#Last weekend she was like 'did you eat a can of sardines this morning' and I'm sweating like how does she fucking KNOW

[prolibytherium]

I've honestly never noticed someone smelling like food they ate but my mom has a nose like a bloodhound. She can sniff across a room and be like 'did you eat like 12 cloves of garlic today?' and she's always fucking right. She always knows

[with-love-anu]

Quills and Ink

Pairing: Sirius Black x Reader Summary: Sirius gets anonymous letters from someone really sweet and falls for her. Warnings: It’s just fluff, no warnings to give! Word Count: 1,903

Sirius sat grumpily eating his breakfast. His head was throbbing due to last night’s endeavors and he wanted to gobble in all sorts of grease he could get. He piled his plate with bacon and fried egg when a school owl landed in front of him. He furrowed his brows. Who would write to him? He carefully took the letter out and opened it reading.

Dear Sirius,

Charms’ not an easy subject. The summoning charm they taught us yesterday is no different. For performing a summoning charm, you must clearly, and I mean clearly visualise the object you are summoning, like your favourite cookie. You could see it in your mind the sandy coloured biscuit full of dark brown choc chips, some edgy some melting. You could practically sniff its sweet smell and you want it right now, you need it. You say accio cookie with a small hand movement, imagining it coming towards you. And there you go, you have it. You can practice it over and over again and I am sure you’ll get used to it.

I just, I have always seen you excelling in every single class, and when you couldn’t do the spell yesterday, I thought maybe I’ll help. The professors having taught the same things a million times already, aren’t enthusiastic and somewhat, vague. Anyways, happy learning!

A fellow student.

Sirius smiled at the odd letter. He turned it around to find a name but there was none. The owl had already flown away.

Sirius closed his eyes taking his wand in his hand. What’s the harm in trying again? Accio muffin! Sirius grinned as a muffin zoomed towards him. Finally. He had done his best yesterday, but couldn’t perform the spell. He munched on the little cake happily. He felt satisfied; thinking about the sweet letter reading it again. Who could it be? He smiled, he wanted to meet this anonymous helper.

***

Sirius was sitting on the quidditch stands when a school owl came in. He smiled and his eyes widened. The person wrote him another letter? Telling the owl to wait; he opened it. It hooted indignantly but did just the same. He smiled realising he was right.

Dear Sirius,

I know you love teasing the Slytherins, but you need to understand that the group you hate is rather small. My friend who is in Slytherin was exhausted ridding their supplies from the red paint and gold glitter which you drenched their common room in. You know, this friend I am talking about is so damn sweet and couldn’t even hurt a fly. They have been loyal to me since the first year and have gone out of their ways to make me smile.

I am not asking you to stop pranking, but make your targets specific. Let me be honest here, I hate Mulciber’s gut as much as I hate sardines, and that’s a lot. And you know, harmless pranks are good too; specially if they make the targets smile and laugh along with you.

A fellow student

Sirius quickly summoned a sheet and started writing. Whoever this person was, was funny, and seemed to have a great personality.

Dear fellow student,

Firstly I want to thank you for your help in charms. I could do it on the first try after reading your explanation. *wink*

Secondly, I am sorry about your friend, maybe we do take it too far at times. I’ll make sure me and my friends don’t allow our pranks to affect ~innocents~. Speaking about pranks, I would love to hear more about those harmless ones you were talking about.

And thirdly, don’t you think it’s bad that you know me well enough to notice how I do in charms and I don’t even know your name? You seem like a fun person, sign the next letter with your name?

Sirius.

Sirius tied the letter to the owl and said, “Give it to the person who gave this to you”

***

Time passed and Sirius and a fellow student continued to exchange letters. Sometimes they were short, sometimes long and there wasn’t one where Sirius didn’t plead to find out who it was.

He showed some to his friends, others he kept to himself as his own little box of pleasure. James never failed to tease him and Remus would give him a knowing smirk whenever he didn’t let anyone touch those pieces of paper which had somehow become very close to his heart. No one missed the crimson blush that coloured Sirius’s cheek whenever he was asked about this very adorable fellow student. He kept every single one of the notes, trinkets, and gifts in a shoe-box hidden under his bed.

An empty box of an exclusive collection of handmade treacle tarts shrunk in size with the note which came along with it was tucked neatly in the box. Sirius had received it when he had got a nasty letter from back home during one morning. He had thought no one noticed but apparently he was wrong. The note said-

Dear Sirius,

You can never change people, make them see you or appreciate you or love you for that matter. Nothing in this world is fair and we take what is given to us. I know you got a letter from your parents this morning and over the years I’ve come to assume that they aren’t the most loving ones. We need you to remember you are an amazing person. So, gobble up these amazing chocolates while writing down things that are great about you. Let me start-

1.     You are funny / sarcastic. I don’t know anyone who could make McGonagall crack a smile and the moment you did it, I knew you were special

2.    You’re VERY intuitive. I saw you damn so many times calming down or walking various students through breakdowns, anxiety attacks; you know just what the person needs.

3.    Smart, that’s one thing about you not everyone sees, but come on; people should know those mischievous ideas need a brainy person behind them.

Your turn now, be as selfish as you could be!

A fellow student

A bouquet of lavender on which Sirius casted an everlasting spell, and an empty bottle of Chamomile tea made by an American company had come with a short note- “Put those flowers under your pillow, they help”. He ran his hand through them remembering feeling so touched when he received; he actually shed tears because he hadn’t slept all week and was exhausted to death.

There was a pile of books too. They contained all the famous muggle comics, which he had received when a fellow student had rambled on about their favourite superheroes and Sirius had admitted not understanding a thing in the long write up. He had read every single one of them more than thrice. Along with them, there was a detailed magazine on different motorbikes; their prices, their quality, talks about their engine. Sirius had gasped when he received it. The small note on it had said- “Even though I am sure I am going to regret this; because these are dangerous machines and you are one reckless person; I know your fascination with them and always love to see you smile. Just promise me you’ll read everything on the safety precautions page.”

There was a small key chain with paws on it, he got on Easter. He had barked out laughing seeing it (pun intended). He didn’t think you would remember something he wrote so offhandedly about. The note had said- “Since you were so adamant that you would be a dog if you were an animal!”

It was becoming incredibly frustrating. He was cautious of all the people who noticed him in classes, trying to guess who it was, which was futile since a major part of school turned to him whenever he entered the room. He was desperate, he was falling, hard. If the love they all gushed about, wasn’t what he felt; then he didn’t know what was. And he didn’t even know who it was! All he knew that your nickname was (Y/n/n) and you were in (Y/h) house. He felt stupid wanting you.

He had tried and failed trying to follow the owl to find you. Halfway to reaching you the owl had turned and bit him until he was forced to stop stalking it. Yeah, that had hurt. He tried to cast a monitoring spell on it so as to track it on the marauders map. The owl had realised something was going on as it fluttered and scratched his face red with it’s claws.

He took a pen and paper and ran to the owlery. As he entered the owlery, he saw someone was already there. (Y/n Y/L/n). She was a fellow student. They attended various classes together. Her eyes widened seeing him, and she quickly turned to what she was doing. Wait a fellow student! Can it be?

“Hi (Y/n), what brings you here?” he asked noting her reactions.

She stumbled.

“I… Just posting a letter.”

“Oh, how’s Abernathy’s health?” Sirius asked nonchalantly. Abernathy was (Y/n/n)’s sister who had caught a bad case of dragon pox.

“She’s better. The healer said- “(Y/n)’s mouth opened in realisation. Sirius smiled. He had finally found her.

“I…I…” (Y/n) stuttered looking at Sirius’s wide grin.

“I’m gonna go.” She said flustered and turned to leave.

Sirius quickly ducked in and grabbed her hand. “Don’t go” he pleaded.

(Y/n) slowly turned. She looked everywhere but him.

“Why did you not tell me?” Sirius asked quietly making her look up.

“I was afraid. I am really shy and I accept it. I’ve had a crush on you since forever and was quite sure I wouldn’t be able to talk to you face to face. I- I thought that when you realised that it was me writing you all those letters, you wouldn’t want to talk to me anymore.”

“Why wouldn’t I want to talk to you?” Sirius asked frowning.

(Y/n) let out a scoff.

“Oh come on! I see the type of people you are always with. Tall, beautiful, smart. Why would you even look at me!” She said mirthlessly.

It was Sirius’s turn to scoff.

“Are you kidding me?” Sirius asked incredulously. “Do you even own a mirror? That little (Y/f/c) colour dress you wore last weekend. Darling, I am sorry to inform you but you turned heads. I’ve always noticed you. You just light up when you talk to your friends and have that brilliant smile on your face. Before, you started writing to me you were just pretty; now I know you’re beautiful. You’re so full of kindness and generosity. Your letters never failed to bright up my day. You’re funny, sarcastic and motivated. I love that you could make me smile at the worst of times. I love that you constantly talk about made up heroes and heroines who could take on the world. I love that you care so much about your family that you write to them every other day. I love everything about you. I love you.” He breathed.

“You what?” you whispered.

“I love you” Sirius repeated.

“Good, cause I don’t know what I would have done you hadn’t told me soon” you sniffed a little, smiling.

“Come with me to hogwarts this weekend, you know, on a date.” Sirius asked as you gulped and nodded. Sirius smiled widely and you were sure your own expression mirrored his.

A/N: Let me know what you think!

[lbigreyhound13]

Call Me If You Want To Reach Me

By @lbigreyhound13 for @dredfulhapiness

Rating: G

Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark 

Characters: Peter Parker, Tony Stark, Ned Leeds, Michelle Jones, May Parker, Happy Hogan

@friendly-neighborhood-exchange

Prompt: Tony is Peter’s Emergency Contact

As soon as Peter woke up that Friday morning in October, he did not feel right…at all. He quickly noticed the dull pain in his throat, but as May pointed out when she came in to check on him, there was no fever, which, according to her rule, meant he could go to school. Any other kid would’ve groaned and whined about not being able to miss school, but for Peter, no school would’ve meant no weekend with his mentor, Tony Stark. So, he figured that if he could get through the whole day without getting a fever, then May wouldn’t have to pick him up, and then he wouldn’t miss his weekend with Tony.

Ever since that first weekend Peter stayed over with Tony while May was at a conference last year, both the mentor and the mentee agreed that the latter would come over either for the day, an overnight, or a whole weekend, and never once had either one of them missed it. If one of them had a commitment on a Friday, both Peter and Tony would agree on a different day and switch their lab time to that day managing to avoid cancelling completely. There was absolutely no way Peter was going to let that streak break now!

