#my guy my dude my man you need to EXPRESS your EMOTIONS

[pacifythots]

[!] POSSESSIVE SUO. hcs. f!reader + yandere-ish and spicy-ish content?. he's ... yeah ; i promise its okay lmfao. i saw a togame one, so ofc i had to do my man. this is a lowk long hc list ...

hayato is the type to be extremely possessive of his friends, but he's so good at hiding it that no one can tell. if need be, he's ready to act like a snap of a finger, though more times than not, knowing his friends well enough, they have the situation under control.

hence, based on that, he's pretty (secretly) possessive over you pre-relationship. he's likely more so because you're a girl. not in a 'you're weaker,' way but more of 'i can't trust them around you' way.

hayato suo has a slick tongue.

he knows what to say, and when to say it. after all, the emotional intelligence he has is through the roof for someone of his age. at times it scares you how accurate his observations of you. often times, he notices things leagues before you do.

"you are aware that guy is flirting with you right?"

"unless you want the others to get a negative impression of you, i'd fix your expression."

"she's nervous, say something to help her relax."

specifically the first example, countlessly.

hayato suo is not a jealous person, after all, he's not dating you, how could he be jealous? though, there's something that pisses him off about those guys that approach you.

all of them were either sleazy or borderline misogynistic.

the first time you told him you were going on a date he almost burst a blood vessel.

it was at this point that suo realized he would have to do a bit more than the things he was doing to catch your attention: feigning injuries, "forgetting" his accessories around you, subtly purchasing things you enjoy, etc.

essentially, he was a boyfriend before he officially became one.

and even as you date, his shenanigans don't decrease. in fact, it increases. albeit, in a way you can't exactly point out.

instead of a dumb keychain or little figure he sometimes bought, he'd bring stuffed animals, necklaces, books, rings. the jewelry is always a matching set. he needs to let others know that the both of you are taken. you are a pretty girl, he has to stand his ground.

speaking of standing his ground, specifically in a fighting sense. he is always ready to through hands at someone for you.

someone is causing you anxiety? insults you? heaven forbid they assault you?

that time he had to be pulled away from mauling that dude? yeah ...

he'll through hands quickly if the disagreement can't be settled with words.

another way he proves being possessive, in a bot so subtle way, he'll leave small hickey's right where the line of your shirt sat. sure, they didn't show at the present moment, but you move the wrong way and anyone could see the way your lower neck and collarbone are littered in hickeys.

he's also a man to be alright with PDA. he's not too keen on too intimate activities, though small kisses and hand holding is his favorite thing to do.

(though he's not opposed to making out with you, biting and sucking on your bottom lip so when you go out it's kiss-swollen)

suo kisses the back of your hand and treats you like a princess while he's glaring at some poor unsuspecting man.

he's legitimately so happy to have you as a girlfriend. if they didn't know already, he's eager to introduce you, but if you wish to take it slow he will.

i mean he's also the type to ask you to cover his face in your lipstick via kisses.

having a possessive side to him, he loves seeing when yours decides to debut. he doesn't purposefully intend to make you jealous, but he couldn't exactly be rude.

he finds it cute when you have that huffy expression on your face, he'd annoy you as much as possible just to see a face like that.

adding on to material things he covers you in, he loves to see you in his clothes. the first time he saw you in one of his shirts, he almost lost it. instead of saying the ... things, he wanted to say, he decided to hug you from behind with a little tease about the situation, hoping you wouldn't feel something presses against your back.

i am severely sleep as it is 1:14 am, so in short, his possessiveness doesn't present in a way that you'd be able to point it out. others seem to point it out at times, but overall, he does normal boyfriend stuff but with ulterior methods of keeping you all to himself. he throughout enjoys your company and love, no one can take that away from him.

[yejinnie]

☆ only you.

the things yang jeongin would only let you do to him.

- pairing. yji x reader

- tags. fluff

✧ physical affection.

this one was quite obvious, since jeongin isnt very fond with physical affection from others. however, since he incredible whipped to you, you are the only exception. he even finds himself craving for your touch, which at first he found weird as he isnt use to feeling such emotions towards a person. his favourite physical affection from you is intertwining your fingers together or when he comes home from practice, his body aching from pain and couldnt wait to be embraced by your warmth, as he snuggled into your neck while laying ontop of you. (his members are very much jealous of you, so don't be surprised when a whiny innie is behind you trying to hide from han trying to kiss him for the 100th time)

✧ letting you have a bite of his food.

bruh you seen this dude eat, like pookie your food aint gonna run away, you don't need to shove the whole thing down your throat. 😭 eversince you and i.n had gotten together, jeongin had became more protective and affectionate over you. in the early stages of your relationship, you had went on study mode during exam season, causing you to skip sleep, as well as eating. when jeongin found out what you been doing, bro evaporated into thin air and suddenly appeared right infront of your doorsteps with a bag full of food he got along the way to your place. ever since that, he had grown into a habit of shoving whateva he's eating into your mouth. oh, jeongin is eating pizza, in your mouth it goes. he's eating ramen, wow the chopsticks has teleported infront of your mouth. if mans eating, be prepared to hear here comes the airplane~. basically just be prepared to be well fed.

✧ accepting your kisses

jeongin has made it clear to his members that his lips are only reserved for you, however, some dont get the message (han im looking at you) so whenever his members ever see you guys kiss, be prepared to hear the endless mimicking of smooching and teasing towards you two (more aimed at jeongin tho). however, even though their teasing is annoying, he would go through it all day if he had too. just so he can kiss you again.

✧ poking his dimple / touching his face

sometimes you can't contain all your love for jeongin (LMAO LOVE SURGE) so one of the ways you would express it, is by ruffing his hair and squeezing his cheeks. when you first did it, his face was painted in red, as it froze in a shock expression, however, his face quickly changed into a frown and a whiny jeongin was awaken when you started to shower him with compliments. another way you had showed your love to jeongin was when he was talking about something but instead of listening, you were distracted by the dimple that peeked out on his cheek as his mouth moved. so out of instincts you poked it, which has impacted him alot, as i.n stopped mid-sentence and started to ask you what you were doing while giggling. it may of not seem like it affected him physically, but oh boy, jeongin felt like a hot mess. his heart had stopped beating and his face started to grow hot. oh how much you affected him.

hellooo my name is zizi and this is my first post pls be niceee (⁠◍⁠•⁠ᴗ⁠•⁠◍⁠)♡

(btw this is not edited so sorry for any mistakes)

[sprite-writes-fanfic]

When the ‘03 Turtles are in love!

🐢💙❤️2003 TMNT x Reader💜🧡🐢

Word Count: 889

CW: Gender-neutral reader as always, referred to as ‘you’, my underrated beloveds ong, (especially Donnie 💜), nothing but fluff! Turtles realizing they’re in love with you and how they act around you!! (+ confessions because yes <3)

🐢💙Leonardo💙🐢

💙 With Leo, it takes him a good while to realize he’s in love with you. It just randomly hits him when he’s meditating, the comfort you bring, the way he can lean on you, the way he’s always seemingly drawn to you! It hits him like a bus.

💙 He gets a little shy and distant with you, but don’t give up! Continue coming to him and acting like yourself, he’ll feel a bit guilty for avoiding you, but you still coming to him makes his heart flips and he’s feeling those butterflies.

💙 That’s when Leo can’t take it anymore and finally confides in Master Splinter, (which we both know that man knows when his sons are in love). Splinter is pleasantly surprised! But he’s happy to help his son sort out his feelings and even devise ways to confess to you.

💙 Finally, Leo works up the courage and asks you to go to the training dojo with him alone, to train. You two do train and by the end of it, Leo finally spills it, confessing his love to you, but also expressing his understanding if you didn’t feel the same.

💙 Pleasantly surprised when you admit to feeling the same way! Man is fist-pumping the air mentally when you confess. After that, you two spent more time together in the dojo, just talking things out and making it official with a hug, (a kiss will come later, Leo’s not ready to make that quick of a step!)

🐢❤️Raphael❤️🐢

❤️ With this emotional turtle, Raph is quick to realize, unlike his brothers, and at first; he’s frustrated. He didn’t NEED feelings, especially not towards a family friend, a human… A very beautiful human at that—

❤️ Okay, he gives up and comes to terms with the fact, Raph, the tough guy with anger issues, has soft feelings for YOU. (Bro went through the 5 stages of grief because of this/j)

❤️ And after coming to that conclusion, man is always trying to impress you, he gets closer to you, wants you to depend on him because he wants to be that someone for you! It strokes his ego quite a bit too.

❤️ It’s when he finally realizes he wants to be with you he shoots his shot. What’s the worst they could say? No? So, one night when you join him on patrol and you two are chilling on a roof, he finally confesses. And he’s straight to the point like, “Look uh, this is gonna sound weird, but I have feelings for you.”

❤️ Dude is so hyped when you say you feel the same way too. Raph isn’t the type to wait around either like Leo, on that rooftop was where you two shared (his) your first kiss.

🐢💜Donatello💜🐢

💜 When Donnie realizes, he panics a little actually. YOU are his best friend, and he’s completely shocked when he realizes that his heart thunders in his chest and his palms get sweaty when YOU are around, (*slow fade-in of the demi-romantic flag*).

💜 He tries to shut down these feelings as best as he can by working on his technology more and being distant with everyone, and I mean EVERYONE.

💜 Even then he can’t stay away for too long, he’s back to ranting and rambling about his inventions to you, and his breath hitches whenever you smile at and tell him, “Go on”, whenever he pauses and apologizes for rambling again.

💜 Donnie has to tell you, if he gets rejected now, hopefully these feelings will go away, right? He didn’t even consider the fact that you could possibly like him back, according to his statistics, the likelihood of a mutant and a human together is low!

💜 Well, when he sat you down for a serious conversation, going on to admit his feelings and saying he wouldn’t be hurt if you said no— Wait what? You were quick to interrupt him and tell him you liked him back?? He had to process a moment before he would shyly ask if you wanted to go for a small ride in the Battle Shell around town. (You two held hands while he drove. <3)

🐢🧡Michelangelo🧡🐢

🧡 Woof, Mikey on the other hand is a bit of a wild card, at first he confuses platonic with romance, but when his brothers point out to him the obvious, he’s all for it!

🧡 Mikey is the type to start reading comics and watch movies that involve romance so he has an idea of what to do, (and yes, he kicks his feet all giddy-like when he’s doing this).

🧡 After he’s obtained his knowledge, he’s quick to try and impress you and reenact some moments from the movies he’s watched, always saying quotes you probably wouldn’t understand. And when you don’t get it at first, thinking he’s just being Mikey, he’s a little bummed…

🧡 Then Raph has to point it out to him why his advances aren’t working, because he’s not really acting any different, and just tells Mikey to grow a pair and to tell you honestly. And that’s when Mikey’s new plan is sent into action, operation confession is a go!

🧡 Still a little confusing because he’s still making references but he’s got the spirit. Eventually he ends up forgetting the movie references and out-right tells you. And it’s safe to say, you guys have a roof-top date coming up here soon.

Gaaah, I’ve been obsessing over TMNT good lord. I wanted to write about them, and I’ll probably write more about them too 😭💙 Love turtle pookies ong, hope you enjoyed, and yes I posted the same day, I am motivated to write. ✍️

[ivelle-serenity]

Skateboard

Wind breaker

fem bodied reader | smut | pwp | jayjo/fml | vinny/fml | wooin/fml | joker/fml | owen/fml | enemies to lovers | angsty | all characters featured are 18+

author's note: actually, I don't know where this story is heading. Maybe it will turn into a reverse harem? I really don't know. This is a story by the way. Not just an one shot.

✧˖° — windbreaker men

✧˖° — mdni, smut, description of not safe for work content.

Links:

Skateboard 2

Skateboard 3

Skateboard 4

I set my lollipop down and adjusted my grip on my skateboard. It was hard to believe I was here, in the club, waiting to sell my bike. I hadn't ridden it in ages; I was tired of it and preferred skateboarding. Someone wanted to buy my bike, and we were supposed to meet here.

I smoothed out my long, curly hair and glanced at my reflection on my phone. I sighed. I hadn't bothered with lipstick, but my two-toned lips stood out on my plump ones. My mood soured as I overheard people whispering again in the club, as if I couldn't hear them.

"Dude, check out that girl! She looks like she's from abroad, right?"

"Wow, she's stunning. I've never seen curls like that on a girl before."

I just rolled my eyes and went back to sucking on my lollipop.

I shifted my gaze to the commotion from the side. There was a scuffle going on, and it seemed like someone was throwing punches. Furrowing my brow, I spotted the tall guy with blue hair. He had piercings and was looking at me, his face devoid of emotion. There was blood on his hands. I quickly looked away and checked the time.

Where was that guy?

"Well, well, I didn't expect you to be this early, Demitra," someone called out to me.

And there was Wooin, sporting his usual smug expression, his signature glasses perched on his nose. My attention was drawn to the guy beside him. Like the one I saw by the ring earlier, his hair color was different too. It was red... And not just that. One of his eyes was red as well.

Interesting.

"If you weren't going to buy my bike, you should've told me earlier so I wouldn't be here," I said irritably. I noticed the red-haired guy's gaze on me.

"Who is this?" My skin almost tingled at the chilling voice of the man with red hair. I tilted my head to the right, gazing at him with a hint of curiosity.

"No one. I'm just a nobody, weird guy," I replied sharply.

His expression turned to anger almost instantly, replacing whatever had been there before. He seemed about to step forward when Wooin stepped in. Instead of fear, I felt even more irritated. Wooin's smirk only added to my frustration. I sighed, running my fingers through my hair.

"Are you buying it or not?" I said, my annoyance clear.

"Oh, come on, what's the rush?" He held my waist and gently seated me on a bar stool chair. I glanced down at it, then shot a cold look at Wooin.

I had to admit, the guy I'd met was good-looking. It made sense why he caught the eye of so many women in the club. But he also seemed dangerous. Besides his rumored wealth, there were whispers of him taking down numerous men.

"I'll pay you triple," he said with a smirk, standing close in front of me as I sat.

"This is just a bike," I retorted.

"Honestly, I don't want your bike," he licked his lips before fixing his gaze on me. "I want to see you riding that bike."

I furrowed my brow, tightening my grip on my skateboard. We locked eyes for a moment. It had been a while since I rode a bike. Frankly, I was tired of it. It had become so dull to use.

"Not happening," I said firmly. "And why should I even consider it?" I added, glaring at him.

"Because we need you," he whispered to me before leaning in closer. My eyes widened at his action. Before I could respond, the man with red hair reached out and grabbed Wooin. I could see the frustration and confusion in his eyes.

"What did you say?" he asked, trying to keep his composure.

Wooin grinned. "You know what I mean, Vinny."

So that's his name.

"You want her to be in our crew?" I glanced at the man who had been in the boxing ring earlier. His face was emotionless. I had to look up due to his towering height. He was the tallest of the two.

"A girl? You want that girl to be part of us? Are you kidding me?" Vinny couldn't believe it, giving me a disdainful look.

"She's not just a girl, Vinny," Wooin gave me a mischievous look. "Don't underestimate a girl who knows how to skateboard."

I stood up and locked eyes with Wooin. "Don't drag me into your childish games. Biking is not my thing anymore. Maybe it's just for kids like you."

The man with blue hair remained emotionless. Vinny's face was full of anger. I didn't care about their drama. They just wasted my time. If I had just joined my new school instead, I wouldn't have been late.

"Who do you think you are?" Vinny was about to step closer, but I smiled.

"I'm just a girl, Vinny," I said innocently, causing him to pause. I was just throwing back to him what he said.

As I stormed out of the bar, frustration boiling inside me, I snatched the bike. That jerk wasted my time! Now I'm going to be late for school. I hopped onto the bike, hastily tucking my skateboard behind me. Ugh, I have no choice but to ride this bike again. Being super late for school isn't my idea of fun.

"If I ever find that guy again, I swear, I'm going to give him a hard punch in the face," I grumbled to myself as I pedaled faster.

Suddenly, a blur whizzed past me at lightning speed. He was wearing the same uniform as me. I tilted my head to the right, observing his biking skills. He seemed... skilled. Glasses perched on his nose, sporting a mullet haircut.

I don't know why it brought a smirk to my lips. His moves were so familiar. It was like watching myself from back when I used to bike in junior high. I pedaled the bike faster, surprising the guy with glasses as I passed him. I just smiled at him before speeding up even more. The gap between us widened.

I chuckled before glancing back. He was now looking at me intensely. 

Well, I didn't know there were so many handsome guys here in Korea.

I didn't see him anymore, so I shrugged it off. When I arrived at Sunny High, I gasped for breath as I unstrapped my skateboard. I parked my bike as well.

"You're new..."

I glanced back. It was him. His bike was already parked. He arrived before me. I immediately knew he took a shortcut. There's no way he could have beaten me otherwise.

"Yeah," I replied shortly before putting on my black glasses. "Great ride, by the way. Are you a pro?" I asked while adjusting my skateboard, securing it to my bike.

"No," he said with a puzzled look. "You seem to know how to ride too," he pointed out.

I smirked. "You think so?"

He didn't reply, just looked at my bike and skateboard.

"Nah, I'm just a beginner," I laughed.

"Jay! Damn, man. The first period is over! Why are you late?"

I froze as Jay and I both turned to look at the guy beside us. I noticed two guys walking towards us. The one who spoke was the bearded guy in a hoodie. He had a companion with a gentle face. I lazily grabbed my bag from the bike.

"Whoa... you're with a girl!? Wait a minute. Is she a foreigner?!" the bearded guy exclaimed in surprise and slight panic. I shot him an annoyed look.

"No," Jay replied shortly. Answering his first question.

"Dom, lower your voice. You might scared the girl," the guy with the gentle face playfully scolded.

I kept my expression neutral. What's up with these guys? I know they're seniors like me, but why are they so hyper? I was surprised to notice that we were being watched by students, especially the freshmen. It seems his group of friends is quite popular, huh?

"You're cheating on Shelly?" Dom exclaimed in shock.

"Stop it," Jay said coldly. Who's Shelly? His girlfriend? Oh hell nah. I need to stay away from him then. I sighed, what a waste, he's handsome.

"Do you know where room 21 is?" I asked formally.

Dom's jaw dropped. "You're our new classmate?!"

"Of course, Miss. Jay and Dom are in the same class as you. We can show you the way," the polite guy who was with Dom offered.

"June, you might get a nosebleed! What if she suddenly speak a different language!?" Dom became hysterical. I just facepalmed.

"I'm good. Thanks."

I was surprised when Jay suddenly walked alongside me. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"This is also the way to my room," he stated as if it were obvious. I also heard his two friends walking behind us.

"Shit, am I seeing things right? Jay is with some foreigner chick! She's hot!"

"I thought Jay has a girlfriend?"

There they go whispering again. It's only my first day at school and this is what greets me. Why am I assigned to the same room as these famous students?

"Hey Miss! Do you know--"

"Demitra," I cut Dom short. "My name is Demitra."

