#WELL WAS IT ON THE NEWSPAPER CAROL

[waitimcomingtoo]

Rumor Has It

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

Synopsis: chaos ensues when Peter suspects you may be pregnant

Masterlist

“Do we have any salt and vinegar chips?” You asked as you rummaged through the kitchen pantry.

“No, because those are disgusting.” Rhodey replied without looking up from his newspaper.

“Actually, they’re delicious.” You insisted. “Clearly someone agrees because they’re all gone. I need something bitter. Do we have any pickles?”

“I think we have some left over from Cap’s birthday blowout. I’ll help you look.” Peter got up from his seat at the kitchen table and went over to help you look.

“I’ll look too. I need some cheese balls.” Sam patted his stomach and went over to the pantry. What he found inside was a nearly empty bag of cheese balls waiting for him. Sam slowly held up the bag to everyone sitting at the kitchen table so that they could see it.

“Who ate all the balls?” He said calmly.

“It wasn’t me.” You answered.

“Not me. I don’t eat that crap.” Bucky scoffed.

“What do you call that then?” Tony asked and pointed to the pop tart in Buckys hand.

“Well it’s strawberry flavored, isn’t it? That’s a fruit.” Bucky replied.

“You’re a fruit.” Tony mumbled.

“Come on. Fess up.” Sam urged. “Who finished all the balls?”

“Not me.” Peter answered while everyone else stayed silent.

“Well it was fookin’ one of yus.” Sam snapped and threw the bag to the ground.

“Don’t look at me.” Tony held up his hands in defense. “I haven’t eaten cheeseballs since the 80s. That was also the last time I tried crack. Unrelated.”

“Someone needs to tell me who ate all the balls or there’s about to be an Avengers level threat in this kitchen.” Sam warned.

“I did it. I ate all the balls.” Carol confessed and stood up from the table.

“And just put back an empty bag? Don’t you think the rest of us would’ve liked some balls?” Sam asked as he slowly walked towards her.

“Maybe.” She shrugged. “Or maybe I didn’t care.”

“Maybe you should care. I was looking forward all week to those nice, crunchy balls.”

“We don’t always get what we want.” Carol replied and narrowed her eyes.

“Why did we all decide to drop “cheese” and just say balls?” Peter raised his hand to ask.

“If you finished the balls, you should have replaced them with more balls.” Sam told her.

“I’ve been busy.” Carol shrugged him off.

“Doing what?” Sam scoffed. “Eating all the snacks and not replacing them?”

“Why’d you ask if you already knew?” Carol asked sarcastically, making Sam grow madder.

“I’ll kill you.”

“I’ll kill you harder.” Carol warned back.

“Guys. No fighting in the kitchen.” Tony quipped. “It makes the fruit go bad faster.”

“He’s right. The bad vibes make the banana go brown instantly.” You insisted. Carol looked down at the empty bag of cheese balls and sighed.

“I’m sorry I ate all the balls.” She said sincerely. “I’m on my period right now and I honestly don’t even remember doing it.”

“Fine. You get off the hook this time. But only because I don’t understand how periods work.” Sam said with the same sincerity.

“I can go get some more balls now at the store.” Carol offered. “I need ibuprofen anyway. My cramps are killing me.”

“Hey, sparkles, can you get me some cough stuff while you’re there? My throat is acting up.” Tony said and rubbed his sore throat.

“Why are you always sick?” Sam asked him.

“Your immune system gets weaker as you get older. This cold could very well be his last.” Peter pointed out.

“Thanks.” Tony replied sarcastically through a cough. Carol left for the store and you looked down at the cheese ball bag in confusion.

“What’s today?” You asked Peter.

“The 25th.” He replied. “Don’t ask me what day of the week though. I’ve never known.”

“Hm.” You frowned and put your hand on your stomach.

“What’s wrong?”

“My period was supposed to come on the 10th. I wonder why it’s so late.” You shrugged.

“Weird.” Peter shrugged as well and didn’t think anything of it.

“I guess these will have to do. As entertaining as this was, I’ll be in my room.” You said as you grabbed a bag of tortilla chips, kissed Peters cheek, and left the kitchen. Sam turned to Peter with an amused look on his face, making Peter frown in confusion.

“Uh oh.” Sam chuckled.

“What oh?” Peter asked.

“Nothing. Just don’t ask me to babysit.”

“Babysit who?”

“Your kid.” Sam said simply.

“What kid?”

“The one your girlfriend is pregnant with.” Sam said like it was obvious.

“What?” Peter laughed. “She’s not pregnant.”

“Did we just see the same thing? Her periods late and had weird food cravings? She’s definitely pregnant.” Sam insisted.

“He’s right. Only a pregnant person would willingly eat salt and vinegar chips.” Rhodey said from the table.

“You guys don’t know what you’re talking about. There’s no way she’s pregnant.” Peter laughed it off but felt his stomach start to turn with anxiety.

“Oh. My bad. I didn’t realize there was no way.” Sam snorted and looked Peter up and down. It took Peter a minute to realize what Sam was implying and he quickly shut that down.

“Now hold on a minute. Best believe I’m in my baby’s room every night leaving her adequately satisfied. I’m saying there’s no way she could be pregnant because we use protection. And because I have lighting quick reflexes.”

Tony threw a a buttered bagel at Peter from the kitchen table and it stuck to his chest. Peter looked down at the bagel before looking at Tony in shock.

“Why would you do that?” Peter asked.

“The question you should be asking is didn’t your tingle tell you I was gonna do that? Maybe your reflexes aren’t as quick as you thought.” Tony shrugged and went back to his breakfast. Peter peeled the bagel off and tossed it in the trash before looking at Sam.

“Do you really think she’s pregnant?” He whispered.

“I don’t know. Do you?” Sam asked.

“I don’t know. Do you?” Peter asked back.

“Why don’t you just ask her?” Sam suggested.

“Yeah. That’s a really good idea. Let me ask my girlfriend if she’s pregnant. That definitely won’t effect her self esteem in any way or make her mad at me at all.”

“You’re right.” Sam agreed. “You have to sleuth.”

“Or I could just wait until she feels ready to share the news.” Peter pointed out.

“No.” Sam shook his head. “You gotta go sleuth.”

And so, Peter left the kitchen to sleuth. He went to your room and pushed your door open to find you.

“Hey, honey bee.” Peter greeted you as he walked into your room. You were standing in front of your floor length mirror with your shirt pulled up a little.

“Do you think I’ve gained weight?” You asked as you examined your reflection.

“Uh….” Peter looked behind him for help getting out of this question. He ended up turning in a full circle twice and got dizzy.

“Peter?” You asked and rolled your shirt down.

“Ummmmm.” He stalled and pretended to take sudden interest in the things on your dresser. He knew girls had a record of asking things and wanting certain answers and he was almost positive that this was one of those questions. Your question had also watered the seed that Sam had just planted in Peters head about you possibly being pregnant. Peter knew he needed to avoid answering this question before you got suspicious that he might know something.

“Did you say something?” He asked you.

“I asked you a question.” You laughed at his obvious attempt at avoiding the question.

“You did? I must’ve miss that.” He played dumb.

“Just be honest with me. Do you think I’ve gained weight?” You repeated.

“I don’t understand the question, sorry.”

“It’s a simple yes or no question.”

“I’m confused. Are you asking me?” Peter forced a confused laugh and pointed to himself.

“Yes, you. You’re the only one in here. Do you think I’ve gained weight? Be honest.” You asked and looked back at your mirror again to see your side profile.

“In what regard?”

“Oh my God.” You laughed. “Just answer the question. I’m not gonna be mad. It’s not the end of the world to gain weight. I just want to know if you’ve noticed it.”

“I’ve never noticed anything. Ever.” Peter replied.

“Right. Thank you.” You chuckled and walked over to him to wrap your arms around his neck. He kissed you hello and momentarily forgot about what Sam had suggested.

“Why do you ask?” He asked you.

“I don’t know. I was just getting dressed and I realized I used to put this belt on this hole but today I put it on the hole after that.” You shrugged and showed him your belt.

“Maybe it shrunk.”

“Maybe. Or maybe I grew.” You shrugged.

“You look beautiful either way.” Peter said sincerely. “Whether you got bigger or not. You’re still the only girl I want to holla at.”

“I think so too. Thanks.” You smiled warmly at him and rested your head on his shoulder to hug him. Peter wrapped you in his arms and sighed happily and you gently rocked back and forth.

“You’re welcome.” He answered. For a second, he wasn’t panicking about the possibility of a baby. Instead, he felt excited to start a family with the person he loved most.

Later in the afternoon, you and Peter strolled into the kitchen to get some snacks. Tony and Sam were making lunch while Carol restocked the snack cabinet.

“Oh, I almost forgot. Here’s your cough syrup.” Carol said and gave the cough medicine to Tony.

“Thanks. My throat is killing me.” Tony sighed and cracked open the bottle.

“Here. We have measuring cups in the-“ You started to say as Tony took a long swig of the syrup.

“Or chug it. Okay.” You nodded while Peter stifled a laugh.

“Ugh. They can’t figure out how to make this taste any better?” Tony grimaced and wiped his mouth.

“I’ll make you some tea to wash it down.” You offered and filled the kettle with water.

“Thanks, kid.” Tony smiled. “I love when my annual man flu lines up with when you’re home from school. You’re so good at taking care of people.”

“Thanks for saying that. I don’t know what it is but I really like taking care of people when they’re sick. It makes me feel like a mom.” You said as you poured the hot water over a tea bag. Peter started choking on the water he was drinking while Sam gulped.

“You’re gonna be such a good mom.” Carol told you. “You’re so giving.”

“Aw, thank you. I hope so.” You smiled and patted your stomach twice. Peter and Sam exchanged a look with equal panic on their faces. Sam grabbed Peters arms and pulled him aside.

“Did she just pat her stomach?” Sam whispered.

“No way. This can’t be happening. You can’t be right. You’re never right!” Peter whispered back as he started to panic.

“Maybe this time, I was!” Sam whispered harshly.

“She can’t be pregnant. There’s no way. She would’ve told me.”

“She is telling you.” Sam insisted. “She’s dropping hints like crazy.”

“Oh my God. Why’d you have to put this idea in my head? I’m freaking out, man.”

“So am I. You think I want a spider baby crawling up the walls and shit like it’s the exorcist?”

“Technically the exorcist is the guy who gets rid of the demon. He doesn’t crawl up the walls. The possessed person does that. Well, I guess depending on the demon.”

“Jesus Christ. This kid is about to be so god damn annoying.” Sam sighed.

“You know what? No. She’s not pregnant.” Peter decided and walked away.

“Are you sure about that?” Sam called after him as he went back into the kitchen. When Peter got there, you were mixing honey into Tony’s tea while helping him with something on his phone. Peter watched you patiently teaching Tony and smiled to himself. He once again felt that maybe it would be okay if Sam was right. If you were pregnant, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. It was unexpected and jarring, but not impossible for Peter to handle as long as he had you.

The pregnancy rumor that existed between only Peter and Sam died down for the next few days. It wasn’t until a rainy Sunday that Peter thought about it again. You were watching a movie in the living room with some of the team when Natasha came in.

“Carol and I were gonna go train. You wanna join?” Natasha asked you.

“I would but my lower back is killing me. I think I slept weird.” You said and cracked your neck. Peter felt his face heat up when you said this, and Sam caught it too.

“Did you hear that? Her back hurts. Because of the baby!” Sam whispered to Peter.

“That’s not why. Didn’t you hear her? She said she slept weird.” Peter whispered back.

“Duh, she slept weird because of the baby!” Sam whispered again. Peter waved him off but couldn’t help but wonder if he was right.

“I could crack it for you.” Natasha offered.

“Could you? Thank.” You got off the couch and went over to Natasha. She wrapped her strong arms around you and was about to squeeze when Peter jumped off the couch.

“Not so fast.” He said and pulled you away from Natasha.

“What’s the matter?” You wondered. Peter was dumbstruck for a second when he realized he couldn’t say he didn’t want Natasha to crack your back incase her giant muscles squished the little baby in your tummy.

“I just don’t think it’s safe to be cracking her back if you don’t know what you’re doing. You could hurt someone.” Peter tried to explain but didn’t sound convincing.

“I’m not gonna hurt her. I’ve cracked her back plenty of times.” Natasha insisted and pulled you back towards her.

“Okay. Just be careful. Baby on board.” He mumbled the last part quickly.

“What was that?” You asked him.

“Nothing. What did you say?” Peter asked you to throw you off.

“I didn’t say anything. Weirdo.” You laughed at his odd behavior and let Natasha crack your back. Peter held his breath until you were safely out of her arms.

“Oh thank God.” He sighed. “We survived that. Cool.”

“Did you not think we would?” You laughed in confusion.

“I don’t know how to answer that question.” Peter answered honestly.

“You are being so odd lately. More than usual, you know that?” You chuckled as you pulled him back towards the couch.

“That’s just my boyish charm.” Peter laughed weakly and settled back onto the couch. He pulled you into his side and told himself that your back could be hurting for any number of reasons and didn’t necessarily mean you were pregnant. You watched the movie for a little bit until Peter felt you shift and wince a little.

“Are you okay?” He asked you.

“Yeah. My boobs are just sore.” You said and adjusted your bra uncomfortably.

“Why? Did you sprain them?”

“Um, no.” You chuckled. “I don’t even think you can sprain them. I must be PMSing.”

“Oh, thank God.” Peter said too enthusiastically. “Your period came?”

“No. Why do you seem so excited about it?” You furrowed your eyebrows and looked at him. Peter gulped and avoided eye contact with you.

“Excited? I’m not excited. Your men’s trail cycle doesn’t evoke any emotions within me. But if you don’t mind me asking, how are you PMSing without the P?”

“I’m pretty sure the P stands for “pre”. But you still get the symptoms sometimes even if you’re not on your period.”

“Interesting, interesting. Follow up question, are you usually this off kilter?”

“You mean irregular?” You laughed. “No. I haven’t been late in years.”

“Hm. Weird.” Peter forced a laugh and tried to focus on the movie while his mind raced.

“You’re telling me. My boobs hurt like a bitch.” You whined and pulled the blanket up to your chin.

“Ahem, I could help with that, m’lady.” Peter smirked and held up both his hands. You looked at him for a long time with a disgusted expression before turning back to the movie.

“I want pretzels.” You said.

“Coming right up.” Peter jumped off the couch and ran to the kitchen. Sam saw him leave and got up to go after him.

“How’s it going?” He asked Peter once they were alone in the kitchen.

“I don’t know.” Peter sighed. “She hasn’t told me anything yet.”

“Is she showing any other signs?”

“She said she thinks she gained weight but I can’t really tell. I don’t think about that stuff. I just see her and I’m like “oh my god it’s a girl”. Have you noticed anything else?”

“I mean, I wasn’t gonna say anything, but I saw her rip the wrong banana from the bunch and broke down crying.” Sam admitted.

“Oh no. Is craving bananas a symptom of pregnancy?”

“No, idiot. Mood swings are. For your future child’s sake, I really hope she isn’t actually pregnant. No one deserves this dumb of a father.”

“I know.” Peter whined. “What do I do? I’m freaking out.”

“I’m sure she’ll tell you soon. And if she doesn’t, you’ll find out anyway. It’s kinda hard to hide a pregnancy after a few months. Just relax, man.”

“Okay. You’re right.” Peter agreed. “I’m not gonna freak out until I know there’s something to worry about. Now excuse me while I pee out this apple juice.”

Peter walked away from Sam and went into the bathroom. After peeing, he blew his nose and went to throw it out when he saw something strange in the trash. He frowned and pulled it out before feeling all the color drain from his face.

“Oh no.” He said gravely. In his hand was a pregnancy test with two red lines.

“Positive? What? Are you sure?” Peter whispered harshly and shook the test. The lines stayed the same and Peter felt his stomach drop. All those moments of thinking everything would be okay seemed so far away now. Now that it was real and not just an idea, Peter felt overwhelmed. You were really pregnant and he really didn’t know what to do. He felt his heart start to race and he fell against the door with the test in his hand. You heard Peter thud against the door and went to go investigate.

“Peter? Are you okay in there?” You asked as you knocked against the door.

“Go away! I’m pooping!” Peter screamed as he ran the test under hot water to try to change the answer.

“Why is that always your response?” You sighed and walked away. Peter waited until you were gone before sneaking out of the bathroom. He went to go find Sam and yanked him into another room.

“Dude. It’s true. She’s pregnant.” Peter said and handed Sam the test.

“Oh shit. Are you sure?” Sam asked and shook the test.

“I already tried that. It’s true. She’s pregnant.” Peters mouth went dry as he said it out loud. It felt even more real now and he didn’t know how to handle it.

“Dude. This is serious. Aren’t you guys in like middle school?”

“We’re both in college. But still. I’m not ready to be a dad. I can’t even take care of myself. Look at this rash.” Peter whined and lifted his shirt to show Sam the red ring around his armpit.

“Oh my God. What the hell is that?” Sam grimaced and raised his hands to protect himself from Peters rash.

“A rash. Like I said.” Peter said flatly. “I think I’m allergic to my deodorant.”

“So use a different one.”

“But I like how this one smells. It’s called Flannel, see?” Peter said and got closer to Sam with his arm raised.

“Get your armpitt out of my face before I make it where you can’t have anymore kids.” Sam warned and Peter put his shirt down.

“What am I supposed to do?” He whined. “Mr. Stark is gonna kill me. And then May is gonna kill me. And then Y/n’s parents. I’m gonna die three times. Three times!”

“Yeah. No, I agree. You’re definitely fucked.” Sam agreed.

“What? That’s not helping!”

“I’m sorry dude, but how am I supposed to help you in this situation?”

“I don’t know. Tell me it’s all gonna be okay?”

“Is it? You’re not out of college yet and neither is she. Neither of you have jobs that can support a child. And it’s not like you live together either. Where would the baby even stay? Your crappy apartment? Or here at this tower full of nuclear weapons and glass windows that aren’t baby proof?”

“I didn’t even think of those things.” Peter realized and started to panic all over again.

“Clearly you don’t think at all. How did this even happen?”

“From sex.” Peter whispered and covered his mouth.

“I know that.” Sam rolled his eyes. “But don’t you guys use protection?”

“Of course. Always. Wrap it before you tap it. On god.”

“Well is she on the pill?”

“What pill?”

“You know. The pill.”

“Tylenol?” Peter asked.

“Oh my God. This poor baby.” Sam groaned and rubbed his eyes.

“What am I gonna do Sam? I’m not ready to be a father. I only had one until I was 9. What if the kid turns ten? I don’t have any examples of being a father past age 9. What am I gonna do?” Peter whined and shook Sam by the shoulders.

“She could get an abortion?” Sam suggested.

“Maybe but that’s not up to me. If she wants to keep this baby, we’re keeping the baby.”

“Maybe it won’t be so bad. Have you ever babysat?”

“Just Ned’s tomagotchi. And it died. Like, immediately.”

“Well lucky for you, Y/n is gonna make a great mom. You’ve seen how caring she is. She takes care of all of us when we get sick. And she gets weirdly excited to do it too. If you so much as sneeze around her she runs to get you a thermometer and a blanket. And she knows all the passwords for streaming services.”

“You’re right. She’s got this. I can learn from her.” Peter said and started to calm down.

“Are you gonna tell her you know?”

“No. She deserves to tell me in her own way on her own time.” Peter decided.

“I think that’s smart. In the meantime, you should probably hit the books. There seems to be a lot you don’t know.”

“You’re right.” Peter realized. “I need to know what to expect when I’m expecting.”

“Can I be honest?” Sam asked.

“Sure.”

“I kinda thought that between the two of you, you’d be the one to carry the baby. Not her.” Sam told him.

“No, I get that.” Peter nodded in agreement.

That night, Peter opened his laptop and started to research everything he could on pregnancy.

“I’m gonna the father the shit out of this kid.” He whispered to himself before diving into his research. By the time the sun came up, his eyes were red and glazed over. His hands were cramping from all the typing and his back was stiff beyond repair. He had spent the night reading every article he could find and took extensive notes. He shut his laptop when he heard birds outside and padded out of his room. When he walked into the kitchen, he saw you about to take a bite of a bagel with lox.

