#also she got her laptop case from ned

[veggiewrapwithhummus]

a page from peter’s scrapbook

[lex-munro]

[Glitter on the Wet Streets: Part 7] Looking Glass

Another clue to the caper slots into place, and Eddie starts to make himself a proper part of his (weirdly knowledgeable and supportive) boyfriend’s life.

Chapter 7 of (pretty sure?) 12.

Matt knows a thing or two about emotional trauma, Eddie; you’re in good hands.

Warnings:  Canon divergent based on the MCU.  Oblique spoilers for Black Widow, Wandavision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Hawkeye, Daredevil, Iron Fist, and The Defenders.  Implied sexual content.  Discussion of abusive relationships (both romantic and platonic) and recovery from abuse.  Canon Catholic characters.  Matt had to be the grown-up during the Blip, so he had five years to get his issues sorted out.  Brief panic attack and an appropriate recovery/focus activity (it’s one my therapist had me use for a long time, focusing on a common word like ‘the’ or ‘on’ in a song on the radio).  Language: PG-13 (primetime TV plus s*** and f***).

Pairing:  Matt/Eddie, past Eddie/Venom, reference to Foggy/Marci.

Timeline:  A year after the events of No Way Home, but (kind of) concurrent with the events of Hawkeye (told you it was canon divergent).

Disclaimer:  I doesn’t owns the movies or the characters.  Or the assorted objects of pop culture reference.

P.S. A thirty-pound Maine Coon is about bobcat-sized.

P.P.S. Yes, I know Netflix!Danny homeschooled, but this is a different universe where he’s not a complete loser damsel, so he might as well have gotten at least the Private School Experience™.

Looking Glass

  Eddie and Venom manage to doodle a profiling sketch of the angry chick from Fat Man Auto Body.

Ned sends a match within half an hour, and Eddie and MJ huddle at the laptop with coffee while they read.

Maya Lopez, whose late father was the guy Eddie had lined up before Kingpin got him blacklisted across the boroughs.  Young-ish.  Award-winning martial artist, chess champion.  Deaf amputee who silenced every doubter.

“Oh shit, oh shit,” Eddie mutters, mind racing.  “So we know the Tracksuits had their numbers…cut down, shall we say…by Ronin.  I’m betting in this universe, her old man snuffed it and she, having grown up in the Outfit, decided to use organized crime to get revenge.  Hence the really disproportionate response to seeing somebody dressed as Ronin—seriously, burning down five apartments?  When I saw her, she must’ve been stomping off in a huff over not being able to get her mitts on Hawkeye or Ronin.”

Dat Ass Ready to move your stuff? Downstairs with a friend who doesn’t mind fur in the car. :)

And now Eddie’s picturing Matt dictating a smiley into a speech-to-text program.

“I may vomit purely from the saccharine look on your face,” MJ informs him.

“I feel like you haven’t seen the face you make when Peter does something sweet and clever.”

She narrows her eyes at him.  “Fair enough.  You need any help carrying your…abundance of material goods?” she asks, waving one slim brown hand at the duffel bag with his only change of clothes (and the giant cat asleep on it).

“I keep forgetting you guys are comedians,” he retorts.

He packs up his laptop, tosses Snowflake onto one shoulder like a napping child, grabs the duffel, and heads for the door.

“Keep the card, okay?” MJ says.  “I’m not saying things between you won’t go well, I obviously want them to go well, but, just…  Like, maybe you’ll get lonely, or maybe you’ll need to see the board, or maybe you’ll need a cat-sitter or an apocalypse shelter or whatever…”

“You’re a good friend,” he tells her (nearly calling her the dreaded K-word instead).  “V and Snow love ya to bits, okay?  So we’ll definitely visit.  Just…maybe with parental consent first.”

“Shut up, you’re so emotional,” she squeaks out with watery eyes.  “Keep me updated on the case, Scoob.  Me ‘n the gang’ll throw you a housewarming party this weekend.”

The ‘friend’ Matt brought turns out to be some hippie-looking guy with a Bronco (brown, and Eddie wants to laugh but also wants a ride across the island).

“Holy shit, I thought Jess was exaggerating,” the blond says.  “That cat’s almost big enough to ride.”

“He’s a big softy, like his pet human,” Matt scoffs, smacking Eddie’s ass with unerring aim.  “All aboard, boys.”

“Sorry, the cat just surprised me,” the stranger goes on, offering his right hand.  “I’m Danny, the only friend Matt has who bothers to have a car.”

“In a city where public transit can take you almost anywhere,” snipes Matt.

Eddie shakes Danny’s hand.  “I’m Eddie, this is Snowflake.  We’re the boyfriend and the asshole-detector, respectively.”

“Had a friend in fourth grade whose dog was like that,” Danny says with a nod.  “That dog would tolerate a lot of people, but he hated my best friend’s dad, who turned out to be a murderer and a creep, so…clearly an animal of refined taste.”

“Oof, that’s rough,” Eddie admits.  “Well, this is pretty much everything that survived the fire.  Just that this overgrown idiot scares off cabbies and Ubers.”  He slides into the backseat.

Matt gets in from the other side, and Snowflake rouses enough to abandon Eddie’s shoulder in favor of Matt’s before closing his eyes and resuming his nap.

“The fuff is mine,” Matt declares with a grin.  “MJ would be so jealous if she knew.”

When they arrive, Danny shakes Eddie’s hand again and says it was nice meeting him.

He smells weird, Venom grumbles as the truck pulls away.

“Yeah, well…so do you, Mr. Eggs, Chocolate, and Human Brains.”

At the top of the stairs, Matt grins at him again.  “Do the honors, since I’ve got the majestic beast?”

“Oh—that’s right, I’ve got your key…”

“You have your key to our apartment,” Matt corrects.

Eddie fumbles it, and it lands with an echoing metallic sound.

Matt’s grin fades a little.  “Uh-oh.  Is that good heartbeat-skipping or bad heartbeat-skipping?”

Eddie crouches, fingers clumsy as he tries to pick the damn thing back up.

“Eddie?  I can’t see your face, remember?  You’re gonna have to help me out, here…”

“N-no, babe, it’s fine,” Eddie babbles, blunt nails scraping until he manages to get an edge of the key lifted.  “It’s…good.  I just…the last two exes had me convinced that I’m definitely not easy to live with, and, uh…it’s hard.  To believe you actually wanted to, I mean.”

“Let’s get inside, and we can talk it through.  V, could you help get the door, please?”

Venom extends a tendril expectantly, and Eddie gives him the key, grateful that he didn’t just work Eddie’s hand like a marionette.  He feels like his skin is the wrong size, and that would probably make him freak out just now.

we are okay, Venom assures him quietly.  it was in the bump-writing.  he wants to keep you.

“Please shut up,” Eddie mutters, blushing so hard even his ears feel hot.

urgh, another worrying surface-temperature change…is this a defensive camouflage?

When they get the door open and step inside, the first thing he sees is the hall table on the left—with a big old-fashioned fishbowl on it.  There’s a bow and a gift tag that says ‘for V from Matt.’

He drops his duffel, sets his laptop bag on top of it, and manhandles his boyfriend the rest of the way inside so he can shut the door.

“I take it you saw—” Matt manages before Eddie kisses the smug look off his face.

Between them, Snowflake grumbles and wriggles free to survey his new domain.

“I figure everybody deserves their own space,” Matt finally manages.  “You’re part of his life, so you’re welcome here—as long as you behave yourself.  We can even get you some stuff to decorate it, if you want.  It’s the nitrogen you can’t breathe, right?  Peter was conjecturing—”

Eddie kisses him again, but it’s mostly Venom’s fault this time.

KEEPING HIM

“Well,” Matt huffs, hands broad and warm on Eddie’s back.  “Guess that means you guys like it.”

Venom gives a happy purr, and there’s a chilly, ticklish sensation in the skin under Matt’s fingers.

“Oh,” Matt says, blinking.  “That’s a thing?”

“Hey, are you passin’ secret notes to our boyfriend?” Eddie complains half-heartedly.

“Just making certain suggestions that have me thinking about the spiritual ramifications, because while I am intrigued, I am also Catholic.”

“Right, Foggy mentioned that.  I guess I figured, since we’re here, like this, instead of you throwing holy water at us or something…”

Matt shakes his head.  “My faith and my sexuality got sorted out years ago.  Bisexuality, attraction to men, romance with men, sex with men, all taken care of.  I’m even completely fine with you being what many people would term ‘possessed.’  It’s the idea of sex with a brain-eating tentacle-monster from outer space that’s giving me things to work through.”

“Fair.  I’m not completely sure where it falls, myself, morally speaking.  And I say that as someone who used to have quite a lot of sex with said brain-eating tentacle-monster from outer space.”

A lopsided smile twists its way across Matt’s mouth.  “I think there’s a pretty suspect level of lust and general sin involved.”

“And wrath is more your thing.”

“Hey, I went to confession for that yesterday,” Matt protests with a feigned pout.  “Though I think my priest still doesn’t think I’m physically capable of the things I confess.”

Something…proud…rumbles around the base of Eddie’s spine.  “You tell him the things we been gettin’ up to?  Outta wedlock, no less?”

Matt laughs and trails a hand up to hook at Eddie’s nape.  “No.  None of it’s felt like something I should feel guilty about—and I say that as someone who’s been accused of hoarding misplaced guilt.”

“Maybe I need to get more imaginative, then.”

In a whirl, he’s been spun around and had his back thumped firmly against the closed door.

Venom’s combined lust and hunger twist through Eddie’s gut.  Eddie abruptly remembers that brains make more of that chemical Venom likes when orgasms happen.

Tentacles to yourself, he thinks.  He said not yet.

Venom gives a sulky growl.

Matt turns the lock and runs his teeth over Eddie’s collarbone.  “Bed?” he suggests.

~*~*~

Eddie has to borrow a clean shirt for lunch (he maintains that it’s technically brunch, but Matt has ignored him the three times he’s said so).  There’s no way any of Matt’s pants will fit (except maybe sweats, which will not make a great impression with the very protective best friend who first met Eddie with Matt attached to his face), and the bright red tee-shirt makes Eddie a little self-conscious about his gut, but there’s not much helping it.

Your depression has left our body a mess.  I will fix our metabolism later.

“Stop—” Matt chides, grabbing his hands, “—fidgeting!  I like your belly.”

…perhaps I will only overhaul the organs, then.

Matt flashes a goofy grin.

“What?” Eddie asks, suspicious.

“I like the way you smell in my clothes.”

WE ARE OVERHEATING AGAIN!  Is this normal?!

“Yes, V, it’s perfectly normal when I’m blushing so hard I probably look like a tomato,” he mutters.

Laughing, Matt leans in and peppers his cheek with kisses.

“Stahhhhhp,” Eddie grumbles insincerely.

“Nuh-uh.  When my boyfriend is being adorable, I have a legal obligation to provide smooches.  Pretty sure I could be disbarred for failing to provide adequate smooching.”

“That’s a damn lie.”

“But it got you to relax,” Matt points out.

Snowflake demands food (which Matt and MJ somehow conspired to provide), so Eddie fills his bowl before they head out.

“Remember to lock up,” says Matt.  “I don’t really have anything worth stealing, but you’ve got your work computer.”

Foggy meets them in a diner two blocks down.  It’s a typical greasy spoon, the kind with cracking vinyl seat cushions and pull-style soda taps and a glass display case full of pies.

Foggy has picked a booth where Matt can put his back to a wall and keep his cane out from underfoot.

“Hi,” Eddie says, feeling awkward as he holds out his hand to shake.  At least the guy’s not wearing a suit this time…

Foggy has a firm grip.  “Nice to meet under better circumstances.  Foggy Nelson.”

“Eddie Brock.”

“Hm,” is all the redhead says, face suspiciously pleasant.  “He looks nervous.  Is that just his face?”

“Oh, gee, why would he be nervous?” Matt snarks.  “He’s just my boyfriend of four days who moved in with me this morning and is having lunch with my long-time best friend.”

“Brunch, technically.  Is that one of your shirts?”

“Yes, because his apartment burned down the night before we met.  Eddie, please sit down.  I promise Foggy’s bark is worse than his bite.”

“He’s making skeptical faces,” Foggy tattles.

“Eddie, get in the booth or I will publicly serenade you, Disney prince style.”

Eddie launches into the booth with his shoulders up around his ears.

“Gonna want to be sparing with that tactic,” Foggy warns.  “Guy looks like he might spontaneously combust.”

Is this a thing now?  The too-hot embarrassment?  It’s sticky; I don’t like it.

Matt slides into the booth and wraps himself around Eddie’s arm.  “He has self-esteem issues, so I’m working on positive embarrassment to overcome the fear of public shame.”

“Yuck,” says Foggy.  “You’re wearing matching lovey-dovey faces.”

The waitress looks like somebody’s grandma, complete with a bun full of hairpins and bifocals on a chain.  She greets Foggy and Matt by name and takes all three lunch orders with efficient little shorthand notes.

“I’m going to be excruciatingly honest,” says Foggy, once she’s gone.  “Matt has an eerie ability to find and date beautiful people who are neck-deep in trouble.”

“I’m flattered,” Eddie tries to joke, despite knowing that he looks like a hobo got a shave and a shower.

Shut up, we are beautiful.  Matt says so, and now his friend is saying so.

“And as such,” Foggy goes on, “I gotta say, you look like trouble.”

“Ooh, you look like trouble,” Matt says, wiggling his eyebrows.  “Sounds sexy, I like it.”

Foggy, on the other hand, is clearly unamused.  “You look like the kind of trouble who goes digging in stuff people want buried but writes for a paper of questionable local repute.  So.  How does a guy like you end up with a bullshit merchant like the Street?  You their token ‘gritty investigator’?  Or are you on the take?”

Eddie accidentally laughs.

“Well, there’s that laugh he likes so much.  Answer the question, please.”

“Well,” says Eddie.  “Um.  I mean, I dunno how safe it would be to—”

“He’s cleaning the place out, Foggy,” Matt says easily.  “One of the editors is dirty.  But Eddie makes great bait, to his own admission.  Jess and one of the interns have some lovely photographic evidence, I’m told.”

“That’s plenty to go on with,” Foggy says.  “Insert plausible deniability here.  I hear you went to the Street because the Bulletin wouldn’t take you.  No work history.”

Eddie starts twisting one of his rings.  “It’s a long story that I promise has nothing to do with organized crime or secret identities.”

“I know about all of that, Foggy,” Matt says mildly, and grabs Eddie’s hands to stop his fidgeting.

“Sorry,” Eddie mumbles, figuring it must be loud and annoying for somebody with super-hearing.

Matt just smiles at him and kisses his cheek.  “Foggy, stop being mean.  Peter and the kids really like him, and you know how MJ is.”

The guy scoffs.  “I am making a very incredulous face right now.  And I know she Tased me for not knowing ‘the password’ that time you got hit by a car doing stupid extra-curricular shenanigans.”

“I was helping a lovely little old lady get back her savings from a pyramid scheme,” Matt corrects sternly.  “It was well worth it.  Zero regrets.  And MJ doesn’t trust easily, that’s all.  Fulfill your best friend duties:  they tell me Eddie has tattoos?”

Foggy holds both hands up.  “I’m gonna nip that in the bud.  A guy with that much visible ink could have tattoos anywhere, and I’m not going to look at your naked boyfriend to tell you about them.”

“I don’t have that much!” Eddie protests.  “Just some coverage on the arms and chest.  That’s pretty boring.”

“Aw, you actually believe that,” says Matt.

Their food arrives, and Eddie seizes the excuse to shut up.

more syrup

No.

Yes!

You got a prescription now.  You don’t get to ruin food for me again!

His hand very much wants to grab the syrup, but he manages to get a grip on his wrist and shove his hands into his lap.

Foggy stares.  “Yeah, so he just did a weird thing like his hand was possessed, and now he looks petulant.”

Matt makes a thoughtful noise.  “Remember that nice fish bowl?  Remember that I actually have multiple ways to instigate fairly intense sound between four and six kilohertz?”

FINE don’t enjoy your hashed brown potato food correctly.

“Thanks, babe,” Eddie mutters under his breath, and goes back to avoiding the conversation.

“And I’m supposed to act like everything that just happened is normal,” notes Foggy.  “I can do normal.  How’d you two meet?”

“Bored and horny at Toledo’s,” they both answer.

Foggy puts a hand to his brow and closes his eyes.  “Not even Josie’s, but straight on down to the seediest dive bar in the Kitchen to cruise for a hookup.  Were you looking for gonorrhea?”

Eddie snorts his cheap coffee.

“Hey, anybody classy enough to wear Varvatos to a shithole like Toledo’s was definitely going to be into safe sex,” reasons Matt, and Eddie nods.  “Also, it took him three lines to actually understand I was flirting.”

“You don’t gotta tell him that,” Eddie hisses.

But Matt just traps him with a hand on the opposite side of his face and loudly kisses his cheek.

“Stop,” Eddie protests without any real force.

Matt snickers and kisses him some more, and then they’re giggling like teenagers and Foggy pointedly says, “No, really, stop.  Please, you’re giving me cavities.  It’s disgustingly cute.”

“Anyway,” says Matt, letting Eddie get back to his food.  “The kids needed a late-night favor, we found out they’re our single degree of separation, spent some more time together, et voilà.  Also, his cat is amazing.”

“Your bed is amazing,” Eddie retorts.  “Think it fixed the crick I always get in my lower back.”

“Okay, objectively, your boyfriend has a cute smile,” Foggy admits.  “Crooked teeth, though.”

“Oh, I know,” Matt says smugly.

“Ugh.  I should’ve made Karen suffer through this with me…”

“Wife?” Eddie asks, natural curiosity rearing its head.

Matt and Foggy laugh.

“No.  No, no, no.  Um.  Our law firm is Nelson—”  Foggy points to himself, then to Matt.  “—Murdock, and Page.  Karen is the Page part of that, and we’re all happy with that arrangement, despite Matt’s best attempts at matchmaking prior to my happy marriage.  Normally, I’d be wearing a lovely ring of which I am immensely proud, but I’m, er, losing some weight at the moment and had to get it resized.”  He frowns pointedly at his egg-white omelet and seasonal fruit.

“Just askin’,” Eddie excuses, hands up in apology.  “I think it’s a Catholic thing—we got a built-in need to marry off the singles in our lives.  We somehow can’t picture people bein’ happy and single.”

“You’re Catholic, too?” Matt pounces.

“Ouch, big flinch,” says Foggy as soon as the expression crosses Eddie’s face.

“Lapsed, babe,” Eddie says a little uncomfortably.  “Don’t consider myself especially devout these days…had some bad experiences.”

Matt tilts his head and puts an arm around Eddie’s shoulder.  “No, no, it’s okay—you’re okay.”

“You don’t need to soothe me, y’know,” Eddie says, staring at his food as he just moves his fork through it aimlessly.  His stomach is in knots, and his brain feels like it’s floating away.

“I do,” Matt replies gently.  “Maybe you didn’t notice, but you’re having a panic attack right now.”

Is that why his hands are shaking?  But he’s breathing fine, and he’s not crying or in hysterics…

“Don’t overthink it, or it’ll just get worse.  Can you hear the song playing over the speakers?”

Jailhouse Rock.

“Yeah,” Eddie says.

“Can you keep count of how many times Elvis says the word ‘the’?”

Eddie shakes his head.  The motion makes him dizzy, for some reason.  “I’m fine, I’m not panicking.”

Your heart is squishing too quickly.

“Panic attacks are all, like, hyperventilating and stuff,” Eddie insists.  But now it’s not just his hands shaking…

“Not for everybody,” Foggy says.  “Let’s put the fork down, huh?”

“Eddie, you’re not counting,” chides Matt, leaning close.  “Come on, that was a whole chorus just now—so that’s two.”

Sad Sack was sittin’ on a block of stone Way over in the corner weepin’ all alone

“Three,” Eddie says, focusing on the words.  “Four.”

Chorus.

“Five.  Six.”

Last verse.  Nada.

Chorus.

“Seven.  Eight.  Nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen.”

“Perfect,” Matt says, squeezing him slightly.  “See?  All better.  You’re safe with me.  No matter what happens, or where this goes for us, you’ll always be safe with me.”

Eddie nods, but doesn’t quite trust his voice.  He made a scene.  People are pretending not to look.

“You’re okay,” Matt assures him again.  “Go to the bathroom and wash your face.  When you get back, let me know if you want to finish your food or just go home.  Either way is absolutely perfect.  Okay?”

Slowly, Matt pulls him to his feet and nudges him in the right direction.

Fuck fuck fuck.  Great impression to make.  He told Venom he was better, had his shit together.  Clearly not.

No, those memories had nothing to do with me.  It’s a tall man with a belt.  We’re so small and weak.  He smells like old beer.  Always angry.

Eddie stumbles through the bathroom door and fumbles to turn on the cold water.

He can’t hurt us anymore.  I won’t let him.

“Yeah?” Eddie hisses under his breath.  “Who’s gonna stop you from hurting me?”

Matt.

Oh.

He stops.  He stares at himself in the mirror.  Pale, veins thrumming, eyes glassy.  He looks like he did back when Venom was still eating his organs.

Warmth in his spine.

We are okay, my Eddie.  All of us, together.

“Right up until I’m too high maintenance…”

He splashes water on his face and pats himself dry with some paper towels.  Time to lower that maintenance factor.  Go back out, smile, let everybody finish eating.

He hesitates at the bathroom door.  He can just barely hear them.

“—spoiling him way too much,” Foggy is saying.

“I’m spoiling a guy whose last boyfriend definitely abused him on multiple levels and who evidently was also abused either by his Catholic parents or his Catholic priest?” Matt retorts.

“Jesus.  Matt, the guy needs therapy, not some kind of whirlwind romance.  If you’re just looking for someone to fix, you’re gonna get hurt.”

“Even if I’m spoiling him, so what?  He deserves it.  And maybe, just once, being with me will actually make somebody’s life better.”

“Matt—”

“Foggy.  You know I believe God made me the way I am for a reason—if part of that reason is to fall head-over-fucking-heels in love with messy, broken, complicated Eddie Brock, then thank God.  I have never felt so…needed, and truly helpful, and good.  He gives me hope, Foggy.  When he looks at me, he doesn’t see my sins and my failures and all the blood on my hands.  All he sees is the cute guy who took a chance on him in a rundown bar when his week was going to shit.”

“Dammit, Matt,” Foggy says in a resigned tone.

A goopy black paw pokes Eddie’s nose, and he swats it away.

He said it out loud.  That’s what the bumpy-note said—he is in love with you and he believes it is something his God intended as his purpose.  You had no home, so his God made a home for you in his heart.

Eddie rushes back to the sink for more cold water.

Again with the overheating!  Your facial capillaries are malfunctioning with alarming frequency since I came back.

“Blushing,” Eddie mutters.  “I’m blushing.  Didn’t Parker ever blush while you were there?”

Peter’s body is strange, and it frequently generates more thermal energy than the meatsacks of inferior hosts.  Like when I fix your broken bones, but all the time.  Just slower.

A topic for some other time, when he doesn’t have an amazing boyfriend (and his slightly overprotective best friend) waiting on him.