He swallowed—rather painfully—his pride and got ready for school that morning. He managed to eat a piece of toast and drink some juice before kissing May goodbye as she went off to work while reminding him that either Happy or Tony would pick him up after school and that she would see him and Tony on Sunday. The rookie superhero shoved the last of his books into his backpack and his pajamas into his duffle bag before heading out of the apartment to go to school.

While making the commute to Midtown, his phone buzzed, and sure enough it was from Tony.

“Rise and shine, Underoos! I’m picking you up after school today! Can’t wait for the weekend! That nanotech project and cars are calling our names!”

Peter smiled at how cheerful his mentor sounded, and it briefly made him forget about the pain in his throat.

“Good morning, Mr. Stark! Awesome! Can’t wait! I can hear them too, and it’s driving me crazy!”

“Lol, just got to hang in there for 8 hours, kiddo, and then it’s lab time! The wait is worth it!”

“Easy for you to say! You’re done with the school business!”

“Just you wait, kid. Once you get into the real world…you’ll be begging for someone to pay you to go back to school.”

Peter smiled to himself and chuckled. “Yeah, but if I’m working with you, then I wouldn’t miss it.”

“Are you trying to butter me up? Because you’re making me melt here, kid.”

Funny that Tony should mention melting because Peter furrowed his eyebrows together when he began to feel a bit warmer than usual, but he shook it off and ignored it. There were a lot of people on the train. It was the city after all, and New York City was known for people being packed into public transportation like sardines. Perhaps, it was just body heat.

“Perhaps, perhaps not…lol!”

“Well, I’m going to give you the rest of the day to figure it out because I have some board meetings to get to. I’ll talk to you later and I’ll see you after school, kid! Have a good day!”

“Thanks, Mr. Stark! You too!”

(line break)

As the day went on…Peter began to feel a whole lot worse. He tried taking the enhanced Tylenol Tony had given him, and it seemed to relieve it for a short time. However, somehow, the pain managed to increase in his throat, and the heat on his forehead didn’t feel much better either.

“Dude, you really don’t look so good,” Ned said as he and MJ joined him at the lunch table in the cafeteria, “and I mean that in the nicest way possible.”

By the time lunch arrived, Peter was feeling so much worse. He was pretty sure by now that he had a fever, and his throat was so sore that he could barely swallow his food.

“Yeah, usually, you’re sucking your food up by now and talking up a storm,” MJ said eying him skeptically. “Today, you’re quiet as a mouse and barely touching your lunch.”

“I’m…I’m fine, guys, really,” Peter said for what felt like the millionth time. “Just a little under the weather today.”

“A little?” MJ retorted.

“Okay, I know, I feel like crap,” Peter said running his hand down his face. He knew something was wrong with him because he didn’t have the energy to deny that he wasn’t feeling well.

“Then why don’t we get you to the nurse, dude?” Ned suggested. “May can probably take you home.”

“Believe me, I would,” Peter replied, “but she’s working late tonight. She won’t be able to leave, and I’m supposed to be spending the weekend with Mr. Stark after school. I don’t want to miss it.”

“Okay, so why can’t you call him?” Ned suggested.

“Even if Peter did call him, genius,” MJ retorted, “Stark wouldn’t be able to take him out unless he was an emergency contact or something.”

“Well, we got to at least get him to the nurse,” Ned said as Peter put his head on his arms. “Peter could give the okay to call Mr. Stark or something, I don’t know. He shouldn’t be walking around like this for the rest of the day.”

“Valid point,” MJ replied as she stood up. “Let’s go, Parker.”

Peter could only moan in response.

(line break)

“Oh boy…101,” Mrs. Wright said as she looked at the thermometer removing it from Peter’s ear. “You definitely have a fever, Peter. We better call your aunt and have her take you home.”

“Uhh…she’s actually working late,” Peter said trying his best to power through the pain in his throat. “Is there someone else you can call?” Maybe, by some miracle, May had someone he didn’t know about on the list of emergency contacts.

“Well, let me check your records and find out,” Mrs. Wright replied. “In the meantime, you get some rest.”

Peter nodded as he let sleep overcome him. He was so tired that he missed the nurse dropping her jaw as she stared at the screen showing Peter’s emergency contacts. There was May Parker’s contact information at the top, but at the bottom, there was a second entry with a certain name.

Tony Stark…

Relationship to Student: Mentor

The nurse furrowed her eyebrows together. She was aware that Peter had an internship with the famous billionaire, but she was never aware of this famous billionaire being the teen’s emergency contact. Perhaps, it couldn’t hurt to call May Parker to verify this. After all, given that she was Peter’s guardian, she needed to be notified anyway of Peter not feeling well.

(line break)

Awareness came back to Peter when he began to hear voices.

“I hope you and Mrs. Parker don’t mind me verifying this,” a female voice…Mrs. Wright said. “I wanted to be extra sure, and it’s not something you see everyday.”

“Oh, no, no trouble at all,” another voice—a very familiar voice said. “I’m sure that raised some eyebrows.”

Was that who he thought it was? Did he sleep through the end of school? How was this possible?

“It certainly did,” Mrs. Wright said to the other voice. “He’s been asleep for about an hour. Ned and MJ dropped off his things as well.”

“Perfect, thank you so much, Mrs. Wright,” the familiar voice said. There were some footsteps before he felt the cot move under this person’s weight, and then a hand on his forehead appeared. “Yikes…101, you said?”

“I’m afraid so,” Mrs. Wright replied. “Could be a bad case of strep throat.”

“Oh boy,” the voice muttered. “Hey, Peter?” A hand ran through his hair. “Peter? Wake up, kid. I’m going to take you home.”

Peter slowly opened his eyes to see someone looking down at him, and after blinking his eyes a few times to focus, as the fever and the pain in his throat returned, he saw a certain billionaire looking at him.

“M-Mr. Stark?” Peter said furrowing his eyebrows together.

Tony cringed at how throaty his voice sounded with his sore throat. “Yikes,” he said, “you sound beautiful, kid.”

Peter rolled his eyes despite his small smile. “What are you doing here?” he asked.

“May and school called me,” Tony replied. “They said you were sick, and they were not kidding, my young friend. I’m going to take you to the doctor. They’re going to meet us at home, okay?”

Peter nodded despite the sadness that crept up inside of him at the thought of missing the weekend that he and Tony planned together. However, he was glad that his mentor was here to take him out of school. He didn’t like the idea of staying in the nurse’s office for the rest of the day. The idea of staying in bed sounded amazing. So, as soon as Tony signed him out and thanked the nurse, the billionaire helped Peter with his things, wrapped an arm around the teen, and guided him out of the building to the car that was parked out front.

“Happy’s in front,” Tony said as they walked down the stairs, “so we’ll get the back to ourselves.”

“Thanks, Mr. Stark,” Peter replied with a small smile as Tony gave Peter’s duffle bag and backpack to Happy, who put everything in the trunk of the car. “How did school know to call you?”

“Well, they saw that…I’m one of your emergency contacts,” Tony replied as he opened the door for Peter, “but the nurse wanted to verify and called Aunt May. Aunt May verified and said that she was working late and they could call me to come get you. She wanted to talk to you,” he and Peter both climbed in the car and sat down, “but the nurse said you were sleeping. And boy, she wasn’t kidding. You were out like a light when I got here. May also called me when I was on my way to make sure I got you to Dr. Cho, which is what we’re doing, and to tell you that she will call you soon, by the way.”

Peter widened his eyes as he listened. He couldn’t believe that May had Tony listed as his emergency contact. It made him smile even more that May trusted his mentor enough to give him such a status, and it was always something that he wondered about. If May weren’t available, who would school call? When Ben was alive, he was obviously the second choice, but now that it was just May, it often left Peter questioning who would back May up in terms of picking him up from school if he was sick or if something was wrong. It made sense she would pick his mentor, the other adult in his life, who was close to him and knew about his alter ego, Spider-Man.

“I can’t believe it,” Peter said. “W-Why didn’t she ever tell me?”

“Eh…I wouldn’t think too much of it, kid,” Tony said. “She said that she would feel better if someone else you were familiar with was on your emergency contact list.”

Peter shook his head in disbelief chuckling. “When did you guys do this?”

“Uh…about a few months ago,” Tony replied smiling, “after we realized that I wouldn’t be able to pick you up early if the need ever came for it.” He then turned to his driver. “Let’s get going, Happy. We got to meet Cho at the tower.”

“You got it, boss,” Happy said as he started the car up again.

“Thanks for coming to get me, Mr. Stark,” Peter said as they drove off. “I’m just…sorry our weekend is ruined now. I was really looking forward to it.”

“What are you talking about?” Tony asked with furrowed eyebrows.

“Well, I’m sick,” Peter said. “You’re…you’re not going to want me to hang around the tower all weekend in bed. I’ll be boring. I thought you wanted to take me back to the apartment.”

“No, of course not, kid,” Tony replied. “There’s no way we’re missing this weekend. We planned to spend time together, and that’s what we’ll do.”

“Really?”

“Oh yeah, you’ve got a room there, bud. May and I agreed you can rest at the tower and take it easy, and depending on what Cho says, we can watch as many movies as we want. We just won’t be doing much lab time because you’re going to need some rest, sound good?”

Peter smiled as he leaned back in his seat feeling his heart swell at the thought of Tony wanting to still spend time with him despite him being sick. “Sounds perfect,” he said with his eyes drooping closed.

“Get some sleep, buddy,” Tony replied wrapping an arm around him pulling him close. “I’ll wake you up when we get home.”

“Okay,” he said as sleep overcame him.

[winterromanov]

College Bucky taking her home to meet the fam!!

pairing: bucky x reader (set in the same universe as this fic and this fic)

You’d never met Bucky’s parents and sister in the flesh before, but you might as well have done by this point. Ever since Bucky had told them he’d been dating someone they’d been dying to meet you--to the point where Bucky can’t Facetime home without his mother demanding to pull you into the frame and Becca Barnes regularly messages you on Facebook. 

So when Bucky finally invites you over to his family home for the weekend, you’re really not as nervous as you’d expect to be. Sure, there’s a vague sense of anxiety that stirs your stomach at the thought of how concrete and real this all is because, well. You’ve never had a proper boyfriend before. But Bucky’s mom has his smile and his dad has his eyes and Becca seems to be the best bits of all of them, so why shouldn’t this be anything but good?

“My mom is asking me if you like Mexican food,” Bucky says, phone in his right hand, sat cross legged on your bed. He’s supposed to be helping you pack. The most help he’s been was throwing one of his socks he’d found down the side of the bed right at your face. “I said yeah. We ate enchiladas once, right?”

