#he's also fixed so i hope whoever left him on the streets dies a thousand deaths 😁

[inawickedlittletown]

Walking The Wire (28/?)

Summary: Tony Stark always knew about Peter Parker. He didn’t know that Peter was going to get superpowers and become Spider-Man, but he always knew about Peter because Peter was his son.

This will span from pre-Iron Man up through the rest of the MCU (eventually including Infinity War) and will be for the most part canon compliant except where I’ve taken some liberties and interpreted canon a certain way.

Pairings: Pepper/Tony, Tony/Steve (endgame), Tony/Mary (past)

A/N: If you want me to tag you when I post new chapters let me know. This fic is also on AO3

I used Collider’s MCU timeline to stay canon and the title of this fic is an Imagine Dragons song that is just so fitting for Peter and Tony

Masterpost

Chapter Twenty Seven

Spider-Man started to be mentioned more and more mostly online never really by name because no one seemed to know what to call him just yet, but with variations of descriptors. Peter didn’t know if he was glad to get the recognition or not. On the one hand he really liked the feeling he got when he heard someone talking about him, but on the other he had afraid that someone was going to find out who he was. In the end, he decided it didn’t really matter because the whole point of it was to help and save people. It did turn out to be hard work, but Peter loved it. He loved being Spider-Man even if it meant that he was sneaking out of his bedroom window and that he was lying to Aunt May. He didn’t think he would have gotten away with it if Uncle Ben had still been around. Aunt May wouldn’t have been as distracted by her grief. She just wasn’t as alert as she used to be. Peter could admit to himself, though, that juggling everything wasn’t always easy.

“Are you alright?” Ned asked as they were leaving their class for the day.

He asked all the time when he remembered about Ben and how it might be affecting Peter. Peter didn’t blame him for forgetting and he actually didn’t like talking about it, but he still appreciated that Ned cared.

“I’m okay,” he said.

“Are you sure?”

Peter nodded and he tried not to seem to impatient. He wanted to go out to patrol and Ned was holding him up, but he couldn’t just brush off his friend.

“Do you want to come over?” Ned asked.

“I can’t,” Peter said, “but maybe another day? I just have to get home. See you tomorrow.”

He walked off before Ned could say anything else and almost ran Michelle over. She slapped his arm and gave him a glare as he passed with something muttered that Peter didn’t even catch. Once he was outside, he rushed away and as soon as he could find a good spot, he changed into his Spider-Man outfit. One day he would make it a lot cooler than just sweats and a mask with goggles. There were ideas that he’d actually written down about it’. He just didn’t have the means to fix it just yet especially since Peter couldn’t really sew.

He climbed up to the top of a building to find a good perch from where to look for anything going wrong and when he didn’t find anything immediately he decided to take a few videos of himself as Spider-Man. Peter had been planning on putting a few of them online under a username that couldn’t be traced back to him. He could go on and name himself while he was at it too and make the videos that were circulating the internet just a little better.

At first, he just did a few backflips and jumps and then he swung on the web for a moment before landing in front of his phone. Then he heard someone scream.

Peter jumped up and ran to the edge of the building. A woman’s purse had been snatched and the guy was getting away, but Peter jumped off the roof and swung into the scene and caught the guy, sticking him to the nearest wall. He returned the purse quickly and then swung away again back to the roof. He sat on the edge of a roof for a while until something else caught his attention which turned out to just be a kid screaming at his mother because she wouldn’t buy him an ice cream and she was refusing.

Peter decided to save his eardrums and go elsewhere for a while which was how he managed to spot the car flying down a street it was going so fast which he just knew was going to be trouble.

Peter didn’t know how he pulled it off. He didn’t know how he managed to have such good timing, but somehow he did. One moment he had just been trying to figure out how to stop the car or get people away from the danger and the next he had seen the bus and known that it would be disaster for the car driver, the people on the bus, and the people walking around who didn’t even seem to notice what was happening except for a few here or there who were yelling or staring in open shock.

