further. Mary Jane glanced at the ground, feeling slightly uncomfortable while Harry made a face while turning back to his friend.

“Probably should’ve mentioned that.”

“It’s fine, Harry. I wouldn’t have thought to bring it up either,” Y/n grabbed a glass of water from the table before returning to them. She took a sip before saying, “At least the weather held up for today, not to mention the great turn out,” while gesturing to the crowd.

Harry nodded, somewhat pleased, “Yeah sure did. You staying the whole day?” Y/n immediately shook her head, turning back to him.

“No, unfortunately I should get going soon. I have some things to get done.” She gave a small smile though it was fake—she was actually looking forward to bailing out of this event. “I just wanted to stop by and see you before I left. Also to say hi to Norman,” Y/n let her gaze wonder around the balcony, even peeking inside the home, “—speaking of, where is your dad?”

The question made Harry frown. He hadn’t seen his father at all since the festival started. He excused himself saying, “I’ll ask and see where he’s at. Probably got busy doing something and is just running late.” Y/n gave Harry a sympathetic look as he and MJ walked away.

Alone again, Y/n chugged the water in her hand and moved to the side so she was away from everyone. She debated on when to make her escape when movement in the sky caught her attention.

And to her surprise, it wasn’t a loose balloon.

Y/n couldn’t get a clear look, stepping forward a bit so she was leaning on the railing of the concrete balcony. “What the,” she muttered under her breath while bringing a hand up to shield her face from the sun. It was when the approaching figure got closer she realized it was a person in a metallic green suit—with a very weird mask shielding its face.

The music bellow had seized, everyone’s gaze drawn to the sky. Harry and Mj had stepped more in closer to Y/n looking just as confused as everyone else. “Do you know what that is?” Y/n asked Harry, worry painting her face when he shakes his head.

“That’s our glider!” One of the Oscorp representatives shouted. Below the crowd began cheering with applause—not thinking anything of the masked individual flying past the balcony.

“What the hell was that?” Harry questioned. The glider went around the tower before circling back to where they stood. The air shifted, everyone become concerned and Y/n stepped away from the railing with everyone else. She flinched when Harry grabbed her arm to help her back. He gave her an apologetic look again, but it was gone once they heard a menacing laugh from the flying assailant.

A laugh one would expect the Joker to have. It sent chills up Y/ns arm and her eyes landed on something orange in its hand.

No one had time to react when the entire building went up in flames as the green man released the orange ball underneath the balcony. Explosions erupted around them, Mary Janes loud scream filling Y/ns ears when the concrete crumbled around them. Another rumble had the ground beneath MJs feet cave, making her trip into Y/n and the two falling to the part of the balcony barely hanging onto the rest.

“Ah!” Y/n groaned as her head made impact with side. She then cursed when it was in the same spot as where her stitches had heeled making the would reopen. Blood started to cascade down her face, nearly covering the vision in her one eye.

“Oh my God! Harry!” MJ screamed, her hand grabbing Y/ns arm to keep stable.

“MJ! Y/n!”

The balcony continued to rumble, Y/ns heart pounding out of her chest as she thought of what to do. She could try to get them up and jump across, but it was moving so fast she feared they would cause it to cave even more. MJ kept screaming and Y/n was starting to get tired of it, not to mention her arm was beginning to feel sore with how hard the redhead was gripping it.

“Shit!” She yelled when the section they were on began to detach. The manic laughter filled her ears once more, her head turning to see the green man had returned with another bomb. This particular literally disintegrated the flesh off several Oscorp representatives. “Oh my God.”

Harry attempted to get closer to the girls. “Mary Jane! Y/n—!” A slab of concrete fell on his head prompting the young man to fall limp .

“Harry!”

Y/ns heart skipped hearing the sound of the glider right behind her. When the two turned their heads, they were face to face with the man. Up close the mask was more freaky looking—resembling that of a goblin or elf. “Hello my dears.” Mary Jane let out the loudest of screams while Y/n was frozen to the core.

A shout from below had a flicker of hope cast over them. “It’s Spider-Man!!” In a flash the goblin man was thrown from the glider, falling on top of a tent before hitting the ground. The glider instead flew away and penetrated the large globe ballon. As it descended, a lone boy was standing in its path.

With Spider-Man now occupied saving the kid and dealing with the goblin fella, Y/n was left figuring out what to do. With each passing second, the slab the two were on was moments away from breaking off. If it did then the two were going to face quite the painful death.

Y/n looked at the side to her right—closest to where the remaining piece was attached. If she could get them to it carefully, then they could very well jump over the crack keeping the pieces together. When Mary Jane screamed out again, Y/n laced their fingers together yelling, “Stop screaming and follow my lead!” Of course it didn’t calm the redhead, but she at least gripped Y/ns hand tightly to keep them secured.

Y/n took her right hand that was free and gripped the open columns of the balcony piece they were leaning against to slowly inch them closer away from the edge. The pavement rumbled again, causing her hand to slip and fall back a few inches just as Spider-Man began hopping between the balloons to get them. When he was just inches away, he was flung away by the force of the goblin colliding with him.

Glass hit the two girls when Spider-Man was thrown into the window. Y/n closed her eyes, head turning away so no shards hit her. Once it felt like it was over she continued inching up while hanging onto MJ. While this was happening, Spider-Man was getting his ass handed to him—a grunt leaving him when he landed on the slab right above the two.

“Hold on!”

Y/n let out a sound of annoyance, “We’re trying Spider-Guy!”

“Watch out!” Mary Jane called out when the goblin appeared behind him. The vigilante shot a fluid like substance from his wrist, making Y/n raise her brows in surprise “Is that stuff coming out of you?!” She hadn’t heard much about the crime fighter everyone was talking about—so to see something like that was shocking.

The two girls shrieked again when the slab moved again, Y/n cursing because it kept them farther from safety each time. When she looked up, she saw Spider-Man reach his hand up to remove a piece of the goblins glider causing it to malfunction. “We’ll meet again, Spider-Man!!” He shouted as he flew away.

The relief Y/n felt was gone in a split second when the concrete rumbled once more—only this time, Mary Janes grip slipped from her. The concrete behind the redhead broke, and the redhead was falling through the air. Fear erupted in Y/n—especially when Spider-Man didn’t hesitate to dive downward toward Mary Jane leaving her on her own. There was no time to wait, and without Mary Jane holding onto her Y/n had to act fast.

Throwing herself up, Y/n leaped across the cracks keeping the concrete together—rolling a few times until she was safely away. Her head was killing her—the result of hitting it on the hard material when Mary Jane fell into her at the start of the chaos. As she lifted her head from the ground, Y/ns gaze caught Spider-Man swinging in the air with Mary Jane in his arms—having successfully saved her from death.

“My hero,” she sarcastically said under her breath while the crowd below cheered. Part of her was angry he didn’t at least try to help her in some way, but then again she couldn’t blame him. MJ was falling and luckily Y/n managed to move quick before she could end up the same.

Pulling herself up and brushing off the dust on her blazer and pants, Y/n ran over to her unconscious friend. “Harry!” She knelled down and pushed him to lay on his back. Her hand came up to pat his cheek, sighing in relief when his eyes bagan to flutter. “C’mon sleeping beauty, wake up.”

Harry groaned, “Wh-what?” His vision was blurry but when he it cleared he sat up quickly causing him to groan again by the dizziness.

“Careful you could have a conclusion.”

“Wha-what happened? Are you okay?” He asked worriedly before glancing around, “Where’s Mary Jane!”

“The spider dude saved her,” Y/n explained, “Her hand slipped from mine when the concrete shocked and fell. He caught her before swinging away.” She noticed the way Harry frowned, and quickly said, “I’m sure she’s fine. Look we need to get inside this balcony is not stable—and we need to see a medic.” Her own head was pounding, most likely concussed as well.

Harry nodded, standing up and the two held onto each other against the shaky ground until they were safely inside. Everyone had scattered and were making their way to the streets so they got in the elevator and found the first EMT they could once they were outside.

The two were immediately hauled into a ambulance despite Harrys protests at going to a hospital. Y/ns head was being bandaged to stop the blood after mentioning to the EMT she had stitches removed from the same area. ‘I should’ve stayed home,’ she thought.

Harry continued to argue with the EMT taking his blood pressure, “I’m fine, okay!” He stood up when they were finished, “I don’t need to go to the hospital—I-I need to make sure my girlfriend is safe and find out where my dad is!”

Y/n had enough, her head killing pounding more with the noise. “Harry sit your ass down and shut up! If I have to go so do you!”

“Y/n—.”

“I’m not saying it again,” she turned to the medic by the ambulance doors, “Please let’s go before he tries to jump out.” The man nodded, closing the door so only one EMT remained who was setting up an IV on Y/n. She didn’t even flinch when the needle pricked her skin, ignoring the glare Harry was giving her. “Brood all you want, Osborn. My head is killing me—and yours probably is to, so let the professionals do their job and you can call your dad and boo when we get to the hospital.”

The teen didn’t argue further, sitting down with a pout as the EMT moved over to him to start an IV. For the remainder of the ride Y/n let her eyes flutter close while silence filled the area save for the sirens of the vehicle. When they arrived to hospital, the EMT kindly helped her out—Y/n thanking them, before escorting the two to the emergency room.

Nurses swarmed them, separating Y/n and Harry into rooms before running vitals and tests. The both had to undergo a CT scan to check if there was any major trauma to their brain and skull. When the doctor arrived to Y/ns room, she let out a sound of relief that it was the same doctor from months prior.

“Hello again, Miss. L/n,” Dr. Davis greeted with a warm smile.

“Please doc, I think we know each other well enough for you to call me Y/n.”

The older man chuckled, taking a seat on the stool beside the bed. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here so soon. Before we get into why you’re here, let me start by asking how you’re doing?”

“Wasn’t planning on it,” she sighed, “but someone decided to crash the World Unity festival in a not so nice fashion. Other than this,” she pointed to the bandage on her head, “I’m doing alright—still coping.” Her shoulders went up and down in a shrug, “taking it day-by-day I guess.”

“Understandable. You’ve been through a lot—no need to rush recovery. You go at your own pace and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

“I appreciate that, doc,” Y/n smiled gently, her gaze flickering to her hands briefly. “So what’s the verdict?” She watched him set the file down on the stand by the monitor.

“Well you’re vital sighs look relatively good. They were a little high when you were being transported, but that’s normal given you had just went though a traumatic experience. The recent ones are lower and in normal range. But you do have a mild concussion. How’s you’re headache by the way?”

“Better honestly. Definitely not as bad as when we left.”

“Good. You didn’t vomit or feel nausea which is also good and the CT scan confirmed there was no fracture to the skull or bleed to the brain.” Y/n let out a sigh of relief as he rose from the stool to remove some supplies from the drawers. “Unfortunately, you’re gonna need a couple stitches again.”

“Damn,” she snapped her fingers. “—was hoping to avoid that.” That made him chuckle again.

“Sorry, dear, but it was a deep enough cut and in the same part where that skin was heeling. Fortunately though, you may not have to have them in long.”

“Well let’s get it over with.” The entire time Dr. Davis stitched up her wound, the two made small talk which was the most Y/n had since being released from the hospital. She only talked with her trainer briefly during sessions—focusing more on the tasks they did rather than get into conversations. Dr. Davis reminded Y/n of her dad, which made it so easy for her to talk to him. She was thankful he didn’t bring up the assault or the legal proceedings and instead asked her about school and work.

It was like a breath of fresh air. Plus it distracted her from the pain.

When he was done with the final stitch, he placed a clean bandage and instructed her to take some ibuprofen for the headache and to drink plenty of liquids. “Thanks, doc,” she said when he gave her a pill to take with some water. Dr. Davis then scheduled her follow up and would determine then if the stitches were ready to be removed or if they needed to be in longer.

He walked her to the lobby where Y/n saw Harry sitting in one of the chairs with an ice pack to his head. Harry lifted his head at the sound of footsteps approaching, standing up when he saw Y/n walking toward him. The older man then turned to her one last time saying, “Take care of yourself, Y/n.”

Y/n gave a close lipped smile, nodding as she replied, “Thank you, Dr. Davis. I will.” He gestured to the check out desk where she approached the nurse and filled out the last remaining paper work before heading towards Harry. “What’s the case for you?”

“Mild concussion.”

She smirked, “same.” He rolled his eyes, removing the pack from his face where she saw the bruise starting to form. “Yikes,” she winced.

“Yeah-yeah,” he muttered, “not my best look.” Y/n scoffed, pointing to her own head.

“Me either buddy. Now let’s get the hell out of here. Today wouldn’t be the first time someone rained on my parade—get it?”

“You know you’re jokes have the worst timing?”

She frowned, nudging their shoulders as they approached the exit doors. “At least I’m still able to.” Honesty if she didn’t Y/n would lose her mind. Shedding some kind of light on otherwise dark times is what’s keeping her at peace.

But after the past couple days, that needle was hanging on it’s last thread.

There was a ticking time bomb pending an explosion. And the bomb was her.

The explosion? Only time would tell.

…………………

Tag list: @todaywasafairytale07, @r0bynsblogins, @edgycatx, @andrewgarfieldsloml, @fuck-goes-on, @m-1234

#tobey!spiderman #tobey!peter parker #peter parker x reader #peter parker imagine #spiderman fanfiction #tobey maguire #black cat #black cat reader #tobey!peter parker imagine #tobey!spiderman imagine #tobey!spiderman x reader #marvel fanfiction #marvel #marvel imagine #green goblin #Harry Osborn #spiderman x reader #spiderman imagine #peter parker fanfiction

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shyficwriter · 4 years ago

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Temporary Home: Chapter 10

Guardians of the Galaxy fanfic | Reader x Guardians (With Yondu and Kraglin!)

Summary: The prank war has an unfortunate outcome and Rocket has a run-in with a raccoon.

Previous Chapter here | Next Chapter Here Or click here to: Start From Beginning

Author's note: Thank you to @maribatshipper for the suggestion for the raccoon scene and a prank idea! And thank you to all the others who have suggested scenes they'd like to see in this series! (I'm still working them in!) Everyone feel free to send me anything else you'd like to see happen in this story, it might take me a bit to work certain things in, but I'll try to add as many as I can!

Word Count: 6,114

You slept-in the next day, as did Yondu, though he slept in a bit later due to having waited up for several nights before finally being able to catch you sneaking out.

When he did finally wake up the first thing he saw was you oiling the hinges to your bedroom door.

The two of you locked eyes on his way to the bathroom, no words exchanged. Just you very deliberately not stopping in your actions with an almost defiant look and him shaking his head with a half-laughed huff because you both knew why you were doing it.

***

Peter and Kraglin wasted no time continuing the prank war. Kraglin attempted to whoopee cushion you at breakfast, but you had seen it and decided to eat your apple standing against the counter.

He then later got you with the same ice trick you had pulled on Peter the previous night. Well, almost the same trick. Jackass actually stood there and kept the ice pressed to the back of your neck for a bit while you seized up and tried to escape the cold sensations before eventually letting it fall down the back of your shirt. He laughed the whole time, Peter too. You hadn't seen him open the freezer so he and Peter must have planned it out before you got into the kitchen, arranging for Kraglin to do it instead, knowing you'd likely suspect Peter.

Your thoughts were that you needed to plot some revenge as you made your way out of the kitchen, but they were interrupted as you walked into the sitting room and Rocket confronted you.

"Hope ya don't think you can bribe me with a new bed to get me to like you."

You crossed your arms and feigned a mildly confused look, saying flatly, "I don't know what you're on about."

Peter and Kraglin make their way past you to sit on the couch, throwing a glance to you and the raccoon as if to gauge the situation. Everyone knew that you and Rocket weren't exactly on friendly terms, and to see you facing each other down inspired a degree of concern.

Rocket scoffed. "There was a new bed in my room last night, where else would it have come from?"

You shrug. "Haven't a clue."

Kraglin now threw a glance at you. He knew you said you weren't going to say anything about it, but he hadn't expected for you to actually outright deny you had done it when asked.

"Oh, so it just magically appeared then?" Rocket said sarcastically.

"Looks like it."

"What's going on?" Gamora asked as she entered the room, eyeing the two of you to see if she needed to help diffuse anything.

Rocket ignored her. "Beds just don't appear out of thin air!"

"Apparently they do," you replied.

Gamora tilted her head back in understanding, and then made her way over to the table where Yondu was sitting and playing with Groot. This didn't appear serious, so she wasn't going to get involved.

When she sat Yondu whispered over to her, "What're they carryin' on about?"

She didn't get a chance to answer because Rocket then yelled, "DON'T CALL ME A RACCOON!"

What had happened was Rocket said, "They do not!" in response to your claim that beds could just magically appear. It couldn't have been one of the others, it's not like they could leave to go buy one, so it had to be you, and it pissed him off that he was so sure and more frustrated that you wouldn't just admit it. He felt like you were making fun of him, calling him stupid for insinuating he would believe in something as dumb as a magically appearing bed.

To be honest, you weren't even fully sure why you were denying it yourself. You had just wanted to set it up and be done, and you were annoyed by him insisting that you admit you had done something nice for him, especially if he was now going to accuse it of being bribery.

You replied, "Why would I have done it? I don't even like you."

Rocket was only growing angrier, crying out, "I know it was you! None of the others could have done it, and I would have seen if one of those SHIELD people showed up with it!"

You shrugged then responded with, "I don't know what to tell you, I'm not in the business of making beds for raccoons."

You knew you were being a little mean. You had called him a raccoon once already, shortly after he arrived, and received a very curt scolding from him for it. You had also seen how it pissed him off when Peter called him that, always angrily insisting that he wasn't a raccoon. So, you had expected him to be a little miffed.

You hadn't expected him to snap and actually lunge for you.

You dodged just in time, luckily, and he landed on the floor, growling at you.

Peter yelled at him to knock it off and Rocket retorted back that you deserved it.

You just stared him down and said, "I'll punt you across the room next time, you little shit!" Why had you taken the time to make him a bed again?

"Alright, break it up!" said Kraglin firmly, standing up to show he meant business, used to having to break up Ravager fights and easily falling back into the old role of neutral mediator.

"Gladly," you say bitterly, turning to leave the room.

Rocket grumbled something unintelligible and walked in the opposite direction, hopping up into the rocking chair to sulk.

***

You went back and forth with Peter and Kraglin with the pranks most of the rest of the day, and it actually helped improve your mood about the Rocket situation, or at very least took your mind off it.

You got them back around lunch when you squirted some lemon juice in Peter's soda when he wasn't looking, and smeared jam on the inside of the handle of the fridge knowing Kraglin was about to make a sandwich. The looks on their faces were satisfying, but you discovered their way of getting you back later was to leave two glasses of water on the table. Upside down. With a note that read, "Have fun! Don't get wet! -Peter and Kraglin"

You didn't have fun, but at least a bath towel made into a makeshift dam around the glasses kept you from getting too wet.

You immediately thought of a way to get them back. Unfortunately it didn't work quite as planned.

That evening, sometime after supper when you finished washing the plate you had used, you placed a piece of duct tape just over the spout of the faucet, so that it was only mostly covering where the water came out. This way, when the water was turned on, it would spray directly onto the victim.

You knew that Peter or Kraglin would likely be the next ones to use the sink, as they had made their own dinner just after you had and were just starting to finish up.

You left the kitchen and went to the sitting room, pretending to look for a book to read but in reality you were eagerly waiting for the screams as one or both of the guys met their fate with an unexpected shower. You even considered returning to the kitchen once it happened just so you could tease them on not following their own advice, referencing the note attached to their previous prank about 'not getting wet.'

Not too long and your desires were met, however, the voice behind the cries wasn't the one you had intended to hear.

A loud, angry, bellowing of, "DAMMIT QUILL!" could be heard from the kitchen and your eyes went wide.

Oh no.

That was Yondu's voice. Apparently he had fancied a glass of water and got in the way of the prank, becoming its unintended victim.

You quietly made your way out the sitting room door, hearing Yondu scolding that Peter needed to grow up and then Peter saying, "I swear! I didn't do that one!"

You made it to the front door and heard Kraglin's voice defending Peter, "No, for once he didn't, sir. I've been with him all day! Pete didn't do that."

You quickly and quietly opened the door and escaped just in time to hear Yondu calling your name.

***

You decided it was probably safe to re-enter the house perhaps half an hour later after taking the time to do some light archery practice.

You were greeted inside by Mantis who was apparently coming to look for you anyway to see if you wanted to play a game of UNO.

You eyed her suspiciously, remembering the last time someone sent her to invite you for something. You lean in close to her and quietly say, "Before I say yes, I want you to answer honestly. Did Kraglin or Peter send you, and is this another trick?"