He scratched his head. "Oh yeah, Demitra. I see you can ride a bike? Your bike model is nice, suitable for tournaments. Why didn't you join?"

I furrowed my brow. "Tournament? I'm sorry, but I have no idea what you're talking about."

His jaw dropped. "What?! So you don't know we're part of a crew?" I remained confused. "Like Hummingbird? Haven't you heard of it? The famous crew?"

"Stop praising yourself, Dom," June laughed.

"Oh come on, man! I was just telling the truth! Demitra, you see, I'm the Sprinter of the group. I'm one of the skilled ones in the crew. And this Jay here is our Ace! He's really a God when it comes to race! You can ask him to teach you." He's so talkative.

I glanced to my side. Jay was quiet, his hands in his pockets, looking ahead as if lost in his own thoughts. So this man is their ace, huh? Not bad. He seems really good.

"Isn't it a bit childish to still be biking? It's just for kids," I said suddenly, making everyone stop and look at me.

"But you're also riding a bike," June pointed out with a frown.

"As if I have a choice. I was supposed to sell that bike, but the guy who was supposed to buy it tricked me. If ever I see that man, I will kick his ass until he bleeds." I felt my temper rising again.

"Maybe it's just not for you," Jay spoke up unexpectedly. "It seems biking is not for everyone. That includes you," his voice suddenly changed.

"Damn, did I hurt your feelings that much?"

He didn't respond but just shrugged. "How about this then," I faced him. "Race with me." He paused.

"Demitra... I don't think it's a good idea," June said with concern.

Dom dramatically covered his mouth, unable to believe that I challenged his friend to a bike race. I just grinned, feeling like I caught Jay's attention and made him face me. His face remained emotionless.

"If I win, let me join your cute crew," I grinned and crossed my arms in front of him. "And if I lose, I will do your assignments for a week. How about that?"

"Jay... Don't do it. She's a girl! We don't fight against them--" Dom's words were cut off when Jay spoke.

"Get your math book ready then. We have an assignment there."

[im-sleepdeprived]

Crazier • Pt. 3

pairing: mcu!peter parker x reader

a/n: ITS FINALLY HERE omg I loved writing this series so much i had a blast. thank you for everyone who was asking me about part 3 because it felt amazing knowing you enjoyed it as much as me😭💕💕 i hope you enjoy !! (beware, she is long)

warnings: some angst thrown in here and there, fluff (later), mentions of breakups, mentions of cheating, very very brief mention of suicide ( someone mentions and old author who offed themselves), me not knowing anything about theater (I apologize in advance), glitter

read part 1 here & part 2 , masterlist

"And when we got the chair, Brad made me sit in it and he pushed me around the whole school!" You were telling Spider-Man about your day, and as always, he listened politely, only chiming every now and then. 

"Wow, you and this Brad guy sure did a lot together today, huh?" He said, and even with the voice changer, you could tell he sounded a bit off. "I mean yeah! He's a great guy, way cooler than I originally thought.” You told him, making him grind his teeth hard, not that you saw that. 

"Actually I'm a little upset that the play is about to come to an end." Your voice gets a little softer as you confess what's been on your mind today. "The rehearsals have been a blast, and the people are amazing and it's been such a good distraction from everything. I'm really sad to see it go," you looked down at your hands. 

Peter took one look at your expression and knew there was something else you weren't telling him. "Well what kinds of things do you need a distraction from?" he asked carefully.

"Um," you looked anywhere but at him, "well, my parents have been fighting a lot lately and it's just been really hard to be around the house, everything's so tense."

His lips parted but nothing came out. He knew about your parents, of course, whenever things got bad you'd always run over to his place to hang out. But now you couldn't do that anymore, so you were just looking for any way to avoid coming home for as long as you could. 

"And of course, there's that whole breakup." you continued. "But I've been pretty good at ignoring that so far, and I think that's just the way I'll keep going." You drummed your fingers on your thigh as you stared into nothing.

"Do you really think that's the best way to go about it?" He asked hesitantly. "Maybe you shouldn't just completely ignore something like that."

You gave him a questioning look, "And why wouldn't I want to forget about it? Isn't that what you're supposed to do eventually after a breakup?"

"Yeah, eventually," he repeated, "but wasn't that relationship a big part of you? Ignoring everything isn't gonna make all your feelings go away. You have to face your emotions, embrace them, and go through the motions before moving on."

He hated that you seemed to be fine all of a sudden. That you were getting so close with this Brad guy all of a sudden. It might've been selfish, but Peter didn't wanna see you moving on just yet, he still had a tiny hope in the back of his brain that you might take him back if he waited till just the right time. But the more you kept talking, the more that tiny hope diminished. 

You snorted, "Ok Dr. Spider-Man, I'm not sure a guy running around New York in a bright onesie is qualified to give out relationship advice, but you do you.”

He couldn't help but let out a laugh. "I'll let you know I give out great relationship advice and I'm not wearing a onesie," he huffed. "It's a super suit."

That just made you laugh harder, "Yeah, sure, whatever dude."

"So you and your team won?" he asked. He wasn't about to waste the only time in the day when he got to speak with you being jealous. He was gonna keep this conversation going. Try his best to give you what he never could as Peter. 

"Yes!" you beamed. "Oh and look," you scrambled around looking for the crown you had received after you won. You had brought it up with you just so you could show him. 

You put it on and straightened your posture, "We were rewarded with these fabulous crowns.”

Spider-Man let out a loud laugh. "Wow, you look like true royalty."

"Don't I?" you grinned. "I always wanted to be a princess when I grew up, so this is very fitting for me." You tapped the crown lightly and grinned at him.

Peter was sure he was grinning like a lovesick idiot. He remembered you telling him this, your crazy childhood dream during one of your late-night talks. He truly believed that if anyone in this whole world were some kind of royalty, it would be you.

“Just like Rapunzel.” He murmured. Your head perked up at that. “Oh my god,” you rush, “YES! Holy shit! She was my absolute favorite as a kid, how'd you know that?”

He fumbles a little but quickly finds himself. “You were humming ‘I See The Light’ a couple days ago. It was an educated guess.” You can hear the grin in his voice. “Glad to know I got it right though.”

You laughed a little and settled back down. “Dude, I'm not kidding. I used to eat yellow flowers as a kid 'cause I thought they’d give me magic hair.”

At that, Peter loses his mind. He’s cracking up and you're joining in beside him. This, he thinks to himself. This is what he’s been missing. This is how things should be. He can't help himself, the words are leaving his mouth before he can even gather his thoughts.

“So what about your ex? How’ve things been going with him?” Nice going dumbass. She's never gonna wanna talk with you again if you keep mentioning her ex-boyfriend.

You looked at him weirdly and started twisting the ring on your finger. “Why do you wanna know?”

“I-just I…” he scratched the back of his neck, “Well actually, I'm going through a breakup too, right now, and I guess…I don't know, hearing you talk about it, about him, makes me feel less alone.”

Peter Parker feels like shit. He feels like a total asshole. And yet, he doesn't feel bad enough to stop, to come clean. Not yet at least. He tried making himself feel better by thinking, ‘Well it's not a lie. I am going through a breakup. She just doesn't know with who.’

You stared up at him, shocked. He never shared anything about himself. Not a thing. You two joked back and forth but you were usually the one sharing personal issues (or triumphs, like today). You start to wonder what his personal life looks like. He can't be that much older than you from what you can tell by his sense of humor and some of his references. This man, no, boy, who spends practically all his time running around one of the most popular cities in the world, saving lives and changing them, is going through a breakup. And he’s currently sitting on a rooftop with you and talking about it.

You blew out a long breath. “If Spider-Man can’t find love, none of us stand a chance.”

He let out a soft laugh at that. “Ah, I wouldn't say that. I definitely have my fair share of flaws. And then some.”

You shake your head, “I'm sure the good outweighs the bad. I mean, come on,” you gestured towards him.

He laughed again. “So tell me, you still see him every day, right?

You nodded, deciding that if this made him feel less alone, you could do this. 

“Is it hard?”

You shrugged, “Honestly, I have no idea. I’ve been avoiding him like the plague. I’ve only run into him once and it was when me and another friend went to grab ice cream at our old hangout spot. I couldn’t look at him. I haven’t spoken to him since everything and I don’t really want to. Not anytime soon.”

He sighed. Of course, you didn’t wanna speak to him as Peter. He’d totally fucked you over, he’s lucky he found any kind of loophole at all because he really doesn’t think he can handle not speaking completely. 

“How do you think he feels?” He has no clue where the question came from but now that he’s asked, he can’t help the curiosity bubbling in him.

You run a hand through your hair and sigh, “I have no idea. One second he’s avoiding eye contact in the school hallway and the next, he’s staring daggers at me in an ice cream shop. He’s weird.”

Spider-Man chuckled lightly, “Yeah, he sounds like he is.”

“Do you see your ex a lot?” You hope he doesn’t see it as prying, you just want to see how similar your situations are. 

“Yeah, actually, I do.” He nods but says nothing else. 

“Is it hard?” You ask softly. 

He nods again, keeping his eyes low. “Crazy hard. Especially when I know everything is my fault.”

“Do you think she’d ever forgive you?” He only shrugged. “Do you want her to forgive you?”

He looks up at you, “Would you ever forgive your ex? After whatever it is that he did, I mean.”

You took a moment to think. “I don’t know. I think it’s different. I mean, I don’t know what happened between you guys, but I think with Peter and I, I think he was starting to lose interest.”

He can feel his heart drop. “What? Why would you say that?”

“Yeah,” you continued, not taking notice of the spider slightly freaking out beside you, “he just stopped caring. Stopped showing up, and stopped listening. If I didn’t know any better I’d actually think he’d cheated on me.”

“No way! I mean-,” he cleared his throat a little, trying not to sound as anxious as he felt, “Do you… do you actually that he did? Cheated, I mean. Do you seriously think he cheated on you?”

Please say no, please say no, please say-

“No, of course not,” you told him honestly. “Peter’s a lot of things, but he’s not a cheater. I’d accuse him of that.” You paused for a moment. “But there was something…I don’t know what. There was something he wasn’t telling me.”

He let out a breath of relief. Thank god, he doesn’t think he could’ve handled knowing you thought of him that way. And it’s true, he would’ve never stooped so low. As for the ‘something’…

“Say he were to show up, right now, knocking on your door. Begging to have you back and swearing that he’s changed. Would it work?” He asked half serious and half joking.

You laughed a little, “No, but it’d probably piss off my parents.”

He grinned beside you, his mask shifting slightly at the movement. “Aw come on. Not one for big romantic gestures?” He nudged your shoulder a little.

You smiled but your expression fell as you thought about his words some more. “No, I’m just not one for empty promises. Which is all he had to give me after a while. He used to be amazing, he used to be the perfect boyfriend. The Peter I knew disappeared and I wasn’t a fan of the one who replaced him.”

You look up at him and grin. “If there’s any chance of anything being repaired between us. Even a friendship. He’s gonna need to get his shit together.”

“So he cheated on her, which fueled her depression, and ultimately led to her suicide. And that wasn’t enough so he burned her most of her work, and profited off of the rest of it after she died!”

This is what your mornings looked like lately. Hanging out with MJ so much had been…interesting to say the least. There was always something you could learn from her. Currently, she was telling you all about some ancient female author’s shitty husband as you waited beside her locker while she grabbed everything she’d need for her next class. 

“Every article online about it says ‘allegedly’ but fuck that. It’s totally the truth,” She finished. 

“God. That sounds awful,” you grimaced. “Whatever happened to him? Didn’t they have kids?”

“Oh, he married someone, won a ton of awards everyone loved him. And yes, a son, who also dies by suicide, and a daughter. I'm pretty sure she writes kids' books now.”

You sucked in a breath. “Holy shit. And where did you learn all this?”

She shrugged. “I read a lot.”

“Right,” you nod, unable to completely shake off the grossness that story left you feeling. “So,” you started, hoping to change the subject. “What do you have next again?”

“Biology. But I think we have a sub today, so that’ll be fun.” She slammed her locker shut, leaned on it slightly, and turned toward you. “What about you?”

You shook your head at her, “Free period. I was gonna catch up on my reading for AP Lit. Hey,” you wondered aloud, “is it that sub that marks people tardy even if they’re a second late? I can’t stand him.”

She sprung up. “Shit. Shit. Fuck,” she rushed out. “It is. And I can’t get another tardy otherwise I get detention. Again. And my parents would kill me.”

You nodded, completely understanding. “Okay. Well, I’m just gonna go grab my stuff and head to the library. See you later!”

“Bye Y/N/N!” She yelled over her shoulder, already halfway down the hall. 

You laughed lightly before heading to your own locker. You opened it and grabbed your bag when you felt a tap on your shoulder. 

You slam your locker shut and turn around, only to come face to face with Brad. “Hey, Brad!” You grinned. 

You’d never really noticed Brad before. You never had anything against him, you both just ran in different crowds. Even after you both started working on the play, you were friendly with each other but it never went past a simple smile, wave, or quick ‘hello’. But in light of recent events, you were really starting to think of him as a friend.

“Hey.” He smiled right back. “Saw you here and thought I’d just stop by and ask how you’ve been.”

You gave him a closed-lip smile as you leaned back against the lockers. “That’s sweet. I’ve been okay, long morning though. What about you?”

He nodded. “Same. Stayed up pretty late last night going over my lines.”

“Really? Don’t really think you need that. I’ve seen you at rehearsals, you’re a natural Brad.”

“Yeah? You think?” He grinned wide at your compliment and ran a hand over his hair. “I’ve got ‘em memorized and all, but I just wanna make sure I know them, y’know?”

You nodded. He wants to make sure his delivery is as good as his memory. That’s another thing you didn’t expect from Brad Davis. His passion for theater. 

“Well like I said, I’ve seen you at rehearsals and I mean it when I say I think you’re fine. More than fine actually. So don’t stress yourself out Davis, you’re gonna be amazing.”

He beamed at you like a child. “Thank you Y/N, seriously. You don’t know how much that means.”

You smiled right back at him. “Anytime.”

It was quiet between you two for a bit, and you didn’t really know what to say. You were about to ask if he had a class he needed to get to when, suddenly, he took a few steps closer to you. 

That automatically took any words that might’ve been on your tongue and threw them in the dumpster behind the school. 

“There’s um, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you, actually.” His voice is softer but, you hear every word and you can almost feel his breath on your face. 

“Oh?” Your voice matches his volume. This can't be happening. He knows you just broke up with Peter. He’s gotta be kidding. Or maybe, he’s about to ask something about the play. Yes, you think, he’s got a question about the play and he’s come to ask me, obviously, because I’m the director. 

The halls are quiet now, everyone else is in class, at the library, or something. It's just you and Brad, standing so close you could count his lashes. 

Just you and Brad. Brad, who won’t stop staring into your eyes for some reason, so you’re just left standing there….you and Brad.

And Peter. 

The sound of squeaky sneakers running down the hall seems to break him out of whatever trance he was held in and he steps back a bit, almost causing you to let out an audible sigh of relief. God, you could just kiss the person who decided to unintentionally interrupt whatever moment was just happening between you two. 

Or not. 

Because when you both turned to see who it was, your heart fell. Peter Parker is standing there, backpack hanging off his elbow, binder bursting with loose papers in hand, and staring at you like a deer caught in headlights. 

For a second, none of you say anything. Brad’s looking confused, staring at Peter. Peter is looking at you, then at Brad, then at you again. And you, well, you’re just wishing the school hallway would split in half and swallow you whole. You’ve run through a few different scenarios in your head, and falling into the earth’s core sounds the most appealing. 

Then Peter moves closer, clearing his throat as he approaches the both of you. “Hey guys, how’ve you been?” He asked. 

Neither you nor Brad replied. 

“Right. Hey man,” he turned to face Brad, his face suddenly serious, “don’t you drive a black BMW? Red rims, red interior?”

“Um, yeah, I do,” Brad answered skeptically. 

Peter blew out a long breath. “Think you might be in trouble dude. I just heard the principal saying he was gonna get it towed, something about you parking wrong.”

“What?!” Brad’s whole demeanor changed on a dime and you almost felt sorry for him. 

Peter held up both his hands. “I’m serious man, that’s what I heard. But don’t ask me,” he pointed to the hall behind him, “go ask Mr. Morita.” 

Brad stared at you for a moment before walking off, mumbling something about ‘another fucking ticket’ as you watched him leave. You almost grabbed his arm like a child, almost asked him to stay, just so you wouldn’t be alone with Peter. 

You swallowed. Brad had finally turned the corner, leaving him officially out of your eyesight and leaving you standing alone with your ex. It’s funny really, how you went from talking about suicidal classic authors with your friend a few minutes ago, to this. 

Yup, the Earth’s core sounds amazing right now.

For all the words he had to say when Brad was here, Peter was awfully silent now, doing that weird stare thing he did in the ice cream shop the other day. But there was no Ned to play polite this time, and no MJ to hold on a leash so she doesn’t bite. It was just you and him. 

And you had no problem running. 

You turned so quick, it took him a second to register the movement, and by the time he did, you were halfway down the hall. He ran after you. 

“Y/N, wait. Please.” He reached out a hand to place on your shoulder. You jerked away, his hand barely brushing your cardigan. 

You’re both standing in the hallway, and you’re still avoiding his eyes when you say, “We’re not doing this.” You shook your head and ran off, leaving a somber-eyed Peter in your wake.

There was no parking violation. Peter lied. But he had to. 

He’d gotten caught up doing some last-minute homework in the library. Spider-Man duties were keeping him busy lately because when he wasn’t fighting crime on the streets of Queens, he was spending time with you. 

He knows it isn’t right, he knows it isn’t fair, but god if it doesn’t feel good. He loves spending time with you and he hates that he can’t do it more often, hates even more that it’s his fault. And he damn sure wasn’t going to cut your meetups short because he had a few math questions waiting to be answered. 

So on his way back, the halls were empty when he suddenly heard a very familiar voice. You. 

But you were with someone. Brad. The thought made him roll his eyes. 

You were currently going off about how great Brad was doing so far in his role in the play you were managing. Stupid Brad, Peter was sure the only reason anything was going right in the planning of the show was because of you, you were the best person they could’ve picked for the job and all Brad had to do was say a few lines. You were the one who dealt with everything else. Brad should’ve been praising you, not the other way around.

He’d heard Brad’s response to your compliments and almost rolled his eyes again until he heard your response. Of course, you were being an absolute sweetheart. You probably had no clue what words like that meant coming for someone like you. You were probably oblivious to your effect on people, as you were probably oblivious to Brad’s true feelings about you.

You both went quiet for a moment, leaving Peter to wonder what happened when he heard Brad’s voice again. 

“There’s um, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you, actually.”

No. 

No, no, no, no. No. 

If he were totally honest with himself, he knew it was coming. Especially after you told him about your little scavenger hunt around the school, and how well you got along with him, how kind he was being towards you. Brad didn’t just randomly see you in the hall and decide to say ‘hey’. He had class. Peter knew because he was supposed to be in that exact class right now.

He could handle another detention. 