He was swinging towards the car, but he wasn’t fast enough to stop the car, not until it was almost at the bus, which was how he ended up throwing himself between them,  falling right where the collision was about to take place to stop the car, absorbing the hit in a way that didn’t impact the bus but also stopped the car from causing damage to the driver and passenger who looked shaken. The car actually came off the ground at the back and Peter had to set it down gently, glad that he had the strength to actually hold it for a moment.

As everything settled down for him, Peter could see that people had their phones out and that he was their main interest. Peter didn’t waste a moment in jumping onto the hood of the car and swinging away as people looked on.

Peter was a little shaken, if he were going to be honest, mostly because he had almost narrowly missed stopping that car and injuring not just himself but other people in the vicinity, in the car, and inside the bus.It had been a close one, but he had stopped all catastrophe and he had to give himself props for that.

He landed on a rooftop and breathed a sigh of relief for everything that had gone right and then he flopped onto his back because he couldn’t believe his luck. Had any one thing gone wrong or his timing been off anything could have happened, Peter knew that, and yet he felt so proud for what he had done.

He stayed on the empty roof for a while until his phone notified him of a text from Ned and even then he ignored it for a while because Ned was probably only asking something about homework or Star Wars and Peter really didn’t care to answer. Later, as the afternoon got tinged orange and red as the sun started to go down he finally checked.  

Ned: Peter, you’re never going to believe it. Go on youtube. Spiderman just stopped a car from crashing into a bus and it’s all over the internet.

Ned: Omg! Buzzfeed wrote an article about it. This is so cool, Peter! Tell me you saw it.

There was also one from May.

May: Kiddo, pick up a sandwich or something from Delmars. I’m going to work late tonight. Be safe.

He didn’t respond to either immediately just because he wanted to just lay there for a while, but eventually he got up and sent May a thumbs up emoji just because she hated when he didn’t give her any kind of answer. It had become increasingly obvious that May felt like they were going to start struggling for money. Uncle Ben didn’t have any kind of life insurance and even though all funeral costs had been covered by Mr. Stark, even if Peter still didn’t necessarily understand why, it didn’t change that Uncle Ben had had the higher paying job and that his income was gone. They lived in New York. It was Queens, but it was still New York City and Peter knew things were expensive.

May was probably also worried because she’d been out from work without pay for a good while after Ben died. Her bosses had understood her need for time off, but not enough to pay her for the entirety of it. It left Peter feeling a little bit like he should be trying to get himself a part time job to help her out and yet it would leave even less time for other pursuits like Spider-Man so he hoped it wouldn’t come to that. May probably wouldn’t go for it anyway even if he didn’t have Spider-Man.

He patrolled for a little bit longer before grabbing a sandwich as suggested by May and heading home and checking out the links that Ned had sent him to YouTube videos that had thousands upon thousands of views and were all of him from different angles stopping the accident. It was crazy and Peter couldn’t believe it. The comments section was a whole thing altogether and Peter only read a few comments before he gave up and moved on to the next video and then the next.

Back in the old days any time that Tony had to fly anywhere, he would make it a point to have strippers and plenty to drink aboard the jet. Times had changed and instead, Tony spent the rather short flight to MIT looking over Peter things. His grades, his club involvements at school and anything else that might have come up. This was how Spider-Man got on his radar because it was all that anyone from Peter’s school could apparently talk about on social media so naturally Friday picked up on it. Queens has its own superhero and from what Tony could make out, it wasn’t more than just a kid going by how thin and how short the new hero was unless it was a woman but Tony doubted that. There were YouTube videos up that showed him in action and Tony was impressed especially since they all seemed mostly candid and unedited.

The latest one had him stopping a car crashing into a bus and Tony could just tell that whoever was under the mask had to be special which meant they needed to be watched.

“Hey, Friday,” Tony said, “can we figure out who this masked hero is. Could be a good addition to The Avengers.”

“Should I send the info to Captain Rogers?”

“No, I’ll deal with this personally. I just hope that whoever it is they aren’t bringing trouble into Queens. It’s the last thing Peter and May need.”

“Well, it looks like Spider-Man has decreased some of the crime in Queens since his appearance,” Friday said.

“Yeah, but it will attract trouble too and I don’t want either of them near it.”