Mantis shook her head. "No, Gamora sent me. She said nothing about a trick."

You thought for a bit. Mantis didn't seem the type to flat-out lie, and Gamora already said she didn't get involved in Peter's mischief, so you decided it was safe and agreed.

Mantis grinned wide and took your hand, practically dragging you to the sitting room and exclaiming to the others upon entry that you had said yes to playing.

At the table you saw Gamora, Drax, Peter and Kraglin. You didn't know where the others were, but you thought it was probably better that Yondu was elsewhere just in case he was still cranky about getting caught in the line of fire. You also didn't feel like dealing with Rocket.

Gamora and Peter sat on one side of the table, with Drax at one end. Kraglin sat opposite of Peter and Mantis was about to take the seat across from Drax, only just releasing your hand when you realized the only other seat would be between her and Kraglin. You eyed him and said, "Do you promise to behave yourself if I sit here?"

Kraglin feigned being offended. "Of course, ma'am!"

You narrowed your eyes but went to take a seat hesitantly. Out of the corner of your eye you could see him reach his hand out toward your chair, thinking that you weren't looking. If the last couple days had gone any differently you might have thought he was going to try a creepy move and grab your ass, but you had a feeling that wasn't what he was going for.

Kraglin was startled when your hand suddenly darted to grab his wrist and pulled it up above the table.

Just what you thought. Whoopee cushion.

"Aha! Behave my ass!" you scold, ripping the whoopee cushion from his hand easily in his shock and sitting down. "I'm keeping this," you taunt, mimicking what said the other day when he took possession of it from you. You stuck your finger in the opening to quietly release the air from the sack and stowed it away in your pocket as he pouted.

Gamora narrowed her eyes at Kraglin. "You two said you were going to behave." She wasn't referencing how you had made Kraglin promise before sitting down, but rather she had actually made Peter and him promise that they would behave and not cause mischief during the game while Mantis fetched you, wanting to try and make friendly with their host with a game without their shenanigans. Honestly, she wasn't sure why she believed them.

Kraglin grumbled what sounded like a "Sorry, ma'am." and Peter changed the subject by starting the game.

Surprisingly they did behave while playing. All six rounds of it before everyone was tired of playing and decided to pack it up.

***

You had just finished washing up for bed and were exiting the bathroom when a cry to "watch out!" made you turn just in time for a giant spider to fly towards your face.

You realized too late it was only Peter throwing the rubber spider at you.

Too late to stop yourself from shrieking as you batted it away, too late to prevent your loss of balance as you reared back, much too late to stop your socks from slipping on the hardwood floor or you from falling backwards, and unfortunately much, much too late to stop yourself from a poor landing where you tried to catch your fall with your outstretched hand only to be met with blinding pain.

Your eyes rolled back and you couldn't even scream, the sound caught in your throat as if the pain were strangling you.

Peter realized his prank had gone wrong when instead of yelling at him, you only rolled to one side and muted gutted noises came out of your throat as you held your arm.

"Crap! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! That wasn't supposed to happen!" Peter cried, rushing toward you on the floor. Kraglin's voice could also be heard apologizing, footsteps coming from his and Yondu's room where he and Peter had been waiting for you to be done with your shower so they could perform what was supposed to be just a harmless jump scare.

Finally finding your voice you yell, "Don't touch me! Get the fuck away from me!" as Peter knelt down. Your senses were blurred into only pain and rage. Your only thoughts were "go away" and 'fix arm, stop pain.'

More apologies poured from their lips as you tried to right yourself up with only one arm as you couldn't bear to move the other.

Peter tried to help you up but you only kicked him away, still blinded by pain and rage. "I said don't fucking touch me!" Eventually you were able to use the nearby wall to use to crawl into a standing position while the other two made pleas for you to let them help, for you to calm down, and something about dislocation. You couldn't really think clearly enough to sort out what they wanted, and only kept (figuratively) pushing them away as you made your way to your bedroom door where Mantis was now standing looking concerned.

You could just make out other voices, but didn't have a clear understanding of what they were saying or what they wanted either. You were only focused on one goal, and that was getting to your room to assess your arm.

Mantis readily moved aside so you could enter, but then remained in the doorway once you entered, unintentionally preventing you from being able to close the door. You look at her, saying firmly, "In or out. Pick one."

Looking a little frightened, she chose out, and you slammed the door behind her, locking it out of instinct more than clear thinking.

Almost immediately there came pounding on the door, and Peter's shouts that you needed to come out and let someone help you.

"Fuck off! I've got it!" you yell back.

Outside the room was a mess of concern. Gamora stood in the doorway of her and Peter's room, yelling at Peter and Kraglin from across the landing for their foolishness once she realized well enough what had happened. Yondu was standing on the stairs, having heard the loud thump of a body hitting the floor and then you yelling at someone to get away. He came to investigate only to find the scene before him.

Mantis, intimidated by the yelling, sought comfort from Drax who was standing in his doorway wondering what in the world was going on.

Rocket had momentarily stepped out of the room with Groot to see what the commotion was about, but upon realizing it was you just waved the situation off and returned to the room. Not his problem.

Yondu asked Peter what all the fuss was about and Peter admitted that he and Kraglin had fucked up a prank and it lead, to what looked to Peter, you dislocating your elbow, and then you locked yourself in your room. This explanation made Yondu join in with Gamora's scolding.

Inside your room you assessed your arm. Nothing was broken, but the elbow was indeed dislocated. You felt sick, mostly from the pain but also from the unsettling feeling of having a bone out of joint. You knew what you needed to do, you just wished you had a shot or two of whiskey in you first.

Back outside the room Yondu scolded both Peter and Kraglin, telling them that he was putting a stop to this prank war. Gamora agreed, stating that it had gotten out of hand when the guys tried to argue that it was just an accident.

Yondu attempted to knock on your door and convince you to come out, but you wouldn't bite, calling back through the door that you had it handled and for everyone to leave you alone.

Yondu glared through the door at your stupidity. He thought you were acting like a child. "Ya need someone to help ya put it back in place, now get out here. That's an order!" That last line was mostly from habit, and it got pretty much the response anyone would have expected from you.

"I don't take orders from you!"

Yondu growled, not exactly used to being defied, especially not the rare occasions he was actually trying to be helpful. He'd seen his share of dislocations, both from his crew and their victims. It was never pretty. "Well ya can't just haul up in there like a wounded animal!"

You rolled your eyes inside your room, fighting the churning in your stomach as you positioned yourself for the unpleasant task, nestling the inner elbow of your injured arm against one of the short posts of your bed's headboard. You took several deep breaths, trying to gather the courage to do what needed to be done.

After a few moments of you not responding Yondu beat on the door again. "Ya better not have passed out in there!"

You groan and say, "I'm fine! Give me a minute to handle it!"

Before anyone can speak again a pop followed by a cry of pain and a string of curses was heard from your side of the door.

Yondu stepped away from the door and rubbed his face. "I don't believe it. She actually did it." he said in disbelief.

Peter approached the door. "Hey! Hey! You alright?"

More curses, followed by, "I told you I had it handled. Now piss off."

Yondu just shook his head and retreated to his room after that, muttering that you were insane and followed by a remorseful looking Kraglin.

Peter also went back to his room feeling guilty and receiving a scolding look from Gamora as well as an earful once they closed the door.

After a bit Drax convinced Mantis to also go back to your shared room, only planning to return to his once he was sure you'd let her in.

You heard a gentle knock and a soft voice asking, "Can I come back in now?"

You considered telling her no, that she chose 'out' so she could stay out, but now that a bit of pain had subsided and your mind was starting to clear you had the presence of mind to realize that you'd only be being a dick by doing that, so you got up and unlocked the door for her.

She entered sheepishly, asking if you were ok, clearly seeing the pain in your eyes.

"I'm fine, Mantis," you say curtly, tucking yourself into bed the best you could, settling for lying on your back with your arm resting on your stomach. "Go to sleep."

Mantis turned off the light and quietly crawled into her own bed. You could feel her staring at you as you stared at the ceiling and waited for sleep.

***

The next couple days you mostly stayed in your room, leaving only to shower, use the restroom, and eat. You knew with that kind of injury you weren't supposed to use your arm for a bit if you wanted it to heal, and that knowledge irritated you to no end.

You couldn't tend the garden, you couldn't practice your archery, or anything else that required the use of two hands. So, you just sulked in your room listening to music and reading.

The first day nobody bothered you much, sensing that you were very cranky. Peter tried to ask to look at your arm, but you ignored him, and he didn't press it. Gamora had later tried to tell you that you needed to splint your arm, and Yondu added that if not that then you at least needed to keep it in a sling, but you only sighed at them at took your glass of juice to your room, much to Yondu's irritation.

The second day they started getting more insistent when by around noon it became clear that you intended to stay in your room all day again. Yondu grumbled again to Kraglin that you were hiding away like a wounded animal. However, realizing that you'd only get mad if they all kept hounding you, they collectively decided to send Gamora in.

They knew you wouldn't listen to Peter or Kraglin since the injury was their fault and you were understandably not really talking to them right now. Mantis might have been a decent choice since you didn't ever really get angry at her, but she had no basic medical knowledge, so she was off the table. Yondu also could have been a decent second choice, but everyone, including himself, knew he wouldn't have the patience to deal with you if you started refusing to listen to reason.

Gamora went up to your room and took it as a good sign that the door was open. She peered inside to see you sitting at your desk and knocked on the doorframe.

"What?" you asked, not looking up from your book.

"I just wanted to-"

"If this is about my arm again, it'll be fine." you say stubbornly.

Gamora entered your room without bothering to ask permission. "If you just let me look-"

"No." you say curtly.

Gamora took a breath. "We really do just want to help you."

"I don't need it. I've been fixing myself up all by myself for a long time. I don't need help now."

"Look, I can't force you, but please understand that it's not weakness to accept help."

You finally look at her, your expression hard. "I never said it was. Just said I didn't need it."

Gamora stared back at you. You were just so stubborn. Reminded her of a few people she knew... if she were honest. One being herself. There was a time where she had believed if she couldn't solve every problem on her own, it made her weak. This wasn't helped by the fact Thanos raised her to be an assassin, and punished such weakness. However, after she joined the Guardians, after she found a family, she came about unlearning that. It was ok to need help sometimes. It didn't make you weak. She only wished she could help you realize it, but she knew that pushing wasn't going to make it happen. You needed to get there on your own. You needed to trust them.

"Ok," she relented, "but know if you ever do need our help, we're here, alright?"

You shortly nod and turn back to your book. "Got it."

She then left you alone. Sometimes, to get someone to come to you willingly, you needed to give them space.

***

The next time anyone saw you was late that evening when you finally decided to eat something for supper. You were in the mood for peanut butter and jam, though opening the jars proved tricky for obvious reasons, but you managed.

You were in the kitchen having just finished your sandwich when Drax came in the kitchen. He looked around a bit before asking if you had seen Rocket. You hadn't, but before you could say as much you heard the sound of growling followed by Rocket's voice shouting, "Fuck off!"

Your eyes flew wide and you bolted for the door, throwing it open to see Rocket fighting with another raccoon a few meters away, rolling on the ground with Rocket cursing up a storm as the raccoon snarled and snapped at him.

You swore, and pushed past Drax to grab the old shot gun you left hidden in a cabinet near the back door along with a couple shells and ran back outside.

You popped the shells in and took aim, trying to get a shot where you wouldn't hit Rocket along with the other raccoon. Your aim was a little shaky due to your injured arm, the shot gun being just heavy enough to make steadying it with that arm a task, even with the adrenaline dulling the pain. You were worried you might accidentally shoot Rocket, but you had to take the shot. If you didn't, and the raccoon bit him, he would likely be as good as dead anyway.

In what was likely seconds but felt much longer, you managed to line up a shot when the raccoon managed to pin Rocket on his back, the wide body of the raccoon up in the air providing a target that with your SHIELD honed skills would be as easy as hitting a cow's ass with a shovel on a normal day. With your injury, however... well, you could still make it. You had to.

You took the shot. The crack rang loudly through the evening air and the raccoon fell off of Rocket and onto the grass, dead.

Rocket's attention turned to you as you lowered the shotgun and quickly approached him, he was about to snark off that he had it handled when you said in a firm but yet still slightly worried sounding voice, "Did it bite you?"

He sat up irritably but didn't answer. He didn't need you of all people to save him. He looked down at his body. There was blood, but it looked to be just the after spray from where you shot the animal. Terran weapons were clearly messier than blasters.

"Did it bite you?!" you ask more urgently.

He looked himself over. "No? What's it to you anyway? I had it handled!"

"Raccoons carry rabies, you dipshit!" you scold. Removing the other shell from the gun you tell him to get inside.

"I'm not a raccoon! And I don't have whatever rabies is!" Rocket shouted at you angrily. "And I don't take orders from you!"

You groan. You didn't have time for his bellyaching right now. "You utter gobshite! I'm not talking about you! I'm talking about that!" you point to the now very dead raccoon, and just to be mean you threw in a, "You know, that fucker there that looks exactly like your furry ass!" He glared at you but you didn't care. "They carry rabies! Now get inside so we can get you looked over and you better hope like hell it didn't bite you."

Rocket grumbled and started walking back to the house, making sure to complain just loud enough for you to hear that he was going because he wanted to, not because you told him too.

You follow behind him. You would dispose of the dead raccoon in a bit.

"That was an amazing shot." Drax told you as you walked by. "I was sure you would have hit Rocket."

"Not now, Drax, please." you say, walking past him.

You got inside to find that the gunshot had attracted an audience, and everyone else was now in the kitchen wondering what had just happened. You put the shotgun and shell back in the cabinet, making a mental note to clean it later. It had belonged to your father, and never saw much-or any really- use from you as there wasn't exactly a lot to need defending from, wildlife-wise, where you lived. Hell, you couldn't even remember the last time you had even seen a raccoon around before tonight, and even when you had you never needed to defend yourself from one. If you left them alone, they returned the favor.

You turn back from the cabinet and lock eyes with Rocket. "Now are you going to let someone check you over or..." you left the question hanging, your tone clear that there was no 'or.' He was going to get checked out. You tried to ignore the irony and your own hypocrisy.

"What happened?" Gamora asked.

"He got attacked by a raccoon." You answered.

Rocket indignantly spoke up. "I had it handled!" He heard Peter snickering and he snapped, "What?!"

Peter just shook his head and quipped, "Already fighting with family..."

Rocket growled. "Shut up, Star-Munch!"

"Table. Now. You need to get checked out. Quit stalling," you command, irritation and exhaustion present in your voice. "I'm not even kidding."

"So what if it did bite me? How bad could rabies possibly be?" Rocket snarked.

"What's rabies?" asked Drax.

You sigh and say flatly, "A very horrible way to die." You look to Peter, thinking that maybe you had a way to get through to Rocket, and ask, "You ever see Old Yeller?"

"Yeah..." Peter answered, though seeming slightly unsure.

"You remember what happens to the dog?"

His eyes widen a bit. "Yeah..."

"Then will you please explain to him why this is serious?"

Peter looked at an annoyed Rocket. "Dude, she's right. Just let us see."

Rocket rolled his eyes and hopped on the table. "Fine! But only to get you all to stop whining."

Peter checked him over, as it was silently agreed with a nod that Rocket would trust him more. While he checked Rocket you thought to ask if he was given any vaccinations when they got here. Peter said that everyone had, but they had been given so many that they weren't sure what they all were.

You knew that Fury should be stopping by the next day for a weekly check-in, and said you'd contact him to suggest a booster for Rocket just in case.

Luckily, Rocket was bite-free, and he gloated as much. "See! I told you! I had everything under control!"

You roll your eyes. "Right. That's why the raccoon had you pinned under it, then. Yeah?"

"Did not!" Rocket protested.

"Well you certainly weren't having a cup of tea, were you?" you said, the tone in your voice saying that you were done.

Drax spoke up. "It's true. The beast was winning."

"It was not!"

"Enough," you say. "Go get cleaned up. I'm tired of hearing you. "

After he skulked off Gamora asked, "Just out of curiosity, what would have happened to him if he had gotten bitten."

You avoided telling her. "He wasn't, but I'm going to take the animal into town in the morning to see if it was rabid. Just in case."

Gamora asked again. "What would have happened?"

You frown. You didn't know how to put it delicately, and the others could tell you were trying and it worried them. Your eyes meet Peter's.

His eyes widened in understanding. "We can't do that to him." Peter said, shaking his head.

Yondu spoke up for the first time. "Do what?"

You frown. "Just calm down. He wasn't bitten. We won't have to."

Yondu sounded more irritated. "Do what?"

You sigh and look to the ground for a moment before looking back up to answer, "If he had gotten bitten, and he hadn't already received a rabies vaccination..." You pause, choosing your words carefully, "the only merciful thing to do... would be to put him down."

"Put him down?" asked Drax.

You pinch the bridge of your nose. "Do I really need to spell it out for you?" You kept your voice down, afraid to say it too loud and for Rocket to hear. "We'd have to kill him. There's no cure, and if we didn't, he'd go rabid, and die horribly." You saw the horrified looks on the other's faces and repeated, "But he wasn't bitten, so that doesn't have to happen. He'll be fine. I'm just going to check with Fury that he was given the shot, and if he wasn't I'll make sure he gets one, just in case. Ok?"

They seemed to relax slightly and you stated that you were going to go take care of the raccoon corpse in your yard, mostly to just get away from the situation and hoping they would have dispersed when you got back.

You didn't even get to take three steps before you felt someone grab your arm. Luckily it wasn't your bad one. "What the hell?" you ask irritably, turning to see it was Kraglin, who had been so quiet the whole time you actually hadn't noticed him.

"I really don't think you should be doing that. If it was big enough to pin down Rocket, then it's too big for ya to be lifting with your arm injured how it is."

You sigh angrily and try to pull away, but his grip held firm. Strong for a skinny guy, you thought. "Let go." you say, irritation thick in your voice.

"No. If this is the only way for you to take it easy and let us help, then I ain't letting ya go til you agree to step back."

You look at the others and you can tell they aren't going to be on your side. You roll your eyes and focus them on the space above Peter's head, where you could see where the ceiling met the wall. "You can't help if I can't unlock the shed," you say, hoping to appeal to their sense.

"Fine," Peter said. "But I'll do the lifting. It's mostly my fault you got hurt anyhow."

"Fine," you grumble, just loud enough to be heard and for Kraglin to release you.

You lead the way out the door, Peter, and also Kraglin and Yondu who wanted to see the raccoon, following behind. Gamora and Drax stayed behind to make sure Mantis and Groot were ok, seeing that they looked a bit shaken.

You instruct none of them to touch the corpse and unlock the shed, turning on your phone's flashlight and pointing out an old box and a shovel to Peter.

"Wow, you've got a nice workshop in here," Peter said, noting the various saws and tools set up around the room that he could make out in the dim light.

You used to make things with your dad and brother growing up, and had inherited most of the tools inside, but instead of traveling down memory lane you just told Peter, "Another day. Let's get the raccoon sorted, please."

Peter obliged and grabbed the items so you could finish the task at hand.

Yondu and Kraglin were staring at the raccoon when you returned.

"Thought it'd be bigger." Kraglin said, cocking his head.

He was right. It did look smaller now that it was dead, but it was still a decent size.

Peter unceremoniously scooped it up with the shovel and dumped it in the box.

"We should probably keep that in the shed until morning," you said, "I don't want it stinking up the car overnight. I can wash the blood off the shovel real quick-" You reached for the shovel but Peter handed it off to Kraglin instead. You looked at them in annoyance. "I'm not helpless, you know."

"And it won't kill you to accept some help, girl," retorted Yondu, fed up with your stubborn attitude.

You roll your eyes and call after an already retreating Kraglin, "Try not to tangle yourself up in the hose this time!" You could see him bristle at the taunt, but he ignored you.

After everything was back in the shed and you locked it up everyone headed inside. The others were nowhere to be seen and you assumed they had all decided to just go to bed, in which you also followed suit, but not before sending a quick text to Maria (Yes, you had said you'd contact Fury, but Fury doesn't exactly text) asking about the vaccination situation surrounding Rocket.

You hadn't expected an answer so late at night, but she responded asking what had happened, correctly assuming that you wouldn't be asking unless something had.

You kept it short. Said you shot a raccoon and wanted to be sure Rocket had his shots.

She didn't respond, and you couldn't help but wonder if that was a bad sign.

#gotg #guardians of the galaxy #x reader #yondu udonta #peter quill #starlord #kraglin #pranks #gamora #rocket raccoon #raccoon #drama

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spooderboyandtincan · 5 years ago

Text

The 12(ish) Days of December

A/N: I intended to write a Hanukkah themed chapter, but unfortunately I suffered some burnout and I couldn’t really start it :(((((( I plan and hope to add on to this in the future, I just wanted to get it out here on time! Happy Holidays everyone!!