Before he even knew it, he was running down the halls. He had no idea what he was going to do, even less what he was going to say but none of that mattered at the moment. He just had to make sure this didn’t go any further. There was no way he could stand by and listen to you agree to go out with some other guy. 

And then he was standing there, you’d both seen him, and it was too late to turn back. He stared for a minute, noticing how close Brad was standing next to you. His gaze flickered between you and him and all he could think was how wrong it would be for you to end up with someone like Brad. Stupid, stupid Brad, who hung out with all the stupid jocks, and threw those stupid house parties all the time. Who only talked about his stupid car, and what model it was-

An Idea popped into his head. 

He couldn’t help it. Bro Peter stepped out and dealt with Brad, knowing the one thing that would completely get rid of him at the moment. He wasn’t thinking about the consequences. 

As he’d suspected Brad left with almost no hesitation, Peter almost doubling over with how quickly he fell for it. 

And then, he was left with you, and every ounce of confidence, every word in his lifelong vocabulary, crumbled. It never ceased to amaze him how easily you could completely undo him. He was an avenger, for crying out loud, he had literally saved New York and, he didn’t want to sound cocky but, the world. He had faced villains, of all sorts, so despicable, it’s a wonder he’s alive at all. But he did it. 

But you…. He’s never felt like this before. So nervous, anxious, and scared to mess something up when all he wants is to fix it. In the superhero world, stunned silence isn’t an option. One moment of hesitation and everything could go to shit. But now, he’s not sure what the best course of action is. He’s not sure if speaking to you will make things worse, or better. If saying anything at all will give him more of a fighting chance. Was there even any chance of a fighting chance?

He didn’t miss how you hadn’t said a word and all he could think was ‘Please talk! Say something! Give me a hint for what I’m supposed to say!”

He was just stuck in place, staring directly at your face taking in your expression. You wouldn’t meet his eyes and there was no stopping the pang of guilt in his gut. You looked skittish, and it should’ve been no surprise to him when you turned to take off but it still took him a second to shake off that moment. 

Just a second though, because soon he was running right after you. He wasn’t going to let you off so easy this time. 

He’d called for you to stop, reaching his hand for your shoulder in hopes of getting you to listen. The way you jerk back as if his touch might burn you snaps something in him. 

And there they are, your first words to him (Peter him) since the breakup:

“We’re not doing this.”

And you’re already moving away again, already slipping away from him again while his hand hangs in the air. He almost touched you. Maybe it was better that he didn’t because he thought he might’ve never let go. 

He’s not sure if you meant what you told him as Spider-Man. Maybe it was just another one of your jokes. But he’s not ready to give up hope yet. He’ll give you time if that's what you need, he’s just scared of who else might try to make their move during that time. 

For now, he’s just gonna work on getting his shit together. 

And that starts with going to class, and getting his work turned in.

There’s a buzz in the air when you enter the auditorium the next day, that can only be described as highly-caffeinated-extremely-enthusiastic-high-school-theater-kids. You were all feeling the anticipation of your work these past few weeks being shared with all your friends and family. 

You were walking around checking up on the last-minute touchups. You walked up on stage and stopped in your tracks. “Oh my god,” your hand flies up to your mouth, “you guys! This is beautiful!”

The set group (Noah, Lacy, and Jack) all grinned up at you. They all had some form of paint on them. Lacy adorned a pair of overalls that consisted of black and navy blue splatters going up and down the front of her. Jack’s T-shirt looked as if it were being used as a rag for his hands, so there were so many colors intertwining with each other, that you couldn’t pick out a single one. Noah was the messiest of the group, this specific set being mostly his responsibility. The knees of his jeans were stained black, but it didn’t end there. He looked like a tornado of night, with all sorts of shades clinging to any visible part of him. Blues, blacks, indigos, you name it. And they were all gleaming with pride. 

“Hey Y/N,” Noah beamed at you. “We just finished the last backdrop.”

Behind them all was the backdrop which would be used for the last scene of the play. Lexi and Brad (or Stephanie and Gabriel, per the script) would stand in front of it and finally declare their love for one another, commencing their forever after with a passionate kiss. 

You knew it was supposed to be a night sky, but what you hadn’t known was how well of a job they would do. 

You let out a breathless laugh. “I can see that. It's stunning you guys, truly.” Although Midtown High was a school that specialized in the education of science and technology, the students here were extremely in touch with their creative sides as well. And that fact had never been more obvious to you than in that moment. 

“There's still one more finishing touch, and then it’ll be perfect.” Lacy grinned at you before running backstage. 

You were staring at where she'd just been, a furrow in your brows, when Jack nudged you lightly, “Oh, this is what she’s been waiting for since we started.”

Lacy came back, almost tripping over herself with how fast she was running. She held up a jar that sparkled in the auditorium lights as she moved it around, “Glitter!”

You grinned and clapped your hands together, “Oh I’m so happy I get to be here for this.”

Noah and Jack stood to the side while you and Lacy approached the large backdrop from the side. She made quick work of unscrewing the top and setting it beside her. She leaned over slightly and tilted the jar a tad before sprinkling it over the spacious work of art. 

If sprinkling glitter were a profession, Lacy would be a pro. 

You quickly figured out why she was so excited about this step, and it wasn’t just the glitter. Adding the glitter gave the scene more life. It made it look as if it were real, and you were looking at a sky bursting with sparkling stars.

 After getting the area in front of her, she turns to you, holding out the jar. “Here! Give it a go.”

You stared a her a bit before quickly shaking your head, “Lace, I never thought someone could be good at sprinkling glitter, yet here I am. You were like a freaking fairy! I’d totally ruin it, and I can’t do that to you guys.”

You held your hands up and started backing away slowly. You could hear Jack and Noah laughing behind you. 

Lacy just rolled her eyes with a smile stuck on her face. “Nonsense, Y/N, you’re a pro at everything you do,” she lowered her voice a little, “like that scavenger hunt?”

You gave her a look before turning around to make sure Mrs. Lightbody was nowhere around. “None of that,” you hiss, “that was a one-time thing! And it was a group effort!”

“Oh come on,” Noah this time. “We all know you had the hardest list of the bunch. Seriously Y/N, if Brad hadn’t shown me the list, I never would’ve believed that you did all that.”

Jack nodded. “Honestly, me and Lace wrote that as a little joke, like, ‘Hey, what if we were really wild with this? What would we do?’ And you came and proved us all wrong.”

Lacy hummed her agreement, “What they said, exactly. And this is just a bit of glitter. No big deal!” She grabbed your arm and pulled you towards her. 

You laughed lightly, feeling yourself grow a little flustered under their praises. You grabbed the jar of glitter from Lacy and went to work, being extra careful so you don’t ruin all their hard work.

“This is good glitter,” you say softly, completely concentrated on the task at hand. 

“Oh my gosh! I know right!” Lacy practically squeals her response. You laughed but could hear Noah groaning behind you. You finish with the glitter, screwing it shut before turning back to face him. 

“There’s no such thing as ‘good glitter’,” He did air quotes on that last part, sounding extremely frustrated and something told you this wasn’t the first time they had this conversation.

“Yes, there is! She just said so!” Lacy was standing her ground. Suddenly, she turned towards you, “Y’know who can settle this? Lexi. Go find her Y/N, take the glitter, and ask her what she thinks. She’s gonna agree with me, I can already feel it.”

You held in a laugh. “Sure thing Lace.” You turn to go find your other friend and as you're walking away you can still hear them arguing, Noah not convinced that glitter could be good or bad. It’s just glitter. 

You walked around the auditorium looking for Lexi and failing to find her. You started asking around, feeling sure that someone had to have seen her. You knew she was here, having seen her enter at the start of rehearsals. Walking around the front of the auditorium, peering down aisles, you were about to go check backstage when you heard a Brad Davis.

Now you’re not sure why, you didn’t do anything wrong after all, but a panic settled in you. Next thing you knew, you jumped into one of the aisles and crouched down. 

He was walking up the main row between the chairs, script in hand, talking to someone beside him who you couldn’t see. They were moving closer to you. Shit. 

In a rush, you start crawling, crawling, down to the opposite side of the aisle they were approaching. You were almost out, but you accidentally pulled down one of the chairs that are built to automatically flip up. Not a loud noise, but loud enough. You wince but don’t stop until you're sitting against the side of the row of chairs, out of their sight. 

You could hear the chatter stop and the footsteps slow. You sucked in your breath and folded in on yourself even more. You were already coming up with a cover for yourself. 

‘Oh, hey Brad. Yeah, I’m on the floor. Not avoiding you or anything, just….decided to see what the view of the stage would be like from here. Not good!’

It sucked and you really hoped you wouldn’t have to use it.

It seemed as though your luck for the day hadn’t expired because you heard them mumble amongst themselves and move on. After a few moments, You let out a sigh of relief and started crawling down towards the stage. You weren’t risking getting seen just yet.

You were starting to like Brad, you really were! But after recent events you had started to think the interest he’d taken in you wasn’t the same as the platonic one you’d taken in him. And you were bad at confrontation or being put on the spot. Obviously.

Plus you figured he’d want to talk about that weird moment with Peter in the hall the day before and you’d rather pretend that didn’t happen at all. Even you didn’t know what that was. 

Moving slowly, you kept your head down, trying to reach the stage so you could just bolt behind the curtains. Suddenly, a pair of pointed-toe black flats came into your view. You paused and slowly looked up. In front of you stood Ms. Lightbody. 

“Hi.” You said meekly. She looked down at you with a furrow in her brows, “Hello Miss Y/L/N. May I ask what you’re doing?”

You fumbled for a moment but finally found yourself. Clearing your throat, you stood up and dusted yourself off. “I dropped an earring.”

Way better than that other bullshit you were thinking of. 

She stared at both your ears, which adorned a pair of earrings you never took off. “Oh?”

“I’ve already put it back in,” you explained to her lamely. She gazed somewhere behind you and you followed her stare. Brad and his friend were still walking up and down the main row, lost in some conversation. You gulped, if she had seen you earlier, it would’ve been fairly obvious to her the real reason behind your little floor exploration. And that was just embarrassing. 

She hummed in response, “I see.” Her voice carried some tone of understanding and you felt yourself run hot with embarrassment under her gaze. 

“Did you need something, Miss?” You rushed out quickly, hoping to change the subject. 

“Yes,” she focused her gaze on you now, and if you didn’t know any better, you’d say there was a sprinkle of amusement in her eyes. 

Ms. Lightbody was a newer addition to Midtown’s staff. She came in to replace the school’s previous drama teacher, and she also subbed at times. Most of the student body disliked her, thinking her short-tempered and strict but you knew that was far from the truth. It seemed this play helped you better understand your peers and superiors alike. She was an amazing teacher and, contrary to popular belief, she wasn’t an impatient maniac who didn’t have the skill set to teach. She was always willing to help someone who didn’t understand, but what she didn’t tolerate was purposeful incompetence.  

“Lexi is in one of the rooms backstage, I need you to go find her and tell her there’s one more scene we need to rehearse.” She paused and looked behind you again. “And I suggest you get to that soon because I think your friend, Mr. Davis, has spotted you.”

You blanched, unsure whether to dwell on the fact that she knew, or that Brad had spotted you. You turn slightly only to see Brad already looking towards you. 

You quickly snapped your head towards the lady in front of you again. “On it!” You told her, not waiting for a response before shooting up the stage and behind the curtain. 

You could’ve sworn you heard her laugh. 

You were backstage looking for Lexi. It wasn’t like her to stay tucked away like this, since rehearsals had started she was always ready for anything, talking things over with the other cast members, ready for criticism but rarely needing it. There was probably no one on the cast who was as excited as her. 

“Lex, you here?” You whispered softly. Behind the stage was empty and dark. You walked around carefully, trying not to accidentally trip on anything of the string or left-out equipment. All of this was going to need to be changed before tomorrow evening. 

Suddenly, so quiet you could barely hear it, was a shuffling noise. You looked around for some switch, finding it on the wall to your left. You switched it on and the action earned you a hiss from someone a little further in the room. 

You turned quickly, finding Lexi sitting at one of the small makeup desks, hands coming up to cover her face as if she were some vampire. 

That worried you. 

You rushed to her, placing a soft hand on her shoulder. “Lex,” your tone was quiet so as not to disturb her anymore. “What’s wrong? Are you sick?”

She looked up at you, hair disheveled, face a little pale, and eyes tired. “No, no I’m fine.” She shook her head but you weren’t convinced. 

You moved to sit at the desk next to her. “Okay,” you said softly, “then why are you sitting back here?”

She sighed a little. “I’ve just had a small headache since lunch. But I’ll be okay really. 

Your frown only deepens. “Did you eat today? Drink water?”

She nodded then rubbed her temples a little, shutting her eyes as she did so. “It’s probably my fault, I didn’t sleep well last night and I’m just tired.”

Her eyes snapped open and she looked more alert now. She clasped her hands together and smiled at you. “So wake me up Y/N/N. Tell me something interesting.”

Skeptically, you eyed her up and down. “Are you sure that's all? Should I take you to see the nurse?”

She shook her head again, her hair flying around her face as she did so. “No. I’m actually feeling better already, talking to you. I think the smell of Noah’s Axe Body Spray was just really setting everything off.” She gestured her hands around herself. 

You laughed, glad to see her acting like herself again. “But seriously,” she said, putting a hand on your knee. “Talk to me, it’s waking me up. How was your day?”

You let out a breath and leaned back in the chair, looking up to the ceiling. “Brad asked me out.”

She gasped so loud, you started up in your seat. “Shut up. Shut up!”

Smiling, you shook your head. “Well not yet. But I know it’s coming, you know what I mean? He keeps trying to get me alone, and he gets really close and starts staring into my eyes and everything. But he keeps getting interrupted.”

She gasped again, softer this time, and held her hand to her chest. “Oh my god. That’s so cute! Are you gonna say yes?”

You stilled for a moment. Were you going to say yes? You’d figured out what was most likely coming your way, but you hadn’t really thought of how to handle it. You couldn’t crawl across floors to avoid him forever. That would make graduation very awkward. 

And at the same time, you didn’t want to reject him. Brad was sweet, maybe not the type of person you usually went for, but he had his own things. Maybe you needed something new, something different. 

But something in your gut was telling you maybe you shouldn’t go out with someone who made you panic-crawl on the floor just to avoid having a conversation with them. 

Not to mention, you just weren’t interested in him like that. At all.

Lexi was going on about something or other, seemingly fine at the moment. “I totally knew he was into you. I mean, that whole picking you up in the library thing?” She shook her head. “Not just a platonic thing.”

You laughed loudly and stood up. You held out a hand for her to take. “Come on Lex, everyone’s looking for their star.”

She took your hand and stood. “I bet they are, I’ll have to apologize for hogging you from them.”

You laughed again and started pushing her towards the front stage. “Oh! I almost forgot to tell you! We’re playing with glitter!”

The rest of the day went by smoothly. You, Lexi, and Lacy applied the finishing touches to the backdrop. As Lacy had guessed, Lexi agreed with her. Lacy went on about all the qualities the perfect glitter should consist of; ‘catches the light, soft, and dustable.’

You were sure that last one wasn’t even a word but Noah gave in eventually and let the girls have their win. But that wasn’t enough for the three of you. Not wanting to put the glitter away just yet, you started sprinkling it on each other. 

Word spread across the auditorium like wildfire, and soon, a line started forming on the stage to get glitter sprinkled on you, boys and girls alike. Ms. Lightbody shut that down quick.

You stuck to avoiding Brad for the rest of the day. It wasn’t hard, you were both busy, him being one of the leads and you helping with a little bit of everything and making sure everyone stayed in order (with the exception of the glitter fiasco). 

At the end, Ms. Lightbody had gathered you all around to talk about how tomorrow was going to go. She went over the basics, what time the show was going to start, and what time you all had to be there. It was things you all already knew but it was good to go over. In the end, you thought she looked a little sad, and apparently, you weren’t the only one because someone else pointed it out. That made everyone jump and you all pulled her into a group hug. This little group had become like a crazy family and you were forever grateful you had a chance to be part of it. 

You left quickly after that, wanting to get out before Brad offered to walk you home or something. You said bye to your friends, taking extra time with Lexi. She had been more reserved after you two talked, not as tired as you’d found her backstage, but still not quite herself. You told her to get lots of sleep tonight. She was needed tomorrow

Now, you were sitting on the rooftop ledge, kicking your feet as Spider-Man sat next to you.

“Are you excited?” He asked. 

You nodded, smiling. “Very. We’ve all been working really hard for this. And you should see how great a job everyone has done. I can’t wait to see it all put together finally.”

“I’m sure you’ve done a great job,” he nods. “I really wish I could be there. You’re gonna need to take some videos for me. Show me afterward.”

You grinned wide. “Seriously? You’d wanna see?”

“Heck yea I wanna see,” he said, voice serious.

“Okay.” You nodded. “I’ll take plenty of videos, don’t worry.”

“Thank you.” He said, raising a hand a ruffling your hair. You laughed and slapped his hand away. He stared at you a little before asking, “What’s in your hair?

You grinned wide. “Glitter.”

He shook his head, laughing. “I don’t even wanna know.” You giggled beside him. 

 “Are your friends going to be there?” He asked.

“Um,” you say, still smiling. “Yeah, I think so. They said they will, and I think it’ll be fun.” MJ had told you she was definitely going to be there, she couldn’t wait to make fun of the kids in the play, she’d already bought her ticket. Ned said he wanted to see it as well, and Peter…well, after recent events you couldn’t think of any reason he’d be there. He probably wouldn’t be able to find the time in his busy schedule, even if you two were still together. So it was better like this. 

“What about your parents? Are they gonna try to make it?”

A beat passed before you replied. “No,” you shook your head. “I don’t think they’re gonna be there.”

He was quiet for a moment, not sure what to say. He almost regretted asking. 

“But it’s okay,” you said, your voice so soft, it took everything in him not to reach over and pull you into his arms. “I wasn’t expecting them to anyway. I have my friends, that’s enough.” You cleared your throat and wrapped your arms around yourself. 

He watched you for a bit and it hit him then, just how strong you were. How much you had on your plate at the moment. How little you let it show. 

Your parents were basically roommates to you, you barely saw them, they were just there. The play you were managing? While everyone else had one job, one task they needed to focus on and get done, you were involved in everything. He remembered you mentioned to him a few weeks ago something about your phone blowing up since planning started. He never thought much of it then. 

The more he thought about it, the more he realized you were always doing this. When it wasn’t the play it was something with your family, or tutoring other kids at school. And on top of all of that, you were always available for your friends whenever they needed you, and your grades never slipped. Your essays and tests were used by your teachers as examples. He always knew, but not really. It was painfully obvious right now. And it was even more obvious to him that he never helped. He should’ve helped make things easier for you, because he loves you, because he cares for you. But all he did was add to your plate. The thought made him feel sick. 

“I’m so sorry,” Even through his voice-changer you could hear the sincerity, the despair in his voice. Your brows furrowed. 

“You don’t need to apologize, it’s not that big of a deal. I swear,” you told him sincerely. 