Tony spent most of the trip trying not to think about Steve which was why he was trying to keep himself busy. It was hard, though, after every surprising aspect of that morning. The last year had taught him that he and Steve got along well once they stopped fighting and that Tony liked the company that Steve offered but he had never imagined that it would ever be more than a friendship. The friendship had often seemed like it was already enough that it almost felt like a dream to get to have more than that. Tony wanted to just fast forward the next few days until he could see him again.

Tony made himself focus on the new hero. The more he looked at the videos on YouTube, the more that Tony thought about all the ways that the young hero could be improved on starting with the homemade suit. Tony was also particularly interested in the webs he seemed to be capable of shooting out out of his wrist. They reminded him -- Peter had been asking about spider webbing.

Could Peter know the masked hero? Or had he come across the webbing somehow and gotten curious? Tony didn’t like it. He wanted Peter as far away from the masked Spider-Man as possible and the easiest way to do it was to get Spider-Man out of Queens. Maybe an invitation to join The Avengers would do that.  

Tony wrote down his ideas on a possible suit for Spider-Man including the use of the red and blue he seemed to prefer. From just what he going see from the videos the hero was acrobatic, could stick to walls somehow even through his clothes, and he was super strong. It was the webbing that he needed to figure out. Was Spider-Man a mutant of some kind or an experiment gone wrong? Either way, the webbing couldn’t be organic. It couldn’t come from him because there was no way that anything inside him could create it unless Tony was wrong because weird things happened all the time. A couple more watches of a few of the more trick related videos gave away the device that Spider-Man had on his wrists and Tony knew he could improve upon that too. Spider-Man needed a whole new upgrade.

“Save my notes, Fri,” Tony said, “it will be something to work on when I’m back home.”

For the last leg of the trip, Tony checked his email. The first one to stand out was from Pepper and recently arrived.

Tony,

I am so sorry but I won’t make MIT. You’ll have to present without me.

Pepper

Tony really should have expected that. He shrugged it off and moved on to the rest of his email. He erased a bunch until one from Maria Hill stood out to him.

Stark,

We have been following a few things closely as concerning Bruce Banner. Recently there have been some proving questions about his whereabouts. We believe they come from the new Secretary of State, Thaddeus Ross, as they have some history you are aware of.

As I have touched on in the past, the political landscape right now does not fare well for us. Ever since Shield fell there have been more and more voices critiquing the methods that The Avengers have taken. The events of Sokovia did not help and it’s likely that the inhuman problem is also to blame. Too many untrustworthy people with new and unexpected powers are worrisome even to us even if we have someone working on the issue. I have been advised that the UN is also working on something.

We’re going to need you on this, Stark. Whatever is coming, you’re best equipped to deal with it.

-Hill

Tony was used to getting emails from Maria Hill. It was easier to hear things from her when it came to the less exciting aspects of The Avengers especially when it came in email form. It was especially nice because Hill never tried to shy away from saying what she needed to say. Tony had actually forgotten all about the inhuman stuff that had been going on with the contamination of fish oil pills. Hill and Fury had been insistent that someone was dealing with it so Tony was leaving it all alone. It made him wonder if Spider-Man was one of those inhumans. It would make some sense if he was.

The next email that caught his eye was one from Peter. Finally.

Hey, Mr. Stark,

I know I haven’t written much lately but you know why I haven’t. It’s been a lot to really get used to because I keep thinking he’ll just be there at the breakfast table and then he’s not and his favorite mug is just sitting in the cupboard like he left it. I guess I’m still getting used to it.

Thank you so much for paying for everything. You didn’t have to! But I’m so thankful you did. It was one less thing to worry about. And thank you for the letter. It meant everything to hear those words and it’s made a big difference to me. Thank you so so much.

Peter

Tony decided he would answer it later, so he moved on and found a welcome email from MIT and Tony ignored it in favor of looking out the window for a while and trying not to think about Steve who had probably already arrived in Lagos with the team. Only Vision and Rhodey were staying behind at the compound even though Tony would have preferred that they went as well. Tony just hoped that it all went well.

Chapter Twenty Nine

[exodustories]

Yixing Soulmate au

I groaned as Christine squealed for the billionth time. We were at a bridal shop and she was picking out her wedding gown. We were finally down to the the last aisle of dresses. She had literally went through the entire store.