“No!” Peter screamed and shot a web at your bagel. He yanked it away from you and threw it at the cabinet, where it stuck. Everyone turned to look at Peter and he felt his face heat up.

“What the hell was that?” You laughed in surprise.

“You can’t be eating that in your condition.” Peter blurted.

“What condition is that?” You asked and Peter realized he had said too much.

“Um, dating a boy who thinks fish is gross?” He smiled weakly.

“It’s just lox. Try it. I think you’ll like it.” You said and started to make another bagel. He realized that if he ate the rest of the lox, you couldn’t eat any. He had read in his research that uncooked fish was not safe for pregnant women to eat but it seemed like you didn’t know that yet. Keeping it away from you without telling you what he knew was his best bet.

“Okay. Yeah.” Peter reluctantly agreed and sat next to you at the table. You handed him your bagel with the fish on top and he gagged a little. Peter the opened his mouth and shoved the entire bagel inside. He chewed it slowly and gagged every so often.

“You ate the whole thing.” You said in disbelief over what you had just witnessed.

“Uh huh.” Peter said with a full mouth.

“Did you like it?” You laughed and wiped some cream cheese off his mouth.

“Yeah. Yummy.” Peter said weakly. He turned his head a little and gagged loud enough for you to hear.

“Peter, if you don’t like it, don’t eat it.”

“I love it.” He lied and kept chewing. He slowly swallowed the massive bite and made a face as it went down.

“Do you want to throw up?” You asked him.

“Yes please.” He nodded. You brought Peter to the bathroom and held his messy hair back as he threw up into the toilet. Once it was all out, he rested against the wall. He caught sight of the garbage can, the very one ye had found your pregnancy test in.

“Soon, this will be me helping you throw up.” He said.

“What?”

“What?” Peter said quickly when he realized what he had said.

“Are you feeling okay?” You laughed and checked his forehead.

“Are you?” He genuinely asked, wanting to know if you were experiencing morning sickness yet.

“Yeah. Why do you ask?”

“No reason.” Peter lied. You found his behavior strange but decided not to question it further. You knew Peter well enough to know that this was just how he behaved sometimes. You brought him back to the kitchen and made him some tea for his tummy as Peter watch d carefully from his seat. He felt himself relax for the first time since finding the test. Now that he had some some research and remembered how good you were at taking care of people, he felt more confident in your combined skills as parents.

That feeling was confidence was shaken later that day when Peter went into your room to find you. He pushed open your bathroom door and found you sectioning your hair into parts with the faucet running. Beside the sink was your hair straightener. Peter gasped dramatically and yanked the plug out of the wall before shutting off the water.

“Are you crazy? What the are you doing?” He asked as he took the straighter out of your hands.

“Doing my hair? Is that okay?” You laughed in confusion and reached for the straitened.

“You can’t be using this when the waters running. What if you drop it into the sink and get electrocuted?” Peter said as he held the straightener up.

“I’m not sure it works like that. I think it the sink would have to be full of water.”

“Oh. Well I don’t know how hair straighteners work, okay? I’m not God.”

“Peter, you’re being ridiculous. More than usual. Let me straighten my hair. I have to go out tonight.” You whined and took the straitener from him.

“Go out where?”

“It’s Kate’s birthday. We’re gonna go to karaoke and then go to a bar.” You explained as your ran a section of hair through your straightener.

“A bar?!” Peter nearly screamed.

“Yes, oh my God.” You laughed at his outburst. “What’s with you today?”

“What’s with me? What’s with you? You know you’re not supposed to drink when you’re…” Peter trailed off and you looked at him in confusion.

“When I’m what?”

“When you’re on medication.” He said quickly. “Obviously that’s what I was going to say. I saw you take Tylenol before. You’re not supposed to mix alcohol and medicine.”

“That was just for my back pain. I think I’ll be okay.”

“Please don’t go out tonight.” Peter whined and wrapped his arms around you. You stopped doing your hair and turned around in his arms to face him.

“Why not?” You wondered.

“Because…” Peter trailed off as he desperately tried to think of something. He only knew one thing that would be sure to get you to stay.

“Because I’m not feeling so good.” He lied and faked a cough.

“Oh no. You’re sick?” You gasped and felt his forehead.

“Yeah. So sick. Tony must’ve given me whatever he has. I feel horrible.” Peter whined and clutched his stomach.

“But Tony’s throat was bothering him. Does your stomach too?” You asked when you saw what Peter was doing. Peter realized he was faking the wrong illness and nodded.

“Oh yeah. My throat and my stomach hurts. And I think I’m getting a fever too. And my toe fell off.” He laid it on thick to get you to stay.

“Aw. Poor baby.” You pouted and pulled him into your arms.

“Baby?” Peter whispered in fear.

“I’ll take care of you, okay? I’ll tell Kate I can’t make it.” You smiled sweetly as you cupped his face. Peter felt bad for lying to you but he couldn’t let you go out drinking if you were pregnant.

“Thanks, honey bee. You’re the best.” He smiled back. You took his hand and brought him to his room to tuck him into bed. Peter felt guilty all over again when you went to go make him some soup. He was feeling perfectly fine so your efforts were for nothing. You came back and fed him the soup, making him feel even worse about lying.

“I feel like Peeta in the cave.” Peter joked as you held the spook to his lips.

“Ugh, dirty Peeta in the cave is so hot. I would’ve won the games with the things I’d do to that man on camera. I’ll tell you that.”

“Wait, what?” Peter sat up and looked at you.

“How about some tea?” You smiled sweetly as you changed the subject.

“Can we circle back to what you just said about-“

“I’ll go make some.” You cut him off as you left his room. You came back soon with a hot mug of tea for Peter. He was already sweating under the blankets you tucked him into and the hot soup, so tea was the last thing he wanted. But he felt that that’s what he deserved for lying to you.

“Oh, no. You’re so sweaty. You must be getting a fever.” You frowned once Peter had finished his tea.

“Oh no. Must be.” Peter laughed weakly and discreetly fanned his face.

“I know what will make you feel better.” You said and climbed into Peters lap. You started to kiss his neck and he went into high alert mode.

“What are you doing?” He asked and gently moved you back.

“Kissing you?”

“With a suggestive undertone.” He replied, sounding accusatory.

“Is that a problem?” You laughed and bent down to kiss his neck again. He pulled you off and looked at you in disbelief.

“You want to have sex? The very thing that caused this?”

“Huh? Caused what?” You asked.

“The pregnancy.” He said like it was obvious. Peter slapped his hand over his mouth as you tilted your head in confusion.

“Wait, what? What pregnancy?”

“Your pregnancy.”

“My pregnancy?” You asked as you sat back on your knees. Peter sat up as well and pushed the blankets off himself.

“I’m sorry. But I know.” Peter admitted with a sigh.

“Know what?” You laughed in confusion.

“You don’t have to pretend anymore, honey bee. I already know about the pregnancy.” Peter said as he took your hands.

“Wait, I’m confused. Who’s pregnant?” You asked him.

“You are.” He said simply.

“I’m pregnant?” You asked and pointed to yourself.

“Yes. You’re pregnant.”

“Me?” You asked and looked behind you for who else he might be talking to.

“Yes, you.” He urged and shook your hands.

“Hold on. Who told you I was pregnant?” You laughed at how serious he was.

“You did.” Peter said like it was obvious.

“Me?” You questioned and pointed to yourself again.

“You’re the only one in the room right now.”

“Peter, I never said I was pregnant. I think I would remember saying something like that.”

“That’s because you didn’t say it with words. You’ve just been dropping hints like crazy. The sore back, the eating of salt and vinegar chips-“

“Those are-“

“No they’re not.” He cut you off before you could defend them.

You stared at Peter as you tried to gage if he was being serious or not. He stared back at you as he tried to figure out if you were upset or relieved that he knew.

“Also I found this positive pregnancy test in the trash.” He said as he pulled the test out of his pocket. You took the test from him and looked at it for a long time. Peters heart raced as he waited for your reaction. Finally, you flipped the test over and showed him what it said on the back.

“This is a strep throat test.” You said calmly.

“What?!” Peter shrieked and took the test back. Sure enough, the back said “rapid strep throat test” in raised letters.

“Tony has strep throat. You knew this.”

“This looks exactly like a pregnancy test.” Peter defended as he showed you the test again.

“Peter, this looks nothing like a pregnancy test. Do you know what a pregnancy test looks like?”

“Apparently not.” Peter scoffed. You stared at him for a minute before cracking up laughing.

“You really thought I was pregnant? That’s why you didn’t let me eat fish or straighten my hair? And tried to stop Natasha from cracking my back? Which I still don’t see the correlation, by the way.”

“I didn’t want you or the baby to be in harms way. What if the straighter shocked you and the baby came out like the Flash? What if it just ran right out of your womb? Or what if Natasha squeezed you so hard and the baby popped out like a rocket?”

“You know shocking little about pregnancy.”

“I know. But as nervous as I was, I was also kinda excited.” Peter admitted. “I know you’re the person I’m gonna be with forever. It would be nice to have a little one that was a combination of the both of us.”

“And one day, we will have one.” You assured him. “And hopefully, they’ll inherit my intelligence over yours.”

“I hope so too.” Peter chuckled. You leaned down to kiss him and he felt himself fully relax for the first time in days.

“I hope you know that if we do have a kid one day, you’re carrying it. I’m not getting fat.” You told him once you pulled away.

“I don’t know if that’s medically possibly yet. Not for cis men, anyway.“

“We’ll find a way.” You shrugged. “We can ask Bruce. You can be like a seahorse! Or Cosmo from the Fairly Oddparents.”

“I’d do it for you, honey.”

“I know you would. That’s why I know you’re my forver person too.” You smiled and leaned in to kiss him again. Peter pulled you into his lap and slipped his hand behind your head to deepen the kiss.

“So, now that we know you’re not pregnant…” Peter trailed off and played with the buttons on your shirt. You caught on to what he was suggesting and laughed as you pushed his face away.

“Not a chance.”

Tag List 🏷️

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@nellabellaa @pinklxmonade-blog @boogywoogywoogy @ciarahollands

[hopelesslygaysstuff]

50 Shades of Red || Chapter 3

pairing: Wanda Maximoff x Natasha Romanoff

summary: Kate is excited and there's a photoshoot. And lots of gay pining and panicking. Mostly on Wanda's end.

content warnings: Vision being a weirdo

word count: 4.5k+

masterlist

comments and reblogs are always appreciated! happy reading ♡

Kate is elated. 

She’s almost too excited. Wanda finds it suspicious, and narrows her eyes as her roommate starts speaking quickly, her voice high and her words stumbling against each other in her haste to speak. 

“What was she doing in town? Wait, never mind I don’t really care. She totally came to see you!” Her excited voice blares through the speakers on Wanda’s phone. 

Wanda is in the stock room while Carol is in charge of the front of the store, attempting to count inventory while her mind replays every second of Ms. Romanoff’s visit an hour ago. She had shot off a quick text to Kate, asking if she’d like a personal photoshoot with the CEO, and her roommate had immediately called her, burning with questions. 

“I mean, no fucking way it was just a coincidence that she happened to stop by the only store in town that you work in. You don’t think that was on purpose?”

“She said she was visiting some department for research,” Wanda says, setting the pen down on her clipboard as Kate clucks her tongue on the other end of the line. She didn’t know why her heart sank slightly at the thought, cursing her excitement at the prospect of Ms. Romanoff purposely coming into town to see her. 

“Oh, that’s right. She’s giving the renewable energy research facility a 3 million dollar grant.” Kate’s voice cracks over the speaker slightly, and Wanda feels her eyes go wide. 

“How do you know that?”

“Dude, my job is literally chief editor for the University newspaper, keep up.”

“Oh,” Wanda shakes her head. That makes sense. She must be really out of it, distracted by Ms. Romanoff’s impromptu shopping trip. She changes the subject. “So do you want the photos of her then?”

Kate’s high-pitched screech sounds out, and Wanda jerks the phone away from her ear as the sound reverberates in her eardrum. She winces, making out the words Kate is yelling. 

“Of fucking course I want the photos. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Wands!! Ms. Romanoff never lets anyone take photos of her, and this would be a private photoshoot. We could have hundreds of personalized photos of her, do you know how rare that is?”

“Okay, okay,” Wanda laughs, hearing Kate’s harsh breathing sound out as she catches her breath. “We just have to figure out who is going to take them, and where.”

“Where do you think Ms. Romanoff would want to do the photoshoot? Like, will she judge us if it’s in some warehouse?” Kate asks, her voice starting to get more high-pitched. 

Wanda knows what that means. Her roommate is overthinking, and her hands are probably shaking as her mind runs a mile a minute. 

“We can ask her about a location, since she’s staying in the area.” Wanda’s voice is soft, and she hears Kate’s breathing calm slightly. It’s a start. 

“How would we ask her?”

“Well,” Wanda starts, hesitating slightly. She hears Kate moving around, probably busying herself with cleaning to release some anxiety over the situation. “I can just… text her and ask?”

“She gave you her number?” Kate’s voice is incredulous and bordering on hysterical. “The most elusive, most desired, hottest, eligible single woman in Seattle gave you her fucking number?”

“Um… yes.”

“Oh my god, Wanda. She’s totally into you, anybody can see it.”

“Kate, no,” Wanda protests, “She was just trying to be nice.”

As she says the words, Wanda knows that they’re false. Ms. Romanoff being nice? To some random girl who tripped through her multi-million dollar quartz doorway? Absolutely not. There had to be a reason why she was giving Wanda so much attention. Her heart stutters, filling with happiness at the thought. 

“We can ask Vision to take the photos, he’d do just about anything for you.” Kate’s voice grounds her to the present moment. 

Wanda feels her body shudder. She didn’t really have anything against the tall, nerdy blonde. He was nice, and in a few of her classes with her. But, he would always stand too close to her or would find any excuse he could to talk with her. His interest in her was noticeable and no matter how many times Wanda had hinted at her sexuality, he just didn’t seem to understand her disinterest in him. 

Honestly, she was one creepy, lingering look away from making a giant banner with the words, ‘I’m a lesbian!’ painted across it in pink glitter. 

Still, she had to admit that he was talented with a camera. 

“Fine, I’ll call him. I think you should call Ms. Romanoff. After all, it’s your article.”

“No way, you’re the one she wants.”

Wanda blinked at that, letting the thought warm her for a moment. Then, she shook her head. “You’re being ridiculous, I barely know her.”

“Out of the two of us, you’re the one who’s met her. And you’re the one she’s purposely sought out, so you’re calling her. Don’t argue with me on this.” Kate’s voice is firm, the click of her hanging up the phone surprising Wanda.

Slipping her phone into her pocket, Wanda pulled out the business card Ms. Romanoff had given her. Her eyes traced over the curves of the woman’s name, memorizing the phone number on the back as she felt herself start to smile. God, she felt almost giddy. It felt like she was back in high school, with a crush on a cheerleader who’d smiled at her in the hallways. 

“So, how do you know her?” Carol’s voice sounded out, her tone suggesting that she was attempting to be nonchalant. It wasn’t working very well. 

Wanda jumped, her heart rate spiking as she guiltily slipped the business card back into her pocket. Turning, she saw Carol setting down a box before the woman turned to her with curious eyes. She didn’t have to ask who Carol was referring to. 

“I had to interview her for Kate’s newspaper,” Wanda says, and her casual tone sounds just as forced as Carol’s. “She was sick so I went for her.”

“Impressive,” Carol muses, lingering in the doorway. “I can’t believe Natasha Romanoff was in my store. Valkyrie is going to be insanely jealous.”

She smiles widely at the thought, before seeming to remember where she was. “Listen, a few customers came in, so I could really use your help out there.”

“Right,” Wanda says, picking up her inventory clipboard. “I’ll be out soon, give me two minutes.”

She can practically feel the burning weight of Ms. Romanoff’s card in her pocket, and takes a deep breath. Maybe she can recite some poetry in her head to get rid of the ever-present replays of their meeting from earlier that day. Looking at the clock, Wanda despairs slightly. 

Only three more hours of her shift, then she can go home and study without thinking about the redhead at all. Not even a little bit.

—

“Wanda, you know my style,” Vision’s voice crackles slightly over the speaker, a whining sort of quality to his tone. Kate rolls her eyes from where she’s listening in on the conversation. “I only shoot places, not people.”

“Oh my god dude,” Kate says, ripping the phone from Wanda’s hands. She gladly lets her roommate take control of the situation, her stomach churning with every word that Visions speaks. “If you don’t do this for us, the newspaper won’t cover the opening of your show. Do you understand now?” 

There's a beat, a moment of silence that stretches too long to be comfortable. Vision speaks, “Fine. Send me the details once you have them and I’ll be there.”

“Awesome, we’ll see you tomorrow,” Kate says, and hangs up the phone before Vision can say anything else. “Your turn, call Ms. Romanoff.”

Wanda blinks, still processing the conversation with Vision. 

“What, now?”

“Yes, now. If I don’t sit here with you, you’ll never call. I know what you’re like with making phone calls. I’ll even hold your hand if you want,” Kate says, reaching across the couch with exaggerated grabby hands as Wanda chuckles and slaps her fingers lightly. 

Taking out the card, Wanda traces the familiar shape of Ms. Romanoff’s name before dialing the number from memory. It wasn’t that hard to remember, especially since she’d been repeating it subconsciously in her head for the past few hours. Her stomach twists, doing a funny sort of fluttery motion as the dial tone rings. 

She answers on the second ring, her voice clipped and calm. It’s slightly raspy, and Wanda feels her chest grow warm. 

“Romanoff.”

“Oh, um… Ms. Romanoff? This is Wanda. Uh, Maximoff. Wanda Maximoff. You gave me your card earlier?”

“That I did,” she says, and Wanda can hear the smile in her voice. “It’s good to hear from you, Ms. Maximoff.”

Her tone has changed, warmth flowing through the phone. She sounds pleased and almost surprised. Wanda is acutely aware of the way her face is slowly flushing with each low, raspy word Ms. Romanoff speaks. Kate watches, her eyes lighting up at the sight of Wanda’s pink cheeks. 

Standing, Wanda waves her hands in Kate’s direction in an unspoken order to ‘fuck off’, before making her way towards the kitchen for some fresh air. They’d propped the window open earlier, and Wanda eagerly breathes in the smell of freshly fallen leaves as she scrambles for something to say.

“We found a photographer,” she blurts out, before smacking a hand against her forehead. “For the photoshoot tomorrow. That is, if you still want to do a photoshoot. I didn’t mean to assume. Does that work for you, ma’am?”

Wanda can feel herself cringe slightly as the words spew from her traitorous mouth. 

“Ma’am? That’s new… I’m staying at the Hilton in town, does 9:30 work?” Ms. Romanoff asks, and Wanda can hear the amusement in each syllable. The woman’s slow smile practically seeps through the phone, and Wanda pushes down the giddy feeling erupting within her. 

“Yes, of course,” she feigns nonchalance, her voice too high-pitched to be convincing. “We’ll see you then.”

“I look forward to it, Ms. Maximoff,” she says, and Wanda can visualize the way her dark green eyes are glinting. She envisions the corners of her mouth turning up into that secret smile she had given Wanda earlier, and shakes her head quickly, returning to the present moment. 

“So do I,” Wanda manages to say, before she quickly hangs up the phone, practically slamming it down on the counter and staring at the screen like she’s expecting the circuits to light on fire. 

“Wow,” Kate’s voice sounds out, her tone a slow drawl. “You’re totally blushing, dude. Admit it, you like her.”

Whirling around, Wanda opens her mouth to respond. She stutters, the words of denial fading quickly as she registers the way her heart is beating quickly and the excitement and butterflies building within her at the prospect of seeing Ms. Romanoff the next morning.

Well, fuck. 