“I’d use the term we loosely. I made the enchiladas and you ate them after you’d had practice.” You raise an eyebrow as he sheepishly looks up from his phone screen. “I don’t remember actually eating anything that night.”

“Well.” Bucky shrugs, smirking and deliberately looking away from you. “I had a great meal that night. Not just talking about the enchiladas, either.”

Okay, so now it’s your turn to throw a dirty sock at his features. You watch as he makes a show of spluttering and acting disgusted like you’ve just thrown a tonne of raw sewage all fucking over him. “You’re the worst.”

“I know you are,” he says, teasing, scrambling over to wrap the sock round your neck like a scarf. You squeal, giggling as you try and push him away--because his football socks are gross, come on--but he only laughs louder as you struggle, pulling you closer and closer. “But what am I?”

His face is just so damn kissable even when he’s being annoying beyond belief. You have clothes to pack away, dinner to assemble (well, he’s the one that’s supposed to be making the dinner) and Netflix to watch but you let your giggles subside, curl your fingers round his jaw, let your lips collide. 

“You’re still the worst,” you murmur against him. “But I seem to find that endearing, somehow.”

“Touche, sweetheart. Touche.”

-

It’s not exactly difficult to get to Bucky’s childhood home from university. He’s lived in Brooklyn his whole life so it’s just a matter of traveling there from Upper Manhattan on public transport. You have a feeling he’d not invited you sooner because he’d worried about whether you were ready--if things were going too fast, if you’d get intimidated standing in the front hall of the house he’d grown up in. But when he’d shyly suggested it walking through Central Park on the day of your fourth month anniversary, you’d squeezed his hand and let him know that yeah, you’re kind of okay with meeting the family he fucking adores.

The house itself lies in a fairly innocuous and relatively expensive looking neighbourhood, with tan brickwork and big windows and a bright red front door. A couple of cars sit in the driveway and flowers burst through borders trailing from the front yard into the back. You’d barely wheeled your suitcase up to the steps when the door flies open, two extremely excitable women rushing down to meet you.

“Oh, (Y/N)!” The older one--Bucky’s mom--gushes immediately, grabbing you into a hug before stepping back to take a proper look at you. “Oh, honey. You look just like all the pictures James has sent me. Becca, isn’t she just beautiful?”

“So beautiful!” Becca confirms, blue eyes glittering. She looks so much like Bucky it’s unreal. “Where did you get your boots from? I’ve been wanting a pair--”

“Hey!” Bucky jokingly breaks in between the three of you, running a hand across your waist. “Stop hassling my girl! I am here too, you know. You could show a little enthusiasm.”

Bucky’s mom slaps him on the arm in teasing and the two women fall under his arms, clutching his waist. His eyes close as he hugs them, squeezing them as tight as possible. Despite the closeness in distance it’s been a few weeks since they all last saw each other, and you can see it in the way he holds them. He’s home. 

“Miss me, then?” Bucky says, tongue poking out between his teeth. Becca responds by burrowing closer into his side, while his mom reaches out to clutch your hand.

“Of course we missed you. We miss you every day.” His mom looks at you with a gaze of gratification and what...what might be relief, so you smile and squeeze her hand back. “I am just glad that this one has clearly been looking after you.”

“He looks after me, too, Mrs Barnes.” Bucky’s expression is warm, loving, face slightly tilted to the side as he falls in love with you just a little more. 

“Please, call me Winifred.” She assures, before gesturing towards the open door. “Come on in. It’s freezing, and your dad can’t wait to embarrass you.”

Winifred lets go of your palm and trots up the stairs, Becca bounding excitedly behind her. Bucky rolls his eyes, picking up your suitcase, but it’s all done in jest. 

“They’re going to be like this all weekend, just so you know.” Bucky informs you, ushering you up the steps in front of him. “If it gets a bit much, just say. They’ll get it.”

“I’ll be fine. I’m more interested in all these photos you’ve been sending your mom of me.”

Bucky groans and you laugh, not so secretly pleased by it all. His heart is so full to bursting for you that he sends his mom photographs. It’s, as Sam would surely put it, absolutely sickening. 

-

Bucky’s dad is just as intrigued about you as his mom and sister are, but in a calmer, drier way shown through his bemused expressions and quietly funny comments round the dinner table. Where Winifred and Becca are thrumming with energy, he peacefully sits through the storm--exchanging measured conversation with his son and watching as you deal with Winifred and Becca’s near incessant questioning.

“(Y/N),” he says, quite suddenly, passing you a bowl of salad. “James says you’re the reason he passed Russian Literature last semester.”

You flush a little, not quite meeting his gaze as you pile lettuce onto your plate. “I wouldn’t go that far, Mr Barnes. Buck--I mean, James, is probably one of the smartest people I know.”

Becca snorts with laughter before masking it with a cough, and Bucky kicks her leg under the table, his mouth crammed full of enchilada. It’s funny, watching him interact with his younger sister. It’s like you’re getting a glimpse into the childhood they shared and you were never part of. The scuffed knees and pretend games and play fights that got out of hand.

“He works hard, and that’s all I ever ask of my children.” Bucky’s dad smiles warmly and proudly, eyes crinkling. There’s the blue, where it came from. Bucky’s dad has the same bright blue eyes, like the rough sea on the English coastline. Bucky’s cheeks burn pink and his hand finds your knee under the table, his fingers flexing over the fabric of his jeans. “And if he finds someone who works as hard as he does, well... I’m going to be a happy man.”

Bucky winks at you. “Good thing (Y/N) is the smartest gal I know, then.”

Winifred chooses that moment to bring out a pecan pie she’d made from scratch because Bucky said you’d like them and for half a moment you think you might burst into tears, because four months into loving their son and they’ve accepted you like you’re their own. There is no subtle (or unsubtle) judgement, no tripping up, no how can you possibly be good enough for our boy. 

He loves you, so they love you. It’s as simple as that.

-

Bucky’s childhood room only has a twin bed so you both curl into it like a tin of sardines, limbs entangled and breaths confused, cold feet pressed together under a red striped duvet. There are still teddy bears on top of wardrobes and piles of superhero figurines stacked in boxes, comic books and Star Wars memorabilia and posters of his favourite football stars. Photographs line his wall of him and Steve and Becca and old high school football teams, pinned up with flaking sellotape.

“I don’t think I have enough wall space,” he says, on the edge of sleep, face burrowed into your neck. You don’t turn but trail your hand up his arm until it meets the back of his head, fingers twisting round the hair that grows there.

“Enough wall space for what?”

“For you,” he hums gently, “You’d fill every centimeter of it like you fill every cell of my body.”

He falls asleep, like he often does after delirious muted declarations of love, but that’s okay. You don’t have to fill his wall. You’re happy existing merely in the thrumming, heady organ within his ribcage. It’s all you’ve ever wanted, and everything he’s always given.

-

In the morning Bucky shows you the sights of his home borough, Becca insisting on tagging along for the ride. You look over Brooklyn Bridge and eat hipster pizza and giggle amongst a crowd of serious tourists in Brooklyn Museum. Becca eventually meets a friend and disappears off into the city, so Bucky takes you to Prospect Park, beautiful and gloomy in the harsh January frost. It’s not long before you encounter the pop-up ice rink that appears for the winter season and, really, it would be a shame to skip the opportunity. It’s not half as busy as the rink at Rockefeller Center.

Weirdly, Bucky’s more erratic on the ice than you are. His long limbs stutter and stumble as he tries to regain his balance and you laugh, grabbing onto his gloved hands.

“This sure is a bonding experience,” Bucky’s voice wobbles as he almost takes out a small child with his right leg, “You trying to hold the weight of a six-foot tall football player while also on ice.”

“I’m stronger than I look,” you reply. You pull him violently so he, again, doesn’t knock a group of little schoolchildren like bowling pins. It gives him such a fright that both of you end up tumbling to the ground, frantically reaching out for each other’s hands to gain any semblance of balance.

It doesn’t work. You just end up lying on his chest, on view of the whole of fucking Brooklyn, and he has the nerve to fucking kiss you.

“What?” Bucky shrugs, not looking the least bit ashamed. “Wasn’t going to waste the opportunity.”

“It’s a good job you’re so cute.” You half-smile, trying to roll off him and onto the ice so you’re not holding up the rest of the skaters. He struggles to his feet, palms scraped but otherwise unhurt--but the pout on his lips says hot chocolate over another turn round the rink, and you’re not in a position to refuse.

-

On your last evening before reality resumes once again you and Bucky cook dinner. Well. You watch intently as Bucky throws the ingredients for a chilli in a pan, making sure he doesn’t accidentally do anything wacky (which he does an awful lot). He chases you round the kitchen with fresh chili on his fingers but Becca eventually teams up with you, whacking him with a spatula into submission. His laugh is so carefree it’s magical. You wish you could keep it forever, keep it like this.

(Your stomach swoops dramatically at the thoughts of what the future could hold if this--if this were to last forever.)

The food goes down well. Winifred gazes at you dreamily before gathering up the plates with Becca and Bucky, leaving you and his dad at the dinner table.

“I’ve...been worried about him,” Bucky’s dad admits in the quiet, the only noise faint giggling coming from the kitchen. “About James. About college. Because there have been times when he’s come home and there looks like there’s nothing left inside of him. But I look at him now, and...he’s not just living. He’s thriving. And I think that, at least in part, is because of you.”

You blink back at him, not sure what to say. There are not sufficient words in the English language to reply to that, the tenderness and gratefulness Mr Barnes shows in his expressive eyes and kind mouth. It clicks why Winifred looked at you with relief when you’d first met. They’d been so worried about him.

“You make him so happy, kid.” Bucky’s dad’s smile is crooked, just like Bucky’s own. “I’m just glad you found each other.”

You can only smile back. But sometimes expressions say all the words you need to, so. Bucky’s dad gets it.

-

You hold him a little tighter in the twin bed that night. Face to face rather than back to back. Watching Bucky Barnes breathe is a privilege, but loving him is a responsibility. He will never be empty or lonely while you can feel his skin beneath your fingertips. He will never be anything but him. 

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[midtownsparker]

fortune’s fool; p.p.- 2

peter parker x reader

A/N: moving to my main from @midtownsparker-archive

requested: nope

Words: 2000+

Warnings: cursing, mentions of sex, mentions of drinking, mentions of death

summary: Two Empire State University students fated to meet

let me know if you’d like to be added to my tag list!

requests are open!