These were the moments when I really hated the idea of soul mates. Everyone seemed to have found theirs but me. All my friends and family were already married, but I was still feeling their pain. Usually, you feel your soulmates pain every time they get hurt. In my case I literally felt their pain every single day. I always had the taste of blood in my mouth and was always tumbling to the ground in pain. Whoever my soulmate was, I was going to chew them out for being so reckless. I had also heard that when you meet your soulmate you feel like your entire body is on fire and there's a razor sharp pain in your wrist. A mark that only you and your soulmate have appears on your wrist after the pain goes away. I wasn't looking forward to that part at least.

I let out a sigh as I heard Christine squeal again in the background. "Hey, I'm gonna get a cup of coffee.... I'll be back in a bit." I stated as I played with the hem of my jacket. "I... I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to boast about this." She said as her tiny legs ran over to me. I let out a laugh. "No, it's okay. You've been waiting for this for so long. I'm sorry I'm being such a downer on your day." I met my eyes with hers and gave a half smile. She nodded and gave me a quick hug.

I strolled out of the bridal shop and headed to the nearest cafe. Nothing a sweet cup of coffee couldn't fix. I felt my body heat up as I waited in line. I fanned myself hoping I'd cool off. It wasn't a hot day so I wasn't sure as to why my body was reacting this way. Perhaps it was because of all the body heat that was in such a close proximity.

I paid for my coffee and smiled as soon as the cup was in my hands. I walked outside and felt my body heat up even more as a cool breeze hit me. I grew irritated at how hot I felt on such a cold day. The sky was so gray that it seemed as if it were going to rain any minute now.

I felt a body collide against mine and my coffee spilled onto my chest. My mouth opened ready to  shout at them and then I felt it. My entire body felt as if it were in a thousand degree fire. Tears streamed out of my eyes as my body felt such a painful heat all over me. I bit on my lip as the pain grew more intense. I dropped to the floor as my wrist felt as if someone were carving into it. I chewed on my lip holding back screams of pain, but I heard someone else's screams beside me. Is this what finding your soulmate felt like? Death?! Why would such a beautiful thing hurt so bad?

The pain died down and I sat up looking around me. I began heaving due to trying to catch my breath. Even though I was in complete utter pain no one around me seemed to care. Everyone was just passing by me and carrying on with their life. I wiped my tears and looked to my right... and there he was. He was crouched down, rocking his body and sobs were still escaping his lips. I watched as he slowly sat up and admired his facial features. He had a deep dimple on his right cheek and also a small scar that was on his left eyebrow. His messy inky hair was gelled so effortlessly. His firm eyebrows matched his dark eyes that gave such an intense look to him. His cheekbones were so gorgeous and his jawline looked so sharp that it'd cut any hand that caressed it. He was wearing a baby blue dress shirt tucked into black slacks and white slip on vans. He was such a gorgeous human being compared to my average looking self. We both stared at each other not sure of what to do after baring such intense pain.

It felt like years passed as we just stared at each other. After what felt like years I broke the silence between us. "Are w-" "NO," he shouted cutting me off. I watched as he attempted to stand up and stumbled a bit. He leaned on the wall beside him and his breathing grew heavy. "This isn't happening," he whispered. My eyebrows furrowed together. "Well it just did. You can say it didn't happen, but I'm pretty sure your body felt what mine felt." He looked down at me and  made a sour face. "I'll buy you another coffee." He mumbled. I stood up holding onto a pole to keep my balance. "We literally just found each other and you only want to talk about coffee?" I couldn't believe this guy. We had found each other and he couldn't seem to care less.

"In case you couldn't tell, I'm not interested." His arms crossed over his chest and he stared me down. "What do you mean you're not interested? I've literally felt your pain every single day of my life and I finally meet you. And you're not interested? Also, why in the hell are you getting hurt almost every single day?" I inched closer to him and he stepped further away from me. "I can buy you another cup of coffee since I bumped into you. After that we can forget this ever happened."

His words that slipped out of his mouth so nonchalantly hit me. This moment was supposed to be so magical, it wasn't supposed to be anything like this. "Are you about to cry?" At the sound of those words I gritted my teeth. "No, I'm not," I hissed through a clenched jaw. He motioned for me to follow him and began walking back into the coffee shop.

