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themuzzleofnemesis · 4 years

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3–Memory of the Four Seasons; Scene 6

The Muzzle of Nemesis, pages 108-117

Shakuson and I had officially started dating.

It was Shakuson who had proposed we go steady. Under the cherry blossom tree, whose leaves had all scattered.

I had no reason to refuse.

Though truthfully I should have.

Everything between us was too different.

He was so smart, and I was so stupid.

He was so kind, and I was so cold.

He was a police officer--and I was a killer.

Such a pair couldn't be together.

But--

Even so--

I couldn't lie to my own feelings anymore.

The moment he had embraced me.

The moment he said, "Let's always be together".

I had been overcome with emotion.

And I could not go against it.

Should I be honest, and tell Shakuson everything?

My real name.

That I had once sunk the S.S. Titanis.

That I was an assassin.

…No matter how I wanted to, I couldn't.

If I told him, everything would end.

--I had completed another “job” tonight.

When I returned to the room, the red-coated “Postman” was waiting for me as always.

“…Yeah, here.”

I handed over the gun, done using it.

He wordlessly took it back, and then moved to leave the room.

“—Wait a second!”

Of course Postman didn’t reply when I called him to stop, but he did come to a halt and turned to me.

“…You’re a member of this organization—of Pere Noel too, right? Do you have no doubts about your work? Or do you at least harbor some grievances, of any kind?”

“…”

“…Humph. You never speak with me, and you never answer any of my questions—just as Bruno said. Well, that’s fine. You don’t really need to speak, just please pass along my request.”

Postman nodded.

“—Lately the quality of my guns have been poor. Thanks to that I wound up with several misfires tonight. The cleanup afterward is important, so make sure to send me a better gun next time.”

He nodded once more, and then left.

…I wondered how long this was going to go on for.

There was the list I had been given at the beginning. Among the five written there, I had already stolen the lives of four of them.

But that didn’t mean they would release me once I had killed the one remaining.

I was positive they would have me do the same thing again somewhere else.

I had thought about running away, many times. But the organization—or rather, the Dark Star Bureau that stood behind it, had immense power. On top of having their own private police force, PN, I had heard that they were currently allied with the Freezis Conglomerate.

An even worse problem was the fact that they had far more frightening assassins than me at their disposal.

“Number 5”, Jorm Zusco, who had murdered the members of Zeus.

And—“Number 1”, Shiro Netsuma, the expert marksman who had taught me how to use a gun.

I had once been chased by Shiro in the forest. Even back then I had been able to tell that I couldn’t win in a fair fight against her, but now I much better understood her true ability. I couldn’t hope to match her skill.

Shiro was a kind person, but she also had sworn a fierce vow of loyalty to Bruno. I was certain there was no way she would help me if it meant going against him.

I didn’t want to die.

Obviously everyone is afraid of death.

So—I had to keep going.

I pulled out the list of assassination targets I had hidden in my closet.

It was written in a cipher, so even if someone were to find it they wouldn’t be able to understand the contents.

The only one left is…

Nyoze Octo. Former soldier.

He was arrested for murdering a prostitute and sentenced to fifteen years of imprisonment by the Dark Star Bureau, but he’d escaped from prison.

They’d established that he’d smuggled himself into the Republic of Lucifenia, but hadn’t been able to ascertain his movements after that point—

Unlike my other targets up until now, he was a full-fledged criminal. …Though I wasn’t in any position to talk.

Since he was a fugitive, PN’s “public” forces and the World Police must have already been hunting him down. So then, why go to the trouble of having him assassinated?

--The long and short of it was that this Nyoze must have had some information that would be inconvenient to “Master”.

Since my target was the sort who would murder prostitutes, I felt a bit less guilty about it.

Only, considering he had been left for last, the organization probably hadn’t managed to pin down his location just yet.

They would probably find him someday, but I prayed for that day to come as slow as possible.

I could continue my life here until Nyoze’s assassination was complete.

With Shakuson by my side.

“…I think he had a day off from work today.”

I was overwhelmed with the desire to see his face.

After I had showered and changed, I went to Shakuon’s room.

I knocked, but there was no reply.

“Has he gone out?”

He’d given me a spare key. So I used it to let myself in.

I figured I would wait inside until he came home.

“…”

As always, the place was scrupulously clean.

The fact that it appeared cluttered even so was probably because he had too many things.

“Like all those difficult-looking books on his bookshelf.”

Frankly, even reading the titles of the books was enough for me.

“I don’t care much for books on education or politics…Doesn’t he have any novels?”

Eventually I found some books like that.

They had the title of the “Freezis Fairytale Collection”. Ten volumes.

I figured I could read fairytales, and so took out the first volume and opened it.

“Ough…There’s a lot more words than I thought. …Hm? What’s this?”

I noticed that something had been wedged into the book. I thought maybe it was a bookmark, but when I opened the page I saw it wasn’t. It was a letter.

“Is this…”

Maybe it was a love letter from a past girlfriend?

It feels awkward to snoop…but I have a right to see it! …Probably.

And thus convincing myself, I boldly made to look over the letter’s contents.

--Written at the top was the sentence, “To my dear older brother”.

Whaat, it’s a letter from his younger brother. …I didn’t know he had a younger brother.

And then I decided to read on.

To my dear older brother,

Have you gotten used to life in the Lucifenian Republic? I’ve heard it’s much warmer than here in Holy Levianta. I’m a bit jealous.

I’m still coming and going in Levianta and Elphegort, as always. Being a member of a political party isn’t easy, but even so I think it’s better than when I was in the military. I don’t need to stand on the front lines with a gun in my hand, after all.

--Just as we anticipated, the country of Asmodean has declared war on Lucifenia. We still don’t know how the other countries will react, but I expect Elphegort will wind up taking Asmodean’s side.

Thanks to the verdict that Gallerian Marlon passed down, the whole world is being caught up in a vortex of war. I wonder what the bastard thinks of that? Maybe he doesn’t think anything of it. Gallerian can’t think about anything but the satisfaction of his own greed.

We have to give him punishment someday. This time it’s our turn to judge Gallerian. The man who sent you to prison, brother.

Our preparations have been proceeding steadily along. But we still lack a trump card. The distrust the public has for the Dark Star Bureau has been growing, but we need something to make it decisive.

Our time will come eventually. Just hold out until then. I’m sure there’s a chance the Dark Star Bureau will revoke the sentence Gallerian gave to you once we’ve thwarted him.

And more important, the sword. The family heirloom katana that he stole from us…We must get it back.

Are you alright, brother? Sometimes I feel like I’m going mad. I first learned this once we lost it, but—that cursed sword is like a narcotic. Surely we—no, our entire family line from our ancestry—have been taken over by something that dwells inside it. We need to get that sword again, and soon.