Read on Ao3

/ST*RKERS DNI/

“Che palle!” May cried as she and Peter stepped out of the elevator. “Tony, what the hell is that?!”

“It’s a giant teddy bear,” Tony called back from the kitchen. “It’s for you, Pete!”

“Me?” Peter gasped, his face lighting up. He charged toward the ten-foot teddy bear and tackled it. The giant brown bear teetered slightly with his weight but didn’t tip over. “He’s so soft!”

Tony came out of the kitchen with a wide grin on his face. He wiped his flour-coated hands on his pants and tried to give Peter a hug without pushing him off the bear,

“He’s so beautiful!” Peter giggled, wrapping his arms around the bear’s neck. “And huge!”

Tony nodded in a proud, self-satisfied sort of way. Besides being delighted that the boy clearly adored his gift, he now had proof that this was obviously how one should react when presented with a ten-foot-tall stuffed animal. He'd have to take a picture and send it to Pepper.

May tossed her purse on the floor and shook her head at Tony. “As long as you can find a place for it, I’m not complaining,” she chuckled.

“I’ll rent a storage unit somewhere,” Tony supplied, taking a sip of coffee from his Iron Man shaped mug. Tony treasured that mug, which had been gifted to him by Peter several months ago. He never brought it in the lab for fear that Dum-E or U would break it, and he kept it in the cabinet next to his “1# IronDad” mug (also a precious gift from his kid).

He looked back to Peter, who had wrapped his arms around the bear, which was tilting dangerously. “Be careful, kiddo,” he said, biting his lip. But the moment the words got out of his mouth, Peter and the gigantic teddy bear started to topple to the ground.

“Shit-!” he began, darting forward, only to be met by Peter’s giggles.

“Nooo. Leave me. ‘M comfy.” He rolled onto the bear’s big belly and sprawled across it. “This’s perfect,” he hummed, closing his eyes.

Tony and May shared a slightly exasperated yet fond glance. Tony flopped down next to Peter, tucking a curl behind his ear. “Now that I think about it, spider-baby,” he mused, “I’ve got something else for ya.”

Peter perked up and opened his eyes. “What?”

Tony gave him a large grin and ran a hand through his curls. “C’mere.” He wrapped an arm around his shoulders and led Peter to his room.

May sighed. “I swear to god, Tony, if you’re giving him an Audi….” she muttered.

“I’m not!” the man insisted. Peter rolled his eyes and sat down on his bead.

Tony put a warm palm over his eyes. “Close your eyes, bud.”

Peter tried to keep his eyes closed as Tony ran to his own room, tearing through what sounded like wrapping paper and knocking boxes over with no absence of cursing.

Moments later, a small, leather 4x4 inch box was placed on his open palm. He opened his eyes and looked first at the box, then at up Tony, who smiled. May shrugged and gestured to open it.

Inside the box rested a thin, slender watch with a smooth black strap. The face of the watch was rectangular, and when Peter pushed the button on the side it lit up, displaying the time above what looked like a mini arc reactor. It resembled the StarkWatch he was wearing that very moment, except it looked more high-tech.

“A new StarkWatch, specially customized for you, by yours truly,” Tony said. “Your old one looked pretty busted, even though they’re supposed to be indestructible.” Peter snickered at Tony’s gentle jab. “And it’s got a few minor upgrades. You can set the lock screen, for one. And it should be trackable from anywhere in the universe, and I mean everywhere. And you can call me, or May, or Ned or Rhodey or whoever from the top of Mount Everest or the bottom of the Mariana Trench.”

“Wow,” Peter whispered, tracing the sides of the watch before strapping it onto his wrist. “Thank you, Mister Stark! I love it! It’s so cool!”

“What happened to ‘Tony?’” he grumbled playfully, giving his spider-baby a kiss on his head. “I’m glad you like it, buddy. It’s basically the same stuff as your old one, just better.”

Then, to both Peter and May’s surprise, Tony bent down and grabbed a colorful red bag covered in golden glitter. Peter laughed.

“Tony, it’s only the ninth!” May snorted, her eyebrows raised past her hairline.

“That’s because we’ll need these before Christmas,” Tony said wisely. He handed Peter a soft package wrapped in green tissue paper and watched him tear the packaging in half.

“It’s so ugly!” he cried, holding up a garish green sweater. There was a plastic red ball attached to the big reindeer's nose and tiny bells were tied onto the reindeer’s harness. Little snowflakes were patterned all over, and Peter couldn’t help but laugh. “I love it, Tony!” Peter pulled the sweater on and was delighted to find that the fabric was incredibly soft, instead of the unbearably itchy sweaters he had owned in the past. “It’s perfect!”

Tony laughed fondly at his already thrilled kid. “If you think it’s good now, wait till you see this. FRI, lights off,” he ordered.

Peter felt Tony fumble with something on his shoulder, and suddenly the sweater lit up. The reindeer’s nose lit up bright red, the snowflakes began to glow, and, as cliché as it might have sounded, the bells gave a merry jingle as Peter laughed.

“I love it!” He tackled Tony with a hug, relaxing slightly in the man’s arms.

“Good,” Tony chuckled, “‘Cause I’ve got about three more for you and your aunt each.”

“Tony, where’re we going?” Peter whined, his breath fogging the window. “Tell meeee!”

“My lips are sealed,” Tony said, pretending to zip his lips shut and throw away the key. “We’re almost there, Rudolph, don’t worry.”

“Rudolph?!” Peter snorted.

Tony reached over the console to ruffle his hair. “I thought you might want a Christmas nickname,” he explained. “Plus, y’know, you already had a nickname available that only required a bit of simple reconstruction, Roo.”

Peter shook his head. “Just tell meeee!”

“No. Never.”

“Pleeease?”

“I physically can’t, buddy.”

“Tell me! Tellmetellmetellme pleeeeeeeeease?”

“Will… to keep secrets… decreasing,” Tony said robotically. “Fine. We’re going ice-skating, Petey-Pie.”

Peter gasped, his big chocolate eyes going wide. “Really?!”

Tony grinned and glanced over to his kid. “Really.” He wished he could stop the car and give his sweet boy a hug.

“But…” Peter bit his lip. “I don’t really know how. I mean, I went ice skating with Ned a few years ago but we mostly fell over and bruised our butts.”

Tony chuckled fondly. “That’s okay kiddie, I’ll show you the arts. Rhodey and I went when we were in college, and man, we had a blast laughing at each other. Oh- we’re here!”

“Tony, I don’t have any skates!” Peter realized as they hopped out of the car.

“I already got you some, Pete, don’t worry,” Tony assured him. He opened the trunk of the car. “And I brought you an extra hat, a coat, a scarf, some better gloves, extra socks and a pair of snow pants.”

“Tony,” Peter began, leaning into the hug the man offered him all the same. He grumbled and rolled his eyes but let Tony wrap a scarf around his neck and trade his thin woolen gloves out for much warmer, thicker ones. Peter had to admit he felt a lot warmer. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Thanks, Pete. M’kay, I’ve got these fancy red and blue skates for you and red and gold for me.”

“And I’m sure the color choices were random?” Peter asked sarcastically. “Wait- these have the Spider-Man logo on them! Mr. Stark, are there Spider-Man ice-skates?!”

Tony bent to kiss his forehead. “There are, Pete. Pretty cool, huh?”

“So cool! I love ‘em, thank you, Tony!” He held up the skates to admire them. “They’re great!”

“No problem, buddy. It was my pleasure.”

Peter flopped down in the snow and pulled on his skates. He looked up to admire the tall oak and pine trees swaying gently with the wind, the last leaves of fall scattering along the icy roads. A pair of snowflakes drifted down to his coat, and Peter felt a sort of peace flow through him.

“Petey? Are you comin’?” Tony called, skating back and forth along the edge of the pond. Peter knotted the laces of his skates tightly and struggled to his feet.

“I’m trying!” he yelled, staggering forward. He leaned over the ice and felt a bit dizzy. It was about a foot down to the actual ice, and Peter knew without a doubt that he would slip if he tried to get down. “I dunno, um….”

“I gotcha, Petey, don’t worry.” Tony held out his arms and gave him a reassuring smile. Hesitantly, Peter lowered stepped onto the frozen pond, grabbing Tony’s arm and clinging to him as he got both feet on the ice.

“Good job, Roo!” the man praised, lifting him up by the armpits so he was standing up a bit straighter. He couldn’t help but compare Peter to a fawn who just stood up for the very first time, and the boy’s big bambi eyes weren’t helping his case. “Getting on the ice is the hardest part. I’ve landed on my ass more times than I can count.” Tony frowned at himself. “Sorry I said ‘ass,’ don’t repeat that.”

Peter snorted. His skates slipped and he felt Tony’s arms tighten around him. “Whoa there, buddy. I gotcha.” He tucked a loose curl behind the teen’s ear and kissed his cheek, wrapping an arm around his shoulder.

“‘M’kay, you ready, Pete?”

“Heck yeah!”

Tony grinned. “Okay, first, you said ‘heck yeah’ instead of ‘hell yeah’ and that’s adorable,” he teased, chuckling at Peter’s eye roll. “Second: let’s wreck this rink!”

Though of course, they ended up making more of a wreck of themselves rather than the rink.

The very second Peter slid his foot forward, he found himself spontaneously falling backwards. Luckily, Tony caught him easily and gently pulled him back up.

“I meant to do that,” he huffed, his small hands scrabbling at Tony’s coat. “It was- completely- intentional.”

“Of course it was, Roo, I know that,” he said with a raise of his eyebrows. “No one has the grace and agility you do.”

“I am graceful, Tony! How dare you?!” Peter grumbled.

Tony might have made a quip about the arms wrapped tightly around his waist for support, but he decided his poor kid had suffered enough. Despite bumping into every table or chair in his path, Peter was surprisingly graceful, especially when he swung with ease through the air on a thin stand of webbing. “You are graceful, buddy, I promise,” he admitted. “You wanna give it another try?”

Peter stuck his tongue out at him, adjusted his hat, and gingerly took a step forward. Tony tensed, ready to lunge forward and catch him if the boy slipped, but found himself letting a quiet cheer. “Nice job, Pete!”

Peter beamed at him, his legs spread far apart and his arms extended for balance. He tipped backwards and Tony started to jump forward, but Peter flailed his arms around and regained his balance.

“I think you’re getting the hang of it, kiddo!” Tony called as Peter made his way to the opposite side of the pond. He winced suddenly, protectiveness flooding through him at his retreating figure. “Be careful! Wait for me!”

He caught up to Peter easily and zipped in front of him, catching him by the shoulders. “You’re doing great, baby!”

“Thanks,” he giggled, looking down at his shoes. He wiped his red nose with the back of his hand and sniffled. “‘S fun!”

Tony smiled and adjusted Peter’s scarf. “Glad to hear it.”

“Tony?” he asked. “Can you do a figure eight?”

The man paused to consider this, clicking his tongue. “Only one way to find out!” he decided.

Peter watched excitedly as he skated out to the middle of the pond, looking practically weightless. Tony took a deep breath, prayed he didn’t break any bones, then pushed off. He zoomed around the pond in a perfect figure eight, only faltering for a brief moment, and traced over it twice before he skidded back to Peter. “Ta-da!”

Peter applauded, clearly very impressed. Tony bowed exaggeratedly and pretended to be embarrassed.

“D’you think I should try?” Peter asked.

Tony smiled fondly. “Only if you want to. I know you’d nail it though.”

And he did. Peter skated carefully to the edge of the pond and performed the figure eight beautifully, spinning in circles and laughing when he got a bit too dizzy.

Tony skated up to him, his eyes huge. “Jesus, Petey, that was fantastic!” He pulled the embarrassed teen to his chest and wished, not for the first time, that Peter wasn’t wearing a hat so he could kiss the top of his head. He settled for Peter’s cheek instead. “Wow, baby, that was amazing! Wait- I gotta sign you up for the Olympics. Where’s my phone- oh, I got it.” He pulled his phone from his coat.

“Tony, nooooo!” Peter protested.

“Tony yes. You’re too talented.”

“It was just a figure eight!” he giggled. “And you did one too so you hafta sign yourself up.” Peter looked up to the gray sky and shivered as the brisk winds tore at his heavy coat and scarf. He leaned even closer to Tony.

“You cold, baby?” Tony rubbed his back gently, hoping to generate some warmth. “Wanna go back home? We can come back here anytime you want.”

Peter sighed a bit sadly, but he had to admit he was freezing. He and Tony skated back to the car quickly. Snowflakes began to fall rapidly down as gusts of wind tried to upset their balance. Tony helped Peter onto the bank and they hurriedly yanked off their ice skates.

They found refuge in the car only when Tony turned the heater up full blast and leaned over the console to pull Peter into his arms. Peter’s shivers that had been worrying him far more than Tony had been willing to say eventually died off and together they watched what was now practically a blizzard raging outside.

“Just in time,” Tony mumbled into Peter’s curls. “Feel any better, baby?”

He grew worried when he received no response and pulled back. Peter’s eyes were shut and his breathing slow, though he made a small whimpering noise in the back of his throat when Tony pulled away. Tony smiled, a tender, loving light in his eyes and pulled Peter back into his arms, cradling his kid against his chest and rubbing his back soothingly. “‘M here. ‘M here, baby, don’t worry,” he cooed, planting a kiss on his forehead.

Peter curls tickled his cheek, his warm breath heating the skin of Tony’s neck. The console between him and his kid was uncomfortable and hard against his side, but he wouldn’t have moved for the world. Tony held Peter tightly and closed his eyes.

Maybe they could stay there a little while as they waited for the blizzard to pass.

III

Tony had been brewing a hot cup of coffee in the kitchen when a disheveled, sniffling, sleepy Peter face-planted into his back.

“Whoa, bud!” Tony spun around and caught the boy under the armpits. “Hey, hey. Are you okay?” He tilted Peter’s chin back and found that his nose was bright red, his eyes were half-lidded, and his bedhead was a lot worse (though still absolutely adorable) than it usually was.

“‘M fine,” Peter sniffled, leaning heavily against his chest. “Missed you.”

“Oh, baby,” Tony murmured, wrapping his arms around the small teen, “I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere, okay?” He gave his definitely-not-sick spider-baby a smooch on his temple. “You’re pretty warm,” he noted with a hint of worry in his voice. He pressed the back of his hand to the teen’s forehead. “Do you wanna lie down, kiddo?”

Peter shook his head weakly. “Wan’ you.”

Tony’s heart melted and he turned into a pile of mush. In this tired, sick, achy state Peter was clingier than ever, and all he wanted was him. He wanted Tony. He kissed Peter’s temple. “I’m gonna stay right here, Petey, don’t worry,” he assured his kid. “I promise.”

Tony held Peter with one arm while he rummaged through the kitchen cabinets with the other. “FRI? What’s up with the spider-baby?”

“Peter is exhibiting symptoms of a common cold, such as coughing, sneezing, a runny nose, and a fever,” the AI replied. Tony felt a pang of worry and empathy in his heart.

“Okay. I’ve got your pain meds,” he announced in a whisper. “Do you want water or OJ?”

Peter decided on the latter, not bothering to raise his head but simply mumbling “juice” into the man’s chest. Tony hummed in agreement and attempted to pour a glass for himself one-handedly (most of the juice ended up on the counter, but holding his sick kid was far more important than pouring orange juice).

He led the boy to the couch, a steadying hand around his shoulders. Peter snuggled against him, coughing and sniffling. He wiped his nose with the back of his hand and shivered.

Tony placed two white pills into palm. Peter took a hesitant sip of his drink and gulped down the pills. Tony tucked an errant curl behind his ear and placed a kiss one his temple.

With Peter still in his hold, he strained to reach the weighted electric blanket that had fallen behind the couch. With a painful crack from his twisted back, he finally managed to get his fingers around the feather-soft blanket and settled back on the couch with a triumphant grunt.

He wrapped the electric blanket tightly around them both. Peter’s shivering caused a surge of fierce protection to run through his veins, and Tony hugged him to his chest, pressing a kiss to his soft, though slightly sweaty curls. He glared at the dark corners of the room, as if somehow the very cold that was making his child suffer so much would leap from the shadows.

Peter found comfort in the vibrations of Tony’s chest and the beat of his heart. The calloused fingers running through his hair and the occasional kiss against his temple soothed him beyond measure, and without ever realizing it, Peter started to drift off. Compared to when he had woken up, soaked with sweat, wheezing and sniffling and rather nauseous, he felt so much better in his father-figure’s embrace.

Dimly, he noticed that Tony was talking to him. He thought he recognized the words coming out of his mouth, and he realized suddenly that Tony was reading Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree to him. That book had been Peter’s favorite when he was a small toddler, and hearing the familiar words aloud brought a big burst of happiness to his chest.

Peter let his eyes slip shut for a second. The headache that had been pounding in his head was completely gone and in Tony’s arms, he felt incredibly warm and cozy and happy.

When his eyes opened again, he determined that Tony had finished reading the book. If he had had enough energy, he would have asked him to read another. But much to his delight, he realized Tony had already picked up another book.

And just before his eyes fluttered shut, he heard Tony’s gentle voice speaking, full of love. “I love you, Petey.”

I love you too.

“Mmm, Tony, the spaghetti was fantastic!” May exclaimed as she loaded her plate into the dishwasher. “I need that recipe, it’s just too good!”

Tony looked at Peter out of the corner of his eyes. The boy shook his head frantically and drew a finger across his throat. Tony snickered. “Thank you, May, I’m glad to hear that,” he said.

To be completely truthful, he felt like throwing up. During the dinner, Peter had chatted enough to distract him, but now his emotions were left to himself, and Tony had barely been swallowed by them. He stuffed the last plate in the dishwasher and took a few long, deep breaths. He massaged his forehead and blinked, sitting down heavily on the couch.

Tony’s heart was beating out of his chest. He looked up to the boy, who was texting someone- probably Ned, completely oblivious. “Pete?” he began shakily. “Do you think we could talk for a second?” He and May shared a glance. She realized immediately what he was about to do and gave him an encouraging smile and a thumbs up.

“Yeah!” Peter vaulted onto the couch with a laugh. His grin faded when he saw how worried, how scared the man looked. Alarm kindled in his chest. “What’s wrong, Mr. Stark?”

Tony couldn’t bring himself to laugh at the cookie crumbs in the corners of his mouth or the way his hair frizzed everywhere as he pulled his Santa hat off. He swallowed and took a deep breath.

“Um-” Tony had to clear his throat. He reached down and grabbed a briefcase leaning against the couch that Peter hadn’t noticed before. “Uh,” he tried. He pulled two papers out of the briefcase and stared at them for a long while. “Do you think that you could give these a read, kiddo?”

Peter nodded silently and took them. He looked up at Tony, his head tilted in confusion.

He looked to the papers. His eyes widened in disbelief. “W-what? I-” He turned the papers over as if there would be a sticky note saying “IT'S A PRANK!” on the back. “What? W-what? I-I don’t-” Peter shook his head.

He couldn’t stop looking at those cream-colored papers.

Child: Peter Benjamin Parker

Adopting Parent(s): Anthony Edward Stark

The rest of the paper was blank, except for Tony’s signature at the bottom.

“Am I asleep? This-this is a dream, right?” Peter's eyes were filling with tears but he didn’t bother to wipe them away.

“It’s not a dream, sweetheart,” May said gently. “It’s real.” She squeezed his knee, hoping to ground him.

“Really?” He opened his mouth but couldn’t seem to form words. He gaped like a fish, reading the adoption papers over and over again. “You-you wanna adopt me?” he finally managed to squeak out.

Tony finally gathered the courage to look at his kid. “Yeah, baby. But only if you want to, okay? Nothing would change, though. We’d- just be making it official. Everything would be the same except-” He throat closed, and suddenly he couldn’t speak.

Except Peter would be his official son- legally, on paper. And Tony would be his official dad. (There was no way Tony wasn’t already his dad.)

“What are you thinking, baby?” he murmured, instinctively tucking a curl behind Peter’s ear with shaky hands.

Tony’s gentle touch was enough to break the dam of emotions that had been holding back. Peter sniffled, then burst into tears and practically jumped into his dad’s arms.

Tony hugged him tightly, rubbing a hand up and down his back and pressing long kisses to his temple. Peter blubbered into his chest, happy tears soaking Tony’s sweater. May wrapped her arms around the two and squeezed them both tightly.

Tony felt tears prickle in his own eyes and he dropped his forehead to Peter’s curls. “Is that a yes?” he finally managed to say.

Peter giggled wetly and nodded frantically against his chest.