“Oh, come on. She has a million other things to worry about. She’s not focused on some college student who interviewed her. And it’s not a crush… I just find her intimidating.” Wanda can’t tell if she’s trying to convince Kate or herself, and based on the way her roommate raises her eyebrows, she’s not easily swayed. 

“Sure,” Katre says, her gaze pointedly glancing towards Wanda’s reddening cheeks. “I’ll arrange the photoshoot and give my manager a call.”

“I’ll make us supper, how does spaghetti sound?” Wanda asks, jumping at the opportunity for a subject change. Kate agrees, her knowing gaze telling Wanda that she’s aware of her tactic, but thankfully her roommate drops the subject.

That night, Wanda dreams of cinnamon and dark red hair, the weight of warm fingers against her skin, and a raspy voice echoing around her. She wakes up twice, burying her head in the pillow as she scolds her overactive brain for thinking too much. 

She just has to get through this photoshoot, then she can bury the thoughts of Natasha Romanoff somewhere deep inside her brain. 

—

The Hilton stands out among the other buildings, the white-washed stone a beacon of wealth. Wanda tries her best to not raise her eyebrows too far, but Kate doesn’t seem to care as she cranes her neck to look up at the building. The boys in the back, Vision and Paul, seem interested as well, and Vision winces as Paul leans over him to press his face against the window. 

“Damn, so she’s like really fucking rich, huh?” Paul asks, and Wanda internally scoffs. 

She’d looked up Ms. Romanoff’s net worth the night before, her eyes wide and her ice cream forgotten and melting in her bowl as she stared at the numbers on her screen. She’d found herself in a rabbit hole of research, if that’s what you could call it. She mostly just looked up any information she could find about the woman, her public records limited and her photos mainly sourced from various exclusive interviews. 

“Yeah,” Wanda muttered, “I guess so.”

Kate had managed to book a room in the Hilton, typically used for receptions. She’d struggled for a while, her call being transferred to various departments until she’d finally uttered the name Romanoff. After that, it was easy to book a room, free of charge. 

When they arrive, a nervous, young-looking man guides them towards the room. Vision lags behind, carrying his camera and equipment. Wanda pays him no mind, aside from the occasional forced smile in his direction. He’d been trying to talk to her in the car and not-so-subtly imply that they should go out on a date, but luckily Kate and Paul had redirected the conversation to much safer topics. 

The nervous man opens the doors to their rented room, Kate’s casual confidence shining as she directs Vision and Paul toward the back wall. They have about twenty minutes left to set up, and Wanda eagerly accepts Kate’s order to ask the hotel management for refreshments. 

Setting up the finger sandwiches and water cups is easy, and Wanda finds herself relaxing at the monotonous act as she watches the minute hand on the clock creep closer to 9:30. She stiffens when the scent of cheap aftershave reaches her nose, Vision’s lanky frame filling her vision as he leans against the refreshment table. 

“So, you went and interviewed this woman,” he says, leaning in. “Is it true that she’s really a lesbian?”

Furrowing her brows, Wanda opens her mouth to respond. To say.. something clever. Vision beats her to it, his eyes glancing down at her chest too many times to be a mistake. “I bet she hooks up with some really hot women, I wish I could photograph that instead.”

“Oh, maybe we shouldn’t talk about her private life-”

“Also, I was wondering…” Vision cuts her off before he straightens, his eyes glancing over Wanda’s shoulder. 

Wanda senses Ms. Romanoff’s presence before she sees or hears the woman. She watches Kate’s eyes go wide, her eyes flicking over to her as excitement fills her features. Turning slowly, Wanda nearly chokes on her own saliva as she takes in the woman before her. 

Ms. Romanoff is dressed in the most expensive-looking clothing Wanda has ever seen in person. Her cream-colored dress pants hug her in all the right places, and Wanda has to wrench her gaze upwards before she’s caught staring for too long. The white, silk shirt isn’t much better for her steadily-increasing inappropriate thoughts. Wanda blushes when Ms, Romanoff turns, the light catching her shirt just right to show the abdominal muscles flexing through the thin fabric. 

Forcing her eyes further up, Wanda feels a shiver run through her at the look in Ms. Romanoff’s eyes. At first glance, her dark-green gaze looks to be impassive, cold even. But Wanda notices the way her eyes are slightly crinkled in the corners, a private smile meant only for her. The woman’s eyes darken slightly and flicker down towards Wanda’s outfit, lingering just a half-second too long at her chest. She doesn’t mind, Ms. Romanoff’s gaze is comforting rather than off-putting.

“Ms. Romanoff,” Kate says, and Wanda immediately feels the loss of her heady gaze on her. “So lovely to finally meet you, I’m Kate Bishop.”

She holds her hand out, and Ms. Romanoff shakes it. It seems firm, and Wanda finds herself wishing that she could feel the woman's soft skin against her own. She wonders if her handshake is firm, and looks down at the floor as a hot, jealous feeling arises within her as Kate starts directing the woman towards the backdrop Vision and Paul had set up. 

Vision starts to say something, his fingers uselessly gesturing toward a spot against the backdrop. Ms. Romanoff ignores his stammering request, focusing on Kate as she directs the woman into position. Dark green eyes flicker towards Wanda, a sort of curiosity in them. 

“Wanda,” she says, a single finger beckoning her closer. “What do you think?”

“Oh, um. About the poses?” Wanda asks, the woman’s hot gaze trapping her in place. She feels her feet start moving towards the backdrop, her bottom lip trapped between her teeth as she feels her heart begin to race. 

“Yes,” Ms. Romanoff replies, tilting her head thoughtfully. “You're the only one here who's spoken to me before. So, you know me best. What pose do you think would capture me?” 

Wanda blinks, her mind blanking. She remembers the way Ms. Romanoff had leaned forward during her interview, her forearms exposed from her rolled-up sleeves as she regarded Wanda with intent eyes. 

“Roll up your sleeves,” Wanda says without thinking, feeling a flush rise to her cheeks at Ms. Romanoff’s amused, raised eyebrow. Kate glances back at her, a slightly proud smirk playing out on her lips before she turns back towards the CEO. 

Maintaining eye contact, Ms. Romanoff slowly unbuttons her sleeves, rolling them up with precision that speaks to years of practice. Her gaze is heavy, and Wanda feels the air around her grow hot as her heart rate picks up to a dangerous speed.

“Anything else?” 

Goddammit. Ms. Romanoff’s voice is low, her slight rasp sending Wanda’s mind spiraling into an unknown, fuzzy headspace. She suddenly has the urge to step closer to the woman, needing to be in her space.

Oh, those hands. Those fucking hands. Wanda watches the woman finish rolling up her sleeves, those hands resting casually over her knees with her fingers curled slightly. There are gold bracelets and fingers decorating the woman’s wrists and fingers, and Wanda has a sudden vision of Ms. Romanoff slowly taking all of her jewelry off. She’s well aware of the other three people in the room, one of them her roommate and the other a boy who is borderline obsessed with her. She doesn’t really care. Not when Ms. Romanoff’s attention is fully on her. 

“Lean forward,” Wanda says, biting her bottom lip. Green eyes track the movement, darkening slightly. “Lean on your elbows and look at the camera through your eyebrows. Then slowly tilt your head up until you’re looking dead set at the camera. Give us the barest hint of a smile.”

She turns to Vision, her eyes lighting up in excitement as he starts fiddling with the setting on his camera. “Make sure you get plenty of pictures as she’s slowly tilting her head up. This way, we get plenty of different expressions and angles.”

Vision nods, smiling at her. Wanda shudders, his blinding teeth throwing her off. 

Looking back at Ms. Romanoff, Wanda takes in the woman’s furrowed brows as those captivating green eyes glance between her and Vision. She suddenly has the urge to distance herself further from Vision, and steps closer to Kate. 

“Perfect,” Kate says, clapping her hands once. Wanda fights the urge to jerk at the abrupt sound. Paul startles, dropping one of the finger sandwiches. 

Vision takes several photographs, the click of the shutter sounding out as Wanda watches the woman intently. Ms. Romanoff seems to slip into a role, her expression professional and practiced as she assumes many different poses, her forearms exposed artfully in each one. 

The photoshoot is over before Wanda has fully processed seeing Ms. Romanoff, her mind replaying the closeness of the woman when she visited her store. The sight of those eyes is burned into her brain, the dark green color ingraining itself into Wanda’s memory. The faint scent of cinnamon wafts near her, and she feels lightheaded with need. 

Honestly, what the fuck is wrong with her. 

“Ms. Maximoff.” The words are commanding, and Wanda focuses. Ms. Romanoff is standing, her eyes focused on Wanda. “Will you walk with me?”

“Of course,” Wanda murmurs, ignoring the look and subtle thumbs up that Kate sends her. 

Walking quickly, Ms, Romanoff pulls the door open smoothly and holds it open for her. Her eyes are intent on Wanda, her hand just barely brushing her waist as she slides past her through the open door. 

The silence isn’t overwhelming, instead, it’s rather comfortable. Wanda is well aware of the woman beside her and fights the urge to look over at the way Ms. Romanoff’s hair curls gently over her shoulders.

“Would you join me for coffee?”

“What, now?” The words are out of Wanda’s mouth before she can think, and she blushes at Ms. Romanoff’s amused glance. 

“Yes, Ms. Maximoff. Now. I’ve been recommended a coffee shop just down the road.”

Wanda blinks. Is this… a date? Is Ms. Romanoff really asking her out? On a date? 

“Yes,” Ms. Romanoff says, drawing out the syllables. “This would be a date.”

Fuck. Wanda hadn’t realized that she’d said that part out loud. She almost says yes. God, she wants to, but she’d forgotten one crucial detail. 

“I have to drive everyone back.”

“Hmm,” Ms, Romanoff doesn’t look pleased. She turns to the side and waves a hand sharply at a man standing nearby. He’s dressed in a sharp suit and snaps to attention. “Nick, can you drive the photographer, the assistant, and Ms. Bishop home?”

“Of course Ma’am.”

Wanda feels her eyebrows steadily rising in disbelief as the man steps into the room they’d just left. Of course, Ms. Romanoff had a personal driver. She probably had a chef and a housemaid and a… Wanda stopped that train of thought before she could think about it too hard. 

“So,” Ms. Romanoff murmurs, turning a corner and stopping at a window. There’s a nice view of their small college town, and Wanda turns to look at it. Anything is better than meeting those piercing, heavy, green eyes. “Are you available for coffee?”

“Why do I have the feeling that you won’t let me say no?”

“Oh darling, you can always say no. But that’s your decision to make.”

Wanda glances down, picking at her fingernail to avoid the heavy gaze locked on her. Something about Ms. Romanoff just makes her want to agree with everything the woman says, and the arm muscles flexing through her silky fabric isn’t helping Wanda stay focused. She takes a breath and looks back up, “So this is a date?”

“Do you want it to be a date?” Ms. Romanoff’s head is tilted slightly, her expression giving nothing away. Wanda feels her heart skip a beat. Her tongue feels too heavy in her mouth, and she feels herself choking on air as she begins to stammer out nonsense words. 

“I- well. I’m- I don’t know, I-”

“I would like for this to be a date,” Ms. Romanoff cuts her off smoothly, the corners of her lips quirking upwards. 

“Well,” Wanda mutters, feeling her face flushing even further as Ms. Romanoff’s smile widens. “I’d like that too.”

“Perfect,” she says, and Wanda wonders if she’s standing closer than before. She can practically feel the older woman’s body heat against her own, and that faint scent of familiar cinnamon wafts beneath her nose. She breathes deeply. 

“I’ll have Nick bring the car around. You should tell your friends that you’re unavailable for the rest of the morning.” Ms. Romanoff’s words are low and murmured against Wanda’s ear. She hopes that the woman doesn’t catch the full-body shiver that cascades down her spine, or the goosebumps rising quickly on her neck. 

Wanda nods at her, eyes flickering between Ms. Romanoff’s dark green irises briefly before she turns her gaze past her towards Kate. The older woman’s hand twitches, her fingers brushing lightly against Wanda’s waist as she steps around her. A full shudder threatens to run through Wanda’s already overactive nervous system, and she suppresses it with sheer will. Her roommate is in the middle of giving Vision and Paul instructions but turns towards Wanda with a raised eyebrow when she begins walking over. 

How the fuck is she supposed to explain a last-minute date with the country’s hottest, richest, and most eligible bachelorette?

Next Chapter

---

Dm or comment to be added!

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[piratefishmama]

Fake it 'till you make it | Prompt

When Steve Harrington came out to his parents, he expected a few things to happen. Jumping back a little, he hadn’t even meant to come out. His parents meant well, they did. He couldn’t deny that they meant well.

They knew he was lonely when they were gone, they knew he was the type of person who kind of… needed someone around. He wasn’t a lone wolf, he wasn’t someone who could just go it alone, while they were away for months, and while Robin was lovely, Robin was also a lesbian.

So Robin was out of the question.

So it fell to the women they knew. Through their connections. And unfortunately those women tended to be, for lack of a better phrase, ‘Daddies money is how I intend to live for the rest of my life’, and completely comfortable in switching out who Daddy was.

Steve… didn’t have a daddy kink, thanks.

Okay maybe he did a little but not in the call him daddy kind of way. More the other way around.

After the fifth attempt to throw some business partners daughter at him, a woman who’d actually kind of impressively deep throated a hot dog at the office barbeque while looking directly at him before he’d even gotten her name. Impressive, kind of terrifying.

An image of his life consisting of an unhappy marriage where his wife used sex as some kind of transaction rather than the big family full of love that he wanted flashed before his eyes.

He'd had enough. So when the sixth one came up, Vivian, he hadn’t even been able to wait for them to explain who she was, which business associate she was related too, it just. Came out.

Or rather he came out. Spectacularly.

“I’M GAY!” Okay less spectacular initially, more manic desperation. He expected a few things to happen after he realised what he’d blurted out.

He expected anger, he expected disappointment, he half expected disownment, not fully expected, his mother would probably be on his side. He expected violence, judgement, demands of him to tell them it wasn’t true, or demands that he hide it, keep pretending for appearances sake. He’d heard the coming out horror stories.

He did not expect—

“Oh oh! What about Jonathan!! From Tennis club, honey you remember Jonathan right? Peter’s son?” His mother turning to look at his father, who’d turned a little pale. That was it, his father would be the one to blow up, his mother was in his corner that was sort of expected but his fa—

“Lynda he is not dating someone with the same name as me, that—no. No, I don’t think I’d recover if those thin walls at the chalet struck again.” Goddammit. “What about Timothy, Dorothy’s nephew? Didn’t she say she’d caught him with some punk boy on that family holiday to London?”

“Yes but she was trying to get points around the water cooler for being hip and homophobic, did you not hear what she called the poor boy? I’m not associating with Dorothy, good heavens.”

“I hadn’t heard, why have I not heard? Lynda we’re trying to create an inclusive work environment, I can’t have homophobic people working in HR!” And John was up, newspaper down, and off to his study to deal with Dorothy muttering about how he was sure the monthly office newsletter, which included the updated company values, would have weeded the bigots out by now.

“…Did my coming out just get someone fired?” Steve finally broke his shocked silence, his mothers attention turning back to him, her eyes wide, mouth puckered in a little, silent, oh.

“……Maybe.” His shoulders slumped, expression dropping to deadpan, she moved quick to reassure him “Don’t worry about it, Steven, she really wasn’t well liked.” It didn’t make him feel better… okay maybe it did, one less homophobe in the workplace. “Oooh, what about—”

It didn’t stop the matchmaking. The potential suitor pool just got bigger. Especially when he quietly, defeatedly corrected himself, revealing it was bisexual, not just gay, accepting his fate.

So it was no longer Vivian, Jessica, Bethany, Barbara, Carol, etc.

It was Vivian, Thomas, Jessica, Peter, Bethany, Robert blah blah blah

“Okay but you know some people would kill for that kind of support right?” Robin spoke the truth while rewinding the latest batch of returns. And maybe he was whining, maybe he was being overdramatic, his parents were supportive and were trying to make sure he’d be happy while they were gone on their long business trips.

Honestly they could have probably just let him get a dog. It’d have been easier. Less expensive than any of the people they were suggesting.

“I know… it’s just… they could at least try and find out what my type is. Instead it’s like they’re trying to throw a whole Indy gay bar at me in hopes that one person just kinda sticks. And now I’ve got a whole week with them coming up in some remote chalet, what if they bring someone, Robs? What if they bring someone and try an set us up an—”

“Can your parents just… adopt me?” She wasn’t listening “I’d kill to have the dating thing simplified for me, I can’t even talk to girls, you’ve got your mother doing all the work for you. I’d appreciate them, tell them I’d appreciate them.”

The door chimed, neither of them looked up, too engrossed in what they were doing. If a customer needed their help, they’d make it known.

They’d just adjust language used to not out themselves to strangers.

“You tell them! Pretty sure they’d find you someone.” Apparently his parents would be thrilled to help. He wanted to be happy about that, he really did, it was just exhausting having to fend off people who were interested in him but only for the last name, the business connection, the money. He wanted someone who wanted him for him, and none of those ‘potential suitors’ fit that bill. “Robbie I’m serious here, what if— what if they try when I can’t escape. I can’t spend a whole week in the woods with some stranger they’ve thrown at me, I think I might actually perish.”

“Then take a date.” Both young adults turned to look at the culprit behind the door chime.

“Henderson!” Steve’s favourite of the brat pack. Having met him while ferrying the kids home when Jonathan couldn’t pick Will up from Mike’s on a night when Steve had been hanging out with his at the time girlfriend Nancy. The kid was hilarious, a little bit of a know it all, but when you actually know it all, you’ve kind of earned the right to be obnoxious about it. “What did you hear?”

“That someone’s setting you up with people? Which is that a bad thing?” He directed the second question to Robin who shrugged and rolled her eyes.

“Not in my book lil man, not in my book.”

“Okay It’s not the attempt that’s the problem, it’s the quantity of attempts, and the quality of people they’re throwing at me! Quantity and quality are the issues here, people, it’s not that they’re doing it,”

“It’s that they’re doing it badly.” Dustin finished, Steve pointing at him with clicked finger guns.

“Exactly… and I don’t want my parents at my future wedding claiming they were responsible for getting us together cause that’d be weird! And pathetic. I want a fun first date story, a meet cute, or a ridiculous ‘yeah we were trapped in an elevator for like, three hours and bonded’ kind of story, I want an ‘I met them on a train’ or ‘they hit on me at the bar, and it just worked’ not an ‘my parents set us up in a remote cabin in the woods’, do you get me?”

“I can see your dilemma, but remote cabins in the woods can be really roman—"

“Nobody wants to hear about you and Suzie again! We get it, she’s your soulmate and future nerd wife you lucky little shithead.” Long distance and tricky as it may be, they were kind of perfect for each other. “Now what were you saying about taking a date?”

“Exactly that, take a date with you. Tell them you’re bringing someone and just… bring someone.” Dustin let his eyes flick to robin purposefully, quirking his head a little to subtly nod at her “you could take Robin” as if to say now’s your chance, dickhead, take it.

“Somehow I doubt Robin would be able to convince them that we were dating.”

“Cause we’re not.”

“And will not be.”

“At all.”

“Eh—"

“—ver”

“You guys make no sense.”

“We make perfect sense, my strange little child friend. You just don’t have all the information to make it make sense.” Robin wiggled her fingers at him as if it was some kind of mystery, it was to Dustin but that wasn’t important. “He does have a point though, you could take a date, there’s plenty of people in Hawkins who’d kill for a rich person get away, just gotta let them know that it’s a pretend date situation. Or… actually find a date. If you can.”

The "you suck" board flashed into his mind momentarily. He couldn’t. Not within the time frame he had. He was so far off his game his parents were matchmaking for him.

Dustin’s voice broke through his thoughts once more, offering salvation. “I know someone you could hire for that…” hallelujah, Dustin Henderson everybody.

Part 2

[mystycalypso]

Venomous Rant PART 2 BABY!

Hoooo boy, weren't expecting this were you? Unless... Unless you saw my post from earlier about uh, about a video that might be cause for a rant. In which case...hi.