Are you doing well as a police officer? I thought it was pretty outrageous of you to borrow Shakuson’s name and position like that. But, well, I guess you could call that not seeing the forest for the trees.

As for the real Shakuson, he’s been working hard as a member of the Tasan party. Since you’re currently using his name, he’s going by the name of Ben. I gave him that, though he didn’t seem to like it that much. But then, what else could we do? It’s not like he can go by your name of “Nyoze”.

And then…about this “Nemesis” girl that you wrote to me about in your letter. I did some digging, and it’s just as you thought.

Keep a close eye on her. You might have a use for her. Maybe she could be the trump card we need to take down Gallerian.

Just make sure to take care with her. If she finds out your real identity, it’ll all be over.

And don’t forget that you’re on the run.

If the situation demands it, kill her.

Well then, I’ll write again.

-Gammon Octo

I slipped the letter in the book as it had been before and then put it back on the shelf.

Shortly thereafter, the door opened.

“Oh, you’re here.”

Shakuson had returned.

“Sorry. There was another killing. They called me out.”

“Right…That’s rough, considering you were off-duty.”

“Well, I got it wrapped up decently enough. Apparently we’ll be starting the full-scale investigation tomorrow.”

“I see…Well, I guess I’ll head home.”

“…? You didn’t come over to stay with me?”

“…You have an early morning, don’t you? I don’t want…to be any trouble. And…I’m not feeling well.”

“You do look a little peakish. Alright, take it easy then.”

“Yeah…Sorry.”

Then I left the room and went back down the stairs.

Once I returned to my room, I immediately collapsed onto the bed,

Several thoughts swirled through my mind.

But…I didn’t want to think about anything.

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hymn2000 · 4 years

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Ideal Confusion - MCU AU Fanfic - C14

(Title subject to change)

Story summary: Giving into the constant pressure from the press, Tony decides to put a rest to the rumours that Peter is his biological son - once and for all.

Previous Chapter(s): 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Part of my Frostiron and Spiderson series.

Warnings/themes: family, family stuff, adoption, DNA test(s), pressure, peer pressure, social issues, mentions of alcoholism, mental health problems, potentially some minor medical inaccuracies, mentions of corporal punishment, hurt/comfort,mentions of suicide

You can also find me on AO3

Chapter 14 - Bitter Fingers

He knew exactly what he was doing, thumping out heavy, almost furious, soulful notes, singing the words perfectly, with feeling, with vigour, with a real sense of urgency.

“You’re good” Tony said, once he’d finished the song.

Peter slowly turned to him. He’d had a feeling he was being watched; he just hadn’t realised who by. They’d ended up in another argument after Li had left the previous day, and hadn’t spoken since. He turned back to the piano.

“I know”

“Why don’t you play something else? Something classical?”

“I don’t want to”

“Why not?”

“I just don’t” Peter said, putting his hands back on the keys.

“Well, play something more upbeat”

Peter paused, thinking, and then started playing. At first Tony seemed almost approving, but as the first verse flew by, his expression changed.

“-Think I'm gonna kill myself, cause a little suicide, stick around for a couple of da-”

“PETER!”

“What?! You told me to play something more upbeat!”

“I didn’t mean this! This song is so insensitive”

“Sir Elton tried to kill himself thrice:- I think he’s within his rights to sing about it”

“That doesn’t mean you are!”

“Don’t you have anything better to do?” Peter scowled. “Why are you up here?”

“I wanted to see you play”

“Why?”

“Why? Because you’re my son, maybe?”

“Oh, so I’m your son now, am I?”

Tony sighed. “Don’t start”

“I’m not starting anything” Peter shrugged, looking back at his piano, studying the front as though he had a songbook open.

“I thought you liked performing. You’ve been singing to your father, haven’t you?”

“He actually wants to listen, and he’s not in denial”

“What makes you think I’m in denial?”

Peter gave him a look, looking so similar to Loki that for a moment, Tony wasn’t sure how to react. Eventually, he just sighed and sat down next to Peter, taking his MP3.

“I’ll choose something for you. You can play by ear, right?”

“I’m playing Sir Elton” Peter said. “Don’t mess with my playlist”

“Alright, calm down. How about Crocodile Rock? That’s an upbeat one”

“Maybe I don’t want to play anything upbeat. Stop messing with my stuff”

Peter tried to snatch the player back, but Tony held it out of his reach.

“Fine. Do you think you can play I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues?”

“Maybe I don’t want to take your suggestions” Peter snatched the player back, scrolling through. “If it’ll make you go away, I’ll play a less sad one, but this is as good as you’re gonna get”

He put his player down, shifted position so he wouldn’t clash elbows with Tony, and once again set to the ivories. In some ways, it was easy to block Tony out, even with him so close. But in other ways, he liked knowing he was there. More than that, he liked knowing that he was good:- he could play, and he could sing, and he’d achieved every bit of it without any help, knowledge, input, or support from the man sat beside him, who just so happened to be part of the reason why he was ever born. He could feel himself being watched, but he made sure never to look at him, and he just kept performing, feeling melancholy, but triumphant - almost like he wanted to stick out his tongue at his father and shout; “nah nah ne nah nah, look what I can do without you!”. But instead he just kept singing.

“...If someone else is suffering enough, oh to write it down. When every single word makes sense, then it's easier to have those songs around. The kick inside is in the line that finally gets to you, and it feels so good to hurt so bad, and suffer just enough to sing the blues. So turn 'em on, turn 'em on, turn on those sad songs. When all hope is gone, why don't you tune in and turn them on..?”

Peter took his headphones off. For a moment there was silence, and then Tony turned and wrapped his arms around the boy, pulling him close. Peter stayed still, hardly even daring to breathe. He wasn’t sure he trusted Tony’s intentions, whatever they might be, and after some of the things that had been said over the past couple of days, he wasn’t sure he wanted to be near him at all. After what felt like an eternity, he spoke, surprising himself.

“Just because I love you the most, that doesn’t mean you’re the best parent”

Loki looked over Tony’s shoulder.

“What are you looking at?”

“Just an email from the school. They’re doing a huge show at the end of term”

“I thought we’d essentially decided to withdraw him from the school?”

“Yeah... But maybe we should send him back now. Let him finish the term”

Loki was quiet for a moment. “Why the change of heart? You don’t want him to end up leaving out of someone else’s choice, do you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well. Let’s be honest; if he were at a mainstream school, and-or you weren’t his father, he’d probably have been expelled by now”

Tony took his hand away from his mouth. “...Am I a bad parent?”