A grin as wide as a dinner plate crossed Tony’s face. He realized suddenly that tears were streaming down his cheeks, but he didn’t wipe them away. He kissed the top of Peter's head and squeezed him tighter.

May pressed a quick kiss on Peter’s cheek and stood up. “I’ll be back in a bit,” she said, sensing that the father and son might want a moment alone.

Tony rocked his kid back and forth, rubbing his back and pressing kiss after kiss to his cheek. “I love you,” he murmured into his chestnut curls. “I love you.” IloveyouIloveyouIloveyou.

“Love you,” Peter babbled. “I love you too. I love you.”

He held Peter at an arm’s length, still grinning. Then he pulled his kid back to him again and kissed his cheek, wiping away his tears with the pad of his thumb. “I love you.”

Peter sniffled, wiping his nose with his sweater. He wrapped his arms around Tony’s neck and curled around him like a koala. He leaned heavily against his dad’s chest, his breathing beginning to even out. Tony’s chest vibrated with every “I love you so much, Petey” and his ceaseless murmurs of love and comfort.

“Love you, Dad,” he said sleepily, his eyelids drooping.

A lump formed in Tony’s throat that he couldn’t seem to swallow past. Tears started to trickle down his cheeks. “Petey-” he murmured, his voice hoarse. “I love you so much. So damn much, okay?” He ran his hand up and down the boy’s back, kissing his temple and trying to blink his happy tears away.

Tony felt himself slowly drifting asleep. He blinked, and then his cheek was resting on his kid’s curls. His eyes closed again, and suddenly May was there, draping a blanket over them. He tried to tell her to get Peter’s special heated blanket, because his poor kid couldn’t thermoregulate and absolutely hated the cold. Then he realized that she had already tucked it around the boy and sighed in relief, finally letting himself relax.

May settled on the opposite side of Peter and wrapped an arm around him. Within minutes she was snoring quietly, but Tony was too tired to notice. A wave of joy and peace and love washed over him, and his eyes slipped shut.

~~~~~

/ST*RKERS DNI/

~~~~~

Taglist: @imissyoutoo @aj-that-person @tonystark-deserves-better @nathaly-ab @skeeter-110 @peter-and-tony-vlogs @teammightypen @joyful-soul-collector @loveliestdisappointment @depuella @scwene-qween @honeythepooh @pixiethefirecat7 @spider-man-lover @jami161 @bringitonvoldie @queen-of-sarcasm-25 @roxy3457 @memilon @iron-loyalty @gralaca @bitchingpretty @pillowspace @thatminecraftgal @clockworkteacup @hatakehikari @wtfischeese @keep-a-bucket-full-of-stars @skydiving-without-a-parachute @yansi1923 @slytherin-hamilton-life-12 @dead-inside-pt2 @name-me-regret @zanderljones @spidy8664 @hold-our-destiny

If anyone wants to be added/ removed please let me know!

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tickle-bugs · 4 years ago

Text

Justice League Headcanons

So...yeah. Blame @fickle-tiction and @fanficsandfluff but I can’t get JL out of my head. I know next to nothing in terms of canon and I only enjoy a handful of DC movies, so this is the beginning of what I am calling the BEU (Bug Extended Universe).

Essentially, in the words of Nick Fury, ‘I recognize your canon, but seeing as it’s a stupid-ass canon, I have elected to ignore it :)’. A mish-mash of everything I’ve learned about DC through osmosis and my own personal vibe checks :)

This is absurdly long so everything is under the cut:

Clark Kent

- Superman? NO, Superdork.

- He’s extremely clumsy. If he wasn’t as fast as a speeding bullet he’d get his ass handed to him ten times over. He has two left feet.

- He has a sweet tooth like no one’s business. Lois once found him perched on the kitchen counter at 3 am eating the donuts she brought home from work.

- Super playful and affectionate! King of bear hugs! Country boy I love youuuuuuu

- Curses like a sailor. Do you really think Clark ‘Smallville, Kansas’ Kent is wholesome? He stubbed his toe once and yelled FUCK so loud that the windows vibrated. Everyone who isn’t in the league thinks he’s a boyscout but the league knows the truth.

- Forgets about his powers a lot. He has been known to run through walls/take doors off their hinges when he’s excited.

- Goblin. He loves messing with Bruce and roping Barry into his schemes.

- Clark being ticklish is actually smth that can be so personal? His laugh is so loud and he always goes ‘sorry’ and tries to be quieter but it does NOT work. He has flight instincts more than fight instincts so he often starts unconsciously floating away when he’s tickled it’s so cute. He giggles a lot and he’s not particularly embarrassed by it.

- Do NOT get me started on ler Clark I could write a dissertation. He is SO playful and teasy but also sweet? He definitely is the type to laugh along with his lee. He definitely allows any sort of retaliation/fighting back like,,, if you manage to crawl away it’s because he let you, and if he wants too, he can be very mean and immovable.

- Bruce and Barry are his favorite targets. He doesn’t go after Diana because, frankly, he doesn’t have a death wish. He loves to cause problems on purpose by squeezing Arthur’s side and then blaming it on Barry. (Hal Jordan isn’t in the DCEU Justice League but I wish he was...they’d be partners in crime <3)

Bruce Wayne

- Okay let’s clarify some things: he’s not actually an asshole. He can be abrasive and snarky but he’s more towards the sarcastic gruff side vs straight-up mean.

- A lot of people think he’s genuinely an asshole/disconnected rich guy because he has a terrible habit of zoning out/interrupting people? Bruce actually just has intense ADHD that he refuses to get diagnosed, no matter how much Alfred pushes him. He doesn’t care what people think about him and he’s mostly learned how to manage it, so he leaves it alone.

- That being said, his friendship with Barry has me :’) Yes, he thinks Barry’s a pest (affectionate), but they share a few science-related hyperfixations (robotics, chemical engineering, etc). They can frequently be found holed up in the Batcave with a week’s worth of food and caffeine, and they’re just....tinkering. Watching them at work is amazing because as much as they annoy each other, they respect each other :)

- He’s 100% a cat person. He doesn’t have a problem with dogs, he just prefers cats. He feeds the strays that hang out around the Manor all the time...

-...which Alfred begs him not to do, because Bruce is severely allergic. He thinks he can power through the allergies until one of the stray cats does the face-headbump thing and he’s incapacitated emotionally and physically for the rest of the day.

- He severely restrains his emotions but like...catch him on a good day or in a good mood and he’ll smile and laugh, especially in friendly company. He just generally believes in maintaining a poker face so no one can read him.

- Not to be disrespectful but...thighs. I am Looking.

- Bruce has a wonderful laugh. He’s not much of a giggler tbh but he has this open, clear, slightly scratchy kinda laugh (his voice is permanently hoarse from the Batman Voice). It’s so lovely. He has a habit of covering his mouth bc he’s embarrassed of his smile but if he finds something very funny he’ll laugh openly.

- Thee Batman is ticklish and he...doesn’t hate it? Like of course he protests ten ways from Sunday but he more minds the ‘guys stop you’re ruining my dark and brooding facade’ bit. He hates being teased though and he will throw hands.

- Circling back to the emotions thing, he’s very good at controlling his reactions, which means he has thoroughly convinced everyone he’s not ticklish. Except Clark, stupidly perceptive Clark, because he can hear Bruce’s heartbeat and see the way he clenches his jaw to avoid smiling.

Diana Prince

- WIFEY!!!!!

- Diana is hilarious okay? She’s just...so fucking funny. Her jokes never miss. You wouldn’t think she’s the quippy type, but she is, and she’s damn good at it. In a distant alternate universe, Peter Parker senses a rival.

- Loves fresh fruit, but especially strawberries? She makes frequent trips to the local farmer’s market.

- She also has a raging sweet tooth. She and Clark work together to steal sweets and buy snacks.

- Will not back down from a challenge, ever. It’s kinda a problem.

- She has such a sweet laugh :’) It’s so bouncy and melodic and she scrunches her nose. She WILL snort and it’s the cutest thing ever. Yes she’s ticklish, but no one gets more than five seconds of laughter out of her before she turns the tables.

- World’s meanest ler. Not only is she frequently on the prowl, she is near-ruthless, especially if she’s been baited. Once she sets her sights on someone, she won’t rest until she’s heard their laugh.

- Diana is very mischievous and loves hearing her friends laugh. It’s impossible to be in her vicinity for more than five minutes without at LEAST a few pokes. She is not above just,,, random tickles either.

- Nails. That is all.

Arthur Curry

- Why are his tiddies always out? Someone please explain.

- The most targeted for pranks ever. Diana especially. Something about him just attracts goblinism.

- He’s coming for Clark’s bear hugger crown. He picks people up so often that they’re just used to it now.

- Playfighting and roughhousing is his love language. He absolutely loves wrestling with anyone who’ll humor him. He and Diana frequently tussle because they’re both good sports about it (Bruce is a little bit of a sore loser. Just a smidge).

- Thinks he can get away with anything, which is decidedly not true. He just nopes his way out of the room and everyone’s like D:< get back here and atone for your sins!!! But Arthur’s already in the Pacific Ocean.

- I like to think he’s ticklish, just not super ticklish y’know? He probably has a couple hidden spots that make him lose it though. Like he’ll definitely laugh and fall over, but he can and will fight back. Oh boy, will he fight back.

- Batman: No fear.

Diana and Arthur sneaking up behind him:

Batman: One fear.

- Y’know that picture of Jason Momoa sneaking up behind Henry Cavill on the red carpet? That is extremely relevant. Arthur loves to sneak up behind people and just...take them down.

- Thinks Barry is annoying (affectionate) and the two of them are constantly chasing each other around. Barry is fast but Arthur’s strong (and wayy less ticklish than Barry)

- Physical affection!! He always has his arms around someone’s shoulders or something. He’s just a touchy kind of guy :)

Barry Allen

- Speedy boy! ADHD king! Sometimes his thoughts are also at superspeed, which means he talks way too fast and no one can understand him? But Bruce speaks fluent Barry and he translates often (though not without a labored sigh beforehand).

- Physically affectionate but casual about it? He likes to play with people’s hands while he’s talking, bump shoulders with whoever he’s next to, etc. He doesn’t really realize he does it either. It’s not uncommon for him to be talking to Clark or Diana and they just...unconsciously give him their hand before he reaches for it.

- Okay so y’know how Bruce feeds the strays? Who do you think lets them in the first place? Barry has tried to adopt every stray he comes across, and when Alfred inevitably says no, Barry runs them to the shelter himself :’)

- Gifting is his love language!!! If he sees anything that remotely reminds him of his friends, he brings it to them.

- He likes to hang out with Victor because he’s quiet, but doesn’t mind when Barry rambles, which he tends to do quite often. Barry will catch himself rambling and trail off, but Victor will encourage him to keep going, because he’s listening.

- Thee Pillsbury Doughboy. Just these high-pitched, bouncy, frantic giggles that only get worse and eventually morph into cackles. He hiccups a lot too :’)

- Okay so he’s not a flailer but he’s super squirmy. Barry will cling onto his ler’s arms just to hold onto something. He kicks his legs too (he does this when he’s not being tickled either, if he laughs and he’s sitting somewhere he kicks). He also just constantly tries to crawl away. If he isn’t pinned down he will drag himself to safety. He also has a habit of curling up :’)

- Absolutely invented the speed-tickle. He actually doesn’t often use his powers (unless he’s chasing down Clark, because Clark isn’t above breaking the sound barrier to escape). He’s just got incredible hand-eye coordination and precision. His hands will be absolutely everywhere and he is so teasy about it.

- Tries not to start fights he can’t finish, but he always gets roped into Clark’s mischief and gets targeted with revenge tickles.

- He has tickled Clark once. It was incredible, amazing, showstopping, spectacular. Literally his crowning achievement. Did Clark absolutely destroy him afterwards? Yes, but it was so worth it.

Victor Stone

- Quiet and stoic, but he’s always preferred listening and interjecting with a joke or two.

- Closest with Barry and Diana, but he’s making an effort to bond with everyone.

- Unfortunately not ticklish :( I like to think soft touches on his face will make him smile and lean away, but it’s not going to get a laugh from him.

- Doesn’t often get involved in tickly shenanigans, but when he does, he surprises everyone with how much fun he has. A different, warmer side of him comes out when he’s among his friends.

- He’s a hugger! Definitely awkward about it, but he loves hugs and just...holding his friends.

- He collects hoodies. He can’t really feel them when he’s wearing them, but he likes them and the idea of it. Barry seems to slip him a new hoodie every week. Victor has no idea where he gets them from but he’s not complaining.

- He is an enabler. He will look at Bruce like :| “no, I don’t know where Barry and Clark are, nor do I no what they’re planning” But they’re literally right behind Bruce, about to squeeze his sides.

- That being said, he won’t do that with Diana. If she asks where they are, he’ll subtly nod his head in their direction. Even in jest, he will never lie to her. Which makes him Thee person to avoid when Diana’s on her mischievous streaks.

#my headcanons #this is an academic paper #you can see me get more scatterbrained as I go on it's great #anyways welcome to the BEU #dc #justice league #...bugstice league?#(nice)#ticklish!bruce wayne #ticklish!clark #ticklish!diana #ticklish!arthur curry #ticklish!barry #bruce wayne #clark kent #Diana Prince #arthur curry #barry allen #victor stone

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secret-engima · 4 years ago

Text

hamelin-born

@secret-engima

Oscar likes green. It’s that simple. Yes, he does have a lot of fond memories linked to the color green, and yes, having everything be green means that any magic he choses to use has a good chance of being lost against the background, but - green’s his favorite color. It’s that simple. He’d probably honestly be a little amused at hearing all the frantic speculation about his reasons behind the color scheme.

...the fact that The Emerald City made appearances in the hometowns of what would grow to become Team JNPR is totally a coincidence. Right? Yes. A total coincidence.

*snicker* That is perfectly in character. Mercury probably sarcastically suggested that Oscar’s animated cane-weapon be given the name of ‘Short Term Memory’ or something along those lines. Oscar, true to himself, decided - hey, his cane was a living thing, it should have the chance to chose it’s own name!

That is why the cane proudly bears a name suspiciously similar to ‘Toto’.

Whitley is cheering on Oscar’s efforts to make miniatured rainbows, and looking up all the information on color spectrum and prisms. He too wants to be able to, one day, see a grumpy person with a personalized raincloud above their head! A raincloud that will break into rainbows when they smile and/or laugh! And they know just the perfect test subject...

Somewhere, Qrow feels a shiver run down his spine.

Oscar did not set out with the intention of kidnapping Whitley. It just - happened? And ooh, but I love seeing Whitley’s perspectives of his first meeting with Oscar. It’s just - Oscar accidentally come off as mysterious and colorful and almost fae; it’s amazing. And just - I’m suddenly struck by the parallels with another modern fairy tale - namely, Peter Pan and the Lost Boys. Oscar doesn’t sugarcoat the danger when he offers to take Whitley away; he lays out everything in his offer, and leaves it Whitley’s decision.

And Whitey - comes away.

He never regrets it.

A couple of random thoughts about the Schnee Family Debacle: Actually, Qrow might initially be afraid that the ‘Schnee Bingo’ is indirectly aimed at Ironwood. Because Winter is - relatively close in Ironwood’s confidence, I believe. And the whole ‘dragging the family’s sin’s into the light?’ It is going to impact her, one way or another. And everyone who is aware of ‘Schnee Bingo’ is going to wonder just what they did for the Ringmaster to respond like this - speculation goes anywhere from realistic to highly improbable.

The smart ones, upon uncovering the evidence of what the Schnee family does to their kids, think that that probably has something to do with it.

Me: @hamelin-born

The reblog chain this is from is getting really long, so I decided to snag this and start a new post with it. XD

Oscar likes green! It means growing things and life! And yes it does hide his magic rather well :3

The fact that Emerald City has been all over the world and stopped in hometowns of SEVERAL main characters is total coincidence yes. :3 Just like how it is TOTAL coincidence that sometimes, a child or two is invited backstage to meet the tiny Ringmaster. >:333

(Pyrrha remembers that circus years later, how she was 14 and just starting to really get famous and realize how much fame sucked, and she didn’t have her parent’s permission to go to the Circus just outside Argus but she did anyway and it was a night she would never forget. A magical, beautiful night, and then the little Ringmaster, a boy younger than her, smiled and sang a song that brought tears to the eyes and somehow- it felt like he was looking right at her.)

(She remembers being invited backstage by one of the acrobats, a cocky boy her age with silver hair, and at first she thought they were doing it because she was “Pyrrha Nikos” but- they never mentioned it. They never even asked her name. They just led her backstage to the tiny Ringmaster in his top hat and cane and workshop of wonders. He smiled at her and asked her name. She blinked and cautiously asked if he didn’t know it already. The boy twirled his cane and seemed a little too old for his childish appearance as he said “How could I? We’ve never met before. Though,” his smile had gone a little ... something at the edges, sad or wild or maybe even fae like her grandmother’s old stories, “I may have met your shadow along my roads, and for that I suppose I owe you thanks.”)

(“...Thanks? To me?” She asks, and the boy hums as he starts performing magic tricks right there, just for her, reappearing and disappearing of various trinkets and tools. Yes, he tells her, and then he pulls out a beautiful little necklace, a slender gold chain with a glimmering stone in the shape of a juniper tree, he offers it to her, and she wonders if it’s her imagination that the stone tree feels warm and alive on her palm, you don’t remember, he hums gently, but you once told my best friend that you believed in him, and it quite possibly saved his life. He never told me your name, but he told me about the Argus girl with red hair and kind eyes, and I dare say you fit the description to a T.)

(The Ringmaster smiles at her and gestures at the little necklace, “Keep it, as a thank you. May it bring you good fortune and safe passage, no matter where your destiny leads.” Not long after, she was led out by another of the acrobats, and it was only after she’d gotten home and was staring at the ceiling of her bedroom that she realized she was automatically wearing the necklace. And that the stone still felt warm.)

(If anyone bothers to ask Pyrrha Nikos after that if she believed in magic, she will touch the pendant of a tree that she always wears around her neck and say yes. Magic is real. And so are little fairy boys with kind green eyes.)

(Annnnd now I wanna do some drabbles of the main cast meeting the Emerald City circus and having encounters with the mysterious little Ringmaster XD)

Mercury so suggests “short-term memory” but Oscar solemnly says the cane should have a say. It picks the name “Total Remembrance” and Mercury laughs his head off while Neo gleefully calls the cane a sarcastic little twig. They shorten the name to “Toto” for Oscar’s sanity.

Whitley is a glee the day they get the spell to WORK. Now- to find their first test subject. Emerald: I’LL GO LEAD HIM HERE *flies off as a gremlin magpie*

Oscar doesn’t know it, but he comes off as a little bit fae (or a lot fae) to a LOT of people. He can’t help it, with his connection to magic and his future memories and the way he acts and dresses he just- feels like a storybook wizard or fairy boy stepped out of the pages. And gosh, Oscar is totally like Peter Pan in his kidnapping of Whitley. XD Just- he offers adventure and danger and love and FAMILY. Come away with me? whispers his magic and his outstretched hand, and Whitley is far from the only person to have taken it over the years (look at his time-traveling crew), and he never regrets it.

Oh gosh I didn’t think of that. Qrow WOULD possibly think this was a jab at Ironwood, but ... not necessarily because of Winter? Depending on when this happens she might only be newly graduated. No wait the hammer fall happens in canon, so yeah there is the Winter connection, but ALSO, in canon Ironwood is implied to be an old, estranged friend of the family, and further, as a Council member, he and Jaques have to deal with each other on a professional level. Taking down the Schnees could be seen as a personal jab through Winter yes, but also as a threat, that if they can take out the Schnees, who are roughly equal Ironwood’s status and known “friends” (for a loose definition of the word) of the General, then what can they do to Ironwood directly?

The smart criminals look at the confidants of their Ringmaster, who are mostly kids, and a few of them know that the Ringmaster looks like a child himself and they ... well. Put some pieces together.

#Secret Engima Rambles #Team Gremlin verse #long post

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spacesuitsforemergency · 5 years ago

Text

Bug Bros

Word Count: 2.4k

Requested by @lina-lovebug: Jaime Reyes x Parker! Fem! Reader? They both have a cruch on eachother and Tye and Ed and Barr tease him a lot about it, and always wonder why he doesn't just ask her out. Jaime just doesn't want to start a long distance since she lives in New York, but when she becomes part of the Young leaguers, now he has no excuse. They go out on a first date, which ends abrupt cuz his friends ended up following him. She kisses him anyway and he walks her back to Mt. Justice.

“Dude, staring at her isn’t gonna do anything.” Eduardo snickered at Jaime.

“There’s this thing called talking, you should try that with her.” Tye shook his head as he tossed the guys a soda, sitting down in the Mount Justice lounge with them.