ANYWAY time to talk about Venomous' parenting, with the help of notes I took on a video titled "The WORST Dad in Cartoon History" And unlike them, who avoided details about him in order to keep things in more sequential order, I will be bringing up spoilers as needed. Alright let's get into this. (Cob, Kaydin might be right...maybe I should just make a video about him wheeze)

Now to get something out of the way, god I hate clickbait titles like this. My autistic ass will think you're genuinely trying to call him the absolute worst when that clearly isn't the case.

I also can tell they don't fully understand him from the get go, because despite calling him their favorite, they seem to miss some rather obvious character details, such as his calm and cold demeanor being- his actual personality.

They even mess up his backstory which I didn't think was possible to the extent they did. I'll get this out of the way as quickly as I can, because it's important to some things that will get brought up later, especially if you didn't see my first rant, and even if you did some of this is new info from further analyzing this show like a psycho. (Shoutout my Boyfriend @benisbeaaaaans for tolerating my insanity)

Laserblast's issues were not just as general as low self esteem and power hunger, it's heavily implied that he had severe imposter syndrome about his powers and his place in the team. Aside from his helmet, his powers limited him to a support hero, and the way his death was treated outside of P.O.I.N.T implies that he was beloved not for his actions and heroism, but for his looks. Even the newspapers describing his death state "Hot hero will be missed" And while yes he is objectively one of the most attractive characters in the show, vanity is never a point of contention for him. He cared about how people saw him as a hero, and being seen as a pretty face rather than an actual valued part of the team can hurt anyone's mental health. Especially people with issues already.

Also, hearing Carol say he wasn't strong enough to survive the blast did not flip a switch from hero to villain in him immediately. That's not how people work. Even people with issues like Laser had. It DID cause him to go into hiding, because he knew at least he thought he knew, how she'd react, and that it would be even harder to do anything about his new disability if he went back to P.O.I.N.T. It's very likely he had a sort of lie planned for when he returned if he succeeded. But as far as he knew, he didn't. And so despite his failures, he found villain's not only cherishing his work, but practically worshipping him over it. And that, turned him to super villainy.

But getting into their actual points, Fink is addressed first. (For some reason they have this very odd need to call out how Fink is not related to him while K.O is, despite that not being really relevant to parenting? It's weird imo) They believe Venomous' parenting style for Fink while not as awful as they see it with K.O is still awful and seriously damaging. And i simply can't agree.

We'll start with the part I took the screenshot for this rant from, All in the Villainy, struggling to find a way to get their children to get along, Venomous comes up with the punishment to... get them presents. This is not a healthy way to punish your children and proves that Venomous simply caves to his daughter at a moments notice. ...Well except-

Something their video didn't mention is that this isn't the first thing they tried to help Darrell and Fink bond, even in this episode. Matching with the theme of the "Voxy Bunch" opening, the idea of making kids share a bedroom to get along is very sitcom tropey, but usually works out in the end. However this isn't a sitcom and things...don't go well.

And to give them credit, he does disagree with Boxman's punishment idea only to offer presents. It's honestly a great showing of his softer spot for things he finds cute (a detail I'd like to thank @theromanticscrooge for pointing out) But I also think why he cares so much about Fink in particular goes beyond that.

This episode is the first time we see baby Fink, and also assumedly around the time Venomous first found her, and she's small, weak and powerless in a sewer.

Remind you of anyone?

Now honestly you could use this comparison as why he adopted her in the first place. Hell for all I know, it might be the canon reason. I don't stalk Ian on twitter for all those little questions that got asked after the cancelation.

You could even go an extra step forward, and say that a third reason he has such a bleeding heart for his daughter is the fact that she doesn't see their relationship as a parental one. She's adopted, and with the type of villainy her father does, I wouldn't be surprised if she sees their relationship as more transactional than anything else. (They use this idea as evidence that Fink is abused, but you really can't expect a child to immediately accept her adoptive parent as that, especially given Venomous' line of work. Like a lot of real kids, she's defensive about those overly personal terms just in case it doesn't work out and she loses him. And we didn't get enough episodes to know if this ever changes)

But alright, even if he's got a soft spot for her, that doesn't make gift giving a proper form of parenting. But in this case specifically, there's more to it. These gifts are just another bonding exercise, and one that worked on PV himself. Every time he's fed up with Boxman's actions, attacking the plaza reminds him of what's more important, the fun of destroying heroes. So it's not surprising he uses that same method to encourage his daughter and step son. And it works! Hell, after the merge is when we start to see bot combinations where they don't spend most of the time attacking each other, because it's way more fun to fight the heroes than each other!

Now, they do also discuss PV's gift giving as a parenting tactic in K.O. vs Fink, but it's a very... surface level understanding of why she's upset and the sadness of that whole situation.

It's important to mention that Shadowy Figure has become a slowly more consistent and persistent issue in the story by now. And in this episode especially we see him lurking around the sewers basically the entire episode, and we see the toll this takes on PV, as he starts the episode rather normal looking, reading something off his phone as he listens to his daughter rant about how much she hates K.O, to the end where he's practically laying across his desk, sweating and a visible mess.

Due to being shot by a love beam, and well, her general attachment to her father, she wants to spend time with him and asked him to bake her a cupcake. Now obviously they can't just have fink say she knows why her father is so drained and weak suddenly, but that doesn't change the fact that she definitely does know where this change comes from. (She even calls back to it in Let's get Shadowy) and like a lot of little kids, instead of just wanting to let it sit, she tries to offer her own solution. We can just bake it together! And like me with a migraine, he gets a bit snappy. (If you want to make this sadder, the whole "I'll call you if I need you" before she slumps off could definitely link to that fear of being in a transactional relationship, rather than a familial one.) But we see her go into her room which is now flooded with gifts from PV, she ignores every one, and crashes into her bed. Now, if this was the only context we had for their relationship, I'd totally agree, PV is terrible for ignoring his daughter and trying to make up for it by just giving her dozens of presents. But, this isn't the only context we have. And everything else we have shows that this is very much not the norm.

In "villain's night in" (One of my favorite Fink and Venomous episodes honestly) She goes on about what her and Venomous' relationship is like, grinning proudly as she goes on about how much her boss loves her and all the things they do together. And her gifts from the time seem to be a lot more personal and aimed towards her likes, like the movies she enjoys like lord of the loot.

After his meeting in "Boxman Crashes" she asks to drive the car for him, which means not only did he teach her to drive, something he clearly has an enjoyment of himself, but likely has a special setup that allows her to do so (Or maybe it's something similar to what Carol had to deal with with K.O, where she'd climb on him enough while he drove that he just decided to teach her to steer while he handles the rest) It's also in this scene where we learn he has he learning piano, which like other details show an active involvement in her life. He encourages creative hobbies like any other parent, attends her concerts even when it's just the Boxmore family and hell, and doesn't typically push her away. We also know all the gifts in that room are new because well, almost everything from their old lair was blown up. So... what gives with this scene?

Well Fink and I's arch nemesis that's what. Shadowy figure. Like I've said before, Shadowy has become more of an issue and more active. Even when he's not manipulating K.O. He's running his own work as a glorb dealer and assisting antiheroes like foxtail. Which means against his will, Venomous has been very active, and much less stable as himself. He doesn't know why he's become so much weaker in his day to day, all he does know is how it's impacting his ability to spend time with his daughter. And he's clearly trying to make up for this failure on his end with gifts. But while his presents used to be something special, something for her to be proud of and show off to her new step siblings, now all she can see is a reminder that she is slowly losing her father to this stranger. Sure by not telling him, Shadowy technically still let's him come back, but is it even worth it if the man that remains is a shell of the man he once was?

Now for the...less sad and more, annoying misunderstanding of relationships when it comes to his kids. K.O

This is something I had to explain to Kaydin when writing my- sorta OC for OK K.O as well, because it seems like people don't really get it at first, like, seriously most people don't seem to get this aspect of the show.

Villains and heroes in this world, are not just like the typical antagonist and protagonist in other shows/worlds. The correlation I like to use is, it's more like a job. Just about everyone in the world is either a hero or villain on some level. Doesn't matter if you're on this world, or planet X, or somewhere in between. That's why everyone (now that Kappas are allowed) can have a pow card. Because well, everyone has a special something that they can use to be a hero or a villain. People without powers are treated much like those with disabilities (Like Greyman after his accident)

With that being said, I think it's extremely stupid that people expected Venomous to be a saint towards his son.

"Oh but the K.O. Trap-" Yes yes, torturing your kid mentally isn't cool. And I'd agree more, if it was JUST K.O. he targeted. But it's not. It's never K.O. he target's alone. Sure he made a second round of goo clones for his son, but his son is also the strongest hero at Gar's, and making your enemy too shocked to attack you can only do better to protect yourself in a fight. The video brought up Boxman's attacks on the plaza as a comparison which, I find kind of funny because the show itself talks about how Boxman's villainy is treated more like a joke than ANY other villain's. PV is a SUPERvillain. When he's involved in fights against the bodegamen, theres's a chance they'll actually lose because he's stronger. And I'm going to be fully honest when I ask this, what did they want him to do otherwise? Would people have preferred Venomous to only attack Rad and Enid and just- give K.O a pat on the head every time they met? Wouldn't that be way more suspicious than, I dunno, treating your hero son like any other hero?

This is going to be a weird comparison, but he's there as a very similar lesson to Chameleon Senior. (Stay with me here, I BEG)

Chameleon Jr is hero aligned, and we can assume his father is the same from how close they are, and yet Chameleon Jr. is a rude bully of a kid, and his father picks fights with other parents over basically nothing. Good aligned people, who do less than good things. PV is an villain aligned man, capable of some of the most evil things K.O.'s ever seen (Minus the planet eating Cosmas did really-) and yet despite it all, he's capable of good. He tries to do good for both of his kids. (And yes, he did ACTUALLY try to get rid of Shadowy, but that's basically what my whole last rant was about so we won't go much into that again. Seriously the only reason people believe that he didn't is because Shadowy said so, and WHY WOULD YOU TRUST SHADOWY ON THAT?!) He does his best to bond with K.O. despite still being evil. Because what K.O. is too young to really understand, (But these reviewers shouldn't be) is that not everyone is meant to be a hero. The stress of being a big hero made Laserblast seriously depressed and tired of the life he had. So did big name villainy. Sometimes people in this world are destined to fight a few heroes, getting blown up, and run with the constant back and fourth of classic evil because that's what's most fun for them.

And honestly? I think the fact that in "Carl" K.O believes he was wrong about Venomous and that he was only being manipulated and TKO took over only to ACTUALLY get used and manipulated by Shadowy, only makes me believe further that Venomous did try and actually get rid of him for his kids.

And sure, while everything that happened with Shadowy hasn't made K.O and his father's relationship better, it's also silly to me how the video acts like K.O hates him after simply because we don't see them hanging out together after it.

I mean, even after making his wish and meeting with the president of the universe, he asks what happened to them, and when he sees them laughing and destroying together, do you know what this kid says? "Good for them!" Because K.O. understands what happened after a lot more than most people will. And seeing that just like himself, even after literally coughing out Shadowy, he takes responsibility for the damages. And while they might never see eye to eye alignment wise, they still have a lot in common.

Is PV meant to be the perfect dad? Obviously not. Part of the arc he never fully got to complete due to the series' cancelation is the downside of healing while raising kids. But saying he's this awful abusive man to his kids is erasing all that he is, and all that he has done.

Maybe that's part of the reason I enjoy drawing him and writing what could've been so much. Seeing a person trying to heal so badly get cut off right as he truly starts to is devastating, and knowing that that arc never fully got to be explored means that some people will never fully understand this character is even worse. I love this old man and his family. And I hope some day, despite the odds of how media works in this shitty capitalist world, he gets his wedding, and his family gets the fully fleshed out ending they all deserve.

[leftshoeuntied]

Good Neighbors | part two

König x Reader 

part one

CW: reader has feminine pronouns, König's a lil mean and has some attitude but nothing actually comes of it

I gotta be honest did not edit this one either, I rewrote this one so many times as well that I just had to be content and get it out haha I'm just excited that the story is finally getting to the part where I can get the ball moving between the two

After arriving yesterday afternoon, you gave yourself last night to settle in and relax with your grandmother, but this morning? You were quick to get started on the list of project ideas that you and her had brainstormed last night.

Projects included both inside and outside of the house, from fixing up the old bedrooms and bathrooms, to fixing up the old gardens, and maybe even convincing Carol to let you repaint the house and trim. Most of these projects had taken some convincing to get Carol to let you help out. 

When asking her if she had finally thought up of which projects, she wanted you to do, she gave you “oh hon, you know you don’t have to do anything of these projects, just what you want to do. I want you to relax, take a breather.” But after some chatting, she finally agreed on some ideas of projects.

You had set Carol up with her morning yogurt, coffee, and medicine before heading outside and getting a lay of the land. The rest of the neighborhood still seemed asleep as you head to the end of your grandmother’s driveway to grab the morning newspaper, not seeing anyone else down the rest of the read yet.

You knew that the majority of your grandmother’s neighbors were elderly, save for the man across the street from her. She had already mentioned him in the past on phone calls, talking about the sweet military man who had always made sure she was always taken care of, but last night Carol just kept on going about how much you were going to love König.

You figured you would play nice, seeing as he was one of the few people out here looking out for her in the area since the rest of your family seemed to just only visit her on holidays, but with everything else going on in your life, you weren’t really looking for friends right now.

You needed these few months to take a breather, figure out where you wanted next, and you were just grateful that your grandmother let you crash at her place to get back on your feet. So, it seemed only fair that you helped out around the house and took care of some projects for her, knowing she would never take just straight up money from you.

Returning your focus to the yard, you notice how the garden and bushes seemed to grow up and out of their designated spots on the lawn. Similarly, it seemed like the wooden steps and front deck could have some boards replaced and could use a new stain. Tuning out the rest of the world, you keep trekking through the yard, keeping an eye for any other projects you can convince your grandmother to let you add to the list.

However, from across the street, König finally caught a sight of Carol’s granddaughter through his front window. You weren’t what he expected you to look like, but at the same time, he didn’t really know what he was expecting. Maybe matching Carol’s eyes or her hair type, but it seemed you were very much your own. 

He had kept an eye out for you yesterday after seeing your car in the driveway yesterday, but it seemed you and Carol were in for the night. However, this morning you were up and early out in the yard. Part of him felt bad for being so nosey, not liking it when his other neighbors kept an eye on him, but it felt necessary to keep an eye on a stranger.

If he didn’t have his own chores to run outside of the house today, he would’ve found a way to keep an eye on your actions, not trusting you weren’t going to mess up the projects he already helped your grandmother with, but he had a tight scheduled day ahead of him between doctor’s appointments and catching up on his own chores since being away from home for so long that keeping an eye on you had to be pushed to the back burner.

Heading out of the house and to the car, he had lost sight of you, but Carol made sure to wish him a good morning with a wave from her front steps which he matched before heading out.

Of course, Carol had to let you know just how sweet he is, making sure to wish her a good morning every morning if they saw each other. You just gave her a small smile and an ‘uh huh’ before returning to the fence, checking the sturdiness of it. 

You didn’t see König for the rest of the day, not that you were specifically keeping an eye out for him but it was hard not to notice the empty driveaway across from you when you head out the front door. One of the times you were heading back up the front steps and through the front door, you caught Carol peering out one of the windows checking across the street.

“Everything alright?” You ask inquisitively with a smile, as you head towards the kitchen to wash your hands.

“Yes hon,” You hear your grandmother let out a small huff and leave the window to follow you into the kitchen, where she adds “I was hoping to invite König over to dinner tonight so you two could finally meet.”

You turn from the sink, shaking off your wet hands and lean against the counter raising an eyebrow and giving her a smile. “It’s fine grandma, you can invite him over for dinner the next time you see him, it’s no rush.” You see her sitting down at the small kitchen table, you hope for her to match your smile, but no such luck.

“I just think it would be nice for you to have a friend in the area” she pauses for a second before adding “you should have a friend here, don’t want you just cooped up with little old me.”

“It’s not me being cooped up here with little old you, I’m here because I want to be.” You sit at the table with her, and can see that she’s caught up in the thoughts in her own head, so you follow up with a small grab of her hand, squeezing it slightly with a smile. “I was going to be moving soon anyways, might as well come back here and have fun with you while I figure out where I want to go next.” She just smiles back at you and squeezes your hand back.

The two of you settle in for a quiet night relaxing watching Carol’s nighttime programs, the soft pitter patter from the rain, and the slight chill from the beginning of fall allows for a cozy night with candles for the two of you.

The light rain continued on throughout the night, keeping the dirt soft in the morning, which meant it was a perfect day to start on prepping the outdoor gardens for fall. The soft dirt willingly gave up the seasonal roots that had already past their bloom and the growing weeds along the edges of the flower bed. After sometime clearing the beds, you moved on to trimming the hydrangea bush. After doing some light googling and watching some videos the night before, you felt more confident in pruning these bushes.

 With the radio lightly playing some music from the deck, you fell into a rhythm between the bushes, a little snip here, a little snip there, making sure to clear out the buds from this season, hoping that it will lead to a bigger bloom next summer, which some articles promised it would.

So far in your own head, you didn’t even notice the footsteps crunching in the leaves behind you or the voice speaking to you until their sentence was done. Picking your head up and looking around, you see your grandmother’s König looking down at you expecting a response.

“Oh hi, sorry! What did you say? I missed it”

“I said, that’s not how you do that, you’re ruining the bushes” his tone filled with annoyance, whether at having to repeat himself or at what you��re doing you’re not sure.

“Excuse me?” You asked rhetorically, physically recoiling from his response. This was your grandmother’s neighbor that she adored so much?

König lets out a huff and a roll of his eyes, before beginning again “I said-“.

“Yeah, no, I know what you said,” you cut him off, “I’m not ruining the bushes, I’m pruning the buds for the fall.”

“That’s not pruning, you’re going too far into the branch, you’re going to kill them.” König takes a section to look around you at the bushes again and shakes his head. “You’ll be lucky if they bloom correctly again.” He says flatly.

Before you could even open your mouth to defend yourself, you hear the front screen door creak open behind you. “Oh König! You finally met my granddaughter!” Carol excitedly steps out of her front door and carefully hobbles her way down her front steps to greet him in the front yard.

König wishes her a good morning and steps closer to help her down the rest of the steps. “If you were getting ready to clean up the garden beds for fall, you could’ve called me, I would’ve come over.” König says to her softly after she finished on the steps, opposite of how he was talking to you just a few minutes ago.

“Oh no that’s okay” Carol says waving him off with a smile, “she put it on her list of projects to get done around the house, and she’s one of those people once she puts her mind to it, she just does it.”

“What are the other projects you’re working on?” König turns to look at you, and you can see in the corner of your eye your grandmother smiling, she probably thinks he’s trying to make casual conversation, but based on how he’s looking at you with such disdain, he’s sizing you up to see if you’re going to ruin anything else around the house.

But before you could respond that it was none of his business, your grandmother cut you off. “Come by tonight for dinner and we can talk through the different projects she’s going to be working on! There’s bound to be one that you can help her out with” Carol said with a grin on her face, looking between the two of you happily. You tried to mirror at least a quarter of her happiness to appease her, but you can’t help but feel the pained smile crawl onto your face that more resembled a grimace than an actual smile.

For your grandmother’s sake you would smile through the dinner and be a good host, but you now truly had no plans on befriending her neighbor. 

divider by @/riottsrph (thank you!!)

[carriedawatermelon]

Ronancetober, day two. In which Robin has a terrible day, recites French poetry, and gets the girl.

prompt: woods

She finds her in the woods in her neighborhood, a little clearing with a circle of old stumps and a fire pit, charred remains of branches peeking out from a layer of leaves. Robin’s back is against a stump, her legs up in front of her, her backpack open on one side and a book, something French with a blue and green cover, laying on the ground near her hip. 

Her eyes are closed, head propped against the stump, but they snap open when Nancy kicks at the leaves in front of her, announcing herself. She goes from startled to exhausted in a second, palm rubbing her cheek and then running through her hair. 