“Sometimes”

Tony couldn’t help but laugh slightly. “Thanks for the brutal honesty”

“Do you really think I’m going to lie to you? Especially after the way you’ve been since we got those DNA results?”

Tony didn’t respond. Loki sighed, looking at the email on Tony’s screen.

“Is there really much point sending him back for two weeks?”

Tony shrugged. “Get him out from under our feet?”

“Charming. And here I was thinking you’d turned a corner”

“I was joking!” Tony exclaimed, showing a glimmer of personality for the first time all day. “It might be good for him to get out of the house, and tie up loose ends. I don’t think he’s talked to any of the Bunnies since the last time he was there”

“Well, if you took the time to stop sulking and actually speak to him, you’d know that he’s still been talking to Flo, and he’s even made amends with Millie”

“And Macy?”

Loki grimaced. “Still a touchy subject, I think”

Tony sighed heavily. “They were such a cute little group. It was good that he had proper friends. He’d never really had them before”

“Well, maybe not, but I can’t say I think it’s that important. From what I’ve learnt, humans don’t often keep their school friends throughout the rest of their lives anyway”

“That’s not-” Tony stopped, and sighed. “Go and get him, would you?”

“I think he’s busy”

“Loki”

“Alright, alright. I’ll go and get him”

Loki waited until Peter’s song had finished, and then gently laid a hand on his shoulder. Peter jumped slightly, pulling his headphones off.

“Oh, it’s just you”

“Your presence is requested in the kitchen”

Peter whined. “Do I have to?”

“Yes”

“Why? What does he want?”

“He wants to ask you something”

“What?”

“I shouldn’t say”

“Aww, please!”

Loki took one look at Peter’s puppy-dog eyes and gave in. “Fine, but don’t let on I’ve told you. He wants to ask how you feel about finishing the term at school”

“Oh” Peter said. “Well, sure. It’s only a couple of weeks, isn’t it?”

“Yes. Do you think you can stay out of trouble for that long?”

Peter shrugged. “Maybe~. You’ll relay my message, won’t you?” He turned back to the piano.

“Hey, you’re not getting out of it that easily!”

“Aww, but daddy! I’ve nearly nailed that hard piano riff in Burn Down The Mission! It’ll throw off my groove if I stop now!”

“You’ll just have to practice later” Loki said, taking hold of him and lifting him into his arms. “Come along, Elton. Better not leave him waiting too much longer”

Peter couldn’t work out why Tony didn’t seem satisfied with his answer. He stayed where he was on Loki’s hip, feeling somehow tiny and mighty at the same time.

“You’ll go back tomorrow then”

“Why tomorrow?”

“Why not? It’s Monday. Better day than any” Tony said. “You’d better find your uniform so we can get it ready”

“By ‘we’, I take it you mean me?” Loki said.

“Um-”

Loki laughed. “Don’t look so scared! I’ll sort it”

Peter looked at both of his parents, but settled on Tony.

“This is going to be my last term, isn’t it?”

Tony didn’t say anything, but he didn’t need to.

“Did you need anything else?”

“No...”

“Can I go back to my piano now?”

“Maybe take a little break” Loki said. “Your hands must be aching after all that playing”

“I’m fine!”

“Hold your hands out”

Peter did as he was told, reluctantly, and with a bit of difficulty due to his position. Thank god for strong thighs, he thought to himself. Loki took one look at the boys shaking hands and shook his head.

“Let them rest, sweetheart”

“It’s just a trapped muscle” Peter tried.

“You really shouldn’t try to lie to someone as good at it as I am” Loki said.

“Well, I don’t want to lounge about doing nothing” Peter pouted.

“No amount of baby-face is going to make me change my mind”

Tony watched them together. Bar a few unsavoury incidents after May’s death, Loki always managed to hold it together and be a good father to Peter. As much as he hated to admit it, Tony knew that it was him who was always rubbish is times of crisis. Loki was right; he was a bad father sometimes. Especially since finding out he was a biological father.

“Why don’t we go for a swim?” he suggested.

Loki and Peter stopped and looked at him, Peter glaring, and Loki very nearly doing the same.

“...Theoretically... Could a god impregnate a human woman at the same time as a human man, and have shared parentage with the human, so like, the kid had three bio parents?”

Loki looked at him, searching his face. He glanced at Peter, and then back at his husband. He knew what he was getting at.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Anthony”

They didn’t go for a swim. Tony started sulking again and went down to the lab, not doing proper work; just attempting to make comprehensive shapes out of solder, while Loki tried in vain to teach Peter some magic upstairs.

“It doesn’t seem to be taking” he said eventually.

“Maybe humans can’t do it” Peter said. “I can kinda feel it when you put your hands over mine, but I can’t make any of that feeling come to me naturally, yknow?”

“Well, perhaps you aren’t made to do magic. Maybe you need a spark to begin with.. Ah well. Your talents lie elsewhere”

“I guess so”

Peter closed his eyes, trying to focus on pushing energy to his fingertips like Loki had said. No matter how hard he tried, it still just seemed so much more like a concept and a metaphor than an actual physical thing he could do. He gave up and opened his eyes.

“It doesn’t work. Can’t you like, transfer your magic to me or something?”

Loki laughed slightly. “It doesn’t really work like that, chick. Now, you should probably go and get all your school stuff together; save having to do it last thing”

“Aw, it’s gonna be tough having to get up in the morning. I’ve completely fucked up my sleep schedule”

“I guessed as much. And don’t swear: you know your dad’ll go spare if he hears you”

“That’s his problem”

“It won’t be when you’re over his knee now, will it? Now go and find your uniform. We’ll sort everything physical and then work on a game plan”

“Alright. But can I ask you something first?”

Loki raised an eyebrow, an always ambiguous notion in situations such as this.

“Why have you been looking at houses to buy in Scotland?”

“Peter, I told you to go and get your uniform”

Peter sighed, shrugged, and went to do as he was told.

He was distracted from his Loki-based thoughts when he found the uniform. It felt weird thinking this would be the last term he’d wear it. He’d hated it so much at the start, and he wasn’t exactly a huge fan now, but oddly, he felt almost attached to it. Aside from the hat. He’d never worn that. In fact, the only thing he’d really done with it, aside from hate it, was use it as a frisbee. It made a surprisingly good one in a pinch. He’d worn Flo’s school hat a few times when she’d put it on him, but the girls had straw hats with ribbon, which were quite universal, and even looked cute on some people. A far cry from the horrible little peaked caps the boys had, which suited only the smallest of the first years and exactly five people in Peter’s years group, one of which was Macy. St Hendricks certainly had its downsides, but at least, despite everyone owning them, the hats weren’t strictly enforced. It had saved a lot of embarrassment.