“Shut up, guys!” Jaime groaned, face burning red.

You and your teammates, Peter Parker and Sam Alexander, were here in Rhode Island on official S.H.I.E.L.D business. This wasn’t your first visit here, so nobody was surprised when none of you had really paid attention to the debriefing back at S.H.I.E.L.D (as per usual), so the trip was taking longer than expected (as per usual). Your twin brother, Peter, was currently trying to work out some sort of deal with Black Canary, you and Sam were not listening. You were both bored, and eventually snuck off to the lounge, where some of the Outsiders were chilling.

“Guys mind if we crash here?” Sam asked them, sitting down next to Bart without an answer.

“Sure.” Tye mumbled sarcastically at him.

“So what do you guys do to avoid meetings around here?” You asked as you leaned against the back of the couch behind Jaime, eyes on the tv, which was currently playing Remember the Titans. Jaime’s eyes widened and he stiffened with how close you were to him, and his friends noticed.

“Usually just run the other direction.” Bart said through a mouthful of chips.

“What’s your meeting about, anyways?” Eduardo asked.

You and Sam both shrugged.

“How many times do we have to visit you guys for you to know we never know what’s going on?” You grinned.

“Yeah, we just follow Web Heads lead.” Sam stole a handful of chips from Bart. “It’s funny how you think we take our job seriously.”

Everyone looked at the both of you, concerned.

“We’re kidding, we take it seriously.” You reassure them. “Just nothing to do with...business meetings.”

“Nova! H/N! Get back here!” Spider Man ordered you. Sam rolled his eyes and took one last handful of chips before putting his helmet on and flying over.

“See ya later, Bug Bro.” You ruffled Jaime’s hair before shooting a web and swinging back over. Jaime’s face was now bright red, and he was clutching his soda can so tight his knuckles turned white. Eduardo and Tye started snickering at him, Jaime throwing his empty soda can at them in retaliation It didn’t affect either of them the way Jaime wanted it to, and they kept laughing at him.

“Why don’t you just ask her out?” Bart asked.

“Because.” Jaime crossed his arms and pouted.

“It’s a simple resolution, dude.” Tye picked up the soda can and tossed it back at him teasingly.

“Just ask her out, amigo!” Eduardo shouted a little too loud. Thankfully, you were too busy getting scolded by Black Canary and Batman to hear. “She obviously likes you, and even a deaf and blind man would know you like her!”

“I can’t ask her out, guys!” Jaime snapped at them, now actually angry. Now they stopped laughing and looked at him, concerned.

“Dude, whats up?” Tye asked his best friend.

“Looks, she lives all the way in New York. I live in El Paso.” Jaime sighed. “There’s no way it would work.”

“But you’re mostly here.” Bart tried to reassure him. “Rhode Island isn’t too far from New York.”

“Asami lives in Japan, we still make it work.” Tye added.

“Asami doesn’t live in Japan. She moved here last week. Don’t think I don’t remember.” Jaime mumbled.

“But before that we had a long distance thing.”

“For like a month while she sorted stuff out with her parents.” Jaime scoffed. “Y/N lives in New York. She’s not moving anytime soon.”

“So...you like her, but you’re not willing to even give long distance a try?” Eduardo raised an eyebrow.

“Well that makes me sound like el huevón, dude!” Jaime snapped. “Look, it just won’t work, okay? Would you guys just drop it?”

The boys all glanced at each other, shocked at Jaime’s outburst. He was always so chill, would hardly even yell at villains, so they almost didn’t recognize him when he was angry. Even Tye didn’t, and he’s known the guy since middle school.

“What’s the ups, dudes? Change the channel, games on.” Virgil waltzed in, snatching the remote from the coffee table.

Virgil didn’t notice the tense atmosphere until his team scored, and he went to high five Jaime, and didn’t get a response.

“Uhh...don’t leave me hangin, bro!” Virgil said, then finally looked at the other boys’ faces. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing.” Jaime grumbled, getting up and walking out to the balcony.

“What’s his deal?” Virgil asked. “I didn’t think it was physically possible for him to be angry...”

“I’ll go talk to him.” Tye rushed after Jaime.

He walked out to the balcony, Jaime sitting on the rail and mumbling to himself, something he often did when he was nervous. Tye would often catch him doing this before math tests or trying a complicated skateboard trick.

“Talk to me, man.” Tye leaned against the railing, resting his chin on his hand.

“I really like her.” Jaime said, just above a whisper. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Well, you can either tell her and try, or never tell her and miss your chance forever.” Tye said nonchalantly, staring out at the city.

“Wow. That makes me feel better.” Jaime chuckled.

“Hey, you can always count on me to be real with you.” Tye nudged him lightly.

“That I can.” Jaime playfully shoved him.

“So? What are you gonna do?” Tye raised an eyebrow.

“I’m not sure yet.”

•

“Bug Bro!” You shouted, before jumping onto Jaime’s back. He yelped, quickly straightening up and holding onto the backs of your legs to keep you up.

“Warn me next time?” He asked, grinning up at you and you leaned over his shoulder to see his face.

“Sorry.” You laughed, ruffling his hair affectionately. “I have news, bro.”

“What is it, bro?” He asked as he continued making his way towards the kitchen for some lunch.

“Fury gave the green light, I’m joining the Outsiders!” You beamed excitedly.

“What? Really?” Jaime asked, eyes widening in shock.

“Yeah, I’m gonna be a counselor too.” You smiled.

“Why aren’t you staying in New York?” He asked as you hopped off his back and walked next to him.

“I need a change of scenery.” You shrugged. “Some space from my brother. I love him and all, but he never lets me do a lot on missions. Thinks I’ll get hurt or whatever.”

“Is it permanent?” He asked curiously.

“Nothings permanent, Jaime.” You giggled. “But maybe. I do want to help people more directly. I love my team but I just don’t have that kind of opportunity with S.H.I.E.L.D.”

“Yeah...S.H.I.E.L.Ds kinda scary.” Jaime rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “Well, I’m glad to have you on the team, Y/N.”

“Now I’ll be with my Bug Bro all the time!” You grinned, elbowing him playfully.

“Yeah! Totally.” He grinned nervously.

•

“Dude, what do I even say?” Jaime hyperventilated as he paced back and forth in front of Bart and Tye.

Tye and Bart didn’t really get along, they tolerated each other, but thy weren’t best buds. But when Jaime needed help, they would stop the bickering and work together.

“You got the hard part over with.” Tye shrugged. “She said yes to the date.”

“I know. I thought that was the hard part, turns out it’s not.” Jaime said as he checked himself in the mirror for the thousandth time. “Now I gotta actually make sure she likes me?”

“Well...Yeah?” Bart blinked at his homie. “Dude, just be yourself.”

“But a little less nervous.” Tye added.

“And maybe stop sweating.” Bart nodded.

“Quit worrying about your hair, it hasn’t moved since 2008.”

“Try to flirt a little more.”

“But not too much, you don’t want to come off as an idiot.”

“But you said be myself! None of those things is myself!” Jaime shouted at his friends.

“Be yourself...but calm.” Bart instructed.

“How am I supposed to be calm? I-“

“Dude! You’re late!” Tye yelled when he saw the time, 7 minutes past when Jaime was supposed to leave to pick you up.

“Shit!” Jaime snatched his keys from the dish on the side table. “See you guys later! But what if I mess this up-“

“Go!” Tye and Bart both yelled. Jaime stuck his tongue out at ten before rushing out to his car.

Bart and Tye sat in awkward silence for a few minutes, blankly staring at the tv.

“Wanna follow him?” Bart grinned.

“Oh yeah.” Tye nodded. “Let me call for reinforcements.”

•

“...and then Danny punched a hole trough the wall and hit Sam on accident.” You giggled as you finished a story about your teammates.

“Isn’t Danny supposed to be the chill one?” Jaime chuckled.

“Apparently.” You shrugged. “To be fair, he had a reason to be mad.”

“I suppose. So-“ Jaime opened his mouth to ask another question, but froze when he saw something: a few tables back and on the row across from them, he saw Tye, Bart, Eduardo and Virgil wearing sunglasses, fake mustaches and their hoods. He instantly glared at them, motioning discreetly for them to leave.

“What are you-?” You turned to look where he was.

“Wait Wait Wait!” Jaime shouted, a little too loudly, gaining the attention of several other customers. He smiled nervously and cleared his throat. “Um...you mentioned earlier a time when Sam crash landed into the White House?”

“Oh yeah!” You laughed, and began the story.

Jaime wanted to pay attention, he really did, but he couldn’t take his focus off his idiot friends. First of all he couldn’t believe Tye agreed to the ‘disguises’. Second of all, he couldn’t believe they were spying on him! Had they no regard for privacy and personal space?? Okay, so, maybe he did believe it.

‘Jaime Reyes, I advise you to focus on the Y/N Parker. She may grow angry if she discovers you are not listening. Shall I activate and obliterate the Tye Longshadow, Bart Allen, Eduardo Dorado Jr and Virgil Hawkins so you may focus properly on the Y/N Parker’s story?’ The Scarab asked.

“No! No obliteration!” Jaime mumbled.

“Is the Scarab talking to you?” You asked curiously.

“Yeah, sorry. He’s been yapping in my ear, it’s hard to concentrate.” He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

“Oh. Well, we can leave if you want.” You smiled and waved over the waitress for the check.

“Please, let me.” Jaime set down his credit card before you could even open your wallet.

“Come on, you drove us here.” You sigh as the waitress took his credit card.

“It’s no trouble, really.” He shook his head. “It’s my fault this is ending so abruptly, it’s the least I can do.”

Once the waitress came back with his card he led to back out to his car, glaring at his friends as you passed the table. They all snickered, quickly paying their bill and piling into Virgil’s car.

“Where’d they go?” Bart asked as he leaned forward, between Virgil and Tye.

“Uh...there!” Eduardo pointed ahead. “¡Dale!”

Virgil stepped on it, following close behind Jaime’s black car. Tye looked at his phone when a text alert went off, seeing a text from Jaime: Quit following me! You’re all dead!

Tye just snickered, before responding with: wow, texting and driving? Not cool, man.

They followed Jaime’s car all the way back to Mount Justice, Eduardo and Bart bickering as they tried to see between the front seats, shoving each other. Virgil parked far behind them, just close enough to be able to see.

You were clueless to the car full of idiots as Jaime walked you up to the entrance. Jaime was well aware, and worried that you would notice them.

‘Jaime Reyes, get her inside quick. Once the door shuts we shall obli-‘

“Scarab, Stop!” Jaime scolded.

“He’s still chatty?” You giggled at Jaime as you reached the doors.

“Yeah, sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. You can’t help that the alien parasite attached to you is talkative.” You smile up at him, making him laugh. “Uh...I had a really good time. Even if it was cut short.”

“Yeah, me too.” He smiled back at you, equally as nervous and awkward.

You both stood there for a few moments, not sure what to do next.

“What are they doing?” Eduardo asked as he shoved Batt aside to see better.

“They’re just standing there.” Virgil shook his head. “Is this dude really not smooth at all?”

“Trust me, hasn’t been smooth ever since we were kids.” Tye shook his head. “Doesn’t have a smooth bone in his body.”

“Actually, I’m pretty sure your bones are smooth-Ow! What?” Bart rubbed his arm where Eduardo punched him.

“Come on, Jaime, do something.” Virgil groaned, starting to get second hand embarrassment for the guy.

Jaime knew he wanted to kiss you, but was it what you wanted? Would you yell at him? Not return it? Never lack to him ever again? Luckily, his anxious thoughts were interrupted when you suddenly craned your neck up to be able to press your lips to his. It was a quick peck on the lips, just to test the waters. He pulled you in for another kiss, and you wrapped your arms around his shoulders to lift yourself up a little higher.

“Finally!” Tye shouted, probably loud enough for the both of you to hear if you weren’t so busy.

“Oh, gross! I said kiss, not suck face!” Virgil pretended to gag.

“Dang, they’re really going at it.” Bart mumbled.

“You guys ruin the mood.” Eduardo shook his head. “Is this what it’s like to date you?”

“First of all, watching someone suck face is way different than sucking face.” Tye said.

“Quit saying ‘suck face’.” Eduardo cringed.

“Second of all, I am a delight to date.”

“Ha!” Virgil snorted, then slapped his hand over his mouth when Tye sent him a death glare. “I mean...yeah dude, who wouldn’t date you? You’re just so...lovely.”

“Uh...guys...Jaime’s coming for us.” Bart warmed.

“Crap! Start the car! Start the car!” Eduardo shrieked as Jaime activates his Blue Beetle suit, flying at them with the thirst for revenge in his eyes.

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13-reasons-ideas · 4 years ago

Text

Marry Me - Monty’s Perspective

A/N: Here it is. I’m so sorry this took so long to put out. I was having a really hard time getting into the right headspace to write this. I hope you guys like it! I recommend listening to Thomas Rhett’s Marry Me when you read this. As usual, feedback is appreciated and much love! -Em

Ellie was coming back into town for her engagement party this weekend. I was the first person she called when Evan proposed. She damn near gave me a heart attack when I answered, and she was scream-crying.

Flashback

I was watching the Chargers game when Ellie called. “Hey Elliebear.”

“Heaskedmetomarryhim.” She screeched on the other line. I had no idea what she said. It sounded like she was crying. And that I would be deaf in one ear. I pulled the phone away from my head until she stopped freaking out.

“What was that?”

“Evan proposed.” What?

“Oh?”

“And I said yes. I’m getting married Montgomery.” Oh.

“That’s great Ellie. Congratulations. I’m happy for you.” I cleared my throat, trying to get rid of the pit that was forming.

“Thank you. I wanted you to be the first one to know, so I just wanted to call you quick. I can hear the game in the background, and we have more people to call so I’ll let you go now.”

“Okay, tell Evan I said hi and congratulations.”

“I will. Bye Monty.”

“Bye Ellie.” I hung up and sat back on the couch. She’s getting married.

End flashback

I was on break at work when I got a text from Ellie.

Hey you. I just got into town with Evan for the weekend. Are you free tonight?

I texted her back a few minutes later, yeah I’m free. What’s up?

She replied right away. Drinks or coffee? Just you and me. My parents are going over some details for tomorrow with Evan that they don’t want me around for.

Sure. Meet you at Monet’s at six?

I’ll save you a seat. Usual order?

You know I don’t change things Elliebear.

I stopped at home to change after work into something more comfortable. I grabbed a clean pair of jeans and a random t-shirt before grabbing an old flannel and running out the door, so I wasn’t late.Ellie barely beat me to the café. It wasn’t surprising really, since she was always the early one.

“Hey, what can I get you this evening?” the barista asked her.

“Can I get a-”

“She’ll get a skinny vanilla bean latte with only one pump of vanilla, a dash of cinnamon, and extra foam in a for here cup. I’ll get a regular black coffee. And she’ll also have the chicken and spinach sandwich.” I said behind her. The barista looked at her, unsure if she should ring it in or not. Ellie nodded and turned around to face me. Before I had a chance to say anything, she jumped into my arms for a hug.

“Hey Elliebear.” I grunted.

“I missed you.”

“I missed you too.”

Our orders were finished quickly as it was surprisingly slow for a Friday night. Luckily, that meant our table was free. We sat down and conversation flowed easily. It was almost like we had never been apart.

“The ring is nice. It suits you. Bigger than I thought you would like but it’s nice.”

“It is nice, yeah. That reminds me, Evan said he’s looking forward to meeting you tomorrow.”

“So am I. See who finally caught your interest.”

“I was interested in other people before Evan.” She told me, scandalously. Sure, you did El. I didn’t let myself think about the possibility of her liking me that way when we were younger.

“Ellie. That guy from drama class doesn’t count. And neither does your chemistry partner.”

“I was not interested in Adam. And Zach was my chemistry partner. I can assure you I was not into him.”

“Please, enlighten me as to these people you were interested in before Evan.”

“There was,” she paused. “Dylan from sophomore English was cute. Ian. Couple other guys in high school. Peter from my first year anthropology class was… very attractive, and smart.”

“One guy aside from Evan? University of Georgia is a big school. There’s no way you only had eyes for two people.”

“I was busy. I practically lived in the library when I wasn’t in class or my dorm. What about you?”

“What about me?”

“Is there a girl I should be hearing about? Or should have heard about?”

“Nah. Nothing important or anything to write home about. I was busy.” I wouldn’t call what I did, dating. The point wasn’t to find someone to bring home. Who I wanted to bring home was over 900 miles away.

“Oh please Monty, you played ball at OSU. You honestly expect me to believe there was no girl in your life?”

“No, no. There were girls. Just nothing really serious.”

“Uh, huh.” She replied, sarcastically. We reached for our cups at the same time and our hands brushed. I was immediately transported back to the day of homecoming in senior year.

Flashback

“Remember students. The homecoming game is tonight at 6:30. You’ll want to be there early as our Liberty Tigers take on the Hildebrandt Mustangs if you want good seats. It’s sure to be a nail biter.” Principal Bolan’s voice boomed from the intercom during the morning announcements.

“Don’t know why he’s hyping it up to be a nail biter.” Scott laughed.

“We are playing Hildebrandt. We could literally not show up and still win.” I joked. “Have any of you seen Ellie? She’s usually here to force me to English by now.”

“Nah man.” Scott replied.

“Need lover girl to make sure you do what you’re supposed to?” Bryce teased.

“Fuck off. It’s not like that with us.” Unfortunately.

“Sure it’s not Monty. I refuse to believe you never hit it.”

“Don’t talk about her like that.” I threatened, lowly. Don’t push it man. Bryce shut up at my tone. “I’m going to go try and find her. I’ll see you guys at lunch.”

She was arranging her books when I found her at her locker. She was trailed by Clay and Alex. I pulled her into my arms and lifted off the ground. “Montgomery, put me down!” she laughed.

“Never.” I laughed, evilly.

“I have to grab my chem book. And go to chemistry.”

“I’ve got it.” Zach said as he grabbed her book, “you carrying her to class today?”

“Nah, I thought about it but since I had to come find her this morning, I figure she can make it there on her own.”

“I was running late. My alarm didn’t go off when it was supposed to.”

“Excuses, excuses.” I replied, putting her down and shaking my head.

“I’ll see you guys later? Zach and I are running late.”

“Sure. Justin said if I don’t go to the game tonight, he’d tell mom and dad about Ani. And I don’t want to deal with that.”

“Someone has to keep Clay company, so I have to go too.” Alex said, pushing clay lightly.

“Great. I’ll see you then. See you at lunch Monty.”

I sat through just about the driest English class of my life, counting the minutes on my watch. Math was no better. We were reviewing for a test that almost the whole

class failed. Somehow that was our fault for not studying enough. I let out a sigh of relief when the lunch bell rang.

The table was already mostly full when Ellie came and sat next to me. “Ellie, think you could pray for us to not lose this game tonight?” Bryce sniggered from the end of the table.

“Hey, quit being a dick.” I stated. Bryce responded by chucking a grape at me. I threw it back at him. I knew how important her faith was to her. Some things just weren’t okay to be joked about or questioned. When it came to Ellie, faith was one of them.

“It’s fine Monty. Not like he hasn’t done it before.” I know he has. I don’t like it. “It’s going to take a lot more than God to help you win if you don’t learn to throw better than that in the next six hours. But sure.” I watched her from the corner of my eye as she smirked to herself before beginning. I’d seen her pray for real before. This wasn’t that. “Lord, please help the guys win tonight. Give them the ability to not trip over themselves when they make plays. And God, please show Bryce how to make the ball go where it’s supposed to and not hit some poor kid in the head again. Maybe, just maybe, then he will get laid tonight and we all know that’s really why he asked me to pray.” She smirked at Bryce. I choked on my juice. She probably isn’t wrong. Was pretty funny when that kid got hit though.

“You need to quit hanging out with Monty, he’s rubbing off on you too much. And I was serious.”

“I know. I’ll do it for real after lunch. You can sit with me if you want.” She was true to her word. I was late for Geography because I was watching her sit in an empty alcove praying. Bryce didn’t sit with her.

The locker room was abuzz with excitement. It was the homecoming game. Not to mention our season opener. If we wanted to start the season off right, we had to win. Sure, we joked around about Hildebrandt being an easy team to beat-they came in second to last in the league last year-but there was still a chance they would pull off a miracle. Especially if Bryce threw like he did at lunch. “Yo Monty, is Ellie coming to Monet’s tonight?”

“She said she would. Not that she’ll give you the time of day.” I waved off Matt’s question. She’s not interested. Trust me. Find someone else to have your eyes on. Several ‘oooo’s were voiced around us.

“How do you know?”

“Just do, man.”