I followed him in confusion as to why this moment isn't as special as people made it out to be. I waited in line beside him in silence. I watched as he kept shifting his weight on one leg to the other. His arms were crossed across his chest as he blankly stared at the menu. I noticed that when anyone stood too close to him he'd tense up. His posture was tense but the blank look in his eyes showed that he was most likely deep in thought. A group of people had come into the coffee shop and were kind of being a bit loud. I watched as his eyes shifted towards them and he chewed on his lip. As he chewed on his lip his dimple would fade away and then reappear. The expression that was on his face didn't match his body language. He seemed to feel uneasy around too many people. He definitely wasn't a people person and looked uncomfortable in such a setting.

 We finally made it to the front to give our order. He looked over at me and nodded towards the lady at the register. I quickly ordered my drink. He opened up his wallet and then looked back at me. "Do you want a muffin or something?" I looked at him in confusion and shook my head. He shrugged and paid for the drink. Once my order was called out he grabbed it and handed it to me. We both walked out of the coffee shop and once we reached the crosswalk he looked at me. "Okay you have your coffee, I paid. So there you go." A half smile appeared on his lips and he began walking off.

I quickly chased after him and grabbed his arm gently. "Wait, can I please get your number? Who knows if I'll ever even see you again? Please?" I watched as his eyes danced around and then landed on mine. He crouched down to meet my eye level. "Let me guess, you've been waiting your whole life for this. Here I am and you don't feel anything. Sorry that's it's not as magical that everyone made it out to be, princess. Yes we found each other.. But, I'm not interested."

I had to get his number. It was either get his number or let him disappear and never see him again. "Look, I get it you're not interested and I do respect that. Just please give me you're number. After all we're soul mates.. that has to count for something." I said firmly. He tapped his index finger on his chin and then nodded. "I guess you're right, princess. Just try not to text me too much my girl friend will get pissed." I scoffed at his sick words and handed him my phone.

After he punched in his number he handed it back to me. "I gotta get going, princess. I'll be waiting for your text." He said with a wink and walked off. "WAIT!! WHATS YOUR NAME?" I shouted from the other side of the street. He turned around and smirked at me.

"Yixing! Zhang Yixing!"

[edgarbonesknows]

Maybe || Self-Para

A gentle breeze whispered through the trees whose shadows reached across his moonlit face as he stared into the dark night above, taking in the light of the half-hidden moon behind a haze of puffed cloud and listening to the soft mutters of motors from the street.

Edgar had hoped the fresh air might help, but he realized the endless darkness only seemed to accentuate the emptiness that had hollowed out his chest and taken hold of him. The apathy was always worrying, but with it came a carelessness. All warning signs. He knew he shouldn’t be alone, but he didn’t want to be around anyone. The hollow feeling had burrowed too deeply, he could no longer pretend to care.

A shuffling of feet behind him put him on guard, but he remained where he was, sitting on the bench with his head hanging over the back as he continued to gaze into the sky. Whoever was there would likely move on and if they tried anything, he would simply apparate away, Muggle or not.

“It’s late.”

The voice made him tense. Frozen on the spot, he didn’t move as his wife came into view, looking down at him with tired concern. She opened her mouth as though she wanted to say something more, probably to scold him for wandering off and leaving only a note as an explanation. Instead, she closed her mouth again and moved to sit beside him on the bench.

Edgar relaxed a little, but couldn’t bring himself to drag his eyes from the sky. “The kids---”

“Dad came over. You … I was worried.”

Enough of a chill still hung in the breeze that when Edgar released a long sigh his breath streamed into the air above his mouth before dissipating into the night. “I’m sorry,” he said with little conviction. It was never his attention to worry his wife, but even guilt seemed to have crawled into the recesses of his mind, hardly present. This emptiness felt suffocating.

Rommie sighed as well, leaning forward with her arms hugged around her chest. “Are you alright?” He could hear it in her voice, she was growing tired of asking and hearing the same answer every time. He was tired of giving it, he wished there was a better answer, but he couldn’t control his feelings - or lack thereof - any more than she could control her frustration towards him.