Peter looked at his uniform, specifically the jacket and tie. Come to think of it, they’d both taken quite a beating. He was actually on his third tie: he’d train-tracked his first one so badly that the bottom six inches were unrecognisable as a school tie, and he’d been told he had to either buy another one or go on uniform report, and he’d set the second one on fire with a bunsen burner to set the fire alarm off after a teacher had told him that being a famous persons son didn’t give him any right not to pay attention in class. He was still quite proud of that one. Malaki had taken the blame for him though, so he’d never seen any real repercussions for it.

As for his blazer... well, it was only Loki’s surprisingly perfect sewing and washing skills that had made it last as long as it had. It had been stained with everything you could think of, from blood to poster paint, and somehow still come up clean. It had also suffered it’s fair share of ripped seams and torn lining, and of course the time the back seam had completely given up following a particularly rough drama lesson - another incident which had nearly landed him on uniform report as well as in detention.

It was quite funny, in a way, how he was perceived at that school. At Midtown, he’d been a bit of a loner, a bit of an outcast, but generally a model pupil. At St Hendricks, he was generally considered a hell-raiser - and it was the teachers who had said that first, not him. When he really thought about it, he could almost understand where they were coming from. Malaki aside, they were used to everyone falling into line and behaving like young ladies and gentlemen. So Peter rocking up and throwing tantrums (and fists), catapulting rubbers at the back of Nigel’s head, pushing Malaki into the swimming pool in the middle of lessons, and pulling drainpipes off the wall while retrieving footballs from the roof was probably a bit of a culture shock for them.

Not that everyone seemed to mind. A lot of people seemed to have a bit of a soft spot for him, for whatever reason. He’d even quickly won over the new PE teacher, despite famously being bent over the equipment trolley and paddled with a cricket bat during the teachers first week at the school. Even then, he hadn’t really hit him hard (and nowhere near as hard as he’d hit Nigel, who was by his side being disciplined a little bit too often). N-Pet, as he’d quickly become known, was, along with Mr Musgrove, one of Peter’s biggest defenders. Peter had become very good at using his small and quiet side to his advantage, even to such an extent as causing havoc and running to hide behind a teacher he knew would have his back. Maybe he was a little bastard, Peter thought. But maybe that made sense, considering the school he went to.

Peter took Loki his uniform, but he didn’t stop. He went to sort out his school bag, thinking deeply as he did so. He’d been so sure he’d hate the school, but he didn’t really, not so much. He’d made friends fast enough, and he’d had good times. And weird times. Especially where Nigel was concerned...

Nigel was certainly weird. Him and Peter had essentially been sworn enemies since day one, but, for some reason, Nigel always defended Peter, even covering his back to stop him getting into trouble. And then there was all of their store cupboard encounters. And the time Nigel had asked him to the dance. And that time at Nigel’s when-... Well, Peter didn’t like to think about that. It had ended in an argument anyway, which was very on form. Peter still didn’t know what to make of Nigel, but he was sure Nigel didn’t know what to make of him either. Maybe it was one of those questions that didn’t really need an answer. He didn’t suppose he’d ever see him again after the end of term anyway.

He hoped he’d still see Flo. And Millie. He wasn’t sure about Macy yet, or Malaki. He supposed the next couple of weeks would be a final hurdle where the latter two were concerned.

Loki went to find Peter a little later on.

“I was getting worried” he said. “You just disappeared”

“Sorry...”

“...What are you listening to?”

“...It’s called Black Tables”

Loki sat down beside him on the bed. He knew that look, and he suddenly knew why Peter had been alone in here for the past few hours. Peter kept his eyes on his hands. He’d gone too deep into his thoughts, and he knew making eye contact would be fatal.

“You should try playing this some time” Loki said. “It’s got plenty of piano in it”

Peter nodded slightly. Loki was quiet for a moment, and then he rested a hand on Peter’s.

“Sweetheart”

Peter looked up at him, and burst into tears.

“Oh, sweetheart...”

Loki carefully put his arms round the boy. At first, Peter didn’t move, but he gave in soon enough and he held onto his father as he cried. Loki slowly tightened his loose grip, and Peter cried harder. He rested his cheek against the top of the boys head, and rocked him gently.

The bedroom door burst open, making them both jump.

“Tony! You nearly blew the bloody door off!” Loki scowled.

“Don’t exaggerate” he looked at Peter, snug in Loki’s arms. “Have you got all your stuff ready for school?”

Peter seemed to shrink away from him. He stayed quiet.

“I asked you a question, Peter!” Tony snapped.

“Don’t shout at him!” Loki shook his head disapprovingly and hugged Peter tighter. “It’s all ready; don’t you worry about that”

“Good. What do you want for tea?”

“I hadn’t really thought about it” Loki said. “I’ve got my hands full”

Tony sighed. “What’s up with him now?”

“I don’t know yet”

He held Peter protectively, trying to shield him - but Peter had other ideas.

“You’re what’s wrong!” he suddenly shouted. “You’d know that if you cared”

“Sorry, I’m what’s wrong?” Tony said, shocked. “Don’t be ridiculous!”

“I’m not being ridiculous!” Peter shot back. “You could at least admit to how you’ve been acting!”

He tried to pull away, but Loki held onto him, adjusting his hold slightly.

“Peter, stop it” he said. “This isn’t the time for an argument”

“Well, why not?! When is the time?”

“Peter, I said stop”

Peter went quiet, but growled defensively when Tony sat down next to Loki.

“I think we need to talk, don’t you?” he said. He glanced at Loki. “Just the two of us?”

Peter clung to Loki. He had a bad feeling about this.

“Well... I could always go and get started on tea” Loki said, letting go of Peter.

“No! Don’t go!”

Loki couldn’t ignore the urgency in his voice. “What is it?”

“Please don’t leave me alone with him!” Peter begged, keeping tight hold of Loki’s shirt. “He’s gonna do something to me!”

“Oh for gods sake!” Tony fumed. “You’re being ridiculous! You’re just getting all muddled in that silly little mind of yours”

“Tony! Don’t speak to him like that!”

“Like what?! I thought you were going to sort some food out?”

“I’m not leaving, not when he’s scared”

“He’s not scared; he’s just attention seeking!” Tony insisted. He narrowed his eyes at Peter. “You need to start behaving yourself”

In Peter’s ears, that sounded like a threat.

“See?! He’s gonna hurt me if you leave!”

“I’m not gonna hurt you! And if I was gonna smack you - which I should, considering your attitude as of late - I’d have no qualms about doing it in front of your father”

Peter started crying all over again.

“Oh, that’s it; turn on the water-works”

“Tony, that’s enough!” Loki snapped, pulling Peter close. “You’re upsetting him, and I’m not sure I like the look in your eyes either”

There was a short silence, and Tony stood up.