“I could treat her real nice. She’d beg me for more.” Are you fucking kidding me?

“Oh shit.” Someone muttered, seriously. I didn’t really hear who it was. The sound of my blood rushing in my ears was too loud. Coach Kerba wasn’t in the room. He was talking to Banes about plays. No one in here will snitch. Not when it’s about Ellie.

I immediately turned towards him and cornered him against his locker. The rest of the team stood silently, watching us. I got real close to his face so only he would hear me. “You even think about her like that again and I will bury you so deep they’ll need ground penetrating radar to find you. Not that they’d recognize you if anyone found your body. If you so much as brush against her too hard in the halls, I’ll break your jaw. You understand Carraway?”

“Y-yeah. I got you. Never said a word.” He breathed in response. I had scared the living shit out of him. Good. I stepped away from him and after a few beats the incident was forgotten and the mood was light again.

The game wasn’t that exciting. Had it not been homecoming, most people probably wouldn’t have shown up. As expected, it was in our favour most of the first half. Ellie waved at me between plays. She was practically beaming. During the second half Hildebrandt seemed to find their groove and the game was at least interesting to play. It wasn’t the nail biter Principal Bolan had promised this morning. Everyone knew that regardless of how we played, we would end up winning. The game ended and the team and the crowd were excited. Matt and Garrison were so excited by the win, they tripped over their own feet and faceplanted on the sidelines. The excitement died down for a moment until they shot up and went on celebrating.

I waited for Ellie outside the locker room, as per our tradition. “Good game.” She called.

“Of course, it was. I was on the field.” I smirked.

“Modest as ever I see.”

“Do you expect anything else at this point Elliebear?” “Not really. But I can hope, maybe one day.”

“Maybe, but not likely.”

“Oh hey, while I’m thinking about it, Clay asked me to keep an eye on Justin tonight.”

“Is everything okay?” My brow furrowed.

“I think so. Clay said something about him having issues adjusting and stuff. Do you think you can play nice with him for a while?”

“I suppose, since he is your friend, I can try and be nice for a while. But not all night. I want some Ellie time.” Only because it’s you asking.

“And you’ll get your Ellie time. After you make nice with Justin.”

I sighed, making it seem like a hassle just to get a rise out of her. I was about to respond when Bryce called us, “are you two going to stand there and chit chat all night or are we going to celebrate?”

“We’re coming. Give us a minute asshole.” I called back to him. Bryce didn’t respond.

I turned around so I could give her a piggyback out to the car. “Hop on”. Once she felt secure, I walked us out to the parking lot. I pretended to not pay attention when she stole my baseball hat. She couldn’t see the way my smirk turned into a smile when she did.

“That’s my hat El.”

“I know. I happen to like it though, so I’m wearing it.”

“I’m not getting it back tonight, am I?”

“Nope. It is now mine. Might even write my name in it.”

“You do that Ellie. I won’t care when I steal it back who’s name it has in it.” Already has my name in it. Yours would just complete it.

“Fine. Then I’ll readjust it.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Oh, I would.”

I set her down at her car. “No, you wouldn’t.” I called her bluff. You’re too sweet to do it. Or you’d fix it right away if you did. She rolled her eyes at me.

“Whatever. I’ll see you at Monet’s in a few with your precious hat.” I waited until she got in her car and drove off, before starting my own engine and following her.

Ellie beat me to Monet’s as usual. I nodded at and stopped to chat with some of my teammates when I came in. Matt nodded awkwardly at me as I passed. I glared in return. My coffee was set across from her when I got to our table. “I see you told the truth. Can I have it back now?”

“No. I think it looks quite fetching on me, if I do say so myself.”

“Fetching?”

“Yes. Do you disagree?”

“No, I think it looks good on you.” Not that anything would look bad on you. Suits her. She’s wearing my shirt.

“That’s what I thought.”

We chatted quietly before Justin showed up. “Hey guys.” He waved.

“Justin! You made it.” She exclaimed, too excitedly. Making him think you were forced to babysit him by being overly happy isn’t going to help Elliebear. I shot her a tone it down look. Justin smiled uncomfortably as she offered up her seat. “Make room.”

“Can do sweetheart.” I flirted, patting the chair next to me. The smile and blush she tried to mask didn’t go unnoticed.

“Thanks for the coffee Ellie.” Justin said, taking a sip.

“No problem.” The three of us chatted idly for a while. I was on my best behaviour with Justin and even laughed a few times at couple things he said. There was no mention of what he witnessed in the locker room.

My hand found Ellie’s under the table and I grasped it carefully. I had to make it look like I hadn’t done it intentionally. I could see the pink flare of her cheeks and my lip twitched upwards.

“Hey Justin, come over here and look at this.” Charlie called. He was looking at something on Garrisons’ phone. Justin left us to go investigate. I caught the quick glance at our hands, even if Ellie didn’t. Thank you, Foley.

“And then there were two.” I muttered, pulling her from her thoughts.

“Then there were two.” She repeated.

“That shirt looks good on you. It’s pretty familiar too.”

“Oh, yeah. There may be a reason for that.” She seemed nervous.

“Need to go talk to Mike?”

“Not if you don’t have a problem with it. I think he would agree it was simply borrowing, rather than stealing. No need to involve Jesus.”

“I am. So now you’ve got my shirt and my hat. Anything else you intend on taking of mine?” I slowly inched closer to her. We have never gone here. But there’s no way she doesn’t feel this pull.

“Possibly. Depends what else you’re willing to offer.” She said, coyly. My fingers itched to brush the hair from her face. She beat me to it.

“I think there’s a thing or two I could offer you Ellie.” I replied, leaning in a little more. What am I doing? What if she doesn’t feel the same way. Am I about to ruin our friendship? Do I even care? Before I could kiss her, fucking Bryce Walker beckoned from across the room. Son of a bitch. You couldn’t wait two god damn seconds, could you? This better be important.

I stopped just short of kissing her. “What?” I answered, curtly.

“My place, half an hour.” He called back. That is what was so important you had to interrupt this moment? That could have waited. Fucker. I nodded in response and turned back to Ellie, hoping the moment wasn’t gone. I knew it was though. I sighed internally. She was smiling at me, but it didn’t reach her eyes like it normally did. She’s upset. I didn’t know what to say to try and salvage our moment. Instead, I watched her take a sip of her latte and check her watch.

“Shoot. Is that really the time? I have plans with my mom in the morning. I should get going.” I’ll take bullshit for 200, Alex. She never was a good liar.

“Oh, okay. Are we still on for waffles Sunday afternoon?” I tried to hide my disappointment.

“Yeah. Be at my place around one? I need to talk to Pastor Mike about a few things after service.”

“I’ll be there. Text me when you get home.”

“I will.” She hurried out of the café so fast, someone might think there was a fire.

I threw my head back in my chair and ran my hands down my face. Bryce and Matt were watching me when I looked out at the room again. I mimicked Ellie’s actions and took my half empty cup to the counter. “You couldn’t have waited one minute, could you Walker?” I grumbled as I passed him.

“Sorry dude.” He called after me. “My place-.”

“Half an hour. Yeah. I got that.” I shook my head as I left the café.

End flashback

I turned to watch her take a sip of her latte. She still savoured the taste and licked her bottom lip the same way. “What about the blonde girl you told me about briefly?”

Blonde girl… Lip piercing? No. Was a red head. The sorority girl? That was the brunette with the Adderall. Blonde… oh! Chirpy. “Sara?”

“Yeah.”

“She was nice. Very peppy and chipper though.”

“Ah yes. Need to keep up that stoic exterior. Can’t have someone too chipper, lest people think you have a soul or something.” You always thought I did.

“Exactly.” I laughed. He took a long sip from his cooled coffee. “Can you imagine if I brought her home?”

“Well, knowing your mother, I would probably be attending your engagement party tomorrow instead of the other way around.”

“Oh probably.”

“How is your mom doing, by the way?” “She’s doing okay. After dad died, she was pretty out of it for a few months. She’s gotten better with time though. Really started to come into her own and forge her own path.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

“Not going to ask how I’m doing Ellie?”

“No. I know how you’re doing.”

“Oh really?”

“Montgomery. I am your best friend. Your dad was never a parent. DNA doesn’t make someone your family. You’re doing the same as you did the day you left and vowed to never speak to him again.”

Her easy explanation surprised me. “Sometimes I forget how well you know me.”

“I know. That’s why I have to remind you all the time.”

“Yeah, yeah. How did Evan react to Scott on the way from the airport?”

“I’m not totally sure. I don’t think he realized how things worked at Liberty and exactly what you and I being friends meant. Scott told him about the treehouse.” Oh God.

“Oh no. Ellie. I need to look the guy in the eye tomorrow.”

“I know you do. Don’t worry. He didn’t seem upset or anything. I think he found it amusing actually.”

“Did he tell him anything else?”

“About you?”

“Yeah.”

“No, mentioned how you guys fucked up and didn’t study for midterms and I singlehandedly kept you all on the team. And how Matt and Garrison managed to keep themselves above their feet until after homecoming senior year.”

“Of course, he did.”

“Don’t worry. Evan will like you.”

“How do you know?” Why do I care? Because you love her you dolt.

“Because I like you. And even though you think you are, you really aren’t a bad guy.” We talked for about another hour or so, just catching up, before we decided to call it a night.

“I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Three o’clock sharp.”

“Good.” She squeezed me tightly. When we pulled apart, I looked down and saw she was wearing my shirt. She kept it all these years.

“Is that my shirt?”

“Yes, it is.”

“I thought I lost that years ago.”

“You never asked for it back. We agreed that I technically borrowed it, remember?”

“Yeah, but I also thought you would have given it back by now.”

“I mean, I can give it back to you tomorrow if you want it.” She offered.

“No, no. You keep it. You seem comfortable in it.” She smiled and hugged me again before leaving.

No matter how much I tried to talk myself into cancelling at the last minute or just not showing up to the party, I couldn’t do it. As much as I wanted to let her finally think that I was an ass, I couldn’t. I couldn’t hurt her like that. So, I manned up and went to Ellie’s engagement party. I showed up right at three, as promised. “Hey you.” She beamed. Her whole face lit up when she saw me.

“Hey Elliebear.” I said as I hugged her. Evan stood to the side, giving us a moment. He looked so uncomfortable with our interaction. Maybe he noticed how much brighter her face got when she saw me. She pulled away first and turned towards her fiancé.

“Evan, this is Monty. Monty, this is Evan.” She motioned between us. I shook his hand awkwardly.

“So, you found the way to Ellie’s heart, huh?”

“Yeah. She is something special. I thank God every day that she decided to give me a chance.”

“Don’t I know it?” I replied, trying to hide the wistfulness and ignore the pang of jealously in my chest.

Jill called her over for something and she pointed Scott out to me. Trying to avoid a pissing match El? “Coming Mom. Scott is over there by the cupcakes. Try to keep him from eating himself to a sugar high?”

I laughed, “can do Ellie. It was nice meeting you Evan. Congratulations.”

“You too Monty. Enjoy the party.” He doesn’t like me.

“Hey Scotty.”

“I didn’t think you’d show up. Justin and I had a bet going. I owe him fifty bucks.”

“Well, you know. It’s Ellie.” I grabbed a cupcake from the stand and took a bite. Not bad. I see why she wants me to monitor Scott.

“That’s why I didn’t think you’d come.”

“You came.” Justin said, patting me on the back in lieu of greeting.

“Yup. Where’s Sasha?”

“Girl talk with Ellie and Jess and some other girls.”

“Riveting. What choice did I have? My options were come, watch her with Evan, and hate every second of it for an hour or two, or, not come and have her hate me for the rest of our lives.”

“I guess. Are you going to go to the wedding?” Justin asked.

“See if Evan lets her invite me first. He doesn’t seem too impressed so far. Thanks for that by the way Scott.”

“I’m sure he’ll warm up to you.”

“If you’re invited? Which you will be, because you’re her best friend.”

“Then what kind of best friend would I be, if I didn’t go to her wedding? I’d just hate myself for a few more hours then. That’s better than a lifetime of her hating me.”

“Fair. Look, if you want to leave, just say the word. We can go back to my place and drink.” Scott offered.

“Thanks. I need to stick it out. It’s Ellie.” The rest of the party was fine. I talked to Jill and Rob for a while. I even talked to Evan for a bit. It was awkward but we didn’t fight each other. If he suspected anything about my feelings for her, he didn’t say anything. I left that evening, wondering if he noticed Ellie looking for me and not him all afternoon and letting my brain go somewhere it hadn’t gone in years. At least, not willingly gone in years.

I held out some sick hope that maybe, just maybe, the engagement wouldn’t last. I knew it was wrong of me, but I couldn’t help it. This was the girl that I had been in love with since the eighth grade. That’s when she stopped being like one of the guys. When she became something more. Even though I knew it wasn’t an attainable thing, even back then, there was always this little spark of hope. She was the reason I didn’t really date in college. She was the reason no girl was worth bringing home to meet my mom. They were all compared to her. They would always be compared to her. I always hoped that she felt the same way about me as I felt about her. That hope vanished when I checked my mail after work that Wednesday. The fancy envelope and familiar script were enough of a giveaway. I didn’t need to open the card to know what it was. The invitation. I sighed as I went in the house and opened the card. I merely skimmed for the important dates and time. I knew in that moment that I had finally lost her. I also knew that I would go anyway as I signed, sealed, and mailed the RSVP that night. I had to go. It’s Ellie.

The day had finally arrived. I had been dreading this day for the better part of a year. It was the morning of Ellie’s wedding. I woke up, forced myself to get out of bed, made coffee, and showered. I stared at the black suit hanging on my bedroom door for fifteen minutes. Arguing with myself about if I was really going to do this was getting me nowhere closer to a decision. If I go, I’ll hate myself. If I don’t go, she’ll hate me. If I go, I’m losing her. If I don’t go, I’m losing her. If I go, then I’ll get to see her. If I don’t go, I won’t see her. If I go, I’ll have to hold my feelings in forever. If I don’t go, I’ll have to hold my feelings in forever. Finally, I came to a decision. I wasn’t willing to risk losing her because I couldn’t show up for her. If I wasn’t going to be able to be with her, at least I could still be in her life. Maybe. But I’d cross that bridge when I got to it. I put the suit on and fixed my hair. Then I went to the liquor cabinet and filled a flask with whiskey. I couldn’t drink it in church because if Ellie found out, she would kill me, Ten Commandments be damned.

I arrived at the church forty-five minutes before the ceremony was scheduled to start. I took a sip from the flask in my pocket on the city sidewalk. Spotting Bryce, I walked over to him. “Hey.”

“Hey man, how’s it going?”

“It’s going, you?”

“Same old, same old.” We chatted mindlessly for a few minutes until Justin showed up with Clay and Sasha. I’m shocked we haven’t gotten a happy announcement from them yet. She looks thrilled.

“Justin, Clay. Hey Sasha.” The trio greeted me, and Clay took Sasha inside. He seemed to pick up on the displeasure radiating off of her.

“Holding up okay?” Justin asked.

“Sure.”

“He’s at his best friend’s wedding.”

“I know. Just trying to be nice Bryce.” Zach showed up and broke some of the tension brewing between Bryce and Justin. Never thought I’d be happy to see Zach freaking Dempsey.

“So, I heard from one of the groomsmen that she looks beautiful.”

“Of course, she does. It’s Ellie. And it’s her wedding day.” I said. Scott found us milling in the back of the chapel and came over. He didn’t bother greeting us.

“Have you talked to her?” he asked.

“No. I wanted to give her space. In case I decided not to come.”

“Oh. You could go talk to her now.”

“And say what Scott?”

“Tell her.”

“Tell her what? It’s her wedding.”

“I know that.” I looked around to see if anyone was paying attention to our little group. They weren’t.

“Tell her what exactly Scott? How do you propose I go about telling her that I think she’s making a mistake and that I’ve been in love with her since we were thirteen? I’m not going to do that. Not today. Not ever. I’m not messing this up for her.” I whisper-yelled.

“He has a point Scott.” Zach pointed out.

“If I say something, I’ll lose her forever. So, to avoid losing my best friend, I’m going to sit here, watch her marry the man she loves, and wish her the best. And then I will go home, get very drunk, and sleep the hangover off for the next two days.”

Scott raised his hands in defeat. “Okay. I get your point. I’m not going to push you into doing something you don’t want to do.” Even though I made a good little speech, the closer we got to the ceremony, the more uncomfortable I became. I couldn’t stop the thoughts of wanting to do exactly what Scott suggested. I wanted nothing more than to go find her and tell her how I felt. But then I looked around the room and saw all of these people waiting excitedly to see Ellie and Evan get married and live happily ever after. I wasn’t going to be the reason that didn’t happen. But the closer we got to ceremony time, the closer I also got to losing my resolve to sit here and watch this happen. I couldn’t watch her marry someone else.

“I can’t do this.” I said suddenly.

“What?” Zach asked.

“I can’t watch her marry him. I can’t sit here and watch them get married. I can’t give her up like this.”

“What are you doing Monty?” Scott asked. I stood up from my seat.

“Tell Ellie that I’m sorry.” With nothing more to say, I turned around and walked out of the church. My friends didn’t try to follow me, too stunned to process what was happening. I got in my car and drove. I wasn’t sure where I was driving until I pulled into the lot.

I opened the door to the quaint café and saw that our table was available. Though, I suppose now it was more my table than our table. I lost her today. There was no way I was getting her back after what I did. I slipped my jacket off and hung it over a chair to save the spot, before going to the counter and ordering.

“Can I get a tall bourbon neat. Make it a double.” Monet’s had been licensed a few years ago.

“Sure thing. Rough day?” The barista asked.

“You have no idea.” I shook my head and took the drink she set in front of me. Back at what was now only my table, I pulled out my phone and scrolled though some old photos. A lot of them were of Ellie. She used to like to steal my phone and leave me with some selfies to surprise me when I opened the app. I scrolled through the seemingly endless stream of photos and ordered another bourbon when I finished the first one. My trip down memory lane was interrupted when I got a text from Bryce.

I need you to tell me where you are.

Why?

Because I do. Now tell me where you are.

Why?

Montgomery. You want to tell me where you are.

Fine. If you must know. I’m at Monet’s. Now why do you need to know?

I’m sorry about homecoming night. I hope this can make it up to you at least a little. I stared at the screen in confusion. Shaking my head, I put my phone down and went back to sipping the amber liquor. What the hell is he talking about? Fucking Bryce. I didn’t look up when I heard the bell chime above the door. Nor did I look up when I heard the click of high heels against the wood floors.

“Is this seat taken?” I heard a familiar voice, softly.

I looked up at her then, my eyes widening in surprise. What is she doing here? She is supposed to be getting married to Evan. What does this mean? Why is she here?

“I couldn’t do it if you weren’t there. You’re my best friend Monty.”

I scoffed quietly before replying, “it’s not taken, no. Sit if you want,” and taking another drink from my glass, not looking at her for fear of letting my guard down again, only to be crushed again.

“Hey,” she started, reaching for my hand. I looked at her hand and paused before letting her take it, “I mean it. I couldn’t marry him.”

“Why not?”

She was quiet for a moment. Noticing I had about fingers width of bourbon left in my glass, she grabbed it, downing the rest of it.

“Hey. I was drinking that.” I protested.

“I couldn’t marry Evan because he wasn’t you. And you weren’t there to say anything by the time I walked down the aisle. You were just going to give me away and live the rest of our lives wondering what if.” She told me while she stared into the bottom of the now empty glass.

“You- really?” Wait, how did she know I was there? “How did you know…?”

“Zach told me.” Of course, he did. I sighed internally.

“I know I wasn’t there Ellie. I just. I couldn’t sit there in that church and watch you marry him. And I knew I was and would be too much of a coward to stand up and say something when I saw you standing up there with him. I had to let you be happy.” I told her, trying to make her understand that I couldn’t be the reason she spent her life unhappy.

“Don’t you get it Montgomery? I wouldn’t have been happy. Not really. Or at least not for long. Not with Evan.”

“So why did you agree to marry him?”

“Because I thought it would be easier? My friends liked him, my family liked him, I liked him. I just thought that it would be easier to ignore my feelings. I could marry him, officially move to Atlanta, come home a couple of times a year, have a couple of kids. It all seemed easier than admitting to myself that I was in love with my best friend and if I really, truly wanted to be happy, I would need to be with him instead. And that admitting that would change everything. But I’ve learned over the past year that easy doesn’t always mean happy. And sometimes what we think is easy in the short term, isn’t always easy in the long term.”

Easier. Sure. She finally admitted it. She’s in love with me. I chuckled lowly, “took you long enough.”

She furrowed her brow at me, “what is that supposed to mean? I just confessed my love for you, and that’s all you have to say?”