Deciding it was better left unsaid to save them both the trouble, he allowed the silence to linger, wishing he could be by himself while also wishing he could tug his wife closer and tell her every thought traversing his mind. It would be too much, though. It was already too much for him.

“Edgar, please say something. I need to know you’re at least here with me, that you can hear me.” Right. Right, because sometimes he wasn’t there. Sometimes he was lost in memories. Sometimes he had no control over his own body, had no control over anything.

Sometimes he was nothing more than a ghost.

“Okay, okay, I’m going to---”

“I’m here,” he told her, feeling the emptiness grow wider at the tone of his own voice. He sounded angry, he hadn’t meant to sound angry. Self-loathing hung like a cloud over him, growing darker and deeper with every word he spoke.

Rommie let out a sharp noise and he almost expected her to get up and march back home. It would be better if she did. She didn’t, she simply put her head in her hands. “Sorry,” he murmured, sounding a little more sincere this time. A pang of guilt hit him, but it wasn’t a welcome feeling, it only made everything so much worse.

“No, it’s … I don’t know.”

His wife was at a loss for words, she didn’t even sound angry. Edgar had to close his eyes as exhaustion washed over him so suddenly he thought he might just fall asleep right there. A long silence hung in the air between them, Edgar wondering if Rommie would try to say anything more. She seemed to have run out of things to say and he couldn’t blame her. There was nothing left to say.

“It won’t ever get better,” the words escaped him suddenly.

“Wha---”

“I won’t ever get better. This is going to keep coming back. Potions and therapy aren’t going to fix this.”

“Maybe not, but they’ll make things more---”

“Do you know what it’s like?” he asked quietly, cutting her off. “Physical pain is better. I’d rather be stabbed, or beaten, or strangled --- anything, anything other than this. I can heal from that, I can deal with that kind of pain. This … this is nothing, Rommie. It’s … it’s constant. I can’t escape it. Maybe I’ll feel better some days, maybe I’ll learn to cope better, but it’s always going to be there and there’s always going to be another bad day ahead of me.” Tears were stinging the corners of his eyes. “And it’s worse than anything I’ve ever felt. I just want the pain to stop. It hurts. It hurts so much all I can do is turn it all off and that’s worse. The emptiness … I don’t feel alive anymore.” I don’t want to be alive anymore. He thought back to the bridge and felt a pang of regret. He wished he had died then.

Cold hands were snaking around his chest as his wife forced him into a hug. He didn’t move, but he had to admit it felt nice. A small sliver of the hollowness fell away when she gave a small squeeze.

“It’s never going to be easy,” she told him softly. “But I promise, for every bad day there will be fifteen good days, and we’ll keep working, and then it will be one hundred, then a thousand. We’ll keep working and we’ll get you there, I promise.”

“I’m too tired to keep working. It’s been … I’ve hardly made any progress at all.”

“That’s not true!” her voice had a harsh edge to it now, making him flinch. When she continued, it had softened, but there was still a desperation behind the words. “You haven’t had a full-blown flashback in a while, you’re helping with the kids again, you’re remembering to eat, and you haven’t had many nightmares. You’re getting better, Edgar, you are.” It didn’t feel like it. “This is just because you switched potions, you haven’t adjusted yet, once you get used to them you’ll feel better again. Things are going to be alright, I promise.”

“How can you promise that?” Merlin, his voice sounded so small.

“I know because I am going to make sure you can get there. Every second, the good, the bad, all of it, I’m going to be there. Let me be your safety net, I can handle a few rough nights.” That was an under exaggeration. “I haven’t given up on you, please don’t give up on me.” Her voice hitched and he wondered if she was crying.

Instinctively, he finally wrapped his arms around her, looking away from the sky for the first time. He wished he could deny her, tell her to pull the plug and let him die a peaceful death of his choosing, but she was right. She’d fought this hard for him, he couldn’t give up on her and throw all of her hard work in the garbage. There was no energy left in him to continue living for himself, but he knew he could keep living for her. For the kids. For Igor, who had also fought so hard to keep him alive. Though he couldn’t understand why any of them wanted him around, he knew he couldn’t leave them, it would be hurting them too much and throwing their sacrifices back in their face. He couldn’t.