“I’m gonna get started on tea”

“You do that”

Peter was more than just a little reluctant about going through to the kitchen for tea, but Loki managed to coax him. There was still a heavy atmosphere between the three of them, and Peter’s spidey senses were still giving him grief. As a result, he couldn’t settle. Everything tasted weird, and his throat was tight, so eating wasn’t easy.

About halfway through the meal, Loki excused himself and stood up.

“W-wait, where are you going?!” Peter squeaked, struggling up and scurrying after him.

“Hey, hey, don’t look so scared!” Loki said, stopping him. “I’m just going to empty my bladder: I’m going to do myself an injury if I hold it any longer. Finish your tea”

He carefully detached Peter’s hands from his shirt. Peter watched the door close behind him. Suddenly the kitchen felt a little too bright, and he became hyper-aware of the fact that Tony had been watching him. He swallowed, his mouth feeling and tasting weird, as though he’d just had a nosebleed.

He snapped round quickly when Tony stood up, and took a few steps back.

“I’m just about sick to death of you, young man” Tony growled. “Now, come here!”

Peter shook his head, his pulse beating in his ears, and took another step back.

“Right”

Tony grabbed hold of him. Ordinarily he wouldn’t have been a match for the boy - but all of Peter’s fight seemed to have disappeared, and all he could do was gasp and flinch as Tony tugged him closer.

“I’m sick of all your attention seeking and drama performances. You need to learn how to behave yourself”

Peter tried to say something - anything - but that familiar horrible feeling was welling in his throat, choking his words as though he were talking to a complete stranger. The seconds seemed to be dragging, and he felt hot and sick and helpless, unable to speak, shaking, but hardly able to move. He tried hard to pull free from Tony’s iron grip - and was suddenly smacked, hard. It made him jump and flinch at the same time, and before he’d really comprehended what had happened, he was over Tony’s lap, and he was smacked again. And again. And again.

It hadn’t always hurt this much, Peter was sure of it. And it definitely didn’t use to make him feel sick like this, or set his senses off like this. And he’d never been so overcome with fear as to cause his selective mutism to act against his parents. He completely froze, stuck, unable to even gasp audibly.

But then he heard footsteps. And the door. And then he was suddenly back on his feet - but only just.

“What the hell is going on here?! It’s no wonder he was so scared earlier if this is the way you’ve decided to treat him!” Loki shouted, putting an arm out to support the trembling Peter. “Those DNA results should have strengthened your bond, if anything:- not made you turn against him!”

“This is nothing to do with that!” Tony insisted. “He doesn’t know how to behave! Cutting discipline out of our parenting-”

“We didn’t cut out discipline! We-” he stopped, looking at Peter. “Are you ok?”

Peter shook his head. He suddenly found his feet, and was out of there in a flash. There was a pause, and then Loki picked up where he left off.

“Just because we stopped smacking him, that doesn’t mean we stopped disciplining him, and you know that as well as I do. And that” he said, gesturing. “Was definitely not what we used to do! I saw, and that was a proper wallop; that wasn’t the kind of thing we ever agreed on. Don’t get me wrong, Anthony: I knew you were going to hit him again sometime soon. But I expected a little spanking, not a good attempt at knocking the living daylights out of the poor thing! What the hell were you thinking?!”

“I don’t know! I was angry! He’s been doing my head in!”

“You’re not allowed to pull that card! It’s no excuse for what you’ve just done! You’re angry at yourself; not him!”

“How’d you work that one out?”

“Because I know you, Anthony Edward Stark! And so I should, considering how long we’ve been together. Peter has not done a single malicious thing since we got those DNA results, unlike you, Mister Stark. Ok, maybe he’s done a few bitchy little things, but only in retaliation to the things you’ve done first. And besides, you’re meant to be the grown-up here: why don’t you try to act like it?”

“...I haven’t been that bad”

“Is that so? Why don’t we reflect? How about the day we found out? Not forgetting of course your insensitive crack at my infertility, but how about causing an argument over him moving a tub of coffee, which ended in you slapping him across the face? Or how about ignoring all his calls and texts? Sure, you seemed better after that night away, but then you got back to causing arguments and having a go at him for no reason. And-”

“Ok, ok, I get it!” Tony interrupted. “I’m just stressed”

“Oh, and I’m not? Good god. I’m glad he’s going back to school: it’s probably in his best interests to be away from you right now”

There was a short silence.

“I’m not a bad parent, Loki”

Loki looked at him. He looked at the uncertainty on his face, and the tears in his eyes. He kept looking hard at him, and as soon as Tony started crying, he looked away.

“I’m going to go and check on my son” he said, and left Tony to his own devices.

Loki fully expected Peter to be cuddled up with his elephant, so he was surprised not to see him there. The en suite was empty, as was the bed - both on and under. He stood for a moment, thinking, and then went to his own room, only to find that empty too. He checked the reading nook, and the garden balcony, and then stopped. He knew where to go.

Loki opened the door to the store cupboard by the swimming pool. There, beside the mop buckets under the shelf, was exactly what he was looking for.

“Now, this takes me back” he said gently.

Peter didn’t protest when Loki sat down beside him. He was hugging the May bear, resting his cheek on it’s head. It was made out of a shirt that had been in the box May’s work had given Peter. It usually lived on a shelf, displayed proudly, out of harms way, and Loki had long since learnt how bad a sign it was to find it in Peter’s arms.

“...Do you ever wonder how his dad was with him?” Peter mumbled, breaking a long silence.

Loki paused. “I don’t think all those scars are from adulthood, if that’s what you mean”

“You dad was abusive, right?”

“Odin? Well. Not physically. Mentally, and emotionally, I think... But when your brain is wired as strangely as mine, it’s hard to work out what was wrong and what wasn’t. He was never really a father, not in the right way. I was there for the wrong reasons. He only saved me to use me as a bargaining chip. He never liked me. I don’t care anymore”

“What about your mum?”

“Ah. Well, she was definitely my mother. I suppose a part of me thought she always would be”

“So what happened?”

Loki smiled sadly. “I fell in love. I haven’t seen her since before I moved in with Tony”

“That’s a long time. It’s gotta hurt, right?” he paused. “She wrote to you”

Loki nodded. “She sent a wedding present. From Odin as well, supposedly”

“Did you ever reply?”

“No” Loki sighed. “There comes a time when it just feels pointless. It would be like looking up someone you met once in a pub and trying to have a meaningful conversation”

“Would you see her again? If you had the chance?”