“Nance,” she sighs. “We really don’t have to do this.”

Nancy doesn’t respond, just comes closer, settles on the ground near the closest stump, legs crossed and hands clasped in her lap. The cold wet of autumn is seeping through the fabric of her pants. She ignores it. Robin doesn’t.

“Your pants,” she says with concern, and at Nancy’s raised eyebrow, sighs again. “Okay, fine.” It’s got an edge, anger, maybe, but Nancy’s pretty sure it’s fear. She never wants Robin to be afraid of her. 

“Robin,” she says, gently, and Robin’s mouth shifts ugly, a scowl, as tears prick at her eyes. 

“Don’t,” she says, voice breaking. “Don’t do that. Don’t feel sorry for me.”

“You’re doing plenty of that yourself.” It’s not meant to be unkind, but she’s lost the gentle tone, understands that maybe it’s not what Robin needs. She wants very much to give Robin what she needs. 

“We don’t have to do this,” Robin says again, crying for real this time, and wiping forcefully at the tears with the sleeve of her jacket. It’s not soft, and Nancy winces as she watches, isn’t surprised to see splotchy red start to form around her eyes. 

“Robin,” she says again, and then asks the question. “Was she telling the truth?”

-

It hadn’t been Vecna. It hadn’t been some otherworldly horror, or a Russian with a syringe. It had been teenage cruelty, ordinary and terrible, one of Robin’s notebooks in Jennifer G.’s manicured hands. 

“I speak French,” she said, grin sharp and mean, and Robin, who’d thrown fire at monsters and pushed herself to the front of the danger without a thought, bent into herself, small and terrified in the corner of the newspaper room where Nancy had found them. Eyes on Nancy, Jennifer turned the pages of the notebook. “Thought you might wanna know you’ve got a pervert writing poetry about you, Nance.”

“Nancy.” Robin’s voice was small and pleading, and Nancy was confused, but not confused enough to let that stand. 

“Give me the notebook,” she said, hard, and Jennifer became even more interested. 

“Oh? Oh. Do you already know? Do you like it?”

“Makes sense,” Britney had said from behind her, almost bored. “Her last boyfriend was such a pussy, he might as well have been a girl.”

“Fuck you.” Reflexive and hard and Nancy was angry, mind working to fix a problem she didn’t fully understand. She squared her shoulders, smiled the most dangerous smile she could at Jennifer. “You know, Carol told me all about you. She never mentioned French, but she knew a lot about what else you did with your mouth. Want me to share with the class?” 

The bell rang, and Jennifer narrowed her eyes, saw that Nancy wasn’t kidding. The spark of fear faded, though not fast enough for Nancy not to see it and smirk, trying to pretend her heart wasn’t cowering in that corner with Robin. 

Eventually, she rolled her eyes and dropped the notebook to the ground. “Whatever,” she said. “Dykes.”

By the time they left, Nancy feeling like she could safely turn back to Robin, she was gone, the slam of the back door making her wince. 

-

As she asks the question, she reaches into her bag and takes out the notebook, stretches the little distance between them to put it near enough for Robin to take. She doesn’t, but she stares at it, stares and stares. 

“I didn’t look,” Nancy offers. “Not that I would’ve been able to read it.” It’s an attempt at a joke that neither one of them finds funny. 

Now, Robin does take the notebook, flipping to a page and closing her eyes hard, biting her lip. “You’d have been able to read this,” she says eventually, blue eyes half-vacant in something like resignation. Her hand is shaking when she hands Nancy back the notebook, and her eyes catch immediately on her name, scrawled across the bottom of the page. 

“I didn’t write the poem.” Her voice is soft, her fingers playing in the dark, wet dirt, eyes turned down to watch them. “She was wrong about that. It just made me think of you.”

“What does it say?”

Robin looks at her, a flash of sadness, and then she talks, honest and brave. “This one is about hope. It’s about…about two lovers. Women. And I thought, well—

Tu me donnas ton front, tu me donnas tes mains,

Et je ne craignis plus les mauvais lendemains.” 

She takes a deep breath, looks down again. “You nudged me with your forehead, then gave me your hands, And I no longer feared uncertain tomorrows.”

“Robin,” Nancy says, heart pounding and aching and gone, gone, gone, sitting with the girl next to her. “Robin.”

“I’m sorry.” She’s crying again, blue eyes overflowing when they look at Nancy and then tear away. “I’m so sorry. I promise, Nance, I would never…I would never do anything, and I shouldn’t have ever-I shouldn’t have…” She’s sobbing, and it’s too much, and Nancy can finally move again, unstuck, and she has her arms around Robin, pulling her close. 

There’s a moment of tension, but Nancy holds fast. “It’s okay. You’re okay. It’s okay, sweetheart, I promise.” And then Robin clings, hands around Nancy’s forearm where it wraps around her knees. 

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Two fucking weeks left in that shithole school and I leave my notebook out like an idiot, and of course fucking Jennifer G. speaks French. She never shuts up about her family trips to Paris, and god, Nancy, I swear I…I would never…I’m not…”

“Robin,” Nancy says, moving the arm wrapped around her back to hold her chin, turn her so that their eyes meet, and then Nancy kisses her, soft and sure. 

“Wow,” Robin says, dazed and then, “Shit, oh my god, I’m disgusting. I’ve been crying and I know I’m an ugly crier, like, I know that and-“

Nancy kisses her again, and she does taste like the salt of her tears, and her face is wet where Nancy cups it, and it’s quite possible her nose is running, and Nancy absolutely does not care. 

“You just recited me a love poem. In French. From memory. Because it made you think of me. Obviously I’m going to kiss you.”

Robin blinks, then blurts, “There’s more.” Her face, already red from crying and probably from Nancy’s kisses, turns darker still, and Nancy can’t help but thumb at the color, grinning. 

“Oh, really?” 

“Um. Yeah. Yeah. There’s…” She sighs, and Nancy kisses her cheek before she starts, because she has a fair idea about where she’d like this to go, and she’s not interested in leaves in her hair or ruining her blouse, which is new and blue and cut in a way that Nancy is fairly certain Robin will appreciate, once Nancy makes it clear she’d like her to. 

“Wait.” 

“‘Kay,” Robin says immediately, and oh, Nancy’s going to have so much fun with her. 

She kisses her cheek again and then moves to stand, holding out a hand to Robin, who shoves her book and the notebook into her bag before taking it. 

They’re halfway to Nancy’s car before Robin asks, “Where are we going?”

“To the quarry, if your parents are home. To your house, if they’re not and that’s okay with you.”

“O-okay. They’re…they’re home I think.”

“The quarry then,” Nancy says, unlocking and opening the passenger door for Robin, who stares at her like she’s never seen a car before. “Robbie?” 

“Yeah, yeah, totally, sorry, shit.” She ducks into the car, barely managing to avoid hitting her head, and Nancy’s so fond of her that it’s painful. “Um, to be clear,” she says, turning to Nancy as she settles in the driver’s seat and checks her mirrors, “because, like, this has been a real, a real weird day for me—perfect! Like, dream kind of perfect, aside from the humiliation by cheerleader, which is actually also a dream I’ve had. Not like in a sexy way. Jesus. Anyway! Um, we’re…we’re going to the quarry to, to…?”

Nancy’s looking at her, suppressing a laugh. “I didn’t want to ruin my clothes making out with you in the woods. So I thought we could make out in the backseat of my car instead. If that’s alright with you.”

“Holy shit,” Robin says, blinking rapidly. 

“That a yes?” Nancy asks, smile tugging at her lips as she pulls out of Robin’s neighborhood. 

“Yes, please,” Robin confirms, and Nancy feels fingers tentative on her own, flips her hand so that Robin can thread them together. 

She squeezes Robin’s hand and isn’t afraid. “I might have to learn French.” 

-

This is from the absolutely lovely poem “Nous nous sommes assises” (“We Sat Down”) by Renée Vivien.

[onceuponatown]

The history of Christmas traditions kept evolving throughout the 19th century, when most of the familiar components of the modern Christmas including St. Nicholas, Santa Claus, and Christmas trees, became popular. The changes in how Christmas was celebrated were so profound that it's safe to say someone alive in 1800 would not even recognize the Christmas celebrations held in 1900.

Washington Irving and St. Nicholas

Early Dutch settlers of New York considered St. Nicholas to be their patron saint and practiced a yearly ritual of hanging stockings to receive presents on St. Nicholas Eve, in early December. Washington Irving, in his fanciful History of New York, mentioned that St. Nicholas had a wagon he could ride “over the tops of trees” when he brought “his yearly presents to children.”

The Dutch word “Sinterklaas” for St. Nicholas evolved into the English “Santa Claus,” thanks in part to a New York City printer, William Gilley, who published an anonymous poem referring to “Santeclaus” in a children’s book in 1821. The poem was also the first mention of a character based on St. Nicholas having a sleigh, in this case, pulled by a single reindeer.

Clement Clarke Moore and The Night Before Christmas

Perhaps the best-known poem in the English language is “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” or as it’s often called, “The Night Before Christmas.” Its author, Clement Clarke Moore, a professor who owned an estate on the west side of Manhattan, would have been quite familiar with the St. Nicholas traditions followed in early 19th century New York. The poem was first published, anonymously, in a newspaper in Troy, New York, on December 23, 1823.

Reading the poem today, one might assume that Moore simply portrayed the common traditions. Yet he actually did something quite radical by changing some of the traditions while also describing features that were entirely new.

For instance, the St. Nicholas gift giving would have taken place on December 5, the eve of St. Nicholas Day. Moore moved the events he describes to Christmas Eve. He also came up with the concept of “St. Nick” having eight reindeer, each of them with a distinctive name.

Charles Dickens and A Christmas Carol

The other great work of Christmas literature from the 19th century is A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. In writing the tale of Ebenezer Scrooge, Dickens wanted to comment on greed in Victorian Britain. He also made Christmas a more prominent holiday and permanently associated himself with Christmas celebrations.

Dickens was inspired to write his classic story after speaking to working people in the industrial city of Manchester, England, in early October 1843. He wrote A Christmas Carol quickly, and when it appeared in bookstores the week before Christmas 1843 it began to sell very well.

The book crossed the Atlantic and began to sell in America in time for Christmas 1844, and became extremely popular. When Dickens made his second trip to America in 1867 crowds clamored to hear him read from A Christmas Carol. His tale of Scrooge and the true meaning of Christmas had become an American favorite. The story has never been out of print, and Scrooge is one of the best-known characters in literature.

Santa Claus Drawn by Thomas Nast

The famed American cartoonist Thomas Nast is generally credited as having invented the modern depiction of Santa Claus. Nast, who had worked as a magazine illustrator and created campaign posters for Abraham Lincoln in 1860, was hired by Harper’s Weekly in 1862. For the Christmas season, he was assigned to draw the magazine’s cover, and legend has it that Lincoln himself requested a depiction of Santa Claus visiting Union troops.

The resulting cover, from Harper’s Weekly dated January 3, 1863, was a hit. It shows Santa Claus on his sleigh, which has arrived at a U.S. Army camp festooned with a “Welcome Santa Claus” sign.

Santa’s suit features the stars and stripes of the American flag, and he’s distributing Christmas packages to the soldiers. One soldier is holding up a new pair of socks, which might be a boring present today, but would have been a highly prized item in the Army of the Potomac.

Beneath Nast's illustration was the caption, “Santa Claus In Camp.” Appearing not long after the carnage at Antietam and Fredericksburg, the magazine cover is an apparent attempt to boost morale in a dark time.

The Santa Claus illustrations proved so popular that Thomas Nast kept drawing them every year for decades. He is also credited with creating the notion that Santa lived at the North Pole and kept a workshop manned by elves. The figure of Santa Claus endured, with the version drawn by Nast becoming the accepted standard version of the character. By the early 20th century the Nast-inspired version of Santa became a very common figure in advertising.

Prince Albert and Queen Victoria Made Christmas Trees Fashionable

The tradition of the Christmas tree came from Germany, and there are accounts of early 19th century Christmas trees in America, but the custom wasn’t widespread outside German communities.

The Christmas tree first gained popularity in British and American society thanks to the husband of Queen Victoria, the German-born Prince Albert. He installed a decorated Christmas tree at Windsor Castle in 1841, and woodcut illustrations of the Royal Family’s tree appeared in London magazines in 1848. Those illustrations, published in America a year later, created the fashionable impression of the Christmas tree in upper-class homes.

By the late 1850s reports of Christmas trees were appearing in American newspapers. And in the years following the Civil War ordinary American households celebrated the season by decorating a Christmas tree.

The first electric Christmas tree lights appeared in the 1880s, thanks to an associate of Thomas Edison, but were too costly for most households. Most people in the 1800s lit their Christmas trees with small candles.

The First White House Christmas Tree

The first Christmas tree in the White House was displayed in 1889, during the presidency of Benjamin Harrison. The Harrison family, including his young grandchildren, decorated the tree with toy soldiers and glass ornaments for their small family gathering.

There are some reports of president Franklin Pierce displaying a Christmas tree in the early 1850s. But the stories of a Pierce tree are vague and there doesn't seem to be contemporaneous mentions in newspapers of the time.

Benjamin Harrison's Christmas cheer was closely documented in newspaper accounts. An article on the front page of the New York Times on Christmas Day 1889 detailed the lavish presents he was going to give his grandchildren. And though Harrison was generally regarded as a fairly serious person, he vigorously embraced the Christmas spirit.

Not all subsequent presidents continued the tradition of having a Christmas tree in the White House. By the middle of the 20th century, White House Christmas trees became established. And over the years it has evolved into an elaborate and very public production.

The first National Christmas Tree was placed on The Ellipse, an area just south of the White House, in 1923, and the lighting of it was presided over by President Calvin Coolidge. The lighting of the National Christmas Tree has become quite a large annual event, typically presided over by the current president and members of the First Family.

Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus

In 1897 an eight-year-old girl in New York City wrote to a newspaper, the New York Sun, asking if her friends, who doubted the existence of Santa Claus, were right. An editor at the newspaper, Francis Pharcellus Church, responded by publishing, on September 21, 1897, an unsigned editorial. The response to the little girl has become the most famous newspaper editorial ever printed.

The second paragraph is often quoted:

"Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS."

Church’s eloquent editorial asserting the existence of Santa Claus seemed a fitting conclusion to a century that began with modest observances of St. Nicholas and ended with the foundations of the modern Christmas season firmly intact.

By the end of the 19th century, the essential components of a modern Christmas, from Santa to the story of Scrooge to strings of electric lights were firmly established in America.

Source

[sashaisready]

Chapter Twenty-Five - Epilogue

Bucky Barnes Mob AU x Femme Reader

You're hard at work in Pepper's Bakery when notorious mob boss James 'Bucky' Barnes darkens your doorway one typical afternoon, and life is never the same again.

18+ - see Masterlist for full list of warnings

Series Masterlist

(gif does not represent how reader looks!)

It had been nearly a year now since you'd met Bucky.

You're still living in your apartment despite his protests, he's been vocal since early on in your relationship that he wants you to move in with him. You're in his house most of the time anyway, and he doesn't like waking up with you not there. The men like having you around, really like it when you bake for them or bring leftovers back from the bakery. But you enjoy your little sanctuary, a break from the busy house and the swarms of mobsters – who are perfectly pleasant, but everywhere. Your apartment has a silence you can't find anywhere else. A relic from your old life. Still, he's wearing you down and it won't be long until you give in to him. You know that, he knows that, but you've never been one to back down from a fight. He knows that too.

You're still at the bakery. The newest Assistant, Carol, has taken to the job like a duck to water and has settled in nicely between you and Wanda. She's feisty and keeps Bucky's men on their toes too, which is a bonus.

Bucky surprised you by buying a large stake in the bakery and putting it in your name, meaning you now technically own it with Pepper. He was nonchalant despite your shock and gratitude, telling you that you practically run the place anyway so you should do so legally too. Pepper is delighted with the choice of new business partner and business is booming, although it's all still quite new to you – you've always been about the cake rather than the numbers. Still, you're learning all about running a business – with Bucky's help and experience.

Wanda and Vis are getting married and you're maid of honour, of course. You're busy looking at centrepieces and honeymoon Pinterest boards when you're together but still find time to sometimes grab a beer with Peter to laugh and catch up. He's back with his ex, Mora, and seems very happy. Neither of you can believe you were ever romantically involved now, even fleetingly, it just feels so wrong.

Bucky's business is doing well too. He's made a conscious effort to shift into more legitimate activities in your honour so he's doing his best to go by the book. You'd bet a large sum of money that he dabbles more under the table than he lets on, but you don't ask. He's started to share more about his past and you hold his hand and kiss his scars as he talks. Some of it is shocking, upsetting – but you don't judge him. He punishes himself enough. To you, a lot of it sounds like a lost young man groomed to be a pawn by older and stronger personalities. But Bucky never shies away from the wrongs he's committed, he believes in accountability.

HYDRA had been wiped out completely after that night, but Bucky keeps an eye on any former members or allegiances who may start up again. He managed to weed out the mole, Klaue, after some rigorous investigation. He was feeding Pierce location information and any titbits he could get his hands on for a pay-out.

One day Klaue was there and the next he wasn't. You hadn't really gotten to know him. You guessed it didn't end well for him but again, didn't ask. The newspapers simply reported that he was missing and you have a feeling he won't ever be found. But it's hard to feel sympathy as what he did nearly killed you, a fact Bucky was painfully aware of when he uncovered the double-crossing.

He doesn't have you followed anymore but he likes you to check in when you're apart, and he gets irritable if he hasn't heard from you in a while. Sometimes if you lose track of time and forget then he'll call you, anxious something has happened and scolding you. It's something of a bone of contention in your relationship but you try to remind yourself he's always on high alert after the night you got taken, and that this all comes from a place of fear. You can see he's doing his best.

The panic attacks from that night still catch you off guard occasionally. You know you won't ever be fully free, but it's gotten easier, it's gotten better. You know how to handle them. Same with the nightmares, they're uncommon now but never fully gone. Bucky holds you tight when you cry out in your sleep, his warm touch on your skin bringing you back to him as he reassures you that he's there. He's always there. He hates thinking about you waking up alone when you're staying at your place without him.

You still don't care for all aspects of his work. You still aren't fully comfortable taking money from him and prefer the cosy neighbourhood restaurants over the high end establishments in Manhattan. You're more at home with a burger than foie gras. Still, you accompany him when his business requires it – galas and meetings, fancy dinners and charity events. You never feel fully comfortable but you know he appreciates having you there. You have a few dresses to look the part now which helps with your insecurity. He teases that at least he knows you're not with him for his money.

You have no patience for the paparazzi or red carpets but funnily enough they have lots of time for you. The press seem to like the idea of the notorious Bucky Barnes falling for the 'baker next door', reforming his gangster ways and helping him settle down. It makes you roll your eyes when occasional articles pop up about you online, but Bucky finds it all very amusing.

Your insecurities rear their ugly head when occasionally women try and flirt with Bucky, not even particularly put off if you're there. Some of them seem to see it as a challenge, tempting the notorious mob boss away now he's settled and happy with a girlfriend. Bucky is quick to shut them down, he only has eyes for you after all – but part of him revels in your jealousy. You'll glue yourself to his side when it happens, scowling at the offending interloper and making it clear he's yours. You stake your claim with a firm kiss and protectively run your arm across his back. This is the role Bucky normally plays, and he'd never admit it to you but he likes when you turn the tables, reminding him that you can be just as territorial as he can.

You once both attended a black tie gala and somehow got separated as the evening went on. You were cornered by a society type trying to pitch you some sort of charitable cause...donkeys maybe? No, zebras. Maybe. Or was it a toy museum? He seemed to think you could convince Bucky to make a generous donation, that you were the wheel he needed to grease to get the cash. Despite the fact you knew the requestor could fund the charity for a year from his own bank balance and not even notice. You saw through it of course, you got this sort of impassioned spiel from one person or another at all of these events as they pretended to be interested in the bakery. You'd nod half-heartedly and tell them you would keep it in mind.