Let’s go home and snuggle.  It will make him terribly smug.  Smuggle.  No, that is something else…

Eddie makes his way back to the booth.  “I’m.  Um, I’m okay now.  But maybe we could go home anyway?  Get settled in?”

“Go,” says Foggy.  “I’ll take care of the check and get your leftovers packed up.  Your boyfriend is currently pink-cheeked and making heart-eyes.”

“You’re the best, Foggy,” Matt tells him with a smile.  “Catch you later.”

“Never inflict your lovey-dovey on me solo again—if I’d known how gross and sweet you two were gonna be, I’d have found some way to trick Karen into taking my place.”

  .End.

[ladycatofwinterfell]

If you are still taking suggestions

Much to the horror of Starklings one or some of their friends have/had a crush on their parents. Ned and Cat could be oblivious or know it or a mix of both.

This will never not be funny, hope this short thing is to your liking!

Sansa wanted to die. She wanted to die because she saw how her friend looked at her mother. It was disgusting. How could she look at her that way? What was wrong with her?

She had thought taking Margaery with her home wouldn’t be a problem. Because why the hell would it be? They had sat at the kitchen table with a mug of tea each, doing their math homework together. And it had been going well, and everything had been fine.

Until Mom and Dad had come home. And Mom had come into the kitchen and she had smiled at Margaery as she said hello.

Margaery had been stuck ever since first time she met Mom. Just as Jeyne had been first time she met Sansa’s mom. And Theon had been flirting with Mom for almost as long as Sansa could remember. And Robb’s Jeyne had also been enamoured. Not with Mom, but with Dad. And Satin had immediately dubbed Mom his new best friend. They were all gross.

“Stop drooling over my mom” Sansa hissed the moment Mom had left the kitchen.

“I’m not drooling” Margaery replied calmly. “I’m just looking.”

“Well, stop looking.”

Margaery reached over the table to take Sansa’s hand, looking deeply into her eyes.

“Honey, I’m not gonna fuck your mom” she said in a very reassuring tone.

Sansa wanted to scream. Either that or clean her brain with bleach, she could have done without the mental images. Had she been less dignified she would have cried.

“Good, I’ve already called dibs.”

The two girls looked up to see Theon coming into the kitchen. He had Robb at his heels, and Robb looked just as horrified as Sansa felt. She wanted that to be a relief, it wasn’t.

“Alrighty then, I’ll take Mr. Stark” Margaery said. “The man’s got sex appeal.”

“You’ll shut the fuck up right now, and take no one” Sansa said.

Or Sansa would make her shut up. Permanently. By killing her.

“Theon Greyjoy, nice to meet you” Theon said, doing a dramatic little bow.

“Margaery Tyrell, the pleasure’s all mine.”

Margaery said, doing a just as dramatic little bow where she sat on one of the chairs at the table.

“Oh believe me, the pleasure will be mine once Mrs. Stark–“

“Shut up!” Sansa and Robb howled in a choir.

Theon raised his hands into the air, as if he was a completely innocent man. He wasn’t innocent, he was a bastard guilty of everything he was accused of.

“It’s not my fault your parents look good” Theon said.

“They’re our parents!” Robb exclaimed. “We don’t want to hear you say that stuff about them!”

“Sounds like someone’s mad over that his parents could get it any day” Margaery said.

“Don’t encourage Theon!”

~*~

“Are they aware of that we can hear them?” Catelyn whispered as she came into the living room.

Ned chuckled, looking up from his laptop.

“Sometimes I think they forget we also live here.”

He was right. Sometimes the kids’s friends just said more or less insane things about them as if they weren’t sitting in the next room.

“Nice to know we can still get it, though” Catelyn said.

In the unlikely case of a divorce she wasn’t out of the game. And neither was Ned, apparently. While she herself found him very hot, and at least hoped he thought the same of her, she had trouble seeing why people would consider middle aged parents of five the height of hotness. Not that she was complaining. Or, well, she wanted to complain a little bit because she didn’t want people that wasn’t her husband to think of her that way. But also it was nice to know that she could be sexy even with all the stretch marks and weight that had never left after her babies.

She picked up her book from the coffee table, sat down on the couch next to Ned and put on her reading glasses. He put an arm around her, let her rest her head on his shoulder.

“I don’t think the words ‘sex appeal’ have ever been used to describe me.”

“That’s weird, you are really sexy.”

He only laughed at that.

“You laugh, but it’s true” she said, trying to keep a serious look on her face despite that a smile was tugging at the corners of her lips. “My husband is a man made of raw sex appeal.”

Ned just pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“Nothing sexier than looking over finances.”

She glanced at his open laptop, at all the numbers there. Then she looked back up at him, lowered her voice to a sensual whisper.

“Oh you’ve got me hot and bothered already. Tell me all about our expenses this month, Mr. Stark, and you might just get me into bed.”

After that she couldn’t hold back the laughter, and neither could Ned, the two of them breaking down into a pile of laughter. Catelyn laughed until her eyes began tearing up and her stomach ached.

“What’s so funny?” Bran asked when he came down the stairs.

“Oh nothing” Catelyn giggled, hiding her face in Ned’s shoulder.

“For your information, I’m calling dibs on you” he whispered.

“Ned!”

Bran quietly slipped away without a word, most likely deciding that he didn’t want to know more.

[vendettaparker]

Talking to the Moon [P.P]

Summary: When Peter’s identity is leaked, he is forced to leave you and his old life behind, shattering your heart in the process. 

Pairing: Peter Parker x Avenger!Reader

Word Count: 1.8k

Warnings: ANGST, like straight up rip your heart out. Far From Home spoiler (kinda), Endgame spoiler (kinda)

a/n: so if you couldn’t tell this is based off of the song ‘Talking to the Moon’ by Bruno Mars. its a loose interpretation. i’ve been planning an angsty fic like this for a while. angst is my favorite genre of fic, especially when it has a hopeful or fluffy ending. so this one DOES have a hopeful ending and potential for a sequel,, so yuh, enjoy! <3

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

     Three years, two months, and 14 days. That’s how long it had been since Peter’s identity was leaked. That’s how long it had been since he left you. For good. 

     Peter had been frantic after that news broadcast aired. He webbed back to the compound immediately, crying the whole way. He was scared for himself, sure, but the fear he felt in the pit of his stomach for May, Ned, MJ, you. That was the reason for his tears now. He could hardly breathe by the time he made it to the compound. Happy, Rhodey, Sam, and Bucky meeting him as he burst through the large floor to wall windows in the main room. The frantic yelling, pleas, and cries coming from the main room were what alerted you to his presence. When you walked in he was a mess. Crying, heaving with anxiety about how scared he was. Peter had always been a sensitive, emotional boy, but he always got over his shit eventually. But this? This, seemed like the end for him. 

     You ran up to him, shushing him and holding him. Trying to tell him to simply “breathe”. All he could say, over and over again like a mantra was a schloo of “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I love you. I’m so sorry.” Your heart broke. How could fate be so cruel to the sweetest boy? The one who was the most deserving of all the happiness life could possibly offer. The rest of the team had shown up within the next hour. Happy, Nick Fury, Maria Hill, and Pepper also present. Peter had calmed down slightly, but he knew, he just knew, this was the day he had to say goodbye. He had had this talk with Mr. Stark back when he had stopped his first villain, Vulture. Tony knew the type of sick monsters out there who would love to get their hands on the boy behind the Spider-man mask. He and Peter had developed a plan in the tragic case that Peter’s identity should be released, at least, not on his own terms. Tony’s plan was for Peter to run away. Leave. Take nothing with him but the clothes on his back, and even then burn those clothes the minute he could. Tony knew. He knew these dangers. And worse, he knew the consequences. 

     May had come to the compound the second she got the call. She knew as well. Peter knew. She knew. Tony, even in his grave, knew. Everyone knew. Everyone but you. 

     Peter had a getaway car and a destination ready within another hour. He wouldn’t disclose it to anyone. He took you aside, gently stroking your cheek to wipe the hot tears that never seemed to cease. “Hey, hey, (Y/N). I’m so sorry.” He whispered, choking up on every other word, trying to be stronger, just a little stronger, for you. “I have to go now. I’m so so sorry. I love you so much.”

     “It’s okay Peter,” You sniffled, pushing his bangs back and giving him a sad smile. “I’ll miss you, but I’ll be here when you get back. Don’t worry.” 

     Peter’s lips quivered and he heaved another sob. “No, (Y/N). I-I’m not coming back.” You took your hand back as you felt the pressure of tears building behind your eyes. 

     “W-what? No, this—it’s just temporary. Until we can—Fury and Pepper—We can fix this.” You stuttered anxiously, hoping your words would convince him that this was okay. That everything would be okay. 

     “We can’t, (Y/N). It’s done.” Peter spoke, his voice hardly making it to a whisper. 

     “No!” You wrapped your arms around his neck, trying to hold him closer. “Please. Please. Please. I-I can’t! You can’t! I—You’re all I have!” You were sobbing uncontrollably now. The weight of the situation finally caving in and crushing your heart and soul. “Please! I’ll do anything, I’ll protect you! Please!” 

     Your meltdown didn’t help Peter one bit, if anything, seeing how desperate you were to keep hold of him, to just love him; that broke him more. “I’m sorry, please forgive me. Please.”

     “How can I? You’re killing me.” You whimpered into his chest, tears soaking through his black sweatshirt. “I can’t— I just— I can’t!”

     The whole team heard. No walls were thick enough to block out the heartbroken sobs from the two teenagers in love. Fury was the one to finally bring an end to it. Nobody else having the heart to pry you from each other. Even Fury felt his own stoic exterior cracking. 

     You were in hysterics, clawing, and grabbing at Peter’s sweatshirt, hair, face, anything you could grab. It didn’t matter if you hurt him at this point, he’d heal. But if he left you, you knew you’d never recover. Fury had put you in a chokehold while yanking you back. Peter just heaved and heaved, his sobs getting louder and his chest getting tighter. May rushed over to him and took his hand, placing his head in her chest. 

     Fury yanked you back more, but you still refused to quit. Fury released his chokehold, not wanting to do any real damage to you. Right as you were released, Wanda came up behind you and placed her hands on your head, red magic already starting to swirl. 

     “No, please.” You wheezed, trying to get a fresh breath of air. “He’s all I have.”

     Wanda looked at you, tears glistening in her eyes. “I’m sorry, (Y/N). I’m so sorry.”

     Without so much as a flick of her wrist, you were out, descending into darkness. 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

     Peter left after that. The car taking him away, and you hadn’t seen him since. As the months went on you never really recovered. Never really felt whole again. You just survived. That was all. You went through the motions of everyday life, but never truly felt like you were living. Two weeks after Peter left, May left with Happy. They moved to California, living there ever since as well. They got married last year. You were all invited and everyone went. Everyone but you. You missed May and Happy, but it still hurt. Plus, you were busy anyway. After you graduated high school, you flung yourself into the avenger lifestyle, fully immersing yourself in it. You went on every mission possible. Did all the paperwork you could. You did anything and everything you could to keep yourself busy. Stop yourself from feeling the pain that had stopped feeling like a searing stab and had now turned into a dull ache. A new constant in your life. 

     Nights were the worst though. The only time you couldn’t be constantly avenging or working yourself to the bone on new suit technology. The only time you had to think and feel. The only thing keeping you going was the hope that Peter was still out there. Somewhere, anywhere, missing you as much as you were missing him. Watching the same moon you watched. Basking in the same sun that shined on you every day. Every horrible, miserable day. 

     “(Y/N)?” the quiet, soft voice of Pepper breaking you out of your headspace. You hummed a response and looked up at her, waiting for her to continue. “Did you hear what I said?”

     “No, sorry.” You responded sheepishly. Pepper’s gaze softened. She took in your lean figure and pale face, eyes seeming to be sunken in from the dark circles. “I was just finishing up this briefing of my last mission.” 

     “You went alone?” Pepper asked, concern washing over her features.

     “It was a simple one. Just took out a mob, was done in like, four hours.” 

      Pepper sighed. “(Y/N)—”

     “Pep, it’s fine. It was so easy, anyone could have done it.” You cut her off, turning back to your laptop, typing away. 

     “It’s not just that though. It’s all of this. This whole funk you’re in. The same one you’ve been in for years, (Y/N).” Pepper waved her hands around to emphasize her point. “We all see it. You can’t keep doing this to yourself. He wouldn’t want this.” 

     Your whole demeanor changed. The solemn, yet calm veneer breaking. “It doesn’t matter what he wants, Pepper! I didn’t want this. All I wanted was him. For the rest of my life. Nothing else would matter, as long as I had him to get me through it. But I don’t have him. I have nothing. He was it for me. He—” You sobbed, tears finally running down your face in an uncontrollable waterfall. “I feel like I died. Like I am just a spectator, no longer doing anything of interest to myself.” 

     Pepper pulled you into her so fast. She was always quick to console you. The months after Peter left she was the only one you could stomach seeing. “It’s okay. I know, shh, I know.” Pepper was tearing up now too. She knew you never got over it. But now seeing with her own eyes how broken you’d really become. The reality hurt. “He’s out there, okay? And it’s going to be okay. He’s okay. We’re okay.” 

     You just cried. That’s all you could do. The more you tried to talk about it the stronger the urge to cry was. Pepper just hummed and held you. Stroking your hair until you fell asleep. 

     When you woke up you were in your room. It was dark and the moon was shining through the opened window. You just stared at it, closing your eyes and imagining Peter was staring at it too. The same one. Thinking about you, just like you were thinking about him. 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

     Another few weeks went by. The same routine, the same empty feeling consistent in your body. Nothing changed. The revelation that you were, in fact, not okay didn’t fix anything. It still hurt. You were still broken.

     You were in the training room, sparring with Wanda when the melodic tune of your ringtone rang through the gym, echoing off the walls. You put your hands up in defense to stop Wanda from continuing the match. Wanda whipped her hands around and brought your phone to you in a wisp of red magic. 

     “Thanks.” You mumbled, wiping your sweat off your forehead with the back of your hand and taking the phone from the air. Wanda nodded and jumped out of the ring to grab her water bottle. 

     You looked at your phone still ringing, seeing an unfamiliar number, but taking in the location: Budapest, Hungary. You answered the call bringing the phone up to your ear “Hello?” You asked, shifting from one foot to the other waiting for a reply. A beat of silence pasted before you heard a tired, yet all too familiar voice on the other end. 

     “(Y/N)?”

[impactmintsfresh]

Bring your kid and his entire decathlon team to work day

 Ch 2 - How bad could a monday be?

Masterlist - Summary : Peter is so close to graduating, he just needs the world not to end for a few more weeks and he’ll be done with High School. Clearly Thor didn’t hear his prayers (or didn’t care) because a field trip to the Avengers Tower is about to be announced. Peter could only imagine Loki was involved some how because it seems like every Avenger is in the building this week.

Essentially the team take every opportunity to embarrass Peter like the adoring over protective parents they all are.

Warnings : none

Peter had been ignoring F.R.I.D.A.Y.’s warnings about being late for school and needing to get up. She had already opened the blinds, but he wouldn’t budge. She would have played a siren, much like she did for the boss, but due to Peters enhanced senses she was unable to do that. That code also caused her to dim lights and reduce volume as Peter got closer. It was pretty impossible for Peter to sneak up on Mr Stark in the lab when he was blasting ACDC, because as soon as Peter got close enough to hear it F.R.I.D.A.Y. had brought the level right down. The only exception was the Avengers alarm, but that would play sharply for a second then reducing anywhere in Peters vicinity.

It was incredibly helpful for Peter, but it did make getting him out of bed in the morning difficult. However F.R.I.D.A.Y. was an incredibly intelligent AI and if Peter wanted to stay in bed she would simply -

“FRIDAY WHAT THE FUCK” Peter was stood on his bed, in a pair of grey sweatpants, yelling at the ceiling, soaking wet. Which is exactly what Steve saw when he walked in. F.R.I.D.A.Y. had turned on the sprinkler system in Peter’s room. It would be a slight pain to clean but that was really not her fault.

“Oh good you're up, you are late for school. Swear like that again and that protocol will be staying in place a little longer” was all Steve said, somewhat used to F.R.I.D.A.Y. actions.

Peter grumbled about not needing a shower anymore, but had one anyway. He got dressed quick, with his shirt the wrong way around and leaving his Spanish homework on the desk. As he ran out to the living area to grab some toast, Clint handed him a lunch box to eat on the way. He quickly thanked him and ran downstairs hoping that Happy wasn’t unhappy with him. Making sure to apologise to Steve for earlier.

He was of course fuming, but he was the picture of professionalism and only closed the partition after telling Peter that he’s is in fact ‘head of security for a rather large company, that Peter might have heard of, and not in fact the chauffeur of an overgrown spider that can’t get up in the morning. And he has better things to do than weave in and out of traffic so you don’t get in trouble for being late’.

When he was more settled in the car, he realised the lunch box was far too light. He was already mental cursing Clint as he opened the box. Inside was a single pitiful slice of bread and a post-it note telling him to get up on time tomorrow. Peter was starving and considered asking Happy to stop somewhere, but he was pretty sure Happy was more likely to stop on a deserted road and make sure no one ever found his body. He would grab something at school.

Peter got to school on time because, whether it was his job or not, Happy was a great driver.

He met Ned in the hallway and they were quickly chatting about the lego project they had worked on yesterday. They had taken a break from building the death star to build a computer case for Ned’s newest PC. Tony had gifted him some pieces, having seen the laptop he had been working with. It was an olive branch in a way, Tony forgiving Ned for messing with his tech. Ned had decided that he wanted to build a lego exterior case for it all which was more challenging than they had thought. Once Peter had access to the labs again they would work on building some custom lego blocks that had studs on two sides so they could both build the case up but also stick things to the side of the case. He also wanted it in the Spider-Man colours but since the Spider-Man lego set wasn’t out yet, he didn’t have nearly enough red and blue pieces.

Tony had surprised Peter with a Spider-Man x lego deal for Christmas but Peter had really underestimated how long these things took to get going. He did have one of the first prototypes though. It was hidden in his room, Ned’s birthday was soon and he hoped they could spend a day building it together for the first time.

The morning was pretty uneventful at school, he did get an annoyed look from his teacher for missing his homework, but on the assurance that he would hand it in first thing the following morning she let it go. Peter couldn’t be more thrilled about lunch. After missing breakfast he felt like his stomach was going to collapse in on itself and he would wither away.

He piled his tray with as much food as he could get away with, knowing it still wouldn’t be close to enough. Flash tried to trip him on the way to the table, and had he not desperately needed the food he might have let him. He doesn’t want to seem overly coordinated in case people start to suspect anything, but this time he neatly side stepped his foot without looking and balanced the tray perfectly. He realised this would only annoy him further but right now he didn’t care.

Peter ate his lunch, and half of Ned’s, quickly. Hoping to leave before Flash came over. But Parker luck was at it again and he felt a hand smack the back of his head just as he was drinking the last of the water, causing him to choke a bit.

“So Penis, how do you expect us all to believe that you are smart enough to get an internship at Stark Industries but you can’t even dress yourself?”. Ned felt suddenly very guilty, he had noticed the shirt this morning but was distracted by their lego work.

Peter blushed realising Flash was right. Thankfully, Flash and his mates decided to walk away. Peter’s sense could hear them laughing down the hall. Peter didn’t run to the bathroom, but he did walk very swiftly. He knew that he was just rushed this morning, but the fact that people still didn’t believe his internship stung. It wasn’t that they thought he was or wasn’t smart enough, or even deserving enough. It was that they thought he would lie. Peter didn’t like to be thought of as a liar, who did.

At the end of the day they had Academic Decathlon, something that Peter was kind of dreading. He had averted two almost disasters today and these things always came in threes. He knew he wouldn’t be so lucky to get away a third time.

The meeting was kinda dull but Mr Weathers seemed increasingly excited. At the end of the period, he made them all sit down for an announcement, even going so far as to make the student give him a drum roll. Teachers seem to always ask for a drum roll, when they know that the news is mediocre at best and need to convince the students it's actually amazing.

“As a thank you for all your hard work and success this year, we have managed to arrange a field trip”. Peter’s spidey sense already knew this was bad. “I will hand out permission slips and NDA’s in a moment, now I NEED these signed by Wednesday, and the trip will be this Friday. I expect you all to meet here at 7am sharp so we have enough time to get there”. It was smart to get the main information out of the way, he knew as soon as he announced the destination these kids wouldn’t listen to a word he said. “They have provided us with some rules, these are included with your forms, you are expected to know and follow these. I will remind you on the bus and I am sure someone at the destination will also. Now please come and collect your forms, for this year's trip to Stark Industries”.

He was right, it was a free-for-all as soon as he said it, pushing and shouting. He hoped they calmed down about this before Friday or they would never be invited back. He saw Peter, the only one still sitting with his head in his hands. Although this was actually because of sensory overload from the shouting, Mr Weathers took this as confirmation of his long suspected theory. Parker had lied about his internship.

Ned picked up extra sheets for Peter. Flash didn’t need to torment Peter, he already felt like he had won. “Can’t wait to see your office Penis, I’m sure everyone we meet will know exactly who you are. And if they don’t they will when your lies are exposed!”. Peter would have been annoyed at how smug he looked, but between the noise and his hunger Peter really didn’t have the energy to lift his head.

“Peter please can you stay behind a moment, the Principal and I would like a quick word”. The ‘oooo’ that spread through the team, was quite annoying. This was his team, of all the people he expected to believe him. He didn’t care, he decided. The school had the paperwork and that was enough.

Ned was unsure about leaving Peter at the end, but Peter pushed him out the door. He would be fine, he had nothing to worry about from his teacher and principal.

“Peter, you have to stop this lie about your internship”. He felt like he had been slapped.

“Sir, I gave you the paperwork. I promise I’m not lying!”. It didn’t matter, he could see they had made up their minds. They weren’t interested in hearing his side.

“Peter, I called the number on the paperwork. Your supervisor. I can’t seem to get through to anyone”. It seemed so obvious now, that as his supervisor they had put Mr Starks number. Mr I-don't-answer-unknown-numbers Stark. His work in the company was classified but surely if they had called even reception anyone of them could have confirmed he worked there.

“Peter, you are still welcome on this trip, but for your sake and the sake of any future career you wish to have at SI you need to come clean and stop this”. Peter wanted to smash Mr Weathers head off the desk right now, the hunger wasn’t helping his anger.

“I am aware your aunt is away at the moment, however Mr Weathers and I would like to have a word with her when she is back. Do you have a guardian who can sign the slip in her absence?” He was at least satisfied that May would be furious at them for not believing her nephew.

“Yes Sir”. Keep it short and sweet Parker and you can go home.

They let him leave then, all pissed off and hungry.

Happy was ready to yell at the kid some more but when he came out of school looking like a kicked puppy he let it go. The kid didn’t want to talk about what happened, so he assumed he’d been rejected or some other teenage drama and bought him two burgers and a milkshake on the way home. He half heartedly threatened to gut the kid if he spilt anything on his seats, which at least got him a little smile.