“The way I see it” Loki said. “If she had wanted to stay in my life, she would have made an effort. There’s a lot stopping me from returning to Asgard. Nothing is stopping her from coming to Midgard”

“Does it still bother you?”

“Sometimes”

Peter raised his head, not looking at Loki, but more open now.

“Why do some people have such hard lives?”

“It’s simply the luck of the draw”

“We’ve got dreadful luck”

Loki laughed slightly. “Maybe. But we’ve had some good luck too”

“Maybe...”

“Well, I got to adopt you, didn’t I? Despite the circumstances leading to it, that’s some luck, isn’t it?”

A small smile tugged at Peter’s lips. “Maybe”

Loki looked round the store room. There was time when they spent a considerable amount of time in here together. For whatever reason, after May died, it had become Peter’s hiding place. It had stayed that way for a long time, but now it was a little unusual to find him there, and definitely not a good thing.

“Are you ready to come back upstairs?”

Peter nodded slightly.

“Ok...” Loki picked the boy up carefully, feeling almost as though he’d gone back in time.

Loki sat cross-legged on Tony’s bed, watching him carefully. He was sat looking through a photo album, wet tears still on his face.

“I’ve never been great at the hard stuff, have I? I mean... Even that year he came to stay with us, and you were so ill... I didn’t treat you great then, did I? I was kinda dreadful to you at times. And I cracked after May died. I guess we all did, but still... All that year... Even that first Christmas, I was all cross. Overreacting to the curfew thing a bit, I guess. And then when he had that building site accident, and the way he played up at that party, I got all cross about that too”

“We both got cross about the party. He did show us up a bit”

“Mmm... I was rubbish with the Kindsprengen stuff. Well, not the take-down, but the kid bit, especially that first week... And I guess I’m kinda responsible for your downfall after the IVF thing”

“You didn’t force the bottle into my hand”

“No, but I enabled it. I was too busy drowning my own sorrows to even listen to you, so you just did what I was doing. We basically isolated ourselves together. I was bad with the kid then, too. Said I’d keep visiting even though you were ill and couldn’t. And didn’t... Gave him up... Argued a fair bit last Christmas too...”

“What are you thinking?”

Tony lowered the album and looked at Loki.

“I’ve been really bad lately. I don’t think my meds are working anymore. I don’t think they’ve worked for a while now”

Loki didn’t seem to react, but his eyes moved, and they said everything.

“Tomorrow” Tony said. “You know people will rush me through”

He looked back at the album for a moment, and then closed it carefully. Loki watched him get up and put it back on the special shelf with the wedding album.

“Do you think we should do couples counselling? Or, like, family counselling?”

“I think we’d be better off actually talking to each other before dragging someone else into it”

Tony sat back down beside him. “You want to say something else. I can tell”

Loki took a deep breath. “Maybe it’s just as well I’m infertile”

Completely without warning, both men broke down in tears. As if by magnetism, they found themselves in each others arms, and as horrible as they both felt, it was still good to hold each other.

Peter looked relieved but reproachful when his door opened.

“I thought you weren’t coming”

“I had a few things to sort out. I thought you might have fallen asleep by now”

“I tried, but... I don’t know. Everything hurts and it’s kinda keeping my mind awake”

Loki picked Peter up and sat down with him in his lap. Neither of them said anything for some minutes.

“...Do you want to sleep in my bed tonight?”

Peter nodded.

“Ok... Grab a cuddly toy”

Peter had always liked Loki’s room, and times like this made him regret not taking advantage of being allowed in there so much anymore. It always felt a little ethereal; strange and different, as though it wasn’t really part of the house. It was like a little window into Loki’s mind that showed you what he loved the most, and what made him feel the calmest and safest. It was his comfortable space. Peter couldn’t help but notice how Loki seemed to relax as soon as he closed the door behind them. As though he’d arrived home.

He was quiet. Silent, even. Peter didn’t say anything either. He let Loki set him down on the bed and tuck his toy Peter Rabbit in beside him. He lay there, looking around him while Loki was in the bathroom. Peter liked most everything in this room, from the silken sheets to the family photos, to the old Snoopy on the chair by the wardrobe, to the deep rug by the bed. The only thing he didn’t like was the Betty Boop lamp. None of the little statues bothered him, but the lamp was a big one that was essentially a light up ornament, and it always seemed to watch him. He sat up to look at it - but it wasn’t in it’s usual spot. Looking around, he couldn’t see it on any of the dressers or shelves. He carefully slipped off the bed, curious now - and then froze like a deer in headlights as the en suite door opened.

Loki raised an eyebrow. “Going somewhere, chicken?”

“Your lamp’s gone!”

“Oh? Which one?”

“The Betty Boop on the lamp post one”

“Ah” Loki sighed. “Yes”

“What happened?”

“Well. Your father was showing me his new developments for the Iron Man gauntlets” he said, picking Peter up and putting him back on the bed. “Only it wasn’t perfected, and it malfunctioned a little and fired and... Well. Bye-bye Betty. Beyond repair. Completely shattered”

“That’s awful! Did you cry?”

“Maybe a little” Loki admitted. “So did Tony; he felt awful. He couldn’t find another one online, but I said it didn’t matter either way. Could have been worse, I suppose”

“You really loved that lamp. It took you years to convince him”

“Enough about the lamp, sweetheart. It’s getting on a bit, and you could really do with a good nights sleep” Loki pushed Peter onto his back. “Stay”

Loki turned the night light on and the big light off, and then finally climbed into bed.

“Have you stolen my pig?”

Peter handed it over. “Do I really have to go to school tomorrow?”

“It’s best that you do, darling. No, don’t start fussing. It’s only a few weeks, and then you never have to go again”

“I guess so”

Loki put an arm round Peter, hugging him close. “Goodnight, sweetie”

“Daddy?”

“Mm?”

“You’re the better parent”

Loki closed his eyes. “Go to sleep, chick”

#my writing #fanfiction #mcu fanfiction #marvel fanfiction #frostiron #irondad and spiderson #IT'S BEEN TWO MONTHS #AND I'VE FINALLY UPDATED

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thecupcakeconsumer · 7 years

Text

Seeing Red pt. 4 - Inspection

A/N: Who’s ready for some well-deserved fluff? Hi didn’t make much of an appearance in the last few, so here’s the Hi/Reader that I technically promised.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 (You are here!) | Part 5

Request: Still on @writers-block0o0’s request!!!

Navitgation: Masterlist is here.

Taglist: @writers-block0o0, @imaginesbyemma, tell me if you want to be added!

Summary: It’s hard for you to come to terms with what you’ve done as a member of the Trinity the next day at school. When your boyfriend is concerned,

Warnings: Flufffffff!!!!! As well as language - “dick wad”, “cock”, “fuck”, and mock mentions of “kinkshaming”. A boy whose girlfriend’s contact name is “daddy”. A little bit of sexual reference, but all in all quite mild.