He nodded but the movement almost looked forced. “How have you been?”

You paused. “Good,” you nodded, as if confirming your own statement. “Busy, but good.”

“Have you taken a moment to breathe recently? Just relax yourself for a few seconds?”

You were taken aback by his question. No one had ever asked you that. “I- I don’t think so,” you replied quietly. 

“Alright, that’s okay, we can do that together. Here,” he held out both his hands, palms up. “put your hands in mine.”

You followed his lead and placed your hands in his. The material of his suit felt smooth, but thicker than it looked, and you were surprised to see how well your hands fit together. 

“Close your eyes.” He said, and you saw the whites of his mask flicker shut. You followed his lead. 

“Great. Now big breath, through your mouth.” You sucked in a handful of air, the sound ringing out like a quick gasp. 

His hands gave yours a gentle squeeze. “No,” he said, voice soft. You felt your face heat up and you tried again, this time slowly letting the air enter and fill your lungs.

“Now out through the nose.”

You let the air leave you, not even realizing how tense you were until you felt yourself relax. Your eyes fluttered open and you found him already staring at you. His thumbs had started gently caressing your hands and you found you didn’t mind at all.

“A few more times.” He told you, and you nodded at him. You closed your eyes again and repeated your actions from before, more sure of yourself this time.

When you had finished, you opened your eyes again. His eyes were still open and you thought his mask shifted into something like a grin.

“Better?” He asked you, and you smiled, nodding your head. It was crazy to you to think about how over these past few days, that very mask had turned into a comforting sight for you. You really thought of New York’s Spider-Man as a friend. And you hoped he felt the same.

You nodded again, unable to take your eyes off of him. You weren’t even aware you were still holding hands until he removed his from yours. You almost protested, your hands suddenly feeling colder than they ever have. 

But then he brought his hands up to cup each side of your face. 

Oh. 

You were sure you were melting. You couldn’t remember the last time you felt like this, and you couldn’t even see his face! You wished he’d just rip it off, you wouldn’t care who was underneath. 

He brought his face closer and leaned his forehead against yours. Your eyes fluttered shut. You stayed that way for a minute, both of you just enjoying the moment before you decided to speak. 

“Take it off.” You whispered. 

“What?” He asked, his voice matching your volume. You had opened your eyes and you were looking at him now. You could clearly see the eyes of his mask were still closed and you fought off a smile. 

You brought up your hand to his face and traced his jawline. You could feel his jaw flex underneath your fingers and you could’ve sworn you heard him gulp. 

“Take it off.” You repeated, your thumbs now caressing his cheekbones. 

His eyes flew open and he leaned back. “No,” he shook his head, moving even further from where you two were seated next to each other. 

Your brows shot up at his sudden change of demeanor. You wished you hadn’t said anything. “Ok,” you said, voice quiet. “You don’t have to. I’m sorry, I didn’t know. I was just- ugh I’m so sorry.”

“No!” He repeated. “Don’t apologize I- you did nothing wrong.”

But the way he was acting was making you feel otherwise.

“I have to go. Good luck tomorrow.” He said, stood up, flung out his wrist, and started swinging through the buildings faster than you could blink. 

Fuck. 

You were a wreck. 

Everyone was running all over the place, orders being shouted across the entire backstage. Some people seemed to have invited their friends to hang out backstage (which was not allowed). Every corner was packed. And you were in the middle of it all. 

“Y/N!” Ms. Lightbody called for you from across the swarm of bodies. You made your way through everyone, not stopping until you were standing in from of her. She placed a hand on your shoulder and steered you until you were both standing in a corner, as far away from the others as you could get. 

“Miss Walker isn’t here, and it’s starting to become a problem.” She told you, voice serious.

You blanched. “Lexi isn’t here yet?!”

She shushed you. “I don’t want to start a commotion. Things are barely going smoothly as is, and this will not make it better. Everyone will start worrying if they find out their lead hasn’t arrived, and we cannot have that.”

You nodded at her, mind racing. “What do we do?”

She sighed, “For now? Wait and hope for the best, there’s still a bit more time.”

You nodded again and she took a second to look around the room. “What is all this? Half these kids have no business here!” She turned towards you again. “I'm going to try to reach Miss Walker’s mother, deal with all these children Y/N, please. I want them gone by the time I get back.”

She turned to leave before she remembered something that had her turning right back, “You have Miss Walker’s contact information, correct?” You nodded at her again. “Great. Try to get ahold of her, will you? The sooner we figure this out the better.”

“Sure thing Ms. Lightbody.” You told her, waving her off, your voice sounding a hundred times more confident than you felt. 

You watched her walk out the back door to make her phone call, and you paused for a moment, unsure what to do first. You turned and pulled out your phone. Heading for the door Ms. Lightbody just walked out of, you pulled up your message thread with Lexi.

girl WRU !!!

you were needed like 30 mins ago !!!! 

get here-

You bumped into someone, your phone flying out of your hand before you could send that last one. You would’ve been sent flying backward if the person hadn’t gripped your waist tight to keep you steady.

“Woah, careful.”

You’d know that voice anywhere. Peter. 

“Parker,” you said, backing away quickly. “What are you doing here?” And you don’t mean for it to come out as harsh as it did but…there’s just a lot on your plate right now. 

And it seems he can tell. He bent over to grab your phone, placing it back in your hands. “The lady at the office saw me walking by and asked me to drop these off.” He waved a big bag you hadn’t noticed in his other hand. 

You reached for it, saying, “Oh my god, perfect.” At the same time, he asked, “Are you okay?”

You completely ignored him, taking the bag from his hands. Turning around, you caught Jack walking by at just the right moment. “Jack! Here,” you called him over, “Those supplies you guys were asking for.”

“Sweet, thanks Y/N/N!” He said, leaning in to give you a quick hug. You smile but then quickly shove him away, “Thank J, but you really need to go finish. Like, right now.”

He straightened his posture and saluted you. “Ma’am yes ma’am!” He said, then he turned to Peter, who had been watching the whole exchange, “Sup Parker.” He sent a little head nod towards him, as he started walking away. 

Peter returned it, brows slightly furrowed as he looked between the two of you, “Hey man.” 

You started walking around, trying to count up how many people there were who weren’t a part of the cast or crew. 

One, two, three-

You felt a hand placed on your shoulder and you turned quickly, only to see Peter still hasn’t left. 

You looked at him in disbelief. The nerve of this guy. There’s no way he seriously thinks you’re going to talk about the two of you right now, is there?

“How are you?” He asks again and you’ve never found someone dumber than you did right now. 

“Hello?! Things aren’t going too hot in case you can’t tell, and you aren’t exactly helping right now!”

He nodded, “Okay. What can I do to help?”

You scoffed. “I don’t know, leave. It’s so crowded in here and I have to get all these extra people out. Shit,” you smacked your forehead. “I forgot I have to find Lexi. Fuck! And I have to-.”

“Y/N!” Someone shouted your name for the umpteenth time that night. You turned and met Vanessa, one of the people in charge of makeup. 

“We’re out of setting powder.”

“What?!”

She winces. “I know, I’m so sorry. We thought we had enough but then some of the boys were playing and knocked over-,”

You waved her off, not wanting to hear the rest of it. “Okay, okay. Do none of the other girls have any extra? Is no one willing to lend you some?”

She shook her head. “No! I already asked. I don’t know what to do.”

“I’ll get you some.” Peter stepped in. “Just send me a picture of what it looks like and I’ll be back in ten minutes tops.”

Vanessa gasped, “Dude. You’re a lifesaver. Y/N,” she met your eyes, “your boyfriend is a lifesaver!”

“Oh he’s not-,” you started, but she was already walking away. You turned towards Peter, the disbelief on your face getting stronger every time you looked at him today. 

You started shaking your head, “What on earth are you doing Parker?”

“Helping you.” He said as if it were the easiest thing on earth. He wondered if you were making a conscious effort not to say his first name. 

Your head wouldn’t stop shaking left and right. “What? What do you- I don’t-,”

He cut you off, “And I’m gonna get rid of all the people who don’t belong here too.” He looked around the room before looking down at you. “You, just…take care of yourself Y/N. Don’t stress too much, it’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure you even have the time?”

Shit. 

His face fell and you immediately felt guilt seep into your bones. 

“Peter I’m so-,” 

He cut you off again, his voice quieter this time. “No, that was..that was fair. But I mean it.” He raised his voice, sounding more sure now. “I’m going to help you out.”

He stepped away from you suddenly, leaving you standing with your mouth agape. He walked to the end of the room, stopping right before the door. “Alright, everyone! Listen up,” He clapped his hands together, his voice booming around the room. Everyone quieted down to hear him.

“Unless you had some part in putting all this together, I’m going to need you to follow me out right now. Let everyone do their thing, we don’t need to bother them any more than we already have.”

Everyone was still for a second.

“And,” he continued, “Ms. Lightbody gave me permission to start handing out detentions.”

That got everyone moving. Your brows furrowed as a sea of students started moving through the room and out the door. Ms. Lightbody did no such thing. 

Peter stood to the side, holding the door open. It had come down to the last few people and Peter held back a boy. “You,” he told him, “I’m gonna need you to stay outside this door and make sure no one enters unless they’re part of the cast or crew. We can’t have that happening again.”

“Oh shit. Like a bouncer?” The kid asked eagerly.

Peter stared for a bit before he nodded. “Yeah man, exactly. And listen,” he pointed at you, “if you’re not sure, you ask her, alright?”

The boy turned towards you and you offered him a smile. “Damn! She’s smokin’!” He exclaimed. If you weren’t so busy, you might’ve blushed.

Peter narrowed his eyes, and it seemed like he was considering something before he quickly shook his head. He grabbed the boy by the shoulder and placed him on the outside of the door. 

“Vanessa!” He shouted. “Send me a picture of the powder, I’m going right now.”

“Already sent Pete, thanks!” She shouted back, giving him a thumbs up from where she was standing by the makeup chairs. 

Pete? Why would she call him Pete? She doesn’t know him like that. I used to call him Pete-

You stopped your train of thought. You could not afford to think like that right now.

“Perfect.” He said, he made to move away but his eyes met yours and he froze. “I’m gonna…” he trailed off, feet stuck to the ground as his thumb pointed to the door. 

“Of course,” you nodded quickly. “And Peter,” you stop him before he turns to go, “thank you. So much.” You hoped your voice carried the sincerity you felt.

He smiled at you softly, “Anything for you Y/N/N.”

This time, you did blush. You turned away before he could see you and placed a palm on your forehead. 

“Wow,” a voice said from beside you. Brad. “Didn’t know Parker had that in him.”

“Yeah,” you whispered, “me either.”

“Hey, where’s Lexi?” Someone in the room asked. You felt your heart drop. Lexi. You’d completely forgotten about her after that whole thing with Peter. 

You had a show that needed to start in less than an hour and your star still hadn’t shown up. 

You pulled out your phone again, pulling up her contact. You were about to hit the ‘call’ button but right then, Ms. Lightbody walked in. 

She was holding her phone to her ear, and she was staring straight at you, her face full of dread.

“Lexi can’t make it. She’s got some type of flu, she can’t get out of bed. I am on the phone with her mother right now.”

Your jaw dropped. Chatter broke out everywhere. The kids were panicking, wondering what to do now, now that the lead of the whole show wasn’t going to be here.

Fuck. You should’ve known, yesterday when you saw her. But you were stupid enough to believe it was just lack of sleep. You should’ve figured it out faster so you could’ve planned something. Stupid, stupid, stupid-

“Miss Y/L/N.” You looked up when you heard your name. “She’s asking to speak to you.” Ms. Lightbody holds her phone out for you to take. 

Your eyes widen, “Me?”

She nodded, hand still outstretched toward you. You swallowed and walked your way toward her. You reached for the phone and held it to your ear. The chatter around the room stopped, everyone straining to hear what was going to happen next.

“Hello?”

“It wasn’t the Axe Body Spray.”

You barked out a laugh at the unexpected joke. “Lex! Be serious, what happened.”

“I got sick when I got home from rehearsal yesterday, I’ve been asleep since.” It was then that you heard how different her voice sounded. Nasally and broken, like she’d swallowed a lawn mower. 

“My mom’s only woken me up about twice to drink some medicine,” she continued, breaking into a fit of coughing at the end of her sentence. Yeah, maybe it was a good thing she didn’t come.

“Lex,” you repeated, sounding more desperate this time, “what’re we gonna do?”

“Wait,” someone in the room with you starts, “what about her understudy?”

“There is no understudy, dumbass!” Someone quipped right back. 

“You,” Lexi said. 

“Huh?” You replied. 

“You, Y/N.” She repeated. “You need to do it. You need to play Stephanie. No one else could do it. You know all the lines. You know the whole play.”

You paled. “Be so fucking for real with me right now Lexi Walker.”

“I am.” She said seriously. Or, as seriously as she could sound when she had to cough after every other word she spoke.

People were leaning in now, trying to hear what was going on between the two of you. You ignored them, “Lex, there’s no way. You know I can’t do that.”

“Oh my god!” Someone shouted. Lacy. “Y/N! Y/N can do it!”

You shook your head quickly. “No! I can’t!” You replied to her, the phone still pressed to your ear.

“You have to, Y/N, please, for me. You know how much this means to me. You’re the only person I trust,” Lexi begged

There are shouts from your cast-mates now, encouraging you to take the role when that was the last thing you wanted to do.

“Lex, babe,” you tried to reason, “I didn’t rehearse as much as you did! I don’t know it like you.”

“No,” she agreed, “you know it better. All that time you spent, going over every detail of the set, the costumes, the script. It was for this. Now please, you know you can do it.”

You paused. You didn’t want to, but it was really looking like you had no choice. You looked around at everyone in the room, they all worked so hard, hell, you worked so hard to make this happen. You weren’t gonna let it all be for nothing.

You rubbed your temple with one hand, the other holding the phone up to your ear. “Do you guys really think I can do it?” You looked around at everyone, hoping they’d answer honestly.

A chorus of agreement rang out from the group but Ms. Lightbody stepped in. “Miss Y/L/N,” she started, “I know none of this has been ideal. And I know we’re asking a lot. You didn’t come in today expecting to step onto that stage, but right now, that’s what we need. And I think we would all appreciate your help in these unexpected circumstances.”

You stared at her for a moment. You always wondered why she spoke so formally all the time, maybe one day you’ll ask her.

“Sure, I’m down.” You shrugged and everyone started cheering. 

“Oh good,” Lexi sighed, “cause I need to go throw up right now, so bye. Tell everyone to take lots of photos and videos for me please!”

You winced. “We will Lex, you just work on feeling better. Now go, I love you.”

“Love you too babe.” She replied before hanging up quickly. 

“Alright,” Ms. Lightbody started pushing you to the makeup chairs. “Have a seat Y/N. Girls,” she turned toward the makeup crew. “Get started on her, afterward, take her to hair and then, get her into her costume.”

They all chorused an agreement and started fussing over you. You were one of the last people to get ready, everyone one else having already had their turn. 

With so many people working on you, your makeup was done in no time. Soon, only Vanessa was left and she was powdering your face.

“Peter came back?” You asked her once you realized what she was holding in her hands. 

She nodded. “Yeah, a few minutes ago, but he didn’t come in, left the stuff with the dude outside the door who’s calling himself our ‘bouncer’.”

You nodded, “Oh okay.”

“You’ve got a great boyfriend Y/N, seriously. Not many guys I know would help out like that, no matter…”

You zoned out while she was doing the finishing touches on your face. Not many guys you know either, Peter included. Or at least, the Peter you’d come to find yourself in a relationship with. The old Peter, however, would’ve done anything for you, and you for him. You got a glimpse of him earlier tonight and you wondered what it was that triggered that. 

The few moments of silence gave you time to go over everything that's been happening recently in your head. You’ve had a hectic past few weeks, but especially this last week. With the last few rehearsals, everything with Peter, everything with Spider-Man. Oh…

And then there was him…

There was a moment yesterday. You tried to gaslight yourself into thinking you imagined it but you didn’t. It was real. Until you ruined it.

You’d gone to bed late last night, staying on the roof even after he’d left in case he decided to come back so you could apologize again. You’d felt downright terrible all night. And this morning. 

It was none of your business to ask him to take off his mask. Who the hell did you think you were? There might’ve been something before but there was no way…not after the way he reacted last night. You’d pissed him off. And now you’d lost another friend.

“There you go!” Vanessa said, pulling back from your face and grinning. She held up a mirror for you to take a look. “What do you think? I think it matches Stephanie’s description pretty well, no?”

You gasped, “Oh my god Vanessa, this is exactly how I pictured her! When all this is over you have to teach me how to do my eyeliner like this.”

“Deal.” She grinned.

Suddenly, Ms. Lightbody walked by. “Who is that child standing outside the door?” She asked. Vanessa shot you a look and you subtly shook your head at her, and at anyone who turned towards you. 

No one answered her. “He asked me for my ID?!” You choked back a laugh. “He doesn’t even go here!” She continued. Everyone successfully avoided her, playing busy with whatever task they had in front of them. Vanessa kept brushing over your face with a clean brush while you both fought back smiles.

“Y/N!” Ms. Lightbody called. You shot out of your chair and approached her. “Yes ma’am?”

“Is your makeup all done?” You nodded while she examined your face. “Very well, head over to hair, we need everyone ready soon! Curtain opens in 15!”

That last one was directed at everybody and you could feel the shift in the atmosphere. If everyone wasn’t working before, they were now. 

You headed over to hair and let one of the people there pin it up for you. After that, you were held into your costume, your friends pulling on layer after layer before finally, you were completely ready. 

You looked in the mirror. “I look I came out a Jane Austen novel,” you murmured. 

Lacy, who stood beside you, laughed. “And it suits you! You look beautiful Y/N, stunningly classic. Very vintage.” She nodded in approval. 

You turned towards her and smiled, “Thank you, Lace.” You sucked in a breath and ran your hand down the hem of your costume. “I’m nervous,” you admitted shyly. 

“Don’t be,” she replied, voice soft. “Hey, if you could pull off that scavenger hunt, this should be a piece of cake.” She smirked wickedly at you. 

You laughed, “Actually, you’re right.”

“I always am.” she shrugged

“SHOWTIME EVERYONE, GET IN YOUR PLACES!” Ms. Lightbody’s voice boomed across the whole backstage. 

You both looked at each other. “Break a leg.” She grinned at you. 

You grinned right back. You could handle this. 

The anxiety from before had mostly worn off. Now, all you felt were nervous jitters and even a little excitement. Everyone was right, you knew everything about this play like the back of your hand, and you were looking forward to being out there with people you’d come to think of as friends. 

You got into place, standing beside Brad and some of your other cast-mates who were going to be in this first scene with you.

“Hey,” he said, voice low and he looked down at you with a large smile on his face. 

“Hi,” you replied, smiling right back. 

“Don’t think I got the chance to tell you, but I’m really happy you’re doing this.”

“Yeah, I think I am too.”