“Yeah. It took you long enough to come to that conclusion. You were what? Half-way through the ceremony before you put a stop to it?” I asked, unable to keep the bitterness out of my tone.

“Not exactly. I knew a while ago. I spent the whole morning shaking and waiting for you to come and tell me that I was making a mistake. When you didn’t come, I thought… that you either didn’t feel the same way, or that you were going to do the kind thing for once and not say anything, but I thought at least you would be there. When I saw that you weren’t, I knew I couldn’t marry him. Even if it was the easy choice.” When I didn’t say anything she added, “you picked a great time to do the kind thing.”

“Yeah, well. You knew it would happen sometime. You owe me another shot by the way.” I muttered.

“Oh please. There was barely a fingers width in your glass.” she told me, sighing dramatically.

I looked at her through my eyelashes, “they won’t serve you that small an amount.” she rolled her eyes and stood up to go order me another shot. Before I could chicken out again, I surprised her when I grabbed her wrist to stop her, before pulling her down into my lap, she fell rather gracefully given the fit of her dress and kissing her deeply. I pulled away first and turned to look out the window. Our friends had gotten out of the car and were clapping and high fiving each other.

“How about that shot now?” I smirked.

#montgomery de la cruz #monty de la Cruz fanfic #monty imagine #monty x reader #montgomery de la cruz x oc #montgomery de la cruz imagine #montgomery de la cruz x reader #monty de la cruz #Marry Me #Thomas Rhett #one shot #original character #zach dempsey #Bryce Walker #Justin Foley

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vintervittrannerd · 5 years ago

Text

True as Sarcasm

By @vintervittrannerd for @whotheheckitheheck

Rating: General

Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark

Characters: Peter Parker, Tony Stark, James “Rhodey” Rhodes

Summary: The first time he said it, it was pure sass. But over time, the word started to feel more and more true, until Peter realizes that’s what Tony has become to him. A dad.

This is for @friendly-neighborhood-exchange, you can read it on Ao3 here :)

The first time he said it, it was pure sass.

He had been back as Spider-man for a few weeks, after the month-long grounding he had gotten after May found out about him swinging around Queens stopping crime after school.

The grounding had been a compromise. May had been absolutely furious with everyone when she first found out (Peter still winced at the memory of her shouting at Tony for what seemed like hours) and had forbidden Peter from going out as Spider-man ever again. Peter had been certain that that had been the end. Once May made up her mind, she very rarely changed it, and she had been angry enough that not even Peter’s otherwise quite successful puppy eyes had worked. But to his astonishment, Tony had, after letting May finishing her shouting, somehow convinced her to let Peter continue his vigilantism.

There had to be rules of course. Peter wasn’t entirely happy with all of them, but May and Tony had been in agreement and there was no way Peter could change their minds once they had teamed up against him. The rules included strict curfews for patrolling (10pm on school nights and midnight on weekends), school and homework had to come first, he had to make time for his friends and family, and his sleeping schedule had to still be appropriate for a teenager (though Peter suspected he had quite different views on appropriate bedtimes for a 15 year old than the adults had). He also had to get some actual training, which resulted in an agreement that he should spend every other weekend at the Avengers compound and train with any of the remaining Avengers (which meant either Tony or Rhodey, or occasionally Vision if he was there). He also had to continue his patrol reports, but now directly to Tony, and was under no circumstances allowed to tone down or hide an injury of any kind. Not that he could hide it anyway, because Karen kept a log and reported directly to FRIDAY, and if she deemed any injury severe it would alert Tony the minute it happened. Peter was not very happy about this particular rule, but found it best not to try and hack Karen again. At least not so soon. He figured he would give it a few months at least, and then he and Ned could see if they couldn’t change Karen’s coding without Friday (or Tony) noticing.

And then there was the grounding. Peter had hoped that the, in his opinion, absurd number of rules would be enough of a punishment, but May did not agree.

“The rules are just to let you be Spider-man at all. The grounding is for lying to my face for months.”

Peter couldn’t really argue with that, and besides he did feel bad for lying to her, so he accepted his punishment with minimal complaint.

And when he was finally allowed back out as Spider-man, things had been so different from how they’d been before the Vulture incident that Peter didn’t quite know how he should behave. Mr. Stark had taken a much bigger part in his life, way beyond what he actually had to according to his deal with May. Not only did he listen to all of Peter’s patrol reports, but he seemed to take a genuine interest in Peter's life, chatting with him about school and friends and Legos. He’d also started to invite Peter to the compound more often, not just for his training sessions, but to work in the lab with him and one time just for a movie night (Tony had claimed that he just needed a third person so a majority could vote against Rhodey's movie suggestions, but after a few minutes of mock betrayal when Peter sided with Rhodey, he had just decided that voting was a bad idea anyway and they should just take turns choosing what to watch on movie nights). And Peter found that he grew more and more comfortable around Mr. Stark, his nervousness and insecurity slipping away and being replaced by a familiarity that he hadn’t expected but definitely welcomed.

Which was how, a few weeks after he’d been allowed out as Spider-man again, Peter found himself in the compound kitchen after a training session with Rhodey while Tony cut up bread rolls and fussed over Peter like a mother hen.

“Have you eaten yet? It’s important to eat after you’ve trained, especially with your metabolism. We don’t want you passing out on us now, do we? Also, water,” Tony tosses a water bottle at Peter and then continues to rummage around in the fridge, pulling out a package of roast beef “you need plenty of water after working out, so drink up.”

Peter can’t help himself, the situation of THE Tony Stark preparing a sandwich for him and pestering him about drinking water is so surreal that the sass just slips out.

“Yes dad.”

Rhodey snorts behind him and Tony turns to glare at the both of them.

“Very funny. But I have a deal with your scary Aunt and she will have my head if I break it. And I happen to be rather fond of my head.”

“Your deal includes making sandwiches?”

“My deal includes keeping you alive” Tony says with a stern look at Peter, who has a very hard time keeping himself from laughing. “Now shut up and eat your food.”

Peter rolls his eyes but doesn’t protest. He is starving after all.

***

It becomes a thing after that.

In fairness, Peter only sarcastically calls him dad when Tony is really helicopter parenting. In other words, all the time.

And really, who can blame Peter? Tony is, after all, the worst case of helicopter parent that Peter’s ever seen. Seriously, Peter has had four parents during his fifteen years on this planet and none of them has been quite as overprotective as his mentor is.

Peter doesn’t really mind it though. It’s kinda nice to have someone else that looks out for him, besides May. It’s mostly just a fun thing to mock Tony with, especially since he insists that he’s not a helicopter parent and is just being a “responsible adult” (at that, Rhodey had laughed so hard that he nearly fell of the chair he was sitting on and Tony had thrown a half-made sandwich at him).

He doesn’t know when or how it happened. But somewhere during the months of lab days and movie nights and texting each other stupid jokes, the “dad” had stopped being sarcastic and started being…something more. Peter wasn’t really sure what it was, only that Tony fricking Stark, Iron-man, genius, billionaire, philanthropist and arguably the best Avenger, had stopped feeling like just a mentor and started to feel something that was much closer to a real dad. It terrified Peter, but at the same time it made him feel safe and calm. Like he had someone he could lean on. Someone who would never leave him to face the world alone.

And that was precisely the reason he was terrified. Because Peter knew all too well that father figures did leave, even if it was unwillingly. His first father, Richard Parker, had left, died in a plane crash when Peter was four and he still missed him terribly sometimes. His other father, Uncle Ben, had also left, bleeding to death in an alley while Peter held him. And the grief he had for Ben was something he couldn’t even put words on, because it was mixed with guilt. Guilt, because he was the reason Ben had been in that alley in the first place. Guilt, because even with his powers, Peter couldn’t save his life. And guilt, because even though Ben had been his father in every sense of the word and he had loved him so much, Peter had never told him. He’d never called Ben Dad, or told him that he saw him as a father. In his mind, Peter knew Ben must have known anyway, just as Peter knew Ben had seen him as a son even if he never said so. But in his heart, there’s still a stab of guilt. He should’ve told Ben. He should’ve told him how much he meant to Peter.

Peter Parker knows that father figures leave, unexpectedly and painfully, and he knows the guilt that can follow. He knows he can’t always prevent the leaving, but he can prevent the guilt of never telling. And so, he starts to make a plan.

***

Peter has never been this nervous in his entire life. He almost asks Happy to turn the car around and take him back to the apartment at least twelve times on his way to the compound, and when the elevator doors open up to reveal the corridor that leads to the lab, he almost asks FRIDAY to take him back up again.

But he doesn’t. He steps out of the elevator with the small gift bag clutched in one hand and takes a deep breath. He reminds himself that he’s a superhero and that he’s supposed to be brave and that really, this shouldn’t even be something to be afraid of in the first place. Really, it’s just a small present. It’s just Tony. It just happens to be Father’s Day.

Tony looks up from his workbench when Peter enters the lab and blinks several times at him. He looks disheveled and tired and Peter suspects that he has spent at least the past 24 hours in the lab.

“Peter? Is something wrong? Wait, shit, did I miss that this was a compound weekend?”

He looks stressed and guilty enough that Peter rushes to reassure him.

“Oh, no, everything’s fine! Just… Rhodey said you weren’t busy today” (actually Rhodey’s exact words had been “It’ll do him good to be dragged out of his lab for a while, he could use the break”) “and so I asked Happy to drive me here cause… uhm, I just… I wanted to… I-I mean I just thought…” Why can’t he form a full sentence? His brain refuses to be of any help at all, so Peter gives up on trying and just holds out the gift bag to Tony “Here.”

Tony accepts the bag with an odd look on his face. “What’s this?” When Peter just blushes and doesn’t answer, Tony carefully pulls the gift out of the bag.

It’s a mug, the kind of mug that you could get in any gift shop, red with the words “World’s Greatest Dad” written on it. Only Peter had made it a bit more personal and had drawn a small golden Ironman helmet to the side and added the word Iron, so the mug now says “World’s Greatest IronDad”. Tony’s eyes go wide when he sees it. He stares at it, blinks slowly and continues staring as if he can’t quite believe it’s real.

Peter wonders if it is too much. If it is too little. If Tony will just assume it is a joke gift. If, maybe, it would be better if he thinks it’s a joke gift.

Tony is still staring at the mug.

Peter thinks maybe he hates it. Maybe he’ll look at Peter and tell him to take his mug and all its implications and get out of his lab. Maybe he’ll distance himself from Peter again. Maybe…

Tony sniffs and turns away, blinking furiously and swiping a hand at his eyes.

Now it’s Peter’s turn to stare.

“Mr. Stark…are you…are you crying?”

“No” Tony sniffs again, and his voice sounds suspiciously shaky. “It’s just that the air in here is very dry and it makes my eyes water. It’s a perfectly normal thing.”

“The air humidity is at a very normal level,” FRIDAY comments. “It should not affect your eyes in any way, boss.”

Tony glares at the ceiling and mutters something that sounds like “snitch”. Peter can’t stop himself from snorting and Tony turns his glare at him instead. However, the glare quickly melts into a look so soft and full of love that not even Peter's overanxious brain can doubt it. And finally, he dares to say the words he came here to say, the simple yet terrifying words he’d turned over and over in his head, wondering if he had any right to say them. The look in Tony's eyes wipes away all of Peter’s worries. So, he says it, and he means every single word.

“Happy Father’s Day, dad.”

#vintervittran writes #friendly neighbourhood exchange #i have no idea what this is to be honest #its just 2k words of fluff #like so much fluff #(and a tiny bit of angst just cause i couldn't help myself)#but really its mostly fluff #tony acting as peters father figure #peter calls tony dad #and its sarcastic #until its not #fathers days gifts #tony is a helicopter parent #irondad #fanfiction #peter parker #tony stark

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kirah69 · 4 years ago

Text

Hills Animal Home [Petopher]

Day 3: "Stop coming back"

For the @petopher-events

Tags: pre-slash, animal shelter, mentions of covid-19

[It's not betaed so if you find any mistake, let me know]

[AO3 link]

Hills Animal Home

The Hills Animal Home was an animal shelter that had opened at the beginning of the pandemic. Many pet owners abandoned their animals with the stupid idea that they could get infected by them. The shelter saved them from almost certain death. The place was big, it was on the outskirts of Beacon Hills, bordering to other two towns. The main building had space for a veterinary clinic with an operating room and spacious rooms for sick animals. Behind the building there were several square yards divided in areas for cats, dogs and other animals. There were big kennels for them to sleep outside if they so wanted and also closed huts with beds if it was cold outside. There were also large play areas with little trees to climb for the cats and lots of toys to play for the dogs. And everything was clean and cared for thanks to all the workers there. They did not receive any help from the State or the County, but it was rumored that the owner was some millionaire animal lover.

Chris hadn't paid much attention to it, but as the pandemic dragged on and things in Beacon Hills had settled down, he felt lonely and bored. He had had dogs when he was younger. Well, they were hunting dogs, and he wasn't allowed to treat them with love like any other family would do. He wanted to do it right this time.

He went to Hills Animal Home early on a weekday, when he was less likely to meet other people there. He put on his mask before getting out of the car. There was a woman in her seventies at the reception desk, her white hair in a bun and dressed in a striking pink flower shirt. She gave him a big smile as he approached the counter, or that was what he thought giving that he couldn't see her face behind the mask.

“Welcome! What can I do for you?” she asked.

“I want to buy a dog.”

“Adopt.”

“Huh?” Chris frowned.

“We don't sell dogs, we have them up for adoption,” she explained. “Would you like to adopt a dog?”

“Yes, I... I want to adopt a dog, please.”

He suspected they would charge him some money later with whatever excuse, but he already intended to pay so he didn't care. The woman called someone through an intercom, and another woman appeared. This one was a bit younger but not by much. She was wearing a skirt suit and had a folder in her hand.

“Hello, I'm Miranda. And you are...”

“Argent. Chris Argent.”

“Pleased to meet you,” she said with a little bow without even holding out her hand. Chris had to consciously refrain from doing so. “Come with me, I have some questions for you before we consider you qualified for adoption.”

Chris opened his mouth and closed it again. What was she talking about? He only wanted a dog.

As he learned in the following minutes, it wasn't that easy. Not here at least. These dogs had suffered a lot from the abandonment and even abuse, and they had no intention of handing them over to the first guy who walked through the door. She asked him a lot of questions about his daily life, about his house, his job, his previous pets, his family... He commented that it was a bit invasive (even more than a job interview), and Miranda told him that he was not obliged to answer, but then he would leave without a dog.

It seemed that his answers were satisfying enough, and he was allowed to go see the dogs. What he didn't expect was to find Peter Hale there. He was dressed in casual clothes (more casual than Chris had ever seen him) and was playing with the dogs. There was at least eight of them jumping around him while others ran after the balls he threw at them. He had a big smile on his face. A real smile. Chris had never seen him like that.

When Peter felt someone approaching, he took a mask out of his pocket and put it on. It was strange since Chris was pretty sure that werewolves couldn't get infected. Then Peter realized who he was and stood still. As if following his lead, all the dogs stopped jumping and running and looked toward Chris.

“To what do I owe this visit?” he asked coming closer.

“Mr. Argent is qualified for adoption,” Miranda said, handing Peter a clipboard.

“Thank you, Miranda,” Peter nodded and took the clipboard without taking his eyes from Chris. “You can go back inside.”

“Okay. Good luck, Mr. Hale,” she said and left.

Chris wasn't sure why he needed luck, but he nodded anyway.

“So you came to adopt a dog,” Peter said. It wasn't a question. He took a look at Miranda's report and left it on a table full of toys and treats.

“Do I get to choose?” Chris asked and wasn't surprised by Peter's answer.

“Of course not,” he said with a snort. “You only get to choose if you want a small one or a big one.”

“I don't really care, but I have enough space for a big one.”

“Good. Get one of those and play with them,” Peter said, pointing to the toys on the table.

Chris didn't know why, but he just took one of the knotted ropes and followed Peter to a more open area. The dogs relaxed as soon as Peter did and some of them came to Chris and started playing with him. Peter played with them too, and the man looked the most relaxed Chris had ever seen him, even if the 'wolf kept an eye on him all the time. He looked almost... happy?

Chris wasn't sure how long they were there and for what exactly, but he was having fun so he didn't mind. At some point, Peter walked up to him and with just a couple of gestures, all the dogs turned away except for one. It was dark brown, and Chris couldn't guess what breed, probably a mixed-breed, but he didn't care.

“This is Burger,” Peter said, petting its head. “I think he'll be perfect for you.”

“Burger,” Chris repeated arching an eyebrow. “Can I change his name?”

“No. And you can't turn him into a hunting dog either. I'll make sure of it,” Peter said with a clear threat in his voice.

“I won't. I don't work like that anymore,” Chris answered truthfully.

Peter looked at him, and maybe he was satisfied with his steady heartbeat because he just nodded.

“Let's go to my office.”

The three of them went back into the building and got into a small office with windows to the back yard. Peter sat behind the desk and Chris in front of him with Burger at his feet.

“You're the owner of this place, right?” Chris asked while Peter took out some documents.

“What gave it away?” Peter said sarcastic.

“Why?” That was what he had been wondering from minute one.

Peter shrugged.

“Because I can.”

“A lot of people could, but you did it. Why?”

Peter left some papers in front of him and leaned back in the chair with a pensive expression. He probably wasn't thinking of his reasons for opening an animal shelter, but if he should tell him.

“Cora left, Derek left, most of the McCall pack has left, including the alpha. And now this fucking pandemic and the first thing people do is abandon their pets as if they were not part of the family. The same assholes that refuse to wear a mask,” Peter said almost with a growl.

Pack. That was what this was for Peter, a pack. He was there for the same reason as Chris, he felt lonely.

“Why do you wear it, a mask?” Chris asked curiously while he started to fill the papers.

Peter seemed grateful for the change of subject.

“I may not get sick, but I don't know if I can carry it and infect others. Although it's mostly as an example for my workers.”

“I didn't think you were so aware.”

Chris signed the papers and gave them back. Peter was looking at him with narrowed eyes.

“You don't know me at all, Argent.” Peter got up and went to the office door. “Take care of him, let us know if you need anything and don't forget about the vaccines. You can vaccinate him here or at your own vet,” he said almost like a robot.

Chris hooked Burger to a new leash and left the office with him. Peter disappeared through a door, and Chris took his new dog home.

Not even three weeks later, Chris was back at the Hills Animal Home. Again in the morning of a weekday. Peter appeared immediately at the reception desk with an angry look.

“If you're here to return him-.”

“No, no, Burger is wonderful,” Chris hurried to say. “He's quickly adapted to the house and is a fantastic boy.”

“I'm glad. Why are you here then?” Peter relaxed a bit and rounded the desk towards him.

“I thought... Maybe Burger would feel better with a friend.”

Yeah, that's why he was there, there was no other reason. Right.

“Well, dogs are pack animals so yes, I think it'd be a good idea. Beside, you have the means to take care of both.”

Peter gestured for Chris to follow him, and they went to the dogs enclosure.

“Should I take Burger too,” Chris asked at the door.

“Of course, it's gonna be his companion after all.”

And just like that, they spent a couple of hours playing with the dogs. Peter laughed, he really laughed even if Chris could not see it with the mask, but the sound of it was... The dogs, he had to focus on the dogs. Yeah, he was there for the dogs. Fuck.

Chris left the shelter with a golden retriever with only three legs that jumped higher than any other dog. His name was Nigel. And no, he couldn't change it.

“Stop coming back!” Peter almost whined when Chris returned to the shelter two weeks later. “You're not getting another dog, two are enough for now!”

Chris opened his mouth and closed it again. Burger and Nigel were with him and greeted Peter cheerfully.

“I wasn't... I didn't want another... dog...” Okay, now he didn't have an excuse to be there.

“Then what?” Peter asked, crossing his arms. Chris' eyes went straight to his cleavage (you couldn't blame him). Why was he wearing a V-neck instead of casual clothes like the other days? And why did it have to be so wide? “Oh, I see.”

“What?” He was glad that the mask partially hid his face. Surely he had blushed (which was ridiculous for a man his age).

“You don't need to adopt a dog to get a date.”

“I-I don't-,” Chris stammered.

“I can smell it, Chris, even through the mask. Knowing you, you'd fill your house with dogs before you muster up the courage to ask me out,” Peter sighed, rolling his eyes.

He gave the dogs a treat and turned to the back door while Chris looked at him speechless.

“Pick me up at five!” he said before disappearing.

Well, he now had two dogs and a date. That was a lot more than what he had five weeks ago.