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2. Understanding-

21 year old Peter, 19 year old reader

She woke with her head buried in stark white sheets, a rhythmic thrumming pounding against the base of her skull as she tried to gather her thoughts. She was definitely not in her own room, but the scent that surrounded her cocooned body was a familiar one, and the easy, measured breaths that she could hear from beyond her wall of pillows was a symphony she’d learned by heart.

With a groan, she turned on her side and pushed away the pile of blankets that separated herself from her best friend’s body. His bare chest rose and fell, faint puffs of air escaping his slightly-opened mouth every so often. Soft curls fell across his peaceful face that lay smooth and unwrinkled as he slept.

This wasn’t the first time that she’d woken up in the same bed as Peter Parker. It was, however, the first time she’d found herself naked and twisted in his sheets. She couldn’t say that she was surprised. They’d been the closest of friends for over a year now, and they both knew that some sort of consummation of their friendship was inevitable.

It didn’t worry her. She knew that what had happened wasn’t serious, and therefore, that nothing about their relationship would change. She knew that Peter knew that, too.

That’s why it happened, she supposed. Because they both knew it wouldn’t ruin anything. It was bound to happen some day, anyway. Instead of worrying, she was content to lay in the peaceful silence until Peter woke up and they’d have to talk.

She breathed in the cool morning air that blew through the slightly opened window and caused the sheer white curtains to flutter. The rest of Manhattan was surely awake by now, evidenced by the honking of horns and shouting from street corners. This was what she loved most about Peter’s apartment. The building was squished between another apartment complex and a multi-level shopping center, which was all smack in the middle of the bustling city, one that she’d come to love, perhaps even more than her own home of Long Island.

His own space, however, was a simplistic haven that was just so him that she found herself spending more time at his place than her own home.

“Just move in already,” is what he’d said once on a warm morning after she’d slept over for the fourth night in a row.

“No, you’d get sick of me!” she’d laughed. He disagreed, but they never spoke about it again. Still, she continued to spend days on end flitting between his kitchen and his sofa and his bedroom, working on her own things, simply coexisting with Peter and not depending too much on his presence to get her own stuff done.

Most often, she could be found sitting on his bed with her textbooks and notes spread around her, all marked in her own code of colored highlighters as she studied or worked on homework while Peter sat at his desk, focused intently on his own work and typing away madly on his laptop, stopping only to remind her to stretch or drink some water or grab a snack. That was just Peter, though; the caring guy she’d met over a year ago who had saved her from days of hauling boxes and who still cared more than anybody else and always thought of her needs before his own.

She loved him, she guessed, but in the purest of ways. She couldn’t stand to lose him, and he felt the same way, because they both knew that the ease of their relationship was not a common thing. They never actively sought anything more from one another, believing that if something was meant to happen, it would happen. For now, they both coveted the freedom they had to see other people, and the knowledge that they still had the other to come back to and laugh about awkward dates and terrible hookups with.

“It’s easier this way,” she’d said. “I don’t want to start anything if I can’t commit my whole being to you.” “I agree,” was his reply. ‘We both love this whole ‘young college student’ phase too much for us to really be able to give everything to one another like we deserve. Besides, as long as I’ve got you as my best friend, I couldn’t really ask for more.”

Then they’d smiled, Peter with that bright, dazzling thing that you could see from miles away, and her with something soft and shared with him, like a secret she seemed to reserve only for Peter, and then they turned back to their work which had been abandoned only minutes ago.

Sighing softly, she let her eyes trace over Peter’s still-sleeping figure. She wished, sometimes, that they’d met ten years later, when she knew who she was and what she wanted, and she’d be able to love him fully like he deserved. She still wasn’t expecting more from him, but she think it might have been better, knowing their intentions from the beginning.

She didn’t know, though, if he’d be her same Peter. His “after school hobby”, as he’d called it, wasn’t easy on him. She’d seen how much it changed him, even within the short year that they’d known each other. He was more quiet, more self aware. He’d seen horrors and faced death, and there was no one who really understood it, that he was still a kid that had to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders.

She did her best to listen when he needed her to, when days were dark and he just needed to get things off his chest. He’d told her about Liz and the Vulture and the homecoming night that happened so long ago that changed him forever. He told her about the innocent people that he could’ve, would’ve, should’ve saved, but let their lives slip through his fingers, and how each one weighed heavily on him, every one of them a cold, unbeating heart that couldn’t speak the words of condemnation that he knew they should. He told her about his visits to the graveyards around his city where he stood before their graves and cried tears that he didn’t deserve to cry and apologized profusely, knowing that his words would do nothing to bring them back.

And she would listen. She would let him cry onto her shoulder while she ran soothing fingers through tangled, sweat soaked curls, easing that beautiful mind in its state of turmoil. And then he would push his face deep into her chest while she cradled his head and pressed soft kisses to his hairline while his body racked with sobs.

Who would he be without her? He couldn’t be like this with Ned, couldn’t confide in him like he did with her. MJ would tell him to take his feelings out on the punching bag that hung in the back room of his apartment. He couldn’t even begin to talk to May about it in fear of worrying her half to death. She knew that. She knew everything. And so she became his rock, his unmovable force that he knew would always, always be there for him.

If she wasn’t though? Who would he confide in? Who would ease his pain and help him carry his burden? If it had been ten years later, who knew that he’d even be alive? That there was even a possibility of them meeting at all?

He’d certainly be different. Not the same shining light that she’d come to know so well. Knowing him, he’d let him get lost in his selflessness, his need to be a hero, and push himself further and further into this other version of himself. She didn’t ever want to meet this version of Peter, and so she fought to keep him Peter and not just Spider-Man.

So far, she thinks she’s doing alright. He’s still paranoid at times, always checking over his shoulder, wrapping a protective arm around her waist when they’re out late, but he’s also trying, she knows. He visits Aunt May every weekend, takes a trip to Uncle Ben’s grave once a month, hangs out with his friends regularly. She thinks he’s doing great, all things considered.

Peter began to stir on his side of the bed, a soft groan emitting from beneath the protection of the covers. He rolled over to face her, opening one eye slowly and allowing himself to adjust to the bright light that was now streaming through the window.

“Whatimezit?” he mumbled, pushing his head up to eye her unclothed body. “Wha’d we do last night?”

“We had sex,” she spoke bluntly, giving him a small shrug. “We can talk about it, if you want.”

“Rather not, actually,” he groaned, pushing his head back into his pillow. “How much did I drink?”

“Well, you took three tequila shots straight out of the gate then shotgunned a beer and I kind of lost count after your fifth mixed drink, so I’d say you were sufficiently smashed by the end of the night. Not that I was any better, mind you,” she recalled, stomach churning at the thought of that last beer.

“I feel like absolute shit,” Peter grumbled, face muffled by the fabric of the pillowcase.

“You look it,” she joked, scooting over so they were shoulder to shoulder, pressed together like sardines.

“Hey, not nice,” he pouted, turning his neck so their faces were mere inches away from each other. He smiled at her, breathing in as he spoke again. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

“Of course,” she responded. “We’ve talked about this before. As long as none of our feelings have changed, I think that we can both move past this.”

“Good. Now who’s making breakfast? Because I really don’t wanna get up right now, but if I don’t have something drenched in grease and hopefully some sort of cheese, my stomach will start eating itself,” Peter remarked, kicking her leg lightly under the sheets.

“Not me! I made you dinner before we left last night,” she answered, returning his kick.

“Let’s just order something in and that way we can stay in bed until it arrives,” he suggested.

“Fine, but you’re paying,” she insisted, and he agreed, allowing the peaceful silence to fall upon them again.

“I’m glad you’re my best friend,” he remarked after the silence settled, pulling her body closer to his with one hand.

“Don’t let Ned hear you say that,” she cautioned teasingly. She knew that Peter’s relationship with Ned was different than the one they had, but was still just as strong, and probably even stronger considering their history. She didn’t mind sharing his attention. She loved Ned just as much as Peter, and she was glad that he still had a close friend from home that always had his back no matter what.

“Ned knows it’s true. He doesn’t mind, I think. Ever since he and MJ picked up those jobs at the Rec Center, they’ve been closer than ever. Now they both gang up on me rather than just MJ,” Peter whined.

“To be fair, though, you deserve it more often than not,” she joked, nudging his shoulder.

“That’s probably true,” he sighed. “Anyway, I meant it. You’re the best person I know. Thank you,” he stated, reaching down to squeeze her hand.

“Thank you,” she responded. “You’ve done so much for me Peter. I’m so lucky to have you.” She smiled and squeezed his hand back, her grin only growing when he leaned over to press a kiss against her forehead.

They were interrupted by a knock on the door.

“One of us should really put some clothes on before we freak out this delivery guy,” Peter mused quietly, not moving at all.

“Yes, one of us should definitely put clothes on and get the food right now,” she looked at him pointedly.

“Fine,” he grumbled, sliding out of bed and pulling a pair of flannel pants on while she watched him in amusement, following his movements until he was out the door. Yes, she certainly was lucky to have Peter in her life.

[itsalliepg]

Happy Birthday! – Zig X Scarlett (MC) – Part 4

SUMMARY: On Sunday, the gang cooks a special lunch together for Scarlett’s (MC) birthday.

PAIRING: Zig X Scarlett (MC)

RATING: Everyone

WORDS: 1.892

NOTE: Hey! Here’s the part 4 of Happy Birthday! Series. It’s the last one, I worked a lot but wasn’t the result I expected. I didn’t like so much, but let’s go with it. English isn’t my native language. I write to practice and learn, so please sorry any mistakes. I hope you like it, and if you do, I’d appreciate if you like/comment/reblog!

Click here to read Part 1 Part 2 and Part 3.

On Sunday morning, Scarlett and Zig woke up with her phone buzzing, and she saw that it was her mother. She answered the call with a smile.

       _Oh, thanks, mom! Yeah, I’m pretty sure my day will be wonderful. Actually, I’m having a wonderful weekend! – she saw Zig grinning and he whispered.

       _Is your mom? – Scarlett nodded – tell her I said hi.

       _Oh, Zig’s here, he said hi. Yeah, he’s absolutely part of this wonderful weekend – she turned to him and winked – she said hi too, babe – they shared a smile and he got up to dress while she talked to her parents. After a few minutes, she ended the call – I can be away, but they always call me – she was still beaming and stood up to get dressed.

       _I understand them, you’re the only kid, they care about you a lot – Zig approached Scarlett and wrapped her arms around her, his chest on her back – so, when I’m going to meet them in person?

      _Soon, I hope. We can set up a date with them. I have told them so much about you that they’re eager to know you!

      _I’m also eager to know them. I want them to know their beloved daughter is in good hands – she turned around to a kiss – happy birthday again, my princess.