“Curtain warmers on?” Ms. Lightbody spoke into a little headset. “Perfect. And…action!”

The lights blinded you for a second, once the curtain opened, and you had to stop yourself from turning your face away. In the beat you had before the scene came to life, you chanced a glance at the crowd. You really wished you hadn’t. 

Peter Parker was sitting front row. 

As quickly as you looked, you averted your gaze, but not before you noticed a few things. Beside him sat Ned, and in the row behind them, right behind Ned’s chair, sat MJ. And all three of them had their mouths hanging open. You had to fight down the heat threatening to rise to your face. 

You never told them, hell, you didn’t even know. What were they gonna think? There was no way you could pull this off, you were all fooling yourselves, everyone was wrong and-

The first line was delivered, and it all came to life. 

You were panting, running backstage. There was a small intermission at the moment, and you had just changed your outfit, from the simple gown you were adorning, to a bigger one. This one was more detailed and more eye-catching. It was supposed to be special because it was meant for the last scene of the whole play. The confession. Your kiss with Brad.

In the heat of the moment, you’d forgotten that specific detail. And as you sat down in the makeup chair again and one of the girls reapplied your lipstick, it was all you could think about. 

You had to kiss Brad. And Peter would be sitting front row watching the whole thing. 

That shouldn’t matter. First of all, it was all part of an act. Even if you were still with Peter, (which you weren’t. You had to keep reminding yourself of that little detail) it wouldn’t have mattered because you were doing it for the play. A play you weren’t even planning on being a part of, acting-wise, of course. 

And then there was Spider-Man. If there was anyone you had to be kissing right now, you wished it was him. But there was no chance of that happening after last night. You wondered how he was feeling right now. He’d probably tell you to relax and stop stressing yourself out. 

The thought made you take in a breath through your mouth, and slowly exhale from your nose. Just like he’d taught you. You felt yourself relax and, not for the first time that night, you decided that you needed to just get through tonight. And then you could worry about everything else. 

The girl helping you with your makeup (you didn’t recognize her, but appreciated the help nonetheless) pulled away and smiled. “Alright, I think you’re good to go.” 

“Thank you.” You smiled back and stood from your chair.

Ms. Lightbody approached you, placing a hand on your shoulder, “Come on, Miss Y/L/N. We need to get you in place.”

You nodded as she led you to the wing on the side of the stage, the curtains were still down, and by the time they opened again, you would be standing on the makeshift balcony (built by the props team), soon to be joined by Brad. 

You went to approach the steps of the balcony when you felt her hold you back.

“I wanted to thank you again Y/N. I know we were all planning on Miss Walker doing all this but honestly…I couldn’t be prouder.”

Your heart warmed at her confession. You were upset you didn’t get to see Lexi shine like you’d been planning but you hoped you’d do her proud. You were glad to know you did Ms. Lightbody proud. 

Without saying a word, you throw your arms around her in a warm embrace. She quickly reciprocated. 

“I know we’ve all given you a hard time these past few weeks, and we don’t say it enough but we appreciate you. All of us.”

You both pulled back and her eyes were full of emotion. “Thank you Y/N, truly. Now go, I’ll get Mr. Davis ready.”

You nodded and stepped onto the set, positioning yourself at the end of the balcony. The balcony protruded from the side of the stage and covered a quarter of it. The backdrop you’d been appreciating just yesterday now stood to your side. You saw parts of it glitter from the light leaking in from backstage and you stifled a laugh.

Soon, the curtain opened. You’d grown used to the lights by now, welcoming their glow over your face. You gripped the railing and played broken-hearted, right now, Stephanie and Gabriel had just had a falling out during a ball and you had run out onto the balcony to get some air. 

“Stephanie.” Brad approached behind you, and you turned around in fake shock.

The hardest part about acting, you’d come to find, was keeping a serious face and not laughing at yourself or your partner.

“Leave me be, Gabriel.” You waved a hand at him, turning away. 

He caught your arm and held it gently between the two of you, standing so close, you were trapped between the railing and him.

“I can’t,” he said, his voice strangled. He looked down at you, face so pained, you almost believed him. 

And so it began, the two of you going back and forth, delivering your lines, monologues about your feelings for each other, and how nothing in the world mattered except holding the other person, even for a moment. 

Brad was finishing up, he was pacing back and forth in front of you while you listened intently.

“…And all this, because I love you.” He stopped in front of you now, hands coming up to cup your face. You did your best to get your expression to convey the love you (or Stephanie) were supposed to be feeling and then it happened. 

Brad leaned, crashing his lips onto yours. You throw your arms around him, meeting him just as eagerly, and tried your best not to think about all the people currently watching suck each other’s faces off. One of his hands traveled down to your waist while the other moved from your cheek to hold the back of your head as he dipped you. Cheers broke out across the crowd. 

You two stayed locked together like that for a few moments as the curtains closed, and then you broke apart. You were both panting, faces flushed, but you didn’t have time to think about what just happened. You and Brad had started moving off the balcony and onto the actual stage itself, the other members of the cast and crew joining you to take the final bow. 

You all lined up across the stage, hands interlocked. With you and Brad in the middle, the curtains opened. You could still hear the applause before, but now, it got even louder and you couldn’t help the big smile that overtook your face. People were whistling, and clapping, someone was even throwing roses. You all took a bow together, and rose together, throwing your interlocked hands in the air. 

Your body was buzzing with adrenaline. It was over, you’d actually done it. You could see Ms. Lightbody standing to the side, gleaming with pride at you all. 

Soon, you all let go of each other and started embracing and exchanging congratulations. Brad turned toward you and pulled you into a tight hug, lifting you up a little. You laughed, holding onto him just as tight. The applause seemed never-ending, even as you all started walking off stage. 

Now backstage, there was a buzz in the air. Not the same as a couple hours ago, which had been anxiety and nerves. This was triumph, pride, and adrenaline. 

“Alright everyone,” Ms. Lightbody approached the center of the room once everyone had reconvened. “We’ve finally finished. And it was a hit.”

That caused everyone to start whooping and shouting. She rolled her eyes but even she couldn’t hide the smile creeping onto her face. 

She held up a hand, “Okay. I just wanted to let you all know, how proud I am of each and every single one of you. You all worked so hard to make this happen and you worked through every problem that came your way.” She gave you a pointed look and the cheers started up again. 

You hid your face in your hands as your friends pulled you into side hugs. “And I just wanted to say,” she continued. “We’ve all had a long night. Leave the cleaning for another day, everyone, go celebrate!”

She waved her hands and everyone started cheering again, moving as one to the back door to meet up with their friends and family. 

As soon as you entered the hall you were bombarded by thanks and praises from your friends. You thanked them and threw their compliments right back at them, saying that this whole thing was a group effort. 

You were flying from one group to another, everyone shouting your name. You were currently with Noah, Jack, and Lacy, telling them how good a job they did on the sets when you heard your name being shouted out again.

You turned around and saw MJ. Grinning, you excused yourself from the group and charged at her, pulling her into a hug without giving her any time to protest. To your surprise, she pulled you in just as tight. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” She mumbled into your hair. 

“Oh my god,” you started, “MJ it was insane. It all happened so fast, that Lexi got sick, so she didn’t show up! And I knew all the lines and stuff so I had to step in cause no one thought of casting an understudy and-,”

You pulled back from the hug but kept your hands on her shoulders. “Oh my god, what did you think? Was it bad? You can tell me -,”

“No! No way, holy shit Y/N, it was so good!” 

“Seriously?” you smiled at her. “What happened to the whole ‘school productions are so cringe’ mindset?”

“That was before her best friend was starring in one,” said Ned. You hadn’t realized he was standing beside you two, with Peter beside him.

“Don’t worry, Y/N,” He continued. “The show was amazing. And you popping up on stage was a fun surprise.”

You grinned at him. “Thank you, Ned! I’m so happy you all made it.” You looked at Peter and offered him a small smile. He’d really helped you out today, and the fact that he’d made it to the actual show, and stuck it out till the end, meant a lot as well. 

“Oh of course we made it!” Ned cut it, putting your attention back on him. “Petey here wouldn’t shut up about it. Went out and bought you flowers and everything.”

Your mouth fell open at his words, and for the first time, you noticed the large bouquet in Peter’s arms. You saw Peter nudge his friend hard and Ned winced before his face lit up in understanding. He grabbed MJ by the hand (which she quickly yanked back from him) and said, “Ok, well we’re gonna go talk to someone else. Congrats Y/N!” But you didn’t have a chance to reply before he was scurrying off, MJ with him. 

You stared at them for a bit before turning all your attention to Peter. He cleared his throat before saying, “Hey.”

“Hi.”

“These are for you,” he said, holding out the bouquet of fresh flowers. You accepted them from him and brought them up to your nose, taking in a whiff of the sweet scent. 

“My favorite.” You whispered, fingers lightly tracing the petals. 

He nodded. “Yeah, um, I saw them and I thought you might like them. Especially with everything, you know,” he gestured vaguely, “thought you’d like some flowers.”

Your heart warmed at the thought that he saw your favorite flowers while he was out and thought of you. “Thank you, really. But you didn’t have to do that.”

“I wanted to.” He admitted. 

You looked around, unable to meet his eyes. You focused on the floor, “Well thanks Parker, that was really sweet of you.”

He sighed, “Y/N please, I don’t want to-,”

But he got cut off by someone shouting your name. “Y/N!” Brad approaches you two. He looked Peter up and down before turning to you, “Hey, so the whole cast and stuff is going out for ice cream in our costumes, thought it’d be fun. Wanna join?”

Your face lit up, “Of course!” 

He grinned right back at you. “Great. Come on, they’re leaving now.

You turned towards Peter, whose expression looked harder than before. “Listen, thank you so much for your help today, it means a lot. And thank you for the flowers.”

He nodded but his attention was on Brad. He finally turned toward you, his expression notably softening, “Like I said before, anything for you Y/N/N.”

You stayed there for a bit, caught in his eyes, unable to look away. It isn’t until Brad places a hand on your shoulder that you realize you’ve been staring.

“Ready to go?” He asked. You nodded and turned to leave. As you were walking out the door, you turned to look over your shoulder. You weren’t even sure why, but as you did, you caught Peter already staring. You sent him a little wave and he returned it before turning and walking away himself, shoving his hands in his pockets. 

You walked to the ice cream shop with the others, still holding your flowers. And after everything that happened today, all you could think about was Peter. 

You had a blast. The ice cream shop was packed with a bunch of high school kids in old-timesy clothing, laughing and joking with each other. 

Brad had paid for your ice cream, despite your multiple refusals, claiming that they all owed you for stepping in and saving their asses.

“Consider it a thank you for that great kiss earlier.” He winked before walking off. 

That had gotten you to shut up. 

You all sat at tables surrounding each other, even pushing some together. You ate your ice cream in peace, joining the conversation every now and then to make a joke. 

Someone had gotten Lexi on the phone and you all said hello. She congratulated you and you thanked her, letting her know you thought it should’ve been her on that stage instead. She made some joke about ‘if you wanted the whole front row to be covered in vomit, then I totally should’ve been there, you’re right.’ And you all laughed.  

You had noticed Jack and Lacy moved to their own spot across the store. They were laughing together with Jack’s arm around her cocooning them from the world. It seemed they had finally gotten together and you couldn’t be more happy for them.

For some reason, the only thing on your mind was Spider-Man. It was silly but all you could think about was finding a way to make things right with him. It sucked that you had no way to reach him, but you’d decided to wait on the roof tonight, hoping he’d see you while swinging and stop by. Even if he left right after you apologized, you wouldn’t mind. You just wanted to see him. 

You realized how late it was getting, and that it was usually now when you met up with him. So you'd asked Martha, (her mom helped with costumes, but she worked on the props) for a ride back since she had a car and lived in an apartment building near yours. 

She quickly agreed, claiming she was ready to go too, but she had to walk back to the school to grab her car. 

So you’d waited, but you couldn’t fight off your anxiety. Your leg kept bouncing up and down. You stayed like that for a while before Brad put a hand on your knee, stopping the action.

“You alright,” he asked, some sort of half-smile on his face. You looked at him then and thought, I can see why people like you Brad. He was kind, he was funny, he was fairly handsome, pretty popular too. And yet all you could think about was heading back home and waiting for someone you didn’t even really know. 

You nodded, “Yeah, I’m just waiting for Martha to pull up.”

“I could walk you home if you wanted.” He offered. 

You smiled but shook your head, “No, but thank you, I’m kind of in a rush.”

“Everything alright?”

“Everything’s fine.” You assured him. “Just…tired.”

“Yeah,” he nodded at you. “I get that. But hey.”

You looked up at him expectantly. 

“Before you go there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”

Your eyes shot open. “Oh?” You said, and it felt oddly reminiscent of that moment the two of you shared in the hall. 

“Yeah. Would you wanna go out with me sometime?”

“Like a date?” You blurted out. Like an idiot, you thought. You knew it was coming and yet you’re acting like he just told you he was Taylor Swift. 

He smiled at you and nodded, “Yeah, like a date.”

Oh Martha, where are you?

You were silent for a few seconds before you cleared your throat. There was no crawling away this time, no Peter running to interrupt. You had to face this. 

“I really like you Brad but…I can’t out with you.”

His expression fell a little, but he didn’t look surprised. “It’s Parker, isn’t it?”

You were taken aback. “Huh?”

He nodded his head towards and flowers lying in your lap, “Parker. I saw you two today. When he was helping before the show, that was all for you. He sat front row before he even knew you were going to be on that stage.”

You blew out a breath and ran a hand through your hair, which you’d taken out of its updo. “I don’t know.” You told him honestly. “I don’t know and that’s the problem. Things are still really weird between me and him, and going out with you? That wouldn’t be fair to me or you.” And the other person you couldn’t wait to see.

He nodded again, understanding coating his features. “I get that, but hey,” he smiled at you, “we’re still friends right?”

You grinned wide, relief flowing through you. The last thing you’d wanted to do was hurt his feelings and you were so glad he was taking this so well. 

“Of course we are,” you replied honestly. Right then, your phone started ringing and you stood up to answer. Martha was outside waiting for you.

You walked back to your table, saying your goodbyes to everyone. You were pulled into hugs and thanked a few more times. You really wanted to take your time but you couldn’t stop the part of you that wanted to rush home and sprint onto the rooftop. 

As soon as you were out the door you were sprinting to the car. You spent the whole ride anxiously fiddling with the bouquet of flowers from Peter. 

You barely thanked her as you stepped out the door, closing it and waving goodbye as she pulled away. 

You rushed straight up the stairs, wasting no minute. You felt hopeful, for the first time in a long time. You were going to make sure he knew you were sorry, make sure the two of you remained friends. 

You stepped onto the roof, the wind blowing around you. Only then did you realize you were still in your costume. That didn’t matter though, you didn’t want to risk going down to change. And you were sure that if he did stop by tonight, he would love to hear about the crazy day you had. 

You stepped close to the ledge, setting the bouquet down by your feet and you leaned over slightly, trying to catch a glimpse of the hero you’d come to think of as a friend. 

A weird sense of familiarity washed over you, and you realized, this was exactly what you’d been doing a few hours ago. Standing on that makeshift balcony, waiting for your lover to come so you could make amends. Except, this wasn’t a fake balcony, and there was no way you and Spider-Man were lovers, barely friends at best. But still, there was something familiar there.

You waited. And waited. Just when you were starting to give up hope, you heard the small thwip you’d come to realize signaled his arrival. Soon after, you heard a pair of feet land in the middle of your rooftop. 

You turned toward him, heart racing. For a moment neither of you said anything, just stared at each other, but you quickly decided you needed to get your words out before he left again like last night.

“I am so sorry. I’ve been so worried since last night that I upset you and I can't stand it, please would you-,”

Oh….oh.

Before you could even inhale to get your next word out, he was walking towards you, ripping his mask off, gripping your face, and pulling you into a deep kiss.

You didn’t even get to see him but that was the last thought on your mind. He was kissing you. And it was perfect. Your hands flew up to his hair, and you tugged slightly, making him kiss you even harder.

His mouth moved against yours like he’d been waiting his whole life to do this, and couldn’t believe he finally got the chance. You met him just as eagerly, for each kiss, trying to memorize the feeling of his lips on yours.

Something about this, all of it, felt so, so familiar. But every time you made to pull away, his lips chased yours and you couldn’t help but give in. 

Soon enough you both pulled away to catch your breaths, eyes still shut as you leaned into each other, foreheads touching. You enjoyed the moment for a bit, and then you opened your eyes, about to make a joke about how that was an interesting way to accept an apology.

You gasped out loud, hands flying up to cover your mouth as you stumbled backward. 

“Oh my god,” you whispered. “Oh my god.”

“Y/N/N, I’m so sorry,” he says. Peter says. Because it’s Peter standing in front of you right now and he didn’t seem to be the least bit taken aback by your reaction.

You’re unsure what to say to him, your head is reeling and you can't breathe. 

“Oh my god,” you repeated, your voice barely a breath. 

“Y/N, please, please let me explain.” He stepped toward you and reached out a hand. 

You shook your head so quick, that you thought you might give yourself whiplash. “No. This,” you pointed at him, “is so sick, Peter.” Your voice broke at the end and you tried to fight back the tears that were already burning in your eyes. 

His eyes widened. “Y/N I promise you, it’s not what you think-,”

“What do you think I think Peter?” You asked him, voice full of exasperation. “Because I think, you lied to me. I think, you played me for a fool. I think, you’re sick and twisted for sitting here with me every night and playing friends with me. Asking me about my day, pretending to care. Fuck, asking me about my ex. Continuously,

“I think,” you continued, tears flowing freely now, voice shaky and weak, but still conveying your anger. “I think you got me to trust you, again. Just so you could stomp all over every bit of me, again!”

“It’s not like that Y/N, it was never like that. Please, believe me, sweetheart. Please don’t cry.” He begged, looking like it was taking every muscle in his body to hold himself back from pulling you in again. 

“Why should I believe you?” You snapped at him. It was hard for him to believe that, just a minute ago, he was holding you again. Kissing you like nothing else in the world mattered. He’d give anything to have that back.

“Because every moment we had out here was real! Every concern, every question. I was never playing pretend, I just, ugh!” He groaned out loud, dropping his head in his hands, and tugging his hair tightly before looking up at you again. “I fucked up Y/N,” his voice is watery, and because you can’t undo the time you spent together, as Peter and as Spider-Man, you can’t help the strong impulses you feel to hold him tight. But you stand your ground and wait for him to continue.

“First when I didn’t tell you about this,” he said gesturing towards his suit. “Which has its own reasons. And then again, when I bailed on you all those times, which was because of this. And again when I let you walk away from me that night at school. I should’ve fought for you, I should’ve shown up more, I should’ve shown up every time and never given you any reason to not trust me,

“But I didn’t. And you called things off… And at that moment, all I could think was you, walking down the streets of New York, crying, and distracted.” He shuddered and your heart fell. You’d never thought of it like that. “You don’t know the things I’ve seen,” he said, looking up at you, eyes red and face flushed. 