As the man continued to wax lyrical on the plight of the donkeys, or zebras, or toys, you caught a glimpse of Bucky across the grand hall. You felt a momentary pang of love as you watched him in his tux, he looked so handsome. You could scarcely believe you got to wake up to him every day.

But that affection quickly dissipated as you saw him in close conversation with a gorgeous woman, looking practically like a celebrity in a tight fitting red dress. Bucky was laughing and the woman kept touching his arm as she spoke. You seethed quietly as you glared at him over your conversation partner's shoulder.

Fine. Two can play that game.

You turned your attention back to the man in front of you. Mr. Drake you thought his name was, or was it Mr. Dickinson? Mr D would suffice. You began to smile warmly as Mr D continued his monologue, absent-mindedly running a finger across the top of your breast as you nodded along. You caught his breath hitch slightly and you took your cue to move closer to him. He cracked a terrible joke and you laughed uproariously as you angled your hips to accentuate your dress.

Your laughter caught Bucky's attention, in the corner of your eye you saw his head snap over in your direction, his companion suddenly forgotten. His gaze stayed on you as you began to press your hand onto Mr D's chest and told him how funny he was. Mr D began to stutter, clearly nervous to be in this position but not wholly against it either.

You caught Bucky's eye and stared back at him defiantly as you continued the show. He was stoic to everyone else but you knew he was raging, you recognised his poker face well enough by now. Your performance continued until Bucky finally broke away and stormed over to you, leaving his new lady friend gawking as he disappeared halfway through her sentence.

1-0 to you.

"Can I steal her for a moment?" Bucky asked Mr D, voice sweet as pie as a firm arm snaked around your waist.

Mr D nodded and stammered in agreement, clearly unnerved and nervous about what Bucky might think. Poor guy.

He marched you a suitable distance to the corner of the room and then he was hissing in your ear.

"What game are you playing here, Doll?" he warned, his face locked into a smile. To any observers you looked like a loving couple having a moment of quiet.

"Same one you're playing, apparently" you shot back through your own carefully painted grin. "Leaving me to be shaken down for money while you make new friends".

Bucky chuckled. "She's on the board of a company we're trying to make a deal with, Doll. I need to keep her sweet..."

"Mmm. Well she certainly thinks you're funny".

He glared at you, silently daring you to push him further. You merely smirked.

You had ended up in a broom closet, going at it against the door as Bucky covered your moans with his metal hand and rutted deep inside of you.

"My jealous Doll" he whispered into your ear between thrusts as you teetered over the edge. "Acting out at my work events...flirting with rich old men to piss me off...all because you want my attention...what am I going to do with you?"

You'd come hard, whimpering against his chest as he held you tightly. You slowly raised your eyes to meet his as a satisfied grin spread over your blissed out face.

"Worked though, didn't it?"

*

You both like retire to bed early and quickly became intimate with every inch of each other's bodies. The sex is like nothing you've ever experienced, a combination of raw lust and attentive lovemaking. You may not always be on the same page in conversation, but your bodies have always understood one other perfectly.

You can almost see Bucky's persona soften in real time once the bedroom door is closed. He'll strip off his suit and settle into bed with you, Bucky the mob boss and ruthless businessman disappearing before your very eyes as your Bucky emerges in his place. Your Bucky who whispers sweet nothings in your ear, who holds you tenderly and watches you with awe. He's still wracked with guilt about what happened with HYDRA, and generally how your relationship started, and so he apologises and tells you he loves you and holds you close – repeating the same gentle phrases to you like he's reciting a prayer. And no matter how much you tell him it was alright, that you love him and forgive him, you understand a small part of him will always carry it with him – much like you and your trauma from that night. So you allow him to confess his sins as he takes you in his arms and kisses your skin as he makes it up to you, his ministrations both vocal and physical.

*

It's a normal Wednesday evening and Bucky is due in any minute. You're in his ensuite bathroom staring blankly at the tiles in a bit of a daze when he storms into the bedroom.

"Doll...I'm home" he calls as he walks in, slipping his jacket off. "What do you want for dinner? Sushi could be good..."

His face creases in puzzlement when he can't see you. He notices the ajar bathroom door and heads over.

"Doll...?"

You're sitting on the closed lid of the toilet but don't answer him or meet his eye, you just sigh heavily.

"Baby...you alright?" he moves to you, suddenly anxious that you're having a panic attack or PTSD flashback.

"I'm fine..." you mumble quietly, moving your eyes to meet his. "Looks like I'll be moving in after all".

His face lights up. "Finally! Don't worry, I'll fix everything, the truck...movers...Wait, what changed your mind?"

You smile brightly at him then slowly reveal a positive pregnancy test.

"Hope you've got room for two of us?" you grin.

Bucky's jaw drops open as he looks between you and the test. He moves quickly, smattering your face in kisses as he glares at the two bold lines. He face spreads into a disbelieving smile.

"Oh my god..." he whispers.

"I know..."

"Oh...my god"

"I know..."

"So...maybe we need to rethink sushi for dinner".

You laugh, wrapping your legs around his waist as he picks you up and swings you around. He kisses you deeply before his eyes fly open and widen at a sudden realisation.

"Wait...does this mean you've got a bun-"

"I swear to God, don't say it" you warn.

"Please..." he pleads.

"Ugh, fine. But just once".

"You've got a bun in the oven" he grins.

"Happy?"

"Oh Doll, extremely".

The End

Aaand that’s a wrap! Thank you to everyone who has read, liked, commented and reblogged this fic! It means so much to me and makes me so happy that people have enjoyed it. I am moving some of my other fics over from Wattpad/Ao3 after the holidays and am also cooking up some ideas for a Biker!Bucky fic for 2024 which I’m excited about.

Check out my Masterlist for my other stories and I’m also on Ko-Fi too. Thanks again ❤️

[camisoledadparis]

THIS DAY IN GAY HISTORY

based on: The White Crane Institute's 'Gay Wisdom', Gay Birthdays, Gay For Today, Famous GLBT, glbt-Gay Encylopedia, Today in Gay History, Wikipedia, and more … January 19

1851 – The "State of Deseret," better known as Utah, enacts a criminal code that makes sodomy illegal only between males, and sets the penalty at a prison term and/or fine in the discretion of the court.

1863 – Ogden Codman, Jr. was an American architect and interior decorator in the Beaux-Arts styles, and co-author with Edith Wharton of The Decoration of Houses (1897).

Codman spent his youth from 1875 to 1884 at Dinard, an American resort colony in France, and on returning to America in 1884, studied at the MIT. Wharton became one of his first Newport clients for her home there, Land's End. Subsequently she introduced Codman to Cornelius Vanderbilt II, who hired him to design the second and third floor rooms of his Newport summer home, The Breakers.

In 1907, Codman built the Codman-Davis House in Washington, D.C. for his cousin Martha Codman, one of the few intact homes that he designed. This included a carriage house, now the Apex Night Club, ironically a gay club.

Although a noted homosexual, on 8 October, 1904, Codman married one of his commissioners, Leila Griswold Webb, widow of railroad magnate H. Walter Webb, who died unexpectedly in 1910.

In 1920, Codman left New York to return to France, where he spent the rest of his life at the Château de Grégy, wintering at Villa Leopolda in Villefranche-sur-Mer: it is his masterpiece, the fullest surviving expression of his esthetic.

1887 – Newspapers report an apparent blackmail ring in Greenville, Ohio that leads to seven indictments and one conviction for sodomy, but the Governor of Ohio pardons the one convicted.

1897 – The Missouri Supreme Court upholds a conviction for assault to commit sodomy of a St. Louis police officer who attempted sodomy with another male after threatening to arrest him unless he accompanied him to a lumber yard, where the attempt was made.

1921 – Acclaimed mystery writer Patricia Highsmith (d.1995) was the author of one explicitly lesbian novel, as well as the popular series featuring the amoral bisexual Tom Ripley.

Highsmith was born in Fort Worth, Texas, on January 19, 1921. Her father was of German and her mother of British descent. She was educated at Barnard College, New York, and became a freelance writer a year after she left college. She lived alternately in Europe and the United States, residing mostly in Switzerland.

Her first novel Strangers on a Train (1949), later a film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, depicts that pattern of peculiar psychological imprisonment between two people that she was to continue as her personal motif. Instead of an absolutely moral Holmes/Watson type of reassurance at the center of the novel, there is the subversive, explicitly homoerotic and tortured obsession of two murderers for each other.

Carol, first published in 1952 as The Price of Salt, under the pseudonym Claire Morgan, is Highsmith's only explicitly lesbian novel. It sold nearly one million copies in the United States in 1953 alone. Lesbian readers' response was one of gratitude—finally they were offered a novel that did not end in death, despair, or debasement.

Of the Ripley series, critic Kathleen Gregory Klein argues that Highsmith has gone as far as creating a new fictional form, citing her introduction of the cult-figure serial killer Tom Ripley as a new type of criminal superhero, prefiguring similar cultural icons that appeared in the 1990s. (The Talented Mr. Ripley was awarded the Edgar Allan Poe Scroll by the Mystery Writers of America in 1955.)

The Ripley books are generically akin to a series. Characters reappear in subsequent titles and undergo development, and Ripley himself inspires readerly identification, at least because he is so amorally fascinating.

René Clément's subtly homoerotic Purple Noon (1960), starring Alain Delon as Tom Ripley, was the first adaptation of The Talented Mr. Ripley.

Other adaptations of the Ripley novels include Wim Winders' The American Friend (1977), featuring Dennis Hopper as Tom Ripley in an existential take on the character; Anthony Minghella's The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), starring Matt Damon; Liliani Cavani's Ripley's Game (2002), featuring John Malkovich; and Roger Spottiswoode's Ripley Under Ground (2005), with Barry Pepper in the title role.

According to her biography, Beautiful Shadow, Highsmith's personal life was a troubled one; she was an alcoholic who never had a relationship that lasted for more than a few years, and she was seen by some of her contemporaries and acquaintances as misanthropic and cruel.

Highsmith had relationships with women and men, but never married or had children. In 1943, she had an affair with the artist Allela Cornell (who committed suicide in 1946 by drinking nitric acid[9]) and in 1949, she became close to novelist Marc Brandel. Between 1959 and 1961 she had a relationship with Marijane Meaker, who wrote under the pseudonyms of Vin Packer and Ann Aldrich, but later wrote young adult fiction with the name M.E. Kerr.

Ray Stevens & Pat Paterson (R)

1941 – Born: Pierre Clermont, better known by his ring name Pat Patterson, was a Canadian former professional wrestler (d.2020). Pat was 17 when he started wrestling. He soon became one of the biggest names in the sixties and seventies. He worked for WWE as a creative consultant. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1996.

Outside of the wrestling ring, Pat was really timid and shy. He was soft-spoken, with a cute French accent. Surprisingly, Pat was a former altar boy and candidate for the priesthood. He was a deeply religious man.

Pat Patterson debuted in Montreal, Quebec in 1958 as "Pretty Boy" Pat Patterson, an effeminate wrestler who wore red lipstick and pink trunks and was accompanied by his pet Poodle.

A Young Pat Patterson

Patterson wrestled frequently for affiliates of the National Wrestling Alliance throughout the 1960s, and was a ten time tag team champion in San Francisco with a variety of partners. His most famous pairing was with Ray Stevens, the two of them forming the heel tag team, the Blond Bombers.

Patterson was openly gay, although he had never stated so. It is rumored that Pat and Gerald Brisco, another of his wrestling partners, were lovers. In 1992, Patterson was accused of sexual harassment by former ring announcer Murray Hodgson and released from the company until the charges were dropped, when he was promptly rehired. After dropping the charges, Hodgson's attorney referred to Hodgson as "a lifelong con man."

In August 2006, Patterson underwent emergency heart surgery. In October, Patterson recovered from his operation and was released from the hospital.

On June 12, 2014, Patterson officially "came out" on TV. The video link is below:

(Click to view on YouTube)

Although Patterson was openly gay, having come out in the 1970s, his sexual orientation was never directly acknowledged on television until 2014 when he spoke about it on a WWE-produced reality TV show.

Louie Dondero, Patterson's longtime partner of 40 years, died of a heart attack in 1998. Patterson himself died in December 2020.

1943 – The name Janis Joplin (d.1970) is practically synonymous with the excesses epitomized by the counterculture of the 1960s: sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll, all of which Joplin took to extreme levels. As troubled as she was talented, Joplin has been portrayed in numerous articles, full-length biographies, and documentaries as everything from a reckless, sex-crazed party animal to a victimized, lost little girl who never believed she was lovable.

Joplin was born in small, insular Port Arthur, Texas, where she grew up. She always stood out as a bright, creative misfit in her oil-refinery hometown. Joplin reportedly relished the attention that her bad-girl image brought, but her status as a social outcast hurt her deeply and would remain with her throughout her short life. She decided that school was not for her and began singing at the hootenannies of the day and at bars in Austin, San Francisco, and Venice, California. After some time spent traveling, Joplin moved to San Francisco and fully immersed herself in the counterculture there.

Before long, she joined the then-unknown group Big Brother and the Holding Company. Joplin scored a major hit at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival with her smoldering rendition of Big Mama Thornton's blues song "Ball and Chain." That major "Summer of Love" event heralded her big breakthrough; Big Brother signed a contract with Mainstream Records, and Joplin continued to perform with them for two more years. Joplin later formed the Kozmic Blues Band, and in 1969 released I Got Dem Kozmic Blues Again Mama! When the group fell apart, she spearheaded one last project, the Full Tilt Boogie Band, a more popular-style, professional-sounding group with whom she recorded her third album, Pearl. The widely acclaimed record was released posthumously and featured her unforgettable version of the Kris Kristofferson tune "Me and Bobby McGee."

As her fame grew, so did her alcoholism and drug use; she battled her heroin addiction but never relinquished her Southern Comfort habit. Joplin's sexuality was expansive and open, encompassing both men and women; but the "freak" circles in which Joplin circulated were generally heterosexual and not immune to sexism. Hippie women, after all, were not supposed to be crass and, as Janis was often described, "ballsy."

In addition, Joplin crossed the race line. Most people had never seen a white woman singing the blues and letting it all hang out the way she did, and perhaps not everyone was ready for her full-on explosion of voice and soul. Citing influences and inspirations such as Billie Holiday, Bessie Smith, and Leadbelly, Janis interpreted the blues in a way that helped break down the old barrier of "black music" versus "white music."

Although Joplin took numerous female lovers, she never openly identified as lesbian or bisexual. Instead, she considered herself beyond categorization: she was simply sexual. Her friends mainly referred to her as bisexual, yet the press has long loved to heterosexualize her past, while lesbian culture often claims her as one of its own. The truth is that Janis maintained long-term relationships with several women, including Peggy Caserta, whose controversial 1973 memoir Going Down with Janis documented their affair and mutual drug addiction.

At the same time, Joplin was also on the lookout for "one good man" with whom to settle down. Twice engaged, she never did marry.

Although she had kicked heroin around the time she formed the Full Tilt Boogie Band, Joplin was tempted again one night when she ran into her former dealer in the lobby of the Landmark Motel in Los Angeles. She died of a heroin overdose, alone in her room at the motel, on October 4, 1970.

Joplin's music continues to flourish. Her Greatest Hits album still makes the Billboard charts. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.

The Johns Committee in session

1959 – On this date investigators summoned the University of Florida Geography professor Sigmund Diettrich to the Manor Motel in Gainesville, Florida for "interviewing". Soon after, he was fired from his job and lost the life he loved as a beloved teacher and dean. He attempted suicide the same day he was let go from U.F. Hundreds of other professors and students across the state were also terminated or expelled because of their sexuality. Many people are familiar with the McCarthy hearings but do not realize that Florida had its own committee designed to weed out communism and homosexual activity. State Senator Charley Johns started the investigations to "protect Florida's children."

The Johns Committee pursued people in academic institutions, courthouse bathrooms and bus stations. The committee's investigators went so far as tapping phones in motels, interrogating children as young as 10, and breaking up a teenage girl's slumber party looking for evidence of moral misconduct. In 1993 more than 30,000 pages of secret documents became public, including a University of Florida administrator's statement that there was no way to prevent Gay men from lingering in university bathrooms "unless you pour sulfuric acid on the floor to make people go fast."

1982 – Pete Buttigieg is an American politician and candidate for the Democratic nomination in the 2020 United States presidential election. He is the first openly gay person to seek the Democratic nomination, and has built his campaign around the idea of generational change. He launched his campaign on April 14, 2019, after forming an exploratory committee in January. Initially considered a long shot, he gained significant momentum in mid-2019 when he participated in several town halls, forums, and debates. As of December 2019, several media outlets consider him one of four "top-tier candidates".

Buttigieg served as the 32nd mayor of South Bend, Indiana from January 2012 to January 2020. Before running for office, he worked on the political campaigns of Democrats Jill Long Thompson, Joe Donnelly, and John Kerry. He was defeated in the 2010 election for Indiana State Treasurer before being elected mayor of South Bend, Indiana the following year, becoming the youngest mayor of a city with a population of over 100,000. In 2015, Buttigieg publicly came out as gay. Later that year, he was reelected with over 80% of the vote. In 2017, he ran for chair of the Democratic National Committee.

From 2009 to 2017, he served as a naval intelligence officer in the United States Navy Reserve, attaining the rank of lieutenant. In 2014, he was deployed to Afghanistan for seven months and was awarded the Joint Service Commendation Medal and the Joint Meritorious Unit Award. From 2007 to 2010, he worked as a consultant at management consulting firm McKinsey & Company. Buttigieg is a graduate of Harvard College and Oxford University. He attended the latter on a Rhodes Scholarship.

In a June 2015 piece in the South Bend Tribune, Buttigieg came out as gay. By coming out, Buttigieg became Indiana's first openly gay elected executive. He was the first elected official in Indiana to come out while in office, and the highest elected official in Indiana to come out. Buttigieg is also the first openly gay Democratic presidential candidate, and the second overall, after Republican Fred Karger, who ran in 2012.

In December 2017, Buttigieg announced his engagement to Chasten Glezman, a junior high school teacher. They had been dating since August 2015 after meeting on the dating app Hinge. They were married on June 16, 2018, in a private ceremony at the Episcopalian Cathedral of St. James. As of April 2019 Chasten uses his husband's surname, Buttigieg.

Buttigieg announced that he and his husband had become parents on August 17, 2021. Buttigieg announced that they had adopted two newborn fraternal twins on September 4, 2021.

In June 2019, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, a watershed moment in the LGBTQ rights movement, Queerty named him one of its "Pride50" people identified as "trailblazing individuals who actively ensure society remains moving towards equality, acceptance and dignity for all queer people."

President-elect Biden named Buttigieg as his nominee for Secretary of Transportation in December 2020. His nomination was confirmed on February 2, 2021, by a vote of 86–13, making him the first openly gay Cabinet secretary in U.S. history. Nominated at age 38, he is also the youngest Cabinet member in the Biden administration and the youngest person ever to serve as Secretary of Transportation.

1996 – Jakub Jankto is a Czech professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Czech First League club Sparta Prague, on loan from La Liga club Getafe, and the Czech Republic national team.

Jankto announced in February of 2023 that he is gay. He becomes the second current openly gay soccer player in top-tier men's professional soccer, joining Australian Josh Cavallo, who announced he was gay back in 2021. The current Sparta Prague player, on loan from Getafe, has spent most of his soccer career in Italy playing for Udinese, Ascoli and Sampdoria before joining Getafe in the summer of 2021.

His current club, Sparta Prague, issued a statement after his video message: "Jakub spoke openly about his sexual orientation with the club some time ago. Everything else concerns his personal life. No further comments. No more questions. You have our support. Live your life, Jacob. Nothing else matters."

Jankto, 27, has 45 appearances for his national team. He played in all five of his team's matches at Euro 2020 as the Czechs made the quarterfinals.

2004 – Ian Iqbal Rashid releases his movie Touch of Pink. Multi-talented Rashid is a poet, screenwriter and filmmaker known in particular for his volumes of poetry, for the BBC TV series This Life and the feature films Touch of Pink and How She Move.