They pulled into the tower underground parking, not long later. Burgers and milkshake completely gone. Peter suddenly remembered the slip weighing like a rock in the back of his bag. Who the hell would sign it, without any of the team finding out about this. He saw Sam pull into just as he was getting out, surprised for a second Peter then remembered next week, and the people who would be arriving on Friday. “Fuck!”

Sam just ruffled his hair as he passed and said in his best Cap voice “language”.

Tags :  @simpingbutch

[love-peterparker]

In Extremis || Peter Parker x Reader

Summary: After the reveal of Spider-Man’s secret identity and the release of Quentin Beck’s murder video, there isn’t a lot going right for Peter Parker. But he has you. 

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

Warnings: Cursing, protests and rallies, mentions of murder, a gun that is never shot, and some hair description for Y/N for plot purposes (but it should still be generic enough).  

Word Count: 2.3k

A/N: I’m first a Captain America and Agent Carter fan, and I wanted to recreate what makes their relationship so special, but with Peter and Y/N… ‘cuz I also love Peter Parker. I really loved writing this, and I hope you enjoy it.

Also, thanks to @marvelouspeterparker, @sinisterspidey (she actually has a blurb called I’ll Follow You and it builds off of Spider-Man’s identity reveal) and @stuckonspidey for answering my anon asks for general writing tips and Peter’s character. And @spideyspeaches with her kind words after reading one of the final drafts of this fic. Lastly, a special thanks to @peterbenjiparker encouraging me with this fic and for making me so emotional with her series Invisible String (Read this!... but only if your heart can take it) that I needed to write something. This story has nothing to do with it, but it does make some small generic references to her fic, and I would like to think that Y/N and Peter are soulmates in this story.

***

This takes place in a universe where a FFH-esque identity reveal happens when Y/N and Peter are young adults.

***

This fucking city didn’t deserve him.

Peter rarely admits it, but you say it all the time. When you hit a dead end in the Avenger’s database. When checking for your gun before leaving another safehouse. When reaching for him in the dark of night.

This fucking city didn’t deserve him.

It had been over a year since Peter’s identity as Spider-Man was revealed and the dubious video of Quentin Beck’s murder was released. But it felt like a lifetime.

These two Peter problems were like ivy. They rooted, twisted, and spread. Winding into chokeholds around their victims.

But heroes knew how to play with fire.

Peter’s identity was dealt with in a straightforward fashion. Plenty villains who would do anything to exact revenge on Spider-Man, but they would have to find Peter Parker and identify his loved ones first. And for someone like Peter? Well, it was going to take some time.

To you, Peter was lifegiving. A shining ray of golden hope. You fell to sleep and rose to press kisses into his face. To cherish and hold. To share tears. But to the world, or even New York City? He was a nobody, one who couldn’t even hold a steady job.

You all worked fast while the wicked played catch-up. The Avengers searched and wiped all, but ultimately little personal information Peter had on the internet, as well anything that might connect him to your shared inner circle. Everyone was given an Avenger’s signal watch. And both you and May opted to move as a precaution. May to Brooklyn. You to Avenger’s Tower.

The case of Quentin Beck’s murder was a much more grinding process. Through polished superhero reputations, the lawyers secured an Avenger’s Tower house arrest during court proceedings. An overwhelming amount of evidence in Peter’s favor was gathered. Press conferences were held. Speeches were given. And when it all seemed like it was too much for too long, you and Peter would lie in bed, arms and legs entangled, whispering that everything would turn out all right. Good will win. You just had to keep going.

It was taxing, but not impossible. And just when you all thought you were pulling at the end of the thread with the jury in your favor, the ground beneath you crumbles into nothingness. You spiral and crash into a labyrinth, lush and high-walled. Maybe this was the way out- oh wait, you’ve been here- or have you? You all turn and turn only to face a new dead end. A new set of incriminating videos were released. Spider-Man’s videos took the spotlight, but videos of Wanda and Bucky were also revealed. The streets of New York bustled in whispers.

Can we really trust these heroes? What if these videos are the truth?

And what happens when these powerful people think they are right when they are wrong?

When public protests against Earth’s heroes sprouted and jury members started to disappear, it was clear that the whoever or whatever was behind this had greater motives and powerful allies. It was time to buy time.

Everyone had tried to convince Peter to go into hiding somewhere else. Anywhere else. He had enough super-friends where anywhere was possible. Lay low while everyone else above ground scrambled to unweave this massive web of lies. But Peter was infuriatingly adamant that New York, regardless of her wavering loyalties, was his to protect.

So two months ago, he started bouncing around New York City, investigating when he could, and making polarizing headlines with every swing he took.

You tried to continue as if Peter was still by your side. After being terminated from your junior journalist job for “suspect ties to Spider-Man,” Spider-Man became your mission. You originally attended press conferences and rallies as moral support, but after Peter’s first awkward mumbles of a speech, it was painfully clear that he needed a new voice. The public herself needed a normal person who interacted with superheroes. Who better than Spider-Man’s girlfriend? But after the last kidnapping attempt and the Avengers’ numbers shrinking, it was clear that this wouldn’t last. The world now knew who you were too.

The thick ivy had caught up, and you were on fire.

But to hell with it because there was no universe where you would be leaving this nightmare without him. So the next time you looked in the mirror, you donned short red hair and heavy eyeliner.  

Days were spent questioning possible witnesses. Nights were spent in the light of a computer. And when you could barely drag yourself to continue, moments were spent staring at your beautiful boy’s picture. He needed you.  

You had only heard from him twice since he went into hiding, though there were a few times answered unknown number calls would lead to abstract rustling and distinct web shooter noises. To those, you always whispered “I love you,” before hanging up.

That was until last night, when you noticed small slip of paper in the crack of the window of the safehouse you had been staying at. Only a time and an address were written, in messy, but undeniably Parker script.

You spent the next day visiting arbitrary places in the Bronx, trying to determine if anyone was following you and collecting items in an unsuspecting backpack.

It was a balancing act between comfort and practicalities. An extra stealth suit. A waterproof jacket you both shared. Protein bars. Extra web fluid and a first-aid kit. A hefty wad of cash, just in case. And in the smallest pocket, things to help him in the darkest days to come. Letters from you, May, Ned, and your other friends. A few packs of gummy bears. And a picture of you and him, laughing in Central Park on one of your many dates. Sunlight casting halos on your heads. Bright. Carefree. Brimming with love.

Your heart cried and cried and cried, begging for those days.

But they were gone. And as much as you didn’t want to admit it, so were the people in that picture.

You travelled to the building location and made your way to the rooftop. Rows and rows of white sheets were hung, all whipping in the wind to dry.

A small smile graced your lips. You had to hand it to him. He was smart.

You folded yourself into one of the corners of the rooftop, gun in hand and waited. Eerie silence slowly lulling you to…

You woke up to the soft footsteps, sleepy eyes registering a shadowy figure behind one of the bedsheets.

“Hans?” you whispered, pointing your gun with a finger on the trigger.

“Leia,” the figured replied, equally hushed. The shadow lifted the curtain. It took a second to register, but it was really him. You raced towards each other, quick hold each other, beaming. Today, you existed in the same place at the same time.

“That was so stupid. I can’t believe you got me to do that,” you laughed, pressing your face into him, holding him tightly as if he could disappear at any moment.

“Oh, come on, you loved it!” he quipped. You hummed in appreciation.

“True, but I love you more.” His eyes brightened at your confession, pink dusting his cheeks.

“I know.” You shook your head, smiling at his response before turning your head and taking in who he had become. Gone were the luxurious curls, replaced with a buzzcut. A pair of fake glasses perched on his nose in further attempts to conceal his identity. Hallowed eyes. His skin tinted gray from the stress. You ran your fingers through the fuzz on his head, massaging his scalp. A sigh escaped his lips, eyes fluttering shut, with hands reaching to caress yours.

“You cut your hair.”

“You did too.” His fingers danced in the ends of your own tresses. A sad smile furnished your face.

“It had to be done,” you replied, before pressing your lips to his cheek and gently removing yourself from his embrace to get your laptop. “We need to get started. We’ve found a lot since you left.”

With his head on your shoulder, fingers laced with yours, and your laptop on your lap, you recounted the on-going investigation to him. The deep web that just kept going and going. Your theories and suspects. And when that was done, you kept talking. How Aunt May and his friends were fine but missing him. How the remaining Avengers were fairing. Peter was oddly quiet, sharing only a few thoughts here and there, but you attributed it to his weariness.

As the sun continued to dip, the silences between sentences stretched, but you mustered more words. As if your sentences were the delicate string that grounded him to you.

“Y/N,” he interrupted. You looked at him and hummed in reply. He began playing with your fingers, eyes never meeting your own. “I love you more than I ever I thought I could, and I’m really thankful for everything you’ve done. And you’ve done so much. Like, I don’t know if I would have even made it this far without you, but here you are, and well, you can’t keep doing this.” You cocked your head, before shaking your head, hair rustling.

“What? Peter, we are getting somewhere! I just need to visit the-“ He lets go of your hand, fingers clenching into trembling fists.

“No, no more visits. No more investigating. This can’t be your life. When this started, we thought there was a way out. But it’s been over a year. Clearly whoever or whatever is doing this won’t stop until we’re all gone. This may never stop. I can’t have you throwing away your life for me. Hell, I don’t even know when I’ll see you aga-“

“Peter,” you cut him off, your voice pitched lower in concern, “Where is this coming from? We’re gonna make it. It is just a matter of-”

“I can’t give you what you deserve! I’m Spider-Man, so we don’t get to have a house and two kids! We get this-, this fucking disaster! I live like this because I have to. I don’t get a choice. And you shouldn’t be stupid enough where you are doing the same thing!”  

Your mouth fell open, ready to spit back poison when he looked at you. It was in his eyes. Behind the falling tears and redness was the glint of insecurity that Peter had always carried. This was the child whose parents died. The teenager who didn’t stop his Uncle Ben from getting killed. Who held Tony Stark in his last moments. The man who was on the run.  

The hero who would never stop giving to a world who would never stop taking.

Your thoughts frenzied. If you held on to him too tightly, he would resist. The more he would thrash, determined to save you while slowly sacrificing himself until there was nothing left. Your brain was frozen, so your heart gave you the words-

“Marry me.”  

Peter’s eyes widen before retracting into a tight furrow, scrunching his nose.

“What?! No! Did you not hear anything I just said-“

“I’m not leaving you. I will never leave you. The one thing you never get to doubt in the world is us. So, I’m gonna ask you again; will you,” you took his hand, went to one knee, and let your voice soften as you held his gaze, “Peter Parker, marry me?”  

You both bathed in silence. His chocolate doe eyes boring straight into yours, searching for truth. The thought that maybe you had gone about this the wrong way started to crawl into your mind, but then a smile slowly creeped onto his face, bright red with blush. More salt-water pooled in his eyes. He pulled you into a near lung-constricting embrace, smothering wet kisses into every inch of your face. Mine. Mine. Mine. You could practically hear his thoughts as you basked in each kiss. I missed you. I love you. And oh my god, you’re here to stay.

“What did I ever-, I have no idea know what I ever did to ever deserve you.” A smirked formed on your lips.

“Is that a yes?” The gold stars in his eyes shined at your playfulness. There was the man you always loved.

“Yes, yes, oh god yes. I do, Mrs. Parker,” he said pulling you in for a passionate kiss. And you both stayed there, melting into the ground beneath you. Breathing each other in as moments passed. Tender “I love you’s” flowing generously from both of your lips. As if the world had vanished and all that existed was you and him, and him and you, and this understanding that this, this was a love until death do you part.

Peter was the one to break the string of kisses, leaving you to chase his lips before touching his forehead with your own. His breath hot on your face. “I- , if you go to my lab there is a secret compartment. In my desk. The code is your birthday. I was going to ask you myself, but then, well… this.” You chuckled as he stumbled on his words.

“I’ll get it as soon as I can.” You both leaned in to close the gap again when a cacophony of sirens and lights echoed in the streets below.

Frustration filled Peter’s eyes as he sat up. “Shit. I-, I gotta go. Are you gonna be okay?” You let out a shallow breath, but quickly forced a smile.

“Go get’em.” And with the whip of his webs, he was gone.

You sat there for a moment, taking in the new quiet. Your fingers graced your lips, still warm with the memory of his. A lightness had settled in your chest, and with every breathe you could feel it pulse stronger.

Because no matter what it took, no matter how long the wait, there was two things for certain.

He was going to protect the city. And you were going to save your husband.

[mercurysstars]

The Shadow Thief (part 3)

Summary: What happens when Peter has to work with the girl he hates to possibly save the world.

Word Count: 2.8k

Warnings: Swearing, Blood, Violence.

A/n: Sorry it took me so long to post again! I’ve wrote like 3 different versions of this chapter because I didn’t know what direction to go in just yet.

_

"Woah, dude. Did you see this?" Y/n held out Peter's phone shoving it in his face.

Y/n had gone over to Peters house early that morning to get the last finishing touches on their project done. So they both reluctantly decided to walk together to school.

Peter snatched his phone out of Y/n's hands as they crossed the street. "How did you even get my phone? It was in my hands." She shrugged and pointed back at the article.

Peter scrolled down the page. Incoming reports say Avengers went on a mission and since gone MIA. How didn't he know about this? And why didn't the Avengers at least tell him they were going to be gone. Peter was confused, to say the least. Were they in trouble? No, they couldn't be they are the earth's mightiest heroes. Right?

"They probably just had to extend their mission and forgot to report back in." Or at least he hoped. He didn't want to think of the latter. He decided after school he would go to the compound and make sure everything was alright.

"If you say so." They walked up the stairs to the second floor of the school.  Peter opened the door and they both walked into English. Y/n took her seat next to Mj and Peter next to Ned.

The thought of the Avengers missing did worry Y/n a bit. She wasn't a big fan of superheroes but she also was not, not a fan. It was complicated. Sure she liked the security of having someone to save the day. But she hated that they pretended to be better than everyone else. They judge criminals as they themselves have never done anything wrong. They tend to blame everything on everyone else and never take responsibility.

Y/n felt a nudge to her arm. She turned her head to face Mj. "Penny for your thoughts?"

"No, no it's alright I'm just thinking," Y/n said. She pulled out her laptop and opened her and Peter's presentation to have it ready just in case they had to go first.

Their opening slide was a picture of Anne Frank surrounded by a pretty border and Anne Frank’s name in cursive in the middle. Peter insisted their project had to look nice and not like some shitty last-minute one like she had originally done. Y/n had teased Peter relentlessly about it saying maybe he should be a graphic designer instead of Spider-Man. And he of course huffed and pretended to ignore her.

"Well, you just looked worried. Anyways tell me if you need any help." Y/n gave Mj a grateful smile. Y/n knew Mj could have this cold, hard exterior but she knew she secretly cared.

The bell rang signaling the first period started. The teacher stood up from her desk and walked to the front of the room clasping her hands together. "Good morning class. Today is the first official day for our presentations. We'll be picking who goes first by random. Any questions?"

One girl toward the front of the classroom stuck up her hand "Yes, Betty."

"Did you see the news? About the avengers?" The class erupted within hushed conversation everyone stating their theories of what happened and their worries.

"Alright, class settle down. I did see but we will continue like normal." She said. It kind of seemed like to Y/n she didn't care at all but she didn't really think anything of it.

The phone rang and the teacher quickly excused herself. Y/n picked at her fingers mindlessly. The teacher muttered a few words into the phone and hung up "Y/n, Peter." Her eyes snapped up at the sound of her name "They want you down in the office. And bring your things."

Y/n furrowed her brows. Her eyes met Peters "What did you do?" He mouthed just as confused as her.

What did she do? What the hell did he do. She hasn't done anything wrong. Well, at least nothing she gotten caught for.  "Dude if anyone did anything it was you! I've only been here for like 3 weeks." She whispered-yelled back.

He put his hands up defensively. Y/n shoved all of her things in her bag and zipped it up. Mj raised an eyebrow at her and Y/n just shrugged with a clueless look on her face.

Y/n walked over to the door opening it with her free hand while her chrome book was in the other.  Peter followed not too far behind. They step out and began to walk down the hallway shoulder to shoulder not a word muttered between them.

The hall was empty. No teacher, no janitor, no late students, not even the common lost freshman. It was strange to Y/n. She turned to Peter "This is weird. It's almost like it's too."

"Quiet." He finished for her. Peter felt off. His spidey sense wasn't alarming him with anything but it was almost like a gut feeling you'd get when some strange guy came up to you at a party being a little too friendly.

"Yeah." Exactly. They continued down the hall both on high alert. When they passed a window Y/n could see two men dressed in suits around the corner through the reflection.

"I think they're following us." She whispered to Peter. Y/n has picked up a thing or two of trying not to be noticed but the men behind them didn't seem like they cared much for subtlety. They had their eyes set on Y/n and Peter taking wide quick steps.

This time his spidey sense went off. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Peter reached for his web-shooters "We need to get out of here."

"You think?" Y/n back said in an aggravated tone. The next time they passed by a window she could see them screw something together slowly by their side.

Y/n glanced down to get a better look, it was a gun. All she could hear was the beating of her heart thumping loudly in her ears. Thinking quickly Y/n shoved Peter into a locker. A bullet whizzed past where his head once was and made a tiny thump when it hit the wall.

His eyes went wide momentarily stunned before he sprung into action. He shot out a web, grabbed the gun out of the man's hand, and flung it across the hall, making sure he couldn't get to it.

The men paused for a minute before muttering something to each other end breaking into a spring toward them. Well mostly at Peter luckily for her but still in her direction. Peter began to fight the one whose gun he had stolen hand to hand. The man got in a punch to Peter's face. Peter tripped him and tied him up with his webs.

The second man was coming toward her. Before she could second guess herself Y/n took her chrome book and slapped the man across the face with it. The man was momentarily shocked and Y/n opened an unlocked locker hitting him in the face. She watched him slide down the lockers unconscious.

More men turned the corner and came down the hallway. Y/n kicked a waist-length garbage can with wheels toward them as a small distraction. Peter grabbed Y/n pulling her into an empty classroom.

Y/n locked the door before she grabbed Peter and dragged him further into the classroom into a supply closet. They both crouched behind a mop bucket leaving the door cracked for a tiny bit of light.

"Would you like to tell me why there's someone outside this classroom trying to blow my brain out!" She huffed.

"Don't ask me. For all, we know they could be after you!" They both flinched as they heard the door handle shake.

"They were attacking you. Shooting at you. And you'd have a bullet in the back of your head if I didn't push you out of the way if I might add." She poked him in the chest.

The men began to start kicking at the door trying to break it down "Maybe if we figure out who they are we can get out of this."

"You know what I have an idea." Y/n reached back and grabbed the gun out of the waistband of her pants. Y/n started not to care much for introductions when they tried to assassinate her. Her motto was to shoot first ask questions later because she was not going down without a fight.

"What the hell Y/n! Where did you even get a gun?" Peter tried to put some distance between them but failed and ended up bumping into a shelf.

"Calm down bug boy I'm not going to shoot you." She rolled her eyes "I grabbed it off the guy while I smashed my laptop over his head."

"You are not shooting anyone!" He exclaimed. He was going to die with a psychopath. A literal psychopath. What would his uncle Ben say if he could see him right now?

"Fine whatever. How many webs do you have left?"

"Only one." He muttered.

"Only one! How the hell do you only have only one web left?" Oh lord. She was going to die in a janitor's closet with an idiot.

"Oh well, I'm sorry I didn't know I would have someone trying to paint the walls with my organs. I must have forgotten to mark it on my calendar!"

"Oh god, Okay." Y/n rubbed her forehead with her free hand.

She took the clip out of her gun and counted the bullets she had. Two. Okay, she could work with that, Somehow. She just had to live long enough to beat Peter up for almost getting them killed.

She turned back to Peter "Alright here's the plan so we are going to jump out of the window and see just how far that web can exactly get us." She could hear the pounds on the door getting more frequent and if she was being honest she was surprised it held this long.

"Are you crazy! You going to get us both killed." He didn't need the answer because he already knew she was. He swore he could see the shadows swirl around her for a moment but as quickly as it was there it was gone.

"Do you have any better ideas because I'm all ears, Parker?" He didn't say anything and just ran a hand through his hair letting out a frustrated sigh.

"That's what I thought." Y/n knew there was a good chance that they get hit by incoming traffic like a bug on a windshield but it was either that or the SWAT team outside.

"Let's get this over with." Said Y/n. They both stepped outside of the closet. The men outside the room gave the door one last kick and it broke off of the hinges. "Go." That was all Peter said.

Y/n shot the window with the two bullets she had. Peter ran over to Y/n and grabbed onto her tightly. They jumped through the window shattering it. Peter shoots out his last web hooking onto a nearby tree. At the peak of the swing, Peter let go of the web. They flew over the traffic narrowly avoiding the cars.

When they finally reached the ground they hit it hard. Peter took most of the impact but Y/n still hit her head. They continued to hold tightly onto each other as they rolled through the grass from the momentum of the swing.

They came to a slow stop and Y/n landed on top of Peter. She slumped off to the side of him and sat up. Peter did the same but with a groan feeling all of the bones in his body.

He noticed blood began to trickle out of Y/n's nose. "You got something." He pointed to her nose.

She wiped under her nostrils with her fingers and then again with the bottom of her shirt without a second thought "Oh, Thanks."

Peter rested his head on his knees. What was he going to do? As much as he didn't like Y/n he felt bad for dragging her into this. "We need to get going they are going to come looking for us soon."

"Where are we going to go?" The light was starting to become too much so Y/n put her hand over her eyes to shield her from the sun. She was starting to get a headache and just wanted to lay down. Peter stood up and dusted off his shirt and pants.

"Avengers compound." He held out a hand to her. She took it and he pulls her up onto her feet. They began to walk toward the street.

"I just don't know how we are going to get there." He added. They made it onto the sidewalk. Y/n was stumbling around so Peter kept his pace slow so she could keep up with him.

Y/n stopped walking "What do you think of this car?" She nodded to a 1997 Honda Accord.

"It's cool I guess." He said confused the car was a little old but he didn't say anything.

"Alright good. Now hand me your web-shooters." She held out her hand toward him.

"Okay?" He didn't really know what she was trying to get at. Peter just assumed she hit her head too hard but he complied anyway.

Y/n crouched down facing the car. She broke his web-shooters over her knee taking out two long curved metal pieces. She handed him back the rest of his broken web-shooters. Peter stared at her wide-eyed as she stuck the two metal pieces into the lock of the car.

"What are you doing." He hissed. Peter walked closer to Y/n trying to cover her as she picked the lock to the car.

"I just gave our problem a solution." She said without looking. She continued to twist the pieces around until she heard a little click. She gave a little cheer and opened the door.

"Yeah by stealing someone's car. Need I remind you is illegal."

" I like to think of it as borrowing. Besides I will happily leave you if you wish." She rolled her eyes. God, her head was throbbing.

Y/n took the plastic cover off of the steering column. There were three sets of wires and she grabbed the middle one. Y/n cut the red and blue wire. She touched the wires together until she heard the car start. She smiled to herself and lastly twisted the wires together.

She turned to Peter "Are you getting in or what?"