“So I thought I’d just walk you home, make sure you got there safely, and then I’d start staying away. But it was you,” his voice broke. “And you were so upset and all I could think was that it’s my fault and I hated myself. So when you invited me to hang out on the roof with you, I thought I’d show up, try to cheer you up a little,

“And you made me tea, that night,” he laughed softly. “I don’t think you even realized, but you made it the way I always drink my tea. My favorite.” Your mouth fell open a little when you realized you had, in fact, made his favorite tea that night. He’d told you during a late-night conversation before you two had started dating, and ever since, it was the only tea you drank. 

“So I had to stay,” he continued. “And then we started talking, and you were joking, and telling me things I had no idea about. And I never wanted to leave,” he admitted softly. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” You asked him, pointing at his mask on the floor, voice raspy from the tears still clogged in your throat. “When we were still together? I’ll bet that's why you were always bailing, isn’t it?”

He looked down and nodded. “It is. Or was. I wanted to,” he looked up at you suddenly, his face so sincere, that you could feel the desperation in his next words. “God Y/N, you have no idea how many times I almost did. But I stopped myself every time because the risks of you knowing were too high.”

“Risks?” You asked confused.

He nodded, “I’ve met a lot of people. Bad people. And if the one catches wind of this, of you? If someone ever tried something, I’d never forgive myself.” He looked away shaking his head.

“So no one knows?”

He shook his head again. “Only Ned and May.”

“Ned knows?” You knew they were best friends, but really?

“It's not like that, no.” He waved his hand. “He found out by accident. He was waiting in my room one day, and I crawled in through the window ‘cause I didn’t see him.”

You huff out a breath from your nose. That was so Peter. You’d bet money that May found out in some similar situation.

“Wait,” you started, “if we went through all of that, and you still didn’t tell me, why tell me now?”

“Because I can’t stand to be away from you any longer.” His voice sounded broken, like he’d been dying to get that off his chest.

He stepped closer again, and you didn’t push him away this time, much to his surprise. He doesn’t stop until he’s standing right in front of you.

“I’ll protect you from anything or anyone that may come your way. I’d do anything for you sweetheart,” he repeated his words from earlier and you felt something grow in your chest. One of his hands came up to cup your cheek, the other, moving to your waist. Your hands rose up to lay on his chest. 

“God, you have no idea how much it was killing me to sit beside you all those nights and not be able to touch you.” He whispered, staring straight into your eyes. 

You met his gaze. You believed him, every word. You’d known Peter for years, you knew when he was lying to you, which was part of why you broke up with him. You knew he was lying to you, or holding something back from you, you just didn’t know what. But you still had a few more questions. 

“Last night. Why did you run off? Why didn’t you just tell me then?”

“Because I was a coward,” he admitted, expression sad. “I was enjoying it all too much, I wasn’t ready to ruin it yet. I still couldn’t believe I found a way to still talk to you, and you were asking to see me,” he blew out a breath.

Yeah, obviously that didn’t initially start well. 

You nodded. “And when you kept asking me about you. About my ex and how I felt about him, why?” That part still had you confused

He looked up, closing his eyes, “I won’t lie to you sweetheart, that was just me being a dumbass. That was complete selfishness and…,”

He trailed off. “And what?” You questioned him. There was some unspoken thing you two were doing right now, that you could ask anything, and he’d answered honestly. It was the least he could do. 

“And jealously,” he finished quietly, looking down at the ground.

“Jealousy?” You repeated, still confused. “But who would you be jealous of…oh.”

And it was then that you realized how you’d talked about Brad to Spider-Man (before you knew who he was of course), and how, right after, when he’d asked about Peter, you’d said something about just trying to forget the whole thing. You had to hold back a laugh when you remembered all that. Poor guy must’ve been going insane. 

He nodded. “You kept talking about that Brad guy and talking about trying to get over me. And I hated that you seemed to be getting over me so quick. Like I said, completely selfish. I'm sorry.”

“No,” you shook your head, “that makes sense actually. But seriously Peter..” You trailed off, shaking your head again.

Worry crept onto his features, “I know I messed up Y/N/N, big time, but I’m willing to do anything-,”

“You really thought I was into Brad?” You asked, wrinkling your nose up at him. 

He let out a breath of relief, before laughing a little. God, he was so happy you were joking with him. 

He leaned down and pressed his forehead against yours, “I’m sorry sweetheart.”

“You’re forgiven,” you told him, the sincerity in your tone impossible to miss, and he knew you were talking about more than the crazy jealousy. 

He looked down into your eyes, his gaze so intense you almost went to look away. “I’m the luckiest man alive,” he whispered, his voice so low, you wondered if he even meant to say it out loud.

His eyes flickered down to your lips, and you took that as your cue. You leaned in, closing the gap between you. He kissed you back instantly. It was softer than the one earlier, but way more meaningful. Every press of his lips on yours felt like repairing something. Mending whatever it was that had broken between the two of you.

You pulled away first because you knew he wouldn’t, but he didn’t let you get far. He started planting kisses all over your face.

"Have I told you," Kiss. "How beautiful," Kiss. "I think you look tonight? And every night."

You laughed, face heating up at his compliments. "Thank you, Petey."

"I love it when you call me that." He said, grinning like a lovesick idiot. He leaned in and kissed your cheek one more time before he pulled away again. 

"I didn't like it." He said, a frown on his face.

"Didn't like what babe?" You asked, tilting your head up at him while your fingers played with the hair at the nape of his neck.

He let out a sigh, "The breakup. Being broken up. Not talking to you, as me, I mean. Not as Spider-Man. And I sure as hell didn't like seeing some other guy make out with my girl in front of everyone."

You laughed and you felt butterflies erupt in your stomach when he called you his girl. "Well don't worry," you told him, moving your hands to cup his face. "We're not doing that again, not if we can help it."

You leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the lips, before pulling away, which made him whine. 

 He moved his hands to your shoulder as he buried his face in your neck, breathing in your scent. 

“You drive me crazy, sweetheart.” He said, voice muffled by your skin. 

You giggled, “You drive me crazier, Peter Parker.”

‘crazier’ taglist: @coralineyouareinterribledanger @666yourmomdotcom

[bluelinen]

𝕴𝖓𝖋𝖑𝖚𝖊𝖓𝖈𝖊

Pairing: Friend's older brother!Choso x fem!Reader Synopsis: After a moment in the Kamo household the thread of your story has been entwined with those of the two boys who live there. One, a boy you met during your first semester of college who’s warm smile firmly burrowed it's way deep into your heart. The other, his older brother with an air of mystery and the sultry lingering scent of crushed cigarettes following close behind him. The way his eyes roam over you rocks your world and unbeknownst to even himself, he'd give anything, do anything just to keep your eyes fixed back squarely, solely onto him.

Your knuckles rapt several times on the wooden door and the moment your eyes caught sight of the figure behind it you knew you were done for.

Itadori had brought up his brother once or twice before. A quiet dude. Dishevelled looking, usually tired. Keeps to himself and almost never leaves his room, let alone his apartment. You expected something like that when Yuji sent a text informing you that he needed to get a few errands done so it’d be a while before he’d get back for that study session.

‘My big bro’ll be home, he’ll open up for you.’

Some hermit, a odd looking dude who looked like he’d never seen the light of day. While beholding him now you find that the description wasn't entirely a lie.. But god was it far from the truth.

Whatever.. whoever you expected, it wasn’t him.

The wooden door drew open and your face was immediately met with the faded print of the large t-shirt that fitted nicely over his broad chest.

You blinked. How tall was this guy? You considered yourself a pretty average height, a lot of guys were taller than you but this.. this was stupid. You had to actively tilt your head upwards and you obliged to do so, your eyes trailing upwards along the serpentine ink around his neck, the small head of the reptilian creature making an appearance just under the black stud in his left ear as the guy tilted his head to the side with indifference, stretching the muscles of his slender neck.

A soft yawn drew your attention to the lips that parted for its escape. You found it a lovely sound, a sound you wouldn’t mind hearing again once. Maybe twice. A couple more times actually..

You figured it wouldn't be long before you'd hear it again when your clear eyes flickered up to his far muddier ones. It was like he had just gotten out of bed. Sleeping a few minutes before begrudgingly coming to answer the door. Or rather attempting at sleeping, quite unsuccessfully as evidenced by the dark circles under his dark dark eyes.

Those deep brown lenses gave insight to no particular emotion or thought you found, but were still so mesmerising, so much so you almost didn’t register the large stripe of black tattooed over the bridge of his nose. Which was quite unprecedented considering the fact that it was the most noticeable feature of his face, stretching from the side of one cheek to the other. It was an unusual place for an unusual tattoo but you felt it fit him well as did his strong nose and his pretty.. pretty lips..

My god he was hot.

“You’re Yuji’s friend.. Right?” He asked, sluggishly blinking down at your form, his voice a mellow hum. A pale heavy hand reached up to scratch the back of his head, inching a few strands of hair out of it’s messy updo as he gazed somewhat skywards, seemingly addressing more himself than you. “He did say a friend was coming over...”

He blinked again and focused his eyes back onto you. “Uh.. You’re welcome to stay and wait for him till he comes back.”

You barely took in what he was saying, quite frankly struck dumb at the make of the man standing before you. There’s no way he was real.

You stared up at him, wide-eyed and an expression of slight bewilderment crosses over his. One eyebrow raising slightly, the twin piercings hooked into it moving with him as he took in your odd gaze. It wasn’t everyday he opened his door to find a stare like yours waiting for him. He shifted a little at his doorframe, waiting for your response to his offer.

A few seconds passed before you realised you’d been staring too long and your face warmed as you promptly swerved your gaze to the right, focusing on a small rut in the wall. You let out a nervous little laugh as you asked the obvious question. “Sorry, could you repeat that?”

His features relaxed as he observed the change in your manner, giving you a subtle smile as he leaned slightly against the doorway, a tattooed wrist sliding into the pocket of his loose pants. “Would you like to come in and wait for my brother?”

You nodded a little in embarrassment. “Yeah.. That’d be great.”

He moved to the side, giving you space to step in. “Come in.”

As you moved in through the front door you heard a sudden jingle and subconsciously reached for your phone only for the guy to already have his in hand, his brows narrowing slightly at the screen before he looks back over to you again.

“Yuji won’t be back for a while.” He began. You nodded.

“He said he’d be picking up some things didn’t he?”

He shook his head slightly. “That was before. He’ll be gone a lot longer than whatever time that was supposed to take him.”

You wondered what on earth he was talking about until he uttered the word ‘coach’ and it all made a lot more sense.

“Ah..” You sighed. It wasn’t long before the vibration in your pocket informed you of the same thing.

“He says he’ll get back as soon as he can..” Your eyes glance over the ‘sorry’ message on the screen.

Knowing that man he’d probably keep Yuji there till the very next morning. You wondered if you should just reschedule, who knew when he’d get back.. But you’d already made your way here and to make a journey all the way back to that bus stop just to wait on transport with that unreliable timetable, in the cold too, didn’t seem all that appealing. You had your materials and counted on studying all the difficult stuff with Yuji.

Not that he’d probably be of help or anything but struggling together would be fun.. and he did say the most surprisingly conductive things at times. You didn’t mind waiting for Yuji but you also made a glance at his older brother standing before you, arms crossed as he looked over you with a pending stare.

You didn’t want to be a bother.

“You’re still welcome to stay if you want.” Choso states as if having sensed your dilemma.

You looked up at him with a small smile, feeling relieved to hear the simple sentence.

You nodded.

“Okay.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Kinda realised that I should probably promote this fanfic on tumblr too :P

Chapter 2 is out on Ao3 !! if you liked this intro chapter check it out if you think you'd like to follow a more serialised story from me ^^

Art drawn by yume041624 on twitter/x & edited by me :33

[not-goldy]

Looks like they went into solo chapter, not defining how want to carry on with their relationship. That's why they weren't on the same page in terms of expectations. Jimin seemed fine being away, while jk was pouting about it.

My kind of gossip 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Well may be....

But I do think they had clearly defined plans strategy and expectations but had a problem with its execution....

It's one thing to plan something and another to execute it. And I mean these are not robots they can't just shut off their emotions and feelings or needs.

If constant communication with JM is what Jungkook wanted he could have said that to Jimin. He could have said, look man I know we said we were gonna do this and that and focus on this and that but I'm not doing so well and I need to hear from you more.

Jimin probably over there thinking damn this dude is doing better than I'd thought he would he's handling this phase so well and if he's doing well I better suck if up and do what's needed of me.

and I don't think it's a case of JM being okay being away- it's more he's committed to the plan even it guts him. He's that type of guy.

And let's all not act like we weren't concerned for them in their Solo phase going into Military due to their seemingly over dependence.

I mean towards the beginning of solo we did say they seemed to be acting professionally less codependent and what not and then Jimin went and got his own place and all.

And human emotions are funny.

They can both agree to keep separate homes but that doesn't stop one or both from feeling rejected by the very idea and execution.

Let's flash back to the time Jungkook said he didn't want to be teams with Jimin- even though we all know he was just joking you could tell it did get to Jimin.

Talking of which, they both sometimes aren't aware how they each make the other feel. We are out here watching them from the outside in, and we see how JMs absence affects Jungkook but unless JK tells him that there's no way of him knowing but we know cos we see the other side they both don't.

Jimin is good at saying to JK his vulnerabilities but JK just acts out his vulnerabilities.

They can agree to concentrate on their Solo careers and work hard but doesn't stop one or both from feeling lonely etc.

People are quick to bring up JM saying he's lonely but also fail to see how that's him saying and expressing how all these things make him feel.

I'm talking about the life he lives, not just that he misses Jungkook, the compromises he makes in his life, the distance he keeps from people to protect them or himself, the performance he puts on because it's expected of him, all the hiding a huge part of who he is if he's queer can be lonely.

He's relationship with Kook is expected to be complicated and at times even less fulfilling if this is what they have to do to keep it.

It's why I don't really pay attention to people who talk about that or bring up the quality of their relationship. We don't expect this to be a bed of roses for them.

Some people express chronic loneliness as an offshoot of burn out and depression or when you feel there aren't many people around them they can relate to.

When I see Jimin I see a man who doesn't have that many people he feels he can relate to and that can feel pretty lonely as well especially if you are surrounded by people whom you have to cater to all the time, people whom you have to walk on egg shells around, never being able to let your guard down, always having to be the reasonable mature one who can't make mistakes you always have to be the thoughtful one thinking twice and three times about things anticipating everyone's needs while those around you are just too slow to keep up or are simply not like him at all.

I think depending on how you look at things they are on the same page in so far as they've been able to successfully pull all this off.

For Jungkook if all this got to him at some point then I'll say he lasted longer than expected cos dude has a very low tolerance of their closet with its glass ceilings.

He's doing so well I'm proud of him and for once he saw the plan through 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[unpopularwriter25]

@musix-s Requested a part 2 to the Yoriichi x Gen-Z reader!!

Blossoms of Eternal Love

Summary: Despite her lack of experience with romance, Y/N is constantly swept off her feet by Yoriichi’s effortless and heartfelt declarations of love. During a walk amidst the enchanting cherry blossoms, Yoriichi’s tender words and actions leave Y/N overwhelmed with emotion.

Warnings: None

Note: WE ALL NEED A YORIICHI IN OUR LIFE. I had a little too much fun writing this out. @musix-s I hope this what you wanted!! I had trouble trying to find a good way to start it.

Y/N didn't know much about romance. She never had a boyfriend in her past life. Her attitude drove the guys away. She remembers watching those videos of dudes rizzing up their girlfriends or the random girls and always wondered if someone would ever say stuff like that to her.

The warm afternoon sun bathed the small house Y/N and Yoriichi shared in a golden glow. Y/N was lounging on the couch, lost in thought, when Yoriichi entered, his presence calming and gentle.

“Would you like to take a walk with me, Y/N?” Yoriichi’s voice was soft, like a soothing melody.

Y/N nodded, smiling as she rose to follow him outside. As they stepped into the sunlight, Yoriichi took her hand in his, lifting it to his lips and pressing a tender kiss on her knuckles. His eyes never left hers. “Your touch is the only thing that can calm my restless heart,” he said, his voice like velvet.

Y/N felt herself melt inside. How could he say something so romantic so effortlessly? As they walked, he would occasionally glance at her, each time saying something that made her heart flutter.

“You know,” Yoriichi began, his tone casual yet filled with warmth, “every moment I spend with you is a moment I cherish deeply.”

His words were as smooth as butter, and each one made Y/N feel weak at the knees. She tried to focus on the path ahead, but his gaze and his words were magnetic. She could see the genuine love in his eyes, and it made everything he said so much more intense.

They continued down a path lined with cherry blossom trees in full bloom. Petals drifted gently to the ground like pink snow, and the air was filled with their sweet fragrance, creating an almost magical atmosphere.

Suddenly, Yoriichi stopped walking and turned to face her. “Y/N,” he said softly, his eyes locking onto hers with an intensity that made her breath catch. “You are my everything. Without you, my world would be dark and empty."

Her face turned crimson, and she felt like her brain had short-circuited. She stood there, trying to process his words, but they overwhelmed her. Yoriichi’s concern was evident as he stepped closer, his hands gently cupping her face. His thumb caressed her cheek, sending shivers down her spine.

“Are you alright?” he asked, his voice filled with worry. Instead of checking her temperature with his hands, he leaned forward, resting his forehead against hers. “Do you have a fever?” he whispered, his breath warm against her skin.

Y/N’s mind was a whirlwind of emotions. The combination of his tender touch, his sincere words, and his close proximity was too much for her to handle. She was utterly and completely overwhelmed, unable to form a coherent response.

Yoriichi looked into her eyes, his own filled with a mix of love and concern. “You mean everything to me, Y/N. I would cross the entire world just to see you smile.”

Her heart felt like it might burst from the sheer intensity of her feelings. She was at a loss for words, her body trembling slightly from the overwhelming emotions coursing through her. Yoriichi seemed to understand her silence, his expression softening as he held her close.

In that moment, Y/N knew without a doubt that he was aware of the effect he had on her. He had to know. But instead of teasing her, he simply held her, his presence comforting and reassuring. She leaned into him, her heart full, knowing that she was deeply loved by this incredible man.

The world around them faded into the background, leaving just the two of them in their own perfect moment. The cherry blossom petals continued to fall around them, adding to the romantic setting. Yoriichi’s forehead remained pressed against hers, and he whispered the sweetest words a man could ever say to someone. “My love for you is eternal, Y/N. In this life and the next, I will always find you and love you.”

Y/N did not know it was possible for someone to be this romantic. She felt herself getting overwhelmed. Her no-bullshit attitude was left somewhere else. She did the only thing she could think to do in that moment since her words weren’t going to come out. She kissed him.

Their lips met in a soft, tender kiss that spoke volumes of their love and connection. Yoriichi’s hands moved to cradle the back of her head gently, deepening the kiss just enough to convey his unwavering devotion. The cherry blossoms swirled around them, as if the world itself was celebrating their love.