      _Thanks, my angel – they kissed quickly and finished dressing. They left the room and found two plates of waffles, strawberry jam and coffee on the table. She also found a letter written by Kaitlyn: “Happy BDay, Scar! We went to the grocery to buy some things for our lunch, we’ll be back soon! We made breakfast for you and Zig, enjoy!” – oh, that was really sweet!

      _How did they know I’d be here too? – Zig faked surprise while they sat at the table.

      _Probably they saw your car outside – Scarlett laughed – so, what kind of food did they think for our lunch? – she looked at him and he shrugged, still looking to his plate – Zig… - he looked up and she arched an eyebrow.

      _I swear for God I don’t know, Scarlett! We didn’t talk about it! – he put a hand on his chest, innocently – and even if I knew, of course I wouldn’t tell you.

      _Ugh, I hate this mystery! I guess that’s why this was my first surprise party.

      _I knew you were curious, but not that much, Scarlett! – Zig laughed – I’ll remember that when I want for a payback for every time you tickle me. I found your weakness – he laughed again and she rolled her eyes.

      _Okay, fair enough – she sighed but beamed – but I hope they remember the dishes I like, and bring some chocolate.

      _As they don’t know you enough – they shared a sweet smile, and finished their breakfast. While they were washing the dishes, Scarlett’s housemates, James, Abbie and Tyler arrived carrying grocery bags. Zack smiled and threw his bag to Chris before running to Scarlett and hugging her. Chris stumbled back and almost dropped the two bags.

     _Happy birthday, Scar! – he hugged her tight and started to jump – today’s gonna be an incredible day!

     _Thanks, Zack!

     _You only take advantage of me because I’m the quarterback – Chris left the bags over the table and ruffled Zack’s hair.

      _Of course, or did you think I’d miss an opportunity to abuse your strength?? – they laughed and Chris also hugged Scarlett, followed by the rest of the gang – we didn’t forget you, Zig, what’s up?

       _It’s good to see you all. Scar was dying of curiosity about the lunch – he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed the top of her head – I didn’t know what else to do to distract her!

       _Okay, I admit, he’s right – Scarlett held up her arms – but now you can tell me, please? – she pouted.

       _Sure, you impatient – Kaitlyn giggled – we’ll have fried chicken, mushroom and cheese pie, and roasted roots. And of course, a chocolate and strawberry pie for our favorite chocolover!

       _Oh, amazing! I loved everything! And what each one will make?

       _Well, the mushroom pie’s a traditional Ashton recipe, so is on me – James raised his hand.

        _Same about the roots – Chris added.

        _I’ll make the chocolate pie, and Becca will help me.

        _Zack? Are you sure you want me as your assistant? – Becca’s eyes widened.

        _Why not? I saw what you did with the spinach that day, I’m pretty sure you can cut the strawberries perfectly – they shared a smile.

        _So, I guess me, Abbie and Tyler are responsible for the chicken, right? – Kaitlyn looked at Abbie and Tyler, they glanced at each other.

        _Uh, fine, sounds great – Abbie stammered.

        _Yeah, I guess so – Tyler scratched the back of his neck. Without them noticing, Kaitlyn winked to Scarlett, and she smiled.

         _Okay, distributed tasks, let's work! – Kaitlyn clapped her hands and they started to work on the lunch.

         _And what about me and Zig? Oh, we can wash the dishes, babe? – she turned to Zig, and he nodded.

         _It's okay, we were already doing it – he chuckled.

         _It’s your birthday, you and your bae shouldn’t work, but we’ll not complain if you help us to clean up the kitchen later – everybody laughed with Zack’s comment – but tell us how was yesterday!

         _It was awesome! One of the best days of my life, so much fun!

         _I have to thank you, Kaitlyn, for the tip.

         _You’re welcome, Zig! I’m glad you liked that place! We should go too, all of us!

        _I bet it’s better than that club we went to yesterday…

        _Oh, Becca! I was about to ask where you guys went!

        _Well, we just took Zack’s car and drove for a while until find this club nobody knew – Chris giggled – but it wasn’t so bad, Becca!

        _Yeah, if you like that kind of electronic music and feel like a canned sardine, it’s a great place – she turned to Scarlett and winked – all to give you both some privacy – Scarlett turned to Zig and opened her mouth to say something, but he interrupted.

        _No, I didn’t ask them to do it.

        _Oh, great, that’s what I wanted to know.

        _Oh, please! As if we don’t know you’d love a private celebration! – the group burst into laughter.

        _Zack’s right, Scar – James explained – when we were planning your surprise party, Zig told us he wanted to do something special with you on Saturday, and immediately your adorable housemates proposed to go out at night to let you two alone here.

        _See? It was their idea, not mine – he kissed her cheek – but thank you all, it was nice of yours.

        _Yeah, really, really nice – Scarlett squeezed his hand.

        _Okay, that’s enough! I don’t think we need to know the details! – Becca interrupted – but now I want to hear more about the park – the gang continued to chat excitedly until the meal was ready. Soon, they were all at the kitchen table, eating and talking.

        _Everything’s so delicious. Great job, folks – Scarlett smiled.

        _I didn’t know you also were a chef, J-man – Zig shoved James’ arm playfully – I think I’ve never eat something as sophisticated as this mushroom pie.

        _Thank you, Zig – James beamed – as a family recipe, dad made a point of teaching me how to make it. Only the two of us do it at home.

        _So does it mean you won’t give us the recipe?

        _Sorry, Abbie, but neither does my mom know it. It’s just for the Ashtons – James made a sad expression and the friends complained, kidding.

        _But the Powell’s roasted roots can be shared!

        _Oh, good. This I want to know.

        _Later I give you the recipe, Scar, but there’s nothing like a special ingredient or spice or something like that.

       _So I guess is pure talent, because it’s marvelous – Kaitlyn joked – and I’m not so into vegetables!

       _The chicken’s amazing, too. You guys made a great team – Zig looked at Abbie and Tyler and they looked at each other again, smiling shyly. Zig turned to Scarlett and they smiled too.

       _And me? Did you all see how I fried the chicken without burning another pan?

      _Yeah, we saw, good job, Kaitlyn, you’re amazing, blah, blah, blah – Becca rolled her eyes and Kaitlyn stuck her tongue out. The girls laughed – okay, but now it’s dessert time – she motioned to a high-five to Zack before stand up to pick the pie. He claped his hand on hers, laughing.

      _Now you’re all about to see a professional work – they put the slices in little plates and the friends started eating – so what’s the verdict, birthday girl?

      _Perfect, Zack – Scarlett chewed slowly, tasting the dessert – amazing job, guys.

     _Fist bump, girl – Zack turned to Becca and they greeted – I told you’d be a great assistant – Becca sighed in relief – and if Scarlett approved, we conclude that it’s really a professional work!

     _This’s already the best birthday I’ve ever had. Thank you all – Scarlett smiled slightly – you know, now we have this house issue to solve, but I have faith we can work together and get through it. We’re an amazing group and we can do anything – she wiped away a tear – seriously, you guys are the best friends someone could ask for, and Zig, I have no words to describe the incredible boyfriend you are. I couldn’t be happier now.

      _I’ll propose a toast – James picked up his glass of wine and lifted it, and everybody did the same – to Scarlett, the friend everyone wanted to have!

      _In my case, the girlfriend everyone wanted to have, and lucky me, she’s mine – the gang let out an awww while Zig kissed her temple, making her flush. Then they toasted and shouted her name before another hugging session. While they were doing the cleaning, Zig and Scarlett washed the dishes and at some point he bent to whisper in her ear – what you said back there was amazing. Your relationship with you parents is amazing. I love seeing how you value what’s really important. You deserve all the best wishes for your birthday.

      _I just reciprocate what you all do for me – she smiled and he kissed her cheek – I care about the people I like because they care about me – after finishing cleaning, the friends assembled on the living room.

      _So, what can we do now? – Chris asked.

      _Let’s play something? How about Truth or Truth?

      _Oh, here goes Kaitlyn and this game – Zack protested.

      _Maybe we can watch a movie? – Tyler suggested.

      _Guys, it’s Scarlett’s birthday, why don’t we ask her what she wants to do? – everyone grinned in agreement, and Zig turned to Scarlett – what do you suggest, babe?

      _Let’s just stay here, listening to music and talking, it’s more than enough for me.

       While watched her friends, talking and laughing, Scarlett thought she should always value the simple moments in her life. Her family, her friends, her boyfriend. That whole celebration and the wishes she receives made her feel really loved by them.. And not only for the difficulties, but also the fun moments. She loved their company and how much they were proud of her. She remembered their parents, far but always caring. The surprise party on Friday. The day before that she spent with Zig. And the lunch earlier. The wish she made when she blew that candles had already come true.

[galaxystony]

fortune’s fool: peter parker II

peter parker x reader

A/N: multi-part fic based off of a twitter post which I won’t link until the end so as not to spoil anything :-) Each part can be read individually or as a series!

requested: nope

Words: 2000+

Warnings: cursing, mentions of sex, mentions of drinking, mentions of death

summary: Two Empire State University students fated to meet

let me know if you’d like to be added to my tag list!

requests are open!

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | masterlist

2. Understanding-

21 year old Peter, 19 year old reader

She woke with her head buried in stark white sheets, a rhythmic thrumming pounding against the base of her skull as she tried to gather her thoughts. She was definitely not in her own room, but the scent that surrounded her cocooned body was a familiar one, and the easy, measured breaths that she could hear from beyond her wall of pillows was a symphony she’d learned by heart.

With a groan, she turned on her side and pushed away the pile of blankets that separated herself from her best friend’s body. His bare chest rose and fell, faint puffs of air escaping his slightly-opened mouth every so often. Soft curls fell across his peaceful face that lay smooth and unwrinkled as he slept.

This wasn’t the first time that she’d woken up in the same bed as Peter Parker. It was, however, the first time she’d found herself naked and twisted in his sheets. She couldn’t say that she was surprised. They’d been the closest of friends for over a year now, and they both knew that some sort of consummation of their friendship was inevitable.

It didn’t worry her. She knew that what had happened wasn’t serious, and therefore, that nothing about their relationship would change. She knew that Peter knew that, too.

That’s why it happened, she supposed. Because they both knew it wouldn’t ruin anything. It was bound to happen some day, anyway. Instead of worrying, she was content to lay in the peaceful silence until Peter woke up and they’d have to talk.

She breathed in the cool morning air that blew through the slightly opened window and caused the sheer white curtains to flutter. The rest of Manhattan was surely awake by now, evidenced by the honking of horns and shouting from street corners. This was what she loved most about Peter’s apartment. The building was squished between another apartment complex and a multi-level shopping center, which was all smack in the middle of the bustling city, one that she’d come to love, perhaps even more than her own home of Long Island.