Of Indian ancestry and Ismaili Muslim religion, Rashid's family lived in colonial East Africa for generations. Ian was born in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Different years of birth are given for Rashid in different sources, but academic work gives the year as 1968. In 1970, his family was forced to leave Tanzania. After failing to secure asylum in the UK and US, they settled in Toronto.

Rashid began his career as an arts journalist and critic and events programmer, particularly focussed on South Asian diasporic, Muslim and LGBTQ cultural work.

In the early 1990s, Rashid returned to London, Britain, where he lives today with his partner, the writer, curator, and academic Peter Ride.

In the late 1980s, Rashid was a regular contributor to the Canadian LGBT magazine Rites. Rashid published his first poetry collection, Black Markets, White Boyfriends and Other Acts of Elision, in 1991. Two more followed: the chapbook Song of Sabu in 1993 and The Heat Yesterday in 1995.

His poems "Another Country", "Could Have Danced All Night", "Hot Property" and "Early Dinner, Weekend Away" appear in John Barton and Billeh Nickerson's 2007 anthology Seminal: The Anthology of Canada's Gay Male Poets, and others were included in the 2009 anthology Forbidden Sex, Forbidden Texts: New India's Gay Poets.

Self-taught as a film-maker, in 1991, Rashid made the short film Bolo Bolo! with Kaspar Saxena. The film, part of an HIV/AIDS cable access series called Toronto Living With AIDS, resulted in the series being pulled from Rogers Television after complaints about sexually suggestive content, though it had a long and healthy life at film festivals.

Rashid went on to write two award-winning short films, Surviving Sabu (1999), and Stag (2001).

Touch of Pink, Rashid's first feature film, spent 12 years in development. In 2003, he finally had the chance to direct the project as a Canada-UK co-production. It premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival to great acclaim, a bidding war, and eventually, a sale to Sony Picture Classics. The film has attracted extensive scholarly commentary.

How She Move received a similar reception at Sundance Film Festival. Directed by Rashid in 2007, the film is set in the world of step dancing. It was nominated for a Sundance World Cinema Grand Jury Prize and purchased by Paramount Vantage. The film opened to positive reviews and strong box office.

Rashid began working as a writer in UK television in the late 1990s. His credits include the soap London Bridge (Carlton Television for ITV) and the cult hit BBC2 series This Life, for which he received the Writer's Guild of England award.

[qprstobin]

Someone asked in the tags of my post for my Nicole headcanons so! This is... extremely mean girls trio heavy lmao, I see her as fourth piece of the puzzle. The DLC to a completed game.

Nicole is really fun for me to think about because she's a mover for some of the teens' drama but she doesn't just disappear after that scene, she's there the next day when they graffiti the movie theater. I don't think that she's as close to the mean girl trio as they are with each other, but she's definitely a lot closer to them than anyone else is.

She often got invited along on "double dates" with the trio. Normally when Steve wasn't dating anyone, but also sometimes even then because they enjoyed hanging out as a quartet that much.

Steve and Nicole never really dated, but they probably hooked up at least once. Nothing serious though. They have known each other for a while though because their parents do business together. So they're each other's standing dates for a lot of things.

Canon adjacently, I think they probably went to prom together. Nicole is the only one that Steve still talks too after the fight and blowout lmao.

Nicole often tags along to "save Steve from third wheeling" but I'm a Carol and Steve were friends first truther, so Tommy also ends up third wheeling a lot. So I think that Tommy kind of considers Nicole his best friend other than Steve. They hang out a lot on their own when Starol are wrapped up in Starol things.

@meangirlstobin suggested they go bowling together and are actually both really good at it.

Tommy and Nicole study together a lot too. Carol doesn't really care about school or studying, and Steve finds it boring and so only joins them when he needs to cram for a test.

Nicole has the most common sense of the group, and definitely is considered the most "normal" of the friend group.

@stregoniconiconii said she'd be the lawyer friend and honestly that's canon to me now. I think she's gonna go to school for law.

She's one of the school's main student photographers. (Jonathan definitely isn't doing that lmao) She puts more of her energy into yearbook, but does photography for the student newspaper as well.

She's not quite as into partying quite as much as the others, enjoys a quiet night at home way more. (Is probably a bit introverted - needs time to decompress from their crazy.) She does hang out with them sometimes but it's not an every weekend sort of deal.

She probably got invited to the Barb and Nancy party but decided to stay home because it was a weekday and she had shit to do.

[madmaxified]

dc super hero girls ( 2019 ) swap au because I have no self control. it’s essentially just a role swap of the villain group and the hero’s ( and batman with the joker, mostly for narrative )

the hero ( formerly villain ) group themselves are INCREDIBLY unorthodox, mostly because none of them other than harleen and selina ever wanted to do something for other people before, they were mostly using their powers for selfish reasons ( not evil ones, just for personal gain ) so even though they’re all learning to be better people they’re not super well liked by the general public because of their destructive and frankly dangerous methods ( mostly adults hate them, other teenagers think they’re the coolest ) they’re referred to as vigilantes more rather than actual heroes

harleen swaps with babs, she still retains her canon personality she’s less apathetic, and genuinely cares deeply for a lot of her friends. she still loves playing pranks and practical jokes, but she’s less rowdy and rambunctious in the beginning, especially when she meets new people, mostly because she’s now really worried about making a good impression and not getting into too much trouble. rather than her dad taking a new job in metropolis, harleen got expelled from gotham high for playing a big prank ( it’s a running gag that no one but babs knows what it was ) and her dad was so pissed that she got kicked out of the only high school in gotham that he kicked her out. she lied about her address to her address to get into metropolis high, and she’s really trying her best to do well in school, and like diana was in canon, she was kinda just homeless for a bit. since the joker is a superhero in this universe, harley quinn ( a superhero name the others poke fun at sometimes because of how obvious it is ) is a crime fighting vigilante

selina swaps with diana, she isn’t an amazonian or anything ( that’s still diana ) but instead she’s more of a robin hood type character pre canon. she’d steal from banks or take valuables and sell them on the black market and give the money to people and families who need it, which isn’t an amazing tactic, but her intentions were good. she didn’t have any real interest or intention in starting a superhero group or actually fighting any crime before harleen brings up the idea, but she has been keeping a close eye on a couple girls ( pam, leslie, doris, carol ) at school that she thinks might have superpowers. once the group is formed she is the leader, mostly because she has the most battle iq / experience. like diana, she is the one leading the main training in the beginning, and though she’s the elected ‘leader’ she’s not really the mom of the group. she does care deeply about her team though, and she does try her best to keep them safe. she’s the least destructive member of the team because of how practiced she is at sneaking in and out of places without getting caught but she’s one of the most disliked because of catwoman’s already existing presence pre show, her intentions were good, but robbing banks is bad

the rest of the girls are less obvious swaps, it’s mostly just the villains are now heroes and the heroes are now villains

leslie is the more tech savvy one ( like karen ) she’s actually super smart which comes as shock to people based on her punk looks ( she hates when people say she doesn’t look like she’d enjoy math or science ) she’s not a bully anymore, instead, like kara she’s more sarcastic and just pokes fun at people, though it she takes it too far with people she cares about she’s very quick to apologize. she’s the one who is put under ra’s’ spell ( she’s still super punk guys OF COURSE she loved the league of shadows ) and her lighting gets all red and stuff and she looks super cool. she’s actually part of school newspaper, since she’s nicer, she doesn’t run a gossip column ( though she’s constantly BEGGING lois to let her start one ) she’s instead a field reporter, who always manages her to somehow get the inside scoop and really good pictures ( she’s hiding out the in tech guys ) also her and doris are one hundred percent going out

doris is more the mom of the group, she’s no longer a bully and instead uses her strength to defend people she cares about / beat the shit out of people she doesn’t like, she gets in trouble a lot because she’s constantly beating up kids at school who make fun of pam. her and pam are really close because their parents are both scientists and they grew up hanging out at labs together. both of them were experimented on by their parents, and have been aware of eachothers powers for a while. she’s super over protective of the others in the group, mostly pam ( because they’re basically sisters ) leslie ( cause they’re going out ) and harleen ( because harleen’s always putting herself into harms way ) she’s quite literally the type to just grab her friends and walk away with them tucked under her arms if she feels that something isn’t safe, despite their protesting. she’s the world’s biggest man hater ever, she gets pissed off so much if a guy says something misogynistic to her or her friends, her powers act ho so much it’s not even funny

carol is still the overemotional one of the group, though it’s mostly because her ring is more connected to strong emotions rather than love, but because she still not super sure how to control her ring yet ( none of the others really know what to do either so they’re all just trying their best ) so whenever her friends, or anyone else around her frankly, are feeling something really strong it effects her pretty deeply. she’s not obsessed with hal, though they are still exes, but him being a shitty boyfriend is one of the reasons she became so intune with her ring in the first place. she’s like the opposite of a therapist friend, in the sense of she’s a friend constantly trying to give therapy but also needs it more than anything. her and thaal are the definition of ‘twink and in denial lesbian’ friendship ( and she totally doesn’t dump to him about how hot she thinks lois lane is, even if she is trying to uncover the identities, they’re essentially this aus barry and babs ) she’s still a hopeless romantic, and is constantly gushing to the others about her ‘dream’ guy ( and theyr all like ‘carol you dumb lesbian my god!’ )

pam is basically the same, other than the fact that she’s less inclined to use her powers, mostly because she’s scared to. she really only goes into poison ivy form when she desperately needs to photosynthesize and when she’s either completely alone or with doris. her parents exterminated on her when she was little, and because of that fact that they literally turned her into a walking plant she’s completely incapable of eating plants ( people just think she has a weird medical condition ) though she’s still anti social, she does quite enjoy the company of a select few people. when she does finally agree to join the others in becoming a super hero, she really only does it / participates in certain crimes to try and help the environment. it isn’t until she and harley come face to face with batgirl that she finally starts using her powers to actually fight. she’s also less anti social, she still doesn’t have many friends, but it’s mostly because she’s shy and not because she doesn’t want them ( her and karen have basically swapped personalities ) she’s very much the sweetest member of the group ( leslie, doris and her are literally simon, alvin and theodore )

diana is a lot more like her aunt antiope, she spent a lot more time with her as a child and so she’s a lot more reckless and carefree. she doesn’t really care that much about her teammates, and to her they’re really just pawns she uses to achieve her goals and help her have a good time. she’s still new to metropolis, having just arrived at the time of the first episode, but rather than wanting to protect the world of man, she instead just wants to cause problems, have fun and possibly grow rich. antiope sent her the the human world willingly, because in this universe she’s the older sister and is the queen of the amazonians, rather than diana’s mom. she’s less academic and way more sporty, a trait she’s picked up from her aunt since she never really had to study when she was younger. diana is incredibly manipulative in this au, almost every member of her group was manipulated into joining by her, and it continues as long as they remain part of the group

( bonus : the episode #thewarriorandthejester plays out basically the same, including diana figuring out harleen is harley quinn. during nightmare in gotham diana is present, and when harley’s tied up on the roof she reveals to babs that harleen is harley )

babs’ dad is still commissioner gordon, but she instead idolizes batman, and since batman’s a bad guy in this universe, so is babs ( she’s just extra careful about keeping her identity a secret ) like in canon, babs is extremely hyperactive, but in this universe it’s a lot more unchecked. since harleen forced herself to learn how to tone down and not always draw attention to herself in fear of getting kicked out again, her babs’ energy doesn’t match eachother’s as well as it used to. babs lacks a filter, so she’ll often just say what she doesn’t like about someone to their face, which is one of the reasons harleen’s new friends don’t like her as much. batgirl is a lot meaner in this universe, she’s rude, and blatantly makes fun of people, particularly harley ( cough … the reason pam gets so worked up and uses her powers in a fighting sense … cough ) while out of the costume harleen still is the more overprotective one ( she still would willingly kill for babs ) babs is the one who often goes to extreme measures to make sure the other is happy 

zee is somewhat of an accidental villain, she used dark magic one time on accident ( she caused the gremlins to spew out of ace of spades a lot earlier on ) and diana, who witnessed this, pressured her into jointing her villain group, claiming it would help her ‘learn to control her dark magic better’ ( spoiler alert, it doesn’t ) while zee enjoys the freedom and publicity being a villain brings her, she really doesn’t enjoy using her dark magic, because she has no idea how to control it, she avoids using it most of time, because when she does use it, things get chaotic and very out of hand. she’s still the most popular girl in school out of costume, but she’s a lot less nice ( she’s stereotypical mean girl core and I’m sorry ) she’s a lot less open and kind as she is in canon, even to her friends, she’s a total asshole to everyone but especially to her friends 

karen is a little wet rat in this universe, she was tired of being called small and weak and being picked on, so she built the bumblebee suit with the intention of getting revenge, but even with the broken growth tech diana still recruited her to her team, karen being the only one she didn’t have to manipulate in some way. she used to be incredibly shy, and while she’s still anti social ( her and pam have kind of swapped personalities ) she’s just rude now, and thats why she doesn’t have many friends. she’s a little wet rat and will a hundred percent bite you. she’s still constantly fix her growth tech, but she also refuses to let any of her team mates help her. basically all of them besides diana and maybe jessica like hate her because she’s so rude to them all of time and never follows any of their plans and just does her own thing half the time, but diana won’t listen to them when the tell her to kick karen off the team

jessica doesn’t want to be a villain, she definitely doesn’t enjoy it, like zee and literally every but karen, she was manipulated by diana to joining the team. like pam in canon, most of her motives for doing literally anything villain related is when she sees or hears about social injustices that she wants to fix. she does believe in fighting in this universe, she doesn’t love it, but she thinks that the only way to deal with social injustices is to use violence to punish people. in this universe, her fears of not being good enough for the green lantern core got the best of her and she ran off, quitting and instead taking up a yellow ring ( thaal still has his green ring in this au ) she’s a lot less of a social butterfly, she still uses school as a place to voice abut problems around metropolis, but because she’s a lot more self conscious the negative response get to her a lot more. she’s no longer like “I don’t know the meaning of the words leave it alone” and more just “oh … okay I’ll stop 😞” she’s still one who tries befriend pam, and they’re still adorable and probably dating. she also needs a hug asap

kara became a villain because she was really jealous of super man ( he’s still a hero in this universe ) and diana used that against her. she started out trying to be a hero but literally no one cared and they all called her destructive so diana was like “become a villain and then you can beat up your cousin mwa ha ha” and she was like “that sounds dope I’m in” when zod shows up, she still helps defeat him, because she still wants to be a hero deep down, she wants to help people, but diana won’t let any of them leave her villain group. she does try to help people whenever she thinks diana isn’t looking, and she always tries desperately not to hurt people when they’re pulling off heights or schemes. she’s still destructive and thinks punching things is a solution to everything mostly because diana tells her that it’s a great idea to do that, and so she’s never really learned any other way to deal with problems

lena and lex swap, so he’s the little rat child and she’s the super genius billionaire asshole. people don’t love lena as much as they do lex in canon mostly because she’s still a bit of a brat. she’s still beloved and held to a super high regard but people are also like “she’s also super fucking weird and is like a rat” she also has a keytar because fuck it ricky owens reference. so when she’s fighting with the girls instead of some weird dance she’s like putting on a little concert for them. most of her robots that need to be manually controlled have a piano as the control piano, so when lex is fighting the girls in the beginning he’s just slamming his hands on random keys and hoping it works 

barbi still starts out a villain, she’s jealous that harleen became captain of the gymnastics team and was like “magic is the only solution fuck it” her and selina are exes but it’s so obvious they have not gotten over eachother at all ( “why’d she break up with you selina?” “it was over something stupid - I stole from her” “that’s a really good reason to dump you” ) cheetah is still a villain until around after the girls fight when lena because she was captured and then like immediately let her out and selina like was begging her to be a good guy with them, she late becomes an honorary member of the team. while she was captured she was in the tube next to selina and the whole time selina was like “barbi I’m sorry please take me back 😭”

the joker and batman swap so babs is the one who idolizes a villain and harleen idolizes a hero. the hive five also swap with the teen titans

dexter is literally the same except selina is the one who works at the animal shelter and is the one who adopts him

[marvsgirl]

Here’s a little scene I wrote and decided to publish on here for anyone who may like it. Set after Valkyrie leaves the ship with the Skrull. Please note I don’t usually write any fanfic, but The Marvels have really got me invested, so it’s definitely not perfect!

***

Carol turned her back as soon as the bifrost beamed Val and the Skrulls back to New Asgard. Sombrely making her way back to her “unintentional team”

Kamala squealed. “So who was that?” Asking in a sing songy voice to Carol.

Monica sighed

Carol looked up very seriously. “The king of New Asgard.” She said matter of factly.

Monica laughed as Kamala scrunched up her face. “No I know who she is. I mean WHOOOO is she?” Kamala ensured she put a great emphasis on who. Hoping the great Captain Marvel would get the hint.

“Valkyrie. The King of New Asgard.” Carol said still not understanding Kamala’s undertone.

Kamala smacked her forehead. “No, I know her name and occupation. Who is she?” The super teen decided to wink really hard on the who.

“I’m going to bed.” Monica announced. Kamala watched her climb into the single bed ensuring her back was facing the other two.

“Well I call her Val…” Carol said while taking a seat at the table in the center of the ship.

“UGH” Kamala exclaimed “but who is she?” Kamala knew better than to ask point blank the relationship status of two people. Her parents would be ashamed. Especially if it was about someone she’s looked up to for years and years. Someone who is so amazing she deserves to have someone to love and be loved …

“The last Valkyrie of the Asgard Court.”

It went on like this for sometime until a deep sigh is heard from the woman on the bed. “Kamala is asking, who she is to you.” Monica said. She knew this game would never end. Her Aunt Carol maybe earth’s mightiest hero, but she does not pick up on subtile hints.

“Oh.” Carol exclaimed. “A friend.”

Kamala falls to the floor ever so dramatically. “It didn’t look like you were just friends. Seemed like you had a history?” She peered up at Carol from her position on the floor.

“Well we figured we were better off as friends.” Carol picked up a newspaper off the table she was sitting at and flipped through its pages.

How could she be so nonchalant about this! The Captain Marvel just admitting to having a past fling with The King of Asgard! “I’ve never had a moment like that with anyone I’m just friends with.” Kamala scooted herself closer to Carol using her feet to move her body up. It was too late Carol was enthralled in her newspaper and she could hear Monica’s light snores from the bed. “Ugh never mind. I can just write about it.”

“Yeah you do that.” Carol said who really didn’t hear what the young girl said. Just wanted to have some alone time.

Kamala’s mouth dropped open. “Permission from THE Captain Marvel!” She squealed in delight quickly pulling out her phone. “This is gonna get so many hits!”

[ducklooney]

Happy late 80th birthday, Grandma Duck! And happy 76th anniversary of Scrooge McDuck!

I haven't posted anything related to birthdays and anniversaries for a long time, but here I am posting this, even though I'm already more than a month late (because I've been away for a long time).

But, regardless, I'm publishing a special post for one of my favorite characters from Donald Duck comics and the Duckverse in general, as well as one of the best fictional parents, Grandma Duck (Elvira Coot).

It first appears in a short Donald Duck comic in a newspaper published on September 27, 1943. The comic was written by Bob Karp and drawn by Al Taliaferro and George Waiss, and Grandma Duck would later become one of the main characters in Donald Duck comics. Elvira Coot is the daughter of Clinton Coot (founder of the Junior Woodchucks) and Gertrude Gadwall and granddaughter of Cornelius Coot and sister of Casey Coot. Living for a long time on the farm, she learned to be an excellent gardener, cook and a good keeper and breeder of farm animals. And yes, she raised many children, her own, but also her grandchildren and great-grandchildren as well as her nephews and nieces from the side and became a role model for all important members of the Duck family. She especially influenced the life of Donald Duck and that is why she is the best parent in the Duck family. And she is the oldest living as well as among the oldest people in Duckburg.