When they finally pulled apart, Y/N’s face was flushed, and her heart was pounding in her chest. Yoriichi smiled at her, a look of pure adoration in his eyes. “Thank you for being my everything,” he whispered, his voice full of love.

Y/N smiled back, feeling a warmth spread through her entire being. In that moment, she knew she was exactly where she was meant to be, with the person who loved her more than anything in the world.

[nctnanajaemin]

my brother's bestfriend pairing: lee jeno x na!sister reader chapter seven  word count:1.2k warnings: pregnancy

it's been a couple of days since the talk with jaemin. you got a job at the local coffee shop and transferred to a college closer to home.

you have today off and planned on spending it relaxing and doing nothing, but jaemin seems to have other plans.

he takes one look at you curled up on the couch with a blanket wrapped around you and a book in your lap and shakes his head. "you have the whole day off and you're just going to spend it on the couch?"

you shrug, not even looking up from your book. "yeah."

he walks over and flops down on the couch, snatching the book out of your hands and putting it on the coffee table so it's out of reach. "is jeno coming over today?"

you nod. "after he gets off work."

jaemin hums in response, leaning his head back against the couch and staring at the ceiling. "i need to talk to him."

you're surprised that he's actually talking about speaking to jeno. "i'm glad that you finally want to talk to him, but please be nice about it."

"i will. don't worry."

-

the hours pass slowly. you spend the afternoon half dreading and half anticipating the inevitable conversation between jaemin and jeno.

you hear the door open and walk out of the kitchen as jeno shuts the door.

"hey."

"hey, how was work?" you ask as he pulls you into a hug.

"surprisingly, not that bad. you seem tense, everything okay?"

"yeah, i'm fine." you reply, looking up at him.

he moves his hands from your hips to cup your face, studying your expression. "you sure? you seem like something's on your mind."

you let out a heavy sigh. "jae wants to talk to you."

"okay, it'll be fine. is he in his room?" he asks, letting go of your face.

"no, he's in the living room."

"alright, i'll go talk to him." he says, giving you a reassuring smile before making his way to the living room.

you stay in the entryway, wanting to give the two of them space to talk but also secretly hoping to hear as much as you can.

"hey, man," jeno starts. "y/n said you wanted to talk to me?"

jaemin nods, locking his phone and dropping it into his lap. "yeah, i do," he replies, and motions for jeno to sit down.

jeno sits down and jaemin takes a deep breath, running a hand through his hair. "i've had a lot of time to think about everything that happened. the way i reacted… it wasn't right. i let my emotions get the best of me, and i'm really sorry for that."

"i understand, jaemin. i get why you were upset. it was a lot to take in all at once."

jaemin shakes his head. "but that's no excuse."

it's quiet for a couple seconds before jaemin speaks again. "i have a question and i know you two aren't together, but what are your intentions with her? like, how serious are you about her?"

jeno stiffens, not expecting the question to be brought up so soon in the conversation. "i'm serious about her. honestly, probably more than i've been about anything or anyone in my entire life, dude. i love her."

"you love her?" jaemin asks, his voice betraying a hint of disbelief. he's known jeno for years and has never once heard him say he loved a girl.

"yes. i love her."

jaemin shakes his head. "never did i think i would ever hear you say you loved a girl."

"yeah, neither did i. but she's different. she's… everything."

"you sound like a love-sick puppy, dude." jaemin teases.

jeno rolls his eyes. "shut up, it's called being in love but you wouldn't know."

"pfft, whatever." jaemin mutters, his tone still mocking. "if you love her, why haven't you asked her out yet?"

jeno's expression falters. "i just haven't found the right time yet."

"the right time? jeno, come on. you guys have been seeing each other off and on for five years now."

"i know, i know. but things have been so complicated lately. with her transferring schools, starting a job, and everything with the baby… i don't want to add more pressure."

"you think asking her to be your girlfriend would be adding more pressure? dude, she's carrying your child. she deserves some kind of stability."

jeno fidgets nervously with his fingers. "i know she does. but i can't shake the feeling that if i ask her to be my girlfriend now, it'll seem like i'm only doing it because she's pregnant."

"do you honestly think she would see it like that?"

"i don't know. we talked before we found out she was pregnant, and we both confessed our feelings for each other but like a dumbass i fucked it up."

"how'd you fuck it up?"

"i freaked out and ghosted her for a month. i never loved a girl before, and i was in shock."

jaemin snorts. "you're such an idiot. plan a little date night, ask her out and if it makes you feel better reassure her that you are asking her out because you genuinely love her and not because you got her pregnant."

"you're right. i need to stop making stupid excuses and just man up and ask her." jeno sighs, running a hand through his hair. "but what if she says no?"

"she's not going to say no, jeno. she loves you just as much as you love her, if not more. just go talk to her. and hey," he adds, a bit more serious, "whatever happens, i'm here for both of you."

jeno stands up and glances towards the entryway, expecting to see you eavesdropping but you quickly make your way into the kitchen before he can see you. "thanks man."

he walks into the kitchen a couple seconds later and you look over at him. "everything okay?"

"yeah, everything's fine," he reassures you. "do you want to go for a drive? get out of the house for a bit?"

you nod and follow him outside to his car.

the drive starts in comfortable silence, but after a few minutes you decide to break it. "where are we going?"

"just a little place i go to when i want to escape for a little bit. you'll like it," he says with a small smile.

after about twenty minutes, jeno parks in front of a lake. the two of you get out and he takes your hand, leading you to one of the benches.

"i used to come here a lot when i needed to think," jeno says, glancing over at you. "it always helped me clear my mind."

"it's beautiful," you reply, taking a seat on the bench.

"yeah, it is. i figured it would be a good place for us to talk." he sits down next to you. "i know things have been really complicated lately, with everything going on. but there's something that i need to tell you."

you nod and he takes a deep breath before speaking again.

"i love you. more than i've ever loved anyone in my life. and i know i've made mistakes, and that things aren't exactly ideal right now, but i want to be with you, officially. not because of the baby, but because you're everything to me."

"i want that too," you tell him, your voice steady despite the tears threatening to escape.

"so, will you be my girlfriend?" he asks, a small smile playing on his lips.

"yes, jeno. i will."

chapter six |  chapter eight 

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taglist:

@nosungluv @icesscoups @sunghoonsgfreal @camosh @vltevgrdn @minkyuncutie @neobowlingshoez @luvjoongz @llallisa653 @shqqna @dojaejunging @nanaleehyuck @zolpidream @ch3rrych3s @gusgus0517 @1800-love-me @itsblueberry @cherryxvalentine @luvlyjaemin

[shveris]

collage au with toji, sukuna and satoru living together and it’s surprisingly clean and well kept.

mention of emotional & physical abuse from family members and trauma

toji is the most messy out of the three but sukuna hates dirt so when he finds it he cleans it. satoru is a perfectionist who grew up in a tidy mansion so he always has the need and urge to keep his new environment just as clean — he feels very uncomfortable and restless otherwise.

they fuck around once in a while (yes, literal fucking) but it’s mainly because none of them have the actual mental to have proper relationships and despite satoru’s very extroverted behaviour, he actually hates touching people. he thinks they’re dirty, unsanitary, because he doesn’t know how they live and what their hands and clothes have been touching.

sukuna is clean though, he knows because he regularly buys those very expensive bodywashes and puts all their underwear into another cycle just after the first one is done.

toji is clean since he is kinda trained to adapt to his environment. he eventually even stops punching sukuna when he tries to put lotion on his very dry face after a scorching hot shower and he starts washing his hands when he comes home.

they don’t talk about how all of them have sex with each other at least twice a week — trice, if there’s exam stress — and usually the apartment is filled with bickering.

“six, you told me you’d send me that fucking report an hour ago.” satoru just stares at toji in his doorway and clicks his tongue because, yes, he completely forgot.

“have some fucking manners, dude”, he snaps back but sends him the report. they got thrown into this group project for three months with this emo named choso and a guy named ino, not that any of them gave a fuck. they were just laughing at sukuna because he was stuck with four women staring down at him.

there’re also regular outbursts of sukuna throwing items around — at satoru and toji as well — because he feels threatened. by what? they don’t know. they don’t ask. they just go with it and make a game out of it.

“if one of you hits my face i will actually chop your dicks off” is usually what satoru enters the living room with but when the tv remote slams into his jaw ten minutes later, he can’t help but laugh menacingly and throws himself onto the culprit elbow first.

their evenings are filled with study sessions (sukuna and satoru take their academics very serious and toji is just sitting there because he enjoys watching their facial expressions contort into frustrated confusion), playing video games, sex, uno that almost always ends up with sukuna and toji trying to kill each other, bad horror movies that make sukuna hungry, and some times they’re actually peacefully talking with each other until satoru falls asleep.

almost everyone on campus thinks they are dating and neither of them have an issue with that rumor (“it keeps the weird chicks away” sukuna had said and toji rolled his eyes). they don’t even act like couples, more like competitive boxers with too much testosterone (shoko’s words).

even with sukuna’s constant berates, insults and slurs, he loves cooking and always looks for a chance to brag about it to satoru.

“i bet your private chefs at home ain’t shit in comparison to me” or “the michelin chefs your parents are friends with can only wish to be at my level” or “this is my first time cooking this recipe and i fucking rocked it”

toji doesn’t mind at all, he loves all kinds of food, he’s the opposite of picky. whenever there’s something on satoru’s plate that he doesn’t like, he gives it to toji who will happily eat it for him.

sukuna even makes an effort to learn the recipes to his roommate’s favourite foods, perfects them in a few weeks. making mochi was probably way too much effort but he feels very proud whenever satoru brightens up upon eating the sweet treats. he’s glad toji is on the easier side of all this, the man loves chinese food a lot; dumplings, egg drop soup, lamb skewers and some simple noodle dishes.

toji doesn’t look like it but he enjoys the other two men’s company a lot. they never judge him for who he is, they never expect him to be a certain way, and not once did they ask why on some nights he comes home covered in blood. they just tell him to clean up properly and throw his clothes into the washer for three circles. they don’t ask him why he has that scar on his lips or nag him about that massive one that wraps around the left side of his body.

satoru is curious, his eyes speak volumes, but he never says nothing about it and just traces the tissue with his fingertips after sex. sukuna doesn’t even seem to acknowledge it at all, ignores it almost, but he always tells him to apply more lotion to it after scorching showers together.

grocery runs with them are always a complete mess; satoru only has eyes for sweets, toji grabs the next best instant ramen from the shelves, sukuna is constantly scolding them for not eating more healthy, says both of them would have vitamin deficiency if it weren’t for him.

he absolutely hates going out with them to the store but it’s necessary in a way. it’s a way of bonding, they get to buy everything they need once a week and then don’t have to go there for another seven days, and it makes cooking plans easier — and satoru is there to pay because he’s rich and the other two ain’t.

they also always end up buying a few packs of condoms and lube, much to the cashier’s horrors upon reading “extra large” and “strawberry flavoured”

sukuna and toji are rough, absolutely and utterly wild. satoru often calls sukuna an animal with no other instincts than to bite and breed and tear him inside out whereas toji just always knows how and when to abuse his prostate in the weirdest positions — satoru now has to stretch everyday to keep his limbs flexible.

when toji and sukuna fuck, the bedroom turns into a warzone. there’s bite and scratch marks everywhere on their bodies and when sukuna finally gives in and bottoms, neither of them actually make an effort to stretch him. never goes well. sukuna actually cries but he loves pain so it’s okay because satoru gives toji a really big scolding after and then both of them try to somewhat take care of him.

which also never goes well because all three of them never had good experiences with physical touch, nor do they know how to take care of someone else or themselves.

toji was barely holding himself together after graduation high school, having started some heavy drugs when he was sixteen and he never really grew out of it for years because of his fucked up family or his even more fucked up friends.

satoru was homeschooled, had no friends, didn’t know anyone his age — he had no concept of social life, of interpersonal relationships, pop culture. his face never showed any emotions because he just didn’t feel nothing, he felt hollow. nothing in his life brought him joy. his own mother barely paid any attention to him and when she did, there was nothing but hatred in her words.

sukuna grew up with a mother that had fun torturing him, may it be emotionally or physically. when he was younger, still an only child and his father too busy with work, she’s used him to press out her cigarettes, told him to stay still and then watched his face with great interest. there’s a long list of things that he had to endure and he hates remembering it.

they don’t know how they found each other.

i will deffo write more for this au bc i miss toji and satoru terribly

[hainfulcupid]

Obsessed with this motherfucker so im gonna drop a few random headcanons about him

ALL ARE SFW AND JUST SILLY STUFF ☝️ im not used to sharing my headcanons publicly like this hyuck hyuck

there’s very little to go off of from this media since all we really have is a pilot with bare , and i MEAN BARE lore to go off of so a lot of this is really me filling in blanks becus im Insane .

> Nordic bunny’s planet has a robotic look to it, i think that he built it himself out of complete boredom along with its inhabitants (that he probably destroys too, out of boredom….)

> I like to think that his guitar strings function like cat whiskers, they aid him in vision and processing the world around him. They’ve definitely busted a few times during battle, causing him to be disoriented for a bit.

> Hates things that are vaguely shaped like snakes (do NOT BRING A CUCUMBER NEAR THIS MAN)

> purrs….meows…does all those silly cat sounds but they’ve got an electric guitar sound effect

> has retractable claws, they do wonders for a man needs a quick escape route !!!!

> related to the thing above, oh he so absolutely adores scratching things up . has the biggest scratching post ever .

> He’s lonely, not like he intends to be but his personality is offputting to many, one of those people who you have a hard time reading into the things they say because every word that comes out of his mouth always sounds insulting. naturally judgmental, thinks he has a keen eye for fashion despite wearing only undies.

> what is his deal with the undies anyways ? i think he has sensory issues so he wears very minimal clothing thinking he’s serving absolute cunt but no ones ever told him how dorky he looked, and if any of his minions did well…..lets just say They’re no longer with us.

> definitely has a weird way of giving gifts…you know how cats bring you things they’ve hunted? well he’s no different, he wants THAT praise he wants you to tell him how competent he is.

> his tail is an indicator of his mood, follows the same rules of a cat .

LOOK AT HIM. TELL ME THIS ISNT TRUE.

> claims he can’t fucking stand emotional music, but listens to sad 80s rock . but no one will see that, they’ll see him as the dude who’s constantly blasting oldies metal classics .

> I AM A NORDIC BUNNY FANG HAVER TRUTHER . I JUST KNOW HED HAVE A TONGUE PIERCING TOO .

> he’s so reluctant to touch, he never knows if he fully enjoys it or not, you’ll be petting down his back and feel his back quiver almost like it’s trying to avoid your touch but he’s also - purring…he’s a confusing little guy…

> If he ever does manage to form something vaguely friendship like, he’d suck ass at managing the connection, oh you invite him to a party ? he sends you an image of himself stuck in the toilet with a text underneath saying “SOZZ . CANT GO. TOILET TROUBLEZ”

> that being said , not having a lot of experiences with relationships, he’d have an avoidant attachment style, he’d also. subconsciously be as unlikable as possible, he has no clue what defines being cool and likable he’s a little clung onto “be as cool and mysterious as possible”

> says “mrr?” instead of “hm?”

> Oh. in my mind he uses he/she pronouns . finds comfort in expressing femininity .

> I can’t see this guy having a preference for dating… he will take anyone who can break through the massive thick wall he puts up.

THATS ALL FOR NOW UHHH UHHHH

[harlowsbby]

All About You

Being set up on a blind date by your friends was the last thing you wanted to do this year, you didn’t know what to wear or how to even act you haven’t been on a date with a man since what seemed like forever ago.

“You’re going to be fine besides he’s someone you already know.” Your friend Erica was trying her best to ease your nerves. “Someone I know? That just makes this all even worse.” You huffed.

“Will you relax I promise you’re going to have the time of your life.” Your other friend Ella said. “But you both need to seriously stop setting me up with people we know.”

Your last date was with one of your close friends and it didn’t really go all that well. “What? I thought the date with Marcus went good?” Ella asked you to which you stopped what you were doing and gave her the most irritated expression.

“Are you kidding me? He knew he was going out with me and didn’t bring his wallet because he claimed he’d cover us next time.” Ella covered her mouth to stop herself from laughing in your face meanwhile Erica felt pitty on you.

“I promise this dude he’s sweet, funny, charming.” Ella tried her best to describe Jack and although he was all of things she mentioned he was also a flirt and loved flirting not to mention the two of you connected well but there was this unresolved ‘beef’ there.

You just hated how unserious he was no matter how serious the situation was Jack somehow always found a way to make a joke out of it and you hated that and he hated how serious you were.

While you were getting ready Jack was back home getting ready with Druski and Urban and the rest of the guys. “Who did you set me up with this time.” Jack asked Urban.

“It’s a secret but I’m sure you’ll love who we picked.” Urban smirked. “Why are you smirking? Did you both set me up.” Druski laughed. “I promise it’ll just be a date to remember that’s all.”

Even though the two of you bickered like cats and dogs and didn’t really see each other’s opinions you both liked each other but just didn’t know how to act on those emotions which is why your friends felt that they needed to bring it upon themselves to act on those emotions for you.

“When is the date?” Druski looked down at his phone seeing Jack had to be out the door in 5 minutes. “Actually right now so let’s go.”

Jack was actually very nervous about going on a blind date he hasn’t been on an actual date ever since he became famous he didn’t know how to act or how to feel, having one on one time with someone he knew for however long was also nerve wracking, he wanted everything to just go good.

————————————————————————

You arrived before Jack so you had time to look over the menu and pick out the cheapest item just in case you had to pay.

Ella and Erica along with Druski and Urban were a few tables behind Jack and You they wanted to spy on your little date and see how everything was going to go down.

You looked down at your phone seeing that Jack was 10 minutes late already. “Great let me find out I just got stood up.” You mumbled.

“Y/N? Don’t tell me you’re my date.” You looked up seeing Jack. “Oh you’re fucking joking this is a joke right? Are you on some type of prank show or something is there a mic hooked on you.” Jack smirked and laughed before sitting down across from you.

“Well I was told my date was going to be wearing black heels and.” He pushed his chair back and looked under the table seeing you had on black heels. “You have on black heels and you’re sitting outside where I was told my date would be sitting.”

“Why are you here?” You groaned. “Because I was put on a blind date.. why are you here?” He joked. “Jack you know why I’m here I was put on a blind date I knew it was going to be with a friend but I didn’t think the friend was going to be you.”

“What’s wrong with me? I can be the man of your dreams.” He grinned and leaned back into his chair with his arms opened wide as if he was the greatest person on earth. “Please I’d rather go on a date with the biggest asshole on earth than date you.”

You looked down at the menu skimming it over again Jack frowned he knew you didn’t wanna be here but he was going to try his best to make sure you have the best time.

“Look put the menu down for a minute.” You put it down on the table and looked back up at him. “If you have a good time tonight you let me take you out on a proper date that isn’t set up and if you don’t have a good time then you don’t have to see me ever again.”