His own space, however, was a simplistic haven that was just so him that she found herself spending more time at his place than her own home.

“Just move in already,” is what he’d said once on a warm morning after she’d slept over for the fourth night in a row.

“No, you’d get sick of me!” she’d laughed. He disagreed, but they never spoke about it again. Still, she continued to spend days on end flitting between his kitchen and his sofa and his bedroom, working on her own things, simply coexisting with Peter and not depending too much on his presence to get her own stuff done.

Most often, she could be found sitting on his bed with her textbooks and notes spread around her, all marked in her own code of colored highlighters as she studied or worked on homework while Peter sat at his desk, focused intently on his own work and typing away madly on his laptop, stopping only to remind her to stretch or drink some water or grab a snack. That was just Peter, though; the caring guy she’d met over a year ago who had saved her from days of hauling boxes and who still cared more than anybody else and always thought of her needs before his own.

She loved him, she guessed, but in the purest of ways. She couldn’t stand to lose him, and he felt the same way, because they both knew that the ease of their relationship was not a common thing. They never actively sought anything more from one another, believing that if something was meant to happen, it would happen. For now, they both coveted the freedom they had to see other people, and the knowledge that they still had the other to come back to and laugh about awkward dates and terrible hookups with.

“It’s easier this way,” she’d said. “I don’t want to start anything if I can’t commit my whole being to you.” “I agree,” was his reply. ‘We both love this whole ‘young college student’ phase too much for us to really be able to give everything to one another like we deserve. Besides, as long as I’ve got you as my best friend, I couldn’t really ask for more.”

Then they’d smiled, Peter with that bright, dazzling thing that you could see from miles away, and her with something soft and shared with him, like a secret she seemed to reserve only for Peter, and then they turned back to their work which had been abandoned only minutes ago.

Sighing softly, she let her eyes trace over Peter’s still-sleeping figure. She wished, sometimes, that they’d met ten years later, when she knew who she was and what she wanted, and she’d be able to love him fully like he deserved. She still wasn’t expecting more from him, but she think it might have been better, knowing their intentions from the beginning.

She didn’t know, though, if he’d be her same Peter. His “after school hobby”, as he’d called it, wasn’t easy on him. She’d seen how much it changed him, even within the short year that they’d known each other. He was more quiet, more self aware. He’d seen horrors and faced death, and there was no one who really understood it, that he was still a kid that had to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders.

She did her best to listen when he needed her to, when days were dark and he just needed to get things off his chest. He’d told her about Liz and the Vulture and the homecoming night that happened so long ago that changed him forever. He told her about the innocent people that he could’ve, would’ve, should’ve saved, but let their lives slip through his fingers, and how each one weighed heavily on him, every one of them a cold, unbeating heart that couldn’t speak the words of condemnation that he knew they should. He told her about his visits to the graveyards around his city where he stood before their graves and cried tears that he didn’t deserve to cry and apologized profusely, knowing that his words would do nothing to bring them back.

And she would listen. She would let him cry onto her shoulder while she ran soothing fingers through tangled, sweat soaked curls, easing that beautiful mind in its state of turmoil. And then he would push his face deep into her chest while she cradled his head and pressed soft kisses to his hairline while his body racked with sobs.

Who would he be without her? He couldn’t be like this with Ned, couldn’t confide in him like he did with her. MJ would tell him to take his feelings out on the punching bag that hung in the back room of his apartment. He couldn’t even begin to talk to May about it in fear of worrying her half to death. She knew that. She knew everything. And so she became his rock, his unmovable force that he knew would always, always be there for him.

If she wasn’t though? Who would he confide in? Who would ease his pain and help him carry his burden? If it had been ten years later, who knew that he’d even be alive? That there was even a possibility of them meeting at all?

He’d certainly be different. Not the same shining light that she’d come to know so well. Knowing him, he’d let him get lost in his selflessness, his need to be a hero, and push himself further and further into this other version of himself. She didn’t ever want to meet this version of Peter, and so she fought to keep him Peter and not just Spider-Man.

So far, she thinks she’s doing alright. He’s still paranoid at times, always checking over his shoulder, wrapping a protective arm around her waist when they’re out late, but he’s also trying, she knows. He visits Aunt May every weekend, takes a trip to Uncle Ben’s grave once a month, hangs out with his friends regularly. She thinks he’s doing great, all things considered.

Peter began to stir on his side of the bed, a soft groan emitting from beneath the protection of the covers. He rolled over to face her, opening one eye slowly and allowing himself to adjust to the bright light that was now streaming through the window.

“Whatimezit?” he mumbled, pushing his head up to eye her unclothed body. “Wha’d we do last night?”

“We had sex,” she spoke bluntly, giving him a small shrug. “We can talk about it, if you want.”

“Rather not, actually,” he groaned, pushing his head back into his pillow. “How much did I drink?”

“Well, you took three tequila shots straight out of the gate then shotgunned a beer and I kind of lost count after your fifth mixed drink, so I’d say you were sufficiently smashed by the end of the night. Not that I was any better, mind you,” she recalled, stomach churning at the thought of that last beer.

“I feel like absolute shit,” Peter grumbled, face muffled by the fabric of the pillowcase.

“You look it,” she joked, scooting over so they were shoulder to shoulder, pressed together like sardines.

“Hey, not nice,” he pouted, turning his neck so their faces were mere inches away from each other. He smiled at her, breathing in as he spoke again. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

“Of course,” she responded. “We’ve talked about this before. As long as none of our feelings have changed, I think that we can both move past this.”

“Good. Now who’s making breakfast? Because I really don’t wanna get up right now, but if I don’t have something drenched in grease and hopefully some sort of cheese, my stomach will start eating itself,” Peter remarked, kicking her leg lightly under the sheets.

“Not me! I made you dinner before we left last night,” she answered, returning his kick.

“Let’s just order something in and that way we can stay in bed until it arrives,” he suggested.

“Fine, but you’re paying,” she insisted, and he agreed, allowing the peaceful silence to fall upon them again.

“I’m glad you’re my best friend,” he remarked after the silence settled, pulling her body closer to his with one hand.

“Don’t let Ned hear you say that,” she cautioned teasingly. She knew that Peter’s relationship with Ned was different than the one they had, but was still just as strong, and probably even stronger considering their history. She didn’t mind sharing his attention. She loved Ned just as much as Peter, and she was glad that he still had a close friend from home that always had his back no matter what.

“Ned knows it’s true. He doesn’t mind, I think. Ever since he and MJ picked up those jobs at the Rec Center, they’ve been closer than ever. Now they both gang up on me rather than just MJ,” Peter whined.

“To be fair, though, you deserve it more often than not,” she joked, nudging his shoulder.

“That’s probably true,” he sighed. “Anyway, I meant it. You’re the best person I know. Thank you,” he stated, reaching down to squeeze her hand.

“Thank you,” she responded. “You’ve done so much for me Peter. I’m so lucky to have you.” She smiled and squeezed his hand back, her grin only growing when he leaned over to press a kiss against her forehead.

They were interrupted by a knock on the door.

“One of us should really put some clothes on before we freak out this delivery guy,” Peter mused quietly, not moving at all.

“Yes, one of us should definitely put clothes on and get the food right now,” she looked at him pointedly.

“Fine,” he grumbled, sliding out of bed and pulling a pair of flannel pants on while she watched him in amusement, following his movements until he was out the door. Yes, she certainly was lucky to have Peter in her life.

Tagged: @multi-parker @cutie1365 @cersei-lannister @oswald-1998 @kawaiianime03 @lionfart @mrsdoradominguez-barnes @nonewmessage @co0kies08 @dec-snowy @sunshine-little-miss @cubedtriangle @triggerfingerfunction @dailygubler

[wesleyv21-blog]

One Week Down!

¡Hola, todos! Sending out good vibes from Quito!

Damn has a lot happened this weekend! Perhaps both the most exciting and nerve-wracking part of the experience so far has finally come: I moved in with my homestay family! But there’s quite a story leading up to this point so I’ll start from the beginning.

Friday was taken up by one-on-one interviews with our program director, Faba, during which we just checked in about our medical information and how we’re doing so far. Since there are 24 of us, and each interview took about 10 minutes, and somehow we fell behind at some point, this took almost half the day. When it was finally done around 1:30, a big group of us went out for tapas and had quite the time. It will be our last meal together for some time, because at around 4:00 on Friday, our host families came to pick us up from our hotel!

I was quite the ball of nerves and excitement while waiting for my family to arrive. Hell, we all were! All I had to go on was a letter they wrote me describing how excited they were to welcome me into their home, as well as a photo of the family and some info about them that the program provided. Well, the funny thing was that my family did not show up on Friday. The whole family had taken a weeklong vacation to the beaches of Esmeraldas, a province to the northwest of Quito that is a looooooong car ride from the city lol probably 6-8 hours with traffic. So, one of their good friends who is hosting another student and who lives close by picked me up. She was so nice and hospitable, feeding us cake, tea, and a scrumptious dinner. She is quite experienced in hosting foreign scholars, and in fact I ended up meeting two additional students from other universities and doing other stuff in the country that were wrapping up their time in Ecuador. My temporary host mom has a daughter and a son around our age, so all 6 of us ended up going out to a house party after dinner. Oh, one cool thing about my temporary host family is that the father’s brother is an ex-president of Ecuador who is also a famous economist. In addition to his famous books he’s written, my temporary host mom showed us a picture album with the whole family which was amazing and cute.

Now, this house party was something else. Getting there took around 40 minutes, as we had to drive out of Quito to Tumbaco, a little town out to the west. Let’s just say that the young Quiteño upper-class plays hard. First of all the estate was enormous, surrounded by this huge wall that enclosed probably three or four buildings on this large piece of land. Behind the mansion was this patio that was replete with a huge grill, a hammock, access to the kitchen, comfortable furniture, and even security cameras lol. There were many young men and only four young women including my temporary host sister. The men were going hard, forcing each other to drink, smoking cigarettes, forcing each other to drink more, running around all over the place, fighting over control of the music, grabbing the women as if they owned them. I had heard from one of the program assistants during our safety lecture that in Ecuadorian society, men are under such pressures from patriarchy that they vent all their pent-up emotions by drinking excessively. I don’t know enough to claim that this is what I witnessed, but it is a tempting conclusion to draw. Of course what I saw at the party is also heavily influenced by class, since these kids (my age) have the leisure and money to drink hard on a Friday night. It should also be said that this entire weekend is a dry weekend; bars are closed and you can’t buy alcohol anywhere. The reason? There was a national referendum today, and I take it that for all elections, since voting is mandated by law, alcohol disappears so as to ensure people’s faithful compliance. Nonetheless these individuals had procured alcohol from somewhere and were indulging. The most fun I had was swapping party stories with this one guy who ended up getting so drunk he couldn’t stand by the end of the night, and talking with this truly intercultural young man who spoke English, Spanish, and German, had studied abroad almost as much as he had in Ecuador, and who has plans to continue his education in Europe. One other thing I learned was that marijuana is super taboo here, way different from the states lol.