Peter looked around and then sighed "Fine, but I'm driving."

"What? No way, you don't even look old enough to drive." She crossed her arms.

"You have a concussion so I'm our best bet at not dying." He gave Y/n a sarcastic smile.

"Whatever." She rolled her eyes but got out of the driver's seat.

"You know if you keep rolling your eyes they are going to get stuck like that." She flicked him off and he laughed.

Y/n basically collapsed into the passengers seat. Peter closed his door and started the car. He pulled into the street and Y/n rested her head against the window. The cool glass felt nice against her forehead. She notice a bruise on Peter's pale cheek from when he got hit earlier.

Every now and again he would glance at Y/n to see how she was doing. He figured she must not feel the best because she hasn't said one witty remark since they got into the car.

He hoped by now the Avengers were back at the compound and could Tell them what's going on and who was following them.

He looked over to her again and she had her eyes close. He jabbed her with his elbow "Hey, don't fall sleep. You might not wake back up."

"Hmm Okay." She said but didn't budge.

"I'm serious Y/n, open your eyes." Peter was starting to get worried. It wasn't that he cared about her. But he didn't know what to do with a dead body. Or at least that's what he told himself.

"Don't get your panties into a bunch, my eyes are open."

They pulled into the road of the compound. When it came into view Y/n suddenly sat up wide eyed "Holy shit."

"What?" Peter took his eyes off of Y/n and followed her line of sight.

"What the fu-"

Part 4

Taglist

@fandom-strumpet • @ginger-swag-rapunzel • @libraries-and-coffee

[daretosnoop]

Chapter 4: Bad Girlfriend

Chapter 3

The chapter some of y’all have been wanting since this game came out. I hope the story is interesting so far. 

Henry told Renee their plans, then brought Nancy upstairs to the guest room. It was a simple room, if a little bland for colour. Henry supposed his uncle had some notion of social etiquette given that many people would probably not take to his interior design choices. Renee entered soon with a bundle of clothes.

“Not sure what would fit you dear or what your preference is so I brought some of my clothes, Dr. Bruno’s clothes, and some random pieces stored over time”.

Nancy thanked her and both Renee and Henry went downstairs.

“I’ll make a little night snack for your sleepover,” Renee said as she headed for the kitchen. Henry followed her.

“Don’t trouble yourself. And it’s not a sleepover. We don’t have a choice given the weather”.

“You could have always dropped her home”.

“I, I can’t do that on rainy nights”.

Renee paused in powdering the beignets. She looked at Henry and nodded.

“Could have asked me. I don’t mind”.

Henry shrugged and Renee just smiled and returned to her beignets. She placed two on two plates and poured out a glass of cold milk.

“In the morning, y’all can have them with coffee”.

She then wished Henry good night and went out the kitchen towards the stairs. On the landing, she suddenly felt a chill run across her back and turned to see Nancy peering over the model cemetery.

“I’ve seen it too,” she suddenly called out.

Nancy whirled around, startled by the voice.

“Seen who?”

“The skeleton man”.

Nancy’s face became serious as she headed towards Renee.

“What have you seen?”

“I don’t even want to talk about it. All I know is that I saw it, that thing. Soon after seeing it, strange sounds came from my room”

“What did you do?”

Renee looked up proudly. “I found a solution in my book. Used my powers in hoodoo to put up a spell,” Renee placed a hand around her little pouch necklace. “It worked too. Those sounds stopped”.

“Did the skeleton man stop? Was it just the one time you saw him or did you see him repeatedly? Do you think there is a connection between the sound and the man? Did you tell Dr. Bolet? What did he say? Did he believe you?”

“Goodness child,” Renee laughed though it did not reach her eyes. “You sure are inquisitive”.

Nancy shrugged.

“Well, I admire your tenacity child, just be careful. There are powers far beyond mere mortals. The best we can, and should, do is protect ourselves and not dare challenge the powers”.

Renee said nothing to Nancy’s perplexed face. There really was nothing to tell the girl. She would either play it safe, or learn the hard way. She told Nancy of the food she placed out and bid her goodnight.

 Nancy was surprised to see Henry in the kitchen. He had started on one of the beignets but his attention was clearly on his phone.

“Bad news?” Nancy asked, reading his face.

Henry started, blinked at her while he processed her question, then hummed and took another bite of the beignet.

I wonder if it’s that Summer person?

She started on a beignet and thought over her case. She’d called Bess soon after changing her clothes. Half-asleep Bess barely registered everything Nancy told her but somehow understood that Nancy was not coming home tonight. Nancy didn’t know when Henry was going to sleep, but she hopped it was soon. He was still a suspect and nighttime was always optimal for snooping.

“Find everything okay?” Henry asked.

Mouth still stuffed with food, Nancy nodded.

“Put my clothes to dry so I can wear them tomorrow. I plan on calling professor Hotchkiss and then going from there”.

With a beignet half in his mouth, Henry looked at her, eyes wide.

“You mean, you intend on continuing?”

“Duh”.

“What if I say no?”

“Then I guess I’ll have to go. I’ll go and forever lament this unsolved case to my friends,” Nancy waved her hands about, exaggerating the tragedy Henry’s refusal would cause her.

Henry’s lips twitched.

“You’re stubborn”.

Nancy gave him a cheeky smile.

“Good friends are”.

They chatted amicably on Nancy’s previous cases until the beignets finished. Henry immediately took the dishes and washed them. He then nodded at Nancy before heading towards the study.

“How long do you stay up?” Nancy asked.

Henry shrugged. “Depends on the work”.

Darn. Hate those answers.

With nothing better to do, Nancy bid Henry good night and went to her room. She fiddled with the number she had for professor Hotchkiss and thought over the night’s events. Not able to think of anything new, she searched up hoodoo, the Bolets, and New Orleans on her phone. Something sinister was afoot in this house.

At around 10:45 p.m. Nancy heard footsteps climb up the stairs and a door open. She waited a while longer, and when she was sure Henry was not planning on leaving his room, she quietly opened her door and walked down the stairs with her torch. Thankfully, the stairs did not creak. Nancy opened the door to the study and crept towards the desk. Looking around quickly and finding no one, Nancy sat on the chair and grinned.

 She meticulously searched through all of Henry’s papers, but could find nothing relevant. She then looked through the desk drawers but only found a keychain with an eyeball. Strange, but again, not relevant. Henry had left his computer on the desk and of course, it was locked. Nancy thought over any possible passwords. Bolet didn’t work. Henry’s name didn’t work. Don’t tell me. She typed out Summer and logged in. There was nothing relevant on Henry’s laptop though Nancy did see an email from Dr. Buford’s medical clinic. It was an invoice for a paid bill. Myocardial Infraction. Dr. Bolet’s cause of death.

Nancy looked through the rest of Henry’s emails but found nothing of relevance their either. Not even in the junk and deleted folders. She fell back onto the chair and sighed. Then her eyes caught the rubbish bin beneath the desk and she reached out for it. She read each memo, card, and invite but found nothing of interest. She then picked up an envelope. It was from Milo Research and Technology, and addressed to Bruno Bolet. There was an address but no number. She put the envelope aside and continued to dig. There were some pieces of paper in intelligible handwriting, but Nancy did catch the word skull repeated so she put them with the envelope.

Finding nothing else, Nancy stood up and carried her clues back up the stairs. As she climbed she happened to look up and felt her heart freeze. There, by the flower vase, she could almost swear she was seeing Renee’s eyes watching her. But that was ridiculous. Renee was not there. Nancy took a deep breath and slowly let it out as she went back to her room.

 After breakfast, Nancy went back to her French quarter hotel and was greeted by a frantic Bess.

“Nancy! Where were you?”

“Bess, I called and told you that I would be staying the night at Henry’s place”.

“You know I can’t remember anything told to me when I’m half asleep!”

Bess sighed loudly before looking behind Nancy at the man who was standing awkwardly at the front door. Following her gaze, Nancy introduced Bess to Henry and soon Bess had ushered him in for tea. As the trio sat around the table, Nancy filled Bess in with what had happened to her and what her plans were. Bess’s face fell when she learned that her friend was, again, bailing on her to pursue a case. She knew Nancy meant well, and to be honest, helping Nancy with a case was more fun than a traditional vacation, but Nancy had just gotten back from Alberta from another case. It would have been nice to have some time in the warmth before she whisked off again.

“Will you help me Bess?”

Nancy’s words broke Bess out of her thoughts. She wasn’t paying attention.

“Uh, help you with what?”

“Finding out some information. Just background research. Nothing dangerous”.

“Nancy,”

“Please?”

“Okay, okay. I’ll be on standby. The sooner you solve this, the sooner we can get back to our vacation”.

Bess turned to glare at Henry.

“You could have just told her no, you know”.

The man shrugged and Bess could tell from his face that he had tried, Nancy just didn’t listen. She never could catch hidden tones very well, but it was probably a good thing. She wouldn’t be a good detective if she was constantly hampered by emotional cues.

Nancy got up to pack her bags. Alone with Henry, Bess found herself not knowing what to say. The man was a complete stranger, even if he was dressed smartly, and even if he did carry himself with a certain grace. It was interesting to see that despite his outwardly appearance, Henry exhibited a lot of manners. He hardly made his presence known and it was only after Nancy left that Bess took a good look at Henry.

“So, how do you know Ned?”

“We’re classmates”.

Bess nodded and silence overfell both of them again.

“Do you like tea?” Bess asked.

“Yes. It’s nice”.

That’s it? Just nice? C’mon, give me more to work with! Henry was a walking enigma and it infuriated Bess.

“I’m sorry about Nancy. She can be,” Bess moved her hands to emphasize, “much”.

Henry snorted into his tea.

“But her intuition is always right, or close to it. Whatever it is your uncle’s hiding, she’ll figure it out. Don’t worry”.

“I’m not worried. I just don’t think there is anything worth finding out”.

“So you’re okay with letting possible treasure, a priceless artifact, go undetected?”

“Doesn’t really mean much to me?”

“What if it meant something to your family?”

“I’m the only living relative of my family, and since I know nothing about my family, the treasure or whatever uncle Bruno may be hiding might as well not exist”.

Bess didn’t know what to say to that, and they finished their tea in silence. Nancy came in and plopped in front of Bess.

“Bess. I need you to look into someone. His name is Gilbert Buford. Dr. Buford was Dr. Bolet’s heart doctor. Apparently they were also friends”.

“What do you want me to ask him?”

“Ask him what he knew about Dr. Bolet. If Dr. Bolet ever confided anything to anyone, his friend would probably know—right?”

“I suppose”.

Bess glanced towards Henry.

“Is it okay if I do this? Or am I breaking some law here?”

“Don’t think so. If you are, I guess you can just say that I’m asking you to do this”.

“Great!” Nancy beamed and all but dragged Henry outside.

Bess sighed and pulled out her phone to look up medical clinics, but stopped when she heard Nancy come back in. She wore a serious expression.

“Bess. I need you to do something else”.

Nancy handed her a piece of paper that said ‘Zeke’s’ on it.

“I need you to see if there is some store called Zeke. Then I need you to go in and ask if Henry Bolet or Renee Amande ever sold anything recently”.

Bess slowly lowered her phone.

“You, you suspect Henry and Renee?”

“You know the drill Bess, everyone’s a suspect”.

“But, for what?”

“For being the skeleton man. I’m following up on every lead I have. Couldn’t tell you earlier because,” Nancy nudged her head towards the door.

“How does this place relate to a skeleton man?”

“Don’t know yet, but I know it was burned recently. Renee mentioned she keeps the place spotless. She couldn’t possible have overlooked the fire place if it was burnt a while ago”.

“Alright”.

Nancy thanked Bess then headed out the door.

 Henry drove them back to the Bolet manor and went towards his desk. Nancy pulled out her phone and dialed professor Hotchkiss. No one picked up, but Nancy was not surprised. Professor Hotchkiss was probably off doing research or some other wacky project. She left a message asking professor Hotchkiss to call back to discuss a book she recently wrote.

She had no other lead to follow and so went out to the gardens. Renee was not there and Nancy took her chance to snoop. There was a shovel on one wall and some other gardening tools hanging about. For the most part, it looked like a garden. Even the plants seemed common place. Finding nothing suspicious, Nancy turned to leave the garden and came face-to-face with Renee.

“Can I help you dear?”

“Oh, I was actually looking for you,” Nancy spoke placidly. She was a little startled by Renee’s sudden appearance, but quickly recovered when she saw the pouch necklace Renee always wore.

“I was going to ask you, what’s in that necklace”.

Renee closed her hand around the pouch and Nancy could have sworn she saw anger flash through her eyes.

“This is my connection to the forces of the universe. Their elemental powers course through me when I wear this”.

Nancy stared at her and Renee scoffed.

“Well, least you didn’t laugh. How else can I help you?”

“Well, what can you tell me about Dr. Bolet?”

“Recluse. Obsessive. Neither jolly nor morose, but there was always a soberness that clung to him. It’s as if he refused to let himself be happy. Not very picky either. So long as I left him alone and kept the house, he didn’t care about what I did in my free time”.

Renee gave a soft smile. “We had a great working relationship. It’s rare to have in the housekeeping business”.

“How did you come to work for Dr. Bolet?”

“Answered a paper advertisement,” Renee answered quickly.

“Did he ever talk about his family?”

“Very little”.

“What did he say?”

“That his parents died when he was in his thirties. He had a younger brother whom he adored. Loved his sister-in-law, and had no desire to get married”.

There was barely anything to work with, still, Nancy persisted.

“Dr. Bolet was alone his whole life? Even after his brother’s death”.

Renee pressed her lips into a thin line.

“From what I’ve come to understand, Dr. Bolet loved his brother and when he died, he essentially lost a part of himself. Whatever was left came out only through his eccentricities”.

There was nothing of use in anything Renee mentioned. She tried a different angle.

“Do you know how Dr. Bolet died?”

“Oh yes,” Renee’s eyes took on a far-away look. “I was. I was there when he died. I saw him fall, on the threshold”. Renee placed a hand on her shoulder and looked down. “I thought, maybe, he just stumbled. Maybe got knocked unconscious, but Dr. Buford was there and he said it was a heart attack”.

Nancy looked sharply at Renee.

“Dr. Buford was there on the night Dr. Bolet died?”

“Yes. I suppose he came to visit Dr. Bolet”.

“Does he regularly visit Dr. Bolet?”

“No. Usually Dr. Bolet visits, but I suppose given his age. It must have been easier for Dr. Buford to come. Or maybe he wanted something. Either way, he was there”.

“What was Dr. Bolet doing on the threshold?”

Renee scrunched her face and held a finger to her lips. She still did not look at Nancy.

“I don’t remember quite well, but I think he was reading something. A letter perhaps?”

Excitement rose through Nancy.

“Do you still have the letter? Can I see it?”

“Sorry dear. I don’t know where it’s gotten to”.

Renee gave Nancy a tight smile and pointed towards the plants. Nancy took her cue to leave Renee and head back into the manor. She went back to her room and searched up Gilbert Buford, New Orleans. There were three Gilbert Bufords, but only one had a medical clinic. Nancy dialed the number and waited for the receptionist. The receptionist told her that Dr. Buford was not working full-time anymore.

“He only comes in for urgent situations and requests”.

“Where can I find him outside of the clinic?”

“I’m not authorized to give you that information”.

Nancy was fed up of facing blockades that interrupted her investigation. It was as if the whole of New Orleans didn’t want the mystery that was Bruno Bolet to come apart. She decided to take a risk.

“I really need to talk to him,” she said, softening her voice to add grief. “You see, we had a mutual friend who recently died, and I-I just need to talk to him”.

“Need some consoling?” The nurse empathized.

“Yes! Exactly! I need, that”.

“Well, alright. I guess it’s okay given the circumstance. Dr. Buford generally spends his time in the French quarters. He lives nearby and frequents a Cajun truck stop at Rampart and Dumaine. Claims it’s the best gumbo New Orleans has. I’d contest him on that though. Nothing beats a fine gumbo than my own Bluefoot’s Gumbo”.

Rampart and Dumaine? Jackpot!

“Thank you so much”.

“No problem,” the receptionist replied. “And I hope you get the help you need for your friend”.

“Oh, yes. I will. Thanks. I feel better already.” Saying so, Nancy quickly hung up and called Bess.

“Bess, he’s in Rampart and Dumaine!”

“Who?” Bess asked, her voice laced with sleep.

“Gilbert Buford. I called his clinic. They said he spends his time nearby a Cajun food truck”.

“Hang on”. Bess muttered and Nancy could hear her wrestling out of the bed and walking around.

“I’m in the balcony now”.

“What do you see?”

“I see a food truck called ‘Granny’s Cajun Cooking’”

“And?”

“And no one else. It’s pretty busy right now, but no one is sitting around the food truck”.

Nancy sighed. “Must be too early in the day”.

“Or hot, it’s the middle of the afternoon. But I’ll keep any eye out, okay?”

Another dead end. It seemed that for every inch of progress Nancy made, there was a foot of backlash.

“Hey Nancy,” Bess’s voice called urgently. “You won’t believe what’s in front of our hotel. It’s the name, ‘Zeke’. It’s a curio shop!”

“Bess, you gotta get right down there and ask those questions!”

“I’m on it,” Bess replied with determination and hung up.

 Nancy wandered around the gardens, looking for a clue that would help her understand the spider lock. Neither Renee nor Henry understood the lock, nor did they know if Bruno kept a pet spider. Renee eventually mentioned that she’d often see Dr. Bolet standing in certain spots around the garden. Sometimes he looked up to the sky, and other times, he was peering down. At times, he’d even bend over and inspect the base of the fountain that rested in the centre of the garden.

Carefully, Nancy crept around the fountain. The rain had made the soil muddy so she could not walk within the base. Thankfully, she did not need to. There was a hole surrounded by overlapping wires nestled into the soil ground. Nancy pulled out her phone to confirm her suspicion. The wire web before her matched the lock image on her phone. They’re keys, she realized. Musical keys. Each wire twanged a musical note. Looking at the image on her phone, she realized that the dashes extending out of each wire varied in number. So each dash must corroborate to a number—an order perhaps? But what would it release? She assumed it must be another key given that she was trying to open another locked door. Peering down into the hole, she saw a bronze key and the legs of a giant tarantula. Nancy could face anything, had faced everything, even certain death. She’d grown quite resilient in nature— but spiders, spiders were the one thing she just could not understand. I’d better get this right.

Carefully she pulled each wire in the order the lock indicated, and listened carefully to the note it played. She heard the mechanical sound of a platform being raised, and saw that the spider had backed off because the key was sitting upon a stand that was now rising to greet her. She nabbed the key and stuffed it into her front pocket. She turned around and saw Henry.

“What are you doing?” Henry asked.

“Oh you know,” Nancy shrugged then grinned. “Just testing theories out”.

Henry’s eyebrows quirked. “Discover anything, scientist?”

Nancy laughed. “Maybe,” she coyly answered.

Henry nodded but when he saw Nancy was not going to offer any more information, he let it go.

“Just going to take walk”.

“I’ll join you,” Nancy spoke suddenly.

“You will?”

It was a sudden decision, but Nancy did want to learn more about Henry. He might know more about his family, and Nancy wanted to know more about this Summer person. She might also be connected to this mystery—though, probably, very weakly connected.

They walked into the cemetery, Henry being a gentleman and opening the gate for Nancy.

“Thanks, but don’t bother. I’m your friend”.

“So I shouldn’t be nice to friends?” Henry countered.

“No, I meant. No need to be formal. Chill out a bit”.

“Yes, I suppose I could learn a bit about chilling out”. He gestured around the cemetery. “Think this is a good place to learn how?”

“Can’t be more chill than dead, can you?” Nancy teased and Henry laughed.

When they got to the Bolet mausoleum Nancy could sense Henry’s tension. One pain for another, I guess.

“So,” she started. “Tell me about Summer”.

Henry’s eyes snapped towards her, and without needing to look back, Nancy admitted that she overheard his conversation.

“Overheard?” Henry asked and Nancy knew what he was really asking.

“Well, you were loud enough. What was I to do? Cover my ears?”

Henry just sighed but didn’t say anything. Nancy tried a different angle.

“Friends help each other”.

“Why do you keep insisting we’re friends?”

“Because we are”

“People don’t just become friends in a day or because someone says so”.

“Then how do they become friends?”

Henry shrugged. “I dunno. Hang out a lot. Talk a lot. Eventually they come to rely on each other and feel safe and wanted around each other. They enjoy each other’s company”.

“Is that what you have with Summer?” Nancy asked softly.

Henry stopped walking and looked down. Nancy waited. She thought Henry would refuse to answer, or tell her to stop walking with him, or even cry, but slowly, Henry lifted his head and stared right at her.

“No”.

“So Summer’s not your friend?”

“No. She’s my girlfriend”.

“Your girlfriend can’t be your friend? Little ironic. It’s in the name”.

“It’s,” Henry scratched his ear. “It’s complicated. I like her, and I think she likes me back, but she can be so unpredictable it drives me nuts”.

“How so?”

“I never know what’s going to make her happy. Like just recently I— “Henry stopped and hesitated. “I always have to buy her things”.

Nancy’s mind began to whir.

“Have you tried talking to her about it?”

Henry nodded. “I did but she always gets very mad, and I’d rather not deal with her anger. Besides,” Henry pressed down hard on his lips. “I’m afraid if I don’t give her what she wants she’ll,” he pressed down harder and his lips disappeared into a thin line. “I’m afraid she’ll dump me”.

“What’s wrong with being dumped?”

Henry looked at her incredulously. “I couldn’t take it. She’s the only girlfriend I’ve ever had, and probably ever will have”.

Nancy did not understand Henry’s argument. “So you’d rather be unhappy with someone, then happy but alone”.

“I’m not unhappy when I’m with Summer,” Henry snapped.

“You just said you don’t consider her your friend,” Nancy argued, “and that you’re only staying with her out of fear”.

“What’s it to you?” Henry argued.

Shoot. Her inquisitive side had gotten her involved in emotional affairs again. Whoever said detective work required cold calculated minds was a god-damn liar. Henry must of have noticed the change in the air and quickly apologized for his behaviour.

Nancy rolled her eyes. “Look. I know I’m nosy. I probably shouldn’t have said anything. But I’m not that type of person. If something’s wrong, I usually try to figure it out, and seeing your behaviour, I feel you’re in the wrong relationship. I’m not going to tell you what to do, but if you don’t consider me as a friend, then consider this as advice from a stranger who’s sensing something’s wrong—you’re in a bad relationship. This Summer, she seems like someone who likes being provided for and taken care of”.

Henry crossed his arms against his chest. “And what’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing, if you’re okay with having such a relationship. But if you’re not, then what are you doing?” Nancy hesitated and carefully said her next words. “You’re going to make both of you unhappy, and eventually, one person is going to leave”.

“Oh, you’re a relationship detective now?” Henry spat.

“No,” Nancy said softly. She laced her fingers together in front of her. She could see the gates dividing the cemetery and garden. She walked ahead of Henry and opened the gate. Standing on the threshold, she looked back at Henry and smiled.

“I’m the bad girlfriend”.