Word Count: 2,500

Other Notes: Female reader, this is right after the last one! I hope you enjoy.

Technically speaking, your half-brother was supposed to give you a ride to school today.

But given that he had tried to kill you last night, you decided that it would be better to take the walk, leaving a note for him.

Walking to school today, dickwad, you left on the counter, a heart over the ‘i’ in dickwad, before grabbing your bag and leaving out the door.

You hadn’t expected it to be so hard.

You were avoiding people – there was really no doubt about it – but you felt sick to your stomach at just the utter mindlessness of the school day, and how it did nothing to distract you from the events of last night that already felt ages away.

After an irritatingly simple math class, you finally gave up and called your brother.

“Y/N, I-”

“Can you call and sign me out?”

“I’m not home-”

“I know.” I’m glad for it, actually.

“I’ll call.”

Breathing a sigh of relief, you hung up the phone, making your way to the office and signing out before finally being free from Bolton Prep.

It didn’t escape your notice that leaving before lunch also meant you wouldn’t have to speak to Shelton, Hi, Tory and Ben.

“I have to talk to her.”

“Hi, no,” argued Shelton, shaking his head. “She’s obviously got to be traumatized.”

But Ben was nodding along with Hi’s words. “We should at least check on her.”

“No, I’m with Shelton. She needs her space.”

“But, I… I miss her,” sighed Hi, absently twirling a fry in ketchup.

“Hi. Do you want to talk to her for that reason, or because you want to know what it is about her that Tory and Ben are leaving out?” asked Shelton, looking him in the eye.

“She almost got shot! If I almost got shot I know you people would be right there.”

Ben raised an eyebrow. “If you almost got shot it would be impossible for us to forget because you’d be bemoaning it for days.”

“He’s got a point,” Tory conceded, amused. “Tell you what. We give her her space during the school day, and then after school we’ll check up on her at her locker.”

“Good idea.”

“Agreed.”

“It’s a good plan but I still miss her.” Hi leaned onto his hand, looking dejectedly at the fry that was thoroughly and somewhat grossly saturated and casting it aside. “Concept. You two get together and satisfy my need for cuteness in my day-to-day life.”

“Concept. Shut up, Hi.”

Tory elbowed Ben in the side but did nothing to hide the flush of red that overtook her.

“Come on. What’s their ship name again, Shelton? Bory?”

“You should really stop shipping real people,” he sighed, “but for the record it was Bluenan.”

“Shelton! Don’t encourage him.” This time, Tory expressed the sentiment.

“Don’t worry, I have a square chicken plush,” stage whispered Hi to Shelton, “I’ll show you. It’s called… the Cock Block.”

“Shut up, Hi,” repeated Ben and Tory, now in unison.

“Wow, not even a couple and already in sync! You should either get together or start a boy band.”

He clutched his leg in mock agony as he was kicked.

“All of you are just denying the obvious.”

“Can it, Thickburger.”

“Where is she?” asked Tory concernedly, at your locker with Ben and Hi after school.

Shelton jogged up to them. “She wasn’t in tech. I don’t think she’s here today.”

“She was here this morning.” Ben frowned. “Did she go home?”

“I’m calling her,” spoke up Hi, quickly tapping in the speed dial.

“I have two questions,” murmured Shelton, looking over Hi’s shoulder.

“It’s ringing. Shoot.”

“First of all, why is her speed dial 666?”

Tory snickered as Hi answered, making direct eye contact, “Because of her devillish lovemaking.”

It was a struggle as the other boy choked out his next question. “Why is her contact name Daddy?”

“Oh my God, Shelton, stop kink shaming me!” called out Hi as the phone stopped ringing, abruptly going silent then groaning once sent to voice mail. “Hi, Y/N, it’s Hi. Shelton is kink shaming me and I need you to defend me, daddy. I love you, baby. Please call me back.”

He sighed, hanging up, before redialling the number.

“What if she didn’t go home? What if she was super vulnerable and something happened? What if those Trinity assholes got to her?”

He was concerned for you, and five calls to voicemail later, he finally relented.

“Tory, you have Chance’s number, right?”

“Yeah. I’ll dial.”

“I really hope his speed dial isn’t 666 for the same reason,” muttered Hi without the usual note of humor in his voice, his worry evident just by his tone.

“Nah, I was upset with him last night,” answered Tory, handing him her cell with the volume high enough that they all would be able to hear. “Don’t make it weird.”

“What do you mean? I shouldn’t pretend to be you and tell him to-” the ringing stopped as Chance picked up the phone but Hi continued in his largely inaccurate impression of Tory “-talk dirty to me?”

“Excuse me, what?”

“Look, asshole, I really hate you,” started Hi without explanation, his voice quavering now that he was on the phone, “but – where is she?”

“She? Hold on, who is this? You’re not Tory.”

“Wow. Tell me something I don’t know.” He rolled glassy eyes.

“This is – Hiram, then? Just a second.” Chance’s voice stopped, a rustling on the other end. “I’m sorry, who are you looking for?”

Blinking, your boyfriend retorted, “Who do you think? Y/N, of course.”

“Y/N?” he repeated. “She’s not at the house?”

“The house? School just ended.” Fixedly looking at the other three, Hi added, “Since when has she been home?”

“I don’t know, a while. I called in for her a few hours ago.”

“You called in?”

“Yeah, she asked if I could.”

He frowned. “She called you?”

“Look. I fucked up. She’s not… she’s not in a good place right now. She wasn’t happy about having to call me. Have you tried calling her?”

“Do you think you’re anything but a last resort?”

“I don’t know why she’s not answering you, then. You can check on her if you want. Is that all?”

Tory held out her hand for the phone. “Don’t think you’ll be forgiven any time soon.”

She stopped the call, before fixing the three with something between a grimace and a smile. “Well then. I say she needs her space.”

“You’re the boss,” answered Shelton with a shrug, but Hi wasn’t so easily convinced.

“I’m going to go see her.”

Ben shook his head before relenting. “I’ll take you tonight. After dinner.”

“Romantic boat rides after dark? I can’t believe I have to cheat on Y/N to get to her.”

“Keep it up and you won’t be getting there at all.”

“Okay, okay, shutting up.”

You sat in your room, curtains closed, music on, homework open, eyes puffy, and ice cream container halfway finished.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t healthy for you to eat a pint of ice cream in one sitting at eight o'clock at night, even when someone else was home.

Then again, strictly speaking, it wasn’t healthy for someone to be shot at by their half brother.

Technicalities. What can you do?