Saturday morning, my friend’s host family dropped me off at my real host family, and I finally got to meet them! Their house is also enormous. Just like every other house I’ve seen in Pichincha province (which includes Quito and the surrounding towns I’ve visited, like Pifo and Tababela), their house is enclosed in a tall wall covered in spikes. It has three stories, including a large patio and a home office for the parents’ travel agency they’ve owned for over 20 years. The sitting rooms are spacious and filled with cool art, the kitchen is small but intimate, and the house is super well located: just a few minutes’ walk to Parque La Carolina, El Jardín Mall, and our class building. Two parents, a daughter, two sons, and their grandmother all live in this incredible house. There’s even room for a visiting aunt who lives in London who is also very charming. In addition, a lovely Japanese woman named Ayumi rents office space and works as a travel agent for Japanese tourists. Her office is right next to my room; she’s also super friendly! Everyone is so welcoming and nice! We talked, watched Black Mirror in Spanish lol, ate delish traditional Ecuadorian food, compared the Spanish and English in different countries across the world, and went out the shopping mall. More on the food. It’s all soo yummy. There’s like a mini corn-on-the-cob that’s called choclo, and it’s usually served with a slice of cheese. They brought out a cacao fruit, which looks really cool, and when you cut it open you expose the brown seeds that are covered in a white slime. You can suck on the seeds and ingest the white slime, which sounds kinda gross but is actually a good mixture of sweetness and tartness. Oritos are mini bananas that are super sweet. Habas reminded me of edamame, as they’re kinda a bean-looking food whose shell you bust open to reveal a kinda bland inside that you can scoop out and eat. It’s really good with just a pinch of salt added to it! The main course of lunch featured a sardine flank that was served cold in a red sauce with tiny round potatoes. At breakfast there was thick papaya juice which was really good, and with lunch there was this sparkling apple juice that somehow had no sugar whatsoever in it. Tonight for dinner I had pastel de plátano, which is exactly what is sounds like: a little pan-seared cake made of smooshed sweet plantains called maduros. Oh I guess should I explain how meals work lol. Lunch is the main course of the day, usually consisting of 3-4 dishes served around 1-2 pm. Breakfast and dinner are both very light. Coffee or tea is usually served at both, and I’ve had grilled cheese sandwiches served at both as well lol. At breakfast, they bring out the rich fruits, whether in slices or juiced. Dinner, if served at all, tends to be pretty late, like around 8 pm. Needless to say everything I’ve eaten so far is delish(;

But I have to say that moving in with the host family has been one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Saturday was one of the longest days of my life. I’m overwhelmed still from being here and being so far away from what’s comfortable; add to that the awkwardness of getting to know an established family unit so intimately and the mindfuck of re-socializing your brain to speak only another language. There was a lot of time to myself Saturday, which was hard. But, it was also very fun and I can’t say I regret it. I knew going in that this weekend would be the hardest, but once I get over this hump then it should be relatively smooth sailing. On the positive side, they treat me very well and I can hold my own in conversations with three generations of native speakers. Think about the differences in pronunciation that accompany age in English-speaking lands; well, I’m slowly building the satisfaction of mastering that in Spanish as well. I also get along very well with both sons, which is cool to think that I’m making international friends! It’s a long journey I’ve just begun, but I wouldn’t go back for anything.

Another cool thing was a conversation I had with the youngest son about voting today. This won’t be his first time voting (that came in Lenín Moreno’s election last year), but he nonetheless had some cool perspectives on the referendum. Voting is mandated by law for all those above age 18 and is optional for those aged 16 and 17. If you do not vote, you incur a steep fine. In addition, upon voting, one receives a certificate that one needs to do official citizen business like procure a passport or visa. The referendum consists of 7 questions that will amend the Constitution. These questions are:

1.       Would prohibit those accused of corruption from ever serving in public office (Ecuador has a long history of political corruption, yet the last straw in adding this question to the referendum was the recent imprisonment of former vice president Jorge Glas on corruption charges)

2.       Would limit all elected officials to only 2 terms in the same office (brought about by the last president, Rafael Correa, who changed the constitution to allow himself to run indefinitely)

3.       Would replace all current members of the Citizens’ Participation and Social Control Council (the 5th branch of government here) and replace them all with new appointees (to flush out the last remaining allies of president Correa)

4.       Would remove statute of limitation for sex crimes against minors (due to over 1,000 cases of sex crimes against minors brought to court over the last 2 years)

5.       Would prohibit mining in protected areas, untouchable zones, and urban centers (mining is on the rise in Ecuador, yet this question might prove decisive for the young industry’s future)

6.       Would get rid of the law of plusvalía, which essentially treats the sale of property of any kind as speculation, meaning that the seller must pay like 70% of the revenue from the sale to the state as tax

7.       Would expand the protected areas of the Yasuní National Park, the single most biodiverse place on earth that also sadly houses much of Ecuador’s oil reserves (this question would thus prohibit future oil drilling in Yasuní)

The general populace was expected to vote to pass all of them in what many see as a middle finger to the last president, Rafael Correa, and a vote of confidence for Moreno’s young regime. Yet that’s not how my host brother necessarily sees it. He doesn’t support the current regime, and he certainly didn’t support the last. According to him, both presidents have raised taxes, especially on imports, which has raised the cost of living significantly. In addition, neither president supports/ed policies that are favorable toward foreigners, something he doesn’t like. His perspective is quite interesting and will need to be investigated further. Another interesting thing about the referendum came when Sebastián told me that many voters don’t understand the wording of the questions, not to mention all the annexes that are on the flipside of the ballot page. Very interesting. Also last night I watched a government news channel ahead of the vote today. After going into detail about each of the questions, the focus turned to the actual process itself. Even though this is the 11th national referendum since the return to democracy in 1979, there are some new and exciting steps being implemented in this referendum. For example, there is a new electronic rapid-response exit-poll-type technology designed to report trustworthy results ahead of the official tally. Lots of domestic and international observers were invited to oversee the polls. Something that I guess isn’t new is that all ballots are translated into indigenous languages, and for the many hard-to-access communities scattered across Ecuador, the government helicopters ballots in so people can still vote. Another highly promoted feature on this program was the accessibility of all voting stations so that people with different abilities can still vote. The temptation at looking at this at first was to dismiss it as government propaganda, which it no doubt is. After all, in the U.S., elections are a piece of cake and no one ever has reason to question the outcome (except Trump lol). But, I had to catch myself. This is a country whose democracy is relatively young. Building up these institutions is key for achieving long-lasting social justice. Who am I to come in and laugh at things that Ecuadorians take pride in? Nonviolent, inclusive elections aren’t a given. So, I learned a lot more than I thought I would watching that program last night.

Today I accompanied my host brother, Matías, as he went and voted. It was quite the process to get to his assigned voting place. We had to take a bus probably a mile or so (which, in Quito traffic, took about 30 minutes) and walk to the destination. Although we didn’t know at first which street the school was on, so we were walking around asking people where it was. Finally, we found it, and I watched as Matías showed his I.D., was handed the piece of paper with each question labeled and color-coded, walked over to a schooldesk on which stood a cardboard trifold to act as a privacy shield, and deposited the ballot in the cardboard box in which was cut a slit to slip in the ballot. And home we went. At night, nos reunimos para cenar y mirar los comentarios a cerca de la votación. As expected, all measures passed. Now the country awaits the implementation of each question.

After lunch I had the opportunity to talk to the ones I love most. I cannot overstate how happy I was to reconnect with them and catch up, even just to see their faces and hear their voices. No matter where I am on this earth, I know where home is (:

Classes finally begin tomorrow. I’m actually looking forward both to their content and the sense of routine they’ll bring. 

¡Hasta luego!

[lifeisjustanotherstory]

W/c 28th January - a week in anecdotes and not-shower shower thoughts (pt 1)

Monday

Even if Nick doesn’t remember my name, he still remembers where I live. I went to a shopping centre relatively close to my house (at least closer for me than most people) and he remembered that!

He mentioned one of the activities that his daughters had got up to at the weekend, which reminded me of “Digital Fortress” by Dan Brown, and I told him as much. Turns out one of his daughters had read that book recently and was thus able to solve one of the clues! It’s nice that other people know I read, even if he doesn’t have that high an opinion of Dan Brown books. (But at least he did admit they were entertaining.)

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Headed to the lift and saw a guy giving me an odd look. He wasn’t brazenly staring, but he wasn’t far from it, either. Once the lift doors closed, his curiosity became too much. 

“How are you working here? Why? You’re clearly too young”. I laughed it off, what else could I do?

“I’m 21 actually. And I don’t work here, I’m with the auditors.” He laughed. He had thought I was 16 - “and trust me, that’s a compliment.” 

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When I asked him how his weekend was, I never expected Emanuel to tell me that he went snowboarding for the first time. No one in the UK actually expands on that more than a “good, how was yours?”. Does…does he think we’re friends now?

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Shaunna said I could leave at 6pm, bless that woman. You don’t need to tell me twice. 

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Tuesday

Of COURSE I overslept on the one day that I had arranged an early morning call. But that extra 40 mins of sleep was worth it, and definitely beats the 25 mins of idle “wtf do I do then” I would have had at work. 

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Jits enquired if I had had an extra snooze this morning. I responded with “yes, a lie-in till 6:15am.”. Hope I didn’t come off as too sassy. Nick then asked me how it was, waking up on weekends. And I’m still up early, 7-ish, as is Nick. Body clocks are great (the consensus we reached…). 

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Was in the middle of eating my breakfast when Shaunna asked me to join her and Tom for a catchup. Took my food with me, as I’d just heated it. Moments before, I had just answered Ahmed and Sahil’s questions about what I was eating. Mid-meeting, I was caught unaware with Tom and Shaunna did the same.

“Okay, now before we continue, what are you eating?” Shaunna gestured towards my food, and she and Tom looked on as I explained. “I’ve seen you and wanted to ask all this time.” I explained what it was; South Indian food - savoury doughnuts, rice dumpling and coriander chutney. I offered to bring them some at the end of the audit. The offer’s still on the table.