#Teen wolf #Petopher #chris argent #peter hale #fanfic #fanfiction #covid mention #covid19 #animals #dogs #pre slash #gay #yaoi #petopher events

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apocryphalfemme · 5 years ago

Text

Designatory Date Night

Well, I lied. I finally played Mass Effect: Andromeda a week or so back and I’m here to report that I love Vetra Nyx so completely that I was inspired to write some simply brain-rotting fluff. (An entire two years ahead of schedule, I know!) Und so, I give you Designatory Date Night. Read it below the cut, or on AO3.

Love,

Clithroe

““Pathfinder?”

“Yeah, SAM?”

“If I may ask, what is it you’re thinking of doing?”

“I’m thinking...” As she recalled her earlier train of thought, Ryder’s face lit up. “I’m thinking I’ve got an idea for the best date night, ever.””

Ryder leverages the privileges of her job to show Vetra a good time.

“Anwar, what the hell am I looking at?”

“It appears to be a... a solar system, Pathfinder,” Suvi murmured. “The solar system, in fact. I believe we’ve found Avaarus.” Ryder drummed her fingers against her console, brimming with nervous anticipation.

“But it’s in the middle of nowhere. We’re not even in Heleus space anymore, right Kallo?” she asked.

“Confirmed, Pathfinder. We’re in deep space, just a ways outside of home. I should mention that the next known celestial cluster is the Boone Traverse and we’re not getting anywhere near there without a mass relay,” Kallo said. “Whatever this is, it’s a lone entity.”

“So... what?” Ryder breathed, disbelieving. “Heleus just lost an entire star and a handful of planets? Did it wander off when the angara weren’t looking or something?”

“Ryder,” Suvi piped up. “It’s possible that what we’re seeing here is one of the more dramatic effects of the Scourge. If Avaarus really was originally located where angaran maps say, then the system may have been wholly ejected from the cluster as the Scourge spread.” Their pilot chirped an incredulous noise.

“Is that even possible?”

“Come on Kallo, two whole years in Andromeda and you’re still asking questions like that?” Suvi teased. Kallo cut back with something sarcastic, but Ryder wasn’t listening; her attention had been caught by what was orbiting their runaway star.

“Okay, no, that can’t be right. Avaarus is supposed to have four orbiting bodies. That,” she pointed, “is at least seven.” That got their attention. Kallo and Suvi’s conversation petered out as they each ran their own, individual counts of this bizarre, seemingly truant system. Kallo was first to break the silence.

“With eyes alone, I’m actually counting nine, Pathfinder”

“I think I’m seeing thirteen,” Suvi reported. SAM’s vox crackled to life over the bridge speakers, only to prove them all wrong.

“Pathfinder, there are at least sixteen distinguishable celestial bodies orbiting this star.” Kallo gaped, shocked into silence. Suvi giggled, a tad manic. Ryder swore.

“Holy shit. SAM, what… are they? Where did they come from?”

“The majority appear to be planets in varying states of compositional decay, Pathfinder. Preliminary scans indicate that many may have once been capable of bearing life. Cross-referencing with what remains of old angaran star charts and the inferable ejection path of the star Avaarus, I believe it is possible that we have discovered what happened to several planets that the angara report as having mysteriously disappeared over the last several centuries.”

“Holy shit,” Ryder swore again, for good measure. “So if this really is Avaarus… I guess our friend here decided it wasn’t going out alone, huh? Stole a few planets on the way out the door.”

“Ryder, the implications of this are incredible,” Suvi babbled, ecstatic. “We knew the Scourge was powerful, but to learn that it can generate gravitational effects significant enough to move entire stars… forget terraforming, this is stellaforming!”

“Tann’s going to have an aneurysm,” Ryder chuckled.

“Don’t forget why we’re here, guys. We’ve still got a job to do,” Kallo said, gently reminding them of their purpose in hunting down this most elusive system.

“Right, yes.” Ryder ran a hand through her hair before tapping her mic. “Jaal, can you come up to the bridge? I think we may have found what we’ve been looking for.” Their resident angaran’s voice crackled immediately back.

“Oh, really now? Of course! On my way, Ryder.”

“God, it isn’t half pretty, is it?” murmured Suvi, completely ignoring her instruments panel in favor of staring at the solar system projected before them with a slightly glazed look.

Ryder had to admit that her science officer’s assessment was dead on: Avaarus was a gorgeous system and that was putting it lightly. Around the titanic, vividly blue-white star, sharply violet shades of gas spiraled out in a tight corkscrew. At the edge of the heliosphere, thousands upon tens of thousands of asteroids spun in a truly magnificent debris disk. All throughout, a plethora of mostly ringed planets hung suspended in the void, bathed in astral gases, caught in the midst of their aeons-long cosmic dance. It was a perfect celestial tableau. The fact that Ryder had seen dozens of equally stunning systems did nothing to detract from the moment; this sort of thing was enough to steal the breath from your lungs and, for her, it still did, every time.

Vetra would love this, she thought. Before that particular idea could go anywhere, however, the quiet reverie they had fallen into was interrupted by the opening whoosh of the bridge doors.

“Alright Ryder, show me what you’ve got!” Jaal called cheerily, sauntering up to them. Ryder turned and grinned.

“Hey, Jaal. Allow me to present, for your consideration... the long-lost Avaarus system!” she said, spinning back to fling her arms wide. “Or at least, we think it is.” Jaal laughed.

“It’s a start, to be certain. Any luck in finding the colony?”

“Anj Guhloan was supposedly on the fourth planet from Avaarus, right?”

“Correct.” Ryder hummed an acknowledgement and cast a critical eye upon the projection.

“Right, then. SAM, scan everything that could be big enough for an angaran settlement to hide on. With all the crap this star picked up on the way out, who knows if Avaarus IV is still where it should be.” Only after the merest second of delay, her AI chirped his response.

“Done. I have identified what may be the remains of an angaran satellite in orbit around the fifth planet.”

“Bingo. Kallo, I know this place is a minefield, but can you get us in closer?”

“Oh, please,” Kallo scoffed. “I could fly through this blindfolded.”

“As entertaining as that sounds, I’d rather not be on the ship while you attempted it,” Jaal protested. Kallo chuckled to himself.

“Have it your way. Approach vector clear, Pathfinder; taking us in.” The ever-present hum of the drive core pitched up a little as Kallo wove through the debris disk and into the core of the heliosphere. Ryder had to hand it to him: while he could be a little over-sure at times, he was, inarguably, a pilot of sterling quality. The Tempest progressed at a healthy pace through a chunk of space so dense with detritus that a lesser navigator would have been reduced to crawl.

It was only a few short minutes before they were close enough to the planet in question for Suvi to start taking more detailed scans. Ryder was less than thrilled to see her science officer’s face falling as she pored over her gathered readings.

“That’s not a happy expression, Anwar. What are you getting?” Suvi muttered something unintelligible and tapped her mic to ping their AI.

“SAM, can you get me a scan of the star, please?”

“Of course, Ms. Anwar.” As her eyes flicked across the new influx of data, Suvi spat something foul.

“Keep us in the loop, Suvi, what have you got?” Ryder asked.

“Bad news, I’m afraid.” Suvi twisted in her seat to face them. “It looks like the star Avaarus is well on its way to becoming a superluminous supernova; this system’s going to go off like a firecracker sometime in the next couple centuries. Avaarus IV - or, Avaarus V now, I guess - if it ever really was Anj Guhloan, has been a molten, liquid hunk of rock for a long time now. I’m sorry, guys. The planet’s cooked.” A hand pressed to her forehead, Ryder sighed.

“Damn. I’m sorry, Jaal. That is not the news I wanted to give the angara.” She was surprised when Jaal smiled at her, apparently far less distraught than she had expected.

“Do not worry, my friend. The angara, myself included, have accepted that, between the Scourge, the kett, and our own occasional stupidity, many of the settlements that once were are now undoubtedly gone. Though I am disappointed the lost colony of Anj Guhloan was not waiting for us, I am thankful to have borne witness to its fate. The angara who lived here will not be forgotten, for we now know what happened to them.” Ryder smiled wistfully back.

“Well, I’m glad we could at least give you that. SAM, send a report to Aya and update the Initiative’s maps.” Ryder rolled her neck, eliciting a disconcerting crack in the process. She groaned. “And on that note, I think we’re done for the day. Kallo, Suvi, go eat something and get some sleep. And…” she trailed off as she checked her omnitool. “Oh my god, guys, tell me when we’ve been going for longer than eight hours!” Kallo and Suvi, now standing and working out their own muscular kinks, looked at her in surprise.

“I, uh… I didn’t notice, Pathfinder,” Kallo murmured.

“How long have we…?” Suvi asked.

“I believe you three have been up here flying for more than ten hours, actually. Last I checked, that is,” Jaal said, grinning. Head cradled in her hands, Ryder heaved another groan, this one infinitely more weary than the last.

“Then remind me instead to set an alarm next time, or something. Alright, clear the bridge you lot, I’m going to get enough hell as it is from Lexi about overworking you.”

“Oh, come on, Ryder,” Kallo argued.

Suvi cut over him, to say: “This is what we signed up for!” Ryder pointed at the door, but couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across her face.

“Out, now! Food and then bed; we can poke around the system in more detail tomorrow. Jaal, make sure they get some of that roast Drack made yesterday down their throats?”

“You’ve got it, Ryder.” Saint that he was, Jaal gently but firmly shepherded her protesting bridge crew out and down to the galley. The door slid shut behind them, leaving the Pathfinder by herself.

Sometimes, you don’t realize how tired you are until you’ve a second to yourself; the newfound silence afforded Ryder both a blissful moment of recuperation and the recognition of the fact that she was, indeed, knackered. She stretched her arms - damn, if she wasn’t stiff - and turned her attention back to the now rediscovered Avaarus system. Exhausted as she was, she didn’t quite want to leave it yet, especially for something so trivial as sleep. (Yes, she was entirely a hypocrite). There was something equal parts forlorn and magical about watching the silver-blue star floating alone in the void; so far away from everything. And yet, as if in defiance of its exile, Avaarus burned all the more beautiful. Though, it wasn’t really alone, was it? It had its stolen planets to comfort it through the coming explosion. In much the same way as the ultimate fate of Anj Guhloan was beheld by Jaal, so too would the fate of Avaarus be beheld by its stolen audience. It was a strangely reassuring thought. As she gazed at the plethora of elliptical orbiters, a thought occurred to her.

“Hey, SAM.”

“Yes, Ryder?”

“What’s the plan for these planets?”

“Initiative protocol dictates that they be scanned, designated, and marked on Initiative maps. Planets of note - those that could be potentially habitable or those with valuable resources - will be highlighted and the relevant officials made aware of their existence. In the case of these particular planets, considering they are molten slag bar none and located a significant distance from the Heleus cluster, it is unlikely the Initiative will take any interest beyond the academic. There may be some investigation into the stellaforming effects of the Scourge, as Ms. Anwar puts is it, but that is where it will likely end.”

“So this is as far as things go for them, huh? At least, as far as we’re concerned?”

“That is correct, Pathfinder. The Initiative has more immediate concerns.”

“That’s kind of sad. Something so beautiful deserves a bit more attention than... wait, SAM, what exactly are these planets being designated?”

“I have tagged the orbiting bodies, in order, as H-977, H-978, H-979a, H-979b, H-.” Before he could get too far into his alphanumeric monologue, Ryder cut him off.

“Okay, right, thanks SAM.” Chewing at the inside of her cheek, she stared off into space, thoughtful.

“Pathfinder?”

“Yeah, SAM?”

“If I may ask, what is it you’re thinking of doing?”

“I’m thinking...” As she recalled her earlier train of thought, Ryder’s face lit up. “I’m thinking I’ve got an idea for the best date night, ever.”

“Ah. I believe I understand. Would you like me to ask Ms. Nyx to come up to the bridge?”

“Nah, I’ll go grab her.” Ryder turned around and made for the door, but was arrested in her escape by SAM once more.

“Have fun, Ryder.” Ryder beamed.

“Thanks, buddy.”

With a hop, skip, and a slap to the face to keep herself awake, Ryder was away. She didn’t bother with the ladder to the lower deck - as she jogged onto the clear plex of the catwalk, she unceremoniously jumped off the side to land on the ground below. A combination of her biotics and sleep deprivation was enough to negate the jarring impact entirely and in the span of a heartbeat, she was off down the hall. As she hustled past the med bay, she caught at the very edge of her vision Lexi’s head poking out to investigate the noise.

“Ryder, what on earth did you just-.”

“No time, doc! Everything’s fine, don’t worry about it.”

“Ryder, you know full well that your telling me not to worry about something only ever makes me worry more!” But Ryder was gone and heading into the cargo bay before Lexi could get too far into giving a proper scolding. Lucky for her, it looked like just about everyone else was asleep - no one was around to see her eager jog over to what had become Vetra’s office.

Slowing to a stop, Ryder took a moment to catch her breath. She didn’t want to look excessively keen - though in a committed relationship she and Vetra may have been, she still had a calm and collected reputation to maintain. It didn’t matter that Vetra knew it all to be, by and large, a conscious affect: it was the principle of the thing. The Pathfinder was always composed - even in the face of giddying affection. Once she had herself together, Ryder headed in. The door slid open to reveal Vetra hunched over a mess of crates. She was, quite impressively, stacking them with just the one hand while simultaneously checking them against the list projected on her omnitool, all while muttering obscenities under her breath. Ryder crossed her arms and leaned against the frame, indulging in having caught her partner unawares and in her element. Vetra was much more relaxed when other people - Ryder aside - weren’t around and it gave Ryder a sort of tender joy to see her so at ease. But of course, such sappy sentiments would never stop her from teasing her girlfriend, not at all. As Vetra straightened back up, Ryder announced her presence in as serious a tone as she could fake.

“Ms. Nyx, your assistance is urgently required on the bridge.” Vetra turned around to meet Ryder’s gaze, crossing her own arms in the process.

“Is it now, Pathfinder?” she said, with a poorly constrained smile.

“Indeed. Life and death situation; fate of the cluster at stake. The usual.”

“Mmm, I’m sure. Unfortunately for you, Ryder, it just so happens that I’m currently having the time of my life processing requisitions. Can your little ‘situation’ measure up to the sheer euphoria of cataloguing rolls of toilet paper?” Vetra deadpanned the statement so completely that Ryder found herself staring at her partner in disbelief, mouth dropping. Vetra, clearly delighting in Ryder’s bewilderment, had the gall to wink at her. Too tired to retort, Ryder finally broke. She sprang forward, proffering a hand and letting all her excitement shine past the bit.

“Oh my god, come on already, you silly turian, I want to show you something!” Vetra smiled in turn and reached out to take said hand.

“Yeah, alright, I was getting pretty sick of checking for delivery discrepancies anyway. So what have you - whoah!” As soon as she had a hold on her, Ryder tugged Vetra into a jog, pulling her out of the office and around onto the cargo lift. She punched the ascent and the thing began its slow, clunky climb. Unfortunately, slow and clunky was something of an understatement; Ryder found herself tapping her foot with impatience as they rose ploddingly.

“Excited, are we?” Vetra poked.

“Trust me, babe, you’re going to love this.”

“If it’s whatever’s responsible for you smiling like this, then I’m sure I will.” Vetra slung an arm around Ryder’s shoulders, who in turn threw an arm around Vetra’s waist; overt affection came more easily when they were alone. Additionally, being wrapped around each other had the added benefit of slowing Ryder down a bit: pulled close to Vetra’s side, she was forced to adopt a slightly more sane pace as they made their way back through the ship and up to the bridge. Ryder didn’t mind. It was totally worth trading speed for. When they eventually came up on the bridge doors, Ryder called a halt before they could enter.

“Okay, close your eyes.”

“Seriously?”

“Hey, I did it that time you tried to kill me with a blackened piece of cow.”

“Fair point.”

“Look, I’d cover them for you if I could, but I can’t help the fact that you’re absurdly tall.” Vetra grinned evilly down at her.

“Well, I can’t help the fact that you’re a shrimp. And don’t pretend you don’t love it, short stack.”

“Yeah, I do, now close ‘em, Nyx!” Ryder muttered, her face flushing a little as Vetra eyed her. Apparently sufficiently appeased, her partner deigned to close her eyes. Ryder guided her temporarily sightless charge through the doors and to the fore of the bridge. With her implant, she signaled SAM to collapse the navigation panel and guided Vetra to sit on the now available ledge before joining her by her side.

“Okay, you can open your eyes.” Vetra did so and promptly gasped.

“Oh, wow.”

“Right?”

“That’s...”

“Right?!”

“Hot damn, Ryder. That’s gorgeous.” Ryder hummed an affirmation, thoroughly pleased with herself. “You know how to pick ‘em, babe.”

“What can I say? I’ve got exceptional taste in star systems.” Vetra elbowed her affectionately.

“You sure do.”

“So... do you wanna name them?” Vetra spluttered, incredulously amused.

“Be serious.”

“I am serious!”

“Ryder, is that even something you’re allowed to do?”

“Aw, c’mon, I’m the Pathfinder. If anyone can get away with naming a couple of planets, I think it’s me.”

“You’re ridiculous.” Vetra shook her head, but Ryder knew she just about had her. Her partner just needed the right incentive.

“I’m giving you dibs on naming the first one.” That got her. Vetra opened her mouth to speak, closed it again, and peered curiously into space.

“Which one’s that?” Ryder snorted and pointed.

“Purple-blue ice giant with the three moons, very edge of the heliosphere.”

“Oh, you spoil me.”

“I try. So, give us a name! What are you thinking?”

“Hmm. I’m thinking… Not Dead Yet.” Ryder stifled a chuckle.

“Why that?”

“Looks like it’s almost been ejected from the system, but the big bastard’s clinging on something fierce.”

“A name the Initiative can relate to, I’m sure.”

“That’s the idea. Alright, your turn, oh mighty Pathfinder. What’re we going to call that one?” The planet in question was a chthonian-in-progress; a gas giant in close orbit to Avaarus, its emerald-colored atmosphere in the process of being stripped away to reveal the molten aluminum-iron core.

“Stinky.” Vetra burst out laughing.

“What?! You’re messing with me.”

“Look at it! That thing is trailing bright green gas like no one’s business.”

“Ryder, I’m no scientist, but I’m pretty certain that’s burning atmosphere.”

“Yeah and it’s stinking up the neighborhood as it goes.” Vetra heaved a much-put upon sigh, but the breadth of her toothy turian grin and the fluttering of her mandibles betrayed her amusement.

“Alright, fine. Stinky it is. Which one next?”

“That one. Whatcha got?” The planet Ryder was indicating was another gas giant, though this one was significantly prettier than the newly-dubbed Stinky. Ivory clouds of gas billowed across it, cut though with the occasional twisting carmine storm. It was a bloody, alabaster gem, stark against the black. Vetra considered it thoughtfully.

“Would I sound crazy if I said it kind of looks like my sister?”

“Y’know... no, I see it, it kind of does.” Ryder and Vetra gave each other a dubious, slant-eyed look at exactly the same time and erupted in giggles.

“Spirits, babe, Sid’s going to flip if I tell her I named a planet after her!”

“All the more reason to do it!” Vetra huffed.

“Screw it. Planet, I dub thee Sidera.”

“She’ll be thrilled.” Falling victim to a yawn of massive proportions, Ryder leaned her head against Vetra’s shoulder and fought to keep her eyes open. “Go on, you can do the next one too.” Vetra cast her eyes around the system, searching for her next victim.

“How about that protoplanet?” she asked. As Ryder murmured her sleepy approval, Vetra curled an arm around her. “Well, as long as I’m being all sentimental… Prag’rath.” Ryder scrunched her nose in confusion.

“Prag’rath?”

“The batarian mercenary who taught me to shoot.”

“Aw, that’s sweet.”

“She’d kick my ass for it.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell.” Though there were yet planets in need of names, tiredness and the sheer splendor of the system had Vetra and Ryder lapsing into a warm and comfortable silence, pressed close together. The Avaarus system slowly and silently spun before them, its striking beauty framed by the stars so incredibly remote in the distance.

“Is this something normal couples do?” Ryder asked. Vetra peered down at her.

“Naming planets? I mean... no, probably not.” Vetra brought Ryder’s hand up to her lips, pressing a kiss to the back of it. “But I’d like to think it’s very us. This was a lot of fun, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“I’m glad.” Ryder settled further against her partner and finally stopped fighting the exhaustion of the day, letting her eyes droop shut. Though already half-asleep, she whispered, “Vetra?”

“Yeah, babe?”

“I love you.” The last things Ryder registered before finally succumbing to sleep were the pale, sparkling light of Avaarus and Vetra’s voice, murmuring in her ear.

“I love you too.”

#clithroeshewrites #vetra nyx #mass effect: andromeda #me:a #vetryder #ryder #mass effect #fanfiction #hey look my motivation came back

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