You gasped sarcastically. “Wait you mean it? We never have to be in the same room together ever again?!” He rolled his eyes at the sarcasm dripping from your voice. “Do we have a deal or not?” You thought about it for a second. “We have a deal.”

Surprisingly you had a great time with Jack you found out a lot about him and he found out all about you, you even got to see a different side of Jack a side he never really showed.

“So what was your thought process behind making Jackman?”

Jack played you a few songs from his upcoming album Jackman he was a bit nervous on how everyone was going to react since it was something completely different than what he put out not even a year ago.

“Honestly I knew I wanted to put out something raw.. something different and just get back to my roots come home the kids miss you was a great album but it’s what the media and everyone wanted to hear it wasn’t me it wasn’t Jackman.” He joked.

“I loved the songs you played for me I think you just might have album of the year with this one.” He chuckled. “I really hope so.” It was quiet for a few minutes the two of you just enjoying one another’s company.

As you looked around Jack couldn’t help but to admire you. You were absolutely perfect he loved the way your eyes shimmered under the moonlight and how plump and kissable your lips looked, the small smile that played on your lips as you watched an owner get dragged along by his excitement filled dog.

“You know I can feel you watching me Jack.” He blushed in embarrassment. “I’m sorry you’re just so beautiful.” He covered his mouth quickly when he realized he said that out loud.

You looked at him wide eyed, “Did you just call me beautiful?” He mentally groaned. “Shit that wasn’t supposed to come out my mouth but it did and dammit I’m sorry.” He apologized.

“It’s okay don’t apologize. I actually think you’re really cute too.” You looked down nervously and twiddled with your fingers. “You think I’m cute?” He smirked.

“Don’t go getting a big head now Jack but yes I think you’re cute.” “How long?” He asked.

You looked at him with your eyebrows furrowed together. “How long what?” “How long have you liked me?”

“What who said tha-.” He cut you off. “I know you like me Y/N, I catch you looking at me all the time and you know Ella sucks at keeping secrets.” You groaned and made a mental note to yell at Ella later.

“I’d say for a few months now I’ve just been scared to tell you.” He frowned.

“Why?”

“Because I just didn’t know if I actually liked you at first because you just always acted so immature but after tonight I guess my feelings for you became stronger or whatever look can we just forget about it.” You we’re beyond embarrassed now.

“What if I don’t want to forget about it what if I wanted to be more than friends?”

“I’d be really happy.” You shyly spoke and watched how Jack made his way to sit next to you. “You would huh?” He softly spoke and leaned into you. You nodded your head you couldn’t even find the words to speak.

“Use your words Y/N.” You looked at him his blue eyes were honestly putting you in a trance right now you’ve never been as nervous and jittery around a man before. “Yes I would Jack I’d love to be your girlfriend.”

Before you knew it he was closing the gap between the two of you and smashing his lips against yours you wasted no time and immediately kissed him back. He grabbed the back of your head and deepened the kiss he wanted more of you but you were in a public setting so he had to pull back.

“Damn it’s about fucking time.” Druski’s voice came from behind the two of you which startled you. “What? What are you all doing here.” Jack asked.

“We set this whole thing up.” Erica said. “What do you mean?”

“Well we knew the two of you liked each other but you’re both so stubborn that we knew you weren’t going to admit it to each other so we set this up.” Ella said.

“It’s a good thing we broke it up when we did I swear there was about to a porno at this restaurant.” Urban joked and you hid in Jack’s chest making the girls coo.

“Whatever Urban now if you all don’t mind I’m going to take my girl back to my place, Urban you might wanna spend the night with Druski.” Jack said and took your head and led the two of you out of the restaurant.

“So I guess I’m staying with you tonight?” Urban asked Druski. “Staying with who? I got plans with Erica you better hit up Maggie and ask to stay in Jack’s old room.”

(Honestly I had no idea what I was doing with this but I hope y’all still like it 😭💘)

[vortexstars]

In the osc it fr feels like all anyone can stomach is the least depth to a character possible like I've been trying to defend taco for YEARS like no girl her looking sad whnenmic left her ISNT MANIPULATION???? THAT'S CALLED BEING SAD???? SHES ALLOWED TO HAVE EMOTIONS???

Also i remember so many people being mad about Nickels joke when blueberry was voted out like "yeah dude just be nicer" and i saw so many people just so angry at that because it was "hypocritical" like yeah... That's the joke. That is the POINT of the joke that is what allows it to land it wouldn't hit coming from someone that's genuinely nice

Also female characters who hang out witj men get watered down SO often to that guys (girl) friend i see it all the time ESPECIALLY WITH CANDLE AND SILVER SPOON like guys please can we not. Can she be an indépendant character

Sorry for the (second) rant in your inbox i have big feels about media literacy in the osc

no dw i have strong feelings to people who lack media literacy

ive only been in the osc for almost 3 years and saying that ive always felt sympathetic with taco is an understatement , you can clearly see that shes genuinely upset that mic left and not because she wanted to use her more, but because she actually LIKED her. She genuinely did care about her and this episode really does prove it and so many other things, this woman literally fucking SHATTERED when being too overwhelmed and people still have the gull to say that she was being manipulative, like please watch the episode again and maybe the entirety of s2 along with it

Also i dont remember the nickel joke very well but i do remember people being pissed off about it like it wasnt just a joke

and oh my GOD DO I NEED TO TALK ABOUT THIS, one of the main things that contribute to the mischaracterization of female osc chatacters is when they are involved with another character that just so happens to be a man, there are so many examples to this and i think the worst one is the silver n candle arc. I have made multiple threads about these two separately and they both have their own story arcs and their own personalities. Most people [ or shippers ] will just make the two of them be associated with eachother and call it a day, and it pisses me off cause their character are an important thing to understanding the character itself — without knowing or not caring ab those arcs and making those two just be with eachother could lead to even worse mischaracterization from there.

I cannot express enough on how many times ive made posts like this on other websites and it still happens, they are more than just '' Silver having a crush on candle and candle is just the helpful one '', they are so much more. Now dont get me wrong silvercandle is my absolute most favorite ship ever and i will defend them with my life, but ive seen people who hate it make both characters so mischaracterized i start to think that they are just talking about an oc. Even people who like them still sometimes just make them be associated with eachother and claim to know them like their bedroom, they are so much more than that — romantic or platonic, they still have their own story arcs that correlate with eachothers arcs

theres more female characters that get mistreated but ive only seen silvercandle get the worst treatment, every character is their own chatacter with their own goals, own beleifs, own arcs.

i think you can tell who my favorite character is

[obsessedwrhys]

Your headcanons are soo good istg 😭😭😭 im love you

Feel free to answer anytime, can I request Hogan (afk journey) dating/married headcanons? He's my husband and my wife both at the same time <3

|| HOGAN DATING HEADCANONS ||

ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁 .ᐟ major fluff, reader is gn!! (OMSHD I'm so happy to hear you like my other work, that really makes my day, I hope you enjoy this one ☺���)

This man gives me hubby vibes ngl.

If you managed to get his attention, you must be something special because it takes a lot to get even his respects.

Once he falls for you, trust him to get you flowers everytime he visit you. Even if he just happens to be passing by, he will always take the time to stop to say hi.

Valen once made fun of him for having a crush but that ended up terribly.

Dude had to run laps around Holistone 💀

The crush between you and Hogan was mutual, to be fair it was hard for you not to fall in love when he treats you like you're the single most special person in the world.

The way he gives you his hand when you need help getting down...

The way his eyes lingers on you longer than any person should...

The way he goes out of his way to make sure you're always okay...

It all just made you love him ever more.

That's why the urge to confess your true feelings to him grew day by day.

Scenario ↴

You were in Holistone, to be more precise, inside one of the castles towers. It wasn't that you were in trouble, it was more like your friend Hogan needed to see you about an urgent matter.

With nothing much to do, you were poking your head out of the open window to admire the view below.

"I apologise if I've made you wait. One of the guards needed my help with something..." A familiar voice spoke from behind and you turned just to see Hogan approaching you. Somehow just seeing him made you smile.

"At least you didn't forget... so what's so serious that you needed to see me?" You questioned and you can see his body going stiff for a split second.

"Ah that..." He chuckles lowly, an attempt to ease his nerves. He has fought countless battles and yet the idea of confessing his love to you is nearly sending him to shambles.

"It's nothing urgent really... it's more of a personal matter..."

"Personal matter?" You repeated, seeming puzzled.

"Yes... of us" He said and the moment those words left from his mouth, you had a clear idea of what he was hinting at. Your eyes went wide as your face burned.

"I know I may not be like the prince from the stories you read but... I'm certain that I've fallen for you... and this love I feel for you feels like the ones in a fairy tale... it's as though I've been captivated by you... I'm sorry if I'm pouring all my emotions at once, I just can't keep this a secret anymore" He expressed with his eyes locked on yours.

"I don't mind... to be honest, I feel just the exact same" You slowly formed a smile on your face and the joy was contagious enough that a smile eventually appeared on his face as well.

Literally when the townsfolk found out he was dating you, everybody was fast to congratulate you both. If you weren't given any context you would assume that the town was celebrating someone's marriage 😭

Hey, the people are just happy for him since he does his job of protecting everybody's safety.

Plus he deserved to have somebody look out for him.

Now dating this man is full of fun and excitement. He does not welcome any bad vibes even though how serious he can get sometimes.

I'm talking lots of trying new things together.

For example that time you guys went to try out this super fancy place for dinner and you guys had a thrill trying to pronounce the names of some of the dishes.

Not to forget, his kisses would be full of love and desire. Everytime he kisses you he just doesn't have the strength to pull away, it was the kind of passionate kiss that would always leave you two breathless.

Even when leaving a kiss on your cheek or forehead, he always needs to kiss you a couple of times for you to get the memo that he loves you dearly.

However, I'm sorry to break it to you but sleeping with this man can be kind of a struggle.

He snores.

I don't mean like those light snores.

I mean those snores that slowly builds itself up until it's as loud as a train.

Not only if you're the type to not be able to handle that, sometimes he can also take all of the blanket from you which results in you two fighting for it almost every night 😭

But the cuddles? Trust me when I say it's the most comforting experience in the relationship. It always makes you feel like you're on cloud nine.

When it comes to nicknames he's more on the traditional side, he calls you dear the most.

Would he be fine with PDA? Yes, very much. He does not care what anyone thinks. Okay maybe a little but still he's not embarrassed to show everyone that he's yours.

Jealousy doesn't faze him that much, that's because he thinks he's set for life with you. Any man or woman could try to flirt with you but he trusts you a lot that he's sure you know how to handle it.

But if the person doesn't take no for an answer? He'll just have to step in to get that message through their head.

If you want to, he's totally fine with you wearing his clothes. That's because he finds the sight of you not being able to fit in his shirt adorable.

Did I forget to mention how he knows all of your weakness? Whether you're more sensitive in the neck or you're ticklish on your sides. He knows.

And he's not afraid to use it against you.

Fyi, he's the type of person to act like he's full and give you his leftovers because he knows those are your favourite 🥰

Honestly? 100/100 MALEWIFE

[th3worstinm3]

Please write about Noah being jealous of fem reader with Nick (It doesn't have to be romantic❗) She and Nick have in common the ability to play the drums 😊

hii!! i actually wanted to write something similar to this so thank you!!!

pout

jealous nowah, what other information do u need? >:3

"Dude, calm down, you look like you want to make his head explode," A concerned Jolly spoke up, bringing his hand to Noah's shoulder. "I'm trying." The mentioned mumbled, muffled by his fingers over his mouth, chin on palm. Jolly sighed, sitting next to Noah and offering him a beer.

You see, Nick and you were working on drums together. You loved playing the drums, maybe you were kinda bad at it, but it's so fun to hit things and make up beats and all that; and of course, if you had any doubt, Nick, your best friend, would always be there to help you. So there you were, sitting next to him in front of his set, learning some interesting techniques.

Noah didn't like the way Nick held your arms, or the closeness of your faces. He knew Nick has been your best friend practically since childhood, hell he has been his friend for a long time too, but he can't help but feel insecure whenever you hang out with him. He trusted you with his whole heart, he truly did, but his mind spiraled down into that dark place he hates the most, insecurity and anxiety always finding a way to his thoughts.

He did nothing to avoid it, though. He didn't want to be that type of controlling and manipulative man, he just wasn't like that. He accepted that you had your friends; just as he had his own. But... Does Nick really see you as a friend? Or are there other intentions behind his longing stares and touches and time spent with you?

A hand on his head brought him back. "Are you alright? You seem worried," you mumbled out. He looked up, finding your concerned eyes. He huffed, nodded and leaned back on the studio chair, crossing his arms over his chest. Mean. He didn't answer your question.

His eyes were still focused on Nick's figure, almost burning the back of his head.

You followed his gaze. Oh.

"You're gonna set him on fire if you keep looking at him like that," You teased. He looked at you sideways. Oh he clearly didn't like that.

He stood up and walked away.

Jolly looked at you like he was done, and then nodded his head, raising his eyebrows and pointing at the door. You pursed your lips. Maybe you should to talk to him.

— ☆ —

The next time you saw him, he was in the kitchen, leaning on the counter looking down at his phone.

You situated yourself next to him, shoulder against shoulder. He didn't move. He didn't make any sound, just kept looking down at his phone.

After a moment of silence, you cleared your throat. The quietness was becoming overwhelming. His shoulders moved as he took a breath. He placed down his phone on the marble next to him. You looked up at him.

"I didn't like the way Nick was looking at you." He spoke, his gaze was locked in some point in front of him in the kitchen. You hummed. "It's like you spend more time with him than with me. Like you like him more." He hesitated. This caught you off guard. He wasn't the type of guy to show his feelings. You could count with one hand the times he has actually told you how he truly felt. He wasn't good at showing his emotions.

"Oh," You were still a bit taken aback. "Oh Noah," You started, grabbing his forearm. He still wasn't looking at you. "You know Nick is my best friend," He huffed a sacrastic laugh.

"Friends aren't all touchy touchy with each other." You looked up at his face. He was pouting. Cute. You moved, standing in front of him, and your hands went to his cheeks. He finally looked at you. His eyebrows were furrowed and he was playing the angry kid card. You giggled at him and he huffed again.

"Noah, you're the only one I'm interested in right now." This seemed to calm him down just slightly. His expression softened and his pout disappeared. He looked to the side, and then looked at you back. "You promise?" He needed reassurance. He trusts you a lot, but his heart and mind play tricks on him all the time.

You nodded.

"Say it," He complained like a child. You rolled your eyes. "I promise" was your answer, elongating the syllables with a playful laugh. His shoulders relaxed.

You looked at each other in silence, unsure of what to say next. "You know," you started, and his eyes immediately landed on yours. "Maybe he is being a bit too physical." You assured. He pursed his lips. "But that doesn't mean he's going to take me away from you, or whatever you're thinking in that mind of yours," your index finger went to his forehead, and he chuckled. You took a step closer, and his hands landed on your waist.

"As I said, you're the only one I'm interested in, at the moment." Your hand went to his face, moving lost strands of his grown out bangs away from it, behind his ear. His gaze softened.

You smiled lovingly at him. "Thank you for telling me how you feel. I know it's difficult for you, so thank you." He grinned slightly. "Now," your hands went to his chest. "If it makes your heart feel better, I can tell him to tune down the physical contact." You said, looking up at him. He looked to the side, clearly debating with himself. You hummed, waiting for his response.

He hugged you suddenly, hiding his face in your hair. One of your hands went to the back of his neck, playing with the short locks of hair that rested there. He mumbled out a couple things, and between all the slurred out words, you were able to make out "thank you".

You knew how hard he was on himself, so you promised each other to try to talk about each others' feelings and not bottle them up.

[eisforeidolon]

In regards to that post [X]:

We could talk about the same old fallacies - OMG, Dean's siren is a guy! Yeah, a brother. OMG, Dean was supposed to say I love you in the Crypt scene! Yeah, it was removed and replaced with what the writer explicitly said was the less OOC version of what he meant anyway, "We're family". We could talk about the blatant absurdity of statements like "Dean liked men it happened on my screen" which bear no resemblance to the SPN that aired. But we've done that before and others have got this reiteration of it well covered.

So I wanna focus for the moment on this particular even more repulsive gem: "Like he literally doesn't need to verbally tell us he's bisexual we just know. He may not know but we do. This is an unmovable fact sorry."

It tells us a few things. One, this person is a fucking idiot. Two, this person, yet again, thinks that ~*interpreting*~ sexuality from the way someone looks/stands/makes eye contact/eats pastry/whatever numbnuts conspiracy bullshit you like? Is more valid than how a character identifies and is identified by those who created him. People can just look at you and know what your sexuality is better than you do, there's nothing repulsive about that idea at all! I've got a mountain of shiny pennies that says if Dean had literally never interacted with a man for the entire span of the series, they would have insisted it was because he was so afraid of how much he wanted to fuck them. There was no way the writers could have written Dean that someone like that would have accepted as actually heterosexual, because that's not what they personally wanted, so that's not what they were going to see.

I'm not saying there aren't things that might be said about how relatively questionable some of the gay jokes in SPN are, especially in the early years in terms of making queerness a punchline. But if we're going to talk about that? We need to do it not only in the cultural context of 2005 rather than 2023, but in the context of portrayals of real world men - and particularly those in fairly rural settings who aren't going to be particularly conscientious in the way they rib each other. Which becomes a whole other discussion about where to draw lines when you're writing fiction and dealing with things that might be realistic but also potentially offensive.

Furthermore, I'm not saying there aren't things that might be said about how SPN continually used romantic tropes for platonic relationships and how it's not entirely absurd for that to land different with the audience when the characters are not blood-related. Except that discussion needs to include not just how maybe the writers shouldn't have treated it as such a joke that a relationship between two male characters might have been possible, but also how fans should absolutely not have equated a relationship being theoretically possible with any specific relationship they wanted being owed to them. Especially in the context of those romantic tropes being used so so so much more between brothers all the fucking time setting the tone. As well as how it's not just problematic to treat the possibility of homosexual relationships as a joke, but problematic to insist literally any closeness between two male entities is gay, reinforcing all kinds of nasty toxic stereotypes about sexuality and masculinity which underlay a lot of modern adult men's issues with expressing their emotions and having genuinely close and open relationships outside of their romantic partners. I've seen fans wonder how heterosexual dudes can watch this show and love the brothers' relationship without seemingly noticing the weird undertones of how claustrophobically intertwined they are, and I think it's very much that when it comes to wanting a fantasy of platonic closeness, they're looking for realism as much as most women reading trashy romance novels are - but that's a whole other digression and this is already too long.

At the end of the day, not only was SPN not created in the cultural context of Very Online Tumbrites in 2023, convinced that nothing should ever be is heterosexual and every fictional story should be about them and what they want? The fact their ostensible original point misses is the real world and most other media of 2023 aren't like that either! Some of these shippers come across like they've literally never seen two adult male friends interact with each other or any actual love stories in media - and it's not just early 2000's television characters getting this treatment from entitled shippers who want to use representation as a weapon against creators as to why they're owed things they absolutely aren't.