[renee-writer]

Lost Chapter 70 Little Girl Lost

Trigger warning for child kidnapping

AO3

He is careful. He has cut and dyed his hair. Has glasses on. That and the lift shoes to give him more height, the white lab coat he stole and, the chart he holds in his hand, allows him to move about, basically unrecognizable. He grins evilly at recalling the nurse that now lays dead in the closet. The nurse he got the code from to be able to enter this area.

 

The security impressed him. His son is protected. Of course, not from him, his father. The Scot that is claiming that role can have his mum. He just wants his child. Now he is a doorway away from him. Another chuckle. It was smart of them to disguise him as a girl. Claire knows how much he wants a son. But not smart enough. He will get him and make him Jonathan Wolverton Randall Jr.

 

They are both deep asleep. He eases the door open and slips in. He smiles, a genuine smile, when he sees the child. He slips him into his arms, leaving the chart where he was. There is one sheet of paper on it. A message. “You can have your Scot. I’ve my son.” He signed it, BJR. He is Black Jack, now and forever more. He places the baby under his stolen jacket and slips out.

 

She wakes suddenly, her breasts leaking. Sleepily can reaches for Julia Jamie. It takes her brain a moment to come to grips with the fact she isn’t there.  “My baby! Where is my baby!” 

 

Her cries wake Jamie. “What?” He sits up, his hair a tangle of curls.

 

“Julia Jamie, she isn’t in her bassinet!” She has yet to discover the chart and note.

 

“They probably took her down for some tests.” He is getting more awake.

 

“They are not to take her out of the room without one of us.” He comes fully awake and reaches for the light. The both wince at its intrusion.

 

“Your right.” With the light on she looks down into the bassinet and screams.

 

The police are soon squirming the hospital. Claire was given a sedative. They find Julia Jamie’s bracelet, that would help them track her, in the elevator outside the maternity ward. They also find the nurse. More police are called in.

 

“I nursed her last at one. I laid her in the bassinet and went to sleep. The need to nurse her again work me at three. That is when we discovered her missing.” She explains again, to the detectives called in. The one working the murder case are with them. “He wants a son. When he determines her  gender…” She starts to shake and cry.  Jamie holds her as he gives the detectives a severe look.

 

“You must find her, find him. She is right. God alone knows what he can do to her.”  Angus paces on the other side of the room. His face is stormy and he is muttering under his breath. Jenny stands on the other side of the bed. She is saying the rosary. Laughaire wanted to come but Rupert has kept her at Lallybroch, so far.

 

“We will.” One of the detectives replies. Another runs in.

 

“The surveillance cameras picked up something.” They all look at the images on his laptop. It shows a man entering the room. A few minutes later, he is seen exiting with something obviously under his coat.

 

“That is him. Disguised but him. I know his gait and those evil eyes. Oh God!” She starts to weep and Jenny climbs on the bed and holds her.

 

“We will get an APB out with this picture and a description of the infant. We are checking the car park cameras to try to find his vehicle. Mr. Ned Gowan has given us all his locations that he has found. We will find him Mrs. Fraser.”

 

“Before she is hurt or…” she can’t say it. Nobody can answer her. Nobody has an answer.  

[negasonicteenagemess]

Slippery Slope || peter parker imagine

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

Word Count: 2.5k

Request: hey :) so could you write something where read and peter are dating and it’s either summer break or christmas break or something and reader goes on a family vacation where brad is (he doesn’t know her and brad are cousins) and he gets super sad and jealous and when he sees snaps of them together so when she gets back he’s like ignoring her until she snaps and is like peter wtf and he accuses her of cheating w her cousin and it’s like a funny wtf moment

hi... sorry for not posting in like five months. I haven’t really been in a peter vibe and i think i accidentally turned into a theater kid because I listen to musicals now

masterlist

Peter sat on his bed, bored out of his mind as he absentmindedly scrolled through his phone. YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, you name it, Peter was on it. He bit his lip going back to his messages again to see whether or not Y/N had sent a text that he missed. When he opened their messages, he wasn’t surprised when he noticed the lack of a response from her as she is on vacation after all. She went all the way to New Jersey for some family thing. If Peter was being honest, he wasn’t really listening.

He groaned in annoyance, closing the app and tapping on Snapchat. Sighing, he swiped over to where his friends’ stories were, Y/N’s being the first in his line of site. He quirked his eyebrow, curious as to why his girlfriend can’t text him but has time to post on her story.

He tapped on the small icon above her name to see a picture of Y/N…and Brad together at the beach. “What!” He yelped sitting up, looking at his phone as if he saw some unearthly entity, again.

Why the hell was she with Brad at the beach? He wondered what was going on as he got a notification. His phone dinged, finally receiving a text from Y/N that read, “I’ve been at the beach all dayyy what’ve you been up to? :)”

Peter scoffed, locking his phone and hopping out of his bed to practically throw his suit on. He shook his head as he pulled the infamous red mask over his head, flattening his curls in the process. He glanced over at the backpack on his desk chair already prepped for school starting in almost a week. Shaking his head and dreading the thought of having to see Brad with Y/N again, Peter jumped out his window ready to help the citizens of New York once again.

Y/N returned home the Sunday before her first day of school. Like every high school student, she was cramming all of her summer homework into that afternoon with the thought of her boyfriend not speaking to her for a week. Six months of talking to each other nearly every day halted last week, and Y/N had no idea why.

She just wanted everything to go back to normal as she had no idea why Peter was ignoring her. She went to her messages, immediately tapping on Peter’s name. All of the messages she had sent in the past week had no replies other than the small ‘read’ under her words. She bit her lip, nervously typing a response yet again.

‘hey peter. I hate not talking to you. I’m sorry if I upset you or something. please call me, I miss you’

Y/N read over the message recognizing how pathetic it must have sounded but disregarded that as she knew that feeling didn’t compare to losing her boyfriend while she pressed the send button. Anxiously waiting for a response, all she could do was look at the message and wait for a response. Minutes passed and Y/N saw the small word that made her heart ache slightly. A bubble with three dots appeared making her heart flutter, but that flutter quickly diminished.

Read 5:37pm.

She closed her eyes, letting a small breath escape her lips as she locked her phone and proceeded to do her assignments.

Peter bit his lip when he slipped his phone into his pocket. “I just don’t get why she was kanoodling with him at the beach.”

He threw the ball in his hand against the wall, prepped to catch it again. “Maybe they’re just friends,” Ned offered, scribbling down half-assed answers to the summer reading.

“Okay, but if she went to Jersey for what she said was a supposed family thing then why was Brad there?” Peter questioned as he caught the ball and stared at his friend who was sitting on the bed in Peter’s room.

“Oh my god,” Peter spoke quietly, dropping the red ball onto the ground next to his desk chair before covering his face with his hands in realization. “What?” Ned asked now looking at his best friend with concern.

“She’s totally cheating on me,” he spoke softly as he turned in his chair to face the bed. “Woah Peter,” Ned exclaimed, “I don’t think she’s cheating on you. It’s Y/N we’re talking about. She’d never do that to you.” 

“But what other explanation could there be?” Peter groaned, throwing his head back in annoyance. “I-I would never do that with MJ without telling her.”

Ned scoffed, “yeah but that’s completely different because you dated MJ.” Peter mumbled a short ‘yeah’ as he absentmindedly spun in the chair. “Just talk to her man. Maybe you’ll find an explanation then,” Ned suggested, picking up his pencil to begin focusing on his homework yet again. Peter sat in his thoughts for a minute, maybe his best friend was right after all. 

The next day at school, Y/N decided to wear a cute outfit for the first day. It was an outfit that Peter helped her pick out, and she completely forgot that until she approached her new locker. She sighed after entering in the combination a billion times without any success. “Need some help,” Brad questioned as he noticed the disheveled girl. 

Y/N turned to look at him, with desperation clear on her face, “please?” Brad took the paper out of her hands and showed her how to open the metal box. “You have to twist it three times before entering the last number,” he explained as the door popped open. 

“Oh,” she whispered softly, “thanks Brad.” Sadness was evident in her voice as she swung her backpack in front of her to drop off some excess school supplies.

 “Has he talked to you at all?” He spoke quietly, putting a supportive hand on her shoulder. She shook her head, looking down, “he hasn’t even texted me back.”

He pulled the sad girl into his arms, knowing that this past week has been rough on her.

“I don’t even know what I did,” her voice muffled into his shirt. Across the hall, Brad saw the boy she was talking about alongside his best friend. 

Peter made eye contact with the teenager who had his arms wrapped around his girlfriend. Not wanting Y/N to notice him, Brad put a hand on her head to keep her there, but to also show comfort. 

“He’s such a fucking idiot,” Brad spoke loudly to make sure that Peter could hear him. The hero looked away, not wanting to witness the scene any longer. Clenching his jaw, Brad pulled away and immediately softened his features when he saw Y/N. 

She pulled out her phone to look at the time with a small amount of hope that dissipated when she saw she didn’t have any notifications from Peter. “The bell’s gonna ring soon. Better walk to class early in case I get lost.” She chuckled lightly as a small smile made its way onto her lips.

The day went by slowly with the standard first day business. Syllabus after syllabus and ‘get to know me’ activities that seemingly had no end.

Lunch was the sweet escape that the upperclassmen thrived in while the new freshmen had struggles navigating to find a seat.

“Well if it isn’t my favorite guy at Midtown,” Brad spoke sarcastically, swinging his arm around Peter’s shoulders roughly as he took a seat next to him. Peter closed his eyes, trying to ignore the situation as much as he possibly could. “What do you want?” He muttered, now glaring at him. 

“I wanna know why you’ve been a total dick to Y/N,” he smiled bitterly, clearly showing the anger within him. Peter scoffed, pushing Brad away from him gently.

 “Why do you want to know so badly?” He grumbled. Ned sat there across from the two, eating his food quietly as he watched the scene unfold. “Because you hurt her, Parker. And we both know she, of all people, doesn’t deserve that,” Brad spoke, his tone serious. 

“How can you be so sure about that? She was probably too busy making out with you to talk to me,” Peter exclaimed, emphasizing his point with flailing his hands about. “Maki-what?” Brad now started laughing, standing up to get a better view of Peter, who was much shorter than him. “You really are stupid, aren’t you?” 

“What?” Peter questioned confused with his angry tone lacing through. Brad shook his head, putting a hand on the smaller boy’s shoulder. 

“Y/N, she’s my cousin. You dumb piece of shit,” Brad scoffed. Suddenly, Peter’s eyes widened as everything started to make sense. A vague memory from over the summer that he had forgotten suddenly resurfaced. 

“Yeah, my mom and I are gonna meet up with my Aunt and Brad before we go to New Jersey for that stupid reunion,” Y/N spoke as she scrolled absentmindedly through her phone. Peter stopped typing on his laptop to turn and question his girlfriend. 

“Brad?”

Y/N furrowed her brows as she looked at the teenager before her, “yeah. He’s my cousin. I’ve told you this before, Peter. But, for your sake, we were both dead for five years, so I’d forgive you if you’ve forgotten.” 

She chuckled lightly at her statement, leaning over to plant a kiss on his cheek as he returned to his laptop.

“I-I only remember her talking about you before the whole blip thing. I just completely forgot that you’re basically the same age as us now. Holy shit,” Peter confessed, looking down in shame. 

“God, I’m such an idiot,” he ran his hands over his face as he thought about the past week and how douchy he was acting. “Yeah, you sure are,” Brad commented, crossing his arms while taking a step back. “You better fix this, Peter. I don’t want to see her cry over you again.” He walked away, leaving that side of the cafeteria to find his cousin.

Peter’s heart broke at the thought of Y/N crying. Especially over him. He sat down at his seat feeling utterly defeated. Holding his head in his hands his mind went blank when coming up with solutions. “I don’t know what to do,” he mumbled, looking up at Ned who was concerned for his friend. 

“Okay,” Ned spoke after swallowing a fry, “I have an idea.”

Peter stood at the door, a bouquet of roses in his hand. He let out a breath as he ran through what he was going to say to her. “Okay, Peter. You got this,” he whispered as he pressed the doorbell. 

The wooden door swung open to a slightly distressed teenage girl.

“Hey,” he mumbled with a shy smile. Y/N wiped her face dry, her eyes obviously puffy. “What are you doing here Peter?” She whispered, leaning against the door. 

He sighed, brushing a hand through his dark hair, “apologizing for being such a dick.” She looked down at the floor, fiddling with the hem of her shirt. They stood in silence for a minute.

“Well I’m waiting,” she softly spoke. Peter started with a breath, “I was jealous.” Y/N’s head shot up at the comment, crossing her arms with furrowed brows. “W-What? By who?” She was intrigued now as this was new information. Peter let out a short chuckled, “Brad.”

Y/N was now even more confused at his answer. 

“Yeah. I forgot that he was your cousin. So, I thought you lied to me about the family thing and that you just went to hang out with Brad, and-and cheated on me,” Peter pressed his fingers into his forehead disappointed with himself. “I forgot that the whole blip thing made him go from a middle schooler to a junior in high school,” he sighed with slightly slumped shoulders, “so when you said you were going with Brad, I thought it was like some eleven year old not, not him.”

Peter dryly chuckled as silence returned between the pair. “Why would you think I’d cheat on you?” Y/N asked shyly as she leaned against the door frame with crossed arms but no look of resentment gracing her features. 

“I don’t know,” Peter muttered, looking into her eyes before looking at his shoes, “really I don’t have any idea why because I know you’d never do that.” 

Y/N gave him a tight smile at the comment when he looked in her eyes again.

“This year has been so shitty, Y/N,” he finally broke.

“I-I disappeared for five years, I had to help save the whole universe, then the whole thing in Europe happened and- and everything with Tony,” his voice cracked at the thought. Tears started pouring out of his dark brown eyes as Y/N grabbed his hand to comfort him. “Peter,” she whispered, about to console him but he wasn’t finished.

“I thought the universe was out to get me, you know? With everything I’ve lost, I wouldn’t really be surprised at this point if I lost you too,” he sobbed as Y/N wrapped her arms around him. The flowers were now on the ground, but they were long forgotten.

Peter’s tears spilled onto Y/N’s shoulder while his arms wrapped tightly around her as if it’d be the last time. He felt so relieved to finally be able to hold her again. 

“Thank god you won’t be losing me anytime soon,” she chuckled lightly as she rubbed his back soothingly. Peter’s laugh mimicked her own as he pulled away while wiping his eyes. 

“Oh man, I’m sorry,” he directed towards her wet shirt. He looked down at the ground as if he was trying to remember something, “oh no! The flowers!” He sounded stressed as he bent down to pick them up. 

Y/N smiled at his child like action, “Peter it’s okay. I’m just glad I have my boyfriend back.” Despite their redness, Peter’s eyes glimmered as a grin grew on his face.  

“So, you don’t want to break up with me then?” He spoke, slightly unsure of himself, but growing confident as Y/N beamed. She leaned forward pressing her lips against his. His eyes were wide at the sudden action before he fell back into the standard routine of placing his hands on her hips as their lips moved together. A slight crunch could be heard from plastic on the floor. 

Peter pulled away with his eyes closed and his lips pressed in a fine line, “I dropped the flowers again.” 

“Oh my god,” Y/N giggled as her arm laid on her stomach and the other hand went to her mouth as he bent down. Peter stood up, with his hair slightly ruffled and a big grin on his face. “These are for you. They look kind of beaten though now,” he spoke as he examined the new frailness the roses had. 

“They’re perfect,” she smiled as she took the flowers from his hands. “Come inside before my neighbors see us. We both look like an absolute mess.”

[spiderparkerpeterman]

kissing your best friend

anonymous asked: Hi this is a rly cringe-y request huhu but do u know the “i try kissing my best friend” tiktok trend? [...] Hehe sorry it’s v specific but lots of changes are up to u ofc ily

this fic made me feel real old, i'll tell you that. but it was fun to write! specific requests are good sometimes. i had no idea what this trend was before the request, so it was a cute learning experience. thanks so much for the request! i've shortened it as to not give away the plot.

content: fluff, tiny bit of angst, peter parker the awkward gen z wildcard

warnings: i only use tiktok to let out meme steam and it shows, really bad twerking

word count: 1579 (whoops i went off hard)

--

peter was a nervous wreck. he had invited you over to his apartment- not an unusual occurrence- and led you into his bedroom- this happened all the time- and set up his cracked and duct-taped laptop so you could watch silly youtube videos together while curled up on his bed- what was new?- with a bowl of popcorn rested in-between his crossed legs. but this normal, everyday situation wasn't why he was borderline sweating, his heart pounding, fingers shaking.

it was that damn tiktok he'd seen earlier this morning. he had woken up and scrolled through tiktok to see what was new and popular. he came across one, where a girl was holding her phone with a guy behind her, the two smiling, the caption saying "this is my best friend". there were a few clips of them being all cute and whatnot until it said "i decided to kiss him!" and then she had tapped him on the shoulder, held his face and pulled him in, sharing a kind of awkward kiss, until they broke apart and her best friend leant in again and the video looped. something within peter's chest had done double flips, only intensifying when he thought of maybe... maybe doing that with you.

and now here you were, on his bed, laughing at the meme compilation you two were watching- well, that you were watching, while peter daydreamed and sweated some more- eating popcorn that you were getting from a bowl in-between his legs, being all cute and sweet and pretty. but he wanted to do this. he really wanted to do this. he'd liked you for ages, after you had run into each other at the same circuit in gym class and he had taught you the proper form for situps. the way you had smiled at him, completed your circuit and jogged off and then later caught up with him at lunch to say thanks and "maybe we should hang out sometime?" had made him obsessed. it had got to the point where even ned was throwing hints that you liked him and he liked you and wouldn't you two make such a cute couple? and then you were paired up together for a spanish project and the way the language rolled off your tongue made him fall even deeper in love and-

peter had to do this. for ned's sanity. for his own sanity. because if he didn't do this soon he would give up and maybe kiss you in the middle of class or something.

he cleared his throat, prompting you to look at him.

"can i make a tiktok?" he asked, his voice somewhat strained. "there's this thing going around where people show off their best friends, it's pretty nice."

"oh, sure," you replied sitting up. "what do you want me to do?"

peter pursed his lips, unlocking his phone and opening tiktok. he went into his bookmarked sounds, selected that song to make a tiktok with, and then held it up like he was going to take a selfie. "maybe just like smile and wave? and then i wanna get a few videos of us just doing our everyday things, y'know?"

you nodded, taking a second to fix your hair. peter pressed record and grinned, somewhat nervously. you also smiled softly, raising a hand and waving. he stopped the recording, and the two of you collapsed into giggles.

"sorry, that was really awkward," he groaned.

"you're really awkward," you countered, running a hand through your hair. "what's next?"

"i dunno... maybe just you mucking around? i, uh, i really don't know!" peter laughed.

you rolled your eyes with a grin, getting off peter's bed and standing up. peter was typing a caption for the portion of the video, so you waited for him. he held the phone camera up at you.

"what are you gonna do?" he asked. you looked off at the side, considering, but while you were doing that peter pressed record.

"you should dance with me," you said. peter put his phone down, and you gasped. "did you- you just filmed that!"

"yeah, i did," peter laughed. he felt his nervousness fading away as he joked around with you, so he felt like he could really do this. "you wanna dance?"

"yeah," you replied, leaning forward to grab his hands gently and pull him up. peter felt his skin burnup where you were touching him, but he smiled. "set your phone up, and we'll dance."

"what kind of dance?" peter asked as he bent back down to get his phone, crossing his room to set it up on a shelf at shoulder-height so that the video would capture your antics. he selected how long to record hands-free, but didn't press record just yet. he turned to you.

"you should twerk," you suggested jokingly, but peter had an idea. he pressed record, smirking, ran over to you, and started shaking his butt at you. the acoustic music played, nowhere near suitable enough for his "twerking". you laughed aloud and started mockingly hitting his butt. you messed around for a few more seconds, even after peter's phone stopped recording.

he stood back up and nudged you, laughing. his face was bright red, and you laughed even harder at that. he went back to get his phone and selected another few seconds to record hands-free.

"what should we do now?" he asked.

"not sure," you replied, crossing the room to rest your head on his shoulder. you reached out and pressed record for him. "i could just stare at you creepily like this."

the music started playing so you widened your eyes and stared intently at him, but peter immediately burst out laughing and knocked your head off his shoulder. you grinned at the camera just as it finished recording.

"okay," peter said, selecting the last bit to film. this was it. "now i want you to stand here, and like make weird faces at the camera or something, i don't know."

"i can do that," you replied, standing next to him.

he reached out and pressed the record, looking at you through the phone's capture as you put two peace signs up. he smiled then turned, and gently cradled your face, turning it towards him. he leant in, hearing you gasp and feeling you also lean in and-

a loud ding came from his phone- a police alert. he sprung away from you, swearing. you looked away from him, your cheeks bright pink. he left tiktok, now playing the loop of the tiktok, and went into his police app, seeing a shootout in brooklyn.

"i have to go," he stammered, rushing around his room to take off his clothes- you looked away pointedly- put his spider-man suit on, find his spare web fluid just in case and where the hell was his mask? he stopped just as he was about to climb out the window.

"stay here," he said, "please. i'll be back soon. just stay. i'll explain everything, i promise."

he lept from the window, leaving you shellshocked, webbing himself up and away. he almost smacked into multiple buildings on his way over to the shootout, too distracted to really pay attention.

did you really lean in?

he arrived at the scene, not saying his usual quips as he pulled guns away and webbed people to walls and avoided the hail of bullets coming his way and broke one guy's nose.

no, he totally imagined it.

when he had dealt with everyone he didn't stop to chat with the police, just webbed himself back to where you were, hopefully waiting, please be waiting...

he leaned in really quickly, and he was nervous, but maybe...?

he clambered back into his window and pulled off his mask. you were curled up on his desk chair, scrolling through your phone. he stared at you.

"i looked it up," you said, not looking at him, your voice quiet, "best friend tiktoks. the only thing that came up was kissing your best friend."

it took peter a few seconds to open his throat back up. "yeah."

you looked at him, something sad in your eyes.

"did you-"

"i only-"

peter bit his lip, gesturing for you to speak first. "go."

you took a deep breath. "did you- did you just do it for views? it's a kinda popular trend and so i was just wondering... i mean, it'd kinda suck if you did, and i mean- um..." you trailed off, looking away again.

"i- no, i just... uh, did you see that most people who do it have a crush on their best friends?" he asked, hoping you'd get the message.

you looked at him again, confused. but then that confusion morphed into comprehension, and then that comprehension morphed into hope and-

"you mean it?" you whispered.

peter threw his mask away somewhere, striding up to you and pulled your hands up so you'd stand. he held your face again, so gently, as you stared back at him with your big eyes, and leaned in. your lips touched, and something exploded in peter's chest. he shifted an arm to your waist, holding you tight against him, as your arms snaked around his neck, holding him closer.

a few moments later, you broke apart, your face bright pink again. peter knew his face was just as bright.

"i think we need to adjust the tiktok," he murmured, before leaning in to kiss you again.

[parkerpeter24]

best friends or more (part-2)

Pairing: peter parker x reader

Warnings: fluff, angst👀, oblivious people, swearing. I think that is all...