Being that your music was on rather loudly, it was no wonder that when pattering against your window started you didn’t hear it at first, and then dismissed it as heavy rain.

That was, until you heard the voice.

“YOU’RE INSECURE! DON’T KNOW WHAT FOR!”

Years of hanging out with Shelton had ensured that the lyrics were immediately recognizable, even if the voice was off-key.

“YOU’RE TURNING HEADS WHEN YOU WALK THROUGH THE DO-O-OR!”

You paused your playlist, feeling the tears you had suppressed for long start to surface as his words reached you.

“DON’T NEED MAKE UP TO COVER UP! BEING THE WAY THAT YOU ARE IS ENO-O-OUGH!”

“Shut up!” you heard from what you recognized a moment later as Chance’s voice.

From the subsequent crash inside the house, cry, and shout of, “What the hell? Did you just throw a rock at me?”, the only logical conclusion you could come to was that the very person serenading you had responded to being asked to stop with violence.

Which, of course, only meant that it could be Hi – not that there was any doubt as to who would stand on the lawn outside, throwing rocks at your window, and attempt to woo you over with a One Direction song.

You opened your bedroom door, wiping away the tears that had fallen, and closed it behind you, rushing down the stairs as the out of tune song continued to meet your ears.

“BABY YOU LIGHT UP MY WORLD LIKE NOBODY ELSE, THE WAY THAT-”

“You’re lucky we have no neighbors!” you called out, socked feet becoming stained by the grass that you trod over.

He pointed at you. “I go through all that and you have the audacity to lie to me? For shame, Y/N, for shame.”

Hi couldn’t continue shaking his head at you for long, though, gathering you in his arms as soon as you were near enough.

“I’m a me-” Your words were cut off by his lips, insistently pressing to yours before he leaned his forehead against yours.

“You’re a hot mess. And I wouldn’t have you any other way.”

“Get a room!”

You stole the one rock that remained in Hi’s hand, expertly aiming it before firing it through the window, senses heightened even as you weren’t flaring, managing to hit Chance squarely on the chest.

The window closed a moment later.

In your boyfriend’s strong arms, as you pressed your head into his chest, you felt the tears that you had barely just managed to wipe away start to fall again, letting yourself cry as the reality of what you had done caught up with you.

“It was horrible,” you gasped out, feeling yourself start to lose control.

SNAP

“I didn’t hear the whole story. Do you want to tell me?”

“You don’t want to know.” You shook your head, wincing as snot got on his shirt. “I did things. Horrible things. I can’t even begin to-”

“Look at me.” Burying your face further into the floral printed fabric, you winced as the hands on your shoulders tried to pull you back. “Please, just-”

He pulled you out and you didn’t get the chance to close your eyes before he glimpsed them.

What must he think of me?

He knows I’m a part of the Trinity, he knows what I’ve done, he knows that I’ve-

When you opened your eyes because you couldn’t bear the silence, he was smiling.

“You look hot with red eyes,” he whispered.

You were torn between disbelief and smacking him. “That’s not true.”

“It’s got something to do with Chance, doesn’t it? This.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because you don’t treat it like it’s a gift. You treat it like a disease, which means someone else obviously gave it to you. Considering what Chance has been doing, it had to have been him.”

Smiling, you asked, “Since when are you so intuitive?”

“I’m super intuitive!” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I mean, remember that time when you were super grumpy and I not only diagnosed the cause but also knew exactly how to make you feel better? I’m an awesome boyfriend like that.”

You giggled. “That you are.”

Chance opened the window again. “You’re going to freeze to death out there.”

“Don’t worry, she’s immune,” replied Hi, ruffling your hair. “She’s just so hot.”

If you had ever seen an adult man’s head hit a window sill with any more exasperation, it didn’t come to mind at the moment.

“If you must do this, at least keep it off my lawn.”

He closed the window, and you turned back to Hi, before starting to laugh.

“He’s so over protective,” you drawled sarcastically, “but only when it comes to you.”

“What can I say? I’m just a local menace, really. It’s not my fault. The ladies can’t keep their hands off of me.”

“Yes, it’s hard for them to resist the urge to slap you.”

“What is love? Baby don’t hurt me-”

“No, no, make it stop!”

No, your boyfriend really couldn’t sing, no matter how many times he argued the contrary.

But he could always make you feel better, and that was enough, and when the two of you collapsed in giggles it never felt more natural.

“So, um, see, the problem about living on Morris Island is that I may or may not have had to have Ben drive me here,” interjected Hi, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck.

You pouted. “Fiiiine. Go see your boyfriend.”

“Buuuuut,” he paused a moment for effect, “my parents aren’t home tonight.”

You gaped a moment.

Then, “Are you propositioning me?”

“What? No, no, no! Unless you wanted to, but – wait, do you want to? No, that’s not what I was – not that I wouldn’t want to, but-” He stopped for a moment, face full red, to compose himself. “I was actually suggesting that we stay up all night watching really crappy chick flicks and eating ice cream. We could even grab Tory and force her into it, if you wanted.”

A laugh threatened to come on at the sheer ridiculousness of it all, Hi’s suggestions always original, but you attempted to keep a straight face.

That lasted all of five seconds before you broke out in a grin. “I’ll get my ice cream and meet you on the boat. Invite Ben for me.”

“Will do!”

“I have the movies,” announced Tory dramatically, opening the door to Hi’s room. “Come to think of it, it’s generally not a good idea to open a closed bedroom door without knocking when you know that a couple are behind it, but I have to ask… what are you doing?”

You looked up from where you were pretty much straddling Hi and trying to shove a spoon into his mouth. “I’m not sure whether the best excuse is the truth or not.”

“Tell her the truth,” piped up Hi, “and let her see what a cruel, cruel person you are.”

“I was trying to get him to try ice cream with a potato chip in it.”

She nodded slowly. “Okay, yeah, I… I can see that. Th-that’s really interesting. Tell me, is this normal for you?”

The two of you shrugged in unison as you awkwardly rolled off of your boyfriend. “It doesn’t usually go to such extremes.”

He nodded in agreement, adding, “Please say you brought 10 Things I Hate About You.”

“I raided Whitney’s collection. Of course I brought it.”

“This isn’t what my mother would expect if I told her I had two beautiful girls in my bedroom.”

Hi was hit by two pillows in almost perfect unison.

A/N: I couldn’t resiiiiiist that last part, honestly. ^-^ I hope you enjoyed! Leave a little something if you did. Part five is here!

#Virals series #hi x reader #hiram stolowitski x reader #hi stolowitski x reader #hiram stolowitski #hi stolowitski #ben blue #tory brennan #reader insert #female reader insert #I forgot to tag this lol I'm Sorry!

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