It mostly gained popularity in comics, first in America, then in European comics. Unfortunately, she didn't appear much in the animation. She only appeared in the Wonderful World of Color episode "This is Your Life, Donald Duck" in 1960, as a cameo character in "Mickey's Christmas Carol", as a cameo character in Sport Goofy in Soccermania and as a cameo character in the original Ducktales episode "Horse Scents" and in two video games. However, in most of the comics, Grandma Duck appears with Gus Goose. Yes, she is helped by two mice from Cinderella, Jaq and Gus.

Also, although this post won't be as dedicated to it as Grandma Duck, let me say that on November 14, 1947, Scrooge McDuck first appeared in the comic "Christmas on Bear Mountain" by Carl Barks, and more about that here: https://ducklooney.tumblr.com/post/701216162745352192

So Happy Anniversary to both Grandma Duck and Scrooge McDuck! Yes, if anyone is asking, in the Marco Rota comics, Scrooge and Grandma are sibling, so maybe this is related. However, they are totally separate and only have connections through Scrooge's sister Hortense and Elvira's son Quackmore.

And now pictures of Grandma Duck from her first appearance until today. Happy belated birthday Grandma Duck and happy anniversary of Scrooge McDuck's first appearance. If you love these characters, feel free to like and reblog this!

[midnightcandygoblin]

Jackson's Diary Headcanons

Because I saw someone else post theirs so now I wanna post mine :P But also some of these things are just canon lol

Jackson: Transmasc, He/him, maybe bipolar?? bisexual preference to femmes (i'm totally not projecting onto him), helps Carol bake sometimes, reads the newspaper like an old man (got the habit from Frank), secretly likes gossiping with Ronald on occasion, spends most of his weekends doing homework or reading comics, zodiac is Taurus,

Exer: Genderfluid, unlabeled (canon) with a preference to boys, autistic, music is LIFE, literally cannot do chores unless music is playing, would listen to Fallout Boy and Imagine Dragons, from Jamaica

Pamela: cis she/her, bisexual, has an undercut because her hair is more manageable that way, had a crush on Brenda at some point, sometimes gets Spanish and English grammar mixed up, her parents have English as a second language so she and Marco have to translate for them sometimes, Dia de los Muertos goes hard 🔥, visits family in Mexico whenever she can (Marco usually takes her because of complications with her parents not being American citizens), knows some traditional dances that her mom taught her, would read the A Good Girl's Guide to Murder series,

David: bisexual (canon) no preference, cis he/him (canon), ADHD, randomly really good at swimming, still steals Exer's sweaters often, would listen to Canon Gray (is it gray or grey?? also hello kitty I know I just summoned you here by saying "conan"), knows how to sew, has small flecks of gray in his eyes, is of German and Irish heritage

Brenda: unlabeled , she/it because yes, models Jolie's clothes, had a crush on Pamela at some point, EXTREMELY good at basically every sport in the history of ever, if "looks like a cinnamon roll could kill you" was a person, ADHD, would listen to Chappell Roan, is of German and Irish heritage,

Ronald: queer, ace (canon), all pronouns and neopronouns but prefers he/she, looks like he could kill you but is a cinnamon roll, treats Jackson like a brother, writes to his mother and sister(s) in Russia often, she absolutely amazing with kids and animals, has the patience of a god, has weekly gossip sessions with nearly all of her friends

Ken: *cracks knuckles*, he/they/it, pansexual, autistic and ADHD, totally has a thing for redheads, sensory issues. thought he was gay for a solid two years before realizing he was pan, they love reading fantasy, favorite animal is a dragon because why wouldn't it be?, fluent in Japanese but only knows how to read Hiragana and Katakana, not Kanji though, loves drawing hates painting, love/hate relationship with pottery, may or may not have the tiniest crush on Jackson, questioned if they had a crush on Jolie (they didn't), would marry Jolie for tax purposes though, has good grades because of pressure from his parents (his grades in ELA and S.S. could be much better though), has MANY inside jokes with its siblings, would listen to Imagine Dragons and AViVA, knows some Eisa dances (Search "mirukumunari" on YouTube, it's one of my favorite Eisa dances), would read Wings of Fire as an elementary school student,

Jolie: demigirl she/they, sapphic, would listen to Girl in Red, loves being crafty, WILL BECOME FAMOUS FOR HER CLOTHING DESIGNS BECAUSE I DO NOT WANT ANOTHER GENIUS WOMAN OF COLOR TO BE FORGOTTEN TO TIME AND DESPAIR, became/will become a big advocate for queer rights and poc rights, took over the cafe once her mom died/retired, Brenda and Ken model clothes for her often, also Jamaican (or from the Bahamas? hmmmmm), very neat and organized and has a calendar that has the rest of her senior year planned out to nearly the exact minute of everything, models her own clothes as well, does photography as a hobby

Timothy: Transmasc he/him (canon), dyed his hair red, writes/draws comic books (Jackson proof reads them like the nerd he is), babysits often, chills in the library at school whenever he can, knows American Sign Language and how to read lips (might be canon?), would've read Warrior Cats, can hold basic conversations in Russian

I might edit this later idk

[eriquin]

The Trolley Problem, Part 71

The team that ventured into the lab has been waylaid, but a bargain is made for them to go through the gate after all.

(master post)(also posting to ao3)

The lab people took Wayne and Hopper off in different directions, but they didn’t separate Steve from Joyce. They did take his bat, though, and the face that the guard made when he unwrapped the thing was priceless. Then they shoved him and Joyce in a windowless room and locked the door. There were two metal chairs and a table, and a mirror on one wall. Joyce almost immediately started yelling about them keeping her from her son. Steve sat down and tried to think.

It wasn’t the same as the cell under Starcourt. He had to tell himself that. He wasn’t handcuffed, for one thing. He wasn’t alone, either. Still, he had to put his head between his knees and take deep breaths. The situation was bad enough, and he just had to focus on keeping his head. 

Joyce stopped yelling at the door and came over to check on him. “Honey, what’s wrong?” she asked, crouching down in front of him. “Are you all right?”

Steve sucked in a breath. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine,” he forced himself to say. “It’s nothing. We’ve just got to focus on getting out of here and getting to Will and Eddie.” 

She nodded and patted his arm again. “We will.” She got back up and clenched her fists, storming back over to bang on the door. “We will once these assholes let us out of here. I need to get my son!” 

She did that for a while with no response. Steve kept trying to think, but he had no idea how to convince anyone to let them out of the room. A cold sort of panic gripped his chest. When El had seen them, Eddie had been injured. Time was slipping away from them. He got up and went over to the door, banging on it as well. “Hey, assholes!” he yelled. “We know what you’ve done! Let us out!” 

Joyce gave him a shocked look, but didn’t stop him from yelling. They kept banging on the door and yelling until they heard someone on the other side. The door clicked and they stepped back as it opened. 

There was a single guard on the other side. He gave them an exasperated look, and it took Steve a second to realize why he was so familiar. “Mr. Perkins?” he asked. 

Tim Perkins held his finger up to his lips. “Quiet,” he said, closing the door behind. “What the hell are you doing here, Steve? Where’s Carol? She’s not sneaking around here too, is she?”

Joyce looked confused. “Who are you? Steve, who is this?”

“It’s Carol’s dad. He’s a security guard here. She said he was working a lot of overtime this week.” He shook his head and turned back to Tim. “No, Carol’s not here. She’s safe.”

“Well, thank God for that.” He still looked annoyed. “You two are in some serious trouble. What were you thinking, breaking in here? This is a government facility.” 

“We’re here to get my son back,” Joyce said. 

“And you think we have him?” Tim shook his head. “Lady, there aren’t any kids here.”

Steve snorted. “Yeah, not anymore,” he muttered. “Look, we know about the monster. We know it came here from the gate in the basement. We’re going through that gate to get her kid and Mr. Munson’s nephew back, because the assholes you work for won’t do it.” 

Tim stared at him with a shocked look on his face. His eyes flitted over to the mirror for a second. Steve glanced at it, wondering who was watching them from behind it. 

“They sent you in here to try to reason with us, right?” he said. “Well, how’s this for being reasonable? We have proof that the lab let some kind of alien monster out on Hawkins, and if you don’t let us go through the gate to get those kids back, that proof is going to go out to every big newspaper in the country.” 

“You don’t know what you’re saying, Steve,” Tim said. He looked shaken. “You don’t understand.”

“Yeah, maybe not,” Steve said with a casual shrug. He glanced at Joyce, who pressed her lips together into a thin line and nodded, encouraging him to keep talking. “Maybe it’s complicated. Maybe they did all this in the name of national security or something. But there’s a monster running around Hawkins. The lab let it out, and they’re not doing anything to stop it. They’re just trying to cover it up.” He rolled his shoulders. “Get someone who can let us through that gate, and we’ll talk.” 

Tim furrowed his brow and frowned at him. He didn’t say anything else, but backed out of the room and locked the door behind him. Joyce came over to Steve and rubbed his arm. She shook his head. “I don’t like this.”

“I don’t either,” he said, holding up his hand. “But we’ve got to bargain with them if we want to get Will back.”

She lowered her voice to a whisper. “You sound like you’ve done this before.”

He gave her a little shrug. “Not exactly, but I’ve thought it through. Thought about what I’d say, you know.”

Joyce squeezed his arm. “We’re wasting time here,” she said. “Will is still out there. Eddie’s still hurt.”

“We’ll get to them,” Steve said. “We’ve got to.”

They went back to waiting. It wasn’t long before someone came back to the door. This time, it was two guards, and Steve didn’t recognize either of them. They were armed, though, and gestured for them to follow along down the hall. 

“What’s going on?” Joyce asked as they led them through a pair of double doors with hazard symbols on them. “Where are you taking us?”

They didn’t answer. Instead, they led them into a room with safety suits hanging from a rack. Wayne and Hopper were already there, gearing up. Joyce looked surprised to see them. 

“Wait, are they letting us through?” she asked. “They didn’t even discuss it with us.” 

Hopper frowned. “They did with me,” he said, nodding his head towards a guy at the other end of the room. He was wearing a lab coat. “I made arrangements. We’re going in to get your boys, and we’re coming out, and we’re not saying anything more about this place to anyone. Got it?”

Steve raised his eyebrows. “I want my bat back,” he said.

The man in the lab coat shook his head. “That won’t be possible,” he said. “We’re still examining it.”

“All the stuff stuck on it is the same stuff from the other side of that gate,” Steve said. “Monster guts. You can examine it when we get back.”

“We’ll provide you with weapons,” the man said.

Steve crossed his arms. Joyce was already getting suited up, but he was still stuck on this. “I don’t want a gun,” he said. “I want my bat. Or, like, an axe or something.”

The man didn’t say anything, but he met Hopper’s eyes from across the room. Hopper just shrugged at him. “What’re you gonna do? Kid’s an athlete. He likes to hit stuff. What do you want? It’s effective.” 

That got him a heavy sigh from the man in the coat, who picked up his radio and clicked it on. “Bring up the bat,” he said. 

Finally, Steve started getting ready. He pulled on the dingy yellow suit and helmet. Joyce had trouble getting into hers. None of them were sized for someone as small as she was. 

“Why do we even need these?” she asked.

“The atmosphere there is toxic,” the man in the lab coat said.

She stopped and glared at him. “Our kids are down there!” 

“It’ll be okay, Mrs. Byers,” Steve said. “We’ll get them out. They’ll be okay.”

The man eyed him strangely, and they both turned away from him as they got suited up the rest of the way. It was awkward to move in the suits, but Steve could see how the mask would help keep them from breathing in the ash of the Upside Down. Once they were all ready, the man led them down another hall and up to an elevator. 

“This is where we leave you,” he said. He pointed at the room next door. “There’s more gear and weapons in there. Once you get down to the basement, it’ll be up to you to find your way to the gate.” He sounded a little smug. “Good luck.” 

The four of them looked at each other for a moment. There wasn’t any room for debate, so they picked up their equipment and headed onto the elevator. Steve carried his bat, wary of it ripping through the protective suit he was wearing. If it came to it, he would drop it in the Upside Down and run. He could always make another.

When they got into the basement, they could see particles floating in the air around them. It was in the hallway leading up to the gate. Steve felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end before they even entered the room. The gate was big and ugly, just like tunnels under the farm and like the thing in the basement of Starcourt. He had to remind himself that neither of those things existed yet, and it was more that they looked like this. He shivered.

“This is what he meant by it being toxic, isn’t it?” Joyce said. Her voice was muffled by the suit. 

“Yeah, but it’s not as bad as they think,” Steve said.

“Oh yeah?” Hopper asked. He waved the light at the end of his gun around the room, highlighting the ash. “You sure about that?” 

“Let’s just go,” Wayne said. “Enough debating.” 

They found their way into the big room that housed the gate. The walls were covered with vines and muck. Joyce approached the gate first. She was carrying a gun just like Hopper’s, and she used it to light up the gate. It didn’t react, but from this close it was obvious that it was slowly moving and growing.

“Will is through there?” she asked, staring at the vines and slime that covered the wall. The entrance to the gate glowed dark red.

The adults all turned to look at him. Steve grimaced. He’d never gone through the original gate, but it couldn’t be that much different from the gate in Eddie’s trailer or the one under Lover’s Lake. He nodded. “He’s got to be,” he said.

Wayne stepped up. He had a gun slung over his shoulder, and he pushed it to the side before taking the last step up to the gate. “Let’s go, then,” he said. He started pushing his way through the vines and slime that lined the wall. They gave way like a curtain, though nothing could be seen on the other side. 

Joyce followed him. Hopper glanced back at the room where all the lab people were waiting and watching them. Steve took it as his cue to go next. He stepped through the gate. 

Gravity twisted around as he moved through it, making his stomach flip-flop and his ears pop. He stepped out like he had missed the last step on the staircase, but he didn’t trip as he landed. Joyce and Wayne were there waiting and looking around. 

Hopper came in right behind him, stumbling a little as he took his first steps in the Upside Down. The big room was just the same as it had been on the other side, but none of the lights in the room worked. They made their way back up and out of the lab, taking the stairs this time because the elevator didn’t work. The rot went all the way up to the top floor, and out into the surrounding woods. Everything around them was dark.

“Which way are we going?” Wayne asked once they got outside. “Do we stick together, or split up?”

Hopper shook his head. “We should stick together,” he said. “Where do we think they are? The hunting store?” 

“No, Will ran,” Joyce said. “He was going to his fort. Fort Byers. It’s a little clubhouse in the woods behind our house.” She turned in place, orienting herself by the road out of the lab, and pointed towards their house. “It’s that way. It’s close.” 

“Yeah, let’s go there first,” Steve said. “If Will’s there, he can tell us what happened to Eddie.” 

They marched mostly in silence through the Upside Down woods. Steve pointed out the vines and other things to avoid. The place was eerily quiet, even more so than the last time he’d been there. There were no threatening bats overhead or hints of demodogs growling in the distance. He wondered if Vecna was already here, building up his power, and if they had a chance to find him and stop him before it all really started. But that thought was pushed back with the more pressing issue of getting Will and Eddie to safety.

Joyce saw the fort first and rushed ahead, calling out Will’s name. Something shifted in it, and both Hopper and Wayne raised their guns warily. It didn’t sound like a demogorgon, though. Steve held his hand out at them and stepped forward.

The ragged cloth covering the entrance to the fort was pushed aside, and Will climbed out. “Mom?” he yelled, turning around to face them. He flinched when he saw them, but quickly recognized his mom through the mask. She swept him up into a hug, the plastic of her suit crinkling around him. 

“Oh, thank God,” Hopper said. He started pulling off his helmet. “Here, kid. Put this on. The atmosphere is toxic.”

“It’s really not,” Steve said. “I, like, biked eight miles through it and I was fine. Well, mostly fine.”

Wayne and Hopper gave him a couple of confused looks, and Hopper kept pulling his mask off so that Will would have it to protect him. Wayne kept his rifle in his hand and turned to face the woods, still wary of monsters. 

Will was babbling at his mom and Hopper now. “Mom, I’m sorry,” he said. “I just wanted to help. I was trying to make sure Eddie would get the supplies.”

“Honey, it’s okay. We’re here now,” Joyce said, running her hands over him and checking him for injuries. She paused over his scraped knees, but they were bandaged up. 

Steve came forward. “Will,” he said. “Where’s Eddie?” 

Will chin began to quiver. “He said he’d be right behind me. He told me to run.” 

“We know, son,” Wayne said gently. “The monster was coming for him, right? In the hunting store on Conroy?” 

Will nodded. “I ran out the back. I just kept running.” He pointed off into the woods.

Steve stood up and looked that way. “Was it the same demogorgon as before? Was it hurt?” 

“I don’t know,” he said. “Eddie said he only ever saw one at a time, but he couldn’t tell if it was the same one. Sometimes it was hurt and sometimes it wasn’t.”

Steve nodded. “All right. What now, Hop?”

Hopper looked back and forth between the path forwards and the one back to the lab. He gestured at Wayne and Steve. “You two go on ahead to find Eddie,” he said. “I’ll make sure Will and Joyce get back to the lab and get out, then I’ll catch up with you.”

Wayne nodded and started off. Steve frowned at this, but nodded as well. “Catch up quick,” he said. “Just, watch out for the vines.”

“I know, kid,” he said. “You too.”

They split up. Wayne and Steve forged ahead. It felt darker with just the two of them, and it took a long while to walk to town. 

Taglist: @neonfruitbowl

[pumpkinsy0]

purly christmas hcs? (also get well soon!!)

giving these losers the holiday spirit!!! and thank u!! <333

•curly cant STAND eggnog, he hates the taste and just the smell of it, but pony LOVES it so when pony drinks eggnog curly wont kiss him till the taste is GONE

•now listen, j love the idea of curly giving pony his jacket, but if its COLD??? curlys not doing that, hes from haiti and its warm there hes SO not use to the cold and his jacket is wind resistant hes keeping it on, he will always make sure pony has his hoodie on before he leaves the house

•theyre both broke as hell, anytime they gave the other sonething and it wasnt even december yet, they hand it over saying “merry christmas thats yo present”. they never ever mean it tho they always get SOMETHING for the other for christmas

•pony used to make hot chocolate w the powdered chocolate (NOT w water hes not a heathen) and curly hated it sm, he just taught pony how to make haitian hot chocolate cause wowieeee its great!! but neigher of em realistically have the room to talk if they were lazy enough theyd use chocolate nesquick powder, warm it in milk and call it a day

•dont give them a candy cane, they will make the end of it pointy just to poke each other w em, literally shanking each other, u hear a scream and its probably them

•theres a picture of them on santas lap at the mall, ask em about it and all they would talk about is how the santa reeked of alcohol and how many parents were annoyed w em bc they were the last ones to go on his lap right before that santa went of his hour break

•curly loves ugly christmas sweaters but rlly only wears them to embarrass pony

•making a snowman w these two means the carrot nose will NOT b used as a nose, a rock is used as a nose

•they know when a gift is from the other bc they dont even bother trying to properly wrap the damn gift, as long as the newspaper theyre using doesnt rip and doesnt show the shape of the gift its good enough

•curlys able to play the piano and DOES pony like christmas carols??? not that much, no, but hey curly can play it rlly well and the mall has one just sitting there y not listen (even if curlys lyrics r NOTHING like the original song, thats a talk theyll have later)

•they will try ANYTHING peppermint flavored, they could know it probably taste like ass but still try it, least u cant say their breath stinks

•they both got some scars on their bodies after trying to skate on some sidewalk ice and falling over from going too fast

•they also got scars from trying to sled on snow that REALLY wasnt enough to b sledding on, but they never did it before and were just curious

•when they make gingerbread houses they HAVE to use an empty carton for it to actually look good, they tried to do it without em and there was more frosting than actual gingerbread, and even THEN that didnt work bc it still fell over

•SPEAKING OF, they actually fucking hate gingerbread it tasted nothing like they expected so for the future they just used graham crackers, for their gingerbread houses they angrily ate it bc they aint wanna waste the food now

•pony would rather die than let curly see the old ornaments he made when he was younger that darry and soda LOVE to put up on their tree, has his picture and everything on it, no matter how many times pony takes it down itll find its way back up there