Word count: 2454

Italics — flashback/thoughts

Sorry for being so late! I hope you guys liked the first part, I think my tags didn't work🤷🏻‍♀️. Tumblr is a disaster, even more so when you're on your phone... I hope you like this part!❤ Also, I can't divide the text under the cut because I don't have a laptop and it didn't work on chrome. I try to not extend it too much!

Series Masterlist | Prologue | Part 1

“What the fuck are you doing on the ceiling?!”

Peter jumped down to the floor, already putting his hands up to try to stop you from freaking out. You were already at the verge of screaming out loud. Your breath hitched and you couldn’t think straight.

“(Y/n), I can explain.” He said. One could wonder how he was being so calm and composed, like it was totally normal for people to walk on the ceiling of their houses.

Peter’s hands were on your shoulders in an instant, rubbing soft, soothing circles through the thin fabric of your shirt, concerned eyes making sure you calmed down before he started rambling about what had happened.

“H-how were you, what were you—?” You tried but even after all efforts, you couldn’t get yourself to utter a single coherent sentence out of your mouth. It was like your brain stopped working. Peter was on the lookout, in case you fainted.

“I know it’s crazy. Just calm down and I’ll tell you everything.” He said. You took your time, breathing and trying to relax. Finally letting go of the door handle you stood up straight, but he could still see your shaking hands, still hear your heart’s palpitations, still sense the weirdness in the air. 

“You were on the ceiling.” Your voice came out shakey, but you were taking regular breaths. Peter nodded.

“I-I was.” He started. You waited for him to continue with an expectant yet incredulous look on your face. You wanted him to tell you that it was due to some crazy anti-gravity belt that he accidentally ‘created’ due to some error, or something alien he got from the storage of the apartment building, “I know it’s weird but I have a good reason. Just- let’s sit down first?” He asked hesitantly. You just nodded, still confused about everything.

You both walked over to his bunk bed, which was occasionally used by the both of you for sleepovers and Star Wars movie marathon nights, and sat beside each other “How are you now?” You asked suddenly, making Peter raise an eyebrow at you, “You had a fever.” You stated.

“Oh, that? Yeah, I’m way better now.” He nodded, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly before a wince passed his lips. You became cautious and concerned at the action.

“What is it?” You asked as you craned your neck to look at the cause of the pained voice.

“A spider bit me.”

———

You were pulled back to reality by Liz when she nudged your side. Your head perked up from your lap where your chemistry book was lying carelessly, not that you were actually reading it. You pushed your glasses up your nose. No you weren’t a nerd, not even close. Albeit the chemistry book lying in your lap, you were focused on the events from last night. Your mind replayed the way Peter’s sweet, familiar scent filled your nose when you leaned down to check on his injuries, what if you had kissed him, would he have kissed you back?

Peter’s thoughts didn't vary much than yours. All day he kept dozing off thinking about you, about how you smelled of honey, about how your soft lips would’ve felt over his.

He watched you at lunch as you sat with Betty and her friends like you usually did on Fridays just because they were your friends too and you didn’t want to upset them. He saw you turn back to look over at his table and the moment your eyes met, you mouthed a humorous ‘save me’ as you laughed silently, making him smile and look away as he blushed.

His eyes quickly shifted from you and adjusted to somewhere behind you, indicating you as well as convincing himself that he was blushing because of the girl who was behind you, hanging a banner for homecoming, and apparently the girl turned out to be Liz. You turned away from him to hide the frown on your face as you felt a pang in your chest.

You didn’t mean to feel bad. Peter, your best friend, had a crush on a girl who actually deserved him. She was way too nice, smart and beautiful as compared to you. She was the perfect match for him. Or so you thought.

Peter’s eyes fixated back on you as soon as you focused your attention on Betty, he observed your movements, the way you waved your hands in the air to illustrate things better, the way you pushed the same strand of hair —that he was much grateful of— behind your ear again and again and yet again. All things including Ned’s voice was background and the only desired thing was you.

“Earth to (y/n)?” Liz snapped a finger in front of you, waking you up again, “Were you even listening?” She chuckled as you passed her a sheepish look.

You were sitting in the gym bleachers, now in your midtown high sweatshirt, with the group as Peter did his crunches with the help of Ned.

“Sorry, I was thinking about... something.” You replied, settling yourself on the bleachers so that you were comfortable.

“Anyway…” Betty started, “We were playing F, marry, kill, for the avengers! Let’s continue.” She clapped a hand in front of her chest. Sometimes you didn’t like how excited the blonde girl could get. You rolled your eyes playfully muttering a ‘sure.’

“So what would it be for you (y/n)?” Liz asked from your side. You wanted to run away from there as all eyes fell on you but the group was sitting all around and you were in the middle. You knew the whole gym was listening to the conversation of the ‘popular’ kids.

“Um,” You gulped, “F thor, marry Captain America and kill hulk?” you offered. Peter's eyebrows furrowed, what was he thinking, of course you wouldn’t take his alter ego’s name. He was not expecting you to say you would marry Spider-man, no.

Your friends all seemed satisfied with your answer and nodded, except Liz.

“What about Spider-man?” She asked. Peter's ears perked up at that.

“What– What about him?” You asked her. You could feel Peter’s —and everyone else’s— eyes lingering over your group.

“Didn’t you see the big security cam on YouTube?!” She bragged, “He fought off four guys!”

Everyone rolled their eyes like they already knew what was happening, “Oh god, she’s crushing on Spider-man.” Some girl announced nonchalantly.

Your eyes widened dramatically, “What?” You asked.

She shrugged, trying to seem uninterested but the smile on her face gave her facade away, “Well, maybe.”

“But what if he’s like, seriously burned, or eighty?” You asked suddenly. Peter squinted his eyes on you as he tried to hold in his laughter. You looked so cute when you tried so hard to hide the fact that you actually knew Spider-man or how that one strand on hair fell on your face which you adjusted behind your ear. You were blushing slightly and Peter could just grab your face and kiss all over — Stop!

The group thundered, “Okay, first of all, he’s not eighty.” Liz laughed, making you blush in embarrassment, “And second of all, I wouldn’t care. I would still love him for the person he is on the inside.” Peter was full on staring at the black haired girl as you could see from the corner of your eyes. You felt a strong feeling tugging at your heart as it dropped to the pit of your stomach. Were you jealous of Liz? No! But again, why was Peter staring at her in the hallway?! 

Before you could interject or even think of anything to say back to her you heard a voice which made the whole gym fall into silence, “Peter knows Spider-man!” Now all the eyes were on Peter as he turned to Ned with an unbelievable look. He scrambled off the ground, “No, I don’t.” He tried, waving his hands in dismissal, “I-I’ve met him, yeah, t-through the Stark Internship.”

“They’re friends.” Ned quipped. You stared at the boys with a questioning look, what was going on in their head? Peter passed you a tight lipped smile.

“Oh yeah, like coach Wilson and Captain America are friends.” Flash laughed, “You know what, why don’t you invite your ‘friend’ Spider-man to Liz’s house party?”

“You’re having a party?” You whispered to Liz, only for Peter to repeat it out loud.

“Yeah, I’m having people over tonight.” She said, giving you an apologetic grin. You shook your head.

“You should totally invite your pal, Spider-man.” Flash said as the bell rang and students started emptying the gym. Peter turned to Ned with an angry look and you rushed towards the both as your group also dissipated.

“What’re you doing?!” He asked, frustrated as you slipped beside them and started walking out of the room, behind the crowd. You slipped your hand in Peter’s since no one was watching, and why not. You knew it calmed him down when you rubbed soft circles on the back of his hand.

“Okay, did you not hear her? Liz has a crush on you.” He explained and you could feel your heart drop to your feet, and Peter was about to step over it.

“On Spider-man, not him.” You butted as Peter opened his mouth to say something.

“Come on (y/n), be serious.” He chuckled. Only if he knew, you were dead serious, “You’re an avenger man! If anyone has a chance with a senior girl, it’s you! Stop pining after her and just make a move.” Ned announced before walking ahead, leaving you and Peter with your thoughts.

So he liked Liz? And he told Ned but not you?

Peter didn’t seem to notice your face drop, “We need to go to that party.” He smiled, swinging your hands as you moved to your locker.

———

“Peter, I think you need to see a doctor.” You told him as your eyebrows furrowed.

“And tell him what (y/n)? A spider bit me and I got powers, my vision is better and my senses got developed? That sounds terrible.” He shook his head. Now that he mentioned, you noticed that he wasn't wearing his glasses and his shirt did look two sizes smaller for him, “Wanna take a picture? It’ll last longer.” He chuckled. Suddenly, heat rushed to your cheeks and you felt embarrassed under his stare. You felt intimidated by him, you felt different with him, a good different of course. He was much more confident and snarky than the Peter you knew.

“What if it’s something serious?” You tried diverting the topic, thankfully he didn’t question you anymore.

“Don't worry so much (y/n). Anyway, I don’t think our family doctor could tell what it is.” He said and you nodded along. A silence fell over the room for a few moments. Peter could hear your, now calm, heartbeat and he wanted to get close to you, incredibly close, like he’s never been before. You were in your most casual clothes and without any makeup but he still found you enchanting. He was feeling different with you than before, a good different of course. 

“So can you do anything cool?” You asked, eyes shining with adoration.

He laughed, “Name it.”

———

You could sense nervous and scared vibes radiating off Peter as he sat in the passenger seat of May’s old, dingy car. You were sitting beside Ned. May was really happy that his nephew was finally being social and normal like other teenagers and not being stuck with a billionaire in his office and arranging paperwork for him. She was already very proud of Peter, everyone  was, and the internship has got him in his head all the time, so busy that he had no time to spend with friends or her.

May pulled up in front of Liz’s house and bent down a little to get a look at the venue. She nodded her head in approval before looking back to you and Ned and complimenting him on his hat. You giggled, trying to ignore the way Peter looked uncomfortable.

“This is a mistake.” He said, looking out the window, at the number of people rushing into the house, “Hey, let’s just go home.” He looked between you and May with pleading eyes.

“Come on Pete, we’re here already, you can do this!” You encouraged. May nodded before starting about how his body was going through changes. You could barely hold your laughter in as Peter chuckled, “Okay, I think we should go.” He said, opening the door and getting out immediately.

You lagged behind as both the boys moved in through the door only to be met with teenagers dancing and mingling with each other over the loud music. Flash was the DJ tonight, you rolled your eyes at him. You watched Peter with worried eyes as you moved next to him, slipping your hand in his and squeezing it gently. The gesture was so simple yet it calmed his nerves down and he gave you a grateful smile before Ned started explaining his plan about how Spider-man would enter the party.

You were again drowning in your thoughts, focusing on rubbing soft circles on the back of Peter’s hand when a high pitched voice brought you back to reality, “Oh my gosh, hey guys! Cool hat Ned!” Liz complimented, “(Y/n), you look so stunning!”

You passed her a genuine smile, after all the girl was really, very sweet, “You look very beautiful yourself Liz!” You complimented back.

“Hi Liz.” Ned greeted and Peter followed with a squeaky voice. Poor boy, didn’t know how to converse with a girl, well except you. That or he didn’t think of you as a girl.

“So glad you guys are here.” She said, being the great host she is. Her gaze went down to your and Peter’s still interwoven fingers, “Hey, are you guys finally together? Can’t believe I won the bet-” She stopped herself before she could speak any further and pointed towards your hands.

Both of you looked down at your hands. Peter was the first one to immediately retract his hand from yours. You felt unwanted as he frantically started explaining to Liz that ‘It’s not what it looks like!’ 

“We’re just friends, nothing more.” He rubbed the back of his neck, the slightest rocking back and forth visible in his body. Your chest tightened, a mere few words and actions making your heart sink to the pit of your stomach.

You wish you could be something more with Peter,  but it was no use when he saw you as ‘just friends.’

Taglist:

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@tom-holland-is-spiderman @anjali750

Sorry if the tags didn't work 😅 tell me if you want to be added to or removed from the taglist.❤

I'll be waiting for y'all's response...

Liked it? Let's talk about it!

[heliads]

Secret Identity Chapter 1: Dear Stars,

Y/N L/N had three constants in her life: her best friend she met through email, a constant dislike of a boy from her school named Peter Parker, and her life as the hero Phasma, fighting crime with Spider-Man. However, her constants may have more in common than she realized…

series masterlist / next

Y/N is sick of waiting for the notification. She sent her last email only a few hours ago, and, she admits, she had grown a little spoiled from the constant back-and-forth emailing that she was used to during the night. Emails slowed down during the day, she knew that, but she couldn’t help but check every few minutes. Just in case.

When the message finally comes, she can’t help a smile spreading across her face. Sender: science_tech03@gmail.com

Dear Stars,

Sorry it took me so long to respond. I guess I was too tired- I fell asleep the second I closed my eyes for longer than a second. Not that it means you’re boring, just that I need to stop procrastinating and get to bed. 

Speaking of sleep, you won’t believe what happened in class the other day. Our teacher fell asleep while he was grading our tests- can you imagine? I thought only students were allowed to do that. Crazy.

Your friend,

Sci

Y/N reads the email happily. She had met Sci online a few months earlier. They both had the same interests- science, Iron Man, bonding over the dorkiest things you could imagine. He never failed to make her laugh. Quickly, she leaned over her computer, hoping to send him a quick message before heading off to school.

Sender: starry-sky@gmail.com

Dear Sci,

Your teacher sounds fun. Does he fall asleep while teaching or just while grading? One of my teachers is no better, I don’t think he can teach without drinking half a pot of coffee. 

Also, go to bed! You need your sleep. Actually, I don’t mean that- who would I talk to at 3am? I’m no better than you at healthy sleep schedules. But seriously, get some rest. 

Anyways, I’m about to lose my mind studying. Have you taken physics? I’m assuming you have. I despise it. When am I going to need to calculate the trajectory of anything? Who uses the word trajectory outside of physics? AAAAAA.

Bored as always,

Stars

Y/N reads her email over once more before hitting send. Sometimes, she wishes she could meet Sci face to face, wishes she could talk to him in person about anything and everything. Email was fun, but it wasn’t the same. Regardless, she was still grateful to have him there. A friend waiting on the other side of her battered laptop screen.

The streets of New York are bustling as always, and Y/N weaves past stores and construction workers to finally reach her high school. Midtown, with its high brick walls and clusters of talkative students, was home. In a way. Y/N walks up until she sees her best friend, Megan. They talk as they head in, stopping at their lockers to grab their books before walking over to their respective classes. 

At lunch, they sit with some other friends and talk about their weekends. Megan, always the socialite, had found some party on the opposite side of town and excitedly shared the details of her latest outing. While listening to the details of her outfit (woo-hoo, red miniskirt!), Y/N let her eyes drift across the cafeteria. With distaste, she notes that Peter Parker and his best friend, Ned, are staring at their table again.

“Oh come on, Y/N. Stop glaring at Parker.” Megan nudges her, causing Y/N to snap her focus back to the lunch table. 

“Look, he doesn’t have to keep staring at us! It’s weird!” 

Megan laughed. “He’s got a crush on one of us, so what? It’ll fade in a week or two.” 

Y/N sighed exasperatedly. “I just don’t like him! He broke Liz’s heart, remember? I don’t know why he wants to do it again with one of us.” 

Megan turned back to her lunch. “Oh, come on. Liz moved a while ago. Can’t you just let him pine in peace?” She starts giggling, and Y/N can’t help but join in. 

“Noooo! This is a pining-free zone!” With that, they both start laughing.

When school is over, Y/N can’t help but run. Her feet pound on the sidewalk as she makes her way back to her apartment. The sooner she finishes her homework, the sooner she can put on the suit that’s calling her name. Physics goes slower than she had hoped, but it’s over before too long, and she races over to the closet and pulls back the bag hidden in the very back. Inside is her suit- the durable but lightweight armor, the firebolt logo on the chest, the hooded mask. She puts it on quickly, then climbs out the window. Now, she is Phasma.

She makes her way up to the rooftop with the help of her powers. The first time she used her powers, the energy bolts that shot from her hands had scared her, but now, they were just another tool in her repertoire. 

She just makes it to the top of the building when she hears a familiar voice. “It took you long enough to get up here. I was almost thinking you weren’t coming.” 

“Oh, come on. Don’t give me that. You know I’ll be here. It’s not my fault homework takes forever.” She turns to face her partner, the one and only Spider-Man. 

“Have you considered just doing it faster?” Spider-Man is laughing, and so Y/N shoots a small energy bolt at him. 

“Hey! Phasma!” He shoots a web at her in return, but she dodges it just in time. 

“You’re wasting your webs, you know that? I don’t have to make the bolts.”

Spider-Man waves a dismissive hand at her. “You deserved it.” 

They laugh, then turn to the city. “I’m bored. Where’s some good crime when you need it?” Y/N complains, kicking at the loose rubble on top of the building. 

Spider-Man shoves her, laughing. “Are you really hoping for crime? You’re supposed to stop it, not cause it!” 

“I’m just bored!” She melodramatically clasps her hands in front of her heart. “I am a hero forever, no matter what!” They both laugh.

When Y/N crawls in through the window of her apartment later that night, she immediately collapses in a chair. Her wish came true- she and Spider-Man helped stop a few muggings and some general misdoings. Her exhaustion is interrupted only by the quick ding of her email, which causes her to immediately sit back up.

Sender: science_tech03@gmail.com

Dear Stars,

Ha! You can’t tell me to go to bed if you don’t get any sleep yourself! This is hypocrisy at its finest. And besides, I do go to sleep. Is it when I should? No, but it is sleep.

Sorry about your homework. Physics is, well, physics. Just stumble through it as best you can. That’s what I did.

Also, I realized this is our three month email-iversary. Can you believe I’ve known you for a quarter of a year? Feels like forever.

Miss you,

Sci

Y/N’s eyes hover on the ‘Miss you’ for a few seconds longer than necessary, and a glowing smile settles across her face.

Sender: starry-sky@gmail.com

Dear Sci,

It’s yet another night that she’ll fall asleep to the click of her keyboard.

[youwerenevermeanttofeelalone]

Somebody Sweet to Talk To ❁︎ 𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄

Pairing: Harry Osborn x Plus Size Reader

Word Count: 6k

Gif credit: @mayahawkes

Summary & Warnings || Series Masterlist

Extra warning for this chapter: reader shows some signs of anxiety/mood changes.

𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐭𝐨

𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐭𝐨

❁︎ ・・・・・❁︎ ・・・・・ ❁︎ ・・・・・❁︎

Monday arrived too soon, and you dreaded it more than any other week from the school year. Entering the library, you had walked directly toward your usual table and took your laptop and headphones out in order to do homework but everyone around you was staring, almost impatiently, and it was extremely distracting.

It didn’t matter if you finished early or not, Tony had given you the entire week free and changed your working schedule to only Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday unless there was too much to do or emergencies. Seeing as it was better than not having a job at all, you didn’t dare fight him when you knew he was trying to favor you.

The therapy thing... that was different. Maybe you had taken advantage of the fact that Tony and Bucky were mentally ill too by reminding them how cruel medical professionals tended to be toward their patients and even more so when the patient was a fat woman, and maybe you could’ve approached the topic in a more neutral way to not make them feel so damn guilty; yet you didn’t think about it at that moment, too scared of going back to hear that you would never get better, or that you were a problematic person, or therapists simply denying you treatment until you lost weight.

A hand encapsulating yours took you out of your self-absorptive episode. You didn’t need to look to know it was Harry, the slight warmth from his palm that was so different from any hand you had felt on you was becoming familiar.

That was a problem. You spent the entire Sunday going through it and pondering on telling him it would be better to knock it off. You still decided you could tame your newfound feelings and keep faking being in a relationship with him in exchange for friendship.

Snatching your headphones off, you did turn to look at him. He was seemingly analyzing you, “are you okay?” his question was made in a whisper.

“Yeah, I’m just... struggling to focus.” You nodded upward at the now black screen from your computer. You had definitely lost more time than you thought.

“I know, I finished my homework already.”

Looking down at your wristwatch, you realized Harry had gotten there an hour ago. “Sorry, I—“

“It’s okay,” he interrupted, giving your hand a squeeze before moving to store his supplies. “Pete told me you had a tough weekend.”

Humming, you stored your supplies too just to entertain yourself. You hated when people talked about your health without your consent, it was extremely intrusive and made you feel vulnerably uncomfortable. Had Peter told Gwen too?

The answer didn’t take long to come. Fingers intertwined with Harry’s, you left the library to where Peter and Gwen must’ve been waiting for the two of you. The blonde looked at you with empathy, almost pity, and flashed one of those smiles that unknowingly made you feel worse.

Your fake boyfriend must’ve processed it the same way or felt you tense because he ran his thumb over the back of your hand soothingly. He then breathed a smile, making you turn to inquire what was going on. He nodded upward to gesture at the front crystal doors and it was like you could breathe properly again — it was raining.

The smell enhanced your senses as the four of you abandoned the building, Harry’s steps slowed down in contrast to Peter’s hurried ones. You could have cried as consistently as the sky was doing, Harry was being thoughtful and extremely kind to you by allowing you a relaxing moment and you hadn’t even asked for it.

He threw his keys at Gwen, telling her to not wait for you because you would walk to The Compound. It was a bad idea, walking under the rain when the season was about to change, yet you didn’t dare say no — you couldn’t when as much as you knew the water falling onto you was cold, you felt warm inside.

There was no need for Harry and you to still hold hands, or to stroll so closely to each other — both of you knew, both ignored it. Having a friend was nice, someone to go to the movies with, talk about everything and nothing, bake together, walk down the rain in silence with slow strides to relish into the aliveness only nature could grant.

Walking slowly didn’t bother him this time, getting soaked didn’t either. He had never seen the face of a person look younger so quickly, he had never even paid attention to those things before and now wondered why when it was so satisfying to watch. In that case, the satisfaction could’ve come from the fact that he was part of it, not an important one in his mind but it was something. You were starting to relax beside him, the frown you had been carrying since he got to the library long gone as your upper body slumped a little. He had helped achieve that, and for a split minute, nothing else mattered until he thought what would his father say if he knew Harry’s biggest accomplishment up to that day had been relaxing his —fake— girlfriend.

“We don’t have to get in if you don’t want to,” he whispered, almost hopeful so he could be in you relaxed and consequentially soothing presence for a little longer.

“I don’t want you to get sick,” you said, softness oozing from your tone in an attempt to show him you were more than grateful.

Either of you wasn’t wet enough to be soaked, both made the observation in distinct ways. His hoodie, in fact, was wet, just like his hair, but his jeans looked almost dry — your hair looked different due to the water, your jacket seemed darker, and there was a waterdrop on top of your right eyelash that he couldn’t keep himself from wiping.

Dropping your backpack onto one of the sofas, you peeled your jacket off. Harry did the same with his book bag and took his hoodie off. Before he could drop it, you took it from his hand.

He tilted his head. You chuckled, “I’ll put it in the dryer so it doesn’t get ruined.” He blinked rapidly, a nod being the only answer he could give.