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Cameron keeps biting his nails, and I am being successful in not letting it put me off.

*Mostly. 

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Listening to the intro of “Complicated” by Avril Lavigne; does anyone even say ‘crash the mall’ anymore??

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Wednesday

Found a shirt on my first attempt a mere 20 minutes after thinking about it. Now where are my sunglasses??

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Red coat man!! He got on my Tube. I’ve always wondered where he gets off, and by chance he’s happened to get the same connecting train as me.

He disembarks at Barbican.

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I’m not the earliest junior member of the team anymore!! That accolade goes to Shaheen now. She gets on the train at 5:50. Bloody hell.  

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It’s Wednesday. And that means a team snack run. Matt H and Ahmed are given the task of going to get the food; I’m going to come out of this busy season having consumed more biltong and chocolate rounds biscuits in 3 months than I did in 20 years. 

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Am I right in detecting a little friction between Tom and Shaunna? Shaunna has more general experience but Tom was on the team last year. The work delays aren’t helping. I’m still not sure…but at least they’re both happy with me :’)

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“Absolute scenes” is apparently the best way that Sahil can use to describe me eating chicken mcnuggets and fries at 5pm.

Matt G asked me how I’m enjoying my pigeon nuggets -_- .

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 Shaunna is letting me leave at 6pm again. While I love being able to leave early, I can also see all of the work piling up (figuratively) in my peripheral vision…

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Thought 3 carriages was a bit of a squeeze, but there’s actually only two on the train home. People by the doors and in the vestibules are packed in like sardines in a tin.

I’ve never actually seen sardines in a tin.

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Thursday

Jits was doing a quiz this morning, and asked which country bordered the Dominican Republic. Amy said Haiti, but he said no. And then I was SURE that it was, that Amy was right, and I said so myself. Turns out we were right after all, and he grudgingly said thanks afterwards.

They also talked about Trinidad and Tobago, and I mentioned I used to live there. Jasper asked me why we moved here. Looking outside at the foggy London (ignoring the iconic skyline ofc), you do wonder…

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A couple of days ago Matt G had tried to say Aytaj’s surname but failed (miserably). So I took it upon myself to try today. I asked her to say it, thinking I could imitate her, but she turned it back on me and told me to go first.

It took me less than ten (-_-) tries but I finally got it correct. Even if she found it weird, she didn’t show it, and gently corrected me when I didn’t get the sound right, or was placing emphasis on the wrong ‘l’. That was sweet of her. 

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I decided to get KFC for the way home - the literal way home, as I ended up disposing of the remains at my home station. There I was, chewing meat off the bone on the Tube platform. Of course, I didn’t look the professional picture and really hoped that I wouldn’t happen to see anyone I knew…

And I did. Will works at the same company as me and I only know him from seeing around the office. Oh, and he used to secretly date one of my friends. He didn’t give me a second glance.

So, it was someone I knew. But they didn’t know me :P 

[spikeyandspeedles-blog]

September: Update

Hi all! Speedles here :) Sorry it’s been a while. Daniel and Katherine have agreed to do some guest posting over here on the blog, so you’ll probably hear from them in a bit, but for now, it’s just me. 🐢

I wanted to give an update of our last month, ‘cause we’ve already been here that long! Crazy, I know. A few quick spoilers: we found a house! but we’re currently living with D+K’s VERY KIND friend Chris :) He’s pretty cool.

So, what have we been up to?

Well, we spend most of our time around the Ciudad de las Artes y Ciencias, or the City of Arts and Sciences. It’s one of the newest large-scale constructions in the city of Valencia, and is a huge tourist attraction. The four main buildings house a science museum, aquarium, opera house... and then there’s Berklee. Daniel thought that the opera house building was actually Berklee, so he was pretty disappointed to discover that the school is actually in a wall (literally, it’s a wall) off to one side. But now that we’re all used to it, it’s a nice wall to hang out in :) Looking at my pictures, I’m just now realizing that we don’t have any of Berklee itself, so Spikey and I will be sure to take a selfie there ASAP! Until then, here’s some of the opera house and science museum (as well as a random building that doesn’t seem to have any particular non-aesthetic function). Well, actually you can kinda see Berklee. It’s the wall on the right side of the first two pictures.

The opera house. What animal does it remind you of?

One of the best things about Valencia is the Jardin del Turia, which is a huge park-garden complex that runs the entire length of the city. Many years ago, the river Turia flowed there, but after a particularly deadly and damaging flood in 1957, it was re-routed and the Jardin planted in its place. We’ll have to do a special-edition post about the garden later, but until then, here’s a view of the opera house from the other side of the garden:

For our first two-and-a-half weeks in Valencia, we stayed at an AirBnB with a wonderful Cuban woman named Elda and her dog Happy (see below!).

Elda lives in a quiet, very un-hip neighborhood called Mont-Olivet, a ten-minute walk from Berklee. It was a great place to start, partly because we really dig the un-hip vibe (hehe), but also because there’s hardly any car traffic, no nightlife, the shops are simple and reasonably priced, and there’s lots of little cafes where grandmothers and grandfathers drink their morning cup of cafe con leche together. Elda was the consummate hostess, even making us TERRIFIC Cuban gumbo and calling real estate agencies for us while we were desperately apartment-hunting.

Unfortunately, Elda’s place is pretty popular, so it was booked until January after our few weeks were up. But God worked through our friend Chris, a fellow SFTV (Scoring for Film, TV, and Video Games) student and Christian, who invited us to stay at his place until we found an apartment. Berklee is in the Jardin on the eastern side of Valencia. Elda’s flat is below the Jardin, and we moved up above the garden to Chris’s flat, about a 15-minute walk from Berklee.

Albors, our new neighborhood, is a little busier and bigger than Mont-Olivet, but it’s a lot easier to get around. Valencia has a bike-sharing program for €30 a year, which is a pretty good deal. Sometimes it’s hard to find a bike when you want one, or a station when you need to drop a bike off, but it’s been super helpful in getting to school quickly. There’s a bike station right around the corner from Chris’s flat and one right next to school, so it cuts the transit time down to three minutes (when Daniel and Chris are late for school :P).

Some pics: Here we are, with all of D+K’s stuff, in Chris’s hallway (sorry for the blurriness--it’s hard to take selfies that far away).

Here we are watching K make dinner in Chris’s kitchen:

We’ve enjoyed getting to know all of Daniel’s (really super) classmates, and we’ve also gotten to know the staff and students with a group called En Vivo, a Christian campus ministry at the University of Valencia/Polytechnic. When D+K were first thinking of coming to Spain for the year, Katherine applied to be on staff with En Vivo, but she and the team ended up deciding that it would be best if she worked on a volunteer basis for the year.

During our second week in Valencia, D+K met with Jesse and Sophie, the En Vivo team leaders. Not only did they have lots of work for us to do (yay!), but they also offered to help us with our housing search (more on that later). The work was sanding, priming, and painting the interior of a property that En Vivo will use as their “campus house” for student events, weekly meetings, and as a place to chill. K+D have spent the last three Fridays there, getting lots of paint on themselves and some on the walls ;)

Hallway before primer:

Hallway after primer:

It’s amazing even what primer can do to brighten a place up!

Jessie and Sophie (and their family) are the kind of people that, when you’re around them, make you feel totally at ease and cared for, as well as give you the sense that there are still good things in this world, after all. No kidding, but actually.

Our (second? third?) weekend here, we were invited to a cookout in the mountains with En Vivo staff and students, to kick off the school year. It was WONDERFUL to be out of the city: the air was clean and cool, and the mountains were beautifully wild. It’s a place that seems to be incredibly dry and incredibly fertile at the same time: you see dusty slopes filled with prickly shrubs and cacti next to orange and olive groves, or stands of pine trees with short, vivid-green needles.

The cookout was at the summer home of a student’s grandmother--a sort of vacation-home with just the bare essentials, almost like a personal campground. There are many such houses in the mountains around Valencia, and can range from a concrete floor and some walls to pitch a tent under to a fully-equipped house to spend the whole summer in. This place was somewhere in between, with a yard to play Viking Chess (look it up--really fun) and an outdoor fireplace built into one corner, where we built a pine-log and -needle fire to roast racks of pork ribs on. The yard was also the favored habitat of hundreds of snails (the kind you eat, I think), and Katherine and the staff kids had a swell time making little habitats for them and finding them juicy grass to eat.

Playing Viking Chess:

The cooking fire!

Yummmm, barbecue ^-^ This was probably the first really filling meal we had in Spain :P

Just hangin’ out:

[Well, if you’re still reading, you’re a trooper ;) I’ll try to cut it short, and will ALSO try to write more often so you don’t have to stretch your attention span so far hehe.]

While in the mountains, we explored a little trail that led from the house to... TRENCHES! MORTAR NESTS! BOMB SHELTERS! But actually, these mountains were used as a military encampment and fortress to protect Valencia during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). As far as we know, the trench and bomb shelter-cave system was never used in battle, but it was crazy-cool to get a glimpse into that part of Spanish history.

Part of the trench system:

A cave dug (into almost solid rock) as a bomb shelter. These were spaced every 200m or so along the trench, and went back only a yard or so from where you can see. Some seem to have been blocked up at the end, so we wondered if they were connected at some point?

I’d better wrap it up, if only because Daniel will have no dinner otherwise (turtles are actually quite good cooks, if you didn’t know).

Among other things, we have been very blessed by our church, both the community and the Word preached. God has spoken very clearly through the sermon each week, and we’ve gotten to know some other young internationals that we eat lunch and talk with afterwards. Here’s the main room of the church:

And here we are hanging out afterward! Also eating black rice (colored with squid ink).

Other fun things we’ve done:

-- Sleep in late

-- Sleep in late

-- Go play volleyball at the beach with friends

-- Pick pomegranates from a pomegranate tree in the Jardin, and make pomegranate molasses

-- Sleep in late

Also, we found a sand castle at the beach:

Lastly, we have a picture with the ubiquitous breakfast, lunch, and dinner food: TOSTADAS!! (aka toast; we eat it with mashed tomato and oil, sometimes sardines).

Allllllright! That’s it, folks :) Hope you enjoyed hearing of our adventures, and look out for a guest post from the *one and only Daniel Hwang* about God’s provision for a HOUSE for us!

Also, maybe more pictures next time ;)

With all the love of a turtle,

Speedles 🐢

P.S. Spikey gives his love too, but he isn’t sure how much love hedgehogs have, so he says just double whatever turtles have (also, I can’t find a hedgehog emoji). 🐢 🐢