A few stray tears trickled down his cheeks, but they had dried up quickly, his apathy still lingering. “Okay,” he whispered to his wife, holding her to his chest. Maybe he wished he could die, but he’d always known he hadn’t come out here to die. He’d been waiting for something to pull him back, he wasn’t completely lost. This thought gave him some hope.

Rommie wiped away her own tears, pressing her face into his chest. He’d never seen her looking so vulnerable in public, she must have been really scared. More guilt, more feeling. It hurt. It hurt a lot, but he held her tighter to help ease the pain.

“Come home with me?” She sounded like a child, small and tired and so very sad.

More feeling flooded him, the emptiness replaced with pain. It was nearly unbearable, building with every passing second. He wanted to shut back down and block it all away. Return to the sky and emptiness. Now this felt worse and he could no longer recognize which hurt more. Nothing felt right. “Okay.” His voice didn’t give away his feelings, but he couldn’t bring himself to move.

Rommie moved first, sitting up and offering him a smile. It was false, a smile meant for his benefit alone, it felt stale. “Come on, you just need some rest and then you’ll feel better.” Getting to her feet, she pulled him along with her, keeping him close, as though afraid he might disappear if she let go.

He let out a long breath, looking back at the bench as they strode away. He imagined leaving this pain behind on that bench. Let it linger there forever and never return. It helped, he felt his head growing a little clearer. He was exhausted, a good night’s sleep always made him feel better. Maybe that was all he needed. Maybe he’d be alright. “Okay.” It didn’t feel like it right now, but he had to make himself believe that maybe he’d be alright. Maybe things would start hurting less, maybe the pain would fade like the scar on his side, a distant memory that only pained him on occasion.

Maybe he’d be alright.

[auidobooks-blog1]

BEST AUDIO BOOKS FOR RUNNERS

Whether you’re a beginner looking to distract yourself, or an expert looking to mix things up, listening to audio books while you run can be a great addition to your routine and an excellent way to kill two birds with one stone. From thrilling crime fiction and mythical fantasy, to learning more about the real world with some fascinating non-fiction, a good audio book can motivate you to go that little bit further. Here’s our list of the best audio books for runners…

CRIME FICTION

Title: Sherlock Holmes (70 hrs and 56 mins)

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For runners: With 56 short stories and 4 novels to choose from, you can stop and start at your own pace. London runners might even spot some familiar landmarks.

Title: Sometimes I Lie (9 hrs and 28 mins)

Summary: “My name is Amber Reynolds. There are three things you should know about me. I’m in a coma. My husband doesn’t love me anymore. Sometimes I lie.”

For Runners: Unnerving, twisted and utterly compelling, you won’t be able to pause this new thriller. Perfect for the runner that just keeps pushing.

Title: Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies About Who You Are so You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be  (7 hrs and 4 mins)

Summary: With wry wit and hard-earned wisdom, popular online personality and founder of TheChicSite.com founder Rachel Hollis helps readers break free from the lies keeping them from the joy-filled and exuberant life they are meant to have.

For Runners: This was the most amazing motivating book ever! She is so inspirational! This is a must read! She is just so real and makes it so easy to relate to her stories!!

Title: After the Plague (13 hrs and 30 mins)

Summary: Few authors in America write with such sheer love of story, language, and imagination as T.C. Boyle, and nowhere is that passion more evident than in his inventive, wickedly funny, and widely praised short stories. In After the Plague, Boyle speaks of contemporary social issues in a range of emotional keys. The sixteen stories gathered here address everything from air rage to abortion doctors to first love and its consequences. The collection ends with the brilliant title story, a whimsical and imaginative vision of a disease-ravaged Earth. Presented with characteristic wit and intelligence, these stories will delight readers in search of the latest news of the chaotic, disturbing, and achingly beautiful world in which we live.

For runners: Who want a different story for every run.

FANTASY

Title: Fantastic Beasts (1 hr and 40 mins)

Narrated by Eddie Redmayne, this is the first audio book edition of Scamander’s textbook ever to be released. Having starred as Newt Scamander himself in the movie Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, who better to narrate this Hogwarts Library book from one of the wizarding world’s most famous Magizoologists? Dip in to discover the curious habits of magical beasts across five continents….