He watched you walk away, heart dropping as you disappeared further into the hallway and made a turn. God, what was happening to him? He missed the warmth from your palm already, irradiating into his even though yours was smaller, and filling his entire system with a feeling he had never experienced; a week had taken him to become needy for your touch, that attention you gave so selflessly when he spoke, your wise and poignant comments that you always seemed to finish with an interested question of his opinion, your soft lips that made everything around him fade away.

“Here,” you whispered, almost bashfully. He focused his eyes on you again, realizing he had been staring at nothingness. A piece of clothing was being offered by your right hand as with the left one you made signs at someone behind him. “It’ll fit you loosely because it’s mine, but you’ll be warm.”

Fuck. Harry had never met a kinder person than you. He couldn’t believe Peter and Ned had said you were everything but, it was impossible for them to be talking about the same woman. He took the soft fabric in his grasp, sliding it down his head before slipping his arms in — it fitted him better than both of you had considered.

Peter was horrified to see his male best friend in a familiar blue sweatshirt, eyes wide as he and Gwen went back to the living room after spending time alone in his bedroom. His two best friends were sat almost flushed against the other, you type in your laptop as Harry slanted his head to read whatever you were redacting.

Gwen was worried, she thought Harry would keep his distance after the conversation they had. But now, watching him give you all his attention and hearing him ask about your homework like it was the most interesting topic someone could talk about, she realized there was no point in tearing you apart. Her boyfriend thought otherwise, and it worried her too — Peter, being Peter, was getting obsessive.

When you were done, you uploaded the essay to the school’s interface and closed the laptop. Standing up, you arranged your backpack in the way you liked and then did the same with the laptop case.

“Does any of you want something from the kitchen?” you asked, surprising them.

Gwen nodded, bashfully. “Camomile tea, if you can.”

“Of course,” you nodded too.

Harry followed you toward the kitchen, not wanting to be under Peter’s annoyed gaze that he honestly didn’t understand anymore. Snorting when you started peeling the gigantic orange he bought for you once the kettle was on the burner, he sat on a stool.

You offered him some fruit, the ghost of a smile appearing on your face when he took half of the orange. It was surprisingly tasty, you hadn’t expected that from its size.

Endearingly vexing was a good way of describing oranges, he had to agree. Harry avoided them most of the time because of how changing their flavor was, but now he was starting to think they weren’t that bad — they would never beat apples, though.

Tony poured himself some coffee, watching you comfortably eat fruit. He also saw Harry’s sweatshirt and couldn’t hide the teasing smirk from plastering on his face when you turned to gaze at him. He was happy you hadn’t ended things with Harry, no matter what Tony thought of Norman he knew the kid wasn’t at fault — he also suspected Harry was mistreated by his dad and couldn’t help but be biased.

“Does Gwen like sugar in her tea?” You wondered out loud.

Harry shrugged. He didn’t know a lot about Gwen even though she was his best friend, the blonde didn’t make him part of everything. You ignored him and carried the teacup in a hand and the sugar bowl in another, making him once again inwardly question why everyone thought of you as a heartless person.

And because you weren’t what people said you were, he grew more nervous about introducing you to his father. Norman tended to treat people who weren’t Harry with respect and even empathy, but what if he didn’t like you? What if he found you to be dumb for supposedly dating his son? Harry didn’t want to put you through one of his dad’s weird episodes, but he didn’t want his dad to laugh at him if he said you had an emergency to take care of either.

He saw you try to smile warmly at Gwen when handing her the cup and decided it would be better to warn you the next day when the mood wouldn’t be soured.

“We’re watching Footloose when Pete finishes his homework, do you two want to join us?”

“Sure,” both shrugged and said at the same time. Sharing a look, something that in the week you had been close had become second nature, you saw each other’s brows twitch in curiousness.

Too focused on the movie to pay attention to whatever couple-y thing Peter and Gwen were doing, you sat with your shoulders brushing. Harry shifted to rest his head on the arm of the couch, his hand brushing yours so you’d get the hint. Your head dropped onto his arm as you shuffled to make sure you would squash him, none of your eyes leaving the screen.

Tuesday brought mountains of homework and a scorching sunny afternoon. Wednesday was the opposite, that morning Harry found himself staring at the blue sweatshirt laying on his desk chair to decide if it would be a good idea to wear it again. The fabric still smelled of the softener you used, a custom one Stark bought for you every few weeks — there was a slight sweetness under the freshness of the scent and he marveled at how suiting it was.

Caving in, he snatched the sweatshirt and hoped Peter wouldn’t react like the other time. His best friend was getting distant, he got annoyed easily too — Harry thought him to be jealous, confirming his theory of Peter having feelings for you; Harry also thought himself to be envious of the finding.

Peter always got what Harry wanted, but this was different. This time he had put himself in that situation, almost begging to be thrown to the side when he wasn’t useful anymore. The day was approaching if the pattern wasn’t broken, and it didn’t hurt him because his dad would laugh or because he would probably still see you every day, it hurt him because he had never felt so safe in someone else’s presence.

He took a whiff of the sweatshirt as he slid it on, the memory of the first time he got to smell the scent coming to his mind.

It had been a while since he put a foot in the university. Harry had hit rock bottom, an overdose almost took his life and the worst part of it was how badly he wished it had. Out of spite, because he didn’t think he should let his father win every single battle, he decided to get help. Rehabilitation centers weren’t pretty, nor comfortable, and their usefulness could be up for debate; but Harry learned many things about himself there: his needs and dreams, his potential that he didn’t believe in most of the days, the fact that if he tried and wanted hard enough he could be a good person and a successful professional.

Peter was with Ned outside of the building when he arrived, waiting for someone that wasn’t him. Their greetings were effusive, brotherly, he felt good in their arms when he allowed them to hug him. But the feeling was nothing compared to the somersaults his stomach made when something he could only describe as hot cocoa on a winter day filled his nostrils.

You were dressed in casual clothes, he remembered them perfectly as he swung his backpack over his shoulder. Dark jeans, skater vans, a yellow sweatshirt that made you look radiant even though your eyes were sad. You greeted them three politely and Peter introduced you briefly, after that you made your way through the door and into the crowd — Harry couldn’t stop staring at the spot you had disappeared from, and Ned caught it so he said, ”been there, not even got to try and do that.”

Warnings came. Your reclusiveness, the way you closed off when a loved one did something that mildly upset you and how easily you got upset. Peter said you were like a sister to him, that not even he could get your shell to crack. ”She’s shyer than me, and I’m not even sure if she likes people,” Peter had sighed sadly.

Your career paths didn’t have anything to do with the other, not a single class was shared. Free hours you did share, but Harry followed his friends’ advice because it was simple curiosity and he needed different things, he didn’t need to fix people because he couldn’t.

But now, now he wished he had tried like Ned didn’t. He didn’t understand why he was feeling like that so soon, and he didn’t want to understand — it would be useless. Maybe all this time he had harbored a crush, or maybe it was the particular enticement that only the forbidden could provide, or maybe —just maybe and that was all— he was falling easily for the first person to be unapologetically themselves around him.

Harry knew that Peter held off, Ned always followed what Pete and Betty did, and Gwen was scared of him because of his past. If you explicitly knew about it and had lied when he asked, you were a master at masking it, and if you didn’t know about it he was sure you wouldn’t react badly to the news.

You would probably praise him again for learning to not lash out at people, he could picture your neutral semblance upon hearing all about it as he entered the classroom to take his first lecture of the day and a sigh slid past his lips.

Bouncing your leg, you slid the collar of your hoodie up to the bridge of your nose in exasperation. Harry’s cologne made you sigh heavily against the soft fabric, a part of you regretted having put it on while the other marveled at how the smell had clung to the fabric just by being against his arm. The grey material was comforting enough, but his smell was the real treat and you hated to know it, you hated not being able to help it.

Thoughts of Peter still swarmed around your mind, you still felt pangs on your chest when Gwen sat on his lap or when they kissed in front of you. But they weren’t constant anymore, you were too busy between getting your master’s degree, your wavering mental health, and Harry’s deep voice. At that, you would have to add your job next week, but you’d manage. You were almost as good as Tony at multitasking, writing nomenclatures down while craving your fake boyfriend’s presence would be aced — you even were sure you could get a doctorate on it and the thought chilled you to the bone.

You assumed you were thinking like a teenager — you hadn’t even thought like that when you were a teenager! You had been too lost into your self-hate and problems at home to have the time to behave like a teenager or to want to be one... Not wanting to think about it anymore, you focused on your homework for the day.

A shadow was cast on your notebook, prompting you to look upward. The sight of Harry in your sweatshirt made your heart skip a beat. “Peter left early,” he whispered to not be kicked out of the library, cellphone in hand. “He took my car.”

You nodded, aware of his eyes being on you. “I’m almost done.”

“Want me to ask for an Uber?”

“I can walk,” you assured him, scribbling down the answer you were halfway through. Gloomy days had never bothered you, they were common for you.

You waved at Ned goodbye as you walked across the hallway, the shorter man lifted an eyebrow upon realizing Harry and you were truly holding hands. You had to keep the act up, of course, people would talk about a supposed break up otherwise. You cursed, making Harry worriedly gaze at you.

“You’ll have to carry my cellphone this time around,” you explained. “These pants don’t have pockets and it can crack in my backpack.”

He extended his free palm for you to place the device on it. Sliding it into his pocket carefully, he continued walking.

The first two minutes of walk toward the compound were silent until he took his AirPods out. “Wanna listen to some music?”

“Sure.” You stopped so he could choose a playlist in his phone as you slipped the AirPod he had offered in your ear.

His musical taste was as pleasant as his company, as mixed as his conversation. It made you wonder why Peter and Gwen didn’t spend more time with him. He wasn’t like everyone said at all, it was true he was distant most of the time and even more when he didn’t know people but you found that natural, he had many qualities and peculiarities that made him so unique... you had met many people in your life, you were good at reading them all and you got bored easily of them because of that. Harry wasn’t easy to read, and knowing him meant getting more interested in his intellect and how different it was from the people around you. He wasn’t dumb, and although a genius either, but he was knowledgeable enough in many topics, he had a way with words when he got comfortable and his opinions were quite radical for conventional expectations, he was sensitive and patient, — you utterly adored that about him, much to your dismay.

Humming to the songs both knew, you swung your clasped hands a little bit. Upon approaching the compound your steps slowed down to finish the current song, something that had happened so often throughout the walk that his car was already parked outside.

“You came here on foot in this weather?” A familiar voice screeched as you closed the door.

You stopped abruptly at that. Fuck, fuck, fuck, this was worse than liking Harry. “Dad,” you greeted through a small smile, letting your fake boyfriend’s hand go. “I didn’t know you were coming.”

“I texted you an hour ago.” Your dad’s eyes were on you, brows lifted in expectancy of an explanation.

Harry handed you your cellphone so you could check. Pressing the button to look down at the screen you found a photo of your own self as a lock screen. It had been taken earlier, and you had to admit he was right when he said he was good at taking photos, the lighting in the school’s library wasn’t ideal and still, the angle was so good you didn’t look as bad as you often did and the way you were looking up —surely at him— made your eyes shine.

“Sorry,” Harry apologized behind you, “I gave you mine.”

You turned around to face him, “didn’t we talk about... that?”

He nodded, taking his cellphone from your hand and placing yours instead. “We said I wouldn’t put (Your Favorite Artist) in a plaid shirt as a lock screen.”

“We said you wouldn’t put me.”

“We said you wouldn’t send me a photo of yours to put, never that I couldn’t take it and put it.”

Inhaling and exhaling deeply, you nodded. He was right, you should have been more specific. The short conversation wasn’t helping your case, now your dad knew something was going on between you two and you didn’t want him to; it was fake, and you didn’t want to introduce your dad to a fake boyfriend when the relationship wouldn’t last more than a few weeks more because of its nature. To be fair, it would last only a few weeks even if it was real but the point stood, strongly.

You felt so small you could’ve scurried off and in your mind, no one would even realize. Both men stared at each other with curiosity, your dad was trying to intimidate Harry and it would have worked if he hadn’t been Norman Osborn’s son.

Gwen, God bless her, cut through the slight tension. “Your dad was telling us you liked to play doctor as a ki—“ the blonde’s eyes widened as she stood in front of you when your dad moved out of the way to look at her as she spoke, the sight of Harry’s attire wasn’t one she had expected. “Did you wear... your girlfriend’s clothes to school?”

Harry cleared his throat, “out of coincidence.” He nodded to make emphasis, avoiding looking at anyone in particular.

Peter called for Harry. “Can I talk to you in private, Har?”

The tallest young man nodded, casting you a sideways glance. You blinked rapidly, too nervous suddenly. There was nothing wrong with sharing clothes, and Peter knew the reason why you had lent Harry a sweatshirt in the first place — why did you feel like you’d get an anxiety attack at any moment?

Peter leaned against the closed door, crossing his arms against his chest — he knew Harry wouldn’t be intimidated, but he had to get the point across of how serious the topic would be. Harry lifted his eyebrows, signaling for Pete to start talking.

“What are you doing, Harry?” Harry just stared at his best friend. Peter set his jaw. “I told you to stay away from her, and now you’re wearing her clothes to school!”

“She’s my girlfriend,” Harry defended his actions. “You share clothes with Gwen, why can’t I share clothes with (Y/N)?”

“That’s not the point! The point is you shouldn’t be dating her.”

’Here we go again’ Harry thought. Peter had annoyed him with that every time he stared at you, even when he didn’t do it on purpose. “Why, Peter? I’m not forcing her!”

“Because it’s weird! You’re like my brother and she’s like my sister, I know the two of you very well and I know you’re not right for each other.”

Harry huffed, pinching his nose to keep himself from rolling his eyes. “You and Gwen keep saying that but you never say why!” He exploded. “Peter, I adore you, man, but only (Y/N) and I know how our relationship is like.”

“I’m worried,” Peter hurried to explain. It was clear he didn’t mean to offend Harry. “Maybe at least take it slower? She needs a lot of patience, more than we can give her.”

Harry didn’t really get why Peter was telling him the same Gwen did days ago, but he nodded in understanding. His best friend pushed himself off the door and opened it, letting him out of the room first.

The living room was dead silent. Harry observed you weren’t there, but your belongings were. Gwen nodded upward, toward the hallway you had guided him through after your first ‘date’. Seeing him tilt his head, she withdrew her cellphone. His own device buzzed in his jean pocket.

Backyard

He found you with your back against the wall, cornered near the outdoor table. As he got closer , he saw the slight shake of your upper body. Harry silently sat beside you, trying not to stare too much so you wouldn’t feel uncomfortable. From the corner of his eye, he caught the tremble of your lip and how you bit down into it — he hated that you were trying not to cry in front of him.

You were angry. Gwen had tried to apologize for her impressed state but it was of no use, your dad asked why didn’t he know about your boyfriend which angered you, he hadn’t called in a month — how could you say anything if he didn’t contact you? Your cold answer had been that the relationship was very new, but instead of moving on your dad had to make a comment about how it seemed like it had been longer.

It was like everyone was trying to decide how you should live your life or how you should develop your relationships. You understood that it looked like Harry and you were moving fast, but it wasn’t real — it wasn’t real and it bothered you which made it more fucked up.

The cataclysm was the inquiry that came before that. Your dad had asked if you were happy, prompting Gwen and Tony to perk up to stare at you. All that focus on you had made you nervous, so you explained you were comfortable. It hadn’t been enough for your dad who insisted on speaking about your happiness.

You hadn’t expected him to push it, and you didn’t know where the question had come from when he implied the relationship was too volatile due to its newness. His severe look as he reminded you how fast you were moving had been too shocking, and so you exploded, done with the stupid conversation already, saying you didn’t know if you had ever been happy.

Your own comment had dawned on you like an ice-cold water bucket poured harshly onto the head. It had soaked you in sudden anguish, adding itself to the list of things that chilled you to the bone although this one felt deeper, it seeped into every fiber of your being and still had enough composition to leak in the form of tears.

Harry got closer to you, wrapping an arm around you to pull you even closer. “It’s okay,” Harry murmured. His free hand slid up to trail up and down your back.

You shook your head, it was everything but okay. You didn’t dare to tell him and prayed for the first time in years that no one in the living room had.

The memory of the last time you prayed only worsened your state. You did the only thing that came to your mind and threw your arms around his shoulders, with your face hidden in the crook of his neck as you continued crying.

He massaged the nape of your neck softly with the hand that had been on your upper back. Harry wasn’t very good at consoling people, he was only doing what he would’ve liked someone to do with him. Feeling you sob, he tightened the arm around you to muffle your cries.

“Harry, let me calm her down,” Bucky, whom Harry hadn’t heard come outside, muttered, “she can get angry and it’s not—“ he interrupted himself when the young man shook his head.

Your hands started shaking at Bucky’s words and Harry didn’t think to let you go would help. He realized that when Gwen told him you had deep issues she had meant anger issues or something of sorts by the way Bucky was staring at your back as if you would explode at any second.

Slowly shifting to a kneeling position on the concrete, he flushed your body to his, your face fell onto his shoulder and slid to his chest. He rocked you lightly, only enough for the movement to be processed by your brain without startling you. He knew it would work, he had seen you rock yourself sideways a few times.

As your sobs simmered down, the shake of your hands did too and you placed them firmly on his shoulders. Parting from him to sniff comfortably, you avoided his eyes.

He kissed your forehead, shushing you from apologizing. He would’ve done that at least, and the thought of you doing it almost broke him there. He withdrew an arm off you, tightening the other one so you wouldn’t move. Taking his cellphone out, he texted Gwen again so his friend would bring him his backpack.

Gwen hurried to do it, holding it for him to open it.

“There are Kleenex in the front pocket, give me a few?”

The blonde worked quickly, withdrawing the pocket-sized pack of Kleenex and retrieving a couple from it. Harry took them with his free hand, wiping your tears slowly to not hurt your skin. You giggled nervously when he tried cleaning your nose, snatching the Kleenex from his hand to do it yourself.

You mumbled that you needed to wash your face, prompting him to nod as he moved his arm away from your body. Harry followed you inside, telling you he would be back in a few minutes as you made your way toward the elevator to get to your room.

Washing your face wouldn’t be enough. You needed a hot shower and a Xanax. For the second one, you would have to eat something first but that could be fixed later. The hoodie you took off carefully, laying it softly on the bed. Kicking your sneakers off, you peeled yourself off the remaining clothes quickly, desperate to feel clean again.

The sense of dirtiness didn’t have to do with Harry, or with anyone downstairs. The realization that you had never experienced happiness, that realistically your chances of ever doing it were pretty low... it was too much. It made you feel less than nothing— dirty for once thinking you could be normal, have normal relationships like everyone else did.

One thing, out of the multiple ones, you had always enjoyed of taking showers was its sound and how it could be confused with rain if you closed your eyes tightly enough. Opening the shower, you got in immediately and allowed yourself to breathe slowly.

You were getting dressed when someone knocked on your door, presumably to check on you. Hurrying to get into a pair of shoes, you left the walk-in closet, crossed the bedroom, and swung the door open.

“Hi, so...” Harry scratched the back of his head, worriedly examining your face. “I don’t know which soup is your favorite and I can’t make your favorite soup if I don’t know which is it, can I?”

You stuttered, confused by the fact that he wanted to cook for you. “Uh— you don’t have to.”

“I want to, tell me.”

Sighing heavily, you lifted a hand only to slap it down against your thigh and simply told him what to add and how.

“Got it!” He assured, turning on his heel to go back downstairs.

Harry trotted down the stairs quickly, skipping a few steps. He could feel Peter and Gwen staring at him, sat around the dining table to have a better view. It should’ve made him feel nervous but he felt confident he would do it fine, the instructions were clear and he wasn’t stupid.

What compelled him to make soup for his fake girlfriend who had cried her soul out while clinging to him earlier was a mystery. A mystery as scary as welcomed. He was starting to enjoy showing more of himself to you and in consequence to the people involved in your daily lives — a sharp contrast to what he felt on Saturday. Aware of that, he wondered if he should say something about it.

In three days you would be sat in front of his dad. In three days you would be scared off. In three days he would be back to feel alone. He would lose the warmth and scent he liked so much, the complicit looks, the music recommendations, the intellectual stimulation, the hope for everything to be okay one day.

He wished there was a way to keep it from happening, but the odds were against him. His only chance was that you’d be willing to keep faking it, and how fine he was with just that startled him.

You hesitated going downstairs when you were summoned but ultimately decided to do it so Harry wouldn’t feel bad. Gwen lightly patted your thigh as you sat down in a kind gesture that you realized meant she was glad you were feeling better. She didn’t tell you anything directly, but she very nicely started speaking to everyone around the table so they wouldn’t bother you while you ate.

Harry sat to your other side, participating in the conversation and sporadically giving you his attention to making sure you were okay.

“I think your soup is better than mine,” you communicated to him when you walked him out.

He breathed a laugh, looking down so the blue-ish light wouldn’t highlight his blush. “I’m glad you liked it.”

You nodded, “thank you for going through all that trouble. You didn’t have to.”

He lifted his gaze, leaning more comfortably on the hood of his car. “It wasn't troubling at all.” Harry then added, not able to help it, “are you feeling better?”

No, you weren’t. There were so many things wrong, you would have to face your dad as soon as Harry was on his way home, an explanation as to what was going on with you would ruin everything you had built in the past months, and then... then there was something you could’ve avoided — you were sure you had a crush on your fake boyfriend, also sure he didn’t have a crush on you; you were certain he was into Gwen and had the suspicion the fake dating thing was his attempt of making the blonde jealous. You didn’t blame him, even you thought Gwen was perfect.

“Yeah,” you faked a tight smile. “Nothing a good cry can’t fix.”

He nodded, slowly moving his head. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” Harry cursed himself for sounding as unsure as hopeful.

“Have a good night,” you wished him, turning on your heel to get back into hell on earth.

That was an exaggeration, yet you didn’t care because it would feel just like it. But your reality hadn’t changed, you still didn’t know if you had ever felt happiness, you still felt like something was wrong with you, and you still felt there was a piece missing in your life — you had lost so much already that you couldn’t put your finger on what said piece could be nor where could it fit. You just knew you wished it wouldn’t matter.

[nxncydrews]

midnight in salem: a review

Your girl finally beat Midnight in Salem last night and...I have thoughts. Feelings. Concerns. But also hope? This review is like a year late but whatever. Overall, I didn’t hate the game nearly as much as I thought I would, and I was fully prepared to loathe it. Spoilers are under the cut for anyone who hasn’t played it yet! (also...it’s long lol)

The general gist of it is this: Midnight in Salem is an okay game. There are some glaring issues that I’ll talk about in more detail, but there is a foundation that I feel is strong for the future. Even with the problems I saw I don’t think MID is the weakest in the series (MED and RAN still claim those spots). Let’s break it down.