Alien: Out Of The Shadows (4 hrs and 31 mins)

With the new Alien film released in May, runners can immerse themselves in the fantasy world with this exclusive audio production. Set in deep space, a land of darkness and isolation where evil hibernates awaiting for suitable prey, hell takes on a new meaning. Quickly the characters discover that their only hope lies with the unlikeliest of saviors….

Ready Player One (15 hrs and 40 mins)

Narrated by actor Will Wheaton, this thrilling story is a fast-paced adventure that pits thousands of desperate members of humanity against each other in the ultimate race for the winning prize.

It’s the year 2044, and the real world has become an ugly place. We’re out of oil. We’ve wrecked the climate. Famine, poverty, and disease are widespread. Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes this depressing reality by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia where you can be anything you want to be, where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets. And, like most of humanity, Wade is obsessed by the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this alternate reality: OASIS founder James Halliday, who died with no heir, ha promised that control of the OASIS – and his massive fortune – will go to the person who can solve the riddles he has left scattered throughout his creation.

Title: Zombies Run (1 hr and 50 mins)

Set in the universe of the worldwide best-selling app Zombies, Run!, this is a murder mystery like no other. Why would anyone still want to kill a fellow human, even after the zombie apocalypse? And having started, how can they be stopped? The desire for vengeance, after all, is the way of all flesh.

Nothing will make you run faster than the imminent threat of Zombies.

Tite: Extracted (12 hrs and 40 mins)

A young scientist invents a time machine to fix a tragedy in his past. But his good intentions turn catastrophic when an early test reveals something unexpected: the end of the world. For runners who can achieve the extraordinary – this fantasy set in 2061 follows three ordinary humans set to change the future.  Can these three heroes, extracted from their timelines at the point of death, save the world?

NON-FICTION

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (15 hrs and 18 mins)

Everyone’s been talking about this Sunday Times Bestseller, so what better way to catch up than on a run? Opening up a controversial topic with spirit and thoroughness, Sapiens will challenge your preconceptions, provoke discussion and, most importantly, push you to think for yourself.

Earth is 4.5 billion years old. In just a fraction of that time, one species among countless others has conquered it. Us.

We are the most advanced and most destructive animals ever to have lived. What makes us brilliant? What makes us deadly? What makes us sapiens?

In this bold and provocative audiobook, Yuval Noah Harari explores who we are, how we got here, and where we’re going.

The Elephant in the Room (1 hr and 48 mins)

In The Elephant in the Room, Jon Ronson, the New York Times best-selling author of The Psychopath Test, Them and So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed, reunites with an old acquaintance – the influential provocateur and conspiracy talk-show host Alex Jones – to explore one of the most bizarre presidential campaigns in American history. From conspiracy theorists and fearmongers, to a chance encounter with notorious political operative Roger Stone, Ronson’s picaresque journey into Donald Trump’s world. Whimsical, hilarious and often downright terrifying, The Elephant in the Room captures a defining moment in our time as only Jon Ronson could see it.

Wild (12 hrs and 59 mins)

Experience true escapism with this heartbreaking true story of a young woman who experiences intense grief and a life undone, only to rediscover herself as she forges ahead on a seemingly impossible solo journey across the American wilderness. An unforgettable journey of self-discovery, Wild is written by international best-selling author Cheryl Strayed and is a complete and unabridged audiobook memoir with a powerful narration by talented voice-artist Laurel Lefkow. Now also a hugely successful film starring Reece Witherspoon. Audible listeners follow the. This is a story that will stay with you long after the final word.

A History of Britain in 21 Women (8 hrs and 28 mins)

Feel empowered mentally as well as physically with this thought-provoking collection on the lives of 21 women that sheds light upon a variety of social, political, religious and cultural aspects of British history.

In lively prose Woman’s Hour Jenny Murray reinvigorates the stories behind the names we all know and reveals the fascinating tales behind those less familiar. From famous queens to forgotten visionaries and from great artists to our most influential political actors, A History of Britain in 21 Women is a veritable feast of history.

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