Good: the mystery. Although I guessed Teegan’s role in the fire early on, I thought the overall storyline was compelling and that they did a good job of intertwining the characters and motivations in ways that wasn’t super obvious. The one problem I did have with the story is I felt like I couldn’t follow up with characters as much as I wanted to. For example, you can go upstairs in the museum and discover pretty early on that the Parry family changed their name from Parris but you can’t ask Teegan about it until she brings it up much later in the game—and even then it’s not something you prompt, it’s something she just gives up.  I also think I found out about things in dialogue before I was supposed to as though branches of the dialogue tree were incorrectly crossed. Despite that, I think the mystery was good...just needed a little more refining to pull it all together. There were also a few threads that didn’t get tied up (do we just assume that Jason mimicked Olivia’s smoke bombs because he watched her in the square?). 

Bad: the linearity. The thing that I loved (and hated) about past games was that you could hit moments where it wasn’t always clear where you were supposed to go next. With MID, however, you were led from location to location with little reason to return to other places when you finished the single task you needed to do. You would start at the Parry’s house, go to town square, make one trip out to Hathorne House, go back to the town square and repeat the next with a random trip to Lauren’s shop instead of Hathorne. And with the lack of locations to begin with...it just felt like it was a small game without much to do. That said, some of my favorite games have had a much smaller setting (TRT, for example) and did it well. So perhaps this issue could’ve been fixed with more complexity added to the puzzles and additional side quests.

Good: the voice acting and characters. Look, I loved Lani as Nancy Drew and she will always have a special place in my heart, but the new voice of Nancy has won me over. She’s got the exact type of energy I imagine and had a more modern voice. I do think she was one of the weakest voice actors in the game (random lines seemed to feel out of place emotionally, but that could just as much be on the editing team as the voice actor), but I still liked her overall. The rest of the voice cast was also great, which helped to carry a script that I felt was weak at moments—there were times when the dialogue was just...bad. The characters as a whole felt unique and fun, and I really loved the interactions between Deirdre and the Hardy Boys. I would argue that the strongest part of the game is the characters, even if I do think they could’ve gone further with some of the friendships and relationships that were hinted throughout the game (Judge Danforth and Jason, Mei and Jason, Teegan/Olivia/Lauren, etc). I also liked that the characters felt more alive...moving around, in multiple places, etc. The positioning of characters when they followed you was...unfortunate at times. Deirdre scared me every time I turned around and navigating the tunnels at the end of the game was nearly impossible with how characters constantly blocked your view. 

Bad: the graphics. This is obviously something that has been complained about since the beginning, and it’s for good reason: the graphics were lackluster. I have a pretty good laptop so I was able to play on high settings, but even then they weren’t nearly as good as I was expecting for how long they worked on the game. The character models are one of the most glaring issues: choppy and awkward animations, a lack of texture and shadows, and those really freaky eyes. The environments, though slightly better, still felt as though they were built from unity assets that the developers picked up off online stores and threw together. I couldn’t stand looking at the leaf piles on the ground or the street outside the Parry house because they were so incredibly flat. The final puzzle scenes felt better to me, as did Olivia’s shop and even the graveyard, so it’s clear that they can do better, but that level (or even higher level) of detail needs to be present in everything. The lighting is another huge issue—it was extremely flat in most parts of the game and took away a lot of the mood that could’ve been set. That said, I think graphics can be improved....if they put in the money and resources.

Good: the puzzles and interact-able objects. The puzzles that we did have in the game were fun and varying, which I think is important in mystery games. Some of the controls in the puzzles were really frustrating (more on the controls later), but there wasn’t a puzzle that I flat-out couldn’t solve. I also liked the way we could rotate objects and see all sides of them but again, the controls were a little frustrating. 

Bad: the number of puzzles. There just wasn’t enough puzzles for me, particularly puzzles that directly affected the storyline. For example, you can find a ripped-up note in the trash can in the Parry house but it’s never referenced again and you don’t actually need to do it to solve the mystery. Same with the piece of the flyer you find in the scarecrow. I think I saw a reddit thread or a post here that suggested things with book sorting or doing stuff with displays in the museum as additional puzzles and I 100% agree that they’d be great (and easy) additions to the storyline. Or maybe even helping Olivia with doing her store inventory (as we see on her list that she clearly doesn’t want to do it). 

Good: the mini-games. I loved the pumpkin quest and making johnny cakes (though I wish we could’ve actually made the various recipes and not have done the flipping part 6 times). I also loved making the herb mixtures! I honestly don’t have any complaints here. I think there was a good amount of them and they were fun to come back to.

Bad: the controls. While I appreciate what HER was trying to do with the controls, I really don’t think they worked. The “looking around” in a scene is cool in theory, but the actual act of dragging around an object was tedious and frustrating. The movement through the town square was really annoying, too—it took me forever to get from one side to the other. I think the yellow glow around the cursor when you found something to interact with could be a little more prominent, too. I think if HER wants to continue using this setup then they need to fix the cursor sensitivity to deal with how slow looking around a scene can be when dragging. I think we also could’ve done with a way to read the logs of conversations because I definitely missed a few things when I looked away for a second. 

Good: Deirdre. Shannon. I love her. So much. She’s absolutely fantastic. Her snark was great and I really appreciated how they gave her autonomy and actively contribute to the case. I would’ve loved for her to be playable (like maybe we follow her to do research on the town or search for the will), but I can’t complain about the amount we saw her. Her scenes with the Hardy Boys were some of my favorite in game....and I really hope we continue to have her as a phone contact in future games (if not see her in person again!). 

Bad: no charm. Despite some high points with characters and the mystery, overall this game just lacked the charm of the past. I know some of this stems from moving to Unity and the subsequent changes to graphics and models, but I really feel like so much of the uniqueness to the games was stripped away as well. There are some easy changes that I think could fix this, starting with the UI and dialogue display and working to improve the lighting and character models. Nancy Drew needs a small amount of grittiness, I think, and a clean, modern look just doesn’t feel right. 

Good: throwbacks to old games. I appreciated that there were some throwbacks to old games mixed in as you went and that some of our old familiar easter eggs popped up (Koko Kringle candy, for one!). I like to think that the black cats in Olivia’s shop were throwbacks to Suki from SAW (though that one is unlikely) and there was also a mention of a Waverly Academy, though I think this was either a mistake or unintentional because the letter is for an art school and Waverly was a boarding school. I was hoping for a Kate Drew reference when on the phone with Carson, but alas. Here’s hoping they continue to bring past games into new ones. 

Bad: the lack of depth. I felt like overall the game only scratched the surface of what it could’ve in terms of bringing in more history and complexity. The lack of puzzles and overly-linear story made it a pretty quick solve and the characters, though interesting, could’ve done with more interaction with each other. More puzzles, more history, and more side quests could’ve helped with this immensely. (Oh, and get rid of the ridiculous side love triangle and manufactured drama with Ned and Nancy. That’s something worth it’s own post, however.)

tl;dr I wouldn’t go so far to say that MID was a roaring success or met the expectations I had for the game, but I do think there is hope for the future if we get more games. The mystery was solid and there are some good things that came from it, but they’ve got a lot of work to do to bring the next game back to the quality level that we saw in past eras. If anything, this did make me want to play through all the old games in order again, which I haven’t wanted to do in years. 

Time to go open photoshop and make all the Mei/Jason and Frank/Deirdre graphics and get back in the edit game!  

[that-shamrock-vibe]

Movie Review: Mulan (2020, Spoilers)

Spoiler Warning: I am posting this review the week following the movie’s release on Disney+ worldwide, so if you haven’t yet seen the 2020 live-action Mulan do not read on until you have.

General Reaction:

I had a very hard time deciding what I thought about this movie. I firstly had time to wait to see the movie as I didn’t watch it on Disney+ on the Friday it was released but instead got to see it for free the following Sunday night. But in that time all the reviews were coming out and while some of them were positive, a lot of them were negative.

I guess my feelings can be categorised into three pillars just as the oath sworn by the imperial army...loyal, brave and true, the first pillar is loyalty as in my thoughts on the original animated Mulan and how this movie holds up.

I will say, had I not seen the original I would probably just like this live-action remake fine enough but because I have not only seen the original 1996 animated version but have a strong connection to that version with it being the first movie I ever saw in theatres but also one of my favoured soundtracks of all Disney movies growing up, it’s difficult as we are literally comparing new for old.

That being said, a lot of what made the original so good for me has been completely gutted in this version. No Mushu, Cri-Kee or even Little Brother. It would be so easy to simply have a Shar Pei or a Shih Tzu roaming around Mulan’s home because they already had a spider taking the place of Cri-Kee in that matchmaker scene but no...we get the horse who isn’t even called Khan in this movie because the main villain’s surname is instead Khan rather than Shan Yu like the original, and a phoenix that...despite all the exposition and my movie trivia knowledge of what a phoenix can do...simply just flies around almost like one of those box kites and acts more like a drone than an ancestral family protector.

Also the grandmother from the original, who I loved because Disney has a habit of doing these elderly cooky women traditionally for comedy but also with some heart, is omitted from this version and instead seemingly replaced with a younger sister for Mulan. Now it’s not like the grandmother was integral to the original story other than giving Cri-Kee to Mulan and without Cri-Kee there is no need for her but if you’re going to replace her replace her with something interesting...this sister does absolutely nothing.

As for the songs, Everyone knew right from the off that this wouldn’t be a musical and so all those great songs from that soundtrack that I said at the time was one of my favourite Disney soundtracks were obviously out...but the way in which the score incorporated the main song “Reflection” is something we’ve already heard in the trailers and used very well played out here, then also two of the other songs “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” and “A Girl Worth Fighting For”, while not scored are referenced as lines from the songs are spoken by the Imperial Army soldiers at times.

Then speaking of ditching characters, Shang who is the main male lead of the 1998 animated Mulan is here split into two different characters. The commander of the Imperial Army played by Donnie Yen and then a soldier recruit in said army who acts as Mulan’s love interest...I think. I get the fact that these were the two sides of Shang’s character in the original...with the addition of dealing with the murder of his father...but it would have made more sense maybe to have the commander be “Shang’s” father rather than literally having Shang A and Shang B.

But while other fan-favourites were omitted, one new addition stole the show for me and that was Gong Li as Xian Lung aka The Witch as she’s referred to throughout in this movie. I thought the addition of magic to this adaptation was an interesting take because the original stands out for not relying so heavily on the fairytale aspects. I mean yes we have a talking dragon and ghostly ancestors, who also aren’t in this movie but are referenced a lot and responsible for the box kite phoenix, but the movie didn’t need magic per-say...here it is almost like the secret sauce for how the major players thrive.

This brings me onto my second pillar, brave...as in this movie takes some big old swings in the dark to not only try and stand out from the original but also be mature. Going back to the magic angle, chi is a massive part of this movie and it seems to be that if you’re an important fighter, you have it man or woman.

The only issue with that being the 1998 animated version of Mulan, despite being Disney, was one of the more grounded Renaissance movies as it didn’t rely heavily on the fantasy angle other than the talking dragon and ancestors.

So when you flip that around and tell me that not only does Mulan effectively have superpowers but also there is a major antagonist in this movie who can not only shapeshift but perform matrix-style Wire-Fu action which she somehow teaches the Rouran army, then it loses what made the original version special in that it didn’t rely so heavily on those fantastical elements.

That being said, despite a major problem with other Disney Live-Action remakes like The Lion King being that they rely too heavily on the source material, this remake is practically a different movie to the original 1998 version.

However, while a lot of the beats of the first half of this movie, and even the second half are met such as the Matchmaker scene, joining the Imperial Army, the avalanche battle and the Emperor being captured, the true emotional moments of the animated movie are completely gone.

That incredibly powerful scene after Mulan and her father argue and she is next seen crying at the Great Stone Dragon statue while watching her ailing father before deciding she must take his place and cuts her hair, disguises herself and leaves home in the middle of the night in the rain...here replaced with Mulan wielding her father’s sword, next she’s in the armor, then she’s travelling to the army camp...no powerful music, no visible emotion at how she comes to the resolve of leaving her family, nothing.

Even though there are no songs sung in this movie, the scene “Reflection” is originally sung in makes the song one of my favourite Disney Princess songs because of the fact it lyrically and visibly shows Mulan’s inner torment at being the outsider within her family and longing to be able to truly express herself. Here you have any resemblance of that scene taken out and instead go straight from the Matchmaker scene to the Imperial Army drafting scene.

As for the comedy, I understand the original animated version was more of a comedy-action movie as opposed to this one which is action-drama, but I don’t think I laughed once while watching this movie.

Yes, the original had Eddie Murphy as Mushu and that’s taken out here, but it also had the likeable funny trio of soldiers in the army. Here there are 5 of them, Shang-lite included, Yao and Chien-Po I think try to be despite not spending enough time on any of them to know who is who. There’s this newish character called Cricket who is supposed to be the substitute for Cri-Kee...but is a recruit in the Imperial Army instead of an insect and I had to look up to make sure it wasn’t Ned from the Spider-Man movies because they look so similar and try to force comedy despite not being particularly funny. Even the river shower scene from the original which was rather funny due to Mulan trying to hide the fact she’s a woman from the three guys, here it’s just Mulan and Shang-lite (Chen Honghui) and is played off more as some weird and awkward romance scene.

It is truly brave of Disney to try and appeal more to China than to Western audiences who loved the original movie and the comedy etc and this brings me on to the third pillar which is True, as in Disney trying to be true to China, it’s culture and respecting Mulan as a legend of China rather than a Disney Princess.

That being said, we definitely got more Chinese culture in this version than the original. Obviously you see a lot of China in the animated movie as the Imperial Army moves around a lot like they do here, but it’s never quite as cinematic as it is here. The 2020 live-action Mulan demands the attention of the big screen because for me watching it on my laptop, you can tell a lot of the establishing shots and landscape scenes were intended to be viewed on the silver screen.

Particularly the shots of people running up and down that vast staircase leading up to the Emperor’s palace, just imagining that in theatres impresses me.

Even shots like when you see wide views with either the phoenix or the witch in bird form soaring across the sky, you can tell it was meant to be viewed first on the big screen just to get that feeling of wonder because on a smaller screen it isn’t that impressive.

However, on the subject of “True” I do not understand how in-keeping with the original Chinese legend involved Chi being utilized as some sort of superpower equivelent to Avatar: The Last Airbender whereas in the original animated Disney version, which should really be the one emphasising the fantasy element, you’re either a good fighter or, in Mulan’s case for that movie, you’re not and have to train.

I understand how legends and mythologies can include fantastical elements because that’s what makes them as such, but if Disney want to tell me that in this movie Mulan is practically Wonder Woman because that’s how she is said to be in the legend then where the hell was that in the 1998 animated version because that Mulan is classed officially as a Disney Princess despite not being royalty or marrying royalty and having this type of power would at least qualify her to stand alongside the likes of Pocahontas and Moana.

Getting off the rant and moving to a compliment for a moment, I did appreciate the movie staying true to Chinese fashion because that really puzzled me about the original movie, how every man, woman and child effectively looked like they were wearing the same robes just in a different colour with maybe some different styling depending on if they were royalty or officials in some way.

But here, the Emperor definitely looked regal, the Witch looked regal but in that nomadic styling which was true to her character, and even though all the soldiers were wearing the same uniform, they all had something different enough about it.

Characters:

Alright so I’ve gone on enough generally, now I’m going to be more specific in terms of character, but because most of these characters aren’t fleshed out enough to warrant their own section, I’m listing who I feel are my three stand-out characters and then grouping the rest.

Mulan:

Obviously the movie is about Mulan so I have to start with her, and despite all the negative stuff which to be perfectly honest with you doesn’t overly concern me in regards to how Yifei Liu has been so adamantly in support of the Hong Kong Police drama, I’m judging her solely on how she plays the character here.

She was okay.

I mean this in the best way possible but, in a similar way to last year’s The Lion King remake, Yifei Liu was practically stone-faced the entirety of this movie. Good things happened, no expression, bad things happened, no expression, sad things happened, no expression. Especially when she was pretending to be a guy in the army camp it felt like her acting choice was “If Mulan was to show expression, it may give the game up”, it was just so rigid it made it hard to like her.

Speaking of her “undercover guise”, I know the original movie was animated and therefore the animators can get away with slightly altering the look of the character to make it believable and voices can even be changed as evidenced here with Jet Li...but I did not believe for a single second that Mulan could actually pass as a guy looking like how she looked. She didn’t cut her hair, her clothes weren’t particularly masculine, barely changed her voice and aside from having that leather brace/corsit to hide her chest there was no evidence as to how an entire army camp could not tell the second they saw her...maybe with the exception of Chen but I’ll get to that when I get to him.

Also, I touched on the Chi power thing beforehand, why was she was born with it? Why was it so powerful in her from an early age? None of this was explained, they hammered home the dangers of her having such strong Chi and that was also personified beautifully with Xian Lang aka The Witch as a kind of Ghost of Christmas Future visage, but the reason the original animated version worked so well was because she was flawed, clumsy and awkward yet also caring, strong-willed and outspoken. Really all they did here was take away all of those qualities that made her...you know...human and added the Chi power thing from the start so she didn’t have to learn to fight, she didn’t have to make this massive sacrifice as you know she’s probably going to prevail and again it made her unlikeable because there was no growth or real character development.

All except for the very end when the Emperor offers her a position on the royal guard rather than as an adviser like he does originally, and she rejects it here like she did then as well...but then she is asked again maybe two days later and we don’t get an answer but she probably says yes.

It’s quite clear they’re trying to tee up a sequel by the end of this movie, but there is so much negativity both to the movie and specifically the leading actress that I really don’t see this happening.

If a sequel was to happen it would most likely be Mulan’s struggles with being a female member in the emperor’s guard or even leading the team, but we saw her do that for the second half of this movie.

Literally the halfway point in this movie after a confrontation with Xian Lang, when Mulan’s father narrates how Mulan’s lie died but she herself lived and so she then decided to appear in front of the Imperial Army as a woman despite the obvious consequences I found stupid.

In the original it’s a mistake that she’s found out, it’s towards the end of the movie and she has to fight just for acceptance. Here she pretty much states the obvious in what she knows the villains are doing, suddenly she’s leading the fecking army...despite being told that if she shows her face again she will die...no death but just a promotion.

Finally while talking about Mulan, I can’t really not talk about that fantastic Ming-Na Wen cameo at the end of the movie. It was so great, I had heard prior to seeing the movie that she was going to be in it and so my eyes were peeled throughout the movie.

I love Ming-Na Wen and I do think she is one of very few to hit a Disney trifecta with being a Disney Princess, an MCU hero of sorts and a Star Wars character, though having recently finally seen The Mandalorian I have to say her part was exaggerated a bit considering the one episode she’s in.

It never dawned on me until it was brought up that I even needed Ming-Na to appear in this movie but having seen her I have to say I would be disappointed if she didn;t. Originally I would have suggested she maybe play Mulan’s mother as a type of passing on the torch, but the very fact that her one line and duty in the movie is to introduce Mulan to the emperor it does seem to have the same effect.

Xian Lang:

As I say, the Witch was my favourite character in this movie. Everything about her from when I first saw her in the trailers just worked for me. Her look was stunning, Gong-Li’s acting was on point, her story despite being a secondary antagonist based on the villain’s pet bird from the original movie was very compelling. The parallels between Mulan and Xian Lang were fascinating to see particularly with Xian Lang being a potential future cautionary tale for Mulan.

The first major scene when we see her use her powers was my favourite scene in the movie. I love a great power-set piece and we got to see a lot of the different fascets of Xian Lang’s power. From that gorgeous blend of coloured powders to act as a smokescreen for her shapeshifting, the weapon manifestation, using her sleeves as whips. It all worked so well and Mulan wasn’t even in the scene.

That being said, my next favourite scene is that confrontation between her and Mulan where Xian Lang is trying to get Mulan to admit who she is but she’s insistent on stating she’s her male name, so Xian Lang says “then you will die a lie” and knocks her into a rock which Mulan’s father then narrates “Mulan’s lie did die but Mulan lived”, it’s such powerful stuff and I wish the rest of the movie was as clever as that.

The Emperor:

The only other character I can really single out is Jet Li’s Emperor of China. I’m not a massive Jet Li fan, but I have seen him in a couple other movies and to my knowledge always in non-English speaking roles. However, I have also seen him in interviews so know the voice he has...this wasn’t it.

It was really distracting all the way through this movie because he looked regal, everything around him looked regal and powerful, but then he spoke and I was sat there pondering “Why is that not his voice?”. I mean I know how Hollywood likes to dub voices if the actors they hire don’t fit the roles vocally but do physically, but doing this not only to Jet Li who is one of the more famous Asian actors in Hollywood but any Asian actor in an entirely Asian cast does seem like a huge step backwards in representation particularly after Aladdin.

It reminded me a lot of Ray Park who is one of my favourite underrated actors. In some roles you see him and hear his voice like Toad in the first X-Men movie, however famously you only see him physically as Darth Maul in the Star Wars movies but have his voice dubbed by other actors.

All that aside, the actual character was a lot more fleshed out than in the original movie. I mean all you really need to know about him is that he’s the Emperor of China but here, because he’s Jet Li apparently in body only, he also has some kick-ass martial arts scenes.

Although, similar to the TV series Arrow, I do not understand how magic allows people to catch arrows fired at them, yet somehow Jet Li does and to be fair redirects it in a rather bad-ass way with Mulan doing a flip kick sending it straight into the chest of the main villain guy.

Hua Family:

As for Mulan’s family, I thought they were okay. Again I got more emotional from the original movie and I did miss the grandmother this time around and do not understand how the younger sister was a worthy substitute, but the actual parents were at least acted well.

It was great seeing Constance Wu in a dramatic role after seeing her in Freaky Friday, Tzi Ma was a surprisingly central role this time around as Mulan’s father with a lot more drama put on his character, in the original version you know Fa Zhou is injured from war so when he’s drafted again you can guess he may not survive. Here, Constance Wu states “Be brave for he won’t return this time”.

Imperial Army:

I didn’t like any of these guys, we spend little time getting to know any of them as individuals, maybe with the exception of Donnie Yen’s general character. Having said that, Chen either had to know that Mulan was a girl or simply be attracted to Mulan as a boy. But there were so many looks and so many times where you could tell that he knew but maybe wanted to protect her so didn’t let on.

Rourans:

I didn’t like the Huns in the original movie but at least they had individuality about them, the Rourans had nothing. Jason Scott Lee was obviously the Shan Yu of this movie but he did not have the intimidation factor that he had and really didn’t have a lot else to him.

The one plus about the Rourans is they seemed to take lessons from the Dothraki in Game of Thrones in how to not only ride into battle but battle while riding. It was very cool visually.

Recommendation:

By the time this review posts if you haven’t seen the movie yet you may not be inclined to and I don’t know if this review is really a promotion for it, but when someone asked me for my recommendation I did say it’s worth at least one viewing.

However, I would not pay the excess fee for it. I watched it for free and I feel $30 or however much it is here in the U.K. would feel a bit of a rip off despite the fact Disney+ allows for multiple users and so multiple viewings.

Overall I rate the movie a 6/10, it’s visually gorgeous, Gong-Li is the best thing about the movie and it is interesting to see what is different between versions. I just wouldn’t rank it up there as one of the best Disney Live-Action remakes, too much doesn’t make sense.

So that’s my review of Disney’s Live-Action Mulan, what did you guys think? Post your comments and check out more Disney Movie Reviews as well as other Movie Reviews and posts.